#i wonder if it could get flagged for that caption

[vivwritesfics]

Spider-Man Kiss

One particularly bad crash lands her in hospital, out for the count. Max, Lando and Charles visit her every single day. While she's out the reader lives several different lives. The one thing they all have in common? Her boys

Max Verstappen x Reader, Lando Norris x reader, Charles Leclerc x reader

Any suggestions for the fandoms used in the next part would be much appreciated!! I'm thinking maybe pjo, maybe harry potter, maybe star wars but im not sure

The Second Part The Third Part

Huge thanks to @cheriladycl01 for their help with this one

The Ferrari hadn’t felt right all afternoon. But her engineers insisted that there was nothing wrong with the car, that she should keep driving. So, she did just that. Qualifying had been good, not the best, but good, and she’d started in fourth.

But then she was overtaken by a Mercedes. She wasn’t sure what Mercedes; she just knew it was a Mercedes. The car fell apart after that. It wasn’t long before she lost control of the car. Her back tyre clipped the corner and sent her flying into the barriers.

The session was red flagged when she didn’t climb out of her car or respond on the radio. “What happened?” Asked Max Verstappen as he led the rest of grid into the pit lane. His engineer didn’t tell him right away. He let Max stop his car before he told him.

Charles and Lando had been behind her. Charles himself had almost been involved in the accident, having followed close behind. “Fuck, Y/N!” He shouted as it happened. With no other choice but to keep driving, Charles looked in his mirrors, trying to watch for her leaving the car. At the red flag he was panicking. This couldn’t have been good news.

“Holy shit,” Lando found himself saying as he drove past the Ferrari in the barriers. “Is she okay?” But nobody had an answer for him.

She was pulled out of the car and placed onto a stretcher. She was out cold as they placed her in the ambulance and drove away. As soon as her car was removed from the barrier the race resumed. But neither of the three drivers could concentrate. All she had been told was that she was alive, but they couldn’t stop worrying about her.

For maybe the first time in all of their careers, they couldn’t wait for the race to end. It was a foreign sensation, and none of them liked it. The podium wasn’t for celebrating, and none of them were filled with enthusiasm as they covered one another in champagne.

As soon as they could they raced to the hospital to be by her side. It wasn’t an easy sight, seeing her lying on the hospital bed, connected to a drip. “Oh my God,” whispered Lando as he slipped in the seat beside her and took her hand. Max sat on a small space on her bed and Charles leaned against the wall beside the bed.

Videos of the crash had been all over social media. The boys couldn’t go into Instagram without seeing it. Sure, the captions and comments were all wishing her well, but it was still hard to see. “I wonder what she’s dreaming about,” Charles said quietly, almost sadly as he petted her hair.

“I hope it’s something nice,” Max said, kissing the side of her head.

***

The party was in full swing. The drinks were flowing, and Y/N had already had plenty. Charles stood behind the bar, serving with a sultry smile, and Lewis entertained his guests. She sat beside Daniel, leaning against him as she sipped her drink. He was speaking to Max, a man who still refused to acknowledge everyone.

Lewis and Max didn’t get along. It was understandable, Max had been an unstoppable killing machine, and he’d killed Lewis’s parents. But they’d saved the world together, and he was giving him a chance.

The Iron Man, in his strapping suit, walked past and offered Y/N his hand. “Dance with me,” Lewis said and she happily obliged, handing Daniel her drink to look after.

Daniel may have been Australian, but he was still Captain America. He certainly loved this country enough to be their Captain America. He protected Y/N’s drink as he continued talking to Max. Misunderstood Max, who had been his best friend all those years ago. Max, who had been ripped away from him in the war. Max, who wasn’t the same man he used to be now that he was returned to him.

“Where’s Lando?” She asked as she danced with him.

Lewis shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, you know kids. He’s probably swinging about somewhere.”

She gave him a look, one that said she was unimpressed. “You didn’t invite him, did you?” She asked, and Lewis looked at the floor, still slightly smiling. “Lewis! He really looks up to you,” she said and stepped away from him.

“Hey!” Lewis called after her. “Where are you going?”

“To get him!” She called back as she grabbed her coat. Lewis, Max and Daniel watched as she walked out of the tower they called home.

Lando wasn’t an easy guy to find. He didn’t answer his phone when he was in his suit, swinging from building to building. The easiest way to find him was to look up (and follow the news articles).

Currently, Lando was sat on top of the building opposite Lewis’s, watching as the party went on without him. He’d just so happened to land on the building opposite during his nightly patrol, and it was just a little heart breaking. He didn’t see as Y/N left the party to go find him, just continued to watch as Pierre sat on the bar as Charles poured drinks.

Using news sites, Y/N found herself on the next roof over. Lando didn’t spot her. But she certainly spotted him. As quickly as she could, she left the roof and ran over to the next building.

Lando knew she was there before she opened the door. Well, he knew that somebody was there. He stood up in an almost protective stance, waiting for her to push open the door to the roof.

"Lan?" She called softly as she walked towards him. "What're you doing up here?"

He pulled his mask off as he strode towards her. "Having fun at the party?" He asked somewhat bitterly.

She gave him a look. "C'mon," she said, reaching for him. "Lewis meant to invite you but he never got around to it. I came to get you."

But Lando didn't believe her. Of course he didn't. She stepped up to him and ran her fingers through his hair. They'd always been close, and, as much as he wanted to kiss her, he couldn't. Not yet.

Lando bit the inside of his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and looked down at her, waiting for her next move. "I left the party to come get you," she said as she gently swayed from side to side. "How about you swing us across and we can crash the party," she said.

He pulled his mask back over his face and wrapped on arms around her. "Hold on tight," he said and she squeezed her arms around him.

Lando swung them across. He shot a web at Lewis's tower and swung them both across, landing them on the helicopter pad. Even once they had landed Lando still had his arms around her. She giggled and pulled his mask off as she grabbed a hold of him and pulled him through the tower.

The party was dwindling down. Daniel and Max were still there, as was Charles and Pierre. Esteban was pulling on his coat, heading out, and Lewis was surveying everything from the landing above.

"Sorry we're late," said Y/N as she pulled Lando over to the bar. Charles got the both of them a drink and Y/N pulled him over to Max and Daniel.

Daniel liked Lando. He was a good kid and Daniel knew he had a lot to give. It took some time for Max to warm up for Lando, but he felt somewhat protective over him, like Lando was some lost puppy.

"We were wondering when you were gonna turn up," Daniel said as he leaned back in his chair.

Lando pulled at his suit somewhat uncomfortably. "Anybody got anything I can change into?" He asked as he sipped at his drink.

Nodding his head, Max stood up and led Lando out of the room to get changed into something a lot more comfortable.

"I'm not surprised you went to get him," said Daniel as Y/N sat herself opposite. She rolled her eyes and leaned back, looking towards the doorway. "You've liked him since our Formula One days."

"What?" She asked quickly. "What did you say?"

Daniel cleared his throat. "I said you've liked him since he first joined the team."

