#i can’t wait for my fixed bite to improve my eating experience

[applejee]

my face… so swollen… me… so sleepy but also awake……. my lip tingling like sensation is coming back 😫

[dinogoofy]

Scorpion/GN!reader!-pt 3

Might kiss you, might rip your guts out.

Mostly fluffy goodness this chapter! Enjoy!

It had been a month and a half of non-stop training and work, and you still did not stay long in the air at all. After the first month you had started to use the roof of the temple to get yourself startled, with Hanzo's permission, of course. 

It was surprising. How you had managed to calm down around him. After all this time… It was easy to recognize that he didn't lie when he said he beat Scorpion. The man had truly defeated the monster, but even then it didn't stop you from flinching when he sparred with his students. He hadn't asked you about that yet, and you almost hoped that he hadn't noticed.

The ground came fast, and you slowed as you came out of the dive, wings straining once again as you slowed the fall. But it was not enough to give you a soft landing. You landed feet first this time, but with the sudden force of gravity a simple shift of balance had you rocking back on your feet and falling on your butt.

"You did better this time." You sighed, groaning in frustration. Hanzo's steps grew closer, and you peered up at his hand as he offered to help you up. You reached out and took it without much hesitation, brushing the dirt off your clothes after.

"Better, but not good enough." Hanzo shook his head at you, handing you the stopwatch the two of you had been using to record your progress.

"It took you seventeen seconds to slow down. Your speed has stayed consistent, but your landings have improved immensely from when we first started." He stopped, holding onto his next words. You scrunched your lips up in a semi-annoyed frown. 

"You're about to tell me to take a break." Hanzo furrowed his eyebrows at you. Shaking his head at your stubbornness. 

"You've been at this since before the clan's morning rounds. You only stopped to eat at Takeda's request, you're burning too many calories for your body to keep up with. Your wings-" You shot him a glare. He sighed. "-Your wing, is starting to give out." You scoffed at him. Flexing the two appendages back and forth, too stubborn to admit the biting soreness coming from the scarred wing. You had built strength in it after the few months you had spent with the Shirai Ryu, and the fact that you had trained for so long today without it giving out or twitching once had built a sense of urgency in you. A kind of rush that had you pushing yourself past the limits of your body. You didn't want to stop, even if you knew it was only hurting you.

You went to set the timer for the stopwatch yourself. As it seemed like the esteemed grandmaster wouldn't be staying with you much longer. 

"I don't-" Hanzo interrupted you with both his body and his voice. His hands shooting out, holding the stopwatch firmly in between your hands. You flinched, but steadied your breathing. He wouldn't hurt you. He wouldn't.

"There's a difference between training yourself to be stronger, and pushing your body till it breaks. I've learned that from experience." Your shoulders sagged a bit at the confession. He squeezed your hand gently.

"I'm telling you as a friend, you need to stop." With a sigh, you took one last look at his worried brown eyes, and stepped away. He smiled lightly as you pocketed the watch. You looked up at the late afternoon sun in the sky, shining brightly in the clear sunny day. God, how you wished that you could make it all the way up there again.

"I was going to stroll through the gardens, would you like to join me? I'm sure it would help you relax." You hummed, contemplating for a moment. Hanzo was waiting patiently for your answer. He had backed up at least an arm's length away from you, and you were almost comforted by the courtesy. It seems he noticed your flinch from earlier. Your lips pressed together into a line, and you looked at the sky for one last moment before directing your gaze back to Hanzo.

"Alright." He smiled, and you stayed by his side as the two of you strolled through the beautiful gardens. 

He was right when he said it might be relaxing. The soft breeze and smell of nature filling your senses. The wind tickled your feathers as it flowed through them. You closed your eyes for just a moment as you followed the path, taking a deep breath. If you were to settle down and find a home, you had decided that you needed to find a place like this. Quiet, kind, warm, filled with nature and calming sights.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Hazo hummed. Surprised at your sudden words. You opened your eyes, but continued to face forward, not looking at Hanzo.

"How did you manage to find a place so… well, calm. Comforting. It wasn't something I was expecting from you." Your words caught in your throat, and you folded your arms, suddenly aware of how awful that sounded.

"-I mean, I… I really wasn't expecting a lot from you in the first place. But even then you exceeded my expectations." Hanzo smiled stiffly, eyes somber yet understanding. All you could hear was the crunching gravel under your feet for a moment.

"It wasn't always this way." He spoke softly. "When I became myself again, this place was desolate. Abandoned. It wasn't really the fire gardens, it was only an abandoned piece of land." He stopped for a moment.

"And before then, it was glorious. It wasn't calm like it is now, but it was happy. A place for my family to grow. For my wife and son to thrive." He… he had a family? It was a sensitive subject, you knew it had to be based on his sad tone, so you quench your curiosity. If he wanted to tell you about them, he would. You shouldn't pry.

"... when they died, I had almost abandoned the temple so that I could avenge them. When I returned, and realized what I had done… I had to restore the gardens. And along with it, the Shirai Ryu. I replanted the trees, rebuilt the foundation, and abandoned my ways of rage. All I had left to do was form my own redemption." You purse your lips, blinking away the tears that stung at the edge of your eyes. His story was devastating, but a frustration filled your chest at his last words.

"Is that why you offered me aid? To build yourself up again?" You said, maybe a little more bitterly than you had meant to. Hazo shook his head.

"I wanted to help you. Truly. I did. There was not a day after I killed you that I hadn't wondered who I had hurt. Whose family I had ripped away. I didn't know you then, and I can't say I truly know you know, but…" You and Hanzo had stopped along the path. He faced you again, and only a fool couldn't see the regret in his eyes.

"I would like to know you now, if you will let me." You sighed. Using your hands to wipe the tiredness from your eyes, and discreetly wiping away the tears as you did. He truly was trying to fix things, wasn't he? Well, you knew that the two of you could never start over like Kombat had never happened, but you respected his drive to make it up to you. You wondered how the two of you would treat each other if you had only met before the arena.

"Honestly?" You let the word out just above a whisper. "I wouldn't really mind that."

[gunpowdville]

The Great Flesh-Eating Cake Incident of Year [REDACTED] (Not to be Confused With the Bifrost Incident)

Chapters: 1/2

Words: 3502

Relationships: Drumbot Brian - Raphaella la Cognizi (queerplatonic), Gunpowder Tim/Lyfrassir Edda/Marius von Raum, The Aurora/Nastya Rasputina (although most don’t show up until the second chapter)

Other Things: genderfluid tim, she/her tim, he/fae marius :)

Summary: Brian and Raph bake a cake. Or, they try to. It doesn't exactly go well. (aka, Why Raphaella la Cognizi Should Never Be Allowed in the Kitchen)

read on ao3 here or read below the cut for people who don't like ao3 (i will post the second chapter. at some point. hopefully soon)

Chapter 1

“Try it now.”

“Is it safe?”

“Does that matter?”

Brian gives her what she calls his teacher look, a combination of calm exasperation and gentle chiding. “I would prefer to not fry myself from the inside out, if I can help it.”

“Boring,” Raphaella accuses, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “And you know I’d fix you if you did.” Well actually, she would get Nastya to fix him, as Raph herself has absolutely no self control when it comes to the prospect of tinkering with a complex mechanism and Brian hates being tinkered on without his permission.

“Yes, of course, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt like hell,” Brian points out. “Not to mention how horrendously it would fuck up my systems.”

Raphaella pouts. “So I installed the flamethrower for nothing?”

Brian hesitates. “...I didn’t say that.”

Raphaella perks up immediately, turning her full attention from the clattered worktable to her partner. Brian straightens up and faces away from her, focusing at the blank wall at one end of the lab. He pokes his tongue around the inside of his mouth a little, probing at the new addition in the back. He tests out flipping its settings, making sure everything flows smoothly, then steels himself and opens his mouth, turning it on. Nothing happens.

Raphaella throws up her hands in exasperation. “I don’t understand! That should have worked! It-”

Brian yelps suddenly, clapping his hands to his throat as the back of it heats up rapidly, too rapidly, the heat growing from gently uncomfortable to unbearable in a matter of seconds. Luckily, his systems react before he can, shutting off the new attachment the second it could cause potential harm. The heat fades almost as quickly as it had swelled.

“Ow,” Brian says mildly.

“That was about to work,” Raphaella huffs, hands on her hips, eyes fixed somewhat accusingly on Brian. “If you had just waited a moment longer.”

“It was about to melt my vocal cords,” Brian points out in retort. Raphaella throws up her hands again.

“My husband is a coward,” she declares to no one in particular, with no actual insult behind it. Brian can’t help but smile softly at the endearment. They’re not married, technically, but for all intents and purposes they might as well be.

“I’ve started to become convinced that you’re simply trying to kill me,” Brian remarks to her as she turns back to the notes on her lab table. She shoots him a brightly malicious look, one backed heavily with fondness. “Maybe I am.”

He sits down on the stool beside the lab table and reaches for her, catching her waist from behind and pulling her onto his lap. She leans back into him as he wraps his arms around her, and he rests his chin on her shoulder so he can peer down at the pages of notes in her hands.

“Here, tell me what I’m doing wrong,” Raphaella holds up the notes so Brian can get a better look at them. He hums thoughtfully as he scans her delicate sketch of his body, each part individually labelled with possible enhancements to be added in Raph’s lacy handwriting. Brian’s own handwriting, cramped and blocky, annotates the science officer’s notes with his own observations of measurements and possible difficulties.

In his mind, Brian overlays the sketch on top of the official schematics the doc left in there, focusing on his throat and the new addition, checking for anywhere where it isn’t wired properly or messing with any of his other systems. Nothing. He bites his lip, a very natural bad habit that he’s never been able to shake, despite it splitting the rubber badly. Raphaella hits him lightly in the side of the head when she notices him doing it.

“I don’t think it’s anything you’ve done,” Brian says finally, leaning back slightly on the stool. “I think it’s simply a matter of too much heat.”

Raphaella ‘hmphs’, taking her notes back from him and setting them back on the table. She turns her head to study Brian’s face, placing her hands atop his where they rest over her stomach. He quirks an eyebrow at her, and she regards him silently. He can tell that she’s thinking through what next to work on, now that their flamethrower experiment is a bust.

He gives her stomach a light pat. “If you don’t mind, I was going to go bake something. Tim’s been complaining that there aren’t enough ‘munchies’ onboard. And yes, that is the word xe used.”

Raphaella slaps a hand to her heart melodramatically, the gesture accompanied by a theatrical gasp. “Leaving me for Tim, are we? Scandal.”

Brian chuckles gently as he rises to his feet, dislodging Raph in the process. “Yes, I’ve decided you’re much too cruel and brutal for me, and I’d be much happier feeding Tim for the rest of eternity.”

Raphaella tosses her hair and turns away from him, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her chin up imperiously. “Good riddance.”

“Good riddance indeed,” Brian agrees drily, with no heat behind it. Raph glaces over her shoulder at him and grins, and he smiles back as he slips out the lab door, tipping his hat as he goes.

Ivy’s reading at the kitchen counter when he enters. She doesn’t look up as he makes his way into the kitchen proper, wrangling his hair into a wiry ponytail and tossing his hat on the counter. He peeks at the cover of her book and makes an intrigued little noise when he notices it’s about prophets and oracles throughout space and time.

“I was going to give it you when I was finished,” Ivy says without looking up. “I thought it might interest you.”

“It does,” Brian tells her, and she smirks, proud of herself. She still doesn’t take her eyes off the pages. Brian leans over, resting his elbows on the counter, and knocks his forehead briefly against hers, a somewhat awkward sign of affection that’s he’s developed with some members of the crew. She responds by patting his head absentmindedly, still not looking up from her book. He smiles, and turns back to the kitchen.

After a couple minutes of rummaging around in cabinets, Brian becomes aware of Raphaella’s presence leaning against the counter to his left.

“Missed me?” he asks teasingly. She rolls her eyes and pokes him in the arm. “You promised you’d teach me to bake.”

Brian pauses, replaying the last ten minutes in his mind to confirm that he has not, in fact, promised her this. And then he realizes that she’s referring to a time quite a few decades ago, when the two of them had been left back on the ship while the others had been out pillaging a nigh-extinct planet. They’d been sharing some pastries that Brian had been experimenting with, and Raphaella had asked him how he’d made them. He had launched straight into a detailed explanation of exactly which ingredients he had used and what amounts of each, and how he had played with the measurements and tweaked the recipe to see how he could improve it. Raph had listened with utter fascination, and after he had finished she had mentioned that it seemed a bit like her experiments, only with slightly different materials. He had offered to teach her a little, if she’d like, and she had said she would love to learn. And now here they are.

“I did do that, didn’t I,” Brian muses. He studies Raph, leaning against the counter, a sparkle in her eyes that both makes him excited to see what she has in store and fear for his life.

“So?” Raphaella raises an eyebrow. Brian considers.

“We are making a cake,” he tells her, keeping his voice slow, steady, and serious. “A basic cake. We are not going to put anything in it that is not on the ingredients list. We are going to follow the recipe. To the letter. And we are not, I repeat, we are not going to burn down my kitchen.”

My kitchen, Aurora corrects him gently.

“Our kitchen,” he concedes.

Raphaella steps forward and takes Brian’s hands, looking him solemnly in the eyes. “I won’t let you down,” she promises. “Trust me.”

“Phee, I love you to death, and I always will” Brian tells her, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it. “But I draw the line at trusting you.”

“Rude,” Raph sniffs, while Ivy tries to cover up a snort.

“Practical,” Brian shoots back, letting go of her hands and reaching past her to pluck the recipe from the counter. With a flourish, he deposits it in her hands. “Find me these ingredients.”

Raphaella mutters something about ‘bossybitch Brian’ as she turns away from him and marches purposefully toward the cupboards. He watches her fondly for a moment, before busying himself gathering pans and setting up his beloved electric mixer, something he’d found being sold for scraps on a junkyard planet and had lovingly repaired and repainted with his own two hands. Its name is Small Brian, and it remains one of his most prized possessions.

“Bri, which eggs are we using?” Raphaella calls to him, her head buried deep in the disorganized fridge. Brian abandons Small Brian for just a moment and pokes his head in beside hers.

“Ah, not those,” he says, indicating a half dozen of jet-black eggs glowing faintly from within. “Those are Ashes’. They will supposedly hatch into a rare breed of fire-breathing corvid.”

“And those?” Raphaella points to the other carton of eggs.

“We’re using those,” Brian confirms, pulling the carton out. “Ah. Wait. Not this one.” Carefully, he removes a small, round, green orb from the carton and places it gently on the counter. “An octokitten laid this. We think.”

Raphaella leans over and picks it up, holding it in the palm of her hand and bringing it up close to her eyes. She looks suspiciously like she’s about to slip it into her pocket, so Brian plucks it from her hands before she gets a chance to. She sticks her tongue out at him. He waves her off to go collect the rest of the ingredients, reminding her that the lovely ceramic pot labeled ‘sugar’ is in fact actually filled with gunpowder, and the sugar is in the cabinet to its right. Meanwhile he goes back to fussing over Small Brian.

The mixer isn’t starting up properly, it keeps stuttering and stopping whenever he tries to turn it on. Brian frowns, tapping the top of it with a metal finger. “Come on, love,” he says softly to Small Brian. “Don’t give up on me now. Not after all we’ve been through.”

“Raph,” Ivy speaks up from her place at the counter, her tone amused. “Brian’s talking to the appliances again.”

“If either of you make a joke comparing me to an appliance, I will kill you,” Brian warns both of them placidly, fiddling with Small Brian’s mechanisms until the machine whines and starts up properly. “Good lad,” Brian says, patting the appliance lovingly.

“I saw that,” he adds when he catches the look Ivy and Raphaella share over the counter. Raphaella rolls her eyes and gestures to him to come approve the ingredients she’s gathered. She hooks her arm through his and tips her head onto his shoulder while he checks each one off against the recipe.

“Excellent, that’s everything. Thank you.” he says, kissing her on the top of the head. “ Now we can begin.”

Raphaella, as always, is a very attentive student, listening well and asking questions when necessary. He suspects that she asks some of the questions just to listen to him talk about something he loves, and he adores her for it. They work very well together, the two of them, bantering back and forth as they do. Ivy chimes in on occasion, never taking her eyes off of her book.

Jonny strolls into the kitchen at one point, zeroing in on the chocolate chips scattered across the counter with a predator’s precision. As soon as he spots the first mate, Brian sweeps a knife into his hand and points it at him. “Out.”

Jonny backs away, throwing his hands up in surrender. He’s been killed enough times over messing around in the kitchen that he knows by now that the best thing to do is back off.

All in all, it’s a shockingly peaceful time. Brian hums to himself as he stirs ingredients together, and Raphaella goes through the cupboards, looking for something to play with. She reaches to open one in the back, and Brian notices too late which one it is. Raphaella stops, tilting her head in curiosity as she stares at the contents of the cupboard.

“Oh, Briiiiiiiiaaan?” she calls in a singsong voice, which is usually a sign that Brian is about to either be taken apart or assist in taking apart someone else. “What is this?”

Brian sighs and sets down the bowl, making his way slowly over to her. She raises an eyebrow at him as he gazes silently for a moment at the dismantled skeleton shoved into the back of the cupboard. “Those… are my bones.”

“Your… bones.”

“My bones.”

“Why…?”

Brian shrugs. “It’s not like I’m using them.”

“Right.” Raphaella studies the skeleton for a moment longer, before declaring, “I’m going to make soup out of them.”

Brian starts. “I’m sorry?”

“Your bones. I’m going to make soup out of them.”

“You are not.”

“Bone broth is a thing, isn’t it? Ivy?”

“It is,” Ivy confirms, casually turning a page.

Raphaella grins, gathering the bones into her arms. “Brian soup.”

“Brian s- no!”

“Brian soup Brian soup Brian soup Brian soup-”

“NO.”

“I thought the doc took your bones,” Ivy mentions, as Brian attempts to gently cajole his partner into giving him back said bones.

“I asked her to let me keep some of them,” Brian explains, tugging a rib out of Raph’s arms and dislodging about three more, which clatter to the floor unceremoniously. “They are mine, after all.”

“It’s unusually sentimental of me, I know,” he adds as Raphaella ducks under his arm, executing a perfect twirl to get the bones out of his reach, “I’m not quite sure why I wanted them.”

“For soup,” Raphaella quips, and Ivy snorts as Brian throws himself at the science officer. Raph yelps and scrambles away from him, and so begins an epic chase around the kitchen, Raph struggling to run away while clutching an armful of bones, the owner of said bones following a step behind her, playfully angry.

