#completely decided i was never gonna try and. it just hasn't been on my mind in a while

[letbuckfuck]

i think maybe it's not such a good thing that i've just totally shut myself off from the idea of dating at all because i thought it wasn't my thing. like maybe i should just be trying

[echobx]

reader is invited on the My Druthers boat by ward, but Sarah and her have a fight and is forced to switch rooms with wheezie, making her share the bed with rafe. End up making out and cuddling!!

author's note: I might've gone a tiny bit off-road on this lol but I think it's still pretty good.

warnings: making out, edging

"Why did you even invite me then!" you yell at Sarah and slam the door shut behind you, your bag hanging over your shoulders and tears brimming in your eyes. You prod upstairs, deciding that you could just sleep on the couch until you got home the next day. What you hadn't expected was a half naked Rafe walking in just moments later and giving you a rather perplexed look. "What she do?" is all he says and you huff, falling down on the couch behind you. "You wouldn't want to know or understand it." "I asked, didn't I?" he says and walks over to you, holding out a small bottle of water. You take it with a small thanks and drink it all in a matter of seconds. You hadn't really had any time to think about how hot it would be up here, with most of the AC only going for the bedrooms during the night. "I told her that it's stupid to trust her new Pogue boyfriend," you shake your head. "Yeah, never trust a Pogue," Rafe nods. "Exactly!" you exclaim, happy that he gets you. "You could sleep in my room. I'll tell Wheezie to go sleep with Sarah." Rafe's proposal seems too good to be true, especially with his bare chest and grey sweats... "Y/n?" Rafe asks, his eyebrows cocked up and you feel caught when you look up into his blue eyes. "Yes, sorry. That would be very nice of you. But I should just sleep up here," you politely decline. If just seeing him was making your head spin you could only imagine what sleeping in his bed would do to you. "Nonsense," Rafe proclaimes and take his bag with you, not accepting a different answer.

You lie next to him, a few pillows in the middle that he put there for your comfort. "It would've been unbearably hot up there. Trust me," he sighs and you can only think about how unbearably hot you felt right now too. Lying next to him in your tiny PJ's and your mind running wild with all the things that could happen. "Thank you. It's really kind," you reply, trying to keep your voice steady. You focus on the soft humming of the AC and the steady breathes that Rafe lets out. Yet it's all too overwhelming to you, but when you start to hum, he removes the pillow that keeps his face hidden from you. "Do I make you uncomfortable? I can sleep on the floor, if you want." "No, I'm just- It's confusing," you whisper. "What?" Rafe smirks, he doesn't need to pretend that he hasn't noticed how you look at him while doing your very best to keep a distance. "You being nice to me. I mean, you never talk to me," you say and he breathes a chuckle. "Sarah told me to stay away, and for once I agreed that it'd be better." "Why?" you turn around to face him, placing your hands under your cheek while gazing at him. "I'd ruin you," he shrugs as if it's the most normal thing to say to you. "What if I don't care?" you whisper and he laughs. "I was afraid of that."

Maybe you wouldn't have done it if his laugh hadn't taunted you this badly, but as soon as the pillows hit the floor you found yourself in his arms. His lips were softer than you had imagined and his hands groped at your hips. Sharing breath and spit as his tongue danced with yours and made your closed eyes roll back. "Need more," you breathe against him as his lips travel over your neck, sucking right at your sweet spot and eliciting a moan from you that sounds almost pornographic. "Fuck, baby, you gotta keep quiet," Rafe muses and kisses you into your diligent nod. His hand slips down in between your body, under your shorts where he starts to run his fingers over your drenched slip. "You're so wet f'me." He rasps and you whimper. "Please, I need you, Rafe." "Gonna fuck you good, but not now, baby," he hushes against your lips and pulls away completely, leaving you needy and on edge. "What are you doing?" you complain. "Making sure you're for real, and not just using me to get back at my sis," he says and gets up. He places his pillow on the rug and lies down. "Goodnight, y/n," he sighs and you listen to him fall asleep, incapable of relieving yourself of the need he had brought up in you.

please don't copy and/or post my work onto other platforms! ~e©ho

taglist: @redhead1180 @spideysimpossiblegirl @drwstarkeyy @princessmaybank @ijustwantttoread @kys4-20 @immyowndefender @julczimozart @hoe4sunarin @m2m2m2 @mochimms @itsme-again

[kaliforniahigh]

slow down, you're doing fine - n.s.

In honor of fluffy friday and Noah being back on stage this weekend, I decided to write this ball of fluff. Hope you guys enjoy it!

You can listen to Vienna by Billy Joel to get in the mood if you'd like. This song never fails to bring tears to my eyes and I feel like it goes with the fic.

Warnings: Noah is a little sad, mentions of insomnia, a little self-deprecation but it all ends well.

WC: 923.

Request something for fluffy friday!!!

You and Noah were roomates, and it wasn't atypical for you guys to knock on each other's door and slip into their room when one of you was having a particularly rough night, or when you couldn't sleep and just needed someone to chat with. Even though you did it way more often than Noah, there were still times he seeked your comfort.

You usually could tell when this was gonna happen. As much as he liked to think he could hide his feelings, you could always tell when he was having a hard time. In the hustle and bustle of preparing themselves to perform at Upheaval and Inkcarceration this weekend, you could tell something was plaguing his mind.

You knew he felt guilty about cancelling the other dates, even if you reassured him a thousand times that his health always comes first. You waited for him to say something, knowing if you confronted him about it, he would close himself off and say that everything is ok.

So when you laid down on your bed to sleep tonight, you waited for the soft knock and your door to open and reveal his figure coming into your room. But as you tried to keep yourself awake, you realized that it might not happen tonight, so you closed your eyes and opted to sleep instead.

A couple of hours later, you were awoken by a soft shake of your shoulders, and whispers of someone calling your name. Opening your eyes slowly, it didn't take much to adjust, since the room was still dark. But youou could make out Noah's sillouete in the shadows.

"Hi. What's wrong?", you asked him, still a little groggy from sleep.

"Can I sleep here?", he asked in a small voice, resembling a child waking up their parents to tell them they were scared of the dark. Noah wasn't a child anymore, but you could tell he was scared of something.

Not answering verbally, you just scooched over to the other side of the bed, lifting your comforter for him so slip under. He instantly curled into himself facing towards you. You gently ran your hand through his hair. You waited for him to make the first move, to tell you what was plaguing his mind. But even if he just wanted you to hold him, that's what you were gonna do.

"I just feel so sad", he admitted, with a shaky voice.

"Scared of what?", you kept your voice quiet, as if afraid to scare him away.

"It's just been so long since we've performed. What if I'm shit? What if people boo me for what I did? What if I don't sound right?"

You silently shushed him, stopping his rambling and self-deprecation "It hasn't been that long and you didn't do anything, it was a mutual decision", you pointed out, trying to get him to reason. You knew he always carried the weight on his shoulders, even if the other boys were completely ok with the decision.

"I know, but stil", you felt him fumbling with his hands, picking a nail here and there, showing you just how nervous he was about this.

"And if people boo you, I'll come out from the side stage and tell them to fuck off", you looked down and saw a hint of a smile on his face. You tapped the top of his head twice, a signal for him to look at you, as you continued "you're an amazing artist. And this rough patch does not define your career from now on. You were born for this, you just needed a little break to remind yourself how much you love doing what you do", you could sense you were getting through to him a little bit, by the way his body seemed to relax and his hands were no longer tied together in an act of restlessness.

"And if this weekend, you get up on that stage and you still don't feel comfortable being there, you're gonna take another 10 or 12 months. You're supposed to enjoy it, and if you don't, there is still some work to do", you paused, giving him the space to talk if he needed.

"I feel ready, I just feel nervous about how things are gonna go", he kept his eyes on yours, now feeling more confident to make eye contact.

"You don't have complete control over everything that happens during the show, so don't worry your pretty little head about things that are out of your control. Besides, you trust Matt and everyone else, right?" he firmly nodded, confirming what you already knew. "And you promise me you're gonna tell me if you still don't feel ok when the show ends?"

"I promise", you knew he meant it by the look in his eyes, that were now a little bit droopy with tiredness. You guessed he kept turning in bed, restless, until he decided to come to your room.

"Do you wanna sleep or do you wanna keep talking? I'll let you pick the subject", you wanted to give him a choice, just in case he didn't feel ready to slip into his mind yet.

"I feel like I'm ready to sleep now. I actually feel kind of tired", he gave a small smile, but one you welcomed anyway.

"That's good. Let's sleep then"

You got yourselves comfortable, and in a few minutes, you could hear his steady breathing hitting your clavicle, and you let yourself slip under the cover of sleep with him.

At first, I wanted to write about reader taking refuge in Noah's room. But after thinking about it a little more, I decided to write it the other way around. There is just something about men being vulnerable that pulls on my heartstrings.

I hope everything goes well for everyone attending the festivals this weekend. I hope y'all have so much fun. Stay safe and enjoy!!!

[reneesghostinthelivingroom]

Poly!plastics x powerlifter!reader

Reader always wears baggy clothes and under that a very muscular gal and for some reason the plastics never put two together, so one day reader has to join in dodgeball in gym and their hoodie is making it hard to move so they take it off revealing their arms sculpted by Zues himself.

Heracles or Something

|| poly!plastics x powerlifter!nonbinary!reader

|| Warnings; hints at later sex, plastics simping over reader, short drabble

|| Summary; when the plastics see reader in a t shirt for the first time, they lose their minds.

Requests open!

