#any sort of food askers actually

[factual-fantasy]

Bonjour Factual! Hope your day- whatever time it is when you're reading this- is going well so far! I Really liked the new art of the gang during the warmer times of year- like others have said, the smile you gave Grimace, while funny and cute, also perfectly portrays just how happy he is to feel included and helpful!

And speaking of Grimace, I agree with your thoughts from my last ask ( thanks for answering as always, by the way ). Although it would be awesome for him to mega evolve, Gigantamax, or dinamax- story wise I can't really think of a way for all the necessary pieces to fall together, unless you do an ark where Grimace is tragically captured by a human for a time, and exposed to the necessary conditions to change unwillingly- perhaps as an experiment of sort? Though you are correct that he would have to be descended from certain Gengar populations to even have the genes- though perhaps that's the reason he's sought out to begin with? Just an idea.

As for my main ask today- I actually have one pertaining to your Mario AU, if you don't mind! Just out of curiosity, have you ever considered giving the giant eel-like Mawrays a place in your world?

They've been popping up a lot lately in Mario media- and I was wondering what you thought of the frightening creatures? And if they appeared in your AU, would they be an entire species of deep sea dwelling terrors? Or a single, legendary sea monster, like the one seen in the movie? And if they are present, have the bros ever had a harrowing encounter with one? What would they do to survive!?

Oh, and on the topic of giant sea monsters- I do have a secondary, unrelated question- what are your thoughts on the Godzilla franchise? I've been getting back into it lately and was wondering if you've ever found any interest in it? Do you have any favorite movies or monsters from the series? Or is it not a series that interests you? Just wondering!

(and I'll admit, I've found that binging Godzilla movies is always fun when I'm feeling down! Hope you're feeling okay today!)

(Grimace in warmer times post)

Hello!! :DD My day is going a bit rocky, but its still a lot better than I was expecting it'd go. So that's nice! <XDD And thank you! I'm glad you liked that drawing!! :)))

As for your last ask, I've done a lot of thinking since then. :0 And while dynamaxing and/or gigantimaxing still seems a little far fetched for my team.. thanks to this asker, I found the key to making him mega evolve! Enchantment seeds! :DD In one of the mystery dungeon games, if a Pokémon used an Enchantment seed they'd mega evolve for a short time! No need for trainers, key stones or Gengarite! :DD

I have a HUGE comic in mind about how Grimace finds the Enchantment seed, why he eats it, and how it effects him afterwards leading up to his mega evolution. The only problem is that this comic is ENORMOUS. So I'm kiiind'a on the fence about making it.. <XD..

Now! As for your Mario question. First of all that thing is terrifying- so I think it'd fit right into my Mario universe! <XDD Its easy to imagine that giant eel being a species as opposed to just one. Although one eel could have found a goldmine of super food and slowly grew to be giant. Yoshi style XDD I think that would all fit pretty well! I cant imagine Mario or Luigi would encounter the big one though. I picture it living wayyy out in the depths of the sea. They might hear haunting stories about it consuming passing ships though.. 👀

Now the Godzilla franchise.. if I'm being honest, I don't actually know much about it <:0 I know of Godzilla, King Kong(??) a huge moth, Mothra was it? A uhh... gold..? 3 headed dragon..? And I could have sworn there was a second Godzilla but bigger and all black in there somewhere-

My general opinion is that I liked the first...? Movie when it was just Godzilla. This huge hulking creature that emerged from the ocean. No one knows what it wants, what it is, or how to defeat it. Humans vs Godzilla. That type of movie was/is the most entertaining to me <XDD

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

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1. For the next ITMF, do you know of any fics with Lan Xichen with more of a spine, being less naive/more astute? His absolute trust in JGY drives me up the wall sometimes, so I'd like fics where he sees through him, for once. @kitsileya

i told you when i came i was a stranger by Caramelized (M, 50k, OFC/LXC, minor WangXian, Isekai, Transmigration, Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Amateur cartography, Butterfly Effect, Sunshot Campaign, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, No Golden Core Transfer, Dimension Travel, Politics, LXC the politician, Self-Insert, Foreknowledge, Angst with a Happy Ending) for #1 the closest I can think of it "i told you when i came i was a stranger" by Caramelized it's isekai, but it's extremely well-done. one of those fics i reread a lot. lxc needs some help to see through the deceit, but he gets there in the end, and learns something from it. idk if it's exactly what the asker is after but no one else seems to have provided anything so I thought I'd at least offer it

A Little Fall of Rain by Just_a_Girl_in_a_Crystal (T, 47k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Temporary Character Death, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Grief/Mourning, Angst with a Happy Ending, Jiang siblings, Fix-It, Golden Core Reveal, Protective LXC, Protective LQR) heavy angst

crack in the mirror by the_pretzel (T, 59k, WIP, WangXian, Reincarnation, Royalty, Transmigration, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Murder, Mutual Pining, based on a manhwa, Mystery, court intrigue, Assassination Attempt(s), Assassination Plot(s)) AU - he does keep supporting jgy for a while but believes lwj and then decides for himself

The blame game by apathyinreverie (T, 13k, WangXian, Fix-It, Time Travel, mainly just lxc getting his brother the husband he has wanted since they were teenagers, this time without the years of mourning, also lxc wants his adorable nephew back, LXC time travels, Canon Divergence, Possessive LWJ, Oblivious WWX, Fluff, Siblings, Romance, Golden Core Reveal, kind of, Golden Core Fix-It) here he has the benefit of time travel so idk if this is what OP is going for

~*~

2. itmf fics where wei ying dies in qiongqi dao? thanks! ♡ @darlingjunebug

End Racism in the OTW | The Fire Lapping Up the Creek by notevenyou (E, 66k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Blood, Respiratory Illness, Major Illness, Fever, Grief/Mourning, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hunger and food scarcity, Surgery, Fix-It of Sorts) Technically WWX doesn't actually die, but he is assumed dead, so you get LWJ going a lil mad with grief & the sects reacting as if he's dead

in this place where we don't have a prayer by Cerusee, Mikkeneko (T, 42k, XuanLi, WangXian, ChengQing)

Looking at You Always, All Ways by Keysmashed (T, 29k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Nostalgia, Subtly Assertive LWJ, very mild angst, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Troublesome Lotus by orphan_account (G, 20k, WangXian, Female WWX, Gender Changes, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Unplanned Pregnancy, Miscarriage, LSZ is LWJ and WWX's Child, Baby LSZ, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Pregnancy, Pregnant WWX, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Childbirth, WWX dies in Qiongqi Path, Implied Sexual Content, Parent WWX, Good Parent WWX, Single Parent WWX, Sad Ending) if you dont mind reading fem!WWX

The world was wide enough for the both of us by Moonlit_dewdrops (T, 5k, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Not A Fix-It, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, Hurt No Comfort, Ambush at Qióngqí Path, Blood and Injury, Heavy Angst, Golden Core Reveal, JZX lives but someone else dies instead...)

ius in bello by Lise (T, 2k, Yunmeng Siblings, Canon Divergence, Tearjerker, Sad Ending, Heavy Angst, Grief/Mourning, Not A Fix-It, POV JC, podfic available)

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3. hello! thankyou all for your hard work. for the next ITMF, please suggest fics where: a) modern sick wwx, b) a-yuan is wwx and lwj's son but lwj know it some years after like wwx hid it or smth, it can be modern or not. c) good underrated tags that i can explore later. thankyou!

3A)

A Grand Immortal Made Me Soup by s6115 (G, 5k, JC & WWX, wangxian, canon divergence, Immortal JC, Immortal LWJ, Immortality, Yunmeng Duo Days, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, JC & WWX Reconciliation, JC used his immortality to grow and mature, WWX finally reincarnates and the immortal JC isn't going to fail this time, JYL's Pork Rib and Lotus Root Soup, Good Sibling JC)

the soft animal of your body by sysrae (T, 15k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, modern cultivation, Golden Core Reveal, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Animal Transformation, Shapeshifting, Sort Of, Getting Together, Confessions)

Grace and a tender hand by feyburner (T, 4k, wangxian, modern, First Date, Sickfic, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Fluff)

3B)

Nothing but your heart by airinshaw (E, 21k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Implied Mpreg, First Time, Getting Together, Angst and Drama, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anal Sex, Whump, Breeding Kink)

Family Pictures (Or: “Mark Rothko is very, very dead, Wei Ying.”) by belleweather (M, 37k, wangxian, modern, Kid Fic, Post Mpreg, Cindarella Story, Mistaken Identity, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, LWJ doesn’t know how to express feelings except with his checkbook, WWX is strangely okay with that, art conservator LWJ, idiot WWX (he gets better slowly), shockingly little actual sex omg what happened to me?, fake/mistaken cheating, no actual infidelity, I apologize to Mark Rothko and Julian Baumgartner)

3C)

agree about the personal preference thing! i feel like the novel has big themes of (found) family, so occasionally i like to go through the tag and stuff like yiling sibs, lsz&wwx, jl&wwx etc etc. also i thing the "disabled character/wwx" fics are pretty underrated? because sometimes they're not found in the tag sadly

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4. Hi! I was wondering if any of you knew of fics that portray the confession scene from LWJ's POV? Ideally, I would like for fics to portray both parts (outside and inside the temple). If not, I would prefer it if the fic had its focus on the part inside the temple @blueghost13

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5. Hiii hope y'all are doing well! For today's itmf fics where wwx and lwj are trying to solve crimes. (any type works but thriller and/or horror would be amazing)? They can work together or meet and have to work together to figure it out, anything works really but I'd have a preference for detectives kinda stuff! @rkivees

medium blues by darkterrible (E, 193k, WangXian, Modern AU, Horror, Spooky, Opposites Attract, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Ghosts, Necromancy, Mojo’s post)

once upon a time, 很久很久以前 by gentil-minou (Flyingsuits) (M, 23k, wangxian, LSZ & WWX, LSZ & LWJ, Modern, Canon Divergence, Transmigration, of the townwide variety, Amnesia, of the nearly everyone variety, Mystery, of the shenanigans variety, Not Everyone Dies au, WWX Has Self-Esteem Issues, wwx is sad and down bad, Single Parent LWJ, except a-yuan runs away to find his other dad, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn, oh no by god this cant be happening to me, WIP) this is my WIP and there's a murder mystery and a curse that wangxian work together to solve, though they're both more like amateur detectives here. That part is still being set up, however.

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6. Hello, do you know any fics where the guanine temple incident goes wrong and somehow people end up hating wwx again, including lwj. I want an angst adventure fic to cry.

~*~

7. Hello!! I hope you're doing well! I am in mood of angst and heart wrecking wangxian fics to feel emotions.... do you have any suggestions: where wangxian break up/divorce, misunderstandings, arguments or/and similar stuffs? Thank you very much... I will appreciate it so much 😭😭

The Right to Care by travelingneuritis (E, 61k, WangXian, Modern AU, Mood Whiplash, musician LWJ, nanny wwx, Developing Relationship, Breakup, Texting, Pining, Eventual Happy Ending, Adoption, Child Abuse, abuse intervention, Miscommunication)

you'll always know me by ana_cp (E, 127k, wangxian, modern, Actor WWX, Teacher LWJ, Getting Back Together, Exes to Lovers, Angst with a Happy Ending, LWJ being cute with children alert, WWX rides a motorcycle, LWJ writes as a hobby, ALL THE GOOD THINGS, Back hugs as a love language, Sharing Food as a Love Language)

🧡 Life as a House by Terri Botta (Isilwath) (T, 55k, WangXian, Modern AU, Post-Divorce, Father-Son Relationship, Reconciliation, Therapy, Angst with a happy ending)

Tempo Rubato by Spodumene (E, 107k, WangXian, Modern AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Romance, Persuasion au, Separations, Mutual Pining, Depression, Miscommunication, Emotional Roller Coaster, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Reconciliation, Eventual Smut, Jane Austen Fusion, Underage Kissing)

Dirty Little Secret by ilip13 (E, 67k, Wangxian, modern, Angst with a Happy Ending, Unreliable Narrator, Post-Break Up, Friends with benefits / Exes with benefits / Fuck-buddies, Implied Cheating, Also possibly some cheating kink, Self-Worth Issues, WWX is strong with the self-hatred here, trigger warning: suicide and mental illness (background of minor character), Graduate Students, Liberal use of the word 'fuck', Semi-Nonlinear Storytelling)

~*~

8. Hello hello! It's been a while since I asked for fanfics buuuut I came back :D. Anyways, for I'm In The Mood For, can I ask for some "Freak for Freak" wangxian?

Thaaaaank youuuuu~~

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9. hello! thank you very much for your work! i was hoping if you know fics about how LWJ reacted or the scenes surrounding LWJ realizing that MXY is WWX after playing their song?

thank you very much! @cuddlemehun

~*~

10. this has probably been done before, but i want to ask nonetheless. i'm in the mood for a fic where lwj is married to (preferably dark) yllz in exchange for something. dubcon is okay. thank you :)

💖 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, wangxian, immortal WWX, slow burn, pining, arranged marriages)

~*~

11. Hello! I don't actually have a specific fic to request for but I'm wondering if you can recommend or know of any fics where WWX is chubby?

