#dunno why but it feels too romantic for what actually happened

[melancholiania]

vikjayce kinda won but at like what cost

[harmonictechnicality]

Eddie develops a strange habit after sex. It’s not exactly cute or romantic or nice. Nothing bad either. It’s just… well, Steve isn’t too sure what it is. But every time, it’s the same damn thing.

He collapses onto Steve’s chest and says:

“My boyfriend is a cyborg.”

Usually, Steve is still recovering from the fucking downpour of post-orgasm endorphins. So he doesn’t question it. Hell, he stopped challenging Eddie’s tolerance to geek out months ago. Dude holds fantasy knowledge in his brain better than he holds his liquor.

Which is saying a lot.

Anyways, Steve never has the mental capacity to react or respond. Instead, he runs his fingers through Eddie’s sweat-soaked hair for awhile. Scratches out little patterns on his scalp because it always makes Eddie go limp. Quiet.

Quiet is a rarity for him. And while Steve is totally weak for Eddie’s chattiness, the quiet can be nice too.

The only reason Steve finally decides to ask about it is because Eddie slips up. Says it before they have sex.

Steve is against the bedroom door, his nails dragging down Eddie’s back. God, he loves this kind of kissing. The lung draining kind. The type that’s sort of filthy from all the heat and grinding. 

Eddie hasn’t marked him up this bad since that time someone at work noticed his neck. Asked if Steve was having an allergic reaction during an office-wide meeting.

And this is going to be even worse. Steve can tell by the sounds and the soft pricks of Eddie’s teeth. He can tell by how long Eddie spends over each spot, like the bruising skin needs more attention than the rest of him. Like licking them over will make the colors last longer.

The damage has been done. Really no point in stopping him when it feels so fucking good. Steve forgets to worry about  how mauled he’s gonna look tomorrow because his head is swimming with Eddie’s lips on his neck. His collarbone. His chest.

That’s when it happens. That’s when Eddie’s strange habit makes an early appearance. 

He kisses over the blistery mess he made, practically growls the words out this time: 

“My boyfriend is a cyborg.”

“Okay, time out.” Steve says. Heaves some air back into his lungs. Pulls Eddie’s face up before he can continue making Steve look like goddamn target practice. 

Eddie blinks a few times. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” Gonna have to wear fucking high-collared shirts all week, but whatever.

He’ll bring that up some other time. “Why do you keep saying that?”

“Saying what?”

“That… thing.” Steve barely can spit it out.  It’s like his throat is physically rejecting the nerdy shit he’s about to say. “You keep calling me… a cyborg or something.” 

“Oh that.” Eddie sighs. Casually shrugs to one side. “It’s your fault actually.”

“How is it my fault? I don’t even know what fucking language you’re speaking.”

Eddie walks over to the bed, chanting Steve’s name over and over. Definitely not in the way Steve prefers him to chant his name. Very un-sexy chanting.

“Remember that day you asked me to grab your car keys?” He asks, patting the bed for Steve to join him. 

No. “Kinda?”

Steve hesitates before walking over. He didn’t necessarily wanna stop their primal makeout session. But it was bound to lead to the bed at some point, so…

Just not like this. Not talking while fully clothed. Blech.

He sits next to Eddie. Hands awkwardly fidgeting in his lap.

“Well, I couldn’t find them.” Eddie admits. “So I ended up going through your desk drawers.”

Of course he did. Perpetual snooper.

“Ended up finding a binder full of medical records.”

Well shit.

Steve’s throat tightens. Swells around the sudden guilt he feels for keeping this from Eddie. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a metal plate in your head?”

“Dunno. Hardly even remember it.” That’s only partly true. Steve doesn’t remember the surgery or much of the recovery process. He was only a kid when it happened.

But he does remember the hospital smells. He remembers the sounds of his IV bag dripping throughout the night. All the sensory indicators are still fresh in his mind.

“Well, that’s why. You're part-machine.” Eddie points to Steve’s head, expression softening. “And every time we fuck around, I think about your bionic skull. And how glad I am that it keeps your brain from leaking out when I bend you over the way you like it best.”

Steve laughs. The jokes help lighten the mood. Not enough to replace it entirely, but enough for it to be easy to swallow again. 

They’re both quiet as they get ready for bed, folding the covers down. And yeah, sometimes quiet can be nice. Just maybe not right now.

“Hey, Eddie.”

“Yeah?”

Steve stares hard at the pillows. “Are cyborgs like… cool?”

Eddie pauses for a moment, then hops onto the bed. Starts crawling over to Steve with a smug grin. He lifts up to meet Steve’s lips. Kisses him sweeter than normal. Lighter. Starts nodding his head mid-kiss, keeps nodding as he breaks away.

“Yeah, babe. Cyborgs are so fucking cool.”

[shinjisdone]

When You Have An Secret Admirer - And Doubt Them

A love letter was left at your door and now you are searching for that ‘secret admirer’ - but you doubt it's true. Perhaps you don't believe it yourself or are trying to push the obvious infatution under the rug...whatever your reason may be, your dear classmates do not believe you.

Been feeling sick so here's a spin-off of the spin-off of your classmates replies when you say:

"I don't think anyone would like me like that..."

Raising his brow, he scoffed. "Ya don't get it. Listen, the only reason someone would go out of this daaaarn big way is either 'cuz they're a total idiot dork or have a massive big crush on you. And lucky you! For you both option are the case!" Sweat rolled down his jaw as he winked. -Ace

"Uhm," His mouth became dry and his eyes avoided yours. "I-I don't think - I mean, w-why wouldn't they? Like, the roses and chocalates...the notes and...mirror, I guess...that's all romantic. Y-You're a great person and...I'm sure that admirer thinks so, too." He wishes to say more but his tongue was tied. -Deuce

"Whuat? Of course they do! Have you seen the talks and Hearts on MagiCam? Some totally envy you!" His hand lowers to his pocket but decided against fishing out his phone. Instead, he threw his arm around your shoulder. "C'mon, juniour! Have a bit more confidence in yourself! Y'know, if it wasn't for your admirer, I would have long sent you these lovey-dovey stuff. Maybe in a different way though, haha!" -Cater

A sheepish chuckle escaped him. "Oh, come on. Don't be like that. It's clear as that day that someone fancies you and there's nothing wrong with that. You get your senior's allowance to indulge in the attention!" Laughing, he hoped he could ease the tension through his lies. -Trey

He cleared his throat. Something like this wasn't his forte. "I...am not an expert in...love and courting - Well, what I mean is that anyone can see that you are very much admired by someone. You are...a very great person so of course you'd be liked. When someone goes out of their way to break several rules like that, their affection must be greater than the Queen's for her little King." -Riddle

Clicking his tongue, he rolled over to his side. "Why are you making a fuss about that? You're gonna break your little head over this, herbivore. Why don't you stop this belittling and confront that little admirer yourself and find out? If you have the guts to go into the lion's den, then you can go and ask a coward that, too." -Leona

"Huh," For a moment, he avoided your gaze and the corner of his lips twitched. "Well, I dunno. Why shouldn't anyone? If no one liked yer guts, then they would have looooong ripped you off or something - good thing I was there all the time but nothin' happened even when I wasn't there - what I mean is, no, you are likable, dummy. Shihishi..." He cackled nervously. -Ruggie

"I wouldn't know anything about that." Quickly clearing his throat, he tried to hide his flushed face, "As in...I don't know if I would agree with you. Someone wouldn't just do this for fun...I don't know anyone, in and outside of NRC, who would do this for fun, so..." He scratched his neck and hoped you'd catch his intentions. -Jack

"Wha," Sheepish laughter rang, "Oh, why...of course you'd be! Why wouldn't you be...why wouldn't they..." His hands reached for the papers on his desk as he failed to sort them, "If there are any doubts...Monstro Longue can also provide solutions for that. But only for doubts...after all, you are l-likable..." -Azul

"Nonsense. I think you are quite charming. Or, could it be that you are playing the humble one? Trying to fool the rest while you are indulging in all the love your admirer provides?" A smarmy giggle. "I jest. But even so, that would make you even cuter." -Jade

Cackling rung. "Huuuh? Actually, yeah, you're right!" He giggled and squeezed in closer into your personal space. "You are such a lost cause, Shrimpy...ya should stick with peeps like me and Jade! Rather just with me, yeah? That admirer-schmirer has been gettin' on my nerves recently and I barely got any time to squeeze you...give up on this landpeople mambo-jambo and stick with me~. -Floyd

At first he blinked in confusion yet his shining grin came a second after. "No way. You're so great! And so interesting and fun and cute!" He almost seemed like his usual self until he noticed who you two were talking about. At that, his grin vanished. "Oh...well, if I can see that, then the admirer totally too! Maybe even more than me since they shower you in so many gifts..." -Kalim

"Well, obviously not since you got a good old secret admirer like from a rom-com." His smile crooked, he hoped you'd at least chuckle but he quickly corrected himself. Best if he doesn't continue to be this nonchalant. "I'm just kidding...though not about you likable. Give yourself more credit...you deserve it." -Jamil

"Huh? What's with that...self-pityin' party - I mean, as in, that ain't true. Yer a...fine and dandy person, I mean - why wouldn'tcha be??? That kinda talk is only gonna bring you down and yer better than that. Far, far, better. Hell, you got a flyin' mirror-" -Epel