That was definitely not what he said, but she didn't call into into question. "Have not," she mumbled, quickly finishing her drink.

Daniel rolled his eyes. On the next mission, he was putting them together. They could work it out then."

***

"Here," Lando said as he bought Max something to eat. Just days before Max and Charles had gone into Y/N's apartment and pulled books from her shelf. They took it in turns to read to her as she laid in her hospital bed.

A few of the grid had come by to see her, to wish her well. But, to them, it wasn't looking good. Daniel tried to talk to her, tried to jog her awake that way, but it wasn't working. Nothing seemed to be working.

Eventually their teams came to pull them away. They still had a job to do, and she would want them to do it. But it was damn near impossible to leave her. It broke their goddamn hearts.

"Keep dreaming, chérie," said Charles as he kissed the top of her head. Max squeezed her hand, but he got no squeeze in return. Lando couldn't bear to leave her.

***

The first half of the mission was a success. They stopped H.Y.D.R.A from making more super soldiers or something (nobody was really concentrating on the first half of the mission. It was piece of cake anyway) and were ready to head home.

Except one of their cohort was missing. Spider-Man was nowhere to be seen. "Lan?" Y/N said into her comm. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

There was a moment of a struggle, not like Lando was in trouble, but like he was pushing on something. "Yeah," he said. "I'm... somewhere. I've been locked in a room."

Daniel let out a sigh. "Let's go find him," he said and led the way. Daniel led Y/N back through the H.Y.D.R.A base, almost like he knew exactly where to go.

In a room deep inside of the base, Y/N ran over to the closet. There was chains holding the doors shut with a padlock keeping them secure. The doors shook; clearly Lando was in there.

"Danny? Use those strong arms of your and pull these open," she said as she stood beside the closet door.

Daniel did just that. He pulled open the closet door, but he didn't let Lando out. Instead he pushed Y/N inside and shut the door again, holding them shut. "Daniel, what the hell?!" She shouted as she pounded against the door. "Let us out, you dick!"

"Not until you kiss or something!" He shouted back.

She could barely see in the dark closet as Lando pulled off his mask, his hair messy. "What is he going on about?" He asked as he leaned against the wall.

Y/N let out a sigh. It was now or never. "Our gracious Captain America thinks I have a crush on you," she said as she continued to push on the door. But Daniel was annoyingly strong and the door wouldn't budge.

Lando looked at her. "Do you?" He asked somewhat hesitantly.

She tried the best to look at him in the darkness. "Would it matter if I do?"

He thought about it for a moment. Yeah, it really would matter. Instead of answering, Lando climbed his way up the wall. He went to the middle of the ceiling and let himself hang down. "Have you ever heard of a Spider-Man kiss?"

Her hands held his cheek. She leaned forward and kissed him. Their eyes were shut as Y/N tried to pull him closer. But it was impossible, he was as close as he could possibly be.

It was so intoxicating. She was so intoxicating that Lando nearly slipped off the wall. He still had a hold of it as Daniel opened the door to let them out. He probably wouldn't have believed them unless he saw it with his own eyes, saw the way Lando kissed her.

Her eyes opened when she saw the light flooding into the closet. "Wow," she whispered, but it was only for Lando's ears. But she still pulled away and lunged at Daniel, knocking him to the floor. Her punches weren't hurting him. As she punched him she said a quiet, "thank you."

Daniel couldn't stop himself from grinning.

***

Lando brushed his fingers through her hair. As soon as the race was over he headed back to the hospital to once again be at her side. "I miss you," he whispered, his hands stilling. "We all do. But I think me and Max and Charles miss you the most."

He didn't expect a response. And he didn't get one.

"You missed Monza. I know how much you love Monza." She excelled at Monza. Everybody expected this to be her first Ferrari win. The TIFOSI loved her and couldn't wait to see her win in Italy.

But she didn't get to this year. Lando would have loved to watch her win, to stand on the podium with her.

"Fuck." Tears sprung to his ears. "I miss you so fucking much."

[pricetagofficial]

Dead Man's Hand -H.D.

Warnings: Language, violence, mentions of murder, smoking,

Paring: Harvey Dent x Reader

Masterlist

Part Three

Word Count: 3.8K

A/N: HERE IT IS! THE FOURTH PART OF MY HARVEY SERIES. I know you guys have been waiting literal years for this, and I am here finally delivering. Big shout out to my bestie @offendedfishnoises because without them this would not be here in front of you. I hope you all enjoy it! Also I think this is the most amount of times I have written the word Fuck in a fic.

You stared at your reflection in the mirror, adjusting the last touches to your hair and makeup. You were due to meet Harvey for dinner tonight, it being one of the few nights he was truly free from his job. 

The final touch was the diamond necklace Harvey had gifted you the week before. With that and your heels, you were ready. As you were grabbing your purse, there was a knock at your door. 

That must be the driver wondering where you were, Harvey Dent was a very devoted man. Not only did he shower you with gifts, but he ensured you were always safe. Especially after that one threat to your life a few months ago, and then the situation that happened on your birthday. 

But Harvey more than made up for that with a special night with him, and two friends you’d be more than happy to repeat the occasion with. 

Another rapt knock pulled you from your thoughts, as you grabbed your stuff and opened the door. “I get it, I’m running a little late. But you can’t rush perfection.” 

Looking at the man in front of you, your brows furrowed together. He wasn’t familiar at all, and he was holding a box with a black bow on the top; the sight of a black bow tugging at the back of your mind. 

“I have a present for Miss Y/N,” 

Even his voice sounded odd. Looking him over, you narrowed your eyes. “You can leave it by the door, I’m afraid I’m waiting for my boyfriend.” 

“You and I both know he is across town waiting for you,” 

Immediately red flags waved around as you tried to slam the door shut only for it to be stopped by his foot. Not wanting to waste a moment, you ran trying to fish your phone out of your purse to call Harvey. 

A hand grabbed you by the hair, tugging you back as your phone flew out of your hands. “Sorry Miss, but you’re coming with me. Boss’s orders.” 

Before you could object, a cloth covered your face cutting off your airflow as you slowly watched everything around you fade to black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harvey paced back and forth, something was wrong. You were never late, and when you were you always called to tell him where you were. Yet here he was, pacing outside the restaurant, with no word from you on your whereabouts. 

The two of you agreed to meet for dinner at eight, so you could enjoy the evening hours in each other’s company like he promised you weeks ago when he made the reservation. Now here he was, minutes from losing it and you were nowhere to be seen.

Looking up and down the bustling street, he didn’t see you nor the car he sent to get you. 

He was minutes from leaving to look for you himself when a text appeared on his phone from an unknown number. It was then Harvey knew something was seriously wrong. Opening the message, Harvey’s heart dropped to his stomach. 

There you were, unconscious on the grimy floor of who knows where. Your beautiful skin was marked with bruises and fingerprints, probably from your kidnapping. Below, he read the caption attached to the image. 

Unknown: Thanks for the present; she will be thoroughly appreciated. 