All the fics I read describes WWX as desirably slim and I'm kind of thinking, is there any out there where he's meaty and cuddly?

leave all your love and your longing behind by ScarlettStorm (E, 143k, WangXian, Modern AU, no magic, Meet-Ugly, Panic Attacks, autistic lwj, neurodivergent wwx, the neighborhood asshole dog, if you've met one then you know, Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Minor Angst, major shenanigans, Happy Ending, for everyone including the asshole dog, Eventual Smut, switch rights, Sex Toys, horny yearning, Masturbation) This is one of my favourites, WWX has had previous food insecurity but he and LWJ now both appreciate his current level of chub

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12. Hi hello! I saw some people asking for fics where married wangxian fight like a married couple, kinda soft, but I was wondering if there are some where they fight for real? Like not necessarily physical (but could be), but I mean where they disagree with something very important and fundamentally can't agree. The kind of fight from before, but after. With happy ending of course, just lots of angst first hhahaha Could involve Sizhui for extra angsty points. thank you! @alexwilltellyouthings

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13. Hi. For the next ITMF could you recommend any fics where LWJ gets hurt protecting WWX and him feeling guilty (or just getting hurt for whatever reason but with WWX still blaming himself somehow /maybe even others blaming him too)? I've read Traveling in shadows, chasing your light by MusicMe_tc, it was amazing, so I'd love to read sth similar. Also I'd prefer finished works. Thank you @castielle711

~*~

14. ITMF silent/quiet Wei Wuxian

❤️ whipstitch by curiositykilled (M, 131k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Dysfunctional Family, Torture, WWX Lives, but basically no one else, Case Fic, Cultivation Sect Politics, Past Abuse, WWX Whump, YL WWX, JL Needs a Hug, JL Tries, Yunmeng Bro Reconciliation, Past Character Death, Body Horror, Non-Consensual Body Modification, POV Alternating, Flashbacks, Eventual Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Suicide Attempt, PTSD, Depression, Not A Fix-It, Mouth Sewn Shut) he has his lips stitched shut

can consider looking through the mute wwx tag on ao3

I am sorry for taking your voice by misterfish (G, 9k, WWX/OMC, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Hurt WWX, Remorse LWJ, Mute WWX, not Jiāng Family friendly, Past Child Abuse, WIP) Also, this is technically alr in the tag but I want to specifically rec

🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 53k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU)

~*~

15. goodday! recently ive been rereading lots of fics and i feel like ive read all of i think the goods one (more like 25% completed, 50% ongoing, 25% ghosted).

i dont know if this is for ficfinder or itmf, i just want a suggestion from u'all, what tags should i explore more? or maybe you can recommend some fic? i already explored/read the compilation list here. ive been looking for underrated tags in ao3 but lots of them are ghosted. i feel like my request is kinda hard but thank you!

it really depends on your preference but I'd say start with your fave fics and follow the tags. Sometimes you can also check out the author's bookmarks for their fave fics as well. I'd also recommend checking out the wangxian fic recs blog! Alsp dont just search by kudos!!! This fandom has so many hidden gems. Id recommend making limited searches like within a certain time or even just going to a random page and checking out what you might like!

agree about the personal preference thing! i feel like the novel has big themes of (found) family, so occasionally i like to go through the tag and stuff like yiling sibs, lsz&wwx, jl&wwx etc etc. also i thing the "disabled character/wwx" fics are pretty underrated? because sometimes they're not found in the tag sadly

it might be helpful to only look for completed fics in ao3 :)

~*~

16. Hi! I am in the mood for fics where Wei Ying is compelled to tell the truth via a spell or talisman, so secrets come out sooner than in canon. I have read sooooo many fics where WY is dragged before a conference and accused of stuff and no one believes what he says and for once I want him to tell the truth and for everyone to know he is telling the truth and then I want the dramatic reaction from everyone around who know that WY cannot lie right now. Ya know? Thanks so much!

After Truth Lies the Honest Path by Vrishchika (M, 10k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Truth Serum, Angry WWX, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Mild Angst, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Getting Together)

Silence Like a Cancer Grows by julomaiboulomai (M, 12k, Yunmeng Siblings, LXC & WWX, truth curse, Suicidal Thoughts, Canon Divergence, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Dissociation, WWX Needs a Hug, Golden Core Reveal, Hopeful Ending) not a conference

~*~

17. i would very much love some recs of wwx being the spouse of a sect leader! like, wangxian is awesome for acting SL/chief cultivator lwj but i'd like specifically ppl HAVING to respect him for his position at least if they're not gonna do it for his genius and kindness. mingxian/ruoxian/xixian or idk other ships also welcome 🌸 if E-rated, please canon wwx dynamics! thank you! ❤️

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[galexis-void]

"Down in the Dunkities" (RatMeat)

A/N: Second fic! I'm having trouble trying to write a prequel to Something Sweeter, so in the meantime, have this. Again, the characters may be out of character.

Also, quick note - please don't criticize me if my stories make no sense. My intention is to entertain, not to be logical.

Summary: Dexter's feeling down on life, and of course Bob won't have any of that.

Trigger warnings: Angst (maybe?)

Credit goes to @eunchancorner and their anonymous askers for the idea!

(fic below the cut)

     Dexter had been staring at their hands for the last ten minutes, almost entranced by their own inner monologue. The aftereffect of their needs wasn’t nearly as intense as the actual anticipation itself, but it may have been worse - because now that they were in a relatively stable state of mind, they had all the time in the world to reflect on the horrible things they had done. God, they hated this feeling…

     A low voice behind them snapped them out of their own thoughts. “Dex?”

     Even if the person’s drawl wasn’t a dead giveaway, the pet name definitely was. With a heavy sigh, Dexter glanced over their shoulder to see Bob hovering over them. The large man was leaning on the couch, glancing down at his partner with clear concern. There was almost nothing that unsettled Dexter more than seeing Bob Velseb without a smile.

     “Hey,” Dexter muttered, glancing away. The last thing they needed was to make Bob worry about them.

     “Are ya havin’ those moods again?”

     For a moment, Dexter considered lying. But that would be stupid - they were a terrible liar, and even if they were good at it, Bob seemed to have some kind of built-in lie detector. And even if they didn’t outright say what was wrong, Bob would fuss over them all day until they finally cracked from his kindness.

     “Sort of,” they mumbled in defeat. There really was no point. They were damned if they did, damned if they didn’t. All they could really do was hope Bob wouldn’t be too up in arms about it, and not ask a lot of questions.

     But of course, that was wishful thinking. “You look like ya haven’t slept. Is it that bad?”

     Dexter sighed. They’d tried to explain the nature of their needs to Bob before, but the big guy never seemed to truly understand. But even so, he made up for it with his actions. Dexter used to say Bob had a big appetite and a bigger heart, and it really showed.

     Next thing Dexter knew, Bob was seated next to them, with an arm around their waist. Bob wasn’t even that much bigger than Dexter, but he was definitely stronger by a long shot. Dexter soon found themself with their head on the larger man’s shoulder, and felt so tempted to fall asleep right there.

     “There, there. You know I’m here for ya.”

     While Dexter did feel better than they had before, they still felt awful. And clearly Bob could tell, too, because now he was pulling his flustered partner even closer. He shifted position, resting his chin on top of Dexter’s head. “Dex… you know this ain’t gonna fly. You know I’m gonna hafta’ do somethin’ about this.”

     “Like what?” they mumbled bitterly.

     “C’mon… don’tcha remember what happens to grumpy lil’ beans like you?”

     Dexter tried to think. What did Bob do if they were down in the dunkities? Usually he’d spoil them, make their favorite food and whatnot. But for particularly bad days, Bob had this very… different way of handling things…

     Wait.

     Oh no.

     He couldn’t possibly be thinking…?!

     Dexter took a second to look upward, and catching a glimpse of Bob’s smirk confirmed their suspicions. “H-hey, listen… you don’t have to do this…”

     “Oh, but I kinda do.”

     “Y-you’re actually gonna-?!”

     “Ya know the drill. Grumpy folks get the claws.”

     Oh god. Not the claws. Anything but the claws!

     Dexter didn’t even have a chance to retort before their larger partner viciously dug his claws into their ribs, eliciting a high pitched shriek. Then the shriek dissolved into giggles, often interrupted by loud snorting. One by one the claws unclenched, and each found their way to one particular spot on Dexter’s ribs.

     “I know I’m doin’ this to cheer ya up,” Bob noted, “but I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t love that laugh of yours.”

     Dexter buried their face into Bob’s sweater, not wanting him to see them blush from the flattery. But they knew it was probably too late - nothing escaped Bob Velseb, whether they were prey or details.

     The claws were going to town, skittering and scribbling all over the flustered exterminator’s ribcage. It had only been a few minutes and they were already going insane. “NOOOO *snort* HAHAHAAH! NOHOT *snort* THE CLAWHAWHAWHAWS!!”

     “Yes, the claws. Don’t tell me ya can’t handle the claws?~” He raised his other hand from Dexter’s back and playfully wiggled the digits over their head. “Well, the left claws are a bit lonely, so they got a new best friend - the right claws! And they’re just dyin’ to meetcha…”

     Dexter dared to look up, and immediately hid again once they realized their mistake. One set of claws was bad enough, and only serious situations called for both pairs.

     “…so make sure ya give them a warm welcome, hey?”

     And both pairs of claws made contact with Dexter’s sides, wiggling and scribbling wherever they could reach - which was almost all of the poor exterminator’s torso, given how long the claws were. All Dexter could do was laugh and squeal their heart out, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

     Eventually Dexter slapped their hand against Bob’s sleeve, which was their designated sign for when it was time to stop. Bob immediately released them, relocating his hands to their back and allowing them to rest. Poor Dexter was practically breathless by this point, and very tired, but also quite euphoric. They’d never admit it aloud, but this was exactly what they’d needed.

     “Ya feel better now?” they heard Bob say to them, very quietly and gently. They couldn’t respond verbally, but instead nodded, and Bob gently squeezed their back in return. “I could’ve wrecked ya for so much longer. Maybe some other time, when you’re feelin’ up to it.”

     Dexter thought that sounded wonderful. They laid their head on Bob’s chest before starting to drift off, cradled by him and finally able to relax.

     “Thank you…”

-END-

[ciaossu-imagines]

Hi love! I haven’t been online for a hot sec but the scream I SCRUMPT when I saw that Dogs: Bullets & Carnage was still available for the au prompts!!! I’m literally down for any headcanons and any AUs with the lovely characters because I don’t know anyone else that knows of it so I want to say pick your poison 😭😭 but if I must choose one for the event, maybe a coffee shop AU? The characters have been through too much I just need an AU where they get to experience soft cozy vibes instead of whatever’s going on in canon 🫶🏻

Thank you so much for your time and thoughtfulness in penning your work for us! Please feel free to pick any other available AU if it strikes your inspo more than this one. Tbh foaming at the mouth for any thoughts about our beloved stray dogs howling in the dark… 🤍

Okay, so I admit that this is no longer on my fandom list. It's been a while since I've revisiting the manga and there really wasn't much interest in it, so I did remove it. However, I love coffee shop/cafe au's, I do love this fandom, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to write this! Thank you so, so much for sending this in and, though they are late getting to you, I really hope you enjoy the headcanons!

In a very complete change of pace for me, I gotta say that I agree so hard with the asker for this one. This needed to be a soft, peaceful AU. Something very fluffy and very slice of life, and that's how I'd write it out as a story. There's no big over-arching plot, really, everything is very character-driven and there's no intrigue, no mystery, no real big angsty elements. Any angsty elements are there as backstory for some characters or are things happening in character's lives (because everyone has bad days and troubles, that's just reality) and they always find comfort and support among either the cafe's staff or the regular customers, as I do see everyone who frequents the café and those that work there really becoming a sort of surrogate family for each and every single one of these characters. The café is everyone's safe spot to land, even on the bad days, so the angst is very much mitigated and not used, since character and healing, growth, peace, bonds between people and found family would, again, really be the basis and focus of this story.

Now, I know Angelika really plays a large role overall in the manga but in this AU, her role is really that she was an adoptive mother to Heine, Giovanni, Lily, and now is an adoptive mother to Luki and Noki. She was, for all extents and purposes, a very abusive mother, physically and mentally, and Heine in particular blames her for the childhood death of his adoptive sister. Heine's had no contact with her for years and Giovanni's constant excuses and sticking up for her is the reason there's a large rift between the two men. Angelika really wants Heine back in her life, but she doesn't know where he relocated to or anything and she does try to use Giovanni to find out, which does become a major character plot point for Giovanni at one point. He's found Heine working at the café and because of other things that happen in the story, there's starting to be signs of a reconciliation between the two brothers, and in his first real step towards independence, Giovanni refuses to tell her where Heine is and pretends that he could never find him and starts to pull away from Angelika too, leaving her really largely written out of the story after that.

So, let's start with the café itself. It's not insanely popular to be honest. It's a small, slightly out of the way coffee-shop that serves small meals and baked treats but everyone who goes there tends to become a regular. Not only is the coffee actually the best around (the owner roasts the beans and creates the blends himself), and the food is superb, but there's just something slightly magical about the place. You walk in and automatically feel just…at home. Comfortable. Those who really have nowhere else to spend their days will find they can go in and spend the whole day there, even if all they order is a single coffee, without anyone getting upset, and that they'll always find a willing ear to talk to in either the staff themselves or the other patrons.

Above the café proper are four small studio apartments. Three of them are 'rented' to the cafe's full-time staff members. Honestly, the owner has a soft spot for people who are down on their luck, people with no real homes to go to or no real support systems in place. He takes each of the three full-time staff members in, gives them gainful employment and tells them that he'll take 10% of their paychecks off each pay in exchange for rent and they can live in one of the studio apartments. And honestly, I don't know why, maybe because it is such an oddly sweet idea, but I don't see him using much of that 10% for his own gain - it goes either back into the café itself or he uses it for the not too rare occasions when he'll show up at one of his staff's doors with either a meal, a bag of groceries, some piece of furniture he knows they'll need, sometimes a new piece of clothing. Yeah, some of it, like the clothing and furniture, might be second-hand, but it's all very appreciated.

And who is this owner I keep talking about? I really see Mihai as the owner of the café. He works there day to day just like everyone else and I really see him becoming a sort of surrogate father figure to not only his staff, but some of his regular customers. A well-meaning man, his past is largely unknown, though he admits to having lost a son and a lover at some point. Maybe that's why he's so keen on taking in 'strays', as the staff like to jokingly refer to themselves as.

While the café does make a modest profit, nobody quite knows where a lot of Mihai's money comes from. One of the staff members, Badou, helps with the bookkeeping, and he did notice that Mihai is not the full owner of the café. There's a silent partner who put up a good chunk of the investment in the place, someone named Ernst Rammsteiner. Nobody's ever seen him or heard his voice and they get no answers on that particular subject from Mihai and it becomes sort of a theory and running joke that maybe Mihai has mob connections or something and the shady co-owner is the head of a Mafia or other outlandish theories.

Who is Ernst Rammsteiner, in all honesty? Truth is, all the staff members do actually know him. The priest at a local church, everyone just knows him as 'Bishop'. He's the cafe's most frequent customer and becomes a friend to all the staff and a fair number of the customers. He doesn't insist on 'confession' being only a thing done inside the church walls…he'll hear confessions, or even people's worries and laments, sitting across from them at a café table just as well as he'll hear them sitting in a confession booth. His church is also very well known for hosting not only community dinners, where he'll hire the café to provide coffee, tea, and such for the meal, but for holding a number of weekly support groups. He also hires the café to cater these support groups, providing coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and pastries for the people who attend.

I really like the idea of these support groups actually being a fairly important thing in the story, because part of peace and happiness is finding healing, support, and growth. It's through catering and observing and learning about these support groups, maybe quietly observing one here or there, that a couple of the characters grow to feel comfortable enough, especially with the help of Bishop, with attending these groups. First Heine, and then Giovanni as well, attend a support group for those who suffered childhood abuse or trauma, and that group, along with the interactions at the café, are what really allow them to sort of heal some and start the steps towards mending their broken brotherhood, even if it's still slow-going. Badou and Naoto attends a grief support group for a while, where they sometimes even find Mihai himself, really learning how to heal after the death of important people in their lives (Badou's brother and Naoto's foster father).

Where did Bishop's money come from to support the café as he does? That's a secret not even Mihai knows…he just knows that, despite how long he's known the other man, Ernst remains an enigma, a complete mystery.

Now, I'll get into the staff members, but because I don't have as many ideas for some of the customers, I'll list the ones I do have.

In my mind, Daniella, Doug, and Mimi are all frequent customers with their own little struggles, lives, and things going on that affect the story here and there but not hugely overall.