Laughter echoed and you weren't sure if it was mocking at first. "Cher Trickster, could it be that these grande professions of love are not enough?! How can you still not see that you are the apple of someone's eye? Not even I could top that! Tell me, my dear, shall I be your second admirer to prove to you how lovely you are?" -Rook

He raised a brow. "Bring me my phone for a second. Should we go over the amount of attention I get from millions of people and compare them to the over-the-top admiration of your one and only admirer? They went out of the way to insult me to compliment you. You are someone's diamond, potato." -Vil

For a moment you wondered if he even heard you. Staying still as a candle, he tried his best to avoid your gaze while his face was flushed red. "...W-W-W-W-Wha-What do you ask m-me that...??? I-I mean, if there is someone unlikable here it would be m-me...y-y'know...?" He hoped you get what he means. -Idia

"According to data I collected requested by big bro - I mean, happened to collect, there is a 0000000.01% chance that you are unbelievable, unequally unlikable." -Ortho

"You think so?" He scratched his chin, "That kind of mindset is not going to get you far. In fact, I believe you do not understand how much comfort you bring by your mere presence. If you doubt it, I can always remind you of it." -Malleus

Laughing, he slapped his knee. "Seriously? You get the exact cookie-cutter version of a highschool secret admirer sweetheart! I read those in old-school manga! And you still doubt that?" He sighs, "Trust me, be a bit more confident. Amazing things can happen if you let them." -Lilia

"Hm? But...you are being admired. By afar, by someone who truly seems to treasure you. You are like a treasure if you see it that way...ah, nevermind me. Please, believe in yourself more. I do." -Silver

"Ugh, really now?! IF I can see it, then you should see it too! It's like you are covering your own eyes! You! Are! An! Object! Of! Affectioooooonnnn!!!" -Sebek

holy shit im never doing something like this in one post again hhuuuuuaaaaaaahh

[weebsinstash]

I'm sorry but I can't stop thinking about a certain angsty idea

Like pretty sure this is implying getting married is a canon event? But in a way, doesn't that kind of, really strip the choice and actual love and magic out of it? Or, could you at least understand the idea of a Spiderperson who may feel that way? Did you genuinely fall in love with someone if it was "supposed" to happen? And the universe could fall apart if you don't so you arent really even given a choice to say no? Isn't that like having a preprogrammed robot instead of a true lover?

Still kinda obsessed with the concept of a Spider Reader where you didn't get scouted by Miguel until after you had already lost your loved ones, but, it's clear that some Spiders are scouted before they have all of their events (Pav), and, I can't stop thinking about, you're in the Spider Society and making friends and having fun and stuff and you're. Still supposed to get married or have a relationship or something and you're just, completely avoiding having anything at all, not even dating anyone, nothing really feels natural to you and you just don't really want anything?

Months and months and months pass and you've turned multiple people down in your home dimension and Spiders at the Society are told not to interact with you in certain ways, which becomes overboard when no one ever seems to want to hug you or even high five you or touch you at all (because "oh don't let them get a crush on you, they can't break canon" or some dumb paranoia) which just eventually develops into isolating you from the Spider Society, and they all think, "ok good they'll spend more time at home and then start the route for this canon event and we can talk to them again" but it just. Doesn't happen. You're starting to show up to the Society less and less but the only thing that changes when you get back home is a loneliness that you fill with a pet and some platonic friends

Peter B is trying to "subtly" nudge you. "Ya know kid, aren't you in your 20s now? Isn't it time you try and, I dunno, get into college or something? You've got so much potential!" as he willingly omits how he met his wife in college and maybe it's in the model that you could meet your spouse there too as a potential option

But I like the idea and already lowkey established concept that canon changes and has tweaks here and there and can be bent in certain ways so, imagine like, idk, imagine Reader already being with the person who is supposed to your soul mate, and, you find out about The Model or whatever, the Arachno Humanoid Poly Mutiverse or whatever, and you just realize kind of on accident that, oh having a relationship at all is kind of just another prison for you to be in, huh? Another choice stripped away from you, another thing that made you feel like a rubber stamp in existence in the weird copy/paste Spider Society. So you just. You don't intentionally bomb the relationship but you become so extremely depressed and refuse to talk about it with your SO that they actually leave you, making the choice independently, changing canon but not breaking it

But here's Miguel, which I guess you could imagine as a protective obsessive romantic figure or even platonic parental, and he's all but grinding his teeth because, as he sees it, you're not only risking completely breaking your canon which you know Would Fucking Kill You, but, why are you constantly shooting down what are supposed to be good changes for your life? No relationships? No college? No aspirations at all? Why are you not living up to your full potential? He's so frustrated because he KNOWS you could "be better than this" and that you're "supposed to" be better than this, but you just seem. Depressed and defeated. He wants you to be better because it's better for your life, your future, your safety (even if depending on preference it absolutely gets under his skin to see you with anyone else romantically or sexually)

And I have no idea how they would externally force you into some kind of relationship but, I've also thought about, alternatively, the tried and true "Reader lost their home dimension but somehow didn't disappear and lives on Earth 928B now" (the movie specifics its 928b ok, pet peeve I know, 928 is comic Miguel, 928b is ATSV movie Miguel) and eventually, somehow, your bracelet comes off one day and you're about to freak out and it's like, wait, you aren't glitching??? Why aren't you glitching? I mean, you're happy to not be in pain and flashing colors, but, this doesn't make sense? And you don't wanna tempt fate but you don't bother to get a new bracelet or, other people are around to witness this weird event and so, Miguel is immediately investigating what happened. I imagine maybe they scan you with the Go Home Machine and it's just like "ha ha yeah you're home already :)" you know like some "Dimensional Match: 928B" and the machine doesn't even activate, it just scans you with the drone, is like "yeah you're good lmao" and goes back to sleep

And now Miguel is like, you know. Understandably concerned because now there are two Spiders for Nueva York, but, also, he's just like, unbeknownst to you absolutely over the moon necause if you're technically a part of his dimension now, maybe you can complete your canon and have some sort of happy ending. But. Miguel never had his wedding either? Or at least not the "true" one, like how Peter moves on from Gwen to Mary Jane? Cue Miguel suddenly spending suspicious amounts of time on his platform in the dark looking at holograms and algorithms and asking Lyla to calculate the probability of you two maybe becoming spouses for each other

AND YOU'RE SO FUCKED IF IT SAYS YOU CAN LMAO. Cause now not only is he all the more obsessed with you (you were BROUGHT to his dimension by a miracle, can't you SEE you're destined for each other) but now it's "don't you understand? Not only are we MEANT for each other, you don't have a choice! You CANT break canon!" And he's fucking putting a finger in your face and lecturing you about how, you know what, it's ok if you're scared and you're not ready. You know why? Because you two were made for each other, and, he must have been made to be this strong so he can protect you and make decisions on your behalf, right? It's all in The Model. It's all in God's Plan. The two of you are going to get married whether you think it's the love you're fantasizing about or not, and Miguel is more than thrilled that he was essentially just handed a certified excuse to keep you all to himself on a silver platter

Also. I guess this is preferential but. Imagine if Earth 928B's solution to two Spidermen, like how Miles' "corrected" itself with getting rid of blonde Peter, what if the universe and canon just went, "actually it's all cool though cause technically one of them isn't going to technically in name be a Spider anymore, they're going to be forcibly turned into a cute little pampered house spouse" and ON GOD he's getting children out of you if you're capable of it and that ISN'T optional. He's thinking you can start at AT LEAST three babies and then talk about how many more from there? He's always wanted a large family with lots of cute little girls and boys, you know 👉👈

[swaps55]

Twin Souls of the Same Star

Funny, Kaidan thinks as they lie side by side, Shepard’s bare skin illuminated by the fishtank. They’d changed their lives just a few hours ago, assuming Joker actually filled out and filed the paperwork to the hanar and Alliance’s satisfaction.

And yet…everything feels exactly the same.

Shepard strokes Kaidan’s ring figure, then pinches it at the knuckle and examines it closely. “Guess I need to put a ring on this, lest anyone doubt that you are now bound to me by official legal documents. Er, at least as far as hanar law goes. Do we know how binding that little ceremony actually was?”

“Are you questioning the legitimacy of Joker’s ordination within the Enkindler Souls of Stars?” Kaidan asks, tugging his ankle free of the twisted sheet and draping it over Shepard’s leg. “Or are you asking about the return policy?”

Shepard kisses Kaidan’s knuckle and then tugs him until he straddles Shepard’s hips.

“Just try and renege and see what happens to you.”

Kaidan hides his flush behind a chuckle. Shepard pulls him in and traces the shell of Kaidan’s ear with his lips. Bastard. Not even fair to go straight for the ear.

“You’re stuck with me. I just want the entire galaxy to know.” 

No hiding the flush now. “Well, in that case. Don’t need a ring. I know your transponder code. Your baseline biometrics. Your service number. Your mnemonics.”

“Okay, so you know how to take me in a fight, sure.”

Kaidan trails his fingers lightly across Shepard’s belly, smiling in satisfaction when he yelps and nearly shoots out from underneath him.

“I know that.”

