#but although i often talk about a ‘what if’ scenario after the bad ending

[manachiichan]

Sailing against Fate

(Alabasta Saga)

Synopsis: If you want to survive on this world, you have to lean on to the strongest, to your luck, you somehow ended up with the Strawhats.

Pairing: Strawhat Pirates X Isekaid!Fem!Reader

Pre-Timeskip! This takes place during the Alabasta Arc. I planned on making this into a mini series with other scenarios.

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|| Alabasta Saga Masterlist ||

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It has to be a dream...

One moment ago, you were just studying for your college midterms and the next thing you knew, black spots covered your vision causing you to pass out on your desk. Well maybe passing out was your fault since you stayed up for a whole two days straight with nothing but caffeine to keep you energized.

But how did it comes to this?

"Oi...Are you dead?"

A pair of curious eyes poked your form the moment you started to wake up. A somehow familiar face greets you. Tan skin with a noticable scar on the lower left side of his eye and a straw hat. Unlike him, His crew had a look of suspicion as they surround the two of you.

'No way....'

How come you found yourself staring face to face with the Strawhat pirates?!

"What...?"

You can only gawked in shock. There in flesh were Luffy, Sanji, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, Vivi and Chopper. All staring back at you with a mixed of bewilderment and cautiousness.

"Where....Am I...?"

"Hey....Are you okay?! Stop that! Your hurting yourself!"

You questioned yourself, slightly distraughted.

Sweet Chopper got worried seeing how tightly you started gripping your hair with both of your hands. Because of his natural caring nature as a doctor, he immediately approached and grab your hands to stop you from hurting yourself further.

"Nooo! I can't take my exams now!"

Seeing that Vivi and Karoo are with the crew, you concluded that you were transported during the Alabasta arc. With Chopper already being there, that means that they had already been to Drum Island and are now on their way to stop the war brewing in the sand nation.

The Strawhats were somehow nice enough to let you stay with them for a while, although deep down, you knew it was because of seeing you in your most pathetic state.

Well most likely since you're a woman and Sanji is the type of man that will never deny a damsel in distress.

But ofcourse, you didn't want to end up on any of their bad side, and since they allowed you to stay with them, you decided to atleast try to be useful to help around the ship.

Only to find out that you have zero experience in managing a ship. You can't tie knots nor lift heavy equipments, Chopper had to help you out when the Going Merry's cannon accidentally fell on you.

All you could do was learn by observing others do their tasks, respectively.

Zoro was far more suspicious along with Usopp who was wary of you, so you couldn't ask any of them for any pointers. Nami, tried to teach you how to stir the ship but you somehow managed to get off course, so she had to step in, not after yelling at you ofcourse.

As much as Chopper helped you out whenever you were struggling, he was a bit too afraid to actually talk to you. And you like Sanji, but you hate how he treats you like a delicate and fragile glass to the point that he never let you help out whenever he's nearby.

Luffy and Vivi were the only ones who are normal around you. Luffy being somehow curious with your mannerism and weird habits. You were slightly glad that he was still the Luffy you knew in the show.

"Where did you came from, (Name)?"

He would often ask the most random questions about you. And whenever you answer, you could feel the eyes of the crew lingers your form.

"Some where really far away..."

"But I doubt that I can return back..."

You answered honestly. It had been a few days since you got sent into this world and you still don't understand how you managed to get here. You knew that you don't belong here, and without the Strawhats, you would probably be dead by now.

The Grandline is indeed a terrifying place, so you have to do what you must if you want to survive in this world.

Luckily for you, you read a few isekai mangas along with those popular korean manhwas back in your world. So with your One Piece knowledge, you have a slightly advantage of knowing what will happen next. However, you kept silent of that, as you were still trying to figure out what you were suppose to do.

In the world of pirates, a sane person would ask the crew to drop them off to a nearby island, however you were far from sane.

You are in the One Piece universe, how can you miss all those major event, nor miss the opportunity to meet some of your favorite characters.

There were two options for you, To become a pirate or marine. You did considered trying to join the revolutionary army, but you didn't like people bossing you around as you go on missions.

As much as you want to see the adorable Captain Koby as a marine, you weren't that keen to get beatened up by pirates. What if you meet those famous characters of the series, you'll definitely die.

So your only option is to become a pirate, being already on board the Going Merry. Besides, you doubt Luffy will let you go now that he has taken an interest on you, not that you know what he saw on you anyways.

You stayed up a few nights, trying to recall the future events that might happen soon. You wrote them down on a notebook that Nami gave you, not before giving you an interest of paying her back. She was slightly suprised on how you just smiled and told her that you'll somehow find the berries for it.

And now, your habit of not sleeping came back. It's like your studying your notes for an upcoming quiz again. You wrote down everything you remembered regarding the current arc you were in right now.

But first, you have to earn the crew's trusts. So you made a lot of effort to get to know them.

Their personalities were still the same like how it is on the series. There was also somethings that weren't mentioned yet you were able to notice small details while being around them.

Whenever Luffy goes feral at the sight of meat, he would let out small growls when someone approached him. It became noticeable whenever he's really hungry.

You were never a threat, Zoro saw that. You were just a weird helpless woman who somehow just ended up in their ship. Surely he was cautious around you, but seeing how you trip on your own two feet made him rethink of his assumptions that you were a spy sent by baroque works.

"Please...! Teach me how to fight...!"

At your most desperate tone, you plead Zoro to train you. If you have to survive, then you need to learn how to fight.

"Worry not, Mademoiselle! For I shall be there to protect you from those filthy trolls that dares to lay a even a finger on your delicated skin...!"

Sanji straight up told you with hearts on his eyes as he fawn over you having him as your Prince charming on a white horse. You won't learn anything from him.

"Sorry, (Name). I'm not exactly an adept brawler like Sanji, Luffy or Zoro."

"Fighting is not really my expertise. Just ask the guys about it."

Nami and Usopp aren't really much of a fighter, so they wouldn't be able to help that much. And Luffy is out of the question.

"Fighting? Just throw hard punches like this! Oh wait, you can't stretch..."

As much as you like Luffy, his fighting style is a bit too reckless for your liking and you doubt that he can teach you without getting side tracked.

And you can't just ask Vivi, like Nami, she's more of a dictator rather than a fighter. Surely she can fight, but you doubt using whip like weapons is fit for you.

So Zoro was your last hope. Watching anime for as long as you can remember, swords is something you were familiar of and You always wanted to learn how to use a sword, and Zoro being a skilled swordsman could maybe teach you a thing or two to atleast defend yourself.

"If you're asking for my help, you must have a good reason. But why should I help you..?"

Zoro was still wary of you, yet you can see that he was less hostile than he was when you first ended up at Going Merry's deck.

"Unlike any of you guys here, I'm the most vulnerable...! I'll die the moment the Navy or another pirate ship appears!"

Okay, you could have sworn that you sounded and look like another Usopp in his eyes.

"If you're serious about learning to fight, you'll have to prove your dedication. Show me you're worth the effort, and maybe, just maybe, I'll consider teaching you a thing or two."

Zoro was dead serious. But it also look like he's willing to teach you how to weild a sword if your resolve was strong enough.

"I'll do it! I want to learn how to defend myself. I can't rely on you guys all the time."

Seeing him suddenly grin, you knew you were about to experience hell.

[oneshlut]

SORRY! i originally asked on the wrong post! My bad!

Hello!!!! I have no idea if this is the right post for requests, but i reqd your overjoyed headcanon and absolutely adored it! I love your writing style already! I originally had two requests, but for now ill go with one, with the Amazing Didgital cricus blowing up, i found favoritizim in the mean purple rabbit, i was wondering for some Jax crush headcanons? I loved your other one, and if its no trouble, id love to read it! Have a lovely day/night!!

A/N: omgomg!! it warms my heart hearing that people are enjoying my writing! thank you so much for the request, i hope you don't mind that i sprinkled in some confessing headcanons in there.. enjoyenjoy!!

Input Feelings (Jax x Reader) [Headcanons]

Rules For Requesting

Characters I Will Write For

Masterlist

Summary: General Jax crushing and confessing headcanons

Nothing irritates Jax more than someone new. Sure, a new fella to add to the prank list, and yet, another re-do of the theme song. So seeing you spawn into existence, scrambling around fearfully, made him feel both amused and annoyed. Let's just say he started out with mixed feelings for you. Mind you, these are just judgements. He hasn't even met you yet. Rude, I know, but it's Jax.

Meeting you went way better than he thought! You actually didn't find him annoying? That was a change of pace for him. Of course, not like he minded. Not at all! Looks like he'll have a new sucker to prank after all.

Although Jax was amused by you, you sure weren't. Not on the second day, at least. You had been talking with him earlier that day, and he wouldn't shut up about insects. Weird, you'd think of all people to be ranting about insects, it would be Kinger. Until later that night, or at least you thought it was night, you opened your door to find spiders in your bed.

And thus, you became Jax's main target for pranking! Hooray..! Yes, you liked his company--he was actually pretty fun to be around! But, uh, you prefer your outfit to not be soaked from a water bucket by the end of the day.

You two became frenemies. Sometimes, days went by where he wouldn't prank you. Shocking, I know. Jax just didn't wanna be too harsh on you, y'know? Which is weird, because Jax doesn't go easy on folks very often.

On days where he wouldn't prank you, you would sometimes receive notes from him. It was a good spirit lifter to go to your room at the end of a long adventure and see the corniest dad joke ever written on a piece of notepaper with crayon writing, sitting there on your bedside table. And on good days, you'd even write notes back for him!

One day, Jax gets either asked or teased about how he's so fond with you, and so rude to everyone else. He either makes some dumb excuse or tries to raise suspicion on the person asking, like the asshole he is, but it gets him thinking. He doesn't like to think. He's a man of action. But you were a.. different scenario.

Before, he was this complete asshole. And that's it, really. But you did something to him, something that he had no idea what to do with. Caine's gotta be messing with his coding, right? Maybe he input feeings in his code just to be mean. But being mean was his thing! God, what have you done to him..?

You, at the time, had no idea you were stripping away all of his confidence. As far as you knew, he has just been a bit nicer recently. Which was good! Right? Right. The notes would've been obvious proof he was getting better. Well, first, he was sending more notes rather than.. bugs.. but second, the notes started getting nicer and nicer. Some were just straight up compliments. That's when you noticed something was off. Jax never complimented anyone. Though, you didn't mind some of the compliments...

It's not like Jax has never been in love. He knows he had some sort of love life when he was in the real world, but he was left with just wisps of what it actually felt like to love someone. To care for someone. Though, now, he's finally able to remember.

You noticed how his teasing significantly decreased the more you spent time with him. You kinda missed it, but you're not one to complain.

Jax, on the other hand, was on edge all the time around you. He hated that you washed away his confidence facade, he hated how soft he was around you, how vulnerable. But that smug smirk wasn't gone just yet. He had one more "prank" to pull.

Ha, he wishes it was a prank. It really wasn't. This was actually the most serious he's ever been. He stared at the crudely drawn purple heart on a piece of scratch paper, only now doubting everything he's ever done as butterflies arose in his digital stomach. Standing outside your door, he suddenly felt all the nerves coming back to him he never thought he'd have to feel again. Jax swallowed down his nerves, but still couldn't hide the flush look on his face--or the fact that his pretend-guts were being tied into a bow.

Inside the small homemade card was an admittance to something he never thought he had to admit. Something he'd rather admit in person. Instead, since every inch of his confidence was gone at this point, he confessed in horrible handwriting, written with crayola twistables.

Jax took one final breath before sliding the heart under your door.

[delulu-with-wandanat]

Objective: Teenage Dreams.

Pairings: Wanda Maximoff x Natasha Romanoff

Tags: Pride month, bisexual Wanda, mutual pining, canon divergence, lesbian Natasha.

A/n: My gift before pride ends lol, it a little rushed but uhh... I enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it. It's kind of a crack fic honestly, just good vibe for ye gays :D (Ps. sorry if there are mistakes I kind rushed this andd it's been a while.)

Summary: It's pride month and Wanda still hasn't made her move. Being the self-proclaimed greatest ally, Y/n and two other decided to give them a push.

On lazy days like these, Wanda usually spends it by reading a book, maybe binge watching some shows. Other times she spends it with her brother, but ever since joining the Avengers, Pietro has made it his ultimate goal to have Steve Roger's physique. He trained almost day and night, honestly Wanda could enter the gym at 9 in the morning finding her brother in the middle of a workout, and by the time she was finished he was still there.

Often time he was also with her best friend, who is now his gym buddy, Y/n Romanoff. Who was just as much of a gym rat as Pietro. Honestly, the amount of time they stare at themselves in the mirror was concerning. She's almost sure she had passed a video on social media featuring them titled; 'How to train like an Avenger'

So nowadays she spends her free time alone, even though she wishes she could spend it with a certain beautiful redhead-

Although it wasn't all that bad. Wanda had found a new fixation to spend her time on. Which was Fanfictions.

Now how does one stumbles upon this... wonderful world you might ask? Well for Wanda it started when she was watching a new TV Show she had recently discovered called, The 100. It was fun until they killed off one of her favorite character, Lexa. Wanda naturally dropped the show in an instant. During one of her rants to one of the new recruits, Kate Bishop then sent her a link leading to a website followed a text that read; "The showrunners might break your heart, but fanfiction authors will be there to pick up the pieces."

And Wanda... Fell down the rabbit hole from there.

At first all she searched was merely about wlw couples on her favorite movies and shows, like that one Supergirl TV show she had been recently watching. Or that one cute show called 'Everything Sucks' that got canceled after one season. Basically any wlw couples she started to like, but couldn't be explored due to the showrunners being a pus-

It didn't matter, she founded the holy-site that held all the stories in the world. Then, when she found nothing else to read there, it lead her journey to... a site that shares the same name as drinking bottle; Tumblr. Minus the 'e'.

The site gave her access to a whole new world and whole lot more stories. It was on this website that she found out there was a whole fandom for the Avengers, and many stories was written about them in different scenarios. Sometimes it was cute, other times it was... questionable-

You can't really blame her, can't you? Her name and the word mommy was basically inseparable on this site.

This was where she learned that people have also been 'shipping' one Avenger and the other. Curiosity got the better of the witch when she started to search herself... and a certain former Russian spy. She was surprised to see how many stories were written about them here. Wanda... may have gotten a little out of hand.

This was her guilty pleasure. Reading stories about her crush and herself in a scenario instead of actually trying to talk to her. Can you blame her though? She was what the internet describes as a 'Loser Lesbian'.

The little voice in her head prefers the word 'Useless Lesbian', which wasn't even accurate as she mostly resonates more with Bisexuality-

"Happy gay month, cus you know you bi and stuff!" Ah there it is, the 'little voice' burst through her door unannounced, causing Wanda to yelp and quickly shut her laptop close to hide her 'shameful' activity.

Wanda glared at the young Romanoff who was carrying 3 different items in his hand and approaching her on the bed. "What the fuck is wrong with-"

"Here, I got you a gay balloon cus it got all the color because it's GAY."

"Y/n-" She reluctantly takes the balloon.

"And I gotchu a vinyl album with that Sweater Weather song cus you Bi." He handed her the vinyl, how thoughtful.