Started; November 9th

Finished; November 9th

~~~

It hasn't been too long since you started the plastics; so their reaction to your muscles makes absolute sense. Considering they've yet to see you without hoodies and sweats on. It was second period gym and Coach Carr decided that the class would play a game of dodgeball. Which was one of your favourites, you always went all out for this.

By sheer luck, you and your girlfriends all managed to be on the same team. Regina was absolutely demolishing everyone. She's terrifying to go up against in dodgeball. Gretchen was mostly either using you or Regina as a shield. While Karen kind of just stood there, making herself the easiest target in the world. You defended her though. Not wanting her to be one of the first ones out.

About half way through the game, you were finding it increasingly difficult to play with your hoodie on. It was getting beyond tiring having to move around in all that sweaty fabric. So you tossed it off, throwing it against the wall and doing a little arm stretch before returning to the game.

All three of your girlfriends got out in that same moment. Why? Their jaws were dropped and they couldn't pull their eyes away from you. Since when did their Y/N have insane muscles? Honestly, you looked as though Zeus himself made your body. It was Godly.

They weren't even mad they got out, just accepting their defeat. Because it gave them more time to admire you from the sidelines.

When the game was over, Regina was the first one to you in the locker room. Immediately pulling you into a kiss before you could sneak off to change in the bathroom. Because oh my God. You were even hotter now. Your lips moved against Regina's, she was being rough enough to get a moan out of you. Especially with how her nails had trailed along your arms. Practically tracing the tone outlines.

As the kiss broke, she cupped your cheeks and made you look into her eyes. With a desire you'd never seen in them before," my place. After school. I don't care if you have stuff to do." She stated, not leaving any room for an argument. You swallowed and nodded just as Gretchen and Karen joined the two of you.

"When were you gonna tell us?!" Gretchen exclaimed, leaving you pretty dumbfounded. Tell them what?

"Uh-?" You'd started to ask what she meant when Gretchen just rolled her eyes. Realizing you had no idea what she was talking about.

"Your muscles! You look like- I don't know, Heracles or something!" You burst out laughing at her explanation, cheeks flushed as you shook your head. Grinning from her flustered compliment.

"I try." You joked with a wink, meanwhile Karen. Had been completely distracted by your arms this entire time, eyes wide and mouth open.

When you noticed you gently closed her mouth for her, wiping away the drool with your thumb and kissing her cheek. "Hey, Earth to Karen."

She blinked when she heard her name," huh? Oh, yeah totally." You had no idea what she was responding to, even Gretchen just kinda shrugged at it.

Regina wrapped her arms around your waist, pulling you against her and resting her head to your shoulder. "God... you're so hot." She couldn't get over your muscles, making you blush again as you leaned into her touch.

Definitely looking forward to tonight.

[spirits-art-blog]

Redraws of some of my favorite Conan/Shinichi expressions so far! I'll likely be making more posts like this cus this show is filled with really good expressions and poses that I really want to draw. Honestly this show needs more moments like the ones above, its such a good visual gag.

For those who don't know, I'm watching this show completely blind so please keep spoilers out of this post; as of posting this, I have just finished ep 289.

Gonna get into some of my current thoughts and critiques in the read more cus I don't really want to make a separate text post so feel free to avoid all of that if you don't want to see it and I hope you enjoyed the art :)

Disclaimer: These critiques should be taken lightly as they don't really impede my enjoyment as overall the show is great! I just like to share my thoughts and ramble.

286-288 is actually kind of a good summary for some of the things I dislike about the show, like sorry if people like that case but Shinichi and Yukiko being there unfortunately did not make it less meh for me.

I usually try to keep in mind that shows like this weren't intended for an american/english-speaking audience but man, New York is such a bad setting for this show. Even if you ignore the actual voice acting, its jarring how the americans just, stop speaking english. I really wanna know what the bts situation was to make them decide that, like sure 3 episodes is a lot, but its hard to believe these new yorkers, besides 2 cops and a taxi driver, are speaking Japanese.

Other thoughts go to the end with the murderer of the case and the disguised killer. Not sure how to word this exactly but it kind of bothers me how this is, I think, the first time we've gotten a murderer who's backstory isn't about some misfortune that happened to them that was caused by the victim, like nah, she was just evil, and then later Shinichi and Ran stop a serial killer from falling to their death, like what? Especially with these two scenes practically being back to back, I just don't get why they did that. Idk just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyways on a lighter note, loved seeing Ran's thoughts throughout the episode, especially at the end, like I love internal conflict for characters, and it works for Ran as well since falling for that 'you helped cause this' fear is pretty consistent with her.

And lastly I wanna share some thoughts I've had about the show cus I don't know where to put them. That being said, I really wish they had some episodes early on that explored more of the dynamics between characters and Shinichi's transition into Conan. Like the idea of a rich 16-17 year old being stuck as a 6-7 year old who now lives with his not girlfriend and has to go back to first grade is such a dramatic change, no way that situation wasn't hard to get used to. Unfortunately, I'm more than far enough into this show to know they aren't going to do anything like that. And besides very small moments that spawned headcanons for me, there isn't much going on relationship wise either. After episode 3, the dynamics between the characters was set and hasn't really changed too much, which is a little sad imo.

I'll stop rambling for now, apologies with how discoherent this is, translating my thoughts into words has never been my strong suit.

[talkintrashcann]

Sleeping beauty - Xavier Thorpe

Summery: You found your best friend sleeping in his shed, his body laying on something he was drawing before falling asleep. Little did you know, it was a drawing of you.

Warnings: fluff, kissing, best friends to lovers, if there's any others please let me know

Word count: 1.3k

A/N: im sorry if this is really bad, i didn't check the story after finishing it up so there's probably gonna be some mistakes in here. this is my first time ever posting on tumblr, this is all very new to me and idk how any of this works or if im doing it correctly so please let me know what you think. im always open for suggestions or feedback!

——————

Walking outside in the forest after dark wasn't your favorite activity to do but you got a little worried about your best friend, Xavier. You texted him a while ago asking if everything was alright and he hasn't replied back yet. You're aware that he likes to take his distance sometimes and wants to be alone, which you completely understand and respect. But you also knew that whenever something is wrong, he keeps it to himself even when he shouldn't. He knows that you have your own things to sort out sometimes and he doesn't want you to carry around his luggage too, he doesn't want to feel like a burden.

He has the perfect spot to go to whenever he wants to be alone, a place where he can let go and express himself. Out in the woods next to the school there's a shed somewhere, he cleaned it out with permission from Ms. Weems to turn it into his private art studio. So naturally that's the first place that came to mind when you found out he wasn't in his room.

After a 15 minute walk in the woods you finally spot the old shed, covered by loads of plants that grew onto it over the years. It was certain he was inside as the lights of his shed were turned on, and only he can enter the shed considering he's the only one with a key.

You open the door quietly, not wanting to scare him this late at night. Your eyes scan the room looking for your friend, but you frown as you dont see him immediately. You take a step further inside, being able to see the room more.

That's when you spotted him, sitting on his wooden stool while his upper body was leaning on his workbench. He was sleeping peacefully, not even waking up because of the door opening. And you can imagine it making quite some noise considering how long that shed has been standing there in the forest. His hair was partly tied up in a loose bun, while also being untied at the back. A few strands of hair had fallen over his eyes, mouth slightly open. You could hear him breathe very quietly, holding your own breath to prevent him from waking up because of any noise. Even though he wouldn't wake up so easily, but you still felt the need to not make a sound.

If you could take a picture of this very moment, you'd carry it with you anywhere you go. Your heart melts at the sight of him, you stand there almost dying from cuteness overload. There was no denying that you see him as more than just a friend, but you would never actually admit that to anyone. Some of your other friends knew about your little crush on him, but it looks like Xavier himself can't take a hint at all. You've tried dropping him subtle hints, some a little less subtle than others, but it has no use. He must be blind to not notice you flirting with him all the time, or at least try to. That or he knows you like him, but decides not to say anything about it, being too afraid to lose you as a friend because of it.

As you get lost in your own thoughts again, your eyes divert from his pretty face to what seems to be what he was drawing before he had drifted off into deep sleep, staring at what you see in shock.

Underneath his body, drawn on the paper, was you. He made a drawing of you petting a kitten near the lake. It had so much details in it, you would think that he made this on the spot while you were posing for it. Thinking back to when this happened, you remember it being from before you two were even friends. It was one of your first days at Nevermore and you hadn't made any friends yet, not any human friends at least. You had gone for a walk near the lake to clear your mind after class, meeting a cute little orange kitten while you were there. You don't remember anyone else being around, let alone it being Xavier.

It makes you wonder though, was he following you? If so, what was the reason? Even if that was a bit of a stalker move, you couldn't help but feel warm inside because of it. Maybe there was a chance he did like you more than a friend. You leaned in a little closer to him, pressing your lips lightly to his cheek. You don't know what came over you in that moment, but you really felt the need to do that. This might be the only time you get to do this, so why not.

Unfortunately that light touch was enough to wake sleeping beauty, Xavier's eyes fluttered open slowly and his arms pushed his body up from the table. He makes eye contact with you and frowns at the sight of you standing there so close to him in the middle of the night.

"What are you doing here?", he asked softly but his voice came out a little raspy.

You couldn't make a sound, your eyes nervously looking at Xavier, then at the drawing, and then back at Xavier. He followed the direction of your eyes, also looking at the drawing now. He had completely forgotten he was working on that before he fell asleep, his body filling with embarrassment now as he realizes what situation he's gotten himself into.

"Uh, I can explain..."

He got nervous and looked down at the floor, not wanting to look you in the eye right now. He knew he couldn't talk himself out of this, you needed an explanation and he couldn't think of a single excuse. His hands were fiddling with the hem of his shirt and his face was turning a dark shade of pink, his body language was telling you exactly what you needed to know.

Taking a deep breath before opening his mouth again to say something while still not looking at you, he was prepared to finally tell you how he feels about you. Before he could say a word you lifted his chin up and softly kissed his lips, catching him completely off guard. It didn't take very long for him to kiss you back though, he had been waiting for this moment for so long. It didn't happen the way he thought it would, but he was definitely not complaining about it.

His hands found their way to your waist and pulled you closer to him, you falling onto his lap as a result. After what felt like ages you slowly pulled away from him, not really wanting to but you needed to catch your breath.

For a moment it stays silent in the shed, neither of you making any noise. All that's happening is you two staring at each other, enjoying the moment while thinking about what just happened. Xavier is the first one to break the silence.

"Does this mean you like me? More than just a friend?", he asks hesitantly.

"Took you long enough to realize, I've been trying to tell you for so long but you never seem to notice.", you let out a soft laugh while wrapping your hands around his neck.

"Maybe you should do something about your flirting skills then, they're gonna need some improvement if your goal was to show me you liked me.", he couldn't stop himself from teasing you.

"Oh please, there's nothing wrong with my flirting skills. If you would just open your eyes for once you'd see-"

Before you had the chance to finish that sentence he smashed his lips on yours to shut you up. This time the kiss was much more passionate and lasted even longer than the previous one. You never could've imagined this was how your night was going to end.

[businesstiramisu]

@canyourfavesurvivecastledracula -- I'm trying out the "argue at you" approach. tagging you b/c you don't have submissions open and I think this long enough to be an annoying ask. I don't think you know or care about this character, but *I* do, so here's my argument :P

Can Alphonse Elric survive Castle Dracula?