Shepard gives him a wary look. “Tickling is just a dirtier kind of warfare than bullets, in my book.”

Kaidan wiggles his fingers in tune with his eyebrows, but pins Shepard firmly in place when he attempts to flee.

“Point is,” Kaidans says between sloppy kisses against Shepard’s neck. “I’m pretty sure I can stake a pretty convincing claim to you without a trinket as proof.”

“Don’t know why I’m worrying. Pretty sure you’re the only one who would put up with me, anyway.”

Kaidan trails kisses down the line of Shepard’s shoulder. “Dunno. Have you seen how pretty you are?”

Shepard preens. “Maybe. But Liara says I’m very vexing.”

“Lucky for you, I like vexing.”

“See? Soulmates. The hanar say so. Joker’s head garment thingy looked very official.”

“If you’re really worried about it we could always hire a hanar to follow us around and tell people.”

Shepard sniggers into Kaidan’s shoulder, then adopts a solemn tone. “This one would like you to know that these two are bound soul stars in the eyes of the Enkindlers.” His eyes widen. “Oh god we cannot tell Javik.”

Kaidan barks a laugh, and Shepard grins.

“Well, we don’t have a hanar on board,” Shepard goes on. “Suppose we could just stick some tentacles on Garrus. No one will know.”

“I’ll tell him you said that.”

“He’ll think it’s funny.”

He probably would.

Kaidan rests his head on Shepard’s chest, sighing softly as Shepard runs fingers through his hair.

“Should I have taken your name or something?” Shepard asks eventually.

Kaidan’s heart does a somersault at the thought. Not something he’s ever thought about. Not something he’s ever even cared about. But the fact Shepard has…

He swallows. Shepard continues stroking his hair and just…lets him feel it for a minute.

“You married me,” Kaidan says after a moment.

“Yeah, I remember. I was there.”

“Other people saw it.”

“Pretty sure they remember, too. Joker’s hanar impression was very memorable.”

“Wow.”

Shepard chuckles. The sound rattles under his sternum, and Kaidan lets the feel of it wash through him. “So? Should I be Sam Alenko?”

Kaidan huffs. “Well, you hate being called Sam.”

Shepard ponders that for a moment. “Yeah, I guess it would be kind of weird if people started calling me Alenko, huh?”

“Yeah, that would be pretty weird. Thought’s pretty romantic, though.”

“I am so full of romantic gestures. Just you wait.”

“Mmmm,” Kaidan says with what he’s sure is a stupid grin. “I could take yours, I guess.”

Shepard makes a face. “Can you imagine you and me in the same room as my mother? No one will have any idea what the fuck to call us.”

“Okay,” Kaidan says with a laugh. “No name changes.”

“It’s the thought that counts.”

“Definitely.”

They drift off for a few minutes. Shepard’s hand stills, the weight of it on Kaidan’s head warm and comforting. Maybe Kaidan falls asleep. He’s not sure.

“Did you know we get tax benefits for being married?” Shepard asks, startling him awake.

Kaidan raises an eyebrow. “Did you read a manual or something?”

“Well, I can’t suck at this.”

Kaidan stifles a laugh against Shepard’s chest. “You know, Williams even told me once we should get married for the tax breaks.”

“Did she? Do you think she knew?”

“Of course she did.” Kaidan hoists himself up on an elbow to look him in the eye. “Everyone did. Except you. You thought I was into Williams.”

Shepard flashes him a guilty look. “She made you laugh all the time.”

“She was funny!”

“Yeah, but she was funnier than me and I didn’t like it.”

Kaidan raises an eyebrow. “And that didn’t…raise any flags for you.”

The guilty look gets guiltier. “Does it make it any better if I say that when people mistook us for a married couple I’d think to myself, ‘there are a lot worse things than spending the rest of my life with him?’”

“Really? Really?” Kaidan gooses him again, this time with a lot less mercy. Shepard yells indignantly and twists beneath him. They tussle until Shepard manages to trap Kaidan’s back against his chest.

“In my defense.”

“I’m waiting.”

“Hang on, I’m thinking.”

Kaidan laughs. “You realize that this exact line of thinking is what got us in trouble in Vancouver.”

 “Hey, I remember kissing you in the rain in Vancouver, so I think my line of thinking is pretty great, actually.” 

“Yeah,” Kaidan says softly, gripping his hand. “This is pretty great.”

Shepard rests a chin on Kaidan’s shoulder. “You were pretty pissed at me over the Williams thing. I thought I’d really fucked up.”

Kaidan strokes his arm. The memory of Williams still sits like a bruise, but it’s less tender to the touch than it used to be. “Think I was more angry at myself.”

“Why?”

“For being so in love with you and so unable to do anything with it. About it. I don’t know. You were never going to feel the same way and I just…couldn’t even try to get over the way I felt about you.”

“Seems like I wasn’t the only one who was dense,” Shepard murmurs in his ear. “Turns out I was, in fact, very, very into you the whole time.”

Kaidan smiles into the dim room.

“You know I reached out to Beaudoin after that to get his advice?” Shepard asks.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I thought I’d really fucked up, but I didn’t know why and Beaudoin, you know. Knew how to people a lot better than I do.”

“So you thought you’d fucked up your relationship with me, went to the only person we know with any reasonable insights on dating and romance, for advice, and that still didn’t trigger anything for you?”

“No.”

“You have saved the galaxy twice.”

“I contain multitudes.”

Kaidan snorts. “What did he say?”

“His message was one line and it was zero help. It said, ‘You’ll figure it out, I’ve got money on it.’ I had no fucking idea what he was talking about.”

Kaidan laughs softly into the pillow. “He and Aslany had a bet about us.”

“Wait….he knew too? Aslany knew?”

“Told you. Everyone.”

“Motherfucker.”

Kaidan tugs Shepard’s arm tighter around him, thinking of simpler days and places and times you can’t go back to. “Wish Beaudoin could have been here today.”

Shepard kisses the back of his neck. “Me too. Can you even imagine what he would have said about Joker’s ‘vestment?’”

“He would have loved us getting married by a human ordained through the hanar. And yeah, he would have fucking loved that vestment.”

“He really would have.” 

They lapse back into silence. It feels heavier this time.

Williams. Beaudoin. The Normandy. The ‘Yang. And there’s more to come. Kaidan feels it in his bones.

“We have a lot of history, don’t we?” Kaidan murmurs.

“Yeah, we do,” Shepard agrees. He wraps Kaidan up tight. “I want more. Think we made some today.”

“This one now pronounces you twin souls of the same star,” Kaidan intones.

“I like that part,” Shepard says, nuzzling his neck. “Even better than the vestments.”

Shepard has always shone brighter than any star, but Kaidan has always walked willingly and unflinchingly into that light. There’s never been another path. At least not that he wanted to take.

“Kiss me,” Kaidan says, the sudden need for it overwhelming.

Shepard rolls him over and obliges. It feels no different than it did a few hours ago: beautiful. It always has, with Shepard.

The kiss gets deeper. Shepard’s corona kindles, bright and flickering, a fire without heat that graces Kaidan’s nerves with a soft, sweet hum. Kaidan reaches into the gravity well and lights his own star, their auras blending together into one, solid glow.

We’ve always been this, Kaidan thinks as he falls headlong into Shepard’s embrace.

Now they just have the documents to prove it.

[juiceedapplee]

Afterschool: Couches and Kisses

Gojo x male! Reader

Your order is ready! @darlingminjin

“…Me and Gojo, I don’t really care if you write it as smut or fluff or maybe even both. I just need something to feed my delusions, y’know? ✌️😗 I dunno, probs us cuddling?”

Being a teacher is hard work, grading homework (taking naps), coming up with lesson plans (receiving missions), supervising hands-on activities (taking kids on missions), and even planning field trips (getting souvenirs during missions) take lots of time and energy. But Satoru still makes time for you no matter what, even if it isn’t easy due to your jobs, him as a teacher and sorcerer and yours as just a sorcerer. And whether that’s through flaunting his wealth by taking you out for dinner and movies or by hanging out together at home playing video games, he still makes time.

—This is one cuddly man, if he’s to be around you he’s gonna be touching you in some way or another. Whether that’s holding hands or wrapping his arms around you.

“Im gonna put on Love Island, the new season is out and we gotta watch it together I heard it was really good!” You shouted from the living room. It was your turn to pick the days activity and having been out and about for the past two weeks a day inside was long overdue. “It’s season four right? I made Yuji watch it a few days ago, said it was pretty good.” Satoru said as he walked back to the couch, popcorn, some macarons he picked up yesterday, and two bottles of soda in hand. Satoru put the snacks down and plopped down on the couch next to you, pulling you close and enjoying your warmth.

— There is no way in the world this man hasn’t done the thing where you yawn and then stretch out your arms and put them around the person your with. I think he does it like everywhere at least once.”

