#I’m sorry I just can’t see a relationship developed because ya technically had to working out

[animationismycomfort]

it’s so weird how I give blaze and silver such a toxic relationship

[gayfrenchtoast]

Okay fine we're doing this. I havent read the books and I'm probably not going to I've only seen the movies so I'm sorry if anything I say is contradictory or has already been stated.

So! Descendants 3 was kinda shit and I dont like it but especially because of the ending because everybody was like "oh yeah island is open and we're all happy with no worries or implications about free villains or people being spiteful about being imprisoned for years!" In fact if anything they joked about those things.

The island is basically its own culture, I can't say how long it's been around, long enough for some almost adult kids to be about and to develop a kind of community.

The Isle is a place of poverty, people are dirty and on the street, eveyone steals from each other and most people don't put much effort into appearance upkeep (personal or of the sourounding area) not because of laziness or being "evil" but because they clearly don't have time or luxury to do such things or possibly even the clean water. Does the Isle have clean water?? How to they get electricity??? Someone tell me!

Another thing that I've noticed is easy to see but is not much explicitly said is the unique style of those on the Isle. As previously stated they don't have much but those who have the most "power" and such on the Isle are the best example of this As they have the most colourful outfits. However these outfits are often made out of patches and ripped things put together, even salvaged things like nets and chains as we can see on thing like Uma and Harry's outfits in D3 they make the best of what they've got and they do fantastic because their outfits are intricate and detailed and just tell you everything you need to know about them. Which is why it's a damn s h a m e when the original VK's ajust their style to be more like Auradon's. That's not an improvement! Be proud of where you came from!! It's like they forgot what it was like being on the Isle in D3!

Moving on, here's something that was touched on in D2 but not enough. Equality. On the Isle there is basically equal opportunity as in saying everything is shit and nome cares what gender and presumably what sexuality you are as long as you can work. Sexism is shown to be almost casual in aurodon from the looks of it, Chad makes sexist comments and litterally none else says anything or seems to see anything wrong with it except Jay who caves to pressure from peers and expectations. He does redeem himself because he's from the isle and he knows you shouldn't give a shit about anyone's gender or anything. If they can do something and ask to be included you give them that opportunity. The sexism is also implied in the way that the rule book has men written specifically in the first place and that it has taken until then for anyone but boys to be allowed on any kind of sports team. We never see it! It seems to be the hetronormative veiw where the boys do sport and girls do cheerleeding and other genders? What other genders? Never heard of that? BAD AURADON!! I bet there's so many trans folk on the island just living their lives, thinking Aurodon is the better place and not knowing that it's a cis het filled nightmare.

Okay no I'm headcannoning now, if their are now a bunch of Isle kids at auradon prep they find it fucking aweful the way all these preppy royals are treating them and make the first LGBT club in Auradon. There is lots of pushback and they get bullied a fuck ton for making themselves the most prominent queer folk in the school until a fight breaks out and the club demand that they should be treated better, taking all the evidence to fairy godmother who is very hesitant because COME ON she's never been that great she is biased to Auradon kids and if putting away those in the Isle is brought up she is all on it, she is jelly spined about doing anything against the royal kids. So the kids are like "Fine, if you won't help us we'll take this to the King himself!" Well mainly the queer mom's of the group (you know the ones I'm talking about) who lead the others and protect the anxious queers as they storm to Ben at his fucking locker and demand an audience because they are being harassed and bullied and none is doing anything. Ben had no idea there was even a LGBT club (too busy ig) and is gassed there is one for a moment before he's like "wait people are harassing you?" So Bisexual King Ben gets his lovely Bi wife and they start coming to club meetings and investing in the pins and stuff the club makes. Most club members are pleased but the queer mom's are apprehensive that this will help until some assholes come to the club to do their usual bullying only to find King and Queen Beast themselves siting there with rainbow bracelets and bi pins and all trying to have a nice old time eating their fucking cupcakes what the fuck are yall doing? The bullying dies down quick once they realise it ain't gonna fly, the other OG VK's that hear about this become members and very protective over their queer children. Did I mention Dizzy and Ceila are a part of the club? They're girlfriend's. Celia is one of the queer moms. Harry becomes one of the biggest protectors over the group as the pan dad. He's been going around snogging everyone and anyone wholl snog him everyone already knew he was queer they just didn't have the balls to try and bully him over it as much as they bullied the lil club members. But now Harry can often be seen in jackets and shit with pan and general queer patches and pins and running around with his gay children yelling "MOVE WE'RE GAY!!" He totally calls them his queer crew. Anyway as a result lots of queer royals start coming out of the woodwork, obvs Lonnie is one of them, and the club eventually serves to bring members of Auradon and the Isle close together.

Where was I? Yada yada auradon expects girls to be pretty princesses and boys to be brave knights or dashing princes. It's shit and should stop being portrayed as good. Moving on!

Food! One of the things we'll established in all movies is that the food of the Isle is shit compared to food of Auradon. The Isle has no fresh fruit which likely means its almost impossible for things to grow there which is fair because again there doesn't seem to be much fresh water and there are always clouds overhead so no sun. Maybe there is some people trying really hard to grow stuff but the general attitude of the Isle seems to be "there is no time for that" and fruits are forgotten so much that the VK's litterally don't knownwhat they are when they come across them. That and anything containing sugar. Actually it's mention by Dizzy and Celia that they enjoy the fact that the cake dosent have dirt or flies so basically food there is terrible. We don't see much food on the Isle but what we do see seems to be beans, eggs, chips and shellfish. Basically protine and carbs that can be easily stored and produced. To be fair beans are kidna good for you but they're likely a sign that if they get any imports from the mainland it is canned stuff. Prison food. There's probably some chef villain that is trying their best to make good food out of the shit but honestly the Isle dwellers should be angry that they've been deprived of good food for so long not happy they're finally been given decency.

Moving on, music! Auradon dosent have nearly as many musical numbers it seems, the Isle songs have a distinct style, to them, the villains that basically "founded" the place were masters of the dramatic songs (with backup or solo) so banging music is basically ingrained in the music's culture, even for battle as we see with the fight between Mal and Uma in D3. Meanwhile Auradon seems to have mainly romance and "I want" songs. Even Audrey's villain song is basically an I want song.

Okay let's talk about the Villains. We've established that the VK's are not inherently bad. However not all of them can be totally good and there are legit OG Villains just kinda chillin on the Isle. They've obviously lost quite a bit of their power, motivation and sanity (isolation will do that to ya as they lost everything and the VKs know no different) but deadass? They were bad guys. You can try to rehabilitate them sure but you've basically just let them free roam, they could make a runner and you wouldn't get the chance. They were also shitty patents which is brushed over/joked about in the interaction between Carlos and...man I feel bad I forgot her name deadass their relationship seemed to come out of nowhere in the second film she didn't seem interested in them at all and friendzoned them multiple times I'm pretty sure Disney did that becaue queer kids were relating to Carlos and headcanoning them as queer (which they deffinatly are) but deadass their mom is an attempted animal murderer and has hurt her child as we can see from how they're afraid of her and her rhetoric and yet it's "haha I'm afraid to meet your ma!" "Me too cus im a dog! Lol!" Fuuuuck offfffff

I think I'm running out of thoughts so here's a last one for now; with the magical barrier down a bunch of magical Villains kids should be coming out for the woodwork. We know Mal has magic basically stored in her so it's is possible, she technically doesn't need the spellbook to do magic it is just inherent to her. So with the diverse range of people from the isle there are deffinatly magic folk in there. Actually if we're following Disney movie law I saw something mentioning Jay being half Genie and yeah! He should be half Genie! Jafar got turned into a Genie he's probably only human because of the barrier! Oh also Ben should be able to go beast on command as long as he had a better beast form than he did in the movies. And give him back the beard and fangs like fuck you he looked so much better

Okay I'm done for now

[stitch1830]

Ahhh but then if we go with Taang once again the issue arises where I don’t really ship Sokka with anyone but Toph. Maybe I’d like him with Suki more if we fleshed out her character a little and gave her relationship with Sokka more depth and development? But again I just really don’t like the idea of the first person you date as a teenager being the person you spend the rest of your life with, especially if you totally rushed into a relationship with that person and ultimately don’t know them very well on a personal level beyond that initial spark of attraction. It’s cute and all but I just don’t care for it nor do I find it realistic as an endgame ship.

That's definitely valid! I'm always torn about it, too, because I think in general it's unrealistic and even silly when we pair off characters in a friend group so perfectly that everyone ends up with someone and is happy lmao. But then I'm like, it's fanon! We can do whatever we want, doesn't have to be realistic. I literally fight myself on this idea all the time so I feel ya lol. But I do know quite a few high school sweethearts that ended up getting married so I'm a little biased when it comes to the idea that people can spend their whole life together and can sort of see it happening to ships haha (it definitely isn't as interesting as other fics, but sometimes simple is good. Only sometimes).

And if we can create a character story based off a name, I think we can do some good damage with Suki's backstory ;) This is one Sukka HC I've had in the back of my mind, and it's definitely not as cool or crazy as some of my other HC's, but I think it's a start!

So maybe Sokka and Suki don't end up together after the finale. I like the idea that the whole Gaang go their separate ways and find projects to help rebuild. Sokka would immediately go back home, and I think Suki would either go back to Kyoshi Island or travel with her warriors. Maybe they spent a few days together and preparing for their own missions, and Suki suddenly feels a great deal of dread. She was imprisoned for months (I think), maybe even tortured or interrogated for information because she's the leader of the warriors and has abandonment issues now. The thought that Sokka leaving her scares her, and instead of talking about her fears, she breaks it off with him and says that they should focus on themselves and their projects. No distractions. And Sokka is super upset because all the people he's loved and cared about seem to leave him. That makes him mad that she would just break it off like that, and he agrees that they should break up.

Years pass and they're in their twenties now. The Gaang decides to reunite and Katara invited Suki, even though he requested she not be there since "she wasn't technically part of the original Gaang!"//"She saved your life, Sokka, get over it." So he swallows his pride and strikes up a conversation with her, because everyone else is paired up and in a conversation for him to butt in. And Sokka and Suki hit it off again. They literally talk about everything, and they both admire how much change and work the other has done. At the end of the night, they are about to go their separate ways, and Suki suggests that he come to Kyoshi Island to help with a project. They could use his inventive mind... He hesitates, but ultimately agrees because he mentally set up boundaries for their relationship.

And after a few weeks he ignores the rules he made up and they fall into a FWB situation, maybe? Super casual situation, and they spend a lot of time working together. When he leaves, they're both sad, but agree that this was nothing. No relationship.

But then they miss each other and start writing to each other to pass up their solitary free time. They both come up with silly projects that require each other's skills and for them to visit. Suki's in the SWT with Sokka, and she's noticing all these women coming up to Sokka and chatting, even flirting with them, and she finds herself jealous... Sokka confronts her about it in the most Sokka and sarcastic way possible and she responds angrily, "Fine! I like you! I don't want you flirting with anyone but me." He wiggles his eyebrows and is like "Wow, Wonder Warrior's got a crush on me."

Cue long-distance relationship... it's definitely hard and they don't love it, but they're trying their best. And then boom. After a very long stay at Kyoshi, Suki finds out she's pregnant.

Definitely not what they had in mind, they've only started dating again for a couple months and the idea that Sokka is gonna leave her with this baby is making her mind spiral into the absolute worse case scenario because that's how she thinks now. Sokka grabs her by the shoulders hard and promises her that he's not going anywhere. He's with her 100% of the way.

And he is. They navigate their relationship and this big change together and it's not easy, but they work through it. Sokka slowly realizes that he's always been in love with Suki one way or the other, and her becoming the mother of his child further solidifies this thought. It's a quiet and simple confession he gives her one lazy afternoon, and she reciprocates the feeling.

They learn how to live with each other, travel for projects, and raise their kid together. Time still moves on, and one day Sokka just asks her to marry him. Simple and a little off the cuff like most of their relationship at this point. But he still can't help but smile when she says yes.

Sorry for going a little overboard, haha! But I too want our boy Sokka to be happy! We just gotta find one or two more possible people for him besides Toph for our semi-multishipping needs lol.

[iamcayc]

Chapter 2: Kids

Fandom: 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con Relationships: Gojo Satoru/Reader, Gojo Satoru/Original Character(s) Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Flirting, Developing Relationship, Original Character(s), Eventual Smut, Eventual Sex, Strangers to Lovers, annoyances to lovers, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Past Child Abuse, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Vaginal Fingering, Heavy Petting, Gojo Satoru is a Little Shit

---

The phone ringing startles you as you’re sitting on your couch, a true crime documentary on the television as the soundtrack to your night of grading essays. There’s still half a stack of essays to slog through, and only one more glass of wine left in the bottle on your coffee table.

You glance at the screen of your phone, frowning at the name you see.

“What’s up, Nanami?” The phone rests against your shoulder as you scribble a barely-passing grade on the paper in your hand.

“You busy?”

Well, this isn’t going to end well.

“I’m almost out of wine and have twelve more essays to suffer through before I can call it a night.” Nanami chuckles at your predicament. “So, yeah, I guess you can say I’m a bit busy. Why?”

Nanami sighs and you can just see him rubbing his temple as he tries to work out a way to ask you something he knows you aren’t going to like.

“Spit it out, would ya?” you probe with a sigh.

“Satoru wants your help with a mission.”

Your frown immediately deepens. “I already told him that I’m not a sorcerer.”

A muffled series of thwumps and thuds force you to hold the phone away from your ear before a new voice chirps through the device.

“Technically, you only told me that you have asthma,” Gojo says brightly. “You didn’t say anything about not being a sorcerer.”

Your eyes narrow at nothing in particular. “Why doesn’t it surprise me that you’re the kind of guy who likes to point out technicalities?”

Gojo chuckles, the sound a warm caress through the phone. You’re fairly certain that’s mostly the wine reacting, but you aren’t taking any chances.

“Regardless, let me make it perfectly clear to you: I am not any kind of practicing, jujutsu sorcerer,” you say slowly, clearly. “I received enough training to keep my energy in check and help out where I can as a Window since I work at a school and know what to look for. Now, if you’d be so kind as to return my cousin’s phone, I’d like to tell him to make himself available for you since he is sorcerer.”

A soft grunt sounds as you listen to the phone getting passed back to Nanami. “I’m sorry, Kaya. I tried explaining—where the fuck are you going? Satoru!”

As he shouts Gojo’s name, a polite knock sounds at your door. You leap to your feet, your heart thundering in your chest.

“Kaya? Kaya, are you there?” Nanami’s voice sounds tired. “Do not open that door. You give this guy a fucking inch and he takes a mile.”

“Are you telling me that the random-ass person knocking on my door right now is Gojo?” you ask tersely. “Because I’m pretty fucking sure I live a solid distance away from your school.”

Nanami sighs and mutters a series of graphic swears as the person at the door begins to knock on the door to the beat of “Mary had a Little Lamb.”

“I can’t tell you if he’s being so stubborn because he genuinely needs your technique, or if he’s only thinking with his cock, but you do not have to answer that door.” You snort, not buying for a second that Gojo has any intention of giving up so quickly.

“I’m never having dinner with you again,” you hiss into the phone before hanging up. As far as you’re concerned, this is all Nanami’s fault for allowing Gojo to crash their weekly dinner. You toss the phone on your couch before stomping towards the door and yanking it open to reveal a casually-dressed Gojo leaning against the jamb with a grin.

“What the fuck do you want?” you ask with thinly-veiled hostility. Gojo ignores the venom and grins wider.

“I have to say,” he remarks, “I think you’ve got the most beautiful eyes when you’re irritated.”

You haven’t wanted to throttle someone in so long, you forgot what it felt like to have your blood boil.

“What do you want?” you ask again, this time through gritted teeth.

“Your help.” Gojo tilts his head innocently as he looks at you. “Pretty please?”

The bubbling frustration with this man isn’t something you need your neighbors witnessing, so you step aside and yank him through the door, surprised that he allowed you to grab hold of him at all, considering what you know of him.

You ignore his chuckle as you stomp back into your living room and pause your documentary, knowing you’ll likely have to restart the whole thing since you missed so much thanks to the asshat currently making himself comfortable on your couch. He stretches his arm along the back of the sofa, tilting his head back to look at you.

“You’ve got a nice place for a teacher.” You stare at him. He did not just backhand compliment you. “Though, the sound proofing tiles are a little odd.”

“You’re an asshole,” you tell him with a glare. “And now that I am fully aware of the fact that you have highly selective hearing, let me say this one more time: I have absolutely no interested in joining your mission.”

“Because of your asthma, right?”

Dear fucking god, you want to punch him.

“And the fact that I’m not a fucking sorcerer. I have never and will never work as one.”

“Why not?” Gojo watches you as you sink onto a pillow on the floor at the coffee table. “Nanamin isn’t anywhere near my level and he still makes a solid living doing exorcisms.”

You look at him as you pick up your red pen. “If you had to quantify the actual size of your ego, how big would it be?”

The jab is ignored with a dismissive wave. “Your cursed technique, it’s based on sounds that you personally create, right?”

“I mean, it’s definitely bigger than your dick. There’s no way that thing is bigger than a handful of centimeters, considering the way you carry on every time I have the displeasure of seeing you.”

“But that can’t be it, because if that were the case, you would be wreaking havoc on the populace if you so much as farted.”

“I wonder what that server thought when you finally whipped it out, after doing everything she could think of to get your attention? Ha! I bet she was so disappointed.”

Gojo leans forward, his forearms resting on his knees as he grins at you. His aura is practically dancing around him; he’s loving every second of this.

“You really didn’t like her, did you?”

“I really didn’t care either way.” Half-truth, but who’s counting? “I just got tired of seeing her tits every time she came to check on us. That, and her aura was starting to make me motion sick with the undulating and buzzing.”

He raises a white brow. “You can see auras?”

“I heard them first. I’ve always been sensitive to sounds.” You frown at the introductory paragraph of the paper in your hand. Did you students even read the assignment? “I only started to see the auras after training with Nanami.”

“I’ve never heard of someone hearing an aura... what’s mine sound like?”

You look up at him, surprised to see that he’d taken off the sunglasses he’d been wearing to pin you with those eyes. Why is someone so far up their own ass this hot?

Setting down your pen, you take a breath to center yourself, allowing your own aura to reach out to his. You let your eyes guide the edges of your aura along the edges his, like a bow across a string. If Gojo feels anything, he doesn’t say; he just watches you with an intense expression.

At some point, you let your eyes meet his, and that’s when his aura begins singing to you.

“You sound like a cello’s mid-range, that sweet spot of notes on the G and D strings.”

“What does your sound like?”

The question throws you off. No one has ever asked about yours before. It’s not that you don’t know how your aura sounds, but rather, you aren’t sure how to explain what you hear.

“It sounds like me,” you reply plainly. “I sound like... just me.”

He regards you quietly before letting his cheek rest on his fist. His gaze softens as he looks at you, sending whatever traces of annoyance you feel towards him scattering into nothing.

“There have been reports of a cursed human loose in a residential area outside of Hidaka. Some sightings have it listed as a child, others say it's a few adults. But all the witnesses agree that whatever it is, it’s luring children from the area into the woods.”

“Is this the part where you tell me why Six Eyes needs me to find some cursed human in the woods?”

He shrugs. “I’m not good with kids.”

You snort. “You’re a teacher.”

“And you’ll notice that my students are well above the age of 6 years old.”

“So are mine.”

“Are you always this stubborn?”

“Pot, meet kettle.” You set down your pen and look at him seriously. “And before you throw my whole aura-sight at me, I’ll point out that you seemed to have no idea that I could see auras until a few minutes ago. So, tell me why you want my help on a mission you and your students are more than equipped to handle on your own?”

Gojo leans back against the couch once again and sighs. You let silence creep into the space between you. His aura isn’t singing anymore, but it isn’t agitated, so you haven’t totally pissed him off. Yet.