[the answer depends a LOT on which part of which canon we're using, but we're going to go vaguely with "middle part". That is to say, armor]

Al has one HUGE advantage against Dracula, which is that he has no corporeal human body (for now). He's not completely free of blood though -- if Dracula learns about the blood seal tethering his soul to this mortal plane, I fully believe he's learned enough Dark Magicks at Scholomance to fuck it up. So the question is, would he find out? Al is usually pretty good at hiding it… unless he just decides to tell people. So it depends on how their dynamic plays out.

Al would accept the crucifix from the townsfolk, and listen to their other advice. Even if he doesn't believe them, he's a polite boy, and you never know what information might be useful! Maybe their folktales have clues about the Philosopher's Stone, you never know. (Also in one version of canon he can understand German, so let's say language barriers aren't an issue.)

Dracula is bemused when an alchemist in full plate armor turns up asking to see his library instead of the solicitor he requested. Alchemists? He hasn't run into any of those in a while. But hey, the lawyer's not here yet, he's got time to fuck with this guy and have an extra snack.

The shaving incident wouldn't happen obviously, but Dracula might realize something is amiss because Al doesn't sleep. Or will he? Does Dracula pay enough attention to know when normal humans should be sleeping and Al isn't? If so, he will probably investigate, push boundaries, or stage a confrontation until he finds out Al's deal, and then he will be PISSED. No lawyer, and now no snack! This is bullshit! From here on out, it's WAR. If not, then...

If Al realizes this is a kidnapping and not a library loan, he will play along. He might not even mind. He's been kidnapped before, and it always worked out fine. Dracula might be more creepy and threatening than his other kidnappers, but Al's dealt with a wide variety of creepy and threatening in his quest, I just don't think he'd be fazed. And he is, as already mentioned, a polite person who would want to be a respectful guest! Hmm kinda creepy that he just implied I'll never leave this place alive... oh well! Nice table setting, sir, compliments to your staff.

Being a respectful guest might not extend to staying in his room as instructed; he's a curious guy and only a stickler for the rules compared to his brother. The girlies aren't a problem for him, because he's still wearing the crucifix, but they might clue him in that Something Is Wrong and lead to Al himself forcing a confrontation with Dracula.

But even if everything goes smoothly, Al would eventually get bored with Dracula's library (if there was anything useful about the Philosopher's Stone in there, Dracula wouldn't be a vampire). At some point, Al would decide this kidnapping is over, and he would provoke the confrontation in trying to leave.

I haven't written any reason for Al to tell Dracula about his fatal weakness, so I'm gonna say Dracula can't actually do much to Al; but unfortunately I don't think Al can harm Dracula either. I don't actually remember what allowed Jonathan to hit him with a shovel but I think it involved special circumstances that do not apply to Al. However, Dracula also can't prevent Al from leaving -- neither thousand foot cliffs nor wolves are much of an obstacle to him. (Well actually, if you physically overpower him and take the armor apart, he can't walk away -- but people almost never think of that, and Dracula probably won't either.)

Which is all to say that Alphonse can survive Castle Dracula, but he probably won't have as much useful intel as Jonathan did. Mind you, he took notes! He just didn't get personal experience with as many of Dracula's powers.

And of course, his goal after this is to track down his brother -- if anyone can figure out how to kill a vampire it's Ed. Where the fuck did he get to, anyways? He'd better not be stranded in Weimar Germany. Al can absolutely walk to Munich from here, but waiting around 25-30 years for Ed to turn up would be a drag.

[mins-fins]

LOVER (K.GV)

SUMMARY . . . where they're supposed to be packing but one of them has other plans.

PAIRING . . . kim gyuvin x male!reader

GENRE . . . very fluffy

WARNINGS . . . none!

WORD COUNT . . . 1.2k

NOTES . . . gyuvin is seriously bias wrecking me these days fr.. this is dedicated to zai (@scrrra), he didn't really ask for this but i just wanna make his day!! also were all starving for gyuvin content so take this

"your literally so messy".

"your acting like your any better, dumbass".

gyuvin gasps loudly, as if offended by the words. y/n just chuckles at his display, turning around to stare at his tall boyfriend, who pouts. "i'm just saying, your going to college you don't need all this stuff!"

"yeah, i'm going to college" y/n states like a matter of a fact. "i need everything".

"everything?"

"everything".

gyuvin blinks, narrowing his eyes and giving his partner a judging stare. y/n lightly punches his shoulder, and gyuvin sighs. "okay! okay! you can pack everything".

y/n was originally gonna pack on his own, he didn't really even want help, but gyuvin insisted on helping, and wouldn't take no for an answer. since y/n had procrastinated for super long and now college starts in two weeks and he hasn't even packed half his stuff yet.

he has maybe one box packed, and he was only reminded of it today when hanbin screamed in his ears with a megaphone telling him that he starts college in two weeks.

so now, here y/n is, trying his best to decide what to pack as gyuvin just looks at his stuff, seeing what he could find. "you have so many books! where do you even keep these?"

"in my shelves, obviously".

"your room is the size of a cubicle, what shelves?"

y/n scoffs, still looking away from gyuvin as he sorts his clothes in one box and then his pillows, blankets, and bedsheets in another. his attention quickly moves away from gyuvin, whose actually not helping him pack.

gyuvin had been in y/n's room maybe twice in the whole time they've been dating. to be fair, they're always out, doing couple things like buying ice cream at three am, or shopping for sweaters just so y/n could steal them from him, or running across the beach at night.

they're usually never inside, just always out and about.

gyuvin scrunches his nose, staring specifically hard at a random drawer besides y/n's bed. he blinks, looking over at his partner, whose busy trying to figure out how much stuff he can fit in one box, completely turned away from gyuvin.

he opens the drawer, trying to see what's inside. pens, pencils, notebooks, binders, some more books, and a few post it notes. just boring stuff, gyuvin thinks in his head.

he sighs, packing those things in the box beside him, he notices that there are still other things in that drawer, letters, and he tilts his head, trying to get a better look at them.

wait.. are those the letters i wrote for him?

earlier in the year, gyuvin had written letters for y/n, it was a thing he did when they were in the much earlier stages of their relationship, he really did pout his heart and soul into those letters, but he assumed y/n had forgotten about them.

but he kept them, like the corny loser he is.

gyuvin smiles as he thinks about it, laughing to himself. y/n was pretty much oblivious to what gyuvin had stumbled upon, busy trying to figure out how he's gonna put all his extension cords together without tangling them.

gyuvin's mind drifts off to the situation, college, and it puts a sour taste in his mouth. y/n is on the other side of this small room packing, and he's oblivious to what gyuvin is thinking.

yeah they're going to the same college, but y/n is going to get busier, and they can't just be a silly teenage couple anymore, they can't just go out buying ice cream at three in the morning, or gyuvin giving y/n piggyback rides randomly.

he moves the letters over, and sees other things, keychains, small fans, a tape measure(?), shoe laces, a polaroid camera, and a photo album. gyuvin tilts his head, reaching into the drawer to grab the photo album.

he struggles to take it out without making a lot of noise, he's not trying to alert y/n and distract him. he places it on the floor, getting the letters out of the drawer and placing them on the table beside the bed.

he then moves back to the photo album, he's not snooping, no! he's just curious, that's all! that's why he's flipping through the photo album right now. as gyuvin does that, he can't control his smile, because it's a bunch of photos which show y/n growing up.

gyuvin assumes that these photos were taken by his parents, y/n's father was a photographer after all. gyuvin couldn't contain his giggles, because y/n's childhood photos are so funny and cute that he can't help it.

y/n, who was busy packing, turns around as he hears gyuvin giggling, and all he can see is his boyfriend struggling to contain his laugh, looking like he was about to fall back onto the floor with how hard he was laughing. "what's so funny?"

gyuvin tries his best to catch his breath, clearing his throat as he stares at y/n, who blinks. gyuvin, still laughing, turns the album over and displays the photo of seven year old y/n wearing his roller skating attire.

y/n narrows his eyes, and then they widen. gyuvin is horrible at keeping his giggles in, and he leans back as he laughs, completely enamored by the cute childhood photo of his boyfriend.

"you weren't even helping me pack" y/n goes over to him, looking at the photo album. "you were just going through my stuff".

"hey!" gyuvin yells, literally on the floor. "i wasn't going through your stuff, i did pack some stuff, i just for distracted easily!" he laughs, propping himself up on his elbows.

y/n reaches forward to try and grab the photo album, but gyuvin quickly moves his arm before he can grab it. he pauses, and gyuvin smiles in a mischievous manner, giggling. "give it back".

"no?"

"what do you mean no—"

y/n reaches so forward again, and falls forward, on top of gyuvin. "you are such an.. ass".

"no, you love me" gyuvin says, picking up his head to stare at y/n, smiling. "your so cute, you know that? the roller skates might've been a little big on you but—"

"shut up!" y/n exclaims, flicking gyuvin in his forehead, which makes him yelp. finally, he grabs the photo album out of gyuvin's hand, taking it for himself. "your annoying, i swear".

"i called you cute, your not even gonna say thank you?"

"i'll thank you when you actually help me pack".

"i did! i packed.. that!"

y/n deadpans at him, and gyuvin giggles, making him scoff. "babe! i love you! you know that right?" he calls out as y/n walks over to the other side of the room, placing the photo album on a table.

"you can say that after you pack".

gyuvin stares at y/n, snickering as his partner also flips through the photo album. "you kept those letters i sent you?"

y/n gasps, turning gyuvin's way and seeing the shit-eating grin on his face. "gyuvin!"

"hey! i'm just asking!"

[tonberry-yoda]

Hi! Congratulations for the 600 followers, you deserve it! :D For the event: "Chrollo Lucilfer" and "meeting someone from their past" Thanks!

Hi!!!! thank you so much for the congrats it seriously means the world!! i love gaining such sweet people on my account, so thank you for being one of them! and dude, you dont understand how stoked i was when i saw this. not only is it CHROLLO (i never get hxh requests so thank you) but it's also the best idea ever?!?!?! like literally amazed at the ideas you give me!!! <3 thank you so so much and i really hope you enjoy :)

Chrollo tapped his pen on his desk to a familiar tune, completely forgetting about the work in front of him. What am I doing? He thought. He just smiled to himself and continued his work, something still stuck in the back of his mind.

“Hey boss,” Nobunaga walked in, followed by Feitan and Phinks. “We’re gonna head out for a while. For the mission.”

“The mission,” Chrollo echoed softly. “Yes, of course. Let me know if you find anything. I'll probably just be here.”

He watched the three of them walk out of the room when he got a very strong feeling. Like a string was guiding him somewhere. He let it be for now and just continued his work. Plus, feelings never led him anywhere good.

He heard a light knock on his door and turned towards the sound. “Come in.”

Machi stepped in and handed him a cup. “I made you some tea.”

Chrollo took a satisfying sip and smiled. “Thank you, Machi. How kind.”

“You doin’ okay?” She tilted her head at him and Chrollo looked confused.

“I'm fine, why do you ask?”

“You look… I don't know, forget I said anything.” She walked out of the room and Chrollo scooted over to a mirror. Machi was right. He looked pretty frazzled, pieces of his hair falling out of place. That strange feeling came back, so he just scooped up his coat and decided to go for a walk.

“Machi, dear, I'm putting you in charge. I'll be on a walk. I won't be long.”

“Oh, okay. Have fun.”

Chrollo smiled at the rest of the troop and bowed. “I will try.”

He stepped out and the misty air bit the tips of his ears and the tip of his nose. He wrapped himself tighter in his coat and exhaled sharply, able to see his own breath amongst the fog.

He just let his legs lead him, enjoying the slight eeriness of the day. Something about those light gray clouds reminded him of good days. The sun wasn't even peeking out, but it somehow brought a smile to his cold red face. He listened to every step he took and watched as a dusting of snow appeared, making the air around him a bit more crisp.

Chrollo ended up in a dying forest, the bare trees looking ominous and somehow welcoming. He sat on a lone stump and waited. He didn't know what for, but he waited nonetheless, smiling at some mushrooms he found next to the stump.

“Ah, I was waiting for you.” Chrollo’s eyes stayed on the mushrooms, finding a strange little bug inhabiting them.

“Chrollo Lucilfer,” you smiled warmly, practically melting the snow around you. “It's been a while.”

He looked up at you, beaming. “It has been, hasn't it?” He held his hand out to you and you took it gladly, helping him stand up.

“I knew I felt something strange, I just didn't know you would be that strange feeling.”

You giggled and Chrollo stood up, his hand still in yours. “I felt the same thing.”

“Ah, two souls led to one another. Even after many years you still recognize me.”

“Of course,” you said, pulling in Chrollo for a hug. “Though, it took a while to get here.”

“Too long.”

