#being myself and showing myself as who i am gets me mostly ignored save by like what

[jojo-the-puppy]

im gonna say something to vent and if literally anyone tries to talk to me about it, no matter who you are, i will fucking block you, because i refuse to go into detail

but my god, nothing has made me wanna transition and be myself less than this fucking site

[mediocre-eternity]

Ah, friends. Yet again it is the season where I get a good eight hours to do whatever I need to do. The time of year where, despite the pleasant warmth, my mortal connections suffer, my social gathering spots close before the sun sets and there are no more spur of the moment Target and Ikea trips. The time of year where kindred are mostly left up to our own creative devices… we mostly end up on balconies and visiting each other.

I was invited to a party.

Some weeks ago I was intensely drawn to meet someone in the Bowery. Initially I was annoyed, because I didn’t feel like driving nor taking the subway and these types of the things are not something I’d typically ignore. The house was quiet, though. Benji was somewhere in the city on his own; Daniel was with Jesse. I decided to jump the rooftops.

The Edge was where I was being called to, which is a place I sometimes frequent alone and I wondered if it was coincidence that this was the location they asked to meet.

When I arrived, a young man was waiting in my favorite spot. He was leaning his body weight against the glass, forehead pressed to look as fully out onto the city below as he could, a position I often found myself in. The internal spark that I had finally reached him sparked and he turned to smile brightly at me. He was young, possibly as young as my mortal age and he didn’t stand much taller. His hair was a deep brown and fell to his chin, his face round and cheery, his fangs awkwardly big for his mouth which was already impossibly crowded by awful teeth.

“Armand!” He beamed when I said nothing. He appeared to me as if we were long standing friends. Immediately he was digging into his lovely wool tailored jacket. I still hadn’t spoke. “Right? Armand? Right? This is for you!” With that a card was presented to me.

“You called out for me for nights just for a greeting?” I asked, finally taking the little paper envelope from him. The package was navy and in gold ink my name was nicely written. The young man was staring.

“Oh, no, no!” His voice was just as bright as his demeanor; very friendly and British. “That was only part of it. My name’s Marshall. Marigold told me I better find you… And she wanted you to have that.” He nodded at the envelope I had already opened. Armand & Daniel, Jessica Reeves and Benjamin Mahmoud…

Marigold, you don’t have to be so formal. I thought to myself.

“I want to live here for a while, in New York.” Marshall continued. “Marigold was the first vampire I met here. She said ‘well then you better find Armand.’ I figured you were the oldest vampire in the city or something.”

I saved reading the rest of the letter until I saw Daniel again. It was one of Marigold’s yearly solstice gathering invitations. Usually they show up in the mail around this time. Maybe she tasked Marshall… a hazing perhaps? Honestly, if he had come to me first I might have done something similar… but Marigold wasn’t the type. She had shoved the invitations into his hand as he stood in her foyer, probably relieved that she didn’t have to do it herself.

“There is a very small group of us elders in New York. You’re delivering the invites?” Marshall nodded, as I had expected. “There are about five of us here, but I am the oldest out of that group. The city, however, belongs to one much more ancient.” I gave him her name and Marshall repeated this name, in shock that he didn’t see her invite in the pile of envelopes he was now frantically shuffling through. I laughed. “No she won’t be in there. She is rarely in the city. She trusts my decisions, though. And truly, I would not speak for the kindred who have always lived here.”

The young one was again silent and still.

“…and who would that be?” He piped, feeling suddenly like his Big Apple dreams might be melting under his feet. “This is so complicated.”

“Maybe twenty more vampires.” I grinned wide which made him swallow. This was fun, I liked Marshall.

“Oh.”

I stepped closer to him. Marshall was young, true, but I had taken from him that he was a Victorian. Who was still telling these fledglings that rules ended in annihilation? I figured we all dropped that after Akasha… I mean, there was a vote on it anyway.

Akasha. He had never laid eyes on her, but the fear with that name permeated a portion of his mind. And the annihilation part was mostly my fault, but he didn’t know that.

Taking what I wanted from his brain, I relaxed. “Marshall, you may live where-ever you want. Don’t encroach on anyone’s territory or human stock and you’ll be welcome. Have you met John? Roxanna?” The names of my closest constituents in the city outside of my own coven other than Marigold.

“Oh Roxanna found me and John hasn’t answered my calling.” I couldn’t help but laugh. This is exactly how I met those two. I explained how John wouldn’t and where to find him. Just a little quip back for all of the trouble John causes me.

(This particular vampire likes to not be bothered until he decides to find others in his own time. Serves him right for always calling me “Kid.”)

…

(I like John. I am not upset.)

Marshall accompanied me to a higher vantage point where I could point out where to find suitable havens, reminding him that this wasn’t Great Britain and, comparatively, we live much more free lives here, a fact that Marshall was excited about. His maker practically forced him to New York for this reason.

I asked how his maker protected him from Akasha. Marshall did not like how bluntly I had asked.

“Buried me six feet under. Maybe more. He dug and dug and threw me in and dug me back up in a month. I was lucky.” Marshall looked down from the great height and I noticed his pierced ears glimmering as his hair whipped in the air. Unusual. He looked sincerely at me. “Was it really all Lestat’s fault?”

I spent the rest of my time introducing him to the other four elders before returning to Daniel.

[jasper-tarot-reader]

your preferred name, nickname, or initials: GreenIvyDusk (my blog name)

your pronouns: she/her

your question: I wanna ask the spirits for some help in my retrospectitve work (some know this as shadow work but it is a more broader term for self-reflection) regarding my pagan/witchy path. Just a general advice card is what I need recently.

background information around your question: I wanna do deity work/getting into pagan faiths but I am not really sure where to start, where to go, as I do not accept any level of racism and genderphobia in my craft/fait being LGBTQAI+ myself too. I believe people are equal, and should be such as. How can I start as a yte person so I will not tap into cultural approrpiation? It gives me a lot of anxiety on how to trust resources and find trustworthy sources for learning... I wanna avoid creepy red flags in summary. <3

Hello GreenIvyDusk! As a fellow queer white person who's unfortunately stumbled ass-first into appropriation without realizing it, I understand the stress of trying to get started while not being a super huge dick. Luckily, before we even get started with the reading, I have a few recommendations for you:

on @jasper-pagan-witch, I have a beginner tag, an appropriation tag, and a discernment tag that you can dig through at your leisure

another good resource is @breelandwalker's Advice For Beginner Witches along with her book Grovedaughter Witchery (to date, that is still one of my favorite witchcraft books ever) - and if you're podcast-inclined, this directory of her podcast episodes for beginner witches may also be helpful

if you want to avoid New Age bullshit specifically, check out @creature-wizard's pinned post and resources page

While these resources are mostly witchy instead of religious, there are some bits that apply to deity work and worship, and they build a good base for you that you can then apply to other things.

The key, I have found, is understanding that you will mess up. That's guaranteed. The key is to react well when you realize you messed up. There are always going to be people who hate you for one reason or another, but as long as you make amends (when necessary) and drop the appropriative stuff instead of doubling down on it, most people will give you a break. Don't beat yourself up, simply do better.

(As for avoiding things that have appropriative elements...gods, that is so fucking difficult, as even the best resources have parts that make my eye twitch. Sometimes you just have to accept that you have wasted money and time on something that simply can't be stripped of the parts that make you go yikes, but other times, you can simply ignore the appropriative or suspicious elements.)

(Please note: all of the above was written before the cards were drawn.)

Now, onto the reading! Since you didn't specify the particular spirits you wanted me to ask, I have selected the In-Between Tarot by Janine Worthington and Franco Rivolli, which belongs to Cernunnos. My patron Athena has also now called dibs on the Dungeons and Dragons Tarot by Adam Lee and Fred Gissubel, so we'll be using that too. Their cards for you are the 10-Ace of Swords and the 3 of Intelligence.

Let's start with Cernunnos's advice. This card shows the wife of a now-dead Roman captain being given the news that he was killed in battle. She is now released from the stress of having to wait for news about his fate, despite the fact that his death is hard and her heart is broken. This is the end of the road, where something is over after a long period of stress and pain, but the beginning of something new. The choice is to stand still or move on - onto the next road, into the ditch and underbrush, into the woods or desert or tundra or city, wherever you choose to go next.

Athena's message is similarly Air-aligned. This card, depicting a weeping dryad who is seeking aid from a party of adventurers to save her forest after it was destroyed by orcs, is about finding a way to heal and learn from anxiety and emotional pain. As understandable as your worries are, there is no need to stress yourself to death over them. In time, you will learn ways to figure these things out yourself and how to fix what's wrong. But in the meantime, simply find what works for you to help you. Be respectful, continue learning, and heal your heart.

...Huh, I didn't expect two broken heart references here. Anyway, regardless of where your path - magical, religious, or a blend of both - carves itself, never lose the fact that you are always learning.

I wish you the best going forward! If you feel so inclined, please feel free to send feedback in my ask box, leave feedback in a reblog of this reading, and/or reblog my reading guidelines!

~Jasper

[thedomesticanthropologist]

Here I am back with some hot takes about what I, personally, would do in the BG3 universe were I yeeted into it and forced to be... the Main Character

First of all, I love the idea of having played the game before getting sucked into the world because it adds a layer of horror that I don't think would even benefit you one bit. Knowing exactly what's going to go down would be DISABLINGLY horrific.

But OK. OK, so let's say I'm there. And I get granted like, main character abilities. Sorcerer makes the most sense cause like, you just HAVE powers. Gucci. We good.

I would gay panic the minute I met Shadowheart. Sorry. End of world what? Half elf with twinkling eyes and a swaying braid just told me to be her leader. Im- hghhh

Laezel I honestly think I could hold my own against. When it comes to fight or flight I am a flightless bird and her particular brand of bullying in the first act I know I could assert myself.

Gale... besties. I married my partner partially because I love info dump. As a kid I watched a movie about robots who rich people had in their homes like a Google or a Alexa but human shaped and you could ask them questions all day and I was like, I want one. Gales that guy. I wanna listen all day. But if he fell in love with me I'd be so mad 😠 no, wizard. Sit down and tell me fun facts. No thirsting.

Because I'm traumatized with a deep desire to feel safe I think I'd gravitate to Wyll a lot for organizing the camp, spending time together, easing fears, etc. He's also really safe to physically be around so I can see myself being quick to instigate hugs and stuff. No getting a crush on me tho, Wyll, no. Down boy.

Karlach probably would intimidate me more than Laezel. Lemme just say, not because she's bad, but because she's a firecracker. Her explosive rage in her personal quest would probably have me hanging back but then when we get back to camp we'd be chill pretty quick

I'd be all over Halsin because he'd make me feel safe, also. I have this thing about safety. He's also so concerned with the shadow curse I wouldn't worry about his crush at all but would very much enjoy his warm presence by the fireside

At the Goblin Party, I guarantee I'd not sleep with Astarion, mostly because HOW he comes on to you would be a big nope for me. Gale with his "pay attention to only me tonight or else I'm not gonna show u a magic trick would have me being like k bye, I'd comfort Wyll and give him space, I'd walk past Karlach and wish her well partying, I'd ignore Laezel and if she told me I smell good sweaty I'd go bathe in the lake.

In fact, sorry, but I am NOT engaging in a big party until after I get a bath at the druid camp. Maybe I saved the tieflings just to be able to make them make me a hot bath. I'm just saying.

I'm walking into that party CLEAN and I'll sit with Shadowheart at the waterfall and I wouldn't be allowed to drink because I'm sober 😭 but I think my entire horny ass party would be very disappointed

Then I'd go and dance like an absolute hoe on a rock to let off steam in the middle of camp, still sober, and pass out by the fire.

[bi-bard]

Against the Current Songs That Would Describe a Relationship with Jason Todd - Jason Todd Imagine [Titans]

Title: Against the Current Songs That Would Describe a Relationship with Jason Todd

Pairing: Jason Todd X Reader

Word Count: 1,952 words

Warning(s): yelling, mention of violence/attack

Author's Note: I love that I am using this little run of Jason Todd parts to this series as an excuse to talk about music that I don't get to talk about much. Like Against the Current, who I have been listening to for a very, very long time. Like close to a decade, if not longer.

**Not intentionally written in chronological order**

-------------------------

Blood Like Gasoline

Baby those lips like fire My blood like gasoline Sparked the fire That burned down everything

It was a bad decision.

I knew that.

