#Manu supported her of course

[randomnameless]

Thinking about Adrestia’s muhritocracy -

In a support that cannot exist in a first run of Tru Piss, Manu says this to a lizard :

Here's the thing about the opera. Talent isn't enough to earn you a position in a glamorous show.

You need money, connections, and, failing those, the stomach to commit a spot of violence.

I spent many nights buttering up nobles in power.

No matter how humiliating the task, I'd do it. Because I wanted to be a star.

That was the case in the Adrestia from Manu’s time, so maybe it would change under Supreme Leader?

Well...

Manu misses her youth, or the time where she was at her “prime” ; in other words, an era where her talent was peerless.

But Manu ages like everyone, and her “merit” and “talent” suddenly don’t matter anymore, because they disappear/decrease with age. Manu can’t sing like Doro does.

I think it was somehow deliberate to show the only “commoners” from the Adrestia be performers in the entertainment industry, where even in real life (talking about idols here) you reach a peak at, let’s say, around 20, and then it’s the end.

No matter how hard you worked or how much talent you have, once you reach Manu’s age (37!) you are not “talented” anymore, and in a meritocracy, if you have no merit, where do you land?

Doro and Manu want to find a (rich) husband as fast as possible, because they are aware their talents - don’t get me wrong, they worked to become professional singers - are only temporary.

So, uh, yeah.

If “merit” suddenly becomes everything, would it change a lot of things for Manu and Doro? Well... (Un)Surprisingly not.

They’d still have value as long as they’re young and can be popstarts, but when that talent starts to fade...

There’s no Church to hire you?

[sharenadraculea]

Fem!Primarch Au Ideas

Lion El‘Jonson: Is sligthly better at social stuff. Which might just be that it‘s more socially more acceptable on Caliban for a unmarried woman to refuse to speak to men. Officially spends most of her time telling Luther what to say and letting him do the social things. Unofficially has a crossdressing knight-persona to go out and do stuff. It took E like three days to figure out that that knight and Lion are in fact the same person. Might keep the knight-persona even after beeing found. Also she had a habit of sending all suitors on impossible quests in Caliban‘s forests where they would painfully die.

Fulgrim: Chemos has little to no genders. Either you can work or you are dead, what‘s in your pants doesn‘t really matter. Anyways, then Fulgrim get‘s discovered, introduced to the concept of gender and is now very anxious about performing gender expectations correctly. It isn‘t working very well. Guess who might not actually be a woman

Perturabo: Kind of got attic-daugthered by Dammekos, because of course all of that were his ideas, not the ones of a little girl. Perty is not amused by this. She later is in possesion of at least half the warcrime‘s squad braincells (the warcrime squad is a found family thing Angron, Sang, Perty and Konrad have going on), provides all the artillery support for them and is the main Konrad-handler (after Fulgrim of course). I haven‘t yet decided how much they are kissing.

Jaghatai Khan: Something, something crossdressing. Might kiss Morty. That‘s all my notes so far.

Leman Russ: I‘m really not yet sure what to do with Leman, because I could just do some purely cosmetic changes and it would be fine enough. But also I could do some really drastic changes… for example if I remember correctly in viking culture (which is what I‘m going off for Leman) magic was seen as a womens thing so you know ice-witch Leman would be fun

Konrad Curze: Still wondering if gender is something you can eat. Mostly cosmetic changes, but they are a bit more mentally stable due to the support of the warcrime-squad. I‘m considering giving Konrad a decently bad case of has-the-voice-of-a-little-kid, because that would be pretty creepy.

Sanguinius: I‘m going with the „Sanguinus was a slave as a child“-headcanon I‘ve seen in multiple fics and really like. So Sang had some pretty dark stuff happen to her and overall ends up beeing much less nice and more angry, the vibe is „Vampire warlord collecting the heads of her enemies“ and I love it a lot.

Angron: Is still Angron, no big changes here except she and Sang are kind of a couple

Roboute Guilliman: Had to spend a significant of time arguing over beeing allowed into politics directly (instead of doing the proper thing of marrying some old guy, puppeting him from behind the scenes and cashing in on the inheritence). Also Konor is still alive in this au, since Rob happend to be in the senate that day and carrying a hidden sword for entierly non nefarious reasons.

Mortarion: So Calas Typhon‘s mother was drowned for having a child with a overlord (presumably not voluntarely). If people start to suspect something similar happend to Morty, it‘s gonna be very good that Primarchs are very hard to kill. Especially if people don‘t take „there never was a child“ for a answer for where the nonexistent kid is, and start spreading rumors that Morty killed or abandoned it.

And I don‘t yet really have much or anything at all for the rest, so Rogal Dorn, Ferrus Manus, Magnus, Horus, Lorgar, Vulkan, Corvus and Alpharius Omegon, but feel free to give me some ideas

[thequietkid-moonie]

Sharing a darling

[ HEADCANONS ] [ Arcana & Forget Me Not ] [ Reverse 1999 ]

⚠️ Yandere, I don't support nor try to romanticize this toxic behaivor, is just for entretaiment

Hehehe >:3 i admit it i love Mister Forget me Not, I couldn't just not do this!

I don't like Arcana that much but broooo it have being so cool to write for her!! Maybe I should add her at the list of characters <333

Manus Vindictae is constantly recruiting more arcantist from all around the word to join their cause, so recruiting you where the perfect excuse to dragg you with them and keep you close

Arcana was the first one to catch feeling for you, it happens slowly, at first Arcana just knew you would be someone interesting so she herself trying to convince you to become part of them, saying that a precious arcantist like you shouldn't just settle for a life with the ordinary humans. She has her way around with words, knowing what to say to make you stay with her, gaining more and more power over you as her feeling grow

Forget me Not ended up having feeling for you after you joined Manus Vindictae, before having feelings for you he had just a few small interactions with you since Arcana didn't mind letting you have some freedom around what she considere her territory, Forget me Not feelings grow quite quick and that just lead him to want to be closer to you

However, Forget me Not felt bad for his own feelings since he knows how important you are for Arcana (she doesn't even try to hide it, she doesn't has reasons to do so), he tried to hold back his feelings as much as he could but it was unstopable, the need of being close to you and protect you is burning him inside. In all honestly, Arcana just found his actions funny, he is a loyal follower of hers and a key piece for the organization, she trust him and knows he will no betray her so she wouldn't mind much sharing you with him

Arcana decided to give Forget me Not the charge of taking care of you and keep close whenever she has important matter to attend as an indirect way to tell him that she allows him to love you too, wich make Forget me Not feel relief and let himself express his own feelings

Forget me Not is a gentleman when it comes to you, prioritazing your safety and comfort about anything else (also doing it in the name of Arcana), as long as you don't fight back against him you could pretty much recive a royalty treatment from his part, wanting nothing but protect you from the cruelty and despair this world causes to innocents

While Arcana has not too much problems with giving you some freedom (but still watching over you and having subordinates around you to make sure you don't do anything you shouldn't do) Forget me Not doesn't like others around you, he is more possessive and pretty much insolate you, only leaving people he gives strict permision to be with you, aside from Arcana of course. Even when Forget me Not feels anxious seeing you walk around thanks to Arcana he doesn't have the right to say anything, he has no right to go against what she says so he just swallow his anxiety and try to trust in her care for you (or sometimes is he the one keeping you company and watching over you)

Arcana doesn't has much problems with sharing you with Forget me Not, but she makes sure that you two understand that she is the one with the power in here, everytime she want you to be with her Forget me Not has no other option than stop whatever he was doing to let you go with her, not him or you has the right to say no

As well, contrary to Forget me Not, for Arcana you are more like a doll for her entretaiment, you won't be mistreaten but has pretty much not voice nor vote, you can complain about small and insignificant things and she will be willing to even change a few things for you, but with important things she is the one in the power and you'll have to obey unless you want her to be mad. Most of the time Arcana is pretty loving and gentle with you, but that would depend in how well you behaive, she will not accept rebelious attitude and has not problem with get violent if thats what it take for you to understand

Despite the problems they can be, if you behaive and doesn't fight your safety will be assured, both know how to treat you right and are quite doting, not having any problem in giving you all you want and need as long as you behaive

[wosowrites]

Loosing Control (Jordan Nobbs x Reader)

Warnings: none

a/n: for my well being, i’m going to pretend Jordan is still with arsenal!! also, jordan is the love interest and plays a big part in the story but it’s also kind of an arsenal x reader fix. based on this request:

Prompt: In which fans were getting disrespectful ( i’ll be using this prompt a lot bcs i love it )

You loved playing at the Emirates. It was one of your favorite stadiums to play at, behind Wembley. But, with big stadiums, came more fans, and usually you loved the environment they brought. The cheers, the happiness, the support… it was always welcome by the Arsenal girls. Except today, it seemed as though people were unusually un-tamed.

It was Leah’s birthday, and the second leg of the quarter final against Bayern, you were 2-0 up at half, and then after. Arsenal was playing amazing. Your girlfriend, Jordan Nobbs got subbed on in the 73 minute. You were worried about her, she wasn’t getting the playing time she deserves. But that was a thought for later. You pushed hard, working to try and keep Bayern out of Manu’s box. As a defender, you were making crucial tackles constantly, and by the end of the game, you just fell down onto your back.

Jordan ran up to you, smiling wildly and kneeling down behind you, doing a drum roll on your stomach. "That was fucking amazing!" She yelled, you let out a laugh and sat up, soon helped up by the smaller girl. You hugged her tightly, then pressing your forehead against hers.

