#i spent so much time thinking about this wow

[jscrawls]

Widows rest

My take on a Black widow! Reader x Batman and Batfam but with a slight twist, reader doesn't know the Bats but they seem to know them...

Warning: contains avengers infinity war spoilers, black widow spoilers, mentions of blood, self injury, drugging, ooc writing,

Part 19: a rose by any other name…

🔹🔹🔹

The lights of the city are absolutely dazzling tonight from your vantage point, thousands of twinkling little dots all connected to another human in some way or another like a blinking map of souls. Gothams quiet tonight, or as quiet as Gotham can ever be anyways.

He actually decorated a little bit before dragging you up here, a blanket and cooler pack sat just under the ledge and he somehow shoved a small bouquet of black roses in the mouth of the gargoyle statue, you're so picking on him later for that one.

But right now you're just both sitting together on the blanket, shoulders bumping and thighs pressed together as you share a bottle of wine. Some vintage brand that probably costs more than two months of your rent, not that you care to think about it as the bitter liquid warms your throat.

He's already staring when you turn to pass it back to him, blown out pupils and an uncharacteristic smile on his clean shaven face, he says nothing but when he grabs a napkin to wipe at your face you feel his affection warming your cheeks more than the wine could hope to.

“You're gonna embarrass me if you keep looking like that.” You murmur softly as you turn away to hide a small smile into the plush fluff of your chunky sweater, even after so many nights spent like this it catches you off guard when he devotes his full attention to you. He's so…. Intense, his loves a heavy thing.

“How am I looking at you? I'm just enjoying the view.”

You huff softly at the softly spoken flirt and take the wine bottle back from him before he can even take his turn, not that he protests of course, you wouldn't have been able to wrestle it out of his grasp if he didn't truly want you to have it. “You look at me like you have a crush on me.”

It's Bruce's turn to huff softly and roll his eyes, his shoulder bumping into yours before he moves to sling an arm over your shoulder and pull you firmly into his side. “oh wow, how embarrassing for me.”

You can feel the grating dry sarcasm in his voice.

It makes you snicker softly as your head drops against his shoulder with a soft little thump, his arm tightens around you as he grabs the bottle back and takes a long drink, you lazily watch the way his Adams apple bobs before you speak.

“it's very embarrassing, yeah. You're lucky I love you enough to ignore how mortifying it is.”

“TT, do you ever get tired of this?” his voice takes on a much softer edge than you were expecting after the childish taunting, the arm draped around you tightens and you feel his thumb start to slowly rub circles into your shoulder.

You could say a lot, continue to poke fun at him, tell him being his bully is your favorite hobby, But instead you just answer plainly.

“No, I don't think I ever will.”

His arm tightens around you and he leans his head against yours for a moment, inhaling your scent before he straightens again and takes a long swig of the wine, you don't miss the way he shakily exhales before passing the bottle back to you. You've only seen Bruce show signs of nerves a few times throughout the time you've been dating. You like to think you know when he needs to be pushed to open up and when he needs to be left to his own devices by now so you don't question him.

“excuse me a second….” he murmurs gruffly as he suddenly extracts himself from you, you glance at him in confusion for a second as he twists and clambers back onto the rooftop and silently disappears around an air-conditioning vent.

He doesn't return immediately so you return to city-watching by your lonesome, the near perpetual clouds obscure the moonlight but the cities bright in it's own way regardless. You'd once teased Bruce relentlessly for how he spoke of the city, you likened him to a sailor reminiscing his sea-beast. Told him you weren't sure if he was a man devoted or enthralled, loved it divinely or unable to escape it's twisted hold on him. Yet you teased him for it no more, because to love Bruce was to eventually love the wretched city in all her glory.

After a few moments you're pulled from your quiet kinda drunk musings by Bruce's warm baritone behind you.

“I have….a question for you….” he sounds unusually…. Off, behind you. Though when you turn you see why.

You feel like all the airs been sucked out of your lungs when you see Bruce down on one knee with a little black box in his hand, his his entire demeanor is almost boyishly nervous as you lock eyes.

You're very quick to react. “Is-is this- are you?…” The words Tumble out so quick you're surprised you didn't slur them out, your hands start to shake when he nods a little too quickly. “This is happening?”

He again nods quickly. “Yeah this is happening…do you…?”

This time you're the one nodding as you turn fully and look down at him, you nearly drop the wine bottle right off the edge of the building in your nerves. “Oh God…. Oh God I love you…”

You never pictured yourself being proposed to, and you certainly didn't picture yourself starting to cry like a baby if you ever were.

Bruce is trying to be the calm one here so he let's you have your moment, don't get it wrong this is the most afraid he's ever been of fucking something up in his life, but he's trying for your sake.