Satoru stretches out his arms as he yawns, not-so subtly putting them around you. “So, you come here often?” He says, turning his head to look at you. “Yes I do actually, believe it or not it’s my home.” You respond, eyes still focused on the show. Satoru, with a playful grin says “Really? I had nooo idea. So, you gotta a boyfriend? Or are you single?” Playfully rolling your eyes you turn to face him “Yeah, but he’s out right now. Why? You wanna go out with me?” A look of pretend shock and anger appear on Satoru’s face. “Are you about to cheat on me?” “Of course not baby, I would never, not in a million years.” You respond. “You totally were!” A pout appearing on your boyfriend’s face. “I can’t believe this, my beloved boyfriend just tried to cheat on me.” He huffs and turns his head, his arms retreating from around you and crossing in front of his chest. “Aw, I’m sorry baby. I promise I wouldn’t date anyone but you.” You say, wrapping your arms around him, peppering his face with kisses.

—His favorite movie genre, probably rom-coms or drama. He loves being able to quote the shows or movies he watches too, especially since he has you to quote them to.

It’s been a week since you watched mean girls with Satoru and he has not been able to stop talking about it. “This is so fetch.” Satoru says while watching you cook dinner. “Satoru, stop trying to make fetch happen it’s not going to happen.” You say back. Satoru lets out a small laugh and puts his chin on your shoulder wrapping his arms around you. Yesterday you tried giving Satoru a quick kiss before you left and he said, “um, lipgloss.” You turned around and walked towards the door dumbfounded as Satoru laughed at the expression you made. As you went to work you could only think about what would happen if you showed him the heathers musical. (I think gojo would love musicals btw)

—But sometimes, when the movies get sad or filled with romantic drama, he feels a bit insecure. He knows you love him but sometimes he get in his head.

“You would never do that to me right?” Satoru asks. The two of you watching a movie on the couch, the action in question is a girl leaving her boyfriend for someone “better”. “Of course not, I’ll say this as many times as I need but you are mine as I am yours. I love you with all my heart, nothing and nobody can change that. Not even god himself.” You pull him closer, placing your hands on his cheeks, giving him a kiss. It’s not very deep and not very long but your feelings are still clear, love and affection evident in the kiss and lingering touch on his face. “Thanks” Satoru smiles at you, a rare moment of pure vulnerability, a time in which his raw emotions are out in the open for you to see.

Here’s your receipt!

Medium Hollow Purple: $3.00

Marshmallow topping: $1.00

Service fee: ¢.25

Discount: -$4.25

Total: $0.00

Card accepted! Enjoy!

My first thoughts when I saw your request were angst, kfc breakup, unrequited feelings. But I believe the kfc breakup was a dream and so here we are!! I wanted to do like a full fledged fic but I made three paragraphs and then stopped for like two hours cause I got distracted and had a headache so now it’s hc’s with mini fics.

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Would you mind talking more about Ghost? I dig your interpretation on him so i'm curious if you'd share your thoughts; since i know how COD in general writes these characters and we know romance isn't on the table for them, ESP for someone like Ghost (even confimred by his voice actor too!)

So all that aside, in your opinion, what would it take to win Ghost's heart (or well, Simon's)? :)

It's great to hear you like my interpretation of Ghost! I'll gladly share my thoughts on this, the supposed love life of Simon Riley is one of my favorite subjects 🧐

Thoughts on what would it take to win Simon's heart under the cut ->

To be honest I see it highly unlikely that Ghost would date. I think Samuel Roukin's opinion on this matter was spot on. Simon's traumatic background, trust issues, the need to stay anonymous and his profession as a special ops soldier is just too heavy a combo. His family's murder and multiple betrayals have pushed him on a path of extreme independence and made him evade any kind of attachment.

That being said... I'm a hopeless romantic and love to imagine scenarios just like every other little simp here 🩷💋, and I've pictured (and occasionally written) him to be drawn to someone who is principally the opposite of himself, but who also has a dash of angst in their heart and firsthand experience or at least some basic understanding of complex trauma.

A positive vibes only/sunshine type of person would not resonate well with his darkness, and a carefree joker would only annoy him. Then again, there's Soap – but the thing with John MacTavish is that he shares the same profession and in that way, is not a stranger to the Underworld. Their banter is also evidence enough that Soap is not afraid of Ghost's madness and even looks up to him – actually a perfect way to make someone like Ghost enjoy your company. This man has a terrible praise kink but he can't stand spineless bootlickers. So the adoration should happen in a "I trust you and would follow you to hell & back" kind of way.

However, due to the shit he's been through, I'd say (contrary to popular headcanon, I dunno?) that Simon would likely fall for someone outside the military world. First of all, he's very uncomfortable with the fact that his partner has to fear for his safety. But the fear of losing his partner to the dangers of this profession would be a little too much. It would only trigger a shitload of PTSD stuff. The fear of losing a loved one again would override the mutual experience and bonding through warfare, all the elements which otherwise might be pull factors in a military love interest. On the other hand, people with traumatic backgrounds tend to repeat the pattern, no matter how horrific or unsafe, simply because it's familiar. Still, I'd say someone from the base personnel would be a more alluring option for him. The shared hell, so to say, could make the foundations of this relationship quite dark. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing!

Deep down, Simon would be attracted to softness. Not innocence, per se, just something different from the realm in which he operates. This is why I think he could definitely fall for "a normie". He would appreciate dark humor and a certain kind of fearlessness, however. What ultimately would win his heart is someone who can stand, even cherish, his melancholy and cynicism and life choices and who is not on a quest to change or "fix" him.

I think Simon's ultimate wish is to find a home because he has lost it (or hasn't really had one in the first place). He's a leader and has to provide safety and support on a daily basis to the people under his command. But who offers support and safety to him? He knows how to protect people but doesn't know how to create a safe space, so he would appreciate someone who makes him feel he's finally found his way home. I think he yearns for a small measure of peace and a slice of normal life to wash away the adrenaline and blood and filth, he wants a small corner free from the demons that haunt him, even if he would reluctantly (if ever) admit that he does.

[amphitriteswife]

Vinny dating HC’s

🏍️ He’s a tsundere okay? He would be stand off-ish with you at first and assume your life is easy because you come from money. Doesn’t have to be the case ofcourse but he’s an asshole so he did assume it

🏍️ will probably ignore you. He’s not someone to reach out first so you probably have to push yourself and actually make an effort. It will feel one sided at first but if he feels that connection he will find himself thinking of you or wondering what you’re up to. He might actually try to find you or reach out first if you stop coming over

🏍️ DON’T call him pet names. He will feel embarrassed and will not do it back. Just call him Vinny or Vin. He’ll call you by your name too. If you do call him pet names and others hear it he will walk away embarrassed. Especially if Minu and Dom will start laughing at him.

🏍️ ‘babe what would you do if i was broke?’ ‘Leave you probably.’ ‘Wow what a shallow gold digger you are.’ ‘It was a joke.’ ‘No its not’ ‘yeah it is’ ‘you’re Vinny. You don’t make jokes.’ ‘Wow. You think so lowly of me?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘….’

🏍️ give him food and he’ll be indebted by you. No more eating ramen every night…he can finally eat a normal meal. Even if you tell him its the most normal thing in the world he’ll be so grateful. Worst thing is that he sees it as a date, so he’ll be extra flustered

🏍️ ‘hey can i ride on your bike?’ ‘No way. I need it for races. Besides you’ll damage it. Or worse you’ll fall and hurt yourself.’ ‘Come onnnnn. I’ll take you out to dinner?’ ‘Deal.’

🏍️ He’ll stop by your school to pick you up. Most of the time he’s either skipping his own school or working so he doesn’t mind coming to your school. If he finds out you go to the same school as Jay and Minu he’ll avoid them. He doesn’t want to be seen as a caring boyfriend

🏍️ if you’re close friends with Minu because of rich parents he’ll lose his shit. He can’t stand Minu so imagine how he would feel if he finds out you two are the best of buddies

🏍️ ‘have you ever realized that if your other eye was blue that you would look like a police siren?’ ‘How does your brain even function in such a way that you think of these thoughts?’ ‘I dunno.’ ‘Sigh’

🏍️ sometimes he gets super insecure. He won’t open up about it either but knowing him it’s easy to guess when that is. If he feels down he starts smoking and being more short than he usually is. He doesn’t want to get angry at you but he sometimes doesn’t realize that he yells at you. He would be too embarrassed to apologize too.

🏍️ he either doesn’t sleep or sleeps a lot. If he smells food he’ll wake up and eat and then sleep again. If you take him to your luxurious house he’ll sleep in your bed and insist on going to your place.

🏍️ he feels vulnerable and embarrassed when he’s with you most of the time. He’s supposed to be mysterious not a hopeless romantic. He thinks the fact you have this effect on him is strange and doesn’t want to talk about it unless necessary. He lost mysterious aura points when he got with you

🏍️ he doesn’t talk a lot and can be very harsh. Also a hot headed temper. So if you’re a yapper he either listens to you or gets annoyed. He would lash out at you. He hopes. But he does think that it balances the two of you out.

🏍️ ‘what would you do if i died like right now.’ ‘…uhm…what?’ ‘Like what if some crackhead shanks me.’ ‘Well i wouldn’t let that happen, but why you asking.’ ‘What if like. A meteorite fell on me.’ ‘I don’t think the chances of that are happening are very high.’ ‘I’ll blame you to be honest’ ‘???’

That’s all i could think about (i’m on chapter 250) 😔🙏

[clownin44]

hey, what do you think of benlor as a ship??? if possible, can u please bless us with some benlor fanart? thanks!

Ty for the ask!