~~~~~

hxh masterlist --- pinned post

@tonberry-yoda

[mytragedyperson]

hii! i need a I get this out of my mind, so anyways imaging bakudeku (mha) to heartless by Kanye west 😩 something about it just makes me think about their dynamic and I love it

OK yeah I get that completely and, while I can hear it from both POVs, some elements are just Bakugou to me. So let's get into it

- as an AU after Bakugou tells Midoriya to jump off a roof and hope for a quirk in a next life or whatever it is he says along those lines, and after he meets All Might, he basically wakes up and realises how poorly he's been treated. He tells his mum and decides he wants to transfer school's which he does do.

- here he makes a friend, one shinsou Hitoshi, a kid who's bullied for having a villain quirk

- so we have midoriya, who admires or is fascinated by all quirks and heroes and so isn't scared of Shinsou, and Shinsou who has never had someone treat him kindly

- Midoriya helps Shinsou train for UA so they both get in the hero course. He uses his analysis to help Shinsou find a fighting style he can work with and they learn together

- Shinsou is the first to believe or at least tell him he doesn't need a quirk to be a hero and basically helps him build up his self esteem

- so when Deku gets to UA he's slightly more confident

He also decides to just ignore Bakugou and acts like he never knew him

Bakugou does not take this well but he's not as angry about Deku being there in general, he's still annoyed he has a quirk, but more than anything he's angry that he left, just transferred schools without a word. He hasn't quite accepted yet that that is on him in a way so he's mad at Deku

Especially because without Deku he was actually quite lonely

And then Deku has a friend in Shinsou which makes Bakugou quite jealous

so they still have their rivalry

and then at some point, quite by accident and without noticing, they start to become friends, or as close to that as Bakugou can have at this point. They talk out their issues, Bakugou finally acknowledges and takes responsibility for his own actions of mistreating Midoriya, and he acknowledges and truly realises how wrong what he said to Midoriya about jumping off the roof was

Also, yes, when one of them wakes up from a nightmare at 3 am they do call the other . They've known each other longer than anyone else, been through serious shit, know things about each other their other classmates don't. This causes a strange kind of trust where, even if they don't get along, they know they can call the other

Bakugou still has issues and still falls back into old patterns because it's hard to learn that but he's trying and he does grow to see Midoriya (and some of their other classmates) as equals.

Also Shinsou knows Deku used to be quirkless, was bullied by Bakugou and got All Might's quirk. So, he's not the biggest fan of Bakugou and doesn't fully approve of him and Midoriya's budding friendship. He's a protective friend.

The dekusquad (minus maybe Todoroki, who may ot may not understand the big deal) are also kinda cautious due to how Bakugou treats Midoriya at first.

But, as he makes steps to improve and become a better person and hero (he doesn't want to be like Endeavour, he still overheard Todoroki and Deku's conversation), the Dekusaquad slowly start to warm up to him.

Shinsou still doesn't because he knows how bad the bullying was but Deku swears him to secrecy, mainly to help protect the secret of him having All Might's quirk at first.

Look I'll be real with you, I like redemption but it's not gonna easy. This is Bakugou. Bakugou is a lot of things and prideful is the biggest one. Somehow he also manages to be insecure (maybe not the right word but I feel like, despite acting strong, he often feels weak, and when he feels particularly weak (like after he was kidnapped by the League), he tends to lash out. There's also his need to be the best, because it's expected of him, because he has a strong quirk and, for a long time, he was the strongest, the most powerful of his peers. The big fish in a small pond effect but not entirely because his quirk is powerful and he doesn't just rely on his quirk. He thinks things through

And Deku, in some ways, is easy to lash out at, especially now that he pushes back

And in a weird way he grows to respect Deku for that, for pushing back

This turned into a slight tangent but, yeah, I definitely can see this as Heartless.

To me, it is fitting

Deku kinda wishing he could just leave this toxic friendship and managing to

Honestly "you know some things but that's the old me" could be true for either depending on the situation, either Deku becoming more confident and standing up for himself or Bakugou slowly changing and becoming a better person

Also, the thing that actually made me think of Bakugou was "You got a new friend, well, i get homies / but in the end it's still so lonely" because Bakugou isn't dumb. He knows his middle school friends are only really hanging out with him for his quirk, Izuku was the only one that didn't, not in the same way or not fully at least.

It's definitely them early on in UA. I do imagine as they grow as people and heroes they become friends but that's admittedly because I love a happy ending where everyone is friends, not always possible, but in this case, after a lot of apologies, self-imporvement and probably therapy, I think they could make it work, unlike in the song

Editing this because I had another thought and that thought was this is just villain or maybe not villain but not a hero either Deku. This becoming his attitude towards society and Bakugou. Maybe Deku can't help but reach out to Bakugou when something happens at UA while he's attending and Bakugou answers and, against their better judgment, they actually talk but nothing ever changes

Edit: Feel free to request a song and any character or ship (platonic, romantic or any other relationship) and ill do the same for that. My asks are open. You can also request for other fandoms in my pinned post

[the-evil-authoress]

Finally got over the sheer indecision of seeing so many wips (lots of interesting one you got there), so!

RE:CREATE and/or Hero Mask?

*CACKLES MANIACALLY* THANK YOU LOVELY

Re:CREATE (wip title honestly this thing is brain soup and idk what to title it anymore, original title when the story ends) is actually a fic for the anime the aforementioned character I might shove in the Twist fic is from, Re:CREATORS. In which I decided to throw Kanoya Rui back into the 'real world' and gave him a boyfriend. :3 (There is also sex but uh we're not gonna talk about that here. ^^;)

And I just realized that this is all semi coherent nonsense without a single fully fleshed out scene so lemme just find something that isn't too illegible

Re:CREATE

Kanoya out on the town one day, still getting used to this new life of his and trying to find a place.

“Excuse me.”

Kanoya looks up at a young woman, probably around his or Meteora’s age, [insert description]. Everyone here looks so plain compared to the bright colors Kanoya’s used to from his home world. 

“This might sound a bit strange but can I get a picture of you?” Just over the woman’s shoulder, he catches sight of a somewhat frantic looking young man, ‘No, wait, what are you-’ “You look exactly like my best friend’s favorite anime character.”

“Aya!” the boy comes running up and grabs his friend’s shoulder, frantically spewing words “I’m so sorry about her, it’s really nothing- you can’t just go asking strangers for their picture-”

Kanoya’s confusion turns to a grin and a laugh. “Sure! I don’t mind!”

“Eh?”

“Great!” Aya claps her hands together “And since you’re here, you two should take it together!”

“EH?” The other boy stumbles and flails as Aya eagerly shoves him into Kanoya’s space.

The boy awkwardly stands next to a grinning Kanoya as Aya gets her phone out - “Closer!”

“So, your favorite character - is it Kanoya Rui?”