“I want you to lure the curses out and get them to bring the missing kids with them.” One of his hands slides through his hair. “At least, that was my initial idea. But, if you can see and hear auras, that might help us get the kids out before shit goes south with the curses.”

You frown. “That original plan assumes that I can control more than one curse at a time, which isn’t the most fool-proof, either. I’m not being modest when I say that I’m not a sorcerer, I’m being honest. Your dark-haired student’s aura is more powerful than mine, and he wasn’t even trying to let me see his aura.”

Gojo considers you quietly, his blue eyes shimmering in the artificial light of your apartment. You’re tempted to examine the shifting colors of his irises up close, until you remember that you know better than to let your body anywhere near a man that self-confident.

“I’d say you’re an upper Grade 3, just as you are now. Properly motivated, maybe a Grade 2. Still, that’s more than enough to draw out a few curses. I don’t need you to exorcise them, only get their attention and make them a bit more docile for the kids to take out.”

“You really aren’t going to let this one go, are you?” you ask him, sighing as you rest your chin on the heel of your palm. He flashes you a bright grin, sending an armada of butterflies up your stomach and into your throat.

“Nope.”

You lean back on your palms as you look at him. You have no interest in telling him that you’ve already decided to help since there are missing kids involved, so you let him watch you watch him. Because, maturity.

“And what do I get out of this? Other than a potential asthma attack?”

His grin slips into a smirk. “What do you want?”

You raise your brow, knowing full well what he’s insinuating. “I don’t touch sloppy seconds, thanks. I was thinking more along the lines of a few bottles of really nice wine, or maybe an expensive whisky. Or, if you’re feeling really guilty about triggering my asthma, never asking me to help with your job ever again.”

“Since I’m feeling generous, why don’t you decide after you’ve helped me out? You know, see how much effort you have to put in and get the most reward for your buck.”

You don’t trust that new sparkle in his eyes as you agree to his terms.

You only agree to meet Gojo and the others after school the next day because the sooner you’re done with this favor, the better. Then, you can get back to watching Netflix specials on serial killers and grading piss-poor essays on the Baroque movement in peace.

The grounds of the Tokyo Jujutsu High School are well kept, despite there being so few students enrolled. The spans of the campus practically begged to be bustling with chattering students, but all it gets is the occasional grumpy alumni and sporadic admissions.

It wouldn’t hurt to plant some flowers either.

“I told you she wasn’t going to show up with a flute or drum!” You glance over your shoulder and see Gojo leading the two boys from before and a new addition, a girl with down-turned eyes and a bored expression.

Gojo inclines his head towards you by way of greeting. “Kaya, you saw these two yesterday, Yuji and Megumi.” His thumb points out Pinky first, then the dark-haired kid whose temperament you like. “This is my other first-year, Nobara.”

You wave with a polite smile, your teacher’s smile. “Nice to meet you all.”

Nobara peers at you a little longer, her eyes sweeping up and down your outfit with analytical eyes. You couldn’t wait to hear what a sixteen year old has to say about your clothes. You chose to swap out your black jeans for a sturdy pair of athletic leggings to increase mobility, though you are acutely aware of how tight the pants are, especially around your ass.

You pick at an invisible lint on the sleeve of your jacket. Gojo is doing a marvelous job of surveying your… assets.

“I want you to design our new uniforms,” she declares boldly. You blink in surprise since that is definitely not what you were expecting. Not sure what’s so stunning about leggings and a rarely-used running shirt, even if it has Gojo eyeballing your butt with enough heat to send his aura in languid waves around him.

“Thanks, I think.” You slip on your leather jacket and look over at Gojo with an arched brow. “Are you finished gawking? I have classes to teach tomorrow, and there’s nothing worse than trying not to make a bunch of teenage girls cry when you’re too tired to tell them their god-awful piano composition sounds like something out of a third-rate anime.”

If they thought Nobara offers up some hot takes, they need to see you with less than six hours of sleep and a full day of classes on the horizon.

Gojo chuckles as he rubs his lower lip with the pad of his thumb. There is something unfairly sensual about the motion, and extremely predatory. Frowning slightly, you turn away and hand the kids the the earplugs you had stuffed in your pocket before you’d left the apartment.

“What’re these for?” Yuji asks, inspecting the bits of foam like you just handed him cocaine. .

“Maestro, here, uses a cursed technique rooted in sound.” You feel Gojo sling his arm around your shoulders. “Though, seems like she didn’t bring enough for me to get a pair, too.”

You shoot him a look. “You know precisely why I didn’t bother. Now, can we please get a move on?”

Wordlessly, the kids gather around and latch onto Gojo’s jacket, and you brace yourself for the gut-punch that comes along with teleporting. Nanami graciously informed you of Gojo’s aptitude for warping after a series of threats of bodily harm that exponentially increased in severity the more he dodged your questions. In that time, you realized that Gojo’s perpetual use of Limitless could stop your technique without a thought.

You’re in the midst of replaying a particularly entertaining memory of Nanami squealing like a pig after you started to make him juggle kitchen knives when you feel a strong hand press you against Gojo’s chest by the small of your back. Sputtering with utter indignation, you glare up at the grinning man, wishing with every fiber of your being that your knee could make contact with his balls at that moment.

“Ready, maestro?”

“Fuck off, Gojo.” Yuji snickers from behind him. Gojo watches you expectantly and your glare deepens. “I’m ready.”

“There’s a good girl.”

“Dude, keep that shit up and she’s going to find a way around your Limitless to kick your ass,” Megumi mutters from the right. “And Lord knows, the majority of us will sell tickets to that show.”

You don’t hear Gojo’s reply as you're lost in trying not to hurl all over the man as he yanks your body through space. The surrounding trees whisper and rustle in the evening breeze, the low glow of the sunset making the setting feel eerie. You hope the missing kids are okay, but you’re jaded enough to know better. Rolling your shoulders, you shake off the creeping shadows of memories you’ve worked hard to ignore on a daily basis.

“You’re up, Kaya.” Gojo nods at you as he removes his blindfold, his eyes more aquamarine in the dying light. “Think you can tag the auras for me?”

“Everyone got their earplugs in?” you ask the teenagers behind you. They all respond with solemn nods, their expressions resolute. You glance at Gojo, his eyes unseeing but all-seeing as he looks out into the forest around you.

“When I start singing, Six Eyes should pick up any auras my technique hits, like sonar.” It’s been over a year since you last sang, but you’d prepped your vocal cords most of the day with hot tea and a couple shots of bourbon before heading to the school. “I’ll also be willing whatever hears me to come to me as I sing.”

He looks at you with slight concern. “How long can you sustain that?”

You set square your shoulders and look back out into the darkness ahead. “As long as I need to. My priority will be the kids, you guys can deal with the cursed human.”

He nods as you take a deep breath to settle the flurry of nerves in your stomach. Why are you so nervous about singing in front of Gojo, of all people? His opinion has never mattered to you, since the moment he crashed your dinner. Who cares if he doesn’t like the song choice or if he thinks your voice is garbage?

“Unsteady” by X Ambassadors is a go-to warm up song for you. It sits right in your chest range, so it’s easy to project as you start walking slowly into the woods. Besides, you know how it feels to beg someone, anyone for help but end up ignored instead.

Gojo’s footfalls are nearly silent as he stalks behind you, but your voice makes his aura pulse against your own. It’s a comforting feeling, lending you more courage than you were feeling, that’s for sure.

A sharp rustling to your left makes you pause, the movement too harsh and erratic to dismiss as an animal. The icy blue of the aura halos around a tiny form, the fear tinkling like a shrill bell being shaken by a child. Gojo stiffens behind you, but you raise your palm before shooing him back.

Without faltering in the song, you crouch down in the direction of the stumbling child, pulling a small handbell from your other jacket pocket. A steady, calming beat in time with your singing pulses forward, coaxing the child out slowly as her aura shifts from pale blue to a saturated cobalt.

A little girl, no older than six or seven, flies into your arms, making your stumble in your singing. She’s coated in dirt and gods know what else, clutching your jacket so tight that her tiny knuckles turn white.

“You caught the culprit’s attention,” Gojo chuckles as you soothe the frightened child into letting go of your jacket. She clings to your leg when you stand, her snot and tears soaking into your leggings. You try not to cringe, but Gojo catches your obvious distaste and laughs, earning him a glare.

“There’s a cluster of black auras there,” you tell him quietly, gesturing further into the woods, to the east. “I can see them, but they’re silent.”

He hums as he nods, stroking his chin thoughtfully before he looks at you again. His eyes flick to the little girl, whose grip on your leg is starting to get painful, and it’s in that moment you realize two things.

First, that you get to tell Gojo, “I told you so.”

Second, in relation to the first, the tiny girl death-gripping your leg has an aura that is shrieking and melting into an opaque black.

Fuck.

Without a second thought, you send a surge of your cursed energy into your aura, ballooning it up rapidly. You swing the handbell down sharply, a clear, piercing note with the demand to be let go striking the tiny cursed human, tossing her away from you a good 30 yards.

A dull ringing pulses in your ears as you struggle to keep your balance. You shouldn’t have used that move so soon out of semi-retirement.

Arms scoop you up before you hit the ground. Muffled voices bicker as you barely hold onto your consciousness, but they fade away quickly as you’re overtaken with another bout of nausea that pulls you back towards consciousness. You try to move, but the arms hold you tighter against what you learn is Gojo’s chest.

“Easy, easy.” His breath warms your face as he calms you. “Shocked you’re not passed out yet.”

You don’t have the energy to remind him that he’s the pot and you’re the kettle when it comes to stubbornness. Based on the bits and pieces of the room you can see through still-blurred vision, he had warped you both back to your apartment.

He lays you down on your bed, checks your pulse, then slips out of the room long enough to get you a glass of water and a banana.

“I told you I wasn’t a sorcerer for a reason,” you mumble as you push yourself up slowly. The dizziness is gone, but exhaustion presses against your bones at this point. Gojo sits on the edge of the bed as he watches you sip at the water and peel the banana.

“Your stamina is shit, yeah. But you know what you’re doing.” You break apart the banana bite by bite. Like hell you’re going to eat an obviously phallic fruit in front of a man with the maturity level of a teenage boy. “I’d say with a bit of training, you could hold your own without passing out again.”

You shoot him a look that hopefully conveys how little interest you have in making that a reality. He only gives you a small smile before he stands.

“Better go check on the kids, make sure they didn’t completely fuck that simple exorcism.” He pauses at the bedroom door, lifting his blindfold just enough to look at you with one eye. “Thanks for your help, maestro. Think about what you want for compensation. I’ll be in touch.”

He winks at you with that one azure eye before he just blinks out of sight. Your thoughts start replaying your time in his arms, a coveted location, you’re sure. He smelled like cedarwood and eucalyptus, but on the designer fragrance side of the spectrum, which surprises you considering how boring his attire generally is.

Sighing, you fish your phone out of the inner pocket of your jacket and swipe it open. No new messages, but a couple of missed calls from Nanami. You’re too tired to both giving him a lecture, so you just tell him he’s your personal chauffeur tomorrow until you can pick you bike up from the school.

And if you even THINK about sending Gojo in your place, consider yourself a eunuch the next time I see you, got it?

You don’t bother to see if he responds. Instead, you shed your clothes and crawl back under the covers, setting a few different alarms, just in case. Yawning, you curl onto your side and let your eyes drift closed, willing your brain to just shut the fuck up with the semi-intrusive thoughts. Falling asleep now would get you a solid 7.5 hours, more than enough for another round of compositional reviews.

I wonder what he thought of my singing…

[fortes-fortuna-iogurtum]

an incomplete list of Thoughts on Gallifrey: Time War 4

will probably be added to as time goes on because my brain is in a fog this morning and I’m really struggling to be coherent

this is already so long and I don’t know how to stop oh no

- Time War could’ve very easily been a 5-boxset arc, and I really wish it would’ve been. I think it would’ve cleared up a lot of the issues that I and others have with the arc, especially in terms of pacing and character and relationship development.

- alternatively, they could’ve returned to the original format of 5 chapters per season, which I personally liked a lot and think works a little better for Gallifrey.

- this is technically about Time War 2 and 3, but it’s connected to 4, so: I think some stories should’ve been shifted around a bit so that things flowed along more smoothly and the transition from Mother Tongue to Unity made more sense, and then from Unity to Homecoming. because as it stands, it feels to me like making Romana and Leela and Narvin “break up” after Leela spends all that time away from them was just done for drama and wasn’t fleshed out well enough to completely work like I’m assuming the writers wanted it to.

- I have come to the conclusion that, while David Llewellyn is a good writer whose Gallifrey stories I generally enjoy a lot, he just doesn’t understand Brax very well.

- actually I feel like Brax’s writing in Gallifrey has just been a little *off* since his last appearance in Gally4. (with the exception of Solider Obscura, which I love, even though I ALSO question the writers’ decision to essentially reverse Brax’s character development there; again, this is another thing that I think could’ve been just fine if there had been more time to deal with it, say a fifth boxset or five stories in every boxset)

- and this makes sense -- because David Llewellyn doesn’t fully grasp some really core aspects of who Brax is and his motivations, but is generally a pretty good writer and seems to get the other main characters of Gallifrey well, we’re left with a sense of good writing for Brax... but when it really comes down to it in the end, everything sorta falls apart because he doesn’t understand the deeper workings of the character and why he does the things he does.

- basically I really really wish Justin Richards could’ve written Beyond, because I think he would’ve done an amazing job with it and the ending wouldn’t have felt so bizarre

- (also I wonder if they had to cut a scene last minute because honestly that whole last sequence feels incredibly weird somehow??? not only does it feel OOC for Romana--like come on. I’m sorry, I know that he’s mistreated her and people she cares about a lot and she has a right to be done with him, but we know her. her responding that way to seeing him brutally killed in front of her after all their conversations in the earlier parts of the story feels so incredibly wrong and I cannot articulate just how much I dislike it--but there’s also an incredibly rough scene transition there and a music transition that sounds really bad, to be blunt. like they had to chop out a scene the morning before release and had no time to fix it, so they just did what they had to and hoped no one would notice)

- gotta be honest, I’m pretty salty about Beyond and probably will be talking about it for a while. maybe I should make a tag specifically for it so y’all can mute that one, because I hate being so negative about things I actually do enjoy, but I had a Lot of issues with that story and I just.... 

- yeah anyway, moving on 😅

- I did, on the whole, enjoy Homecoming, however

- again with the pacing, I think it would’ve been a lot better if they had been able to lead up to it more, especially with the emotional relationships between the Trio. Leela and Romana was ok, Romana and Narvin was ok, and Leela and Narvin was ok, but they really could’ve gone harder on the emotions I think?

- actually that’s a big thing about this boxset overall, and it’s especially evident in Homecoming-- I feel like they were holding back for some reason, and they really really didn’t have to. Especially as this is being advertised (at least in an unspoken way) as The Big Finale.

- (I mean for one they definitely could’ve had Leela and Narvin kiss at the end of that last interaction and it would’ve been fine and super fitting but ya know)

- also I do want to draw attention to the fact that this is most certainly not the absolute and final end of Gallifrey. I mean, perhaps of Gallifrey proper? But I’m going to be incredibly shocked if this it just. it. for these storylines and these characters. especially with where they left things at the end of Homecoming.

- actually, this might be the root of this problem: that the writers were simultaneously trying to write the Big Finish (no pun intended) for Gallifrey, but at the same time, they wanted to keep it very open-ended and ready to be picked up again when the time comes. So it ends up just feeling kind of... muddled, and noncommittal. Because they want this huge, heartrending, emotional finale, but at the same time it’s not a finale, and so they can’t do anything too big and heartrending and emotional and final with the characters, because the story needs to be able to continue. and so we’re stuck with an “ending” that’s probably not really an ending, and it simultaneously feels just a little underdone and like a big lead-up into nowhere.

- I mentioned to @spicydinosaurwings948 right after listening to it that the end reminded me of that thing a lot of big film/TV franchises do now, where they lay threads throughout one film and at the very end there’s an after-credits scene and some sort of announcement that ushers in the next era or spin-off of the franchise (sort of like what they did in the end of the most reason season of The Mandalorian, where they’re using Boba Fett’s involvement in that show to launch his own series). The problem is, as far as we know right now, they aren’t planning anything to follow up on this (unless they’re really great at keeping secrets and telling half-truths and are planning to shock us all in a few weeks, which wouldn’t entirely surprise me even tho I’m not counting on it happening).

- I have seen people say that they think some of the problem with the finale was that the writers were too occupied with trying to tie things into other existing storylines, like the show itself and the DW audios, which is also valid. I don’t personally think that is the root of the problem, but I definitely understand where that idea is coming from and I agree that it could’ve contributed to the issues.

- now might also be a time to mention that I can totally see some of these things from Gally:TW being brought up in the young War Doctor stories they’re doing soon? obviously not too much, but I can see characters like Eris showing up there, or maybe a reference to the Doctor not knowing where Romana is, or maybe even Armitage!Rassilon being the first Rassilon of those stories.

- annnnnd speaking of Hot Rassilon: the “ascension”. I have no idea what was going on with all that but it definitely felt like Something Big and now I’m really puzzled as to what there were doing with it?? is this going to be picked up somewhere else?? is it just another thing they introduced that needed to be fleshed-out better?? hello Big Finish and Scott Handcock and anyone else who can help me, I really need answers because?????? (I mean surely, surely it doesn’t tie into Ascension of the Cybermen???????)

[lynnsfics]

Penny For Your Nightmares?