Brian doesn’t realize he’s started humming to himself until Raphaella turns to face him, jogging backwards, and asks what song it is.

“It’s a new one I’m working on,” he says, using her moment of distraction as an opportunity to trap her in the kitchen, the wraparound counter devoid of exits besides the one that he is currently standing in front of. “It’s called ‘Raphaella Please Don’t Make Soup Out of My Bones.’”

“I hate it,” Raphaella decides, still backing away. She’s almost hit the counter, and Brian smirks at his inevitable victory.

“You’ve barely heard it,” he argues, and begins humming louder. Raphaella’s back hits the counter, and Brian stops. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, he begins tapping his foot along to the tune.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Raphaella starts, but the other foot has already begun to move as well. Just tapping at first, tap tap tapping to a beat in Brian’s head, but the footwork quickly becomes more and more complicated as he eases into the song. Ivy picks it up quickly and starts tapping her fingers on the counter, taking charge of the beat while Brian continues humming the melody.

Raphaella shakes her head, refusing to let his shenanigans charm her, but Brian refuses to give up. He dances his way smoothly across the floor to her, finishing with an elegant twirl and an extended hand. Raphaella regards him with reluctant defeat, then rolls her eyes and takes Brian’s hand.

He waltzes her out into the middle of the floor, two steps forward, one step back. He spins her out, then spins her back in so they’re swaying with her back pressed to his chest. “You’re a master manipulator, you know,” she says to him. He smiles. She twirls him out, then twirls him back in and dips him, effortlessly holding up his mass of metal.

“I don’t remember this step of the cake recipe,” Ivy comments drily. She’s finally looking up from her book and is watching the two of them with an expression that is equal parts exasperated and amused.

“Which step, the bone soup or the dancing?” Brian returns, just as dry. Ivy is saved from having to respond by the arrival of Marius, who comes striding through the door like an invading general, arms spread wide in greeting.

“Well, if it isn’t my three favorite delinquents,” fae says, grinning like a maniac. “Dancing in the kitchen like- wait. Why is Raph in the kitchen?”

“I’m helping,” Raph says proudly, tossing her hair over her shoulder in a decidedly smug fashion as Brian collects his bones and returns them to their cupboard. “How can we help you?”

Marius pulls up a stool and takes a seat next to Ivy, scanning the pages of her book idly. “Tim stole my partner.”

“To be fair, Tim is also dating your partner,” Brian points out, handing the bowl of cake batter to Raph to finish stirring and put in the oven.

“Sure, but she’s being smug about it. So I’m pouting,” Marius replies, metal fingers tapping on the counter. “Oh, also: Tim wanted me to tell you. She/her for the time being.”

Brian nods, taking note of the pronouns. “Well, when you feel like speaking to Tim again, you can tell her that a cake is on its way.”

Marius raises an eyebrow. “You mean that cake that Raph just slipped something into behind your back?”

Honestly, Brian is surprised that this didn’t happen earlier. Slowly, he turns to Raphaella, who meets his eyes with a mischievous smirk as she slips an empty vial back into her pocket.

“What was in that?” he asks gently, not mad, just curious.

“Just a little something I whipped up,” Raphaella says, giving the batter an experimental stir. An odd squelching noise escapes from the bowl, and she quickly lets go of the wooden spoon as a dark tendril of… something curls up around it, possessive and hungry. “Oh. That’s interesting.”

“What the fuck was that?” Marius leans forward over the counter, curiosity evident on faer features.

Raphaella sets the bowl carefully on the floor and steps away from it, circling around it to Brian’s side. He gives her a questioning look, and she shrugs cheerfully, indicating that she has no idea whatsoever the effect of whatever she put in may be. With somewhat tired resignation, Brian steps forward to investigate what has become of his simple chocolate cake.

It’s… alive. The dark, viscous substance in the bowl has begun to writhe and bubble in a distinctively sentient manner, tendrils forming reaching out, looking to grab hold of something. The tendrils feel their way around tentatively, like a newborn animal learning to walk for the first time. The substance itself has an oddly familiar shimmer to it, the nearly oil-black surface revealing colors of every hue and nature when the light hits it.

“That looks like…” Marius frowns, clambering over the counter and dropping next to Brian as what was meant to be a cake slowly drags itself out of the bowl and onto the floor. “Oh, Raph, you didn’t!”

“Don’t touch it,” Brian advises as Marius crouches near the thing to get a better look.

Marius gives the Drumbot a scathing look. “I’m not a moron, Brian, I’m not going to-”

“Mare, get back,” Brian snaps, but it’s too late. The crawling blob has already reached the violinists foot and has clamped on tightly, wrapping its tentacles up and around his leg. He stares down at it in mild concern for a moment, then says: “Fuck.”

What happens next is hard to describe. The viscous thing sort of… stretches itself, until it covers Marius’ entire body, undulating and pulsing, then collapses in on itself, returning to its smaller form, leaving nothing but a slightly steaming metal arm left where the ship’s doctor once stood.

“What the hell did you do?” Brian demands, staring at the (now slightly larger) creation as it drags its way across the floor.

Raphaella doesn’t respond. “I think it ate faer,” she says instead. Then, “where is it going?”

Brian glances at the floor just in time to see the thing disappear into the vents. He lets out a cry, but it is much to late. It’s gone.

“Well,” Ivy says, staring with vague concern at the open vent. “Fuck.”

[thewritewolf]

Eating Habits Chapter 1: Anniversary

Things have never looked better for Adrien and his girlfriend, Marinette. Adrien has been living happily on his own, with frequent visits to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Marinette is about to enter a design university and already has a thriving online store. Gabriel Agreste is serving a 184 year long sentence (92 on good behavior). Yes, it looks like its all turned out wonderfully for them in the last six years.

Now, if only Adrien could convince Marinette to take things easy, everything would be just perfect...

(While this is the third part in the series, you can skip the first two parts without missing much besides soft fluff)

First Part: Four Times and the Lucky One | Ao3

Second Part: Just Between Us | Ao3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 (Final)

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3. 

Adrien glanced at the clock. Still an hour or two to go before their date for the anniversary, but now was as good a time as any to stop. He slowed down and turned off the treadmill. Just because there wasn’t any supervillains left to fight didn’t mean he should let himself get out of shape, after all. Or maybe it wasn’t so much his superhero instincts as his supermodel instincts.

Either way, the highlights of both those careers were behind him, even if he could still technically be called both.

After getting changed back into his street clothes, Adrien stepped out of the gym and made his way home to take a shower. Or at least, what counted as his home for now. The apartment he lived in was fancier than what Marinette was used to, but it was still a big downgrade from the manor that he had spent his childhood in. He preferred it this way though - there was more life with a few neighbors around, and less space meant less that he had to fill. Besides, he wasn’t there a lot so it didn’t matter much anyway.

A shower, fresh change into nice clothes, some expensive cologne, half an hour making his hair the perfect balance of messy and styled, some extra cheese to keep Plagg fat and lazy, and he was out the door again.

No, the place where he really spent most of his time was where he was headed now - the Dupain-Cheng bakery. The place had practically become his real home years ago. Not long after he started dating Marinette, as a matter of fact. Tom and Sabine weren’t his in-laws… yet. But he was sure they would be someday. In the meantime, they treated him as one of their own, with all the love and affection he never had before.

He almost walked past a flower shop without going inside. Almost. On the bright side, he did refrain from buying Marinette a whole bouquet of flowers. But only because she was very insistent that she was running out of space for them all. Between his lack of impulse control and her green thumb, her small room over the bakery was becoming more like a greenhouse than a bedroom. Instead, he settled for just one flower.

The bakery smelled as delicious and wonderful as it had every day he’d ever gone there. He’d gotten the scent of bread and sweets so associated with the place that just a whiff was enough to make his heart soar. The bell above the door alerted them to his arrival.

Sabine smiled at him as he approached and they shared cheek kisses. “Oh, hello, sweetheart! It’s wonderful to see you again!” She said it was such feeling that Adrien had never doubted her, even if it was always the first thing she said to him every time they saw each other. “Will you be coming over for dinner again this weekend?”

“Of course, maman! How could I refuse such a delicious meal?”

“Is that Adrien?” A man’s booming voice shouted from the kitchen in the back. Tom emerged, a wide grin on his face and flour all over him as he walked toward Adrien.

Adrien’s eyes widened and he held up his hands. “Wait, I-” But it was too late. Tom had picked him up in a great big bear huge and he was lifted so high that his feet dangled off the ground.

“Oh, sorry, son!” Tom had the decency to look down abashedly at the mess he’d made of Adrien’s nice clothes, which were now spotted with flour.

“Don’t worry, papa. This won’t take me long to fix. I got here plenty early,” Adrien flashed a quick smile up at Tom. “Actually, is Marinette here? I could probably use her help.”

“Sure, sure.” Tom waved a hand toward the back door leading into their home. “She’s probably working in her room as we speak.”

He smiled and waved at the both of them before heading upstairs, feeling just like the fourteen year old boy who’d visit after school years ago. He opened her trapdoor and sure enough, there she was. So lost in her commissions that she hadn’t gotten ready for their date yet. Which also meant she hadn’t noticed him yet, and he got to bask in her ‘focus face’ - tongue slightly out, nose scrunched, eyes narrowed - for a little while longer.

While he would’ve been fine missing their reservation if it meant watching her work for a little longer, alas, she eventually noticed him. She fell backwards with a squawk and he rushed forward to give her a hand up.

“Adrien what are you-” She winced. “It’s today, isn’t it?”

He nodded patiently.

“...How long have you been watching?”

“Long enough to remember all over again just how adorable you are.”

She groaned. “I was making the face again wasn’t I?”

He kissed the hand he had taken to help her up. “Precious as always.” He held out the flower he had bought for her, a white tulip. “For you, my lady.”

Her eyebrows scrunched up, but the tension left her face almost immediately as she smelled the flower. She smiled up at him. “My favorite.”

“A tulip for your two lips?” He leaned down and closed his eyes.

“Oh my God, Adrien,” she said, laughing. “Okay, fine, but only because you went through all that effort.” She pressed her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did. She pulled away and seemed to notice his suit for the first time. A twinkle of mirth shone in her eyes. “I see papa got a little too excited to see you again.”

“Nothing new there.” He shrugged. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to help a poor boy out…?”

“Sure, just give me a minute to get changed.”

“No problem,” Adrien sat down on her well worn chaise and made no secret of watching her.

“Adrien…”

“Hm…?”

“Downstairs, sunshine.” She sternly pointed at the trapdoor. “I’ll call you back up when I’m ready.” Pouting, he paused every other step to shoot a pleading look at her over his shoulder. Eventually she got tired of him and pushed him forward, laughing. “Go, you tomcat!”

Adrien stepped outside her bedroom and sat on the stairs. Pulling out his phone, he checked the time and double checked his reservation. They still had half an hour to get there and it was close by. Plenty of time. After a few minutes of listening to rustling clothing, the door was opened above him and he walked back in.

“What do you think?”

Adrien’s eyes roved over her light summer dress and its pastel colors. He cupped her cheek with a soft smile.

“As beautiful as ever, lovebug.” He stepped back and offered his arm. “Ready to go?”

She giggled and gestured to his suit. “Forgetting something?”

A glance down reminded him of the flour. “Ah, right. I think I remember you promising me a hand?

After a quick clean up, they walked arm in arm out of the bakery and to their favorite restaurant.

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

The night was already going well with good food and a pleasant buzz from their drinks. Conversation was flowing between them, mostly one-sided as Marinette filled him in on everything that had happened since the last time they’d gotten to chat freely the week before. More commissions. Her last shifts at the bakery. Which brought her to the reasons she’d been saving so much money in the first place.

“...So I found an apartment.”

Adrien smiled as he poured both of them another glass of wine. “I can’t wait to see it. How close is it to your university?”

“That’s the best part! It’s within walking distance, just a couple blocks away.” Marinette took a sip of her wine while doing a happy shimmy. “I’ll save on commuting costs, and the rent is super cheap too.”

There was a surge of worry before Adrien quickly smoothed it over. Just because it was cheap didn’t mean it was bad. Maybe she’d just found a good deal was all. And even if it was… lacking… she’d be able to improve it, no problem.

“I’m so happy for you! You’re already ahead of the fashion game with all your contacts and professional experience. Having an education in design will be the final thing you need to really excel in the business. You’re going to do amazing, I just know it!”

“Thanks!” She ducked her head shyly. “I’ve been so nervous about… well, everything, to be honest,” she admitted with a giggle. “In a little under a month, I’ll be out of the bakery and putting my skills to the test. And it’s a pretty prestigious university, so I bet I’ll have some competition too.”

“It’s nothing you can’t handle, princess.” His smile faded as he swirled the last dregs in his wine glass.

He felt her take his other hand and he looked up to see her concerned frown. “I know it’s hard, Adrien, and I’m sorry Nino and Alya couldn’t make it. But you know we’re all right here behind you, all the way.”

He nodded, biting his lips. It’d been two years to the day. They had all met up last year to celebrate... and to forget. Sure, he didn’t expect it to really turn into a yearly tradition, and Alya and Nino had tried their best to make it... but it still stung a little that they couldn’t.

“I’ve been talking your ear off this whole time about what I’m doing. What about you, kitty?” She leaned forward to rest her chin and her hands, looking at him with tender affection in her eyes. “What’s next in life for you?”

Adrien didn’t have an answer for that.

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

Full, laughing, and slightly tipsy, Adrien walked Marinette to her front door just as the streetlights began to turn on.

“And you know I’ll be there for you forever and ever and ever, yeah?” He grinned from ear to ear, looking more like Chat Noir than Adrien Agreste in the moment.

“Silly kitty.” She leaned in a little closer. “I think just helping me move in a couple of weeks will be enough.”

His arm snaked around her waist, pressing her flush to him. “Then you can count on my help. Even if I have to carry in a hundred boxes alone.” He pulled back one arm to flex.

She rested her forehead against his chest and laughed. “You’re such a dork.”

“Your dork.”

She hummed in agreement. Rolling onto her toes, she gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. “Good night, Adrien. I love you.”

He sighed happily. “Ahh, that takes me back.” He let her pull away from him. “I love you too, Marinette. Pleasant dreams.”

After flashing him one more smile, she ducked inside and closed the door behind her. Adrien spent a few long moments standing there, grinning like a dork, before a tiny, snide voice from inside his coat pocket drew him out of his reverie.

“You done staring at the woodwork, kid? Or do you want a few more minutes?”

He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t even manage to be exasperated. He was riding high after tonight, and he felt like nothing could drag him down. Not even grumpy cheese cats.

While it wouldn’t take him long to get home as Chat Noir… the summer night was warm and pleasant. He could almost pretend to see the stars above him. It would be a shame not to enjoy a little stroll back to his apartment.

On his way inside, he noticed that he had mail, but was in such a pleasant mood that he didn’t even glance at it until he’d shut his door behind him. As he kicked off his shoes, he finally looked at the envelope.

The prison-issued envelope.

His smile, a semi-permanent fixture on his face ever since heading over the bakery earlier that day, vanished like fog before the dawn. After skimming the contents, he neatly folded it back up and tossed it into a box of depressingly similar letters.

Try as he might, he couldn’t shake off the bad mood. His only consolation as he drifted off to sleep was that at least tomorrow would be a new day.

[justimajin]

A Wilting Rose╰ Part 5╮

➺ Pairing: Jimin x Reader

➺ Genre: Fluff (so much fluff) 

↳ (3.2k) Actor and Actress AU

➺ Summary: The world of acting can be best described with three words - dark, invasive and inhumane. Talent, although heavily required, isn’t focused upon in comparison to the juicy gossip and various rumors that can be spread. This is why even you - an extremely talented actress - fall prey to the chops of the acting world and find yourself in a down whirling spiral with no escape. Desperately needing to get back up on your two feet once again, it seems like your best bet is a newcomer to the industry, who has yet to understand the ways of your fallen world.

➺ Warnings: some swearing, jimin being an adorable bean

➺ Moodboard Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

“But why...why does he think of me in such a way?” 

“He wishes the best for you Princess.” 

A soft smile arises on your lips, “The best for me would be to rule the kingdom General, and yet he thinks my future husband would be a better choice.” 

“I am here with you Princess,” He grasps your hand, tugging you closer towards him, “And I will most certainly be there to see you become Queen.” 

He leans down and presses his forehead against yours, lightly caressing your cheek with the back of his hand. 

“CUT!” 

Both you and Jimin instantly sink down, a sigh passing through you when you take the water bottle Namjoon hands you and chug it down instantly. You glance back at Jimin, seeing his cheeks completely flushed and a heavy hand placed just above his heart. 

You tilt your head to the side, amused, “Are you blushing?” 

Jimin jolts, like he hadn’t been expecting you to still be standing there, “I-I’m not used to doing romance yet.” 

“You should get used to it, there’s supposed to be a couple of kissing scenes later on.” 

“K-Kissing scenes? Like on the mouth?” 

“I would hope so.” His eyes widen, “Don’t worry I’ll go easy on you.” A devilish snicker escapes you and suddenly all colour drains from his face as he visibly gulps. 

Ever since Jimin had given you advice the other day and let you watch Taehyung, your acting has improved significantly. You still do have the occasional hiccups though, your expression not being on point, your voice not conveying enough emotion, your real personality suddenly barging in at unexpected times (much to Yoongi’s resentment), but you were able to keep it together. 

Surprisingly, You also find yourself getting closer to Jimin since he had helped you however you weren’t very keen on shedding tears in front of him. 

“Hey.” He turns to you, the blush considerably gone down after he tried fanning himself multiple times and you move your eyes away from his face, “About last time...outside of the restaurant...you know…” 

You sigh and squeeze your eyes from how vague you were being, turning to Jimin to properly explain. However, he softly gazes at you, “What are you talking about?” 

He leans closer to you when you furrow your brows, speaking quietly, “I can’t seem to recall what happened.” 

You just stare at him when he backs away and he sends you a small smile before turning to his stylist to fix his hair. You open your mouth a couple of times, before ultimately deciding to keep it shut as you lower your head. 

“Both of you back to your places!” Yoongi shouts and soon you’re getting back into formation. However, this time you and Jimin have to continue the conversation as he holds you and while for you this was a piece of cake, the same can’t be said for him. 