"Ok-"

Lastly, "And I baked you a cake that says, 'BeeEE who yoOOUUu aaRREEE, for YooUURE PRiiiDEEEEeeeEE'" He sang the word off tune.

"Ok- Thank you... Uhm-" She grabs all the items and looks at them with confusion. "This is..." Wanda furrowed her eyes at her friend. "Why- Why did you do this, why are you doing this??"

"You know... Cus you're Bi!"

"I'm well aware of that fact."

"Well my dearest Wanda, in this holy month of June I have a very important mission to accomplish." The young Romanoff suddenly jumps on her bed and dramatically opens his arms as if he was some kind of showman. "I'm gonna get you a woman!"

The youngest Maximoff cringes her face and with a flick of her wrist she knock the soldier off her bed, earning a high pitch scream from him. "First of all, you can't get a woman for yourself how do you expect to get me a girlfriend."

"I have plenty of girls!" He said rather defensively as he sat up on the floor.

"And second, why is this so important to you?"

"What you don't want a girlfriend?"

"I still like guys you know."

He rolled his eyes, "I know that, but you always told me you wanted to try dating girls."

"Not just girls... a girl-" She mumbles.

"What was that?" The man raised a teasing eyebrow.

"Nothing! Now shut up, you haven't answered my question." Wanda said while huffing and crossing her arms.

"Because my dearest friend being Bisexual is one thing, but being bi yourself is just sad-" That statement earned him a rightful pillow thrown at him at full speed. Which he thankfully manages to deflect this time with his reflex.

Wanda then groans and plops on her bed. "You're not going to stop, are you?"

"Nope." Y/n even popped the 'p' to emphasize his point. With a roll of her eyes, Wanda agrees with an exaggerated fine and he joined her on the bed with a grin. "Now, first thing on the list is we need to get you some new clothes."

Wanda hastily sat up looked down at her current outfit and glanced at the mirror in her room. She gave him a stinky eye. "What's wrong with my clothes??" This rude bitch-

"Nothing..." Y/n said rather sassily, "I just... think it might need a little spice is all." Without asking for her permission, Y/n grabs her laptop out of her reach and opens it. "I was thinking we could- WHOAAA..."

"What's- NO!" Her eyes widens in panic has her dirty little secret have been exposed. The witch lunges herself to him only for the young super soldier to hold out a hand to keep her at a distance while staring bewildered at the screen before him. "GIVE IT BACK."

"OH MY GOD???? YOu into this shit?!!" Oh the young Romanoff was having the time of his life. He grinned as he looked at what the story was about, "Natasha Romanoff x Reader? Ohhh ho HO, you really llike her huh-?"

"Y/n I swear to god, GIVE IT BACK." She yelled, Wanda was fucking furious. She already had an annoying brother to deal with, what was she thinking adding Y/n into the mix.

"I want to see your blog." It was like she was seeing red, blood thumping in her brain.

Wanda screeched like a maniac, suddenly overpowering the super soldier. She was practically sitting on top of him wrestling with the now closed laptop, Y/n hugged the laptop close. "Y/N I WILL KILL YOU!"

"I JUST WANT TO SEE!"

"NEVER!" Their screaming was probably heard all over the compound as they wrestle for Wanda's laptop. However, a stern voice stopped their childish fight.

"Enough, both of you!" The two whipped their head to the door to see Natasha crossing her arms and looking at them expectantly. The two scurry off of each other and Wanda made a final yank on her laptop out of his reach. The two stood up like guilty children caught in a fight.

"He took my laptop without permission." Wanda spoke up before Y/n could open his mouth. The look of betrayal on his face brings pleasure to Wanda as Natasha's anger was now directed to him.

"You-"

"Y/n, you know better than to take other people's personal things." Natasha glared at her little brother.

"You're just going to believe her right out of the gate?!" He retorted.

"It's the truth!" Wanda said while hugging her laptop tightly.

"You little snitch-" The super soldier turned to face her challengingly. Before the two were about to enter yet another screaming match, Natasha's stern voice puts them in their place once again.

"You two are acting like children. I have enough of this, Y/n if you don't stop this childish nonsense I'll have you grounded from any missions."

"You can't do that?!" His eyes practically bulge out of it's eye socket.

"I can, and I will." Natasha's death stare easily intimidates him as he quickly mumbles an apology to Wanda. The spy's gaze turned to the witch with soft and caring look, unlike the one she gave to her sibling. "Wanda, if he gives you anymore trouble you let me know ok?"

"Thank you, Natasha." Wanda said shyly, a faint blush visible on her cheek. The redhead smiled at her before giving one last glare to Y/n and left to god-knows-where.

It was so painfully obvious that the two liked each other. Except the only one that fail to realize that is themselves. Operation Scarlet Widow was going to be a lot more difficult than he anticipated, Y/n might need a little backup.

"I seriously don't get why you can't just ask her out instead of reading a bunch of stories-"

This annoying fuck- "DON'T talk to me about that!" She suddenly uses her powers to float him out of her room. "I don't wanna hear about it-" She practically throws him out, Y/n lies on the floor while looking at his friend bewildered. Wanda gave one last glare and shuts the door on his face.

"But-"

"And stay out!" Her voice yelled from inside the room.

Being the annoying friend that he is, he got onto his feet and proceeds to bug the shit out of the witch. Y/n started with those gentle knocks on the door. "Honeyyy-" He teased her.

"Ohmyfuckinggod. Don't call me that!" Wanda yells again. Y/n snickers at her response.

"Wanda, come on..." He knocks again, hearing no response the soldier knocks on the door harder. "You can't hide forever, come out!"

"Jokes on you, I already am!"

"Not what I meant, but ok!" He snickers again, clearly Wanda would not be opening the door anytime soon. He makes his way to the gym to recruit some people who shall help him in this mission.

------

Upon entering the training grounds, Y/n found Yelena and Pietro in the middle of a sparring session. Only these two would spend their Sundays training.

"Dearest Brother, nice of you to join us." Of course Yelena would know it was him, despite having her back facing Y/n.

"Let me know when you want to spar with someone who can actually throw a punch." The soldier said with a smirk.

"Fuck you, Romanoff!" The silver-haired speedster gave him the finger before focusing back on his opponent. "You're the one who's lacking, I thought super soldiers could do this all day?"

Y/n scoffed, "Oh please, I can take you down without breaking a sweat. You rely mostly on your powers."

"Barf, are you going to keep bothering us or join us?" Yelena said with a roll of her eyes, using the distraction Pietro surges forward in an attempt to tackle Yelena. Although she may not have powers, her skills were beyond his years. Using the techniques taught by none other than her own sister, Yelena manages to take down the speedster with ease.

"Hah!" She snorted seeing Pietro with his face on the ground and tapping the floor to announce his defeat. Yelena gets off of him with a smirk on her face.

"Oh come on! If this was a real fight you know you wouldn't stand a chance." The speedster grumbles.

"I'm not denying that, but take that power away and you're just another damsel in distress."

Pietro narrowed his eyes. In the midst of her overconfidence, he uses his powers to knock Yelena on the feet, causing her to fall backwards onto her ass. Normally, her instinct would've kicked in and she would prepare for the fall, but this time Pietro stands in triumph while crossing his arms with a smirk on his face.

"Bitch." Yelena mumbles in Russian before dusting herself off.

"Now if you're both finished, I would like to make an offering." Y/n said while putting his fingers together like some menace business man with bad intention.

"You want to steal Tony's car and do a high speed race on the highway? I call dibs on the Mclaren." Yelena spoke up.

"So long as I get the Ferrari-" Pietro chimes in.

"No, but we'll get back into that because I always wanted to try his Audi. What I have is, how would you feel on playing cupid for our dearest sisters?" Yelena only raises an eyebrow while Pietro squints his eyes.

"I am getting sick of seeing them practically eye-fucking each other at the gym." Yelena started.

"Hey, that's my little sister." Pietro said while puffing his chest out playing the overprotective big brother role.

Yelena rolled her eyes, "She's 27 dipshit, and you're only 12 minutes older."

"Still my little sister..."

"Look we can all agree that these two needs to sort out their feelings, and since the two are completely useless as one is an idiot who thinks staring will magically get her a date. And the other has deep traumatic issues where she struggles to have proper relationship due to her upbringing. I'd say, maybe they need a little third party help?" Y/n opens his arms as if to wait if any of the two objects.

"And how do you plan on pulling this off?" Yelena asked.

"I was hoping you might help me figure that out." Y/n threw back the question. Yelena rolled her eyes.

"So you came to us for help empty handed?"

"Well I would argue dedication and sheer will counts for something." Y/n puffed out his chest, he clearly has nothing.

"We don't even know if Natasha likes Wanda back." Pietro chimes in, which earns him a raised eyebrow from the two Russians.

"It's hard to miss."

"Yeah, I can see the oblivious genes runs in the Maximoff's."

Maybe it was less obvious to someone who was not close to Natasha, she was a trained spy overall. And these two were practically raised to be more observant than others. Or that could just be the oblivious Maximoff genes.

"All I know is, Wanda has had this crush ever since she stole Natasha's jacket."

Y/n furrowed his eyebrows at Pietro. "Wasn't that like... a year ago with Ultron?" Yelena barks out a laugh, "You mean to tell me she's been pinning on Natasha for a year??"

Pietro shrugs his shoulders and smirked, "Wanda has bigger pool, but I'm the one getting all the girls."

"Barf-" Yelena said while fake gagging, earning a jab on the rib by Pietro. "If we want a shot for our dearest love birds we have to be quick, cause I'm noticing a certain android having his eyes on Wanda."

"Who, the toaster?" Pietro said while cringing his face.

"Ok... I can see you don't seem so fond of the guy, and Vision's not so bad y'know-" Y/n said, it's not that he was close with Vision. But he didn't understand why Pietro would look so utterly disgusted.

"No, he's not bad. But if this works out, you and I would be brothers for real, y'know?"

Damn... This was true brotherhood. "Bro..."

"Bro..."

The two hugged like it was something out of a bromance movie. Yelena could only watch with her arms crossed, wondering what the fuck was going on. However, while the two gym rats were having their moment, a plan formed in her mind.

-------

The trio sprang into action in an instant, ordering a bunch of pizzas, heading to the city to grab some supplies, thankfully alcohols were already taken cared of.

"Ok! Now we just need everybody here." Y/n said with a satisfied grin whilst taking a shot to give himself a head start. Yelena mimicked his movement and so did Pietro.

"FRIDAY, assemble the team to the common room." The AI gave Pietro the acknowledgement, soon enough the team entered the common room with a confused look.

"What's going on?" Steve was first to spoke up as he looked around the decorated room with food and beverages.

Wanda glances to a certain redhead a few meters away from her, Natasha initially had a bored look on her face, arms crossed, and was probably mentally preparing herself to whatever the hell her siblings had in mind. And it was as if the spy felt a pair of eyes on her she looked to the side and locked eyes with Wanda, instantly, the corner of Natasha's mouth pulled into a tiny smile and a small shrug.

Wanda blushed instantly and turned her gaze to the floor, tucking a hair behind her ear. The trio, saw this and glances at one another.

"Well dearest teammates." Y/n started, taking a microphone and speaking to it as if he was an mc. "Tonight will be the night-"

"What's with the mic, Y/n?" Natasha asked with a roll of her eyes.

"I was getting there," He responded while putting his hand up, "Tonight Is the night we let loose!" He whooped, yet the only one cheered with him was Pietro.

"Seriously?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow.

Y/n scoffed at his teammates, looking at all the low faces and annoyed faces. "Sam! Come on, you're always game." He asked, needing ATLEAST someone to be in it.

Sam sighed, "Man, I would but honestly I was looking forward to sleep early tonight." Y/n looked at him as if his heart had been stabbed.

"Wanda??" He asked his best friend, and Wanda groaned at him. Oh this was a rough start.

"Honestly, I'm in the mood for some me time and not... whatever this is." She replied indicating to the alcohol bottles on the table.

"Sorry kid, looks like everyone is super tired." Steve added with a pity look, "Maybe next time plan things out."

"But that's boring!" Pietro exclaimed, and speeds to every single one handing out a shot glass filled with vodka.

"It's not just any normal drinking night, there's singing involved." Yelena finally chimed in while dunking another shot.

"Yelena, you can't possibly be part of this." Natasha asked her sister, and Yelena shrugged in respond.

"Any reason to grab Tony's alcohol is as good as any." The blonde replied.

Everyone glanced at one another, shot glass in hand, contemplating their decision. "Think of it like a team bonding." Y/n talked again, he cocked his head at Yelena who turns on a song and a familiar tune started playing, a song that would get anyone from any generation dancing (excluding Steve, perhaps). Dancing Queen by Abba.

Y/n had a goofy grin on his face, dancing into the tune, Pietro followed through while Yelena occasionally bopped her head. Sam was the first to grow a grin on his face. Steve, Natasha and Wanda looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "It's Abba!" The falcon said as a matter of factly, he then downed in shot.

"That's the spirit!" Y/n said excited as Sam danced to his direction.

Hesitantly, cap started to walk forward earning a disbelief gasp from Natasha. "Rogers, really...?"

"I mean, I really did enjoyed Mama Mia...." The American boy said with a sheepish smile.

As soon as the lyric's intro came in, Y/n puts an arm around Steve with a microphone in hand. "You can dance!"

"You can jive!" Sam pulled the microphone to himself.

"Having the time of your life!" Those who were already in the circle sang simultaneously, Natasha rolled her eyes but if you squint you could see a tiny smile there. Meanwhile Wanda shifted closer to Natasha watching the group in amusement.

"See that girl!" Y/n pointed at the two, and the other followed. "Watch that scene, digging the dancing queen." He sang, "Come on dancing queens get in here!"

Natasha shook her head fondly, holding back a smile.

"Wanda, Wanda, I know you want to join us girrlll..." Y/n said playfully to his best friend, the boys and Yelena were beckoning her to join. Natasha looked to her side and true enough, Wanda was biting her lips, contemplating whether or not she should join. "You like this song don't lie! Natasha, help me out." Wanda did in fact like this song.

The way her body swayed subtly to the rhythm, her eyes glinting with anticipation, the only thing that's holding Wanda back was herself. Fuck it, Natasha thought to herself. She then held Wanda's arms and dragged her into the group who cheered when they joined. "Wha- Nat, no I-"

"Come on, little witch." Natasha said, turning to face Wanda and raised her shot glass. "Loosen up a bit."

God, Wanda couldn't decline, especially when her crushed smirked like that. They clinked their shot glass and downed their drinks.

------

As the clock got closer to midnight, the more they drank, and the more they drank, the more chaotic it gets. The song they choose ranges to many different genres, in the beginning Pietro and Y/n mostly sang something boyish, like rap or rock. Then as the two gets progressively drunker they sang something what would be describe as 'Girly Pop'.

Steve sang some old 40s song, which was refreshing especially after hearing Y/n's off tune singing voice. Everybody except Natasha was surprised to hear Yelena singing American Pie wholeheartedly, Natasha even sat next to her and sang it with her briefly.