Your bubble popped when you saw the Arsenal girls and staff lining up and holding hands, all of them looking at the fans. You and Jordan ran up to them and you grabbed Leah’s hand in one, and Jordan’s in the other. You all ran up to the fans and lifted your hands in the air, the crowd was wild.

You took a few pictures, and talked to a few of the girls on both teams, consoling Giorgia Stanway. Then, fans started calling your name and you walked over to them, smiling. You signed jerseys, hats, flags, scarves, arms, paper, phone cases. Everything. But it was starting to get a lot. "Y/n!! Look over here! Y/N! WHAT THE HELL DUDE?!" An especially angry man was yelling at you, and most fans around him were eyeing him weirdly. Jordan was signing things beside you and Manu was busy talking to a girl wearing her keeping jersey on your left. You didn’t really notice what was going on in the cluster of thighs being waved at you. But then you heard someone say. "Y/n! Can you sign my cleat?" And then you saw something flying towards you.

The object made collision with your head, making you let out a scream and double over in pain. You rested your hands on your knees, bending over. After a second to recover, you brought your hand to your forehead and felt sticky, wet blood. There was then a hand on your back as you straightened up and placed the entirety of your palm on your cut. When you took away your hand, you saw it covered crimson red. Manu looked at you, worried and then Jordan noticed the commotion as the crowd had gotten quite silent. The people in other sections of the stadium were looking around in confusion and so we’re both teams and their managers. You looked up at the fans, anger you couldn’t hold in on your face. You slipped off your shirt, and then the fans started yelling, thinking you would give it to them. "What the hell is wrong with you guys?!" You yelled, but no one but Manu and Jordan who were at your side heard. Pressing your jersey to your forehead, you walked back to the bench, accompanied by your keeper and girlfriend. "What the hell happened?" Jordan asked, stopping you in the field and placing her hand over yours that was keeping the jersey to your face. She pulled the jersey away gently and looked at the cut before applying pressure with your jersey again. "Some psycho threw their cleat at me. They wanted me to sign it." You said. "You’re joking." Manu said, looking behind her shoulder. "I wish. Shit it fucking hurts." You were now almost at the bench when Jonas and the medical team came rushing up to you. "What happened?" Jonas asked, doing the same gesture Jordan had done and taking the jersey off your forehead. "Someone threw their cleat at her. I’ll kill them! I’m not joking." Jordan snarled. "I’ll kill them too! Let’s go!" Jonas said, "Hey! I’m coming too!" Katie yelled, wobbling on her crutches. They all started to walk towards the section you had just came back from. But most of the Arsenal girls, having noticed a commotion had surrounded you guys now, and Jonas got held back by Stina and Rafaelle, Leah held back little Jordan and Caitlin stepped in front of Katie. "Calm down. Okay everyone take a second to breathe. Let’s go in the tunnel." Stina told the group as loudly as she could.

The medic had replaced your dirty jersey with a wet towel that you were holding to your head as you walked into the tunnel, you walked into the changing room and everyone took places at their cubbies. "Okay girls, we’ll address the… y/n situation-" Jonas started saying as you laughed. "-later. But right now… WERE ON TO THE SEMIS!" He yelled. The group started screaming and jumping out of joy, but you stayed put because the medical examiner was cleaning your cut. "You won’t need stitches. I’ll just put a bandaid over it to keep it closed." The man said. You nodded at him and thanked him. He put on the bandaid, informed Jonas and then walked out. "Do you think they got the person throwing their cleat at you on video?" Katie asked you. "I don’t know. Maybe?" You asked.

There was a TV in the changing room and sooner than you knew it, Leah had turned the broadcasts on and rewinded it. Surely enough, there was a camera panning the stadium just as you got the cleat to the head. You can clearly see how you doubled over and how Manu came rushing to you.

"Ten bucks says I can go back out there and make the person who threw that shoe wish they were never born." Jordan said, only half joking. "I’d pay good money to see that. But you don’t want to end up on those 'when arsenal women loose control' videos on youtube." Caitlin joked. "Oh my god… I yelled. I yelled at the fans when they started screaming for my jersey when I took it off to wipe my blood. Am I gonna be on those videos? I can’t be on those videos. Those are like.. 98% clips of Katie!" You said, making Katie scowl at you even though she knew you were right. "Don’t scowl. You know it’s true." You said to her.

"No one heard you, the stadium was too loud. It’s all good." Manu said, smiling at you from across the room.

You went on to shower and then change, and eventually it was only you and Jordan left in the locker room. "I’m proud of you. You played great." You told her, walking up to her and putting your hands on her waist. She held your arms and smiled at you. "Thank you. It felt good to be on even if it was only for 20 minutes." She told you, tucking a strand of wet hair behind your ear. She leaned in to kiss you, and you kissed, tangling your fingers through her hair. "Let’s go love birds." Kim Little said, peeping through the door way. "We don’t get any privacy, do we?" You laughed, keeping your hands on Jordan as you both looked at Kim. "You’re making out in the changing room like teens. Let’s go." She laughed, walking away. "Sit with me?" You asked, looking back at her. "Why do you always ask me that? I’ve been sitting with you every trip for years." Jordan said, grabbing her bag and yours. "For old times sake. To remember the first time you asked me to sit with you." You said simply.

7 years ago.

It was your first away game since joining Arsenal. You had joined only a month ago, but due to international break and the schedule, all your games had been home games. You were nervous, not wanting to be the one sitting by yourself. You had gotten close with the girls, but you were still shy. Jordan Nobbs had caught your eye, having talked to her a few times. You were 21, and fresh out of the university of Portland. Moving to London… it was hard. But you knew it would be worth it. The team were all waiting at the training centre with their luggage, waiting for the bus that would take them to Manchester for their game against City. You were standing quietly in a circle with a few of your teammates when Jordan came running up, the girl looking even smaller beside her large luggage. "Am I late?" She said, joining the group. "Yep. As always." Leah teased. "Damn it. Don’t tell Pedro." Jordan said. You smiled at yourself, finding her tardiness funny. "What you laughing at?" She teased you, nudging your side. "You." You laughed, looking into her eyes with a smile. Jordan looked back, ignoring the girls who had started up their conversation again. "Hey, sit with me?" She asked. Your eyes widened at the offer, but you nodded. "I’d love too."

[windblume-violet]

Matilda role analysis based on the latest event

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR FLOOR IT! TO THE GOLDEN CITY. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I have to start this off with definitions of archetypal roles in literature if only, to ease you into what I am trying to say: A Main Character is the player through whom the audience experiences the story first hand, a Protagonist is the prime mover of the plot, and a Hero is a combination of both Main Character and Protagonist.

With that in mind, I'd like to state: Matilda is a Main Character and Joe is the Protagonist. I could, of course, be convinced of Joe being of the Hero archetype—if only because we see his perspective in glimpses. Mercuria is considered none of them in my opinion though. In fact, I'd argue to say Mercuria simply plays a supportive role. She is not a side or minor role, but a supporting role. Integral to plot, but not the driving force itself.

The driving force has always been Joe after all. Whether it's when Legers sent Gio to gather information on Joe to get, "A slice of the New Age Market pie," or when he enters the local Foundation building to find his estranged sister Paulina. In fact, when he goes to the Foundation, he causes a chain reaction that leads our main character Matilda to take center stage in search of him. He makes plans and deals in the background, while having Mercuria defect to branch the gaps between Legers hand and his own.

Our eyes and ears are Matilda, and after a certain point what we know and see is from her perspective. From her perspective, we see Legers pressure Joe with Hollick's life. We see Joe lose favor unfairly through her eyes. We believe that the only people still on Joe's side is Pioneer, Catseye Wisen, and Matilda. We don't realize that Mercuria is releasing Legers from the Order of Enlightenment through easing his denial and grief of his dying twin brother. We don't see Joe making agreements in the background, and we certainly don't realize others had access to the Elysium through Joe's dealings. We only learn bits and pieces at the very end where it comes to a head. To the point I began considering Matilda and Matheus as narrative foils to one another. As both are outsiders to the New Age Market crew in varying ways.

In Matheus's case, he is a member of Manus Vindicatae running the Order of Enlightenment cult in the New Age Market. His goals were to drain followers of the cult of all their valuables, and turn them into mindless Manus Vindicatae followers. All of it was meant to be given in tribute to the Guiding One. While he did ensare many of the more vulnerable and gullible citizens within San Francisco's New Age Market area; he could not ensare Joe, Mercuria, Becket, Hollick, or Catseye Wisen. Their distrust of authority and outsiders prevented him from truly leaving the city in the wake of a tragedy. He was never one of them, nor could he ever truly steal anyone from the New Age Market's tightknit community.

Whereas for Matilda, she's from the Saint Pavlov Foundation, sent to capture Joe because he broke visitors confidentiality regulations. She starts off just as rocky as Matheus, but unlike Matheus, she earns the New Age Market crew's respect through her actions against the cult and Manus Vindicatae. Although, they do still keep at an arm's length in their plans. Matilda may have their respect in regards to her determination to help them, but they do not trust her succeed. Let alone get them back up from the Foundation. They believe they have to solve it themselves, and solving it exactly what they do. It is only in the epilogue that Joe lets her fully into the inner circle by giving her a badge representing the trust and respect she's earned from them.

In a way, Matilda proves to Joe that he can trust the Foundation to help through her willingness to sacrifice herself for his survival, and even at the behest of his pleas for her to do otherwise. Despite his attempts to prevent her sacrifice and his own likely demise, Matilda and Joe fall unconscious, unaware of what is to happen next. In those unseeing moments, Matilda's promises of Foundation backpack come to fruition. All of this convinces Joe to leave San Francisco's New Age Market to Legers to join the Foundation, and giving Matilda the badge that signifies her place within his community as his friend.