He almost avoids your eyes, the blush slowly creeping up from his neck and cheeks as the dialogue comes out too broken and scattered - making no sense whatsoever. It also feels weird for you to him to be holding you like this, not because of the actual action, but because of how stiff and uncomfortable his posture was coming off as. 

“CUT!” Yoongi stomps over, telling Jimin exactly what you were seeing as he carefully listens and somberly shakes his head. 

One interesting aspect you had come to learn about Jimin was that he doesn’t just give up. Instead of arguing and retorting back at Yoongi, he simply listens and tries to correct himself, constantly trying to improve until he gets it right. 

And its admirable because it’s considerably far different from what you would do. 

“Action!” 

“You want to see me become Queen?” You widen your eyes a little bit, looking surprised. “But why?” 

“Because I think you can rule this kingdom better than the King has.” He pulls you closer and you try not to react at how Jimin is subtly shaking in your hands. “My only wish is to see you happy Princess.” 

You blush. The suggestive romantic music plays. Jimin continues to hold you. 

However, the pure fantasized scene isn’t what bothers you, but more so how Jimin is trying to hide his severely red cheeks behind your head and only pulls you closer to subdue his shaking. It isn’t in the script, but you still try to make it appear as if he’s trying to control his undying love for you by doing such actions when you lace your arms around him. He jolts, before slowly easing in. 

“CUT!” 

He immediately sighs and relaxes, taking a deep breath when Yoongi runs over to you. “That scene was well done, so there’s no need to film it again. Jimin will have to get used to romantic scenes like this more in the future and Y/N,” He glances at you, “Nice addition at the end there.” 

Jimin glances back at you once Yoongi leaves, “T-Thanks for that.” He points behind him, “Covering up for me.” 

You just shrug, “You gave me some sensible advice last time, consider it to be repaying the favour.” You’re about to head back to your stylist to get changed when Jimin abruptly clasps onto your hand, letting go immediately after realizing what he had done. 

You raise an eyebrow, noticing that you weren’t filming in the particular moment and yet there’s a scarlet hue on his cheeks. “Are you hungry...?” 

You nod. “I was on my way to eat after this, do you want to grab a bite together?” 

Jimin’s eyes instantly light up at your question and he cutely shakes his head as you chuckle. 

“Meet me outside after changing from your costume.” 

“....there shouldn’t be anyone around, I checked the perimeters and think it will be safe for the two of you.” 

“Are you sure?” You ask, currently leaning against your sports car as you talk to Jungkook - who is adorned in his black suit and specialized hearing device attached to his left ear. 

He smiles, “I checked them twice.” 

You cross your arms, a frown on your lips, “Well I want no one finding us this time, so be on my tail and inform me in case you see something.” 

Jungkook nods, moving to secure the car door as you look outside of the set with a sigh. Soon you catch sight of the young actor, dressed in a cozy brown sweater that literally engulfs his form and clad in ripped black jeans. “Y/N!” 

He waves over to you and you give him a subtle nod as a response when he makes his way over to the car. His eyes land onto Jungkook, who is currently speaking through his phone to security and he turns to you, “Who is this?” 

“Jungkook. My trustworthy and capable bodyguard.” You smirk, “Although that last trait is debatable.” 

He sends you a small playful glare, seemingly listening in even as he’s occupied with the phone. “I’m making sure we don’t have any extra visitors like last time.” 

“Oh.” He glances down at his attire, “Should I change…?” 

“There’s no need to.” You pull out two sets of sunglasses and floppy long hats, “These should be enough.” 

A laugh escapes Jimin and he immediately covers his mouth with his sweater paws, afraid you heard him. 

“What?” 

He shakes his head, small giggles leaving his mouth, “I don’t think dressing like that will help us much, but we can try.” Taking a pair of each from you, he places the glasses on the bridge of his nose and the floppy hat lands on his head, “How do I look?” 

You smirk, doing the same, “Like a perfectly disguised Park Jimin.”

Briefly glancing at Jungkook who nods, you set out with Jimin to grab some lunch as Jungkook ensures no one is around you. In case someone does manage to recognize you, there’s a sense of relief that Jungkook will at least be able to handle them so you’re not forced to bear through a large crowd of screaming girls again. 

After a lot of searching, you and Jimin finally find a place (that even you agree with because there aren’t so many people around) and sit down, noticing the waiter give you both an odd look from the matching glasses and hats but ultimately deciding that taking your order and leaving was far more important. 

While you wait, you and Jimin get around to talking quite a bit and soon you’re indulging as to why both of you had even entered the same profession in the first place. 

‘“Have you heard of Song Hyekyo?”

Jimin has his sweater paws placed on the side of his cheeks, tilting his head to the side, “The famous actress? I remember seeing one or two of her movies.” 

“She was my role model growing up. I used to watch her movies and see how she played her characters…” You wave your hands in their air, trying to explain the experience as best as you can, “How she brought life to her characters. It was then that I knew...I wanted to be just like her.” 

Jimin has a loose smile on his lips, eyes softening as he hears you passionately speak about why you chose acting in the end, “But my parents, they were strictly against it. They told me that acting wasn’t an easy career I could pursue and in the end I would just end up failing.” You let out a small sigh, taking a bite of your sandwich, “Sometimes I think they were actually right and I should have just listened to them.”

He frowns at that, putting his hands down, “It’s great that you didn’t listen to them! You’re become such a great actress!” 

“Yeah, so great that Yoongi’s constantly on my ass for this movie.” You take another bite and Jimin clenches his fists, pouting at you. You wonder if he was getting mad from your words, but he dons such a cute expression that you find it incredibly hard to even tell. 

“I don’t think you’re as horrible as you keep thinking you are…your movies, they’re really good. Your acting is amazing to watch.”

You narrow your eyes, lowering your sandwich from your mouth as you lean closer to him, “Why do you sound like you’ve seen them?” 

“W-Well…” He bites his bottom lip, suddenly fixating his stare onto the table, “I’ve seen all of them and you were one of the few actors that inspired me to become one.” 

Your jaw drops down and your sandwich falls onto the table - completely frozen when you just stare at him. 

You never could have imagined that your work could have influenced someone to the point where they would want to become just like you, for someone to have sought out the same career path because you were acting in it. 

Jimin’s brows furrow and he slowly leans towards you, waving around his loose paw, “Y/N?” 

“I-I…” You gulp, “I’m honoured…” 

Jimin smiles at you, to the point where his eyes are submerged underneath his eyelids and his lips are curved into a huge grin, lines creasing the side of them. You on the other hand, attempt to resume eating your sandwich while trying not to make much eye contact and try your hardest to bite back the smile that keeps threatening to grace your own features. 

“It seems like you know your stuff, even though this is the first time you’ve acted.” 

Jimin sheepishly smiles, “Thank you for saying that...but it wasn’t very easy when I was starting off.”

“I grew really desperate. I wanted to act, to make people feel something when they would see me on the big screens, but I constantly got offers for modeling and doing commercials.” You raise a brow, his story somehow feeling vaguely familiar to you. 

“I auditioned so many times that I lost count and I was always rejected. Even if someone told me that I was a good actor during that time, it didn’t matter if I wasn’t passing any auditions.” 

“And that’s when I got a call from Hoseok suddenly one day, that this big director wants to cast me.” 

“I was really, really scared, I mean, you’ve seen Yoongi.” You nod knowingly. 

“But I had no other option, he was the only director willing to case me so I just went for it.” 

“And then…” He covers his cheeks again with his paws, “I found out I was being cast against you and I…” He now covers his face completely and a light laugh escapes you. 

“It does seem like you’ve struggled a lot to get here.” It’s odd, almost, how if you didn’t get this movie then you would just end up searching for another one. Although your reputation was notorious, you would’ve gotten some role with Namjoon’s privileged help and ultimately been acting once again. 

However, this wasn’t the case at all with Jimin. This movie was his only choice and he didn’t miss a heartbeat in taking it right away. You can just feel it - the constant auditioning followed by the multiple rejections, making you wonder why you weren’t good enough for the part and then having to see commercials, posters and even the chosen actor themselves afterwards. 

Swallowing down the bitter pill, that this person was more capable than you and you would probably never be given a chance ever again. 

You gaze at Jimin, eyes now flickering over to him as he happily chews down on his sandwich. He looks just like how you had first saw him - a man with pretty-like features and pure innocence abundantly radiating off of him, but he has so much more to him that you really did miss during your first encounter.

Every rose does have its own hidden petals. 

He places the sandwich down after a couple of bites and packs it away, “You’re not going to eat anymore?” 

At this point you’ve already eaten two and aside from the bites he taken now, Jimin hasn’t really touched any of his food. He softly shakes his head, “I’m not really hungry at the moment.”

You raise an eyebrow at that, but then he changes the topic, “So how do you like the story so far?” 

“Our movie’s story?” He nods, “It’s okay, I didn’t want to do a tragic romance but Namjoon insisted on it. Also the fact that my character is kind of annoying.” 

Jimin chuckles, “What about you? You play the role of the General to the point.” 

“I think the story is nice. I mean, from what I have understood, the General has always liked the Princess from afar and just wants to see her happy, so he isn’t so difficult to play.” 

Jimin drinks a sip from his glass of water as you hum, “You have a good grasp on his character, hopefully tomorrow’s kiss scene goes by smoothly.” 

He instantly chokes, pounding his fist against his chest as he stares at you in pure bewilderment, “T-The kiss scene is tomorrow?!”

You nod, “Yoongi was talking about it today, didn’t he mention it to you?” 

“I must have not been listening....” His gaze turns tense and drops to the ground. 

Your eyes flicker and you grab a napkin to wipe the crumbs from your hands, “Everyone knows the first kiss scene is the hardest for a new actor. Yoongi will probably be more lenient with you tomorrow.” 

Jimin heavily exhales, “I hope so.” 

You frown, staring at him for a mere second before tossing the napkin to the side, “And if he won’t be lenient with you tomorrow, then I will be…” 

Jimin looks to you as you avoid his tender gaze, playing around with the discarded napkin instead. “Thank you.”

You look up sternly for a moment to see his soft smile and immediately you look back down, unknowingly feeling a similar smile tugging on your lips. 

You open the door to be hit with a cold breeze, hurriedly covering your exposed arms and then tugging on a jacket. Jimin is right behind you, closing the door to the food place you were at and being dressed in only his brown ruffled sweater. 

“It’s freezing out here.” You manage to mumble out into the night sky, the temperature just feeling like it was dropping more and more by the minute. 

Jimin just nods, squeezing his eyes shut as he walks you over to your car where Jungkook is waiting for you in your driver’s seat. 

“Come on, I’ll give you a ride.” You open the door and gesture Jimin to get in, but he shakes his head. 

“I have to meet up with my manager before I go home.” He points with his head as his hands are currently encased within his sweater, “His office is nearby.” 

You have to raise your tone over the sound of the grueling breeze. “I’ll drop you off there then.” 

He begins to slowly back away from you and the car, “I’ll be fine. See you later Y/N!” 

He leaves before you can say anything else to pursue him and you remain standing there in front of the open door. “Y/N get in, it’s really cold outside.” Jungkook softly says, patiently waiting in the driver’s seat. 

With a sigh, you slip inside and shut the door. The engine roars and soon your car is leaving the premises, but outside the window all you can see the chilling breeze of the night and how pitch dark it seems. 

“Jungkook?” He hums. “How much colder is it going to get?” 

“The temperature is expected to drop more into the night.” A knowing smile is on his features as he sees your eyes still glued to the window, “And Hoseok’s office is nearby Y/N, only a short walk away.” 

You tear your eyes away, glancing to see Jungkook smiling at you from the rear mirror. You adjust yourself in your seat, crossing your arms once again. 

“I-I knew that.”

[spnsisimagines]

Chuckster Cheese

Warnings: Minor cussing I think?  Characters: Sam & Dean Winchester, Sister Winchester Reader, Charlie Bradbury, Kevin Tran Summary: Chuckster Cheese is a pizza chain for kids that might be reusing their pizza, so you decide to investigate Reader’s Age: 16+ Word Count: 1445

Y/N: Your Name

A/N: So I decided to make up a pizza chain just for fun. I kinda lost inspiration towards the end and didn’t really now how to end it so sorry if it just kinda s t o p s. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~

You laid on your stomach in your bed, your laptop open as Shane Dawson's voice filled the room. Shoving some popcorn in your mouth with one hand, you fixed the blanket that wrapped around your body and head.

You glanced over at the digital clock that sat on your dresser; it read three in the morning. With a yawn, your attention was turned to your door as a knock sounded. Sam peeked his head through the small opening. "Why are you still awake?" He asked. Dean and Sam had been out on a hunt.

"I could ask you the same thing," you retorted.

"We just got back; I'm heading to bed now. I wanted to check on you," Sam paused, "You should get some sleep,"

"Fine." You closed your laptop. Sam began to close the door before you called out to him. Sam turned and gave you his attention. "Can I have the car tomorrow?"

Sam raised an eyebrow, "You're asking the wrong person," Sam sighed and shut your door, clearly exhausted.

~~~~~~~~~~

The night went and the morning came. You got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to find your brothers sitting at the table. You walked over to Dean and wrapped your arms around his neck.

"Oh, Dean, have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"W-what are you doing?" Dean tensed, expecting something to jump out at him.

You released him and sat down, draping an arm around his shoulders. "What? Can't I show some affection to my awesome brother?"

"Not unless you want something... or broke something. Did you break something? I told you to stay out of my room!" Dean turned towards you. You glanced at Sam, who had an entertained smile on his face.

"I didn't break anything, mom-I mean my wonderful brother," it took all of your might not to insult him, Dean could be such a mother hen some times.

"What do you want?" Dean deadpanned.

"Could I have the car today?" you asked, slightly preparing for rejection.

"I guess," Dean sighed.

"Wait, really?" even Sam was surprised.

"No. D'you really think I'd let you drive, Baby? Do you even know how much driving experience you have? Not a lot," your shoulders slumped as your arm fell from his shoulders.

"Well, maybe if someone would take me driving more often then I'd have some experience, but noooo, Dean has to be obsessed with a car," you grumbled.

"You know what? Keep this up, and you'll find a bug on your pillow," Dean warned.

"Keep this up, and I'll just steal the damn car,"

Sam chuckled, "By all means antagonize the beast, see where it gets you," Dean shot him a bitch-face, making Sam laugh more.

"Come on, Dean, it won't be for very long, I'll have it back by midnight tonight. You guys just got back from a hunt! It's not like you're going anywhere,"

"Hey, I got places to go!" Dean defended.

You deadpanned, "Where could you possibly need to go? The retirement home?" Sam choked on his water, causing him to have a coughing fit.

"You're not helping your case," Dean glared at you. "Girls can't drive, plain and simple,"

Ignoring his insult, you continued your argument, "Dean! I've never asked for anything in my whole life! Just let me drive the damn car!" you begged.

"You asked for ice cream last week, you liar," Dean shot back.

You paused, "I've never asked for anything that means this much to me in my whole life," you re-phrased.

Dean sighed, taking a deep breath and thinking for a moment. "Fine," he begrudgingly agreed, "But if you so much as get a tiny scratch on that car, you're never driving again."

"THANK YOU!" you squeezed Dean, earning a groan from him.

~~~~~~~~~~

"You're probably wondering why I called you here," you sat an apartment with two people across from you.

"Technically you just let yourself into my apartment, but go on," Charlie commented.

"And I needed a break from tablet stuff," Kevin huffed.

"Either way, we're here for a very top-secret case," Charlie and Kevin looked at each other then back at you. "Chuckster Cheese, the innocent pizza chain that brings happiness and fun to all children," you paused for suspense, "Reuses their pizza."

"I'm sorry; what?" Charlie questioned.

"Okay, hear me out, you know how at Chuckster Cheese their pizza looks like a hot mess? Like the slices never line up with each other. Sam and Dean would occasionally drop me off at pizza chains for kids, and I always noticed that Chuck's pizzas were weird looking," you pulled out your laptop and started showing them pictures of pizzas, "See, look! Why is this slice so much smaller than this one? Why doesn't this cut line up with the other side? Where did that olive come from?" you stared at them, your eyes getting bigger by the second.

"You're crazy," Charlie commented.

"I thought I was the one losing my mind, but you take the cake, Y/N," Kevin responded.

"I'm not crazy, okay! Chuckster Cheese employees take all the leftover pizza and make a new pizza out of it! Let's just go to Chuckster Cheese and see for ourselves,"

"Sure, let's go to a kid's pizza chain--for kids--and hang out. A bunch of adults hanging out in a kid's pizza chain. Nothing suspicious about that." Charlie retorted.

You three sat in the car in front of Chuckster Cheese.

"So, are we gonna go in?" Charlie asked, staring at the big rat face plastered on the building.

"Uh... I'm not sure we thought this through," you admitted.

"No, no, no, you dragged us into this, we're gonna see it through," Kevin spoke from the backseat.

