#also no i don't blame everybody else for not pushing the little guy because he's kinda going along with it

[cringefaecompilation]

liam: specifically makes orym a character that is actively biased and brings up his bias on a near-constant basis to goad other party members into challenging his viewpoints but has insofar failed to get anywhere outside of introspection he takes upon himself because they're all convinced he's supposed to be the moral core of the group rather than someone they need to question because he's comparatively "normal" and his problems/traumas are more grounded than theirs

matt planning on taking out orym's kneecaps with a bat come thursday:

[blurredfloweryblood]

Guys, I'm sorry that everytime I have a big thoughtᵀᴹ about something I come and spew it on here, it's in my blood to overthink (ha, get it?? in my blood? like the hades in the blood song, because I'm going to talk about hades???)

But among all the things I like about the game, it's Zagreus characterization. When it comes to the delicate and nuanced subject of having a character trying to either free themselves from a long cycle of suffering or, trying to break the cycle of suffering altogether (which they are both the objective of Zagreus), it's very easy to fall into the slippery slope of victimizing said character. I don't blame people who do this, it's very hard to build and pinpoint exactly what you want your character to do, while maintaining their personality in adverse situations you put them in.

But Zagreus is such a good example. He is kind, and polite, yes. But he is also kind of dumb sometimes, impulsive, he is hotheaded and stubborn. And that's fine. Like, it's fine. Zagreus doesn't have to be perfect to be lovable or to break the cycle that the House of Hades is suffering. All of them have their flaws and that doesn't make them any less of deserving love and second chances.

I really like the fact that the game emphasizes that breaking said cycle is going to hurt. It's going to be ugly, and gruesome. You're going to have to destroy somethings to build them properly. And that the truth hurts. To you and everyone else. Breaking cycles is not a kind little thing where everyone holds hands and says: "maybe the happiness was us all along". No, you're going to get your hands dirty. You're going to have doubts. You're going to ask yourself if you're even doing the right thing. Seeing everybody so comfortable in deep sadness nauseates you. Why do they have to live like this? It's not your job to save them, but maybe you can help them understand and look into themselves and forgive whatever ugly thing that they're ashamed of.

Not only that, but you're going to have to recognize that your actions influenced by said cycle hurt a lot of people, and that they're your own actions as well. There are going to be rocky, and you will say things that will hurt them, and they will say hurtful things back. But bonds are not perfect. Friendships and bonds are not pure or innocent. Sometimes they're going to be strained, but you can fix them with the help of people. If the other wants to help; you can both heal.

I'm not saying that you have to repair every single thing. No, you have to give them their own space, their own time to think and consider things. Maybe things will change, but that doesn't mean it's for nothing. When it comes to Zagreus, that has quite literally a lot of people against him (consciously or forced), he recognizes that he's going to have to fight back. That he's going to have to strike back. And sometimes we are afraid to show how gruesome it can be to shake the foundations of a cycle that we're so comfortable in. Because we are not alone in said misery, and nobody really tries to do anything but push forward.

Meagera being a constant enemy is not her being evil. She's hurt, and angry, and confused but also being pushed to this. She doesn't really want to, but she grinds her teeth. Your father doesn't understand you, and blocks your path. Not because he doesn't love you, but because he doesn't know any other fucking way. He doesn't like killing you, he doesn't like having you blood melting the snow, but how else is he going to protect both Persephone and you? How else is he supposed to keep peace? He was swallowed by his father, and then, you were born, and you were such a tiny, little thing. And his hands are big and rough, and he doesn't want to hold you because how is he going to raise you? He doesn't know anything about children or godlings. And he can't stop from biting at your spirit, and maybe he's just like his father. Eating you away. He is distant and close in the most horrible ways. He appoints Nyx to care for you, because she knows. And she can love you, in ways that he can't.

And you don't know how to change because you're knee deep in this black goop of stupid spirals of anger and sadness. And your son is so different, and you can't, you can't look at him. He's like her, he is just like her. And you feel the sting of tears in your eyes when you're alone in your bedroom looking at her portrait. He is just like her, and like you too. And by everything you want to understand him, but you have no fucking idea.

And Zagreus doesn't want to kill his father. He doesn't want to raise his sword and cut him in halves. He doesn't want him to fall on his knees and be swallowed by the river, you've been there, and you know how horrible it is. Washed up by the stairs, with emptiness of coming back. To crumbling walls and crying shades.

You don't want to kill your father, you don't want to kill Meg, you don't want to scathe Thanatos with your words. But you have to, you're going to have to stain your hands. And make them hate you a little, because that's how it is. You hated them a little, and then you understood.

Breaking cycles is ugly, and full of angryness and pain and wandering in circles. Stepping forward, stepping back. But when everyone understands, they all sigh in relief. The house is still the same; but it's a little warmer, a little better. And little more lovable.

You can talk to each other without biting back. Without stepping on glass. Without pulling out knives, waiting to parry an attack.

Sometimes there's going to be a second chance. Sometimes it's not. Breaking cycles it's not about forgiving everything and moving past it. In the game, they all have to gulp down the bitterness and sting of their own words. In the game they are still trying to coexist. It's not perfect, it's not pretty. Old hurtful habits come to us when it's all peaceful, because now that things are changing they creep out, trying to pull us back. But it really is beautiful how Zagreus is constructed. He is not perfect. He is impulsive, and sarcastic and he bites back, he can strike back and he will. He dislikes people. And he's also kind, and witty and funny and polite. And loves so so much. He is allowed to make mistakes and fail. All of us are. He doesn't have to be perfect to be loved. Nobody has.

Zagreus really is one of my favorite characters because of how complex he is. And how well balanced the bonds in the game are. I know it can be exasperating to have Thanatos say hurtful things or have Meg being cold. But you have to remember that they are all used to the misery. And they are not perfect either. They are kind too, and love and have their ways of expressing it, but they're also allowed to be sad, and angry. Everyone is. Sometimes you're going to fuck up, sometimes you're going to make a mistake and you'll have to swallow your own hurtful words and feel how they stung the other person. And that's okay. That's totally fine. That's life.

[sarroora]

Hey sorry to bug you but uhhh things aren't looking too hot in the good ol US of A right now because Mr. Overcooked Rump Roast is expected to win and basically has already

In my current situation I should be safe for a while but a lot of the people I know won't be

I'm hoping that whatever dumpster bonfire is going on over here doesn't affect Egypt too bad but shit damn I also thought that Kamala would win but look how that turned out, heh.

(You don't have to respond I just wanted to give you an update and some prayers ❤️🙏)

Hey dear ❤️ - no, please do, I too NEED to reach out and talk to people.

Like I only have a surface level understanding of how elections in the US work, but I know that the system is bullcrap. And yes, Trump’s a psycho so please protect yourself. The very idea that not every vote has the same weight at the end of the day is steeped in racism and classism but nothing surprises me anymore.

Really, if there’s anything the Zionist-American genocide against Palestine confirmed in clear light is how evil of a lie ‘western democracy and morality’ is. Like - the rest of the world already knew it for centuries (most of us endured long histories of abuse and settler colonialism since the Romans, after all) but now even people living in the west have their eyes open and no longer fall for the lies and propaganda. But it feels awful to be associated with what our govs are doing when we had NO choice in the matter.

GOD don’t get me started on Egypt - did you know that our complacent ‘leadership’ has allowed a ship carrying weapons to IsnotReal through our waters? People went nuts. Everyone is in a rage and feels humiliated that this happened.

Like here’s a short vid taken by a woman that went viral and even made it to foreign news channels. You may not understand what’s being said in the vid, but the people are aghast, and you can hear rage and panic and profanity all around. The lady recording could only keep repeating in utter disbelief, “you sons of bitches.” (Referring to our president and posse)

Yeah. Things are going to hell here overall. We as civilians are literally held hostage by a draconian military regime that’s throwing everybody in prison on one hand - including minors - and robbing people blind with unexplained ‘taxes’ and insane inflation on the other. The middle class is crushed. No economical reform and no jobs. And people go to prison for objecting - kidnapped by the police in the middle of the night and thrown in secret prisons across the country where their own families can’t find them.

The currency rate to the USD right now here is 1 USD to 50 Egyptian Pounds. FIFTY.

And it’s projected to reach 80 by the end of the 2024. EIGHTY. In less than 2 months. Shifting the blame onto anything else but the consequences of their own decision-making. All while the president and ruling class (military generals) are becoming wealthy and sit above the law. The justice system is in their pockets.

And guess what, Trump loves our guy. Why wouldn’t he, I wouldn’t put it past him that he do anything - even sell his own country and its people and the people next door in Palestine if Trump asked him to. And I’m sure Trump’s gonna push for Palestinians to be expelled from their land and settle in Egypt (which is another country Isnotreal is VERY interested in occupying next, btw) thus helping the Zionists fully take over what remains of Palestine and expand into Greater Isnotreal.

These freaks are insane, istG.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I heard of Harris, it’s not like she was gonna be much better than Trump. Just perhaps a little sneakier. US has treated Isnotreal as its 51st state for decades, it’s not like the politics of the country will change with her. Congress deals with Isnotreal as if it’s more important than America itself. Who’s given the title of ‘president’ doesn’t matter.

Until the US political system is completely changed and the settler colony that is Insnotreal is wiped off the map, we’re all gonna do what’s right in whatever small ways we can and be each other’s backs, even if we live on different continents ❤️.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Trimax Thoughts Vol. 8 Pt. 1

More stream of consciousness. Here goes! I want to catch up so badly so I can suffer through... whatever happens in Volume 10 with you guys. I'm scared. :)

[All images are from Trigun Maximum Volume 8.]

Love that Knives can't do anything without being absurdly extra about it. It's not enough to go and invade human towns, he's got to have his giant-ass spaceship hover over everybody. He needs to loom. He needs to loom so badly.

Ah, once again, Knives denying Vash autonomy over his body. Also talking about "using" Legato too, which just goes to show how Legato is basically just a tool for him (though I don't think Legato particularly minds).

"I have seen them throw our spent corpses away like garbage." <- "our", yet another instance of Knives not really drawing a distinguishing line between himself and Vash/his sisters. Treating them all as one.

[ID: A close up of Vash's face, grimacing and sweating, saying "Believe me, Knives, I have seen the dead Plants. All of them had the black hair. They weren't the bodies of Plants who had lived their natural lifespan. They were the bodies of Plants who had been abused and pushed past their limits. End ID.]

This panel, with his own black hair emphasized, plus the way Vash is finally able to verbalize some blame on Knives and includes himself in the Plants that humans are forced to rely on, is interesting and encouraging development. Vash too, has been pushed past his limits, time and time again. But this reframes it less as self-punishment or "deserve" and more like responsibility he feels obligated to take on, because literally no one else can. The saddest part of this is that nothing will change for the better at this rate, because all of Vash's energy is (quite literally) being sapped just playing damage control against his own brother's actions. I often wondered why we didn't see Vash interacting with the other Plants a little more or focusing his help on them - and while I think there's interactions we're probably not seeing behind the scenes, Knives' actions kind of force Vash to prioritize the humans in all this, because he cares about both humanity and his sisters... which really sucks for the sisters, who are still being drained and hurt. It's frustrating, overwhelming, and feels like you're stretched far too thin when you're caught in the middle like this. And it's not that he's necessarily okay with this - he isn't. I think this kind of proves he knows and understands how cruelly he's treated. But unfortunately, this kind of thing can happen to people who care too much... Vash's dehumanization (for lack of a better word) in all this is misery inducing. (Also as a bonus, check out the panel where Knives is talking about the sisters being oppressed and murdered - his hand is doing that thing again where he covers her face, even though it's a gentle gesture!).

"There will be screams and shouts and then there will be silence." <- I'm sorry this is horrific but all I can think about is the llamas with hats skit - "That is what forgiveness sounds like. Screaming and then silence." Hhjskdhbvjdfhbv

Wolfwood is trying not to kill them (!!!!!!!!!)

Ughhh Livio's guns are literally strapped to his arms. His function is to be a living weapon, indeed. Combined with the guns also looking like crosses it's just... ugh.

See, here I will concede that Knives makes a good point. Vash says "that's the way it is" and Knives says "who says this is the way it has to be?" 100%, out of context, I'm with Knives. "Things take time", sure, but immediate action should always be taken to minimize the damage in the here and now. People are still hurt in the time it takes for large-scale change to occur; you can't just wait for things to change. Unfortunately, adding the context back in, minimizing hurt has never actually been Knives' goal. He's still thinking on a near-absolute level here. And worse, every added year they waste fighting each other, they could've been working to find better solutions for their sisters - the situation probably would've improved a lot faster if they had been a united front. But Knives refuses to listen, because "helping" was never his primary goal to start with. It reminds me a lot of people who want to punch bad guys instead of support their victims. People who want to be right, instead of do right. Do you see what I mean?

"Keeping yourself from feeling the pain and never finding the true source of it." <- because Knives would rather invent an enemy than confront his own fear... it's not an easy thing to do, but you have to try if you ever want to heal... the only actions we can ever truly control are our own...

Fuck Chapel man.

So, Knives' plan is not just to rescue the sisters but also to absorb them??? All of them??? Does... does he know if he can handle that? Are the sisters like. Chill with this or...? The imagery of it all is so incredibly beautiful though... I would screenshot several pages of this but it would take up too much space.

[ID: Two panels, one with the absorbed bodies of Plants in an indistinct mass, and the next showing Knives standing at the top of a large grate, filled with the merged bodies of Plants. End ID.]

Bro...? I am confusion. How. How does this help them. It's like he's storing them so they can't be used... I mean I suppose that's better but. ???

Badass Elendira moment!!!