Harvey let out an inhuman growl, clenching his fist so tight the phone shattered in his hand. He was right, someone kidnapped you on the way to dinner and he was none the wiser. When he got his hands on the fucker that did this, they would only wish they were dead. 

There are so many worse things he could do to someone that didn’t involve killing them. 

Fishing into his coat pocket, Harvey pulled out his second burner phone used for business. A man of his profession always kept spares on hand. Dialing the first number, Harvey all but yelled at the man who answered it. 

“Hey boss, what’s up? I thought you were out with the missus–” 

“Grab your men, and case the city. She’s missing, some deranged fucker thought he’d be funny and grab her. I don’t care if you have to go door to door, alley to alley, block by block; hell if they call the cops have them file a fuckin’ missing person’s report. Find her, or don’t bother coming back.” 

Cobb nodded quickly, “Understood boss, I’ll get the boys out and lookin’ immediately.” 

“Report back to me the second you hear anything.” 

“Yes sir.” 

With that, he hung up and let out a frustrated sigh. Harvey had any number of enemies, and any one of them was willing to take the chance to hurt the most important thing in the world to him. His issue was narrowing down who hated him the most, and who’d be stupid enough to do this. 

Harvey tried his best to keep his worries to a minimum, but after several hours without an update from any of his men, it got harder and harder. Without an ounce of sleep, Harvey and his men searched all through the night and the following day, with the occasional texts and images of you with proof of life, taunting him with the fact you were at the whims of whoever your kidnapper was.

It wasn’t until midnight the following night, did Harvey finally reach his last straw. 

There was a notification with another image from the same unknown number. 

Clenching his jaw, he opened it and saw an image of you. The finger-shaped bruises were more prominent while more decorated other parts of your face and upper body. You were tied to a chair with a blindfold over your eyes, and was that–

Why the fuck was there a ball gag shoved in your mouth?

Harvey felt red-hot anger surge through him as he read the text below. 

Unknown: I think it’s time I finally house-broke this bitch. Have any tips?

Immediately rage overtook him as Harvey threw his phone across his office, shattering it against the concrete wall. 

“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuckin’ fuck!” 

Throwing everything off his desk, Harvey opened the top and pulled out his gun before placing it in the holster on his shoulder. Grabbing his suit jacket, he threw it over his shoulder before storming across the room, and throwing the door open the wood almost splitting from the force. 

Any of his thugs still left in the building immediately made themselves scarce, not wanting to be caught in Two-Face’s rage. 

“Somebody tell me that one of ya dumb fucks have found a lead,” he demanded. 

Nobody dared move, knowing very well they were in the midst of a cold-blooded predator. One small move would make you an instant target, and they all valued their life and jobs. 

“Nobody gonna answer me? Fine.” Harvey pulled the gun and cocked it before aiming it around. “Then you’re all goin’ home in body bags.” 

“Wait, boss! What if we tracked the number from the messages?” 

Harvey turned to look at the one who spoke. “You think I haven’ thought of that yet? Fuckin’ phone is impossible to trace.” 

“We’ll find her boss, we have men out now tearing the city apart as we speak.” 

“Then why the hell are you dumb fucks still here?” Harvey snarled. 

There was a still silence before another thug spoke up. “We’re under order from the missus, in the event of her absence, to not leave you alone.” 

Hearing his confession simmered his rage, even when you were missing and in inevitable danger, you were still taking care of him. Running a hand over his face, Harvey took a deep breath. He couldn’t lose his cool, that would only make him lose control, and get him into trouble with–

Stopping on that thought, he realized there was only one person he could count on to find you. 

Letting out a sigh, Harvey knew what he had to do. You weren’t going to like it one bit, but it was his only option to find you before something horrible happened. 

Holsting his pistol, Harvey stretched his neck before lighting a cigarette. Taking a drag, Harv blew the smoke out and chuckled. Whoever took you, was going to be in for a rude awakening. 

Within 20 minutes, Harv and a crew of his men rolled up to a local bank well-supplied with guns and explosives. 

Harv didn’t miss the looks his men gave him when he just strolled in the front doors and began to shoot it up. Several guards rushed up to stop him, only to be shot down by his rifle. Lowering his gun, Harv puffed out another cloud of smoke. 

“One of ya tell me where I can find the goddamned Batman, and you get to live another night,” he called, watching the citizens and smart cops drop to the floor. 

No one responded. 

“No?” he laughed, turning to look at his crew with an unsettling look in his eye. “Get a load of this boys, these dumb fucks don’t want the Batman to come?” 

The crew around him laughed, as they began ransacking the vaults and registers. 

“H-How do you know he isn’t already on his way?” 

Harv turned to see a bank teller cowering behind a pillar from his cold gaze. Walking over, Harv gripped his hair and pulled his head back to look up at him. “Well, he better get here pretty fuckin’ fast before I start popping some fuckin’ heads!” he growled. 

“And you just became my first volunteer!” 

Dragging the teller by the hair, Harv pulled him out from behind the pillar, into the open floor. “You’ve got exactly two minutes to be here Batman, or I’m gonna start redecorating the inside of his head!” 

A few citizens around him wailed in protest, not wanting to witness a murder but Harv couldn’t care less. All he could think of was that you were in trouble, and needed someone to help you. And that’s what he was doing getting help. 

“Thirty seconds left Batman! I suggest you get down here right fuckin’ now!” 

“Behind you Harvey.” 

Harv turned on his heel to see the caped crusader, eyes narrowed on the man with a rifle in one hand and the teller in the other. 

“Ah look who finally decided to show up boys!” Tossing the teller to the side, Harv took another drag and pulled his cigarette out. “The big bad Batman,” 

“I heard you were looking for me,” 

“Oh well, I’d fuckin’ hope so or I just help up this bank for no reason other than some shits and giggles.” he grinned. “I need a favor,” 

“Why would I help you?” 

Harv opened his arms and gestured around. “Well, step into my office and we can negotiate somethin’.” 

Batman stayed silent, eyes narrowed at his antics. 

Rolling his eyes, Harv dropped his arms before pulling a picture from his wallet. “That’s my girl and some sick fuck thought they’d be funny and kidnap her.” 

Batman held the picture in his hand. It was a picture of you, albeit a risque picture, but nothing Bruce Wayne hadn’t seen before. If he was right, this was taken the night he and Selina spent in a penthouse suite with you and Harvey.

“Why do you need me?” 

“I don’t know where the fuck she is, or who the fuck has her. I was sent a picture of her tied up and I have a feeling I know who did it.” 

Handing the picture back to him, Batman thought through his options. You needed help, that was for sure, and he’d be more than glad to rescue you, but he couldn’t let Harvey just get away with holding up a bank and murdering people, just to get his attention. 

On a bad day, Two-Face was almost worse than the Joker with his temperament and he was lucky he managed to arrive before more people died. 

“I can’t just let you go, Harvey,” 

Harv pointed at the crew around him. “I’ll let you arrest my boys, and I won’t bail them out for two weeks.” 

At that, the men stopped and stared in shock and awe. Did their boss just offer them up as bait to save his girlfriend?

Batman remained silent. 

“Three weeks,” 

Silence still. 