“That's a yes…. Yeah?” He can barely finish his words before you're cutting him off. “Yes! Yes it's a yes!”

Bruce feels like he can breathe properly again as you nod and try to stumble up off the ledge, but he quickly stops you and, with badly shaking hands, he tries to put the ring he'd painstakingly picked out on your left hand. And by trying he nearly drops it twice before he gets it in there and then he finally lets you stand, he does too so he can quickly wrap his arms around you.

“…. You're really agreeing to marry me….” He murmurs disbelievingly even as you weep happily into his shoulder, like he can't quite grasp that you said yes. You never quite realized how little you've seen him shaken up until this moment, but it just makes it all the more human to you. Bruce Wayne is trying not to cry on you all because you said yes.

“Obviously…like it's a hard choice to make…” you bury your face in his shoulder but he quickly lifts your head back up, his hand sliding down to cup your cheek to keep you in place.

“Yeah…. But it is…. I've spent a long time thinking about this, calculated the risks, and I'd like you to do the same thing before we jump the gu-” you cut him off with a kiss before he can start rambling about why you shouldn't agree or why you should wait this out.

You don't care about the risks his life brings, you don't care if you're gonna be in harms way, in the moment all you care about is the fact that this man wants to spend the rest of his life with you.

🔹🔹🔹

You're a jumbled mess of confused emotions by the time you wake up and process that dream, the other you was…a fucking sap. And even worse? So was Bruce.

You thought you couldn't feel anymore lost and confused in this world, yet clearly you were wrong.

Stumbling to the bathroom on unsteady feet to flick the light on and stare at the mirror, the face staring back isn't yours as much as it is, even if you've added sunken bloodshot eyes and uneasy scowls. The difference is this was a face that was loved, not just needed but wanted. The thought sets off some fight or flight instinct in you and you quickly turn the lights off before you break the damn mirror.

The streets are cold at this hour, chills creeping up your fingers and numbing them painfully even after all the movement. All you can do is tuck your gloved hands tighter into your hoodie pockets as you keep going, the large mansion somehow felt too small, too stifling with too much emotion in the air. Or maybe it was just you running away from your problems that got you here.

The hum of an old neon open sign calls to you like a siren and the chills creeping up your legs compels you to crack open the old heavy door and peek inside carefully.

A twenty-four hour gym greets you, peeling paint reveals old crumbling concrete walls and bright lights give the place an odd air of uncanny, like the backrooms thing Peter once showed you, it'll do.

A slightly wary receptionist buzzes you in after you flashed a bill at them, a fake name rolling off your tongue easily. “Alex Stark, can I squeeze in for a few?”

It's a courtesy question more than anything since the place is quiet and obviously empty, the young receptionist nods boredly and pulls a sign-in sheet out, you change up your signature just to be safe and practically drop the pen to walk further into the gym.

The place smells a bit, like musk and a hint of bleach, At least there's alcohol wipe packs scattered around between the different pieces of equipment. Maybe you won't catch something here if you're careful.

You don't bother with any leg machines since you got more than enough cardio on the way here, so you go straight to the pull-up bar to do some warming up, hanging off the bar until your shoulders start to burn and your fingerprints feel like they're scraping off. Then you do some stretches on a mat, you can't resist it anymore and stroll over to the very thing that pulled you in here in the first place, the punching bags.

You don't have hand wraps but at the moment you don't care, you're pent up, trying to process emotions that are yours and yet aren't, your minds still a loud mess so you silence it, the first punch feels good as much as it stings and shocks your limbs.

This is…. You can't say better, but it's familiar. The sharp bite and dull reverberations up your wrists all the way to your shoulders makes you feel more alive than you've felt in months. There's only so much training you can do in a bedroom and you need to be at your peak. You hit and hit until your knuckles are dark, and then you kick and knee the bag until your already tired calves throb and your knees threaten to buckle, then you go back to punching. Not caring about the skin splitting and smearing tiny droplets of blood along the bag. Nothing a few wipes won't fix before you leave.

The doors open and you watch out of the corner of your eye as a hooded figure enters the gym, though they seem more interested in the treadmill than you so you continue doing your own thing.

“need a spotter?” at the soft call from behind you quickly turn and catch a green eyed woman staring at you, and for just a second your breath catches, picturing a different woman in her place. She looks earnest though and approaches you before you can rebuff her, she sets her hands on the bag and steadies it while leaning around it just enough to keep her eyes on you.

“you've got impressive form you know, like a boxer or something.” she sounds impressed as she follows your movements carefully, the small smile on her face growing more interested by the minute.

She's too immediately chatty for your liking, it just seems off for a stranger. “…thanks.”

“Don't mention it, I'm just glad I'm not the only one here. The place gets creepy sometimes.” she looks around at the slightly shitty conditions of the building pointedly, though her eyes don't leave your form for too long.