"Fine, let's go,"

~~~~~~~~~~

The three of you walked into the building. Bright colors and children filled your sights as the smell of pizza with a hint of vomit filled your noses.

"Delightful," Charlie commented as she watched a child cough onto the water fountain.

You all sat down at a booth and ordered two pizzas.

"So, if this pizza is all messed up, what are we gonna do?" Kevin asked.

"Throw it away?" You suggested.

"You're gonna waste the pizza?" Charlie chimed in.

You stared at her, "It's better than letting some other shmucks eat it,"

"I didn't expect this to be your favorite hangout place," Dean appeared by your table, Sam right next to him.

"What the hell are you two doing here?"

"We should ask you the same thing," Sam replied, sitting next to you as Dean sat on the other side, practically squishing Charlie and Kevin. "Why are you at a Chuckster Cheese?"

"You're gonna think I'm crazy-" Dean cut you off.

"Oh, trust me, we already do,"

You stared at him for a moment, "Fair enough, but we're here to prove that Chuckster Cheese reuses their pizza,"

"What?" Sam and Dean looked at each other.

"Okay, so when someone orders a pizza, but they don't eat it all, a worker will take the leftover pieces, and instead of throwing them away, they take it to the back and combine it with other leftover pieces to make a full pizza for another person!" you rushed your words.

"I was only slightly joking about thinking you're crazy," Dean responded as Sam laughed.

"Okay-" you stopped when a worker brought over two pizzas, setting them down in front of you all.

You all went quiet as you stared at the hodge-podge of pizza.

"I... uh... I didn't really expect to be right if I'm being honest,"

"Why would they-" Sam stopped when he saw Dean reach for the pizza and take a piece. "Dean,"

"What? It's still pizza," Dean took a bite.

"Yeah, pizza that some grubby little demon licked!" you huffed, cringing at the fact that Dean is still eating it.

"Not saying that you aren't right, because you are, but," Sam tore his eyes away from this brother to look at you and continue, "you drove all this way, dragged Kevin and Charlie here, to see if Chuckster Cheese's pizza was fresh?"

"Sam, there's a difference between serving something fresh, and serving a random person's leftovers to other people," you argued.

"I guess..." he mumbled, returning his gaze to Dean.

"Okay, I can't watch that anymore, let's leave," Charlie said, ushering everyone out of the booth.

"Did you at least find what you were looking for, Y/N?" Sam asked as you all walked outside.

"I guess,"

"Looks like the Scooby-Doo gang solved another mystery!" Dean joked.

"We didn't solve anything, Dean," you rolled your eyes.

"Well, sure, you did! You figured out that Chuckster Cheese is a cheapskate and doesn't want to waste money by throwing out old pizza,"

"Old pizza that you ate may I add," you chuckled.

"Hey, pizza's pizza,"

~~~~~~~~~~

Tags: @magicalsis11 @joanne-egberp @16wiishes @fanboyswhereare-you @athenepallas @spnkisum @jamric @oneshotsdeanshort @jensen-jarpad @capruinedmylife @bea789 @starswirlblitz @damalseer@iamflanneltrash @zeusmyster @violinmyhead @lauren-novak @evyiione@alexandriajanae4 @graceb200371 @overcastmisfitkid  @lovelaughlivesmilebright @liliafangirls @ellie-andthemachine @death-unbecomes-you @mersuperwholocked-lowlife @waddles03 @constellationscollected

I hope y’all like this one! I’m open for tips on improving!

Requested by Anonymous:  “ooooooo i have a good Chuck E. Cheese fic idea!! Could it be like maybe sister!winchester watches Shane Dawson’s vid on Chuck E. Cheese or smthng and she goes and investigates it and then S&D figure out and just some fluff and crack?”

[the-hopeless-haze]

Okay so I’m writing this for anyone who has those days where they just feel so miserable and frustrated and pissed off at the world! Cause I just had one of those days and here’s how you get by with minimal damage, from years of experience of causing damage while in this mood. Also this can be indicative of a depressive phase starting... it sometimes is for me... really hoping that it’s not the case now... but here’s some steps to get out of your funk.

Recognize WHY you are pissed off and upset and feel like crying. Figure it out. Like actually sit there and think or write or something. That helps a lot because usually there’s an underlying reason, and you can’t fix it until you realize it. Maybe there isn’t and it’s just your chronic depression or SAD but there’s probably something you could improve on in your life anyway.

Okay now you’ve got your issue. Make plans to fix what you are upset about... but don’t start today. That saying “never put off tomorrow what you can do today” is good advice, but not in this situation. Odds are you will still feel like shit and any progress you try to make will turn to hell if it doesn’t work out. You are not equipped to deal with failure today, but you might be tomorrow after you sleep.

But you can and SHOULD do stuff today. Nothing makes you feel worse than an unproductive day where all you did was sit around and feel miserable because you were sorry for yourself. So get up out of your bed and make it. Clean something. Do some homework. Practice an instrument. Even if it takes you hours to get through just push. Take breaks if you need to... but push. Do something you know you will finish at the end of the day so you feel accomplished. Don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t get as far as you wanted, focus on the fact that you forced yourself to get at least something done, which is more than you would’ve if you slacked and cried all day.

Try and move. Exercise. Go for a walk. Do some yoga. That improves my mood SO much and I should’ve done it today because I bet I’d feel even better.

Eat something! Maybe part of why you’re miserable is because you didn’t eat enough because that’s often what I do. Try and eat something healthy but even if it’s some burnt dinasour chicken nuggets, that’s something! Also drink water!

Do not try and talk to anyone today. You are miserable and you will bite their heads off. Stay home, or stay isolated. Today is not a day to work on relationships and today is not a day to ruin them. Maybe the reason why you’re like this is because your upset with someone... but wait until you’ve cooled down to confront them. The situation will become more clear in a day. People suck sometimes but they suck a lot more when they are provoked let me tell you. You don’t want to be screamed at today or get into arguments and feel even worse. Wait until you are in an improved mood to speak with them. And even if you just want to “vent”... don’t. You’re just gonna be bitchy. Just shhhh keep it to yourself. No one wants your negative headspace. Leave the people you care about alone. They want to be there for you but if you care about them you will not try and make them miserable too.

For the love of god sleep enough for the next day. Just go to bed early and you’ll feel a lot better in that regard to, ya know? Nothing’s worse than being tired and cranky.

Put things into perspective. It could be a lot worse and I’m sure you’ve probably had worse days than this in retrospect. Also though... it could be a lot better. So make a vow you’ll try and change but also recognize at least something you feel grateful for.

[kariachi]

I think this is the longest chapter so far, and I’m a lot happier with it than I was the last one.

~~

Training was rough, even if you didn’t take into account the times Rose got turned around in a fight and nearly tackled her own trainer instead of the opponent. The only local pokemon that weren’t incredibly sturdy either took the first chance to get way from a trainer and a mouth full of sharp teeth, were stupid birds that she could hardly hit in the first place, or other Deino.

They fought a lot of other Deino before Rose learned to throw herself around with a little more precision and power and they could upgrade to the flying-types. The improvement to her aim wasn’t anything spectacular, and she still missed a whole lot more than she landed blow, but she didn’t need to land as many of them to take an opponent down. Even fewer once they started practicing what Kevin was calling ‘Operation: Make It Worth It’.

Still, the pair was at it for a good two weeks- a number that niggled nastily at Kevin’s gut- before losing all patience. Rose was decked out in a pink ribbon that would increase the power of some of her moves (it’d been worth the time Kevin’d had to spend fixing the owner’s tv in exchange) as they left the Pokemon Center and headed for the gym. They’d avoided both places as much as possible ever since their loss, only returning to the Center to sleep, eat, and heal and taking a wide path away from the gym whenever they travelled the town. There’d been no need for either the risk of any attitude from Joy or a reminder of their previous failure.

There was no need to worry about that anymore. They were going to be leaving town with that gym badge by noon, one way or another.

Their entrance into the gym may as well have been an exact repeat of the last time, down to stance and attitude, were it not for the fewer bandages, more scars, and the fact the gym trainer recognized them on sight.

“Here to try again?” she asked brightly, grinning ear to ear. Even her Noctowl looked smug, and it made Kevin bristle.

“Here to win,” he replied, and magically she smiled wider.

“Oh Iiiiivaaan, tell Akash the kid’s back for a rematch.” The way the other teen scowled and stormed off at the order didn’t help Kevin’s mood any, though it did brighten some when the girl turned back to him and said “We had a bet going. He said you’d come battle us for the experience, I said a kid who leaves home alone and goes through the trouble to catch a dragon-type would never.” Kevin snorted at that.

“How much did I win you then?”

“$250.”

“And my cut?” She laughed, and Rose shuffled on Kevin’s feet at the sound.

“We’ll talk about that after you win.” That put him in a good mood. Somebody other than him and Rose had faith in them. It wasn’t common and it made something light appear in his chest every time.

By the time Akash made his way to the arena, trainer and pokemon both were in their places, ready to go.

“Not wasting any time huh,” he said with a smile, Kevin met it with a smirk and Rose’s drop into a fighting stance.

“This place is boring, we wanna be out of town by lunch.” Akash shook his head, but went to grab his pokemon nonetheless.

“Still just the one?”

“Yep.”

“Alright then.” Again, he took his place with one pokeball in hand. “The rules will be the same as last time, one v one, first to be rendered unable to battle loses.” Kevin just nodded.

The Spearow came out.

“Rose, Focus Energy!” For a moment Akash went wide-eyed as Rose began heightening her focus, then his smile widened.

“Growl!” The Spearow hopped forward, croaking endearingly at Rose. She was only confused for an instant by the action, before taking advantage of knowing exactly where it was to throw herself forward into an impromptu attack. It didn’t land, the Spearow taking to the air just in time, but the bird was clearly shaken by the close miss. Kevin’s smirk grew teeth as Rose skidded to the stop, waiting for the Spearow’s next move. They were hedging their bets that if it had a long-range move, Akash would’ve used it in their last fight to take advantage of Rose’s shit aim.

“Spearow, Aerial Ace!”

“Headbutt!” Arcing around to her side, the Spearow dove the same as it had before, and same as before Rose twisted to meet it only to be a heartbeat too slow. It hurt to see her knocked aside, but this time, thankfully, she was stronger, more durable, and she returned to her feet with little trouble and a challenging cry.

“Again!” It dove once more, and once more Rose moved to meet it. She didn’t miss this time, not technically, getting it across the legs as it rammed into her side. The little dragon tumbled away again, but this time the bird tumbled as well, thrown for a loop by the blow and arcing into a crash against the arena floor. Akash and Kevin both cringed. Rose climbed back to her feet with some effort, teeth bared and attention right where the Spearow had collided with the ground and was trying to shake off the impact.

“Headb-!” She was already in motion, throwing herself the short distance with all her might, catching the Spearow under one wing with enough momentum and force to send it flying across the arena, hitting the ground again in the far corner.

Though it’s sides heaved with exertion, it didn’t get back up.

“And the winners are- Kevin and Rose!” Kevin hardly heard the gym trainer over the pounding of his heart in his ears, forcing himself to keep his composure, his back straight and head held high as he walked over to wrap his arm around Rose once more.

“Good job, girl,” he said like it was nothing, like it wasn’t everything, and watched as Akash returned his Spearow to it’s pokeball and approached them. He pulled a small case out of one pocket and handed it out to Kevin, popping it open as he did to reveal the enameled silver and blue form of the Wing Badge already in it’s place.

“Congratulations,” Akash said to them, “that was a good strategy, making sure you could hit him as hard as possible to make up for not hitting him as often. It won’t always work, but it was smart.” Kevin began to bristle. “Since this is your first badge, I’m going to assume you don’t have a case for them. Some trainers like to wear them, but if you don’t then it’s handy.” Biting his inner cheek, Kevin nodded and accepted the case, clicking it shut and shoving it into his jacket pocket.

“Thank you,” he said, still having some manners. “It was a good fight.” Akash smiled down at him, then pulled something else out- a small usb that he also passed along to the young trainer.

“This video will help you teach your pokemon Aerial Ace,” he said. “Deino can’t learn it, but who knows, you might need a flying move that can’t miss someday.” Shoving that into his pocket as well, Kevin nodded again.

“Thanks…”

This turned out to be that, and with final quick goodbyes Kevin was able to lead them proudly back out of the gym, down the stairs into town, and into the first dark alley. As soon as he was sure nobody would see them, he collapsed to his knees, relief washing over him, and wrapped his arms around his Deino, burying his face into her dark feathers.

“You were perfect, Rosie, absolutely amazing!” He’d known (hoped) that would work, but to actually see it work- They’d done it. They’d won. It was a success.

They were an eighth of the way to the League.

[theantibridezilla]

My Smile Journey with SmileDirectClub—Part 1

If you guys follow me on Instagram you know that a few weeks ago I attended a media event for SmileDirectClub here in the city. The event was officially about how SDC (sorry it’s just too much to keep writing the whole name and this is going to be a long-ish post) is a great option for brides (and grooms!) who want to have the perfect smile when they walk down the aisle. And I actually do agree with this as your engagement period is a time when you’re the center of attention and everyone’s going to be taking your picture.

Anywho, at the event SDC offered complimentary teeth whitening and (most importantly) complimentary teeth straightening. I would have gone to this event anyway, but for sure, the offer of complimentary straightening made it a “must-attend” for me. So, as of May 28th, I began my smile journey! But how did we get here?

The backstory

So, I never had braces as a kid. For the most part, I had a great smile. And literally I just dug through old photos of me from high school and college. I had a great smile with no gaps.

But somewhere in my mid 20s, it feels like my teeth began shifting. When I look back at some of my early photos on Facebook from when I was 26/27, I can see a tell tale gap specifically between my upper two front teeth. And those gaps weren’t there in my pics from my late teens through 20/21. And as a result, I stopped smiling widely in pictures. Or, if I did, I purposely angled myself so you couldn’t get a straight-on look at me—or my gap.

Meanwhile, no one ever told me “hey your teeth need help”. In fact, most people tell me that I have a great smile. Even when I was at the SDC event this month, all the in-house PR team members kept telling me how great my smile looked! But I felt self-conscious about it, and I wanted to do something. 

The process for getting aligners

More than likely, if you’re reading this article this intently, you’ve considered getting your teeth fixed. And maybe you’re thinking of trying SDC because the idea of traditional braces is unappealing once you’re out of high school, or because traditional Invisalign is just too pricey. So, more than likely, you know the general process and you don’t need me to go into ridiculous detail. So the quick and short of it is:

1. Tuesday, May 14th I had my smile scan done at SDC’s Flatiron location in Manhattan (which is where the event took place). It’s a really painless process that literally takes no more than 15 to 20 minutes.

**If you’re debating between doing your own impressions at home or having their staff do a 3D scan of your teeth, I highly recommend that you get the scan (if there’s a location close enough to you).** This is mainly because there are a lot of things you could do wrong with the impression kit which could delay your treatment and drag out the preliminary process. Meanwhile, their scanning staff are pros and know exactly what angles to take to ensure that they’ve recorded every surface of your tooth for accurate readings.

2. 72 hours later (Friday, May 17th) I received an email with details on my potential smile. This is standard protocol if you get the smile scan. I can’t speak on timelines for people who do their own impressions. So, you’ll receive an email that links to a 3D progression of your smile showing it from your current situation to the final goal. You look it over and approve or reject and request corrections. I liked what I saw, so I approved my smile and SDC began printing my aligners.

3. A week and a half later, on May 28th my aligners arrived. Now normally SDC says that it takes 3 to 4 weeks to receive your aligners. I suspect I (and any other influencer/media member who attended the press event) got mine quickly because of the fact I was at a press event. So, don’t get cranky if yours take the standard time frame.

4. That evening on the 28th, I began wearing my aligners.

First impressions

Before I even attended the SDC event and while I waited for my aligners to arrive, I did a lot of sleuthing to see people’s feedback and reactions to wearing aligners. And while some people had bad experiences, on the whole, most people were really happy with them and offered tips to make their wearing experience as easy as possible. My smile plan has me completing my aligners by November 12th, although I’ll have my desired smile by my bday (Oct. 31).

So far, I’m on my second full day of wearing aligners on my Week 1 trays. With that in mind, here are my thoughts and a few tips I’ve learned so far:

1. SDC and most reviewers recommend you start trays in the evening. DO IT. I started Week 1 around 10 or 11PM at night. Even though I’m a night owl and was still up for a few more hours, I was able to sleep through the worst of the discomfort. It’s not that the trays or painful, but there’s serious pressure being put on your teeth. And after a while, it’ll make your mouth sore. So, if you can sleep through that, you’d rather do that.

2. No matter whether you go with SDC, Invisalign or one of the other teledentistry competitiors, you’re inevitably going to come across an aligner tray that needs minor tweaking. My first set of trays were a little sharp on the edges. So, I opted to use an emery board to smooth them so it wouldn’t cut  the inside of my mouth or my gums. But even after doing that, on my lower tray, I still had a rough edge that kept scraping the bottom of my tongue. I literally went out the other night at like 10PM and bought orthodontic wax to help cover those edges.

3. Use the outie tool. When you get your aligners, it’s actually a large box full of everything you need: all of your aligners, an outie tool, chewies, lip balm, a spacer for your mid-treatment pics, an aligner holder, and bright-on teeth whiteners. While I didn’t need the chewies for this set of trays, I use the outie religiously. A common complaint with aligners is that they’re impossible to remove by hand without damaging the trays. But if you use the outie tool, your aligners pop out easily without scraping your gums or damaging the tray.

4. I’m beginning to embrace the “aligner diet”. I swear I didn’t look at SDC as a means to a weight loss ends. But it’s a real thing and I can see why. I’m only on day 3 of my 167 day journey but the prep and process it takes to get these aligners in makes you genuinely rethink how badly you want to eat. In total you’re supposed to wear your aligners for 22 hours per day. That leaves you 2 hours to eat or drink anything other than water.

Even if you only eat 3 times a day, that’s roughly 40 minutes for you to eat and then prep to get your aligners back in your mouth. And prep includes brushing and thoroughly flossing your teeth plus rinsing your aligners. While brushing and flossing this frequently isn’t the end of the world, you suddenly have no desire to randomly snack if you have to go through this process...EVERY...TIME. On the bright side, I have about 10 pounds of pregnancy weight that might end up volunteering as tribute to my new smile.

5. After a while, you prefer to keep your aligners IN. Aside from eating and drinking, I prefer to have my aligners in my mouth. Within the first 12 hours, I got used to the pressure the aligners put on my teeth. So much so, that when I removed my aligners to eat breakfast, my mouth felt funny and uncomfortable. My teeth don’t feel sensitive IN my aligners, but when I take them off, they feel fragile. I know that they’re not, but it’s how it feels.

6. Embrace softer foods in the beginning. As I’m still in Week 1, my mouth is still a little tender. So, I’m not out here trying to eat corn on the cob or bite into fresh apples. On my first day, my first meal was a bowl of soup. I’m not saying you can’t enjoy anything solid, but maybe go for foods that don’t require you to bite down hard for the first week or two.

7. I can tell which teeth are being moved. With my smile plan, only my front 12 teeth (6 top and 6 bottom) are being moved. So, the back of my mouth isn’t going to have any change at all. Right now with Week 1 it feels like my front right teeth are being shifted since they’re feeling the most pressure.

So, that’s the lowdown on how I’m doing with my aligners so far. I’ll post a video in a bit which goes into more detail on how the experience has been to start. And I’ll be checking in on a monthly basis until my smile journey is complete this Fall!

If you’re thinking about taking the plunge and improving your smile—especially if you have a wedding coming up—then make it a little easier with this cool promo. When you use code TABSMILES you can choose between a free Smile Shop Scan or 50% off the cost of an Impression Kit, and save $100 on aligners. Head on over to www.smiledirectclub.com to start your smile journey!  

This post contains affiliate links so I may receive compensation if you click on the links.