Dragging a hand down his face, Harv groaned. “Fine, you can arrest me and maybe I’ll go quietly.” 

“Deal.” 

Harv grinned and turned to his men behind him. “Good news boys! You’re done for the night! The Bat and I will finish up here!” 

“You got it, boss!” With that, all the thugs scrambled out of the bank with what they had and didn’t look back. 

Batman let out a disgruntled sigh. “Alright, let’s find her.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How could such a beautiful thing belong to such an ugly fucker?” he hummed, tracing a finger down your cheek before removing the gag from your mouth. Rearing your head back, you snapped your teeth at his finger, digging into the flesh. 

Roman let out a cry, pulling his fingers from your mouth and backhanding you. 

“Keep it up, and you won’t be very pretty for much longer.” he hissed. “It’d be a shame to mess up such a pretty face.” 

“I’d rather be ugly than belong to a dick like you.” 

You knew he was glaring at you, the white cloth over your eyes prevented you from seeing anything, let alone your kidnapper but you knew. Roman Sionins was a man who always took what he wanted. 

It seemed he took your last encounter to heart and had deranged himself into thinking you belonged to him now, not Harvey. 

You felt his hand grab your face, puffing your cheeks out. “You listen here, you little bitch. You belong to me, you’ll see it here eventually. I always get what I want, and no schizophrenic, dissociative fucker is gonna stop me.” 

Shifting your foot to the left, you lifted your heel and brought your stiletto down hard onto his foot. Roman let out a howl of pain, as you took your chance and bit the inside of his hand once more. 

Stepping back from you, Roman growled holding his now bleeding hand. “How could a dumb broad like you cause me so many issues?” Walking towards you again, he grabbed the bottom of your dress and ripped it using the shred to wrap his hand. 

You heard sounds around you, before feeling a hand wrap around your throat. “If you’re going to sit here and bite like a bitch in heat, then I am going to breed you like one.” 

Roman’s hands were on you, pulling at your dress as you fought to kick your legs while you worked to get your hands free from the rope. There was a crash behind you and Roman stilled before you felt him be removed from you. 

Before you could ask questions, the blindfold was removed and you were met with the handsome face of your lover. 

“Hey doll, sorry it took so long to find you.” His hand removed the ties, before pulling his jacket off and wrapping it around your shoulders. “Had to get some help,”

“Help? What do you mean–” 

“It’s the Bat! How the fuck did he find us!” 

“I don’t know you moron, but kill him!” 

Gunshots rang around the room as Harvey carefully escorted you out. Holding you close, Harvey inspected you for any major injuries. After missing for twenty-four hours, he had to make sure you were okay. 

“Y/N, did he hurt you?” Harvey’s hands were gentle as he checked you, tilting your head side to side before brushing his thumb over your collar. 

“I’m alright Harvey, I did more damage to him than he did to me.” 

Harvey chuckled, cupping your face gently. “I bet you did, doll.” 

Pulling you close, you let yourself melt into his warm embrace baking in the smell of him that you missed so much. 

Peaking over his shoulder, you saw a dark shadowy figure there waiting. Tapping his shoulder gently, Harvey looked to see where you were pointing before he let out a sigh. 

“Thanks, Bats,”

Batman nodded slightly. “It’s your turn to hold up your end of the deal, Harvey.” 

Immediately, you looked up at him with confusion. “Baby, what’s he talking about?” 

Harvey sighed, dropping his shoulders. “I’m just going away for a little bit, doll, That’s all,” 

“I’m not stupid, Harvey. What is he talking about?” 

There was a drawn-out silence before Batman spoke. “Harvey made a deal, I help him find you and he lets me arrest him.” 

“What? He didn’t do anything wrong?” 

That’s when Harvey rubbed the back of his neck, turning to look in the other direction. “That’s not entirely true doll,” 

Giving him a look of confusion, Harvey knew he had to explain. “I may or may not have held up a bank to get his attention,” 

“Harvard Dent! What the hell is wrong with you!?” Harvey winced as you hit his bicep and the usage of his fake full name. “Holding up a bank? Seriously?” 

“What? Desperate times call for desperate measures,” 

Pinching the bridge of your nose, you let out a sigh. You had no choice, Harvey did in fact commit a crime and make a deal to find you. He had to follow up on his end, or he’d get a goodnight kiss from Batman���s fist. 

Taking your hands, Harvey gently placed a kiss to each one. “I’ll be back before you know it, okay doll?” 

Nodding slowly, you leaned up as he pressed one last kiss to your lips. “I love you,” 

“I love you too, Harvey.” 

With that, you watched as Batman escorted him to the waiting police cars. Hearing footsteps behind you, you turned to see Harvey’s top lieutenant, Cobbs. “Nice to see you again, ma’am.” 

“Nice to be seen, Cobbs.” 

Placing a hand on your shoulder, the two of you watched as the police car drove away and Batman disappeared into the night. 

“We did as you asked, and made sure Boss didn’t get into too much trouble.” 

“Then why is he in the back of a cop car?” 

Cobbs flinched at the tone in your voice, the threat clear as day. “There is only so much we can do when he is in a mood, Boss went off on his own before we knew what we were involved in.” 

Pursing your lips, Cobbs’ story made sense. You better than anyone knew how dramatic Harvey could be, especially when you were involved. Plus, they couldn’t exactly do their job if Harvey shot them all in a hate-fueled rage. 

Narrowing your eyes, it seemed there was only one thing left to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Harvey sat in his cell at Arkham, staring at the picture of you he was allowed to keep. An odd courtesy of Batman. With as many times he’d been there, Arkham Asylum might as well be his second home. Second only to his apartment, he had downtown with you. 

It had been several weeks since his arrest, one since he saw you last. The orange jumpsuit did nothing for his complexion, but you said it was hot so he didn’t complain. 

Laying back on his bed, Harvey put the picture in his pocket before he stared at the ceiling. He had several months left of his sentence, and he planned on waiting it out until he could see you again. 

Suddenly there was a loud crash, strong enough to shake the building. Looking around, Harvey saw rubble and dust fall around him. Gunshots followed before they were suddenly silenced. Rising to his feet, Harvey poked his head out of his cell hearing loud shouts coming closer and closer to the door at the end of the hall. 

For a moment, all was silent before an explosion blew the door off sending it across the hall. Ducking back, Harvey heard the voices loud and clear. 

“The missus said to find him, the records say he’s in this ward.” 

“Well keep looking, I think I’m almost more scared of her than the boss right now.” 

“Especially where the boss is concerned,”

As the dust settled, Harvey grinned seeing a set of familiar faces. Upon seeing their boss, Cobbs and his men grinned. 

“Long time no see, boss.” 

Harvey chuckled, watching as they saw the door off. “Nice to see ya boys,” 

As they sawed off the door, Harvey heard a soft clicking echoing down the hallway as it slowly got closer. No sooner did the door to his cell door fall to the ground, did you come into view with his pistol in hand wearing a black and white pinstripe suit similar to that of his own. 

