#anyway there wego

[losnordiquitos]

did yuo know,,,,,april is autism acceptance month!!!!!!!! can we see sweden being autistic

yaaaay, um !!! i feel like big part of sve being autistic is him being nonverbal/having selective mutism so i tried to give him an aac device for the drawing... happy autism acceptance month gang...

[miquella-everywhere]

we get so many names and characterizations for messmer's group: wego, salza, hilde, andreas, huw, erdeed, garrew

and the death knights don't even get names. we learn virtually nothing about godwyn like wtf

Godwyn is the biggest victim of this DLC I swear to god 😭 Hands down the most forsaken and saddest character in fromsoft history by virtue of the fact that the writers do not give two shits about him.

What's frustrating too is that nearly every one of Promised Retcons shoehorned lore would have worked perfectly for Godwyn:

Messmer being the "big brother" and whats dumb about that is that it honestly applies to anyone in the Marigon family because Messmer is literally the Eldest Brother of all the Demigods. But anyway, Godwyn would make more freaking sense because he is closer to Messmer in birth order(possibly being full-blooded brothers because the hints of Godfrey being Messies father is all over the place) and also Godwyn canonically waged war in the Realm of Shadow with his knights and yet we don't see any proof of that which is just 😡

And Gaius, damn him, but Godwyn being besties with an Albinauric would also give Miquella some more characterization and would tie in to why Miq cares for them so much and offered them sanctuary, his beloved Brother loved them so why wouldn't he?

I mourn for Godwyn the Golden and how fucking dirty he was done 😔

[oldschoolvpq]

Kuruntote Review

The very first Tamagotchi Kuruntote (たまごっち くるんとーと) series was released the fourth week of July 2023 in Gashapon capsule vending machines here in Japan, and on August 1, I went for it! 500 yen per capsule is a bit expensive, but I tried twice...and ended up with two of the same design. So it goes.

There's 3 designs total, but the good news is I got the one I wanted. It's rolled in there tight!

Look at the front!

Look at the back!

I'm really loving the vivid colors. The fabric is a bit thin but feels sturdy enough. You may be able to see the packaging for my breakfast in there if you look close enough...

It's just about the size of your standard plastic shopping bag, so it's better suited for a quick trip to the corner store as opposed to hardcore grocery shopping.

You may see a bit of tissue paper sticking out of the bag...this thing was rolled in no less than 3 squares of white tissue paper, most likely to keep the printed fabric from sticking to itself in the intense heat we've been having. As some Gashapon dispensers are stored outside, the contents have to survive the elements, so I get the addition...but I felt like a hack magician at the cash register as I pulled sheet after sheet out of the capsule when I just wanted to bag my snacks...

Anyway, on the inside it's got a cute little pocket! What's it for?

Well, the "Kurun" in the product name suggests that the bag can be rolled up and stored away! (We love a reusable shopping bag, especially since they charge for plastic bags just about anywhere you go in Japan.) Well I'm pleased to report it lives up to the name!

You simply flip the bag inside out, fold the sides in hot dog-style, then rolllll and pop it in the pocket.

Once folded, the size is nice and small - it fits in the back pocket of my skinny jeans as well as my tiny purse.

I'll just show a P1 for scale though. (My butt doesn't belong on this blog.)

I'm pleased to report that this bag further supports the Tamagotchi lifestyle in that there's various ways to integrate your virtual pets!

First is to hang one on the handle.

Second is to use the inner pocket to tuck away your little digital friend. It holds everything from the Nanos up to the Meets/On size-wise...but you're out of luck with the Pix.

Classic 👍 Meets/On 👍 Pix 😬

(Come to think of it I bet the coin purse from WEGO would go really well with this...)

Anyway, cute bag! Practical item! I'm definitely tucking one in my work backpack. Let's see how long it lasts?

[bcbdrums]

But why would they have kids? Drakken's too stupid and Shego hates kids

ohhhkay then... while i admit, the first thing that comes to mind is that maybe Shego quit teaching because she discovered she didn't wanna deal with kids after all.... nah i don't think she hates kids.

since i'm on that, i'll mention my headcanon... i think she genuinely tried to teach but she was just...completely unprepared for it. life didn't prepare her. i do not think she was perfect mommy to the wegos. did she help care for them as a sister cares for baby brothers? yes i do think this. but i don't think she just...had this perfect natural mothering develop in her, no matter what you think happened to the Team Go parents... no matter when they got their powers... no matter how much the older three siblings had to raise the twins, or not...

teaching is nothing like raising your own kid. so yeah my headcanon is that Shego was just wholly unprepared for it and after giving it an honest try, not having a clue what to do with actual children, and receiving little to no valuable help... that coupled with Team Go complications and feeling the draw toward evil, she quit. easier to quit than to be vulnerable and keep failing. Shego isn't the type to be vulnerable OR to let herself fail in front of anyone.

okay anyway. so your actual ask... not sure why you characterize Drakken as stupid, but i'll deal with the primary topic. Drakken would actually be pretty good with kids? he clearly had a great mother. i think when the kid got old enough to talk back and argue he'd have trouble with the being a dad versus being a friend, thing. i can envision a brat like Martin Smarty's son Artie and a childish combative period between Drakken and son.

but remembering that he'd have raised the kid from infancy, that would actually smooth at all of that relational stuff. as i said, he clearly had a wonderful doting mother. she doesn't smother him in his adulthood. and you can bet she'd be around more to help with a baby. i think Drakken would be like any new parent and ask for advice where he can get it (his mother) and fumble over some things and then be great with others. and you can absolutely bet he'd want to raise a little evil successor to his empire. i think he'd be both terrified, icked out, and thrilled at the idea of a kid. a kid completely changes one's life, because they become your life. and between he and Shego and occasional visits (more early on) from his mother, they'd have a pretty solid start and he'd continue with world domination plans, just now with a child. and he'd absolutely adore that kid... the way he goes all-in on things, he'd just worship that baby. my opinions, at least.

Shego i think would be the harder sell. she'd be afraid of messing it all up, cuz her life as a hero didn't prepare her to be normal. she would be very ehhhhh about childbirth. but because of Drakken, she'd go through it. i feel like she'd be pretty tough on him during pregnancy but they'd do research together to try to figure out how to raise a kid. once she gets past her fear and denial, she'd do the job of mother just fine. i think she'd be in a kinda endless fear/denial cycle though for a looooong time... probably would recur through the years as the kid gets older. she'd rely on Drakken a lot. her laziness would come out in spades at any time she perceives something as difficult...

but, their strength is...they have each other. Shego's trust in Drakken would really start to show when they're parents. Drakken's all-in attitude and just pure love for that kid would infect her. not saying it'd be sunshine and roses, it would be a wild ride. i mean, would the kid get Shego's powers? Drakken's plant mutation? other Team Go powers? none at all? they'd wanna raise the kid to be evil, but they'd also be wanting to instill normal morality along with it. it's necessary to raise a mentally healthy person.

so..... yeah.... long and short of it. Drakken's not stupid, i've commented on his intellgience in many posts. he'd adore a kid. and there's no evidence anywhere that Shego hates kids. they'd be good parents together and raise kids just fine.

[thekpopgossip]

Roundup: Freshest Releases

ICHILLIN' "On my lips"

I wasn't feeling the song until the part at 1:12 hit, I really like the piano chords and the talk singing works for once - then the bland chorus with strange chants in the background makes a comeback and the song goes back to boring and repetitive.

xikers “We Don’t Stop”

Combining rap and rock is a very early 2000's thing - it sucked then and it sucks now. Also doesn't help that the rappers sound like they inhaled some helium. The beat changes remind me of the worst aspects of mix-pop. If you want rock, Xdinary Heroes just released a cool OST "Wego Wego".

Lim Hyunsik "Sunshine"

BTOB's Hyunsik released his second EP, and while I disliked the ballad he released earlier, this 80's inspired, fast-paced pop music suits him really well. Is it generic? Yes. Did I enjoy it anyway? Yes, just like I did TWICE's comeback.

[iwillgoalone-m]

Little Meta on the characterization of Aredhel, more specifically a certain negative aspect which is one of the reasons she’s actually my most moody muse. It’s mostly rambling but yeah

So ever since I started playing Aredhel, I noticed there being a level of jealousy over certain aspects of her relationships. And it wasn’t just that, but when it came to quirks etc and hobbies I am often stumped on what to give her that is uniquely her own. It was hard to identify, because whenever I’d try o label her as jealous it just didn’t seem right. She wants everyone to be happy, even if that means she is pushed aside in favor of someone else--

which is when I figured it out. She’s not jealous of her loved ones loving others, but she fears being replaced. Here’s how I came to this conclusion: 

So first there’s canon, Aredhel is part of a bunch of special people for a family. of her siblings Fingon is special in his musical inclination, Turgon is wise, Arakano is tall af. Cousins wise Maedhros is Maedhros nuff said, Maglor is the best singer ever, Artanis is gorgeous and perceptive as fuck---etc etc. Basically finwe’s house is special af (Except the rest of the arafinweians but later date meta) and then there’s Aredhel. Comparatively she’s pretty normal. She's not renown for beauty and perception like artanis, she's not a musician, she doesn’t have an exceptional fury like Caranthir etc etc. She's just The white Lady and a huntress...though even the white lady thing you also have artanis being renown for wearing white.