As the epilogue begins to shift, Joe's story as the Protagonist ends. Moving Matilda's role as the Main Character to slightly into the role of Hero, while she searches for the whereabouts of her mother. With that note, I am almost certain Matilda's will end up the Hero of a future patch. Her character arc is not yet over, just as it began in Mor Pankh and it will not end in San Francisco. I cannot wait to see where Bluepoch takes us with her as the game continues it's journey.

[twistednuns]

September 2024

Being the first one up in a quiet house. Sitting outside journalling, enjoying French sea salt butter and passion fruit jam on toasted pieces of baguette. The view of the sea. Painting, reading, a nap. Vacation mode.

The familiarity of it all. The house, the area, the people.

Snorkelling in Les Issambres with C. Trying to snatch away stones from octopus tentacles. Hanging out on the SUP together. Many cute kisses here and there (C. was in a very good mood).

Learning to communicate a little better. Slowly, slowly.

French supermarkets. The greedy first day haul.

Working on a mixed media painting which turned out useful for Trypophobia exposure therapy. I kinda like the depth of it though and the interesting shapes I created.

A chubby restaurant cat called Patate at Pampelonne Beach. I secretly call her Chonkita. She was very happy about my scritches!

An amusing sight: the lady in St. Tropez who was walking through town with a pack of about ten tiny dogs.

Little intimate moments with C. Analysing my friends and my relationship to them. Also: the realization that a chapter is closing. That I'm ready for something new that'll be so much more what I need.

A trip to Grasse. Walking through the medieval old town, visiting the perfume museum, shopping at Fragonard (I got a hand-marbled oversized shirt in earthy colours). Iced cappuccino with flower petals at Café Fleur. Eating a rich and delicious Galette in Fréjus.

The gorgeous light and shadow pattern on all of us when we were having drinks at the beach.

Driving through the back country to eat at a fabulous little restaurant by the sea. I had a three-course-menu: summer truffle burrata with roasted nectarines, zucchini filled with black olive tapenade (with puree, breadcrumbs, chickpeas and salad) and a delicious pistachio semifreddo with balsamic prunes.

Getting everything I want at the supermarket so I have a few kitchen souvenirs that'll make me smile when I think back to this summer.

Strawberry-flavoured sparkling water. The Maison Perrier x Magnetic Juice water in strawberry/kiwi is such a delight.

And, a final delight on the way back: a large cappuccino and a box of tiny Pocket Coffees at Autogrill.

Desperate measures after a weekend hiding in bed, trying extra hard to pretend not to exist: an evening at Therme Bad Wörishofen with Manu. Drinking a strawberry cocktail in the warm pool. Talking, no pretense.

The jay (Garrulus glandarius) I keep seeing behind my house. I just looked up its meaning and apparently it's connected with accepting responsibility for yourself and mustering up the courage to master a hard test. There are so many signs reaching me at the moment. Teachings about personal responsibility in the Gestalt therapy book I'm reading. Instagram bombarding me with messages about Eclipse Season and that something old has to go in order to make room for the life I've always wanted. It's slowly starting to sink in but I'm still so afraid. Stuck with my insecurity, between different needs and feelings. Inside a contradiction between safety and sensibility on the one hand, taking a risk and stepping into freedom and my full potential on the other.

A hit of nostalgia when I heated up the milk for my cereal. It was soggy and disgusting but reminded me of my childhood.

Realizing that I've never seen the last season of The Umbrella Academy!

I have very cute and supportive friends. Who tell me how talented I am and that something better is waiting for me at the other end of this crisis.

Making a decision. Seeing psychiatrists. Informing my headmaster. This is the beginning of a transformation and it's not gonna feel nice for a while but I'm sure it'll be worth it. I'm excited about what comes next.

Little trinkets: a glass bottle with a round wooden lid, a green glass candlestick holder, and a yellow T-shirt.

Spending a few days at Christian's place. Staying in my comfort zone. Honest communication and support.

Baking a buttery mirabelle cake. Sharing it with a few neighbours at the garden table.

Feline affection: The orange cat who was waiting for me outside the doctor's office. All that crazy Findus energy. And cuddling with Charlie who was sleeping inside the little blanket fort in the garden.

Going on a little bike tour through the forest on a beautiful afternoon with golden light. It smelled of moss and mushrooms. And I couldn't resist squeezing a few Impatiens seed pods, of course.

Reading a great book about the origin of Gestalt therapy. Analyzing my own process.

Spending an afternoon in Munich with C. and L. We went to the Archeological museum and Haus der Kunst where we had a snack at Goldene Bar and then I saw the exhibitions alone. Of course I found an interesting book about Marina Abramović at the bookstore there.

Productive procrastination. Observing myself in my avoidance of hard tasks and difficult feelings. Self-compassion.

Finding a small book about sleep, dreams and the night on a park bench. Cutting out poems and illustrations.

Birthing a chestnut from its spiky uterus.

Meeting Madeleine, a Gestalt therapist who works with somatic techniques, voice and breathing. I felt seen and I think we have a very similar approach to healing. She said that self acceptance might be something she could help me with. I'm curious and excited about working together.

Primavera Energiekick spray. It smells so good. I got it in an esoteric store after my first Gestalt Therapy session along with a tiny golden Om ornament. A few houses down I also discovered a little Indian shop and got two pictures of Kali/Durga. My last treat: three stalks of yellow and dark red Chrysanthemum.

My first meditation in a while. I actually craved it. I looked into the mirror, moved my hips, felt the need to turn inwards and connect with myself. I felt gratitude, joy, safety, confidence. Now I'm trying to reprogram my brain to get rid of my negativity bias and addiction to suffering.

Being helpful: translating something for a Chinese family at the supermarket. And forgetting about myself for a moment to be there for others: genuinely caring for Lucie, asking about how she felt after her cold - and leaving it at that. Not forcing my own problems on others for once.

Back on track: returning to yoga and choir practice after the summer break even though I already had two appointments in the afternoon.

Waking up energized with a desire to move.

Making coconut rice pudding with chunky mango cubes.

A vision that came to me during savasana: a cluster of luminous white diamond shapes and sparkles against a dark background. I wonder if I could paint what I saw or use it as inspiration at least.

Visiting Becki and Janina in Augsburg. A staredown with their cat Leo. Their gorgeous apartment and the tea book that Becki co-authored.

An evening dedicated to tantric rituals at Lachdach Pling. It was different than expected but a lovely event nevertheless.

Cat therapy. Having Findus lying on my chest, purring. It feels so soothing and nice.

The sickly summer lilac I planted in Christian's garden actually started to bloom again!

[songofopal]

The Jackal Squad ( song of opal Au)

Wanted to do some introductions to the jackal squad in this lil Au. For starters the squad are all siblings (yes we caved and chose this route) with Infinite being the oldest (they do have a sibling older then infinite but she’s a bit unimportant to the story until later on) . Getting into individual introductions we’ll start from oldest to youngest.

Finnegan/infinite:Birth name Fadil, Finnegan is the oldest male sibling who often took over the role as father figure to the younger ones when their dad, known as the phantom(Manu),would go on rigorous missions to provide financial support for the family. He’s pretty cunty of course when in front other mercenary groups. Only his siblings have seen his true self under a metaphorical mask until after the “death” of his youngest sibling to where he masks even around his family

Bandit/uno:Birth name Cairo , Bandit is the third child as well as adopted into the family. He is a very good strategist tho often buts heads with Finnegan during a missions planning stages . Hes also the best cook out of all of the siblings

Louis/Deux:Birth name Karim, the right hand man to Finnegan and the forth child. Him and bandit are the same age tho Cairo is a few months older. The Shakespeare theatre kid sibling basically. Also the coffee addict

Zulla/Trois:Birth name Nefret , Shes a big Tom boy and a very bad influence (in a loving way) with the youngest two. She’s not really close to her oldest sister (Tiye) since Tiye would focus on Academic’s more after the incident.

Blitz/Quatre:Birth name Amr, he is a very chaotic child and often gets himself into trouble. He looks up to his sibling’s and would try and impress them which often gives Finnegan a heart attack when the boy gets into something he shouldn’t. Has a special interest in weapons and artillery

Aida/Melody/Majesty :Body’s name Anipee , the youngest of the siblings. Very musically inclined with their favorite instrument being the violin 🎻. They were very close to Finnegan and blitz before the incident. As the system formed Aida became the name of a protector with Melody being the hosts name.

Honorable mentions being the oldest Tiye who went to be an Archaeologist and works at being a teacher part time when she has no expeditions.

[parcequecestnotreprojeeeet]

Hi. It’s me, Fanfic Anon #2. I’m back with part two of my series, Laurence (I went in age order, ha ha). Laurence’s is based on reporting I saw about their response to her divorce. I’m unsure how true that report is, but I honestly haven’t seen that much else about her. Of all three, she’s the one I had the hardest time with, because of that and because I’m unsure what a relationship would look like given they’re the same age and were peers in school for so long. They’re obviously close (she shows up at all the major events, she clearly spends a lot of time on vacation with them), but beyond that? So like Sebastian, I went for a more friend-ish relationship than a strictly parental one, even if he clearly loves them like one (every time he says “nos enfants” my heart grows two sizes). Hopefully you all enjoy it.

For context, according to the report she spent a week with Brigitte in Touquet and Emmanuel cleared his schedule as much as he could to spend the weekend with her. (PS as a disclaimer: I’m sure her ex is a lovely guy - I just figure Emmanuel and Brigitte are incredibly protective of their kids no matter what, so no hate towards him was meant by this piece.)