“Hey baby,” you grinned, holding the gun over your shoulder. “Miss me?” 

Harvey stepped out of his cell, pulling you close to greet you with a passionate kiss. His arms wrapped around your waist, keeping you flush against himself as he enjoyed the feeling of your body. 

Your hands moved to his hair, keeping his lips on yours as his hands slowly wandered lower. 

“Fuck, I missed you so much doll.” 

“How about we go home, and you show me how much you missed me?” 

Harvey grinned, as the thugs made sure your escape route was secured. “With you dressed like that, how could I do anything else?” 

Letting out a laugh, you and Harvey made your way out of Arkham Asylum to a getaway car waiting for you. Cobbs opened the backseat door for you before he got in the passenger seat, shooting down any guards who tried to follow. 

Leaning back in the seat, Harvey let out a sigh and closed his eyes holding you against him tightly. “Fuck I missed you, baby, I knew you’d come get me one of these days.” 

“How could I leave you to rot in that hellhole, when I missed you so?” 

Opening the secret compartment, Harvey pulled out a cigarette before lighting it. Taking a slow drag, he didn’t miss the way you eyed him as he blew the smoke. With a grin, Harvey took another drag before pulling you into a kiss, blowing the smoke into your mouth. 

Shivers went up your spine feeling his tongue brush yours as he shared the god-awful taste of nicotine with you. But when it was Harvey, no matter how much you hated it, it was sexy when it came to him. 

Tilting your chin up to look at him, Harvey knew then and there that he chose the right woman to spend the rest of his life with and he had the ring at home to prove it with. After he spent the entire evening, and then some worshiping your body like you so deserved of course.

@littleredwing89 @batarella @candid-confetti (Girl I know you've been waiting), @restwellsoon

[sometimes-men-need-help-too]

Woman leaves date after finding an ungodly amount of shampoo in his shower

A woman has been left gobsmacked after noticing an obscene amount of shampoo bottles in her date's shower.

Jordan McNally took to TikTok to share her rather unique discovery after going back to her date's house.

She captioned the video: "What does it mean?!?!? #herbalessences #sponsorhim #redflag."

“I just got to his house and I'm in his bathroom,” Jordan whispers to viewers. “What the f**k is this?”

The video then pans to show a shower stool with 17 bottles of shampoo on it.

“There's 17 bottles…. SEVENTEEN!!!!” reads the text in the video.

For anyone wondering, all 17 of the shampoo bottles appear to be the same Herbal Essence shampoo, though there’s a bit of variety with the scent.

In case things weren’t weird enough already, the majority of the bottles have been opened and contain different amounts of remaining shampoo.

The absurd collection of shampoos has sent the internet into a frenzy, with the video reaching over one million likes after being viewed 8.4 million times.

After revealing the 17 shampoo bottles, Jordan adds: “I’m about to fake a family emergency and dip,” followed by a line of red flag emojis.

Many have flocked to the comments section of the video to share their thoughts on the bizarre discovery.

One user joked: "Clearly he’s the guy from maths problems."

A second added: "Run, there is no logical explanation, no pro could outweigh this con."

While a third attempted to defend her date and said: "What in the Costco buy-one-get-one-free is going on."

Another commented: "There’s absolutely no way I would be able to stop myself from directly asking."

While no explanation or follow-up TikTok has been given by Jordan or her mysterious shampoo-obsessed date, the comment section is filled with everyone’s best detective work.

"The literal only excuse is a prank played on him by someone," said one user.

Another added: "I’m an extreme couponer and I can’t even explain this… like why are they all open at once???"

A final user tried to rationalise the abundance of shampoo, saying: "He may work at a hotel. They often just throw away the used bottles, which is a huge waste. He may be a sustainable king."

Until there’s another update on the meaning of this sizeable shampoo collection or Jordan reveals the outcome of her date, viewers will just have to wait to have their burning questions answered.

Here's a couple comments from another article:

“That would send CHILLS down my spine, like, no I’m leaving,” one said.

“It’s so unsettling, but I can’t quite say why,” another admitted.

“Terrifying that he doesn’t know to HIDE THAT,” a third wrote.

For the life of me, I genuinely cannot see what she is so upset about. Sure, it's a little strange to have that many bottles at one time and to have them all open, but the way she and some of the commenters were reacting, you would think she'd made a much worse discovery.

Honestly, and this would go either way if her date did this to her, something that stands out to me as a red flag is the fact that she went into someone else's home and because she didn't like something she went straight to tiktok to show everyone.

It just seems very disrespectful to me

[policemanofprincesspark]

How Harry Could Improve

1. Post! Photos! On! IG! Nobody expects selfies from him but just the occasional pic of him on vacation, or something quirky he's seen on his travels, or a book he's read and recommends! His caption game used to be strong and showcased his sense of humor.

2. Find another London best friend who isn't Controversial Corden who nobody likes.

3. Take more care with your street style. Leave the hair clip, the woolly hat and the trackies at home. He killed street style between 2013-2017.

How Louis Could Improve

1. He won't stop smoking cigarettes and weed but he could stop glamorizing it by posting photos of himself doing it. I can't think of anyone else who does that these days including his idol Liam G.

2. Don't drink alcohol on stage or take pics with fans when you're clearly very drunk or high.

3. Ditch the fake Manchester accent you use when you sing. He never had this in 1d or on Walls. A lot of fans found the FitF songs hard to understand.

For Harry:

1. I miss Harry being active on social media. I know he might be trying to seem mysterious and unattainable, but I remember even when he posted while in 1D, at least in the years that I was a fan, he still retained that mystery and intrigue because his tweets were often cryptic and he rarely posted on instagram. Likewise, those posts also had cryptic captions. He comes off as super pretentious when he refuses to engage with fans via social media when most other celebrities do.

2. You are who your friends are. He has multiple zionist friends, has a bizarrely obsessive allyship towards Jewish people and Judaism, and pumps his fist at the Israel flag. It's clear that he is a PROUD zionist—but not proud enough to lose his career over his views. I know many celebrities right now aren't speaking up, but I'd rather they just tell us they're on Israel's side than say nothing. Like, don't be a pussy about it.

3. His street style used to look so fashionable and interesting. I guess he's just tired these days of having to "go to work" and get papped, so he doesn't put the effort in most of the time. That's my guess.

For Louis:

1. Yeah, there are no excuses for that. He needs to have some shame, especially when he knows he has so many teen fans. Most smokers I've known have discouraged me from picking it up. All Louis is doing is encouraging. Like, why? If time travel was possible, I wonder if Louis would want to tell his past self not to start smoking. Like I said, most smokers I've known regret it.

2. He has a very serious problem. Every alcoholic I've known used alcohol to "self-medicate" when all they had was depression, anxiety, or some kind of personality disorder that they never got diagnosed. I've talked about this before—I think Louis has ADHD and has not gotten a diagnosis. I have it myself, so that's why I recognize the symptoms he showcases. He was an alcoholic before his mother died, but I think it's only worsened since then. He's going down the route Liam (Payne) went. I fear he'll never recognize the problem for what it is though.