Although the highlight of the night was probably the time Yelena, Pietro and Y/n sang and dance to the song 'Wannabe' by Spice Girls. Natasha had to hid her face with her hand while Sam was laughing his ass off and leaning to Steve for support. Wanda was like a giggling maniac the whole time as she was secretly recording it for some black mailing material on her twin.

Mid-song, Yelena pulled her brother subtly and pushing a very drunk Pietro forward. "Take it for a spin, Maximoff!"

"So, here's a story from a to z-!" Pietro started rapping his part drunkenly.

"She's not drunk enough." Yelena said to Y/n who was trying to stable himself.

"Yep, the alcohol hasn't hit her yet, and Pietro's not going to be much help-" Y/n covered his mouth suddenly as he felt a vomit, he then answered after seeing Yelena's raised eyebrow. "Sorry- Don't worry I got this, hold a bottle."

"Slam your body down and wind it all around!" Pietro continued singing with Yelena twirling his ass in what this generation would describe as 'slay' manner, Y/n drunkenly sauntered over to Wanda who panicked when he started pulling her to the make shift stage.

"No- No, let me go, Y/n!" Wanda protested.

"Just take a shot and come with!" Y/n practically yanked her and they stumbled over to the middle of the living room. "Cheers!" He said while knocking his glass with hers and Wanda finally relents and knocked back her shot.

"-make it last forever, friendship never ends!" Y/n sang while putting an arm around his best friend, Wanda cringes at the bitter taste of the alcohol, she had a few drinks in already but she was never really fond at the taste of vodka.

"Wanda!" Yelena said, suddenly putting an arm around the her as well. "Oh, honey, you emptied your glass already."

"N-no, Yelena, I just dra-"

"Don't you worry, I got you." Yelena said while pouring her another shot, Wanda's eyes widens. She glances to the side and locked eyes with Natasha who raised a teasing eyebrow at her. "Yes, now we cling!" The blonde haired woman said while raising her glass.

Reluctantly, Wanda clinked their glass awkwardly and took a deep breath before taking another shot. She doesn't know how many shots she have taken from that moment, all she knew was that she felt like dancing.

Natasha watched as Wanda's dance move progressively become more fluid and at ease in contrast to her usual shy self. The spy smiled to herself, dance with her. Natasha shook her head at the impulsive thoughts. At some point during the song 'Teenage Dreams' by Katy Perry, Wanda was handed a mic by Yelena. Thankfully this time Wanda was drunk enough not to refuse, and instead grinned like a goof.

When Wanda sang the second verse, Natasha almost lost her breath because she sounded so... beautiful.

"We drove to Cali and got drunk on the beach. Got a motel and built a fort out of sheets."

Wanda sang with her eyes closed, smile on her face, swaying her body to the rhythm. "I finally found you, my missing puzzle piece, I'm complete." The witch opened her beautiful green eyes just to have a similar looking ones staring right back at her.

Wanda giddily approached Natasha and extend her hand, "Wanda-"

"Come onn, Tasha!" Wanda pleaded. Tasha, well that's new-

Natasha hesitantly looked around, the trio were holding onto each other while slurring to the song, Sam had passed out, and Steve... Well, he gave Natasha a knowing look before helping Sam up to his feet and gave Natasha a look that says 'Don't mess this up, Romanoff.' And walking off with a drunken Sam.

"We can dance, until we die. You and I..." Wanda sang waiting for Natasha to finally grab her hand, finally the spy relents and took the witch's offering hand. "-we'll be young forever!"

Wanda practically yanks Natasha into the middle of the living room.

"You make me feel like I'm livin' a teenage dream. The way you turn me on, I can't sleep. Let's run away and don't ever look back, don't ever look back!"

The younger woman puts a hand on Natasha's shoulder, swaying her hips while singing the lyrics. Natasha was unsure if she should put her hand on Wanda, keep it to the side, on Wanda's waist perhaps?

"My heart stops." The witch suddenly tilt Natasha's chin so their eyes meet. "When you look at me," Natasha's breath hitched in her throat, "just one touch...." And the rest of the lyrics seems to died on Natasha's ears as all she could see was a drunken state Wanda making her confession crystal clear.

Wanda turned and moved her body sensually against Natasha, without hesitation, the older woman puts a firm hand on Wanda's hips to guide her moves. Wanda shivered when she felt Natasha's hot breath on her ear. "Imma get your heart racing in my skin-tight jeans." She grabs Natasha's hand and trail it up her body, a silent plea to the older woman to touch her. "Be your teenage dream tonight..."

Fuck... if Natasha had no self-restraint, she would've taken Wanda here and there. "Let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans" Wanda turns around to face Natasha again and this time the younger one guided Natasha's hand to rest on her thighs. "Be your teenage dream tonight...."

The song reached it's mini pause. Wanda, almost in desperation and system full of alcohol wrapped her arms around Natasha and leaned in til their nose was touching. "I want to kiss you so bad..." She whispered.

"I-" The redhead was at lost for words, her eyes looking deep into those beautiful green eyes, searching for any signs of hesitation. Blown pupils were looking right back at her, slowly it travels down to Natasha's lips. Fuck this.

As soon as the song started again, Natasha gently cup Wanda's face with one hand and pulled her into a soft kiss. Oh Wanda's heart could explode right about now, for a second her mind became stone-cold sober so it could remember this moment properly. Wanda drops the microphone she was holding and puts her hand on the older woman's cheeks, using her thumb to caress her soft delicate skin.

"You make me, Feel like I'm livin' a teenage dream The way you turn me on, I can't sleep Let's run away and don't ever look back, don't ever look back."

The two women were now lost in their own world, they failed to notice the cheers from their own respective (very drunk atm) siblings. Wanda was taller than Natasha, but she went on her tippy toes and wrapped her slender arms around the spy. Natasha craned her neck a little, smiling into the kiss, her arms securely on (her) the little witch's waist.

"My heart stops, when you look at me. Just one touch, now baby I believe this is real. So take a chance and don't ever look back."

Wanda felt like she was on cloud nine, feeling Natasha's soft lips on hers. Oh those sweet plump lips she's been day dreaming about for months, honestly, she felt like the main character in a movie. A teenager if you will in a coming off age movie, is this what Simon felt like from Love, Simon? The song was quite spot on, as Natasha made her feel like a teenager once again, or at least what she assumes a teenager would feel. She never really got to properly enjoyed her teenage years, but here she is. With the woman of her dreams.

"We're siblings for real!" They finally broke the kiss after hearing a drunken Y/n made the statement, arms on both Yelena and Pietro who were just as equally drunk as him. Pietro mimicked his sentence, and Yelena only nodded her head while occasionally raising her glass. Natasha and Wanda shared a look as they held each other, the spy snorted while her counterpart giggled at the scene.

It seems like the trio had put Katy Perry's song on shuffle, because the beat to 'Last Friday Night' started playing.

They started chanting "We did it!" matching their words to the tune of the song, the two couple shared a look.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" Natasha asked, a small smile on her face.

"Yes, please." Wanda replied shyly before being dragged out of the living room by Natasha.

-------

The witch woke up groggily on her bed, her eyes needed time to adjust to the light that were peaking into her room. She groaned and fell back onto the bed with a thud, shielding herself from the light like a vampire allergic to it. "Ugh... what did Yelena put in my drinks." She grumbles.

All of the sudden everything came rushing back into her memory like a tidal wave. I kissed Natasha...

She hastily sat on her bed and looked around. She remembered they kissed, but... how did they end up here. Wanda remembered Natasha asking her to move out of the living room, oh my god did we slept together? The witch's face started to match her battle suit as she thought of the possibility, wish I could've remembered.

Her throat felt dry so she decided to grab herself some drinks in the kitchen. And to her surprise, Natasha was already there. Humming to herself and cooking breakfast, Wanda let in a sharp breath at the sight. Of course, being the trained spy that she is, Natasha greeted Wanda without having to turn around.

"Good morning, Wanda. Slept well?" Natasha asked kindly.

"I don't know how you do that." Wanda muttered.

The spy chuckles to herself, "What I was trained for, little witch. I already put a glass of water for you by the table. Bacon and eggs alright?"

Wanda glanced at the table and surely enough Natasha already prepped a big jug of water and a glass for her. "Oh thank you, you're a godsent..." The younger woman took a seat and dawned her water, and then also her second glass of water.

Natasha walked by her and set a plate for both herself and Wanda. "What a night was it?" She said with a hint of tease.

The brunette only nodded her head while drinking her water like it was the last one on earth. She dropped her glass with a sigh of relief and glances at Natasha, a faint blush appeared on her cheek almost immediately. Wanda cleared her throat before answering, "It was, thank you for breakfast."

"You're welcome." She replied simply, her body still angled a little to the side, one arm propped on the head of the chair whilst staring intently at Wanda.

"Natasha, I..." Wanda started, oh god suddenly her throat feels dry again. The spy gave a small nod, urging her to continue. The younger woman started fidgeting with her finger. "I don't regret it," Wanda finally looks at her. "Kissing you, all of it, I don't regret any of it."

A smile tugged the corner of Natasha's lips, but before she could answer, Wanda started rambling on.

"B-but it's ok if you don't feel the same. Or that it was just a heat in the moment kind of thing."

"Wanda, relax." The older woman put a gentle hand on Wanda, she inhaled sharply at Natasha's action. "Listen... I'm no better at this. However, if your interested, I would like to take you out on a date." Natasha smiled at her, oh god, Wanda's heart was beating a mile minute. Wait, wait, she said date?

"I- Yes, I would love that." Wanda averted her gaze, the intensity of Natasha's green eyes was too much. The sheer intensity of the spy's gaze could turn her into a puddle of mess.

"Good, I've been dying to try this restaurant." Natasha said while turning her body now to face her breakfast, she took one bite of the bacon before continuing. "I hope Southeast Asian cuisine isn't too spicy for you." The spy said teasingly.

"Oh please, you underestimate me." Wanda responded with a slight bump of their shoulders, yet a question still lingers on her mind. "Hey uh... Sorry, I was just wondering. Did we uh... do anything?"

"What do you mean? We kissed." Natasha answered cluelessly.

"Yeah, but I remember you took me to my room. I couldn't remember anything from there, so... I was just wondering if we did anything." Wanda asked, her voice progressively gets more timid the more she explains.

"Hmmmm, like what? Watching a movie?" The spy said while looking up to the ceiling as if deep in thoughts, small smirk on her face.

"Tasha, stop messing around." Wanda said with a playful eyeroll.

"Tasha, huh? That's new." She continued to teased her little witch. Wanda playfully pouted her lips, of course Natasha couldn't help but give in to that. "Don't worry, little witch, nothing happened. I took you to your room, we made out for a little bit and before you finally fell a sleep in my arms. It was a adorable." Natasha added the last bit with a shrug and a smirk.

Wanda's face got increasingly red, "Ugh..." She groaned at hid her face in her hand. "I'm sorry."

"Don't hide that pretty face, as I said, it was adorable." Natasha pried away Wanda's hand, the witch relents and was greeting with a fond smile from Natasha. One she rarely saw, god she's so fucking beautiful.

And unfortunately for them, it had to be ruined by the trio... Again.

"Ughh.... my head-" Y/n groaned.

"I feel like skipping gym today." Pietro chimed in.

"Keep up." Yelena responded with a bored tone. She was sweating, probably went on a run.

Wanda and Natasha mentally cursed at themselves and returned to their own respective breakfast. The trio rummages through the kitchen, finding cereals and bowls, Yelena opted for an apple instead. They sat down across Natasha and Wanda, Y/n was first to point out the obvious of course.

"So...?" He asked them excitedly.

"So what?" Natasha raised an eyebrow at him.

Only for him to raised his eyebrow right back, "Did you guys shag?" Yelena piped in, Pietro groaned.

"No, don't answer that-" The older Maximoff covered his ears while Wanda shrunk in her seat.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Y/n yelled excitedly.

"First of all, we didn't." Natasha said firmly, "And second, I don't see how that's any of your business."

"Oh, but it is." The redhead narrowed her eyes at him, but it was too early to deal with her brother's antics.

"Look whatever you saw, zip it." Natasha stated, "I personally want to keep this under wrap, if this goes out to the press they're going to have a lot of questions and I don't want to deal with that."

"I'll second that." Wanda muttered, casting Natasha a grateful look to which the older woman smiled in response.

Y/n scoffed, "Whatever, I'm great at keeping secrets. Beside, I'm just glad the whole sexual tension can now be resolved-" He shuts up immediately upon seeing Natasha's glare.

After a few minutes of silence and eating their breakfast, Y/n's phone notification started going off like crazy. "Oh, Piet I think one of our videos got viral."

"Where let me see." Pietro leaned over to take a look, and upon opening the app, their eyes quickly widens. "Why would you upload that?!"

"I didn't! I must've- Fuck..." Y/n panicked, and by that, really panicked.

"What's going on?" Natasha asked.

"Nothing!" The two men said simultaneously, fuck... if Natasha finds out they're screwed. However, before they could delete the evidence, Natasha snatched the phone from her brother's hand. Wanda leaned closer to take a look and gasped. Yelena only snorted and excuse herself as she had an idea where this was going.

It was a footage of them, kissing, wrap up in each other's arms, lip tight in a passionate lock. Fuck, Katy Perry was right, Pictures of last night ended up online and they were screwed. "Y/n..." Natasha said warningly.

Without a second thought Y/n dashed away from the table with Pietro who zooms past him with his superspeed.

"I'll fucking kill you both!" Was Natasha's last word before hunting them down one by one.