However, considering that Hank had a bomb in his chest and the rest of the team was focused on completely the wrong thing, I thought it was the only choice I had.

After some careful sentences, I managed to get Hank to tell me exactly where he had met with Jason. Without a word to anyone else, I left.

My goal was to talk to him. To get through to him and get him to stop this. The team didn't need another loss right now. They needed all the help that they could get.

I walked most of the way into the room, looking all around for any sign that someone was staying there.

"I knew you'd show up."

I immediately turned around, hand going for my weapon.

"What? Are you gonna shoot me?"

I dropped my hand as soon as I saw it was Jason behind me.

"You showed up earlier than I expected," he continued. "Thought Hank would see through your attempts to find me."

Was I really that predictable or did Jason just know me?

"What happened, Jason," I asked.

"Do you mean how did I come back to life or why I'm doing this?"

"I'll take either."

"They hated me," he explained. "That whole team did. In the end, especially."

"Gar didn't... Dick didn't," I took a step forward. "I didn't."

"You never did, huh?" he chuckled. "Always wanted to save me. From Deathstroke, from the team, from myself..."

"How do I stop the bomb, Jason?"

He ignored my question, instead deciding to walk closer to me.

I finally had to tear my eyes away from him. There was something in his eyes that was just too intense for me to continue looking at. I couldn't do it.

I heard Jason chuckle. "Aw, do I still make you nervous?"

He stepped forward, smirking at me. I felt my eyes jumping between his lips and his eyes. I thought I had better self-control than this, but this was Jason. He had a different effect on me than most other people. Even now.

I took a deep breath. "Jason, how do I save Hank?"

"Oh my God!" he rolled his eyes before stepping away from me. "Why do you care about helping him anyways? He treated you like shit!"

I shook my head. "That doesn't mean that I'm gonna let him die."

"Oh, please! You don't care about him!"

"I care about Dawn!"

"Who was more than happy to turn her back on you because Hank told her to?"

"That's not what happened."

"Isn't it?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head, letting my head fall so I was facing the ground. I never liked fighting with Jason. I thought that I would be more willing to now that Hank was in trouble, but Jason was right. Hank treated me like shit. And Dawn did nothing to stop him. God, I hated when Jason was right.

"(Y/n)."

He had walked back over to me at some point. I looked back at his face. I saw his eyes scan every part of my face. It was like he was trying to commit every detail to memory.

Slowly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I think some part of him expected me to pull away. But I couldn't bring myself to do that.

Even after everything had happened, the kisses still felt the same as they had before. Annoyingly right.

I felt a fire burning in my chest. Mostly love but there was this small spark of anger. A spark that being with Jason only encouraged.

He pulled away first. "Stay. With me."

I paused. A million thoughts hit me all at once just because of three words.

"Come on," he pushed. "None of them treat you the way that you should be. None of them value you. Please."

After a few more seconds of hesitation, I leaned forward and kissed him again. I couldn't leave him. Not when I just got him back.

All I wanted now was to do anything I could in the hopes of keeping him.

No matter what that may have meant.

I Like the Way

It's not a lot but it's sweet when it's simple Don't overthink it, just dive in and let go Don't complicate, I like you babe

When Jason and I first became friends, I was in a situation that was eerily similar to his.

Spent a long time with a bad family, fell into what was mostly a bad crowd, and then was taken in by a rich family. The big difference was that I had spent much longer in that rich world than he had.

We had met at some fancy event that I don't remember the purpose of. I didn't really care to find out anymore.

We were fast friends. Telling old stories and comparing our new lives to each other. It was nice.

Being friends with Jason led to a lot of trouble.

When we started dating, there was even more.

For example, him sneaking in through my window.

I spotted the light from the motorcycle through my window. I jumped up and made it over to look out at him. I couldn't see him until he had shut off the bike and made it closer to the house. He waved at me.

I opened the window. I would've yelled down at him, but I knew that would've alerted someone. He climbed up a part of the building to get to my window.

"What the hell are you doing?" I whispered as he pulled himself in through the window, closing it quietly behind him.

"Why are you whispering?" he replied. "Your parents' room is on the opposite side of the house."

"And yet they seem to hear every single thing I say," I shrugged. "You can't be in here."

He chuckled as I pushed him toward the window again. "Then, come with me."

"I can't."

He turned around to face me. He was much closer than I expected him to be. I froze where I was.

He seemed amused about me freezing when he spoke up, "Why? Do I make you nervous?"

He stepped even closer to me. He had this smirk pulling at his lips as he raised an eyebrow at me. I felt ridiculous for how nervous I got around him sometimes. We were already dating. I had no reason to be shy around him anymore. But I couldn't help it. I just rolled my eyes and shook my head, looking away from him for a moment.

"Come on," he pushed. "We both know you have far more fun with me."

He was right. Spending time with him was usually far better than whatever else I had planned.

"Just not tonight, okay?" I replied. "I'm pretty sure they're still pissed about our last night out."

"Fine, fine," he held his hands up. "You owe me."

"Owe you?"

"Yup," he nodded. "You think sneaking out of Wayne Manor is easy."

"Alright, alright," I said. "What do I owe you?"

"A kiss."

I scoffed. "That was... disgustingly cheesy."

"Shut up."

I chuckled before leaning forward to kiss him gently. "Good enough?"

He sighed dramatically. "For now."

Jason finally relented and went to climb back out the window again. I stepped back as he did, looking over at the door to make sure it wasn't open at all.

"Hey," Jason was basically hanging out the window when he spoke up again. I looked at him. "Love you."

I felt my face warm up as I smiled. "Love you too."

Maybe being with Jason brought quite a bit of trouble, but he definitely made it worth it.

weapon

I seem fine But I can't take the highs and the lows All I am is a weapon I shoot 'em down 'til I end up alone

If I hadn't lost my notebook, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have been digging around in Jason's stuff and I wouldn't have found something that I didn't want to see.

Jason had first talked me into following him to San Francisco. Following him back to Gotham after everything went to shit felt natural. I stayed with him in the manor because of a strong blowout fight before I left the first time.

I don't remember how I found it. I feel like I just kind of nudged and stumbled onto it. What I could remember was looking for my notebook one minute and the next, I was holding some oxygen mask with a vial of some green or yellow liquid in it.

I sat and stared at it for a moment. I hadn't heard anything about... whatever that thing was. I turned it over in my hands, looking for any identifying markers.

"What are you doing?"

I froze for a moment when I heard Jason's voice. I took a deep breath. "I was looking for my notebook. Thought I may have thrown it over here."

"That fancy one that Bruce got you?"

"Yeah, that one," I nodded as I stood. "Jason?"

"Yeah?"

I turned around and held up the contraption I had found. "What is this?"

I saw his entire face shift as he saw what was in my hand. It was enough for me to assume it was his.

"What is it, Jason?"

"It's nothing," he replied.

"Jason-"

"Give it back."

"Not until you tell me what it is."

"It... It doesn't matter," he shrugged. "It's none of your business."

"We are a little past that, don't you think?"

"It's nothing!" he insisted. "It's just to help me get back to normal."

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"No more nightmares or fear. I can be Robin again."

"Does Bruce know about this?"

"Why should he?"

"Oh my god," I mumbled.

"I need to be Robin, you know that! I... I can't just be forced to the sidelines! I need to be able to fight and work without all of this shit!"

"I don't give a shit about Robin!"

The tension in the room after that was thick enough to be cut with a knife. I closed my eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking at him again.

"I... I care about you, Jason. Not about Robin. You are more than Robin. And you shouldn't need to do... whatever the fuck this is just so Bruce will care about you! If that's the case, then I'm sorry, but he's a piece of shit!"

It was a strong accusation, but one that I had grown more confident in over the course of the last several weeks.

Jason closed his eyes and looked away from me.

I walked over to him, tossing the contraption on the bed as I did. I reached up and cupped the sides of his face. He looked at me again.

"I can't force you to do anything," I said. "I know that. I am just asking you to not do something that'll get you hurt. I want you to be happy, and if being Robin makes you happy, fine. But I don't want you to think that being Robin is the only thing giving you value."

His hands reached up and touched mine, trying to hold them in place. I grinned at him. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to mine.

"I love you," I mumbled. "I... I need you to know that."

"I love you too," he muttered.

I smiled a little bit wider. That was enough for me for the time being.

-------------------------

Navigation Guide

What I Write For

Some Original Characters

[krazyforkicks]

Continued from here

CW: Inhuman character, shape-shifting, mentions of eating people, accusations of slavery, exhaustion

((Additionally, the entity shape-shifts into a more human looking form, but... it's just... not quite right.))

Soldier felt rested now. Or... at least more rested than they had been. They sat up cautiously and swung their legs out of the bed noiselessly.

They stood, crossed the room, and tried the door. It was unlocked and opened with complete silence. They could have been free— they could have run, but... the entity was watching the door. As it opened, they stood.

Just as before, Soldier froze. As the entity approached, however, they managed a weak, "... What do you want..??"

The entity seemed to shrink a bit as they moved closer, their form changing rapidly as they appeared more and more human-like. By the time the entity stood in front of Soldier, they appeared as a tall, muscular human, with blackened sclera, too sharp teeth, and long sharp nails. "I want to apologize."

"A... apologize..?" It took all of Soldier's strength to keep their knees from buckling.

The entity nodded. "Yes. When you were wounded on the battlefield, I made the decision to save your life. Afterwards, I wrongly assumed that your prejudice against me would decrease. When it didn't, I allowed myself to become angry and reacted poorly to your questions. I want to apologize for that. On the battlefield, you asked me what I planned to do with you. I can assure you that my only intention is to ensure you are able to leave here safely."

... That didn't make sense though. "... What? A-are you trying to... to lull me into a false sense of security so you can eat me when I fall asleep? I-it won't work! I'm not scared of you! I'll escape! I'll—"

"Good heavens... I'm not going to eat you. Who put that idea in your head?" The entity ran a hand through their long black hair. "I happen to be pescitarian, so unless you're a plant or a fish, you have no reason to worry about being eaten. What on earth are your people saying about me??"

Soldier took a slow, deep breath. "I... if you really plan to let me go safe, then get out of my way and let me leave now."

The entity's stance slackened a bit. "I can't do that yet."

"Why not?" Soldier took a small step back. "Look at me. I'm fine. If you plan to let me go, why not now?"

"Because you’re about to collapse from the simple strain of standing for a few moments."

"No I'm not." But Soldier's legs were starting to feel a bit wobbly.

"... Perhaps you can enlighten me. Exactly what have I done to your people to convince them I am a monster? Do you know?"

"Y-you... you've enslaved the people of this region." Soldier managed to say. Really they were mostly focused on remaining upright at this point. Fuck... they were going to fall if they didn't sit down soon. They managed one step and had to stop. If they moved again, they were going to end up on the ground.

The entity looped an arm of inhuman strength under Soldier's arm and helped them to the bed. "My people are not enslaved. They are happy."

Soldier gave the entity a hesitantly skeptical look. "What makes you say that?"

"... I will show you when you are strong enough to go on a walk within my lands. For now, though, I believe you may need to rest again. Your injuries were extensive and it took most of the energy you possess to heal you. It will take a while to regain that strength."

"How would you know my strength?" Soldier snapped, yanking their arm away from the entity"

"I can see your muscles shivering from the effort it took to simply walk to the door. Do yourself a favor and rest. Your door can lock from the inside if that makes you more comfortable."

"Whatever... it's not like a single lock could keep you out..." Soldier grumbled and turned away, rolling over in bed so his back was to the entity.

"Would you like something to eat?"

Soldier glared at the wall, suddenly becoming aware of the pangs of hunger they had been ignoring before. They chose not to respond, and eventually the entity left them alone.

[were-my-demons-hide]

I'm giving the may prompt list by @creativepromptsforwriting a try! :) tysm I'm in love with these cute prompt ideas!

My setting for all of these will be The Walking Dead cause I'm an obsessed wreck :D Pairing: Magna x Yumiko :)

Feel free to let me know what you think about these two beans! Also I'm german and my writing might be slightly off sometimes. I just started exploring writing english prompts and I definitely do feel insecure about it. Please be kind <3

1. Strawberries

“Are you serious?!” Magna said and eyed Yumiko down. She shook her head, uncomprehendingly. “You can't be serious, Miko.”

“It's not my fault, Magna.”