So with that being said, it makes sense why she’s rebellious, and ultimately why she might have married Eol. A person who stands in a lot of shadows tends to either shrink further, or try to make themselves stand out. Rebellion is one I’ve noticed from personal experience-- now this is not to say she doesn’t think she’s loved, she knows she is, but that’s not the same. Now I know she also was a huntress, which is something she shared with Celegorm, and it was unique to her, but that actually goes along with what I was thinking because she’s going against the main grain of the fact that it’s mostly guys that are hunters.

(Now it was actually a thing in the RP that made me think of this, mainly her romantic attachments and the fact that she’s actually a little unstable in them. I.e., she loves Maglor, but Maglor is in love with Maedhros. I kept noticing she’d get moody and down whenever she thought of that, or the fact that I couldn’t come up with little things she could do. Cause who can really compete with maedhros? lets get real, I think everyone is in love with him no matter their orientation. He’s just so amazing, who blames Mags xD Anyway, so that was the thing that tipped me off)

Anyway, fast forward to Eol and lets outline some stuff. So, with the above  in mind let’s look at him. Eol is an isolationist, who hates the noldor with a burning passion, and keeps very much to himself. Enter Aredhel, a strong willed, firey noldor who gets lost-- and becomes his exception. Now I find this big, because yes it was dysfunctional, yes he was obsessed, yes I believe that they were a horrible match for each other, but from Aredhel’s point of view for once she was special to someone. Now this theory finally answers my questions about that  ‘not wholly unwilling’ thing, because a woman who feels wanted is always a woman who you can snatch up and call yours. It’s a typical thing. So although she was always a ‘i know my own value’ kind of person, this was one of those things I think was what made her care about him at least in the beginning. Granted, it went downhill from dysfunction, but the beginning part.

Now Maeglin was Aredhels most loved person ever, probably, which makes a lot of sense. As a mother she would feel that she wasn’t replaceable with him, that she could freely love and be loved back because she’s his mom. There’s a special bond between mother and child if it’s a healthy situation... which may also explain why she adopts kids who are orphans---but I digress or I’ll be here all night.

So I guess in summary, we could put it like this: Aredhel feels replaceable, both in relationships and in her own family (thank god she wasn’t there for the luthien debacle or she might have beleived so with Celegorm too, who I will add may be why she found him as her favorite because he brought her into his thing and helped her stick out by making it hers. Just a sidenote) which is possibly why she married Eol in the first place, because to him she was not replaceable. Even think about the fact that he pursued her when she left, like goddamn, if this wasn’t so dysfunctional I’d ship it to the stars and beyond.

Anyway, so I think that explains a little of why she gets moody-- because it’s inherently in her due to the fact that she grew up in a surrounding where she felt replaceable, which carries over to her adult life and relationships. And it makes me sad because what happens is that in this feeling of being replaceable she automatically assumes it’s the case, and when someone comes in that she thinks will replace her she’s more likely to kinda slink to the background, content to watch from afar and root for their happiness. Because honestly, she just wants everyone happy... with or without her.

So in the eternal words of Hamilton-- she will never be satisfied :)

[believeitseeitdoit]

Legos and Language

Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes

Summary: All bets are off when it comes to a Lego mishap in the Rogers-Barnes home 

Rating: Y'all shouldn’t be reading the filthy things if youre under 18 anyways but this one is pretty PG (but language is the exception)

Warnings: Domestic stucky, suggested and slight smutty times, 90% fluffy, some foul language, talk of murder and destruction of legos forever, feel good shit, Steve, Bucky and their girl have babies

don’t steal my little munchkin oc names please, I like them 

This is written from each lover’s POV, marked by ******** this 

This is a work of love and hated of legos, solely to be read for a smile and maybe some happiness, be kind or go away

        “Sonofabitch!” Your hushed curse rattles through the house as you stomp barefoot through your son’s pile of a semi built lego creation. With a few breathy “fuck’s,'' you hop over to the nearest chair to rub the new soreness out. Sharp indentations litter the underside of your arch, and you peel off a flat piece from your toe then mentally plot unmonitored use of the quantum realm to murder the creator of legos before they can cause any harm to you again.

       Continuing your muttering, you delicately set your foot down and turn to the mess. You sigh in relief that you didn’t destroy any of the built chunk, you were only subjected to the ultimate test of parenthood, the loose pieces.

     “Back to our regularly scheduled morning, coffee.” You say to the empty room, narrating your routine as if you were running a sitcom. Once in the kitchen, you set about making a hefty pot of coffee for you and your husbands, humming an 80s rock tune and letting your open robe swish around you loosely in the process.

********

      They both notice you slide out of bed, a super spy and a retired Avenger don’t miss much in their own home. But rather than follow you down to the kitchen to disrupt your morning ritual, Steve pulls his husband against him and nuzzles his hair so they could get some quiet time of their own. A few moments later, Bucky is softly snoring against Steve’s arm, and Steve is on the brink of sleep when he hears a barely audible string of curses and the unbalanced thunking of feet along the hardwood. Bucky seems undeterred, so Steve leaves him be and slips out of the bed to investigate what caused the early use of language, not that he’s surprised considering their wife’s colorful vocabulary when the kids aren’t listening.

       Pulling his discarded boxers back on from the night before, Steve saunters out of the master suite silently toward the staircase. He pokes his head into the nursery to check on the sleeping infant twins, and heads down the old hardwood steps, praying for them not to creak with every step. Halfway down the stairs, he hears you filling the coffee pot under the tap and the chorus to a White Snake ballad quietly playing from the speakers while you hum along. With a smile and a small head bob as he catches the tune, Steve steps across the threshold of the stairs toward the living room and kitchen, unaware of the torture devices scattered on the floor.

      Steve intends to follow the wall to get to the kitchen without his presence known, until you hear a series of words that would make Tony blush and an unfortunate crunching sound of your son’s creation being smashed to bits.

     “SONOFAFUCKINGMONKEYSASSHOLE WHAT THE FUCKING DICK ON A STICK GOD DAMN PIECE OF TORTUROUS BULLSHIT IS THIS?!!” He yelps loudly and tries to hop over the new graveyard of legos.

     In his fresh misery, he misses you quickly dropping the coffee grounds onto the counter top and hustling toward him to make sure his verbatim doesn’t wake the twins. As you begin shushing him from a few steps away, Steve hobbles blindly toward your voice and you see it happen before you can say anything. Your big clutz of a husband smashes his un-assaulted foot through your son’s Legos, only this time Captain America is not the star spangled man with a plan. He has absolutely destroyed the near complete firetruck and you can only stand in awe at his ability to hit each remaining chunk of the build before he finally makes it to the couch.

     “Fuck fuck fuck fuck, why the fucking legos? FUCK!” His wailing is not going to gain any sympathies from you, only entertainment at the weaknesses of men.

     “Steven Grant, you shut the hell up before you wake my babies or I WILL send Bucky to the store and you can have twin duty alone.” Sitting down at his feet to pull the pieces off his skin, you scold him lightly but without any venom or intention. He hisses as you pull the flat plastic off his big toe, and you chuckle as his pathetic whimpers cease.

     “So, coffee?” You stand and pull him up with you toward the kitchen, letting his calloused hands and leftover cologne embrace you like a blanket as he leans down to caress your cheek. He kisses your forehead and softly brushes hair behind your ear with one hand while the other grips your plush hip under the loose robe.

     “Maybe something sweeter to distract me first? This robe is teasing me.” His lips ghost down your neck and he nips at your collarbone while pulling the thin silk off your shoulders.

     “You kept me up late, baby. I need coffee before anything today.” You whisper breathily against his tanned, thick chest, whimpering and shivering as you feel him trace the marks littering your skin and gently squeezing the flesh he is so obsessed with.

     He allows you to pull away only after you shudder again, but he stands behind you, hands locked onto your hips as you pour the bitter amber liquid into 3 mugs. Steve’s love bites on your neck keep you distracted long enough for Bucky to come down the stairs without being noticed.

     “I thought we agreed there was no third wheeling in this family, and yet here we are.” Your bonus husband is perched against the refrigerator offering your favorite coffee creamer and his signature pout.

******

     Bucky is roused by his husband rolling out of bed and the accompanying coolness that surrounds him as the sheets flutter back down against the mattress. He listens to Steve pad lightly down the hall to check in on the kids, Hudson in his room first, then Charlotte and Talia in the nursery.  As the footsteps recede down the stairwell, Bucky lets his body sink into the bed and the scents of his partners surround him and lull him back to sleep.

     Until he hears a string of words leave his husband’s mouth, and a series of crunches and shattering sounds buried under more very inappropriate words. Now wide awake, Bucky shoves himself from bed and puts a loose sweatshirt over his head while he walks toward the stairs. He is halted by a whimper from one of his little twins in the nursery, but his ever present super senses note that both babes are still firmly asleep so he continues down the steps.

       Not sure of the state of things on the main floor, Bucky alertly scopes the space and finds their son’s legos strewn about the floor. With a sigh, Bucky steps around them and shakes his head as he follows the sounds of his husband and wife to the kitchen. He is met with tangled hair and soft pants, an open robed woman more stunning than Aphrodite, and a man barely containing his impressive erection in his low hanging boxers. Bucky can feel the energy in the room, can practically taste the arousal on them, and his subconscious stirs awake, begging to join like a wolf waiting for the hunt.