The boy startles “Eh? Ye-yeah. How did you know?”

Kanoya just beams and casually throws his arm around the boy’s shoulder as Aya calls for them to stop talking and smile at the camera. The boy squawks, embarrassed as fuck.

“Did you get a good one?”

“The best!” Aya laughing at Kazuhiko’s face in the photo. Kazuhiko.exe has stopped functioning. “Thank you!”

Kazuhiko probably comes back online to start wailing at Aya again, or Aya just prompts him to start moving.

“Oh, by the way, do you know how to get to place?”

“Yeah, it’s just over __.”

“Cool. Thanks. Later!”

Silence

“He even sounds exactly like him!” stunned. Aya laughs. “I cannot believe you just did that.”

“Well you weren’t going to.”

“Of course I’m not going to ask a complete stranger for a photo! We’re not even at a con! … You better send me that.”

“Ohhh? What if I don’t?”

“Aya!”

“You didn’t even want me to take the picture and now you want to keep it!”

“Of course I do! He looked like freaking Kanoya come to life!”

“Haha, you should have gotten his number. Or at least his name.”

“For what? It’s not like I’m ever going to see him again.”

~~~

Hero Mask is actually my giant GX rewrite ft OC(s) that I keep posting snidbits of for prompt events and never actually writing. ^^; ONE DAY! I AM DETERMINED. Lemme see if I can pull up something that hasn't been posted before.

UNDER CUT BECAUSE THIS IS GETTING LONG.

Hero Mask

Jaden moves in her peripheral and Christina looks up to see him wandering down a hall as if drawn by something. An armored spirit he can't see disappears around a corner ahead of him.

"Uh, Jaden? Where are you going?" Syrus peers nervously after him.

"There's something going on this way! I can tell!"

Ohhh Jaden's dueling senses are kicking in. Still scary how accurately he can pinpoint that. Or maybe a part of him can still sense duel spirits? No, stop that, that kind of wishful thinking is setting herself up for disappointment. 

"What kind of something?" Syrus whines as he scampers after. Pocketing her PDA, Christina follows. She knows better than to get between Jaden and his current hyperfixation.

"A duel! Can't you just smell it, Syrus?" Jaden breathes in deeply and marches forward. The duel spirit hovers ahead of them, seemingly oblivious to the humans following it.

Syrus pauses to sniff the air curiously. "Um...no?" 

Jaden leads them into a large open room lined with stadium style seats and a raised dueling platform that looks like something straight out of the Kaiba Dome. Christina can't help but feel impressed, if a tad cynical. You can tell Seto Kaiba went all out on the budget for this school.

"Get a look at this!" Jaden's eyes practically sparkle.

Their presence draws the attention of a couple of boys in blue standing on the dueling platform, and the way they sneer down at the four of them has Christina's hackles rising. "What are you doing here? Scram." The one with pointy hair has the gall to make a shooing motion at them with his hand.

"And why should I?" Jaden protests.

The other blue perks at the sight of Jaden. "Hey wait, that's the guy who beat Dr. Crowler." He leans back to call over his shoulder, "Chazz, the kid who beat Dr. Crowler is here!"

A third blue appears above them with spiky emo hair that could almost put Yugi's to shame. He looks down his nose at Jaden as if appraising the other boy and Christina does not like his expression one bit. "Huh. Doesn't look like much. Told you it must have been a fluke. Anyway, scram before we call security on you trespassing." He waves a dismissive hand as he turns away.

"Trespassing?" Jaden sputters as Syrus very meekly tries to pull him back to the door. "I'm a student like you. I have every right to be here."

"Nuh-uh." Spiky hair number one points above their heads and Christina twists to see a giant Obelisk crest hanging over the entrance. "This is the Obelisk Blue arena."

"Then he gets a free pass," Christina says coldly, arms crossed. "Cuz I'm an Obelisk Blue and I say he can be here."

The guy balks at her. "You're a gir-"

"Ya wanna go, porcupine head?" Christina bares her teeth, stamping a foot on the first step up the area. Jaden casually steps back as the other boy jerks.

Chazz only smirks. "Feisty, I like that."

"Gag me," Christina scoffs.

“Maybe later if you’re offering.” EXCUSE ME, did this little turd just- “But how about a duel first?”

"Hell yeah! Now you're talking my language!" Jaden eagerly steps up.

"Not you!" Chazz snaps. "Why would I waste my time on a worthless slacker like you?"

Oh, Christina is going to enjoy mopping the floor with this sleaze. 

"Give it a rest Chazz," a new voice cuts in with an ample amount of tired annoyance, and Christina jerks at not having realized her presence sooner. Hey, wait, that's her roommate. "Just ignore him," Alexis says, walking into their midst and bares a few teeth as she stares Chazz and his cronies down. "Chazz is a bully."

Chazz straightens his back, glaring his nose down at the girl, but his demeanor shifts as if he actually cares what Alexis thinks of him. Too flipping bad. Maybe he should have thought about that before picking fights with 'slackers'. "Alexis. What brings you here?"

"I'm here to remind you that the Obelisk welcome dinner starts soon." Oh, Christina knows that tone. Alexis sounds like an exasperated babysitter. Probably should just let this guy crash and burn though. Doesn't seem worth it.

Chazz scoffs and turns away with his cronies. Jaden pouts at the loss of an opponent.

"The Slifer welcome dinner should be starting soon too." Alexis addresses the Slifer boys with a smile.

"Oh, so we eat at the dorms then," Jaden musses aloud. "Thanks, we'll catch you later!" With a wave, he books it out of the arena, Syrus hot on his heels; then abruptly stops and calls over his shoulder as he jogs in place, "Christina! Come by the dorm tomorrow! I want ya to meet Chumley!" He barely waits for her response before he's jogging down the hall.

Spazz.

[willel]

Tbh, it has always been kinda ridiculous for the characters to not try to break off Will's connection to the UD in a real way in S3 or previously, I wonder if the Duffers realize that though. The kid can feel the UD actions and he sensed that the MF has returned, but none of the characters actually think it about breaking Will's connection to that place to end Will's ever lasting trauma. They are just so casual about it and it has been bothering me for some time.

Even in S4, when Will reveals that he can feel Vecna and he is connected to him still and it has been him this whole time, Mike is deeply worried and scared too kinda but that is it? He does not say anything that much, he just says that they will kill Vecna. But no one really thinks that it is weird and dangerous for Will to have been connected to the UD and Vecna for years. Are they just gonna wait until Will is in a definite life threatening situation again? Because that makes the characters kinda look dumb if anything, no offence.

It definitely should have been a red flag for Mike when Will revealed that he can sense Henry, but no, there is no actual panic over that. Just saying that they will kill him. 😅 Ofc Will is going to be put in danger again bc of that connection, esp if he spies or tries to track Henry in some way. And Will is in his most vulnerable state now too emotionally and psychologically, so good luck i guess. They will have ti spend time on breaking Will's connection as a necessity this time. Lets hope it is not too late for that...

There was some discussion about this a while back and I don't remember the conclusion I came to but here is the conclusion I have now.

In this moment, Mike decided what happened and they never really questioned it again. Even the adults and teenagers.

Maybe it's a repeat of this moment in season one.

"Ah yes I see. These children know more than us. I believe them."

WHICH ISN'T BAD, they were pretty much right about everything happening in season 1 thanks to El's input.

This moment in season 2 doesn't make Mike wrong either! He was right, Will isn't having flashbacks. He's literally looking into the Upside Down. Maybe he's right, Will gained the ability to look into the Upside Down. I'm sure Mike explained this to Joyce when they were together. Then Hopper, then Jonathan, then everyone else during group discussions that certainly happened off screen to get everyone up to pace.

They investigated and pondered about him being possessed of course but I don't think Mike and the rest of the gang REALLY thought about it deeper than that. At this point, they just all accepted "Will gained powers while he was in the Upside Down."

From season 3 onward, they haven't questioned his connection to the Mind Flayer SPECIFICALLY. That is totally separate from True Sight and they never acknowledge it. Joyce is probably completely unaware of it actually, Will hasn't told her a thing I'm sure.

The party showed no concern about it in season 3. They didn't even find Will suspicious after they discovered the Mind Flayer was possessing people again. JONATHAN DIDN'T REACT TO WILL HAVING A PANIC ATTACK IN THE MALL LIKE?????? (that's some poopy writing right there. That part specifically)

Now in season 4, Mike doesn't question it whatsoever. He looks scared. Confused. Then concerned. No urgency to tell anyone. Doesn't ask Will more questions about it. Just a shoulder pat, "Don't worry, we'll kill him :D" (Will doesn't look convinced in my opinion, lol)

They investigated and pondered about him being possessed of course. But they never went beyond that for some reason.

But Will? I think Will HAS wondered about it and he's kept his mouth shut. I would like to crack open his brain and see inside.

Either way.... I do think all this is leading to the team being caught off guard (again) and will screw them over for a good part of the season for sure.

If these theories are true, than the people who have been paying attention such as us will be slapping our foreheads like "WHY DIDN'T YOU NOTICE SOONER CHARACTERS?! YEESH"

But.... I've seen the kinds of things the general audience thinks about and posts about. I've watched countless ST theory videos and discussions. This is NOT on their radar at all.

[waywardxrhea]

Part Forty-Five: See You in a Minute

[slow burn romance between Steve Rogers and SHIELD agent Emma Baker]

Warnings: 18+, contains humor, fluff, mental health, family trauma, romance, angst, language, violence.

installment list

Word count: 3.8k

The Time Heist project is officially underway, but Bruce needs a guinea pig to test it out.

The next morning, Emma is running the final time machine parts for Tony and Rocket when she decides to take a breather for five minutes. While wandering she finds the others in a lab creating the suits they'll use for the time travel trip. Curiously, she asks, "You guys have a test subject yet?"

Bruce shakes his head and says, "We did but Scott here kinda, well..."

"I messed up," Scott admits quickly. "So we need someone else to test it out."

"Could I?" Emma asks. Ever since Tony came in with the working idea for the time machine, she hasn't been able to shake an idea out of her head that she can only accomplish if she can go back in time herself.

Natasha looks at her and says, "Steve would never let you test something as potentially dangerous as this Emma."

"So keep him distracted while I'm gone. I already have a time and place in mind."

"Sounds like her mind's made up," Clint tells Nat as he walks up to the group. He offers a small smile to Emma as he says, "I say let her take it."

Natasha sighs and says, "Fine, I'll make sure Steve stays busy until you're back." She hugs Emma and tells her, "Stay safe and get back in one piece, you hear?"

"You got it," Emma replies with a nod. "I need to grab something to change into real quick, I'll be right back," she tells Bruce before running off to the medical wing of the Compound.