Magna's eyes were flickering between the woman and the strawberries on the table. The anger did not only show in her tone but also the corners of her eyes and mouth. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest. One hand kept drumming onto her own upper arm.

It was impossible to miss how annoyed Magna was. And she had all right to be.

Yumiko didn't want to argue. Not during the short amount of time they had. It was only a handful of days a month that Magna visited her in her apartment.

Mostly because they had this weird thing going on.

The shower arrangement.

Because Yumiko could not stand the fact that Magna had to shower with ice-cold water at the workers' settlements on most days.

They had spoken briefly after the ball. Just a little small talk to catch up. They hadn’t had the chance to see each other before and Yumiko still cared so much about Magna.

Well, if Yumiko was being honest with herself, there would have been chances.

Definitely.

But she never overcame her fear and anger, though.

Until suddenly Magna had served her that fancy wine. Yumiko had found her incredibly stunning. After that, both had been enormously tipsy around each other.

Nevertheless, arguments weren’t rare occasions when they met. They still hadn’t had the time to figure things out.

Yumiko just wanted to be with Magna and feel her with every fiber of her body again.

Magna slipped away though.

“But you do know that Daryl and all the other parents, caregivers, whatever you want to call them… they need to wait at least an hour in the food line to get their kids some kind of shitty mashed potatoes and beans. And they are giving you damn strawberries?! Not fair.”

“I know you are upset. I know you don't like this way of life. And neither do I.”

“Yeah, sure.” Magna scuffed impatiently.

Yumiko went on and ignored Magna's snappy comment.

“I didn't ask for this. It just happened to me. I’m in love with the fact that we are safe from the sickos here. But I hate you guys being treated badly. I am trying to make things better, trust me.”

Yumiko dared to take a step toward Magna. And the other woman froze.

“In fact, you love how things are done here. I mean… the CommonWealth got you your old life back. You do love that, Miko.” Magna made eye contact. An intense sting hit Yumiko right in the guts. She couldn’t disagree. Because it was the achy truth.

“And that's kind of the whole damn point.” Magna continued with a sigh. ”People being at the top also means people being at the bottom. And they suffer. Daily, Miko.”

“I know how this works. And I am hating it.” Miko pleaded again.

She couldn’t stand how Magna somehow thought she liked what Pamela did to the lower class. Yumiko swallowed the paragraph forming in her head, all about how she studied society models and how she went on anti-capitalist student protests. She couldn’t deny the thoughts of defense but wanted to calm the waves.

“Look. I didn't touch the strawberries. I saved them for you.” Yumiko told her in honesty, cracking a weak smile.

Something in Magna’s eyes twitched.

“Who says I would want you to?” Magna pointed a nasty look toward the berry bowl.

“Back then in prison? I visited you on this very hot summer day. And you told me you loved berries. And that there never were berries in prison. I want to make things easier for you, Magna. I can't get myself into the lower class. Not as Milton’s lawyer. I can't switch. But I can fight from my point of being. I can still fight for you.”

Big brown eyes seemed to absorb Yumiko while talking.

Finally, Magna lowered her arms. Her gaze softened.

“You’d still do that?” Magna asked quietly. The question sounded insanely vulnerable.

“Ride or die, remember?” Yumiko reassured. She tilted her head a little. Arms down by her sides, trying to convey openness and support. And love, of course. Always love.

Because Yumiko loved Magna.

“Ride or die.” Magna nodded and all at once her walls broke down. She wrapped her arms around Yumiko’s waist and pulled her in. The gesture was so close and sudden that Yumiko forgot to breathe for a moment. Then she inhaled Magna slowly squeezing her even tighter to feel more of her.

Yumiko felt a trace of fingertips on her back making its way up between her shoulder blades. Magna nestled her face into Miko’s neck and pressed a kiss onto the soft skin.

“I missed you.” Yumiko whispered into her ear.

“Me too.”

Yumiko was gently loosening her grip on Magna’s body only to take a strawberry and hold it in front of Magna’s mouth.

“Do you even remember how these taste?” Yumiko asked with a grin. Magna’s eyebrows rose. “I could never forget that.” They shared a sheepish look before Magna took a bite of the strawberry.

“Holy shit!” Her eyes grew wide. “Just taste it already!”

Yumiko took her advice into action immediately. Holding Magna close as she put the berry in her own mouth now. It tasted amazing.

“I get why you are in love with berries.” Miko agreed. Both of them chuckled lightly.

“What do you think about me sharing with you then?” Magna bit her bottom lip staring right into Miko’s eyes.

“I’d like that.”

[queen-erika-the-songful]

how would you rank the official disney princesses/queens? (15 of them now) is their ranking different from their movie's ranking?

Teeeechnically I think there's only 13 as Anna & Elsa have their own franchise and thus considered separate, and like a dozen others are/were considered honorary/official princesses, so I'm only gonna do the ones currently considered in the lineup and appear on the new merch together.

Princesses - This was actually REALLY hard to do because I love most of them and I think it's hard for me to truly "rank" most of these in a proper order without a LOT of overexplaining. I'll try to keep it brief:

13 - Pocahontas, because she shouldn't even exist at this point

12 - Raya, I didn't and have no desire to see her movie, but since she's not an offensive depiction of a real life person she's automatically better than Pocahontas. Otherwise she'd be 13 because it's not entirely fair for me to rank her without seeing her movie for myself.

11 - Rapunzel, due to overexposure and I actually enjoy her love interest more (Eugene)

10 - Aurora, because she unfortunately just doesn't get enough of screentime to show off her personality, even though it is still there. She's dreamy, romantic, and a friend to the forest, but that's ALL we get to know. I myself am a bit more fixated on her than some others, especially nowadays (she's my 3rd personal favorite behind Belle, and Ariel), but again she's just not that fleshed out. However I am OBSESSED with her gorgeous voice. Such a beautiful, rich operatic beauty. I'm kind of okay with her never getting a sequel (we just ignore Enchanted Tales in this house) because I can imagine other parts of her personality.

9 - Cinderella, as even though she does have a kind and strong personality and has this layer of being an abuse survivor that I like, I just don't find her as interesting in her original movie as she is in Cinderella III: A Twist in Time, which is one of my favorite sequels. I do like that her dream though involves just wanting to have one night out and the falling in love stuff was just a cute accident.

8 - Merida because yes she "is a brat" but literally just take 2 more seconds to watch her movie and you'd see WHY she's like She's a teenager, her mother is trying to mold her into a mini-Queen and doesn't really listen to her, and she's being forced into a political marriage against her will. OF COURSE she's acting out, hello?? I also like how more sporty she is compared to some of the other princesses, that's a nice change. I mean I know there's Mulan too but her sportiness was more a result of her training and not just an innate passion she had. Anyways her she also stands out to me as the only princess who refuses to get married simply because she doesn't want to in that moment. She doesn't express that it's because "marriage makes you weak/not independent anymore/i'm just not like other girls" or whatever, she's just not ready or even sure she wants to at all, which is okay! I like to think she stays a single Queen later in life.

7 - Snow White because I find her so sweet, and like Aurora, I adore her unique singing voice. I love her yearn for a love so true and how she truly believes her Prince is coming to rescue her someday. She really believes in love and hope, which I find admirable.

6 - Moana because I love her strong desire to do the right thing and how there's a twinge of selfishness to her actions, as I think it makes her more human. She's trying to save her island, yes, but she's also fulfilling her own desire to see the ocean and defy her father. But it's due to BOTH of these things that her arc unfolds and she learns her lesson while also saving the day.

5- Mulan, see Moana but add extra points mostly due to personal preference and how much I love her song.

4 - Jasmine because I love how unmoving she is in her morals, She knows what she is worth and will NOT be told what to do or who to marry, defying everyone including her own father. She is a princess who listens to her heart and refuses to give up what she believes in. I'm just a little sad that this mostly just boils down to "I am not marrying for advantage, father" throughout the movie, but still, she's great.

3 - Ariel for her undying curiosity and how she goes for what she wants. Her collecting of things and fascination with the human world hit harder to me now, but I also just think many of us can relate to that.

2 - Belle, who I feel like I've talked SO MUCH about already that IDK if there's anything else I can say. I adore her intuition, headstrongness, and kind heart. I even like that she's kind of daredevilish in a bad way, like girl he could kill you lmao just stay out that ONE place. Like good on you for not giving that literal giant brat the respect of following his rules you didn't agree to, but STILL. Anyways, I also enjoy that her love of books doesn't come from feeling like she's better than the others in her village because she reads, she just happens to love reading. Her books are a source of comfort and escapism, which I find very sympathetic.

1 - Tiana, because I feel she is the most fleshed out and I love how determined she is. She also has one of the best designs, wardrobes, and signature songs of any of the princesess.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Movies - Again this was REALLY hard but this is my best shot. It's probably much less accurate than how I feel about the princesses themselves though as I haven't seen some of these in a while

13 - Pocahontas because again Disdney should've removed her franchise entirely

12 - Raya and the Last Dragon because again I haven't seen it and can't really rank it properly but also knowing what I do about it I have no desire to see it anyway

11 - Tangled because again overexposure, plus there are been several plot points that rub me the wrong way now and the TV show did a lot of...things. (#JusticeForCaptainDad always)

10 - Brave, or as it SHOULD'VE been called The Bear and the Bow. Seriously, I can't STAND what they did to the original film after firing the first director. But that's a huge can of worms that other people have already better voiced. Just watch everything that's actually about Merida and her mom as it should've been and fast forward through the rest.

09 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, because I love Snow herself, I'm not really as interested in the Dwarves, who we spend more time with. Even as a kid I usually fast forwarded through the parts where it was just them. The songs tend to keep my attention though. My favorite is "I'm Wishing/One Song". Short but sweet.

08 - Cinderella for similar reasons to her character ranking and how I feel about Snow White. I just think I get too bored with the parts that aren't about the lead, which is made worse by again Cinderella III AND that are there are just more Cinderella adaptations I like better, like the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical (+ all of its movie verisons), Ella Enchanted (the novel), and Ever After.

07 - Aladdin - The film has pretty good characters (Jasmine is the best) but suffers from a lot of orientalism and offensive stereotypes for characters outside the leads. There are others that have gone into better detail than I can, so I'll leave that alone for now. But I think its good stuff is still very good. I like the three leads and the villain, and the songs are very fun. I have to admit though, I think I was more of a fan of the TV series and its finale (King of Thieves) as it depicts a great long-term and healthy relationship, which is more than I can say for most Disney couples.

06 - Moana for its amazing personal story. Moana goes through this amazing journey for both herself and to protect her island, cultivating in two incredible scenes ("I Am Moana" & "You Know Who You Are"). Plus oh my stars the animation is GORGEOUS. I think it's all brought down a bit by Maui though. I find him a bit more annoying than some do. Not always annoying, but IDK I just don't like him very much until we learn his backstory and it puts his "celebrity" persona into new light.

05- Mulan also for its amazing personal story. Mulan is not just a story about a girl pretending to be a soldier, but a girl who wants so desperately to prove to her family and herself that she is worth something. It barely cracks above Moana for me probably because I saw it first and for the song "Reflection". I relate so intensely to that song. ALSO BISEXUAL ICON LI SHANG.

04 - Sleeping Beauty for its all-around classic vibes. Plus it has some of the most unique art and music of any of the princess movies. The fairies are fun characters, the romance is snapshot but still charming, and the finale freaking rocks. Prince Phillip is a badass and I still stand by that.

03 - The Princess and the Frog. I think this is still one of the best-looking Disney movies out there, and it has the best princess and one of the best Princes, buuuut I'm not the biggest fan of parts of the soundtrack and I think the story needed some more work. But otherwise it's a GREAT watch. Tiana and Naveen have one of my favorite love stories, and the fact that they get married TWICE is iconic. I cannot WAIT for Tiana's series to come out.

02 - The Little Mermaid because I'm biased but I also do think it's just really good. The songs are all great, the romance is very sweet, and the impact it has had has been undeniable. "Part of Your World" still makes me sob for how much I realate to it. (Sidenote: I think I like the Broadway musical even more because while a couple of the new songs kind of bloat it ("Positoovity" & "Sweet Child", mostly) I like the additions to Eric and Ariel's romance, Triton's tear-jerking "If Only (Reprise)" and making Ariel more active in the finale)

01 - Beauty and the Beast again because I'm biased lmao. But I mean, come on, it really is as good as everyone says. Incredible musical storytelling, art, and characters - it's packed with great things. Plus it spawned one of my favorite Broadway musicals (which may be even better than the movie). There's things I'd critique of course, but I can't deny how influential and magical this film is to both myself and film in general.