*******

      “And who plans on fixing our son’s firetruck creation? Because it sure as hell won’t be me, I will be taking care of our little girls where I am wanted.”

     Steve is the first to respond, an arm opens toward Bucky in the same moment. “Honey we didn’t mean to leave you out, c’mon over here let us show you how much better it is with you.” 

      As Bucky steps into Steve’s reach, you push off the counter and into the thick warmth of your husbands. Their desire envelops you as kisses are peppered on skin and fingers prod at bits of flesh for a better grip on reality. The moment is nearly bursting with love and lust, blinding both man’s super senses of their incoming visitor.

        “Who da hell bwoke my WEGOS!!!!????? MOMMYYYYY!” Hudson screeches from the bottom of the stairs and you’re running for him in an instant.

        “Hudson Anthony! You do not speak like that. You know better young man.” Steve and Bucky hiss at the use of their boy’s middle name, knowing how he feels in both respects.

       “Baby boy, I’m so sorry about the Legos, but you cannot use that language. No naughty words right?” You hate scolding him when you completely understand his frustrations, but heavens forbid he say any of that in public, the boy would be shamed and sent to his principal so fast even the Daily Bugle couldn’t catch it first. 

      Hudson sniffles and rubs his nose, trying to fight off tears of frustration in front of his daddy and papa, but quickly fails.

“But, is bwoken mommy. I woked so hawd on it! Wuh happened?” He begins wailing and stuttering breaths, and you pull him into your arms to hug and comfort him gently.

       “Shh, handsome, it was an accident. See, they were left too close to the stairs and mommy stepped on some, then daddy heard her yelp and ran through them too. Papa moved them out of the way and reminded daddy that he needs to help fix it with you baby.” You bounce him on your hip, trying to push the sadness away like you did when he was a small tike.

       Bucky and Steve step closer, each wrapping an arm around you and Hudson to initiate a bear hug. Hudson whimpers a bit longer then picks his head up from your shoulder and leans toward Steve, signaling he wants his daddy to hold him next. Steve pulls him close and whispers apologies only audible to his boy, but you and Bucky smile knowingly. They head to the far corner of the couch where they can have a quiet cuddle and talk about how Hudson can teach his daddy to rebuild the LEGO vehicle. 

      You lean against Bucky, enjoying the moment until he turns to the stairs.

       “Time for round 2 with some sleepy babies?” You tie your robe closed and head up the walk way, stubbing your toe on the first step.

       “Mother fu—dge on toast that was unpleasant.” You yelp and grip tightly onto Bucky’s vibranium arm. He chuckles and scoops you into his arms, carrying you up the remaining steps.

     “Careful, I don’t want to use your middle name today too darling.” He winks, setting you down at the doorway of the nursery. With a huff, you begin fluttering about the room, softly waking your girls and beginning their morning routine.

    “My sweet little Charlotte Ann, and my lovely Natalia Rose, you two are the most precious angels in this world. But for the love of all things holy, no Legos when you’re older ok?”

Tagging those who may appreciate this or can give me a helpful bit of advice on my writing : @bxccxdxll​ @iraot​ @sagechanoafterdark​ @tuiccim​  @thebescht​ @makbarnes​

[alexthedrummerboy]

🌟 wearing outfits inspired by the cast 🌟

kayla’s purple pants and jacket combo - flying solo

as soon as i took pictures i was half-happy with, i put my pyjamas back on and went on with lamenting about the lack of closet space in my new apartment

anyway quarantine is going.......well

jacket - H&M

pants - pull & bear

top - hollister

shoes - nike

belt - wego tokyo

[avengerscompound]

Running to a Standstill - 12

Running to a Standstill: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count:  2104

Rating:  E

Warnings: Sex talk and post sex stuff

Synopsis: While on the run from an unknown organization trying to take your son, you meet two super-soldiers.  While they try to help you get to the bottom of who is hunting you and your son, feelings come out and admissions are made that make your personal life even more tricky.

Chapter 12

You had been dreaming when the press of Steve’s lips woke you.  For a moment you were trapped in this weird in-between state, stuck between sleep and awake where you were simultaneously being chased by faceless beings that seemed to keep spawning more and more every time you got free of one, and snug and warm with a pleasant post-coital ache in your body.

“Honey,” Steve said gently.

You stretched and opened your eyes, looking up at the two large men looking down at you.

“We have to go into work,” Steve whispered.  “Didn’t want you to wake up to the bed empty and worry.”

“Oh,” you said, sitting up.  “Is it late?”

“Fuckin’ wish it was,” Bucky grumbled.

“No.  We need to hit the gym and then there’s a meeting about going forward with the investigation on Madripoor.  Plus a few other missions,” Steve explained.  “You’ve still got a couple of hours before Pepper said she’d bring Geo down.”

“And there’s breakfast in the oven,” Bucky said, pressing a kiss to your forehead.  “We’ll see you tonight.”

They headed up to work and you dozed for a little longer.  Your life kept changing in major ways ever since you left home.  It was like every three to five years the universe decided that things had gotten too predictable and you needed everything shaken up.  Sometimes it was good, like starting college.  Getting married.  The look in your husband’s eyes when you told him you were pregnant.  Geo’s birth.  Lately, it had been a lot of shit and now that it seemed to have swung back into something good again, you had put on the countdown for when the other shoe dropped and wondered how fucking bad it would be considering how good you felt the potential for this could be.

Because it had the potential to be amazing.  Steve and Bucky were actively trying to free you from the terror you’d been living for the past three and a half years.  They were fun to be with.  They were kind and beautiful and it felt good being with them.  You felt safe with them and for the first time in years, you felt like you had room to breathe and open your heart again.  Not that there weren’t things you were worried about.  You had started to feel a little too comfortable when you’d been living in BedStuy.  Looking back at all the people you’d trusted to babysit Geo you couldn’t help but worry.  What if one of them had been -them-?  What if you’d trusted the very people trying to get him to take care of him?

Of course, that hadn’t happened, but now all you could think was that now you were so close to being that real ‘happily ever after’ kind of happy,  you’d trust Geo with a babysitter and they’d kidnap him.  Or you’d enroll him in childcare and he’d be kidnapped by someone pretending to be his dad.  You didn’t want to just be the stay at home mom, reliant on your new boyfriends to take care of everything, but you knew from experience how hard it was to find jobs that didn’t mind you having a kid with you and there were very few that you could do while in such a high-security building.

You sighed and got up.  You’d figure something out, you always did, and lying in bed dwelling on it when your very new boyfriends were trying to be nice and give you some time to sleep in was not going to help.

After a long hot shower, you went into the kitchen to eat.  The room smelled of freshly brewed coffee and you found a Monte Cristo sandwich warming in the oven.  You poured yourself a coffee and sat down to eat your sandwich.  There was a blissful ten minutes where it was just you, your food, and silence when there was a knock at the door.

You got up and answered the door, to find Pepper, as flawlessly put together as she always was holding Geo’s hand.

“Mommy!” He squealed and slammed into your legs.

You laughed and picked him up, cuddling him to you as you let Pepper in.  “Hey buddy,” you said. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too, mommy,” he replied.

“Hey, Pepper,” you said as she put his backpack by the couch.  “Thank you again for having him over.  How did you go?”

“Really well,” she said.  “There was a little stress at bedtime.  He kept asking for you.  FRIDAY was the one that calmed him down.”

“I'm so sorry,” you said.  “That was his first sleepover.  So I guess it was weird for him.”

“It was no problem, really,” Pepper assured you.  “He was an angel otherwise.  And I knew if he didn't calm down we could call you.  He and Tony had a lot of fun building robots and playing with computers.  He’s all clucky now.  Went to bed asking if we could think about having kids now.”

“Did you and Tony make robots?”  You asked Geo.

“Yeah, mommy!” He said excitedly. “Dey’re so cool.  I maded fwiends wif dem.”

“That's so great, buddy,” you said, kissing his cheek.  You put him down and he went back over to Pepper and took her hand.

“Come.  Come.  Come see my wegos,” he said, tugging on her hand.

“Just for a little bit, okay?” She conceded, letting the little boy pull her along.

“Can I get you a coffee?” You asked as Pepper took a seat on the couch and Geo began pulling out all his favorite lego creations.

“That would be great, thank you,” she accepted.  “Just black.”

You went into the kitchen and poured the last of the coffee into one of Steve’s grey mugs.  “So are you on board with the whole having kids thing?”  You called out to Pepper.

“Oh, god,” Pepper called back.  “I don't know.  It's never even come up before and I was always career above everything.  This might just be a passing phase so I’m not going to give it serious thought unless he hyper focuses on it.”

You brought out her cup and handed it to her, handle side first.  “Thank you,” she said.  “Enough about me, anyway.  Tell me; how was last night?”

You smiled and sat down to the breakfast Bucky - your new boyfriend Bucky - had made you.  “Good.  A little emotional, but good.  We had a nice time.”

“So you think it’s going to work?  The three of you like that?”  Pepper asked as she helped Geo build something.

You shrugged.  “I know I like them.  I know they’re good people.  But if we’re going to get into talking about my belief that anything will work out for me, it’ll probably end up being a very dark conversation.”