When Emma comes back to the area to change into the suit, Clint pulls her aside to talk. He sees the scrubs and remembers her all those years ago telling him about her grandmother. Upon realizing where her mind might be at, he asks quietly, "You're going back to see your grandma aren't you?"

"Yeah, I...I wasn't there the day she passed and I've felt so much guilt and regret almost every day since. I need to see her even if it means I'm in a disguise," she tells him.

"I get it," Clint replies and pats her shoulder. "I was coming in here myself to volunteer so I could see my kids one more time just in case this crazy plan doesn't work."

"Oh, well if you want to go, don't let me get in the way, Clint. I know how much your family means to you," Emma tells him, feeling suddenly guilty for taking up the guinea pig spot.

"No, no, this is all you, Emma. If this plan works, I get my family back. This trip through time won't bring her back to you though so the spot's yours."

"Thank you, Clint," Emma says and gives him a hug.

Tears start to fall down her cheeks and Clint tells her, "Here, I'll bring you the suit. You get yourself calmed down and ready for this trip."

Emma nods and focuses on calming herself down as he brings the suit for her to put on. When she has it on, she emerges back to where the others are, asking Bruce, "So what's the plan here?"

"Just like with Scott, we're gonna send you back for a little while and then bring you right back. It'll be a max of a few seconds our time. Got it?"

"Got it. How long will I be on the other side?"

"Well since this is just a test it won't be too long, so if you have a plan make it quick. Also if you can try and bring something back so that we can make sure that you and whatever you're carrying will make it back intact," he tells her.

Emma nods and takes a deep breath. "I'm ready to go," she says.

Rhodes speaks up and tells Bruce, "Let's head to the hangar before Steve finds out what's up. I have a feeling he isn't gonna be happy with her going, Bruce."

"Fine, let's walk and talk."

"So are there any like...rules I have to follow while I'm doing this?" Emma asks.

"Rules?"

Scott speaks up and says, "Yeah you know so she doesn't completely change the future."

"Yeah, the whole butterfly effect thing," Rhodes agrees.

"Butterfly eff- no, no," Bruce mumbles. "Changing the past won't change the future guys."

"But if we go back and get the stones before Thanos does then he doesn't get them and he can't snap his fingers. Problem solved right?" Scott asks.

"Bingo," Clint agrees.

Nebula speaks up, telling them all, "That isn't how it works..."

"Well, that's what we all heard," Clint says.

"What? By who? Who told you that?" Bruce asks.

Rhodes starts naming off movies, saying, "Star Trek, Terminator, Timecop."

Emma piggybacks, adding, "Time After Time, A Wrinkle In Time."

Scott nods and continues with, "Quantum Leap, Somewhere In Time."

The three of them look at each other and laugh as they say together, "Hot Tub Time Machine!"

Rhodes ends the statement with, "Basically any movie ever that has dealt with time travel says that if you change the past, the future changes."

Bruce shakes his head, telling them, "I don't know why everyone believes that but it isn't true. Think about it: if you travel to the past, that past becomes your future and your former present becomes your past. You can't change that new past by doing something in your new future!"

"Exactly," Nebula mumbles as they reach the doors to the hangar.

Scott is rendered speechless for a second before asking, "So Back to the Future is a bunch of bullshit?"

"It's starting to seem that way huh?" Emma asks as she tries to wrap her mind around what she was just told. She decides not to worry too much about it though knowing that she won't be changing the future by accident with whatever she does on this trip.

When Tony sees Emma in the suit, he says, "Spangles isn't gonna like this."

"That's what we said, but she's dead set on going," Rhodes tells him as Emma walks up the ramp and onto the machine's platform.

"I'm a grown woman and can make my own decisions guys, now let's get this over with," Emma tells them.

"So what now?" she calls to Bruce once in position.

"Just give me the time, date, and coordinates and we'll be on our way. Good luck Emma." After Bruce says this, he is echoed by a chorus of others wishing her luck on the trip.

Emma tells him the details and takes a deep breath as he hits the buttons on the machine to activate it. Without any warning, she's swept into space and time, being tossed around like a ragdoll until she is dropped into the middle of her desired location: Grammie's retirement home.

Knowing that she's operating on borrowed time, Emma quickly hits the button to make the suit disappear so she's only wearing the scrubs she put on before she left. She disregards the discombobulation from the trip and grabs a mask out of the pocket of the scrubs to hide her face before throwing her hair up and making her way to Grammie's room.

Once at the door, Emma takes a deep breath and knocks. She hears a faint, "Come in," and is almost in tears hearing her grandmother's voice for the first time in person in years.

"Hello Ms. Carsons, how are you today?" Emma asks as she walks in, grabbing the clipboard posted by the door.

"Oh hello, I don't quite recognize you, young lady, are you new here?" Grammie asks.

"I am, yes," Emma replies quietly.

"Oh I love meeting the new nurses, could you take down the mask so I can properly meet you, sweetie?"

"I can't do that, I'm sorry. Admin just told us that there have been some bad cases of the flu going around and they tell us we can't be too cautious."

After hearing Emma speak in length, a look of recognition hits Grammie and she says, "No, Emma, you can."

Panicking, Emma says, "Oh I'm sorry, ma'am, my name is Natasha, perhaps you're mistaking me for someone else?"

"Emma Baker, I may be old and on my last leg, but I know my grandbaby's voice anywhere. You just...you look a bit different. Has work been stressing you out? Is everything okay honey?"

Emma tears up and takes off the mask to reveal herself to Grammie. She nods and smiles, saying, "Work has been pretty stressful, yeah, but I just wanted to swing by and talk to you before I have to head back to DC."

Grammie smiles at Emma with pride in her eyes and tells her, "I'm so proud of you Emma." She pauses to catch her breath and adds, "And I love you. To the moon and back."

"To the moon and back," Emma says, trying to keep her voice steady as she checks the clock and knows that Grammie's time is coming. She sits in a chair beside the bed, grabs Grammie's hand, and asks, "Hey Grammie, do you think I could finally have that necklace of yours? The one that your mom got for you when you married Gramps?"

"Oh honey, you know that's for when you get married." In response, Emma squeezes her hand and brings her attention to the ring adorning her finger. Once Grammie sees the beautiful ring, she smiles from ear to ear, saying, "Well isn't that lovely? You never told me about this young man, do I know him?" After she says this, she leans up and takes off the necklace to hand to Emma.

"Not personally no," Emma tells her as she grips the necklace in her other hand after it's given to her. "I met him at work. He's super sweet, kind, caring, loving, and supportive. He means the world to me."

"Well I'm glad-" Grammie is then cut off by a coughing fit for a few seconds. After the fit is over and she gains her breath back, she continues with, "I'm glad that you finally found someone who treats you right. You'll have to bring him by sometime so I can meet him."

"I will, Grammie," Emma replies quietly. She makes note of the time again and can tell that she is fading away fast, so she quickly adds in, "I love you. Across the universe and back."

"Across the universe? That's a good amount."

"Because that's how much I love you," Emma tells her, looking into her beautiful green eyes one last time.

"And I love you that much and more, sweetie." Right as she says this, Grammie's vitals begin to fade out and her grip on Emma's hand loosens as she passes away with a very peaceful look on her face. Emma knew they reported that her death was sudden, but she didn't realize how true that was until that very moment.

She finally lets the tears fall freely from her eyes as she grips Grammie's hand in one of hers and the necklace in the other. Without another moment to be with Grammie, just as suddenly as she was brought there, Emma is swept back into space and time before being tossed back onto the floor of the time machine in the present day. Not having the mental or physical strength to stand up after that trip, Emma just lays down on the platform and lets her tears fall.

Scott quickly runs up and asks, "What happened?"

This is followed by Clint asking "Are you okay?"

Bruce butts in with, "More importantly, did it work?"

Before Emma can respond to any of the questions, Steve comes into the area followed closely by Natasha who says, "Sorry, I tried to keep him distracted, but he could hear the machine working."

Steve spots Emma and quickly runs up the steps to be beside her, putting an arm around her and pulling her into his lap. He asks Bruce, "Why the hell did you let her go?"

Emma doesn't give Bruce time to respond, instead telling Steve herself, "I wanted to go, Steve. I needed to go."

"Sweetheart you could have gotten hurt or lost in time," he mumbles into her hair, trying not to let the thought of potentially losing her get to him.

"That was a risk I was willing to take," she tells him quietly. She then speaks louder and holds up the necklace, "After all, it worked." The others all smile at the words and success before Natasha ushers them all away, sensing that Emma needed some time alone with Steve after what happened.

"Is that...?" Steve asks, looking at the necklace. He recognizes it from pictures around the lodge.

Emma nods and replies, "Grammie's necklace, the one she promised me for my wedding day. She was buried with it, so when I went back to be with her one last time, I asked her for it."

Steve pulls Emma close and asks, "Well how did all of that go?"

Emma takes a deep breath and says, "It was nice actually. I always regretted that I was in DC working when she passed, so I'm glad I got to speak with her one last time." She then pauses and sighs, saying, "She...she died while I was there."

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, Emma," Steve tells her.

"It's okay. That's why I went to that exact day and time. I wanted to be there so she didn't have to face her last moments alone."

"You're an amazing woman, Emma Baker," Steve tells her and kisses her forehead.

Emma smiles weakly and puts the necklace on along with the one that holds Sam and Steve's dog tags. "Soon to be Emma Rogers," she tells him and turns her face to kiss him.

"I can't wait," Steve mumbles before kissing her once more.

Out of nowhere, Tony reappears and asks, "Are you two love birds done here? After that success, I think it's time to start brainstorming a plan to get these stones and half the population of the universe back. No rush or anything."

"On it," Steve calls back, helping Emma to her feet so they can meet with everyone else to start brainstorming ideas to get the stones and bring everyone back.

Emma tells Steve that she needs to grab something to eat real quick after that little adventure, but tells him to go ahead to the meeting room. Once she arrives in the conference room with some orange slices, Steve commences the brainstorming session. "So we know that the machine works. Now what we need to do is figure out what time we need to go to and where to go in order to get the stones. Almost everyone in here has had an encounter with the stones-"

Steve is interrupted by Tony saying, "Well we can also substitute 'encounter' with damn near died because of any one of them."

"I haven't," Scott says. "I honestly don't even know what the hell you guys are talking about."