Oh man I love the way this builds. It all feels so futile. No one seems happy or satisfied. Starting with the random people and the outsider view. The concern and then the dawning horror as they realize what's happening. The ethereal pages of Knives absorbing the Plants, only to show they're essentially being placed in a cage. He's not smiling and his face is grim. The focus on the death of a random character. Vash and Legato are locked in a stalemate. Back to outsider view as Zazie witnesses the devastation. Focus on Wolfwood, bitter and guilty. Back to the outsider pov and the panels that grow more and more hectic and cruel in their depictions. The break with the quiet panels of the desert. ...seven months later. It's so incredibly cinematic and visceral. I must say, I was not expecting such a large time skip.

AHHH GIRLS!!!

Luida my beloved. Her and Meryl are so similar in their desire to help, their insider knowledge on Vash, and their struggle between kindness and pragmatism, and it's really cool to see.

I wonder... can Plants only communicate through dreams or memories? ...Knives falling asleep again randomly too... he is eepy from all the world domination and the exhaustion of isolating himself for 150 years. :(

I'm so sorry but I really do think it's funny that Knives' plan is just "I'm going to store my siblings (yes, all of them, even my twin) in some containers and put a grate over it. Surely this will solve everything."

The Plants are brain-blasting him???

Badass Elendira moment number 2!!!

WOLFWOOD'S BACK YEAHHHHH

Vash is controlling the angel arm?!

No sorry, this whole sequence is insane! Wolfwood acting on his own free will! The two of them tag-teaming Legato just by reading each other after 7 months without contact! Wolfwood braving death! Vash braving the use of the angel arm! They trust each other enough to face what they have been so afraid of! Holy shit!

[ID: Blood covers the floor, the rest of the background is pale white. Wolfwood is slumped over the Punisher, as Vash shields him. Vash has sprouted numerous wings and feathers in a dramatic spread as he says "No, you are not lost, Wolfwood!" End ID.]

AHHHHH?????? AUGH. He heard his prayer? Literally heard it? Are you fucking for real right now? And look at the way he's not just shielding him - you can see in this and the next few pages that he's also supporting him... gently lowers him to the ground... Wolfwood reaching up as if to touch him... Vash not even knowing who Chapel and Livio are but being angry enough to threaten them with the angel arm, of all things. AUGH.

I love the severity of this situation, the build, the declaration from Vash that he is now fighting for Wolfwood, Knives rapidly losing control of the situation, you know, all that good stuff... and then there's just. This.

[ID: The first panel is of the interior of the ship, covered with multiple instances of the sound effect ガ for clanging, interspersed with "ooph!" "ow!" "oof". The next panel is of tiny Vash and Wolfwood falling through open sky, having fallen out of the ship. End ID.]

...pinball machine. Lol.

Knives was unable to follow through on killing Vash. I mean. We all knew but still. Then he helplessly reaches out with his other hand... the one without the power he absorbed... :(

[ID: A photo of young, smiling Vash and Knives on a black background. Underneath, it just says "...it's over..." End ID.]

Ow. Ow. Ow.

Omg finally Wolfwood backstory.

Fuck Chapel!

OMG they're both in blankies... sorry but tiny blanket Wolfwood is my new favourite thing ever. Look at him.

Ahhhh Meryl went to Marlon! Augh and now Vash knows she's still in his corner - because last time he mistakenly thought she was afraid of him when she pulled away... but it wasn't true at all! :')

Man I so hate that it was more of the Plants who were killed in the attack... I know Brad hated it too since he apologized but I just... ugh they're so caught in the middle of this whole conflict, and we don't even know if they wanted any of this.

Ah, and Wolfwood's leaving... :/

[ID: A blank white panel with the words "Needle-noggin...". Next panel, Vash looks over, paying attention. Next panel, Wolfwood stares ahead distantly. The final panel is half of Luida's face, a flashback where she is telling Wolfwood "Yet he keeps moving... through his own never ending hell." There are several ellipses from Wolfwood. End ID.]

^Ok, I saw this earlier and Wolfwood leaving kind of confirmed what I thought might've been the case here. He already knows the Ark is headed toward the orphanage; that was what he was trying to persuade Livio to help him with; to protect their home together. I really do think Wolfwood was on the verge of asking Vash to help him here, before he apparently changes his mind and switches to asking Vash to stop Knives instead (which is... what he's already been doing. It's rather unnecessary for him to ask Vash to do this imo). The gap is this memory of what Luida told him. Whether it's that Wolfwood feels they should both be moving forward through their own personal troubles alone, or whether he feels Vash already is dealing with too much to burden him with anything else (my money's on the latter personally, given we see him with a similar sentiment in Volume 7), I do think whatever he was going to ask initially was not what he ended up saying aloud. Maybe I'm delusional. Idk.

!!! Wolfwood spinoff! :D

WAIT is this a prequel or something? This girl assumed he was a priest and Wolfwood just starts sweating nervously "um... yeah... that's me" hdjfhbvsdjfhbv

AW he knew her as a baby... ah, he's always ended up kind of responsible for others, huh?

Ok but this is kind of funny. "Can't believe she didn't remember me..." My dude this girl was like two years old.

Why does Orekano have a cross on his outfit???

Oh fuck this dude he's creepy.

The bird carving... :')

[the-firebird69]

Billionaire friends enjoying Monaco Life 💸 #billionaire #monaco #luxury ...

These people are rude and they're overlords are more rude and Mac proper are very rude now they've been saying these to our son and expressing themselves and he says like Kingsley is expressing his glands and it's true a bunch of useless twats to our son. But really you people are jerks too you Mac proper this guy took over his son's brother role he's always been this a****** to him and he's mean and this s*** has come over there in our son's name and he got messed up that Steven seagal who got hit and it's because of what he was doing I guess which wasn't really anything big and he's blamed our son as well as he's too idiots and he is not a proficient martial artist he's halfway decent but his way is terrible he is a slob and like a little little guy no he's just a jerk it's been around doing it the acts for about 40 years and what do you hit on him because of what he said to her son and we're pretty ahead of these two idiots for the asinine set up and we're going to go after them all three and we're going to use the idiots to do it you can see where Steven seagal bags in the movies and stuff I mean it's it's a tough death. And you can see where Dave dies and you can see where Trump dies and you don't come back your character is to put in your bones and hers already put into that building in westborough and whatever it's supposed to be I think it's really easy it's really easy house and the max put it there and tried to blame us and he figured it out. They kept on saying we'll have him live there was Lori and he said I don't really want to look and that sounds stupid and it was the Mac people but Trump ends up in the house amazing and for some reason people don't understand it it's going around trying to kidnap our son is a piece of meat a piece of dead meat and he's trying to push the ship into where he is and we're going to deny him and we're using Jason is another winner you people don't get it he's not here for your fun and stuff but other leaders and rulers want him to do some things and you don't want him to do those things and you're a losers no you're trying to get rid of everyone else and that's why you losers really should never preach the subject at all and your motif and is terrible it just doesn't match anything so now we have to hear you glad blab all day YouTube morons because you're stupid and we don't want to hear it we want you out of here. There's a few things we're going to do we're going to point out to who what you've done and repeat it as necessary we are also going to have a shot from what you're saying right now many times everybody to make sure that the stuff that gets rid of you is beginning now to make sure that we get rid of you on time we're moving out right now

Thor Freya

Olympus

[bradtomlovesya]

Choices 3

Three: Take Me Back To The Day We Met

Peter Parker x Reader series

Summary: Everybody forgot who Peter Parker was. All his world tunerd grey until he met you and you started dating. It could have been perfect if it wasn't for the fact that MJ comes back and, surprise! She remembers EVERYTHING.

Warnings: Pure Angst!, mentions of cheating, swearing, descriptions of sex +18, fluff!

w/c: 3k

a/n: Enjoy this chapter! As always, coments, reblogs and likes are completely appreaciated. Thank you so much for all the love and support this series is having. I will be forever grateful! Thank you for staying 'til the end ❤️. Gif not mine.

Series Masterlist

Peter felt his heart sink in his chest and could blame no one but himself.

There you were, laughing with Austin at something trivial he had said. You had only gone on one date. You told yourself that you should move on and get on with your life just as you thought Peter had gotten on with his.

But that wasn't true because Peter was standing there holding back tears and the roses he had bought you behind his back.

He had set it all up, flowers, invite you, dinner, apologies, tell you the whole truth, promise ring, hug, kiss, happy again. Everything exactly in that order and without skipping a step.

However, Peter had overlooked one small detail. You guys had broken up almost two months ago and that made you free to date someone else.

Even more so if that someone was as cute smart and kind as Austin.

Austin was the exact opposite of Peter. Tall, blond, thin, blue-eyed, bad at science but very good at history. That explained why he was studying literature. Austin loved the attention, going out to parties (though not too much drinking) and spending time with his many, many friends.

Peter... Peter was totally different from that.

Probably for that reason you had agreed to go out with him. Because he was different from Parker and you didn't want to go through the same thing. He had already made you suffer enough.

Spiderman followed you on several of your dates. 3 to be exact. He wanted to make sure Austin didn't get smart with you and that you were healthy. Although it was probably also out of pure morbid curiosity. Peter felt a thousand knives go through his heart when he saw him kiss you and yet he didn't take his eyes off you for a second.

His mind wandered and he imagined himself in Austin's place and it was then that he resigned himself. He had lost you. He had lost you through his own fault and you weren't coming back.

That day Spiderman stopped following you and you wished he had continued to do so because Austin was starting to turn a little dark.

One night, you were in your bedroom watching a movie when Austin started kissing your neck. That was fine with you. What wasn't fine was that he slipped his hand under your skirt and between your legs and you weren't ready for that.

"Austin, I'm sorry. I'm not ready for this yet" you pulled his hand away.

"Please, y/n. We've been dating for two weeks, do you want to make me wait any longer?" The blond asked and moved his hand back up between your legs.

Peter would never have done that.

"Austin, seriously. Please stop" you pushed his hand away and sat down. You were not at all comfortable right now.

"God..." he swallowed deeply and then exhaled. "Can we at least do something oral? Seeing you wear that skirt has given me a huge hard-on. I need your help."

Peter had already seen you in that skirt and had only said it matched the color of your eyes.

"I'm not going to do anything. I don't feel comfortable and I'm not going to do it" you said firmly. You feared his reaction but you weren't going to give in to something you didn't want to do.

"Then I'll have to find someone to fix what you caused?" he stood up and took your arm. "A little unfair, don't you think?"

You wanted to scream. You wanted to spit at him. You wanted to tell him you were going to finish him off but you'd seen too many documentaries on female homicide to act any better than that.

"Austin, I'm on my period and I ate tuna in the morning so if you don't want your penis bloody or smelling like a fish fry we'd better save it for another day." You looked at him and he just nodded.

It was the best you could say... you weren't very proud but at least you could get out of that room in one piece. The documentaries had taught you that you don't tell a man you're going to leave him and take the kids. You just disappear the next day without a trace.

Obviously you weren't married and you didn't have children. But you weren't going to give him any more reason to get upset in front of you and earn an aggressive action from him. If he could run his hand up your legs without your permission, he could certainly do other things and you weren't going to stick around to find out.

You broke up with him by text message and talked to some of your friends, teachers and the principal. If Austin ever went crazy and did something to you, everyone would already know it was him because you had told them.

This news reached Peter's ears. Now he knew what Austin had done to you and his blood boiled like lava in an active volcano. Parker decided to take revenge. He didn't beat him, he was too good for that, but he did make him take off all his clothes except his underwear and threw two spider webs into his hands to stick him to the campus pole. It took several hours for the web to dissolve and by then everyone had seen him apologize to you in public, because it was part of the plan. Obviously you knew this was Peter made.

Parker still cared about you. You didn't know how that made you feel...it was like something about him drew you to him and your heart always ended up going back to him.

Peter had it in mind to use this to get you to come back to him or to at least listen to what he has to say.

Parker decided to start small. He knew he couldn't just walk up and ask you out after what he had done so he took it slow.

The first thing he did was leave you a note over a pizza box outside your bedroom that said: Thursday is pizza night.

When you saw the note you couldn't help but smile slightly. Too bad he wasn't around to observe your reaction.

The next thing was to leave you a stuffed dog stuck to the window with his web. The note said "No dogs allowed on campus but I know how much you want one. It's the best I can do... For now."

Your heart went out to him. If Peter was trying to get you to forgive him...he was succeeding in a small way.

Although, it still hurt that 1. he betrayed you like that and 2. it took him so long to try to fix it. However, it was you who asked him for time and space. So you were just mad and hurt.

But you had the right to feel whatever you wanted. He lied to you. He hurt you. Your feelings and reactions are yours and yours alone. You had learned that you shouldn't keep them to yourself. In part, Peter was the one who helped you to be more open emotionally...

The last of his moves was a small box with a note taped to it that read. "Sorry, can we talk?" And inside the box was the key to his apartment.

With this Peter wanted to tell you: I'm not with MJ because I didn't give her the key.

That's exactly what you thought. But it's never good to have false expectations so you took it as calmly as possible. Under the keys was another note that read. "7 pm. My apartment. Please."

You were going to go. But you wanted it to be a last minute surprise for him. If you were nervous, Peter was six times as nervous.

His spidey senses were driving him crazy. He was pacing back and forth all over his apartment as he counted the candles (artificial because we don't want fire accidents), dinner in the oven...lasagna. The only thing he had learned to cook from his Aunt May and nobperfectly because the cheese was a little browner than it should be.

The music, his favorite songs on a playlist and some of his own choice that repeated the word "I'm sorry" a lot, the message was explicit and implicit. Peter was sorry and wanted to make amends more than anything else in the world.