Pepper frowned and looked over at you.  “Well you are right,” she said.  “They are good people.  If you’d ever told me Steve would try out -” she waved her hands around her head “- I wouldn’t have believed it.  But the fact he has… is… means he’s serious about it.”

You chuckled.  “Yeah, he doesn’t go into things half-heartedly.”

Pepper laughed.  “You can say that again,” she drained the last of her cup and stood up.  “Alright, Geo, I have to go to work.  Fortune 500s don’t run themselves.”

Geo stuck out his bottom lip.  “Aww…” he whined.

“I know, little one,” she said.  “I had fun too.  You’ll have to come to have a sleepover again sometime.”

“Yeah,” he said, bouncing in his seat.

She chuckled and ruffled his hair as you stood up to walk her out.  “Thank you again,” you said.  “I really appreciate it.”

“Of course, any time,” she said.  “It was really fun, and I did like seeing Tony go full dad.  If you’d like to have another night off let us know.”

You smiled and opened the door for her.  “Thank you.”

Pepper stepped out and paused, turning back to you.  “I know you haven’t been getting out on your own since you moved in.  If you want to borrow some security, let me know.  I can send Happy down.  You can trust him, he’s basically family.”

You smiled.  “Thanks, Pepper.  That would actually be amazing,” you said, though your heart felt heavy.  This whole Avengers thing was getting too good and that sword hanging over your head was beginning to look extra sharp.

Happy had come down just after lunch and he’d escorted you and Geo out.  He took the job seriously, which you appreciated.  It made you feel safer.  Not to mention he was even jumpier than you.  So when you went into the library after spending some time playing in the park with Geo and you became acutely aware that someone was following you, Happy was quick to believe you.

“You see them right?”  You said as you pushed Geo down the hall in his stroller toward the children’s section.

The guy who you had originally noticed hanging around the carousel had been trying not to be noticed as he kept his distance and followed you into the library.  He was now browsing a rack of fliers for local exhibitions and tours of the city and he was doing his absolute best to not make it look like he was watching you.  Happy guided you around the corner.  “Alright.  So… we won’t make any sudden moves.  You go get books like you wanted.  I’ll call the boss.  I don’t want to try and chase him off and then have someone else come from another angle and grab you or the kid.”

You nodded. “Stay close.”

Happy put his hand on your back.  “I’m not going anywhere.”

He pulled out his phone and started tapping out a message as you wheeled Geo over to the open area where they kept the picture books.  He started wiggling in the chair and fumbling to get the straps that held him down off.

“Hang on, buddy,” you said, crouching down. “What’s the rule.”

“Stay cwose, where I can see you,” he said.

“Okay, good,” you said, kissing his forehead.  He ran over to the rack of large picture books and pulled the biggest one he could find down before sitting down and opening it up.  You stayed close to him and Happy stayed close to you, still tapping away on his phone.  You could see the guy on the other side of the children’s section, but the library security was already eyeing him as he was alone in the children’s section.

“Alright,” Happy said, speaking quietly and slipping his phone back in his pocket.  “We’re going to check some books out and go out the lion entrance.  Tony will be waiting.”

You nodded.  “Thank you, Happy.”

“It’s gonna be okay,” Happy said.  “I’m a professional.”

“Alright, Geo,” you said.  “Pick your books, buddy.”

Geo began to load books at random into the stroller making Happy laugh as the pile got bigger and bigger.  “Okay, sweetie.  I think you have enough,” you said.

You checked the books out and Happy led you back outside.  “See the car stopped over there?”   Happy asked.  You nodded without breaking your stride.  “That’s for us.”

You approached the car with Happy and Tony stepped out of the back of the car.  The bright blue polygon that indicated that he was wearing the bleeding edge armor sat in the middle of his chest.  “Mommy,” Geo said excitedly.  “Fwiday’s here.”

“I know, baby,” you said as you approached Tony.

“Hello, dear,” Tony said, kissing your cheek.  “Into the car.”

You nodded and started loading Geo into the back.  “Where is he?”

Happy looked around, but the guy who was tailing you hadn’t exited the building yet.  You got Geo safely into the back and went and put the stroller and books into the trunk.  The guy came out the front door, spotted Tony, and quickly turned and ran back in.

“There!”  Happy yelled, pointing to where the guy had just disappeared.  “He saw you.”

“Right,” Tony said tapping the casing on his chest.  “Get her home.  I’ll see if I can find him.”

The armor bled out over his body and Happy hustled you into the back of the car.  You buckled up as Happy jumped in the driver's seat and Tony took off in the direction of the library.

“Don’t worry,” Happy said.  “We’ll get you home, safe and sound.”

You nodded again, but as you held Geo close to you in the back of the town car, you doubted that you were ever really going to be safe again.

// NEXT

[tisalovestory]

LMAO right it’s just so bad they could’ve at least made the boys look better too 😭😭 but you’re right people will still buy it anyway ehrhrhhd. wish i could’ve gotten the wego one tho

Frfr🙃I think it speaks volumes how the boys who look the best are the ones that covered up the shirts the most AHAHAHHAHHA like ik we also roast the design for karasuno’s Wego sweater (a good reason why I didn’t get it while getting the nkm and inrz ones😌) but I can’t believe the made it worse lmao

[colitisandme]

Hi my wonderful friends and IBD and invisible illness warriors

It is that time of year once again.

Time for the 10 Annual WEGO Health endorsements ( or voting ) to begin (set face to super excited and surprised expression) so if you feel that my affirmations, encouragements, hugs and go get ems and my blog Life love and the pursuit of Toilet Roll have lifted you up, made you smile, given you a giggle, made you readjust your perceptions on invisible illness and what it means to live with an invisible illness. I would love your endorsement/vote. ❤️

If you need help navigating the process I've set out some instructions for you :

Click: https://www.wegohealth.com/Jess2/awards

Click on awards in the top right hand corner .

Scroll down to the turquoise writing ✍ that says "endorse this patient leader." Click on that and it will take you to another page . On that page it will say " Please tap on awards you wish to endorse. Then pop in your details -name and email and there you have it. ❤️ I have been nominated in 2 award categories this year. ‘Best kept secret’ and hilarious patient leader’ both of these mean a great deal to me but as I deal with adversity, illness and bad days where I am pushed to be as creative as possible by shouting as many new and creative swear words into a pillow as I can and writing content which is designed to reach an audience, through laughter, humour and colourful images, then I have to admit, I have a soft spot for the latter. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Finally I would be ever so grateful if that my story, words or general Jess ness has helped you or made you smile in anyway please share away like a man/women/animal/ obsessed with your friends and family or anyone else with a face so they can join in and vote as well. Love and light to you all. ❤️ https://www.wegohealth.com/Jess2/awards

[gothicthundra]

That Graduation story I’ve yet to complete..

This was brought on by @benjimators​

Alright, those of you who listen to my random trivial rants know I have long planned a Graduation 2.0 or a re-due with far more details and longer story line... but I never get around to it... but I have some things written. One of the major things is the heroes working together with the villains... LIKE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE!

Anyways, one of my favorite parts was one where Motor Ed and Hego team up.

Yes Team Go, the Vills, and Team Possible's crew are all THERE... and this is before Drakken's plan... this is just the rescue mission. 

Alright build up to this part. The government is not letting them take the rocket ship because of many reasons... Its billions of dollars worth of equipment... there not risking it for a one way suicide rescue mission. And honestly they plan on blowing the Lawardian ship out of the sky. Kim and Drakken be damned. Two lives outweigh the lives of the planet.

Now with the help of some tech villains and Wade, they've managed to shut down the missiles... and take over the government building. ALL are considered threats now and are to be apprehend... but like... Global Justice is delaying all the gov officials because of Kim. The Vill's are there to help Drakken and Shego... and yeah... its a lot of BS... 

But one thing is the ship Ron and Shego are taking... the engine wasn't completed or if it was it was sabatoshed by one of the officials before the Wego's and Duff knocked them out with exploding golf clubs... so here's the scene.

++++

“The rocket's not even starting!” yelled Shego over the onboard camera.

“Are you pushing the right button...” Ron begins as he leans over her.

She shoves him aside.

“I found the problem,” cringes Wade. He pulls of a scan of the ship, “The engine has been disabled. There are several parts missing,”

“How long will that take,” barked Shego, “We're running out of time.”

“Hold up. Do we have the blueprints for that thing?” asks Motor Ed. He leaned over Wade, “Possible?”

“There should be. Wade, see if you can access the files,” says James, “It should be under--”

“Got it,” replies Wade as a screen pops up, “I'm not finding engine blue prints.”

“Check under fragments,” said Electronique from where she is still controlling the perimeter security, “They probably deleted it. It may have not been done right and they were saving face.”

“Of course. No scientist wants to admit fault,” Wade pulls up a glitched image, “That's the best I got.”

“Seriously. That's it?” says Motor Ed with a smirk, “Piece of cake. Half those parts are in basic rockets.”

“How do you know this?” asks Hego as he comes in the doorway, “I bent the door. No one is getting in from the third hallway.”

“Seriously. I'm one of the top mechanics in the world,” smirks Motor Ed.

“Seriously?” there is a series of responses from different areas.

“Maybe I'm exaggerating,” nods Motor Ed, “I AM the best.”