II. Laurence

"Where is she?" he asked his wife the second he ran in the door of their house in Touquet. He hated that he couldn’t get there sooner, couldn’t get there the second she had called them in tears as the world had felt like it was ending. He hates more that he has to leave tomorrow, a short weekend the most he could clear from his schedule. He was desperate to make this time count as much as he could.

"She’s on the couch right now in the living room," Brigitte replied sneaking a quick kiss, needing to ground herself in him after the last few days she’s spent providing moral and emotional support, the process bringing up some of the trauma from her own divorce she had worked hard to put behind her while her heart broke at the sight of her daughter in obvious pain.

"How are you doing?" he asked, realizing from the way she was acting that while she has been putting on a strong front for her daughter, it was a front.

"I won’t lie and say it’s been easy for me. It is splitting me in two watching her like this. All I want to do is protect her, to make sure nothing and no one hurts her. It’s what I’ve done my whole life and then this asshole, who promised to love her and cherish her and take care of her for their rest of their lives does this? And there’s nothing I can do to protect her? That hurts far more than anything else this is bringing up. Besides during my divorce, at least I had you -"

"She has us. She’s not alone."

At Brigitte’s nod, he snuck another quick kiss before rushing into the living room, his heart breaking at the sight of this strong, intelligent, kind hearted woman so hurt.

"Men are the worst," he opened with a joke, hoping to bring a smile to her face, rejoicing at the light, surprised chuckle he got from her.

"Not all men," Laurence replied, moving to make room for him next to her on the couch.

"You’re right. Your brother’s not bad."

"And my kids! And my nephews!"

"Of course, although, I said men. They’re still boys," he allowed, sitting next to her and holding his arms out to hug her.

"I’ll keep that in mind," she replied as she settled her head on his shoulder.

"My brothers aren’t horrible, I guess, although, jury’s out on your Uncles."

"Still holding grudges?"

"You hurt one of my girls, and I never forget that," he told her very seriously, so she knew and could appreciate the full weight of what he was saying.

"You’re forgetting someone pretty important in that list there, Manu."

"Am I?"

"Yeah. You’re not the worst."

"I don’t know about that. As soon as you hung up, I threatened to send the army on him. Ask your mother. She had to talk me down off that ledge."

"Why did she do that?" she asked with another light laugh.

"I know, right? Something about ‘abuse of power,’ and ‘she wouldn’t come visit me in jail,’ and I think she may have mentioned something about how he’s ‘still the kids’ father.’”

"She’d so visit you in jail," she replied, levity starting to work its way back in, especially at the image of her mother visiting him during visiting hours, a smile finally back on her face.

"That was her weakest argument," he agrees with a smile of his own.

"I mean. She wouldn’t be happy about it, but she’d be in anytime there would be visiting hours, and probably would wait outside when she couldn’t be in there with you." She let out a deep breath she didn’t know she was holding. "Thank you. I needed that."

"Humour? I got a whole set of dad jokes lined up. Do you want a pun or corny knock-knock joke first? I read a whole book in preparation on the way over.”

She laughed, full-heartedly at that for the first time in days. "Thank you for cheering me up, for supporting me, for always being here when I need you."

"Listen to me," he said, pulling back to she could look him in the eyes and see how much he meant it, "you are my girl. I meant what I said - no one hurts my girls and gets away with it. Not your mother, not you, not your sister, not my granddaughters. He hurt you. He will not be getting away with it. Not on my watch.

"I’m sorry I only have this short time to be here in person right now. It’s in moments like this that I wish my schedule was more my own, more normal, because if I could take the full week off and bunker down here with you and your mother, I would. But I am always one phone call or text message away, any time day or night, any country or time zone. Because I am here for you, always."

She smiled as she saw her mother enter the room, clearly feeling like she needed to join them. "Come on, maman," Laurence waved her over.

Brigitte settled on the other side of Laurence from her husband, making sure she was cocooned in their love. "We love you," Brigitte snuck a kiss to her forehead.

"I love you two, too."

Hellooooo fanfic Anon #2! ❤️

Oh my heart! No but seriously, If I thought it couldn’t get better and sweater than Sebastian’s story, you just completely proved me wrong. In all ways! 👏🏻

Even through the difficulty that it is to write stories about their kids, you just continue to do it and brilliantly! And I continue to repeat myself but I can’t get tired of saying it... love how hard you work on trying to stay true to the actual characters involved! Thank you, really appreciate it!

Hahaha Emmanuel threatening to send the army on him for hurting his girl, the conversation between Emmanuel and Laurence about Brigitte reasoning him on it and saying that her mum would visit him on jail made me laugh! But that kind of laugh with a very warm feeling in the heart 🤧🥰🥰

This means, there’s only one story of the kids left ☹️ hahaha I wanted more because it’s just so beautiful!

Thank you so much! ❤️❤️❤️

[where-the-sabia-sings]

Manu and the 1964’s dictatorship Part I

Hold on cause this is going to be long

* so, I wanna start this with the fact that for Manu the first 2 years were probably very confusing for her. Cause at first she thought for a moment that all military discourse about “we’re saving Brazil from the communists” and “we’re putting order” could actually be a good thing

* I mean from most of Latin America countries the Cuban Revolution not only had a huge influence and impact in the social movements, but also helped to spread “Red Scare” even more.

* And then you had a 19 year old Manuela, in the middle of Cold War, finally setting up for a Non Aligned diplomacy, having to deal with a political crisis made by Jânio Quadros resign, and also trying to mend the lingering consequences of Varga’s suicide in 1954. The girl was on the verge of a anxious attack, but having to conceal everything inside of her, cause if there’s one thing Manuela love is sweeping every “minor” issues under the rug and put up a smile (preying for the best)

* On the other side you had Manu’s never endings desire to finally consolidate as Latin America’s power house. she sided with the victors of WII (after Vargas pounding a lot which side would benefit more) waiting for new position in the post war scenario that would come, and where was her reward??

* Now add all this internal struggling with Alfred’s paranoiac and overbearing self after what happened with Cuba.

* I headcanon Alfred having an extremely distorted heroic view of himself, especially when it came to dealing with his Latin American neighbors. He sees himself as some kinda of a “liberator” of the Americas, he’s the one who kicked his colonizer father first (coughHaitididitbetterthoughcough). He with all his liberal ideals who knows better than his poor neighbors, and of course, should be the one “””guiding””” them.

* A fucking condescending son of bitch that’s what he is

* When Cuba kicked him out in 1959 that heroic illusion was shattering and Al couldn’t bear the idea of another of neighbors deciding going against him and siding with Ivan, even more when it was one as big as Manu. A continental Cuba to haunt him.

* Now going back to Manu

* Brazil’s boss, Jango, (the vice president who succeeded in power after Jânio Quadros resign) with a more laboristic left leaning ideology going for new social politics, like finally setting up for a new land reform, and closing ties with China.

* Please keep in mind he was not a Communist, and at that time Brazil’s communist party was extremely weak and has its leader exiled.

* also said, it didn’t mean that other social movements, like Ligas Campesinas, weren’t working at the moment.

* Jango had a very hard time staying in the Office, he had to deal not only with internal problems like Campanha da Legalidade, but also the international (read US and Europe) pressure.

* All this movements only helped to increase the US believe that Brazil would fall under a communist rule (a joke i know).

* With the support of Brazil’s elite, the Catholic Church, and of course, the military (who has always been a far right reactionary force), the US advanced in Plan Condor and decided to support the coup d’etat made by the military.

* And this support came in all the aspects it could be, financially, ideologically, creating organizations with the only

* To translate all this stuff this to hetalia, I can see Manu in mix of a anger and anxiety with the fact that when things seemed to finally calmed down, and she’d be starting as a new power, she was again in middle of another crises.

* Put this together with Alfred desperate to maintain his dominance in the americas after Cuba, and his insistent sickly overbearing pressure about how Ivan’s influence would only bring chaos

* Alfred knows Manu’s desire to aspire like him, and he knew how to manipulate her into his wishes too.

* Manuela knew very well the damage that a institutional rupture brings to a nation, but she let Alfred’s pressure (and her own greed) blind her into the ideal that the military would still be a better option. That all the “collateral” issues could be overcome with time, I mean, they’d only be there for the time to clean up all mess and go right??

* But as we know that didn’t happened, this nightmare was only beginning and would last for 21 years

[leo-fie]

[Image description: plain white text on black background

so in this au malcador somehow convinces the emperor to make at least half ot the primarchs female. but despite this, the emperor is still a misogynist, so his treatment of daughters is ehhhh NOT GREAT

important points:

the emperor is hermaphrodite but poses as a male ALWAYS bc he used to it from ancient times + internalized misogyny

gender of the primarch defines gender of the legion, gene-seed is gender-specific. the only mixed legions are ultramarines (accepted marines from lost legions) and alpha legions (alpharius reasons). chaos warbands are usually mixed

who is who:

female: sanguinia, vulkana, angrin, lionel johnson, lorga aurelian, perturabo

male: horus lupercal, leman russ, fulgrim, jaghatai khan, rogal dorn, ferrus manus, mortarion, corvus corax, roboute guilliman

magna the red is a woman but shapeshifts frequently, so does not care really about her body being any gender. still calls herself a woman with pride

konrad curze is intersex, its legion is mal, but konrad does not call itself that

alpharius and omegon - unknown. these bastards made everything complicated again.

the emperor really wants women to take more feminine roles of course and doesn't take them as a serious power usually, only as a supporting units (sic). anguinia is a perfect daughter for him ad she really tries to conform to his expectations although she is not that perfect deep inside. war hounds/world eaters were supposed to be a moral support legion, but when angrin was found it all went to shit of course. she's the emperor's least favourite, because she isn't a kind compassionate woman as he designed her to be.

relationships change only slightly, for example perturabo suspects that emperor prefers dorn to her because dorn is male. primarchs are much less misogynistic than their father because they simply did not live for so long in patriarchal society, but russ is picking up father's bad habit and is frequently misogynistic towards magna, angrin or lionel. power dynamic does not change, they are artificially created after all. in mixed legions everything is the same because it's really hard to distinguish between female and male astartes, sometimes they don't even question the gender of their battle-siblings, it is just not important. and guilliman and alpharius have practically no misogyny in them, they do not prioritize children on gender basis

image description end]

after the last post i decided to share some au stuff of mine, read under the cut

tldr: the emperor is still a piece of shit, but half of the primarchs are women

[scotianostra]

“Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on”

The words of Winnie Ewing after her win Hamilton for the Scottish National Party in a by-election on 2nd November 1967.