Parker was about to go crazy. He even hung upside down from the ceiling trying to calm his nerves. You were 16 minutes and 37 seconds late (not that Peter was counting) but you arrived and he was more than relieved.

He opened the door and there you were. Wearing that cute skirt again. Autin had ruined it for you, yes. But nothing Peter's smile at seeing you in it couldn't fix.

"You came" he looks at you like you're not real. Like you were a product of the blood pooling in his head after hanging from the ceiling.

"I'm sorry. I'm late... Anya needed help with the hem of her dress and it was torn so it was tedious to get it fixed" you bite your lip. If your heart is going fast you know hers is going with propellant.

"It's okay" he quickly replies. "It doesn't matter" he smiles that smile you missed so much. "The important thing is that you're here now."

"I think so..." you nod slightly and bite your lip walking into his apartment.

You inhale deeply and there's that signature smell of his home. It's an indescribable scent that every home has and you missed that smell so much...

"Did you like my gifts?" he asks hoping to hear the answer.

"It was nice... I didn't think you still remembered I wanted a dog" you fold your arms. You're here to talk. But you're still hurting and you were never good at being a hypocrite pretending everything is okay when it's not.

"I pay attention to you. I have always done" walks over to the dining room table and pulls the chair over to sit you down. "I made lasagna...the cheese is a little burnt so we can order food if you don't want to eat it or I can-"

"Peter" you stop him before he talks too much and smile. "It's okay... I like the golden cheese on the lasagna." You sit down and thank him as he pulls your chair into the dining room.

"Okay..." he inhales deeply and takes the lasagna out of the oven which wasn't on but, he kept it in there so it wouldn't get cold. "Water, right?" He asks as he places your lasagna in front of you.

"That's right" you watch the water fill your glass and then him sit down across from you. "You wanted to talk?" You blurt out once you both start eating.

"Yes...I did. I wanted to apologize for everything" he sighs and looks down at his fork after taking a big bite. "What I said about MJ last time didn't-."

"You don't have to explain that to me." You interrupt him.

"Please let me finish..." he looks at you pleadingly. "I want to explain to you why my choice of words wasn't the best and made you think I had called you because MJ couldn't and that's not true." He denies. "I didn't call MJ because I didn't want to call her. I called you because you're the one I wanted around, I want around." He clarifies.

"I see..." you take a sip of water. You know how hard it is for him to express himself in a good way.

"About what happened at the fair..." he sighs heavily remembering it. He hated himself for what he had done. "I got carried away with my emotions. I regret that every day and it will never happen again. I will never put you through that again if you decide to give me a chance."

"Why did it take you so long to ask her? Couldn't you decide between me and her?" You raise an eyebrow.

"No. I chose you. It took me so long to tell you because you'd asked me for some time and.... then I saw you with that asshole Austin." Her jaw tenses. "He's a jerk. And if it wasn't for my mistake we never would have broken up and you never would have dated that monster."

"You can't blame yourself for that. It was my decision to be with him" you close your eyes for a moment. "Thanks, by the way. Friendly neighbor spiderman came to the rescue." You smile and your eyes meet his.

"I couldn't sit still" he shrugs.

"And I'm glad you didn't" you move your hand across the table and take his.

"I...I'm really sorry for everything, y/n" his voice cracks. "Absolutely for everything and I miss you and I love you and I need you. Please..."

"So... to clarify..." you pause. "You and MJ didn't get back together?"

"No," Peter denies flatly. "We never kissed again or tried to go out as anything more than friends. That kiss was a mistake. Our relationship ended then, we moved on with our lives and I found you. The only good thing that has happened to me in so long...please don't tell me I blew it."

"Peter..." you sigh "it's true that you hurt me like I never thought you would but... there's also more to this story like the fact that you guys never had closure because of the multiverse" you laugh lightly thinking about how crazy that just sounded.

"Does that mean you don't want to get back together with me?" he asks in a low tone of voice.

"No, Peter" you sigh. "I do want to get back together with you" you look him in the eye. "But if something like this happens again I promise you that will be it. No more chances, okay?"

"Wait wait wait wait" peter gets up like a bolt of lightning and runs to his room to get the promise rings. He comes back with you and opens the little box so you can see it. "They're promise rings. I'll never put you through anything like this again, I swear."

You nod with a smile and Peter places the ring on your finger.

"You don't know how happy you've made me" he helps you up from the table and takes your cheeks to kiss you. "I love you, I love you, I love you..." he repeats over and over as he leaves kisses all over your face.

"I love you too, Peter" you laugh lightly and grab him by the collar of his shirt to kiss him deeply.

It's a needy kiss, so in the blink of an eye you're already on his bed as he kisses your neck.

"We can stop if you'd rather go slow" he pauses to watch your eyes.

"Are you kidding me? Peter, I need you" you moan and kiss him again.

Peter smiles and his hand goes up the inside of your skirt. Peter looks at you and asks if you agree before his hand lands on your underwear.

That's your Peter, the man you love more than anything in the world. A man who respects you, values you and makes you feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

As his cock slips in and out of you, you try to maintain eye contact. His face of concentration mixed with pleasure as he feels your walls squeezing him just as only you know how is the most precious thing to look at.

"Is that okay?" He increases his speed a little and holds your hips.

"Harder, please," you beg. You arch your back to give him a better angle and pull on his hair.

"Fuck, princess... you're going to be the death to me" his hands intertwine with yours and he penetrates you deeper keeping up the pace. His Spider-Man skills make him last longer and tire less. Which you are infinitely grateful for.

When you both finish. Peter helps you clean yourself gently and lies down next to you extending his arm for you to lay your head on his chest. His fingers run lightly up and down your arm and his lips kiss your forehead.

"I'm sorry for being a jerk" He is the first to break the silence.

"It's okay...it's in the past" you leave a chaste kiss on his left pec and feel him bristle.

"No more secrets, no more lies, I won't ruin it again, I promise" he looks you in the eyes and takes your chin to kiss you.

"Remember the day we met?" you smile slightly at the memory.

"Of course I remember, I was going through a bad time and you made some horrible jokes that lifted my mood" he lets out a chuckle.

"That's when I knew you were the one" you laugh and caress his cheek.

"Why?" he frowns in confusion.

"Because you were the one who always laughed at the stupid things that go through my head." You scoff.

"You know when I realized you were the one?" He kisses the tip of your nose.

"When?" you ask intrigued.

"When you cooked a whole dinner to tell me you liked me and didn't run away when you found out I was Spider-Man" his eyes sparkle watching yours.

"I love you, Peter Parker" you lean in to kiss his lips.