[winstonsns]

req!! gang w reader who is scene??? tyvm!! :33 love ur writing btw! super fun 2 read. LOLZ /gen

the gang with scene!reader (request)

authors note: should i continue writing little scenarios with the hcs or not 😞 i need feedback pleaseee 🙏💗 sorry this is really bad ill try to do better next time

includes ponyboy, johnny, soda, darry, dally, two-bit and steve

word count: 2.9k

warnings: cussing, alcohol, insults, mentions of beating someone up

PONYBOY CURTIS

as ponyboy walked into the classroom as his first day as a freshman, he saw a girl, you, wearing bright colors and sitting at a desk, reading a book

he decided to sit next to you, an introduction on every desk, one he loved doing when he was in middle school

you turned your head slightly to look at him, smiling at him while he smiled back, blushing slightly

he thought you were very pretty, your style was different than one he’d ever seen, he could hear snickering behind the two of you

“why does she dress like that?” “yeah, i don’t know, probably thinks she’s cool or something…” “god, those stupid bright colors are blinding my eyes…”

he turned around, asking, “hey, what’s your problem? she ain’t doin’ anything wrong, she’s readin’ her book, mindin’ her own damn business. her style don’t hurt you, does it?”

they went quiet and whispered to each other, their faces turning a shade of red due to the embarrassment of being confronted

“thanks… i really appreciate it…” you mumbled to him, he replied, “yeah, ain’t a problem. what’s your name?”

the two of you continued to talk, switching numbers at the end of the day and calling every day after school, hanging out inside and outside of school, weekends and school days

since kids your age typically have low self esteem, he always defends you whenever someone talks crap about you

pony always manages to convince you to keep dressing how you always dress, that it isn’t anyone’s business how you look or wear things, you should be yourself

he thought you’d be a weird kid, type to always talk about death, but you were very unique, personality wise too

JOHNNY CADE

pony had told johnny beforehand that he would bring a girl from his school to his house, wanting the two to meet

the two of you would “get along so well that you end up together,” pony claimed, strongly believing in his statement

johnny never would’ve imagined you to look how you did, but he didn’t have a problem with all the bright colors and the cute converse you wore, even though he wore the exact same ones

he became very interested in why you wore what you wore and questioned you

you were very open to all the questions, glad that someone cared enough to ask you about yourself

the two of you got along well, he often came over to your house after to see your scene-ish room with bright colors and characters he’d never seen before

he really loves you because you make him feel like the only person in the world in the best way possible, and he made you feel that way too

he calls your outfits tuff all the time, the two of you have polar opposite styles but believe they look good on one another

SODAPOP CURTIS

steve and soda had made a bet, if soda lost then he would have his makeup done by you and would have to wear it for his whole shift at the DX

you knew about this when they made the bet and agreed to do the makeup if your boyfriend lost, although you didn’t know about the details and what the bet was about

soda had lost and told you do go to the DX with him, steve would be at the cashier while you and your boyfriend would be in the back, you doing his makeup

“ughh… when’s y/n comiiiiinggg??!” soda impatiently asked, steve rolling his eyes and hitting his friends arm, pointing to the door to see you

“hey honey!!” a smile appeared on you and your boyfriend’s faces, you leaned over the counter to give him a kiss, steve fake gagged in disgust and noticed your bag full of makeup

you smiled at steve, soda grabbing your hand and dragging you to the back, both of you giggling for no reason

you sat him down on a chair and asked, “which eyeshadow?” you pulled out a palette and the colors were black, pink, white, red, green and more

he thought for a second before yelling, “steve!! choose a color or two, out of black, pink, white, red and green!!”

his friend replied quickly, “black and pink!! more black though!” you smiled, telling your boyfriend to close his eyes and to not open them

“why?” he asked, you rolling your eyes, he could act like a kid sometimes, always needing the answer to everything

you replied, “soda, i need to do your eyeshadow, if i did that with your eyes open it’d fucking hurt..” and so he kept his eyes closed

you picked up a brush and put it in the black eyeshadow, lightly brushing it on two thirds of soda’s eyelids, doing the same to this left eyelid

you then looked at him for a bit, wondering if it looked okay before grabbing another brush and putting it in the pink eyeshadow

brushing it on the outside third of his eyelid, he flinched and you apologized, asking him, “uncomfortable, huh?”

he mumbled, “just a foreign feeling..” you told him to open his eyes, he did as you said and smiled at you

“do i look good?” he asked, you replied with, “yes, you do!! we aren’t done yet, though.” so you grabbed your mascara, a new tube because you knew not to share makeup

soda’s eyes went wide and moved away, stating, “oh, you are not putting that thing near me! it’s gonna poke my eyes out, it looks so sharp!!”

you rolled your eyes, asking, “you sure you don’t want it, soda?” and he shook his head once again

pulling out the mini pocket mirror out of your bag, you showed your boyfriend what he looked like, he gasped, “steeeeeveeee!!!!”

his friend sighed, walking into the back to see you standing in front of soda, his bright eyeshadow standing out

the three of you were grinning, not saying a word before steve grabbed his arm and shoved him to the cashier

soda and steve both thanked you, telling one another the makeup actually looks good

you stated, “goodbye steve!! make sure he doesn’t wipe the makeup off until it’s the end of the day or starts itching. i’ll leave some makeup pads and remover for him.”

he said goodbye back, you walked to the cashier and kissed your boyfriend on the cheek and left the store with your bag in your hands

as soda turned around to see steve, the two started talking when two-bit walked into the DX, a bell ringing at his entrance

as he began to get closer to the cashier, his friend turned his head, two-bit grinning widely and stating, “holy shiiiit!!!”

basically, soda loves your makeup and asks you to do his sometimes

he thinks striped clothes on you look super cute, asks you to wear stripes more once the two of you know each other better

and when the two of you start dating, he buys you striped socks with the money he’s saved up for a while

he’s never met someone who dresses like you and is glad to have someone like you as a partner

so when people see you on the street walking together, they see a bubbly guy who everyone knows and a girl dressed in black and bright colors, a different style not known to anyone but her and her boyfriend

DARRY CURTIS

darry walked into ponyboy’s school, having to go to a ‘parent’ teacher conference with many others

he hadn’t known why he was called into the school, the office assistant telling ponyboy beforehand that his guardian had to come in, a matter was on their hands

ponyboy was walking next to him when darry asked, “where the hell are we goin’?” confused, not knowing what was happening

“said to meet in the gym.” ponyboy replied, shrugging and guiding his eldest brother to the gymnasium

as they opened the door, there were donuts and coffee on a table nearby, the center of the room having a big circle of chairs, many students and their guardians sitting down

some people were nicely dressed, madras and khakis while others were wearing almost denim everything, one person standing out

a woman looking to be in her early twenties sitting down with a boy in a sweater and khakis, looking to be around ponyboy’s age

the brothers quickly grabbed donuts and ate them up quickly, darry asking pony, “where d’ya wanna sit?”

his brother shrugged, the older one rolling his eyes at the lack of an answer, teenagers never had enough care to answer a simple question, apparently

he chose to sit next to the woman with a bright colored outfit, you, observing you and your mannerisms

then a teacher stood up, introducing herself and stating, “so, the reason why i have called you all here… is because the freshman class of this school has been misbehaving drastically. someone has even… smeared excrement all over the walls of the boys bathroom…”

you and the younger boy text to you began to giggle, causing ponyboy to giggle too, his older brother trying to hold back a smile

your brother leaned down, turning his head to ponyboy and giving him a sharp glare, asking, “the hell are you laughin’ at, greaser?” both ponyboy and his brothers attention suddenly on the boy next to you

you lightly smacked his head, forcing an, “ow!! that fucking hurt, sis..” out of him, telling him to apologize to the boy immediately

after he apologized to his classmate, ponyboy didn’t forgive him but his older brother appreciated your discipline

although the teacher was still talking, you apologized to the slightly older guy next to you, smiling at him after he accepted your apology

so the two of you continued talking, even your brothers had something against each other, you got along well

by the time the conference was over, he had asked you for your number and you gave it to him, apologizing once again for your brother being a snobby kid

darry loves how you aren’t scared to dress the way you want, you obviously stand out in a room full of people because of all the bright colors you wear

you don’t care about what others think, he grows fond of you because of how carefree you are

a lot of people believe you’re mean or weird because of the way you dress but he realized you were the opposite once you got to know each other

you did intimidate him at first though, although you were harmless, he couldn’t tell if you were a soc or a greaser so he just stood away from you

DALLAS WINSTON

dally walked into the station, handcuffs restraining him and an officer behind him, directing him to a holding cell

as he was chatting with the officer, he saw a girl, you, whom he guessed to be around his age in the cell

you had a fringe covering a part of your face, straight hair with black and bright colored clothes, he specifically noticed the black and neon pink knee high striped socks you wore

“wh— you’re puttin’ me in a cell with a girl? are you kiddin’ me?!” he complained, looking back at the officer

his handcuffs still weren’t off, you were sitting down and he noticed you weren’t restrained in any way

you glanced at him, already seeing him looking at you, he asked, “you ain’t wearin’ cuffs… why? is it cause you’re a girl?” teasing you at the end

you rolled your eyes, replying, “it’s because i’m not known for being violent. i’m not in for nearly punching a guy to death,” he wondered how you knew why he was being held in a cell, “i just graffitied some wall or something. the place was fucking abandoned, i shouldn’t have gotten in trouble for it.”

he stared at you, “yeah, that seems stupid..” he thought for a moment, “you got a different style goin’ on. it’s interesting, what’s your name?”

you replied, scoffing, “i’m not interested in getting in your pants, winston,” you rolled your eyes before stating, “and my name—“

an officer came by, yelling into the cell, “hey, y/n!! get your ass up, someone’s here to pick you up!”

you slowly got up, the boy who was still standing asked you, “hey, y/n how old are you?” you replied with your age, he told you to come by buck’s bar the next day so the two of you could talk and get to know each other better

smiling, you said goodbye to dally and walked to the exit, leaving the station and walking to whoever was picking you up

originally, he wanted to get with you because you were different and he just wanted to say something like, “yeah i banged a girl once, wore bright colors and shit.”

but he grew to actually really appreciate how kind and amazing you were, he expected you to be weird because of how you dressed, it wasn’t like anything he was used to

dally steals shit for you all the time, especially clothes you like and hair dye if you’re too lazy to get it

TWO-BIT MATHEWS

two-bit walked into the drive in entrance, already drunk and walking around, tormenting other people

after pantsing a random guy and getting yelled at, he walked over to a girl, you, standing near her car and watching the movie that was on

he laughed, seeing your black and neon green striped socks and other bright colors on your clothes, “you look like a fuckin’ harlequin!!!”

you looked at him with boredom, he got in a good look at your face and suddenly regretted what he had said

you were beautiful, your hair was nicely styled and your accessories matched well with your outfit

“bitch, you look like you’re nearly in your fuckin’ twenties. why the hell are you wearing a childish ass mickey mouse shirt, you pussy?” you replied back, looking at him up and down

the two of you continued insulting each other, the argument forming into an actual conversation, the two of you getting to know each other

as time flew by, it was time to leave the drive in, both of you were drunk after he gave you some alcohol, you had asked for some

you got off the car hood and grabbed a sharpie, the alcohol bottle still being intact, you wrote your number on the label and gave the bottle back to keith, as he had told you

“call me tomorrow. both of us will probably be hung over, so around 12pm?” you asked, him nodding and winking weirdly, walking off to his house

the two of you are very well known and mess with other socs, once you changed the pool water into different colors, somehow adding a weird smell when you and your boyfriend came into the pool with many other people

you did it just to piss off the socs, knowing they hated both of you, disregarding whether you were a greaser or a soc

you and keith’s relationship doesn’t really change depending on your style, he loves you no matter how you dress

STEVE RANDLE

steve and his best friend, soda, were in the DX, busy working when a girl, you, with black and bright colored eyeshadow and clothes

steve was at the cashier, he smiled at you and asked, “heyy, what can i get for you today?”

he did admit, when you were talking, he felt a little attracted to your voice and the clothes you wore, appreciating the accessories you were wearing

you seemed like a nice person, as he got you what you wanted for food, he started some small talk

“you got nice clothes. never seen someone who dresses like that, what’s the style called?” he asked

you shrugged, replying with, “thanks! you’re the first person to comment on my clothes and to not call me weird for it. it’s scene, basically bright colors and stuff, but also a mix of black clothes? skinny jeans, straight hair, fringes and stuff. not sure how to explain it…” mumbling at the end

he smiled at you, continuing to talk with you until another customer walked into the store

after the customer had left the shop, steve asked you for your number, you happily accepted and wrote it on a piece of paper before leaving, claiming your friends were outside

he thinks the way you dress is very creative and unique, if anyone dares to speak against you then they’ll get beat up

he does his hair every day and likes to do yours too if you let him, he’ll follow your instructions and make sure your hair is straight with the cute fringe you like

if you want to dye your hair then he’ll help you do that too, likes getting messy with all those colors, ruining his shirts and staining his hands because of it

[jinisnuggets]

Manjiro Sano Headcannons

⚠️ Disclaimer⚠️

This does not only contain cute headcannons. This also contains spicy contants. If you're not interested in that then stop reading once the 2nd warning pops up. This is also my own mind so I can't assure it's gonna add up but it's almost like another future that may exist or may not. So maybe some spoilers of the Tokyo Revengers manga will be here. If your not interested then stop reading by the 1st warning.

Clingy, very clingy

He often acts like a small child who you must take car of, more like a child you're babysitting.

You have to take care of him along with Draken.

Besides this he is still a very loving boyfriend

He always needs a kiss on the lips everytime he sees you because otherwise he will think you don't love him anymore.

He often goes to you place to bring food

✨ You guys eat lunch together ✨

You do often get annoyed of him because of how immature he is, but you still love him.

Tokyo Manji Y/N

He feels pressured to protect you a lot and you often have to remind him that you're not weak and one of the strongest in the gang.

You enjoy seeing your enemies underestimate Mikey because of how small he is, you love it because then you have sometime to tease him about afterwards.

Student Y/N

You often try to stay away from all the gang activity, but sometimes when you're on a date with him, he runs into people from another gang who know him and end up fighting him.

You always need to take care of his injuries and confront him about having another fight because he normally comes over after fighting to bring some food and eat.

Scenarios

Formation of a group (Childhood friend

Y/N)

You had been friends with Mikey for a very long time, practically almost since birth, you parents were close which caused you both to know each other for a while. You remember Mikey's enthusiastic face when talking about making the gang for the first time.

Y/N: A gang?

Mikey: Yes!

Y/N: Mikey, this is a stupid idea. Gangs are malicious! This will not work out, what if we get caught? Do you want people to fear you?

Mikey: Y/N, you've got it all wrong, I don't want people to fear us. What if we're different from all the other gangs? Instead of stealing and doing all the normal delinquent things, what if we fight to stop the other gangs?

Y/N: Is that even considered a gang?

Mikey: We basically will have everything you need to be considered a gang, power, fear, respect.

Y/N: Fine! But if we start being chased by police because of getting involved with illegal activity, turn yourself in.

Mikey: Okay, okay, I will.

Mikey eventually told the rest of the group of friends you guys had and they all agreed. Since then, the Tokyo Manji gang was created.

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

Meeting Mikey for the first time (Highschool friends Y/N)

You knew Mikey. Not because you've met him or talked to him. But because of the amount of gossip there was about him.

1: "Have you heard of Mikey, he's the malicious leader of the Tokyo Manji gang?"

2: "Mikey recently got in a fight with a super bad gang, and he won. He must be a terrible person."

3: "Mikey is a super strong fighter, I bet he's worse then the other delinquents."

You heard of Mikey, but the only good thing you ever heard of him was how handsome he was. Nothing more.

From what you heard you didn't want to meet Mikey, what if you got yourself beat up? In plus you didn't want anything to do with delinquents, although it did partly bother you how kind Mitsuya was part of the same gang Mikey was. But besides it you didn't want anything to do with gangsters.

You were walking with you friend to your next class you were busy finding something on your phone and talking you didn't notice who was in front of you.

: Hey watch where your going!

You look up to see a tall man, blonde hair, tattoos. Oh no.

Y/N: I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I wa-

: Hey, It doesn't matter, don't worry about it.

You felt a hand touch your shoulder, you look over half expecting your friend but instead you saw someone else, much shorter then the other guy, long blonde hair and looked like a ordinary student, but no.

This was Mikey you were looking at, you knew from all the whispers you were hearing from the surrounding crowd of people. The other guy was Draken.

Mikey: Come'on Draken, there's no need to be mean, she was clearly distracted, you're normally nicer.

Draken bowed and apologized.

Draken: I know you were distracted, I apologize.

You were still in clear shock from who was in front of you, even after repeating you didn't want to interact with any delinquents.

Mikey: Hey, I hope you know your friend left a while ago you should catch up.