“the price we pay to come and punch things at any hour.” your tone is definitely snarky and you know it, not that you're in the mood to reel it in right now.

She only seems to grow more amused at your sarcastic response, she grunts under her breath and adjusts her stance to hold the bag better when it gently knocks into her, you're really going to town on it.

“price indeed, someone making you mad or something? You're treating this thing like it slept with your wife.”

She's clearly looking for conversation, persistent too. You decide to indulge her a bit since she's helping you out and giving you something to focus on. “No one in particular no, just having a week.”

“Mm, I know that feeling well.” You doubt she knows what you're feeling but oh well, she continues on while you keep abusing the punching bag. “Sometimes you just gotta get it out somehow y'know?”

She sounds far too cheery at this hour, you'd thought people in Gotham wouldn't know what friendliness feels like.

Your response is still dry as flour. “Mhmm, better a bag of sand than your spouse.”

She seems to brighten up at that, giggling deviously like you're her bestie giving her the gossip.

“Ooh sounds interesting, are they in the doghouse?” you can't help but roll your eyes a bit at the question, though it's more about you situation than at her. “More like we're in each other's doghouse honestly.”

She winces and whistles through her teeth. “oof, that's never a good thing…. You wanna talk about it or just beat this thing? Sometimes it's good to get this stuff off your chest.”

You shake your head at her offer and just keep wailing on the punching bag, this isn't something to tell a stranger. Hell you wouldn't talk to Rogers or Thor about this if they were here. No this is a you thing.

And that's how things continue on for a while, the gym is quiet other than the sound of your fists connecting with leather and the occasional grunt escaping your mystery named gym partner as she braces for your aggression. It's nice to not have to explain yourself or play stupid with someone, it puts you at ease almost strangely quickly even as your wounded hands smear flecks of blood about.

After a few moments the woman leans over again to catch your eye, her brows furrow as she stares down at your bruised and split hands and she grimaces slightly before she moves.

A manicured hand curls and drags across the surface of the punching bag as she shifts, suddenly flying out to grab a hold of your arm and pull your hand up to her face, near close enough for her blood red lips to touch your cracked and bleeding knuckles. her gaze drags up your arm and body like something heavy, thick lashes nearly cover grass green eyes when she catches your stare and for a moment you blank out.

“you should take a breather, hun.”she murmurs softly while stepping around the punching bag, your hand still in hers. “you look like you need to relax.”

for a moment your head feels cloudy, you don’t notice the cold or the exhaustion in your limbs anymore, you don’t feel the sharp sting in your knuckles and wrists or the bruise blooming on your knee, you can just focus on the warm weight of her hand wrapped around your wrist and the unbreaking stare of her hypnotic eyes.

It's when her thumb delicately swipes over your knuckles, smearing a drop of blood across the bruised skin do you react, it doesn't hurt like it should. This isn't right. Your skin erupts in goosebumps when you realize to your growing horror, you've somehow been drugged.

You roughly jerk your hand out of hers and move back, shit she got to you when you're already tired, why didn't you notice? It's like she dosed you with some kind of aphrodisiac, this woman's a threat.

To your suspicious surprise the redhead just giggles and backs away from you after you moved, amusedly crossing her arms across her chest like this was all just some silly prank she pulled. “Ooh, you're much more observant now.”

Your eyes narrow at that, so she knew you before huh. You were stupid to let her get close to you. “Just who are you.”

“you don't remember me? I'm a little hurt. After all the time we spent together…” she sighs wistfully while flicking a long curl over her shoulder, the smirk she doesn't even try to hide really kills her ‘morose’ tone.

“Who. Are. You.” You practically snarl while taking a wider stance, you're already exhausted, but you'll be damned if you won't fight like a hellcat if she makes a move.

Her arms drop to rest her hands on her hips and she giggles again, that fuzzy feeling in your head starts to return and you realize it must be coming directly from her, like she's breathing out the drug. “You're so abrasive now, you used to be so…soft, like a flower petal ready to be bruised. And here I thought marriage would break you...I think I like the little thornbush you've become, though. It suits you.”

You can practically hear your teeth grinding together as the woman keeps ignoring your question and taunting you with it, maybe you could make a dive for a dumbbell on the rack as she keeps talking…

“am I supposed to be intimidated by your little speech?” You huff out while straightening up, forcing yourself into a relaxed, yet annoyed stance, hands shoved in your hoodie and everything.

“You don't find me impressive baby?” She laughs and moves when you do, matching your movements when you edge closer to the weights rack.

“I find you creepy, wanna tell me what you drugged me with?” She pauses at that, one eyebrow raised as she looks you up and down from head to toe. “You noticed? And here I thought you were just playing hard to get before you'd start begging for a little affection.”