Kiri is also a regular at the café and the owner of a really successful restaurant in the town. Everyone thinks there's something romantic going on between her and Mihai, as they spend a fair amount of time together and Kiri does a lot for the café. They both advertise each other's businesses, and the café has a thirty stamp coffee card where, once you fill it up with all thirty stamps (stamps given whenever you buy something), you get a free meal from Kiri's restaurant (menu selections limited). In much the same way, customers at Kiri's restaurant get a little 'free coffee' card valid for the café with their bills. It helps bring a lot of business for the café, to be honest, because most coffee lovers, as mentioned, tend to keep coming back once they've tasted the brew of the day.

Both Campanella and Magato are customers at the café. They both are surprised to see Naoto working there and, much like the others have people they refuse to serve, Naoto as first makes one of the others wait on them and refuses to leave the kitchen area until they're out of the café. Everyone knows there's something there in their past with Naoto, and I do see part of her story being really exploring that, her coming to terms with her pasts with these two and learning how to forgive, how to move forward, either in not speaking to them or in beginning to take the steps into having relationships with them again.

Me mentioning that each member of the staff seems to encounter someone that they just can't bring themselves to serve? That's Richter for Badou and Badou makes no secret of why. He blames the man for his brother's death…it's through the story, finding a new family, healing some of his grief, finding ways to continue in life, that Badou finds a way to at least forgive Richter. Not for the other man's sake, but for the sake of himself. It's when Badou has reached that point but also acknowledged that he wants Richter to play no part in his life that Mihai, encouraged by Ernst, accepts that Badou is in the best place he can be and bans Richter from the establishment.

As mentioned, Giovanni frequents the coffee shop. He stumbled across it randomly one day, he did not know Heine worked there. When I say Heine can't deal with him at first, I mean it. There was an actual physical brawl between the two that Mihai and Bishop had to break up before other customers called the police. Giovanni didn't get banned though and so he keeps coming back every day, sometimes multiple times a day. I think, in his own way, he really does care deeply about Heine and just kind of wants his brother back into his life while also still blaming Heine a little for Lily, because he's so deep into the FOG with his adoptive mother. However, even deep in the FOG, he never mentions the café to Angelika, and even though he's a good big brother to Luki and Noki, and they always ask to go with him on his running around, he never brings them to the café, steers clear of even taking them within a five block radius of it, simply because he doesn't want to risk them exposing Heine's location to Mother. And like mentioned, I think Giovanni starts to find friends, starts to find others who will listen, in the café itself and then in the support group and I think a large part of his character growth through the story would be him just taking steps to become an independent man outside of his family, along with the baby steps he and Heine make in becoming closer to each other and potentially having that brotherly relationship again.

Now, as you can imagine, the three full-time staff members, the ones who live above the café, work around there, really start to grow roots there, are Badou, Heine, and Naoto. Badou is the friendliest of the three of them and he's almost always running the till, doing a lot of the customer service work. His most annoying work habit? He takes frequent smoke breaks, but at the same time, it's during those smoke breaks that he really gets to learn and befriend a lot of the casual customers, turning them into regulars more often than not and really establishing bonds in the community.

Heine always wears gloves because he really can't stand to touch most people. I do think, throughout the story, we see him make some progress there, allowing select people to touch him or taking the gloves off around them. He's a very attractive man and is a draw for a lot of the heterosexual women who frequent the café but he never really does customer service work because he's also very, very bad at talking to people. He makes a little progress through the story but is definitely never going to be customer service material. Instead, he studies and learns quick and becomes the cafe's main barista, able to make even the most complicated of drinks.

Naoto works mainly in the kitchen, but is able to help out front whenever needed. She's quiet but really, the café would kind of fall apart without her, as it's only after she starts that people start to really rave about not just the coffee, but all the different treats and little meals they can get.

I like imagining Nill as a part-time staff member. She helps out Naoto a lot in the kitchen, as well as doing a lot of the cleaning. She's really shy and doesn't interact a lot with the customers, but the other staff kind of take her in, make her feel comfortable, and take care of her. Not a lot is known about her past, just that she lives in the church's rectory with Bishop.

[doberbutts]

I tend to go for the "treat it like it's glasses" method.

Everyone knows someone who wears glasses. Glasses are the most common disability aid in this part of the world and they are so common that wearing glasses is not considered disabling unless you have very extreme or uncommon eye/vision problems. No one outside of childish bullies and serious weirdos bothers people about wearing their glasses. It's just understood that some people wear glasses and that's normal and fine. If you're interested in the glasses- cool frames, different color lenses, etc then a conversation about them is generally kept respectful and nothing more than either curiosity or wanting to see if that would also be a fit for the asker's vision problems.

Similarly, Jewishness (and any religion, race, or culture imo but this is a post specifically about Jews) is treated like glasses for me. Oh you're Jewish? Okay cool. Oh that means I probably can't serve you pork so I'll keep that in mind next time we attend a potluck together, that way you have food you know you can eat. And I'll keep the dish simple and send you an ingredient list so you can verify if it's kosher enough to count as edible for you. Oh man it's Passover week, I'd offer you my homemade pretzels but I think you're not allowed to eat them right now. Oh my friend Vicki? Yeah we're not friends anymore she was being SUPER WEIRD about Orthodox Jews in NYC during the start of the pandemic and I thought it was sounding too antisemitic for me and so I told her that and she told me she was a proud antisemite so I blocked her. Yeah she has nice dogs but I'm not keeping an asshole like that around. Who does that???

[these are actual examples with names removed for privacy- if you spot a situation you recognize that is deliberate]

Anyway. I don't really signal it but I feel like if you spend enough time around me and hanging out in my friend group, you know. I don't tolerate bigotry of any sort and I WILL remove you from any friend group I have any amount of power in if you cross that line or if someone comes to me about your behavior. And if I don't have power then I just leave the friend group if the others won't believe me. My close friends have seen me do this enough times that they know I've got their backs. So it's not like I have legions of Jews flocking to be my friend or anything but also, I have had more than one Jewish person tell me straight up that they were pleasantly surprised by the way I treat them. Like it was nothing to accept their Jewishness.

Because it is nothing. It's like glasses. Okay you're Jewish? I will keep in mind a few things mentally when speaking to you like diet restrictions and religious references. I already keep an ear out for bigotry so that doesn't change. Otherwise it's w/e, let's go play Phasmophobia or watch a movie or go on a hike or whatever. Your value to me as a person doesn't change based on race, or religion, or culture, or ethnicity. Why should my behavior towards you change when you're still the same person I wanted to befriend?

genuine question, and i am genuinely interested in hearing people’s answers here — gentiles: what are some things you’ve done to make the spaces you inhabit, particularly the spaces you have authority in, safer for jews?

i get asked a lot by gentiles what they can do to help, so i figured i’d crowdsource some answers from folks who are already doing the work.

[cryptidkey]

I'm going to throw dandelion seeds into all of your gardens

[plush-rabbit]

Request: Leon bday asker. Goodness, it’s been so long I’ve nearly forgotten what I asked! I think it was like, Leon x reader home spa day that Leon set up for reader’s birthday type thing..? I think I left it up to you whether to go nsfw or sfw or both. If that’s not it, just go with this, I guess! Sorry again for the trouble, tumblr sucks lol.

Things came up so sorry for the headcanons!!

A/N: I’m so sorry for it being so late!! I swear I thought I had a handle on this but I did not!! Anyways happy belated birthday!! <(＿　＿)>

It’s hard enough to get someone like Leon to take a day for himself. He still has many responsibilities to do and he hardly ever takes time for himself. The most that he’ll ever do is when it revolves around his hair. He hates the itchiness when he doesn’t take care of his beard- the scruffiness that pricks his skin and makes it feel as if has sandpaper scratching against him. He’ll take proper care of his hair to avoid any unnecessary knots. He takes care of himself well enough but you’ve always been the one to fret more about your appearance so when he notices that you’ve begun to lack in your care routine and that it’s your birthday soon, he takes advantage of it to have an in-home spa for you.

He makes sure to do his research before he starts to shop for the items for a good week in advance. He’ll research online, try to ask not-so-obvious questions about whether you’ve been feeling stressed or if you’ve been having trouble sleeping before he actually starts to shop. He’ll go around to each store, buy oils and candles and pick out a new robe for you to wear. He’s lost at what exactly to get and will resist the urge to buy a scent that promises relaxation but is scented in your least favorite scent. Once he returns home, he’ll fix the place up and set out everything that needs to be done until it looks nice.

Introducing you to the idea is a bit nerve wracking for him. It’s a big gesture that could be taken the wrong way but he tries to make sure it isn’t communicated like that. He’s messing with his hands in sorts of ways- has a strand of his hair twirled around a finger, his hands moving erratically or scratching the back of his necklaces he feels heat start to burn his skin. It’s intimate in a different way that he isn’t able to express. This isn’t something he’s trying to do to flirt but to show you that he cares about you and your wellbeing. A bit awkward in his wording, he’ll give you a nervous grin and make a weak joke about the whole thing. Once he gives you the chance to change into something more comfortable, he’ll hide his face in his hands and have them drag against his skin.

He’ll see you lie on your stomach, a white, fluffy towel covering your lower back side and he’s suddenly so tense. He was nervous before but now he can feel his muscles pull tight against each other, in a way that doesn’t allow for his fingers to flex so easily. He’s watched plenty of videos of massages- even quick videos about what not to do- but now he has to actually put in the work. His brows will furrow and he’ll wish that he took an actual class or something but even the thought of that makes him a bit uncomfortable. He’s more than happy to do something for you but he likes being good at something and everything and he fears that he won’t be good enough for you and it’ll be a marker for his skill and he doesn’t want to deal with that.

It’s a tense beginning where he isn’t sure what he has to do. Any past research is suddenly out the window and he’ll clumsy grab at a scented oil. His hands shine with a thin layer of oil and curve over your shoulder blades. His fingers are rough from years of activity as they drag down your skin. It’s a start. It’s tense and slow, and he hardly speaks even when you try to make small talk. He’s seen your bare back plenty of times- enough to know where your blemishes lay and where your blades start, where faint scars reside and any other beauty marks that have decided to form against you but seeing you in a different light makes him stutter in his steps. His hands are clumsy, slowly finding their rhythm until he’s pressing into your muscles and tissues and eliciting deep sounds from you.

The massage may leak with a bit of excess oil- something strong and fruit in the air as the oil slides down your back and drips from your side in thin strands. He starts to talk to you more, asking if everything feels good, if you think you feel any tension in certain spots and even telling a joke here and there that he can feel knots and whatnot in your lower back. His hands may wander, grip at your midthigh and slowly creep up until his fingertips graze against your inner thigh in a teasing manner. Everything is in good fun and he’ll joke around, placing mint on you and blowing cool to see you twitch and coo his name in a warning-slash-playful tone. Soon the massage is in good fun, teetering at certain spaces with his lips pressed against your neck, his smile wide as grips your sides.

Everything and anything that could be considered coming from a spa will be included in this homemade spa. The bath will be drawn as you wrap yourself in a towel, the water still with a few rose petals drifting in the small space. He’ll have you get in before he does, bringing you close to him, your back against his chest and his arms around you. It’s still, a quiet moment shared between the two of you. His hands will curl against the top of your head, soap suds that gleam wonder the white light will slide down to the back of your neck and soon the tender moment will turn more playful as you turn to face him, water splashing against the both of you.

As it is your day, he’ll insist that he’ll be the one to dry you. It’s a spa recreation with a lover, he can take a few liberties in what spas actually do. He’ll grab the new towel that he bought you, wrap you around it and pull you close, letting you dry your own hair because while he may be gentle, he has a habit of becoming playful much too soon and wanting to play with you in an eager sort of way. He’ll lay you down and pick out a soft smelling cream and smooth it out on your body. His gaze is focused and his touch isn’t as playful even as it nears close to your sex. He is focused on you and wanting to make you feel good, his hand course and soft all at once, a fluttering touch where he’s quick to roam his hands in a way that is sincere. He’ll smile up at you, his brows knitted and rise up, allowing you to change into a new set of pajamas as he goes to pull the covers and get ready for bed.

The end of the day is as selfish for him as it is for you. He’ll order things that you like and get to lie in bed with you, the bed tray catching any loose food. You’ll be near him, cuddled and clean, the scent of your cream reaching his nose as you take sips of his drink when you think he isn’t looking. He’ll smile when you kiss his bicep, his throat getting tight and cheeks heating up when you tell him how you loved this at-home-spa. Pride will fill him, making him puff out his chest and have this crooked smile on him. He’ll shrug and murmur a happy birthday to you but you call tell by the bounce in his leg that he’s glad that you enjoyed your spa day with him.

Leon realizes that it would have been easier to get you something like a gift certificate to a spa or actually pay for your spa but he didn’t want to give you something like that. It’s selfish of him but he didn’t want you to be the only one making memories, he wanted to be included as well. It may be your birthday, but he wants you to remember the good times that you had together. While you both rest on the bed watching some old movie, he’ll have his hands hold yours, his forefinger and thumb massaging the webbed part of your hand. Long after you’ve fallen asleep, he’ll stay up watching the credits roll and you press yourself against his chest. If his phone is near him, he’ll grab it and take a picture, the flash accidently going off before he fumbles to turn it off and take another one, going off to edit it and add cute stickers before he sends it to you.

[classic80sand90smovieloves2]

Meeting and Dating Ace Merrill

(Not my gif)(Requested by a few anonymous askers)

- You’d been out with a few of your friends, visiting a drive in movie theater when you just so happened to catch Ace’s eye. He had to do a double take when he saw you for the first time, since when did Castle Rock have stray models wandering around?

- Well, what’s a guy supposed to do? Not come talk to you? Uh, uh, not an option. 

- So, while you were standing at the concession stand, the greaser sidled up to you, leaning against the counter and introducing himself with a charming smile. He made conversation as you waited for your food, sprinkling in little flirty comments and twirling a strand of your hair between his fingers. 

- Not too long after, the cashier returned with your order; interrupting the two of you. You gathered your purchase, a bit disappointed that you had to say goodbye so soon. 

- Just as you were trying to think of something to say, he asked if he could take you out sometime. The two of you made plans to see each other before your friends urgently called you over. You hurriedly said goodbye to the blonde, giving him a quick apology before heading over to your seat. 

“See you around, y/n/n.” 

- Once you joined back with your group, they began to warn you about how much trouble your “new friend” was. To be honest, it sort of turned you off of him and rightfully so. A womanizing criminal was not exactly the kind of guy you were looking for. 

- With your friends words in mind, you made sure to avoid the blonde, not meeting him for your date and not answering his calls. Unfortunately for you, you’d relinquished just enough information about yourself for him to be able to track you down and by that I mean, he visited your work. 

- Finally, you were forced to confront him and admit that, yes, you’d been avoiding him. He seemed more than a little pissed but he tried to be on his best behavior, especially when asking if that mean’t you “couldn’t be friends”. 

- You felt bad for jerking him around so you hesitantly agreed to, at least, be on good terms with him. Lets just say you didn’t stay just friends for very long. 