"I love you too, Y/n Y/l/n" he kisses your lips deeply and full of love. "Forever and ever."

~~~♥︎♡♥︎~~~

Peter Parker Tags

@raajali3 @fangirling-galore @powerpuffluuvv @itszulli @hallecarey1 @xoxokiaraaxoxo @kaitieskidmore1 @lnmp89 @pure-a-tea @vixparker @army24--7 @spiderydreams00 @my-name-duh @nani-2305

'Choices' Tags

@parkerpeterparker2004 @afro-hispwriter @sakaki-chaaaaannn @insertsupercoolusernamehere @local-mr-frog @diasnohibng @stilesismyhusband @tombolland1996 @ellesalazar @cursedandromedablack @ifilwtmfc @newtmaskilledme @sweetenertea @wonieeee @jackiehollanderr @parkthothwa8 @cleverzonkwombatsludge @itsmadamehydra @luvherfairy @reneinii @pauuuus @rootbeerfaygo @janoskiansecondsofdirection @bubble-blu @silscintilla @agustdeeyaa @zadri @mrstangerinejohnson @amarawayne @rootbeerfaygo @roses-ztdx @marvelfreakgirl @greekmythsthing @pbeckn26 @brittney69 @ykyouluvme @fucktthisworld @dogmomalsop @midnightmystic @rayan39 @kneelforloki @555stargirl555

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Floyd Leech Outdoor Wear Personal Story: Part 2

"Yoink, mine now."

(Part 1) Part 2

[Dwarfs' Mine – Campsite]

Jamil: …Yeah, the spices are starting to smell good. Everything should be cooked up enough.

Basketball Club Member: All that's left is to throw in the rest of the ingredients and simmer everything, but…

Basketball Club Member: Grim and them still haven't come back from mushroom collecting.

[frantic running]

Jamil: …What's that earth-rumbling stomping.

Jamil: Hm? Someone's running this way from inside the forest. Oh, that is…

Grim: Heeeey, Jamillll!!! I brought you the ingredients!!

Floyd: C'mon, stop running around!

Jamil: It's Floyd, Grim and [Yuu], huh.

Jamil: What are they doing, running around so frantically…?

[bam!]

Floyd: Taa-daa, I captured you, Azarashi-chan.

Grim: Funyaaaaa! I was sooooo close to reaching Jamil…!

Jamil: You guys having fun chasing each other around over there while we're over here working hard? How nice.

Floyd: It's not fun at all. This little thing was gonna…

Grim: Nooooooo! I wanna eat the curry too, yanno!!

Jamil: …Hm? Hey, that mushroom Grim's holding, that's poisonous.

Grim: Eh!? This ain't shiitake!?

Floyd: Nope. Shiitake is…

Floyd: A mushroom of the Order Agricales, Family Tricholomataceae, Genus Lentinula.

Floyd: They are generally found to grow on decaying deciduous trees, but may also be found on coniferous trees, like cedar.

Floyd: A shiitake has a brown umbrella-shaped cap, a thick stipe, and white gills. Because of their succulent flavor, they are a culinary delicacy.

Floyd: …But the one Azarashi-chan brought is waaay off…

Floyd: This one has a similar appearance to shiitake.

Floyd: However, it is highly toxic, and if accidentally consumed may cause abdominal pain and other various poisoning symptoms.

Floyd: Unlike the shiitake mushrooms, there is a hardened ring on the stipe. In addition, it is distinguished by the red coloring that can be seen when the stipe is sliced open.

Floyd: …That's why the one you're holding's not a shiitake, it's something else. No good.

[blank stare from everybody]

Basketball Club Member: You just started rattling off all that info at breakneck speed… Were you reading something just now?

Grim: Th-then you shoulda said "that's poisonous" or something beforehand!

Floyd: Aahhn? I told you y'can't eat that.

Grim: When you said we can't eat it… I thought you meant you didn't want to eat it ‘cause you hated it!?

Grim: That wasn't clear, yanno!

Floyd: Ahn? Can't believe you'd blame someone else for your mistake… Azarashi-chan, you got some nerve, huh?

Grim: Hiiieee…! Hey, [Yuu]! You gotta save me here!

Jamil: Hey, you all, that's enough.

Jamil: …But, Floyd, I'm surprised. You really must have studied up for this trip.

Jamil: Even I would have had trouble distinguishing those mushrooms apart at first glance, and I am fairly well versed in poisons.

Floyd: Study? Why would I do a thing like that?

Floyd: I was just repeating the stuff I saw in that reference book yesterday.

Jamil: Hm? Stuff you saw? What does that mean?

Floyd: Before we came out here for camp, Jade tried to give me a "Mountain Hiking Guide" or whatever～

Floyd: "This will absolutely come in handy!" he said, pushing it onto me.

Floyd: He wouldn't shut up about it, so I just skimmed it once. The stuff I said earlier was written there.

Jamil: You remembered that just by skimming it once!?

Jamil: You're not telling me you memorized the whole book…?

Floyd: Yeah. But meh, I'll prolly forget it soon ‘cause I don't really care.

Jamil: I see…

Jamil: I always wondered why your test grades were all over the place, but…

Jamil: Never thought your memory would be similarly inconsistent.

Jamil: (…It's good that Floyd is always so moody.)

Jamil: (If he was actually better focused on his studies…)

Jamil: (The academic ranking between Octavinelle and Scarabia might have had the complete opposite results.)

Floyd: Hey, Umihebi-kun. Is dinner ready yet? They made me run around so much that I'm staaarving.

Grim: Funyaaaaa… I wanted to eat curry to...

Floyd: Meh, why can't you eat together with us? I mean, you did go and pick the mushrooms like you were asked.

Grim: Funya!? R-Really?

Floyd: Oh, but… 'Cause of you, we almost all woulda gotten a stomachache, sooo～

Grim: Urrrghh… Why're you tryin' to give me false hope!? You're so mean, yanno!!

1. Please overlook what happened…

2. Have pity on us…

Floyd: Umihebi-kun, what'd you think?

Jamil: …Sigh. If they'll help with preparing the rest of the dinner as well, sure.

Floyd: Ahahah, great idea! They can do my part too～

Grim: Grrrr… I don't wanna do any more work, but… Sounds like I got no choice…

Floyd: Mmkay, then I'll be waiting for an actually edible curry from you guys～

(Part 1) Part 2

[quirkle2]

jay do you ever think if warriors is in the middle of a big battle like the bloodied warriors drawings you made that legend ever has to help him calm down?? :0 man the feral ones you made are such a far cry from how carefree and goofy he usually is!!! aaaaaa I love them!!!!!!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM YES I DO ANON YES I DO

i've mentioned in the past a lot that they Both tend to absolutely lose it if the other is hurt in battle, but i also think abt instances where neither of them r hurt but Something happens in the fight and it makes wars lose it anyway. it could be pretty much anything ?? it could be just a Sound—a particularly familiar way metals scrape together; a yell that sounds like a long-gone soldier of his; the sound of a bomb being lit,,,

it could be smth So small that bothers nobody else at all, but it will instantly take him back to some memory he'd tried to forget. he's suddenly in a different place in his head altogether and he's back in that mindset he'd had to adopt during the war—kill or be killed—and when he of all people gets like that, a literal one-man army, it is incredibly hard to stop him from killing just about anything that moves

it's rare that it happens, but he does occasionally snap into something cold and feral and heartless. sometimes he's pushed over the edge, and ? sometimes only legend can calm him down

the others try ? most of the time wars recognizes them as allies, but on the rare occasion he's too lost in his own head to know who he's slashing at, they Have to get out of the way in order to not get immediately killed. legend is their fastest member. wars is Almost a match, but not quite, and if it rly came down to it, ledge would be able to avoid his strikes long enough to get his attention and snap him out of it

but i enjoy the idea of wars seeing ledge and That's what snaps him out of it. the others have been trying to get his attention, trying to yell for him to stop and it's proven to be useless cuz he's not hearing a word they're saying, but i fuckin adore the idea of legend being the only one wars' mind seems to pause at. if legend yells enough, it usually breaks through the barrier and gets wars to halt and to blink and realize he'd gotten lost in his head

and when he's finally snapped out of it ? he's Instantly panicking. he knows immediately what happened, or at least the jist of it, and he's whipping around to count heads and scan bodies for injuries inflicted By Him. he's actively hyperventilating cuz he doesn't allow himself a Moment of rest between his feral trance and checking the team over for injuries and legend has to grip his shoulders and cup his jaw and force him to Look at him

legend's so ?? it's Scary, for him, to see wars like that. it's scary for everybody, but legend in particular has royal knight trauma, and seeing his best friend, who is a knight, with that heartless, crazed look in his eyes ? it,, it unsettles him so much. legend is Scared of him, in those moments. luckily, they're at the point where ledge knows wars would never hurt him intentionally

and u bet ur ass that wars is so broken up abt losing it on the field. he apologizes endlessly, gets so choked up and guilty abt it, and even though the rest of the chain keeps telling him that they Get it and they understand and they don't blame him, he still beats himself up over it sm. keeps repeating "i could have killed you!" and he's nearly inconsolable

especially if he Does actually hurt one of them. just because that idea hurts me immensely, im gonna say it's never anything more than a simple nick or a twist of a limb <3 but even That . even if he sees a nick on somebody's face and he asks where that came from and they sheepishly admit they'd narrowly dodged one of wars' attacks, he's sofuckign broken up about it.

ur RIGHT anon he's such a goofy and gentle guy and even seeing a Small Cut on any of them, caused by wars, is enough to reduce him to tears. he just keeps thinking that if he'd gone a little faster, if they'd been a little closer, it could have been fatal. it could have chopped their fucking head clean off. That's why he gets so upset. it's how close he got to killing one of his family members

it terrifies him ? he's endlessly apologizing and Instantly unarming himself so he can't hurt them. and it usually takes the whole evening for legend to bring him back to a point where he's calm and not constantly hung up on the fact that he lost it on the field. legend's so gentle w him and the rest of the chain is as well—they're so endlessly patient w him and even if they've said it 16 times in the last hour, they'll keep telling him it wasn't his fault and they do not blame him and No We Don't Hate You Please Never Say That Ever Again

[thefirstknife]

Some of the more interesting bits of today's reset and dialogues. I loved this from Mara. She acknowledges her participation in steering Uldren towards his downfall AND she realises that she will have to do better with him in the future. This is from the ending dialogue when you finish the exotic quest for the Ager's Scepter.

I want to mention something from the start of the week because I've seen people get angry (but when do they not when it comes to Mara?)

Long post under read more:

It's about the discussion she and Ikora have at the terminal. Hot take, but both Mara and Ikora are right and wrong in the argument. Transcript:

Mara: "How long have your Hidden been privy to Uldren's resurrection?" Ikora: "Long enough to watch over him in your absence." Mara: "And you didn't direct him home. Why?" Ikora: "There was a concern he'd pick up some old habits." Mara: "You know the Garden made him sick. Riven twisted his mind. Eris would have seen it. She is not so easily deceived by skin-deep tricks." Ikora: "It's true I made mistakes, out of an idea of justice... out of grief. Are you leveling this same scrutiny toward Petra? Wasn't she supposed to be watching his grave?" Mara: "Petra has paid her dues. The Vanguard murdered him and has yet to pay theirs." Ikora: "We both lost family. I am sorry for my part in yours, but... Crow has been treated --" Mara: "My brother is dead. He was exhumed; his body twisted into a caricature. You had your vengeance." Ikora: "Is that what you're after? Cayde... I still feel that grief like a stone caught in my chest. Some days, it's more pronounced than others. Vengeance didn't erode that grief." Mara: "Then tell me. Who am I to blame? Who sent him to Savathun's clutches? Who bludgeoned Uldren into a scared animal and drove him from his home?" Ikora: "You did, Mara. And those Guardians that hurt him, did so out of misguided anger. Don't make the same mistake. Don't make my mistake."

This is some heavy stuff and there's a lot going on. First, I like that Mara doesn't respond at the end. It's uncharacteristic for her. It shows that Ikora's words did something to her. This is evident in the exotic quest later which I've already put at the beginning of the post. She's had time to think and she's admitting the part she played.

I dislike some of Ikora's arguments a lot. First, "concern that he'd pick up some old habits" goes entirely against the Vanguard policy and belief that Guardians are new people. They were only concerned because of bias towards Uldren due to what he's done. And Crow knows this! He said so last week when he wondered why is he the only Guardian judged by his past life. No one else is subjected to the same way of thinking. This is the reason why Guardians aren't supposed to dig around their past lives. Obviously with Crow, there's no way for him to avoid it, but the argument that, if he knew, he'd just magically become Uldren (and not just base!Uldren, but murderer!Uldren who will... I don't know, go after Ikora and Zavala or the innocent people in the City?) really shows how much the Vanguard mistreated Crow.

I also dislike the move to Petra. As Mara says, Petra has paid her dues. She really has. Let's not forget that Uldren was not just some guy to her or just her Prince; he was her friend. She had to watch him spiral out of control due to things she couldn't help him with, she had to make the choice to put him away until Mara comes back and at the end she had to make the choice to kill him. This trauma has shaped her.

The Vanguard hasn't paid any dues. That's kinda the whole point of Mara's questioning. Ikora tries to explain that this was due to grief and losing family, but pray tell Ikora, has Mara not lost family too? Mara mentions this immediately as expected.

Ikora is however right to say that it was ultimately Mara's actions that led to the situation we're currently in. The Vanguard had no say in Awoken royal family affairs. Mara knows this, she said as much in the past few weeks and other lore in general: she spoke at length about the distance she pushed between them out of perceived necessity, the need to shape Uldren in a way to make him less like himself (since she disliked his recklessness and dangerous behaviours), but ultimately that only made things worse. She's aware that his venture into the Black Garden was fuelled by Uldren's need to prove himself. Ironically, in an effort to make him loyal and devoted, Mara pushed him into more recklessness instead of stopping it. She's aware of this. Asking Ikora "who am I to blame" was just waiting to be roasted.

But Mara is also right to ask about how the Vanguard treated both Uldren and Crow. How they washed their hands from killing him "officially" by hiding behind the Guardian, how nobody in the Tower answered for this. Their treatment of Crow as well: forcing him into hiding, isolating him. Excusing all the suffering he felt at the hands of the Guardians as "misguided anger." The torture he endured from Guardians just for showing his face was so much more than just "misguided anger" and Mara is right to feel heated and enraged when she talks about this and when she asks her questions. She expressed similar distaste and anger in a voice line with Glint in regards to how the Spider treated Crow.

I got an interesting dialogue at the end of my Shattered Realm run which also made me really irritated on behalf of both Crow and Mara when it comes to the Vanguard. Ikora asks Crow why didn't he send his latest report and Crow replies that he's had a lot going on and a lot to deal with. Which is true! He's not the Drifter who doesn't send reports out of spite; Crow genuinely wants to help but he's struggling with a lot of things that we can't even begin to unravel. He deserves patience and understanding. However, the following then ensues.

Ikora:

Crow:

Ikora:

This last part is a nice sentiment. But excuse me. Crow has literally been resurrected, isolated, tortured, enslaved and then "rescued" only to be thrust into a cage in the Tower and given "responsibilities." He is not obliged to be the Vanguard's errand boy. It's honestly quite rude from Ikora to tell him that he has to take his responsibilities seriously. The man hasn't lived a single day in his life without anxiety over whether he'll be tortured to death in the street if he shows his face.

I know the Vanguard gave him protection from the Spider and stuff to do (which he enjoys) and accepted him into their ranks. That's all good. But there's very little empathy here that acknowledges the life he's lived. Crow deserves to experience things that aren't isolation, imprisonment and following orders.

And most of all, he deserves to know the truth. Something the Vanguard has denied him for almost a year now. I know Savathun's schemes were involved and specifically, they were involved through impersonating Osiris which made a lot of people turn a blind eye. But now that this is known?

Crow can't share his burdens without knowing the truth. That's the whole problem. Everybody, except him, knows who he was. Everyone looks at him and treats him through that lens. He can't unburden himself without being told half-truths and being denied information. His burdens exist precisely because he doesn't know while everyone else does. So while the sentiment is nice, it reads more like a "that sucks buddy" than a genuine offer to help him with what is really bothering him.

On the other hand, obviously sharing the truth is difficult. His past life is more complicated than for most other Guardians. He's been through things that other Guardians haven't. The situation is complex on every single level and every character has a reason for the choices they've made.

Sometimes those choices are wrong and they are mistakes. And Mara isn't the only one who made the wrong choices and mistakes, consciously and unconsciously. It's a disservice to the complexity of the situation, Ikora, the Vanguard and Uldren to boil everything down to "Mara bad." Doesn't make for a compelling story.

That's what I wanted to address in detail because on the surface, it's easy to just dismiss either of the character you dislike more. And that's just reducing the story to a spectrum of black and white that Destiny really, ironically, isn't about.

[helloalycia]

The Wrong Lifetime – Six // Wanda Maximoff

chapter five | story masterlist | main masterlist | wattpad | chapter seven

author’s note: i’m glad you all seemed to like the last chapter! i’m all for slow burn but i didn’t want to leave you hanging too long aha. Now onto dating territory!