Winifred Ewing became only the second SNP MP to be elected to Westminster. The result was a shock for the other Scottish parties and especially for Labour which had taken 71.2 per cent of the vote at the previous general election. 

The Nationalists, who had been written off as a spent force, suddenly seemed to be staging a dramatic recovery. The first party to react to this challenge was the Conservatives. The following year their leader Ted Heath made a commitment to advancing Scottish home rule at the party's Perth conference - the so-called 'Declaration of Perth.' 

A  poor showing in the 1970 general election, where they lost Hamilton and took only one other seat, the Western Isles, of course led to the shelving of Heath's plans, betrayed again by Westminster with false promises.

Later electoral successes for the SNP led the other parties to re-examine their attitude to Scottish autonomy. This is how the Daily Record (which had already hired Ewing as one of their columnists) reported her arrival at the Commons and her swearing-in.

Scotland's first Nationalist MP for 20 years yesterday took her seat in the House of Commons. It was Winnie Ewing's day - and a proud day it was. As she passed smiling broadly and giving the thumbs up sign to a cheering avenue of nearly 600 supporters, the fragile-looking heroine of Hamilton said: 'This is a wonderful feeling. I don't think any woman in Scotland could ask for more. I'm proud to be here for Scotland.'

On her new role in the corridors of power, she declared, 'Of course I expect to make an impact . . . not today and perhaps not tomorrow . . . but certainly before my time at Westminster is up.'

After the hard slog of the Hamilton by-election, this was the hard-earned icing on the cake. Earlier a railway special emblazoned with the SNP crest emptied 250 supporters onto the platform at King's cross. In the pre-dawn darkness banners waved and a lone piper played 'Scotland the Brave.' The glare of television arc lights recorded the tartan triumph.

Winnie was joined on the overnight express from Glasgow by party members and kindred spirits in Hamilton and Edinburgh.

And for 400 miles the whisky flowed fast and song flowed faster. But in spite of yesterday's pomp and cermony, it was also a family day.

Winnie was accompanied by her husband Stewart and the children - Fergus 10, Terry 3 and Anabelle 7.

At King's Cross they were met by cars to match the mood. Three all-Scottish [Hillman] imps whisked the Ewings to their Kensington hotel whilst special buses took supporters to a victory breakfast.

Meanwhile party members held a summit meeting with Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalists at London's Caxton Hall. The hall was festooned with banners and placards, including one on the Boston Tea Party theme, 'taxation without representation is tyranny'.

Back at the hotel, Winnie was searching for a lost sock. As she helped the children dress, parliament was still three hours and three miles away.

Then Dad arrived on the scene to take the family sight-seeing while Winnie left for a trial run through of the afternoon's ceremony.

She was greeted at the gate of the House by Manus Boyle, a Scots bobby.

'Welcome to London, madam,' he said. Then he turned 'She's rather sweet isn't she? She's bound to cause quite a stir.'

Then at 2.35, the climax, Winnie in purple costume - with a sprig of lucky heather - walked with her family through the crowds and into the commons. The Hope of Hamilton had become the Wonder of Westminster.

Daily Record, 17 November 1967

Winnie Ewing’s husband Stewart was so certain of victory that, according to the Advertiser of the time, he won £1500 on a bet placed with Ladbrokes.

After losing her seat three years later  Ewing returned to Westminster as MP for Moray and Nairn in February 1974 when the SNP won six seats and although her majority declined in the October election that same year which saw 11 SNP candidates elected, she held on and became the SNP’s spokesperson on external affairs and the European Economic Community.

Winnie became a prominent Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 1975.

It was during her time as an MEP that she acquired the nickname ‘Madame Ecosse’ because of her strong advocacy of Scotland. By 1987 she had been elected the SNP party president and in 1995 she had become Britain’s longest-serving MEP but gave up the role in 1999, instead becoming a Member of the Scottish Parliament, where she represented the Highlands and Islands.

On  May 12th 1999 Winnie entered the history books once more with the words

“The Scottish Parliament which adjourned on the 25th of March in the year 1707 is hereby reconvened”.

On a personal note I never seen my gran as a political person, but she had a picture of Winnie Ewing on her wall. Winnie turned 92 in last July. 

[randomnameless]

I am gonna be honest I really don't get how people don't understand Crest have nothing to do with being nobles, it's literaly the whole reason behind Mercedes's and Emile's tragic story, that their father who didn't had a crest wanted to marry Mercedes because she had one like her Mother so his children can inherit the Crest of Lamine.

On a side note, I do think that even if Rhea didn't created the Crest system it would have happened with or without her, Crest are superpowers that are rare and humans either worship like a god or treat as a witch people who have special power, I wouldn't believe for a second that left out as is in nature people who have Crest wouldn't try to rule over the other anyway or wouldn't be treated like aberrations.

Hm...

Mercie's mom had a crest and was a nobody, which could be married off to a bastard : aka, despite her crest, Mercie's mom wasn't a noble who was able to say big F to potential "suitors" who were supposed to be beneath her in status since they had no crest themselves.

Constance (and what's left of her fam?) were demoted to nothing and sent to the sewers in Garreg Mach, even if Constance comes from a prestigious family that got a crest from a Saint.

As you said, regardless of nobility wanting to pretend to have "better blood" than the pleb, Crests are superpowers, which would always be sought afer.

The games does it best to avoid talking about the tangible and objective benefits of having a crest - when we see Dimitri crush a man as easily as a snowball in a cutscene - but imo, it's part of Fodlan's DNA, try to spin a very objective and no-solution conflicts (you have a world with two races, and one has superpowers compared to the other, how does it work?) to artificial lip-service and copious amounts of smokescreens.

For something that was only alluded to but completely ignored because otherwise both Nopes and Houses fall apart - Seteth tells Yuri in their Nopes support how it is rumoured that an Elite was cured from an "incurable" disease after getting a crest...

Admitting this is remotely true to what happened in Zanado, does it justifiy the subsequent massacre and genocide? Dominic might die in 2 days if he doesn't kill a Nabatean, was he "right" or justified in killing the Nabatean who became Crusher and drinking their blood?

If humans are envious for good or bad reasons of the Nabateans' powers, what is going to happen when a Nabatean would refuse to share said power ? Are the humans justified in trying to steal it? Are Nabateans asses when they refuse to "lend it" to humans?

This game tries its hardest to avoid blaming the usual trifecta of human greed/assholishness/lust (for power!) as the reason why the world doesn't go round, and blame everything on... blue eyes, that can somehow shoot lasers too.

Of course someone with in-built lasers would be better seen/more valued than someone who hasn't the same lasers, but bar the milquetoast "we should try to accept everyone!", what is the specific answer to the Gautier border issue - crest means the border is defended, no crest and no plot hax means it isn't - should the defender of the border be the crested kid or the non crested-kid?

Nopes!Sylvains finds a loophole and replies with "we won't need to defend the border if we're not at war with Sreng anymore", and it's a nice solution, honestly. I like it. It makes for a bright perspective, of a future where, if everyone play their part, Crests won't be "needed" anymore.

But when it comes to using the power of a crest to heal, will you go to Manu, who cannot heal someone who has a cancer, or to Flayn, who can, if you suddenly learn you have one?

"Just develop chemiotherapy!"

Yes but I'm dying - who should I go to?

Imo, Crust System is used both in fandom and in-game to avoid mentionning the existence of super humans (or non humans if we want to stay close to Supreme Leader's words) and the inevitable jealousy/envy their existence creates/causes in humans, who cannot help but seek after the power they have.

[ladyhindsight]

I'm not sure if Jem is strictly related to Emma (I think Jem's father - who was white - had a sibling, and Emma's line starts there, so I don't think she's supposed to have Chinese genes), but it would have been so cool for the Carstairs to be an Asian family.

It was mentioned several times that Ascended mundanes take SH names, so potentially Clare could have entire families of color and still use her precious English names.

Or she could have written that Jem had a brother who passed on the Carstairs name, and all the heirs married Asian people, thus making the bloodline Asian.

There were so many options smh

It would have been so powerful to finally have two fully POC families (Rosales + Carstairs) in one series!

Or at the very least have Emma mention her Persian heritage.

Instead we got a Jace copy cat and a token religious latina to support her 🙄

Clare wouldn't be half as popular if she didn't play with nostalgia and used old characters to promote new series.

Yet she seems to believe that a mere name is enough to inspire affection.

She made Emma a Carstairs because the name would hit readers in the feels, but did not carry on the narrative of half POC Carstairs because it wouldn't be aesthetic enough and it would be too hard to write. Effort? What's that?

A Jace copy cat though? Much better right?