Bruce speaks up after this, saying, "Regardless of knowledge of the stones, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each and even then that's leaving one of us out. These stones have been in a lot of different places over a lot of different years."

Emma asks, "There really aren't a lot of convenient places to drop in, are there then?"

"That just means we have to pick our targets carefully," Clint tells her.

"Well let's start with the Aether," Steve says. He turns to Thor and asks, "Thor, what do you know?"

When he doesn't get a response, Nat asks, "Is he asleep?"

"No, I'm pretty sure he's dead..." Rhodes sighs.

"Here, I got this," Emma says while standing up and walking a few feet to where Thor is sitting. She waves the strongly scented orange under his nose in hopes of waking him up. "Hey Thor, we need some help here. If you could wake up that would be great," she says quietly to him. Ever since Bruce and Rocket brought Thor back to the Compound, she's tried to be gentle with him, knowing that he hasn't dealt with his trauma as well as some of the rest of them had through the years.

The smell of the orange rouses Thor and he mumbles, "Are we making drinks?"

"No, we just need some of your knowledge of the Aether," Emma tells him.

"Right, where to start," he says while suddenly standing up and stumbling for a second. "The Aether, first of all, isn't a stone. Someone called it a stone before... It's more of an angry sludge, so someone's gonna need to amend that."

"Angry sludge, got it," Scott mumbles thoughtfully.

"Here's an interesting story about the Aether. My grandfather, many years ago, had to hide it from the Dark Elves. Scary beings. So Jane, actually...do you guys remember Jane? Here she is." He pulls up a picture of Jane Foster on the screen and gets emotional mentioning her.

"Oh come on, we need to get a move on," Tony mumbles.

Emma shoots him a look and whispers, "He's dealing with things differently than you, Stark, let him be."

Tony disregards her and stands up to stop Thor from talking, asking him, "Do you want eggs? Breakfast? Anything?"

"No, I'd like a Bloody Mary," Thor counters.

"I'll go get some food for everyone," Emma says, trying to be helpful and make the meeting run smoothly. "Someone text me what everyone wants and patch me in on my tablet so I can listen in while I'm gone."

"You got it," Natasha calls and grabs a tablet to patch her in while Steve starts passing his phone around to text everyone's food orders to Emma.

Later while Emma passes out food, Rocket discusses the Power Stone and where one of his teammates Peter Quill found it originally. After hearing this, Emma starts trying to do some research in any database she can find about all the places being mentioned. Soon after, Natasha comes over to her with another place to look for called Vormir.

The two of them sit on one end of the room while Steve and Rhodes stand on the other discussing the Tesseract. "So tell me again what happened to the Tesseract the first time you saw it?" Rhodes asks Steve.

"It was on the plane with me when I crashed it into the Arctic," Steve tells him. "It might have fallen out. There was a lot going on that day."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask, why did you have to crash the plane?"

Steve sighs and says, "Bombs on board..."

"Bombs on board," Rhodes replies with a nod. He then asks, "And you couldn't have just jumped out of the plane before you crashed it?"

Steve opens his mouth to reply, but as he turns his head to Rhodes, he sees Emma in the background fidgeting with her engagement ring absentmindedly. He smiles at the scene and replies with, "Well I think everything happens for a reason..."

A few more hours of racking each other's brains pass before there is a solid plan made up to successfully pull off this Time Heist. Before gathering everyone back together, Steve approaches Emma and asks, "Hey, can I talk with you?"

"Of course," Emma replies as she follows him out and into the hall. "What's up?"

"Well as you know we only have so many Pym Particles to go around for this mission so we need to have someone stay back and make sure things don't go awry on this side of time..."

"And you want me to stay back, don't you?"

Steve nods while taking Emma's hands in his, telling her, "It's not that I don't want you involved, I promise. It just scared me so bad when I saw that you were the test subject earlier and I just can't stand the thought of possibly sending you off to some far-off planet in a completely different time than me where I can't protect you. I just-"

Emma cuts him off by kissing him quickly before saying, "Steve, love, I understand. I went behind your back earlier and I'm really sorry about that, I just needed closure with Grammie. If you don't want me to go on a team for the Time Heist, that's okay. I feel as though I contributed enough already with the test run anyways." She laughs at the last part before squeezing Steve's hands in hers. "You just have to promise me that you'll stay safe okay? I don't know what I'd do without you..."

"I promise I'll be safe," Steve replies. He quickly pulls Emma into a hug and has the same feeling of anxiety he did that day Thanos snapped, dreading the thought of leaving her due to something going wrong in the mission.

Natasha peeks her head out the door and asks, "You two coming?" When she asks this, Steve and Emma let go of each other and he subtly clears his throat from the emotions building up before telling her that they'll be right there. 

When they get into the conference room, Steve goes into captain mode, informing everyone, "So we have six stones, three teams, and one shot at this, got it? Five years ago we lost, all of us. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost a part of us. Today we have a chance to bring it all back. Thor and Rocket, you two are heading to Asgard in 2013 for the Aether. Rhodey and Nebula you're heading to Morag in 2014 for the Power Stone. Clint and Natasha are going to Vormir for the Soul Stone in the same year. Finally, myself, Scott, Bruce, and Tony are going back to 2012 for the Time Stone, the Space Stone, and the Mind Stone in New York. Look out for each other all right? This is the fight of our lives and we're gonna win. Whatever it takes."

Everyone nods in determination, all hopeful for the first time in years. As they walk to the hangar, Bruce gives Emma a crash course on how to handle the basic controls of the machine for if something goes wrong in the few seconds they're all gone.

Before Steve gets suited up and onto the machine, Emma pulls him aside to hug him before they depart. "Oh you'll see him again in no time," Natasha teases her.

"I just worry," Emma admits quietly. With this anxiety building up, Emma hears for the first time in years, the soft instrumental music coming from her earpieces that calms her down a bit. Once she gathers herself, she turns to Natasha and gives her a hug, saying, "You get back here safe okay? We still need your help with flower arrangements for the wedding."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Natasha mumbles as she hugs Emma back.

Everyone gathers on the time machine and Emma follows Bruce's instructions on how to get the machine functioning. "Good luck everyone!" she shouts before she hits the final buttons.

"See you in a minute," Natasha calls back with a smirk before they all disappear into time and space.

a/n: and now we ask ourselves this - will Brooke deviate from canon or stay true? only time will tell (aka 24 hours, there was more suspense when I was uploading weekly on the other app lol)

next chapter

taglist: @mrsevans90

[dashawfrostart]

Long Time No Talk - And This Week In "Time & Again"

... I am not gonna lie, it's a been a while. I really stopped posting virtually everywhere for a few months - that is, undoubtedly, because of my remarkably introverted tendencies when it comes down to posting on social. But for those, who know me, this should not come as a surprise.

Some endeavours we take sound awesome at first - but afterwards the spark simply dims, and you don't feel like that was a nice idea anymore. It happened to me a few times - and let's be honest: this happens to everyone of us from time to time! Maybe it has to do with the amount of effort we didn't anticipate, or maybe the idea just doesn't sound as exciting over time, for some tend to lose interest quickly. Blogging hasn't been easy for me in my twenties and later on.

I feel bad about it though. Because this is something that I really wanted to do. I'm an old-schooler after all 😎. But truth be told, it's never too late to start over or continue! And my writing practice makes it an important undertaking. Just as I've already mentioned in my very first blog post: my goal and the purpose of this website hasn't changed. Some people I know in real life are fascinated with my manner of writing - although I myself am not particularly convinced. I think I have a lot of room for improvement. It's all pretty subjective though. But I don't like to look back, to dwell on the past, and to hang on to whatever has been lost. Instead - even though I might stumble on my way - I will go further and press on. Giving up is not my motto. I am still very eager to practice writing - and I will do it here.

And lately I even came up with a nice way to fulfill that wish.

On to the important topic now! To make this place a bit more lively and significantly less boring, I decided to take on a great responsibility! And I've been thinking about that for a while already. I'm going to start posting once-per-week posts with updates on how the work with "Time & Again" is coming along. I guess I could share that with the rest of you. Mind you: I've never been a big fan of spoilers and I didn't like to show off the unfinished pieces and WIPs very much... Although my views recently started to shift. I think I might be okay with that now. Let this be my little devlog, just like the videogame developers would've put it - but about my graphic novel instead of a game! (the game might still be coming out... It's still in my dreams, but who knows? Opportunities might suddenly turn up, right?!)

And just to tease you a little more... There's A LOT going on with "Time & Again" right now ;) You think I disappeared from the face of the Earth without a reason, or because I'm lazy, or because another one wave of typical for me "social networks disappreciation" covered me up?!.. No, you're wrong! 🤪 I've been, indeed, working very hard on the continuation of my strange story that will sure take quite an unexpected - for some - turn of events.

To avoid turning this post into a sudden wall of text - although if you're here reading my notes AND my graphic novel, then I'm sure you must not have anything against walls of text, you know what I mean, right? 😁 - for this first post from "This Week In 'Time & Again'" series I'll just briefly mention what I've done so far.

As some of you remember, Chapter 4 broke off on a rather uncertain note.

There is a reason to it. The next 4 chapters are going to be somewhat different in style and feel. It's an experimental graphic novel after all.

Over the past few months, I spent a lot of time polishing the script for the rest of the story, trying to straighten the paths that have been bent and didn't make the creation look good. In the last few days, I worked diligently on making the page templates for Chapter 5, and arranged the text lines, and speech bubbles.

At this point of time, the storyboard for Chapter 5 is 100% complete, and now I just need to fill all the pages up with the artworks! Simple and exciting!.. I perhaps made it sound extra simple. But really, it has never been easy. Making all these artworks takes time - sometimes a lot of time. One really should not underestimate the work of artist, because it's a tough job (that sometimes hardly ever pays 🤪). Right now everything goes well and quite fast. I'm not competing against time, I'm just working on it continuously and dedicatedly with a minimum of distractions as possible (still play Doom mods tho XD). So I'm getting there!