3. In 1D, they all had to sing in semi-American accents, so I wouldn't use that as an example of what Louis's "real accent" is. I'm not great with British accent differences, so if you could give me an example of Louis singing a specific word in both Walls and FITF in completely different accents, please do. If he really is putting on a fake accent to copy Liam Gallagher or whatever, that's... really cringey, ngl.

[marat]

time to nail some tit

[atpaftmoom-bily]

Thoughts about Erik, why Wilhelm wasn't allowed to come out, and more.

Be warned, this is long, confusing, and I'm not even sure if I made any valid points. But I had thoughts on Young Royals, with no one to talk to, so here you go.

I've seen various different takes on Erik and what people thought his reaction would have been if Willie had come out to him, most of them being positive, and some as well saying how sad it was that Willie never got to come out to his brother. I have a different take, but bear with me it's gonna take a second to get there.

Something that I found interesting in the first place was that when August found out it was Simon and not a girl, he just seemed shocked, but not in a homophobic way that I had kind of been expecting.

Additionally, let's take a look at the comments on the video, I've split them up into three different groups. General comments (disbelief, surprise, pity, etc.), comments sexualizing them, and negative comments. (I've translated these as well as I could as they were not all captioned, but if I've made a mistake feel free to let me know!)

General Comments "OMG Have you seen this?? The Prince is gay!!!!" "Who's the other guy?" "I'm dead" "Finally some news to put Sweden on the map!" "Poor boys, I feel sorry for them" "So clumsy to get caught on film" "I know where he lives!" "I think the video is fake" "Love for the boys"

Sexualizing Comments "Royal porn" "Sexy" "Love" "Sexiest video ever"

Negative Comments "How will the monarchy survive this?" "The end of the royal family, time for Sweden to become a republic!" "Never been ashamed about being Swedish until now" "Class traitor! Your mother cries for your sins"

Now, there are quite a few things I want to point out about Sweden that I feel should be taken into account here. Of course, we don't know the exact dates that the show took place, but we do know it is modern-day, and though it is a work of fiction, I am going to assume that anything that is currently true in Sweden at the moment, give or take a few years, would also be true in the Young Royals universe.

The first point I would like to make is that Sweden is one of the most LGBT-friendly countries, even being named the most friendly country in 2019. Looking back in history, 1944 was when Sweden decriminalized sexual relationships between consenting adults of the same sex, though it was still thought to be an illness. However, in 1979 it was no longer considered an illness. Fun unrelated fact, but Sweden was the first country to legalize gender change in 1979. (If you'd like to read more on LGBT rights in Sweden here are some resources. One. Two.) If Sweden is that progressive and is that LGBT-friendly, then I wondered what the problem was with Willie coming out, so I dug some more.

I'm American, so my understanding of many parts of the world is unfortunately skewed or incomplete, but I'm working on changing that. However, because of this, one thing that surprised me in my research was that the monarchy in Sweden is more of a unifying symbol than anything else. They have no political affinity or formal powers, but rather "the King’s duties are mainly of a ceremonial and representative nature." Of course in the case of Young Royals, the Queen inherited the throne, and Wilhelm would after her.

Something else I found interesting about the monarchy in Sweden is that the current Queen, Queen Silvia, did not come from a line of nobility, so when Queen Silvia and King Carl Gustaf married in 1976, it was highly unusual. (See more on the Swedish monarchy here.)

There is one last thing I want to point out about the current King and Queen. "In summer 2000, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden made history when they ate under the rainbow flag at Djurgårdsterrassen, a Stockholm restaurant owned by gay owner Arto Winter. At that time, the decision was seen as controversial, and played a valuable role in moving conversations forward – while making the royals’ position abundantly clear." (Source)

Now, of course, I understand the difference between a fictional work and real-life situations, but at least in my opinion, these same ideals should carry through to the show that we see. If the King and Queen in real life have been openly supportive of the LGBT community since at least 2000, then although specifics might not be the same, some of those ideals should carry through to Young Royals, so what is the problem, right?

I'm not trying to erase the reality of homophobia altogether, because of course, that exists. We even see in the show through comments that there are some people who are worried about the state of the monarchy, are disgusted, or downright still think that not being straight is a sin, but we also see other comments as well. If Wilhelm were to come out, what would happen? Would there be some backlash? 100%. Would there be people who would support him? Also 100%. Would it make his life harder? Probably, but would he be happier? In my opinion, yes, but I guess that's a question that Wilhelm would have to gauge on his own.

Now I want to look deeper at the conversation that Wille has with his mother, the Queen, in the car on the way home so he can give a statement to the media. Below is an excerpt from their dialogue.

---

Wilhelm: Why can't I just have a relationship with him? And not say anything. Just live a normal life.

Queen: You're the crown prince. And that's a privilege, not a punishment.

Wilhelm: Yes, but I didn't ask for this!

Queen: Well, nobody has ever, ever asked for this! You are the only one who can take over the throne after Erik. Don't you understand that? You are so young. When you're young, love feels like the most important thing in the whole world. When I was your age, I too had an unfortunate romance. That was before I met your father. What I mean is, is it worth it? If you feel that the attention you've been getting so far is unacceptable, it's nothing compared to what you will endure for the rest of your life. We have a chance to cover this up, I urge you to take that chance. You may not get another."

---

Something I find interesting is how much Willie just wants to live a normal life, which I get. He is under so much pressure, from being a role model, his brother's death that he hasn't even had time to process, preparing to be king someday, and (kind of) being outed to the entire world, but at least his school. It's enough to make anyone want to live normally. I think the biggest thing we have to think about here is the Queen's question as well. Is it worth it? She is right of course, the attention he will get will always be there, but I do think that Willie would be able to find a way to be happy along with being King. It shouldn't have to be a case of either-or, and ultimately I don't think it is.

Now I'm going to move back to Erik, and really, this ties everything back to the start where I mentioned I had a different take on Erik's reaction to Willie being not straight. I think that Erik already knew. It would make sense for a variety of reasons. In the show, it is obvious that the two of them have a good relationship. We also hear Erik tell Willie, "you can trust him, he's like a brother," in episode one when speaking about August, showing that trust is something strong between them as brothers. I'm not exactly sure how old Wilhelm is meant to be in the show, but I estimate somewhere around sixteen. I would like to assume that sometime before attending Hillerska, he may have had a crush or felt some attraction to a guy. We also can see from their phone call in episode three, that they're not afraid to joke around with each other about such things, meaning that Erik would most likely be the first person that Willie would go to about such things.

Another thing that makes me believe Erik already knew has to do with people assuming that Simon is the first guy that Willie has liked. Now, I know things are not the same for everyone, but if we consider what happens when the video is posted, and Willie had to deny it is him, we can conclude that being anything other than straight in their family is not okay, simply because they are royals, and the media attention will be too much. Imagine you've known your whole life, you can't be something, the first instance you encounter that, you're probably not going to give in right away. I'm talking at least some minor internalized homophobia here or something.