Jeez this took a WHOLE Barbie movie to answer. And these are just my barebone thoughts. But this is the best I could come up with for now.

[renticat]

ROMANCE ROMANCE AND RESENTMENT

I can't sleep. There are too many things in my head right now, and plenty of rages and regrets.

How do I begin? Because I keep talking the same thing over and over again just because I have no chance in sight to feel another new feeling other than hurts.

I mean when I said I like watching romance is the part when they're fucking inseparable and not the part when the other person completely lost fucking interest, making the other person who is still madly in love, fucking going insane because I told you again, one sided feeling is not a joke. It hurts that much even when you're experienced fellow like me, it still does hurt sometimes.

Well bold of me to assume I have one sided feeling, truth is I mostly fall in for their ideal version they presented on me at the very first beginning. You know first impression matters so fucking much until it become an irony that people only doing "their best" the first time only, and maybe twice or thrice but after that is like you're meeting someone completely fucking different.

So it's time to run then? Clearly they're just faking it to get your attention. For people who have the right mind and attitude, sure. But do you know there's ton people that also delusional fucking romantic like me thinking well I guess this is the real romance so I have to endure it because it's only sweet and uncomplicated on the books but in real it has to be fucking this way.

But then they say healthy relationship is not going feel that way. Yeah because once I ever ran into someone who love me as much I love her and everything is perfect, until I am the one who fucked it all up, mostly but you can't blame me that much I mean you can but I was in dark deep abyss, battling my own demon and all those demons people sent that for me.

I never say it was romance, but it sure a relationship that I feel I can be myself while figuring everything about myself. She taught me how to be brave, when all the boys only taught me to depends on them. I mean one day they're just gone like that so it's clearly crazy advice to give when you're not dependable to begin with. I don't fall slowly though, even her almost frustrated like how to make me believe, that she fucking cares, a lot.

Because I can't chill, I always fast forward to this now future that she's gonna left me stranded alone and oh boi it's true. My fat mostly but she has her own fucking life now when I am not in the frame anymore. And I am happy about her, genuinely. It's just that why she had to hurt me like any other boys who give me broken promises and she did. She should have known better not to cross this line because for me, broken promises is just like love that is a lie. They never really care about you but themselves and wanting me to seen them as fucking angel when they knew deep down they ain't it.

Never have I ever promising someone anything unless I really mean it. It's like an oath for me, a bridge for trustworthiness. For someone who has been fucked over and over again, this shit matter to me. And also for someone who constantly raised in fucking contradictory realm, the fulfilling of any promises is the only thing I can count on. If someone being real or just babbling about feeling (even though some people also good at putting up a show when they're still have no intention to be with you forever) well at least they put an action and I appreciate that.

It fills me with fucking rage. I am so mad right now, because I am ready. I am ready but she isn't the same person that I knew, I guess her judgement of me reversed now. Religious people won't admit they're feeling superior than other people who does not holding the same faith, or worse to the atheist like me (if they're truly religious and believing their own bullshit) because they think they're gonna be saved and choose the right fucking thing when you, clearly are stupid for ignoring the obvious (obvi for them but nonsense for me). That's but stay humble because they do want it to rub it on you on some fucking way.

Okay see I forgot what I am about to say (It was so long back then but my point stays the same). Being zealout, pious is just like thinking their way of life is soo good that others must do it to otherwise they're all evil.

I changed my headset because you know the old ones is broken but even this one, the mic is not clear anymore (probably because I accidentally just slept on it like you kyle) yeah so, I envy people that can record themselves with good gears as my voice is actually sexy though and not this bad lol lol.

[mental-mario]

The Odyssey and Rumors of My Ego Death (Greatly Exaggerated)

Let me apologize to begin with. Let me apologize for what I'm about to say...

Welcome to 2024, or as I'm regarding it: the year I fight back. I'm back from a meditative retreat out of the country, and I feel ready to go! I have my usual goals of losing 50-100 lbs and moving away from my parents again (this time without a forwarding address), but mostly, I want to make major strides towards living my passions.

In short, I have been "gone" for the past 7-8 years, living in fear and ashamed to be myself, and I am feeling ready to stand in my vulnerability and to live unapologetically as myself, a learning and evolving human. I want to live fearlessly, and that means confronting the kinds of things I've been advised to sweep under the rug and take to the grave.

Also, this sounds like a good time in my life to get some spiritual gains out of my introspection, with some micro dosing.

(Whoops! That's too much!)

Anyway, onto parental matters - and file this one in the "things I would never say to my offspring" collection - my dad has said that he will only help keep my family off the streets if I turn into someone he likes. In other words, someone who doesn't point out the things I don't like, such as being lied to and having him send illegal pills to my house or such as showing unabashed, complete favoritism towards my brother's kids over my own. Sorry I can't get down with that, so I guess I'm just not worthy then, and neither are my kids for that matter. I understand that parents and kids don't have to be the best of friends, especially in adulthood, but for that to be the literal condition of receiving love? That is something I would never do to my own, even if I personally didn't like them, their significant other, their own kids, whatever...

So comment below, especially if you are grown and with kids of your own, what is something extra messed up that your parent said to you that stuck with you? I'm sure there's plenty!

Also, please toss your favorite mentally ill blogger a tip so I can keep a roof over my head! I love you long time for it!

Lately, I got back into some of the 3D Mario games, especially playing Odyssey over again (this time in Assist Mode because my kid already started a save a long time ago but never progressed from there). Even now, that game plays so fluidly and is such a joy! I even started messing around with the photo mode, which was something I ignored the first time playing through years ago. Throw some likes my way, since I am an attention ho, and I'll see if I can figure out the technology for posting some of these pics on here. You'd think I was 70, but I assure you I'm aware how late I am to the party on these things. Still, it's something I've found that has brought me a bit of joy and distraction, and so I wouldn't mind sharing it.

I have also been racing around on Mario Kart quite a bit, so send me a friend request and let's race! If you beat me, it's because I took psychedelics! 👌🏁🏎️😁

See you on the next one! I don't make real resolutions because if I do then I come to resent them, but has anyone made resolutions in the past that were difficult to achieve but you managed to accomplish?

[deathsdaisy]

venting, ignore me

My sister, who mind you is an adult, is throwing a full blown tantrum because a key chain she put on my car key is “missing”. Missing in quotes because I took it off and put it in her room, because I didn’t want a plush cheetah hanging from my keys.

I can hear her stomping around the house, slamming doors and tearing apart furniture, right now.

1. If it was so important why did she put it on the keys of someone who doesn’t live in the same country as her?

2. I put it in her room and told her when I did it, as well as repeating it when she asked about it. She's been back for a month, she is only now looking for it.

3. I’m aware that she is a very VERY emotional person. She’s kept every possible stuffie she can, every note book, every everything. But this is a key chain she was given in high school by a guy she didn’t like. Not on her birthday, not for an occasion, he just did it.

This is the same girl who got her first job last year. I’ve been working/ volunteering since I was 16. She’s in her twenties.

The same girl who refuses to pay for anything for herself. I pay for the utilities of the house, for the food anyone eats here, and I do 90% of the cooking. 

The other 10% is mostly my mom and she doesn’t cook things I can eat, but if I try to cook for myself at the same time or right after it’s a whole fiasco so I have to just say I’m not hungry and hope they don’t notice me grabbing some cookies.

the same girl who threw a tantrum when I blocked her on tumblr. I only had this website to hide, to get away from my family. But she thinks she’s special, that when I’m tired I’ll devote every second to her. A gift she doesn’t return to me. She interrupts me so much I get looks from other people!

Ah now she’s watching a show at full volume... after I asked her to keep quite for a few days as I’m in exams.

I have a full time job, she does nothing.

I study full time to get my bachelors, she does nothing.

It’s no surprise she’s a spoiled brat, my dad gave her a laptop for MY birthday. He gifted her a new IPOD (when those were popular) because after I saved up for a year to buy myself a used one he said “it wasn’t fair that you have one, but she doesn’t”. He bought her a switch because after a trip to NYC fell through he felt bad... I wasn’t even invited in the first place.

He paid for 8 years of daily taekwondo classes, along with all the extra bits needed, and took her to them almost everyday. Yet when I asked for a bit of help paying for my 3 times a week gymnastics class (not to pay for it nor to pay for any of the extra bits, just to help me pay for it) he said “the world isn’t fair”.

She cries about me being our moms favorite. I’m not her favorite child, I’m her favorite friend who does favors, who has to parent her child, who pays for things in the house. She’s barely a mom, she’s a boss I can’t quit, but can be fired from at any moment.

How the fuck do I explain that the only time I’ve ever felt truely comfortable were the two years I lived out of the country at such an extreme time difference I could ignore their calls and pretend they didn’t exist. Every call made me cry because it reminded me of the place I had ran away from. The same place I am back in currently.

[beevean]

preach it <3

NFCV is not fun to analyze because the writing just tells you everything. These people do nothing but talk! And sometimes fight! But mostly they talk! And say stuff they shouldn't know or shouldn't need to know! Just to do exposition! (related example, shout out to the flashback with Isaac and Dracula where Dracula asks Isaac to tell him about the time he saved him from brigants. dude? you already know this? why are you forcing him to tell you? bro????)

The only time i was remotely interested in reading subtext was with N!Hector and things like his love for dead animals, but that was because Ellis simply didn't care enough him so he left us the job to fill in the holes lol. In his case, he told us through other characters that we were meant to see him as a stupid manchild, just like he told us through N!Alucard that we were meant to see N!Trevor as the haha funny drunk penis man, instead of a tragic victim of persecution who was learning how to still do good as his family creed dictated.

So when the narrative gets me used to the fact that it will often sit me down and patiently hold my hand to tell me in big colorful letters what am I supposed to feel, I don't see lack of explicit information as nuance, but as "the writer didn't care enough".

(example: I still can't even begin to define what the hell N!Hector was feeling for Lenore by S4. Not because the writing was subtly conveying the complexity of being a victim of abuse. because dude stopped being a coherent character and they just made him say things for the sake of plot or Feelings™ :V)

And that's N!Isaac. He's so in your face that it's embarassing. He gets told! Twice! That he has changed! I get it! I'm not fucking stupid! If this asshole last episode was slaughtering people while laughing maniacally, and now he has wasted six weeks burying people, yes I can tell for myself that he has changed!

Imagine if Kojima in this panel:

made Isaac specify that he brought two swords because he wanted to have a fair fight with Hector. No, she doesn't say it! You see the two swords, and you conclude that he wanted a fair fight with his rival! And from that, you can deduce that pre-insanity Isaac was a honorable man despite his loyalty to Dracula!

Or imagine if she showed us this page:

And added some narration that said "Sadly, Isaac was no longer the rational, honorable man he used to be before the Curse got to him..." no shit i can see that!!

Sorry but I just. Ugh. I felt so insulted by this alleged profound writing so much better than the stupid games!

Oh and ofc his “change” is just him being like “eh whatever i want to touch grass now” yeah alright cool uhhhhh anything to say about the mountain of corpses you left behind you? no? kay. even hector in the mangas had the courtesy to feel bad about it. even in game dude almost lets himself die, I can see that he feels profound guilt!!

(as @hypermascbishounen pointed out, wanting to "better a flawed humanity" is still a villainous goal lol. But I didn't even get that impression. He only cares about his own agency and his own power and his own future. It's all about feeling good about himself.)

Anyway. Yes, sadly the mangas are semi-obscure and while they're more or less accessible nowadays, I can imagine that they were less so in 2005, especially PtR which was never translated. The same goes for the Japanese manual of CV3 that has all the lore of that game. But that doesn't mean they're not canon and they should be ignored: again, PtR was written by someone who personally worked on those characters, so it's safe to say her vision is canon and to be considered.

And even not considering it? Even just playing the game vanilla? Isaac is not just a flamboyant leather daddy lol. He implies that he suffered due to Hector's betrayal ("You stripped of my pride, my home"). He immediately calls Abel back as soon as Julia intervenes, instead of attacking Hector while he was distracted. Julia knows that Isaac respected Hector: how does she know that? Death mocks Isaac for his alleged inferiority, which can be seen as a hint in-game of his inferiority complex. He's also much smarter than you would imagine, able to play Hector like a fiddle while telling him nothing but the truth.