[ifightmywarswithfingerguns]

People say life teaches you the hardest lessons of all and you shoudl learn from those lessons. (insert qupte herer) However, I feel that it isn't life teaching you it is you, you tech yourself these things because they're your experiences and only you can decide how you feel and how you want to live your life. Yes, these are always outside influences. Up the unlimited decisions are always made.by you and you're the one who has to live with said decisions. No one else I the world knows what you want and no one else but you knows how you feel. So why shouldn't the person who is with yo the most by the one who lobes you the most? Life is full of old but I feel the most important love one should feel is the love for themselves. How much you love yourself depends on how you perceive yourself and who you think you are. If you base your self perception on the feelings of others you'll always be unsure of who you are because you are differ t and hold different meanings for different people. Your mother sees a different person than your best friend and you teacher may know more about you than the. Other combined but only you know who you all. Who you are is. On prized of all these things, it is the whole picture not just the pieces taken by different people.

A lot of this perception takes place in our own minds because how we see ourselves is reflected in all of our actions, someone who feels poorly about themselves may nto stand as straight or walk with a certain swager as soemone else who is confident in themselves. And in today's world with the ever constant attack on your girls in the media I find it more difficult to find girls who can honestly say they lvoe themselves and take pride in how intelligent, beautiful, and witty they are. If you ask a woman if they are aware of their beauty they shy away and find 50 things ":wrong" with themselves within twenty seconds because they have a list in their heads of their flaws. It is alwyas there when we're out buying clothes or watching a movie there is a pressure to look, act, and dress adn certian way to be considered attractive. Go to the store and pick up a tabloid and i gaurentee you'll see it plastered everywhere of "how to loose weiht, makeup tips to look better, and hwo to get/please a man." We are tarught that it is our goal to confomr to what the male gaze desrires fom us adn become that no matter how unrealistic. I vividly rememebr thinking if i read all the magazines and dress like them and looked like them aht boys owuld like me and i would be completley happy with every aspect of my life. Thankfully that never happened because I am a different person nwo and how I fel about myself is how every girl/woman shold feel about herself and that is loved. Every woman should love herself for all that shee is because all the media we see isn't real and none of it will ever make you happy with yourself. The media is made that way to make you spend money trying to look like these women who are photoshopped or diet and starve themelves in order to look the wway they do. It is a vicious cycle but it is on ethat can be broken. So that little girls don't grow up and skip meals because it'll make tem prettier. So they grow up to be women who own thier bodies prudly and aren't afraid to say "yes, i am beautiful.". I love body positivity and sein women lvoe thier bodesi no matter how much hair, fat, or stretch marks they have on them. I also love seing women complimenting each other instead of competing to be the prettiest in the room to gain male attention. There is so much propoganda tearing women down that it is empowring and heatwarming to see them wake up and shun the idea that they should be anythin other than what they are. That they should o to extremes to "fit in". Quit frankyl if you don't love yourself of rall that you are you will never be happy ith how you look there will alwyas be somethin ot be fixed. As soon as oyu stop lookin on the ouside for balidatio your life will imporve and your confidence wil improve because if you build youself up with the compliments from men thier criticisms will tear you down. So you become your own bricks abd rebuild yourself and your self image to one taht you like. So you take a look inside yourself and hwo you are to amke taht person better and make thsat person one who loves themelf. 

I am so adament about htis because I was trapped in the world of pandering to the male gze and constnaly fhanign my appreacne to get them to like me which  nveer worked or bsing my self confience on how others saw me and i was miserable. I was depressed, suicidial, and quite frankly i ahted myself and my body image. I still  struggle with my body image because it has been engraved into my brain dn way of thiking of hwo i hsould look adn i have to stop myself form thinmkin gthat way. I am admaent about his becaue i wasted years of my life and destroyed my body for a peive of mind i never got. I am a recovering annorexic and although it has been four years since i "quit" it has never left me. It is an ever looming shadow on my life because it is a constant thing when you have it. I was always counting calories and doing anything not to eat to avoid gaining weight. I exercised excessivly and i remember almost passing out at every workout session i would go to because i hadn't eaten htat day. I had a system of going three days without eating and on the third day maintaing a one-thousand calorie limit. It was toture but i was losing weiht and i gauged the weight by how easily you could see my bones. I pradiesd myself everytime i could see them a little bit more. I cursed myself whenever I did eat on the third day calling myself names like fat, worthless, and weak. Not only di di curse myself i punished myself for eating so much with mroe exercise or waiting an extra day to eat. I thin that was the biggest struglle of all, eating. Every bite felt like i was getting fatter and it was as trule ot force myself to eat a single bite. Every swallow felt like it was stuck in my throat and like i should go vomit ot keep it from getting ot my stomach. it was an awful feeling in multiple asy but mainly becase i love food i love eating and tastin things but i oculdn't llow myself the one htin i lvoed. An incidnet i had where i felt the weakest were When my mother made my favorite mamwhich which i love to death but i couldn't brin myself to eat it even though th esmell was intoxicating. So i went o bed with no dinner that night to get up in the morning and get ready for shcool. I wasso desperate for it i got a spoon adn just tastd it. It was loruious they savyory and salty i even chewed it a little bit but i could not le tmyself swallow it. So i we tot eh sink and spat it out and even went as far as to wsh ti task out my mouth because i couldn't even swallow that it woud be cheating. It was constant and thw rost part was i ot compliments on ym weiht loss. The compliments pushed me to continue even further because i knew it was working. I thrived off of the compliment sbecause it meant my heard work was paying off. Adn you don't get that kind ofprasie from reovery you get digusted looks like " you really let youserlf go". Or irls would be nasty in school like the usually are and i heard comment on haw faat i've gotten and horrible giggles from these gaggles of girls. Recovery is one of ht e toughtest things I ever had to go through and i had to go through it alone because no one knew about it. I coudn't let anyone know about my anorexica and peopel to this day don't know abut it because i kpeti tso well hidden. Although my eatin habits are back and i'm at a normal weigh tnow i still feel the thoughts creep up on me. i still ahe htoughts of "wow you're fat" and i have to tell myelf "yes, i have fat but i'm happy and fat is not a negative thing ot be. Fat is not a person or a noun it is an adjective to describe something and shoudn't define my entie person and how i fel abiout myself. i have fat and taht is kay and the more i accept that the happier i am with myself and the tiem i spent worryign about hwo i looked turned into learnign about why i felt that way and learnig more about myself and the wordl aroudn em. In the years since my recovery I have become mroe eduacted and acepting and aware of the world around me and I feel better for it. I feel mroe empathethic adn it gives me hope fora brihter future where i can be even better than the prson taht i am nw. I always want to learnadn grow ad I hope to ive that experince to someon eelse via my time in college and far after. I want ot encourage women to love themselves and every part of them becaue they desreve to. Because no one should have to go through what i went thorugh and because these girls are worth much mre than thier measurments. They are doctors htey are mothers they are terachers and daughters firefighers senators and presidnets. Women are amazing and capable creatures who deserve to feel some self love  and that is not soomething life will teach you. that is something you ahve to teaf. to love yousrelf deeply and with no bounds. The love the should feel for thiemselves should equal the ones they read about in reomance novels  unconditional.  It took some a long time to get where I am in loving self and who I am and I even falter sometimes when I overheard mean comments and I start to think badly of myself. I have to physically and mentally stop myself and dispute whatever it is that was said about me because I can't let myself jnternalize it. If I internalize it Nd take their opinion a truth I begin to be,I e it and become self deprecating. And now that I am in a better place i still see. Y peers whose still I the negative space that I was in and I even hear my mother and sister picking at their bodies and h Ow they wish they were different or skinnier. And I want to explain how it is a via thing to search for and to try to be. Skinny and healthy do no correlate nor does skinny and happy. It is a long process to love yourself. It is a daily regime of stopping negTive behaviors and correcting them. Small comments like oh I'm so fat or I couldnstandtk lose weight wear your self sped teem. It's about stopping yourself from those thoughts and placing them with I'm amazing and wonderful. Another thing is a denoting compliments 9/10 women will deny any compliments as if they aren't true but accepting them is accepting yourself and agreeing that ueah I am cute or adorable or whatever it is. I never wit any girls to go through the struggle that I went through especially. Yniece. These little things these Mir agrees ions add up over time and really affect how you see yourself and it starts at a young age. Children can be cruel especially she it comes to weight and Eve. Adults are cruel. I remember as a child it was a joke in the family how fat I was but it really stuck with me as I grew up that this I show people see me and bow people see me matters. And I've learned that it doesn't that it is how I see myself and how I h

[literalloserforhanzo]

The Movies And Their Magic

Hanzo x Reader AU where you’re a nerdy student, who lost hope in dating (no feminist tho) and your friend Angela drags you to a Blind date with Hanzo And Genji

Tags: 

Hanzo is sexy

So is Genji

y’all nerds

 I feel like this needs a second part to be valid

Warnings: I’m new at the fanfiction game so if stuff looks wattpad-ish I’m sorry in advance. Comments and suggestions 4 improvement would be damn nice <3 

The movies and their magic

“I'm so glad, that I can always count on you!” looking into her portable mirror, your best friend fixed her lipstick. You looked out of the tram window and sighed. “As if I had a choice....”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, it's not like I'm dragging you into a boring museum or anything, it's the movies! And don't forget, that I'm paying your ticket and popcorn, so I can't see why you are complaining.”

“I guess you're right.”

You didn't have anything better to do anyway. If you didn't agree, to accompany your best friend to her double date, you would be hanging in your room alone. Probably watching Netflix and eating a bag of chips. It was Friday night after all and what do loners do on Friday nights? Well usually, not sitting in the tram in a short pink dress, with fitting heeled sandals.

It wasn't the first time for you to go on a date, actually it would be the fifth. You just didn't have the best experience dating. All guys you got to know seemed to be stuck up and not the brightest. That formed your image of most men being whiny, needy creatures. Going on dates and being disappointed every single time, was tiring and left you both exhausted and unsatisfied. Given those factors, plus this being basically a blind date , your joy was limited. Your friend looked at your frowning face and suddenly started giggling to herself. “What's so funny?” you raised a brow at her.

She hummed, “I can't wait until you see Genji's brother. If you haven't cheered up already after you get your popcorn, then you will when you see who your date for tonight is.”

“Is he anything like Genji? No offense but ...” -“Yeah, I get it but no, not at all. They might be brothers but they're completely different from each other.” “Thank god!” you laughed, your friend softly hitting your leg and rolling her eyes. Honestly, your friends crush wasn't that bad of a guy. He was kind of loud and attention seeking but he was also a polite and honest guy. When you first met him, you were pretty surprised by his strong appearance and how respectful and well mannered he was for someone, who falls straight into your category of annoying, flirtatious men.

The tram arrived and the both of you walked towards the cinema. The closer you came to the cinema, the more you wondered if it was a good idea. Your friend had asked her crush out on watching a movie and he declined, saying he already promised his elder brother to watch it but as blunt and ruthless as your friend is, she suggested to bring a friend along as well and make it a double date. It surprised you, that he instantly agreed to that and wondered, why the company of a second girl made such a great difference but your thoughts didn't linger on that topic for too long.

Your friend insisted, that you'd wear one of her dresses and go full glam with your makeup. She stated “you need to do this for yourself, your worth the effort so make it.” She wasn't wrong, you did like putting effort into your appearance and you enjoyed being looked at by others, for longer than necessary but it also made your expectations of the evening go higher, along with your hopes and that was the problem.

“Angela! (Y/N)!”

You were cut out of your thoughts, when you saw a slim, green haired boy wave at you, from the other side of the street, smiling brightly into your direction.

Angela giggled. “Unbelievable . Shouting our names just like this.”

You looked around Genji but he seemed to be standing there without company.

Did he come alone? That would be the worst, you didn't want to be the third wheel.

Your friend and you crossed the road and greeted your date.

“My brother and I just arrived a few minutes ago so he went to the bank to pick up some cash.” Genji looked into your eyes and smiled kindly. “He should be back any second.”

You nodded and gave a polite smile back. You couldn't judge your friend, the guy was handsome and kind as well. His hazel eyes locking your focus on them like a strong magnet.

Suddenly his gaze wandered higher and his arm raised in sync .”Hanzo, they're here!”

You noticed Angela blushing into the direction Genji was facing, before turning around yourself, just to do the same. The sight in front of you left you kind of speechless. A guy with long, open, pin straight black hair approached you, his broad shoulders intimidating and his dark clothing framing his muscular figure perfectly. You would be a liar if you'd deny the fact that he was an attractive man. Still, you remembered the last time you dated an attractive guy and instantly regained your posture and your cold attitude. The guy shook both you girls hands and the four of you entered the cinema, with your friend and her date walking in front of you, more in love than it should be legal, and you and Hanzo walking behind them, not exchanging a word. You disliked silence but were grateful, that he wasn't annoying and forcing small talk onto you. That gave you time to think and wonder, how this night would continue.

Many new movies launched this week, so the cinema was jam packed with teens, families and young students, waiting in line to see the sequel to beloved flicks. While your friend used the time waiting, taking selfies with her crush you decided to start a light conversation, hoping to set the mood.

“How did you like the last part ? Were you disappointed by the antagonists sudden change of character as well? It's been well criticized for doing so.”

He looked up from reading an advertising sign and faced you, the corners of his lips slightly rising. “I found it fitting, it would have been boring to see him do what everyone expected him to do.” You nodded in agreement. His deep voice continued . “I've read the book and they left a certain part out, that would have made his sudden outburst much more understandable.” “Oh so you already know what's going to happen?” Subconsciously you started to bite your lips, listening to the man speak. You didn't notice but it made him stutter for a moment. “No I don't. I kept myself from reading past the last films action so I can enjoy the movies. The actors are very talented and since the book has so much extra information, it is not boring to read it again.” You smiled and gave an understanding nod. He placed a strand of his loose hair behind his ear and looked at the length of the row in front of you . For the rest of the waiting time you occasionally exchanged opinions about the movie's plot and annoying things about the franchise.

Time passed by faster than expected and you could actually feel that knot of discomfort inside you open and vanish. Being big fans of the trilogy, whose finale you were about to watch, all of you decided to go with the movies menu, which included a huge portion of popcorn and a big plastic bottle, shaped like a goblet. You four were lucky to get the last ones in stock, gathering looks of jealousy by the children behind you in line. A kid even started crying and got yelled at by his mother, having Angela and Genji struggle holding back their laughter. You were curious to see Hanzo's reaction to the occurrence and were surprised, to see him totally unaffected by his surroundings, taking a sip of his drink while looking out for the right hall. You blushed and took a sip of your drink before anyone could see the smile creeping onto your lips.

It made you happy to see, that unlike his brother and the customers before you, he had no intention to brag about a ten dollar plastic cup in front of children. It was something to expect from a guy his age but the others around you proved , that not everyone liked to act their age.

One stairway later you had reached the hall and made your way to your seat. You didn't know what to be more exited about, the movie or talking about it with your date afterwards.

Two hours later the lights of the cinema lit up and signed, that it was time for a break. Each part of the trilogy was three hours and a half long, with a twenty minute break in between. The crowd made their way outside and the four of you gathered around a small, round table in front of the hall, excitedly talking about what you had seen so far and all your feelings about it. The conversation was very energetic and had you forget, how little you were looking forward to coming here in first place. Ten minutes passed and Angela decided to grab another drink before the break was over, dragging Genji with her, before he could suggest you two to join them. You didn't see clearly but you could swear you saw her wink at you before disappearing behind a corner.

After comparing the theories you had before the film, to what you knew now, Hanzo excused himself to use the restroom and left you smiling. You decided to use the time alone to check up on your makeup in your pocket mirror . You looked, just like you looked when you left the house, hair and makeup sitting perfectly but now you were actually smiling, and that was something you had not seen yourself do in a long time. Your lipstick was slightly worn off by the popcorn you ate so you started reapplying it, when you felt someone approach you. Expecting Hanzo, you raised your head but standing in front of you was a stranger. A tall guy with a leather jacket and ripped jeans looked at you, grinning widely. “Are you watching “Of Thrones and Rings III” aswell?” Obviously, why else would you sit in front of the hall, the only hall on that floor? “May I?” Before you could think of an answer the guy was sitting next to you. “So are you here alone?”

Oh no. You hated these guys the most. They forced themselves on you and had a matching, annoying answer no matter what you said. “No I am here with my friends.” “Oh ? Are they grabbing a snack before the film goes on?” You nodded and took your phone out, hoping it would display your lack of interest. “So don't you want to get a new drink or snack as well? I would love to treat you to some ice cream. You would have to share with me of course...” He looked into your eyes and bit his lip. “No thanks, I'm fine. “ You smiled and turned away from him, wondering when he would get the hint. “Oh come on, don't leave me hanging like this. You seem to be pretty bored anyway, how about you watch the movie with me instead ? The seat next to me is empty and if you don't want me to treat you, you could at least keep me some lovely company, what do you say?”

You got up from your chair. You didn't want to make things so dramatic and instantly regretted it but you didn't know what else to do. “No thank you, I want to watch it with my friends.” You held onto your bag tight out of discomfort, which he noticed. He got up too and came closer to you. “Whoa there , why are you actin' like this now, am I scaring you? Don't worry, I don't wanna harm you, I just want to watch a movie with this beautiful girl I just met. Now let's go in, the movie is about to beg-” “I think no means no, don't you think so as well?” Your heartbeat rapidly increased when Hanzo suddenly stood behind the both of you. He grabbed the guys hand and pulled it off your arm. “What the hell, let go of me, who called you over? Can't you see, that we're busy?” Hanzo didn't let go of his arm and looked him in the eye with a stern, unreadable expression. “Can't you see, that she has no interest in spending time with you? Besides she told you, that she wants to see it with her friends. As far as I can judge, you are not one of them so why don't you just leave her alone?” The guy grunted and yanked his hands off Hanzo's strong grip. He rubbed the part he was held on and walked away mumbling something about Idiot and stupid girl. You two watched him walk away before looking at each other, both not knowing what to say.

“I … “ you started. “Such an annoying nagger, I don't get why guys try to talk to a girl after she tells them, that she's not into it. “ He shook his head. “It's not only uncomfortable but you're also making a  fool out of yourself. It's disrespectful.” You opened your mouth to say something but before you had the chance, Genji and Mercy were back with another pack of popcorn and a bag of candy.