(It's something that I hated about Kit's storyline, too. Once people find out he's a Herondale, they start calling him Cristopher (even though he HATES it! that's not his name!) and expect him to give up his previous life for them. A mere name is enough for the SH to FORCE someone to join their ranks. Familial bonds? Never heard of them, but you have the right last name so you MUST be with us and readers MUST love you. It's particularly heinous in Kit's case because his father (idc about what Clare says, your family are the people who raise and love you, not the ones who fetishize your last name) was a Downworlder and lived in fear of the SH)

Clare is so attached to names she doesn't realize the narrative she creates around them are very toxic and racist.

And she uses them to manipulate readers and promote sales, without putting in any effort to create likeable, relatable characters.

Readers are beaten over the head with: You Must Love These Characters Because of Their Family Name.

She uses the names for the nostalgia factor but won't put in any actual effort for representation.

Yet people hail her as the queen of rep 🙄 (tbh it's like 99% white people who do that, because for them a character of color being in the story is omg so groundbreaking! consider yourselves lucky that she even writes these characters! who cares if the story is problematic!)

As someone who didn't pay much attention to family trees before, I was SO disappointed when I went from TID to TDA: from half Chinese Jem... to white, blond, golden eyed Emma.

The name was supposed to make me nostalgic and bond to the character immediately (because that's how shallow Clare is) when it actually made me angry lol

(You can probably tell by my anger that I'm Chinese myself 😂 this shit really hurt me, and my friends too)

Tbh I feel no connection between the TID and TLH characters, and the TMI and TDA characters. Even though they're supposed to be related and family is oh so important for Clare...

Cloning characters does not a family make. It makes for terrible storytelling.

Yeah, Jem and Emma have a common ancestor, like you said, and both are thus from different branches. And it’s definitely Clare’s love for “Shadowhunter” names. But you’re just using compound names, essentially just combining two words, surely you could try to do that with different languages instead of keeping them strictly English? There is, of course, Bellefleur and Morgenstern, but they are still rather Eurocentric for being French and German.

Then not all family names even seem to go by this “rule”. There is Mendoza, Rosales, Delgado, Ke, Wang etc. Cristina, Diego, Jaime, and Manuel are all named according to Spanish naming customs where the given name is followed by paternal surname and maternal surname, most commonly in that order: Cristina Mendoza Rosales, Diego and Jaime Rocío Rosales, and Manuel Casales Villalobos.

It was noted under Rosales Family etymology that “Rosales is not exactly a composite word like English Shadowhunter names, its translation (rosebush) is.” So I went to go see the Ke family, and Ke translates to “stem” or “axe handle” in English. So, I don’t get any comprehensive idea behind the Nephilim naming customs, because if the names of some of the Shadowhunter families aren’t following the compound word custom, then why there has to be such a thing as “Shadowhunter names” at all? The English names are heavily underlined and central to the series as a whole. Rosales Family that is mostly Mexican is rather recent compared to the main quartet—Herondales, Carstairs, Lightwoods, and Blackthorns—and hasn’t had (or doesn’t have) such a major role in the series compared to them.

The character should bring the essence to the name, not the other way around.

The series stresses too much the importance of one’s name. Simon can’t continue on being Lewis and must change his name into a Shadowhunter one. But like, why? Why can’t their names be just anything they happen to be? Sure, there can be old and notable families, crème de la crème of the Nephilim, but to limit the possibilities of someone’s name because it is not an English compound one is way too restrictive and merely forces assimilation. You shouldn't have to give up who you are in order to be other things as well.

I so hated that the name was forced in Kit when they found out he’s Herondale. It began to define his character too much. Clare is so incredibly unwilling to let the name thing go. She seems unable to let these families go. Instead of coming up with a completely different Shadowhunter family in another country and telling some other story entirely, she keeps writing about the same characters and things over and over again. Because, yeah, effort? What is that?

When I read CoHF for the first time, I was annoyed with Emma’s chapter because she meant nothing to me, her name meant nothing to me. Oh, she’s Carstairs? So what? Her character was dull to read about. I wanted the final plot to progress, not read a setup for another trilogy through a character that was not interesting.

The Ke family members apparently appear in The Lost Book of the White. But there is no series dedicated to them as there isn’t series dedicated to the Rosales family. In grand scheme of things, it’s never really about any other family at all. All Clare’s representation stand in the sidelines when the pain of Clary and Jace, Tessa and Will, Emma and Julian takes all the space in the story. And they are given it by Clare.

What is Cristina’s complicated feelings about her love life to Emma’s who is about to blow up the world because of her love for her parabatai? Who cares where Maia disappears after having her life threatened as long as Clary and Jace’s story is finished? What about Maia’s own peace of mind and sense of safety when Jordan Kyle needs to have a “redemption arc”? What is Jem’s part in the contrived plot that heavily favors Will Herondale still?

It’s like Clare is unable to create compelling characters that didn’t need their family names to be liked and loved just for who they are as characters. It's lousy, this narrative and the fixation on names, because all they do is end up spoiling everything else. Especially when the author herself doesn't seem to even realize it or care to realize the disrespect her readers feel and the hurt it is causing.

[everyhowlmarksthedead]

❛ A BABY IS COMING ❜

Headcanon

with Neron ‘Creeper’ Vargas.

Request: I LOVE THE BABY ON BOARD WITH GILLY SO MUCH I WAS WONDERING IF I CAN REUQEST THE SAME HEADCANNON BUT WITH CREEPER??!!

BY @imanerdychubbyqueen

Warnings: appearance of a LGTBI character (I don't think that this needs a warning, but if you think that I need to warn it because bothers you the appearance of a LGTBI character, please, unfollow me, thank you). 🏳️‍🌈❤✨

Word count: about 1.4k

Aurora says: this writing hasn't been edited, you may find some grammar mistakes, I'm sorry about that!

Gif credits: to the author, I found it on google.

Masterlist.

Whilst Bishop, Tranq, Taza and Riz were extremely Happy knowing that Creeper and you were expecting a baby, the guys just made jokes.

“Man, you are a fuckin child, how is supposed that you're gonna take care of a baby?”

“Did she really let you get her pregnant? Or was it a ball to the goal?”

“'Am sure cops are gonna stop you, if they see you with a baby, carnal. They will think you stole it or somethen'”.

Creeper didn't care about their opinion, but about yours.

“What do you think, ah?”

You were three months pregnant, and you were pretty excited and stressed at the same time, choosing some names, even if you didn't know yet if it was going to be a girl or a boy.

“Sorre, mama, I wasn't listening”.

“Something bothering you, papi?”

“Nah, you know… just the guys being fucking assholes”.

“Neron, you're gonna be the best dad ever and I don' need to tell you why. I just know it. You trust me, rai'?”

The gender reveal was simply amazing.

All the charters came. Your husband was erratic placing his motorbike in front of all, because the answer was inside the exhaust pipe. It was enough to start the engine and hit the gas. And he did. A blue smoke flooded the yard, between loud cheerings, hugs and kisses. Leaving away his motorcycle, Creeper ran to you, lifting you up between his arms screaming how happy he was. Actually, he didn't care about the gender, he would be this excited knowing it was a girl too.

He used to spend his free time assembling all the bedroom furniture, finding him sleeping a lot of time on the floor with the instructions on his chest.

Every night, he lied down over your belly, carefully to not hurt you, to sing him his favorite songs because the doctor said that it was good to talk to him.

He didn't care about what time it was whenever you had a craving. If he was in bed, he just jumped out of it. And if he was with the club, Chuckie was in charge of it. Everyone was delighted with the idea of having a new member.

In childbirth, he was the most supportive man on earth, holding your hand and filling your face with a bunch of gentle kisses.

And you have never seen him cry, but when the doctor gave him his baby, he was crying more than your son.

“Mama, look”. He said fascinated, sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling down a little the Mayans' towel Vicki wove for him.

You were exhausted, feeling pain all over your body and about to fall asleep, doing a last effort to hold your newborn.

“He has your nose”. Creeper chuckled, leaning towards you to kiss your forehead.

The first day of Kid Garden, your husband insisted on bringing the whole crew.

“Okay, Manu, listen”. Neron squatted to his son, placing both hands on his tiny shoulder to put on well his bag. “The mission is to make more than ten friends. If you do it, papa is gonna give you a surprise tonight, deal?”

“Yeah, papa”. He nodded excitedly, before jumping into his father to hug him as strongly as he could.

“Hey, buddy”. Bishop called him, leaning next to your husband. “Don' be a casanova like your dad, ah?”

“What's tha'?”

“Obispo!” You laughed rolling your eyes, lifting up your son between your arms. “Have a good day, mi amorcito”.

“You too, mama. Are you gonna miss me?”

“Of course yes, baby. All the time. But we will pick you up in a couple hours, okay? You just… have fun, make friends and don't forget to eat your lunch”.

“Okay, mama. I love you”.

“I love you too, Manuel”.

“Bye, tíos”. Moving his tiny hand, once he was back to the floor, he ran to his new teacher to come into the school.

“Man… you two do an amazing job, I couldn't”.

“Yeah, Angel. But don't be jealous. You're our baby too”.

But the worst and, at the same time, best day of his life was when he found Manu crying for the first time.

You were standing up close to the door of his room, waiting for Creeper. You had been stalking him for almost thirty minutes, not knowing what to do, but knowing that your husband would know it.

“Hey, mama, what's up?”

“Dunno… He's just… there. Crying”.

“Okay, let's see”. Neron knocked on the door, before coming in, followed by you more worried than ever. It was breaking your heart. “Hey, buddy”.

Your son quickly sat up on his bed, cleaning his tears with the back of his hands and shaking his head. His father dragged the chair over the floor, to sit on and put you on his lap, surrounding your waist with both arms.