Since going to Blackpool with Wanda, we hadn't actually gotten another moment to ourselves. Wedding plans were picking up which kept her busy, and if not that, then I'd only see her in passing in which we'd exchange smiles before moving on.

So, I though it would be good to take her out on a date. A proper one, even if it was to be disguised as a simple outing between soon-to-be sister-in-laws. The plan was to 'bump' into her in town, which we did, then I asked her if she wanted to go to the art gallery. She'd been before, but they'd put in a new exhibition which I thought she might like.

We couldn't exactly hold hands when there, but I made the most of her presence and stood a little too close to her than a friend might. Since she'd kissed me at the beach, I wasn't able to think about anything else. And when shot me a knowing smile, I knew she felt the same.

"I like this one," I told her, pointing to a piece hung on the wall, before squinting to read the plaque. "Jedburgh Abbey from the River by Thomas Girtin."

"And why's that?" she asked, watching me with humoured eyes.

I pursed my lips, glancing between her and the painting sheepishly. "I'm not gonna lie, I just like the way the guy painted the clouds in the sky."

She stifled laughter, not wanting to draw attention from passers-by, and nudged me in the shoulder. "You're unbelievable, milaya (darling). We didn't have to come here if you don't like art."

I gave her a knowing look. "Hey, I love art. Especially when it's by a certain Sokovian artist named Wanda Maximoff."

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. I grinned at her bashfulness, wanting to tease her but also very true with my words. Her work was my favourite, biased or not, and I still had that amazing portrait she'd done of me in my room back home. It was tucked into one of my drawers where nobody would find it. I didn't want anyone else to look at it since she'd done it for me and it was private... it was a beautiful reminder of the amazing day we'd had.

"You're poking fun, but in all seriousness, I'd actually love for my work to be up here someday," she said softly, looking at the painting before us with hopeful eyes. 

"They wish they were that lucky to score someone as talented as you," I said without skipping a beat.

She cracked a smile, tilting her head in my direction. It was obvious she was losing her patience with me, but I enjoyed watching her lose it. She didn't know what to say, especially when being complimented, and it was endearing to witness.

We remained civil for the remainder of the 'date', refraining from holding hands or gazing at each other longer than friends would, and I was pretty proud of myself for not thinking about kissing her once when we were done.

As we got into the carriage to go back home, the door closed and I was going to ask her how she found it when she moved towards me in an instant, kissing me without question. I raised my hand, caressing her jaw and closing my eyes as she leaned forward, practically on my lap, not that I cared. She sucked on my bottom lip sensually before she opened her mouth, pushing her tongue into mine. I almost forgot how to breathe as she did, unprepared for such an intense kiss.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," she revealed when she pulled away.

I flushed at the contact, a dazed smile on my lips. "Huh."

She chuckled as she sat back beside me more 'appropriately'. "Thanks for taking me. I loved it."

I nodded lamely, still trying to recover from our kiss. "I'm– I'm glad."

She smirked playfully, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to my lips before sitting back. "You're so cute."

My words still hadn't returned, so all I could do was nod before looking the other way. Her laughter filled the carriage and I wondered how I'd gotten so lucky to be in the presence of someone so perfect.

After exchanging some more kisses and actually being able to hold hands without prying eyes, we reached Wanda's home and she invited me in for some tea. Sadly, that meant we had to let go of one another, but I think she'd given me enough to remember her by as we parted, and she must have thought the same, judging from the smirk she sent my way.

We sat on the patio outside to have some tea and biscuits, enjoying the sunshine and blue skies, a rare occurrence for England. We were chatting mindlessly when her brother decided to make an appearance, helping himself to a seat between Wanda and I.

"How lovely of you to grace us with your presence, Miss Y/L/N," he said playfully, shooting me a charming smile, before reaching to grab a biscuit. Wanda slapped his hand but he stole one anyway, making her roll her eyes.

"Nice to see you, Pietro," I greeted with amusement, always enjoying his presence.

"And you," he returned, before chowing down his biscuit.

Wanda gave me a fed up look over his shoulder which he was oblivious to, and I tried not to laugh as she clearly wasn't a fan of him interrupting our time.

"So, I caught a glimpse of the wedding invitations," Pietro said, making conversation. He glanced between us with a nod of approval. "They're coming along well."

I hummed in agreement, smile becoming less real when he mentioned the wedding. Wanda didn't acknowledge his words as she fiddled with the handle of her teacup.

"Is your brother behaving, Y/N?" Pietro continued jokingly, looking to me. "I know how many admirers he has, but my sister should be his first priority."

"Oh, Piet...," Wanda breathed out with embarrassment, facepalming.

"Of course he is," I assured her brother with a small smile. "He wouldn't dare try hurting Wanda or he'd have a lot of explaining to do."

There was some playfulness in my voice, but an underlying truth to my words.

"It's sweet how close you've gotten," Pietro noticed, looking between us, before settling his gaze on me. "It's about time Wanda made friends with people who aren't me."

Cue another slap. I chuckled at her sheepish expression, amused by Pietro's antics.

"Anyway," he changed the subject for his sister's sake, "mother has been getting on my very nerve about finding a bride because you decided to get married."

Wanda rolled her eyes. "We both know I didn't decide, Piet."

He sighed over-dramatically. "Well, it's because of your engagement that she's now on my back about it."

"Join the club," I joked, knowing exactly what he meant. "My mum was already on my back about finding a husband, but since this engagement, it's ten times more annoying."

Pietro laughed. "Oh, no. Has she lined up suitors? My parents like to point out every pretty woman they see to me in hopes I'll make a move. It's hardly productive."

"I haven't asked her for fear she'll pull out a folder with all of the eligible bachelors in town," I said, half joking and half serious.

Pietro snickered as Wanda rolled her eyes in the background. She should have been happy I was getting along with her brother. He was actually quite entertaining to be around.

"It's funny you say that because you're one of the women my parents pointed out," he admitted.

"Oh, God, so they're saying the same thing to you?" I asked with a groan, and he nodded regretfully. "Isn't it just the worst?"

"You're a lovely girl, Y/N, don't get me wrong," he began gently, "but I don't like you like that."

I raised my hand for a high five. "Me and you both."

Laughing once again, he returned my high five and I was glad we were on the same page. The amount of people that had been hinting at getting to know Wanda Maximoff's very single brother was getting pretty annoying. It was nice to know he was just as irritated at the insinuation as I was.

"Okay, I should leave you both to it," Pietro concluded, slapping his knees and standing up. Looking to me, he said, "Miss Y/L/N, it was as lovely as ever to make your acquaintance."

I smiled as he winked playfully before looking to his disgruntled sister.

"Dear sister, the pleasure is always mine," he continued to tease, and she slapped him once more, making him dodge her and begin to leave. "Love you, too!" he called before heading back inside.

I laughed at his silliness and relaxed in my seat, looking back to Wanda. She didn't seem half as amused as I was as she drummed her fingers on the table and chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"I may be mistaken, love, but it looks like you're jealous," I poked fun at her.

She rolled her eyes and her jaw tensed before she finally looked to me, expression softening. "Can you blame me?" she asked quietly. "You're both single. You're both similar age. Everybody talks."

I shrugged nonchalantly, having a sip of my tea. "True... but I've got my eye on another Maximoff anyway."

She sighed, small smile creeping on her lips. Subtly moving my chair closer to hers, I grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed. My thumb stroked her hand softly as I leaned on the palm of my hand on the table.

"You look really beautiful today," I admitted in a hushed voice. "I should have told you earlier."

She, too, leaned into the palm of her hand as she watched me with an enchanting gaze. "So do you, milaya (darling)."

Unable to resist, I glanced around quickly before kissing her cheek and pulling away. Letting go of her hand, I busied myself with the tea and biscuits again.

"Biscuit?" I offered her, and she began to laugh at my attempt at acting casual.

Playing along, she accepted the biscuit from my hand. But a knowing smile was on her lips as she nodded. "Thank you."

—

Being with Wanda was a luxury in itself, even if we had to keep it private.

To everybody else, we were merely two women about to become family who happened to create a bond that was close. But we both knew what it really was and weren't eager to say it. Because saying it made it true and that meant that what we were doing became realer than it was in our daydreams and hidden moments.

I did find myself wracked with guilt sometimes – particularly the times when Y/B/N would gush about how excited he was to marry her. Wanda was technically cheating on him with me, his sister, but that fact was something that was still blurry to me.

We had no choice but to lie and be secretive. In a world like this, where we would never be able to be together like we wanted to, all we had was secrecy and deception. Did that still make us bad people?

I tried not to think about what would happen when she actually married my brother. The future was something I was adamant on pushing to the back of my mind because I knew what it would hold and I just wanted to enjoy the time I had with her. Convincing myself that what we had wasn't serious, just a heat of the moment relationship maybe, made things easier to accept. But really, I knew that whenever she looked my way with her signature smile and dazzling eyes, it was way more than I envisioned. She was way more.

So, trying not to be dragged down with the weight of reality, I vowed to myself to only focus on the now. Focus on the moments I shared with her whilst we could. Anything beyond that and I'd surely snap.

"Medovyy (honey), the Y/L/Ns are here!" Iryna called behind her, before looking to my family and I as we stood at her front door. "Please, all of you, come in!"

She ushered us into the main hall before closing the door after us. Perfectly timed, the rest of her family left the living room and came to greet us.

Automatically, my eyes found Wanda's and she was already looking my way, her dimple making a show as she attempted to reign in an excited smile. I did the same, trying to ignore the way my heart stirred upon seeing her.

Oleg and Iryna welcomed my parents and then me, kind expressions accompanying genuine greetings. In the corner of my eye, I saw Pietro shaking Y/B/N's hand before Wanda took his place, accepting a kiss on the cheek from Y/B/N. It wasn't jealousy that I felt whenever they were together, at least not entirely – they were to be married, what more could I expect? – but it wasn't anything pleasant either.

"Ah, my favourite Y/L/N," Pietro beamed upon shaking my hand, making my lips twitch upwards. "You excited for dinner? We're having salmon."

"Ecstatic, Pietro," I answered with a playful eye roll. "All I've been thinking all day."

He chuckled at my sarcasm before letting go of my hand and moving over to greet my parents. Wanda was next, her shoulders relaxing when she stepped before me with a soft smile present on her lips.

"It's good to see you," she said, but her eyes said much more than that. "How have you been?"

Exchanging a friendly-looking hug, my body was warm where she pressed against me. Touching her always sent a rush of emotion through me and I looked forward to it every time.

"I've been good," I answered aloud, before whispering into her ear, "Better now."

She squeezed my waist inconspicuously in response before letting go. "That's good. You know, we've got time before dinner and I wanted to show you the painting I've been working on lately. Wanna see?"

I glanced at my parents and hers for permission, knowing they'd heard her question.

"Just try not to take too long since dinner will be on the table soon," Iryna said with a nod. "It's so good to see you girls getting along."

Breathing out slightly, I smiled gratefully before letting Wanda intertwine our fingers and drag me up the staircase. She led me past several doors before we finally reached hers and she tugged me inside.

As soon as the door closed, she was quick to connect our lips in a heated, desperate kiss. I relaxed against her instantly, my hands falling to her side and pulling her closer. Her fingernails gently scratched the sensitive skin behind my neck, giving me goosebumps, and I let out an involuntary gasp at the feeling.

When we pulled away for a breath, her nose brushed against mine and she pressed a final kiss to my lips, slower and more tasteful compared to the first, before smiling at me.

"I missed you," she said, as if reading my mind.

A breathy laugh escaped my lips. "It's only been a week since we last saw each other, love."

She shrugged, arms laced around my neck. "A week too long."

Raising a brow judgementally, I gave her a knowing look. She wasn't embarrassed in the slightest as her half-lidded eyes met mine with a confident smirk.

"Did you just pull me up here to have a quick snog?" I teased her.

"Well, yes," she said, making me laugh again, before adding, "And I wanted to ask you if you'll go to the park with me tomorrow. A picnic. If you want."

She bit her lip anxiously, eyes darting elsewhere as she waited for an answer. I always found it amusing how she could be so confident one second and then so innocently adorable the next.

"Wanda, I'd love to." My thumb rubbed circles on her waist as I kept ahold of her. "I hear it's supposed to be nice weather tomorrow, too."

She pursed her lips. "Even if it rained, I'd still drag you to the park with me."

"Somehow, I feel like that's true," I countered with a ghost of a smile on my lips. She tried to hide her own smile and I continued, "Was there an actual painting you wanted to show me or...?"

Breathing out with amusement, she intertwined our fingers and pulled me to the back of her room where her 'studio' was. Since the last time I'd visited, there were plenty of new additions to her work, all as wonderful as the next.

"This one is from the beach at Blackpool," she said, stopping before a medium-sized canvas depicting the horizon. "When we sat on the bench. Just before I kissed you."

My heart fluttered at the memory and I studied the canvas, recalling it looked similar to her watercolour painting of the same view. She'd done a spectacular replica in oil paints, reminiscent of the trip we took.

"You should already know what I'm going to say," I said, looking to her knowingly. "But just so you can hear it again, I absolutely love this. You're so talented."

She rolled her eyes to distract from the pink spreading across her cheeks. "Thank you... and again, thank you for taking me. Seeing an actual water source upfront really helped me refine my paintings. It feels so much more real now."

I looked back to the painting, noticing what she meant. Either way, I loved both versions of her work, before and after going to the beach.

"You did good, love."

She squeezed my hand gently before sighing quietly with realisation. "We should probably go back down."

"We should," I agreed, glancing at her. "Thanks for showing me these."

She cracked a smile, teeth nibbling on her bottom lip. "Always."

Reluctantly, the two of us returned downstairs and joined the others as they were settling at the dining table. Wanda and I sat side by side, and this time when her fingers brushed mine, I made no move to pull away.

The meal was good, but as usual, I found myself zoning out. The conversation made its rounds, falling to me as the Maximoffs wanted to know how I was doing, then moved on, giving me chance to focus on eating my dinner and getting through the evening. I knew that at one point, everybody was talking about some play that was showing in the theatres.

Bits of the conversation were going in one ear and out the other and I was minding my own business until Wanda's bare foot rubbed against my leg under the table. The sensation of her skin against mine made my knee bounce up and hit the table with surprise, earning everyone's attention.

"Are you okay, dear?" Oleg asked, noticing my discomfort.

I cleared my throat, straightening up and ignoring the stifled smile Wanda had in my peripheral vision.

"I'm good, sorry about that," I apologised awkwardly, shivering when she dragged her foot back down my leg. "You were talking about the play, right?"

That seemed to distract them, as they leapt right back into conversation, giving me a chance to breathe out with relief. I looked to Wanda, watching her lean on her palm and hide a smirk as she stared at me with mischievous eyes.

Glaring and nudging her in the arm subtly, I looked back to my food, but she didn't move her foot, nor her hand. Both brushed my against me, starting a fire on my skin and making me swallow hard. She kept like that for the whole evening, making my head dizzy and leaving me at a loss for words.

And when I looked her way, she was already staring, definitely knowing the effect she had on me.

—

"I just need to find my shoes and we can go," I told Wanda the next morning, before our date at the park.

She'd come to pick me up at my house and was hanging around my room as I finished getting ready. From her place at my desk, she hummed in acknowledgment before distracting herself with my notebooks.

"I see you're making great use of the notebook I picked out for you," she commented, and I glanced towards her mid-search for my shoes, seeing she was flicking through the already-filled book.

"I have a lot of ideas, what can I say?" I joked, before looking under the pile of clothes near my wardrobe.

She chuckled, before falling quiet again. I wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing until she spoke up after a few minutes.

"Y/N, your writing is beautiful," she said, making me look her way to see an amazed smile on her lips. "I didn't know you could write like this. I mean– I should have because you helped write that letter Y/B/N gave to me, but this..."