Her words make your gut twist at the sinister implications, you're just about ready to make a dive for a weapon when she continues her lament.

“…then again I was always the one chasing after you, wasn't i.”

She's staring right at you with an unreadable expression on her face, the blank expression just makes her look even more eerie, almost inhuman…

“…I still don't know what you mean, have we met before?” Your frustration builds at the lack of…well anything you're getting, that seems to be the norm in Gotham though.

Her head tilts and she almost looks frustrated with you before another emotion suddenly flickers across her face, she suddenly looks understanding as she straightens up and drops her hands from her hips. “You really did lose everything huh.”

“Yeah no shit Sherlock, wasn't that plastered all over the news enough?” just how does this woman know you? The thought of apparently being acquaintances with someone who apparently drugs people is…. Worrying to say the least.

“I had thought that was exaggerated to give your family some privacy, they seem to love every little chance for shields from the public after all. I wouldn't put it past them to use you like that.” she says nonchalantly while suddenly turning away from you and strolling over to one of the vending machines in the corner, you can only stare at her incredulously, she really just said something like that and then went to get a snack?

Your feet are near silent as you follow after her to continue your questioning. “Just what do you mean by that, is there something I'm missing here?”

She pulls a vitamin water out of the machine and turns to lean against it while cracking it open. “Why don't you ask them that.”

You want to choke her just a little bit.

“I'm asking you, since we're apparently old friends or something.”

She pauses, bottle halfway up to her mouth as she stares you down with a debating expression, lips twisting contemplatively before she speaks again. “….I don't know anything for sure, but I just know that when you got tangled up with them you suddenly weren't…. It's like you were suddenly afraid of Gotham in a whole new way, afraid of me. That hurt, especially after you taught me so much.”

She's still leaning casually but you don't miss the accusatory squint in her eyes as she takes a long drink, the hard clench of her perfect nails into the cheap plastic, she's either genuinely mad or good at faking.

You're even more confused now, what are you dealing with here? “…who are you?”

This time when you ask that she just sighs and starts to approach you, you tense but she just walks past you, only pausing to pat your shoulder and mutter in your ear. “I go by a few names these days, but you used to call me Pam.”

Then she strolls away with an innocent whistle, only saying one more thing before walking out of the gym room altogether.

“If you've ever got questions you should check out the park after dark, the forested part not that disgusting poisoned Earth part.”

And then just like that she's gone, the gym falls completely silent other than the faint hum of the heating unit in the ceiling.

🔹🔹🔹

You bought some basic medical supplies in a twenty-four hour convenience store and wrapped yourself up in the bathroom before getting back out on the street, the gauze and medical tape are clearly cheap quality but the astringent burned enough to know it's doing it's job on your fists.

Gothams even quieter now despite edging towards the break of dawn, without the shooting shouting and honking of horns you can almost appreciate the cities eccentric appearance as you walk back down the cracked sidewalks towards the edge of town. Or you would if your mind wasn't all jumbled up with confusion and paranoia anyways.

No one's mentioned an old friend named Pam but part of you is certain she was telling the truth about knowing you somehow. Those weren't the expressions of someone who's seen you on tv and wanted to have a go at a stranger. No those emotions were personal.

Your phone buzzes in your back pocket and pulls you out of your theorizing enough to answer the call, already knowing who it was gonna be. “Hello.”

“(Name) Thank God! Where are you?” Bruce sounds terrified on the other end of the call, judging by the slight shuffling you hear he's pacing the floor.

Your voice is dead tired as you answer him, the mental and physical toll is this whole thing weighing heavily on you. “I'm….. In the city.”

“What? Where!? Are you alright?”

And just like that the guilt you've been carrying the entire time you've been here comes crashing back down on you when you hear the utter panic in his voice, he's scared for you.

“I'm okay…. Just needed to take a walk.”

He must hear something in your voice because he's quiet for a few seconds, you hear the slightest tremor in his voice as he exhales before he speaks. “…. Okay, i-I'm coming to get you. What street are you on?”

“Bruce I'll make it home on my own, you're going back to work today aren't you?”

He's quick to shut that down though, his voice much firmer than before. “Do you think I want you walking all the way from the city? Please, just tell me where you are before I go out blindly driving. Come on (name)….”

You know he knows he's won when you sigh tiredly into the phone, you don't want to talk about all of this right now but you just know he might actually look for you, he's clearly already checked through the manor if he knows you walked.