So put that into the context of Simon and Willie's first kiss in episode two. Simon kisses Willie twice before Willie says "Well, I'm not... I'm not... Stop! Wait, wait, wait!" and immediately pulls Simon back towards him. Let's reflect back to episode one where Willie says "I’m not… I’m not allowed to speak about political issues." I'm not allowed. Of course, there are TONS of restrictions on what he can and can not do, kissing guys, probably being one of them. But if he was going to say I'm not gay or I'm not like that, why would he instantly pull him back in, contrasting what he was just going to say. In episode three, Willie does say, "I'm not like that," which makes sense. He's had time to think and isn't in the heat of the moment. What other explanation can he give? Sure, he could say he's not allowed to be like that but saying that would admit that he is. It's a circle, a very messy circle, but it is a... loop.

Going back to what I'm supposed to be talking about here, Erik. This isn't Willie's first rodeo, but Erik was there for the first. One last thing I want to talk about is the phone call that Erik and Willie have in episode three. Below is an excerpt from their dialogue.

---

Erik: You've met someone.

Wilhelm: I, uh... Yes, okay, but I... I don't think we're a couple or anything. I don't know what it is but can we just...

Erik: I get it. I get it. You don't have to tell me any... I don't wanna hear any details. Hey. Willie, enjoy yourself. Soon enough people will start having opinions and-

Wilhelm: They don't care about me. 'Cause you're the Crown Prince that they have opinions.

Erik: I don't get it. Why are you sitting in your room sulking when you have a crush to hang out with?

---

Firstly, Erik refers to Willie's crush as completely gender-neutral. "You've met someone" could very easily be "you've met a girl". The same goes for "you have a crush to hang out with". Very well could have been "you have a girl to hang out with". Sure, it could be completely coincidental, but we live in such a heteronormative society that it would just make sense for Erik to use female-gendered words. Unless, of course, he knew.

Secondly, "Hey. Willie, enjoy yourself. Soon enough people will start having opinions". This sounds very much to me like, enjoy your time while you can be yourself without backlash because soon you won't have that privacy. While I feel that, yes, the same may happen with anyone Willie was to date, him having a same-sex partner multiplies that, by a lot.

In conclusion, Erik knew Willie was not straight, Willie should come out, but when he is ready, and August is a really deep character that people don't give enough credit to. Gosh, I hope I covered everything, I probably forgot so much, but it's fine. Please let me know your thoughts if you've made it this far into the post.

One last thing. I hope you'll notice how in this post, I never referred specifically to Wilhelm's sexuality, and I did that for a reason. I often see gay used to label him, and though I am unsure if that's being used as an umbrella term or specifically as in he only likes men, I think it's really important to realize that they're specifically making him unlabeled. In this youtube video Edvin Ryding, the actor who plays Wilhelm, says "What we're trying to do... We're not labeling Wilhelm's sexuality. I think that's good because it's like, it portrays that it's okay that way too. You don't have to. You shouldn't have to come out. It should be allowed to be a bit fluid, a bit out there." I just think that it is important as it's another type of representation that is not seen often.

[angstsfordays]

Beautiful Pain (2)

Chapter Two- Here I Am

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced! Reader

Summary: Post-Blip, you started to feel lost when most of the Avengers team are gone. Coping with your loss, you still find hope in the connection with your remaining friends. However, it is not easy as everyone is trying to figure their lives after the Blip.

Having a long history with Bucky ever since you both saved each other from Hydra, you were still glad you had Bucky after all this time. However, as you try to give Bucky space to find himself after being pardoned for his past, you start to wonder if you should ever cross the line of friendship before it’s too late.

That thought might have to be put on hold though, when you, Sam and Bucky find yourselves having to deal with threats that continue to rise in a post-Blip world.

Chapter synopsis: Shocking news brought you and Bucky back together with Sam. You three find out that a new threat arises in a post-Blip world.

Warnings: A bad word or two or three because come on, John Walker is in this chapter.

Word count: 4.5k

Notes: This chapter is nothing too crazy but warming up as it delves into the tv series' storyline. Here you can see how the reader's character plays out in the storyline.

I started a tag list for this series! Let me know if you want to join in with a message or comment in the chapters!

Leave a like, reblog or comment to let me know what you think! 🥰

Previous: Prologue | Chapter One |

Next: Chapter Three

-------------------------//---------------------------

Bucky promised to make your coffee while you went to take a shower after you came back. Switching off the hairdryer, you placed it back in its place before stepping out of the bathroom.

Perking up at the sound of the television, you made your way to find Bucky sitting on the floor. Seeing he made no sign of acknowledgement at your presence, you looked up to see what he was so entranced at.

Eyes averting to the screen, you saw a man being interviewed at what seemed like a stadium in the background. Scanning over his features, you quickly noticed the familiarity in his suit and how he was supposed to remind you of someone you held dear in your heart.

The caption that appeared on the bottom of the screen only added on to confirm your suspicions. A sudden rush of emotions started to wash over you like a huge tide.

Disbelief. Outrage. The nerve.

You glanced over to Bucky who was sitting still with a disbelieving look when the announcer asked her next question.

“Did you know Steve Rogers?” Before you knew it, you already started to shake your head in disapproval as the man, John Walker started to respond to the question.

He spoke of how he closely followed Steve’s career as an Avenger and drew inspiration in his work from Steve, citing him as a role model. Nodding in satisfaction at John’s answer, the announcer continued. “You’ve always wanted to be a hero?”

John Walker answered that he liked that his job would help to make people feel safe. He added how Steve was someone who was able to accomplish that and gave him hope.

While his answers sounded pleasant enough, you couldn’t help but feel displeased with it. His next sentence only served to make you feel worse.

“Even though I never met him, he feels like a brother.” John Walker could have chosen any other words. Mentor. Role model. The fact that he said brother like as if he wanted to draw some sort of association to Steve felt wrong.

You immediately kneeled down to Bucky’s level and waited for him to look back at you. Bucky shook his head while clenching his jaw tight.

“Buck….” Whispering his name gently, you hoped to get him to open up on what he was feeling.

“This is just wrong. I can’t believe….how could Sam even-” Struggling to put together his emotions properly, you gave him a soothing rub on his shoulders to ease his flustered state.

“I know, I understand.” You went ahead to embrace him in a side hug. Bucky leaned in and rested his head in the crook of your neck, relishing in the comfort you were giving to him.

“We need to talk to Sam.” He gave you an affirmative stare before you nodded in agreement.

-------------------------//---------------------------

Waiting around absent-mindedly at the hangar, you were brought back to focus when you heard Bucky speak up and already walking towards Sam.

“Shouldn’t have given up the shield.” You could hear how Bucky was trying to hold in his distaste and quickly followed behind him.

“Good to see you, Buck.” Sam acknowledged him in response. You could tell that Sam was trying to avoid the topic of conversation as he continued in his tracks only to stop when his eyes met yours.

“How’ve you been doing?” Sam took a step forward to give you a quick hug and you grinned at the sight of your friend.

“I’ve been good, Sam. How about you?” You asked to which he said he was doing alright.