“Cariño, you know you can… talk with us about anything, right?” You said carefully, while Creeper placed his chin on your shoulder.

“You will not understand”.

That. That was the sentence that made you understand. Turning to your husband, you smirked at him, before getting up to sit next to your son. And you hug him like never before, kissing his cheek a lot of times until he stopped crying.

“Hey, Manu, listen. We're your parents, and your friends. We will never, ever, judge you. Unless you're gonna tell me you did something bad to an animal”. Creeper's speeches were the best. “Cause you didn't, rai'?”

He shook his head, almost smiling.

“I just… I…” Manu looked at you with his lips trembling, licking them and trying to comfort himself. “I am gay”.

Creeper traveled his gaze from his son towards you, shrugging a little, before sitting by his other side.

“So, what? Anyone told you shit about it?”

“No, no, no… I just… was scared of your reaction”. Bowing his head down, he seems too ashamed.

“I love you more now, than one minute ago. Because you're deciding to live your life as you want. And we're very proud to be your parents, buddy”. Creeper said, pointing his chest, claiming for his attention.

“Yes, baby. And never let anyone tell you what you have to do, or how you have to live your life, you hear me?” You added, while he was raising his head.

“We will always love you, exactly as you are, Manuel. Never forget it, okay?”

Everything has changed since this day. Manu left away all the pain he was feeling because of believing that you wouldn't accept him, to be the most happy boy on earth. He also told it to his tíos, and they had the same reaction. Everyone was proud of him, and supportive to the extreme.

The day that your son told you that he was going to bring his boyfriend for dinner, Creeper was more nervous than you.

“Yo! Mama! Do I look good?” He said turning around so you could see the whole outfit.

“Neron, everyth—”.

Before you could continue talking, you heard the door getting opened and closed, followed by some nervous whispers.

“Oh, shit, they're already here. Okay, mama, keep calm”.

“I'm pretty calmed, papi”. You laughed palming his chest, before going downstairs.

“Hey, mama! This is… Dani”. Your son wasn't expecting you this soon.

“Hi, Dani, welcome home”. You said with a huge and dearly smile on your lips, giving him a warmth hug. “Manu told us a lot about you. It's like if we already meet you”.

“Really? Oh, ah… Thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you too”.

“Where's papa…?” He asked somewhat nervously, making you laugh.

“Your father is more edgy than you”. Whispering, you leaned towards them.

“That's not true!” He tried to say, with his voice breaking a little. “What's up, buddy?”

Neron hugged your son tightly, noticing that he seemed as if he was about to cry, before turning to Manu's boyfriend.

“I am… Daniel… Dani”.

“Finally, mate!” Creeper hugged him, palming his back pretty excited. “Yo! Yeah, I'm fuckin' nervous, sorry”.

When you were already sleeping between his arms, after the dinner and a long talk about your family and Dani's family, your husband decided to wake you up at four am.

“Hey, baby… Mama”.

“Fuck, Neron… What the hell do you want?”

“Do you think that Dani likes us?”

“Oh, fuck off, Neron! I was sleeping”.

“Yeah, yeah. But, now that you're not, what do you think?”

“I'm gonna make him don't like you, if you don't let me sleep”.

“Yo! Mama! Why would you do that?” He asked, starting to feel tense and insecure.

“Jesus Christ, papi… He likes us, a lot actually. Dani told me you're pretty cool”.

“Really? Does he think tha'? Damn…”

✨ Tag list:

@starrynite7114 ​ @chibsytelford ​ @dazzledamazon ​ @mara-mpou ​ @sammskellington ​ @gemini0410 ​ @1-800-imagines ​ @briana-mishell24 ​@sassymox @aquamento @sadeyesgf @viviansafizada @samcrobae @jade770 @witchy-wish @rebel-without-cause-x @xx--day-dreamer--xx @spiced-reads @tita127 @ifoundmyhappythought @enamouravecleslivresetlechocolat @angelxshiba @destynelseclipsa @sheeshgivemeabreak @abbiesthings @knowles-morgan @lady-pswrld @minnicelli @marquelapage @bigcreatorwombatdreamer @jadesamhart @mycupoffanfiction @claytoncardenasbabymama @thesandbeneathmytoes @phoenixhalliwell @thewarriorprincessxo @sugary-x-sweet @multiyfandomgirl40 @imanerdychubbyqueen @iambabyharry @firebenderwolf @itsanofrommesir @noz4a2 @peaches007 @edonaspanca @irenne-stans @skyofficialxx

[cadopan]

I just read the conversation about Arsenal and English bias. Gotta say though, I'm not surprised, but I am surprised anyone would question them having a bias like that? Arsenal is an English club first and foremost. It's natural that they are most supportive of the home country. And England is generally more patriotic about football than they are about soldiers LOL. It's also no coincidence that they'd be on the England hype train when Arsenal golden girl Leah is captain of England, and Arsenal's most likely player of the season Beth is scoring hattricks for fun at England as well.

Generally I like Arsenal's social media because i enjoy the admin's humour. This season it's a bit disappointing that we don't get alot of the online quiz content or player challenges like we did last season but it's probably because the girls are so much busier being involved in multiple cups/leagues. (also no Lisa at Arsenal so very little weplaystrong content)

To be fair they did post about Asian Cup stuff but probably not as much as I would have liked particularly beyond the Aussies. Think once Mana was out of the early games for Japan it's like they forgot Japan was still in it or something unfortunately 🤷🏽‍♀️

Oh yeah, for sure. Arsenal's English bias is blatant as day. Largely I have no issues nor do I question the basis of why they're naturally like that, it's fairly obvious as you rightly pointed out.

I just wish they'd be a bit more even and "fair" across the board with the support they show individual players. Like yesterday, Manu, Laura, Viki (I'll count her too even tho she's on loan at Spursy) and Noelle were all playing too — against each other no less! — but not a peep about them. Of course I understand that certain players are more marketable and will drum up interest, but it's just not very nice to see (from my perspective, personally). But I'll stop here bc this could morph into a whole issue about marketing of footballers haha.

Yea, I'm fairly okay with the Arsenal social media too. But like I've said before I can freely admit that some other clubs that I follow do a better job imo. Oh yeah I miss last season's vlogs, the vibe is clearly different without Lisa too 😢 although it's understandable since it's like a whole new era now and I still enjoy them nonetheless.

I was fine that they totally forgot about Mana while she was out with Covid but Japan qualifying for the World Cup or her starting in the semi-final match were pretty significant things... The way this will be so different come the Euros (basically the equivalent of Asian Cup) lol 🤡

[userseokkie]

Met Gala, Stony, 2.3k

In honor of the Met Gala tonight, I whipped up this quick fic. It’s so self indulgent but it’s fluffy and short. No smut, but I might be persuaded to do a follow up. Enjoy!

***

The flashes of the cameras were the first thing Tony could notice even before the limo rounded the corner. The paparazzi were swarming the entire entrance and media vans were parked well down fifth. 

While Happy was busy cursing every poor reporter that dared get in the way and mumbling god knows what, Tony checked his phone one last time, thumbing a quick email before sliding it back in his pocket. He glanced over at Steve. 

“You know, if you’d only let Carla style you-” 

“I’m fine, Tony. What? This is just a gala.” Steve peered out the window, his brow pinching slightly the way it always did when he got nervous.

“Jesus, I already told you, this isn’t just another gala, this is the Met Gala and Anna trusts me to carry this event-” 

“Just say it. Just admit you’re embarrassed by me and that I’m hideous and not worthy of being your date,” Steve said with that deadpan tone he used, and god his jaw could cut through glass. Tony bit his lip unconsciously, trying to get rid of inappropriate thoughts. This outfit was too tight to be getting hard.

Through the honking, Tony shrugged and smiled despite his efforts. “You know you’re the only one who could be my date, stud.” 

Steve’s eyes softened, a glint on his blue eyes as they focused on Tony. 

“I mean, Natasha and Clint are going together, Thor is bringing Jane and I’d have more luck convincing Bruce to smoke up with me than bringing him to one of these things. You were the only one left, obviously.” 

“Tony.” Steve rolled his eyes. “I just don’t see what the big deal is, we go in, we have dinner, we donate some money to keep the museum funded.” 

Tony was about to object to how Steve casually referred to 1.5 million as some money, but their car came to a stop. “We’re here, boss.” Happy announced. 

Steve looked at him once more, an expectant look on his face. “Do I really look bad?” 

The theme for this year was Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, which, duh. Of course it was important, when Anna had called Tony and asked him to host, it was a no brainer. This was practically made for the Futurist, and the media had gone ballistic when they announced Tony was co-hosting. This entire thing was built on the Mark LVII. Not to toot his own horn, but Tony had really outdone himself with this one. 

Dragging his gaze up and down the super soldier in front of him, it was hard to be objective. But Steve certainly didn’t look bad, he just looked... like himself. The Met Gala was meant to go outside your comfort zone and push the envelope on what fashion meant, if Jan had taught Tony anything, it’s that fashion is for the brave and bold. And he was anything if not ballsy. Steve, however, in his all black suit, head to toe Dior, looked like a devil put on Earth to tempt Tony into unspeakable acts. Did it scream fashion and technology, though? No, it didn’t. 

“Honey bunch, you look like sin incarnate.” Tony slid across his seat, making to get up. He leaned in, grabbing onto Steve’s bicep for support. “And I’ll make sure to let you know just how crazy you are making me with that outfit right after this thing is over.” His whisper made Steve shiver, and when he looked at his face, Tony could laugh at how big Steve’s pupils had become. He counted it as a win. 