“Nice intro,” came Ron over the camera, “But could you maybe do something?”

“Sometimes I remember he and Drakken are related,” sighs Shego as she shakes her head, “Enough Ego stroking. Just fix it.” “Chill out Green,” snaps Motor Ed.

“One problem, the access to the engine is under the rocket. We'd need to get it up on a lift,” interjected Wade, “That could take hours to clear out that area.”

“We don't have hours!” snapped Shego, “We have one.”

“How heavy is that ship?” asks Hego. Wade typed away.

“Roughly three school buses,” says Wade. He grins at Hego.

Hego nodded and looked over towards Motor Ed.

“I can lift it if you can fix it,” grins Hego.

“Seriously?” asks Motor Ed with wide eyes.

“Seriously.” Hego cracks his now glowing knuckles.

[sparrellow]

Like A Brother

“I mean, I didn’t even see it on you, though.”

Lingerie shopping, being brotherzoned, and failing to confess three times—these were Len's woes.

rating: T genre: romance/humour/fluff ships: rin/len words:  5,684

Len:

hey

kaito

what’s the best way to ask someone out

  Kaito:

What’s this all of a sudden

  Len:

you’re not kaito

  Kaito:

Correct

  Len:

meiko 

answer my question

it still stands

  Kaito:

Bold assumption

But you’re right

Anyway

Just ask her out

  Len:

I didn’t say it was a her

and that advice sucks

  Kaito:

Well, it’s straightforward and the easiest way to ask someone out

Idk what kind of advice you were expecting

  Len:

advice from kaito

anyway I’m done

bye

. 

It was indeed terrible advice. Len spent the entire day trying to hypothesize a plan of attack, to just ask someone out as blatantly as Meiko put it, and perhaps that was the normal way of asking someone out, but this someone who was to be asked out was not normal.  

His head hurt. 

Rin held up a hand in front of his face and fluttered her fingers in an attempt to draw him back from his inner turmoil. “Earth to Len,” she sang, and when he blinked several times, she gave a winning smile. “Good, you’re back.”

She then proceeded to hold up a bra-and-panty set, and it occurred to him that he’d not registered walking into ye ole tutuanna moments earlier. He’d walked himself into this disaster.

“Is this too much?” she asked, gesturing to the everything of the lingerie. It was cute, and it was frilly, and it was a great effort not to let his mind flirt with the image of her wearing said outfit.

Len swallowed hard, trying to muster up some sort of appropriate answer. “No,” he squeaked.

Rin looked at his face, then back to the set, then back to his face. “It is too much, isn’t it,” she said, placing it back on the rack and moving on to another set that caught her eye.

Damn it.

He stumbled after her, training his eyes to the back of her head. He was aware he did not belong in such a store.

Normally, Len would steer clear of tutuanna, knowing full well the repercussions of him waltzing into the store after Rin. But he had only two brain cells, and both were offline after that unfortunate brief conversation with Meiko earlier.

Just ask her out.

Right, yes. Just ask her out. Right now, in the middle of a lingerie store. That would be awfully romantic.

Rin stopped and turned back to him sharply, holding up another set for his opinion. He almost walked into it, but managed to stop and take a calculated step backwards.

“What about this one?” she asked, using her free hand to play with the lace sewn around the perimeter of the bra. It was pretty and yellow, and much more soft.

Len wanted to say, Yes, that would look so beautiful on you like holy shit man do you want to go out I mean what I mean yes that’s totally what I meant please date me you goddess. But instead, he said, “Er, shouldn’t you be dragging Miku into this store for opinions, rather than me?”

Rin lowered her hands and gave him this look. “You didn’t have to come in here if you didn’t want to. I was just asking a second pair of eyes.”

He flushed. Okay, yes, she had a point. But still. “It looks nice,” he said, deciding to steer away from a potentially awkward conversation in-the-making.

She, thankfully, dropped the subject, and turned back to the set. “It is really nice,” she agreed, pouting her lips in thought. “You don’t think it would wash me out too much?”

What, was she going to walk around in this on the street or something? It was underwear, and it concerned him she cared so much about something like that. Did she have a secret boyfriend? Or a girlfriend? Or both? Or a sugar daddy? Oh no.

Len kept those concerns to himself, though. “No. It’ll match the colour of your hair and contrast with your eyes.”

Rin seemed pleased with his answer, and reached over to tap his arm. “Well, you sold me.”

It was… basic art theory he was drawing his knowledge from, but sure.

She turned away to find her size and then disappeared off to the dressing room to do the fitting. Len took it as his chance to skulk out of the store and free himself of his misery.

Of course, he was still freaking out about why Rin was buying underwear. Like, yeah, okay, buying normal underwear was fine, but this was fancy underwear. This was the kind of underwear girls bought to show their lovers. Or their customers.

He wiped away a bead of sweat. This was not going well.

About fifteen minutes later, Rin came skipping out of the store with a shopping bag tucked under her arm. “You were right,” she said. “Even the assistant in the fitting rooms said the colours suit me.”

Who would have known.

Len, unable to Be A Better Person, smiled slightly and cleared his throat. He fell into step beside her as they set off down the hall of the mall. “So, uh,” he said. Rin turned to look at him, smiling. “Why are you buying such pretty, uh, underwear, when it’s just… underwear?”

She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“Uh,” he stuttered. “You know… like. Is there a reason? A special event or something?”

She stared at him cluelessly a few moments more, before blinking a couple of times, realisation dawning on her features. “Oh. You mean, like, am I buying this for someone else?”

Len swallowed. “Uh, well, not specifically, but just… you know.” He gave up.

Rin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I mean, girls can buy cute underwear for themselves, Len. Sometimes it just feels nice to have something cute.”

“Right.” This was awkward. He was an idiot.

She continued, “But, I mean, I guess I’m buying this for someone else too. Potentially. In the future. When I’m dating someone.”

He tried his best not to look too relieved at her answer. “R-right.”

“Besides, it’s good to get a guy’s opinion, too. Like, my opinion and Miku’s opinion are well and all, but your opinion is just as great because… that way I know a guy also likes it. I guess I won’t feel as nervous if I do wear it for… when I’m dating someone.”

Len nodded, although it was a little like Rin had chipped away at his heart with her words. He then said something completely and utterly stupid, that ruined the moment entirely (not that there was a moment, or anything, because there definitely wasn’t).

“I mean, I didn’t even see it on you, though.”

Rin’s whole body manoeuvred to face him like she was possessed by something otherworldly, and she looked at him with wide eyes, kind of shocked.

He spluttered something to cover his mistake. “Uh—that came out wrong—I mean, like, I didn’t—I don’t know what it looked like on you—so I don’t—I uh, um—” He just decided to leave it there. He was making it worse, if anything.

She was silent for a moment, before her hand slapped his shoulder. “You perv,” she said with a teasing grin. “It’s alright. I get what you mean. You do have a point, but… don’t think you’ll get to see this on me, though.”

Oof. Like, major oof.

Len laughed, or, well, fake-laughed given the situation he was in, and just said, “Right. I wasn’t intending on that.” He wanted to eat his own foot.

Rin looked smug. “Good.”

Sometimes, he was very worried Rin knew—she knew somehow he was, like, a bitch for her. Miku had reassured him she was completely oblivious, but still, when she said stuff like this, it was sort of like she was purposely jumping up and down on top of his metaphorical heart.

She then linked her arm with his, and proceeded to drag him into WEGO.

.

“You just have to do it,” Kaito said, when Len crawled his sorry ass over to him during Music Club on Monday. Rin was running late to their club meeting—she had a Science Club thing, and, god that girl was crazy enough to try balance two clubs at once—so Len told everyone about his woes.

Well, not everyone, but the people who cared.

“I can’t,” Len protested. “She has made it very obvious on several occasions she has never, ever considered dating me, let alone will consider.”

“So? The worst she could do is reject you,” Meiko pointed out, leaning back in her seat and folding her arms over her chest. 

“It could also permanently damage our friendship,” Len said.

Kaito shook his head. “Rin doesn’t seem like the kind of person to do that.”

Sitting over in the corner, Miku said from behind her hand mirror, “She’s adamant Len is like a brother to her, so I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with Len on this one.”

“Miku,” Kaito said in an exasperated tone. “You’re supposed to be on our side.”

She looked at him over her hand mirror, fixing her lip balm with a finger. “I don’t take sides.”

The pair were staring each other down across the room when Rin waltzed in, her hands full of books. She stopped when she noticed the sour atmosphere. “What did I miss?”

“Rin,” Kaito said as a greeting. “I have a question.”

She gave him an uncertain look as she walked over to a desk and dumped her armful down. “You’re not kicking me out of the club because I’m late every Monday, are you?”

Everyone looked at each other, as if the assumption was as absurd as it was fair.

Kaito blinked. “No.”

Rin took a seat between Len and Miku. “Okay. Shoot.”

“On a scale of zero to 10, zero being not at all like a brother and ten being the brotheriest brother a non-brother can be, where does Len sit with you?”

She frowned in confusion and shot a questioning glance at both Len and Miku, who actively avoided her gaze. “Why… what sort of discussion preceded this?”

“Answer the question.”

Rin touched her hair, mulling over her answer. “Like, I would say a nine,” she said.