Pairing: Bucky x Reader (Prompt List #76 “I had the weirdest dream”)

Word Count: Approx. 2k

Possible TW: Nightmares, Near Death Experience

Requests Open! See notes at bottom for details!

~~~

The waves came crashing down around you. Thunder boomed overhead, and lightning struck the water. With every stroke you made the surface seemed to grow farther and farther away. A cry tried to escape your lips, but as soon as you opened your mouth water filled your lungs. 

You shot up in bed, heart pounding. Electricity danced along your fingertips, increasing the level of static energy in the room. It happened again. No matter how many times you told yourself the fear was irrational, nightmares still plagued your dreams. Sam tried his best to get you to go to therapy, but you thought you could deal with it yourself. Trying to shake off the clammy post-nightmare feeling, you lightly stepped out of bed. The cold wood floor sent a shiver down your spine. Grabbing the slippers from your bedside, you slipped them on. That was better.

As silently as possible, you opened your door and creeped down the hall. The absolute last thing you needed was the team waking up. Thankfully the kitchen was right down the hall. The time displayed on the stove clock illuminated the counter. 3:01 A.M. Deep down you knew you needed rest, but the idea of a nice hot cup of coffee appealed to you more. Besides, after what happened, you weren’t sure if you even wanted to go back to sleep. 

Taking out your favorite mug from the cabinet, you added in the perfect amount of coffee and sugar. Tony liked to make fun of you for not using the coffee machine, but there was something so soothing about preparing it yourself. As you filled the kettle up with water, a voice came from the living room. 

“You know, Sam says tea is better to have at night. Caffeine will just keep you up.” 

Your heart skipped a beat as the kettle clattered noisily into the sink. “God, Bucky don’t scare me like that. Almost gave me a heart attack.” 

“Sorry doll,” you rolled your eyes at the pet name but you smiled anyways, “mind if I ask why you’re up in the first place?” 

“I could ask you the same thing,” you said, purposefully dodging the question.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me,” he countered. You sighed in defeat as you continued filling up the kettle. There was no way you’d be able to leave this kitchen without talking about your feelings. God, Sam was practically determined to turn everyone in the tower into a psychologist. “Alright fine.” you said, turning on the stove, “ I had the weirdest dream, happy now?” 

“Well, I’d be a lot happier if you told me what exactly this weird dream was about.” 

“Okay, so it wasn’t a dream, more of a nightmare. I was caught in the flood again. Except this time I never made it out. It felt like my lungs were filling with water, I couldn’t breathe. Instead of being saved by the lightning strike, I drowned.”  You said it all in one breath, not wanting to dwell on it. “I know it’s stupid, because in reality I didn’t drown, I’m perfectly fine. And yet,” you trailed off, staring at the coffee grounds in your cup. Bucky made his way to the kitchen counter and took a seat on the barstool next to you. “Doll, look at me,” when you didn’t even glance up he grabbed your coffee mug away from you. “Hey,” you exclaimed, “What was that for?” 

“I asked you to look at me, and you didn’t so I had to come up with something else. But now it’s my turn to share why I’m up. You’re not the only one in this tower plagued by nightmares. Every night I relive my days as him. And even though I know that part of me is gone, that I’ll never be the Winter Soldier again, the thought of it still terrifies me. So no, it’s not stupid.” 

“What do you do to cope with it all? I feel like sometimes it’s just too much to deal with.”

“That’s just it, doll. Sometimes things can’t be ‘dealt with’, and you need to talk to someone to help you through it.” You rolled your eyes as you snatched back your cup. Sliding off the barstool, you walked back over to the stove. “Sam put you up to this, didn’t he,” you asked as you poured the water. 

“No,” Bucky sighed, “he didn’t. But he was the one who encouraged me to open up about things. Something you could benefit a lot from.” “Alright, say I do talk things out, then what?” “Then you have a support system who can help you.” “Well, I don’t know-” Bucky cut you off, “How about this, if you aren’t ready to talk to a professional, the next time you have a nightmare you come to me and tell me about it. Alright?”

Turning to face him, you nodded in agreement, “Okay, deal.” As you took a sip of coffee a sudden clap of thunder shook the tower. Lightning lit up the darkened room a second later as rain started to pour down. 

Your blood ran cold as you felt fear grip you. Closing your eyes you kept telling yourself that you were safe, but it wasn’t helping.

Bucky looked over at you, worry laced in his voice, “Doll, what’s wrong?”  

“Oh, yeah, it’s nothing just the storm,” you paused for a moment but then decided to open up a little. As you walked back to the barstool, you took a deep breath. “The flood was caused by a sudden storm like this one. I don’t mind a little rain, but when it’s unexpected I just freeze up.” 

He gently put his hand over your own. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked.

You shook your head ‘no’, but then reconsidered. “I was going to sit on the couch and try to watch some dumb reality TV,” you replied quietly. “It usually helps me to calm down to laugh at something, and it could block out some of the noise from the storm. Would you want to watch it with me? If not that’s alright, I should be fine.” “No, that sounds great, besides I wasn’t planning on going to bed anytime soon,” he answered with a smile. 

That’s how you two ended up falling asleep on the couch together, HGTV playing in the background. You awoke the next morning to find that Bucky had ended up wrapping a protective arm around your shoulders. Somehow you managed to slip out of his embrace so it wouldn’t result in an embarrassing situation. 

Neither of you talked about it that day, but a few nights later when you were up again from another nightmare you found yourself back on the couch with him, this time watching a sitcom. 

 Before either of you realized it, it became a habit. If you or Bucky woke from a nightmare, or if a sudden storm came on, both of you would go to the living room and put on some cheesy show. Luckily none of the other team members ever found out, or you’d both be teased about it relentlessly. 

Through it all, you found yourself developing feelings for Bucky. Even though you tried to tell yourself those feelings were strictly platonic, you’d be lying if you said you would refuse a relationship with him. 

 It wasn’t until a month later when you realized just how dependent on him you had become. Bucky was out on a mission, but since it was a low-level threat, you were able to stay at the tower. Some of the team had accompanied him, so the compound was a lot quieter than usual. 

Wanda was preparing dinner while you and Sam sat at the counter debating conspiracy theories.

“I’m just saying, don’t you think we would know if Area 51 had aliens? We’re the Avengers, and Thor is literally an alien.” “No, Sam, because I don’t trust the government. Just because I technically work for them doesn’t mean I need to believe everything they say.”

Wanda chimed in, “I think it might be something from another dimension. Didn’t Dr. Strange mention something about a multiverse when he helped us with that mission last year?”

“Exactly,” you agreed, “it doesn’t have to be an ‘alien’ as we would define it.” 

The lights started to flicker, and an uneasy knot formed in your stomach. Sam glanced at the lamp and back at you, “Y/N, are you doing this?” 

“No, it must be a storm,” you responded, your voice shaky. FRIDAY’s voice spoke over the intercom, “There is a severe thunderstorm coming in. Flash flooding may occur.” It was like a vice was crushing your lungs. You didn’t want the others to see you panic over a storm, so you made up an excuse. “Ya know what guys, I’m not feeling hungry. I’m gonna go lie down for a bit.” 

Wanda and Sam exchanged a look as you exited the kitchen but said nothing. 

As you crawled under the covers of your bed, you put in your earbuds and started playing some soothing music. However it didn’t help, and nothing could help you fall asleep. You crept to the closet and pulled out an oversized shirt. Bucky had lent it to you during one of your reality tv marathons and you never ‘found the opportunity’ to give it back. At some point you probably could have, but you wanted to hold onto it for a little while longer. 

Slipping it on over your head, you took a deep breath. It still had traces of his cologne on it, and it made you feel a bit safer. When you crawled back into bed, you fell asleep almost immediately. 

A knock resounded at your bedroom door, and you answered groggily, “Come in.” “Hey doll, I just thought I’d let you know the mission went well. By the way, Sam mentioned that you were acting strange during last night’s storm,” he paused mid-sentence, a slight smirk on his lips, “Is that my shirt?”

You glanced down, vaguely remembering slipping it on the night before. “Possibly,” you answered sheepishly. “I couldn’t sleep and you weren’t here so I just, sorry,” you trailed off.

“It’s fine, it looks cute on you,” he mumbled, brushing a loose strand of hair back from his eyes. “But I came here to ask if you’re alright? Sam told me about you leaving when the storm hit and I was worried.” “I managed to fall asleep, but it took a while. I’m feeling better now, though.” “There’s another storm on the radar, do you want to go play Uno or something until it ends?” You smiled in response, “That sounds great, thank you.” When you put down the +4 card and called out “UNO!”, Bucky laughed and rolled his eyes.

“Wow, I had some good cards that time too. You’re lucky I decided not to play them.” 

“Uh huh, I believe that,” you chuckled.

Later that night during the team movie night you found yourself sitting next to him, head on his shoulder. “I think I love you,” you whispered, thinking he wouldn’t hear. Hoping he wouldn’t hear.

He turned to look at you. Damn that supersoldier serum. “Say that again doll?” 

Taking a deep breath, you felt your chest tighten. Might as well get it over with, you just hoped it wouldn’t ruin things between the two of you. “I love you,” you repeated, still a whisper, but  more sure this time. 

“I love you too. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to mess things up, but I love you too.” “Look, I get you two are having a moment,” Sam said from the other side of the room, “but some of us are trying to watch a movie.” 

~~~

General Taglist:

@sydneyisnotawriter 

@dark-night-sky-99

Hey y’all! So this is from a prompt list I’ve been looking at for ideas. I will be posting the list right after this and will link it here! My ask box and inbox will be open to requests, just give me a number and ship! (No pedophillia or incest ships tho please!) As always, likes and reblogs are appreciated! Love you all <3 (And if you’re protesting please stay safe!)

[unordinary-analysis]

Episode 166

Honorable mentions:

I always love seeing a student with John’s old ‘loser’/helmet hair lmao it makes me happy

For the first time ever, when I say ‘Remi, pop off queen’ you know I actually mean it lol

Tldr: the high-tiers (can’t really call them “royals” anymore can we) establish themselves and prove their worths as paragons (perfect examples) of what royals should be and i applaud them for it

The amount of joker masks that the superhero posse brought in has to be representation of their power. Isen, the lowest-ranking of the superhero posse brought 1, Remi brought 3, and Blyke brought 3. You might be thinking ‘hey remi is more powerful than blyke’ but we know that he’s been working hard recently and because he only has one more mask than Remi, i think this idea is plausible. so let me believe that blyke is more powerful than remi please.

Nothing to really say about Isen except that he needs a hug

Going to ignore that remi listed cecile as someone she wanted to recruit help from because i would just get my hopes up

Only occured to me now that i could pull off a John and Rei comparison especially after reflecting over episode 150

Arlo and seraphina give off such close vibes and it’s obviously because they got close (or at least intensely familiar) when they were the king and queen and i just- i absolutely love when plots or characters go full circle and reflect (revisit?) the start of the story even though that sounds anti-development, it’s not im just bad at explanations.

WHAT I WOULD GIVE FOR CECILE TO BACKSTAB JOHN not that i don’t like john because i absolutely aDORE him because of his impact on the story, but i just want to see Cecile backstab someone and john is convient

just me talking for a bit, scroll if you want to skip to the actual content i understand ;( :

Okay: so.

I’ve figured out that instead of putting little talkative comments in the honorable mentions like I’ve been doing lately, I can put them here and not feel like total trash and that I’m downgrading the post so that’s fun.

Anyway, sorry if the massive ton of parentheses(?spelling) i'm using is confusing or hard to read. I mean, I won’t fix it, but I hope it’s not too bad ya know

Again: sorry for talking like im texting someone in 2017 it’s an issue, im aware. No one ever says anything, but yeah?? Im sorry???

Im panic-writing this an hour before the new episode drops so hopefully this is up before then, there’s no real hope though it takes me 10 minutes just to transfer this from my google doc to tumblr because i have to manually re-add all of the bold and italics and bullet points. Still not removing this bit tho even if (lmao “if”) it’s late ;)

Talking too much, but whenever you see (?”spelling/grammar/word choice/etc”), that just means that I messed up in that way, but I’m too distracted to fix it. Figured i should say that eventually seeing as i literally do that every post

Next post will not be written in first person at all because i think it makes these feel way too familiar and makes new readers uncomfortable which is stupid but is how i would feel so we’re experimenting. If you’ve never read one of my posts, i just act very informal with everything i do and i just want to say, i'm not in this tightly knit niche group that reads these and that ive been friends with for years. i just. Talk like this. So don’t feel like you’re eavesdropping by reading one of these. I really hope im not an outlier in feeling this way when reading other peoples post because if nobody actually feels this way, im bout to be real embarrased oops.

Im getting the talking out of my system because no talking next post.

Yeah this post is late. But: i stopped for pizza in the middle and my webtoon isn’t loading so im like sitting around waiting for it to

Remi:

    Now, in this episode particularly, it has occurred to me that I need to give Remi credit where credit is due. I made a post (AN: multiple posts but we’ll ignore that) over a year ago talking about her abilities as queen and- I did her pretty dirty. Not unfairly, but dirty. I basically dissed her a lot and said that she wasn’t a good queen in any sense. And I’ve done this multiple times (AN: ignore last AN) because I can remember at least 2 other times when I just berated Remi over and over for being shit queen.

    I’m not going to disagree with myself in this post (because I didn’t lie), but I want to give her some credit because I do believe she has changed recently and it has affected how I view her as a position of royalty. And, yes, while it is unclear if she is currently technically still a royal, what with John having somehow destroyed the entire concept of Wellston having royals (?), she has been taking the actions and responsibilities that a royal would. So-

    What made me want to write this out was in this episode, episode 166, I really realized/noticed her attitude and actions dealing with and revolving around this whole joker situation (currently more about the fake jokers) was?? Actually productive?? To explain: In this episode, we see Remi approaching a group of low-tiers who are worriedly talking about the joker situation and 1. Analyzes the conversation in reference to the measures she, Blyke, and Isen are taking to prevent the situation, 2. Reassures the low-tiers that qualified help (her, Blyke, and Isen [aka the superhero posse]) is doing the best they can, and 3. Asks if they have any suggestions or ideas that might help them attain their goal. Like?? Hello?? The Professionalism? And the way she didn’t let her disappointment that her previous efforts up until now affect her is a stark contrast from the Remi of the past. I’ve ripped her apart because of just how often her emotions would completely overwhelm any sense she had. So: that stood out. But, anyway, big picture again: This whole short little scene from her was so impressive?

    Honestly, the fact that Remi is going through all this effort to stop the fake jokers and make sure the low-tiers are safe is very different than what we would’ve seen from her in the past. One of the common reasons that I kept saying Remi was a bad queen was because she didn’t care about her responsibilities and didn’t take her authority seriously. There are even examples of Arlo, or others, telling her this (the example that came to my mind was when Remi was warning students about EMBER and Arlo stepped in [and the reason behind the events of this example helps to support my next point] {ALSO (sorry) afternote: I was reading through everything I’ve ever said about Remi’s leadership and I used this exact example in my post “Remi” from just over a year ago}). Another reason that I was against Remi as queen, which ties nicely with the previous reason (this sounds like repetition of like two seconds ago when I said that my last reason would support this point, but it’s not because words), was that she prioritized personal missions over things her school needed her to do. I remember being very pissed around episodes 110-120 because she ignored the big conflicts happening at Wellston in order to track down this separate crime organization (EMBER) and took Blyke and Isen with her (royals)(who were both against the idea). And I know that her reason for doing this is valid and I do respect her for attempting to avenge her brother, and I would have let this slide if she gave one thought or listened to Isen and Blyke at all about Wellston. I know this still sounds bad on my part, but it was many instances stacked on top of each other of Remi being, not just unconcerned, but unknowing, about Wellston’s current state as a school. At that time, Remi was the queen, she was one of the school’s royals, whose job was to maintain order and peace within the school. I couldn’t see any instances of Remi even attempting to do that. That was in the past though, because obviously, things are different now, like I said. Currently, Remi has gone out of her way to dedicate herself to the wellbeing of Wellston, that is obvious in the way she has been talking with low-tiers and unmasking fake Jokers. I only hope that her new motivation isn’t just a phase brought upon her due to her personal relationship/conflict with Joker, with John. I want to know if John ever happens to be dethroned or Remi somehow gets her technical authority back, will she still be dedicated to the school, or is her motive purely situational? I hope not? Because we’ve seen lots of change from her recently what with learning of the low-tiers mistreatment and all, so let’s cross our fingers.

    Regardless, there has been improvement in Remi. In her leadership and dedication. And that needs to be acknowledged. So I am doing it. Yeah. Here you go. Badge of honor for Remi.

    Obviously, most of what I’ve said also applies to Isen and Blyke, who are honestly going above and beyond (especially Blyke), just this section is a response to my previous statements of how Remi is not a good queen, not only for Wellston, just in general. And, again, while I still agree with my evaluation of Remi as a queen in reference to her past self and past episodes, This is a new development I felt obligated to talk about. :).

Blyke’s idea (?word choice confuses me):

Wowee this is a fun one. So: Blyke broke up a fake joker fight in a hallway this episode, and i just have to acknowledge this like I did for remi: props, but anyway, I was very intrigued by the way he handled the damage control like?? He refuses for the fake joker to be unmasked (?grammar) and gives the reason, “I’m not about to show his face so that you all can just gang up on him later!” And: applause. I think that this has occurred to me before, I just never dwelled on that idea, so I was taken off guard by this from Blyke. He was able to understand this and form a plan with how to deal with it? I don’t know about you, but that screams king behavior. Anyway, what Blyke does is take the fake joker to a separate room and unmasks him privately then talks with him as a way to both protect the fake joker’s safety and discourage him from any future stunts like the one he pulled a sec ago. And?? This is so great because, guys, this is liTERALLY the concept of like anger management and behavior therapy?? 

I especially liked how Blyke took the time to hear the low-tier out(something that the high-tiers are really starting to do [technically because of john because john became joker and caused all of this {and since john wanted to destroy the hierarchy because high-tiers didn’t give a shit about the low-tiers in a way he’s achieved his goal, albeit unknowingly}]). And, like i literally just said, by hearing him out, he’s creating yet another bubble of safety around the low-tier because immediately after (okay maybe not immediately, blyke did scold him a bit), Blyke says that whenever the low-tier is being picked on, he can come to Blyke. And NOT ONLY does this whole thing help with the fake jokers issue, but Blyke, along with Isen and Remi, are creating trust and respect between the low-tiers and high-tiers. This is them doing the hierarchy right! They are establishing themselves as leaders and as people that can be relied upon, which is exactly who the royals are supposed to be.

Just want to say: He also talked about how the guy who got attacked should also reflect on his actions, and yes, this deserves recognition, but this has been a common theme, so I didn’t think it was worth really discussing. Blyke got bonus points for this. Extra credit if you will.

    Remi’s idea:

    Back to Remi, but her idea about recruiting John to help get rid of the Jokers? Excuse me? The innovation, the growth, the potential. And, I know this was shut down pretty quickly by Blyke, but I still have to talk about it??? And this section is starting off horribly because there was absolutely no transition or introduction but hello?? 

    Anyway, obviously the fact that Remi would even suggest getting any help from John (Joker) is astonishing. 1. He literally beat up everyone present in the scene 2. Honestly from what john’s doing for all anyone knows, he likes that low-tiers are faking being joker (remi even points this out lmao) 3. Again, he beat everyone up? Not exactly looking good for any kind of compromise. And yet despite these obvious reasons, Remi still lists him as a possible ally. Why?

    Because when she met up with him before he completely dethroned the Wellston hierarchy, she noticed similarities in their goals and their beliefs. She says, and quotation marks mean quote, “When I spoke with him… I really thought both of us wanted the same thing… Just that our methods of approaching the situation were different.” !!!!!!! Remi knows that they really want the same thing: a safe environment for low-tiers. That was the one thing that John kept repeating over and over when they met up and talked (episode 150) (other than the fact that royals are shit but-): he wanted to create a school environment that was safe for the low-tiers. Whether or not that’s his goal now, or if he’s acting with that goal in mind, Remi obviously remembered this the most from their conversation because it seemed so similar to the way she was thinking. And Remi thinks that it would be possible that John would prioritize this over his dedication to his own personal project of destroying the school :).

    Anyway, this whole idea is scrapped by Isen and Blyke who give valid arguments as to why trying to ally with John is a really bad idea, but oh my god the way my heart stopped.

    This section is basically a summary and very quick, but this scene in the comic was riveting because of this. I just don’t know what else to say.

[sagesparrow394]

Coffee Shop AU Fic

Inventive title, I know.

Fandom: Sanders Sides

AUs: Human, Coffee Shop

Summary: Straight out of university, Logan Berry feels like the world is collapsing around him. Having been kicked out by his transphobic boyfriend and stuck alone with a baby on the way, he has no choice but to go live with his cousin. As he starts to get his life back on its feet, however, he’s presented with a second chance at love in the form of a very sweet barista.

Trigger Warnings: Trans pregnancy, light transphobia

“Are you fucking kidding me?! You’d better be!”

“I-I’m sorry, Matthew, I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

“Bullshit! You planned this, didn’t you? Well, fuck it! It was bad enough when you went all switcheroo and said you’re not a girl, you’re a guy! But this? This is the last fucking straw! I want you out!”

“What…?”

“We’re done! GET OUT!”

All this because of two words: “I’m pregnant.”

Now, Logan Berry was stood on the curb outside his apartment block - though he guessed it wasn’t his anymore - with only a small suitcase and a backpack of his stuff. Though tears were trickling down his face, he didn’t make a sound or movement. He was still trying to process everything.

Just out of university, he and his boyfriend bought an apartment together. Just a week later, Logan realised his period was late. He took a test and found he was pregnant. He told Matthew, who immediately kicked him out. Now, he was alone, no home to go to, with the knowledge that he’d have to raise this child on his own.

He just stood there, looking up at the apartment Matthew was in. If only he had just been born biologically male… None of this would have happened…

“Excuse me? Are you okay?”

Logan blinked from his trance, turning to the voice. It was a man, about his age. He had curly blonde hair, a freckled face, light blue eyes and round glasses. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern, a hand resting on Logan’s shoulder.