- After only a week of hanging out with him, you find yourself fooling around in the backseat of his car. Don’t be too hard on yourself, Ace is a professional. 

- You tugged your sweater back on, running your fingers through your mussed up hair as the boy lit a cigarette. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders as you settled back against the seat, blowing out a cloud of smoke before he spoke. 

“You’re mine now, alright?”

“Yeah,” you said quietly, a small smile finding it’s way onto your lips. “yeah, alright.” 

- And so, the two of you began your “secret” relationship. 

- Ace really isn’t too bad, just rough around the edges. You learn to live with his faults and just try to stop him from doing anything too against the law or dangerous. 

- He has a cold and tough exterior but his insides are... well mostly the same but with beer, some gooey parts and lots of love for you. 

- Can I just say that something tells me Ace is a momma’s boy. Like his family is pretty dysfunctional but his ma means a whole lot to him and she’s the sweetest little woman you’ll ever meet. He’s very excited to introduce you. 

- He usually calls you doll, darlin’, angel and babe. You cant decide which ones your favorite, he makes them all sound so good. 

- He’s always messing with something, whether that be a car part, knife or something of yours. 

- Constant pda. He has his hands on you whenever you let him and will try to sneak some contact whenever you wont. The only reason you wouldn’t let him was if you’re around someone you don’t want knowing you’re together.

- The looks that he gives you in public, oh dear. 

- He makes it damn clear to everyone that you belong to him so yes, you could say that he’s pretty jealous. 

- If anyone even tries to flirt with you they need to watch their backs while walking home. He’s not afraid to pull a knife on a guy in a bar, what do you think he’d do to someone when they’re all alone?

- You probably get an ‘Ace’ tattooed on you at some point. He’d usually just do something like that himself but he wants it to look nice so he’ll take you to an actual shop; unless of course, you want him to do it.

- He most likely tattooed your name on himself, making you do the first letter yourself. He thinks it’s cute when you keep apologizing for “hurting him”.

- Raunchy compliments. If you’re lucky he’ll just say you “look good” or that he “likes it” when you’ve done something new to yourself. 

- Husky morning/late night whispers. 

- Sometimes he’ll arrive home late at night, stumble around for a while and then just collapse onto you, falling asleep as you watch tv. He’s usually a little tipsy so you just run your fingers through your hair and let him nap. 

- Most of the time he’ll wake up all groggy a few minutes later, throw you over his shoulder and carry you off to your actual bed which is just a cozy tad bit too small.

- He drags Eyeball to the store with him whenever he needs to get you a gift.

“How bout roses? Girls like that kinda shit right?”

- Eyeball probably has a crush on you, he can’t help it; there aren’t a lot of girls in town who are as nice as you, not to mention as pretty. 

- All the cobras think you’re adorable and the best girlfriend any one of them could ever manage to get. They grew especially fond of you after you brought them beer when they ran out.

- Trying to stop him from messing with kids. He tones it down, mostly whenever you’re around, but never really quits. 

- Fake wrestling. It’s fun to roll around on the floor with you a little, especially when he wins which is often. 

- So much sarcasm, if you don’t know how to hold your own then you better learn quick. 

- Helping him or keeping him company while he cleans his car. He sprays you a few times with the hose because he’s an asshole. 

- He’s made you sit on the hood of his car for a picture at least once. 

 “I’ll give you two bucks if you let me take one of you topless.”

- He likes standing behind you while you cook and resting his head on your shoulder.

- Cutting his hair for him. There’s something oddly satisfying about sitting in a tiny bathroom with him, balancing on the sink ledge and trying your best to not mess up. 

- He doesn’t give a fuck, he’ll buy you pads. Who's going to give him shit for it? His friends? He’ll beat their asses into next week. 

- Going to drag races. 

- Watching him play pool. 

- Rough kisses. 

- Hickeys, bruises, and bite marks. 

- Sitting on his lap. 

- Getting pinned to things because he likes seeing you all flustered. 

- Let’s be honest, there’s a lot of sex. The mans horny like 80% of the time. Anything you do turns him on. Thankfully, being good at sex is one of his redeeming qualities. 

- He’s the kind of guy to slap and grab your ass in public with no shame.

- Whenever you walk in front of him he tends to pull you back against him so that you’re pressed against his chest. It’s both because he can't keep his hands off of you and because it shows that you’re his to everyone around you.

- Whenever you’re in the car together, he drives with one hand on the wheel and the other on your thigh. 

- Him doing really dangerous shit and making you worry. He thinks it’s kinda cute when you do, not many people genuinely care about his well being. 

- He thinks it’s fun to annoy you so expect him to act like a little shit every now and again, putting things you need on the top shelf and stealing your clothes or towel from the bathroom while you’re showering. 

- He’ll usually annoy you until you talk to him whenever you try to give him the silent treatment. 

- Your parents found out about the two of you when they caught you making out in his car, a few months into your relationship. It certainly made convincing them that he’s actually an alright guy  pretty hard. 

- Depending on their personalities, they either made you stop seeing him for a little while as a punishment then tried their best to accept it or they just kicked you out of the house. This was the 60’s after all, most parents were pretty strict and judgmental. 

- If they decide to kick you out then you’re moving in with him, plain and simple. You're his girl, he’ll take care of you.

- Fights are rough, like really rough. There’s yelling, insults, things being thrown. It’s just overall not a fun time. Either you or him storm out at some point; if it’s him then you usually aren’t there when he gets back. You go to stay with your friend for a while. 

- He calls you constantly and tries to find you whenever you’re out in public. He’s still pissed off but he misses you and feels kind of horrible when he comes home and doesn’t find you there. He’ll usually spot you when you’re walking home and will drive up beside you to try and win you back. 

“Get in the car y/n.”

“Get lost Ace!” You shout, spouting off some rant about how you’re through and aren’t coming back. 

“That’s bullshit and you know it! We’ll be doing this till the end of time darlin’.”

“This is the last damn time Ace.”

“Come on babe, gimme another chance. Why’d you get that tattoo if you couldn’t handle me.” He joked. 

“... If I get in that damn car you promise this won’t happen again?”

“Hell, I can’t promise anything but I’ll sure as hell try.”

- When you guys are in bed he’ll apologize for real, wrapping his arms around you while you lay your head on his chest.

“You do know I’m sorry, right?”

- He’s kind of just your average dirtbag who sometimes takes you for granted, then makes it up to you in some way that makes it really hard for you to leave. You know you should probably ditch him but you just can’t, you love him for better or for worse. 

- You probably have a civil ceremony or a really small wedding. He’s not one for stuff that’s big and fancy so something private is ideal for him. 

[angelbxni]

Answer to a Recent Ask I Received!!!

Okay! I recently received an ask, but I was answering it and did something dumb and the actual ask got deleted!!!

Hopefully the asker can find this still (they were anonymous so i don't know who ;-;)

The ask was about how to find triggers to regress and what regression feels like. They were new to regression and I believe they hadn't tried it yet. This is a really good question so i still want to answer!

Continue reading to see my answer,,, it's super long! Like super, super long :( Sorry!

-The first thing I'd recommend when finding things that trigger your regresssion is that you try and identify the reason you want to try regression. Identifying a general reason may help you understand what direction you'd like take with agere.

-Think about the things that you enjoyed as a child. Make sure these things are mostly or entirely connected to positive experiences and enjoyable memories. This can help spark childish behavior and help give you that youthful, playful feeling that lots of regressors experience.

-Try out any sort of "little gear." Some examples of this that I'd recommend, especially when you are first starting, are blankets, stuffed animals, and sippy cups. These will most likely feel less foreign to someone whose just starting and will help you feel comfortable. There are also things like kids toys and shows, and if you'd like you can suck on your thumb, drink warm milk, and eat yummy food.

Besides the things listed above, I'm not quite sure how to help you find your triggers! Agere is a very personalized experience, and it's hard to provide tips as everyone is different and one thing often doesn't work for everyone.

__

As for what fully regressing feels like, there is usually a general experience. It's still very unique and personal for everyone, of course.

-Being fully regressed has been described as seeing the world with brighter, clearer vision. It seems like the colors might be less dull, and everything is more vivid. The smallest, silliest things might make you wanna laugh or cry. Your emotions will be felt differently and they can be stronger and most of the time (not all of the time) you'll feel joy and comfort in just being.

I must make it clear that this is not the definitive experience regressors have. So try to keep an open mind.

So in general some things to look forward to, or to look for to know if you are regressed are...

1. A fluent, steady stream of thoughts, or maybe a lack of thoughts depending on your little age.

2. Intense emotions (positive/negative) and reactions.

3. Possibly -- depending on your preferences or how you regress -- a little voice, a speech impediment, broken sentences and words, as well as a simple vocabulary.

4. An interest in simple and fun things, that kiddos enjoy.

5. Classic signs of regression or childlike behavior/mindset. Thumb-sucking, whining, rocking, drooling, and using hands/body language to portray needs and emotions, etc..

There are many, many other sides to regression. I hope this was inclusive and general enough to include the many ways people regress. Hopefully this was also informative and helpful in some way.

This was super long!!! I'm so sorry!

Thanks for reading if you did, and to the person who asked,,, thanks for asking and I really really hope I helped out. If you'd like, feel free to contact me for whatever, whether you have more questions or anything.

Thanks!

Mickey <33

[aestherians]

Hey! I was wondering if you could tell us a bit more about your culture when you were a gnoll? What do you remember? What did you eat? What laws did your society abide by? Your partner: what was their role in society? What was yours? Were you an outlier, or did you fit in well with your kind? Did y'all domesticate animals? What about agriculture?

I really love hearing about other peoples' cultures, and yours is rather close to home in a distant way... so hearing about it is interesting and nice.

Lots of questions all at once!! I’m just gonna pick one I like and start rambling skdfhg

Gnoll society is kinda hard to pin down as a whole because there isn’t a lot of interaction between the different clans. My own clan was also really small - something like 50 people. So I can’t speak for gnolls as a whole, and I know for a fact that the one neighboring clan I can pericall had slightly different rules and customs.

None of the rules are written down (though we do have some kind of written language, it’s only used to send messages, not to write down common knowledge). Some of the most prominent rules in my clan were the rules of bonds, the rules of taking, and the rules of sharing. I know the rules of sharing best because they’re mostly related to food and like 75% of my noemata are about food :’)

The rules of bonds are the most basic and easy to understand: You are not born with bonds, your bonds are created, and the bonds you’ve created should inform your actions. So, you aren’t tied to any people from birth, not even your parents (parenting is done communally anyways, so like, you know who conceived of/birthed you, but it’s just as likely that another couple will become your main parental figures). The adults choose to care for you and offer to bond with you, and as you grow up you reject some bonds and accept others.

Usually bonds aren’t “official” in any way, but you can choose to officiate any bonds you want with any people you want, the same way humans officiate bonds with their mates through marriage. If you choose to officiate a bond, you and the other person(s) go through a ceremony, and are now considered “life partners” of sorts. I don’t know if you can break an official bond after it’s been made, and divorce the other person - at least I’ve never seen it happen.

When you’ve chosen to accept the bond created between you and another person (officially or not), your actions should always have the other person’s interests, as much as your own, in mind. You can’t do anything that would make the other person in any way disadvantaged to yourself. Bonding is serious business and bonds require perfect loyalty.

There are also more abstract bonds between the individual and the clan as an entity, but they basically require the same things: If you choose to accept your bond with the clan, you should always have the clan’s overall interest at heart. If you don’t accept this bond, the clan has no responsibility to protect you or feed you or care for you.

-

The rules of taking are based a bit on practicality and a lot on spiritiuality. ‘Taking’ is badly translated from gnoll language - I don’t even know what the exact word is in gnollish, I just know this is not a good translation and that there isn’t a word in the English language that accurate summarizes the concept. ‘Actively consuming’ is maybe the closest thing.

Basically, you are not allowed to take without actually using. You are not allowed to hoard or waste things - everything you keep, you should have a plan or an idea of how you want to use it. For every animal or person we kill, every body part must be used in some way, as food, tool, fuel, or decoration, and we’re only allowed to kill if we know nothing will be wasted.

We are only allowed to live in a given area as long as we respect that rule. If we become too greedy and wasteful, the area will go against us and force us to move - usually the signs of an area “not liking” our presence is a lack of prey and edible plants. Since we’re semi-nomadic it’s just an accepted part of life that eventually we will have to move away from any given area. You’re never gonna find a gnoll city, only temporary settlements.

The “only take what you need, actually use everything you take, and the area provides for you” mentality also extends to other people who might enter our area. Meaning if travelers are passing through, we will understand that as an example of the area providing for us, and if they have stuff we can use we will take it from them including their lives. This doesn’t apply to other gnoll clans, though, we’re friendly towards those :P

-

The rules of sharing are basically that if anyone within the clan asks for something you have to share it with them. You can’t say no. The onus is on the asker to only request something if it’s appropriate for the other person to give it up. So instead of the individual being responsible for keeping their belongings for themself, the clan’s responsibility is to respect the individual’s property. I’ve had a really hard time phrasing this rule in the past, so let me give an example:

While courting Iʀya I gave hrir a lot of gifts, ranging from flowers and snacks to jewelry and metals. You might think that nonconsumable/lasting gifts like jewelry are kinda meaningless in a society where everyone owns everything, but that’s just not accurate. It’s true that, if anyone asked to wear the necklace I gave Iʀya, hri would let them use it. But because of the responsibility to respect other’s property, no one would dare ask to use that necklace.

It’s kinda like a social contract - if someone asks for things they shouldn’t, they can be sure others will ask them for things they shouldn’t in return. Not respecting others boundaries leads to conflict, while respecting the boundaries creates a deep trust between all clan members. So if someone who was known to respect the social contract asked for Iʀya‘s necklace, hri would know they had a good reason to ask for it and hri would give it to them without hesitation.

[miraculouscontent]

Askplosion #12 3/4:

.:Asks Referring to Previous non-Miraculous Posts:.

Anonymous said:

Hi! I saw you mention that you have Asperger’s syndrome in an earlier post. I’m just wondering, how did you find out? I’ve always thought I was neurodivergent (adhd and maybe asperger’s), but I’m not quite sure how to go about finding out, and my parents never had me screened as a kid. Feel free to ignore if this is too personal!

(the post this anon is referring to)

It’s not too personal, don’t worry!

Though, I would really say that it’s something to look up more than for someone to tell you. I know that’s not a satisfying answer but I think it’s different depending on where you live and what specialists you have near you.

Anonymous said:

Remarried Empress Anon Again, a whole post? What an honor! I burnt my food and this made me so happy.

(the post this anon is referring to)

You deserve it! Thanks a bunch!

Anonymous said:

Remarried Empress Anon Again, thank you for answering my asks and for reading Remarried Empress! I honestly didn’t expect much to come of it but the fact you read the comic and saw what I was talking and came to your own conclusions was amazing! I’m sorry if I’m bothering you by bombarding you with asks, and will try to stop doing so. Heck, this doesn’t have to be answered! Just know you are a fun creator and thank you for making my day a little better with your amazing responses!