“…. I'm next to a 7/11 that's across the street from a bank in-”

“I know where that's at the kids go there all the time, I'll be there in ten. Please don't wander off…”

You're weirdly tired by the time you get off the phone, maybe the restless sleep is finally catching up to you, or maybe it's a lingering effect of whatever you are dosed with, but right now you just want to curl up in your bed and sleep for the rest of the week. You're so tired of the lying and games…

🔹🔹🔹

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A/n: lol I spent the longest time on the dream scene, 👁️👄👁️ it's been days because IDK how to write romance yet 😭 but anyways I hope y'all enjoy and have a lovely day/night and pls remember to take care of yourselves! 💞💞💞

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[wbbpls]

Platonic Plus One? (Chapter 3)

Azzi POV

The girls finished getting ready, naturally working around each other. They went down for dinner and started greeting the family. The first to greet them was Azzi’s grandma. 

“Sweetheart, I missed you!”

“I missed you too, Grandma.” Azzi bends down to hug her grandmother. The three women spent time catching up about school, basketball, and summer plans. Eventually, her grandmother switches gears. 

“So no boys to bring home with you, huh darling?”

“No, Grandma. Just focused on basketball.”

“You know Jonathan is here? That sweet boy you went to prom with. His older brother is close to Brandon.” 

“We’re just friends. I’m really fine and just focused on basketball right now.” Azzi tries to smile politely, but she's already heard this a million times.

“Okay, okay, I’ll leave it alone. I trust Paige is looking after you in the meantime.”

“You know it, Grandma Fudd!” 

“Ugh, Paige, don’t enable her.” Azzi whispers when her grandmother walks away. Azzi’s aunt notices the girls from across the room and makes her way over.

Azzi rolls her eyes and whispers to Paige. “Time to get reamed out part 2 about not bringing a guy.”

“Azzi, my love! Paige! It’s so good to see you, beautiful girls.”

“Hey, Aunt Chrissy!” The girls say simultaneously.

“Azzi, before we catch up, I must say it’s so sweet to see how happy you are.”

“Oh, wow, thanks…it’s always nice to see the family.”

“And you, Paige!” Her aunt grabs her hands. “It’s always been you. I’m just so happy!”

Paige had no idea what to say to that. What does it even mean? Before either of the girls could respond, one of the many cousins yelled from the other side of the room. “Yo, Mom, we need you for a picture!”

“Well, duty calls. Oh, and don’t worry, sweetie, I already told the boys to leave you alone.” She winks at the girls and smiles as she walks away.

“Uh, that was weird.”

“Really weird. But like oddly nice? I don’t think she’s ever greeted me like that at a family event.”

“Maybe she’s just a romance gal, you know? Feelin' the vibe of the wedding.”

“Also, when has she ever told a boy to leave me alone?” Azzi is completely lost now. 

“I don’t know, man, but take what you can get. For example, I see a bar that likely has shirley temples. You want anything?”

Azzi chuckles, “Yeah, I’ll take a glass of red wine.”

“You got it, Princess.”

When Paige walks away, one of the groomsmen accidentally bumps into Azzi. “Shit I’m so sorry. Oh my god. You’re Azzi Fudd.”

“Haha, it’s okay. You’re one of Brandon’s groomsmen, right? What’s your name?”

“I’m Jake! I’m pretty sure we are paired to walk down the aisle together.” 

He’s handsome, tall, and respectful, but Azzi finds herself looking to see if Paige is done getting drinks. Azzi tries to make small talk, knowing she needs to spend time with more people than Paige. “I think we are going to have tons of events together this week. Seems like it’s packed with events.”

“Seriously, so many events! My girlfriend is a little annoyed I’ll have to leave her so much. I’m sure Paige gets it, though.” 

“Yeah, luckily, she’s really close with my family, so she’ll get along just fine.”

“Plus, pretty much all of us are coupled off, so our partners can hang together when we are off with our wedding party duties. You and Paige are definitely the coolest couple here, though.”

Azzi freezes. What did he just say?

Her and...Paige? A couple? Not best friends. Not the UConn duo, but a couple. Like...the dating kind of couple? The kind that holds hands, and kisses, and-

Paige walks up, handing Azzi her drink. “Sorry that took so long, Az. It was a long line.”

“Aye, speak of the devil! Sup, I’m Jake, one of the groomsmen.” 

“Oh, hey man, nice to meet you.” 

“You too. I’m a huge fan, by the way!”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it.” 

“It looks like everyone is starting to sit down for dinner. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

As the girls went to sit down, Paige pulled Azzi’s chair out for her, and Azzi noticed her cousin wiggle her eyebrows suggestively. Between her aunt, cousin, and Mrs. Miller, Azzi starts to think no one thinks she and Paige are best friends anymore. She decides to test this theory. 

Azzi leans into Paige, gently touching her shoulder to get her attention. “Do you know if there was anything else for tonight on that schedule?” 

“Hm, no, I don’t think so. Jose brought his PS5 portal remote, so we might play fortnight after this if you’re down.” Paige keeps babbling about random video games, and Azzi notices one of the other bridesmaids smiling at them adoringly. Time to push the limits some more. Azzi begins to run her fingers through Paige’s hair. “Looks like something is in your hair, P., Just getting it out.”