“See? I told you,” Miku piped up.

“What is the context for this?” Rin asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kaito said. “We’re done now. Thank you for answering the question.”

When Rin wasn’t looking, Kaito shot Len a very apologetic look. Len just gave him a very sad shrug.

.

Miku:

You know, she’s not going to budge on the brother thing.

  Kaito:

it’s just so cruel

  Meiko:

Is she into incest?

  Len:

I don’t think I could handle her referring to me as a brother while we fornicated, meiko 

  Meiko:

It’s a thought.

  Miku:

Len has a valid point. And no, she isn’t.

  Kaito:

look I gotta say I’m not with you, Meiko

  Meiko:

I’m just trying to help, okay? Len isn’t even being friendzoned. He’s being brotherzoned.

  Kaito:

maybe you should just tell her you don’t see her as a sister, Len

  Len:

she’ll assume I’m ending our friendship if I do that

 Kaito: 

so then yoU TELL HER YOU WANT TO KISS HER

  Miku:

Ok. All of you are useless. I’ll try talking to Rin.

  Len:

I am concerned but I have faith you won’t turn this into a dumpster fire

  Miku:

I’m honoured you trust me so much, but I can’t ensure my contribution to this dilemma will promise any sort of positive outcome.

  Kaito:

Miku is scary

  Len:

that is… relieving to hear. somewhat. thank you

.

Rin walked into class the following day with a worried expression on her face. She parked herself next to Len’s desk, and waited for him to rise from his daily 10-minute-morning-nap.

He squinted at her a moment before rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn. “Morning. Can I help you, Rin?”

She frowned and pulled up a chair to his desk, leaning in close as if about to engage in some secret conversation. “Good morning. I just wanted to ask you something.”

There was that split moment of panic where Len thought Miku had dropped the bomb and told her everything, but made better judgment of the situation: she wouldn’t be so calm if such a thing happened. 

He quirked an eyebrow. “What’s up?”

“Miku told me not to call you, like, my brother or whatever,” Rin said, scowling at her words. She was sort of angry; he could tell by the way she was twisting a strand of hair, almost yanking it out of her scalp. Ouch. “She said it was weird and sort of like… offensive, apparently? And like you probably don’t really like it?”

Len cleared his throat. Well, Miku was right, but he didn’t know whether he wanted to admit the truth. “Uh…” he said, glancing around the room for help. No Miku, Kaito nor Meiko were in sight. Hmm. “It’s not that I don’t like it… it’s just that… it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.”

A lot. A lot uncomfortable.

Rin’s mouth twitched. “Why?”

“Because I’m not your brother,” he said.

“Well,” she said, twisting and twisting and twisting her hair. “It’s just that… we’re really close and we’ve practically grown up together. So I just see you as a brother figure. Is that bad?”

Len swallowed. “Uh, not exactly, but um, I…” he trailed off, averting his gaze to the floor. He was floundering around, trying to think of saying anything but the fact that he was a big fluffy pile of goop for her. It was proving very difficult with his two brain cells. “I just… I don’t see you as a sister. I see you as my friend. A very, very good friend. A super close friend.”

Rin stared at him a moment, before squeaking, “Alright.”

He immediately had a rush of guilt. It was clearly not alright. He reached out to pull her hand from her hair before she twisted herself bald, and she gave him this look of surprise, like he wasn’t allowed to touch her. 

“Um,” he said. “I mean, I’m not… mad at you for seeing me as a brother. You can… keep seeing that if you really want to. I, uh, can’t stop you, I guess.”

Rin’s eyelids fluttered as she looked away. “Right. Yeah. It’s just awkward because it’s not like, mutual, or whatever.”

Now you know how I feel.

Len scratched at his head, groaning inwardly. He’d walked himself into a corner. His discomfort with making Rin feel bad made everything backfire miserably, and now he wanted to kick himself. 

“I mean, I consider you one of my closest friends, and I would tell you anything. Just because I don’t see you as a, uh, relative, it doesn’t mean you’re any less significant and important to me than I am to you.”

She sighed. “I guess you have a point. I’m just being stupid.”

He shook his head. “You’re not.”

Rin shrugged her shoulders and looked like she wanted to disagree, but said no more. A few seconds passed in silence, before she stood from her chair and started to drag it back to its home.

At that moment, Len acted on impulse and stupidity. His hand reached out to hers and grabbed it, prompting her to turn back to look at him with raised eyebrows.

“Um,” he spluttered. “I like you.”

Rin blinked. “What?”

“I like you,” he repeated. “As a friend, I mean.” That last part was not supposed to be said.

She gave him a weird expression. “Uh, thanks? I like you too, Len.”

Not trusting his mouth to say anything useful, Len just smiled and nodded. Inside, he wanted to die.

Once Rin walked off, he put his head in his hands and let out the world’s biggest sigh.

.

“So you told her you like her as a friend, huh,” Miku said, appearing from some crack in the hallway on the way to fifth period.

Len squawked, before the reminder of that morning’s shenanigans hit him like a blow to the mouth. “It—I—uhhhh—”

Miku just snickered at him, and he gave a sullen look. She let it drop, clearing her throat. “Sorry. I just had to keep that in when Rin told me. She was so, so innocently confused.”

“I’m honestly suffering,” Len said.

“We know.” She shot him a sympathetic expression. 

He hugged his textbooks close to his chest and burrowed his chin into them, looking like a lovelorn 12-year-old. “So. What do we do next?”

Miku winced. “I don’t know,” she said. “At this stage, I think she’s becoming… a little suspicious. Everyone’s been acting kind of weird. So have you. I mean, I like you as a friend isn’t something you just blurt out like a confession.”

Len’s cheeks burned. “Yeah, well, I’m a fool, but even I know that.”

She reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder with a serious look. They had stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Maybe you’re just going to have to confess to her.”

He almost cried. “Oh no. Not you too.”

“I’m sorry, Len,” Miku said. “But I think, if you want this to get anywhere, you’re going to have to just… go all in.”

Len groaned up to the ceiling, shook off her hand and turned away to continue on down the hallway. “I’m giving up already,” he said over his shoulder at her, before walking off to class.

She didn’t bother pursuing.

.

Rin:

len what answer did you get for q. 76 on today’s math homework

  Len:

42

  Rin:

kool. thanx.

  Len:

np

also rin

I have a question

  Rin:

what’s up bro

  Len:

actually nvm I forgot

I’ll ask you tomorrow

  Rin:

??

ok

.

Len almost flushed his phone down the toilet. “What’s up bro,” he grumbled into his hands. “Why did she—ugh.”

He rolled over in his bed and switched off his lamp.

.

Rin knocked on his desk, shaking him from his nap. He lifted his head, and almost put it back down again when he saw her hand planted on the top of his desk.

“Good morning sunshine,” she said. She was snickering about something. Her hand gestured to the side of her face. “You’ve got a bit of, uh… crusty saliva on your cheek.”

Len frowned, reaching up to rub it off. “Why are you here so early?” he asked, glancing at the clock on the wall behind her. It was barely even eight. She usually breezed through the classroom doors around 8:15.

She stole the desk chair from in front of him, sitting on it backwards to face him. “You left me hanging last night. I was dying to know what question you wanted to ask.” When he gave her a blank look, she rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you still don’t remember?”

He scratched at his chin. Of course he remembered. He never forgot in the first place. “Er, yeah, that’s right. My question.”

Rin leaned forward in the chair, cupping her face in her hands. “So… question. What was it?”

“Um.” Was he really going to do this? In the homeroom classroom at 7:54 in the morning, while a good chunk of his brain was still in standby mode? Well. Yeah. He was, apparently. He coughed into his fist and licked his lips. “Right, uh, so… I really—”

“Rin! ” The two of them jumped in their seats, startled. “Oh, you’re just the person I need right now.” The voice of a classmate interrupted before he could even get his question out. A flustered Luka Megurine came running over. “Gumi blew up the science classroom again, can you come and help us clean up?”

Even Rin looked somewhat annoyed, but plastered a complacent smile on her lips. “Um, yeah, sure.” Before she could get another word out, Luka already had her by the wrist, dragging her out of the classroom.

Rin glanced back at him apologetically and mouthed the word ‘sorry’ .

Len wanted to flip his desk. Was the universe against him doing this? Trying to protect his fragile heart? Did he have to jump through hoops to get a simple confession out?

Instead of wreaking havoc on his surroundings, he just settled for letting his head drop to the desk with a loud thud.

.

Kaito:

any luck son

  Len:

rin/len is the world’s notp

  Miku:

RIP

.

Rin didn’t seem to follow up on their morning conversation at lunch. Either she had forgotten, or she had just given up on asking about it.

That was fine.

(Was it? Was it really? )

It was yet again another Monday afternoon, so Music club began without her presence. Thus, his friends’ minds were running wild.

“Okay, so, we all get up and leave the room,” Miku was saying. “Like, Oh sorry Rin we just remembered we ALL forgot to hand in our term paper or something stupid like that. I don’t even care. But Len just stays sitting. So it’s only the two of them in the room.”

Len had his head down, massaging his temples. He didn’t even want to be there anymore.

“And then he gets down on one knee like he’s proposing,” Kaito interjected. “And he confesses.”

“I’m not getting down on one knee. That would just be stupid. She’d probably kick me in the face.”