Logan blinked at him for a moment, registering his presence, his question, and his own situation. After the moment of silence, he broke down into tears. “I-I don’t know wh-what to do… Wh-where do I go…?”

As he sobbed, the other man gave him a look of pity, pulling him into a hug. “Hey, it’s okay… Ssh… Whatever’s going on, I’m sure it’ll turn out okay in the end…”

Usually, Logan wouldn’t trust a stranger this much, but maybe it was the man’s comforting air and kind demeanour, or the emotional pain Logan was in, but he found himself leaning into the other man’s hug. The man’s embrace was the warm, and somehow made Logan comfortable despite him being not big on physical affection.

“I’m Patton, by the way. Patton Foster.”

“L-Logan Berry.”

Patton pulled away from the hug. “I know you don’t know me… but do you need help? Or just to talk? Because I’d be happy to listen. I’m not having the greatest time either… Came downstate for my parents’ funeral.”

Logan shook his head. If this man was mourning the loss of his parents, he shouldn’t load his own problems on him as well. “N-no, it’s okay… I’m, um… starting to feel better, and I know what to do now.”

That was true. In his bout of emotion, he’d been clueless. However, now his head was clear, the answer was simply obvious: his cousin, Thomas Sanders, lived just upstate. Logan was sure if he gave him a call, Thomas would let him stay with him.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Patton smiled. “I should be going, my brother’s waiting for me. Bye, Logan Berry. Hopefully I’ll see you around again sometime.” He gave Logan one last reassuring smile, before turning and walking away.

Logan watched him go, before pulling his phone from his pocket. “... Hey, Thomas? I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while… Yeah, Matthew kicked me out. Why? Well… don’t freak out…”

-

“How can I be calm?! You’re having a baby! Oh my gosh, I’m gonna be an uncle!”

“Technically, you’ll be their first cousin, once remo-”

“Uncle Thomas. Has a nice ring to it, huh?”

Logan rolled his eyes, chuckling. He had moved in with Thomas, who was definitely pissed at Matthew, but could not be more excited about Logan being pregnant. Logan wasn’t surprised, though, Thomas had always been like this . When Logan came out as transgender, his parents had not had the greatest reaction… Thomas, on the other hand, was fully supportive for him, sending him all sorts of useful things, like pictures of short hairstyles that would suit him, links to sites to buy binders, and sites that explained how to bind safely. All in all, Logan could not ask for a more supportive cousin.

Right now, the two of them were heading to a nearby coffee shop. Upon learning Logan had gained a large craving for chocolate due to his pregnancy, not his usual Crofters preference, Thomas had insisted they go to this cafe, saying they do the best hot chocolate, chocolate cakes chocolate cookies and brownies.

“Ah, yes, a good uncle and role model: a man with a degree in chemical engineering, yet is somehow unemployed,” Logan smirked.

“I’m not unemployed! YouTube is self-employment. Also, aren’t you unemployed?”

“I literally just moved here, Thomas, and I can’t exactly continue my old job given how far upstate it is.”

“True…”

The two arrived at the café, Logan looking up at the sign: Foster Coffee.

“I’m telling you, best café ever,” Thomas smiled, opening the door and stepping in.

Logan followed behind, the scents of bitter coffee, sweet chocolate, lavender, and more wafting over him. His stomach let out a small grumble as he and Thomas wandered up to the counter. His cousin smiled as one of the baristas came over. “Hey, Roman. How’s things?”

“Pretty good. You learnt your lines yet?”

“Almost. Know all the songs though. Lo, this is Roman Foster, we both do community theatre together. He just got a job here, his brother runs the place. Ro, this is my cousin, Logan.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Roman smiled. Logan gave a nod in response. “So, what are you two having?”

“Two hot chocolates, as well as a cookie and a brownie.”

“Coming right up!”

Roman got to work with their orders, chatting with them, wanting to get to know Logan. However, after a few minutes, someone else slid up to the counter, calling for Roman. They were wearing sunglasses, a black jacket and scrolling on their phone. Roman sighed. “Pat, Remy’s here with his weird orders! Can you finish up Thomas’ while I take Rem’s?”

“On it!” A voice called from the back room. As Roman moved on to serve the customer called Remy, the door swung open, the other barista stepping in. Logan’s eyes widened at the familiar face.

“Hey, Patton!” Thomas greeted.

“Heya, Thomas! Wait…” Patton’s eyes wandered to Logan. ��Hi! Logan, right? When  said I’d hope to see you around some time, I didn’t expect it to be so soon!”

“You two know each other?” Thomas looked between them both. Patton nodded.

“I ran into him a week or so ago downstate. Are you two brothers?”

Logan shook his head. “No, cousins actually.”

“But we have a more brotherly relationship than cousinly one.”

“Is cousinly even a word?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Patton let out an adorable little chuckle that made blood rush to Logan’s cheeks.

Oh dear god, no no no, he could not be developing a crush. Not after Matthew… Just because Patton had been kind and caring when they first met didn’t mean he wasn’t going to be just like Matthew. It was likely Logan’s ‘crush’ was just due to hormones from the pregnancy. Also, natural animal survival instincts were likely causing him to latch onto a new person to assist him during the pregnancy. Yes that was it. No real romantic feelings at all, just hormones and ‘animal brain’.

Definitely.

Patton finished up their order, chatting all the time, before Logan and Thomas headed over to a table with their food and drinks.

“You like him.”

“What?!” Logan gasped. Had his cru- I mean, hormone-induced, totally-not-real attraction been that obvious? “Nonsense. Do you honestly think I’d jump right back into a relationship after Matthew? I don’t even know Patton, what if he ends up being just like Matt?”

Thomas gave him a sympathetic smile. “I know Pat, and I can promise he’s nothing like that asshole. Pat’s kind, funny, accepting and the sweetest little puffball ever. I think he’d be great for you.”

“Well, unfortunately, I’m not attracted to him. And even if I was, I wouldn’t get back into dating so soon after a breakup.”

-

It took Logan four months before he returned to the coffee shop for another visit. He’d been too busy with all sorts of things: applying for jobs, going to interviews for said jobs, apartment hunting so he wouldn’t have to invade Thomas’ space for too long, and of course preparing everything for the baby. He didn’t have much time to relax.

That day in particular, Thomas was filming a video for his YouTube channel, so Logan needed to be out the house. He figured that he should take the chance to relax with a nice hot chocolate and chocolate muffin. Stress wasn’t good for the baby, after all.

As he stepped inside the café, he smiled at the wonderful scents. He went forward up to the counter, rubbing his baby bump soothingly, feeling the child moving inside. He’d first felt them moving just two days before, almost crying when it happened. Okay, maybe not almost. More like sobbed his eyes out until Thomas had run out of tissues.

It wasn’t long until a barista came up to him. Last time he came, Patton and Roman had been the only baristas there. It seemed they’d hired someone else.

“Hey, what can I get ya?” the barista asked, adjusting his purple bangs so they were over his eyes.

“A hot chocolate and chocolate muffin please.”

“Oh, I can take this one, Virge!” Patton came over, smiling at Logan and his co-worker. “You mind heading to the back and grabbing some more coffee beans?”

“No problem,” the barista, ‘Virge’, replied before heading through the door behind the counter.

Patton just smiled at Logan. “Been a while, huh? It’s good to see you again, Lo!”

“You too, Patton,” Logan replied. “Was that a new employee?”

“Yep! We hired Virgil just last month. Speaking of which, why’ve you not come here in so long? I was hoping you’d become another of our regulars.”

“I’ve been very busy. Job and apartment hunting… Just everything to set up our new life here.”

Patton raised an eyebrow curiously. “Our? Who’s taking away the y from that word? Do… do you have boy or girlfriend?”

Logan tried his best to ignore the downcast inflection of the last question before responding. “Oh, no, I’m single. I’m talking about this little one.” He took a step back, revealing the baby bump to Patton, who let out an excited gasp.

“Oh my gosh! You’re having a baby? That’s amazing! How far along are you?”

“Four and a half months.”

“You’re so lucky, I’ve always wanted to have a kid. I just haven’t had the time to look into adoption, not to mention I’d rather wait until I have a boy or girlfriend.”

“Understanda- ” Logan stopped mid-word. Patton’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Lo? You okay?”

“They kicked.”

“Huh?”

“The baby… the baby kicked!” Logan’s eyes were glistening, his hands resting on his stomach. Patton didn’t hesitate, immediately coming around the counter and placed his hands by Logan’s. As he did, there was a small tap underneath.

“Oh, Lo… You’re so lucky to have this little miracle…” He looked up at Logan before fishing some napkins from behind the counter. “Here.”

“Th-thank you…” Logan replied, taking them and blowing his nose and wiping his eyes. “You’re too kind, Pat…”

“Nonsense. There’s no limit for kindness,” Patton replied, guiding Logan to sit down at a nearby table. “I’ll go finish up your order. You have some time with your little angel.” He turned and headed back behind the counter.

Logan just sat there, rubbing his stomach, occasionally feeling kicks. The smile wouldn’t leave his face, and he watched as tears dropped from his cheeks and onto his shirt. After a few minutes, Patton came back, placing Logan’s order on the table as well as handing him more tissues. He then took the seat opposite Logan at the table. “You said you were single… If you don’t mind me asking, who’s the father?”

Logan’s smile faltered as he wiped his eyes. “My ex, Matthew… He broke up with me after finding out I was pregnant. He also revealed himself to be a secret transphobe in the process.”

“Oh… Lo, I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t apologise… You helped me a lot. When you ran into me for the first time, it was just after Matt kicked me out. You made me feel so much better. I needed that hug and the comfort you gave me. I thank you so much for that.”

Patton gave a bittersweet smile, reaching over the table and taking one of Logan’s hands in his. “I’m glad I could help. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Logan was silent a few seconds, just looking at their hands, before blinking back to reality. “Oh, um, yeah… It’s been four months, I’m over it.”

“Well, that’s good!” Patton gave Logan a big smile. “I’m sure you’ll find the one, Lo. Who knows, maybe they’re closer than you think.”

“Yeah, I think he is…”

“Huh?”

“Nothing! Don’t you think you should get back to work?!”

-

“Hey, Lo! How’re you?”

Logan just groaned as he leant on the counter. “A week late. Seven whole days, and no baby. I’m sick of it… I’ve got an apartment of my own, their room’s all set up, I have a job ready to go after maternity leave. Everything’s ready for them, but they won’t come…!” He sighed. “I just wanna be able to have Crofters again without throwing up…”

“Just gonna put it out there,” Roman came up and stood next to his brother. “Apparently, having sex is supposed to make babies come.”

“Roman!”

“He’s right,” Virgil added, joining the conversation. “It is supposed to work.”

“I don’t think I’ll be trying that, thank you very much,” Logan replied, face flushed, refusing to look Patton in the eye. “Any other tips, however, would be greatly appreciated.”

“I think spicy food is supposed to work?” Roman offered. “But apart from that, I’m all out of ideas.”

“I’m sure it won’t be long, Lo,” Patton smiled. “And I’m sure, when they come, you’ll forget all the hardship when you’re holding that precious little bundle in your arms.”

How did Patton have the ability to make anything undeniably cute?!

“I guess that is true… Thank you, Patton.”

“It’s nothing, Logi!”

That smile… so cute…

“...D-Did you just call me cute?”

You said that out loud? Fuck, Logan, you said that out loud! Stupid fucking baby brain! Come on, don’t just stand there, say something!

“I… Um, I just… It was, uh…”

And it was at that exact moment that Logan’s water broke.

-

Logan couldn’t take his eyes off the bundle of blankets in his arms as Thomas drove him home from the hospital. He smiled every time the child let out a little coo or an adorable giggle. His baby, his son...

The two cousins headed up the stairs before arriving at the door to Logan’s apartment. Thomas took the liberty of opening the door as Logan’s hands were full, and as they stepped inside, Logan’s eyes widened.

Patton, Roman and Virgil were all already there.

“They insisted they wanted to come see you the minute you were out of hospital,” Thomas explained as the three visitors came and stood around Logan.

“Oh, he’s beautiful…” Roman cooed.

“You gotta be proud, teach,” Virgil smiled.

“What’s his name?” Patton asked.

“Evan.”

Roman gasped. “Like Evan Hansen!”

Logan groaned as everyone else chuckled. “No, he is not named after a character from one of your silly musicals.”

“They are not silly!”

“Hey, Roman, ease up a little,” Patton scolded. “Logan’s had a rough couple of days. Also… there’s something serious Lo and I need to talk about.”

“Oh…” Logan’s stomach twisted. After everything that happened that day, Logan had completely forgotten about the incident just before his water broke. “Look, Patton, I’m sorry, it was a slip of the tongue, I didn’t mean to- ”

“Lo, ssh,” Patton interrupted him. “I… I, erm… I think you’re cute too.”

“You-?” Logan was interrupted yet again and Patton pressed his lips to Logan’s. Logan’s eyes widened, stunned, before they fluttered closed and he leaned into it. After a few moments, they pulled away, and there was a silence…

“Welp, Roman, Thomas, you both owe me fifty bucks each.”

Roman and Thomas groaned, glaring at Virgil, who smirked cockily.

“Don’t get all pissed at me! It’s your fault for betting in the first place.”

“Language!” Patton scolded. “There’s a child here!”

“You bet on us?” Logan raised an eyebrow condescendingly.

“These two bet they could set you up. I bet against them, saying it would happen without them interfering,” Virgil explained. “I was right, and now I have an extra a hundred dollars in my pocket.”

Logan rolled his eyes, but smiled as he felt Patton’s arms wrapping around his waist. He leant into the embrace, holding a sleeping Evan close to his chest.

“I love you, Logibear…” Patton smiled.

“I love you too, Pattoncake.”

“Aww, they’re making pet names for each other already!” Roman let out a small squeal. However, the noise caused Evan to wake, shifting in Logan’s hold.

“You think he’s hungry?” Patton asked. “I can make him up a bottle of milk.”

“No need,” Logan responded, sitting down and going to unbutton his shirt. “Oh, um, are you all okay with me breastfeeding in front of you guys? It’s just better for cognitive development than bottled milk, so I find it worth the potential short period of dysphoria- ”

The others all nodded, saying it was perfectly fine, though Patton sounded a little concerned at the mention of dysphoria. Logan gave an appreciative smile, reassuring Patton that the dysphoria really wasn’t that bad: after all, he’d gotten used to it with not wearing his binder for a majority of the pregnancy.

Roman suggested they have a movie night to celebrate the baby’s arrival - gotta introduce them to Disney early - and the canonicity of the Logicality ship. Patton thought it was sweet they had a ship name for them, Logan thought it was rather stupid.

Anyway, they chose a movie - Winnie the Pooh, as Patton said it was likely the most family friendly for Evan - and all bunched up on the couch, Thomas having grabbed snacks from the kitchen.

Logan had been longing to have Crofters again for so long, staring at the jars on the table, but unable to pick one up with Evan in his arms. Patton took notice, picking up a jar and a spoon, and started feeding spoonfuls to Logan.

“Practicing for when you officially become Evan’s other father, Pat?” Roman asked, smirking. Logan’s face burned bright red, but Patton responded with a deadpan expression.

“Shouldn’t you be practicing for when you officially become his uncle?”

Thomas couldn’t help but snort at how red his cousin’s face had become. Logan started buttoning his shirt back up. “Y-you know, Evan’s looking pretty sleepy, I should go put him to bed.” He got up and hurried from the room, burping Evan as he went.

“I think you made him overly flustered, Pat,” Virgil pointed out the obvious.

“He’ll be fine,” Thomas reassured. “Just give him a chance to cool o- ”

Patton was already leaving the room, heading to follow Logan. As he stepped into Evan’s bedroom, his eyes widened. So much work had been put into the room. The ceiling was black and had glow in the dark rainbow stars all over it, arranged accurately to constellations. The walls were blue, and there was a solar system mobile over the cot. Logan was tucking Evan in whilst quietly singing. Singing a song very familiar to Patton.

“When I see the way you act Wondering when I'm coming back I could do about anything I could even learn how to love like you…”

Patton quietly stepped further into the room as Logan sang, mesmerised. His voice was so smooth, calming… He’d give Roman a run for his money.

As Logan came to the end of the song, Patton wrapped his arms around his waist, making the father jump.

“It’s okay, Logi, it’s just me. Your singing was beautiful.” He gave Logan a small kiss on the cheek. “By the way… I’m sorry if I freaked you out earlier. I don’t know why I said it, we literally just got together, I- ”

“Pat, it’s okay. In fact, I couldn’t be happier to find out you see us getting married in the future.” He turned in Patton’s hold so they were facing each other. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

The two leant forward, their lips meeting, Logan’s hands going to rest on Patton’s cheeks. They stayed there for a bit, just enjoying the moment, until a knock on the door signalled them to pull away.

“Sorry for interrupting,” Thomas apologised, stepping inside, “but we have a serious mission. Operation Glasses Gays is complete. Now, I need your help with Operation My Chemical Roman-ce.”

-

Taglist: @part-of-me-do-not-know-the-rest, @why-should-i-tell-youu2

[theprodigypenguin]

👀 (I hope it isn't closed yet, love you! 💙)

It’s an end of the year game so I guess it’s open till the end of the year (or until I run out of WIPs, ya know?). Thank you for the Raven-heart! This is from a Jeddy that I initially wanted to be one of those semi-cliche fuck-or-die fics, just to test my abilities and play around with their characters. Never got to the “fuck” part of the fic cuz smut and I have a bad relationship SO this is what I have to share~ This was also written back before I’d decided James was smol in my headcanon, so he’s semi-tall in the oof.

Most of what Teddy did was assess the properties of certain objects in order to pass them along to the more diverse segments of the Department. When something unusual came in, he had to figure out if it pertained to Love, Time, Death, or any other mysterious magic, or if it was harmless enough to send up to the top floors of the Ministry for the rest of the workers to deal with.

In the months he’d been working there, Teddy had seen it all. A teapot that had been tampered with that they’d sent up to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department, a Muggle broom that a young wizard had accidentally infused with magic because he wanted to fly already, among more dangerous items. Broken time turners that still had a bit of magic in them and needed to be disposed of properly, a vial of smoky green liquid that nearly made Harry vomit when he looked at it, and their most recent discovery.

They’d deduced that the item wasn’t dangerous or toxic in any immediate way, so Teddy’s supervisor had given him authorization to bring it home for further research and an order to get some rest and eat something other than caffeine. It was an unusual artifact, that was certain.

Like most of the relics stored in the Department of Mysteries, this one didn’t look imposing or dangerous at all. Found in the cellar of an old Death Eater who’d recently passed, sitting on a pillow of black velvet set into a stained mahogany box with a glass inlaid lid that allowed viewing of the item within without opening.

It was a deep scarlet red in color, roughly three feet in length, but folded carefully, a thin ribbon with lightly frayed ends. No, it didn’t look dangerous at all, but when Teddy set his fingertips against the box, he could feel the magic, the power, that made his fingers almost burn. They didn’t know what it was, what it was supposed to do, who made it or why. So Teddy had taken it home, grabbed every book he could on magic infused cloth and clothes, and settled down in his living room. That’s where he was sitting when the floo came to life, flames lashing up before spitting out five foot seven inches of Quidditch Chaser with a cocky grin.

“Evening Teddy!”

Teddy lifted his eyes from the faded pages of an old journal about weaving protective spells into wizard robes, greeting James with a smile of his own.

“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you had practice today?”

“Mate it’s nearly midnight.”

“What?” Teddy slowly closed the journal. “What are you doing at my house at midnight? Did something happen? Are you okay? Is Harry okay?”

James just laughed. “Calm down, everything’s fine. We haven’t heard from you in days is all, and last time that happened you passed out in the middle of the Ministry, so dad and aunt ‘Mione asked me to come check in on you. Dad probably would have, you know how he is, but he’s been busy too. I said I’d stop by.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Teddy chided, setting the book down on the coffee table and trying not to feel endeared at the fact James was worried about him. “I’m alright.” 