The four of you entered the hall and the movie continued, fascinating each of the visitors. The big fight was almost over and many truths revealed. The crowd was shouting things at the actors and Angela, who was sitting on your left, started whispering something to Genji about the recent event. You glanced to your right to steal a look of Hanzo, wondering what he thought of the change of plot. He was completely drawn to the screen. His eyes reflecting the scene of his favorite heroine avenge her family, with the power she had gained, growing in size as she was doing exactly what Hanzo had in mind for her. You didn't realize you were staring until you heard Genji and Angela giggle and whisper something about “these two” and “so in love”. The loud sound of weapons clashing onto each other pulled your attention back to the movie and didn't leave you until it was finished.

When you left the cinema, everyone around you was chatting loudly, with half the people on their phone probably posting about the movie. You stretched and watched Genji and Angela walk before you smiling and laughing cheerfully. Hanzo, standing a tad away from you,was on the phone aswell, explaining to his dad in English, where he and Genji were right now. He was now saying something in Japanese, voice deep and calm. You realized how soothing his voice was. You could listen to him speak about the movie forever. This reminded you, that the date was technically over. Eyeing Hanzo sadly, you took out your phone and answered the few messages you had gotten over the hours. “So did you enjoy yourself (Y/N)?” ,Genji was suddenly next to you. Locking your screen you smiled at him, “Yeah a lot actually, hahah. I'm glad Angela brought me along. I had a lot of fun.” The young boy smiled victoriously and looked at his watch, only to lose his smile again. “Damn, I actually wanted to walk you girls home but the both of us are going to write an exam tomorrow and our father is already stressing Hanzo out over the phone. I hope you can forgive us?” He smiled coyly. You smiled brightly in return. “I guess I'll let it pass this time.”

“Thanks a lot, dinner is on us next time, to make up for it.” Angela returned and Hanzo's phone call seemed to have finished as well. Genji took Angela's hand and gently gave it a kiss. You rolled your eyes but giggled at the gesture, laughing it off.

“It was a honor to spend the evening with you but for the night, we need to excuse ourselves.”Genji stated. Angela approached him and pulled him into a tight hug. They left you and Hanzo looking at each other , unsure what to do. “It was a pleasure to meet you.” You smiled at him brightly and he returned, “I can only give that back, It's nice to meet someone else, who finds the second part of O.T.A.R. As overrated.” You both laughed for a few seconds and then looked into each others eyes for what felt like an eternity. “So …. I heard you haven't watched the Spin off yet?” You began, “The others haven't either, I'd say we continue where we left off today … maybe next weekend?” You raised a brow and Hanzo nodded. “I'll ask my dad” he joked. “Is he really that strict?” “Not really, I was joking, he takes our education very seriously tho, too serious in my opinion but hey, parents...” The conversation silenced out and you just looked at each other hiding a playful grin. “I'm looking forward to next weekend.” His words made you blush. You took a step towards him and he took the hint, wrapping his arms around your small waist. Your cheek rested on his muscular chest and all you heard was your deafening heart beat. You breathed in slowly, afraid he could hear you, the smell of an expensive cologne hitting your nose. “...because of the incident earlier I, ... I haven't thanked you yet.“ His thumb ran across your skin slowly sending a chill down your back. “Not for that, guys like that will never know when they've reached the limit .”

The both of you let go in the same moment, Genji tapping his back and reminding him, that his father was waiting at home.  The entire way home Angela talked about Genji non stop. “... and then.... (Y/N) he looked into my eyes and bit his lip and I think it's Official, I , am in love.” You nodded, letting out an exhausted huff. “So tell me (Y/N) did something happen while we went to get snacks?”

You told her the story and how Hanzo came back the right moment and her eyes lighted up hear you talk about his action. “Oh my god (Y/N) I think he likes you,  I didn't lie when I said he's handsome right? There is no way you can deny that, …. I can see you blush, you're as red as a tomato.... (Y/N) are you possibly in loove?” She joked around how she saw you stare at him during the movie and proceeded to talk about how the next weekend your outfit was gonna be even better and how he wouldn't be able to resist you if you would just put them damn false lashes on. You were pretty sure he wouldn't even care about something like that but for the sake of your friend, you decided to agree. Your friend and you parted ways and you threw yourself onto your bed instantly, tired of the eventful afternoon. After a few thoughts you decided to grab your phone and text your date. To your surprise, you got an answer almost in an instant.

“GL on your exam tomorrow :) “

“Thanks a lot hahah, just closed my textbook.... I'm about to pass out zzzz”

You smiled because of the ridiculous looking emoji he sent.

“Yeah I bet you studied enough, sleep is important you know!”

“You're the one to talk, I heard from Genji, that you like to binge watch series at night, how are you planning on staying up in class like that?”

“Is that your dad talking ;D ?”

“Damn, your right.....”

“:D”

“Anyway, I don't wanna leave you waiting for a response while I sleep,so Good night!”

“Gn <3”

You instantly regret being so fast at typing. What was that heart for just now?! After all, you just met him today! On the other hand, it's just an emoji, right? You just hoped he wasn't taken aback by it or thought you wanted to rush things. Your phone buzzed and nervously you unlocked your screen.

“<3 Sleep well :) ”

You put your phone away and buried your head in your pillow. Your entire body was buzzing with happiness and you felt like the kind of silly teen you ranted about in your head earlier.

“You too :)”

You totally couldn't wait until next weekend.

[regulusirius]

Cookies

Masterlist

plot: People in the tower have been eating Y/N’s cookies all day and she has had enough. Steve tries to make the situation better by making her some cookies on his own.

pairing: Steve Rogers x female reader

word count: 1440

warning: fluff, a bit of swearing 

a/n: feedback is always appreciated!!!

Y/N searched through every drawer, cabinet and even the entire pantry. She looked at the enormous communal kitchen in the Avengers compound in anger pushing the loose strands of hair from her ponytail out of her face. Someone had eaten the cookies that she had just purchased from the store not even a few hours ago.

“I’m living with wolves,” she mumbled to herself, unsure if she should go out and by some more of her favorite chocolate chip cookies. She looked around the pristine kitchen, seeing the new double steel oven, a top of the line mixer and all the other many appliances around not being used, and an idea sparked into her head.

“FRIDAY all this stuff works right.”

“All applications are fully operational, Miss. Y/L/N ,” the A.I answered her quickly.

“Well someone ought to use all this stuff then,” with that she made her way over to her phone and found a recipe for her favorite cookies. Sure, it had been a while since Y/N had done some baking, with mission and training taking up most of her time, but now was the perfect time to get back into the hobby.

A bag of chocolate chips and an entire Twenty One Piolets album later, the cookies were ready. She smiled down at the platter, her mouth already watering at the sight of them. Y/N was only able to eat one cookies before realizing that she was late for training with Natasha, leaving the large platter unattended too.

Not even a few moments later Steve and Sam walked into the kitchen after a long run around Central Park.

“I almost past you near the Alice and Wonderland statue and you can’t even deny it man,” Sam smirked as they entered the room.

“Sure, keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep-,” Steve paused smelling the freshly baked cookies on the granite counter, “who made these?”

Sam followed Steve’s eyes seeing the chocolate cookies not looking away from them, “I don’t know, who can even cook here let alone bake?”

“I honestly thought you were the only one. Well whoever it was, they must have left them here for everyone right,” Sam nodded with him in agreement signaling them for the two to dig to the delicious platter.

Once the two of them started eating the cookies, they could not stop. When there was two cookies left, Tony walked in, stomach growling looking for something to eat, only to find Steve and Sam sitting around stuffing their mouths with the chocolate chip cookies.

“What are you guys doing,” Tony walked towards them, facing the two men who had crumbs all over their figures.

“Only eating the best cookies ever made,” Sam, announced grabbing another cookie to eat, “did you buy these?”

  “No, but don’t mind if I help myself,” Tony smiled as he picked up the last cookie from the lilac platter and took a large bite out of it.

“ANOTHNOY EDWARD STARK,” Tony jumped, dropping the cookie, as Y/N shouted his name from across the room, “what the fuck do you think you’re doing,” she stomped over to the counter.

“What, I’m just eating a cookie-one cookie, unlike these guys,” he pointed to Steve and Sam who were attempting to slowly leave the kitchen without Y/N noticing.

“Oh no, STEVEN GRANT ROGERS, SAMUEL THOMAS WILSON you get your butts back here,” her anger frightened them as they slowly backed up back into the room, “why’d you think you could eat an entire plate of cookies without asking if anyone else wanted them?”

“They were out on the counter, and you know-“

“No I don’t know Wilson, when I see food out on the counter I don’t eat all of it without saying anything to anyone. Come on guys, I was gone for like an hour.”

“Wait did you make these Y/N,” she glared at Steve, “well they were really great,” he lowered his voice avoiding her piercing eyes on him.

“I know that Steve. I only had to make the damn cookies because someone ate the ones that I bought this morning,” it was Tony’s turn to slowly try to walk out of the room.

“Don’t you dare Stark or else I will trash your suits.”

“Now that’s just cruel and you know it kid,” he stopped and turned to face her, “you should label your food if you don’t want anyone one to eat it,”

“I don’t mind if you guys eat my food, just don’t eat all of it before I can eat some,” she huffed glaring at all of them once again, “I’m going to take a shower.”

The three men looked at each other in silence, unsure on how to fix the situation, only to hear Natasha’s giggles from the other side of the room.

“And how long have you been sitting there,” Sam turned to face the redhead who was on the sofa.

“Oh I saw all of it, nice job you guys on eating two things of Y/N’s cookies and it isn’t even one o’clock yet,” she smirked walking over to them to lean against the counter, “and now Rogers is never going to get Y/N to go out with him.”

“What, no I don’t want go out with Y/N. We’re just friends,” he avoided his friend’s eyes as they laughed at his embarrassment.

“Yea and I didn’t eat over a dozen cookies today,” Sam mumbled earning him a shove from Steve.

“Come on Rogers the entire compound knows you like Y/N. The sexual tension between you two, when she isn’t yelling at you, is actually getting kind of out of hand,” Tony pointed out as he went to sit by his friend.

“Fine, say I did like her, there is no way she would go on a date with me now, she’s angry at me.”

“You could make it up to her by maybe making her favorite cookies, oh look I just texted you the recipe,” Natasha smirked walking out of the kitchen.

“Have fun with that man. Hey Stark, want to show me the improvements you made on redwing,” Sam blurted out as the two left the kitchen quickly before Steve could ask them for help on the baking.

“Okay FRIDAY you’re going to have to somehow help me with this,” Steve mumbled as he pulled up the recipe.

He may have burnt the first batch, but eventually the cookies were made, even if it took double time to make, and they did not even taste that horrible. Looking down at the cookies, he told FRIDAY to ask Y/N could come down to the kitchen, as he sat on the barstool nervously waiting for her.

“What did you eat more of my cookies,” she joked as she walked in a few moments later.

“No, and I’m really sorry about that,” he smiled hoping she still was not angry with him.

“It’s fine, I may have over reacted just a bit,” she laughed, “I was just really excited to have some cookies; I have a bit of a sweet tooth.”

“Well, about that, I made you some of those cookies that I ate, Nat told me they are your favorite,” he motioned to the cookies on the same platter that Y/N had placed hers on.

“Oh you didn’t have to do that,” she bit her lip looking at the chocolate chip cookies.

“It’s the least I could do after this afternoon, so here’s a whole platter for yourself,” Y/N smiled at Steve thanking him for the cookies before taking a bite into one, “they probably aren’t as good as yours, but I hopefully they are edible.”

“No Steve they’re good,” she bit her lip again avoiding his eyes.

“You don’t have to lie; I know they aren’t that great. To be fair I don’t remember the last time I baked.”

“We’ll then these are really great for the experience you’ve had,” she giggled putting the cookie down.

“Let me take you to that bakery you love in SoHo so you can get some edible cookies,” his blue eyes met hers as he offered her a smile.

“I would love that,” she smiled back at him, picking up the cookie once again.

“How about tomorrow around noon,” he asked her.

“It’s a date,” she said and as soon as the words left her mouth her checks turned bright red.

Before she could say anything else, Steve agreed, “It’s a date.”

“Great, I’ll just take these, they aren’t that bad,” Y/N walked back to her room, with the platter of freshly baked cookies unable to wipe the smile off her face.

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[everlarkficexchange]

Kat-Eye

Written by: @567inpanem

Prompt 44: Katniss is hired as a writer for Hallmark cards ….. [submitted by @thegirlfromoverthepond]

AN: My thanks to @thegirlfromoverthepond for the excellent prompt I couldn’t resist which inspired me to try writing a story for the Everlark Fic Exchange!

My thanks to @javistg and @xerxia31 for the opportunity to participate in all the fun at Everlark Fic Exchange. 

Javistg, I never would have attempted a story without your encouragement. I am so grateful for your enthusiasm and the generous time you spent helping me improve. Thanks for being a great teacher and sharing your expertise. I learned so much and had so much fun, it was like a game finding all the things wrong with my storytelling and grammar and fixing them one-by-one. The biggest compliment I can pay you is to say that I think I want to write another story! Through the experience I certainly appreciate fanfic writers even more. Thanks so much. XXXOOO

Peeta’s pace picked up at the roar of uninhibited laughter. He found his co-workers around the conference table laugh-crying, some doubled over gasping for breath.

“What’d I miss?”

Wiping tears from his face, Finnick choked out something about “Katniss.”

Peeta grinned like he’d won the lottery. “What’d she do now?”

Across from them Jo slapped both palms down, drew an exaggerated breath, and gleefully began recounting the latest “Kat-Eye” (short for “Katniss Incident” which became a thing not long after the new girl began working at Hallmark and earned herself a reputation for social blunders).

“You know how Brainless inhales those cheese buns you bring in every Monday?”

Peeta’s blue eyes sparkled. Biting his lower lip, he gave a quick nod.

“Well,” Jo continued dramatically, “she couldn’t stop raving about how good they were–how she tasted some asiago or some other shit–how you’re so creative and have amazing hands…moaning through her very loud and very public oral orgasm…bragging about how she could eat every…last…one …”

Peeta barely breathed.

“…how she could out-eat every man at the table,” she emphasized with a wicked smile.

Peeta swallowed. “Yeah?”

Jo held her spread fingers near her mouth and swiped the tip of her tongue across her lips. “So, licking her hands clean, she blurts out: I could eat you all under the table!”

Peeta guffawed, “No! She didn’t!”

“She did!” cackled Jo. “And the entire place goes still. For seconds, nothing. Then we all lost our collective shit! That will never make me not laugh. Twenty years from now I can be at a funeral, think of that, and I’ll laugh.”

“Who all was there?” Peeta needed to know.

“Just the guys. The girls were all down at that monthly weigh-in diet thing they’re doing together. But the cafeteria was packed at that hour.” Jo chortled, “Who’d’ve thought Miss Pure would be clueless enough to confuse a brag with a blowjob!”

Just then Haymitch entered the room. “Alright, children, let’s get started. I’m expecting a call, so let’s see how much we can get through.”

In his wake, a scowling Katniss silently slipped in and, without meeting anyone’s eyes, took a seat beside Annie who gave her a gentle pat hello on the shoulder.

For two hours Haymitch worked his way down his agenda like he always did, efficiently and acerbically, before coming to Katniss. “Katniss, what’s going on with the budget Easter cards?”

Katniss hesitantly asked for more time.

“Show me what you’ve got so far,” he ordered.

“Can I show you in private later?” she requested softly.

“What? Hell no. Meeting with the new girls in private is how my predecessor Crane got fired, and I have 43 months left before I’ve earned my pension. Go.”

Katniss’s annoyance spiked as her co-workers, sensing an impending Kat-Eye, leaned forward. She cleared her throat and tried to ignore them.

“Well, most of the nearly completed pieces are religious in nature.”

Haymitch cut her off. “I specifically told you to focus on the non-religious.”

“But Easter is a religious holiday!” she snapped. “You can’t take Jesus out of Easter!”

Haymitch glared at her until Katniss reluctantly presented her first non-religious card.

“This first card is a springtime scene, meadow grass and dandelions. The text reads,

Happy Easter,

Happy Spring,

Happy Happy Everything.”

Giggling and shifting from around the room irked her.

“See here, I had it made into a pop-up card–,”

“It can’t be a pop-up card,” Haymitch interrupted, “it has to stay at the 99 cent price point.”

“I know but, for your consideration, I took the initiative to have it made into an optional pop-up to show you I can be trusted with something besides the budget cards! Look, the Easter bunny hops!” Katniss held out the card, opening and closing it repeatedly to show the bunny hopping.

Only, it wasn’t the Easter bunny, it was two bunnies. Chasing each other.

No, they were …

GASP!

They were fucking!

The room erupted, and Katniss dropped the card like it was on fire. Someone yelled, “Kat-Eye! Two in one day!”

“All right, all right, settle down, people. Katniss, tell me you have something else to show me. You’ve had this assignment for a month!”

Determined to regain her pride, Katniss continued with her presentation.  

The next card looked good: lots of hopping baby bunnies, greenery, attractive gold lettering.

Hoppy Easter

“Cute pun,” offered Annie.

Finnick leaned in for a closer look. “Wait, is that hops? Like, beer brewing hops?”

Katniss looked to where Finnick was pointing. “What? No. I didn’t…”

“Yeah! That’s what it looks like to me, too,” crowed Jo. “And the bunny ears are shaped like beer bottles!”

“Sweetheart, did you piss off the entire graphic arts department?” suggested Haymitch.

“No!”

“Well, you must have done something! They seem committed to embarrassing you.”

“They’ve got these stupid, unnatural, red-eyed rabbits in smelly cages everywhere that they’re using as models! For all my cards! Just mine!” Katniss boiled over in frustration. “I warned them if they gave me one more vampire-looking bloody red-eyed rabbit that I was going to return with my bow and–”

“OK,” Haymitch cut her off, “well, make nice and bring them a peace offering, like a bouquet of carrots. You got anything else?”

Katniss clenched her jaw and reached for the next card (You’re no bunny ‘til some bunny loves you) when she noticed that besides red eyes this bunny had tiny fangs. She inconspicuously moved that card to her growing pile of rejects.

“I wanna see that one later, Brainless!”

Katniss swallowed hard and grabbed for the next card, a die cut one featuring flowers with a bunny wearing a bee costume.

Bee My Honey Bunny

After an uncomfortable silence, Katniss unceremoniously dropped that one onto the stack of rejects. Fighting her inclination to leave, Katniss stoically announced, “I have one last non-religious card to share.”

Several people applauded.

Katniss scowled.

This last card was her shot at redemption. They had to love this one. And she had to sell it.

Wishes for an Egg-tastic Easter

Below the message, a cute yellow chick, newly hatched from her shell, smiled and winked. Several people murmured their approval.