“Isn’t that what you want, Len?”

Len shot a glare at Kaito, who was sniggering to himself in the corner. 

“Or maybe—” Miku’s face lit up, like she had a brilliant idea. “Maybe we can all get ready with our instruments, and start playing a romantic song when she walks in, and Len can serenade her.”

“Miku, you and I both know too well the fact that Rin would freak out and probably sock me if we pulled something like that,” Len said. 

Her shoulders sagged. “Yeah. You’re right.”

He sat back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair. “Besides,” he said, “do we even know if she likes someone? Is there any chance of her liking me? It’s just not worth all the trouble of us doing something big like that if she’s only going to turn me down. I’d rather just experience that in private.”

Miku, Meiko and Kaito all exchanged glances. “Well,” Miku said, twisting a ponytail in her hands. “She has admitted, like, once that she likes someone. But no one knows who, of course. That girl holds secrets like they’re her lifeline.”

“That doesn’t mean anything, though.”

“Yeah, but—” 

The argument stopped there as the classroom door opened and Rin came running in, almost crashing into Miku, who was standing in front of the doorway.

Everyone looked at her, and she stared back. Her fists curled. “Seriously guys, why do you keep giving me strange looks whenever I come in here?”

“No reason,” Miku said, albeit suspicious. She then pretended—with the worst acting ever—to be surprised. She gasped and held up her hands to her face. “Oh no! I forgot to hand in my Biology paper. I’ll see you later.”

She skated around Rin and disappeared out the door.

Len retained face-palming and looked to Meiko and Kaito expectantly, who were looking at each other, having a secret mental conversation. 

You go next. No, you go next. Whatever, I’ll go fucking next.

“Oh no,” Kaito said, standing up with the most deadpan expression ever. “I have a tummy ache.” He ran out of the room.

Rin blinked, opening her mouth to say something, but Meiko swooped in with, “Oh no, I don’t want to be here.”

She then walked out.

Only Len remained, glued to his chair, staring at the carpet as he registered what just happened.

“Uh,” Rin said, her knees walking into his line of vision. “What’s going on? Why did everyone just leave? Are you guys pulling a prank on me or something?”

Len lifted his head with a sigh. “It’s not a prank.”

She frowned, before taking a seat beside him. “ Okay, well… What’s wrong?”

He really didn’t want to do this. At all. But there he was, alone, in a room with Rin. His friends would probably never let him live it down if he walked out of the room without something to say. He didn’t have a choice to back out of this situation at this stage.

“Well,” Len said, averting his gaze to the window so he wouldn’t have to look at her face. “You like someone, right? Miku said you like someone.”

Rin blinked at him, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes dropped to her knees. “Oh. Er, yeah. I do.” A beat of silence passed, before she asked, “Does this have to do with that question you’ve been meaning to ask?”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah. I guess.”

“Ah.”

He didn’t like the hear of that. But he didn’t look at her, still. “Who is it?”

Rin was quiet, before she laughed nervously. “You… are you serious? You can’t just outright ask me a question like that, Len.”

Len finally forced himself to look at her. She was fidgeting with her hands in her lap, the tips of her ears red. “I’m serious,” he said. “And I can ask you a question like that. So—who? ”

She gaped, before her eyes narrowed. “You first.”

Len opened his mouth. “Huh. ”

Rin nudged his shoulder with her fist, her lips twisting, like she was suppressing a smile. “I’ll tell you who if you tell me who you like, first.”

“Oh.” His cheeks grew warm. She was chewing on her bottom lip, jiggling her legs in her seat. Her look was somewhat of triumph, like she knew he wouldn’t agree to it. But it didn’t matter. He had already planned to tell her, anyway.

“I like you,” he said simply.

Rin’s legs stopped jiggling. She raised an eyebrow. Lips parted, like she was about to pose a question.

He beat her to it. “I like you,” he repeated. His face was burning. On fire, actually. “Not as a friend. Or a sister. Not like that. It’s more than that.”

She just stared at him. Eventually, she just said a very tiny, “Oh.”

So that was that.

That was it. He confessed. Nothing happened.

Cool. Cool. Cool.

Len wanted to cry a little, but he forced a nonchalant expression as he asked, “So, what about you?”

Rin just sat there, frozen for a while. It was like her brain was connected to shitty internet and she was buffering. Eventually, her shoulders began to shake, and a hand went to her mouth.

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

She was… laughing.

She was… laughing?

He gawked at her, confused. Just—what? She wiped at tears in her eyes and lowered her hand, before saying, “I’m such an idiot.”

Len mumbled, “Huh.”

Rin reached up to smooth down her bangs, fixing her hair, scratching at a spot on her temple. Her lips twitched up into a smile. “I’ve been such an idiot. You—you’re dead obvious, and yet I’ve been…” She shook her head. “You’ve been trying to—everyone’s been trying to—but I’ve just been—”

She was thinking aloud, dropping the ends of her sentences and leaving him hanging, snickering and eyes flitting about the room. He didn’t know how to feel—mortified? Afraid? Concerned? Was she having a mental breakdown? Had he broken Rin?

“Um…” he tried, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Dragging you into an underwear store—no wonder you looked like you wanted the ground to swallow you up,” she continued, now directing her gaze to him. “The whole Miku thing, don’t call Len your brother, it’s kind of mean. Yeah. I get it now.”

Len was on the battlefield, and Rin was driving the sword deeper into his wound. Okay, yeah, we get it, he wanted to say. So, like, can we move on from you stomping on my heart metaphorically, or…

She took a breath, finding a sense of calm in amongst her hysteria. Her fists curled in her lap, bunching up the fabric of her skirt. His eyes went to the skin of her thighs, before they bounced back up to her face, mentally cursing now is not the time, you horny bastard.

“I’m sorry,” she said, genuine. His heart sank in his chest. Here comes the rejection. “I’ve been such a fool, Len.”

He reached up to adjust his collar, too tight around his neck as he swallowed. “Yeah, so, um, anyway, now that that’s over with—”

For the upteenth time, Rin interrupted him. This time, it wasn’t with words. She just launched herself out of her chair and planted her mouth on his.

Len yelped, shocked by the sudden movement, but melted soon thereafter as he registered her warm lips moving against his own. Her hands were on either side of him, gripping to the back of the chair. Her leg lifted as she leaned in to him, knee resting on the seat of the chair in the space between his legs.

His eyes fluttered closed, and his hand reached up to the back of her head, pushing her closer. His other hand went to her waist, pulling her forward onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, mouth parting to let her wet tongue run against his bottom lip.

He let her in, and couldn’t help a moan escape from his throat.

Rin chuckled into his mouth—he could feel her smile. A hand went to his chest, trailing down to his stomach, and kept edging further down… 

Oh boy.

Len pulled away for a breather, stopping her hand before it could wander anywhere else. They were still in the music room. Making out. He was not about to get to third base with her in a classroom.

She was red down to her neck, lips glistening wet and swollen. Her breath was hot and fanned his cheeks.

“What,” he said to her, still utterly confused about what had just happened.

Rin pressed her forehead against his. “You know, I was only kidding when I said you wouldn’t get to see it on me.”

It was like his head had been stuffed full of cotton buds. Her voice was muffled. He was dazed. “See what on you,” he mumbled, not quite catching on.

“The lingerie,” she said with a laugh. “If you’d asked, I wouldn’t have said no.”

His face was warm. His lips tingled. “Oh. Oh.”

“I thought you just weren’t interested. In me, I mean.” Her hands moved to his shoulders, her mouth getting closer to his once more. 

“What about the whole brother thing,” he blurted. She pulled away, surprised. The mood died a little. He licked his lips, craving more. “You know… uh. You made it seem like you really weren’t… into me, with that.”

Rin looked away. “Um… well. It sounds weird. Gross, actually. You know. I just… had it in my head we weren’t going to get any closer. That you just wanted to stay friends. But I… wanted to be more than friends. I guess, the brother thing was all me trying to… make us more than friends. Even if it was in the complete opposite direction I wanted to go with our relationship.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Uh huh. Yeah, that’s very weird, Rin.”

She slapped a hand against his chest, embarrassed. “Shut up. I was desperate. Really desperate. I just wanted to feel closer to you.”

Len couldn’t help but smile at her words. It was cute. Albeit strange. And gross. 

“Anyway,” Rin said. Her face was closing in again. “Since no one else is here, wanna skip club and come to mine?”

Wow. She was really. She wasn’t even holding back just a bit.

Len nodded. Of course he did. It would be crazy if he didn't. Why did she even ask. He was basically her bitch. 

She kissed him on the mouth again, and he let himself melt into her embrace.

Well, that went a whole lot better than expected.

.

fin

.

Len was sitting on her bed later that afternoon, shooting some texts off to Kaito, Miku and Meiko to let them know: mission accomplished ;). He then turned off his data, knowing too well they’d spend the rest of the evening blowing up his phone, and—well.

He had better things to attend to.

Rin padded into her room with a tray, balancing two glasses of orange juice and a bowl of assorted snacks. She kicked her door closed behind her and set them aside on her desk.

“So everyone knows about your crush, huh,” she said, leaning against the wall to yank her socks off.

Len watched shamelessly as she lifted her leg, catching a glimpse of the short-shorts she had on underneath.