“Sure mate, I believe you,” James said, stopping on the other side of the coffee table with his hands up, “but that’s just me. Dad on the other hand sent me with a list,” and he reached down, pulling out a folded paper from the front pocket in his jeans and holding it up with his usual flare that had Teddy snorting.

“You’re kidding me.”

“Not even a little.”

“You don’t need to-”

“Stuff it Tedward, I had to sit through it while dad told me what to write down, you have to sit through it too.” James cleared his throat. “Item number one, have you eaten?”

“Please tell me this is a joke.”

“Should I mark it no?”

“I’ve eaten.”

“Have you properly hydrated? Those are the exact words he used, Ted.”

“Yes.”

“Have you bathed?”

“Yes.”

“Changed into clean clothes?”

“Yes.”

“Rested? He means sleep by the way, have you actually slept?”

“Yes.”

“Are you lying?”

“No, James gimme that.” Teddy stood and grabbed the paper from him, shaking his head at the list that had at least ten more items in it. “Guy blacks out one time in the food court and it’s the apocalypse.”

“You can’t blame them. I’m worried too.”

Teddy almost thought better of looking at James, but his curiosity won him over and he looked up from the paper to meet the intense brown eyes that always seemed to make it hard for him to breathe. Honestly, did this this idiot know what he did to Teddy?

“This job of yours is really debilitating, it drains you more than any job you’ve ever had before. You already blacked out once because you pushed yourself too hard, and the work itself is some of the most dangerous in the entire Ministry. We’re worried about you.”

“It only drains me because I’m not fully used to it yet.” Teddy was quick to defend, setting the paper on the coffee table and holding his hands up. “I’m getting better. I really like this job, Jamie, I’m doing good work and learning amazing stuff. Sure I may have completely lost consciousness while standing and slept three days straight because I hadn’t taken a break or even a nap in six days, but I’m much better at managing my time now, and my supervisor has been keeping an eye on me-”

“Yea, yea, yea.” James waved a hand, looking away. “I believe you, Lupin. So are you going to offer me some tea or coffee? Some snacks maybe?”

Teddy shrugged and turned. “Of course, make yourself at home,” he had a half smile on his lips as he made his way towards the kitchen. “You practically live here anyway.”

“I’d apologize but I’m not sorry!” James called after, and Teddy laughed.

“I should get you a key to the front door already. How’s your work been? How’s training?”

“Exhausting, but it can’t be worse than what your dumbass is doing.”

There was a pause as Teddy pulled down a tin of tea from the cupboard, setting it on the counter before going back for coffee mugs. There was a half pot of burnt coffee sitting to the side, but Teddy wasn’t going to send James home hyped off caffeine, and he himself needed to sleep soon anyway, it was midnight after all, so tea it would be.

“Just got the last pieces of my required uniform,” James picked up again, and Teddy hummed, even though James probably couldn’t hear him. “Still not crazy on the colors, but I guess they’ll do.”

“Just remember to keep an eye out when you’re playing,” Teddy warned. “The Falcons are famous for playing rough, and National games are more violent than Hogwarts anyway.”

“I already know that, Teddy, you don’t have to baby me about it,” there was a high to his tone, annoyance, but Teddy wasn’t surprised.

He was only eighteen, but James had developed a kind of complex about people noting his young age. He was technically an adult after all, he even had a job, and was searching for a place to stay so he could move out of his parents house and be independent. Teddy was proud of him, but his worry wasn’t spurred by a misguided belief that James was somehow still just a baby. Teddy just worried about everyone.

Still, it seemed like he must have offended James somehow, so he sighed, pouring hot water into the two mugs and thinking of what to say to apologize as he balanced them in his hands and started back for the living room.

“Hey, Jamie, you know I’m not warning you because I think you’re a kid. You’re young, but you’re grown enough,” Teddy started, eyes down to keep himself from spilling. “I just don’t want to see you hurt, okay? I don’t know what I’d do if something happened…”

“Ted…,” James’ voice was soft. “I know, Teddy. I’m sorry, I just… I know.”

Teddy shook his head. “Never mind that. How’s everything else been? How are Lily and Albus?”

James was starting a response when Teddy finally stopped and lifted his head from the cups of tea. The younger man was saying something about Lily getting in a fistfight and chopping her hair off before the Hogwarts semester, but Teddy didn’t hear him as the sound of water roared into his ears, and his tedious attempts to not spill any hot water became insignificant as he dropped both cups. One shattered on the floor, the second broke on the coffee table and soaked several important looking documents, but Teddy was focused entirely on James.

He was gaping at Teddy in shock, there was an open box on the table, and the red ribbon Teddy had been studying was hanging in James’ right hand.

“Ted, fuck, are you okay?! Did you burn yourself?”

“James,” Teddy carefully, slowly raised his hands, his posture cautious, eyes locked on the ribbon like it was an explosive. “Jamie. James. What did you do?”

“What?” James’ worry had faded to puzzlement. “Do?”

“That thing…”

“Oh, right, it was just sitting here-”

“James what have I fucking told you about touching shit in my house?”

James looked dumbfounded, morphing to a blend of irritation and panic, because Teddy never talked like that. “What are you going off for? It’s just some stupid ribbon!”

“That is an artifact from work, James, it’s dangerous!”

“Why’s it on your fucking coffee table?!”

“I was researching it to figure out what the bloody hell it was!”

“You don’t even know what it is?!”

“No, James, that’s why they gave it to me, to figure it the fuck out!”

“Well fuck, am I gonna fucking die?!”

“Why would I know that, you dumbass?!” Teddy took a sharp breath in, running his hands through his hair, staring at the ribbon hanging innocently between James’ fingers. “Okay don’t panic-”

“That’s exactly what you say to make people panic!”

“Can it! Let me think! Maybe you can just …  just put it back, maybe it’s not as powerful as I thought. Maybe it’s just the box that’s magic infused and the ribbon is just… just a ribbon. Yea, this is fine, just don’t move, okay?”

Teddy shifted around, side stepping closer to the coffee table and reaching down to pick up the box, standing slowly as he lifted it.

“Okay, slowly, place it back onto the pillow.”

“Wait if the box is what’s magic should you be touching it?”

“We’re well past that, Jamie, just put it in the box.”

James inhaled shakily as he held his right wrist in his left hand like he was bracing against a spell, easing the ribbon down towards the box as Teddy raised the box up to meet him. They were both holding their breath, and when James had the last piece of the ribbon sitting in the box, they breathed a sigh of relief, looking at each other and laughing anxiously.

James cursed. “You prick, I really thought I might die for a minute there.”

Teddy laughed. “Actually I was worried about that too, but it seems everything is fine no-”

The universe didn’t even let Teddy finish before proving him wrong. The box in his hand seemed to burn, and he cursed as he released it, but when it fell and clattered against the coffee table, the ribbon hovered. It moved like it was possessed, both ends flinging out like it was a living thing. Teddy cursed colorfully in both English and Welsh as the strip of cloth that looked so silky smooth before wound around his wrist like a vice of course fraying rope that burned into his skin.

James was in the same boat, yelping as the ribbon wrapped itself around his left wrist and arm, winding tight around both of them like it was a Boa Constrictor, only letting up when they’d been yanked closer together. Then it stopped, but one pull at it told Teddy all he needed to know. They were stuck like this.

“Oh Merlin…”

“What?!” James yanked on his right arm, eyes wide and cheeks flush. “What happened?!”

“I don’t know, stop moving!” Teddy reached over with his right hand to stop James, flexing the fingers of his left hand that was bound to James’ right. “Shit, it’s not letting up.”

“Okay, I’m not freaked out by this or anything, but are we gonna die?”

“I… I don’t know. Just don’t panic.”

“No of course, why would anyone panic in this situation?”

“I told you to put it down, I have told you countless times that if you were going to visit, that you couldn’t just touch everything!”

“Well don’t just yell at me about it! How was I supposed to know?! It was a ribbon in a bloody box! I thought it was just a decoration!”

“James why in the name of Godric would I have a ribbon in a box decorating my bloody coffee table?!”

“You’re a weird guy, Teddy, I don’t know what you do in your free time, the oddities you might collect, maybe you like to display vintage ribbons, I’m not judging!”

“Would you shut up?!” Teddy snapped. “Just let me think!”

James listened, kept his lips tightly sealed as he glared anxiously at the ribbon around his wrist and arm. Teddy did his best to assess the situation, tugging at the material and sighing. Whatever this thing was, it had wrapped around his wrist before winding down his arm to his elbow. His left arm was now bound to James’ right, where he was in the same situation with the ribbon. It seemed magically stuck, it wouldn’t loosen or come away, even the ends that hung at their elbows wouldn’t peel up.

“Alright. There’s procedures we have to take when something like this happens,” Teddy explained, his right hand still holding the ends of the ribbon. “Come around the table, stand next to me so we aren’t leaning awkwardly towards each other.”

James shuffled on his feet to get around the table, standing shoulder to shoulder with Teddy and slowly sitting down together as Teddy continued to eye the stupid thing.

“Alright, are you in any pain?” James shook his head. “Is the material burning you or itching or-”

“There’s no pain, I can’t even feel it,” James insisted. “I just can’t move it.”

“Me either,” Teddy sighed, leaning back. James slumped back with him, unable to do much else, their arms hanging between them as they both stared dumbstruck at the wall.

Teddy could feel the back of his hand pressed against James, could feel the warmth of his skin, in fact it was almost too warm, but that probably was just him. Touching, being close to James like this, was something he tried to avoid. Teddy had a good handle on his self control for the most part, but he’d be lying if he said there weren’t moments he nearly grabbed James by the face and kissed him in front of everyone.

He could’ve been magically glued to anyone else and it would have been fine. Why did it have to be the one person he’d been crushing hard on since he was seventeen, left Hogwarts, and claimed he was going to be more famous a Quidditch player than his mum had been, with the air and confidence of a man who’d already won the World Cup?

“So what do we do?” James asked. “Got some scissors lying around this mess somewhere?”

“Jamie I really don’t think scissors are going to win this match.”

“Worth a shot.”

Teddy wanted to argue, but at this point what other choice did they have? Teddy knew next to nothing about this thing, so maybe all they had to do was snip it?

“They’re in the kitchen,” Teddy said, standing and hauling James up with him, stepping over the shattered porcelain tea cups. “Watch the cups.”

“Sorry about that tea.”

“There are more important things.”

The scissors didn’t work. In fact, when Teddy started to cut at the ribbon, the scent of burning metal overwhelmed them both, and he lifted the scissors up to reveal the ribbon had essentially eaten into and melted the blades.

“Scissors are a no go,” James muttered. “What about… wands?”

“You want me to try magically cutting this thing off? I could miss and cut you, or it could bounce off the ribbon-”

“Teddy what else are we supposed to do in this situation?!”

“Not freak out!” Teddy ran his hand through his hair again, then groaned. “Damn it. I’ve spent hours studying this stupid thing and I still haven’t got a clue what it is. We need to go back to the Ministry.”

“What for?” 

“My boss might know more about this kind of thing. Magic infused cloth, and it… somehow is capable of binding people together. It doesn’t hurt, but it won’t let go. Merlin’s sake.”

“Dad’s gonna kill me,” James lamented, staring at the ribbon. “If I miss practice my captain’s gonna kill me too.”

Teddy could only sigh in silent agreement.

[marewriteblr]

37, 49, 51, 9, 19, annd 42! Sorry so many lol

ooohh don’t worry we love many questions, thanks so much for the ask!!

37. most inspirational quote you’ve ever read or heard that’s still important to you.

that’s tricky, i encounter so many amazing quotes every day on tumblr and wouldn’t dare pick one, but there’s one i saw in a museum once and it’s stuck with me ever since: the world is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper —w.b. yeats

49. what do you find the hardest to write in a story, the beginning, the middle or the end?

depends on the story. because some of my wips started with a random scene that i wrote in a flash of inspiration and i built the story based on that foundation, so it turned out to be the first chapter, but sometimes it’s a pain in the ass. but the hardest is definitely the middle!!! i hate middles. they’re important but also nasty little demons and it’s usually where i lose my motivation. if i can’t write the first quarter of a story then i’m not ready for it and have to keep outlining, but if i can’t write the middle of a story then that’s just a normal day in my life as an exhausted writer

51. describe the aesthetic of your story _______ in 5 sentences or words.

i’m just gonna pick my ashen embers wip for this one as i’m currently obsessed with it: yellow pages between dusty book covers, a crackling fireplace in a gloomy living room, suspicion and backstabbing and battles of words as sharp as knives, but also the power that seeps through you when you listen to energetic classical music, sunny afternoons on a balcony covered in paintings, movie nights and tea on a rooftop and the comfort and warmth of strong arms wrapped around you — i know technically more than 5 but anyway

9. least favourite trope to write.

THE BAD BOY TROPE. not necessarily the dark broody character with interesting backstory that explains why he acts this way, no, that weird trope in YA romance where the innocent wallflower falls in love with a huge freaking ASSHOLE and he’s disrespectful, he treats her wrong, he only cares about himself, and he justifies his shitty ass behaviour with something totally unrelated. sometimes he’s rebellious for a good cause, that’s obvs okay, but sometimes he’s just like. stupidly evil and disrespectful because ‘he only follows his own rules.’ on the same note, every single trope in an m/f relationship where the guy is above her, i just can’t hear, read, see or write it

19. first line of a WIP you’re working on.

It was late, it was dark, and something dodgy was lurking in the shadows. Following us. (from ashen embers)

42. how do you figure out your characters looks, personality, etc?

well, i usually start with one detail. depending on whether i had the idea for the story or the character first, it can be anything. it’s often two traits that kind of contradict each other, or an interesting part of their backstory. then i try to grasp their aesthetic more clearly, i get vibes from them but at the beginning it’s more of a shady silhouette and slowly it starts to clarify and a personality appears, whether they’re sarcastic and outgoing or reckless and selfish or driven by a thirst for blood... at this point i often go through my inspiration tags or character quirks to find things that fit their vibe, as it helps me get a clear picture, and then i just kind of come up with a backstory. sometimes i answer questions specifically for character development (there are countless masterlists out there) and the looks are usually last. whatever fits. i try to get at least one unique trait when it comes to appearance, otherwise i don’t care much about it

this post got LONG i'm sorry ksjdkdk

[it-will-not-last-the-night]

‘First’, Technically

For @ryukitaweek

Prompt: First

Synopsis: It takes a certain combination of thick-skulled obliviousness and artful vaguery for two boys to successfully go on about 50 dates together without any of them, technically, being their ‘first’. 

Today

The sound of the door opening prompted Ryuji to snap his head back reflexively, eyes wide…but only to be greeted by the sight of a pair of strangers bustling into the already crowded eatery.

Not him, not yet.

With a sigh he returned his attention to scrutinizing the table before him, elbow propped up, chin resting on his palm, he waited. One foot tapped nervously at the floor beneath him as he habitually checked his phone again. In an uncharacteristic bout of diligence, he had come several minutes earlier than usual to their meeting spot, glad that he’d actually reserved a spot for the two of them. 

Grabbing a beef bowl with his friend wasn’t supposed to be this hard, wasn’t supposed to leave him glancing at his phone and looking to the entrance every minute. The whole situation sat unwell with him, his stomach twisting itself into knots, spoiling an appetite he’d been carefully cultivating all week.

Like so many things in his life the culprit for his discomfort was obvious; Ann Takamaki. 

Yesterday

“Tomorrow afternoon, you’ll be open?” The blonde pair, one natural one dyed, had been lounging atop the roof of Shujin as they were want to do during their break periods. Ann had been studying over some textbook, cramming what little she could before the test in the next period, whilst Ryuji had already moved past that stage of procrastination and straight into the ‘I’ll fail this one and then make up the marks in the next one,’ stage. He sprawled out near some of Haru’s old garden, finger tapping away at his phone, as he absently answered;

“Nah, tomorrow won’t work, meeting Yusuke,” he grimaced, something about the game upsetting him as Ann continued to speak; “Oh? What you guys up to? Beef bowls again? Didn’t you just go last week?” 

“I mean…we go every week so, yeah, duh again, it’s like our thing,” it was hard for Ryuji to focus on both their conversation and the game and he was suffering for it, but Ann seemed determined to continue; “That can’t be cheap, you’re not making Yusuke pay for it, I hope, you know he can’t waste what he gets,” 

“Of course not, why ya think I got that job last month? It’s more than enough for just two beef bowls a week, relax will ya, he enjoys it to,” there was a pause in his friend’s questioning, giving Ryuji a chance to try to rally for a last-ditch effort. The reprieve was barely a few seconds long, though, before he felt Ann’s shadow cast over him, eyes glancing up to see her looming, hands on her hips, eyes narrowed to a point;

“You…got a job to pay for the two of you? That’s why you got it?” Although it wasn’t fair on his side the disbelief in her voice strangely rankled him. “Yeah…so?” He pushed himself up, head cocking to the side as Ann’s own mouth opened, as if to say something, closed and she placed a finger almost contemplatively to her chin;

“Hmmm…it couldn’t be…right?” She mused to the space about her, Ryuji letting out a disgruntled guffaw; “Couldn’t be what? What are ya even gabbin’ on about? I just got a job to pay for us to hang out, that’s all, that’s it. You use some of that modelling cash to visit Shiho over the holidays always, ‘member?” 

Ann’s eyes widened but not because she seemed affronted or offended, an expression Ryuji was accustomed to. No this was…almost as if some sort of understanding had just come to her, an answer, and for a moment Ryuji wondered if she’d figured out some clever trick for helping her through her test. 

“Ryuji…I go down to visit Shiho so we can go on dates, you know that, right?” Ann was never coy or subtle about her and Shiho’s relationship, it had never bothered her friends, so Ryuji was even more perplexed at such a strange turn of the conversation; “Yeah…so? What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Ryuji…are you and Yusuke…d-”

Today

“Ryuji? Is everything alright?” “AH!”

In compliance with practically every narrative rule of irony Yusuke had slid in undetected as Ryuji had mulled over his conversation with Ann. Under normal circumstances Ryuji would not have been so shocked at his sudden arrival, he’d grown accustomed to the fact that, when he wanted it, Yusuke could seemingly move with stealth and grace of a tiger. What had alarmed him so much today was how close the artist had thrust his own face to Ryuji’s when he’d finally announced his presence.

“Gah! N-not so close Yusuke, geeze! Give a guy some space!”  The blonde had sputtered, reeling back from his friend as Yusuke’s lips pursed, the artist sliding in to sit alongside him. It wasn’t something Ryuji would have questioned before, the two had taken to sitting next to, as opposed to opposite, each other sometime ago, it’d just felt like an easy natural development, but now it was one that only made the squirming sensation in Ryuji’s stomach seem to intensify.

“My apologies, you merely failed to respond to my greeting, I thought perhaps you’d lapsed into a state of deep introspection,” Ryuji couldn’t help but give an amused snort, lips involuntarily twisting into a half-smile before his newfound sense of self-consciousness kicked in. 

“Nah, nah it’s cool, I was just…thinkin’ and stuff,” Yusuke’s eyes seemed to spark with an eager curiosity, once more the tall, elegant, boy leaned forwards; “Oh? So, I was correct? You were deep within the labyrinth of your own mind untwisting sordid truths?” In the past Yusuke’s frankly bizarre exclamations, and the looks of confusion they elicited from others in the eatery, might have prompted Ryuji to try to silence him out of some misplaced sense of embarrassment, but by now he couldn’t help but find them endearing…even if he still didn’t quite understand them most of the time. Today he did certainly understand at least one of the words he used;

“N-nothing’s sordid! Why would ya even talk like that? We ain’t sordid, j-just normal stuff, ya know, homework, meat, running, games-”

“Girls?” A thin eyebrow lifted on Yusuke’s face and Ryuji found himself strangely spluttering; “’C-course! Them too!” He insisted. “Glad to see nothing has changed then, you remain predictable as ever,” Yusuke turned away, disinterested now, eyes dropping down to the menu as he began to peruse it. Instinctively Ryuji felt a strange disappointment welling inside of him, but he shoved that down as he tried to gather his thoughts and rally his way out of the incredibly awkward situation Ann had clearly put him in by filling his head with ridiculous notions.