“Cute chick!”

“Aw, so cute!”

“Nice job, Katniss, really cute.”

Hope loosen the tightness in her chest. Katniss plastered on a smile. “Graphics actually did a really good job here. I requested a cute chick.” Next, she revealed the inner greeting.

At the sudden boom of laughter, Katniss jumped in alarm. She couldn’t understand what had set them off. She turned to Haymitch who was staring at her with a mixture of amusement and suspicion.

“That for real, Sweetheart?” he asked over the noise. “Read it out loud.”

Katniss took a closer look. The words were innocent enough, and yet…

Blushing furiously, Katniss ran from the room. How had she not realized that the same people who twisted her innocent cheese bun praise would willfully misinterpret what she meant as a clever greeting:

From the cutest chick ever laid.

[pmwrites-blog1]

The Loverboy Trials - Chapter 1

(Complete)

It didn’t take long for everyone to learn about what almost happened at Haggar’s battle cruiser. It was strange to experience the retroactive fear, like a bite that stings but doesn’t quite puncture the skin. Keith was safe, at least.

Nobody’s said a word in ages. The clinking of their utensils against the not-porcelain bowls bounces off the walls far too loudly, setting Lance’s teeth on edge. He dares a glance up from his goo. Everyone’s head is down, focused on anything but eye contact.

This is not what he imagined in a reunion dinner feast.

Continue on AO3 or-

It didn’t take long for everyone to learn about what almost happened at Haggar’s battle cruiser. It was strange to experience the retroactive fear, like a bite that stings but doesn’t quite puncture the skin. Keith was safe, at least.

Nobody’s said a word in ages. The clinking of their utensils against the not-porcelain bowls bounces off the walls far too loudly, setting Lance’s teeth on edge. He dares a glance up from his goo. Everyone’s head is down, focused on anything but eye contact.

This is not what he imagined in a reunion dinner feast.

It’s the fifth time Hunk has cleared his throat in the last twenty minutes when he finally sets down his spoon. Lance internally winces. The big guy’s barely touched his food and the creases around his eyes are just a little too strained for the friendly smile he wears.

“So, you had, like, a space parachute. Right?”

Oh, Hunk.

What Lance thinks must be the most horrible silence in the universe stretches into a small eternity across the table then. He looks at Keith, who sits frozen in his old chair, almost normal again in his stupid jacket and t-shirt. Almost.

“A parachute wouldn’t work in space, Hunk. It’s a vacuum.” Keith’s eyes are downcast as he says it, already knowing that he can’t fix this or make it funny. He tries anyway. It doesn’t feel like anyone breathes. “You’re an engineer. You already know that.”

Fuck, say something, say something, say something, make a joke, McLain. Bring normal back – come on!

His mouth is too dry.

Hunk laughs. “But you were going to eject out of there.”

Keith doesn’t answer. Hunk must decide that he just doesn’t have an appetite tonight because he gets up after a moment and leaves without a word. No one tries to stop him. Keith doesn’t so much as twitch a muscle. Lance thinks this must be what tense holiday dinners with backwards family feel like.

Shiro finally looks up from his plate with a cough. “Have you decided yet? Do you think you’ll go back with the Marmora right away?”

Keith meets his gaze, thankful for the change in topic. “I don’t know. If you think I can be useful here, then I’ll stay to help with the rift stuff.” There’s something a little hopeful in his voice that must be contagious because Lance feels it too.

“Keith, you’ll always be handy to have around here. It’s your choice, and I’m not sure what Kolivan’s plans are for upcoming missions, but we’d be ecstatic to have you back.”

Keith leans against the back of his chair, arms crossed. It’s not an abnormal position for him to be in. But, Lance catches the dark circles under his eyes, even though the small smile he offers Shiro, how his skin is afflicted with an unhealthy pallor.

“Yeah.” He tries to keep up the grin. “It sounds like you’ll need all hands on deck soon. I might as well stick around.” He looks down. “...At least until then.”

It’s not a perfect answer, but it’s just enough to let everyone ease up a little and return to their food.

A beeping starts suddenly, and Lance recognizes the sound as a communication request. He waves the rest of the group off. “You guys finish eating. I got the phone.”

“Not a phone, Lance,” Pidge calls.

“Figure of speech, Pidge!”

The jog to the bridge is quick. At his chair, Keith’s old chair, he opens the lineup. It’s not a distress call; they just want to join the coalition. He prepares himself for a long boring talk about resource contribution and a bunch of other politicking he’s picked up from Allura. They’ve put the line on hold while they gather council members to join the call. Before they can get to it though, Shiro comes over to his station and reads over his shoulder.

“You know what? They’re not too far from us. We have time. We might as well all visit in person, stretch our legs a little.”

Lance looks up at him, puzzled. They haven’t bothered negotiating diplomacy in person since they figured out their broadcasting network months ago. They don’t have time – not if they’re going to beat Haggar to the rift. “Shiro, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

Without even looking at him, Shiro starts typing into Lance’s station, downloading the coordinates. “Matt and Coran can handle things here. Besides, Slav needs time to work out a plan for closing the rift for good, and we’re not going to be much help there.”

Lance stands up to face him. “Yeah, maybe not you or me. But Pidge and Hunk are, like, super geniuses.”

“Lance, I understand what you’re saying, but…” With a sigh, the leader leans in to whisper, hedging a glance back towards the dining room. “Now is not a good time to split up the team like that again. Considering…recent events.”

“Then we shouldn’t go. Shiro, I’m all for some relaxation, but this might be the last chance we have to regroup at home base for a while,” he pleads one last time.

Shiro dismisses him again, and Lance tries not to let the sting burn too much. “Think of it as a bonding activity. Awkward diplomacy like the good old days.” Shiro claps his shoulder again with a warm smile and Lance does his best to return it.

They’ve landed in a large plaza in the center of a shining city. It has high glittering spires that rake through the clouds like fingers. The people look about ninety-five percent humanoid. The other five percent attributes to a stiffness Lance has never seen on Earth. A stiffness, a paleness, an aura of discomfort like they have a ruler up their ass. The kind with the metal sliver on the side that you threatened to slit a kid’s neck with on the playground.

Lance positions himself in formation with the rest of the team as they exit the ship. Keith steps up beside Lance and pulls his hood to cover his face.

Keith hasn’t said for sure if he’ll return to the Blade. But he isn’t wearing his paladin armor either. Lance can admit that he’s worried about it. He half-expected that Keith would put the armor back on for this. That he wouldn’t leave it gathering dust in the castle for another minute. Lance has thought about offering Red back to him. He’s thought about asking if Keith wanted Red back. He’s thought about just talking to him in general.

A representative comes to greet them. She’s followed by an entourage of officials all dressed flowing, floor-length robes, which seem contradictory to their harsh countenance. They appear color-coded to occupation or something. The representative has a mint color. She approaches Shiro and the group begins to walk.

As they walk up the stairs, Hunk shoots Lance a pointed look, eyes darting between him and Keith as an eyebrow raises. Lance waves him off until he shrugs and falls into step with Pidge.

Lance sticks close to Keith’s side. It kind of hits him then that this is the first time in months that he’s had someone to walk next to. He hadn’t noticed it before, but before he left, he was always at Keith’s side: walking with him, standing with him, glaring with him. Lance has missed the simple sound of their footsteps echoing in synchronization without even knowing it.

They follow the mint lady around the citadel for the grand tour. Keith continues to sulk, so Lance nudges his elbow.

“Okay, is it just me or do these guys seem way too proper?” He puts on his best mischief smirk as he whispers, hoping to draw Keith into their old line of banter.

Keith blinks. “What?”

“Like, they’re so formal! It reminds me of when my mom would make the whole family dress up for a portrait every year.”

Keith tries to hide it, but Lances catches the smallest twitch of a smile. “Well, they’re meeting the defenders of the universe. I guess it’s a big deal to them.”

“No, no, no, no, my bro. I think they’re like this all the time. Like, this seems normal to them.”

“Okay. So what?” Keith starts to look more amused, which, is great. Score one for Lancey-Lance.

He grins and leans over into Keith’s space so no one will overhear. He senses the other boy tense next to him but brushes it off. “So I bet that means they’re secretly giant kink-freaks.”

Keith laughs through his nose, trying to keep quiet as he snickers. Lance practically beams at the reaction. “Why did you put that image in my head? Gross.”

Lance bumps into his shoulder good-naturedly and wraps an arm around him. Very bro-like. “Like, okay. Hear me out: Miss Diplomacy up ahead. Can you imagine the things that must go on after they clock out at four?”

“No!” he hisses between gasping laughs. “Don’t even go there. You’re disgusting – don’t make me think about that!”

Lance grins, high on that sweet, sweet validation that comes from greatly improving Keith’s mood. It’s nice to see him relax again, goofy and easy-going like he was before. He wants to keep it up, push it further, coast on this line of banter as long as he can. It’s a wonderful grooming for his ego, but he forgets to remember that he can take things too far.

“Yeah, not really what I’m into either. Personality is important and I get the feeling they don’t do casual. Plus, she’s the leader and probably too old for me.” He does a quick scan around the room, eyes randomly sticking to a girl that looks much closer to his age. He can’t really tell much about her from the formless clothes, but he knows a nice jawline and pretty eyes when he sees ‘em. “But her? I bet I could get her to loosen up. ” He winks and waits for the laugh.

It doesn’t come. Just like that, it’s gone – the amusement. Keith’s eyebrows drop and he yanks himself away from Lance’s hold, a mask of indifference washing over him.

“Can you control your annoying mouth for one mission?”

Lance reels. Because it’s been a while since Keith has actually sounded angry with him. About anything. And they’ve had some light arguments about his flirtations before. They never escalated.

He pushes down the urge to get defensive. This is about something else – he can feel it. “Whoa, whoa, Keith –” He reaches for his arm. He doesn’t know what he did wrong, but he doesn’t want to fight. Not when they just got him back. Even if Keith is being kind of a salty bitch.

“ Not now, Lance.” Keith jerks away, the motion so harsh that his hood falls from his face.

That’s when everything dissolves into one big clusterfuck.

Several gasps echo around them. Lance realizes they’ve been led to some sort of council room, so the acoustics for the dramatics gasps around them are great. The two of them look around at the stunned faces of the officers who had been walking with them.

“It cannot be –”

“It’s uncanny!”

“A true blessing!”

The rest of the paladins gaze warily at the murmuring crowd around them and realize all at once that every single pair of eyes is fixed on Keith.

The robed aliens make a beeline for the former paladin. Keith looks ready to fight, but a firm stare from Shiro restrains him. They’re here for diplomacy. Lance tries to stay close, but the council members swarm them too fast for Lance to remain by Keith without getting violent.

“You must come with us at once,” they insist.

“What? Why?” Keith backs away as they reach for him. “Hey! Hands off!”

Lance gets pushed to the edge of the frenzy. “What do you want with him?!” he demands.

The woman they were following earlier steps aside as the rest ignore Lance and press Keith out of the chamber. Lance catches a desperate glance thrown his way. He moves to follow but is held back by a guard he hadn’t even noticed positioned at the entrance.

The woman smiles at them, but it does nothing to settle their nerves. “They are taking him to the temple.”

“The temple?” Hunk asks.

“Yes! He is clearly an incarnation of Amans.”

Pidge adjusts her glasses. “And that is who, exactly?”

“The capital’s patron god. The god of desire, sensuality, and fertility.” Lance feels his jaw drop, but can’t be bothered to close it.

He can tell Shiro is struggling to remain collected, face contorted uncomfortably. “And why do you think Keith is your…sex…god?” And geez, that would be so much funnier if this wasn’t so disturbing.  

She only chuckles, and it’s then that Lance realizes how much this lady is getting on his nerves. She leads them to the back of the council room where she pulls aside a large curtain. Behind it, a huge mural stretches to the ceiling.

It looks exactly like Keith.

[g0ldpainted]

Gladiolus cheating on S/O Part 3

Hey guys :) Here’s the last part of Gladiolus’ cheating.

Poll results are at the bottom so I won’t spoil the outcome^^.

1st Part ; 2nd Part ; 3rd Part  // Noctis cheating 1 ; 2 ; 3 // Prompto cheating 1 ; 2 ; 3 // Ignis cheating 1 ; 2 // Ravus cheating

Words: 3700+

Genre: Angst, heartbreak, getting better, life changing decisions

Spoilers: None

Trigger warnings: Cheating, depression, disability

There was no light at the end of the tunnel. She tried to move on, tried to find forgiveness in her heart for him but it was impossible. Gladiolus' selfishness and ignorance regarding her complicated pregnancy were what caused her physical disability.. How could she ever forgive something so severe, something so life changing?

She was missing out on her baby's life, couldn't take part in most activities, couldn't teach her how to walk or write, couldn't even protect her alone. It was all Gladio's fault.. And that upset her greatly. Nonetheless, she tried. She really did. Eventually, she finally gave in and even exchanged kisses with him - for the sake of Heather. Although it hurt her and every physical intimacy reminded her of how other females had the privilege to touch him, too, she thought of her little girl that wanted her parents to be happy so badly. Heather was old enough to understand that they had been fighting, that something was wrong. Of course, she always asked, was noisy but to fix it, she always demanded her parents to hug. Each and every time, they did as she asked, holding up the façade of a happy family. Both wanted their daughter to experience that happy, unbreakable family. But it was unbearably hard.

All Gladio's 'I love you's, subtle touches, delicate kisses.. They kept breaking his S/O's heart. Over and over again. For the moment it lasted, it felt good.. But so bittersweet. Knowing she was slowly but surely sliding out of his hands worried him greatly. He bought gifts, made food, invited her to dates but it wasn't easing the pain in her heart. With each improvement she managed to accomplish, he started getting more anxious about her leaving. Imagining to lose both his girlfriend and their daughter scared him endlessly. Gladio was well aware that this was his mistake, that he was the one causing all this; it was his dream to make it all up. But that was a dream that would probably never come true.. He'd have to live with this guilt until the day he'd die. All he could do was support her, pay her bills as much as he could and care for their daughter. He dedicated his life to them.

Therefore, seeing his best friend carelessly flirt when his girlfriend surely upset him. He was boiling with jealousy every time he witnessed it. That she didn't care about it, even played along, only made it worse. His fear mixed with anger and he couldn't stop himself from letting it out. Instead of turning his anger at his girlfriend or daughter, he spent hours at the gym, worked out mercilessly. His behavior didn't stay unnoticed, his S/O knew something was off.. And she also knew what it was. But it actually didn't bother her all too much; it only gave her more time with Ignis. 

Although she knew she shouldn't, she really enjoyed spending time with him. He always listened, always lent a hand, always understood. On top of that, he always gave her adorable compliments. Ignis was a great friend.. And deep down she slowly started falling for his beautiful eyes and that wonderful smile. His hugs were great too. And his words, his accent were undeniably charming.

That she was growing feelings for another man ended up disturbing her more than she imagined. It felt so wrong but so right. However, she knew she had to hold back. Gladio, even though he did it himself, didn't deserve to be cheated on. So for the time being and until she was certain about her feelings, she just hopped in on the flirting but denied anything physical. That little bit of flirting was already enough to make her feel bad.

At least Heather loved Ignis, too. She considered him her uncle, always played with him whenever she could. In some way, he took her mother's role. All her mother could do was sit and watch.. Until Ignis changed that. He helped her sit on the floor, made sure pillows were supporting her back, giving her the ability to sit comfortably. While she still couldn't move her right arm, she could at least use her left arm to hold up her daughter's favorite toy. What really made this special was that she could finally cuddle her properly. They could lay next to each other on some pillows, have naps together. It was a nice change. All those months before, her back hadn't been stable enough to support the ability to sit, she would've slumped. But now that it was fine, her hard work paid off, new possibilities were opened to her. Enjoying more time with her daughter was one of them. Yes, she still needed help getting on and off the floor - but this was still a huge difference. Heather immediately approved of it, couldn't wait to cuddle her mom. Much to everyone's surprise, that little kid was incredibly understanding about her mother's condition. She didn't understand entirely but was raised on knowing her mother couldn't feel some parts of her body, sometimes couldn't be with her in return - but that she loved her regardless of that. It was insanely cute that, nowadays, she kept asking her mother if she could feel her legs or if she could help make them better.

Of course, that little bundle of joy lover her father, too. She loved being with him, play-fighting with him, playing with his hair. Heather appreciated that after working for so long, he came home. She was always the first to "run" up to him and hug his legs. He was often in charge of telling her about his adventures - she's always been very curious. Those were usually her bedtime stories. Those two were as good as inseparable. And that was exactly why Gladio's S/O was scared of breaking up with him. As time passed by, her curiosity for Ignis grew immensely.. But she didn't want to lose her baby. And aside from that, she felt terribly selfish for wanting to leave Gladiolus but she couldn't go on. Being with him felt more and more wrong with each day passing by. Kisses, sweet caresses, loving words - it all felt like lies. Her kisses began to get sloppier, her touches didn't feel as soft anymore and when Ignis finally confessed his feelings for her, she knew it had to come to an end. For too long had she been living with this lie, it was slowly eating away at her seams. The former love of her life deserved the truth.

"Gladio.. Can.. Can we have a talk?" she asked, sitting on the couch with a book in her lap.

It was Saturday evening, Gladio had just brought Heather to bed. The couple shared a lot of laughs today, both were in good moods for once and actually got along. A lot of the times they ended up arguing once their girl was in bed.. But today they both seemed to be fine. So his S/O finally collected her courage to tell him the truth.

"Sure.." he replied, biting his lip hard.

He knew. He knew their relationship was crumbling, that her interest was decreasing just as quickly as he love for him. He knew Ignis had feelings for her - they were best friends.. He had to confess to him, too. Losing her was still his biggest fear but during his workout sessions, he came to the conclusion that he'd have to let go if that's what she wanted. He'd still support her. But the future of their tiny princess would be altered.. And that's what worried him most. So far he couldn't tell if she'd choose to stay with him or her mom.. And he didn't want her to have to choose either. All these decisions scared him tremendously. He didn't want it to end but he would accept her decision.. At least that's what he told himself over and over again.

"Come sit with me" she smiled softly, patting the spot beside her.

Without saying another word, he walked over to her. This scenario already reminded him of when he introduced the idea of celebrating their 9th anniversary. The sadness in her eyes, the tears.. It upset him. After his confession, she stopped speaking to him for at least a week.. It hurt him, but he knew he deserved it. He hated himself for what he did. Needlessly to say, they didn't celebrate their anniversary. It was just another normal day. 