You weren’t bothering me at all! I’m glad I brightened your day!

asexual-individual said:

I don't know how big the trend of "Magical Girls are made to suffer" is, but after watching Madoka Magica I did notice a few Magical Girl shows where the creators obviously went "Hey, this anime where the Magical Girls suffer and it's all angsty made Shaft a lot of money, let's do our own", and "subversive=money". (Even though many have pointed out that MM isn't actually subversive, since older MG shows have dealt with dark themes plenty of times.)

Yeah, it’s probably one of those inevitable things. People immediately jump on wherever the money’s going.

Madoka Magica probably got so much attention specifically because of the episode three shock value.and all the twisted imagery, plus things like Kyubey with bullet holes all over him made it seem like, “WHOA, DARK.”

Anonymous said:

Remember when I told you about the teenage-bashing in the Star Vs. Fandom? Well, rewatching the show, I'm beginning to think that most of the time, when people in a certain fandom have these opinions, more often than not, the show backs it up for whatever reason. Like, there's one scene where Eclipsa is put on trial and is asked if she's ever eaten any babies(which is just a rumor), and she says no but that she has eaten a few teenagers but, psychologically, they always deserved it.

And in another episode, Star says that teenagers are great at causing problems, which I at first laughed off as a joke, but then in another, Tom and Star were talking about how they broke up, and Star said "Of course we broke up! That's what people do! That's what teenagers do! Teenagers are dumb!" And Tom was just like "Yeah, I know, I know"; there are a lot more examples but I don't care to revisit them. I'm just saying that the teen-hating in the fandom would have to have come from somewhere.

omg I don’t remember that stuff at all; I guess it just blew right past me when I was initially watching it.

I don’t understand the trend of being like, “teenagers are dumb and that’s what they do,” and then either over-punishing or not punishing at all. Are we supposed to believe that all teenagers are just going to “be teenagers” and so we shouldn’t do anything, or that they’re all idiots who don’t understand their own feelings but we should also punish them for it?

I don’t get it.

Anonymous said:

I'm the "tomboys in anime" anon, and yes, I totally agree! It especially irks me(as a girly girl who has a lot to say) when the shortcut to making a girl tomboyish is simply by making her loud/tough/like gaming or machinery, or when a female character is told she isn't enough of a girl because she's like that, but otherwise doesn't look or even act all that "boyish". Even TV Tropes does it, as if the second a girl shows any proactivity or is tough she's a "tomboy".

It really annoys me and almost makes me want to erase the term "tomboy" altogether since it leads to an idea of "I'm not like other girls, I'm better 'cause I do boy stuff"(which I know not every tomboy thinks, but some do). The only reason I don't is because I very proudly embrace the term "girly girl" and terms are meaningless without an opposite(not that you can't like both girly and tomboyish things). So I think the key to fixing this problem is that we shouldn't label people unless they want to be labeled that way.

And I know fictional characters can't speak for themselves, so just to figure out if a female character is a tomboy, I just say that if her only "tomboyish" traits are "proactive" qualities or liking something that's for guys, just don't call them a tomboy because it looks ridiculous and acts like women are inherently passive and weak, so for a girl not to be like that is acting like a man.

I would love to see a tomboy character who likes those things but is actually shy/a wallflower. That avoids the stereotype of "aggressive, hard-hitting tomboy, weak-willed, shallow girly girl" and challenges audiences expectations that "but but but she's a tomboy so she should be loud and strong because strength is for MEN". I also hate when tomboy characters are given no curves because the writers know they're doing something wrong, tomboys can have natural curves too. It's like they think tomboys just don't want to be girls. So, yeah. So over the "tomboy in-name-only" stereotype.

"it makes me feel weird saying that when I’m all for girl power shows with an all female cast, but in this show’s logic, it’s a different ball game". Oh, phew! That's good. Because, like I said before, I'm working on my own magical girl show in which most of the female characters are(black) girls and only girls can use magic in this world, and someone I know keeps telling me that it's not fair that the guys don't get to have magic, so it's good to know that there's someone out there who doesn't think it's "sexist" that magical girls tend to only let girls have powers(unless it's for fanservice or like in Madoka Magica because ick). Because guys get to be in the forefront all too often, so why is it so bad when girls get to be in the spotlight? I know I can't change everyone's opinions but it's good to know someone gets it.

(the post this anon is referring to)

Honestly, I feel like the fact that there’s a label at all is the issue, like you suggested? It might just be a “we have to get ride of the label ‘tomboy’ and ‘girly girl’ altogether” thing, because it’s not like we do the same thing with guys?

Oh wait, we do; guys who do “girly” things are called “sissies.”

I hate this planet. :P

Point being, having to say “tomboy” inherently implies something, which might be a problem all on its own, y’know?

(the below ask is incomplete but the asker clarified after I asked them, so clarification is below:)

Anonymous said:

I just thought back to our little "tomboys in anime" argument and about how you can't really think of any tomboys. So I looked up "tomboys in anime" on Google and clicked on the first link, and literally the first character on the list was a girl with...a flower in her hair and a bikini. The reason she was a "tomboy" according to the list? Was because she is "aggressive" and "competitive". In fact, most of the examples on the list were "she's tough/a good fighter/challenges male supremacy".

(part of this ask is missing and clarified below)

girly girls, while the girly girls always have to be the weak and shy ones(not that shy=weak but you get the idea). But while I may not know most of the characters on the list, and some of them DID look pretty tomboyish, I'm very bothered by the idea that it's their strength and ambition and excellent fighting skills that are branded as masculine. And you know what? I'd actually be offended if someone called me a tomboy, especially if it was based of these reasonings. Because it sounds like they think being a tomboy is the only way to be strong and vice versa. Like I should take it as a compliment that I need to be separated from my femininity in order to be respected. Like, if you're a tomboy, cool! But it shouldn't be used for just any girl who isn't a weak-willed crybaby doormat. I actually don't know why people seem to think being a tomboy or "masculine" for a girl is some sort of badge of honor to wear with pride for rejecting your femininity and being "cooler" than other girls.

the clarification:

Anonymous said:

The missing part was talking about the various tropes having to do with contrasting masculinity/femininity, either in two different characters, with one being masculine and one being feminine(ex. Tomboy and Girly Girl, Sensitive Guy and Manly Man, Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy, Masculine-Feminine Gay Couple), or one character who has traits of both(ex. Girly Girl With a Tomboy Streak, Tomboy With a Girly Streak, Real Men Wear Pink), and how TV Tropes always talks about them as if the "girly" character(or girly side of the character) is weaker or inferior(like how for Tomboy and Girly Girl they might say that the former is tough, competitive, and can fight, while the latter is vain, a priss, and a Damsel in Distress.

Or for Tomboy With a Girly Streak, they might say that the tomboy dresses in a masculine way with their "girly" streak being that they're a doormat or dream of being a housewife. Not that it's wrong to be a housewife.).

To be fair, they don't always do this: For the pages on Magical Girl they talk about how those shows can appeal to multiple demographics, and almost all the quotes on them, they talk about how they're empowered through their femininity and are just as much legitimate threats to their opponents as other heroes. Still, they fall in this trap even then, as on the LoliRock Awesome page, they say "You gotta admit, for a Magical Girl show, LoliRock does have its awesome moments", which ignores that Magical Girl is SUPPOSED to have awesome moments, it's literally an action subgenre! Just because it's frilly and pink and girly doesn't mean it doesn't--or shouldn't--still have badass fight scenes. Just look at PreCure. Shonen should take notes from those shows. But no, whoever wrote that clearly dismissed it as just frivolous and was SURPRISED that the fight scenes were good, just because it's girly!

It’s 2021 and people are still struggling with this concept that girliness isn’t bad and it’s not embarrassing to watch such a show.because GIRLS.

It’s so tiring. I watched Dragonball Z, Inuyasha, and played Pokemon; got a few looks about it at times but people ultimately were like, “okay I guess” (I did get bullied for the Pokemon one but that was more for the “it’s for babies” kind of deal, not a “you can’t like that because you’re a girl,” thing). I can’t really relate to the world of girls who get looked down upon for being “girly” but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand that it must be awful for them.

Don’t even get me started on “Tomboy Lesbian,” I will scream about it and it won’t be happy screaming.

[thenamesblurrito]

Hi! First time asker here. I've been following your AU for a little while, and I must say its something creative and new, so kudos on that! Recently, I got braces and I remembered that Starscream has braces in SNAP, too. So does he also have crooked/space/crowded denta? Or do you have something else in mind about braces and denta health?

why thank you!

yknow i kinda started by just going “haha what if, along with voice cracking, he had braces” and ran with it from there bc haha funnie, but now i’m gonna make up some worldbuilding stuff on the fly so buckle up. warning for discussion of teeth and mouth stuff, if that squicks you out don’t read

Unlike many other continuities, mecha eat solid foods along with energon. Their fuel intakes have to have some sort of breaking-down stage so that the solids can actually get to their tanks to be sifted and assimilated by the self repair systems, which then go on to use the raw materials to upkeep and repair the frame. (This originated waaaaay back when mecha were just lil crafty tunnel bots, rough-and-tumble creachurs far away from any repair or fuel stations, thus needing some sort of self-driven repair and fueling method.) So, dentae!

All sparkling have two knobbly dental shelves, one on top and one on the bottom, not yet separate dentae. Looks kinda like the teeth of sheepshead fish (I don’t suggest googling that if you have any sort of teeth squick.) Once they upgrade to nymphs, the shelves become individual dentae, and also start developing into the shape they’ll take: flat, fanged, or jagged, depending on the child’s hard coding. This is the stage at which imperfections can develop. Dentae don’t separate, they separate too far, only some of them emerge from the shelf, they lose cohesion with the interior structure of the jaw and fall out, etc. Minor problems are fairly easily corrected, but sometimes it’s the sort of issue that will be exacerbated once the nymph upgrades again to a youngling.

For Starscream, his dentae as a nymph had separated fine but had crowded back into his mouth together, edging into where his glossa rests. It was clearly a hard coding issue, so it would need to be corrected again when he became a youngling, so his caretakers just held off until he upgraded. He had a bit of a lisp, which got him a fair bit of teasing. He was given braces basically the day he became a youngling, to force his dentae into a line at the front of his mouth. He doesn’t have a lisp anymore, but he’s still incredibly touchy about it. Nobody really cares and he doesn’t get teased for them, it’s just his own sensitivity, compounded by the embarrassment of a cracking voice.

Swerve also has braces, and a tooth gap! His dentae didn’t show any problems when he was a nymph but they ended up separating too far when he became a youngling, so the braces are to correct that.

Fun fact, once the dentae have stopped moving, usually right around when the youngling needs to upgrade to adulthood, the braces simply fall off and act as a nice lil crunchy snack. Nom nom nom, metals.

[a-n-conrad]

Fighting and Flirting (Bakugo x Reader)

Chapter 5: Class Rep

[Summary: The press seems to be gaining interest in your school, due to the newest addition to the staff. What happens when they start to interrupt your regular routine?]

Masterlist

It had been a little while since your mock battle and you were actually pretty confident with how school was going for you. You had made plenty of friends and it was nice to get to spend time with Shoto that didn’t have the shadow of his dad hanging over you. You had to admit you enjoyed your walks to and from school with him.

“You seem to be enjoying school,” Shoto says, as the two of you walk.

“Yeah,” You smile at him, “It’s nice to get to use my quirk without your dad standing over me. And the lunches there as so good!”

“I just mean that you made friends pretty quick.”

“I’m not quite as introverted as you, Sho. And I know you’re not exactly focused on making friends right now.”

“That’s true. I’m really just trying to show my father that I don’t need him, so new friends aren’t exactly my priority,” He says, his face getting a little more intense as he talked about his father and his goals to show him up, “I’m still a little surprised at how quickly you decided you hated Bakugo, though.”

“God, don’t even mention him right now,” You groan, rubbing the bridge of your nose in exasperation, “He’s just such an asshole! I’m surprised you don’t hate him.”

“I don’t really care about most of our classmates right now.”

You nod, wrapping up that line of conversation right as the UA campus comes into view. At this point, you had stopped being impressed by the large school building and the high-tech security features surrounding it, but that day you had a new sight to be shocked by. 

In front of the gate that you had gone through every day since you had started at the school were swarms people, all dressed in nice clothing. Some were holding cameras and others were holding microphones, and as they swarmed to everyone that tried to walk onto the campus, hounding them with questions about All Might that you could even hear from that distance, you quickly put together that they were reporters.

You knew it was going to cause a stir when you heard that All Might was teaching there, but to be completely honest, you hadn’t expected them to be aggressive hounding students at the gate. You honestly thought they had a little more dignity than that, but obviously, you were giving them too much credit.

“This is going to be fun,” You mutter sarcastically before you and Shoto make your way to the gate, hoping to sneak past the reporters and get to class without issue.

“Hey, you’re students, right?” You hear, the question being shouted at you as a camera turns to focus in on you and Shoto.

“Um, yeah,” You answer, causing Shoto to roll his eyes.

“What’s All Might, like?” The reporters began circling you, more cameras and microphones being shoved in your face as they do.

“Get out of my way,” Shoto demands, shooting all of the reporters a harsh glare.

“You’re Endeavor’s kid, aren’t you?” The question causes Shoto’s glare to worsen.

“Let’s go,” Shoto commands as the reporters move out of his way, cowering a little at his glare and the sparks that were coming off of his clenched fist. Sadly, as you tried to follow him the part in the sea of reports closed behind him, blocking you in with the cameras again.

“Could I, um,” You stutter out, a little uncomfortable with all of the questions, “Could I get through, please? I really need to get to class.”

They refuse to move, only answering your plea with more questions and shoving the microphones closer to your face. You were really beginning to get overwhelmed and you were starting to panic, glancing around for a way out of the circle of rabid question-askers. Your head was starting to spin, and you were sure that if you staying in that position any longer you’d start crying on television, and that wasn’t a good look for an aspiring hero.

“Move it,” You heard the roar from past the reporters, but you didn’t quite register it until the circle around you began to break and someone started walking up next to you, “Do you seriously have nothing better to do than harass students? Get out the hell of my way!”

You look up to find the last person you expected to see next to you. Standing next to you, towering as tall as he can and puffing his chest out in his ruffled uniform shirt, was Bakugo, his glare almost as harsh as Shoto’s was when he had pushed his way through the crowd. As the sea parted again, obviously knowing that they weren’t going to get any answers out of your overly-aggressive classmate, and just as you expected to be left to the sharks again he grabbed your wrist and dragged you through the gate.

You stumbled after him, attempting to catch your balance as the blonde dragged you behind him. As you finally made it past the reporters and onto the campus, he let go of your wrist, stopping as he dropped it and you pulled your arm into your body, rubbing the sore spot where he had grabbed.

“Jesus Christ, Bakugo,” You whined, “You didn’t have to pull so hard.”