Other than Ashlyn and Aiden, Red really doesn't focus on any other pairings. She said that she prefers to have the relationships develop naturally as she goes, which I think is really cool! I don't have any ship I'm crazy about. I think they all have the potential to be cute, but benlor, I SEE!!

I'm going to break down this pairing and why I think they work and some headcannons I have, hopefully? Dunno what this is actually

Their first important scene together (in my opinion) happens in episode 27 when Aiden tells the group what happened to Ben. Taylor is the first to say anything, and thanks him for being so open about it when he probably wasn't ready to tell anyone yet. I like that It's not meant to be romantic, Taylor's just a kind person. However, it definitely changes their relationship moving forward.

In episode 42, when Logan is confronting Barron at the arcade, they have another special moment. Taylor notices Ben's discomfort with the situation and makes a comment about wishing he had stayed inside. I don't think it's because she thinks he's dangerous, I think it's because knowing what she knows now makes it harder for her not to notice and feel it too.

I love that instead of asking, "Can I?" She asks, "Is it okay?" It shows that she's mindful of any boundaries he may have. Ben's expression softens, and he reluctantly hands her an earbud so they can listen together.

Season 2 takes things a lot slower, as Taylor's visibly upset after the "death" of her brother, and there aren't as many scenes of them that I remember. Here's what I gathered from the benlor crumbs we got!

Episode 75? I believe? Shows the group hanging out in the phantom realm after Maverick visits Ben. Taylor's stressed and homesick and wants to go home like everyone else. Ben reaches out to comfort her and tells her that they will, in fact, find their way home. It's sweet to see him try and calm her down like she has with him in the past.

Smaller scenes I'm lumping together. Taylor brings up getting Ben a whistle, and she's leaning against him in the group huddle!! Both are very cute.

MOVING ONTO HEADCANNONS!!!

-Ben has a hard time believing anyone can love him, so a lot of the time when Taylor's nice to him, he assumes it's because that's just the way she is.

-They both struggle with having too much empathy for people. Taylor picked up on that, and they were able to bond over it.

-Neither of them can cook. Taylor never had to learn because Tyler was always there to cook for her and Ben just can't figure it out lol

-Red posted somewhere that words of affirmation was her love language? Or communication? Which obviously is difficult for Ben. He tries to compensate for this by writing her letters (and maybe some poetry he's too embarrassed to show her).

Anyway I think they're neat, I'll draw some fanart of them later tn hope I answered ur question!!

[scenetocause]

💘 mando, pretty pls?

(omg so hard to decide on a heart, i wish i could send all of them!)

🫡 this is loosely set on that night when lando had everyone round to max's parents' lounge for a slumber party DJ set but i forgot it was martin not oli and whatever factual inaccuracy is actually ethical in rpf in this essay i will-

"Max." Lando says it casually, confidently, like he's not just tilted Max's world on it's axis.

He can't help spluttering. "You'd what, Bob?"

Lando's entirely unapologetic. "If I had to snog someone here, it'd be you, wouldn't it?"

That does sort of make sense, when Lando's slurping his can of White Claw and using the sensible, adult voice he did when he offered Max the Quadrant contract.

Except that. "We can't make out, mate."

Lando shrugs and Max is dimly aware there are other people here, that someone (Tom) is hollering at them to stop being fucking losers and get on with the game of truth or dare but that can wait, for now.

"Why not? Conor's got a girlfriend, I'm not snogging Tom and Oli's my brother. So, it just makes sense, doesn't it?"

Someone, Max suspects himself, whimpers quite pathetically.

"S'only a theoretic-whatever, innit. Just saying."

"Ok Bob." He sounds very weak. Feels very weak. Like he needs a cup of tea. Or perhaps he's become one, too dilute and half-cold and much too milky.

"What if it wasn't?" He's not sure that makes any sense, blurted out between sips of wine.

Lando catches up quickly, though. Always has. Looks at Max way too shrewdly for someone who's been drinking, like he's somehow got the focus to bore through Max's soul still.

"Go on, then."

He's never been very good at holding his breath. It makes him panic a bit, like he's drowning. 10 seconds is a long time to wait to exhale, staring at Lando to check he heard him right, through the blood thundering in Max's ears.

"Right, ok."

"Not here," Lando unfolds from the floor, offers Max a hand up. "Don't wanna do it in front of Oli, it's weird."

"Yeah, wouldn't want it to be weird," Max can't help the sarcasm. What the fuck's happening?

"Why would it be, mate?" Lando's got him backed up against the corridor wall and Max is forced to remember, for the millionth time, that he's the shorter one, now.

"Dunno." Max tilts his chin up, defiant now. If Lando's going to fucking snog him then like, just get on with it, yeah? They've nearly got here so many times, waking up tangled together in the Woking house and maybe if they had-

No. Max is done thinking about the past like superstitions, as though he could've saluted a few more magpies and made things different.

"Well don't be weird." Like it's that simple. It might be?

Lando leans in and Max has to scrabble a bit, to get a hold on him. Has to push his fingers into the muscle on Lando's shoulders, haul himself up a bit.

Annoyingly, Lando's good at kissing. Teases, with his tongue, before he nips at Max's lower lip to let him in. He's not as over-eager as Max thought he'd be, the times he's let himself think about them kissing. Has a sense of control, restraint that he knows the bloke must have a lot of but sometimes seems completely absent.

He's tender, too, holding Max around his waist like he's precious. Like this is romantic. Not like snogging one of your mates when you're both a bit tipsy. It's like an... old couple or something, still in love. Maybe that's what they are, still together after all this time and distance.

When Lando pulls back, squeezes Max around his middle, leans back in for another little kiss, Max has to stop himself saying anything stupid. No need to make it weird, is there?

[tanalorrs-heartthrob]

I have thoughts about Cal's trust issues and I'm going to make it everyone's problem

(with special thanks to @cal-with-a-kesett-tape and @weadapt's problem cause they started this blubbering mess)

It hit me like a brick earlier.

Cal knew the Mantis crew loved him.

Love wasn't enough to make them stay.

Cal has never had the chance to really sit down and think about what attachments really were and how they feel. Hear me out.

This started about Cal's trust issues. I started thinking yeah, the way his Mantis crew family left all of a sudden really shook them and he kind of replaced them subconsciously with a new crew, a new family. A couple of quick notes:

- Lost his master

- Loses all his friends on Bracca (it's implied in Jedi Survivor post-game dialogue that he had other friends besides Prauf that he left behind)

- Prauf

- Crew he grew to love left him jarring his whole world

- Lost his "new" crew suddenly and all he has left of that memory is Bode so he kind of clings to Bode unknowingly

- Bode betrayal shatters him

- Clings to the idea that he and Dagan could work together - for a split second you can see in his eyes he sees it all. He and Dagan, hair flowing in the wind, swinging lightsabers, fighting the empire together, rebuilding the order together, it's romantic really. That lasts all of 2 seconds and he's so confused.

- He loses Cordova, a man he had a pseudo-connection through BD-1 with for so long

- Loses Cere, his second master

- Has to literally kill Bode and live with that

That said, I started thinking yeah he probably doesn't really realize that how deep that all goes within him or how much it actually comes down to his lack of really knowing what attachments are. This is going to cause so many trust issues and him closing himself off because he can't handle the reality of losing more people, especially after Bode shattered his inner-most circle. How's he going to let people in again?

Then it hit me like a brick.

There's a big reason why he sees so much of himself in Dagan. Dagan's attachments turned sour - it went the Vader route of being possessive. His obsession with Sentari's project and Tanalorr was a product of not being able to let his attachments go. That's pretty clear in the game, and mirrored in how Cal has allowed "The Fight" to become his attachment.

Jaro's last words are, "Hold the line" right? We know how he now has this deep engrained need to be needed. He has to fight for something. Yes, it's all he knows, but it's deeper than that, it's the last thread he has to his master. What would happen if he let that go? Cal hasn't really sat and thought about that yet.

Not only that, Cal has internalized his loyalty to this cause as like. A familial thread. The fight was his thing and the Mantis crew became his family, filling a void. The fight is their thing. And for the first time in his life Cal feels safe again. He's finally got some solidly dedicated efforts and people he can depend on. So in them leaving the Fight behind (for good reasons!!) Cal can't reconcile that leaving that isn't leaving him too, (or as @cal-with-a-kesett-tape puts it, abandoning him) it's like denouncing loyalty to him too. He just can't separate that connection and his own attachment. Maybe that's reaching and obviously there's more to it, but I dunno guys, I dunno!!

YOU CAN LOVE EVERYONE SO MUCH AND YOU HAVE TO COME TO TERMS WITH THE FACT THAT PEOPLE CAN AND WILL LEAVE OF THEIR OWN VOLITION!!

AND HE CAN'T DEAL WITH THAT BECAUSE HE DOESN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW THAT LOVE GETS POURED OUT IN HIS LIFE. CAL'S LOVE LANGUAGE IS LITERALLY LOYALTY AND QUALITY TIME AND THE FIGHT.