I shrugged awkwardly, distracting myself with my search again. "It's okay, I guess."

She exhaled mockingly. "Okay? Y/N, this is miles better than okay. Why didn't you show me this sooner?"

I smiled satisfactorily as I finally located my shoes. Grabbing them, I approached Wanda and took a seat on the edge of my bed, opposite her seat at my desk.

"Because it'll never be anything more than what you're looking at?" I said rhetorically. "It'll only ever be words confined to pages that nobody will see?"

She gave me a knowing look. "I think you forget that my brother is a publisher, dorogoy (dear)."

"And I think you forget that he is the publisher to my brother, dear," I retorted playfully.

She sighed, shaking her head and putting the notebook back on my desk. "You know Pietro would love this, right? He'd sign you in a heartbeat."

I snickered at the ludicrous thought. "Wanda, you're a little biased, love."

She rolled her eyes. "Writers write for audiences. I am an audience. I consume literature. And I'm telling you that it's not just me who would read what you have to write."

I tried not to laugh as I pulled my shoes onto my feet.

"Are you really telling me that you'd never want to get published?" she asked with a raised brow.

My heart ached at the thought of such a fantasy. "Of course I would, Wanda." I met her eyes, which were already peering across from me patiently. "I've dreamed of that. But it's just not what's to happen. My family have told me that many times. In another lifetime, maybe."

She pursed her lips, studying me thoughtfully. I offered her a smile and stood up, holding out my hand.

"Forget that," I told her. "I believe you promised me a picnic."

Thankfully, she dropped the subject and accepted my hand, letting me pull her up. The topic wasn't brought up again and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

We went to the park like she wanted and she brought a picnic basket with her, having packed a lovely variety of finger foods and snacks.

As she was unpacking the food onto the blanket, I narrowed my eyes at her. "You know, now that we're finally alone, I can say how unfair it was of you to do what you did last night."

She played dumb, shrugging, focusing on neatening up the sandwiches on a plate. "I don't know what you mean, milaya (darling)."

"Huh. Sure you don't."

Giggles flew from her lips as she glanced at me through her eyelashes. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I just love seeing you squirm. You get all tense and it's so cute."

I pursed my lips. "I figured. You've been watching me squirm since we met."

She grinned knowingly before straightening up. "Okay, I made sandwiches and there's also some coleslaw, fruit, cheese... I made some Sokovian dishes, too, if you want to try them. Okroshka – it's like a cold soup. Then there's this olivye salad. It's... well, salad."

I smiled at the thought she put into it all and grabbed her hand between us. We'd set the picnic out behind a tree so we wouldn't have curious eyes watching us. It didn't look like we were overtly hiding, but we still got our privacy, too.

"It all looks great, Wanda," I said with appreciation. "I can't wait to try it."

She squeezed my hand in response before letting go to grab some paper plates. After popping a strawberry in her mouth, she asked, "Do you just want a bit of everything?"

I leaned on the back of my hands as I hummed a 'yes'. She began to put me some food in and I watched her, admiring the sight.

Her hair was half-pulled back today, falling in waves down her back and exposing her perfectly sculpted jawline. Everything about her was perfect – the way she moved was elegant and graceful, even when her hair fell over her shoulder and in her way; she simply moved it back with a flick of her hand and resumed what she was doing. The sun caught her immaculately, her hair glowing bright under the light and her eyes magnificently green as they focused.

As always, she took my breath away.

"Here," she said, holding out the plate towards me and pulling me from my reverie.

I accepted the plate and fork, returning her smile, before she watching as she began to make another plate for herself.

"You sure this is fancy enough for you?" I asked jokingly, stabbing my fork into a carrot. "I heard you and my brother went to a very luxurious restaurant the other night."

She met my eyes, holding amusement in her own. "Jealousy doesn't look good on you, milaya (darling)."

I kissed my teeth and rolled my eyes. "I'm not jealous, I just– it's so annoying listening to him talk about how beautiful you are or how funny you are or how kind you are."

"Oh, so you don't think I'm any of those things?" she teased, trying to get a rise out of me.

I titled my head towards her. "Of course I know you're all those things. But it doesn't mean I like hearing him talk about it constantly..."

Clearly amused, she erupted into laughter and I felt my face heating up with embarrassment. I know it sounded like I was whining, but it was true. Sometimes, I wasn't envious of my brother but rather at the fact that he could actually take Wanda out properly. He could be seen with her in public and hold her hand without fear of getting looks or disowned. He had the privilege of being with her and it wasn't fair.

"You may hear him talk about it, but there's one thing I can assure you that you get that he doesn't," she said when recovering from her laughter.

I stared at her with an exasperated sigh. "And what's that?"

She smiled confidently, glancing around quickly, before leaning forward and kissing me softly. As quickly as it came, it disappeared, leaving me desiring more.

Licking my lips, I couldn't tear my eyes from hers. "You know, you're a really good kisser."

She chuckled at my reaction and I found myself leaning in again, entranced by the way she tasted. Putting my plate to the side, I raised a hand to pull her closer, getting better access to her mouth.

She tasted sweet like the strawberry she'd just eaten and I swiped my tongue across her lip, indicating I wanted her to part her them. She did, allowing me to slip my tongue in and wrestle with hers, revelling in the way she tasted. My heart was thumping loudly in my chest as she let out a moan, it reverberating in my mouth and giving me goosebumps.

When lack of oxygen became an issue, she pulled away breathlessly, flushed cheeks adorned with a smile.

"As lovely as that was, I actually want to eat what I made," she ridiculed playfully.

"Yes, we will," I assured her, my hand moving from her neck up to her jaw. My thumb touched her lips, outlining them tenderly, subconsciously committing them to memory. "We'll get back to it."

She wanted to laugh, but I moved forward and caught her bottom lip between mine, unable to stay away. It was wrong, the rush I felt in my gut and the warmth that spread all over my body and the tingles that travelled down my spine. Because I knew what it all meant, but admitting it was a different story. So, I didn't.

I just continued to kiss the girl before me, knowing I could have kissed her forever and not regretted a single thing.

[sunkaashi]

— OVERTIME

↬ Pairing. College!Atsumu x Manager!Reader

↬ Genre. Fluff. A hint of enemies to lovers if you look really closely.

↬ Warnings. Mentions of alcohol. I guess nothing else? Let me know if you think I'm wrong!

↬ Summary.  Atsumu Miya is hopelessly in love with you, but how could he ever catch your attention if all you do is ignore him? Well, maybe his plan starts to work out when he finds out that whenever he stays longer for practice, you have to stay too.

↬ Word count. 1.7k

↬ tris' note: I wrote this in the spur of the moment, but I had so much fun! feedbacks are extremely appreciated! if you wanna be added to my general taglist, fill out this form.

anyways, did you know that only hot people reblog the works they like? NO? well, now you do ;) jk, but reblogs help me tons and I'm very grateful for them <3

Sweat dripped down the back of ATSUMU's neck as he jogged around the college tracks for the nth time that afternoon.

"Just one more lap." He kept telling himself over and over again as if repeating it would make it any less of a lie.

But who could blame him when this was the only moment of the day that he could spend with you? When he just knew that, by the end of that turn, you'd be there to receive him, water bottle and towel in hand? If anything, that just drove him more and more motivated to get to the finish line.

Those seconds in which your hands slightly brushed off against each other's; the way you laughed whenever he tripped over himself, too tired to carry on; the sarcastic sneer on your face every time you scolded him for wasting your time, but still wouldn't leave. To Atsumu, that was his reward, better than any shining trophy.

"Oi! Miya!" Your voice woke him up from his trance as the blonde boy finally shot up a glance at you. He rested with his hands on his knees, chest going up and down in strong and unsteady motions, legs still trembling a bit from the training. "We've been here for almost two hours! Everybody has left already, and I want to go home for God's sake!"

Atsumu snickered at the way your voice got higher with each word, deflecting from his gaze while you said you wanted to leave. He also didn't miss how you knitted your eyebrows together just before going off at him, carefully scanning his shaky body.

"Ya could've left, ya know? I never asked ya to stay!" He replied, smirking a little while making sure to stare right into your pupils.

If eyes are the windows to the soul, that must be the reason yours were so beautiful to him. As he tried to get an answer through them, he also delighted himself in such a vision. That's why he was quick to notice their slight tremble at his remark.

"And leave you to die?!" Your voice, once again, cut him off of his daydreams. "You've been running for more than an hour after a pretty rough practice, if you go into cardiac arrest who's gonna call an ambulance?! I'm the team manager, I don't want any deaths on my back!"

In his defense, he was only there because of you, but — obviously — he wouldn't tell you that. He decided to just laugh it off.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day!" He teased.

"What?!"

"Yer’ worried ‘bout me!" Atsumu said, trying to suppress the smile forming in the corner of his mouth.

Even though his tone was playful, he knew something was off when his words were left hanging in the air, no snarky comments added to the back-and-forth banter you were both so used to.

Seeing your widened eyes, he started to question if he was right or, worse, if he had crossed a line.

You gulped down as if this would prevent you from spilling something you shouldn't say. Atsumu was dying to know what it was.

This had become a little routine of yours. Staying for a couple more hours after practice as you helped him out for a while. At first, he knew you're just doing your job, after all, you were there to assist the boys, it didn't matter who they were. Still, he couldn't shake the thought that maybe, just maybe, something had changed as the months went by.

He remembered it perfectly. It wasn't that long before that you used to curse him for making you lose such precious time of your day. He knew you had your reasons! Staying overtime underneath the unforgiving sun, having to catch up on your studies while sitting beside the filthy running tracks, surrounded by sweaty and dirty athletes.

Even so, it wasn't pleasant for him either. Jogging for endless hours, the summer heat consuming him as if hell were just around the corner.

Usually, he would run only half of those miles. But how could he stop? How could he stop knowing that the minute he did, you'd have to go home, and he would only see you the next day? No, he needed more time to win you over. He needed those small talks in between his breaks. He needed every single one of the few glances you exchanged every time he ran past you. He needed to hear you giggling at his jokes at least once more.

What once felt like dragging insufferable after hours, began to seem like less and less time over the weeks. Those little details were what made it all worth it. They were his private entrance to heaven.

And he believed that you might've been starting to feel the same way too.

He'd caught the way your lips curled up into a shy smile the last time he'd offered to walk you home. He also had noticed how your irises shined a bit brighter whenever he bought you food, worried because he knew you'd be there with him for those extra periods. He'd seen the way you laughed at his childhood stories just a tad too hard, always asking for another one.

Atsumu had always been aware of how he comes off to people: the arrogant self-centered jock. He never really cared about any of those things, but he did care about how you perceived him. The man just hoped that soon enough, you'd learn he was more than what others wanted him to be. Not a pretentious athlete, albeit a normal guy as any other, just with an ambitious goal set to his mind. And whenever you shared one of those intimate moments, he thought that, perhaps, you were one of the few people that actually saw him for who he was.

Still, that didn't make it any easier to admit the feelings he'd developed for you.

"Oi! Are ya alright?" Atsumu said, trying to catch your attention, a delicate expression laying on his countenance. "I'm sorry if I overstepped in any way, ‘kay? It was a joke, I promise." You didn't answer him just yet.

"Hey!" He proceeded, lifting your chin up so you'd look at him. "Now I'm the one getting worried 'bout ya! Snap out of it and get back to hating on me before ya realize I might have a heart!" Atsumu mocked himself, but shied away from your glare while doing so.

At least he'd made you chuckle.

“I always knew you had one, Miya." You said, rolling your eyes at the man. “I just didn’t know it worked!”

“Oya! That was mean!”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” You asked, arching your brows.

“Well, maybe, but it wouldn’t hurt if ya were a little nicer to me once in a while!”

“Yeah? How so?” The words slipped past your lips without missing a beat, and Atsumu couldn’t help but wonder if the flirtatious undertone was something he had only imagined. He decided to take the bait.

“For starters...” Atsumu began, slowly making his way closer to where you were standing. “Ya could buy me a beer after we’re done here.” Was he crazy or did he really see your shoulders relaxing at his words?

“Oh, is that easy?” You responded in the same toying manner.

“Hold up!” He said, raising his hands to the air. “That’s just the first step!”

“And then what?”

“And then…” Atsumu continued, moving further towards your figure. “Then ya could let me hear that beautiful laugh of yers a few more times.” He completed, stealing a giggle out of you. “Just like that.”

“Great, so I’m halfway through it.” Your tone may have been monotonous, but your eyes told him otherwise. “Anything else or can we get this over with?”

“Maybe, while yer’ laughing, ya could finally realize that I’m not as bad as ya think I am.” He pondered, moving a loose strand of hair out of your features, clearing the view to your gaze.

“Now you wanna tell me what to think?” You scoffed, crossing your arms.

“Is just a suggestion! Take it as ya wish!” He winked at you.

“And what if I told you that I already did?”

“Ya did?” This time, he sounded soft, breaking out of the teasy character for a second.

“You’re not bad, Miya... Far from that.” 

“Well, that’s a shock.”

“You don’t look surprised.” You stated, pointing out the crescent grin on his face.

“Too much wishful thinking made me ready for this moment.”

“And what exactly is this moment… Atsumu?” The way you said his name, in a hushed voice, almost like a secret meant to be shared by only the both of you, gave him the green light he needed to go on.

“It’s when I finally kiss ya.” 

Atsumu was quick to grab your waist, pulling you closer to his chest, and finally closing the gap between you two. His gawk rapidly traveled from your mouth to your eyes, longing for a confirmation. It didn’t take a second after your subtle nod for him to merge your lips together, your body melting at his touch. His grasp was gentle, but firm, like you were something he treasured, something that he never wanted to let go of. And by the way you gripped onto his neck, the boy could tell he wasn’t alone in this.

Atsumu moved his palms all the way up your back, briefly running his fingers through your hair, but resting them upon finding your face. His tender touch cupped your cheeks in between his hands, pushing away just when he inevitably ran out of breath. 

"Do I still have to buy you that beer or is this nice enough for you?" You said, unable to repress a smile.

“Hm, I’m not sure… Why don’t you kiss me again and we'll see?"

© sunkaashi — 2021.  all rights reserved. do not repost, plagiarise it, translate it nor reproduce this post as your own.

[latuuart]

Nice analysis on little Touya but I just want to point something out about Shouto. Shouto also had his quirk at a very early age, in fact he wasn't even 1 either when his quirk first manifested and was likely even born with his quirk. We don't also know when Shoto's training started, it's never been confirmed when his training actually started but at age 5 is when training started to become more intense and worse.

I had to point that out about Shouto but everything else you said was spot on. I wish everybody would learn to understand Touya a bit more and understand that he was a broken kid who was just trying to find meaning in his life again because the poor child didn't even know why he existed.

Hi! Thank you for the compliment. Ah, you are most likely right. Because, although we didn't get a confirmation text or dialogue to confirm Shouto's age when his quirk manifested, we did receive this panel showing how relieved and happy Enji's face when Shouto was born (most likely because his "dream finally came true") while Rei looked so tired but also relieved at the same time (because she didn't have to being pushed to pregnancy anymore).

We also had this panel, after the Touya trying to attack Shouto incident, where Shouto was snoring ice (how cute he was XD). Touya and Shouto are 8 years apart, so if Touya was 8 when that incident happened then yeah, you are right, Shouto was not even 1 when his quirk manifested. Thank you for the correction!

Also, I agree with you that everyone should try to understand Touya's character more. But, it isn't that easy actually. I have to admit I'm able to understand a lil' bit about Touya's character because I've learnt Psychology a little before. Of course we can help to explain it to people so that they could understand better, but just imagine, this BNHA series, some of the readers are... very young children I assume, it's normal actually for them to not understand this topic a bit deeper. It's not once or twice I encounter people saying Endeavor wasn't abusive or he was just an okay father/husband. It's so frustrating but also kinda understandable at the same time. Especially, when the framing that the author did was not helping at all.