“So much for a ‘thank you’,” He complained, rolling his eyes at your complaint and crossing his arms.

“I didn’t need you to save me, asshole,” You snapped, “I was fine.”

“You sure didn’t look like it,” He replied, raising an eyebrow at you, “You looked like you were going to pass out of a reporter asked you another question.”

“So, what? You decided to help me out of the goodness of your heart?” You asked sarcastically.

“No, I just needed to make sure you didn’t say anything stupid. You’d make us all look bad if they put you on TV.”

“Whatever, bastard.”

The two of you continued your bickering as you walked to class, though you were surprised at the lack of wanting to kill each other as you eventually made your way to class. Instead, it just remained a steady level of moderate annoyance as you teased each other back and forth with light insults.

Eventually, you walked into class. You quickly split apart, not bothering with any sort of goodbye, though you were tempted to leave him with a “see you in hell”. Instead, you made your way over to your regular group, where Shoto, Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida were all waiting for you.

“Did you just walk in with Kacchan?” Midoriya asks, tilting his head like a confused puppy.

“That is pretty weird,” Shoto adds, “Especially considering I was just trying to figure out why you didn’t follow me through that crowd of reporters.”

“It’s not like I ditched you for him, Sho,” You sighed, a bit annoyed at the implication, “The reporters wouldn’t let my through after you and Bakugo just dragged my through the crowd after him. We had to walk to class together after that since we were going to the same place.”

“Kacchan helped you get past the reporters?” Midoriya asks, “That’s not like him. He’d usually just leave you on your own. I wonder why he decided to help.”

“I’m sure he’s just trying to make himself look good in front of the cameras or something,” You state, “I wouldn’t give him too much credit. He’s still a major jerk.”

“I don’t know,” Urarake chimes in, “I doubt he looked good to the media if he was shouting at them to get out of the way.”

“That’s true,” Iida nods in agreement.

“Whatever,” You grumble, “I’m not an asshole-whisperer, I don’t know why he does what he does.”

- - - - -

Class finally starts as you start to cool down from your morning interaction with Bakugo. You knew why he got on your nerves, but you couldn’t figure out why he was on your mind so much. It really just served to annoy you more every time you ran into him. That’s why you were plenty glad for the distraction of class starting.

“Alright, class, today you’ll be voting for a class representative. I don’t really care what you do, just finish it before I’m done with my nap,” Aizawa announces at the beginning of class, before quickly tucking himself into his sleeping bag.

You understood his exhaustion. Your class was plenty hard to control, but you were a bit surprised at his absolute lack of care when it came to this event. Though, you supposed it didn’t really matter to him who the class representative was. We were all just students to him, and he definitely wasn’t going to give the class rep any extra respect.

Either way, the election wrapped up faster than you thought it would. You had all gotten one vote, and though you were expecting everyone to vote for themselves, as Aizawa wrote the results on the board, you quickly found out that wasn’t the case at all.

At the top of the votes, with three votes, was Midoriya. To be honest, you couldn’t say you were entirely surprised to see him at the top. He had earned to respect of the class not too long ago with his determination, and he was just honestly so much more likable than some of you other classmates. The result that did surprise you was who got second. You. You hadn’t even voted for yourself! You voted for Shoto, though, seeing as he only got one vote, you figured he had voted for you. You just couldn’t figure out who that other vote was.

“So your class rep will be Midoriya Izuku, and (L/N) (Y/N) will be your vice president. I’ll give them each a minute to saw their thanks, and I’d appreciate it if you’d all behave while they talked.”

As you both walked to the front of the class, you couldn’t help but be distracted thinking about who that second vote possibly could’ve been. 

- - - - -

“God, the lunches here are so good,” You moaned, staring at your tray as you sat down at the table with Uraraka, Iida, and Midoriya.

“It is pretty good,” Uraraka agrees, “I don’t get to eat like this very often.”

“Me either,” You say, “Usually it’s just instant ramen at home, so this is pretty exciting. I know I should be used to it by now, but I can’t help it.”

Uraraka giggled a little as you started digging into the food on your plate, grinning like a child. You were like this at lunch just about everyday and she told you she found it endearing.

“I can’t believe I’m the class rep,” Midoriya groans, completely ignoring your lunch routine.

“I feel you,” You say, nodding, “I didn’t vote for myself, so I’m pretty surprised that I got vice president. I know Shoto voted for me, but I have no idea who else.”

The rest of them shrugged before Midoriya continued with his complaint, “Yeah, but I’m just not sure if I’ll be a good class rep. That’s not really something I thought to worry about.”

“I’m confident that you will be a good class president, Midoriya,” Iida says, “The class voted for you, so you obviously have our confidence.”

Midoriya nodded, but you couldn’t help but comment, though admittedly, it wasn’t entirely on topic, “To be honest, Iida, I expected you to be voted president. You have the sort of formality to you that makes me feel like you should be president. Is there a reason you’re always so formal?”

Iida nodded, before launching off into his explanation. He was from a family of famous heroes. He had a lot to live up to, and you could respect that. You found it especially sweet when he started talking about his brother, Tensei, and how he felt like he had to do well to make his brother proud. 

You had to admit you could relate. You wanted to make someone proud to, though Shoto isn’t technically your brother, despite the two of you acting like it from a young age. While it wasn’t your main reason that you wanted to be a hero, wanting to make him proud was motivating too.

Just as you were about to make a comment about how sweet that was, you were cut off by sirens going off. The loud screeching cutting through the words you had just started to say. You looked around the mess hall as the people around you shot out of their seats, many of them trying to shout their confusion over the sirens and then over each other. It was loud and chaotic as your fellow students decided that the sirens meant there was a breach in school security and started to push each other out of the way in order to evacuate. 

You stood and followed the crowd as they started their rush towards the door, immediately getting pushed around, being shoved into Iida, who, in turn, gets his face against the window. Though you move away as soon as you can, Iida stays, staring out the window for a moment.

“Iida?” You ask, concerned and staying with your friend, despite the constant stream of people trying to shoulder you out of the way, “Are you alright?”

You hear him mutter something to himself, almost as though he was realizing something important before he turns to you. He quickly looks around, before grabbing your arm and pulling you through the crowd a little to where he had spotted Uraraka, who looked as though she had almost been trampled.

“Uraraka, I need you to float me,” he instructs, “And, (L/N), can you amplify my voice?”

“Um, sure?” You respond, incredibly confused as to what he was doing.

Uraraka just nods, before tapping his shoulder, causing him to float in the air, just above the crowd. He uses his engines to move through the air, and once he hits the wall at the end of the hallway and looks out over the crowd, you focus on amplifying his voice so that everyone can hear him over the sirens.

“Everyone remain calm!” He shouts, causing everyone to stop, looking to him to figure out what he was getting their attention for, “It is only the media. There is no reason to panic, the only reason the sirens are going off is because the press made their way onto campus. Please evacuate out in an organized manner.”

His announcement causes everyone to pause, calming down, even more, when the people closest to the window confirm his statements. Eventually, the crowd is able to leave the room in a calm and reasonable manner. You’re relieved, having barely been able to avoid being trampled during the crowd.

- - - - -

When you all eventually make it back into class, you’re surprised as Midoriya drags you up to the front of the class, claiming that he would like to make an announcement as the class rep. You really weren’t a fan of being up in front of everyone, but you had to admit you’d have to get used to it, being the class vice president. Though, you did make a bad choice in looking around at your classmates as you stood in front of them. This was made clear when you accidentally made direct eye contact with Bakugo.

His gaze was intense as he stared you down. You really couldn’t tell if his red eyes made his glare look harsher than it was or if he really was just that pissed off at you. Either way, no matter how much you tried to stare him down, you couldn’t help but look away, unable to hold his gaze.

“I will be stepping down as class president,” Midoriya’s voice breaks through the nervous buzzing of your brain that had been clouding your thoughts since you had been dragged up there. 

The rest of your class was shocked, though you were really more surprised at the fact that Aizawa really didn’t seem to care at all. Your classmates all looked at Midoriya, confused and looking for further explanation, and you agreed with them. Who exactly did he think was taking his place, because you honestly didn’t want to.

“I’d like to appoint Iida to take my place,” he continued, “After the way he handled the evacuation at lunch, I believe that he is much more deserving of the position than I am.”

You can feel him tense up next to you as he makes his announcement, and continues to stay that uncomfortable until you both start to hear the agreements of your classmates, and finally the acceptance of Iida, as he stands from his desk to graciously accept his new position. You honestly forget what you’re doing, watching Iida so proud of his new place as class rep and thankful to Midoriya for giving it to him, until a new voice interrupts the scene.

“Can we get move on to class now,” Aizawa asks, obviously annoyed at how much time this situation was taking up.

Taglist: @reyna-avila-ramirez-alreanaldo

[liminalchaos]

☮ ♦ ♒ ൠ any verse and bonus round: ◉ powers headcanon

@youhavemyrespect asked for some headcanons | accepting

☮ - friendship headcanon

Ethan doesn’t make close connections with people particularly easily, but unless he has reason to pick a fight he’s generally a friendly guy. Getting to know strangers is fun, after all, and he’s usually charming enough to cover up any weirdness! If he’s not up to anything that means he’s going to chat at whoever crosses his path, and if he is up to something that means he’s likely trying to make smalltalk with his victims before or after — or during — whatever chaos he’s wreaking. It’s purely superficial chatter, of course, though he can probably be coaxed into talking about something relevant or useful.

On the flipside, it takes a very long time and probably a few shared risky experiences for him to actually warm up to someone. The change may not be outwardly perceptible, but once you’ve won him over he’s terribly loyal. Like, would probably commit murder, definitely would stalk for two decades, yandere levels of loyal, if left unchecked. Because, you know, he’s still awful.

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon

He doesn’t really have any hobbies outside of magic and petty crime — that sort of work takes up a lot of time, after all. He does like to work with his hands, though, something like gardening or tinkering with machines would suit him if he could keep it apart from any magical shenanigans. 

Only we all know that he couldn’t and would wind up growing hallucinogens in a window box or accidentally building some sort of magical construct that would inevitably run amok. No hobbies allowed.

♒ - cooking/food headcanon

Ethan likes things with a lot of flavor. Any flavor, really, he’s not particularly picky, as long as it’s intense. He... doesn’t have much of a sense of taste, really, so things like very spicy curry and strawberry sugar syrup and dark chocolate all hit about the same. Given the option and if he has money, he’ll go for fancy food too, but most of the time he’s dumping cayenne pepper into his cup noodles because magic crime doesn’t really bring in a regular paycheck.

ൠ - random headcanon

The man’s an absolute magpie when it comes to magical objects. When he was younger he collected them without knowing much about them, just boxes upon boxes of things that seemed cool. He knows a bit better now and can put every item in his collection to use towards nefarious or stupid ends, but the collection is still there. As a young man he was partial to wearable trinkets— magical charms on bracelets, amulets on shiny chains around his neck, rings and pins and things to go in his hair that all added up to nothing much. Now that he’s older he’s a bit more subtle, but probably has something shiny and luck-bending on him at any given point.

◉ - [asker’s choice!] powers headcanon

In terms of actual magical firepower, Ethan is pretty weak. He certainly can’t hold a candle to Willow, or to Giles at his full strength. Knowing as much as he does about how magic works, though, means he can use what little power he has to his own advantage and set up circumstances where the powers of Chaos can be called into action on his behalf. With enough time to prepare, he can do quite a bit of damage to quite a lot of people, though the effects are by necessity always temporary. Blood spilled tends to make those rituals work better. He only ever uses his own—much more efficient than trying to find a willing sacrifice on short notice or struggling with an unwilling one.

That said, he does have a few specific tricks up his sleeve: he learned to dreamwalk in his youth and can trespass on the dreams of anyone who is sleeping at the same time as him, though he tends to avoid using that skill, and Janus’s patronage allows him to escape through mystical doorways, though he has to take the time to draw out the symbols for those. Both are useful, in a pinch.

[probablyrpgmechanicsideas]

Hey Mod-Bean, I have had an idea for a class/school of magic. It is based on the Simic guild from MTG's Ravnica block. Think magic genetic engineers. These wizards are able to store genetic information and combine it into new forms. Could you maybe help with some ideas for spells and all that jazz? I would greatly appreciate the input. I have some spells thought up ill put in another ask.

Asker’s Other Ask:

Bio-Plasma Bolt- basic first lvl attack that deals either fire or acid damage.

Genetic Extraction- store genetic material of plants or animals. One of each at first level. 2 of each at 5th level. 4 of each at 10th lvl

Mutate Flora- first lvl spell. Combines animals genes with a plant, creating a mutated plant companion that lasts until sundown.

Mutate Fauna- 5th lvl spell. Combines genetic material of plants and/or animals with a non-humanoid creature. Roll an intelligence DC to determine if creature is tamed or remains feral in mutated state.

Mutate Humanoid- 10th lvl spell. Combines genetic material of plants/animals with target humanoid. If target is an enemy, they become feral and attack any creature nearest to them. If an ally, they get a temporary boost (haven’t worked on details.)

Experimental Herb- once per day manifest a seed that; with in minutes, grows into a bioluminescent plant with 1d6 berries that heal 1d10 health each and remove one status effect.

Beany’s Response:

I do play MtG occasionally, and I actually have a few Simic card :D despite having to look up which was Simic because I just play the game and enjoy the flavor texts, I don’t got the brains to keep up with the lore.

ANYwho, this is a really interesting idea already :D And this’ll be a case where you not specifying a system/game gives me that much more opportunity >83

Derived Magic: I’ve had an idea of a similar magic-user being able to use elemental magic, but it’s weakened unless you find some place in the human body to derive it from. For example,

Derive from Body: As well as all the other ways of Blood Magic/Bloodbending/[insert edgy magic field here] there are in the world, imagine what could be just made out of a being’s blood. If you don’t want to play the self-sacrificial lamb and have your already glass-cannoned mage be slicing themselves open, you could always use corpses (found or, for the less morally inclinded, fresh)  to create products.

IT’S ALIVE!: One of the Simic guild’s abilities is “Graft.” “Graft” just allow cards with this ability to transfer their +1/+1 counters onto other creatures, but I immediately thought of Dr. Frankenstein when I read that. Think what a Bio-mage could do! FLESH GOLEMS/CONSTRUCTS! You’re like a Necromancer with fatter minions! 8D

It’s in my veins: Have you ever read all that’s in blood? Beings with heavy diets usually have residual minerals like copper and iron in their blood which, if you’re not picky about mixing metals, could easily construct small metal objects in a pinch. Heck, there’s even poisonous materials like Arsenic in our blood at all times. Arsenic only works as a poison when you have too much of it in your blood, not just because you have it in your system.

Derive from Mind: “Ral Zarek’s brainstorms bring actual thunder and lightning.” -Blast of Genius flavor text.

The human brain is full of electricity. The average (human) adult consumes food to make 100 Watts of power. Your brain uses 20 W of that. Use your head and make a whole new meaning to Bio-Shock!!