The plots in CV are fairly simple on the surface, and sure sometimes they waste some great ideas because the games are not very plot-driven. But they leave you enough room to imagine and interpret, and unlike NFCV, it feels rewarding. CoD doesn't scream in your face that Hector is a parallel to Dracula and that's why he nearly becomes his vessel: it lets you connect the dots with your own intelligence.

And that's one of the biggest tragedies of the show (that and the... well, everything): it could have expanded on elements that the games left in the background. Alucard's childhood. Lisa's personality beyond "Dracula's dead wife". Hector and Isaac's friendship before the betrayal. Julia. Instead its solution was to cut everything and actively worsen things (good god what did it do to Lisa and the relationship betweein the Forgemasters)

oh and n!isaac is little more than jihadist hector. y'all blorbos ain't that special. do not @ me because i'm right.

I'll be honest: going from the Sonic fandom, when fans frequently and eagerly mix up games and "adaptations" that are often Sonic in all but name and fight to see them as canon no matter how much they screw up the timeline or the characters, to people like this in the CV fandom that reject prequels written by people who worked on the main series (I'll let you pass the MF manga, but Prelude to Revenge was written by Ayami Kojima, who's pretty much the characters' co-creator, and sold as promo material along with the OST of the game), fills me with very confusing feelings.

Not that I trust the opinion of someone who apparently read the mangas and believes that "it still results in Isaac being a one note villain". lol. Kojima couldn't have been clearer about the tragedy of Isaac's loss of sanity, and even Kou Sasakura put a lot of emphasis on Isaac's inferiority complex that makes him obsessed with Hector. Just because Isaac is still his fabulous self by CoD doesn't mean they don't add a tridimensionality to his character.

(also even without his background Isaac is infinitely more entertaining than that whiny pretentious prick and i would have paid money to see him kill people with a smile on his face instead of waxing fake deep quotes about insanity <3)

[buckyownsmylife]

I’ve Told You Now - Bucky Barnes smut

The one where alpha!Bucky fucks you in front of the other avengers

Warnings: smut, a/b/o dynamics, public sex, oral (f), p in v, possessiveness

Word count: 2.3k

A/N: Thank you to my lovely @wakingbeauty​ for giving this a read for me! This is strictly the product of mine and @navybrat817​‘s belief that public sex should be more common in A/B/O dynamics, so there you have it 😊 Also, I used a prompt the sweet @jbreenr​ gave me ages ago for a headcanon and I asked to save it for this story since it made such perfect sense! Hope you guys like it! I might write more public sex A/B/O smut in the very near future!

Bucky’s P.O.V.

Everyday was the same. I’d wake up and join the rest of the team for breakfast to find out that despite the fact that someone had saved me a seat, that same someone had thought of a new joke to make at my expense.

If I thought Tony’s nicknames were bad, this was a whole new level. It’s like she wanted to find all the little ways to annoy me, while still remaining mindful of my recovery process and triggers.

I’d never met an omega like that before. Back in my time, omegas were mostly prim and proper, almost shy around alphas, even if they were starting to show a little more skin and entertain the possibility of staying closer to us for longer periods of time.

I wasn’t used to someone who felt so comfortable with my intimidating aura, and the alpha in me definitely couldn’t grow used to seeing so much of her skin all the time. By now, I was sure she was doing it on purpose.

She knew how it affected me, she could smell it - every omega was able to identify when a nearby alpha was aroused. And I knew it turned her on in return. I was also biologically wired to sense that.

It was basically a game of who would break first. And I knew she thought she would win, but my resolve still wasn’t broken.

“Ah… What a lovely day. So full of possibilities… if you’re not a hundred years old,” she quickly added, throwing me a glance that had me rolling my eyes. “What do you say, grandpa? Feel like going out for a run?”

Who knows what I would have answered if she hadn’t decided to pull her hair up right at the second Wanda opened the window to look out into the field? The smile that had been on my face quickly dropped when I was hit with a heavy wave of her scent and my knees buckled as I tried to hold myself back from just jumping on top of her.

Unfortunately, because awareness was not something she seemed capable of having, she did not realize my struggle. “What’s wrong, old man? Can’t even keep up anymore?” The growl that escaped my chest at her joke was all the warning she needed to finally understand what was going on.

“I’ll show you what I can keep up.” I was on her in a second, my consciousness of our surroundings reduced to absolutely nothing. It was only her and me, and the way our lips moved as I guided her back to the couch, until we both fell on top of it.

“Is this what you wanted, huh?” I asked as I tore her shirt with a simple flick of my wrist. “Is this how you wanted it to happen? For me to lose all control and just take you right here?” All that left her was a garbled sound, her hands clawing at my back as I easily got rid of her jeans until they were nothing but scraps on the floor and then exposed her pussy to the tower’s living room.

“Fuck yes,” I growled, immediately leaning down to get a taste of her. Sweet and wet and mine, all mine. I had no idea where that possessive instinct had come from, but I would be crazy to ignore it - especially since it felt like I’d kill and die for her at that very second.

Her hips jerked up, instinctively searching for my tongue, but a breeze of clarity seemed to brush over her and make her sit up on her elbows, looking down at me. I knew what was running through her mind before she said it, and I wasn’t having any of it.

“You better lay back down and let me savor my meal,” I warned, knowing the rest of the team had gathered around to watch the show. I didn’t have to take my eyes off her debauched state to know it, but her gaze was on them, even if the rest of her body was still spread open for anyone to see, uncaring of the fact that we were being watched.

“You poked the beast, now you’ll entertain it,” Steve warned, shaking his head as if to scold us, but when I met his eyes, I could see the glint of desire in them. He wanted to be in my position, he wanted to have his own tongue shoved deep inside my girl’s pussy, and it only made me eat her more hungrily.

“Eyes on me, ‘mega,” I called out to her once I saw her eyes linger on Steve. “Let them watch, that’ll keep them away from you.” She groaned at the possessiveness in my words, but it was the sounds of someone who was relishing in it. And I was relishing in her juices.

“Fuck!” She cursed when I buried my tongue as far as it could go in her, something deep inside of me desperate to be drowning in her scent. “Should have gotten you mad before.”

The thought was amusing to me. Did she really think this was only the result of pent-up anger, and not months of desire and lust that had finally spilled from my weakened resolve?

“Well…” I started, pushing two fingers inside of her to scissor her open for me, although my scent had already made her body as prepared for an Alpha an Omega could get.

I was a bit larger than usual Alphas, though - courtesy of the serum - so I wanted to make sure she wouldn’t go through any pain whatsoever. “You keep me mad all the fucking time, kitten.”

Y/N’s P.O.V.

“With desire or anger, it doesn’t really care,” he continued, like it was any ordinary day and we were chatting in the living room, our usual teasing banter taking over the conversation, instead of him eating me out on the couch in front of all of our teammates while I was spread out for their eyes to take in.

“You’re always a tease to me, in one way or another.” His huge hands massaged the inside of my thighs as he finally lowered himself to suck on my nub again, making me instinctively buck my hips up in search of his tongue.

“Stay…” he ordered in his Alpha tone, and the whine that broke free from my chest was more animal than human now. The way he used his mouth was nothing short of sinful, licking me from ass to clit with an eagerness I had never expected the former Winter Soldier to have.

But I guess today I was discovering all of my fantasies about Bucky had been a bit misplaced. For one, I never thought he’d be the type of Alpha to take me in such a public environment.

In every dirty dream I’d had, Bucky was far too possessive to allow anyone to explore what was his - even if it was only visually - but what I’d come to learn was that while he was definitely dominating, there was a hint of exhibitionism in his craving.

He liked to have people see him break me into a million pieces only to glue me back together with a lick of his tongue. He liked that they were seeing his talent - and I had to admit, by what I saw in his friend’s stare, that they were also admiring me too.

And he got off on that. I didn’t expect it would make me get off too.

“Delicious,” he hummed when he finally pulled away from my cunt, having brought me to my release and licked it off of me. Still, an overwhelming amount of wetness covered the lower part of his face, prompting me to raise myself to my elbows and lick my own juices off of his lips, the omega in me begging to scent him as mine.

“You’re a nasty little bitch, aren’t you?” He chuckled once the surprise faded away, easily manhandling me onto my stomach, the sound of a zipper being opened denouncing that he had undressed.

“Keep fucking me and you’ll find out.” I heard him spitting behind me, a shiver running up my spine as I realized he was playing with himself while looking at me presenting for him.

“Oh, I’ll do much better than that.” That was all the warning I got before I felt the head of his member poking my entrance, slowly but surely sliding in until he had bottomed out.

My whines became intensified when he pulled me up by my hair, his free hand covering my breast to rub my nipple as he whispered, “I’m gonna claim you, sweetheart. You think you’re ready for that? Think you’ll be able to take it?”

I was quickly realizing I had severely underestimated the man inside of me, even if not to the extent he thought I had. I was not ready for that. I don’t think I ever would be, but fuck if I wasn’t gonna take it anyway.

Because it was so much better than I ever imagined it to be.

“No more playing hard-to-get,” Bucky continued, finally starting to move and immediately settling on a punishing pace. “No more teasing me with your short skirts and tempting scent. You’ll be mine now, ‘mega. Forever. How does that sound?”

God, I wanted him to do it. I wanted him to keep exercising this complete control over my body that he had so easily managed to take. His cock was stretching me in ways I’d never been stretched before, his inflated knot slamming against my opening with each thrust.

“Always mocking me… Am I too old for you now?” I shivered as he licked a stripe up my neck. I knew he wouldn’t actually bite me in front of everyone - a claiming ritual was a sacred ritual, even the most feral of Alphas respected the intimacy of that. But the way he was taunting me was all too arousing, I couldn’t deny it. “Tell me.”

His hand squeezed my hip, looking for an answer. I tried to open my mouth, but nothing came out. His palm slipped further down, finding my clit, and as two fingers rubbed my own juices, around it, I screamed.

“N-No!” Bucky chuckled against my neck, body continuing his onslaught against mine as he nuzzled my scent gland. “Y-you’re not too old for me. Take me, take me please.” His coos were too provoking, making me cry out loud at the mocking sound.

“Aw, kitten…” His warm mouth breathed the next words against my ear, “I already did.” He turned my face towards his with his fingers tangled in my hair, engulfing my mouth with his.

“Alright.” A familiar voice spoke from not too far, startling me for a second as I once again was reminded that we were still very much surrounded by our team. “You two might just be the sexiest mates I’ve ever seen fuck.”

A growl escaped Bucky’s chest at hearing someone refer to us as mates for the first time, and I panted in need, desperate to cum, desperate for him. “Seen a lot of mates fuck, Romanoff?” He nibbled at my ear, hands roaming over my body as if to make it very clear to every person watching that they could look all they wanted, I was still his.

“You have no idea.” Looking over a bit to the side from where she was seated, there rested Sam’s almost limp body, a hand curled over his boner as his eyes never wavered from the place I was connected to the man behind me.

“Well, I know what I’m gonna think about tonight.” Something between a laugh and a moan escaped me, making Bucky growl again, hands pushing me back down onto the couch as his hips picked up the pace with which they’d ruin me.

To say I was soaked was the understatement of the century. I could feel it, running down my thighs, drenching the couch underneath me. I don’t know how we’d be able to use it again, but that was the least of my concerns in the moment.

“I am begging you to let me lick her pussy after you guys are done,” came Tony’s voice, and I knew Bucky would growl in his direction just from the way his fingers pressed tightly on the flesh of my hips. “Not that type of Alpha, sorry, I got it.”

I heard his footsteps retreating quickly, probably scared of what Bucky would do to him once we were done, but in the Alpha’s defense, Tony seemed to disappear from his mind the second he left the room, all of his senses directed to me and his goal of making me cum around his cock.

“C’mon, kitten,” he whispered, fingers easily locating my clit to play with me as he pulled me up to rest against his chest one more. “Come for me, milk me dry.” That was all I needed to give him what he wanted, and although I was anticipating to moan loudly as I creamed his knot, his mouth covered mine to swallow all of my sounds in a deep kiss, hands protectively covering me while pawing at my breasts at the same time.

“Steve,” Bucky called after he managed to catch his breath, having fallen on top of me on the couch once his knot popped open. “I won’t be able to work out with you today.”