Paige’s eyes flutter closed for a second at the feeling of her fingers. “Thanks, Az.” That same bridesmaid now practically has heart eyes, and she notices her Mom glance over a smile. Did people do this before, too? Nothing is over the top. If anything, this all feels almost normal, as if nothing really changed. 

It’s suddenly getting hard to breathe, and Azzi begins to shake her leg. “Paige, sweetie, could you help me with something real quick?”

Paige looks up from her food mid bite and looks at Azzi as if she asked her to cure some disease. She swallows her bite dramatically. “Uh, sure. You okay, darling?” 

Azzi grabs Paige’s wrist and quickly drags her toward the nearest bathroom. “Yep!” Azzi says with a high voice. Thankfully, it's a one-person bathroom, so no one else is here to hear what she will say, if she can even get it out of her. She paces back and forth, trying to piece it all together. 

“Azzi, what’s wrong? Did someone say something to you?”

“Everyone thinks we’re dating,” Azzi blurts out and stops to look at Paige. She doesn’t want Paige to freak out and leave. 

Paige contorts her face in confusion. “Dude, literally who thinks that?”

“Literally everyone!” Azzi covers her face with her hands. 

“Okay, but why would they think that? Your family knows we’ve been best friends for years.” 

“I don’t know! It’s you and me. Paige and Azzi. It’s just weird.” 

Paige crosses her arms and mumbles, “Aight, it's not the weirdest thing in the world to date me, damn.” 

“Ugh, Paige, not now.” 

“It’s fine, Az. Let’s just go clear things up. They probably assumed that since you brought me as a plus one. You don’t need to worry about anyone thinking you’d actually date me.” Paige moves towards the door to go back to the dining room, but Azzi grabs her arm again. “No, wait.” 

“Dude, you really need to stop grabbing my wrist. There’s going to be an Azzi handprint permanently there by the end of the week.”

“Maybe we just don’t correct them.”

Paige has never whipped her head so fast in her life. “What? W-why would be do that?” 

“Were you not in the same room with my grandma hounding me about dating? Did you not see how nice the rest of my family has been to me since they thought we were dating?  It’s going to be such a long week of everyone up my ass and us dating would this would fix it. Please?”

“Fix it? Us? There isn’t actually an us though, Az!”

“Oh, now the thought of dating me is oh so horrible?

“No! Az, you know I think you’re perfect. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Okay, so date me! It’s just a week, P. We still just act our normal selves most of the time. Then the next time a family member asks I’ll just be like oh yeah, we were better off as friends or something. I just need one week of peace with my family. Please, Paige, I’m begging you!”

“Alright, man, I’ll think about it. I just feel so bad lying to your family.” 

Azzi leans in to hug Paige and sighs. “I get it, P. I won’t pressure you. I’m happy to even have you here.” They stand in that hug for much longer than friends who definitely aren’t dating should. 

Suddenly, a knock at the door breaks them apart. They open the door to find Azzi’s aunt on the other side. “You okay, ladies? The next course is coming, and welcome speeches will start soon.” 

Azzi starts to stutter, not knowing what direction she and Paige agreed on. Luckily, Paige steps in. “Yeah, we’re good.” Then she laces her fingers into Azzi’s hands. “Ready to head back, baby?”

“Uh, y-yeah, babe.” Azzi stutters as she tries to ignore the heat that went through her body when Paige called her baby. Meanwhile, her Aunt Chrissy simply smiles and walks back towards the dining room as if they’ve been calling each other baby for years.

[declanscunt]

top five novels?

forgot how difficult it is for me to decide anything ever lol but....... currently my top 5 novels are:

the lonely city — olivia laing

nona the ninth — tamsyn muir

beloved — toni morrison

the time machine — h.g. wells

the things they carried — tim o'brien

nope sorry i must add more:

the cardturner — louis sachar

mister impossible — maggie stiefvater

a wrinkle in time — madeleine l’engle

a man called ove — fredrik backman

the dream thieves — maggie stiefvater

circe — madeline miller

[lbhslefttiddie]

youve heard of sex flowers get ready for the flower that makes you into a celestial shoujo herione complete with particle effects you cannot turn the fuck off and creates a wifebeam so powerful it can incapacitate and maim and keeps making you burst into tears and fall on your ass which makes the wifebeam More Powerful and you also cannot turn this off either. and is also still, sort of, a sex flower

from one of my favorite fanfictions, Celestial Afterglow by elanor_pam, a fic that defies description in the best possible way

[clowningcrows]

hot take i guess but when i watch the scene with billy and agatha where she finds out for sure he’s billy maximoff and starts tearing up, i perceive it as being bc she’s still a bit (read: significantly) heartbroken that he isn’t nicky. he isn’t hers. sure, she might’ve known from the beginning to some degree that he was wanda’s, but she doesn’t know for sure. we see that every time she panics because he’s hurt. we see that in the way she refused to leave his side when he was asleep. we see that when rio herself has to shake agatha out of it, saying, “agatha… that boy isn’t yours.” like YES logically i think she knew he wasn’t nicky, that he couldn’t be but we CAN see how painfully, hopelessly desperate agatha is to think that maybe he could be. so in my mind, she sees billy maximoff standing in front of her, finally being met with indisputable proof that he could not possibly be her lost son. how could she not tear up at that?