God damn it, Rin.

“I was on my knees trying to figure you out,” he said. “Like, of course I confided in them—you were taking me into lingerie stores and then calling me your brother.”

Rin grinned, tossing her socks into the corner and walking over to sit next to him on the bed. “Look, I get it. I’m all over the place—I know. I’d probably do the same if I were you.”

Len rolled his eyes. “Seriously, Rin. I was adamant you had no interest in me.”

“Well, you’re wrong.” She reached up to start unbuttoning her shirt. “I’m very interested in you.”

He watched her, the skin on his face turning a dark shade of read. “What are you—what are you doing?”

“You want to see it, right?”

“Want to see what?” Your boobs?

Rin stopped to give him this look, but then continued. He caught a glimpse of a familiar material, peaking through. Oh. “The lingerie, you half-baked cookie.”

Len swallowed, trying to keep his cool. “Of course I do.”

She shouldered off her shirt. His eyes went as wide as saucers. 

[oldschoolvpq]

They're here, they're here!

I pre-ordered the new WEGO mini bag and coin pouch on March 31, missed the delivery yesterday because I was at work, but just had them redelivered. Woohoo!

In case you were wondering which designs I got, I'll show you:

(I feel like they added an "I" to that UFO logo as the common spelling through the Connection era was "TAMAGOTCH", but it looks great so I'll take it.)

A coin purse is a coin purse, so let's take a closer look at the bag.

It's nice and compact, with a small clear pocket on the front. It's fairly spacious in there with a maximum capacity of 8 classic Tamas. It will fit your wallet but not your smartphone (unless you've got one of those folding ones).

If you're wondering what fits in the front pocket...

Original: × Chibi: × Nano: ×

(※No Tamas were harmed in the making of this blog post)

Okay so it's useless as a Tama pocket. But what does fit in there?

Inexplicably, a gashapon charm. Something tells me the pocket is just supposed to be decorative.

Anyway, it's not the best bag in the world, but it's pretty cute when you pair it with the included chain.

In terms of durability I don't have particularly high hopes. WEGO is a fast fashion brand aimed mainly at teens, so the pricing and quality reflects this. (I think you can see the clear pocket is sewn on a bit crooked.) It's definitely cute though, and perfect for a quick trip to the store so long as you store your phone in your pocket.

Always happy to add Tamagotchi accessories to my wardrobe!

[midnightcaptions]

My head is full of white-noise right now and I need to sleep, so take this rough age chart and rambling I've dwelled too long on while I’m lacking the restraint to keep it to myself. It’s burning a hole through my brain.

show’s Start - End 37 - 40 Dr. D / James P. 26 - 29 Hego 25 - 28 Shego 21 - 24 Mego 12 - 15 Wegos 14 - 17 Kim / Ron 10 - 13 Dweebs / Wade

Drakken went to college with Kim’s dad presumably around 18 to early 20’s (visually they seem to be in an adolescent/mature grey area IMO), about 20 years back from the show’s start if Ron’s 80′s comment in Attack of the Killer Bebes means anything and if I’m remembering right about the show taking place in 2000. That’d land them at 40, give or take. If James is also 40, he could’ve been 22 at Kim’s conception and mid-20’s by Preschool time, which doesn’t feel far-fetched?? IDK.

Hego lands at about 14 years older than his youngest siblings by my guesstimate, which isn’t...too crazy. He could be older. I can’t see him being much older than Shego though. Hell, I can even see them being fraternal twins since twins seems to be a theme in the show. Lol

Shego is old enough to have a teaching degree, yada yada, which would’ve took the better part of her early 20’s to achieve, but frankly seems younger than Kim’s mom who’s presumably closer to Dr. D’s and Mr. P’s age. Also gotta keep her within that comfortable range to be siblings with some teens.

Mego could be older, I just had to throw him somewhere, idgaf. I can’t even remember if he’s canonically older than Shego or not, but I'm guessing not. He doesn’t seem super mature yet to me, but I don’t remember having much to go on back when I over-thought all this.

The Wegos seem to be in between Kim and Dweeb age. When Electronique asked how Team Go ever got anything done, it looks like only Hego and Mego answered, so I have my doubts Shego had much if any involvement with Team Go by the time the twins were old enough to be functioning team members. And I know this is KP but you can’t convince me a couple of 10 y/o’s or younger were allowed to go out risking their lives on a regular basis. They’re kids. Let them survive Elementary for Pete’s sake. Anyway I feel like by the time we see them, they’re about where Kim was age-wise when the show started.

Kim I believe was 14 at the start of the show? And assuming it took place over the course of 3 years since I read that somewhere, so that puts her at about 17. And if she started Preschool at 4 (so says Shego in Sitch In Time), and it took Ron “12 years” to kiss her, that’d put her at about 16ish by the Moodulator or Prom kiss, and anyway frankly Kim doesn’t interest me anymore enough to overthink her much now.

The Dweebs and Wade are listed as a baseline and for comparison as they were said to be 10 in The Twin Factor. Also I keep thinking the Wegos are preteens, but remembering the actual tweens of the show reminds me they’re older.

[myalgicencephalomyelitiscfstom]

Info about me and my ME work over the years: -- Frustratingly, my profile for the Wego Health awards is still not showing up on the page. I have been told the problem will be fixed in July 8. Anyway, here is the text of my profile.

If you want to endorse me in any or all of the 4 categories, I have been nominated for, here is the link: https://awards.wegohealth.com/nominees/230 -- I have had Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.)* since February 1989, when I was just 16. I wasn't diagnosed till autumn 1994 by which time I was severely affected. Although I am not as ill as I was for the first few months, when I was basically bedbound, only able to read & understand cartoons, I remain severely affected 24 years on, only leaving the home for important appointments or to go to our holiday home for the summer. I blame the late diagnosis, & following advice to exercise, for the severity of my illness as in the early years I was only mildly affected (able to study full-time, once I cut out most extracurricular activities).

After being diagnosed for over a year, I realised there was a good chance I was going to be stuck being quite ill & disabled for a long period, possibly indefinitely, a prospect that wasn't appealing. Moreover, I realised that there wasn't a huge effort to research the illness well; it wasn't on the radar the way many other conditions were.

I have been busy for the last 23 years working away as a (voluntary) ME activist. Much of what I concentrated on in the early years was raising awareness & understanding in Ireland with the Irish ME/CFS Association. I have done around 50 media interviews & have been featured in most of the national newspapers in Ireland. I have written dozens of press releases & have helped arrange for around 130 Irish families affected with ME to tell their story over the years in over 400 interviews. A lot more people are diagnosed here now & attitudes have improved.

When I became involved, there were only 45 people on the Irish ME/CFS Association mailing list. This made it difficult to respond to some media requests for interviewees. So one of the things I concentrated on was building up the membership. It reached over 450 one stage, though has gradually dropped back now, possibly due to the Internet.

I set up a research fund within the Association in 1996 & gradually with a lot of ground-level fundraising & small donations (I think the largest have been a few donations of €1000 each), we have now raised over €300,000 for much needed research.

We have done mail-outs of information bundles to various information sources incl. to all Irish GPs twice & we are more than 50% through the third one. I was involved in organising our first medical education event for GPs this year.

When I became involved the Association’s newsletter was one or two pages long. As the editor over 22 years, I’ve gradually built it up to a more substantial newsletter which has reached on occasion 80 pages long. I also edit an e-mail bulletin, usually with 10 items that goes out to members around once a week.

I have helped arrange dozens of Irish ME/CFS Association meetings with Irish & international medical & scientific speakers along with dozens of other meetings such as screenings of documentaries on the illness.

I’ve coordinated the Association’s helpline volunteer team for 20 years, dealing with many of the more challenging calls myself. I’ve also dealt with a lot of other enquiries to the Association.

In the mid-2000s, my concentration levels improved & allowed me to read a lot of research papers in the field. I realised a lot of rubbish was going unchallenged & the pool of people who were trying to respond ever was small, so have spent quite a bit of time responding to papers: I've authored or coauthored 7 papers & 17 letters published in various peer-reviewed journals along with over 100 e-letters. Probably my proudest achievement was the publication of my paper, "Reporting of Harms Associated with Graded Exercise Therapy (GET) & Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". I had previously been quite academically able but things are more difficult now with M.E. so it took a lot of work & sacrifice over more around 15 months. I was also involved with the critique of the £5 million PACE Trial, which was supposed to be the “definitive” of GET & CBT for CFS. In various publications, I or teams I was involved with highlighted flaws in what had been published and eventually reanalysed the data to show that the results were very unimpressive, particularly when objective comes were looked at.

I still live at home with my parents who take care of most of the practical stuff, which frees me up to use the energy I have on ME matters. I follow ME news closely & try to help the ME cause, in Ireland and internationally, as best I can. Twitter, Facebook & other platforms allow me to share what I find to a wider audience. I believe there is power in numbers and together we can make a difference; conversely, I feel that if I & others don't try, we could be ignored and fobbed off indefinitely with rehabilitative therapies like GET & CBT based on scheduling increased activity.

*Perhaps better known in some countries as "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" (CFS), although some CFS definitions are overly broad -- Hopefully people won't be too unkind if they have some problems with what it includes. I could only fit in info on some of the work I've been involved with in the Irish ME/CFS Association.