Y/N: Oh! Thank you...

Mikey let out a small soft smile and continued walking, as you ran to catch up you couldn't get him off your mind.

How could a delinquent be so kind?

Nicknames:

For you:

Dear

Bun

Cupcake

For him:

Tiny

Idiot

Can't think of many lol 😂

Marriage Headcannons:

⚠️Some spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

Obviously as Mikey reaches adulthood he becomes a pretty depressed person, but you're one of the few good things he has.

He really enjoys holding hands with you because of the warmth your hands have.

It's up to you but I think he would want at least one kid.

You often have to go to sleep while hugging him, if you don't he will have a lot of things on his mind throughout the night.

Doing the deed:

🔞 This is for readers at or above the age of 18. This is not meant for minors. Swear words are also included. Read at your own risk.

He was definitely the one who got turned on first.

He probably had a wet dream and decided to fuck you right then and there.

I can honestly see him as a huge sadomasochistic so have fun.

He doesn't really care if you're in the mood or not, if he wants to do things to you, he's gonna do things to you.

He's a aggressive type of dom.

He will end up hurting you, scratching you, or being a bit to harsh, at the moment he won't care but he won't stop apologizing afterwards.

"You look so pretty wearing nothing while being under me... you arouse me so much.."

[copajay]

lightning bolt

⋆˚✿˖° 𐙚 ₊ ⊹ ♡

masterlist

ITS BEEN ALMOST 3 YEARS SINCE I LAST LEFT THIS SERIES OMG but here’s soobin! not even gonna lie I hate this one esp bc I'm rusty after my writing break </3

summary: choi soobin has been madly in love with his best friend since they were kids, but she's never seemed to notice. when she starts showing interest in another guy, soobin realizes he needs to make a move or move aside. (not proofread)

date: 12/28/23

series: txt demigod series (located in masterlist)

scenario themes: best friends to lovers!au, percy jackson! au

idol: soobin or choi soobin of txt

concept: fluff

warnings: swearing, soobin making bad decisions

word count: 2.1k

choi soobin's father is none other than the king of the Gods. the widely revered and respected zeus, who also happens to be quite the lady's man...if you consider turning into an animal to seduce a woman romantic.

soobin, on the other hand, isn't so lucky when it comes to romance. he could easily get with most of camp half-blood's residents with his impressive height, handsome features, and high status (being zeus's son and all). but soobin has only ever had eyes for one demigod: y/n l/n, the child of dionysus and half-sister of choi yeonjun, soobin's good friend.

like your brother and father, you're exceptionally outgoing and flirtatious. meanwhile, soobin is exceedingly reserved and has virtually no game. the two of you are polar opposites, which is why it comes as a shock to most people once they find out you're the closest of friends.

growing up in the same neighborhood with your respective human parents, soobin and you walked hand-in-hand through every stage of life--from sitting next to each other on the school bus in kindergarten to finding out that you're both full-blown demigods on a class trip to the empire state building.

once you guys made your way to camp half-blood upon the discovery of your mythological lineage, soobin felt a surge of confidence. he was related to the most powerful being on mount olympus, there's no way you'd curve him now... right?

unfortunately, right before he could even attempt to make a move, he met your newfound older half-brother and camp counselor, choi yeonjun, who scared the absolute shit out of him. luckily for soobin, he was able to form a close friendship with the older boy, but that doesn't mean he scared him any less.

it's always been difficult for soobin to express himself romantically, especially around you. terrified of rejection, he could never bring himself to tell you how he feels. you, however, have no problem making romantic advances towards others. notorious for being a camp heartbreaker, you often share tales of your many flings with soobin, unbeknownst to the fact that he absolutely despises hearing about them.

the only thing that keeps soobin from sobbing in his pillow every night is knowing that you're never serious about any of your prospects. sure you have a tendency to go on and on about them, but in a matter of days, you'll simply move on to the next.

although it frustrates him to no end, he'd rather have it this way than have to see you actually in love with someone else. soobin wouldn't know what to do with himself if you actually fell for someone that isn't him, which is why he was a complete and total mess when you finally did.

it started off just like any other short-lived crush of yours: giggling over the new addition to camp half-blood: lee jeno, son of aphrodite. he might be painfully good-looking, but soobin was sure you'd be over him within less than a week.

"you don't get it. his nose is, like, perfect." you raved as soobin felt the biggest eye roll of his life coming on. "uh-huh" the boy absentmindedly responded.

once you had officially been fangirling over this jeno character for two weeks, soobin started to get worried.

"why don't you approach him, then?" soobin asked, irritated. you've been talking about jeno nonstop for an hour and it was seriously starting to piss him off.

not only that, but you told yeonjun of all people. you've never told yeonjun about any of your small crushes before, so why are you starting now? soobin was beginning to panic, was he really about to lose the love of his life to some guy she just met?

"because... I guess I'm nervous. i don't know?" you responded awkwardly. "you? nervous?" he teased, "it's weird, I don't think I've every felt this way about someone."

uh oh.

that was all he needed to hear to confirm his worst fear. you were actually starting to like this guy, and soobin had yet to tell you how much he liked you first.

"i've gotta go." he said abruptly, leaving you mid-conversation. what the hell is his problem? you thought to yourself.

soobin didn't know what to do or how to feel. whenever he has a problem he usually goes to either you or yeonjun, and he definitely can't go to you for this one.

after pacing around camp for nearly 10 minutes, he wound up at the dionysius cabin door. with a shaking fist, he knocked gently on the wooden door. per usual, yeonjun opened the door with a wide smile on his face, and all soobin could think of is how that smile would disappear after the conversation he was about to initiate.

"could I talk to you in private maybe?" the younger boy proposed, hands still shaking. "of course. is everything alright?" yeonjun responded, ushering soobin inside.

"you know how to get girls right?" soobin asked awkwardly once the pair had made their way to yeonjun's desk. chuckling, yeonjun simply nodded his head.

"look, i need you to promise me you won't get mad." he pleaded. "of course I won't, soobin." yeonjun promised. "i'mkindainlovewithyoursisterandnowshelikesanotherguyandidontknowhowtowinherover." soobin stammered.

yeonjun's pursed lips quickly transitioned into a cheshire smile. "soobin. everyone knows you like y/n, why would I get mad?"

"EVERYONE?"

"well, I guess not y/n herself, but pretty much everyone else."

was it really that obvious? soobin thought he was pretty slick, but people definitely began to connect the dots after he rejected yet another admirer to follow you around all day.

"then what should I do?" soobin retorted. "have you tried telling her how you feel?" yeonjun shrugged, leaning against his bedframe.

soobin felt himself turning red, far too embarrassed to answer. "of course you haven't" the other demigod replied. "isn't there another way?" soobin pleaded, ignoring yeonjun's facepalm.

"this guy belongs to the aphrodite cabin, right?" yeonjun began, causing soobin to nod his head vigorously. "well good luck with that, it's impossible not to fall in love with one of aphrodite's kids. they're walking love potions."

"love potions? those are real?" soobin prompted. yeonjun's face immediately stiffened, "are you seriously about to use a love potion on my half-sister."

"nope. I'm going to use it on jeno and make him fall in love with someone else." soobin declared excitedly. "that doesn't sound like a good idea bro-"

"don't worry about it! I won't!" soobin hurriedly shouted before his friend could protest. "shit, what did I just do?" yeonjun mumbled to himself as soobin made his way out the door.

perhaps soobin was acting irrationally out of desperation, but he couldn't care less. in moments like these, he really resembled his father: going on a fiery rampage over something seemingly insignificant. he was in way too deep to turn back now, and as he marched to find a way to access a love potion, he found his golden ticket: choi beomgyu.

beomgyu is a mutual friend between soobin and yeonjun, but more importantly, another son of aphrodite. if anyone could get him a love potion, it was the youngest choi of the trio.

"beomgyu! what's up buddy," soobin mused. turning around, the slightly shorter boy cheerfully responded, "long time no see, soobin. what's up?"

"you wouldn't know how to get a love potion, would you?" soobin feigned a nonchalant attitude, getting straight to the point. "a love potion is pretty easy to make, but what would you use it for?" beomgyu questioned. "umm I'm just curious! I think I read about it in a book somewhere." soobin lied. although he felt guilty, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

as soon as beomgyu listed the ingredients, soobin ran off in the opposite direction, shouting a quick "thanks!" before heading out

that night, soobin ran all around the camp and forest to find everything he needed to create his very own love potion. finally finishing around 2 a.m., he crashed in hopes of succeeding in his plans.

the next morning, as he confidently made his way to the mess hall, he saw jeno and you sitting side by side eating breakfast. the sight made his stomach turn and him even more eager to hatch his plan so he could finally win you over.

all he had to do was create a distraction so he could slip the love potion into jeno's orange juice, so he shot a lightning bolt directly at the window to shatter it. maybe that wasn't the smartest idea, but soobin was running out of patience. as the campers ran to investigate the window, he rapidly poured his homemade love potion into jeno's drink before taking the seat opposite him.

as you and jeno made your way back you noticed soobin was sitting at the same table that you were previously at. "soobin!" you waved. the boy turned and shot you a smile before dapping up jeno beside you.

"what are you doing here?" you asked, ignorant to the situation. "oh, I got a bit hungry and saw that this table was empty. what a coincidence!" he shared awkwardly.

jeno simply laughed and reached for his juice to take a sip before soobin realized just how stupid this whole plan was. he didn't even know how a love potion works... who's he going to fall in love with? how fast would the results appear? is it even ethical to use a love potion? IS IT EVEN LEGAL?

before jeno's lips could touch the cup, soobin reached over and slapped the drink out of his hand. the silence that followed was deafening. you and jeno looked up at him in shock, along with the rest of the campers at the mess hall.

humiliated, soobin ran out. he wasn't sure where he was going or how he was going to face you. he just knew he couldn't handle all the attention he was getting back there.

"soobin, what the hell was that?" you yelled running behind him. turning around, he struggled to find the words as you looked at him equally disappointed and angry.

"woah woah what's going on?" yeonjun butted in after hearing you yell across the patio, with beomgyu trailing behind him. "what was that for?" jeno confronted angrily, emerging from behind y/n.

the next thing soobin knows, he's cornered by four people he lied to and he can't think of another lie to get himself out of this situation.

"I was planning on using a love potion to get jeno to fall in love with someone else and not y/n." he admitted with his head down.

yeonjun simply sighed while beomgyu gasped. you were still processing why your best friend would sabotage your first potential relationship until jeno opened his mouth.

"fall in love? I was just looking for a hookup. she isn't really all that anyway," jeno quipped.

you immediately whipped your head in his direction, dumbstruck. "excuse me?" yeonjun quickly retorted, fists balling up. meanwhile all beomgyu could do is gasp again.

for once in soobin's life, he didn't feel nervous or hesitant. he felt angry, furious even. without thinking, he pushed jeno to the ground, hovering over him.

"soobin, calm down." yeonjun interjected. confused, you decided to take matters into your own hands.

"first of all, you're an asshole jeno," you began, "and you." pointing at soobin, "are an even bigger one."

you stormed off but you could hear soobin trailing behind you. "leave me alone." you sputtered. "please just hear me out, y/n," he begged.

"how could you possibly justify that? how could you defend anything you did?" your voice broke towards the end of the sentence, breaking soobin's heart. it felt like he was being hit by a million lightning bolts.

"I can't. I acted immaturely and carelessly. the truth is I've liked—loved you for a long time now, but I didn't know how to tell you, and i felt threatened by how much you liked jeno so I made an idiotic decision. i know it’s not enough but im sorry.”

as mad as you were, you couldn’t help but feel bad. were you really that oblivious?

“you’re right about it being an idiotic decision…” soobin’s gaze was stuck to the ground in shame at this point. “but i’d be lying if i said I didn’t have feelings for you. I guess that’s why i never really settled for one guy, because none of them were you. and jeno… was clearly a mistake.”

soobin finally looked up hopefully, “does this mean…” he started, “not until you make it up to me.” you shut him down.

“oh.” he replied awkwardly, scratching his neck. “…by taking me out tomorrow.” you added, grinning.

“of course.” he agreed, mimicking your smile.

[a-dragons-journal]

On Questioning An Archetrope

So I'm turning over the concept of a potential paladin (or something similar) archetrope in my brain now.

I have... kind of always viewed myself as a guardian. I've been the Mom-friend, the one people go to for advice, for practically as long as I can remember. I have a protective streak a mile wide, partly due to my territorial instincts from my dragonself. I don't really want to talk about it publicly, but suffice to say that growing up I had what I would now, for lack of better words, call a rich imagined reality wherein I (and my few closest friends, though I hung onto it the longest) was a capital-G Guardian, a hero of blade and armor, a protector of the world.

Later on, in high school, those same friends and I took on a more realistic protective streak, primarily in the form of a habit of adopting girls who a) had just been through bad breakups and/or b) were being harassed/stalked by creepy boys and literally bodyguarding them throughout the day. I still fantasize about scenarios where I get to protect people, often strangers, on a regular basis, for no real reason other than it makes me feel good. I want to be that. I want to be a protector, a shield and sword for those who need it.

My first D&D character was a paladin, and a fairly stereotypical one (although not fully Lawful Stupid). Shail is a tiefling who was abandoned at a temple doorstep as a baby after they were born, raised by one of the priests as their father, and later took up arms after being inspired by a visiting paladin and took the Oath of Devotion. They were my first experiment with they/them pronouns. I am realizing their choice of class may also have been a bit of projection.

I don't know how much of this is inherent to me and how much is something I chose and how much is something I want to choose.

A brief tangent: it so happens that I very recently saw the musical Man of La Mancha, which is based on Don Quixote. While I was vaguely familiar with the story of Don Quixote, I'd never actually read or seen it in full in any form until now. I did not expect to be as touched by it as I was. Don Quixote is... for all we often make fun of him for the windmill incident, ultimately I think Don Quixote is someone we could all stand to learn from, and perhaps even to aspire to. To stubbornly, doggedly, adamantly adhere to honor and justice and a view of the world where good prevails in the end, to fight for what's right no matter the odds, to swear yourself to these things despite the way the rest of the world laughs at you - perhaps the world would be a better place if more of us were Don Quixote in this.

"A quest?" "How you must fight? And it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, if only you follow the quest."

"To dream the impossible dream. To fight the unbeatable foe. To bear with unbearable sorrow. To run where the brave dare not go. To right the unrightable wrong. To love pure and chaste from afar. To try when your arms are too weary. To reach the unreachable star."

Perhaps the recency of this exposure to Don Quixote, and my thoughts and feelings about it and about him as a character, is influencing how I'm reacting to the exposure to archetropy. Or perhaps my reaction to Man of La Mancha is indicative of my resonance with Don Quixote as someone I would argue has an archetropal identity (if of the Knight Errant rather than of the Paladin, though the two really aren't that different) himself. Perhaps both.

Either way, I think it's an admirable thing to take up such a mantle in the face of the world's cruelties - to take up the Guardian's armor and sword again, illogical as it may be, and to aspire to such a lofty ideal as this despite the way the world may consider it foolish or daft.

(And there I go getting poetic prose-y again. Perhaps that's also part of why the paladin archetype appeals to me, ha. I have been known to monologue.)