He took the chance, knowing from experience that Yusuke could take ages searching for the right dish for the moment, to study his friend. Yusuke had always been a handsome boy, elegant, tall, poised, but he’d leaned towards waifish from his diet, or rather lack thereof, for a long time. In all honesty Ryuji was glad to see that their regular get-togethers had helped him grow a bit more meat on his bones. Not so much for him to lose that almost crane-like beauty that he held, but enough that Ryuji could see the positive impact he was having, and that knowledge made him unable to stop a faint smile on his face.

There were simple facts about Yusuke Ryuji had to face. He was handsome, undeniably so, almost frustratingly so for how much attention he drew, a fact which particularly annoyed Ryuji when he was trying to spend time with him. He was also fun to be around, he made Ryuji laugh and he made him smile, often not because he intended to, but it all worked out with them both enjoying it all the same. Ryuji also knew that he could count on him no matter what, he’d be there to help, or even just stand alongside him when he needed it. He also didn’t mince words when it came to expressing his feelings on the matter, something Ryuji couldn’t help but like, blunt, straightforward, earnest, but in a different way to himself, around Yusuke things might often have been confusing, but it was never intentional, the boy always tried his best to express exactly what he felt, even if often it was hard for him to know what that was.

Previously, before, Ryuji would never have thought twice about these. They were friends, bros, just like him and Ren. That’s what bros did, right? Hung out all the time, talked to each other, helped each other, got jobs for each other, invited each other out to eat, paid for each other’s meals, asked each other to model and comment on art pieces even when one felt they had no business making such comments anyway. It was all Ann’s fault! She had to go and complicate it! She had to go and make it out to be more than what it was! He and Yusuke had a perfect thing going and he didn’t want to go stuffing it up like he always did when he overthought it-

“Are you sure you’re well? Ryuji if you don’t feel up to this, we don’t have to do it, I know how much a burden-” Yusuke might have been the type to miss obvious social cues on people, but even he could notice something was bizarre when Ryuji seemed to clam up for a minute straight staring at him. 

“No! Hell no! Yusuke sorry I just…” that was a topic Ryuji did not want to have to revisit. Convincing Yusuke to let him pay for the both of them, that he wasn’t a burden, that he didn’t ‘owe’ him, that had taken no small amount of time and he wasn’t about to let his friend lapse back into feeling like some parasite;

“Dude, I promise, I’m fine, and just hanging out with ya is all the payback I need, don’t sweat small stuff like this, cool? Sorry I spaced out on ya, just thinkin’ about a stupid test I did, like…why does maths have to be so hard, ya know? I’ll always have my phone on me when I’m an adult and it’s got a calculator, so how come I gotta know how to add things up? What’s ‘x’ gotta do with numbers anyway? It’s a freaking letter!” As much as he was paralyzed with a self-consciousness one thing that could motivate him to act was when his friends needed help. Speaking his mind came naturally to Ryuji and helped him bulldoze through the mental block forming in his own mind, even if it more often than not saw him put his foot in his mouth. Luckily, today, was one of those rare days where he seemed to have stumbled on to just the right words with luck;

“Thank you, Ryuji, somewhere in all that hot-blooded mess you really do have the heart of a dragon,” was it weird that a compliment as bizarre as that brought a soft pink blush to Ryuji’s cheeks? Sure, perhaps, but though Ryuji wouldn’t think twice about calling Yusuke weird anyone else daring to do so would have to watch themselves around him. 

From there things returned to the tempo Ryuji was accustomed to. They ordered good, Yusuke extrapolated bizarre things from their surroundings, they laughed, Ryuji made a show of being reluctant to helping Yusuke with his latest project but then, inevitably, gave in as he always did with a smile. 

They were stepping outside the eatery, any of his earlier anxieties forgotten, when Yusuke off-handily spoke up; “You know…my latest contest entry actually garnered me not to minute a purse of money. I was wondering…perhaps I could take you somewhere next time? Cover our expenses?” Ryuji had looked to Yusuke, surprised to find that, for a change, the normally stoic boy seemed nervous about meeting his eyes; “I know you’d prefer we don’t treat this as a matter of debt, so I don’t mean to offer this as some form of recompense but, perhaps, rather, we could,” Yusuke’s rambling was silenced when Ryuji put a hand on his shoulder, a firm smile plastered on his face; “Dude, chill, I’d love that,” the artist smiled;

“So then shall we do it sometime next week?” The sun was shining, the sounds of Tokyo surrounded them, things couldn’t have been better;

“Sure! It’s a date!”

 .

.

.

“…date?”

There was the sound of the metaphorical record scratching, and the sound of Ryuji literally gasping an incoherent; “Grrrfffggglll!” In response to the quizzically cocked head of Yusuke and that damnably charming tuft of slender hair that drooped across his face. “Ryuji…do you…want to go on…a date with me?”

“I…ppphhfff…ahhhh….uhhhh…it’s…ummmmm…I…I…I-”

Tomorrow

“So…yeah, we’re gonna have our first date,” the sheepish admission by a blushing Ryuji, eyes downcast, scuffing his one shoe against the other, filled Le Blanc for a moment, a silence lingering after it. Next to him, looking no less sheepish in his own way, Yusuke too tried to avoid the eyes of their friends variably arrayed seated, or communicating via a laptop, before them.

“Congratulations you two! I knew you’d go together wonderfully,” Haru, of course, was the first to say, positively beaming with joy as she clasped two hands together in front of herself. “I’m happy for you two, it’s great to hear you’ve grown so close,” Makoto offered as alongside her Futaba snickered; “Ryuji and Inari? Oh boy, this is going to be fun,” like a shark in water catching the scent of blood.

“There’s definitely something special about going on, like, five-hundred dates without ever realizing what they were. I guess we’ll have to count this one as your first if only be technicality,” Ann radiated a smug self-satisfaction and had done so since Ryuji had broken the news to her. Like a cay playing with a ball of yarn she had cooed over the two when, stammering and blushing, he’d been forced to concede she had been right, and concede to about a half-a-dozen double dates with her and Shiho in the process. 

From the laptop Ren’s whoop, all the way from Inaba, drowned out some or other catty remark by Morgana and Ryuji just about felt like he could crawl into the earth and stay there. His foot had already begun to nervously tap, unnoticed by any, when he felt Yusuke’s hand slip into his own, a soft squeeze, bringing their eyes to meet and his foot to stop. The two shared a smile, but one of those special sorts of ones. It was a young smile, a nervous one, after all it was the smile of something very new, something that would still need to grow and mature but, for the moment, represented the birth of something intimate between only two people. 

It was not Ryuji’s smile or Yusuke’s smile but, rather, their smile.

[lovemesomesurveys]

In the morning… Is there usually a text message waiting for you? No. Do you set your alarm early so you can lay in bed awhile? I try to get up earlier than I need to, but my body is just like, nah. I have to set a few alarms. Breakfast?  Mostly everyday. I pretty much never did until this year. Shower? or save it for later?  I take them at night.

First person you usually see?  My mom.

Pick out clothes or did it the night before? I just grab whatever. Do you go over your plans for the day in your head? I always have to go over everything, even things I do daily. Spend any time with a pet? I spend a lot of time with her. <3 Moan and groan or get up ready to face the day? Oh, I’m definitely not someone who wakes up feeling great and refreshed and ready to tackle the day. I wake up feeling tired and dead and have to drag myself out of bed for coffee. Put music on? No. Facebook, Myspace or Twitter to start the day? I always check Facebook, Twitter, Timehop, my email, and the news. Sometimes Snapchat and Instagram as well. Friends, lovers, acquaintances Do you have more than one best friend? No. Do you know anyone who legitimately is mentally ill? Yeah. Anyone who is always taking food from you? No. Anyone you snitch food from? “Snitch food from?” I’ve never heard it said that way, but I’m guessing you’re asking i I take food from someone, which no, I do not. Right now, would you rather be single or in a relationship? It’s best for me to be single. Have you ever run interference between a friend and someone they liked? No. Boyfriend’s mom asks you to go to church with their family, do you go? If we were of the same faith. do you say “love you” to any of your friends (not boyfriend) No. I’ve never been that friend to say that. Did you feel good or awkward if opposite sex says I love you? My first, and only, technically, boyfriend said it to me often and I said it back because I felt I had to and it was weird not to say it back, but I didn’t feel that way. He was saying it literally like a week or two into the relationship. It was awkward. Joseph said it a couple times, but in a friend kind of way. He’d be like, “love ya” to me and our mutual friend. That was really awkward because I had feelings for him and thought I was even in love with him, so yeah. Lastly, Ty let it slip once in a text and that completely caught me off guard, but not in a bad way. What made it awkward and embarrassing was that it wasn’t brought up until a couple months later and when he mentioned it he was like, “Soo, remember what I said to you that one day? I didn’t mean to say that.” I was just like, “...Oh.” Like what do you even say to that?? I had to brush it off and move along like all was good, but yeah it felt like a sock to the stomach. I didn’t think he was confessing his undying love for me or anything when he said that, but still. You don’t just let something like that slip and then bring it up months later and take it back.  did anyone ever ask for your number then never call? No. Do you go out for ice cream with your friends? I don’t go out at all with friends anymore, but back when I was actually social we’d grab froyo sometimes. Do you ever hang out with a parent for fun? I hang out with my mom all the time. Is your SO comfortable around your parents? I’m single. Are your friends comfortable around your parents? Yeah they always were. My friends loved my mom. anyone who acts like they want to be your friend that you are avoiding? No. When you are mad at a friend do you straight out tell them? I always tended to keep it to myself. anyone you feel is trying to avoid you right now? No. I’m the avoider. :/

How did you meet your newest friend? I haven’t made any new friends in years.

Have you ever been talked into doing something really uncomfortable? Yes. Do you keep notes your friends write you? Yeah. Also, my cousin and I used to write notes all the time in middle school, some of high school, and I have shoeboxes packed away still with them. Who’s the last person you called “stupid” or said was stupid? I recently said someone was acting stupid. Oh no, I HATE when this happens Last time you stepped in doggie doo No idea. It’s actually so disGUSTING and lslkjfsklfjdksl when that does happen as a wheelchair user, especially. Burped in public I don’t burp in public. had someone fart in front of you and it be really awkward Hahah ew yes, that has happened. someone tells you a secret and you don’t know what to say I don’t recall the last time, but yeah it’s happened. wanted to cancel on a friend and didn’t know how I did a lot of that in recent years until they just stopped asking cause I’m a shitty friend. spilled something on someone I don’t recall. ruined a favorite piece of clothing *shrug* cried when you tried not to Too often. did something stupid while driving with a passenger I don’t drive. mistook someone and talked to them thinking they were a friend Wow, I’ve never actually ended up talking and having a full on conversation with someone I thought was someone else. I’ve seen people and thought they were someone else, and have waved (so embarrassing), though. I’d realize they weren’t who I thought they were before I started talking to them.  Had a friend’s parent ask something embarrassing I had a friend whose mom did that. drooled on your pillow It happens. *shrug* burned your tongue It’s been awhile. What do you lie about liking? I don’t lie about liking something.  What do you lie about DISliking? Uhh?

to make a friend feel better? I had a friend who needed constant reassurance, but like she didn’t really want an answer other than what she wanted to hear.  To get out of doing something with a friend? Like I said, it happened a lot in recent years until they just stopped asking. if you like someone and don’t want to admit it? That happened with like little crushes in elementary, middle, and high school. There were 5 people I had really liked and developed real feelings for, and I told those people. To a teacher? why?  I don’t know. 

To a friend’s parent? Why? I don’t know.

Last time you lied via text? I don’t knowwwww.

Last time you TRIED to lie to yourself? Uhh.

have you ever told someone you loved them but you were lying? My first boyfriend. He would say it to me and I felt I had to say it back, but I didn’t really feel that way about him. He was saying that like a week or two into the relationship.

broke something and lied about it? Probably.

the most supreme lie you remember telling when you were a little kid? I lied for months about taking my medicine when really I was stashing them behind my bed and in a storage box.  Something you lied about done..like skiing, seeing a movie, etc *shrug* That’s not something I really feel the need to lie about. 

Have you ever lied about something sexual you did or didn’t do? No.

Lied about how you spent some money? I don’t think so.

Lied about having your feelings hurt? Yes.

The truth can hurt or heal Name a time you told the truth and someone got hurt. A few weeks ago. They took it the wrong way and got really defensive, but I was just honestly telling them how I felt. They didn’t like what I had to say, though.

last time someone said the truth to you, and you were relieved Hmm.

Time you came clean with the truth and felt SO much better? I don’t know.

someone you ALWAYS tell the truth to My dog. Ha.

person you are most likely to fudge the truth with  My dad sometimes.

have you ever kept someone’s secret for ever? Yeah.

Have you ever had someone divulge a secret you shared with them? Yes.

Do you have something you wish you could tell the truth about? Yes.

Do you feel there is someone who is witholding the truth from you now? Possibly.

Getting silly and liking it!

Are you the one in your group who gets people laughing?  I mean, sometimes. 

Do you like stupid jokes? Ha, yeah.

Dirty jokes? Not usually. 

Do you have a lot of inside jokes with friends? What friends.

Are they mostly silly, or dirty? 

Which relative makes you laugh the most? My mom and younger brother.

What do they do that makes you laugh? They’re just funny.

Do you have a pet that makes you laugh? Yes. My doggo is very goofy.

Do you find sit coms to actually be funny? Not usually. I am biased towards some like Roseanne, The Golden Girls, and Full House cause I grew up with those and still watch them. I’ve seen each show countless times now and they don’t get old to me. Newer sitcoms; however, I find to be really cheesy and dumb and not at all funny. Like, sorry Big Bang Theory fans, but I really don’t understand.

Which pop song lately has made you laugh None have recently that I can think of.

Anyone ever tell you you were funny and you have no idea why? Yes.

Last time you burst out laughing and realized no one else was? Ha, recently I’m sure. 

when did you last laugh when something bad happened to someone? I don’t find things like that funny.

Laughed at yourself for doing something dumb? All the time.

The day comes to an end

Last thing you do before you turn out the light? I scroll on Tumblr, do some surveys, and listen to ASMR videos before I go to bed. After I turn off the light, I sometimes read a bit until my eyelids can’t stay open. That happens pretty fast.

anyone you send a good night text to? No.

Bedtime snack? I used to have Ramen all the time, but I don’t do that much anymore. I don’t really eat anything anymore before bed.

do you go to sleep with music on? No. I sleep with the TV on, though.

is your homework, work done or will you finish it in the morning? I’m done with school.

jammies? I wear leggings and sweats all the time with comfy shirts, which is also what I sleep in. do you sleep with socks on? Yeah.  does a pet sleep in your room? No. She sleeps on her couch in the living room. are you the last one to go to sleep in your house? Yes. all the lights off? or a nightlight on? Just the light from the TV. hard to fall asleep or easy? I always have a hard time falling asleep.

[fistofthesun]

                    This shipping call does NOT mean that you’ll 100% end up shipping                     with me, but I’ll take my time to discuss this matter with you and try                     to push the things into this direction. The muses will decide then                     whether they want it or not, don’t worry! (Technically we’re just playing                     two cupids with sickly pink bows and shooting our muse’s butts to see                     whether they’ll hate or love us for it.)

                    Note, however, that this shipping call DOES NOT affect my Mateus-verse!                     Khashin will stay single there until I’ve found the right single ship partner,                     that’s all. This shipping call here is for private roleplays (IG,Discord) and also                     Tumblr (roleplaying, screenshots, musing and everything you can share                     on this site here)  o n l y. My Mateus verse is special; I will NOT easily                     enter any relationship there since Khashin does NOT cheat and stays loyal.                     Flings yes, but no serious romantic relationships unless I think my muse                     would burn the world for yours. 

                    This shipping call is NOT capped! The more the merrier, I can swing                     with quite many people at the same time, lmao. I am always trying                     to put equal effort into just any ship anyway, that’s how I am. (If I am                     ever now, please, you have my permission to kick into my butt. Really,                     really hard. And make me. I am more likely to be really hype if you are                     trust meeee people who have seen me talking about ships in Discord                     do know that lmaoooo. )                         

✔Open to ALL VERSES! ( Mateus or WoL - WoL is private only, anyway.) ✔Open to all races, genders, servers! (Though I highly prefer Mateus roleplayers) ✔IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A LONGTERM SHIPPING PARTNER - HERE I AM! I’m still proud to say that I’ve only dropped two ship partners in the past six years – and that due to very reasonable reasons like them being abusive etc. ✔REALISTIC AND HEAVY DEVELOPMENT! If you ever wished to ship with a god damn perfectionist like I am who is trying to flesh out every tiny detail in a relationship – I volunteer as tribute. ✔I write smut exclusively with ship partners, by the way. But I think that goes for most people. ✔Discord required!

                      I have to brag for a little here to say that I’m a highly active and                       dedicated ship partner who will never drop ships without given very                       good reason in ooc. But I demand honesty, respect, understanding                       but also that someone is putting equal effort in it. If I approach you                       for discussing this and you ignore my messages I’ll not try so again. If you                       happen to show exactly zero commitment and let me do all the work for you,                       you’ll see that I also lose interest to do anything. Fair warning. I’m no longer                       running after people. 

                                                               MORE DETAILS. 

       Please o n l y like this shipping call if you fulfill the following requirements:

➤ You are 100% certain that you want to bear the entire process; whether it ends good or bad. There is the possibility that I’ll have to tell you – or you me – that this ship is not working after all. Also, spoiler, I’m a spammer and I’ll bomb you with messages. ➤ You are 100% certain that you have the capacity to ship with me. Reads as: if you are super occupied with your favorite ship partner already and think you can’t offer me enough opportunities to rp, talk etc with me, please do not like this. I had my fair share of this in the past, will not do so again. I’m an extremely dedicated ship partner, I expect equal amount of effort in it. I’ll not run after people. I cannot stress this enough.  ➤You are 100% certain that you have the interest and also the will to dedicate quite some time in the ship. Shipping with me is all about realistic development. I want the ship experience to be full of development, plots etc.- but I will NOT work for you.  I expect, once again, to not be the only one who puts effort in it. ➤You are 100% certain that you will be interested and stay longer than for two weeks. This is self-explanatory. ➤You are 100% comfortable with adding me in Discord and speaking to me on a daily basis. Good communication with my ship partners is something which is the most important to me. ➤You fully understand that RL comes before RP. You are aware of it that I’m often occupied with work, my boyfriend – but also raiding – and that I will not always be around. This sounds like I’m never around, I know, but I promise you I’m super active in Discord and can talk with you technically 24/7. ➤ I mean, it’s written in my rules, but I’m only shipping with people who are 18+. Of course this also applies to muses. ➤You have to be slightly masochistic to deal with all my angsty needs. And hopefully you also appreciate good fluff.   ➤ Please also note that my Khashin does not cheat on his partner and is 100% loyal as well. He also won’t go poly. So if you want to have any of these things, you’ll have to look elsewhere. (He’s a possessive dipshit, no way he can ever go poly in a serious relationship.)  ➤Your IM has to be open if you don’t have me in Discord already! I’ll message people at some point. If you ignore my message, I will not try to reach you again. I’m kind of tired to message people and they never replying to me. I got some anxiety too, ‘ya know? 

                                                         Some more things:

I will sort people out if necessary. OOC does not equal rp, of course, but if the ooc-communication is simply not happening, I cannot ship with you. As easy as that. It’s required for plotting, headcanon exchange etc. and therefore required. On top of that I’ll sort people out when they are overly creepy etc. Of course you can back off any time you want as well. This shipping call here is a safe place for anyone; not only mine. Suffice to say, if I notice you only liked that post here without reading everything of it, you’ll be also excluded. That’s not nice buddy.