Again, there's a part of Cal that just never got to stand beside his master like the Padawans of the Republic Era got to and ask all their questions or be scolded like the way Ahsoka did about being too attached to her Master. She had to dig deep and understand what that meant, how to acknowledge it, and how to let it go. Cal has Cere but maybe she just assumed? Who knows. Cal obviously struggled with it more than anyone realized. No discredit to Cere, I just don't think it ever really crossed her mind. Or, you know, Cal's stupid stubborn especially with Cere. Maybe he just ignored her in classic Cal fashion.

All that stemmed from this:

The romance aspect.

He knows taking a romantic step forward is a risk in general. And yes there's all that subconscious hesitation because he's a Jedi. But there's a bigger problem at play with Merrin.

I have to wonder if he did in fact know how she felt about him before she left. And if he did, it's just so much worse.

To him, all this buildup of love and trust. Down the refresher the day she left. So I wonder, maybe a lot of his hesitation isn't about him accepting his feelings. Maybe he gets it. He just struggles with letting someone in again who, in his mind, so easily let him go. He now has to come to terms that he wants to ask her to stay. He has to acknowledge in his mind that he wants her enough to be ok with letting her back in, knowing she's her own person and there's a chance she has to go do her thing someday and he might just have to let her, and that would be ok.

Romance aside, he has to go through that the whole game. Letting the Mantis crew in again. Working things out with everyone, hearing them out, seeing them in their element and finally being at peace with the split - knowing they all made the right decision even if it hurt.

So all the parallels worry me, because yes, he may be more self aware. He might've learned a few lessons, might be more at peace with a few decisions, but the way he just stands in shock at the funeral pyres is just worrisome because you know he's internalizing things. Right when he feels like he's making a step forward, he's taking steps back. The darkness is there now too, and he's going to struggle, because he has more to protect.

This whole experience in survivor was such a crucial point in it but at the same time we know, it's also simultaneously reinforcing his fear of further abandonment and more trust issues, and also his fears of the dark side so I'm kind of nervous to see. Where is all of this culminates to in the next game because he's learned for sure but I also feel like some other things maybe got reinforce that shouldn't have.

Right when he was learning to move on from his attachment to the Fight, he has a new thing, rebuilding Cere's legacy and keeping Tanalorr safe. It's almost like he's doubled up on all of it. Maybe he'll learn to be at peace and let things go but for now, sweet baby boy's trust issues are off the charts!!!!

Anyway maybe none of that made sense and you don't have to agree these are just thoughts after all! Take care!

[comicaurora]

Hiya Red! ♥️

This is in regards to something you mentioned about the OST of Last Unicorn.

I love that film and have watched it many, *many* times! And - like you - I always found the duet distinctly... off. I never could pin down why, I just knew it made me uncomfortable and didn't seem to fit. With the movie or even just the rest of the soundtrack. But when you discribed it as 'out of the singers' range' I had something of an epiphany and I couldn't help but wonder what you'd think of it, so here I am. 😆

What *if* that is actually sneaky characterisation/commentary on the romantic subplot? I mean, this whole soundtrack is so well put together I feel like it has to be intentional, right?

The way I see it both singers are straining just like the characters are, for something that is just out of their reach. And also isn't really right for them. And I feel like on some level they know it. That, I think, is why the climax of the song is particularly discordant. It's to signify that them coming together, as they are doing in the scene, is wrong. For them as people and for the story at large.

Dunno. Just my two cents.

I would love to hear your thoughts on it. IF you have the time and energy to spare! No stress! Most of all I just wanted to let you know about a possible (maybe?) reason for this weird thing, just in case it kept bothering you. (As a fellow ADHD brain I know it be like that sometimes. 😄)

Thank you so much for all your hard work! Love your channel so much! You guys are the best!! And can't wait to see your next stream! (You gotta save my giiiirl!!! 😭🐉)

💖💖💖

Tbh I kinda doubt they'd intentionally make music that sounds bad to do that, when there are many musically pleasing ways to signal that a romantic duet is between characters that are actually incompatible - even things like Love is an Open Door, where "we finish each other's-" "sandwiches!" "That's what I was gonna say!" helpfully hints that Hans is fluidly saying whatever he needs to in order to appeal to Anna without making the audience's ears hurt. One of the more impactful bits of the Death Note musical is that Misa keeps trying to have a romantic duet with Light and Light is much too busy having homoerotic duets with L instead, so Misa ends up basically belting a solo over the much more synced-up music of the dynamic duo. It's a musically pleasing way to signal which characters are in sync and which ones aren't. Several songs in Wicked do this too, like in Dancing Through Life where the romantic duo declare that since they're both perfect they must be perfect together, or the song that basically says "I must be happy, because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true."

I think the main thing that makes that duet not work is that it's one of the only parts of the OST that's sung by the main voice cast rather than a professional singer. The composition is solid, but it kinda sounded like it wasn't composed with their personal ranges in mind - possibly composed before they were cast. They could've done what disney was doing - cast a singer for the character songs and a separate voice actor for the dialogue - which they apparently did in the theatrical release, having Kate Irving sing instead of Mia Farrow, but they didn't for the video release, so the voice actors have to just try their best, possibly with only one or two takes to do it in, and the end result is a bit of a mess.

[brsb4hls]

Saw your post about Rolin and the possible disconnect between him and fandom. I think you might be right in some major ways - Rolin saying there will be “season and seasons”and that every interaction between them is DM might not mean what the fandom thinks.

I am interested in seeing an adaptation of the relationship, but I have to say that the latter half and ending of season two frustrated me. Basically because of how impersonal most of Daniel’s and Armand’s interactions were. I don’t mean that as opposed to romantic mind you (didn’t expect anything like that). I just wanted them to have any kind of personal dynamic and/or interaction at some point? The aftermath of s02e05 was really minimal in terms of of psychological fallout between them - sure Daniel’s angry and there’s the martini comment exchange, but otherwise it was all about Armand trying to save the situation with Louis (trying to spin everything relentlessly as AZ said). I just felt that it all was just in service to the bigger plot, at the cost of psychological realism (and character). Of course Daniel’s options were limited as he can’t really do anything to Armand - but expose the truth, but the relative “causal-ness” of s02e06 felt a bit… unrealistic (and convenient). If we’d seen Armand later turning Daniel in a rage as a consequence - him losing it as he lost Louis - him being angry at Daniel, that would have been something! A kind of showcase of an underlying tension - but Rolin skipping it kinda has made me think he just used the DM dynamic as a plot tool to reveal Armand’s lies. Him saying that the mere fact Armand turned him is something is really disappointing. I wouldn’t mind waiting to see it (since I agree IWTV is Louis’ story) but he’s said it’s not happening so… Plot and character moments can be married together in excellent ways, but I just really didn’t feel that was the case here.

I think to call something DM it has to be about Daniel and Armand, it has to be in some way personal. Armand panicking because his lies are being revealed isn’t it, and Daniel’s turning would have been it - but it was literally skipped so there has not really been any DM on screen. Maybe Armand “apologizing” without meaning a word could count, but I dunno. I would say the closest so far is Daniel’s annoyance (and vice versa) of Armand in s02e01 and s02e03. There’s been no real scene or dialogue actually showing these characters being curious or intrigued about on another - even in s02e05 Armand’s questioning of young Daniel is all anger and jealousy over Louis. He’s very quick to kill Daniel and very quick to being okay with letting him live, pretty nonchalant. Sure there is a few moments of them looking at each other which might indicate curiosity but those moments are so small and don’t have any context so I don’t think they even really count as crumbs (since they could mean anything or nothing). Like I was personally really into having them hate each other/be nemeses (plz give me point for proper plural form ;) ) but there was honestly so little. Like I’ve seen people reacting to this show being confused about why Daniel is relatively unfazed after s02e05 and/or asking if Louis and Daniel even told Armand that they remember. Yes, there’s scenes (sushi bar) which reveals more so people looking closely should be able to tell but it does say something about their minimal change of dynamic. If Rolin does dig into this dynamic next season and makes it personal - he has said they will at least have scenes - I’ll be happy, I just can’t help but worry a bit and I feel it’s too generous if fandom takes his words to mean we’ve already seen DM. Am I making any sense? I’m more than happy to be told I’m wrong or worry too much. Thanks for hearing me out! I enjoy reading your takes, as I feel you are quite sensible and avoid filling the gaps by projecting which I feel some other fans (and probably myself) at times do

Thank you for the long ask!

I was actually going back and forth for a while, since fandom can be pretty convincing, but looking back on my first impression when watching season 1 I was pissed they seemed to have cut the dm storyline by aging Daniel up (not that the age itself is a factor, more the 'lost time') and placing the show in recent times.

I think people might be a bit too positive for different reasons:

1) The ship is book canon, it already exists

2) The actors are ship positive

3) Assad does a lot of interesting micro expressions

4) Rolin does talk about it

Now for why that might not be enough:

1) Yes, it's canon, but a small part compared to a large book series

2) I think they are generally fan positive and think that dynamic is fun

3) Assad is clearly invested in that dynamic, he might have added something acting-wise from his own perspective

4) This is the main part, I think Rolin does have a 'red thread' for his show that's as close to the books as a 'modern' adaption allows. He will follow that thread but stray a bit to put in some extras for the fans.

The first two seasons were clearly about Louis, like the first book. Louis relationship to Lestat, to Armand, to Claudia.

With Daniel as a catalyst or plot device, like you said.

Third season will focus on Lestat.