[birdie-ghost]

AP chemistry moment

[pasta-pardner]

sixguns & innuendo

[k1tty5]

hello :D please tell me more about your mezalian (is that how you spell it??) smalletho I will forever be indebted to you

(they are gorgeous I love them sm)

hey hi !! it would be my pleasure … (and I’ve been spelling it mezalean ??? but i have no idea LOL. there might be a canon spelling but i havent watched joels esmp1 since… probably since it ended. i will have to check sometime)

apologizing in advance because i will probably get very ramble-y!!

ummm. Oh god. How to start. Lets see. WELL. In this silly little au (i guess it has become a bit more than just me doodling designs LOL) in my head they have like this sort of zelink dynamic? obviously without all the zelda lore & stuff, just that kind of … okay forgive me I haven’t brushed up on my zelink lore for a good many years but. Like the princess and her personal knight that doesn’t really talk much sort of thing.

this made more sense in my head. But yeah. They have the vibes of zelink ? At least if i remember zelink right, I have a really bad memory :’) not exactly the same, i do think etho talks to joel (whereas if iirc link never really talks) - especially after getting to know him a bit - but just. they have the Vibes. You know?

I reckon Joel’s definitely very into sculpting in this au, maybe dabbles a little in painting - I imagine mezalea to be very heavy on art and expression in general. think you’d especially see lots of pottery and textiles all around the place. He probably also has an interest in some form of like. um. whats the word. Some sort of … fighting. lmao. Specifically thinking of fencing, i had this idea in my head that he’s watched Etho practice outside the palace at some point and is just absolutely fascinated and enamored. by both the practice and etho himself haha.

and for etho… talented swordsman? he is Not washed. i dont really have many ideas for his character in this au To be completely honest, mostly just of his personality. Although, I alsooo think he’s probably not actually from mezalea? I like to draw him with those pointy elf ears, and i think mezaleans are just humans. I cant remember if thats canon or not but um. mezaleans have human ears, so i’d imagine etho’s probably from like.. rivendelle? Is that. What it’s called. The elf guys? Are they elves??? Goodness I cant remember. Grimlands would make sense too since i THINK they’re kind of like. technical engineer guys? but i dont know what species they are um so ,,, yeah,,,,

i think joel’s probably a bit put off by etho at first, mostly just because he’s not super enthused about the idea of a personal guard, but also because the guys a bit odd, you know? but he’s also probably suuuper intrigued by him. he wants to figure this new guy out, and when they start talking a bit more, i think. They are both incredibly charmed by the other. head over heels? possibly.

most of my ideas of this au are just little scenes that are cute and silly but dont follow any main plot. I would love to write some one-shots of some of the ideas i have in the future, but as of right now im experiencing a bout of creative burnout and am busy with the holidays - spending time with family, so… not right now lol!

hopefully this is what you wanted,,,, i tend to get very ramble-y when talking about literally anything, so i do apologize for that haha, i am Not good at explaining things in simple ways, as i’ve said many a time before.

[skitskatdacat63]

Timeswap!Vettonso(I blame @ayceeofspades for this)

Thoughts:

References HEHEHEHE:

So the dynamics would be: STR!Seb x Aston!Fernando and Post-Retirement!Seb x Ferarri!Fernando(~2011-2012)

The former would be a Seb who is very hungry for Fernando's attention, but now he's with a Fernando is actually now very willing to give him that attention. Fernando is constantly repeating in his head: "Don't fuck the twink don't fuck the twink don't fuck the twink", but every time they end up on the podium together, Seb always ends up being all over him and "accidentally" groping him. So Seb is still a brat but is with a Fernando who's not gonna just be cold to him but will indulge him instead 🤭

The latter is more angsty AAAHHH!! Cause its a Fernando who is in Ferrari hell and Seb who is post-catharsis. And to quote C, Fernando is like "why are you so happy??? Did you win!?" and Seb responds: "no :)" But also I am not immune to Seb being coy and playing with Fernando. He now understands why Fernando was the way he was back then because he's now gone through the same thing with Ferrari, but also wants him to stop being so gloomy and angsty about it.