Also, one final note, do NOT push me to smut with you, even if we agreed to ship. Personally I find smut to be extremely important for development and I’m comfortable in writing/reading it – even have several smut threads at once with my ship partners – but I am NOT okay with shipping with people solely for smut. This is a big no-go. If you just want to lick over Khashin’s steel abs, sorry to disappoint you – it’s not going to happen. I ship for development, for the ups and downs, for the fluff, for the angst, for the tears, the anger and also the joy the muses can feel – and not solely for smut. Do NOT like this if you are not up for working for it and for getting the development going. (Don’t get me wrong, I like to write smut but I highly favor development.) Likewise I will never force you too, obviously. If you never want to write it that’s also fine; but then you need to be okay with at least kind of discussing it because I kid you not, A LOT of development will also happen in those scenes, especially with someone like Khashin. I mean, he has lost any feeling inside his hands, the first times will certainly be quite emotional particularly if his partner does NOT know.  It will be crucial to add me to Discord. Please do so! I will also message people once via IM, but I will not run after them!

[martyrblood]

1-3, 8 and 9, 13, 16 and 17, 25-30 LOL. MY question(s) are.. What OC has had your favorite development so far? And what AU or AUs are your favorite characterization-wise and whyyyyyy?

1. The most recent OC I’ve made I wanna say it’s Celine, but honestly I do have more recent like… rough ideas for characters, none that I’ve developed much or have come up with any purpose for but, I’ve got some in the ole incubator. Some off the top of my head are these two guys Victor and Todd, and then one based off the singer Sevdaliza… who I may or may not eventually make into an exxie. But I’m really slow and bad at making OC’s so “eventually” probably means like In Three Years. OH and there’s my DND bard named Pietro who issss only… I guess I made him around January of this year? He’s coming along a bit quicker than most of my new OC’s do because I’m forced to play with him once a week lol.

2. An early OC I remember making my FIRST….BABIEST oc was an Inu Yasha OC named Moonshadow lmao. I was 11 ish…? Another old one was a Naruto OC I made in middle school named Yume and I RP’d her with my friends up through high school, this is her 

3. An OC I’ve never used for anything Uhhhh… depending on how you define “used”… I think the majority of my OC’s have never been used for RP, but most of them do belong to an original canon. Ummmm. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh I’m not sure if I have any floaters… I really can’t think of One lol oops

9. An OC I made to fit into another universe I guess this means, universe that I didn’t come up with? I don’t really have any current ones but like, as mentioned above in number 2 I used to make fan-characters to fit universes I liked. I actually don’t even have characters in RP that were made for RP, they were all adapted from original canons to fit dustverse. If I ever make that Sevdaliza OC, she’ll probably be the first one.

13. An OC inspired by something completely unexpected LET’S SEE… well, a ton of my OC’s and story ideas are actually based on weird dreams that I have… including Giovanni and Matthew. I have dreams a lot where I’m someone else that I don’t know, or I’m looking down on people from somewhere, and sometimes if a dream sticks with me after I wake up I’ll make characters based on the people in the dream. I’m a lot more creative when I’m asleep lol

16. The most difficult OC for me to write (and why!) Ah geez. In RP, honestly I think it would have to be Giovanni. It’s so difficult to come up with idle posts and open starters for him, because of his personality and social tendencies. It’s also just difficult for me to get into his headspace a lot of the time. He’s not really ~relatable~ for me personally which, fun fact, is a little ironic considering that in the dream he came from, it was like first person from his perspective or I was him or whatever you wanna call it. I have the same problem with Schaeler, I can’t relate to him very well so he can be hard to write for. It’s double ironic because both of them are the “narrator” type protagonists of their respective canons. Idk why I do this to myself.

17. The easiest OC for me to write (and why!) Dallas, takes me almost no effort to write because he’s my self insert he’s a character I relate to very easily, and along with Schaeler he’s probably the oldest OC that I still use. I know he doesn’t appear on dash very often lol but that’s more, my failing to come up with something interesting for him to do in dustverse yet. His characterization is like second nature for me at this point, I rly don’t have to think about it more than a second when asked how he would react to A or B. He rarely surprises me anymore lol.

25. An OC I’ve changed a LOT HMMM. Judah’s been through a lot of changes. Not really in his personality or appearance, but like I’ve switched him around a few backgrounds and canons, and some things I assumed about him turned out not to be true. Random example, he’s feeling very nonbinary and pansexual lately when I check in with him.

26. An OC that I’m still working on I mean technically all of them haha. Some more than others. The ones off the top of my head that are in more active development lately are Celine (I have a good enough grip on her personality but not really her background or motives) and… Kate, actually, fun fact Kate is super dead in her canon lol and as I’ve been adapting her to dustverse, I’m getting to know her much better than I ever did writing the canon material. I actually might favor her over Jake a little at this point lol.

27. Someone else’s OC that I really admire GOSH there’s……a lot of y’all’s characters that I love, obviously… and I don’t wanna make anyone feel left out lol but there’s some characters I’m super familiar and comfortable with that I basically love as much as my own OC’s, and these would be like, Ricky’s Nisha and Nora, Tai’s Vico… they are My Babies and I will keep trying to steal them from their strollers like a goblin that steals babies

28. A common trait or pattern in my OCs I don’t wanna name any embarrassing or overly personal ones so uh. Let’s see… pairs? I have a habit of making OC’s in pairs, and they often have an Opposites Unfortunately Attract kind of dynamic. Sometimes “pairs” means like a Shippy sort of setup, i.e. Giovanni/Matthew, Julia/Celine (sorry I have not written much there), Dallas/Schaeler (you’re welcome I have not written much there) but sometimes it’s not as much a ship as just, I usually wind up making two at a time lol because I really like foil dynamics.

29. Something that I haven’t really explored with any of my OCs Heterosexuality Is A Mystery I Will Never Solve also um. Healthy relationships?

30. What OC has had your favorite development so far? Well Matthew’s been a wild ride. In and out of dustverse. It’s not always like, pleasant for me lol, but I am proud of how organically he developed and how realistic he feels? I wouldn’t toot my own horn about that normally but I’ve gotten some compliments on him lol. So thank you, and ya i know

30. What AU or AUs are your favorite characterization-wise and whyyyyyy? GOD I JUST *clenches fist* LOVE AU’S I have a problem. I really have a problem. My very top favorite ones though uhhhh gosh… any variation of a vampire AU, because I’m a slut for vampires, and I love exploring different brands of Vampire AngstTM (or lack thereof.) Another favorite is an AU me and Tai have built that’s about witches and familiars, currently in like a medieval France setting, we’ve got a big giant pile of lore on that one now… also I love, X-MEN AU and MISFITS AU because I love coming up with superpowers for OC’s but those particular universes are amazing and unique. I also love basically ripping the premise from any horror movie, throwing OC’s in a bag with it, and just shaking the bag very hard

EDIT: Ricky knows all the characters mentioned in this post but I realize everyone may not because I don’t RP with all of my OC’s lol so please refer to @mmementommori and @nomina-incognita for those you don’t recognize if you are curious.

[cindyfelicia]

Hi, I hope you’re doing well!! I was just wondering if you read comics? If so could you recommend some/ how to start getting into them? I want to start reading them, but it’s so stressful trying to figure out where to start. Also I love you blog!

Hi there! you’re all manners of sweet and kind thank u my advice abt approaching comics is going for solo runs first, this is how I, personally, did it and it’s way easier than jumping in on team books, or worse events bc they tend to be messier and need more bg info and pre-existing knowledge than a comic that focus on just the one character; I also feel it’s good to start with current or at least recent comics, you can always read the old stuff when you’re better acquainted with how comics work and which characters, artists and writers you like (or can tolerate).

actual recs under the cut because this got so long

i was gonna do a whole list of mcu characters’ solos because most people entry point to comics rn is superhero movies, and hmu if you want that, but instead I think I’m gonna rec you some good comics that are either separated enough from main marvel continuity as to be intelligible without extensive info gathering, or I just think they’re great and worth a bit of confusion (part of starting out reading comics is not knowing fully wth is going on sometimes, but stiking with it for some good art or for characters you love -I’m not gonna go so far as to say for good writing bc that’s just not realistic):

if you like yourself some spider-people:- silk (2015) and vol 2 (2016) are my absolute favorites- I’m not very much into spiderman but I read renew your vows  and it’s lovely,  it’s just not a main universe comic it’s an au where things are as, imo, they should be with ye old web slinger, and it’s good for getting your feet wet in the huge pool of spider-man comics;- I love miss jessica drew (spider-woman) but her solo is……. questionable if someone has a good jess drew intro rec pls tell me so I can pass it on, - miles morales has been written badly in more ways than one but I love him so I suffer, I can direct you without scruples only to his novel tho, absolutely lovely and not written by brian michaelbendis lmao- anya corazon is a really good character that marvel loves to forget it has, let’s not make the same mistake;- black widow 2014 and 2016 and bw: the name of the rose are all good comics (I know technically nat isn’t a spider person but like nothing about spider-woman’s powers screams ‘spider’ either so..

for wakanda I’d say good recent start-ups would be: - black panther (2016), - black panther: world of wakanda (w/ a lesbian couple as protag), - and rise of the black panther (ongoing)

some non x-men team books that are easier to approach as a beginner imho:-young avengers vol 2 (vol 1 has its moments if you want to start from the beginning with them but a lot of it involves the civil war arc and stuff.. also some characters die, the art is less good and I want to protect people from 17’s yo cassie lang’s nipples poking through her shirt.. I wish someone had protected me tbh) -I want to rec some Runaways but besides the current run (which is alright) there’s a lot to be said against the writing in most of the rest of them maybe vol 1? to have the origins pinned down-I feel like after a small read through of what exactly the hell was going on with secret wars you could approach A-Force vol 1 and the first half of vol 2 (the second half ties in with civil war II and I’m not touching that mess) and that and avenger world and sometimes secret avengers to me are good avengers books-she hulk 2014 and totally awesome hulk are my greens of choice but if you want an intro to bruce banner idont actually know, sorry-for the asgardians: thor 2014 and it’s follow up mighty thor, thor: god of thunder, angela: asgard’s assassin and its sequel angela: queen of hel, and loki: agent of asgard are my pick of this crop-we also have Fun here at marvel comics on occasion and both patsy walker aka hellcat and squirrel girl are nice in their own way although the latter isn’t really my thing

some follow up on the young avengers:- hawkeye (2013) an absolute fan favorite, good to discover that actually clint barton was a good character it’s that the avengers movies are just bad and hate people with disabilities- a couple of follow-ups to that (x) (x) and the kate bishop solo all pretty nice- america chavez’s solo (I’m just here to suggest gay comics, that’s almost all I read really)

I want to rec Champions to people but frankly it’s just a long series of event interruptions and bullshit interspersed with a couple of nice moments so far, so I’m gonna rec you some kids that are in the champions and have solos I haven’t already mentioned:- kamala khan’s book is probably my favorite ongoing series at marvel right now about any non-mutant char, I cannot say enough good about it,- nova is nice,- miles morales (spider-man) and amadeuscho (totally awesome hulk) are also there but I’ve already mentioned themalso in this house we love and respect elektranatchiosand any other attitude just isn’t tolerated.

on to the x-men, gotta love those guys, you just gotta:- like I said I prefer to tell people to start from recent comics but with the xmen that’s so difficult? it’s been 10+ bad years for them because of the movie rights situation and just marvel being shit in general, so my one recent team book to approach the x-men is prob x-men ‘92? because its based off of the xm animated series so you don’t have to straightaway deal with some mutant plague, eugenics plots, and other catastrophic events, but you can still get to know more of the char we all love - I want to say generation x vol 2, it’s not a good starting point for anything really but I love it so so much I had to mention it even tho it was cancelled and I’m still angry as hell about it.

the solo situation is better. I’m gonna be able to breathe without tasting my own bile while I type this, hurray!-all new wolverine follows laura kinney as she takes up the mantle from logan-iceman, good solid comic abt coming out and ice puns, who doesn’t like bobby really-jean grey, yes she’s a teen girl in this, yes it’s weird and I hate de-aging characters but it’s nice to see her train with different mutants, struggling with the incoming phoenix force and her adult self’s shadow, not really great entry point to jean grey but id read it anyway-if you were into the 00’s xmen movies like me, or at least a normal person’s amount the phoenix recently returned and with her adult!jean grey, it was a good book for me and good if you want to later start reading the actual phoenix saga (which is a lot of material so starting small with this might help) -I love wandamaximoff and despite what they’ve done to the maximoffs in order to bring them into the mcu (was it worth it for that result btw? really?) her recent book was good and I genuinely loved it -storm’s solo is so good, you’re gonna fall in love with an het ship and you’re not gonna regret it either-rogue and gambit, is ongoing and it’s good to get a little acquainted with these characters but mostly it’s about explorign their relationship

I’m sure I’m forgetting a lot of good x-men content atm but I can’t stop thinking I need to mention that there are ongoing series you could pick up its just.. I hate them.. some started out promising (xmen gold, astonishing xmen), but they’ve not developed in good directions imo, but I still feel they should be mentioned, there’s also a weapon x comic if you want to go for a more bloody kind of book and xmen blue if you like time displaced teens or something? god its bad

jeez this is so so long and guess what? I haven’t even finished yet.. there’s some excellent indie comics out there and with those you really don’t need to worry abt knowing any 30 years old lore or anything you pick them up and they explain themselves like any other normal media out there, I know, be still my heart:

- lumberjanes is my absolute favorite, a little corny, but so much fun and cuteness and if I could go back in time I’d give it to my little bi self so she’d know she’s not alone and anything I feel that ways about has a special place i my heart js

- Motor crush, there really isn’t any other comic book with a black lesbian as protagonist out there that I can think of, good if you’re into motorcycles but if like in my case that threatens to put you to sleep, it also has a sci-fi streak and solid character work, you won’t regret giving it a try

- moonstruck, cute non-white gay werewolves and other mythological creatures are there, I feel this cathers to me specifically every time I open it?? bless

- Hi-Fi fight club or heavy vinyl (they changed the title) if you want a period piece that’s fun and cute and gay (I meant it about me reading only gay comics as you can tell)

- saga, for a space, well ya know.. saga I feel that I can describe it as romeo and juliet in space with added racial commentary except they don’t kill themselves, I have to say not my favorite but you might stick with it for the characters, I sure do

- the wicked + the divine, I feel very much the same about this as I do about saga, only this is mythology based so like.. I sold my soul to it, but please do tread with care there’s a lot of deaths in it and so many of these dead people are gays and/or poc.. I’m none too pleased about it and I’d understand anyone not wanting to pick it up, I mean the deaths are basically in the premises of the books but that doesn’t change the end result..

lastly like I said dc is not my area of expertise but I’ve been following with pleasure both batwoman and green lanterns, and mr miracle was an amazing comic so I thought I’d mention them

[sapphicscholar]

Ok I know you're busy but please please please write whatever pairing you want for the post of the person who is advertising their services as being a terrible date to your family Thanksgiving dinner. No rush. Whenever you want. IF you want. Your life things absolutely come first

This has now been posted to AO3 here!

-Refers to this post  (text is there, but I changed to better match the situation/add in a joke or two)

A/N: This is set before the sort of reconciliation we get between Eliza and Alex (for reasons, even though other things have already happened that canonically take place post-reconciliation and really the timeline is all sorts of fucked but I’m beyond sleep-deprived), and since I’m writing from Alex’s POV, their relationship will sound pretty shitty, though it’s not the focus here. Also, this is pure crack–probably fairly terrible crack. In case anyone worried it would be serious….

Chapter Text

Knitting her eyebrows together in confusion, Alex reread at the vague subject line in her inbox: “Saw this, thought of you.” Knowing it was from Lucy already had her on high alert—the last time she’d unthinkingly opened a link from one of her emails at work, she’d ended up with the video for “Dick in a Box” playing at full volume to the surprise (and amusement) of her DEO recruits. But, since she was at home and more than a little curious, she clicked on the link, finding herself on a Craigslist ad that read:

“It’s Thanksgiving. Want to skip that long, insulting conversation about how youre still single? About how your parents really want more grand children? Well, look no further!

I am a 29 year old ex-con (long story, don’t worry, I’m plenty friendly!) with no family to worry about and a dirty pickup truck one year younger than me painted with some Scissor Sisters album cover artwork (there when I got it, but I like it too much to change it). I can play anywhere between the ages of 25 and 35 depending on hair and makeup. I’m a bartender and work late nights. If you’d like to have me as your strictly platonic date for Thanksgiving, but have me pretend to be in a very long or serious relationship with you, to torment your family, I’m game.

I can do these things, at your request: • Openly hit on other female guests while you act like you don’t notice• Start instigative discussions about politics and/or religion (I prefer to play the flaming liberal atheist, but can adapt depending on how promising the dessert selection will be and how much it would piss off your shitty family)• Propose to you in front of everyone (I’ve got a cheap ring and all)• Pretend to be really drunk as the evening goes on (sorry, I don’t really drink much anymore, but I used to. A lot. too much in fact… I know the drill)• Start an actual, physical fight with a family member, either inside or on the front lawn for all the neighbors to see (I require advance warning if I’m not to harm them in any real way or leave marks)

I require no pay but the free meal I will receive as a guest!”

Scowling, Alex switched over to email and sent back: “What the hell, Lane?”

Mere seconds later a reply came back in: “Morning to you too, Alex! You said you didn’t want to deal with your mom and your sister’s shitty boyfriend alone again so… voila! A solution—and it’s free.”

“I’m not going to hire an escort service,” Alex shot back.

“She says ‘strictly platonic,’ so it’s really not an escort service. And you’re not paying her, just feeding her. C’mon, think of all the joy those stories could bring to me, your dear friend, your oldest friend.”

“You arrested me for treason.”

“Hey look! Something you two have in common. You could totally bond about being ex-cons together.”

“Fuck off.”

“Do it!”

“No.”

Alex was ready to leave the conversation at that, but when she made it into the DEO, she found Lucy, a wide grin on her face and an extra coffee in her hand waiting for her in her lab. “So, I know you think it’s a bad idea, but here’s why you should do it.” She paused, waiting for Alex’s objections. When the woman just arched an eyebrow and glared, she kept going. “First of all, Eliza always wants to know why you don’t bring anyone home. You get the speech about how you went through all that effort to come out, and now you’re still single, Alexandra. Why? Second, Vas’s parents had to cancel last minute, so we’re gonna come crash the Danvers Thanksgiving extravaganza and would love to have some front row seats to this. Third, you know you’ve wanted to punch Mike since the moment he and Kara got together, and now someone is willing to do it for free. Do you understand how few things in life are genuinely free?”

“It won’t be free because you know the consequences will haunt me forever.”

“Danvers. Have I ever asked you for anything in my life?”

“So many things.”

“Hmm, I don’t recall those things. So you should say yes to this one.”

“Why are you so adamant?”

“No reason,” Lucy shrugged, a smirk playing at her lips as she feigned nonchalance, examining her perfectly manicured nails.

“Lucy,” Alex growled. “What did you do?”

“Nothing…I just, well, maybe I emailed her.”

“To say hello?”

“Yep, just emailed her to say hey.” A beat. “She can’t wait to meet you on Thursday!”

“Lucy!” Alex yelled, taking off after Lucy who had high-tailed it out of the lab. “Get your ass back in here!”

“Agent Danvers, is there a problem?” J’onn asked when Alex nearly collided with him.

“No, sir, nothing at all. I just have a few…follow up questions for Lucy.”

“It will have to wait. Supergirl just called in for backup on a situation developing downtown.”