So far, I'm aiming to release Chapter 5 at around Christmas/New Year's. That said though, since I'm planning on complete overhaul of the design elements for the rest of the websites and social prior to release of Chapter 5 - for the new concept requires that! - I honestly might not make it in time. But the time will tell. No reason to plan way too far ahead and attempt divinations before starting the main part of the work 😁 So I'll just see how it goes.

That's it for today, folks! See you next week with another one - hopefully larger and more substantial! - post from "This Week In 'Time & Again'" series! Take care! 👋 (and prepare yourselves to be spooked 😈, heheheh!)

[that-respiratory-student]

8/19/23 Update

Hi tumblr,

I haven't started school yet, so there hasn't been much to update on. I'm not sure if I talked about my classes for the fall, but I registered for Chem-100 and Biol-107. These are both online courses. I initially was gonna take Chem in-person, but after remembering what it was like going to school last semester, I decided to try to get an online class. My school is a 45 minute drive from my house... I can't drive yet so I have to take the bus which just makes this even longer. They often DID NOT follow their schedule and drivers would just take off if no one was there. Like bro...you're 10 mins early...YEAH NO ONE IS THERE YET. People would complain, nut the drivers suck and would still just take off. Also...LOTS of weirdos on the bus. So, I've opted out.

It was hard to get this Chem class though. It said they had openings, but that it was also waitlisted. Waitlisted usually means that it is full, which this class was not. I really wanted this class, so I could be more flexible so I asked a few people. I asked the professor of the class who never got back to me. I asked admissions who at first told me it's waitlisted and I have to wait... like girl I know you didn't read my email because I said it's waitlisted but also shows open seats... so I emailed admissions again saying something along those lines and then they got me connected with someone who works on the STEM courses. She was able to help me and I finally got in! All the people I asked and they either didn't give a shit or just completely ignored me.

The lesson I learned from this is that if you want something you need to go for it and that people really don't care, so again if you want it you need to put that effort in because no one will do it for you. No one cares as much as you do.

I can't wait for when I'm an RT in a couple years. Time are so tough right now, and I won't even lie those checks would be life changing. I know school will be tough, but I have to get out of this. I hate living like this. We're not even check to check. We're hoping for a miracle every time.

Some more related to RT would be that I finished my general ed more the degree! 7 classes were required and I got 3 A's, 2 B's, and 2 C's. The C's were from when I first started school during the pandemic and I had also just graduated and was dealing with some health issues. I've grown, persevered, and learnt from my mistakes while in school. My grades have been better and I'm proud of myself :)

Now I'm working on the prerequisites for the program. There are 3 and I got one done so far: algebra with a B. I need Biol 107 and Chem 100. I'm so excited to see this all filled out and feel the pride in my chest of knowing that there were tough and sleepless night but I pushed through and will be closer to having a fulfilling career which allows me to live my life the way I want to live it.

That's actually one of the things that drew me to RT was the flexibility and pay. I want to be able to spend half to more than half of my time not working. I want that work life balance that RT can provide. I've had my fair share of health issues. Lots of testing and procedures. I know it can be scary and you're very vulnerable at those moments. I was lucky to have staff that cared for me and helped make those moments less scary. I would like to be able to give the same experience to others. I also have family with COPD and asthma. I have asthma as well. I've had some really bad attacks. I'll work hard to give my patients the best care that I would have wanted for my family or myself.

I know I'll make an excellent RT. I've also considered pediatrics since I have a background with kids and honestly love working with children.

Well that's it for now. Not huge updates, but still some new thing in my life and on my mind.

[invisiblegarters]

I feel so called out by this, lol.

I am definitely one of the people saying that Sand is being pathetic, and I stand by it. I love him and I will admit that some of this is projection because out of all these guys Sand is the one that reminds me most of my uni days. But even in my uni days I would not have put up with Ray. I said it in the first ep - I'd have left him to sleep it off in his car. And if the fuck had called me a whore? The last thing that would have happened would be me following him home and caretaking for him like some sort of unpaid nurse. Miss me with that. Especially when he didn't even bother with the half-assed apology he gave his actual friends.

My problems with Sand isn't that he cares for Ray, it's that he keeps letting him back in when he should know better. And I'm not saying that's not realistic - I've known too many people just like him in my life to believe otherwise. I just hate it so much and it makes me so frustrated.

But there is a good point to be made here about him essentially not changing. We don't really even know if him always letting Ray back in when he shouldn't isn't the norm for him, because we've only really seen him on good terms with everyone save Top, who is a special case due to his feelings about his ex (and this is part of why I am hoping the ex shows up again - part of me worries it'll just be to cause more problems between Top and Mew but the rest of me is very very curious to see how Sand treats this person. Even a flashback could give us an insight into how Sand gets with his romantic partners, and for myself I'd be more relieved than upset to learn that this kind of back and forth is something he's done before, lol. Ray's not special, Sand's just one of those people that doesn't know how to completely back out once he decides he's in).

He has made concessions for Ray - sleeping with him more than once even if they aren't together is the big one I can think of, but I'm sure there are more - but has he changed much for him? Fundamentally, I mean. I don't know. He certainly hasn't stopped telling Ray when he's fucked up, even though Ray clearly doesn't like it.

And to be fair, each time Ray screws him over Sand takes just a little bit longer to really let him back in, and I do wonder if Ray hadn't decided to be supremely stupid and drink and drive if Sand would have let him back in this time. Guess we'll never know, but it did seem to me that he was knowingly burning that particular bridge when he called Ray to play pool in ep 5 and drop a bomb in his lap. Even without the fact that it gave Ray the opening he's been looking for with Mew for years.

All that said, I've been looking at way too many gifs of the Sand parts of next ep, and whether or not he calls the cops on Ray next episode (or far more likely to my mind, calls Ray's dad who then calls the cops. Or my favorite - has nothing to do with the cops but agrees to start taking money in exchange for trying to get Ray on a better path (look the whore thing OFFENDED me if Ray's gonna be like that then I think Sand should go ahead and do the thing)), the look on his face here

reminds me very strongly of the look he got before he torpedoed Top and Mew's relationship. And I'm not sure morality comes into it. Sure, it was better for Mew to know sooner than later, but Sand even said he did it purely to get back at Top. He didn't consider the consequences and he got bitten in the ass for it in several ways.

But did he really learn his lesson? I guess we'll see.

Loved these tags from @fromthedepthsandbeyond on this ask so wanted to use them as a jumping off point for a discussion about Sand in Ep7. (I hope you don't mind.)

Sand as a 'pathetic' character

I've seen quite a few folks on Twitter up in arms about how pathetic the narrative is painting Sand to be which, in my mind, is all relative. Because if we're comparing him to Nick, then Sand seems to have quite a bit of self-respect. But all these comments got me thinking how Sand does have self respect in so many aspects of his life; aside from Ray, he would seem to have everything put together. And Ray is the one thing he can't reconcile with his lifestyle, the one thing that doesn't fit. Up 'til now, he's allowed that.

Also got me thinking about this discussion I had with @waitmyturtles last episode regarding the woobification of certain characters. Looking back, I wonder if having Sand finally act out in Ep6 was all leading up to this moment, as Sand's revenge on Top quite literally is a major catalyst in bringing Ray and Mew together. After getting revenge on someone he thinks deserves to be punished, Sand is also being punished too. In some way, I wonder if that is a commentary on the cyclical nature of vengeance--how no matter how justified you are in your payback, you will pay for it too.

Regrets

What is Sand's personal plot? Clearly it's all tied up in Ray. But what do Sand's ties to Ray say about him? It says he's a natural caretaker, likely due to his upbringing, but it also says that caretaking plays a major role in his self-concept. What Sand is learning is that he does not demand exclusivity in his caretaking role--though he might want that, he hasn't demanded it from Ray, because he doesn't think he has a right to do that. Sand has a very acute awareness of morals and what is within his own bounds to demand. In this case, I think it goes back to what First said about Sand handling his emotions on his own; Sand wants Ray to care for him only, but he knows that's not a requirement of their relationship. Ray, on the other hand, demands Sand's sole attention, even though he doesn't deserve it. Despite Sand being burned near-constantly by Ray, he is the one who still feels like he can't demand things of Ray because of the pre-set terms of their relationship.

It also makes me curious...for all the pain it has caused him, how much does Sand regret getting his revenge on Top? Was it worth it? Because if he truly loves Ray, then we would assume that he does harbor regrets. (Which brings me to another question: Does Sand truly love Ray? What stage of infatuation is Sand at right now?) Looking morally, Sand likely thinks he was doing the right thing for exposing Top as a cheater, regardless of the consequences. But knowing if he has regrets about this could be a major clue in to just how down bad he is for Ray.

One of the reasons I'm loving this show so much (despite that crapshoot of a part 4/4 in Ep7, ugh) is because it's putting characters like Sand, who aren't even center stage, in an uncomfortable position. Sand has to confront his own values by pitting his morals and his feelings against each other. Going back to Ep3, is Ray 'just an exception'? Or has this kind of value-bending happened to Sand before?

And, in going back to the tags, is Sand going to change because of Ray? Personally, I think the Joker/Harley Quinn dynamic between Ray and Mew suggests that they will be making major changes for each other, which could stand in direct contrast to Sand. Ray is satisfied that he has finally gotten Mew to adapt to his lifestyle and be with him the way he wants, so why won't Sand give in too? Why won't Sand remain the person Ray wants him to be (as in: someone who drops everything the moment he calls)? Why can't Ray be in control of the people in his life the way he can't be in control of himself?