After all, we all are just the receiving ends of the narratives here. When the narratives try so hard to push the Enji good guy agenda, shift the blame to another victims rather than the perpetrator solely (Enji), and frame the victims "badly", of course there will be people lacking of knowledge regarding the issues (child development, child psychology, domestic violence, child abuse, neglect) that will fall into the narratives blindly.

(p.s. I saw these comments just prior to me taking the screenshot of the Shouto crying panel, just a few minutes ago. Imagine how many comments similar to these that have been existed before and how many of these kinds that will be born later on.)

[thewidowsghost]

Daughter of the Sea - Chapter 1

So, I started this on my Wattpad, and if figured I'd just put it on here! Just tell me if you want me to add you to the taglist!

Percy's POV

My name is Percy Jackson.

I am twelve years old. I'm a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York, and my sister, (Y/n), taking online schooling at home.

Am I a troubled kid?

Yeah. You could say that.

I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan—twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.

I know—it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.

But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.

Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.

I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.

See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course, I got expelled anyway. And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that...Well, you get the idea.

On this trip, I was determined to be good.

All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.

Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.

Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwiches that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.

"I'm going to kill her," I mumble.

Grover tries to calm me down. "I'm okay. I like peanut butter -" He dodges another piece of Nancy's lunch.

"That's it." I start to get up, but Grover pulls me back to my seat.

"You're already on probation," he reminds me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."

Mr. Brunner leads the museum tour.

He rides up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.

It blows my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.

He gathers us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and starts telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.

Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.

From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.

One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."

Mr. Brunner keeps talking about Greek funeral art.

Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickers something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turn around and say, "Will you shut up?"

It comes out louder than I meant it to.

The whole group laughs. Mr. Brunner stops his story. "Mr. Jackson," he says, "did you have a comment?"

My face is totally red, I think. I answer, "No, sir."

Mr. Brunner points to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"

I look at the carving, and feel a flush of relief, because I actually recognize it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"

"Yes," Mr. Brunner says, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because..."

"Well..." I rack my brain to remember. (Y/n) would have known the answer. She was nuts for this kind of stuff. "Kronos was the king god, and —"

"God?" Mr. Brunner asks.

"Titan," I correct myself. "And...he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"

"Eeew!" says one of the girls behind me.

"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continue, "and the gods won."

Some snickers from the group.

Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbles to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"

"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner says, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"

"Busted," Grover mutters.

"Shut up," Nancy hisses, her face even brighter red than her hair.

At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.

I think about his question, and shrug. "I don't know, sir."

"I see." Mr. Brunner looks disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"

The class drifts off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.

Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."

I knew that was coming.

I tell Grover to keep going; then I turn toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?" Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go—intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything. "You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner tells me.

"About the Titans?"

'"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."

"Oh."

"What you learn from me," he says, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."

I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!" and challenged us, swordpoint against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped. But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C– in my life. No—he didn't expect me to be as good; he expected me to be better. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.

I mumble something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner takes one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.

He tells me to go outside and eat my lunch.

The class gathers on the front steps of the museum, where we can watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.

Overhead, a huge storm is brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figure maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.

Nobody else seems to notice, though. Some of the guys are pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit is trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds isn't seeing a thing.

Grover and I sit on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.

"Detention?" Grover asked.

"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius, not like (Y/n). She seems to know everything."

Grover doesn't say anything for a while. Then, when I think he is going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he asks, "Can I have your apple?"

I don't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.

I watch the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and think about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sit. I hadn't seen her or my sister since Christmas. I want so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. Mom and (Y/n) would hug me and be glad to see me, but Mom would be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I couldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.

Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized café table.

I am about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appears in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumps her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.

"Oops." She grins at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles are orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.

I try to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I am so mad my mind went blank. A wave roars in my ears.

I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy is sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"

Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.

Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"

"—the water—"

"—like it grabbed her—"

I don't know what they were talking about. All I know is that I was in trouble again.

As soon as Mrs. Dodds is sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turns on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey—"

"I know," I grumble. "A month erasing workbooks." That wasn't the right thing to say.

"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds says.

"Wait!" Grover yelps. "It was me. I pushed her."

I stare at him, stunned. I can't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.

She glares at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.

"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she says.

"But—"

"You—will—stay—here."

Grover looks at me desperately.

"It's okay, man," I tell him. "Thanks for trying."

"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barks at me. "Now."

Nancy Bobofit smirks. I give her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare. Then I turn to face Mrs. Dodds, but she isn't there. She is standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.

How'd she get there so fast?

I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.

I wasn't so sure. I go after Mrs. Dodds.

Halfway up the steps, I glance back at Grover. He is looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner is absorbed in his novel.

I look back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She is now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.

Okay, I think. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.

But apparently, that wasn't the plan.

I follow her deeper into the museum. When I finally catch up to her, we are back in the Greek and Roman section.

Except for us, the gallery is empty.

Mrs. Dodds stands with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She is making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.

Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze as if she wanted to pulverize it...

"You've been giving us problems, honey," she says.

I do the safe thing. I reply, "Yes, ma'am."

She tugs on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"

The look in her eyes is beyond mad. It was evil.

She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me. I say, "I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am."

Thunder shakes the building.

"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

I didn't know what she's talking about.

All I can think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room. Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.

"Well?" she demands.

"Ma'am, I don't..."

"Your time is up," she hisses.

Then the weirdest thing happens. Her eyes begin to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretch, turning into talons. Her jacket melts into large, leathery wings. She isn't human. She is a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.

Then things got even stranger.

Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheels his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.

"What ho, Percy!" he shouts and tosses the pen through the air.

Mrs. Dodds lunges at me.

With a yelp, I dodge and feel talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatch the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hits my hand, it isn;t a pen anymore. It is a sword—Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always uses on tournament day.

Mrs. Dodds spins towards me with a murderous look in her eyes.

My knees are jelly. My hands are shaking so bad I almost drop the sword.

She snarl, "Die, honey!" And she flies straight at me.

Absolute terror runs through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swing the sword.

The metal blade hits her shoulder and passes clean through her body as if she was made of water. Hisss!

Mrs. Dodds was a sandcastle in a power fan. She explodes into yellow powder, vaporizing on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes are still watching me.

I'm alone.

There is a ballpoint pen in my hand.

Mr. Brunner isn't there. Nobody is there but me.

My hands are still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.

Had I imagined the whole thing?

I walk back outside.

It had started to rain.

Grover is sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit is still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she sees me, she says, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."

I answer, "Who?"

"Our teacher. Duh!"

I blink. We don't have a teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I ask Nancy what she is talking about.

She just rolls her eyes and turns away.

I ask Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.

"Who?" he asks, but he pauses first and he wouldn't look at me, so I figure he was messing with me.

"Not funny, man," I tell him. "This is serious."

Thunder booms overhead.

I see Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book as if he'd never moved.

I go over to him.

He looks up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."

I had Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.

"Sir," I ask, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"

He stares blankly at me, "Who?"

"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."

He frowns and sits forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"

Word Count: 3159 words

So yeah, this is the first chapter of this book.

Not much (Y/n) yet, but we'll get there.

Love y'all!              Kaitlynn ❤️😍

[soyouthinkucanwrite]

Chapter 1 - intentions, a Tom Holland series

The name of the series is super random, don't mind me. No warnings. Reader is a postgraduate student at NYU, made a docuseries on her research and the show got picked up by Netflix. She goes on press tour and meets Tom on a ‘chat show’. This could be an amazing few days or more? It’s been interesting writing how they’ll deal with distance and tight schedules once ‘honeymoon’ is over...

(y/f/n) = your first name

(y/l/n) = your last name

(y/n) = your name, complete or not

1.8k words

Chapter 1 - A new city

Chapter 2 - Show time

Chapter 3 - Unexpected texts

Your docu-series was doing better than anybody expected, well, anybody but you, it was a project that you really believed in. You sold the first season to Netflix with its 10 episodes shot all in NYC and they premiered with almost no press or promotion. But still, the wholesome moments and captivating stories had already become viral and people were so impressed by you. The text was amazing, and your improvisation and good mood lifted the spirit of the whole thing, making it the new feel-good show everybody was binging and talking about.

Better late than never, Netflix decided to promote the show and so they sent you to give interviews and go on talk shows. You still didn’t have an agent, something that you were in desperate need of, because your phone was blowing up all the time with offers for publicity deals, new interviews, and even some job offers. You couldn’t think about that now, you had to focus on making this “press tour” the best possible so, in the next meeting with the Netflix executives, you could close at least two more seasons for your show (and maybe score some other deal for yourself). With all this, you still had to worry about grad school (you still had at least one more year ahead of you until you get your PhD, if you managed to get time to write the dissertation)! You’d have lost your mind for sure, if it wasn’t for your producer and partner in business, David. He was helping you schedule everything and organizing talking points for the promotion tour, but ultimately you were the face of the operation. Fair is fair, that’s why you got to find an agent ASAP.

Currently, you and David were in London for the last bit of the trip, after tomorrow, you guys were going back home to NYC. One thing at a time, you thought to yourself while he talked on the phone with his fiancé outside of the coffee shop you guys were grabbing a bite at lunchtime.

You looked outside the windows, this was your first time in London and you couldn’t stop thinking about how it looked exactly like everything you ever imagined but so much more at the same time. Just like NYC, in that sense. You smiled thinking about maybe shooting a season here someday.

“Hey! Did you order something?” David snapped his fingers and to get you out of your trance.

“Huh?” you looked up.

“Earth to (y/n)? I thought you were hungry?” He laughed at you.

“Sorry, but common, look at this city! You can’t blame me for getting hypnotized.” You answered while he went straight to the counter to order some food and beverages for you guys.

“Yeah, it's beautiful. But this weather, how can someone function with this much moisture all around? Is like the air is heavier.” He said sitting back.

“The air is heavier because of the pollution, probably.” You joked back. You always loved big cities, but that didn’t mean you’d close your eyes for their problems, you just had a better tolerance for this kind of stuff. “How’s Lukas anyway? Everything alright back home?” You asked.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. He’s just touring wedding venues. He was really happy with the sudden budget increase.” He answered.

“Well, if he waits long enough, his budget might get even bigger. Speaking of which, we got to talk to some layer about that meeting next week. I think we’d be smart to go in there with our terms very well thought about.” You said.

“Right. I’m looking into it. You worry about finding that agent. One thing is the show, the other is your image. And something tells me the more you’re valued in, the more we can negotiate for the show.” He reasoned while the waitress walked towards the table with two plates.

“Own! Is so sweet to have a friend looking out for me!” You joked and threw a napkin at him.

“I am! You’ll see that when your huge face it's on Times Square and you’re closing the deal on some penthouse at 5th.” He laughed.

You shook your head and rolled your eyes at him. David was sweet, but he wanted nothing to do with the celebrity part of this project of yours and you knew he said this kind of stuff in a condescending kind of way. He wasn’t wrong, but you also couldn’t say you didn’t enjoy the attention you were getting because of the show. Maybe he didn’t felt like that because he had Lukas, but you were more than ok to take a few selfies with strangers and doing some photoshoots here and there. You liked the attention, but as long as you were concerned, penthouses and money deals weren’t included in your idea of happiness. Regardless, everything was so new and fun. Thrilling, if you didn’t spend too much time thinking about it.

“Is everything ok for later? Is just this one today, right? Then Radio One tomorrow morning?” You asked him before taking a bite of your sandwich.

“Yes. Yes. And yes. Mary sent your clothes straight there and someone from the show will make your hair and makeup. I think we should go right after here? We’ll have some time to kill there, but I think we can hang out backstage.” He answered.

“Oh, I don’t know. I was thinking maybe we could walk around. Get to know the city? Maybe visit-”

“Excuse me?” You were interrupted by two girls, apparently close to your own age.

“Hi!” You answered happily, but you could see David recoil in his seat (probably already expecting to be asked to snap the picture).

“You’re (y/f/n) (y/l/n)? From that Netflix show?” One of them asked the blonde one.