He slid his sunglasses on and turned to the door. “But now, it’s showtime.” 

***

The steps in the main entrance were covered in a plush red carpet that felt thicker than some floors, and Steve appreciated the decoration lining up each side. People must have worked real hard for this event. 

“Tony! Tony, over here!”

“Tony, who’re you wearing?” 

The photographers were going nuts over Tony. Steve could swear a woman had fainted in the entrance. 

“This is a Stark original, darling,” Tony drawled, and twirled to let them get a good look.

And boy, was it a sight for sore eyes. 

The celebrities coming in were starting to gather around, some walking slower to let the photographers get a good shot, some talking with the cameras over on the steps. But not a single person had so many people focused on them as Tony. He had worked with those designers real hard, and what they’d come up with was a piece of pure technological genius that managed to look amazing and unreal at the same time. 

Nanotech, Tony had called it. Steve had sit through the entire explanation about the nanotubes and how Tony “would be damned before he let another ant sized fucker get into his suit,” but he’d only use it to design a new Iron Man armor until last year. When he received the news he’d be hosting the Met Gala, Tony had called one of those world famous designers and they’d work on this outfit for seven months. Versace, Steve thinks. 

The result was a nanotech armor that felt like fabric and looked like fabric, with the density of a hair and the resistance of a Falcon 9 spaceship. The suit managed to look slick and bulletproof at the same time, and well, the way it hugged Tony’s ass was reason enough to be here. 

Steve saw Tony’s arm reaching for him, and he walked up to join him in front of the cameras. “Dazzle them, Steve.” Tony grinned at him, and Steve felt his heart grow a little bit. God, he loved this man so much. 

The flashes were getting a bit too overwhelming for Steve, the way they always did, but even he had to admit it felt kinda good to have Tony on his arm and the whole world to see them. He had always admired Tony’s philanthropic nature and his tech genius, and the world needed to admire it too. 

“A kiss, give us a kiss!” 

The guys with the cameras egged them on, and since Tony liked to put on a show so much he figured he could do this for him. Tony looked at him and shrugged slightly, as if saying “it’s your call, Cap.” 

Good thing Steve’s reflects were so fast. He slid his arm behind Tony’s back and with the other one he held his left hand, putting his leg behind Tony’s thighs quickly.

The photographers started dog whistling and cheering when Steve swooped Tony and dipped him into the ground, kissing him softly. 

He felt Tony sighing and his lips parting, and it took all of Steve’s will to keep the kiss short and sweet, instead of doing what he really wanted to do. But he couldn’t resist swiping his tongue over Tony’s plush bottom lip once. 

He parted the kiss, but remained with Tony dipped like a princess for a second. The chocolate eyes he loved melted and blinked up at him. “Woah, you’re pulling out all the tricks tonight, Captain.” Steve felt inner pride swell at Tony’s slightly dazed expression when he said that.  

“Well, I have to make up for my terrible outfit, don’t I?” 

After that, they continued their stroll down the entrance, stopping to talk to reporters and saying hi to some of the other guests. Tony stopped to talk with George Clay? George Crowley? Whoever, he was familiar from that movie they went to see last month. 

“Hey, Steve,” A voice behind him said. “You look awfully ordinary today.”

Natasha came with Clint in tow, as Tony had said. Her red dress reminded Steve of a knight’s chainmail, but he couldn’t tell if it was made from the same material. “Nat, you look like a fairy tale. Where’s the charming prince?”

“Hey, right here.” Clint piped in. Well, he was wearing a suit just like Steve was. Except he had put on a type of metal prosthesis over his arm. Great.

“No, really, where is he?”

“Very funny, Cap,” Clint punched him with his metal arm. “You might wanna stop the banter and make sure someone doesn’t steal your man.”

Natasha arched an eyebrow, looking over his shoulder. 

Steve turned around to see Tony chatting with a different guy from the movie actor. This man was tall and blonde and- well, he looked like a real dickhead if Steve was being honest. But Tony didn’t seem to mind, as he was deeply in conversation telling a very entertaining story, judging by the man’s laugh. 

He shrugged. “I might have to take some measures.” 

Nat smiled at him, knowing he was joking, and pat him on the shoulder. “I’m sure he can fend by himself any potential suitors.” 

“Hey, did you see Thor?” Clint turned his head, cackling. “Holy shit, he’s gonna start summoning thunder soon.” 

And Thor was a few meters behind them in the main photo stand with Jane by his side, the media couldn’t get enough of him. He was swinging Mjolnir around, his cape glistening with the camera flashes. 

“Hey, that’s cheating.” Steve frowned. “He’s just wearing his regular battle outfit.”

“Well, how much fashionably avant garde can you get when you’re an Asgardian god?” Natasha tilted her head. “I think they look cute.”

“Yeah, just wait til he pours a storm over them. One of the paparazzi almost pushes Jane out in the curb.” Clint said. 

Tony appeared right beside Steve, his suit catching the light. “Hey Barton, lost your Robocop helmet back there?” 

“For your information, this is Armani. Not all of us can get a custom made armor suit.” 

“Miss Romanoff,” Tony kissed Nat’s hand. “You look particularly deadly today.”

“Thank you, Shellhead. I was going for that.” 

A reporter asked them to pose for a group photo, and then when Thor joined them they had to go through another eight rounds of posing for every media outlet in existence. Steve was getting a little bit antsy, but luckily the dinner came after this. He could eat. 

The darlings of the night were Tony and Nat, obviously. They posed for some duo photos and Steve had to admit, the sight of the two of them together could probably turn any man or woman, no matter the sexuality. 

Nat’s firey red hair was styled into a short, disheveled bob with bangs reaching her mid forehead. Her dress, now that Steve had seen it properly, was part dress and part chainmail indeed. She looked stunning. 

But Tony, Tony was on a whole new playing field. Right after the announcements and the opening speech, the media asked for some last photographs. Tony humored them and as the crowd rose into applause, he tapped something in the arc reactor (or nano case as he had called it), and the suit transformed right before them.

Steve had seen the way the tubes formed over Tony’s body many times, how it looked almost like a living entity, swallowing Tony, spreading around him to protect him. He must admit, he had been a weak man more than once and dragged Tony right after a debriefing into the nearest closet or conference room and, well. Let’s just say it’s incredibly easy to fuck someone wearing nanotech tubes, as they need to just open up around the right parts. 

And now the crowd was going crazy with it. The suit formed arm gauntlets, and then in the back, something that resembled the flight stabilizers that the armor often had came up, forming a circle of long spikes framing Tony’s head, with an almost regal nature. The suit went from a steel gray to the classic red and gold colors, and Tony smiled. Steve was getting as hyped as the crowd with this, honestly. 

“He’s born for this, it’s ridiculous,” Steve heard Clint say behind him. He thought of other adjectives rather than ridiculous, but whatever. 

***

The dinner was good, but it wasn’t shawarma or some greasy spoon’s cheeseburger. “God, I’m so getting burgers after this,” Tony mumbled, placing the fork and knife over his plate in a cross. 

“Tell Thor that, he just asked for doubles and the head chef had to come and tell him they don’t do ‘doubles’,” Steve chuckled next to him.

Things had been surprisingly well. The exhibition was exquisite, as always. Tony had to go find Anna for the final speech, but things were sailing smoothly. 

“Hey, how are you holding up?” Tony placed his hand over Steve’s on the table, turning to glance at him. “I’ve been so busy mingling and being the MC, I hadn’t checked up with you.” 

Steve smiled at him, nodding. “I get it, don’t worry. You’re the main attraction. I’ve been perfectly alright just sitting back and watching you.” 

Tony definitely did not blush at that. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, it’s easy to just stand back and look pretty when you have the experience.”

Steve put his hand on Tony’s thigh under the table, squeezing slightly. “Yes, it is. But I might have to stop sitting down and be right behind you, like a bodyguard. What with all these men coming after my fella.” 

Tony snorted. “Like a bodyguard, huh? Like Whitney Houston and Costner?”

“Have we seen that one?”

“No, I don’t think you have,” Tony tried to remember. “Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t end well for them.”

Steve’s hand felt warm and solid even over the nano layer of the suit. 

“But yeah, I might have to step up. I’d hate to cause scene at this fancy event, though.” Steve said, looking at Tony sideways. His smile was charming as ever.

“Captain?” Tony arched an eyebrow. “Are you getting jealous over here?”

Steve lowered his head, looking down at his hand on Tony. “I mean, I can’t blame them. You’re a vision in that outfit tonight.” 

Tony felt himself getting hot under the collar. Steve praising him always did things to him, weird, mushy things, dammit. 

“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.” Tony peered at Steve through his eyelashes. “Remember what I told you in the car? Cause I’m good on my word, soldier.” 

He enjoyed so much getting Steve riled up in public. His lips parted slightly, his eyes always widened and his jaw started clenching when he tried to control it. Steve never looked more attractive.

“Well, you better sweetheart. Because I have some ideas for this suit of yours.” Steve said quietly, his hand moving higher up Tony’s thigh and squeezing right before taking it away and turning his body, acting like nothing had happened.

Tony almost combusted. Right before he could suggest taking things to the restroom, he heard a voice in the speaker call his name. It was Anna. 

Dammit, time for the closing ceremony. 

Steve chuckled as he made his way up the chair. “You’re so paying for this, Steve,” Tony said, getting up behind him. 

“I sincerely hope I do,” Steve replied, biting his lip. He put his hands on Tony’s shoulders and patted him, a big smile on his face. “Now go get them, tiger.” 

Tony was adding this to the list of Reasons Why Steve Isn’t America’s Boyscout And He Has Everyone Fooled.