Even my job can be argued to fall into the paladin - a healer, a helper, a servant who at least tries to value The Good Of The Patient above all else. it's not quite a guardian role - but then, a paladin is often a healer as well.

On top of all of that, there's the fact that when I, out of curiosity and experimentation, put a major problem of indecision I've been facing regarding my current job hunt through the lens of "what would a paladin do," it immediately answered the question with "wouldn't let the difficulty of the task scare them off." Which didn't completely solve my problem, but solves a good solid chunk of it.

So it appears that this may be a helpful tool for me. Even if the thought of "what would Xenk Yendar do" is a slightly silly one. (And yes, Xenk Yendar is an extremely good representation of what paladin looks like to me - and perhaps it's telling that I really latched onto him as a character almost instantly upon watching Honor Among Thieves.)

Perhaps my one big hesitance to latch onto the paladin archetype is the religious connotation of a paladin - while I suppose my relationship with Asclepius could qualify, under the "paladins are also often healers" thought, Asclepius does not cover most of what draws me to the paladin archetype. But a paladin doesn't always have to be religious; in D&D paladins technically draw their power from their oath, Xenk Yendar comes up as an example of a paladin who doesn't obviously seem to have a particular god, and besides none of the alternative archetypes I'm finding or coming up with fit quite as well. The Knight Errant is close, but requires wandering in a way I am thoroughly uncomfortable with (I am still a territorial beast at heart) and also implies seeking evil rather than defending from it.

So... perhaps that's not as big a block as one might think. I'm going to chew on this a while longer, and I'm certainly open to suggestions on similar archetypes for my consideration, but... I might have tripped into a new alterhuman identity. Oops.

[spacerangersam]

What are nymphs exactly in your story? And what is their culture/society like?

Thank you so much for this question, i have been Dying to talk about the nymphs and their whole deal

The nymphs are nature spirits, and they don’t necessarily have a culture of their own. They don’t have their own fashion, their own gods. Nymphs came into existence at the same time as humans and evolved alongside them. They see themselves as the in-between for man, magic and nature, considering it their eternal duty to serve nature and humans, and to act as immortal guardians for them both. So, to better serve mankind, they attune themselves to humans and their way of life. They will wear what the humans wear, use their names, speak their tongue, pray to their gods,etc. Some nymphs may believe in one of the pantheons the humans they interact with believe it, but it’s more of a personal thing, and it’s not considered wrong in nymph circles to have no gods. I mean, after a few hundred years and seeing new god after new god, most are kinda jaded by the idea.

Following on from that, nymphs don’t even name themselves, they let the humans name them, picking up a new one every new generation. They define themselves more by the roles they play, after all, however great or small, vague or specific. Petronius (or Taleisin to the Silures) for instance is the bard/storyteller and believes his life’s goal is to recall and recount stories for future generations. Sextus (or Seisyll) is a healer, which is self-explanatory. There’s Brychan, a very minor character who, instead of directly serving humans, looks after the sprouts and brooks (aka the kids, who, until they’ve figured out their role in life remain just vague its and they’s).

It’s generally expected for a nymph to cement their role within a hundred years or so, but leeway is given if it takes longer. Sometimes, the role you want doesn’t even exist yet and they know that. Cornelia couldn’t be a harpist until the harp was invented.

They’re also very blaise about gender. They can’t reproduce and can end up with really any jumble of parts and hormones, so like, gender/gender roles don’t mean anything to them. Some have preferences about pronouns, but plenty don’t. They understand that some humans don’t feel the same though, and will (in front of them) conform to their views. Ie Petronius tends to use he/they pronouns and speak in a low voice, but because the Romans expect nymphs to be feminine, will pitch up his voice and deal with being called she/her.

Same with sexuality, although that is a bit different. Just in the sense that since they cannot have kids, there’s no pressure within their communities to have relationships. If anything it’s seen as kind of questionable as it can serve as a distraction from one’s duties, but it’s not the biggest deal, an elder might give you a warning to be careful, but that’s likely it. That’s only if it's a nymph falling for another nymph though. If it’s a nymph falling for a human��� 

It’s the sort of thing you want to keep under wraps. Depending on how seriously the other nymphs take their duties, it could lead to the nymph being ostracised, being viewed as forsaking their duties, taking advantage of their role in the human’s life etc. They're supposed to guard over humans, but you're also not supposed to get too close. In the best-case scenario, you’d at least have your friends saying it’s a bad idea because that human will definitely be dead in like 10 years max. Even then, that’s if the nymph only talks about wanting a relationship, if they actually try to pursue it, they’re toast, and they’re definitely getting banished from their cluster. 

As I said, nymphs do not have parents, they don’t have families, but they will often cluster in little groups (haven’t decided on a name for those groups yet) that look after a certain area of land/group of humans, that will essentially be their family. They won’t necessarily live together - for example, Cornelia’s meadow is like ten minutes away from Pet’s river and Nonus’ tree - but at least try to stay in groups of three, and all meet up at least once a day. 

And uh. They don’t actually have much control over nature. Not as much control as the Romans think they have at least. A tree nymph can encourage her tree to bloom faster, or slower, but their tree will bloom regardless. A river nymph can do a few water tricks, but they can’t stop their river from flowing. They’re more so just an extension of nature than a controller of nature, something they try to hide from the Romans. With them specifically, they’re aware they don’t exactly match the Roman ideas of what a nature spirit should be, and worry that if they’re not careful, the Romans will instead deam them monsters and try to off them.

See, they’re immortal but can die, it’s just a lot harder to kill them than with humans. They have tougher skin, denser bones, they’re just a lot more hardy. Destroying/polluting their tree/rivers etc is a good way to do it, but it is possible for them to come back from that. All rivers are connected so a river nymph can simply move to a different river, or a dryad can grow a new tree, but it will be very, very difficult. Most nymphs tend to hibernate during the winter. 

They also have the power to make Changed Ones. it’s a gruelling ritual, one that oftentimes does not work, but if it does, it can make a human- not quite a nymph, but something close to it. Granted, it also leaves them incredibly weak and sickly, and it can take them hundreds of years to fully recover. The nymphs don’t necessarily keep it a secret (except from humans they don’t really trust/think will try to abuse it), but they certainly don’t like to talk about it or offer it as an option. It’s quite literally going against the laws of nature, and they’re not fans.

They’re (mostly) all pacifists by nature. They’re there to serve humans and nature, and war is not a part of that. They don’t fight with other nymphs and they don’t get involved with human wars. There are some who disagree, but generally, nymphs stay out of it, it’s none of their business. They’re also very quick with languages. I haven’t quite decided if magic plays some part in that - ie if someone steps into a river, that river nymph will magically be able to speak their tongue - or if they’re just very good at picking up new languages after constantly having to adapt and learn new ones. Either way, they’re good with languages.

I feel like this is simultaneously too much and not enough, but oh well! I hope this is somewhat interesting to read!

[biblioflyer]

A cautious case for Star Peace

Earlier in the season I expressed dismay at the telegraphing of what I would consider to be a bad, even irresponsible war story featuring the Gorn in Strange New Worlds.

It may surprise the reader that after the season finale, I remain at Yellow Alert, but I see signs that my worst case scenario is not what is going to unfold. Spoilers after the jump.

For starters I will acknowledge there are apparently troubling comments about the intention behind the Gorn from the showrunners. Some of these comments are being taken out of context, because they don't fully rule out the idea of an accommodation with the Gorn, but they do have to first play out their role as series antagonists.

Many bits have been spilled over the idea of a villain who is genetically predisposed towards being incapable of empathy and the implication that, not unlike the Xenomorphs that the showrunners are explicitly borrowing from, there is ultimately no solution but a final one. A grim argument that even in a setting prefigured for idealism and the rejection of xenophobia and violence as being preferred, there are some gulfs that can't be bridged. Some peoples whose needs are so profoundly in conflict that there can be no lasting peace.

I think this episode is actually subverting that in not even all that subtle ways that many a web-pundit are missing or dismissing.

To recap, here are some blink or you'll miss it Chekov's phasers that I think will be firing if not in the season premiere then later on in the series.

Juvenile Gorn who are forming packs and cooperating instead of fighting to the death. This was a moderately significant plot point from the last time we saw the Gorn that probably got overshadowed by the episode's tragic ending.

In spite of his tough talk to April, later in the episode after being reunited with Batel, Pike wearily expresses a hope that maybe there's something everyone missed, some way of achieving a breakthrough.

The Gorn juvenile not harming Batel could be read a couple of ways. Either its just a way to telegraph her infection, or its another curious behavior. I honestly do not remember if the Gorn from season one was ever in a position to confront Hemmer and then back down. It seems like if the juveniles are known to fight to the death, its not unreasonable to assume they would normally view a host carrying eggs as competition.

Batel's rescue positions her for Chapel and M'Benga to "science the Bantha poodoo" out of the Gorn egg problem and in the process, learn something critical about the Gorn that might lead to a more peaceful coexistence. Some sort of pheromone that makes Humans read as friends not food, or even the potential to raise Gorn young with a different socialization, proving that heredity isn't destiny.

The abduction of the crew from the planet also seems significant for reasons beyond needing to set up a cliffhanger. This too will provide an opportunity to add complexity and nuance to the Gorn. Perhaps we'll learn they're not actually a single hat species and there are dissidents, pacifists, those who seek to live sustainably and manage their reproduction in a way that doesn't rely on coercion or the violation of others' right to live?

At least some of the Gorn's behavior is apparently tied to solar activity. Although its still squicky from a Doylist standpoint, a Watsonian excuse that external factors flipped the switch on the Gorn and make them go berserk does open the door to analogies to circumstantial hysteria in humans.

Bonus: There have been multiple episodes this season around the theme of biology not being destiny: Una's court marshal for being a closeted Illyrian and La'an carrying the weight of the name Noonien Singh.

Additionally there have been a couple of episodes about the struggle to maintain peace with the Klingons and overcome the trauma and paranoia that follows war (and often incites new ones.) This doesn't feel like the show to leave "nuke the site from orbit, its the only way to be sure" as its only option for dealing with the Gorn in perpetuity.

So there you have it, I'm cautiously optimistic that we could see a shift from inscrutable killing machines to fully developed civilization in the span of a season or two. Emphasis on the cautiously. This franchise has set conditions under which attempted genocide, narrowly averted, is the only way to resolve the conflict on far too many occasions.

[sorrowfulrosebud]

𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖓𝖙: yandere Cetrion x earthrealmer headcannons

𝕲𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖊: yandere, read at your own discretion

𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘: murder, mentions of flesh eating amoebas, she treats you like a pet, yandere behaviours, kidnapping, implied starvation/dehydration but it’s only hinted at, she overall one of the better yanderes to have in this universe lol

༒ You can were most likely to catch her eye if you were some sort of activist on Earthrealm, or someone who cares about the planet.

༒ You could even be a doctor, someone who deeply cares about maintaining the equilibrium of the earth and who cares about life. (For this scenario we’re going with doctor).

༒ You caught her eye as she was examining Earth with the other Elder Gods, curious to see how you manage to beat the odds and save those with advanced diseases

༒ She watches you tackle patient care with curiosity, often watching you for hours as you tended to patients and fixed their ailments

༒ Cetrion knows she shouldn’t get attached to a mere mortal, but she loves seeing you go above and beyond for those in your care

༒ It brings her peace to know that someone else tries to keep her once beautiful planet somewhat safer, even in your day to day life. Never littering, walking to work where possible, helping those on the streets.

༒ It isn’t until she sees you being mugged by thieves on a dark night after work does she angrily change her form to one of a human’s to rescue you and take you to the Netherrealm

“Give us everything you have, asshole!” One of the thieves demanded, a box cutter raised threateningly to your stomach area. The others formed a barricade, preventing you from escaping.

You slowly pulled out your wallet and phone before a feminine voice cuts through the air.

“And just what do you think you’re doing?!” She says angrily, green eyes glowing slightly as she takes in your scared form. Your eyes widened at her funky appearance; after all, it’s not every day you see a handsome woman with lilac skin and a delicate shade of green hair.

“Piss off you stupid bitch, unless you want to get stabbed too!” The thief starts waving the box cutter menacingly, accidentally knicking your cheek. You whimpered at the pain before clutching your bloodied cheek.

Cetrion could only look on in rage as you cowered, body starting to go into shock at the presence of fear. She relaxed her face before smiling darkly.

“Close your eyes my love, and this will all be over soon,” she promises, blowing some green spores from her hand in your direction.

༒ She ends up brutally killing the thieves who threatened you, liquifying their insides with lava and allowing flesh eating amoebas to bite at their skin as they writhed in agony.

༒ When you awoke, she introduces herself and her role in the universe, before you promptly faint again. I mean, it’s not every day you see a giant woman claiming to be god.

༒ Cetrion keeps you extremely close to her, so you’re usually kept on her lap or by her shoulder. If you’re pliant, she keeps you with her in a small bubble that she creates, filling it with everything a mortal may need.

༒ If you’re not so pliant, then she has no problem slowly depriving you of these necessities until you beg her for help.

༒ She’s one of the better MK characters to have as your yandere since she loves to take care of you, although she definitely sees you as more of a pet.

༒ Cetrion isn’t necessarily a bad yandere, she just forgets that you had a life built before her and can’t understand why you would WANT to work or live in a small apartment when you have the entire cosmos to travel.

༒ If you’re insistent on living in an apartment, she crafts you a house that she visits you in when she’s human sized.

༒ For all she’s a literal God, she loves the idea of having a house partner. She loves going to her gardens to your little home, shrinking down and talking to you like a spouse. And even though she has no desire to eat, she enjoys watching you cook and even tries some food.

༒ She doesn’t punish you per se, she just ignores your base needs until you talk to her or apologise for what you did.

༒ Although she sees you as her pet, she definitely takes the best care of you, asking Kronika to expand your lifespan so you can rule the cosmos together.

༒ Cetrion tries to keep you out of Elder God business, but she explains what she thinks you can understand, because after all…

You’re her dumb little human.

[somewhereinthepines]

I was just thinking about the food I'm gonna be having within the next few days, and it got me thinking about 'cooking with chris' on the counsellors router in the game. I can't remember where it is. It might be in the kitchen? It's just their tasks, and cooking with Chris was on it. I remember you mentioning something about Chris cooking for Ryan in a scenario previously. So, what would he cook for him? Ryan is a bit of a picky eater in your canon, and Chris is pretty attentive to what he likes in both ASB and Gp, I'm assuming. I have no idea what Ryan would actually want to eat. Idk when Chris would make food for Ryan, but maybe later when the others are in their cabins or at the fire pitt? I liked that in GP, Chris took Ryan out to eat, even though it was spontaneous, and Ryan didn't want to go. There's just something about Chris looking after and proving for Ryan that's quite pleasing to me.