Armand and Daniel will of course still be there, but not the main focus.

And I feel like Rolin treated dm more like an easter egg. Like Niki. Niki gets a tiny bit of screen time and the cut off hands are mentioned by Louis (unrelated to Niki) and part of the stage play graphics. Easter eggs for the fans.

If Rolin does the Lestat story with flashbacks (which he will, how else would you introduce Gabrielle f.e.) Niki might or might not get revisited.

Devil's minion got the easter egg treatment in the San Francisco bottle episode. There was past interaction, and an intense one, just not erotic or romantic.

Plus a blender mention. And from Rolin's perspective that might be enough.

Like, if he planned on filming as much of the books as possible, dm is not that prominent in the grant scheme of things.

It is prominent to fans of course, (like other characters that haven't even appeared yet are fan faves)

I personally was so taken in by that one chapter back in the day it easily became my favourite ship (and Armand my fave character).

But I think if we where to do statistics the majority of Vampire Chronicle fans are in it for Lestat (and Loustat as background otp, plus other Lestat relationships) or started out as Louis fans or simply fans of vampire horror drama.

And Rolin is trying to give those fans exactly what they want and now gets constantly asked about something that wasn't even exactly on his radar. That must be quite annoying.

And he does sound annoyed altho he's still answering playfully.

And I do agree with you about Daniel's and Armand's interactions. If we leave out Assad's possible extra acting choices there is mostly a competetive dynamic between them, where Armand is somewhat fond of Daniel from his own superior position, but also a bit condescending. And Daniel just wants to one up him.

Also yes, the missing fall out from 2x5. 'You tried to drain me, pal' especially the 'pal' that's such an understatement in regards to the whole situation. 6 days of physical and psychological torture and Armand just going 'well you also did drugs, same thing basically'.

So yes, while I do love to clown and enjoy all the dm posts and the cast being so positive about it, I don't think much was planned.

It might change due to popularity, depending on wether Rolin isn't too annoyed and how it fits the script.

They could also still do a reverse chase in the background without a 'romantic' plot simply with Armand going completely off the rails and Daniel still wanting to confront him about his turning.

I do hope for the classic enemies to whatever they have trope of course, but it doesn't have to happen. If every interaction between them is dm-coded already to Rolin he might simply go with a tense fledgling/maker thing.

Well, I cross my fingers, but if I'm staying realistic I don't get disappointed too much. ;)

And I gotta say, Rockstar Lestat looks fun af.

So that's at least something to look forward to.

And we'll always have Daniel being Armand's only fledgling! (Plus a ton of fan works, and that's always a comfort. But hey, maybe we do get a positive surprise.)

[cozage]

Hello, I saw your event. Can I request a bedtime story with Sanji or Zoro where reader can't sleep without a bedtime story?Thank you and Happy birthday 🤍

This is a request for my Sleepover Event, send me one too! :) 

A/N: This is so cute and I imagine this happens early in the friendship/relationship

Characters: reader x Sanji

CW: implied WCI Spoilers

Word count: 530

Fairytale

You had been tossing and turning for almost an hour now, trying to drift off to sleep. You hated keeping Sanji up with your constant movement, but you just couldn’t get comfortable.

“Sanji?” you whispered. You knew he was still awake; his thumb was still rubbing against your arm, trying to soothe you into sleep. 

“Hm?”

“Can you tell me a story?” you asked. 

“A story?” he questioned. His voice was groggy. He had probably been on the verge of sleep several times before you had woken him up by your movement. 

“Any kind of story. Maybe it’ll help?” 

He hummed, thinking for a moment. 

“Once upon a time, there was a prince. He was a bit different from his brothers and sister, and they bullied him relentlessly.”

“How was he different?” you interjected, peeking up at him. 

You could feel him tense, thinking of an answer. “His siblings were…special. They had magical powers that made them stronger than any normal human. But the prince didn’t have those powers.”

“Why didn’t he have them?” you whispered.

“I dunno,” he admitted. “It’s just a story I’m making up.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll listen now.” You snuggled in close to him, closing your eyes to listen. “How did they bully him?”

“Oh, in the normal way. They beat him up, and ruined his creations, and they locked him up in the basement and pretended he never existed. He was trapped down in the dark, with nobody but the mice to talk to. He was utterly alone.”

You listened to his fairytale of a story about the hardships the little prince endured. Sanji was always such a romantic, over-exaggerating life and the experiences this imaginary boy was going through. He was so descriptive that you couldn’t help but be impressed by his storytelling abilities. 

“He escaped, though. With the help of his sister. He ran away from his family and he never looked back. He freed himself and found a new family to love. The end.”

“No,” you mumbled softly, almost asleep. “That’s not how stories are supposed to end.”

Sanji looked down at you, alarmed. “What do you mean?”

“He has to go back and beat them,” you said. “He has to take the throne and help the people.”

“Ohhh,” Sanji purred. “I see. Well, the good news is that the king was actually not a ruler of people. He was a conqueror.”

“That’s worse.”

You felt his had stop rubbing your arm. “Is it?”

“Mmmhmmm.”

Sanji sighed. “Well, how about this? The prince wanted nothing to do with his family or the throne. His family became a simple legend, withering away into nothing but stories. The prince, though, made a name for himself. He supported the family he loved and kept working at his passions. And he found people who loved and accepted him for who he was instead.”

It wasn’t the ending you wanted, but it seemed good enough for the prince. You were on the edge of falling asleep, so you didn’t object to his fairytale.

[dynamic-power]

Arrivals

Prompt: airport confessions

Words: 1.6k (listen, it got away from me, okay?)

5 airport proposals flight attendant Ian Gallagher witnesses

“First time?”

Ian looks away from the newly engaged couple standing and kissing in the middle of arrivals, close enough to the bottom of the escalator that they are causing a bit of a traffic jam to instead stare at the pilot who has just materialized on said escalator, two steps above him. 

Ian recognizes him immediately; Pilot Milkovich. He’d been one of the pilots on the flight that had just flown Ian from Austin to Chicago. He’s shorter than Ian, but the steps give him height advantage. His eyes are a bright, warm blue and his smile is tense, but in a way that’s tired, not forced. He's tattooed, the most notable of which are the "fuck u-up" across his knuckles with a bandaid censoring the word on his right hand, but Ian already gets the feeling he's a bit softer than he let's on.

“First time…?” Ian trails off. First time flying as an attendant? No, but it’s only his fifth, so he’s new enough. First time in Chicago? Fuck no, he grew up here.

“First time witnessing this sappy bullshit,” Milkovich says, nodding towards the couple who are now fully making out. 

Ian steps off the escalator, wheeling his small bag closely behind him. Milkovich steps off after him, and together, they squeeze through the gathering crowd to head towards the taxi corral. 

“Does that happen a lot?” Ian asks when they’ve stepped outside. 

Milkovich shrugs. “Not a lot. But it does happen. I don’t know what it is about airports, but people find that shit real romantic.”

“Blame it on the romcoms,” Ian muses. 

Milkovich opens the door of a waiting cab. “Headed to the hotel?”

“No,” Ian says. “I’m crashing at my brother’s place.”

“You from Chicago?”

“Southside.”

“No shit,” Milkovich says, thumbing at an eyebrow. “Me too.”

“No shit. Not staying with family?”

“Fuck no. ‘Sides, I got a flight in about twelve hours.”

“Me too.”

Milkovich smiles. “First leg headed to New York?”

“Uh, yeah, actually.”

“I’ll see you there, Red.” Milkovich climbs into the back of the cab with a wave and a charming smile and Ian almost doesn’t notice the next cab pull up, too busy watching the back of Milkovich’s head through the window. 

---

“Y’know,” Mickey says as they are walking through arrivals side-by-side, both bags on the outside so that they are close enough that their hands brush, “It’s kind of a shitty thing to do.”

“What is?” Ian asks. 

Mickey waves a hand towards a woman standing off to the left. She’s holding a great big neon yellow posterboard that says, “Anna, will you marry me?” in loopy script. Ian’s been flying for two months, and already this is the second proposal he’s seen.

“I dunno,” Ian says with a shrug. “I think it’s kinda sweet. The grand gestures, and all.”

Mickey grunts. “Of course you would, Ian. You’re a real romantic at heart, aren’t you?”

“What’s your problem with it, then?”

Mickey swings open the back door of a cab. Ian grabs their bags and motions for the driver to open the trunk. He tosses their bags in the back before climbing in beside Mickey. “It’s all so public,” Mickey says after Ian shuts the door. “What if poor Anna doesn’t want to marry her girlfriend? She becomes the asshole if she says no. But she’s also the asshole if she says yes and has to tell her girlfriend later that the answer is no.”

“Why does the answer have to be no?” Ian challenges. 

“It doesn’t have to be,” Mickey says with a shake of his head. Sacramento comes to view in the distance. “But I’m just saying, if it is.”

“I think, if you’ve been in a relationship long enough to consider marriage, you’ve probably talked about it before. I don’t think people actually ask without already knowing the answer.”

“Thought about getting engaged a lot, have you?” Mickey teases. 

“No,” Ian insists, but he feels his face flush. “Whatever, fuck you.”

“I’m sure your future wife is just as much of a sap as you.”