“Yeah…its (y/l/n), actually, but that’s fine!” You laughed and tried to be friendly.

“Oh! Sorry! We thought the show was so cool and you’re so beautiful!” The other friend said, the one with black roots and blueish tips.

“That’s sweet! Thank you for telling me! David helped me produce it, did you know?” You pointed to the guy extremely uncomfortable in front of you. You loved messing with him.

“Hi.” He said uncomfortably. There was an awkward silence.

“Anyway, would you mind taking a picture with us?” The girl with blue hair asked you.

“Sure! No problem!” You answered quickly and got up to pose.

After you guys took some selfies and David took some pictures of the three of you, you insisted he was in the shot too and the girls agreed politely. He wanted to kill you, but you didn’t care, you were only messing with him. How often you had the chance anyway?

“Thank you so much! Bye!” They said as they left you two to finish your meal.

“If only every teenage with a phone was this civilized,” David said grumpily.

“You complain too much. They were sweet! And they liked our show! That’s awesome!” You seated back.

“I guess that’s pretty great.” He smiled at you. But his smile died once he looked at his clock.

“Anyway, finish eating. I don’t think we’ll have time to even hang around backstage. They told me we’d have to be there at 3” and its already 2’30!” He told you while signaling the waitress for the check.

When you got to the studio, which was in central London luckily and not far from where you guys had lunch, there was a corridor with some doors and your name was in one of them. The Graham Norton Show was super fun and guests sat together on the same couch while being interviewed at the same time. You hadn’t even thought about who the other guests would be yet, but you had to put on the outfit that Mary, the Netflix stylist, had prepared for you and get your hair and makeup done.

“Hey! Can you find out who the other guests are while I change?” You asked David.

“Sure! I’ll be right back!” He answered opening the door and letting a small middle-aged woman inside.

“Hi!” She greeted him. “I’m Rosie. Here for makeup and hair.” She announced.

“Hi! I’m (y/n)! I’ll just change real quick, do you have a cape we can put over the outfit so it doesn’t get dirty?” You asked already undressing in front of her, David was long gone by now.

“Sure, sure. We have to be quick though darling, you’re going on in 30 minutes.” She said opening the little suitcase on the counter under the mirror.

You put the dress on and sat on the chair in front of the mirror.

“You can keep it simple, all the way. I get more nervous if the hair and makeup are too pretty, afraid of ruining it with my movements and sweat. Which of course, only makes me move and sweat more!” You laughed, trying to make conversation and relax.

“Relax, you’re already beautiful! We can just make some curls and after I’m done with your skin, a good eyeliner and pink lips?” She asked. You were glad she was nice and chill about it.

“Sounds perfect! Do you know who the other guests are? We were kind of squeezed in today.” You laughed again.

“Oh! Yeah! Its -” She started to say but was interrupted but David coming abruptly inside.

“Ok! Don’t freak out!” He said.

“I already am! Why would you come in like that? What is it?” You asked already freaking very much out.

“Its Tom Hanks. And -” He said.

“WHAT? Are you serious? What the hell man?” You tried to move but Rosie pushed you back on your seat.

“Yeah. And Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Holland. And Stormzy is singing later. They’re promoting Spider-man and Hanks is here for the new Toy Story.” He explained.

“I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m going to die.” You mumbled.

“Well, which one it is darling? I’ll just add some more blush anyway.” She laughed at your reaction.

“Fuck David, they must really be betting on us. Why else would they put us on the same couch as Tom Hanks and those guys? Super-hero guys!” You reasoned with him.

“I was thinking the same thing…” He started to talk but he noticed your expression.

“Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Relax! You’ll be great! You’ll do great! They were really excited to meet you actually! They love the show!” He told you trying to calm you down.

“Oh, man! What? They’re out there? And they want to meet me? And I’m in here? Oh boy, they must think I’m so rude!” You thought out loud.

“No! No! I told them we were late and you had to get ready. Yes, I chatted with Spider-man and Bumble Boy.” He gloated.

“Bumble boy?” You laughed at him but thanked him with your eyes because you knew he was just trying to distract you. There was a knock on the door and a stage assistant pecked inside.

“Hi! Is Miss (y/l/n) ready? We’re starting in 5 minutes.” She said.

“All ready!” Rosie answered.

“Oh lord. Thank you Rosie.” You were freaking out but didn’t want to forget to thank her.

“Oh! I forgot to mention. Gwyneth Paltrow is here too.” David said before running out of the room.

“WHAT?” You wanted to chase him but were scared to fall from low blood pressure.

[mopillow]

Nobody asked my opinion but...

We all saw what happened yesterday, everybody is free to have their own opinion about anything I just want to point out certain things because not all of us look for the little details.

Let's start with this one and focus on He Tian's legs not the hands also check Mo's while you are at it.

You did notice that from this view Mo's legs are in the middle of He Tian's, right?. Let's check again so you are out of doubts.

At the very least one is, and I'm being extremely generous here just for those one who want to argue that you can't really see the legs, and his but is on the air which means he is not restraining Mo's legs and just holding him in place while holding the neck, not chocking. Poor Mo who aparently doesn't know how to fight can't even kick He Tian in the groin so he can be free, must be because he is so worried of hurting him I mean he did just kick him there but a second one?? We all know that if you kick a body part once then is forbidden to touch it again.

Now lets focus on the neck area.

He Tian is just grabbing that neck to force Mo to look at him is quite hard to do this in the position he is because all the weight has to be on the legs and not the hand otherwise Mo would be passing out for the lack of oxygen, try to do this at home with a plushie if you don't believe me, you can see the veins poping but Mo is not struggling to breathe because He Tian is holding some of his weight on that hand or else he would be falling on top of Mo, again try it with the plushie. Poor Mo can't even ask for help because who would hear him?? In the middle of the mountain? Is there anyone close by who can offer help to this boy in distress??

Ok but why am I doing this?? Well because yesterday while having an argument some one told me that He Tian was an abuser and Mo was totally defenseless against this horrible monster, not with those words but close enough, body language doesn't lie people and this one is as clear as water, yes he tryed to force Mo to touch him but only after Mo kicked him in the nuts just for a joke, he could have easily walk away or hit him somewhere closer or less hard after all the guy just saved your life for those who think he feels obligated to treat He Tian nicely he surely is not showing this in here.

Now unless you are a guy you have no saying in here, just like boys have no saying in my period, I asked the few males I could thanks to COVID and the answer was the same "I kill the guy" but He Tian didn't, he was just mad and frustrated maybe because he barely escaped dead and he got a hug but then it was like nothing happened, he felt Mo's feelings for like a minute and then nothing. Can you really blame him for craving affection? He didn't do it the proper way, god forbid a teenager to act stupid is common knowledge that 15 year olds are so mature they can even take care of themselves while living alone they cook their own meals don't have pervert thoughts and they don't fool around, but he did notice and stopped by himself even when Mo was totally capable of making him by force.

He did kiss him, he is desperate, but still he is not blocking his lips Mo just needs to make a sound there are two guys in the same room, one of them would totally do something about it and Mo knows it. Unless OX show us in the next chapter that Mo yells or push he is ok with it even if it doesn't look that way to us mostly females who don't live in China and aren't struggling with the acceptance of our sexuality in a dictatorship were the punishment for this feelings is severe. This is a comic book people do not take it as a reference for relationship advice and don't argue the way the artist chooses to make his/her art.

Let's be better than China and if we don't like the content there are more comics to choose from nobody, just like in Mo's case, is forcing us to read is our choice. Let's have our opinion but don't judge without the final product on the table, if this guys were perfect from day one this would be a boring one shot.

[the-firebird69]

Halfway decent day already the mall is kind of vacant and that's why it's still a little firming around and senile people sick people but they're kind of hanging out and making the best of it going on to another top it hopefully

-super race change and they don't believe in being organized that much or having it together and they kind of get lit on their own and it kind of looking around for people who are doing it started latching on to our son and he said not really and put on a few major directions and they did not do it and acted too and they found they require tons of maintenance and then playing everybody else no matter what what he says is so that's what we say

-there's other things going on they are pretty big one of them is about Donald Trump what t-shirt said I could s*** a better president that was Ken and he is in court and his trial comes up in the 15th criminal trial for bringing an election and attempting to and they're doing Cherry selection and he has two gaggers on him and he's violated both and he's going to court today and they intend on holding him and for committed crimes and the guy has a blustery criminal I mean he is everything about him is brings a lot now and he's terrible he doesn't mean anything people have rules these guys have rules and he doesn't want to pay anything and nobody wants that

-on top of this is to push to do it and he naturally doesn't anyways so he's screaming what he's going to do and he's screaming what he's all about and people all over the planet are saying we don't need it that loud we see what you're doing and he just keeps doing it I'm going after this in the eastern hemisphere they're screaming what they're up to absolutely screaming and it is more or less destroying them they're stashes and caches it's midday it's through the night halfway are at about 45% of what they were several months ago and getting worse the pseudo empire is also attacked their bunkers are at 35% of capacity which is poor their top side bases land-based 35% of capacity that's very poor the laser bases are at about 30% of capacity all of which is very bad and still be a Counter-Strike and the idiots are going to take it on the nose and don't get it

-here in the Western hemisphere the warlock gearing up and they're going to fill up Alabama and Georgia and I'll get emptied again by tomorrow morning we think it might be another 1.5% or even more because they're going after Oregon and Washington and they're going after the bunkers invases in areas of operation all the same time.

-there's a few more things to consider on this life of ours is our sons as well and he said it's torturous they're so damn cheap that they should follow dead in front of him for what they're doing it is so criminal that they should turn the whole town into a prison and it's true they're just heinous losers all of them are threatening him for stuff and it just does not work they've lost more stuff than anybody that's ever existed it's pitiful so we're putting a different programs now maybe see what he's saying it's going to change soon and they want to blame us but really it's coming and it's just pushing them out it's odds at the mall is empty there's tons of them are really around and they're trying to figure out what to do and it's a better idea it really is going to work much better and coming in walking around and being a fart face LOL still time for that we see a lot of people buying campers right now millions that came down from Orlando Tampa into the ocean on the East Coast and all around Tampa Brandon every place he could imagine they're coming down and buying campers and trucks and they're being shipped down here by the truckload they're all buying a certain model to get a truck it's like a 20 ft camper and they go and it's really probably the best size for F-150 or f250 smaller is better but that's probably the way you want to max out at and that's what they say and it's really true and that's what they're doing it is common now there's also a lot of that particular Coleman I think it's a 17 and it's close to 20 but it's very lightweight and they're buying tons of those it's very sturdy too huge numbers of campers of all different types are being bought and sold should I have numbers of them are taken out of the Midwest storage huge numbers today and it all coming down here no but they're going to the east coast into here huge huge numbers and what the intend to do is to build up forces to get stone chips and take the country back and all that stuff and they want to use minority more luck and everybody and they're probably will try

-additionally there are large number of folks coming down who appear to be warlock minority and they're not and people tell them to take the makeup off and they're slowly doing that it's a huge huge day because most of them are trying to find a way out of here and so we just came from up there as hell in how you supposed to get by and I think all the campers are to stay here with so you find out that people just drive out the road and our son was right after time they start worrying about getting damaged and they're watching it huge numbers I'm going to leave I always say that it's not a massive Exodus but it's the leaders

-this war happening because of the buildup that they want to leave in the day and it's not not started building up too much yet usually it starts around 8:00 p.m. so they have that window so we're going to publish

Thor Freya

Olympus

There's a ton of people in Walmart and they're getting food and supplies to the campers huge huge numbers of them are buying kerosene and LPG all types of it mostly the Blue rhino and we ship so many in we thought we were going to get killed and it wasn't enough they keep coming it is just non-stop and we can see it but holy cow is it's incredible and who that love this idea and we don't know why we need campers so we do and we have to get out there and get situated and it's a pain so we're getting all this together and we're moving out there and we're going to Arizona summit New Mexico not much a little in Texas not really a bunch in California and the rest of the South and we figured out something these guys are saying why don't you get out of there it's true we're taking ourselves it's utter nonsense so I'm giving orders out today for people to evacuate and they're moving it out and they really should this place sucks can't do anything with anyone for anyone it's very restrictive and they're using power and it's gross he's a good guy said you got to be kidding me it's another week of this s*** not to make sure that day and they're thinking of years or something

Trump

That's true all across the board they're very strange I'll be blowing it we got to get out of here we do see what happens they are going into the diamonds on more than just three I think it's 8:00 and it's true and they are very aggressive and they're pushing people out as a cruise come down they work shifts and it's going to be a huge influx down here

Bja

We are pushing pretty hard and we need the living space and people are moving out and we're leaving New England as we're leaving we see people trying to take the apartments and losing versus foreigners and some Max and some big fellows

Mac daddy

He says maybe the Norwegian no

..

It's cuz a huge army we need to respect them more nobody gives a s*** they're just dumb he says Lady Gaga says it all the time and she's a wicked rancid b**** there says we were born this way.. good they have a way of dealing with it

...

Really get this going no it's going pretty good said what about the train put a few more cars on there and get them the hell out come back with stuff in the cars and I thought about that and really it's not that feasible the train only takes like a thousand people so why not bring the train down to Walmart and s*** yeah we do that already I serious saying you take that housing lot and fill it with containers full of s*** then you bring the container out when it's emptied and use dust control you might actually do that I'm not going to live here there aren't

Mac

Well I'm up top and my son and daughter in there and yeah we are thinking about this kind of stuff you need to get some logistics people and Dave did and some others but really it's a mess there's other things happening

-we really think people should bolt stuff down and skinny to be that time and I'll send you his help bolting things down right now people are moving all over the world and was sending alerts. Today is going to be a really big day most of it is just moving around stuff and but there's a war in the eastern hemisphere and the pseudo empire is defeated. Stan wisinski is still running and he is going into the populace and getting in trouble so for him no he's in trouble too he's a wise ass and has clones that are normal and it's a problem and they couldn't beat up by everybody and it's horrible it's going on Timmy d is going out and getting beaten up and the information is getting lost to Big parties about 75% of the headquarters overseas it's their areas of operation are 50 to 60% destroyed and the rest of it is evacuating now and we mean all of the group's clans this it might be it for them in the Eastern hemisphere and people say it but we don't think so they have a lot of other places no they have several bases left and bunkers they're down to 35% across the board but it is going to take a Time for that not too long ago but they have ships and they can regain stuff a little bit but they're taking they're taking a beating a big one and the numbers are going to be big tonight

-also along with the pseudo empire taking a beating the morlock are taking a hammering they are getting smaller and smaller by the minute the rate is now 1.0 an hour for Mac morlock and the others are not faring that bad mostly their attitude sucks and it's forcing them to evacuate beautiful and alert out and take a break

Thor Freya

Olympus

The alert is good we need it now

Hera Zues