It'd be cute to imagine them sitting down together, just the two of them having a home cooked meal by Chris, and just enjoying it & eachothers company. Their complexities would make the situation interesting, too. Ahh, it's quite fun to imagine different scenarios. Although, I must say I am a bit stumped about how the next part will play out. I know Ryan's gonna do something, that's as clear as day, but it's Chris that's got me on edge, haha. You're quite good at setting the scene, the mood, and building anticipation. But yeah, it's not knowing how Chris will possibly react that has my brain in a knot. Especially because we only have Ryan's perspective, he doesn't know what we know. Meanwhile, Chris could be thinking, maybe planning and feeling anything, and we have no idea — and Ryan is clueless about it. Ahh, it's just so good! Haha, sorry I ended up talking about one thing, then talking about another the next.

my memory about the game is kinda rusty atm, but it’s not hard to see chris doing smth like that. esp bc he does come off as fatherly kind. he would want to teach the ‘kids’ how to cook for themselves. but picturing someone like, i dunno, jacob being in the kitchen is endless comedy to me. i don’t think, that he can cook for shit. or emma even. as for ryan, he surely can make smth edible. i imagine, that he’s the one, who made his sister’s lunch and breakfast for the majority of their lives, so it’s not like he cannot cook for himself. he prob just won’t bother doing it. he comes off as chips & soda, & whatever-else-i-can-eat-without-cooking kind of kid. 

i think, that chris knows it, and would try to see what exactly ryan likes. he would start with smth simple like pancakes, bc most people love those. or maybe, he can make him some good ole toast and steak. or see if ryan likes some specific cereals. it would take him a bit to figure out ryan’s preferences, since it’s not like he won’t eat it, but he might not necessarily love it. it has a lot to do with his upbringing. i hc that his grandparents are pretty ‘conservative’, so i imagine that when his grandma cooks, it’s basically whatever she did for everyone, they should eat. food is food. kinda in a similar vein in how it prob was for chris too. naturally, he would like to avoid doing smth like that to his own kids, or ryan. but i picture, that ryan’s fav food be smth like apple pie or maybe a very sweet dessert, that people won’t suspect him loving, bc he’s all doom & gloom, so he must be into idk, energy drinks and tasteless food. but in reality, he likes sweets. mostly baked ones. 

and yeah, ryan’s appetite is really bad in GP, tho it’s this way for a reason. he doesn’t know it yet, and since he had a tendency to low-key neglect his health, he doesn’t look into it too deeply. chris suddenly decided to feed him, on top of already paying too much attention to how often he eats, well, it was weird and a bit annoying from his point of view, i think. esp bc he legit didn’t want to eat anything, it cannot be helped. i also think, that since ryan isn’t used to being cared for by an adult to such an extent, it makes him feel slightly uncomfortable, bc he doesn’t fully know how to respond to it. besides, in his situation, he’s not a kid per say, he’s an adult too, even if young one. so his mentor buying him dinner would make him question things. like is this a friend's lunch. or does chris literally see him as a child, that he’s not. 

as for the next part, all that i can say is that ryan literally sleepwalking into a lion’s den. or well, wolf’s one. GP generally be darker, than ASB, when it comes to certain themes. not only chris in GP is way less ‘noble’, but ryan also packs a surprise or two. and aw, thank you! i love the tension in writing. or well scenes, that make you wonder what and why, and if what you think will happen or not. horror/thrillers are esp good genres for it, and i kinda always try to keep the horror/suspense elements in my supermassive works. and it works very well with this game/pair too, bc chris is technically, an antagonist of the series. he’s a hungry wolf, even if he tries very hard to control his urges. and yup, i kinda really like how the reader will always know more, than ryan does. so certain things will make sense to you way more, than they do to him. i will prob make one chapter from chris’s perspective, bc after a certain point, shit gonna hit the fan hard and who knows what will happen. ryan certainly doesn’t.  he’s about to bite more, than he can chew. 

and no worries! i’m glad, that you still interested in that story, despite me taking a long break from it. 

[lunapaper]

Album Review: 'Midnights' - Taylor Swift

What keeps Taylor Swift up at night? 

A lot, apparently: Past lovers. Romantic nostalgia. Old enemies. Made-up scenarios where her future daughter-in-law kills her for her fortune. 

Or as Taylor herself puts it: ‘[A] momentary glimmer of distraction. The tiniest notion of reminiscent thought that wanders off into wondering, the spark that lights a tinderbox of fixation. And now, it is irreversible. The flame has caught. You’re wide awake.’ 

Shrugging off her cardigan, Swift teams up once again with Jack Antonoff to turn her late night ruminations into yet another surprise release entitled Midnights. 

It’s easy to think of her latest body of work as Taylor’s own Melodrama: indebted to slick electro-pop with a taste for vengeance while riddled with self-loathing and insecurity. But, as the title might suggest, it’s a lot more low-key than Lorde’s critically-acclaimed 2017 album, made up of languorous loops of sound and the singer’s dense storytelling. You can also detect hints of Reputation and its bitter edge. 

Taylor makes a few stark confessions throughout the record. ‘I have this thing where I get older/But just never wiser,’ she admits on ‘Anti-Hero. ‘Midnights become my afternoons.’ And yes, this is the ‘sexy baby’ song. I get the point: She’s starting to feel like she’s being surpassed by younger, more provocative artists. It’s a 30 Rock reference, relax. 

Taylor also says ‘so long’ to that goody two shoes ‘Daisy May’ on ‘You’re on Your Own, Kid.’ which was probably followed by the singer setting fire to her cutesy folklore cardigan (retailing at $75 at the time) in some ritualistic bonfire. 

Insecurities regarding body image also bubble to the fore as Taylor searches a glitzy industry party filled with ‘better bodies,’ while realising that her dreams of stardom aren’t all that rare. The twee ‘Sweet Nothing’ features one of Taylor’s better verses (‘Industry disruptors and soul deconstructors/And smooth-talking hucksters out glad-handing each other/And the voices that implore, "You should be doing more"/To you, I can admit that I’m just too soft for all of it’).  

But just as she begins to show a glimmer of self-awareness, Taylor ends up doubling down hard, every well-spun bit of wordplay surrounded by a sea of clunky, often childish lines. But she knows that they’re bad and she knows everyone’s gonna talk about them, so Taylor wins again. 

Metaphors feel forced (‘Don't put me in the basement/When I want the penthouse of your heart’), while the cliches are out of control. ‘Question...?’ suffers from a serious case of Main Character Syndrome, the whole room cheering Taylor on as she makes out with the most popular boy in school. It’s a scene straight out of a Netflix original, able to envision the crane shot swirling above the two as they tenderly suck face. 

Taylor also swears yet revenge yet again on ‘Vigilante Shit,’ this time with a cat’s eye ‘sharp enough to kill a man.’ She talks as if karma is her own personal pet she can just sic on her enemies at will, which is especially galling as someone who’s cultivated such a rabid fanbase, constantly weaponising them against those who supposedly cross her. Not that long ago, they went after a grown man and his sister over a red scarf that DIDN’T ACTUALLY EXIST.  

Although it sounds like Taylor’s planning to kill Scooter at some point, presumably on a weekend. Remember when she revealed on ‘this is me trying’ that he had a couple of side chicks?  

Even ‘Anti-Hero’ has some pretty flawed logic: You can’t complain that you’re treated like said anti-hero one minute, then act petty and vengeful the next. It’s been almost 15 years – which one are you at this point? 

Naturally, Midnights also comes with its own labyrinth of easter eggs. No, I won’t be going through them all, ‘cos I really don’t give a fuck. I shouldn’t need a guidebook to tell me which song is about John Mayer and which one contains the Knives Out reference. If anything, the album only further proves that Taylor doesn’t need to commit every single thought to tape. Sometimes, it really, really isn’t that deep. 

Final track ‘Mastermind’ offers the most telling glimpse into Taylor’s psyche - ‘No one wanted to play with me as a little kid/So I've been scheming like a criminal ever since/To make them love me and make it seem effortless.’ She even calls herself ‘Machiavellian’ at one point. Whether it’s in jest is kinda hard to tell, but it’s certainly a... choice. 

Musically, Midnights is also a pretty mixed bag. ‘Vigilante Shit’ is a highlight, with bass throbbing its way around dark corners in a way that’s rather Billie-esque, which just makes the ‘sexy baby’ line from ‘Anti-Hero’ feel even more glaring. ‘Lavender Haze’ also utilises those subterranean bass groans, creating a murky, seductive groove beneath metallic gears shifts. ‘You’re On Your Own, Kid,’ meanwhile,’ is a more grown-up ‘Love Story’ from the point of view of a more jaded Juliet. ‘Anti-Hero,’ though, is just a lazy rehash of ‘Blank Space,’ right down to the complaints of feeling misunderstood. 

‘Karma’ is a more stylish and euphoric take on Washed Out’s ‘Feel It All Around.’ ‘Snow on the Beach’ also twinkles; delicate and windswept. But for all of Swift’s excitement to be collaborating with Lana Del Rey, the singer is relegated to backing vocalist. ‘Cos, let’s face it, Taylor would never let herself be upstaged like that. 

And yes, there’s a 3am edition of Midnights, ‘cos Taylor’s gonna milk those late night ruminations for all they’re worth, dammit.  

‘The Great War’ is okay, but not that great. Honour, truth, treaties, poppies, calling off the troops, we get it. ‘Bigger Than the Whole Sky’ has a hypnotic country twang, returning to the lush, cloudy nostalgia of folklore and evermore. ‘Would’ve Could’ve, Should’ve’ is a stormy, Fleetwood Mac-esque riposte at Mayer (found it), reflecting on the power imbalance in their romance while pleading: ‘Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first.’ 

Midnights is a well-produced but rather unnecessary record. Even with its slick, shimmery wash, it’s everything you’ve heard before in some form or another: A song about John, a song about Tom, a song about Calvin. ‘Yes, I know I can be quite a divisive character, but I’m really just like you!’ Revenge. A couple of love songs dedicated to Joe. Probably something about Kanye and Kim. More revenge. Oh, and here’s a dossier full of clues for you to connect together like Charlie Kelly trying to track down the elusive Pepe Silvia. Boom, critical acclaim!  

As cynical as I felt about folklore and evermore, at least those records possessed some growth and a few interesting ideas. But as those albums were to indie folk, Midnights feels late to the party when it comes to brooding noir pop, the kind that’s already been perfected by other artists in every way imaginable. It’s really just a CHVRCHES or Purity Ring record in a quirky jumper.  

But what do I know? The record’s already gone to No.1. Buying presale tickets for her US tour turned into a bloodbath. Taylor could release a full hour of silence, and stans will hail it as an artistic statement and critics will write one in-depth analysis after another. And Stereogum will probably write the most positive negative review of it ever. Taylor’s no longer capturing the zeitgeist at this point, she is the goddamn zeitgeist.  

- Bianca B. 

[drawingquest21]

I had to make a small story for a class more than a year ago, in 2021. We had to come up with a scenario about why a teacher was missing for the first class and why he’s often late. It was for a live action short movie.

Here's the story I imagined, although it won't be written like an actual story but more like a (long) summary.

"The teacher had been missing for the past two weeks.

There's a mention of a recent earthquake followed by thunder ; the thunder is heard more frequently these days.

After more than half an hour, the teacher still isn't there, he is therefore considered absent, turning this class into a free period. The students however stay in the room, waiting for their next class to start.

They discuss about the teacher: nobody knows what he looks like, they theorise on his repeated absences. Some theories are funny, others ridiculous, from alien abduction to Corona Virus, etc.

In the end, they think that the problem comes from the school itself: they might not have informed the teacher that he had a class ; it wouldn't be the first time they made that kind of mistake. The class is disappointed but agree that it might be the most plausible reason.

The teacher finally arrives but the period is nearing its end. He apologies: there was traffic jam because of a car accident ; his first absence was due to a family tragedy and the second time was because of an injury.

One of the students, once at home, out of curiosity and boredom, searches for the teacher's name online and finds a profile with a picture that doesn't match with the man met earlier.

The news on TV talk about the accident that the teacher mentioned, and a weird thought came to the student's mind: did the teacher cause that accident?

Another day.

The teacher is hurrying, not wanting to arrive late once more. One of his students is in the same situation and notices the teacher, the student decides to keep their distance to avoid an awkward moment.

Then, an unexpected event occurs. The teacher seems to have noticed something, we see him hesitate: he doesn't want to disappoint his students but he must intervene. The student watches from afar, hidden.

The teacher turns out to be a hero: a costume was hidden underneath his clothes, Superman style.

He has to fight a demon that possessed a student.

He succeeds in freeing the student pretty easily, he remarks that this demon was pretty weak. We then hear a voice revealing that this demon was weak because it was giving its energy: a wicked sorcerer that the teacher had already faced before.

That sorcerer is especially powerful because he now has Power Morpher in his possession in the form of a headband and gloves, which surprises the teacher who is then sent in another dimension. The student who stealthily observed it all was shocked by the teahcer's sudden disappearance.

The teacher finds himself in a comic book where he has to fight the sorcerer.

(I didn't draw the Power Morphers, I'll explain why later)

After successfully taking the Power Morphers off of the sorcerer, the teacher beats his opponent.

Without time to catch his breath, we suddenly hear thunder and a booming voice. The teacher can't believe it, this is a disaster: the Big Bad appears like a maleficent silhouette.

(I didn't need to come up with a name so I settled for "Big Bad", was good enough to me)

Big Bad: "You and your master had banished me in another dimension, in the past. But now, I'll use this dimension created by my underling to break free and I'll be able to conquer your pathetic world."

Teacher: "Not while I'm standing."

The teacher puts on the headband Power Morpher and gathers all the energy he can. Then, he unleashes a powerful energy wave that tears the comic board from the inside!

The teacher is thus back in the real world, weakened and wounded while the Big Bad is stil, trapped in another dimension.

The teacher collapses and the student who had witnessed it all (well, at least the start and end of it) rescue him.

The student brings the teacher to the classroom where his classmates are. Everyone is shocked and worried. Nobody believes the preposterous story told by their comrade until the teacher uses his power to pull an object into his hand.

The whole class ask for explanations, the teacher gives them:

-he isn't their real teacher, the latter died before their first class so the current teacher took over

-the Big Bad is a demon who seeks to conquer every worlds

A student ask: 《And what's this?》 pointing at a Power Morpher (maybe the gem on the teacher's costume). The teacher that the Power Morphers come from an "hyperdimension" and grant powers ; there's one type of power for each.

The Morphers are: a necklace ; a wristband or a watch ; a ring ; a mask or pair of glasses ; a pair of shoes ; a pair of gloves ; an earring ; a headband and lastly,  the teacher's costume.

A student takes the ring: 《My preciiioooouss...》 he jokes before getting lightly hit by a classmate who asked him to stop joking around.

The teacher states that new Power Morphers have most likely appeared (since among those listed above, some didn't exist before), which proves to be a real threat because the Big Bad might break free from his dimensional prison thanks to the Morphers' power.

The class decides to help their teacher, each student take a Power Morpher.

To be continued..."

.

Like I said, we had to imagine a scenario for a live action short movie. We would film the scenarios but didn't have much budget, however our teacher didn't want us to mind the budget issue.

I was inspired by a dream I had when I became a Power Ranger, I was also inspired by the "Jackie Chan Adventures" animated series, and by Dr. Strange too.

So the teacher would be a hero fighting sorcerers & demons and to compensate the low budget, I thought that the fights could take place in other dimensions. At first, I thought about a Lego dimension that would be made in Stop Motion, but I didn't have enough legos and Stop Motion would have taken too much time. So I thought about a comic book dimension as it would be easier to make.