Don't ask about how these AUs work, just know that they have knowledge of what their original counterparts were like so it's weird for the younger versions to get to see what ends up happening to the other, and then allows the olders to gain a new perspective instead of their biased memories(i.e.: "you're not who I was villainizing you as in my head" = both of them realize that they were building the other up as such an antagonist in their head but then, oh, he's just like me fr)(but for younger Seb, Fernando realizes Seb just wanted to be friends :( and so now he's trying to be more of a mentor.)

[radioroxx]

hmmmm mal du pays thoughts tonight

[koterkot]

i'm probably a system but i have a job so idrc about that rn

[mbat]

thinking about the eredar and how they couldve so easily just been like 'fuck off' about them and let them be mindless soulless irredeemable monsters who have hurt and killed countless people across the galaxy for centuries

but they chose to redeem them. to make them work toward redemption, even if they never achieve it in the eyes of most... or anyone, even. to make them people just like the other characters, and rejoin their people that had to separate from them a long time ago.

and how you can play as one now, technically. you can gain customization options to become an eredar and play as one. and thats wild to me, but in a good way. its just neat

[jichanxo]

sooooo... *twirls her hair* how many asks should i send until kuwagami art. jk as well. the real question will be: does it happen often that someone else’s art inspires you? in fandom spaces specifically

well you see it’s like a loyalty card program, every 10 asks or so you get a complimentary kuwagami

just kidding you can just breathe in my direction and I’ll be tempted to draw them. kuwagami blast! (you've caught me on a... just okay art day lol)

(people still like kabedons, right?)

anyway for my actual answer: in terms of direct inspiration, it doesn't really happen much? the last two times i did art directly based on someone else's work is probably this one from this fic, and also that time i drew art of someone else's judgment au. oh! and there's that moriohpsycho art based on this comic! (filthyguts' work is so very. hgngngghh. very good.) nothing else really comes to mind, and when i think of the other things i've been into recently there hasn't been as much opportunity for that to happen...

flex and herds = strong fixation but lmao. almost nobody else made stuff about them. nobody is surprised umineko = surprisingly i don't read much umineko fanfiction? and in terms of illustration, i certainly picked up imagery and indirect inspiration but nothing concrete enough for me to give an example... now that i think about it, i did once draw andromalius from redaction/sunny, but that was years ago, and also mostly because i was acquainted with the writer. ...i don't have that artwork on hand right now death note = didn't really get involved with the fandom + i enjoyed my own ideas well enough! ...i can't recall if i drew long-hair-L art before or after seeing other artists do it. and as for everything else the same kind of reasoning applies. didn't really get involved with the fandom or wasn't really compelled to make art in response to stuff i saw, or i just don't remember anymore.

buuuuuuut if we're opening this up to just... pulling ideas from other people? then yeah, all the time, though that kind of goes without saying when you have a creative hobby. ...it's probably going to be hard to come up with examples of this since it's more ambiguous.

there's uhhhhhh... kuwana listens to nickelback which was a @/four-white-trees invention, wasn't it? (EDIT: and @/overdevelopedglasses!) (not tagging in this post so he doesn't feel obligated to read my big ass ask responses 💀) as of writing this, it's not posted but i did end up making kuwagami art based on a nickelback song so. yknow. there's that LMAO

for sawashiro and arakawa, i do sometimes go reference @/todayisafridaynight 's art to help me with my own. ("how did he draw this part of the suit? oh, like that huh? hmm" <- this kind of thing)

and um. i'm not trying to pander to you (at least not this time), but genuinely it's one of the few examples that come to mind at this moment. but when i was writing my first kuwagami fic, i could feel the influence of the ever-changing on my brain... was turning over some of your ideas there...

you remember this? (you even pointed it out in your comment on my fic, and i should've said something then, but whatever i'm saying it now)

that was absolutely because of this

(obligatory poke at anybody else reading this post that you can read passthroughtime's fic here.)

so, um. yeah. not really sure what else to add to that. pretty self evident i think. (i'm always talking about the ever-changing but i don't think i can overstate the impression it left on me at the time)

anyhow there aren't really any other examples off the top of my head! these are all recent examples so they're not so difficult to recall, but there are probably others i've forgotten...

[ratatatastic]

for everytime swaggy uses we are the champions in any post i think we need to shoot him with a paintball gun in the back

[meringuejellyfish]

the music for the colgera battle is quite delightful (wow i just need to say i like it. goodness) its a shame i couldnt really properly hear it while actually playing on account of having to sit right next to a loud ac but listening to it fully the other day was nice. took me a few weeks but i can appreciate it now - and listen ... im a simple guy, the rito village theme being incorporated into a section of it is just wow :-( ....... big leitmotif fan. walking into zoras domain is going to kill me

[aro-aizawa]

sighs in contentment......