With a nod, Alex resigned herself to waiting to exact her revenge on Lucy and cancel on whatever ex-con she’d found her for Thanksgiving. Of course, she reasoned, it might be amusing to see how her mother would react… Sure, she might not be able to compete with Kara, who could seemingly do no wrong, but surely she could be better than this internet chick. And bringing her would most definitely piss off her mother…

—

With a tumbler of top-shelf whiskey in front of her (courtesy of Lucy), Alex tilted her head to the side. “You’ll be there if anything goes horribly wrong?”

“I think you, Agent Badass, can more than handle it.” Lucy grinned at Alex over the rim of her own glass, far too excited about the prospect of her actually taking this mystery Craigslist woman to Thanksgiving dinner.

“Ah, but you forget I don’t really do family holidays sober. Still have a mean right hook, but it’d be nice to have backup.”

“Fine, yes, Vas and I will be there for you the whole day.”

“And you’ll take the blame if it goes horrifically wrong?”

“What? That wasn’t part of the agreement.”

“It is if you want me to actually agree this time.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Lucy finally nodded. “Alright, Danvers, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Fine,” Alex sighed, resigning herself to her fate. If nothing else, it would at least provide her with stories for years to come (and, if she were lucky, maybe even get her disinvited from future family holidays).

“Perfect, she’ll pick you up at 3.”

“Wait, you gave her my address?”

“Love ya too, Alex!” Lucy yelled, grabbing for her coat and making for the entrance before Alex could change her mind yet again.

—

2:50pm on Thanksgiving found Alex pacing back and forth in the lobby of her building. She hadn’t even wanted this woman—Maggie, apparently—to know where she lived, but since Lucy had already given up that information she was at least going to keep her from getting all the way up to her apartment. A ping from her phone finally drew her attention away from the door.

“Almost here. Is family there? Should I be a real dick and honk from the street?”

Smiling in spite of herself, Alex sent back: “No, just me. I’ll come outside.” Her smile soon vanished and her jaw dropped when she caught sight of Maggie’s truck rolling down her street. True to her word (though Alex might have conveniently forgotten that detail), it was emblazoned with a pair of women’s legs that morphed into scissors, a beam of light refracting through it and splitting off into a rainbow Pink Floyd-style.

“Your chariot awaits, m’lady!” the woman yelled after cranking down her windows, a smirk adorning her face that brought out dimples Alex might have fallen for if she didn’t know they belonged to some weirdo who would advertise her services on Craigslist.

With a nod and grunt of acknowledgment, Alex pulled herself up into the truck, rolling the window back up before turning to face her “girlfriend” for the day.

“So…you always this quiet?” Maggie asked, peeking over at Alex as they crawled their way through holiday traffic.

“No.”

“Cool, cool.” Eventually, tired of the quiet, Maggie spoke up again. “Anything you want me to do or not do today? Who all will be there?”

“Mom—Eliza. My sister Kara—technically foster sister, though she’s obviously the favorite child. Her jackass boyfriend, Mike, and her best friend Winn. I don’t think James is coming this year. Then Lucy and her girlfriend Vasquez.”

“Ah, yes, Lucy’s the one who wrote to me for you!”

“Mm, the very one,” Alex grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling at the traffic as though the sheer force of her glare could make it move faster.

“If you don’t mind my asking, why did you do this? You seem kinda…miserable about the whole ordeal.”

“Lucy.”

“If you’re really not up for it, I can just drop you off and head back home. I mean, okay, yeah, I don’t get my Thanksgiving meal, but I’m not gonna force my delightful company on you.”

“Thanks.” Maggie couldn’t help but notice it was the first time Alex had sounded sincere, and she almost seemed to relax—not quite, but a little. “I’m okay though.”

“Alright, well, you’ve got until the front door to make that decision.”

“No, no. You were promised a Thanksgiving meal, and you’ll get one.” She’d even warned Kara to cook the turkey beforehand lest she accidentally out herself as an alien to yet another person.

“Well, I appreciate it.”

“Yeah,” Alex dismissed the thanks with a shrug and a wave of her hand.

“So, what’s our deal for the day?”

“Oh, um, maybe we’ve been dating for a couple of months—wasn’t super serious at first and didn’t want to say anything just yet?”

“Okay, that works. So no proposal?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Roger that. Now, do you want me to be a total d-bag? Hit on your sister?”

“No! No, there’s no need to remind mom just how much better Kara is than me at everything, including, apparently, attracting my fake girlfriend’s attention.”

Maggie cocked her head to the side, wondering how in the world the gorgeous woman sitting next to her thought she would ever fail to hold someone’s attention. Sure, she could be a little bit of an ass, according to Lucy, but who wasn’t?

“Okay, so, eyes on you and only you. Want me to talk politics? Religion? My former conviction? My lack of career mobility?”

“I don’t know,” Alex sighed, rubbing at her temples and trying to remember why she had agreed to this. Perhaps she thought this woman might deflect attention away from her—be so unsuccessful that Alex’s failure to become a proper medical doctor might be overlooked for a change, be so unappealing as a date that her mom would stop pushing her into relationships, figuring singledom was better than the lowlifes Alex picked up. But this woman was…not quite what she had expected. Sure, she was loud and a little brash—and her pickup truck took both of those to the extreme—but she also seemed fairly considerate, and she was cuter than Alex had expected all dressed up in her holigay best plaid.

“How about we play it by ear? I’m very good at reading people, I’ll have you know.”

“Is that so?”

“Mhm. For instance you are feeling very stressed and wondering why you got into my truck and why you’re bringing some internet stranger to Thanksgiving dinner. I’d put money on the fact that you’re already thinking about how much you’ll regret it and planning ways to exact some revenge on Lucy.”

Alex just pursed her lips, unwilling to admit that it was all rather true.

Grinning at Alex’s silence, which she took as confirmation, Maggie pushed her luck. “Now you’re wondering, ‘However did she get so good at reading people?’ And how is such a gorgeous woman still single, without a line of women to go home with for the holidays.”

“Oh fuck off.”

“She speaks!” Maggie crowed, cackling at the scowl directed her way. “C’mon the whole point of this stunt is to have some fun. Family holidays suck more than just about anything. And this is my irreverent way of saying fuck you to the whole ordeal. Everyone knows the holidays are all about pushing your dirty laundry and your box of vibrators deep into the closet and pretending like you don’t hate each other and everything your conservative uncles stand for while you eat until you can’t taste the bitterness of regret for your life choices anymore, right?”

“That got really bleak, really fast.”

“It’s dark humor, get used to it.”

“Remind me where the joke is.”

“Because you’ll know that everything about today is fake. Having the fake girlfriend there just helps remind you that everyone else’s perfection is a big goddam charade too.”

Alex made a vague noise, still unsure about how she felt about all of this. Rather than contemplate any longer, she turned to Maggie. “So, tell me something about you.”

“Not like I know that much about you.”

“I’m a scientist; that’s all you need to know.” It wasn’t totally true, but it would be fine.

“I doubt it.”

“I like whiskey. And dogs, not that I have time for one. I’m a scientist, not the doctor my mother hoped for. Better?”

“A little. I prefer scotch myself on the rare occasion I splurge. Dogs are clearly superior to cats, so we’re in agreement there for our future dog, ya know, even though it’s only been a couple of months. And I hate doctors, so it’s better this way.”

“All doctors?”

“Doctors, dentists, orthodontists—all the sadists, ya know.”

“Mm, right, right.”

“Yep. So, according to Lucy’s directions, we’re getting close. Any last minute instructions or questions?”

“Uh…no?”

“You don’t sound so certain.”

“Sorry, I just, I hate family things. I know in theory that she loves me, but I just—god, I can’t do another one.”

“Want me to take you home? You can blame me—tell her I let my car insurance expire or something and we got pulled over. Or I got sent to prison again.”

“That’s sweet,” Alex said, “but no, I need to go.”

“Well, at least this year you have an ex-con on your arm.”

“Speak of which…what did you do?”

“Honest answer or the fun answer?”

“Why aren’t they the same?”

“Because it’s more fun for me if I let you think I killed a man and gave all of his money to charitable causes like a veritable 21st century Robin Hood.”

“So you didn’t kill a man?”

“Tragically, no.”

“You gonna tell me what you did?”

“Protesting mainly. So disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, that kind of shit. Not like I’ve got any felonies on the record. But I can if you want to freak out your mom. Or your sister’s boyfriend.”

“Well, if you don’t mind risking another arrest, by all means, please feel free to punch him in the face.”

“That bad?”

“Worse.”

“Yikes.”

Alex just nodded, wrapping her head around the slightly different image of Maggie that was emerging as she learned more and more about the woman. Of course, nothing excused the fact that she was in a tacky pickup truck—not even the dimples and the charm and the deep misanthropy that rivaled her own.

“We’re here,” Alex murmured, taking a deep breath and steeling herself for the inevitable shitshow.

—

“Alex!” Kara squealed, pulling her sister into a big hug like she hadn’t seen her just yesterday.

“Hey, Kara,” Alex laughed, squeezing her once before pulling back. “Maggie, this is my sister Kara. Kara, this is my girlfriend Maggie.”

The theatrical wink Kara shot in her direction had Alex ready to drop her head into her hands, but as her mom strolled across the room she realized it was too late to back out now.

“Did you say girlfriend, Alexandra? Why haven’t I heard anything?”

“Mom, this is Maggie. Maggie, this is my mom, Eliza Danvers.”

“Very nice to meet you—”

“Eliza is fine,” Eliza interjected, sensing the hesitation. “Alex, is it too much to ask that you call me every once in a while? I shouldn’t have to find out about a partner only because I happened to be in town.”

“I’ll do better,” Alex sighed, setting her coat down as her eyes scanned the apartment, looking for where Kara had hidden the good whiskey.

“Well hello there,” Lucy greeted from the doorway, grinning broadly at the sight of Alex standing next to the mystery Craigslist woman looking beyond uncomfortable under Eliza’s scrutiny.

“Lucy! Vasquez!” Kara yelled, running forward to take the mashed potatoes and rolls from their hands.

“I’m beginning to think the excitement was for the food and not for us,” Lucy pouted.

“Aww, you know I love you both equally.”

Rolling her eyes, Lucy turned her attention to Maggie. “Hey, Maggie, how’s it going?”

“So your friends have not only heard about her but met her too?” Eliza asked pointedly.

“Oh, that’s my fault. I’m not always so great at meeting the parents, so I asked her to hold off on saying something.”

Alex tried not to look surprised at the way Maggie had been so quick to stand up for her, forcing herself to nod along with the sentiment while Eliza eyed her curiously.

“Hey, Lucy,” Maggie waved, hoping to break the tension—or, better yet, ignore it entirely.

“This is Vasquez,” Lucy introduced, kicking the door shut behind them as they finally made their way into the apartment. “She really enjoyed your pickup truck—helps the neighborhood aesthetic so much,” Lucy teased.

Figuring Lucy could deal with Maggie now, Alex made her way into the kitchen to find the wine, already anticipating her mother’s comments about how much “fun” she was having.

“She’s cuter than I expected,” Kara whispered, cutting in with a glass before Alex could abscond with the whole bottle.

Alex let out a noncommittal noise while focusing her attention on pouring herself a generous glass.

“I’m just saying—it’s been a while since you dated anyone…”

“I am not going to pick someone up off of Craigslist,” Alex hissed, shaking her head and finally taking a sip of the wine she’d been eying since they walked in the door. “Much better. Now you can deal with mom and the ‘best pie in the galaxy’ while I go have an intimate moment alone with a glass of red.”

“Why don’t you wait for dinner to start drinking, Alex,” came Eliza’s voice. Alex gritted her teeth as she spun around.

“I was under the impression that dinner would be starting soon.”

“Mike’s just running a little late,” Kara explained, shooting Alex an apologetic glance as she made her way back toward the oven where they were keeping the turkey hot.

“So let’s wait to have your fun until then, hmm?”

“Aww, we always have fun, don’t we, babe,” Maggie chimed in, throwing an arm around Alex’s waist and beaming at her as though she hadn’t just stepped into the first of many tense moments to come between mother and daughter. Then again, Alex realized, she had signed up for exactly that. “C’mon, why don’t you give me the grand tour?”

“Yeah, okay,” Alex shrugged, letting herself be guided away from the kitchen and into the living room where Winn and Vasquez had set up some multi-player video game and were currently shoving at each other as they competed both in and out of the game.

“Um, this is the living room…” Alex gestured awkwardly around them before guiding Maggie off to the side. “There’s the bathroom. And through here is Kara’s bedroom.”

“It’s a nice room,” Maggie declared loudly, chuckling at Alex’s startled expression. “Gotta make sure everyone knows we’re just doing a tour, not sneaking off to fuck, ya know.”

Alex glared and shushed Maggie. “Why would anyone think that?”

“Um, cause we’re dating. And it’s boring. And there’s a bed right there.”

“And a room full of people right out there!”

“You hired me to piss off your mom or be the asshole that makes you look good. Do you really have room to judge?”

“Ugh, stop reminding me of what a failure I am.”

“Hey, no, I don’t think you’re a failure at all—that’s not what I said. In fact, I bet you’re anything but. You’re pretty, and you’ve gotta be smart and driven to be a scientist. Your sister looks at you like you’re her goddam hero. And you had a friend concerned enough about your well-being to reach out to some stranger on the internet and subject me to a rather thorough vetting before sending me your address.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, Lucy and Vasquez double-teamed me for some interrogation thing. I mean…I won’t lie, it was kinda hot. But also I felt like if I didn’t pass I maybe would’ve disappeared without a trace. I don’t know why, but I feel like they could do that…”

Alex shrugged; she wasn’t wrong. “How’d you get all of that in just a few moments?”

“I’m a bartender. I read people for a living.”

“I guess…”

“So, why don’t you fill in the details I missed?”

“Um, Kara works for CatCo as Cat Grant’s assistant.” Maggie whistled, looking impressed. “My mom’s a scientist as well, Dr. Danvers. So was my dad.”

“Divorce?” Maggie asked.

“Um, no, he died when I was younger.”

“Fuck, Alex, I’m sorry—I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine. Not caring about family is your whole schtick, right?”

“Not caring about my family is my thing. That’s—that’s different.”

“What happened to the whole families suck act from the truck?” Alex teased, trying to move away from the topic of her dad.

“Ah, well, most years I’ve done this, I’ve gone to families as shitty as mine. Sometimes with shitty people as my fake date too, so there’s that.”

“So how do I compare?”

“Significantly less shitty. I mean, your mom’s a little judge-y, but she did pull me aside to ask what my intentions were with you, so she clearly cares.”

“Got a funny way of showing it,” Alex snorted.

“Yeah, but at least she’s showing it at all.”

“What’s the deal with your family?” Alex asked, suddenly curious.

“I don’t have one. Got an aunt I go visit when I can afford it, but otherwise it’s just me.”

“Shit, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Better off without them.” Seeing the clench to Maggie’s jaw, Alex didn’t push the issue, though she couldn’t help the instinctive anger she felt toward whatever kind of person had left the woman that jaded. She might not get along with her mother, but at the end of the day, at least she knew she was loved, even if it never seemed to come in the way she needed it.

A loud knock on the door pulled their attention away, and Alex sighed loudly as Mike waltzed in, pulling Kara in for a kiss that just seemed inappropriate in front of their friends, but Eliza looked pleased enough to see Kara giggling, so of course now it would be acceptable.

“The boyfriend?” Maggie checked.

“Yep.”

“Should we have put on a show like that?”

“What happened to platonic only?”

“That’s the rule. But I already dislike him enough that I think I could make an exception for a bit of one-upsmanship.”

Alex snickered. “You’re not so bad, you know that?”

“High praise.”

—

The group eventually settled into dinner after an awkward round of toasts that included Mike speaking at great length about what an excellent person he’d become knowing Kara, Alex refusing to speak, Kara attempting to keep the peace, and Maggie giving an effusive speech about how perfect Alex was, including the line: “Best yet, not only is she smokin’ hot, but she’s also really fucking smart,” that had Lucy choking on her wine as she let out a bark of a laugh.

“So, Mark, tell me about yourself,” Maggie said, turning to look at him.

“It’s Mike.”

“Right.”

“Um, I work as an intern at CatCo.”

“Hey, look, babe! Maggie called, patting at Alex’s hand. “I’m not the least impressive person at the table anymore! At least I have a salary!”

“I will have a salary,” Mike protested.

“Yeah, yeah, Matt, whatever you say.”

“It’s not Matt.”

“Right, sorry! Mark—I’ve got it now. Locked in my memory—good as a vault. Mark. Mark, Mark, Mark.” Kara glared. Vasquez bit back a laugh. Lucy snorted into her wine. And Alex slung an arm around the back of Maggie’s chair, thinking this might just be the best idea Lucy ever had. She was definitely enjoying Thanksgiving more than she ever thought was possible.

“So, Mark the intern, tell me more.”

Looking over to Kara for guidance, Mike finally turned back and rolled with it. “Well, I work with Kara.”

“Are you her intern?”

“No, I am not.”

“Gotcha. So is that how you met Kara.”

“Why don’t we talk about you instead,” Kara chimed in, glaring at Alex. She’d been willing to play along but didn’t need to see her boyfriend being attacked all dinner.

“Ah, yes, well, I’m a bartender.”

Kara looked at her expectantly, but Maggie just smiled.

“So how did you two meet?” Mike asked, glad to have the attention off of himself.

“Do you want to tell it or should I, babe?” Maggie asked, looking over at Alex. The panicked glance she got in return was all the answer she needed. “I’ll tell it this time. So, it’s a funny story, right. Cause the first time I see her isn’t quite how we started dating. But I’m driving downtown, and I see this one walking down the sidewalk looking fine as hell in a leather jacket. And I swear, I nearly rear-ended the guy in front of me she had me so love-struck at first sight. But I managed to hit the brakes—couldn’t bear it if something had happened to Gertie—that’s my truck, in case you didn’t get that. She’s a real beauty; you’ll all have to come see her before the night’s over. Anyhow, she probably could’ve survived the crash—really, I could probably hit pretty much anything and you’d never know it. Not that I do,” she added with an exaggerated wink. Alex finished her glass of wine, nearly tipping it completely upside down, while Vasquez dug her nails into Lucy’s thigh to keep her from bursting out in laughter.

“Anyway, I see that she’s going to this coffee shop, so I start popping in just in case—and boom, like an angel, she appears.” But as Maggie got ready to reach the high point of her story—it was gonna be a good one, she could just feel it—a bright flash appeared in the living room, bringing with it a new person, though Alex would bet money he wasn’t human.

Within a moment, the majority of the room had produced guns, batons, and knives from nowhere and stood at the ready, weapons drawn, badges held high, and questions on their lips.

“I come in peace!” the creature yelled, looking beyond intimidated at the less than warm welcome. “But I bring a warning for Kara Zor-El, daughter of Krypton.”

As he turned to look at Kara, Alex swore under her breath, realizing she’d now have to get some random stranger willing to trade fake-dating services for free food on Craigslist to sign extensive nondisclosure agreements. But when she turned she found the woman pointing a gun and holding up a badge of her own.

“NCPD?” Alex hissed, while Kara and Mike moved with the visitor to the living room.

“Well who the hell is gonna let a Craigslist cop crash their Thanksgiving? That sounds like a sting operation if I’ve ever heard one. Besides, you’re not exactly the scientist you told me you were,” Maggie added, gesturing at the baton Alex had pulled from somewhere—where she was keeping it in jeans that skinny, she didn’t even want to guess.

“You’re gonna have some paperwork to fill out,” Alex grumbled.

“Is that about your sister being Supergirl?”

“How in the fuck—?”

“I’m a detective; I detect.”

“So you’re not just a bartender that’s great at reading people?”

“Nah, that was my gig in college, though, if it makes you feel any better.”

“It does not.”

“Fair enough. Anyway, if I’m gonna have to do paperwork, can I at least bring some of this dessert to go? I was promised a free meal…”