I looked up as best as I could to find Steve already staring at us, although red from head to toe. “That’s understandable,” he spoke in a thick, rough voice that I barely recognized as his. “You seem to have worked out enough already.”

Bucky stopped running his nose against my cheek at his friend’s attempt at teasing, a slow smirk taking over his face as he joined me and stared at his friend. “Oh, I’m not nearly done,” he warned. “You’re more than welcome to join us for some cardio, if you want to.”

The soft smile Steve sent our way told us everything we needed to know about his plans for the evening.

[stronginawayjbb]

Christmas With the Starks

Hi everyone!! I have a very early Christmas fic. No shame. Soon to be cross posted on AO3. Enjoy! 💕

Pairing: Tony Stark x F!Reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Tags: fluff, slight angst

Summary: Christmas with Tony Stark is a little different than a normal family. Despite the holiday, heroes don't get a break from saving the world.

Taglist: @mostly-marvel-musings ❤️

It was Christmas eve. Usually, you weren’t a fan of the holiday season. It reminded you too much of the past you had tried so hard to leave behind. However, this year, you were content. It was your first Christmas with your new husband, billionaire Tony Stark. Yes, you were the lovely Mrs. Stark, and you were all too happy to change your name. Sure, it wasn't your first Christmas together, but the first one as a married couple. The two of you had decided to spend the holiday at the Malibu mansion, not wanting to deal with the snow and bitter cold of New York. Being in New York at Christmas also reminded Tony of his parents’ deaths. He figured being in sunny Malibu with you would be better. New traditions could start, and it could just be the newlyweds.

He still considered it to be your honeymoon, despite being married nearly two weeks ago. He was so busy finding every place he could fuck you that he’d ignored all of Steve’s calls, telling JARVIS to decline every call and take a message. Soon, the voicemail was overflowing with a concerned captain, but Tony remained unfazed.

The two of you were cuddled up on the couch together, sipping piña coladas and watching some forgotten show. You both were wrapped up in conversation, talking about memories from the past couple of months.

"I'm so glad Natasha was my maid of honor. I couldn't have imagined having anyone else beside me for our wedding."

"I still can't get over how beautiful you looked. That dress fit you just right. Your pearl necklace looked incredible with it. I am a pretty amazing gift giver, if I do say so myself," Tony teased. You felt a pang in your chest as you laughed. You had gotten Tony a Christmas present but you weren't sure if he'd like it. You wanted your first holiday as a married couple to be perfect. However, it seemed as though all of that was falling apart.

"Sir, a call from Agent Coulson is coming through."

"Decline."

"Tony, you know I can bypass your system."

"Shit, I know. What do you want, Coulson?"

"There's been a Ten Rings attack."

You looked at your husband worriedly. You had a sudden realization that this was what Captain Rogers had been calling about. The threat was here, and Tony knew it was time to spring into action. He looked at you, mouthing "it's okay" to you. It always made you nervous when he went on a mission involving the Ten Rings, considering they'd nearly killed him more than once.

"JARVIS, get Mark 22 ready, it's time for battle."

"We knew Iron Man would be ready. Thank you, Mr. Stark. I will debrief you when you return."

Agent Coulson gave Tony some more specifics that you tuned out. It was Christmas Eve, couldn't the world stop committing crime for two days? You just wanted a nice holiday with your husband.

The phone call ended, and you looked to a hurried Tony who was suiting up.

"Please be safe, baby."

He put his armored hand to your cheek, kissing you before he dropped his mask.

"I will be back shortly, honey. I promise."

He walked out to the balcony, taking off to fly to God knows where. He'd made promises before. Most of the time, he wasn’t able to keep them. Promises like “I promise we can get a kitten from the shelter” or “I promise I’ll take you to Build-A-Bear.” Sometimes it was even “I promise I’ll come to bed tonight” and “I promise I’ll drink water and eat something today.” The former set didn’t matter to you that much, but the latter set always worried you. Ever since being held hostage in Afghanistan, Tony hadn’t been the same. He'd never let on to anything, but you knew he wasn’t quite right. Having him out fighting the Ten Rings made you more nervous than any other mission he’d been on. What if they captured him again? What if this time, they actually killed him? Would you ever get his wedding ring back or be able to say goodbye?

Before you knew it, you were turning on a news station and pacing the floor. Lights wrapped around the tree and draped over the mantle twinkled in the window’s reflection. The sun had just set over the ocean, and seeing the dark blue expanse made your heart ache. You knew Tony was worlds away, and all you could do was pray he was safe. The news had nothing interesting on, but soon enough, the familiar red and gold was flashing across your screen. He was somewhere in Monaco, it seemed. Last time he was there, he encountered Ivan Vanko, and he’d nearly lost his life while racing. If Pepper hadn’t come to his rescue with his suit in a briefcase, he definitely wouldn’t be here right now.

Seeing Iron Man in Monaco caused you to panic.

“JARVIS, can I get an update on tony’s suit please?”

“It seems his suit is at 50% power and rapidly draining with no end to the mission in sight. I am putting a significant amount of effort into keeping him from going into cardiac arrest from palladium poisoning.”

“J, call Tony, please.”

You could hear the call attempting to go through, and then the line went dead.

“JARVIS! get tony on the phone!”

“I’m sorry, miss. He's declined your call.”

“What the fuck, Tones?” you cursed out loud to the walls and the still-wrapped presents under the tree, knowing nothing was going to get him to accept your call during a mission. He had to call you. You hoped it was soon. If he was going to die, you at least wanted--

“Honey?” the familiar hurried tone came over the house. Tony's calls were programmed to auto accept.

“Baby, hi. how’s it going?” You breathed a sigh of relief and steeled your nerves for bad news.

“Well, the bad guys are taken care of, but I have to get from Monaco to Malibu on 10% power, which isn’t just stretching it, it’s hoping for a miracle. I’ll be home as soon as I can. I love you, sweetheart.”

Before you could say “I love you” back, the phone had gone silent. Tears welled up in your eyes. Not knowing if your husband would even make it home made your chest ache. You needed him home, in your arms. Your first Christmas together was falling apart already. You didn’t care if he got you an expired, moldy fruitcake he ransacked from a dumpster for Christmas. You just wished he would come back to you.

8p.m. soon turned into 3a.m., and there was still no sign of Iron Man. You began to panic. What if Tony didn’t come home this time? What if he was dead on the side of the road right now? a million thoughts raced through your head, not one of them comforting. All of the sudden, the soft glow of the Christmas lights seemed too cheery. It reminded you of the brown eyed man you loved that still wasn’t home.

You didn’t like to consider yourself a military wife, but since Stark Industries and the Avengers were all intertwined with the government and military, you kind of were. You were glad Tony had never been gone for more than a month at a time. You couldn’t imagine how awful it felt to be away from your spouse for six months or more. Being away from Tony for two days had you feeling lonely. This particular mission, though...one hour felt like a week. He had been gone entirely too long. You had JARVIS turn on a playlist to calm you down. “Love in Slow Motion" by Ed Sheeran came on. You remembered the first time you played it for Tony. You two were on a picnic in Central Park with the beautiful spring sun shining down on you both. He looked at you like you hung the very stars he soared among, and in that moment he vowed to never take you for granted. It was the song you danced to on the boat the afternoon he proposed at Lake Tahoe. All the good memories associated with the tune washed over you like a tidal wave of nostalgia.

It's been a while since we've been alone

To turn off the world and the telephone

Need to tell you you're beautiful, 'cause it's been a while, and I apologize

I just get caught up in the rat race I'm runnin'

Chasin' a moment, I'm hoping is comin'

If I stopped and took a look around

It's in front of my eyes, eyes

Baby let's slow down time

Maybe just press rewind

Darling, that dress reminds

Me of the first time

“And I wanna love tonight, one on one by the candlelight. Over and over, we spend our lives living fast forward, but not tonight. Love in slow motion.”

The familiar tenor voice came from behind you. You whipped around to discover your favorite man on the planet. Your husband, Tony Stark. His voice was just barely above a whisper, the same one he used when he needed to calm you down from a panic attack. You ran into his open arms, and he looked nearly the same as when he'd left.

"You're home," you breathed out, all your worries vanishing in his arms.

"I promised. I'll always come home."

You pushed yourself back, not wanting to leave his embrace but needing to look at his injuries. As suspected, he had a few cuts on his face. One on his cheekbone, one on his eyebrow, one on his chin. The blood had dried up but they still needed tending to. You took his hand, dragging him to the medical cabinet that was kept fully stocked at all times in every area of the mansion.

"Babe do we have to do this every time? I'm fine. Everything is dry, I promise." Tony loved to argue about you fixing up his battle injuries but you knew even the smallest cut could cause an infection, especially because it's hard telling what he was exposed to wherever his mission was.

"Yes, because for the thousandth time, it's important to keep all wounds clean, dry, and sterile so the chance of infection is decreased. You knew this would happen when you married a nurse-turned-Stark CEO."

He'd never admit to it, but he was grateful for it. He had noticed he was sick less since you started taking care of him, and it probably had something to do with actually keeping wounds covered and clean. JARVIS would tell him there's a correlation, but Tony was never too keen on actually believing it. He did enjoy the extra attention, though.

You cleaned off each wound with hydrogen peroxide, then wiped it off with an alcohol swab. He winced every time but you knew he was just being dramatic, as always. After each cut had been properly bandaged, you were holding him on the couch. He leaned against your chest, and your fingers were mindlessly carding through his tangled curls. Your mind wandered to something JARVIS had said earlier, something about...palladium poisoning? Cardiac arrest? You worked to keep your breathing steady so you wouldn’t disturb a very peaceful looking Tony. You hated to interrupt his thoughts but this was important. You had to know.

“Tones?”

“Yes, love?”

You took a deep breath, not wanting to freak him out.

“Earlier, when I asked JARVIS for a status update on your suit, he said something about--” you were cut off by sobs. Tony was so young, you didn’t want to lose him. He still had caramel highlights in his hair from this past summer, no grey in sight. He had to grow old with you.

Tony shot up, immediately knowing what you were going on about.

“Palladium poisoning,” he whispered, sitting criss-cross between your legs. he pulled you into his lap, holding you to his chest.

“Honey, I didn’t want to worry you, so I was working on finding a replacement. I found an element that dad discovered in the 70s, but I needed to figure out how to implement it into my arc reactor. I wanna call it ‘badassium’ but I can’t get that patented. I have it mostly figured out, but I do need some help changing it out," he explained. You felt his breathing become more shallow, waiting on your response. He kept you close with one hand, the other going to wipe away your tears and tuck your hair behind your ear. "I'm sorry, baby. I knew I shouldn't have kept that from you but you were so excited about the wedding and this and us – I didn't wanna ruin that by telling you I was kind of dying."

His doctor had determined that surgery would be too risky right now. He needed to get his diet under control and cut back his caffeine so his body could heal properly. Removing shrapnel is no small feat.

“Then what the fuck are we waiting for? I can’t lose you, Tones. Not yet.”

He nodded and kissed you softly. "So I take that as you'll be my assistant?" he asked with a little chuckle.

You rolled your eyes and dragged him down to his lab, immediately spotting the new arc reactor sitting on one of his work benches.

“Okay, tell me what I need to do.” He gave you a signature Stark eye roll as you washed your hands and put on a pair of gloves.

“It's not that bad, sweetheart. This can wait a couple days.”

“Nope. JARVIS said your suit was draining power because he was trying to keep you from going into cardiac arrest. We’re not waiting anymore, Mr. Stark.”

“Alright, fine,” he sighed in defeat. His shirt came off and he attached himself to an EKG as a formality. Tony sat down in a raised chair and leaned back, exposing his chest and arc reactor. He held the new reactor in one hand and pulled out the old one with the other.

“Now, we've only got a few minutes, so what I need you to do is stick your hand down in the hole and grab the copper wire. it's just like Operation, don't let the metal touch the sides.”

“I don't think I'm qualified to do this,” you answered, hesitant.

“Nope, you're the most qualified and competent person for the job,” he assured. You stuck your hand down in his chest, feeling some kind of discharge in the cavity. Through all the squishy...whatever, you finally felt the wire.

“Okay, the wire should be loosely wrapped around the magnet. I need you to undo it and leave the magnet in,” he instructs next. You nod and work with your fingers as best you can without looking. You hated the gloves because you couldn't feel as well, but it would have to do. Eventually you got it and gently pulled out the wire. He gave you a smile as he plugged in his new arc reactor to the base plate. He drew in a breath through his teeth and screwed his eyes shut for a moment, then seemed to be okay.