(In 2022 came out "The Guardians of Justice" which had the same idea of mixing live action with stop motion or 2D animation, especially when it comes to scenes with superpowers. I wonder if someone else used this concept before. Probably.)

Since I had limited time and the teacher said that I could make the drawings pretty simple, like, only one drawing for the fight, I came to the conclusion that drawing a "beam clash/beam struggle" was the easiest and clearest way to show a fight with a sorcerer.

For the same reason, I only made 4 drawings, and because we weren't going to use all of those ideas, I didn't need to draw the sorcerer's Power Morphers so I didn't drew them (also, I forgot, but maybe I drew before coming up with what the Morphers would actually look like, I'm not sure...🤔)

And instead of drawing a Power Morpher, I gave the sorcerer a magic staff, to make him look more like a sorcerer.

I really wanted to draw the scene where the teacher tear the comic board from the inside but I didn't have the time to try it and, also, I was probably not good enough to make it. That move was inspired by the Avan Strash (from "Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibōken"), by the way.

That's pretty much a pilot episode. It'd be a live action "monster of the week" type of show and almost each episode would have a new dimension:

-Stop Motion (Lego, action figure, etc)

-Comic book

-Anime

-Video game

-Board game

-Maybe a book dimension that's read and written as it goes on?

etc.

And sometimes a live action fight scene with VFX and all.

That's it.

[diatribeofamadman]

#11

I think the best part about this for me is that as I debate whether I'm going to do it or not, I remember I'm only going to do it if I want to, and then I do it or don't. No need, no goal, no hope, no justification, just doing. And doing in a way that I'm not overly critical of myself. So welcome to me time.

I tend not to read after I posted. Although to pretend that I don't reflect and desire to go back and read would be unrealist. I have half glanced, but I know I need to let it lie. It's just my thoughts my thinking that I'm putting down and letting be. If you end up having problems with it at some point, the anonymous reader in a future point of time, and decide that you want to hurt me or my family due to some fragment of my perspective that you perceived undesirable. Fuck you. It was once said to me in a way that I hate to hear myself say, bitter is never better. So I'll revel in the fact that this will never reach anyone and I can just say what the fuck I want.

Returning to reflection, I do. I feel bad about talking shit on Hunter, I feel like I didn't adequately address the fact that I wholeheartedly believe Disney was not overtly racist. But I wouldn't change those decisions. Although my feelings could change with the addition of new information. I'm not a total mongoloid, I do understand that if I had the opportunity to sit in here Hunter story it would make sense and he would become a human that I could understand. Just like I could easily sit down with Disney and be like whoa this guy's a fucking racist. Until we actually experience a person we're only dealing with the fragment of them that they project to us. Rarely is that honest. Rarely is there any monochrome transparency. That's mainly because we each enter into every scenario with a desired outcome. We attempt to mitigate and manage our physical existence to obtain that outcome. AKA fake people (Kanye you're not God. And for God's sake stop acting like a fucking fool.... Fucking gay fish)... As much as I hate Kanye West, it's probably one of those situations where you like and understand the person when you actually talk to them. I can recall early childhood and teenage years where more often than not the people you dislike are people like yourself. I'm just not quite as delusional as Kanye (yet)... Give me a billion dollars, maybe I'll tell you I'm fucking god too. I'm sure that's what Donald Trump and Epstein would say to those little girls. Call me God. Or maybe Daddy. I don't know how sick it really gets. But I know that Epstein having a painting of Bill Clinton in a dress is more than obscure. That's sick. Makes me wonder if Bill would take it from Epstein. But I try not to waste gray cells on psychopaths, sex offenders, and child molesters.... However, WTF? How in the world did those black books not open up and people not go to jail? Seriously, why is the judge that ordered them sealed not in jail? I am horrified to consider what the list really is. How many of our influential politicians and business leaders where regular customers of Jeffrey Epstein? We can see that his clientele reached into the royal family in the UK, most definitely political leaders from other countries. Moreover, I'm afraid it's a matter of our intelligence community and senior operatives. We all know the secret service will use hookers. It's standard practice (until people became aware that it was standard practice). So what's to say that senior officers aren't fucking children because it's what gets them off. I don't really know, and TBH this post comes with a disclaimer at the bottom. Because I don't know whose names were in the books. Apparently it was a matter of national security that we don't get to know whose names are in the books. I wish I could get those books and make those names public. But I would put $1 million I do not have on a bet saying those books no longer exist. And I would also put a bet on the fact that that judge or any other person that was actually privy to the information within those books is either no longer alive or shortly will not be. It's sad. I'm sad. You make me sad. You evil motherfuckers.

None of this is anything other than the insanity of a madman chewing his mind away. Any names coinciding with real people is coincidental and unintended. Any allegations put forth are not allegations but hypothesis based off of the analysis of the information available.

[masterskywalkers]

So here’s the thing.

Greedfall is full of hidden meanings and symbolism, and it’s overarching message is colonialism is bad. That it doesn’t matter how well your intentions are, you are still destroying and dismantling a whole other culture and way of life. Those good intentions are still disguised by acts and desires of selfishness and a lack of wanting to embrace and understand that which is different. You see it all over the place in the game, and the game is literally slapping you in the face and telling you ‘this is bad’. The merging of villages, the act of ignoring the truth of a religions origins because it doesn’t fit the narrative your land built on that, the experimentations, the killing.

You go through this entire game as De Sardet seeing and witnessing these injustices, all of which are committed by the other factions you’re trying to ally with. I’d honestly say the best of the factions for not trying to take and interfere with the natives are the nauts, but even they’re not exempt due to their history of the first visit to the island (and later in the history, the taking of natives to the continent which is basically human trafficking by today’s standings).

While this is happening De Sardet is still searching for a cure and also learning about the true roots of his heritage. You start to see more of the injustice the more they discover who they are, and unless you’re playing in a way that is indifferent to what’s going on you see even further how the tremors of the underlying tone and message of the game.

Just because something is new and unexplored for one party, doesn’t mean it isn’t already home and a way of life to another. It deserves to be as undisturbed as any other way of life does, and just because one does not understand does not mean that they are suddenly better than what they see as inferior. The natives have a society, a religion, a system that they live by, and it is just as valid as anything else.

Now, on to how Constantin fits into this.

Constantin is - at least before his madness - the least threatening to this way of life. Is he still a disturbance to it? Absolutely, all the new factions on the island are an invading force. But as far as we know, he is the most caring in his governance. There is no zealous religion burning the natives gods and people, there is no hidden experimentation carried out by doctors unlike that of the Bridge Alliance. I say as far as we know because both Thélème and the Bridge Alliance had these actions happening in the background of their governments for the most part, and in the case of things happening in the shadows beneath Constantin’s governance we only really know of the Coin Guard’s rebellion.

The game is a tragedy however, no matter what ending you take. The kindest governor becomes sick with the very illness his cousin is searching desperately for a cure for - and it is a sickness born from the experimentation of those in the Bridge Alliance and their desire to know ‘what will happen if...’. Constantin, as young and as full of live as he is fears his inevitable death, and he begs his cousin help him ‘before the madness takes him’.

The madness is key here - because although Constantin does eventually ‘get better’, he isn’t really himself anymore. My interpretation always was that he fell into that madness anyway through various reasons; the inevitably of his supposed fate, the illness itself, and also the power he feels from the ritual used to save him.

Constantin was fated to die, and die he did. Because the Constantin that was born from his madness, fear and taste of power is not the Constantin that we’ve known up until now. Constantin even says at one point ‘I’ve never hurt anybody, never taken anybody,’ and he hasn’t - until he has a taste for power and yearns for more.

He becomes a threat due to his circumstances, and the madness and yearning for more twists him to the point he does become a threat ... and there is where he becomes the embodiment of the game’s main theme. That colonialism is bad, and wrong, and that even those with the best hearts can grow to yearn for more in a dangerous way.

Constantin is not a bad person. And that’s the tragedy. De Sardet and those who have travelled with the two cousins know this, which is why it’s such a shock and such a difficult thing to face him at the end. Because they know he has to be stopped before that order and balance is disturbed forever, plunging the world into disarray.

But the way I always played it for Caleb at least, is that Caleb also saw that Constantin is a pawn as much as everyone else is. None of what happened to him would have happened had it not been for a desire to prove himself to the people who thought he was a waste of space, or worthless - and again, the game is a tragedy, because Constantin ultimately fails in this too.

Greedfall to me had another theme running through it too, and that was how far would you go for someone you loved? A member of your family - by blood or found - that you have known your whole life and who has always been a constant. When you see them fall down a dark path, what do you do? The good ending is called a good ending because you’re killing what Constantin stands for metaphorically, whereas the bad ending you’re embracing those bad themes. But the game is absolutely brilliant in its writing because it makes you question that decision. You know killing Constantin is the best thing, the right thing to do, but you’ve had enough time to know and understand this character as well as the bonds he has built with people, and you’ve seen the downfall for yourself. There is no option to save him from his fate, but because you’ve grown to know and hurt for this character you’re suddenly thinking if you will kill him. He’s as much a victim of his circumstances, despite now being the main ‘evil’ you face.

I had Caleb save Constantin not because I didn’t like the other ending, or because I saw a ‘cute, blond character and he became a child that must be protected’ because he absolutely does need to answer for his actions! He was wrong. I had Caleb save Constantin because, at the end of the day, I had been playing and building Caleb’s story up until that point as a man who deeply loved his cousin, who was as dependant on him as Constantin was to him. Who couldn’t imagine living in a world without the one constant he’s always had, because Caleb was terribly frightened he would never survive in a world without Constantin. That the weight of essentially murdering one of the people he loved the most would be enough to kill him too. I was playing with the intent of thinking both these cousins had a fatal flaw, and in the end it cost greatly.

The themes are there, and that is so very obvious. And I really hope that people understand that a choice to save Constantin is not a big ‘I see your colonialism themes, but fuck that’ because it isn’t. I fell in love with Greedfall as a game and a piece of writing because of the levels it has in it in terms of meaning and choice. And while I know there are those out there who did save Constantin simply because he was ‘fav boi, best boi’, there are also those who, like me, saved him in a playthrough for numerous other reasons, including that of being a complex character, the way they roleplayed or saw the connection he and his cousin share, or for other reasons and interpretations people saw.

[jeonqkooks]

Jen!!! Congrats on the 2k!!! And I think it’s so wholesome that you do blogiversaries. So, also, a huge congrats with that as well!

May I request a Jungkook scenario? I love me some angst, so I chose two prompts off of that list.

#12 + #22

Thank you so much! Your writings are a blessing to this world! <3

empty hands | jjk

pairing: jungkook x f!reader

rating: NC-17

genre/warnings: established relationship (?), infidelity au, mentions of sex, angst, jk cries 😔

word count: 892

note: thank you for sending in this request! and for being such a sweetheart 🥺💘 this is my first time writing a toxic/shitty reader lol so that was fun to explore even tho this is only under 1k words. i hope you like it!! (btw this is unedited but wbk, pls don’t know kill me yall)

as always, i’d appreciate any thoughts or comments you may have, and please drop a like and/or reblog if you enjoy reading ♡

Leaving Jungkook speechless is something you excel at.

When you walk into a room in nothing but a pair of red lace lingerie and perch yourself on his thighs. When you push him against a wall and gaze directly into his doe eyes with a hungry look in your own irises. Honestly, Jungkook often loses all ability to form words when it comes to you.

Right now is one of those instances, but it’s different this time. You aren’t fooling around, you aren’t about to engage in a heated night tangled in the sheets together. You aren’t even in the room and you still manage to leave him dumbstruck.

When Jungkook came to your apartment after work, you were already in the shower. He didn’t mean to see it, but when your phone lit up with a message from someone whose contact is only a smiley devil emoji, curiosity got the best of him.

He must have been standing there for half an hour, unmoving and unable to process the visual and the words on your screen.

“Jungkook, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

He whirls around, not realizing that tears were streaming down his face, collecting at his chin and falling onto his shirt. He can’t think. Every single word that he has learned since birth, wiped clean at the sight of the messages on your phone.

The stranger, whom Jungkook could only associate with a purple emoji and a shirtless chest next to your half naked body in the photos attached in the text thread, obliterated Jungkook’s entire world with three words and an emoticon.

Missing you baby :)

He opens his mouth only for silence to continue enveloping the space between you and him. His throat is dry, his eyes sting too much with the burn that accompanies tears, and his heart… doesn’t seem to be there anymore. Caged in by his ribs, where it should be. No, it’s lost somewhere inside his own body, as if it’s hiding from the blow that will inevitably come when the two of you part.

Taehyung and Jimin—the people that Jungkook trusts with his life—they’ve warned him before, haven’t they? They’ve tried to talk him out of this relationship more times than he can count; they’ve told him that you were bad news, that you would only destroy him in the end, although perhaps the thrill of it—the imminent danger that he has always found excitement in—was what pushed him to pursue you.

His friends wanted the best for him, but he only wanted you.

And look where that got him?

The things you said to the other man—the pure filth that you promised you would do to him if you were there—made Jungkook sick to his stomach. You always did have a way with words, luring people in with honey dripping from your voice.

How foolish of him to think he was worth something to you. Special. Different.

It’s clear that he’s just another body to keep you warm at night. That makes him even more humiliated that you’re watching him cry.

You step closer and put a hand on his chest. “Hey, tell me what’s wrong.”

His body flinches away from your touch before his mind can even recover. He hands the phone back to you and takes a breath, as difficult of a task as it is right now.

“It was open,” he mumbles weakly, wiping the moisture from his cheeks with shaky fingers, “and I read it.”

You look at the device and at the incriminating evidence plastered on it. Your brows knit together slightly and you heave a sigh. Jungkook might even say you look a tad annoyed that he came across your secret.

“Jungkook, baby…”

A perfectly manicured hand reaches out to him again. The red on your nails looks like the blood flowing through his veins, pumping from his runaway heart to keep him alive. He used to consider it a privilege to have those hands on him, but now they only disgust him.

You bite your bottom lip as you stare at him. There isn’t even a trace of shame or guilt on your features. No string of apologies falling from your mouth, no begging for a chance to explain yourself, no nothing. You just look sorry that you were caught.

You don’t say anything as Jungkook begins to move around the room to angrily gather his belongings. There’s only the sound of clothes being hastily thrown into a suitcase. Pieces of himself that he’s left behind on purpose over the course of the past few months.

He doesn’t think he could handle a single word from your mouth even if you do decide to speak up. It’s the worst fucking feeling, like he’s only ever been the only person in this relationship and now that the illusion has been shattered, he’s the only person who will have to deal with the fallout. The consequences of his own recklessness and total disregard for his heart.

“You know,” he chokes out as he steps around you to get to the door. Jungkook meant to sound calm, but halfway through, he realizes that there’s probably no point to it. It wouldn’t help him preserve any dignity, because God knows how long you’ve been playing him like a fiddle. “All my friends told me you’d break my heart.”

— all rights reserved © jeonqkooks. reposting, translating and/or modifying is not permitted by any means. [posted august 18, 2022]

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