Ian can’t help it; he laughs. “Uh. No. No, you’ve got me wrong. There is no future wife.”

He can feel Mickey staring at him, considering him, and he wonders briefly if he made a mistake. He stares down at his feet, waiting for the tense silence to come to an end. 

“Oh. Me, too,” Mickey says softly. 

Ian’s head whips up, eyes wide and mouth open. “You mean you’re…” he trails off, unable to get the word across his tongue. 

“Gay?” Mickey supplies for him, cheeks turning pink. He turns away from Ian and stares out the window. “Yeah, not a big deal.”

But Ian can’t help but continue to watch Mickey as though he’s seeing him for the first time.

---

“I’m meeting up with Carl for drinks,” Ian says as he and Mickey step onto the escalator. They are on one step, their bags on the one above them. “Would you wanna come?”

“Don’t you have a flight tomorrow morning?”

“Nah,” Ian says with a grin. “I traded with Lisa. She wanted to see her new niece, so she’s headed to Indy. I’ll be on your flight to Portland the day after.”

“Will you ever let me fly in fuckin’ peace, Gallagher?”

It’s been nearly six months, and Ian has enjoyed his flights with Mickey the most. “Nope.” They step into arrivals, and Ian asks again, “So, drinks?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Mickey says, but Ian can see by his smile and the glint in his eyes that he’s pleased to have been invited. 

Ian’s pleased, too. He’s about to open his mouth, tell Mickey that Carl will be there with a date, and that he’d really like it if this was a date for them, too, when a man rushes by them. Mickey and Ian both turn just in time to see the man scooping a woman into his arms just a couple feet behind them. When he drops to his knees, Ian stops entirely and Mickey groans under his breath. 

“Lea,” the man says, shouting over the noise of people gasping and muttering and cheering around them, “will you marry me?”

Ian doesn’t get to see the reply because Mickey is gripping his elbow and pulling him away. “Come on, Red,” he says, sounding annoyed, but he’s smiling softly. “We gotta get to the hotel to clean up if you really want to go out tonight.”

Ian follows Mickey. When Mickey goes to pull his hand away from Ian’s arm, Ian catches it. He steels his nerves and twines their fingers together. “Mick, about tonight.”

---

“Of course I think we should keep living in Chicago,” Mickey says, gripping Ian’s hand as they step onto the escalator down to arrivals. LAX is busy today, people crowd them from every side, so he doesn’t hesitate to squeeze Mickey’s hand and pull him closer. “Your family is there, Mandy is there. I’m not saying we should move. I’m just saying you should move in with me.”

It makes sense, Ian knows it does; they’ve been together for a year, and his lease is coming to an end, and he hardly spends any time there, anyway. 

“Make it all official, and shit,” Mickey says.

“We should get a dog.”

“Who will watch the dog when we aren’t there?”

“We’ll share custody with Lip and the kids.”

“Lip would fuckin’ hate that.”

“Exactly.”

“We should think about making it really official.”

Ian freezes, nearly tripping as they get to the bottom of the escalator. “What?” he says, sure that Mickey couldn’t possibly mean what he thinks he means. 

“Yeah,” Mickey says, keeping a step ahead of Ian. His voice is soft, unsure. “I mean, it’s the next step, right? Get the house, the dog, then get-”

There’s a shriek to their left, and two men are hugging and crying and kissing. Mickey usually rolls his eyes and pulls Ian along. But this time, Ian nearly runs into him as Mickey stops and turns to watch. They linger, watch as one man slips a ring onto the other’s finger, watch as they kiss, and accept congratulations from people around them. Ian thinks, not for the first time, that it’s a rather sweet scene.

“Get married,” Mickey finally finishes. He sounds distracted, but looks up at Ian with wide, blue eyes. 

Ian’s heart is pounding. “You wanna marry me, Milkovich?”

Mickey shrugs and thumbs at his nose. Ian knows Mickey is nervous, too. “I might, Gallagher. I dunno.”

Ian reaches out and grabs Mickey’s hand, tangling their fingers together. “We can talk about it, if you want.”

“Let’s start with moving you into my place, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

---

Ian is glad to be back in Chicago. He’s only been away for a couple of days, but Mickey had been away for a few days before that, so it’s been a week since he’s seen his boyfriend and he’s really missing him. 

He’s scrolling through his messages as he takes the escalator down to arrivals, wondering why he hasn’t heard from Mickey, when movement ahead of him catches his eye. 

The crowd is parting, because Mickey is standing there, holding a bunch of flowers, with the entirety of Ian’s family standing just behind him. Ian suddenly can’t wait, takes the last few steps down and runs towards Mickey. He abandons his bag in favor of wrapping Mickey up in his arms. The flowers press akwardly against his back, but that doesn’t matter because his face is buried in Mickey’s neck and he’s home.

“I know you like this romantic crap,” Mickey mumbles, pushing Ian back so he’s at arms length. He hands Ian the flowers, which he eagerly accepts, and digs around in the pocket of his jeans for a moment. When he pulls his hand out again, he sinks to one knee, offering the silver ring out to Ian. 

Ian laughs. He laughs so hard he cries, or maybe he just cries. 

“This, uh, kinda felt appropriate, I guess,” Mickey says as he grins up him. “Marry me?”

Ian pulls Mickey up and into a kiss, wrapping his arms around Mickey’s shoulders, digging his fingers into his hair. 

“Is that a yes, Gallagher?” Mickey pants when Ian lets him go again. 

“Of course that’s a yes, Milkovich.”

[coraniaid]

I was thinking about how Kendra really should've been mentioned in Fool For Love given its an episode where Buffy wants to learn about previous Slayers' final battles so Top 5 episodes in which Kendra should've been mentioned in?

Ignoring the episodes I'd have liked to actually see Bianca Lawson return in (either in flashback or some alternate dimension or in a dream sequence or as the First) and ignoring Fool For Love as well since you mentioned it already (but I agree that's a good call otherwise).

S3E07 Revelations -- obviously Angel didn't personally kill Kendra, but he played a very major role in her death (she came back to Sunnydale to stop his plan to wake Acathla, he lured Buffy away from the library so she wasn't there to protect her, he sent Drusilla to kidnap Giles and Kendra tried to stop her). So it would have been nice, in a way, if anybody had thought to bring Kendra up during that scene in the library where they're arguing about Buffy keeping Angel's return a secret and how he killed Jenny Calendar and tortured Giles. Especially when they're doing so mere feet away from the spot where Kendra was murdered. It would have nice to suggest that Buffy wanted to talk to Faith about Kendra at the end, too (even though I think Faith still brushes her off the way she does in canon).

S3E08 Lovers Walk Relatedly, it would have been nice if -- while Spike was busy feeling sorry for himself and remembering all the nice spots in Sunnydale where he and Dru had murdered people in better times -- the writers had remembered Buffy had reminded him that one of the people his ex had fun murdering was Kendra. Or that, way back in Becoming Part 2, the very last time Buffy said Kendra's name out loud in the show came with a threat to kill Drusilla ("Forget about Drusilla. She doesn't walk. She killed Kendra.")

S3E15 Consequences. Don't think this even needed Kendra to be mentioned by name, but it would have been nice if the show had acknowleged that this is in the third time in barely a year than Buffy has been questioned by the police in a murder investigation. And by the same guy all three times! Detective Stein doesn't seem to be part of the town-wide conspiracy to cover up the supernatural, so what does he think really happened to Ted and to Kendra? I get that the show at this point wasn't trying to be too serialized (but Ted, at least, will get brought up at least one more time in Season 4's Fear Itself), but ... I dunno, I just think it would have been a nice bit of continuity to have Stein tell somebody (Buffy? the Mayor?) that not only does he think Buffy was involved in Finch's death but that he still hasn't ruled out her being involved in Kendra's death too (whatever his bosses told him to make him drop it).

S5E14 Crush. This isn't actually a very good episode (as indicated by the words 'written by David Fury' that appear on the screen at the beginning) so we can't expect too much from it, but ... look! It's Drusilla! Back in town for the first time since Becoming! And Spike's talking about killing her, even. "Why do I care?" Buffy asks him, which would be a perfectly fine way for Buffy to express her disinterest in Spike and demonstrate her refusual to be swayed by his attempts at coercing her to 'admit' her romantic feelings for him if this were any other random vampire, but this is meant to be a vampire Buffy has a strong preexisting personal grudge against. She killed Kendra, David. That's why Buffy should care. You could, I dunno, at least have Spike bring that up again? ("If you don't admit there's something there ... I'll untie Dru, let her kill you instead. Just like she killed that other Slayer.")

S7E17 Lies My Parents Told Me. I mean, not the canon version of the episode, which is basically unsalvagable, but in some other better version of this episode where Buffy finds out that Robin was Nikki's son it might have been nice to contrast Robin's years long quest for revenge with the fact that Buffy didn't allow herself to leave town and hunt Drusilla down for revenge. Not because she didn't care about Kendra (at least, she cares about Kendra in my version of the show...), but because she had a responsibility to everyone alive in Sunnydale. That would, at least, be a better way to echo Nikki's "the mission is what matters" line than the gross way the episode settles on ("You're trying to get revenge on a man who doesn't exist anymore! Also, isn't it cool and fitting he got 'his' coat back?")