"Babe are you alright?" you ask softly.

He looks up at you with loving eyes, a little smile on his face. “Pretty sure that shrapnel thought it had a chance for a second but we got it.”

Your eyes softened as you took off your gloves and threw them away, "Don't scare me like that ever again."

"Point taken. Thank you, sweetheart." He looked out his lab windows to see the sky looking a deep orange shade. Sunrise. "And seeing as it's officially Christmas now...wanna go open presents?"

"Oh, darling, you didn't need to get me anything. You're quite the present enough."

He looked at you with a funny look on his face. "Well, considering the fact that you got me a present, I figured it only fair to get you something."

You smiled on the outside, but on the inside, you were nervous. You had gotten something made, and then made something yourself. You weren't sure if he'd like either of the items. They weren't expensive, but they were heartfelt.

As you two settled in on the couch upstairs, presents in front of you, funny nicknames on all the tags, tony took your hand. "Honey, I just wanted to tell you I love you. Thank you for putting up with all my shit. I know you worry but I promise I will always come back."

You smiled softly. "I love you too, tones." You handed him the smaller of the gifts, wrapped beautifully and topped with a tiny gold bow. "Open it."

He tore the wrapping off to reveal a small white box, which he opened to reveal a silver toned ring, engraved all around with something. He looked at it confused, and you got nervous, so you explained.

"It's my thumbprint. I had it sized to your middle finger so you could wear it by your wedding ring. There's an engraving on the inside, too."

He held it up to the light, revealing the "til Valhalla" written on the inside.

"In Norse mythology, Valhalla is the hall where all the heroes and warriors go after passing in battle. It's supposedly beautiful. It's where I hope you go when you're 500 years old, because you're not allowed to die until I die. You'll have me with you til Valhalla, angel."

Tony had tears in his eyes.

"Honey, I… don't even know where to begin. This is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me. You mean the absolute world to me and I love you so much." He leaned into hug you, resting his forehead against yours and kissing your nose softly. You smiled, whispering against his lips, "I have one more, love."

You handed him the slightly bigger one. He unwrapped it, trying not to cry again. You had painted him an abstract version of his arc reactor, circling it with "proof that tony stark has a heart."

"Good God these gifts are perfect, I love you I love you I love you."

"I'm glad you think so, babe."

"Okay, my turn." He handed you a semi small box. You could tell someone else had wrapped it because tony had the wrapping skills of a two year old, but that would be an insult to toddlers.

You carefully unwrapped it, not knowing what he could have possibly given you that you don't already have. On the front, in his chicken scratch handwriting, were the words "coupon book."

It was your turn to be confused, and Tony was carefully studying your reaction. You opened it up, flipping through the pages. It was cute shit, not actual coupons. Things like "good for 1 trip to Build a Bear to pick out whatever you want" and "good for 1 kitten adoption." There was even a "good for getting me out of the lab whenever you want" coupon, and it looked like it had unlimited uses and no expiration date.

"Tony, this is so precious. I love it. thank you thank you thank you. I love you so much, Tones." you cupped his face, kissing him. Before you knew it, he was picking you up bridal style, carrying you to your bedroom.

"Now, if there are no objections, I'd like to go to bed."

"That sounds good to me, babe," you chuckled, placing your head in the crook of his neck. "Best Christmas ever."

[artzee-bee]

End of all things [1] | Chat Noir x witch!reader

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug (Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir)

Summary: Y/N had been Chat Noir’s friend and moral support for a long time now. Even though she had magical powers too, she never liked getting involved with akuma attacks, but now, as Hawkmoth’s gotten control of the miraculous of creation, she couldn’t stay indiferent anymore. She had to save her friend and Paris!

Genre: Mostly angst? A little fluff

Warnings: canon typical violence, mentions of death/dying

A/N: This was requested, but as I was writting it, it got very long and I’ve decided to post it in 2 parts. I’m not gonna post the request just now, so as to not spoil the rest of the story but Part 2 will be coming out on friday!!!