"What's on your mind?" he spoke, returning a faint smile.

"Gladiolus.. I.. I have to be honest with you.." she started, gulping between her words, "Our.. Our relationship - oh, six - I think w-we both know it's not exactly going uphill.."

That was all he needed to hear, tears shot in his eyes. That was it.

"I.. I treasure you. We spent good years together, had lots of fun but I.. I've been thinking a lot about us recently.. And..- we can't go on this way" she broke to him, her own eyes slowly filling up with tears; this was more difficult than she imagined it to be, "I'm hurting. I know it's been years since you c-cheated on me but I.. I can't forget it. I can't unsee it. Whenever I look at you I see what you did with those two girls. Right now, while I know you're extremely busy, I can't help but imagine that you have some kind of 'fuck buddies'. I.. I don't think I can ever regain my entire trust in you."

"Did you think about Heather in this?" he immediately returned, his heart racing a mile a minute yet feeling like it had been torn from his chest.

Although he tried to prepare for this, he currently didn't know what to do.

"Of course I have, Gladio. I know that we have a beautiful daughter that's unfortunately caught up in this. I know I'm probably selfish for wanting to end our relationship. But.. But we're both getting older and I don't want to waste your time any longer.. I don't want you to think I'm using you" she explained, folding her hands in her lap, "I really wanted us to work out. I promise I tried hard to ignore my own feelings in this.. But I can't. I.. I love you as a friend and you definitely still mean the world to me along with our daughter.. But I don't think we can work this out.."

For a few moments, silence surrounded the former couple. Neither knew what to say. Gladio fought his feelings. His self-hatred, undeniable anger and frustration but also his sadness. He had never experienced such heartbreak before.

"You're not wasting my time, I'm grateful for every moment I can spend with you.. And I don't think you're using me…" he started rambling on words, "I.. I-.."

"I'm sorry Gladio.." she apologized, quickly reaching out for his hands to hold them, "I know this is sudden.. But I can't keep this from you any longer.."

They had been together for long enough, she knew when he was struggling with his emotions. As someone that grew up without being allowed to show any kind of sadness, not even hint at it, these situations were new to him. He had yet to learn how to handle it, often just got angry at himself for feeling the way he did. His head lowered, he glanced at her hands. Back when he first found out about her pregnancy, he wanted to get married to her right away. Before he gave in to temptation, he was furiously planning on proposing to her. After everything went to hell and back, he refrained from doing so. He wanted to wait for the right time.. Now he knew that time would never come. Looking at her empty hand - the hand that was supposed to hold his ring - made him regret never asking her. Sure, she would've probably declined but at least he would've let her know how much she truly means to him. He felt like he missed out on that, perhaps didn't give his all. For just a moment, he intertwined their fingers, squeezed her hand tightly. It was his way of releasing emotions. He didn't want to cry..

"I.. No. - Ignis told me about his feelings for you.. It's because of him, right?" Gladio smiled sadly, slowly turning his gaze over to her.

"I c-can't deny that" she returned, sucking in her lip shortly after.

"If you two start dating, I hope he knows what a damn jewel he's got" Gladio stared right into her eyes as he spoke.

"That's n-not..-.." she rung for words, wanting to talk herself out of it.

"It's okay. I appreciate your honesty. And if you two really find happiness within another then.. I'm happy" he smiled through his pain, concealing it, "I don't wanna stand in your way."

Knowing him all too well, she knew that he was lying. He was hurting badly.

"Gladio.." she just breathed out, her eyebrows lowering to a gentle frown.

"I.. I'm sorry for my mistakes. What I did was indeed unforgivable.. I don't blame you for not being able to forgive and forget - I couldn't either if I were in your position. Nonetheless, I.. I was hoping my actions would prove to you that you mean the world to me" he gave in and admitted, "I was hoping we could eventually get married and become a real family. I'm sure Heather would've been perfect as the flower girl."

As she heard that, she couldn't help but shed a few tears. Imagining the scene in her head was adorable.. But it was truly unfortunate that it would never happen.

"Oh-.. I'm sorry" he apologized as he realized that she started crying and quickly used one of his hands to wipe her tears away, "I didn't mean to make you cry. D-don't feel guilty.. Or selfish. If being with me isn't good for you and you'd prefer to be with Ignis.. Or alone.. Then that's totally fine. I don't want you to torture yourself for me. I'm sure Heather will understand.. She always does. She's a smart kid."

Feeling his hand against her cheek one last time made her choke on her breath. Realizing that this would probably be the last time he'd do that suddenly hurt a lot more than she imagined. Even though she firmly believed that breaking up with him was the right decision, it still hurt. Over 9 years can't be erased that easily. 

"I-I don't want us to break up on bad terms. I still want to be in touch with you. I want to know how you're doing. I still want to be there for you.." she input quickly. 

"I know, I know. You're a good-hearted person. I've been able to experience that for long enough to know that you're a literal angel" he smiled at her, "I'd love to be in touch with you as well. And I hope you know that, no matter what, you can always talk to me."

"Thank you" she returned, swallowing down more tears.

"We'll probably take a few days.. Maybe even months to figure all this out. Do you want me to sleep on the couch until we find a solution?" he suggested, trying hard to maintain a calm demeanor and to not break down.

"No.. No, this is our bed. I trust you not to try and funny business. And I don't want you to be uncomfortable.." she shook her head, "But we..-.. I really want us to continuously raise Heather together. Maybe we can.. Slowly introduce the idea of us not dating anymore to her but in a way that she knows we don't hate each other. I don't ever want her to think bad of you, nor do I want her to think bad of me because of our decisions."

"I agree.." he nodded, "She loves both of us. She wants to be with both of us.. - I don't know how we'll do this when either of us moves out. She's so young.. I don't want her to have to choose between either of us.. Nor do I want her to just stay with either of us and miss the other one. We.. We really need to make sure she doesn't suffer from this."

"Yeah.. That's my biggest fear" she lowered her head.

"No, don't worry. We'll find a solution" Gladio returned right away, trying to be uplifting. 

"I hope you're right" she replied.

Afterwards, both remained silent for a few minutes, just taking in each others presence. Gladio was on the brink of crying, he was fighting hard.

"I'm surprised you're so.. Calm.." she broke their silence.

"Well,.. I.. I figured I had lost. From the moment I saw Ignis flirt with you, I knew my time was running out. When I was working out, I contemplated how to react when you'd break the news to me. At first I was convinced I'd beg you to stay.. Because that's what I want. But then I realized how selfish it would be. I love you.. And I only want what's best for you. And if someone else is better for you than me.. Then I'll support you getting with them. I decided to accept reality. All those past years, you've been rather cold to me - which is fine, I understand - so I tried to prepare for the worst" he explained, lowering his head once again, "But I don't feel prepared."

"I'm sorry" she apologized again. 

"Don't be. I should be the one apologizing. I kept secrets from you because I knew I'd lose you. That was wrong. I should've never betrayed you… because you honestly don't deserve that. While you were carrying the most wonderful gift one could ever ask for, suffering tremendous pain all the while, I went out to be the worst of a boyfriend I could possibly be" he frowned about his own behavior as he spoke, "You don't deserve this. You deserve better."

"As dumb as it may sound.. We all make mistakes. I still think that you're a good person. Aside from those mistakes, you've always been a good boyfriend. Yes, my pregnancy was shit. We were both acting up during that time. But I appreciate you. You will always have that special place in my heart. I will always love you in some way" she tried to comfort him, knowing that he was fighting his tears.

As she said that, he cracked a smile: "You'll always be special to me, too. And of course, I'll always love you."

Again, silence filled the room as the two just stared at each other, smiling faintly. "Can I .. Have a hug?" Gladio asked, feeling that his wall was about to crumble.. But he didn't want her to see.

"Anytime" she replied, smiling softly while she embraced him with her arms.

The second the former couple hugged, he started sobbing. He tried to suppress it.. But couldn't. Instead of showing her his face, he buried it in her neck. He wanted to take her in deeply one last time. At the same time, he didn't want her to feel guilty. Tears unwittingly left his eyes. He held her tightly, yet was so careful not to crush her. With each moment, his heart broke a little more. He lost her. He lost the one he loved so much because of his own mistakes. Probably to his best friend, too. She rubbed his back, tried her best to comfort him. After so many years of dating she knew how he was. She knew he didn't want her to witness this. It took him a while to finally regain his composure. Then they went to bed.. Just like they did through all those years.

For months, that cycle repeated. They had yet to figure out how all of this was supposed to work out. Their master plan was two connected houses. Or looking for two apartments that were in the same building, optimally even connected as well. Meanwhile, they slowly introduced to Heather that the love they shared was a different kind: a friendship one. She probably didn't quite understand that yet.. But she was happy for them nonetheless. She really was just a cheerful child.

Ignis and Gladio's ex got closer in no time. Yes, it hurt the shield greatly.. But he loved both these people so much, he tried his best to just be supportive. Eventually, they decided to start dating but they took it very slow. Heather wasn't supposed to know yet. But that also meant that Gladio received his final goodbye kiss. The former couple kissed one last time before she got together with Ignis. And that kiss lingered on his lips for ages. Probably forever.

As months passed by, they finally found two suitable apartments that weren't too expensive but wheelchair friendly. The contract was signed and within a few more days, they moved in, started living separately. It was a huge step for both of them. They missed each other.. But Gladio's ex at least had Ignis to dry her tears. 

Heather had a room at both their places. Her parents had keys to both apartments. They remained good friends after all. Sometimes they even had sleepovers, typically when Heather was sick. She was their top priority and whenever she was sick, she tended to cry for both her parents. She needed both of them. It was a little complicated but definitely manageable.

Gladio was willing to pay for both their apartments on top of all the bills. He still blamed himself for everything and refused to force another burden on his beloved ex by dropping his support. Of course, she highly appreciated it but she also began looking for minor jobs once her health allowed it. 

The relationship with Ignis and her was going incredibly good. He did everything for her, loved her endlessly. That she wasn't ready for too much physical intimacy didn't bother him. He knew her story and was willing to wait no matter how long it'd take. He was serious about this. And grateful that his best friend wasn't acting up about it. They remained friends, spoke about everything. Gladio never failed to remind him that he should better treat her right. 

The life of the former couple was changing greatly but their relationship even improved. They were better friends than they used to be. They were closer than they used to be. But nonetheless, they were separated. 

Deep inside, Gladiolus hoped that someday, he would be given another chance.. That someday, they could be the tiny family they always wanted to be. But if that someday would ever happen, was written in the stars.

Poll results:

Masterlist ; 1st Part ; 2nd Part ; 3rd Part  // Noctis cheating 1 ; 2 ; 3 // Prompto cheating 1 ; 2 ; 3 // Ignis cheating 1 ; 2 // Ravus cheating

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9 Tips That Don’t Work for Weight Loss, Say Dietitians | Eat This Not That

New Post has been published on https://weightlosshtiw.com/9-tips-that-dont-work-for-weight-loss-say-dietitians-eat-this-not-that/

9 Tips That Don’t Work for Weight Loss, Say Dietitians | Eat This Not That

As a nutritionist, I’ve heard all the tips for weight loss—the good, the bad, and the totally off-the-wall. From the age-old cabbage soup diet to the more recent strategy of eating cotton balls to fill the stomach, there’s no shortage of trendy ways to shed pounds–many of them are not only strange but also potentially harmful.

Even mainstream folk wisdom about how to lose weight can sometimes steer you in the wrong direction. So what do dietitians (the real weight loss experts) have to say about which tips are solid and which make them roll their eyes? I asked several registered dietitians to get their feedback. Here are nine weight loss tips they say to skip, and for more tips on how to lose weight, be sure to check out our list of 15 Underrated Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work.

“Make eating inconvenient.”

In theory, it kind of makes sense that putting obstacles in the way of your eating—like by using chopsticks instead of a fork or eating with your non-dominant hand—could help you eat less. But it’s not exactly a practical solution to the issue of overeating.

“While you might find yourself eating slower, you can still finish a full meal,” says Carrie Gabriel, MS, RD. “It is time-consuming, and if a person is busy, that could be frustrating.”

Besides frustration, eating in awkward ways might just make you look silly. “Think of the mess a person would make if it was a food such as, say, steak or a burger, which need a hand or utensils to cut it into small pieces,” says Gabriel.

“Put on tight clothes before you eat.”

Another lifestyle change that’ll only lead to discomfort? Changing your wardrobe at mealtimes. You may have heard the tip to don tight clothing before you eat in order to stay mindful of each mouthful. But keeping up a constant awareness of your weight at mealtimes creates negative self-talk—which you definitely don’t need when you’re trying to be healthy.

“There’s nothing wrong with being motivated to realistically fit into your own clothing that you recently wore, but it’s more important to dress the body you have and focus on your plate instead of your closet,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, creator of BetterThanDieting.com and author of Read It Before You Eat It—Taking You from Label to Table.

In the midst of a busy day, there’s a time and a place for a probiotic-rich fruit and yogurt smoothie or protein shake instead of a sit-down lunch. But opting out of all meals in favor of weight loss shakes is likely to be a mere quick fix.

“While replacing food with a shake can be effective for some, there are important points to consider,” says dietitian and personal trainer Anthony DiMarino, RD, CPT. “Meal replacement shakes are normally very low in calories and fiber and therefore do not keep people satisfied for long periods of time.”

DiMarino adds that many meal replacement shakes tend to be high in sugar, which can spike blood sugar—a major drawback if you’re living with diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Instead, make yourself one of these 100 Best No-Cook Recipes of All Time.

“Eat only one food.”

Remember the grapefruit diet? Or the potato diet? Or any diet that told you to eat just one food? Monotrophic diets—those that advise sticking to a single food or food group—have been around for ages. The idea goes that you can only eat so much of any food before getting so bored you’ll basically stop eating altogether.

It doesn’t sound like a recipe for a healthy relationship to food, says Gabriel. And it sure doesn’t sound like fun!

“This pushes a person into eating disorder territory, in my opinion,” she says.

Meanwhile, if you go too long without a varied diet, you’re more likely to end up in the hospital than in a bikini competition.

“Eating only one type of food for an extended time period will make you deficient in other nutrients your body needs. Eventually, this could result in life-threatening illnesses,” Gabriel says.

“Don’t eat carbs.”

No one can deny the weight loss-boosting effects of cutting back on carbs on a diet like keto or Atkins. But for many people, opting out of carbohydrates completely can become a too-drastic elimination—one that might not even work in the long term.

“The research suggests you will undoubtedly lose weight by cutting out an entire food group,” says DiMarino. “But at what cost? Depriving yourself from carbohydrates (your main energy source) will ultimately reduce your quality of life over time. Low carb diets can cause you to experience hunger, irritability, fatigue, mood swings, constipation, headaches, and brain fog.”

If you’re considering ditching carbs for weight loss, it’s best to talk to your doctor or dietitian before diving in—as well as to be aware of the risks.

“A low-carb diet can put you at risk for kidney stones, osteoporosis, and even gout,” DiMarino says.

“Chew each bite dozens of times.”

This one’s another throwback: Simply chew your food into a liquid pulp and watch the pounds fly off! The art of “Fletcherism” had its heyday in the early 1900s when food faddist Horace Fletcher (the early 20th-century version of an Instagram influencer) advised his adherents to chew every bite until liquefied to boost weight loss.

To this day, you’ll sometimes see this tip circling back around. And, in truth, it’s not a bad idea to chew thoroughly—but it’s no magic bullet for weight loss.

“While chewing your food multiple times before swallowing is ideal and aids in proper digestion, and eating more slowly can make you conscious of becoming fuller more quickly, this can also be time-consuming,” says Gabriel. “Depending on the food and depending on a person’s relationship with food, it can make them obsess over their food and not actually enjoy it.”

For more healthy eating tips, check out our list of 9 Best Healthy Eating Hacks for Weight Loss.

“Cut out fat.”

If there was one prevailing weight loss mantra of the 1980s and ’90s, it was that eating fat made people fat. Non-fat potato chips, salad dressings, and even (ew) ice creams became staples of “healthy” households. Now, however, research has shown that the right kinds of fats are an important part of a healthy diet—even a diet for weight loss!

“Fat is an essential nutrient that not only helps us absorb fat-soluble vitamins and essential nutrients, but it also helps us feel full and satisfied to help prevent overeating,” says Taub-Dix. “The key when trying to reduce your weight or eat healthfully in general (even if your weight is not an issue for you), is to choose the right fats.”

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the kind to enjoy regularly in your diet. Taub-Dix recommends including plenty of nuts, avocado, and oils like avocado oil or olive oil.

“Don’t ever indulge.”

Popular weight loss advice is guilty of plenty of untruths—chief among them the idea that, when trying to reach a healthy weight, you can’t indulge in any of your favorite foods. Make one “mistake” by having a donut or pizza, goes the thinking, and you’ve done irreversible damage.

Dietitians know this is far from true.

“Why should you be denied of your favorite foods just because you’re trying to lose weight?” says Taub-Dix. “If you don’t eat any of those indulgent foods you love, there’s a good chance that you’ll wait until you’re ‘off’ your diet to enjoy them. That’s when those foods usually come back with a vengeance—in unreasonable portion sizes and too often.”

Rather than thinking of your weight loss effort as a short window of restricting the joy out of food, you’ll benefit far more in the long-term by (sometimes) including best-loved menu items.

“A weight loss plan that will be sustained should always include foods you love because, after all, this should be a diet you incorporate into your life, not a diet you change your life for temporarily,” Taub-Dix says.

“Just cut calories.”

When it comes to weight loss, we all know the basic concept of calories in versus calories out. It seems like losing weight should be so simple—yet many dieters find that just eating less somehow doesn’t budge the scale. Turns out, multiple factors are often at work in your body to complicate this equation.

“While the prevailing evidence suggests weight loss can occur as long as there is a calorie deficit, the kinds of calories do matter,” DiMarino says. “Human bodies are complex biological systems that process foods with different micronutrient makeups in completely different ways. Physiologic and hormonal changes occur in response to the foods we eat.”

If you’ve found you’re not making progress by sticking to a calorie target, don’t despair! Fortunately, you can experiment (especially with a dietitian’s guidance) with what types of foods and food combinations you consume. One possibility: work on incorporating higher-fiber, nutrient-dense foods as often as possible.

“Choosing to eat less processed, whole foods improve overall satiety (thus limiting overeating), provides steady energy all day long, and improves body composition over time,” DiMarino says.

This content was originally published here.