Next, the Fuzzy Co-Stars: I see that lil’ Intellect DC in your Mutate Fauna spell. I see we have a fellow pet-maker in the area~! XD But realize what your mutations and such could accomplish. The right mutation could end up giving your Bio-Engineer a familiar by accidentally giving it sentient intelligence. Or, just trying physical traits could basically make you a Pokemon Trainer. Which opens up the idea of using pets’ abilities like HM Moves, pissing off your DM every step of the way.

If you find you don’t wanna keep a tamed being (too many pets already, doesn’t fit in with the rest of the crew, you just tried it to get out of a tough battle for shits and giggles, etc.), you could always make a bit of money as a sort of Monster Breeder. Imagine you making, like, 25G by selling a little girl’s parents a shrunken, fluffy, pink Bulette. You’d make a little girl’s day, possibly have a powerful ally in the girl’s parents, and make some gold for even more genetics!

I also want to point out just how much fun you could have with what exact mutations are available. In the simplest form, you could scourge through and see what Feats (or similar idea your system uses) could act as evolutionary paths. If you’re really determined, read books on genetics and especially adaptations/natural selection. Don’t just ask “IF this monster spits acid,” ask “WHY this monster spits acid?” Having a polar bear develop fire breath from a dragon’s genetics is cut-and-paste. Having a polar bear instead develop ICE breath because it’s the area’s apex predator and ICE breath is even MORE lethal in already-wintery environments is true adaptation with a purpose! Try not to just cut and paste things, instead ask “Why would the original creature need this?” and think how the mutated creature would likely evolve to suit the same purpose. Or, if you wanted a more individual-case idea, a more violent-minded/personality polar bear might get ice breath to help allies fight, a more loving polar bear might get fire breath to help allies stay warm AROUND the fight. But this is how we we start getting into nature vs nurture arguments, so let’s just stop here >->;

This was fun 8D Think I might’ve went a bit too crazy, though. Oh well, if you need any more help, @idontwannagotow0rk, feel free to send us another ask :D

Same goes for the rest of y’all! I’ve been busy the last couple weeks, but I’m on Spring Break this week! This is optimal time for me! ^w^

Happy gaming, everyone~!

the-anonymous-bean/Mod Bean

[justanotherwannabeclassic]

What Kind of Day Has It Been

Author’s Note: It’s time for the presentation of my Hub SS. A very long time ago (aka a few months) @distant-rose​ prompted me with a series of political CS AU prompts. One of them involved Killian working at the White House, and Emma getting a job there, but she was worried he somehow pulled strings. Anywayyyyyy, I finally wrote it.  Ro, I apologize for being the worst question-asker, but I am so so glad to be your Santa. It was almost as cool as being your friend. I hope this brings cheer to your busy holiday season, and provides a useful study break. <3 Summary: Emma Swan was one of Washington’s best lobbyists, and she is about to be offered the role of the lifetime: Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs for the President of the United States. But when her boyfriend, Killian Jones, the Press Secretary, lets it slip that he spoke to her potential boss about her, Emma questions if she’s receiving the position on her own merits or because of who she knows. Is it a giant misunderstanding?

Rating: T Read on AO3!

*cue The West Wing theme*

“Ohmigod, can we have a picture?” Emma hid a smile behind her travel mug of coffee, watching as her boyfriend became flanked by two starry-eyed undergraduate students. Killian flashed his winning smile — the one that landed him on the top of Washington’s Hottest Political Operatives last year, and she knew the young women by his side were swooning in more ways than just one.

“Apologies, love,” he said to her after. He slid his gloved hand into her free one, and pulled her closer to his side. Emma could still hear the girls excitedly commiserating, no doubt discussing which hashtags to use to show off their photo with the Press Secretary to the President of the Goddamn United States. She still wasn’t over that part. She doubted she ever would be.

“Please, you’re not sorry one bit.” She bumped her shoulder against his, reveling in the way the tips of his ears turned pink — and not because of the winter weather. “Don’t act like you won’t be scrolling through the OnlyatGW tag looking to see what they said about you.”

“I will not! I’m not that vain,” he argued, his voice taking the petulant tone of a teenager, which meant he — or more accurately, his assistant, Smee — would be doing just that over the next few days. “Besides, you don’t even know if they were GW students.”

“We’re literally on GW’s campus.”

“We’re in Foggy Bottom.”

“Which is GW’s campus,” Emma pointed out, no doubt waiting for him to whine about urban campuses. “Besides, it’s not like Georgetown students would deign hobnobbing around with the common folk to venture into the city proper.”

“I’ll have you know your President attended Georgetown,” Killian countered. Emma wanted to point out that it wasn’t necessarily a defense. Regina Mills, now Madame President, carried an air of haughtiness wherever she went. Not that it wasn’t totally deserved. The woman was incredibly intelligent, holding degrees from Georgetown and Princeton, not to mention accomplished. She’d had the titles of Mayor, Representative, and President. Regardless, that didn’t stop the various news pundits of skewering her on air for her pretentiousness and how she didn’t relate to ‘Real America’, whatever that meant.

“Yeah, well, your big boss isn’t here and the GW students are.” A strange, almost hopeful, expression crossed Killian’s face for reasons that Emma couldn’t quite place. Filing that thought away for later, she tugged his hand. “C’mon, walk me back to my office. I’m getting cold and I know you have to get back.”

They had met for a quick lunch at one of the many fast-casual salad places that popped up over the city seemingly overnight. Emma had been craving the totchos at Tonic, a pharmacy-turned-bar further into campus, but Killian had limited time with meetings and the endless corralling of the White House Press Corps, and she knew she had to take what she could get.

It wasn’t easy being in a romantic relationship with the most public facing staffer in the Mills Administration. He was constantly busy, always on call, and she thought he hair was turning prematurely grey — well, about as a premature as a thirty-six year-old-man could get — due to the stress of it all. But that’s what happened when you served at the pleasure of the President. Besides, it wasn’t as if she didn’t also have her stressful and busy periods. Whenever budget appropriations and major bills loomed on the horizon, leaving work before 10 pm felt like a luxury.

Such is the life of Washington’s Hottest Power Couple, she thought. Not that anyone outside of Mary Margaret, Emma’s roommate when she first moved to Washington, called them that — at least to Emma’s face, that is. Will Scarlet had tried, and Emma had dumped a glass of water over his head in retaliation.

She could play dirty in and out the courtroom, thank you very much. This was one of the many reasons why she was a pretty damn good lobbyist. “Assuming the political gods don’t conspire against me, I’ll try to be home at a somewhat decent hour tonight. Perhaps then we can crack open that bottle of wine we’ve been hoarding and relax for a spell?” Killian asked when they reached the building where The Queen Group was located. He quirked his brow in a way that Emma found to be most adorable, and she leaned up to kiss him before answering.

“I thought you wanted to save that for a moment worth celebrating?” she asked. The bottle in question had been a gift from Regina Mills herself, fermented with grapes grown in her family’s vineyard, after the close of her campaign. Killian, being the overdramatic and sentimental man that he was, had decided that he wasn’t going to open it until a time worthy of drinking wine gifted from the President of the United States.

“Every day I spend with you is worth celebrating.” Emma snorted. “And perhaps I found out some good news that I want to celebrate later.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“You’ll know soon enough.” The man had the audacity to wink. Asshole. “At any rate, I’m expected back at the office. I’ll see you tonight, love.” He placed a kiss on her cheek, and promptly darted off before she could attempt to ply him for more information. She had no idea of what he meant about ‘good news’. It wasn’t as if he was expecting a promotion. He already had a pretty ideal gig, and she knew he wasn’t planning on leaving for at least another year or two. She wondered if it had anything to do with any of the West Wing information he wasn’t allowed to share with her. Maybe it had nothing to do with work, but instead family. Maybe Liam and Elsa were expecting? They last time the couple visited, Elsa had confessed that they were trying to conceive.

God, they would have beautiful babies.

She and Killian had only discussed babies in the theoretical sort of way. It was something they both wanted, but at the current points in their careers, neither wanted to add the additional responsibility of caring for an infant. Besides, they weren’t married, or even engaged. Yet, a traitorous voice whispered in her eye.

Could that be Killian’s reason to celebrate? Was he planning on proposing? Emma pushed away the thought as quickly as it entered her mind. It was doubtful that Killian would propose on a random Wednesday night — he was far too dramatic for that sort of thing.. She walked back into her building somewhat in a daze and directly to the elevator, uncharacteristically forgetting to wave to Anton the Front Desk Security Guard. Now that she was thinking about Killian proposing, it was hard to get the idea out of her mind. Months ago, the thought of him dropping down to one knee would have, to quote Ruby, “sent her running to hills.” But now the idea made her feel warm inside, secure — and that was more terrifying than anything else. She’d always been a bit gun shy regarding interpersonal relationships. She could trace that flaw — because, though it was deserved, she still considered it a flaw -- back to the day she was born, to when her parents abandoned her on the side of road. She’d bounced from home-to-home after that, never really finding a place or close friends. She thought she had found one in Lily, but that went to hell. That lack of stability didn’t make for the most trusting of adults, even if things did work out in the end.

Emma honestly didn’t know where she would be had it not been for her final foster placement — the Nolans. David and Mary Margaret Nolan had welcomed her into their home with open arms. David was a state representative, so Emma was sure her placement had everything to do with wanting to score cheap political points instead of actually wanting to care for a disaffected teen.

Emma had never expected that she’d still be keeping the family photo Mary Margaret had insisted they take her first day with the family on her desk fifteen years later. And yet… The Nolans were not what she expected them to be.

She had assumed they’d be fake...plastic...only for show. She’d assumed Mary Margaret Nolan would have used to the family photo for some gain as a politician’s wife. But no, she was simply alarmingly sentimental. They asked about her favorite foods and books. Mary Margaret took her shopping for new clothes and assisted her with her homework. David filled her in on the inner-workings of government and secretly took her out for pizza whenever Mary Margaret was on a health kick.

They watched television shows together. Had family game nights. They offered help with homework. It was all so saccharine…

...which was why Emma attempted to screw it up as soon as she could. She’d learned before that even the “good” families never lasted. There was no use waiting around for them to kick her out, so she would force their hand. So, she stole a couple of watches from the pawnbroker in town. She made it so she would get caught, and caught she had been. Things were easier that way.

Only things didn’t turn out how she expected — par for the course of life with the Nolans.

David Nolan convincing Mr. Gold not to press charges hadn’t been a surprise — of course, he had to protect his optics. What surprised her was that they didn’t send her back. He should have sent her back. That’s what people like him and his wife were supposed to do. But they didn’t. The Nolans sat her down and had a long talk about it. They hugged her, like they were the family from fucking Full House. They also didn’t, however, let her off the hook completely.

They made her volunteer. “Community service,” they said. It would teach her a lesson while also giving her something to put on her college resume. (Because they actually cared about her getting into college.) So off Emma went to assist Mary Margaret in planning the Miner’s Day Festival — which she hated — and over the summer up the state capital to help David with constituent services.

“I don’t get why you do it,” Emma had said on day, watching as David mulled over the pros and cons of an upcoming pension bill.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not like most politicians, that’s all,” she’d replied. “You’re not soulless, like, you actually care.”

“Well, there’s your answer, Emma. I do it because I do care.” She remembered how he had sighed deeply and moved from his desk to sit by her side on the Nolan’s overlarge sofa. “I’m not in this for the money or fame, but because I believe this is the best way for me to make a difference, just like how Mary Margaret believes teaching is the best way for her to make a difference.”

“That’s pretty cheesy.”

“In the short amount of time that you’ve known me, when have I never not been cheesy?” The had been, and still was, “never.” David Nolan still encapsulated the concept of cheesiness well into retirement age as he did when he was younger. It had actually been him, and not Mary Mary Margaret, who bought the t-shirts emblazoned with “Nolan Family” on the back he insisted they all wear the day their adoption of Emma had finally gone through.

But even beyond the cheesiness, that conversation had always stuck in the back of Emma’s mind. How would I make a difference, Emma had pondered. She knew early on that she loathed teaching with every fiber of her being. Volunteering with David’s re-election campaigns never enthused her. It wasn’t until she was ‘forced’ to join a club — for which she chose Speech & Debate — that Emma found she was actually good at being persuasive. When she was accepted in college, she had decided to major in political science, because that was familiar. Soon, a path began to reveal itself to her, and after a couple of internships Emma knew how she would make a difference: lobbying.

Her career path was an odd mirror of David’s. Like him, she had chosen to work in field that was more or less considered a hive of scum and villainy, aiming to further line to the pockets of the top 1%. And, to a degree, that reputation was deserved. Many lobbyists did only care about corporate interests — but there were many who also advocated for prison reform, reductions in gun violence, healthcare reform, and the rights on minorities across the spectrum. The Queen Group, where she worked, tended to focus on lobbying for causes that primarily impacted women and children. Emma, herself, had successfully aided in lobbying for laws expanding the protection of victims of domestic and sexual abuse and increasing the adoption tax credit. This was how Emma made a difference, and she felt damn good about it.

“Hey Emma!” The eager voice of the firm’s top Policy Researcher, Belle French, pulled Emma abruptly from her thoughts. Belle approached her quickly, a stack of color-coded files in hand. “Here’s the stuff you requested. I think stats of trafficked kids might be particularly appealing to Senator Gold. You know how he gets about those things.” “Thanks, Belle. I really appreciate it.” Belle also wasn’t wrong in her assessment of Gold. He was a jackass tof the highest order, but Emma could also consistently count on him to sponsor or at least take interest in legislation dealing with children. And while supporting kids sounded like something everyone should agree on, the how of it was often a point of contention. “Do you have any information on a state-by-state breakdown? If we get some good stats on California, Fisher might also swing.”

“Will do.”

“What would I do without you?”

“Die, probably,” Belle replied with a wink. Emma wasn’t sure she could dispute that fact. “I’ll get that to you by COB.”

“You’re the best.” Emma weaved her way back to her desk, Killian’s whatever momentarily forgotten as she rant through a list of Representatives would might be open to listening about earmarking more money to efforts focused on curbing human trafficking. She was so focused on her thoughts, that by the time she got to her desk and dropped the stack of files and her phone down, Emma realized that she had missed two texts from Killian.

Heads up if you get any calls from the 202 code, don’t assume they’re spam. Please answer.

Followed by, in close succession:

I promise at least one won’t be spam.

Emma stared at her phone. What the hell was going on? Whatever it was involved someone from the local area code calling her, but what about? Knowing dwelling would do no good, and that she had too much work to do, Emma set her phone aside. That would be a ‘later’ problem —but she made sure to turn up her phone’s volume as not to miss a call.

An hour later as Emma working her way through her inbox, her cell began to ring, the default Apple ringtone startling her. Her screen indicated that it was an unfamiliar number, but from the 202 area code.

“Killian Jones, if this is spam, I’m going to murder you…” Emma muttered. She moved to close her office door, unsure of who was on the other line or what they were discussing before she answered. “Emma Swan speaking.”