Part 2

~~~

Chat was pacing around the room, waiting for you to be done with your potion. You had heard from your parents that there had been a new akuma attack today, but as the news reported, the two parisian heros took care of the problem in no time. For this reason, Chat’s presence at your house felt unusual. Normally he would stop by when he needed to rant, when he was in need of comfort and reassurance but the fight today went well, so what could possibly be bothering him?

“Ok, I’m done” you said, screwing the cap on the little bottle and placing it on your shelf “Wanna talk?” you asked, to which Chat gave you a shy smile

“Yeah, a little”

You made your way to your bed, motioning for him to follow you. You got under your covers and passed him his favorite plushie, a cat to no one’s surprise

“So what’s up? Is it about the fight today?”

“Well no it’s more like a...personal problem?”

“Oh…”

“Claws out” in a rush of light and electricity, the infamous hero vanished before you, transforming into Adrien Agrest

“Well, what is it?” 

Adrien revealed his identity to you months ago. You first met him as Chat, but when you really got to know each other, he decided you needed to know all of him. Well, he needed you to know all of him.

You listened to him rant until way past midnight. Until you were both too tired to stand up straight, so you laid down in your bed, covers up to your necks, muffled stories told in between yawns. You listened carefully, giving him your full attention. He fidgeted with the collar of the stuffed toy and you used your magic to make 2 hot chocolates. Eventually, everything that needed to be said, was said. You offered Adrien to watch a movie, since that always cheered him up, but he refused

“It’s late and I have a photoshoot early in the morning. My makeup team will be angry with my dark circles anyways, better not make it worse” he joked

Adrien transformed back into Chat and you cast a safety spell on him, which you did every time he left your house late at night. He always teased you about being ‘too protective’, but deep down he found it sweet how much you cared and wanted to know that he would get home in one piece.

“Night Chat” you said, wrapping your arms around the hero

“Good night Y/N!”

The next few days went by quietly. You hadn’t run into Adrien at all, but you texted a bit back and forth. Sunday evening however, things took a toll for the worst. You turned on your tv, ready to catch up with your show when you heard Nadja Chamack’s voice doing the news report

“It seems as though Rena Rouge and Chat Noir are struggling to stay on their feet! They have taken shelter under a fallen bus, leaving Ladybug alone to defeat Hawkmoth'' your pulse skyrocketed. As you watched the screen you could see Chat and Rena off to the side, struggling to catch their breath. Rena seemed to be in pain while Chat was trying to help. Ladybug was using her yoyo the best she could in order to protect herself from the supervillain, who was wielding his cane like a sword over her head. The fight was clearly going in Hawkmoth's favour! You grabbed your jacket and ran out the front door and onto the empty streets of Paris, towards the Eiffel Tower, where the fight was taking place. 

People screamed at you from their balconies to go home, warning you about the fight and the danger you were putting your life in but you didn’t care. All you could think about was how they needed you. Chat needed you! Every late night talk and every inside joke shared between you two replaid in your head like a broken record. Behind Chat’s tough mask, his alter ego of hero and protector, was the fragile figure of Adrien Agreste. The young blonde boy who cried during romantic comedies, who liked to have his hair braided and forgot how to speak when someone complimented him. If you didn’t help, the heros would loose and he would most likely die! Alongside Ladybug and Rena who, even though you didn’t know their real identities, were still young girls. As you ran down the street, you heard kids crying inside one of the homes. You ran past but at the last second you heard Nadia’s voice coming from their tv

“Ladybug was akumatized”

You approached the Eiffel tower from the side, where you could see everything going on. In front of the tower, right next to Hawkmoth, stood Marinette Dupain-Cheng, dressed in a tight, dark red suit, darker than Ladybug’s. Black butterflies replaced the dots of the heroine's suit and the purple butterfly mask of Hawkmoth’s control was shining over her face. Marinette was Ladybug! She did, in fact, get akumatized. On the other side, you saw Rena and Chat, struggling to stay up right. They were obviously in a lot of pain and extremely tired, but Hawkmoth was merely mocking them.

“After all this time” Chat spoke up, but his breaths were shallow and rapid “I thought you’d know one thing about us! We don’t give up without a fight. Never will. Especially not against you” and with that, the two ran at each other.

“It doesn’t have to end like this, you know?” he said “We don’t have to fight to death. I wouldn’t want to have that on my conscience. All you have to do is give me your miraculouses willingly. The town will be safe, you will be safe! It’s the most heroic option you’ve got. You won’t be any good to Paris if you are dead”

You knew this was not just another fight between them. This was it. Either the heros won or everything they’ve worked for would be lost. Hawkmoth would win and get his hands on both miraculous and god knows what kind of destruction that would bring not only upon Paris, but the world. You focused all your energy in one spot in the air, right between where Chat and Hawkmoth were supposed to clash but before they could reach each other, you sent a wave of energy that blew both of them apart, like a bomb. Hawkmoth flew back into the Eiffel tower while Chat hit the pavement with a thud. Confused and certainly disturbed, both of them began looking around for an answer as to what happened when, finally, Hawkmoth’s eyes landed on yours.

“Aha, miss Y/L/N. What a spectacular honor to finally meet you!” you didn’t reply, instead you stood tall, maintaining eye contact

“I know a lot about you. Seen a lot. Felt a lot of your emotions. None of them can compare to the powers I’ll have with the two miraculouses. With Ladybug’s earrings and the guardian under my control, I’d say my mission here is almost over’’

“Y/N get back!’’ Chat screamed but you were too involved now to run. This was your fight too.

“It is time you give up Hawkmoth. Paris is not yours, neither are the miraculouses. We will destroy you, no matter what it takes!”

“Listen to yourself, kid! <<Destroy me>>? The most you can do is pull a rabbit out of your hat…” before he could finish his sentence, you snapped your fingers in his direction and instantly, the ground around beneath Hawkmoth and akumatized Marinette, fractured. From within the cracks, many tangled plants came out, encapsulating the 2 villains. You sprinted towards Chat and Rena, ignoring the signs of struggle coming from the prison of weeds.

 Alongside the two superheros, you hid inside a corner coffee shop, which was now empty.

“Y/N, you need to leave!! You are putting yourself in too much danger!” Rena told you, as she collapsed to the ground from exhaustion

“Stop with that already! I am here and I’m not going anywhere!”

“Yes you are!” Chat looked at you. His voice was calm and yet, his eyes were filled with disappointment “You are not a superhero. This is our job!”

“You need help”

“No we don’t!” Chat had never, in all your years of friendship, raised his voice at you, let alone yell “ You need to stay safe! You could die! Hawkmoth doesn’t care about anything if it helps him get what he wants! I am ready to take that risk. Rena is too” you both turned to the red headed hero, only to see her slowly nod “But I can’t allow you to take it”

“You can’t tell me what to do”

“I don’t want you to die!” he screamed again “I love you and I will never forgive myself if you don’t come out of this alive!”

Before you could say anything, you saw Hawkmoth and his minion, through the cafe window, cutting through the last of the plants and escaping your trap. You grabbed Chat’s arm and pulled him to the floor, from where you could not be seen

“We’re in this together now” you said in a stern voice, looking the blonde kid right in his eyes “Whether you like it or not '' this time, he simply nodded.

You stuffed your hands into the pocket of your jacket and pulled out 3 little bottles, containing a mate, green liquid. You had prepared one for each of the heros, now you’d only need two.

“Here, drink this!” You handed each of them one “Regeneration potion. Should put you back on your feet.” as soon as they finished drinking the brew, you could see color coming back to their faces

“Where’s Marinette’s akuma??” 

“Her necklace” replied Rena “It’s a gift from her kwami”

“Got it. You deal with Hawkmoth. I’ll bring Marinette back!”

Chat and Rena exited through the front door, grabbing Hawkmoth’s attention. He called out to Marinette to attack, but before she could take a single step in your direction, you had snuck up behind her. Using a simple invisibility spell, you managed to exit unnoticed behind the two heros. It finally felt like the fight had truly begun. From the corner of your eye you could see Chat and Rena doging Hawkmoth’s attacks while you, were doing your best to get your hands on the stupid necklace! Even though she couldn’t see you, Marinette seemed to almost always know what your next move was. She would expertly block all your attack and would keep you an arm’s length away at all times. Finally, you had enough and in one swift motion, you pinned her back to your chest, ripping the necklace away. A wave of black and purple took over the both of you and when it vanished, all you were left with was a half unconscious Marinette in your arms. You dropped her to the ground slowly as she was coming back to her senses. You wanted to talk to her but your thoughts were driven away as you heard Chat scream bloody murder.

On the opposite side of the platza, you saw Hawkmoth rip Chat’s ring off his finger, forcing him to detransform. The exhausted figure of Adrien Agreste fell to the ground with a thud. Hawkmoth had, indeed, gotten his hand on both the miraculouses.

[dxrkdreamer]

Not So Bad

Modern Sukuna x Reader

Working late had been the bane of your existence, only getting worse when a certain man started showing up to your store’s parking lot to light his joints.

Word Count: 2.7K

Warnings: 18+ implied sex, mentions of weed.

(A/N: should I make a part 2? It seems pretty popular

Couldn’t come up with a name for the store so I used Anavrin from ‘YOU’)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“11:00 pm? Again?” you rubbed the back of your head trying to hide your frustration, the store manager nodded his head, sighing you agreed to stay late at work again since the closer frankly did not want to stay. So now here you are grumbling as you finish sweeping the floor and checking it off your log. You worked at a high end grocery store named Anavrin, a store that swore to sell organic produce and products to the best of quality. You took up a job here in your senior year of high school, planning on working for a few months to save up for college. And yet… 4 years later you’re still here grumbling at the extra hours you had taken. After your second year of working you had a promotion to supervisor… woo hoo!!... but it turned out it was more responsibility than expected. But it paid a little more and you could not argue with that.

‘I should be a little more optimistic, I’m graduating uni this year’ you’d tell yourself anytime you wanted to pull your hair out because of your measly job. You finished turning off the lights and locking the door, sighing as you felt the cold fall air hit your tired face, taking a deep breath of fresh air… wait a second “Who the fuck is smoking weed!” you yelled in a girly voice, as if this day was not long enough. Since you were in charge of a proper closing you marched off towards a tall man leaning against the back of the store, laughing and conversing on his phone. It was a little nostalgic, you remembered your highschool days, sneaking around and smoking pot in strange places. But he was not as young as a teenager, in fact his build made him look older than you.

“Hey! I’m going to ask you to leave, this is a smoke free property” You tried saying sternly gesturing to the sign right above them that read “no smoking” in bold letters. But your short stature compared to the man made you look like a kid waving your arms around attempting a snake dance.

“What on earth is this?” a man with pink hair and face tattoos said “I’m so scared, I should be so ashamed for not reading the sign” he cackled as he pressed the joint to his lips and inhaled again. “My apologies”

He did not look sorry at all.

“Look, I’ve had a long day. I’d like to go home so please go to a proper location or I’ll-” but you’re cut off with the joint stuffed to your pretty lips.

“You’ll what cutie?” he smirked as you stared at him dumbfounded, the joint stuck to your lip as you tried to figure out a reaction. But the man was already on his way towards his motorbike. Of course he had a motorbike. “First one’s always free darling, next time I’ll charge ya” he winked as he put his helmet on and sped off.

“Mother fucker” you swore and banged your head against the brick wall. ‘Never am I staying late again’ you groaned. You walked to your car, but not without tucking the joint safely in your pocket for when you got back home.

---

And that was your first of many nightly encounters with the pink haired man. You were not surprised to see him anymore in the parking lot, either smoking, laughing with friends or just sitting on his bike staring at his phone. You learned his name was Sukuna… you had asked for it during the nth time you threatened to call the cops. You also learned he sold weed to the store manager, so he pretty much had a free pass on smoking here.

“Working late again (name)? My, they must pay you a lot for you to stay here.” he smirked, watching you with grinning eyes. Your annoyance shot up at the mention of your little over minimum wage pay. They definitely were not paying you enough for the store, but giving you a delinquent like this guy… you had written your resignation letter a few times after his nightly visits. You ignored him as you walked to your car, heavy footsteps followed “I brought ya a little something” He grinned handing you a baggy with a cookie “It’s on the house, made ‘em myself”. Eyes narrowed as you tilted your head up to glare at him, but realized you were a lot closer than you expected. You could hear him breathe, feel the heat off his body and smell the spicy cologne he was wearing as you breathed a little too loudly trying to inhale the scent. “Not today darling, that package is for another date” he winked.

Oh my God.

What have you done? Sure he was hot and you didn’t mind the view, but his mouth made up for that. He was like an evil version of a talking cat. Opening his mouth to smite you, prideful like one and given the opportunity would sit on your face if you were lying down. Wait what?

“I’m not interested in you like that!” you squeeked.

He tilts his head to the side, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand “Then how are you interested in me?”

“I’m not interested unless you’re a customer, or an employee here or something!” Frustrated, you grabbed the zip loc with the cookie in it “And I’ll be confiscating this!”

“Sure thing, I made it just for you. It's a special recipe”

“I’ll let the cops know!” you yelled getting in your car, throwing the cookie on the passengers side as you sped home for the night.

“So if I was an employee…or something...” he wondered gazing at the stars, his thoughts frenzying around as his mind came up with the most brilliant idea. Cackling loudly “you’ve really outdone yourself this time me.” Laughing as he got on his bike, speeding towards his apartment.

---

“A new employee?” You mused, It was pretty hectic at work recently, one of your employee’s had quit and they finally found a replacement “I wonder what they’re like”. You asked yourself as you prepared a training checklist to go over, making sure to not make it too hard on the new guy- you heard it was his first job after all. “Hello! And welcome to the Anavrin family!” you say smiling with closed eyes, as you open them your mouth went agape. ‘What the….’ had the demon cat from the parking lot shrunk and gotten more youthful?

“Hi, I’m Yuji Itadori. You must be my brother Sukuna’s friend. He said to write your name down as someone who referred me to the job”

Chuckling nervously with the clipboard in hand you checked off the box for introductions “I’m (name) the grocery supervisor, and you would be working under me mostly.” Friends with Sukuna? Cutting your wrists open and watching them bleed sounded like the better option.

As the shift progressed Yuji showed you he was the complete opposite of his older brother. Always finishing his tasks, being kind and sweet. Everyone else loved him too, just on the first day. He was stocking milk and eggs the way you had shown him, one of the last tasks of the night. The crowd of customers thinned out as it got late and the store was closer to its closing time. You watched to make sure he was doing them correctly and if he needed any help. ‘This wasn’t so bad’ you thought, closing your eyes and leaning back.

“So how’s my little brother been (name)?”

Your eyes shot open at that voice God no please. “He’s been amazing, but you can’t just put my name as a referral without asking me-” There stood a tall Sukuna in a dress shirt with his sleeves rolled back, probably coming after finishing his day job. Majority of his tattoos were covered except the lines on his wrists that were exposed, making you gulp inaudibly. Suddenly feeling underdressed in your uniform’s polo shirt and measly work pants and sweater as you stared up at his glory.

“Sorry darling, I can’t do what?” he smirked. Mentally praising himself as his plan got into action. He couldn’t lie, (name) was interesting. Always yelling at him, cursing him and swearing that she would murder him if it was the purge. His usual charm not working gave him more of a challenge. Not to mention the way she was kind to younger brother made his heart swell a little.

The annoyance returned once you saw his shit eating grin “You can’t write my name down without asking me!”

As he opened his mouth to speak, the intercom went off, notifying everyone that the store was now closed and any remaining customers should bring their purchases to the front to pay for them.

“Yuji you can go home now, I’ll put this away and start heading out myself” you say massaging your temples with your fingers.

“See you soon (name).” Sukuna winked as he walked towards the exit, waving behind at you as he went outside to wait for his brother.

---

Unfortunately soon had never come… at least not for the last 3 weeks. Making you miss the tall man in more ways than one. Maybe he wasn't so bad now that you thought about it. The usual nightly teasing might make you seethe but you’d be lying if you said you didn’t laugh about it later in your car. Somehow his laid backness and mocking smile made your night light up a little. And the weed that you would “confiscate” really did help you unwind after a long shift.

“Maybe it was because he saw me in my uniform” you grumbled. That had to be it. You weren’t a sore look on the eyes. Right? But compared to him… you hissed as you felt your lower half heat up and tremble at the thought of the man. “Well it's only 11:00 pm… and my first class is at 9:30 am… and then I have work at the 4:00.” Debating your options…. ‘This is why I’m probably so grumpy all the time, I think too much’

“And probably need to get laid” you said aloud. Living alone did have its perks, no one could call you crazy for talking to yourself. Your friends always nagged you about your dry spell too, but one night stands weren’t really fun to you anymore. They were too shallow and you always found yourself feeling more frustrated by them than relaxed.

Quickly rummaging through your drawer, you found your lovely device and turned it on. The buzz filled the room as you fell on the bed and groaned. Your mind was wild as you thought dirty little things about the man. Your eyes rolled back and you felt little whines erupt from your throat as you imagined him on top of you with his signature smirk, choking you and teasing you, calling you terrible names and whispering dirty things in your ear.

But as quickly as you heated up, the device buzzed and suddenly stopped. Too hazy to think straight you tried turning it on and off again, soon realizing it was the battery that was dead. “For fucks sake” you threw the vibrator and it hit the wall and fell with a loud thud. Good. Pulling your covers up, scowling as you shut your eyes to sleep.

The next day only went further downhill. Your lecture was long and uneventful, you forgot there was a guest speaker instead of the usual prof, most of the class skipped anyways so you sat alone and pretended to be interested. And as you went home from campus, your car broke down on the way leaving you stranded in the heat as you waited for the tow truck. You really just wanted to buy some batteries and get some time to yourself before work. But life had another thing planned once you got home, you only left with half an hour before you had to leave for work. Which barely gave you enough time to shower, change into an excuse of an outfit, grab your uniform and run out the door. You heard a few whistles as you ran to the bus stop, most likely because of the skimpy outfit which was pretty much just a long t-shirt made into a dress with stockings. But this was not the time to be picking fights.

Work was more mundane as ever. Emptying, stocking, organizing and talking was all that seemed to happen. You frowned for the nth time in the day when you saw Yuji was not scheduled to work today and you remembered him mentioning that he was going somewhere with friends for the next two days. The boy could always turn a bad day around. He was a blessing to the department and the store as a whole. The long day finally came to an end and the weekend awaited. Stuffing your uniform in your bag as you walked out you saw a familiar motorbike and a man leaning against it getting ready to light a joint.

You didn’t think, all you could hear were your footsteps smacking against the pavement as you ran to the man. Blood rushed to your head as you slowed down, stopping barely an inch away from him. He was wearing jeans and a dress shirt and most important, that smirk.

“I didn’t realize you missed me this much darling, otherwise-” but he was cut short as your hands gripped his head and pulled him down to your lips for a not so innocent kiss. You had to admit, you liked the guy. But as he responded by deepening the kiss and sliding his wet tongue into your mouth to taste you, you realized you wanted more of him. And you found yourself in his apartment, stripped down with his face buried between your legs as you came down from your second orgasm. Him licking you clean and not missing a single bit.

“When” you panted “when is Yuuji-” but he shushed you by gagging his fingers deep in your throat.

“Not until Sunday at least” he smiled with a sinister look, your wetness coating his lips “we have the whole weekend darling” He had waited almost two months for this so he was definitely going to take his time and relish the next few days. How could he not? You were beautiful with a fiery personality, and that showed by the ways you disobeyed him on his bed to get a reaction. It seemed the roles were reversed, but this time there would be consequences. For you at least.

He was relentless but you were no pussy and would not back down either. Both of you with fire and heat taking over your bodies as you brought spark and life into the night, wanting to explore every bit of each other, not stopping until you noticed the sun starting to rise causing exhaustion to take over.

He had let you stay to sleep in, provided you with a clean shirt to wear and even made breakfast for you. Presented you with a “gourmet plate of eggo waffles with the finest Aunt Jemimah maple syrup” he said which earned him a giggle from your pretty lips.

“I can make pretty good waffles from scratch” you told him proudly, puffing out your chest in pride. But these were special to you, the whole moment was special.

“I intend on trying them,” he spoke after a moment. He thought it was out of character for him to ask for a relationship but he wanted to be with you more than just a few times. And wanted more of you in different ways. He wouldn’t get his brother involved if it was a casual fuck relationship that he wanted. Which reminded him he owed the brat 50 bucks.

“Maybe you should come over sometime” you smiled sweetly, blushing a bit.

“I’d like to see you more, take out and get to know you” he said, interrupting your invitation.

“I’d like that too.” you said smiling.