“Emma? Hi, this is Mal Draco. How are you doing today?”

“Um, well, fine. Good. I’m good,” she sputtered. Mal Draco was the Director of Legislative Affairs at the White House. She was wicked smart with an incredibly impressive resume even ignoring her position within the Mills Administration. To Emma, she was sort of a professional role model — and Mal Draco was calling her. “How are you?”

“Excellent. I’m considering strangling Speaker Spencer, but what else is new?” She laughed, and Emma joined her, though she was sure her own voice sounded fake. “Listen, let’s cut to the chase. I’d like for you to take some time to come over to talk about the deputy position. I want as little time between Glass leaving and the new person coming on as possible. Is that something you would be interested in discussing?”

“Of course, yes, definitely.” Emma was sure if her heart was attached to a monitor, her pulse would be off the charts.

“Wonderful. I’ll have my assistant send you some times. I look forward to speaking with you. I’m particularly curious to hear your thoughts on the latest CR.”

“I have many.” Which was true. She had very many thoughts on the latest CR and what she thought the Democrats had to give up and what they should hold their ground on. “I look forward to speaking with you.”

“Same.” After exchanging a few final pleasantries, Mal Draco hung up on the other end of the line.

Emma leaned back in her office chair, her head spinning and heart pounding. Mal Draco, Director of Legislative Affairs at the fucking White House, wanted to discuss her soon-to-be open deputy position. It was her professional dream. She pinched herself to ensure that she wasn’t just doing that.

There was no way this could be real, could it? When news had gotten out that Draco’s deputy, Sidney Glass, was stepping down to take a Pharma lobbying position, she had entertained the idea -- as had practically every other Beltway lobbyist. But she never imagined…

“Holy fucking shit.”

Emma quickly opened her personal email account, where sure enough, a message from Draco’s assistant was sitting and waiting for answer. Emma cross-checked the the potential dates and times provided with her calendar, and fired an answer back. She would have to come up with an excuse explaining why she would be gone on Thursday afternoon, but that was doable. OBGYN appointment? No, people would assume she was pregnant. Dentist? People would absolutely know she was interviewing elsewhere. She had plenty of sick days saved up, but she had to ensure that she was seen lingering around the EEOB in professional attire. But that was just a small issue, dwarfed by the amazing opportunity that had fallen into her lap.

No, not fallen. She worked hard for this. She deserved this. She was Emma Swan. Potentially Emma Swan, deputy Director of Legislative Affairs. She liked the sound of that title.

She grabbed her phone.

You will never guess who just called me

Emma knew Killian was busy, and likely wouldn’t respond immediately, and she was correct. Another hour had passed by the time her phone began to buzz again. Emma was actually a little surprised that he was calling instead of texting, but she didn’t mind.

“Hey babe,” she greeted. She was still on cloud nine, and strategizing on what she could discuss with Draco. “Guess what?”

“Does what I’m guessing involve the Great Dragon of Capitol Hill?” His voice was teasing, though there was an undercurrent of pride; however, all Emma could focus on was that he apparently already knew she was getting the call.

“Um, yes, actually. It does.” She shouldn’t be surprised. He had warned her, without explicitly saying what it would be about. So why was a knot forming in her stomach. “She wants to talk to me about the deputy position.”

“That’s excellent, love! Truly. When Mal talked about it with me, I told her that—”

“Wait — you two discussed me?”

“Well, yes, why wouldn’t we?” he responded with a laugh. “No worries. I only said nice things and kept it decidedly PG.”

“I’m glad you didn’t tell the Director of Legislative Affairs about our sex life.” She kept her tone light, not wanting to let on that her excitement was quickly fading as their conversation continued. “Look, I’m a little busy at the moment, so maybe I can talk tonight?”

There was a pause. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just distracted by the CR, that’s all.” It was a lie, but she didn’t want to let on her feelings over the phone now. Besides, she actually was concerned about the upcoming CR vote.

“Aren’t we all?” Killian mused. “Well, I’ll let you go. Assuming that we don’t invade another country or a SCOTUS justice kicks it, we can celebrate.” His voice lowered. “And maybe rate things a little NC-17.”

“Reign it in, tiger. We don’t want the press pool assuming you’re trying to have sex talk in the oval. The last thing Regina needs is a sex scandal.”

“Look who’s worried about optics now. That’s usually my job.” Emma could practically hear his smile. “I love you, Emma.”

“I love you, too. Bye.”

Emma waited until the distinct sound of Killian ending the call before she sat her phone carefully on her desk. Her earlier giddiness had been replaced by a sense of gnawing self-doubt that she hadn’t landed the interview because of her credentials, but because of who she was sleeping with. She was well aware that politics was a “who you know” kind of field, built on networking and recommendations passed along. Hell, she been at one of those networking happy hours when she had met Killian. But still, she wanted Killian’s role in her maybe getting the job of a lifetime to be absolute zero.

Some might call it misplaced pride, but Emma considered it caring about her reputation. Politics as a whole was still a Good Old Boys club. She knew how people talked, especially when it involved women and sex. It had been one of the reasons why she’d initially been wary of even going out on a date with Killian, back when he was just the Communications Director to the Speaker of the House. She hadn’t wanted her integrity put into question. If she was sleeping with one Hill staffer, she was sure enough to get more passes and maybe the reputation that she slept with them all.

God, and with Killian being in the position he was in...he was the most public facing staffer. Even outside of the government-focused at the local universities, strangers people recognized him. Hashtags were dedicated to him. If she got a job at the White House, she wouldn’t be surprised if some blogger with an axe to grind with the administration would make a ‘thing’ out of it. What was even more maddening was that if their roles were reversed, she doubted anyone would question if Killian was the one who got the job.

“Fucking shit!” She slammed her hand against the desk.

Truth be told, Emma was also angry. Angry at the situation. Angry that Killian had talked to Mal Draco about her. Angry that she was dwelling on optics, and not on the amazing opportunity.

That anger carried over throughout the rest of the work day. She stayed late, partially because she wasn’t ready to head home, but also to prepare for a long day of meetings on the Hill the next day. It was cold when she left the building, the chill souring her mood even more. She took comfort in the fact that the late hour ensured she could find a seat on the metro. She attempted to read, as was her favorite pastime on the train, but her mind was far too distracted.

If she was offered the position, she would take it. There was no question about that. But she did not like the doubt that had seeded itself into her mind. She wanted to get by on her own merits. It was why she didn’t apply to the college her adoptive parents had attended, nor accept any internship opportunities back in Maine. She didn’t want to get by as David Nolan’s daughter, and she didn’t want to do the same as Killian Jones’ girlfriend. The many, many rom coms that Mary Margaret was obsessed with hadn’t prepared her for this.

She walked slowly from the metro station to the row house she and Killian rented together. She remembered when he had suggested moving in together. It had been the morning after Regina had won the election.

“I like this,” he had said that morning as he twisted his fingers through her hair. His voice had been thick with sleep, and God, they had both been so terribly hungover that morning. But they had been so happy.

“It’s called hair.”

“I meant waking up with you,” he’d replied. He then kissed her softly. “I would like to do it every morning.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah?” The surprise had been clear on his face, even has his smile dazzled. “Every morning?”

“Every morning.”

They had found a place during the transition. Killian had prioritized the Capitol Hill neighborhood, wooing her by pointing out that she could walk to the pretzel bakery she loved. They’d found a row house, its door painted bright red — “It’s your color, love,” Killian had teased. She always felt a bubble of warmth whenever she turned the corner and saw that house, and despite her foul feelings that night, she was unable to suppress a grin when she saw the lights shining bright in the winter night.

“Emma?” She heard Killian call out from the kitchen. Her favorite record was playing in the background. “Hope you don’t mind, but I picked up some Italian from that place in Bloomingdale! I ordered you the Saffron Mafalde.”

Also known as her favorite meal from her favorite restaurant in town. She had to remind herself that he was happy for her. The pride in his voice had been evident over the phone. He didn’t know about her tumultuous feelings. Emma hung up her keys and shed her coat, giving her a moment to brace herself a battle. She doubted he would understand.

“Emma, love?” Killian suddenly appeared before her, a bottle of wine in hand. He had long since changed out of the suit she saw him in this afternoon, and was now dressed in jeans and a dark sweater. He still wore his anchor socks, however. Killian, for as cool as he tried to appear, subscribed to the George H.W. Bush School of Patterned Socks. “What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a bit of an open book, darling,” he replied. His brows knitted in concern. “Did something happen at work? Is your family okay?”

Emma knew she that she should ask him to sit down so that they could calmly talk it out. That’s how David and Mary Margaret worked out their feelings. It was the mature way to handle conflict. Emma, however, wasn’t feeling particularly mature that night.

“Why the fuck would you talk to Mal Draco about me?” Her voice was louder than she intended it to be. “Look, I get that you want the best for me, and that’s nice—”

“Emma—”

“—but it’s important to me to get a job on my own merits. I want to be hired at the White House because I’m a fucking badass—”

“—you are a fucking badass—”

“—not because my boyfriend decided to pull some strings. My career and reputation are important to me—”

“I know.”

“—and having you going around and trying to hook me up with dream jobs isn’t what—”

“Emma, stop!” This time it was Killian who raised his voice. Emma abruptly stopped her argument, not fully surprised by Killian’s interjection. She watched as he sat down the bottle of wine on the entryway table, before he turned back to her and crossed his arms.

“For what it’s worth, I never once attempted to hook you up with a dream job. I knew you’d bite my head off if I even tried, which you are now,” he said pointedly.

“Then why did you say that you talked to Mal about it?”

“She was the one who talked to me about it. She thought I would find it interesting that you were at the top of their shortlist. And, just so you know, that reason I never told you that earlier was because I didn’t want you to accuse me of meddling,” Killian added. Emma’s anger was quickly dissipating, only to be replaced by regret. “She also wanted the Communication team to be aware of the situation, should anyone jump to conclusions...like yourself, apparently.”

She could feel Killian’s anger radiating hotly, even as his tone remain measured throughout the rest of his speech. “Killian, I--” The words died in her throat as she struggled to find the right words to say.

“At any rate, because you are such a ‘fucking badass’, I did pick up some dinner to celebrate, which is now probably getting cold. I don’t wish to argue any further, so let’s just eat.”

“Killian, come on.”

“Swan, you made you feelings apparent, and there’s nothing I can do to rectify that. So, please, let’s just have our dinner.”

She considered arguing further, but refrained. As dinner wore on, she realized she should have pushed for reheating the meal later. Conversation was stilted, and she could tell Killian was still wounded from her accusation. Besides…

“No offense to your boss, but this wine is not better than Two Buck Chuck...and it goes for a lot more.” Emma grimaced at the glass in her hand. So much for the Mills special label.

“It’s Three Buck Chuck now,” Killian corrected. He had a habit of going out of his way to correct her when he was annoyed. It was petty, and Emma hated it, but she let it go. “Besides, she’ll be your boss soon enough.”

“You don’t know that. I haven’t even sat down and interviewed with Mal yet,” Emma said as she stabbed rather forcefully at her pasta.

“You’ve got it. You know how these things go. This isn’t some hillternship. They wouldn’t bring you in if they weren’t serious, so unless you bungle it up significantly— which you won’t — you’ve got it.”

He was right. That was how these things went, which had only heightened her earlier excitement. This was almost certainly happening.

“So how long have you known I was up for the job?”

“Swan—“

“C’mon, you can at least tell me now,” she prodded. “Everything is already out there, and it’s not like this dinner is going super swell.”

He stared at her blankly for a moment before sighing deeply. “I’ve known for about a week. I didn’t know she was going to call you until this morning, however.”

“Which is why you were so giddy at lunch.”

“Which was why I was so giddy at lunch, yes,” he confirmed. “I was really looking forward to celebrating with you.”

“Until I fucked it up,” she replied, irritated.

“I really wish you didn’t put words in mouth. I never said that.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“You’re right. Sorry.”

The expression he gave her told her that he didn’t believe she was actually sorry, but he didn’t say it. He didn’t need to. He was being a bit of an ass, but it was reactionary. He honestly hadn’t started anything this time. Honestly, he’d been more blindsided than anything, something Emma regretted.

“Look, I get it, I know I’m the one who messed up tonight. I know that, Killian, and I truly am sorry about that,” she stressed. “I know I was being a bitch to you, but can you at least understand where I was coming from? Even you said that Mal was worried about the optics.”

“I just wish you would have trusted me not to interfere like that, love,” Killian replied. He tentatively reached out and grabbed her hand. “I know what your career means to you, and we’re honestly not worried about the optics. Your resume speaks for itself. That’s why they want you. We’ll also be in two completely different departments.”

“But still under the same White House.”

“Yes, still under the same White House. We’ll probably still have to meet with HR and fill out some paperwork, but it’s not like I’d be your boss and you my assistant. It’d all be above the board,” Killian answered. His expression shifted. “You want this, don’t you?”

“Are you kidding me? It’s The Dream,” she emphasized. “What political science nerd doesn’t dream of someday working at the White House? Jesus, I’ll have to figure out a way to tell David without him getting a gleeful heart attack.”

“They’ll be quite proud. I know I am,” Killian said, and Emma knew he meant it. “My girlfriend is going to work for the President.”

“That would be more impressive if you didn’t already work for her.”

“If you want to talk about optics, it’s honestly the kind of shit the press eats up. They’ll be having pools on when the Rose Garden wedding might be.”

“God, Mary Margaret would die.” She could just imagine it now, her parents flanking her sides as they escorted her down the makeshift aisle, Killian wearing a navy suit and smiling brilliant. She flushed when she noticed Killian staring at her with a twinkle in his eye. “Does the press really bet on that stuff?”

“When they’re bored,” he shrugged. “I’d rather them focus on that than trying to drudge up a pantsuit scandal.”

“I don’t even remember the last time I saw Regina in a pantsuit.”

“Exactly."

They laughed together, the earlier tension slowly dissipating into something more tender. Knowing there was more left to be said, she told him, “I really am sorry for freaking out at you. I recognize that wasn’t fair.”

“I appreciate the apology, and I do recognize that this is overwhelming. Remember when I first got my job?” Killian replied, his expression soft

“I believe you wore mismatched shoes immediately after you found out.”

“And I vomited in my office trash can both before and after my first briefing,” he said. He’d never told her that part. “I truly am looking forward to seeing what you accomplish for the administration. I have a feeling that you’re going to be extraordinary.”

“Going to be? I thought I already was extraordinary,” she said with a laugh. He called her that often enough. Extraordinary. Fantastic. Beautiful. All the adjectives in between.

“Haven’t you put me through enough tonight, woman?”

“Please, I’ve barely begun to put you through anything tonight,” Emma teased. She took triumph in the way his eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline and the slight flush the colored his cheeks.

“Well then.”

“Someone did promise me that we’d make tonight a little NC-17."

“That I did.” He licked his lips. “Would that make this makeup sex or celebration sex?”

“Who says it can’t be both?” They both laughed as he chased her up the bedroom to truly celebrate the night.