“You still not tired of him?” Sam made a quip and you bit your lips to prevent a burst of laughter from coming out. You nervously glanced to see Bucky not looking one bit amused by the exchange and averted your eyes away.

“This is wrong.” Bucky tried to bring up the topic again to which Sam tried to put down. He remarked that he was now working and whatever outrage Bucky was having had to wait.

They continued their argument as they bickered back and forth about their views on John Walker becoming the new Captain America. Even saying that in your head left a sour taste.

Sam tried telling Bucky that there was nothing he could do to rectify the situation. He gave the shield away to the government and it was no longer in his hands. Retracting the decision simply cannot be done.

You understood both of their perspectives and you couldn’t take a side entirely. Yes, you all felt the heavy emotions about having Steve’s legacy just handed over to someone who you weren’t even sure was deserving of it. John Walker might be an exemplary soldier but he wasn’t the one that Steve chose to take over him.

Then again, you recalled how Sam was still unsure if he could leave up to Steve’s legacy and even remarked that the shield didn’t feel like it wasn’t his own, but someone else’s. You were sure that it was definitely not an easy decision for Sam to make and he wouldn’t have made it if he knew what the government had decided to do with the shield once they had their hands on it.

You winced at the heated exchange as your friends continued to assert their points. Sam had enough of the conversation and stressed that he now has work that he needed to attend to. Bucky scoffed at how Sam could even disregard the matter but Sam went on to tell you two about an online group called the Flag Smashers that seemed to have connections with rebel organisations across Europe.

He had intel from Redwing about their last known location and that was where he was heading to. Bucky gave a disapproving look and talked about his mistrust of the tech.

Even though Bucky was dear to you, you couldn’t help to sigh at how stubborn he is.

Sam went on to say that he wants to check if this group could be part of the Big Three. Bucky gave a confused look before asking what’s that. Sam looked like he couldn’t believe what Bucky had just said.

The two continued to have another exchange, but one that you now observed to be light-hearted and displaying their child-like tendencies only when they are around each other. You shook your head and just thought, men.

Sam decided he didn’t have time for any more banter and made his way to the plane with Bucky insisting on going with him. Well, guess that’s where you’re heading then.

-------------------------//---------------------------

Somehow, Bucky managed to get his hands on a tactical jacket and suited up. You looked down to your tailored suit, one that you often wore as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. It was not the most mission friendly, but it will do.

It had been an hour since you have boarded the plane but Bucky and Sam had not spoken since. You found yourself to be the buffer between the two and couldn’t help but feel a little awkward.

“Hey Y/N.” Your head tilted up from looking at the ground when you heard Sam calling for you.

“Yeah?”

“Sorry, I haven’t been in touch but what’ve you been up to lately?”

“Oh, not much. I recently reached out to Wanda, wanted to see how she was doing.” Sam nodded in understanding before continuing to ask if you had found any work. You weren’t sure where to start because you didn’t know how to.

Given your condition as an enhanced and recalling your last meeting with someone from the state office, you couldn’t find do much without getting on their radar. You were lucky you still had some money left to tide you over but you honestly do not know how you were ever going to get a proper job.

“I’ve been volunteering with a social service centre.” You answered after taking some time. When Sam gave you a surprising look to your answer, you started cracking your knuckles- a habit you had when you got nervous. Sensing your nerves, Sam decided to withhold himself from prying further.

“That’s nice to hear. An unexpected career change but it’s a good job.” He tried to reassure you.

“Yeah, I’m still not sure what I want. You know after everything that has happened.” Sam did not say anything else but just nodded in agreement.

You suddenly felt a hand on yours and looked to see Bucky glancing at you with slight concern. You tried to muster up a smile to show that you were alright.

Looking down to the ground again, you missed the intense staring contest that started between the two men as Torres announced the one-minute mark before drop-off. When you heard the plane door being opened, the two men went forward to get their comms.

Bucky passed you yours before turning to ask Sam on what’s the plan. Sam kept silent and Bucky scoffed at the fact that Sam had none.

“No, you can’t call me that.’” Bucky retorted when Sam called him Buck.

Sam questioned why not and claimed that you and Steve could call him that.

“Steve knew me longer and I actually like Y/N so she can call me that. Steve also always had a plan.” You took a double-take at what Bucky just said and tried not to overthink. He only meant you were tolerable in his eyes compared to Sam.

Sam could not deal with Bucky’s attitude before walking off to the door and countering that he indeed had a plan. When Bucky asked once more about it, Sam just leapt off without a reply.

Rolling his eyes, Bucky asked Torres for the parachute but was told that there wasn’t any. Bucky stalked off towards the door and claimed he didn’t need one anyway. Torres gave him a second glance and asked if he was sure.

Bucky affirmed that he was fine and then proceeded to tear off the sleeve of his jacket. You had to control yourself from laughing out loud at his dramatics and he glanced back at you.

“Buck, you know I can help you down-” You tried to convince him before he jumped off first and you heard the yelling after.

Letting out a groan at your stubborn 106-year-old friend, you rested your hands on your waist as you looked out the door over the landscape.

“Mam?” Torres looked over at you in curiosity.

“I’m not that old, Lieutenant.” You grimaced at how he addressed you even if it was a sign of respect.

Huffing out a sigh, you thought here goes nothing.

Fisting your hands by your side, you took a deep breath and channel your energy towards your palms. Fanning your hands out, Torres was taken aback when energy flames emitted from your palms and you used it to propel yourself off the ground and out of the door.

It has been a while since you flew and you took a moment to steady yourself before trying to look for where Bucky landed.

You could hear Sam talking to Bucky on the comms about his less than graceful fall and couldn’t help but giggle before finding your way to the building with Bucky. You had to stifle your laughter when Bucky tried to swipe Redwing off as his irritation grew.

Once you met up with Sam, he went to note that the people you were after were in the building. Your friends being the ‘friends’ that they were started to clash once more about how to go about this mission.

Bucky went to use his expertise as an assassin to assess the situation and stealthily walked ahead first. Sam was amused at how he came out as a white panther after his time in Wakanda to which Bucky corrected as white wolf.

Sam gave you a confused look to which you shrugged your shoulders in response. It was a story for another time.

The two of you caught up to Bucky faster than he thought. When the two started bickering again about the next course of action and trying to one-up the other, you had enough and placed your hands over both parties mouth to shush them.

“Enough the both of you, I feel like a kindergarten teacher with two children engaging in childish conflict.” You hissed to show your annoyance at the both of them. Seeing you this upset got Sam and Bucky to take a step back and tone it down.

When you let go of your hands, you expected them to behave but they continued to stare at each other. Bucky wanted to quickly proceed while Sam wanted to wait it out. Their bickering caused a slight commotion and you were suddenly wary that you might have alerted the group of your presence.

All three of you stood still before observing that it was all still good. You heard someone instructing the group to get a move on and Sam used Redwing to check that there might be a hostage on board.

Once you heard the vehicles rolling out, all of you sprang into action. You and Sam took to the air while Bucky went full speed ahead on the grounds. Everything happened so fast all at once and before you knew it, Bucky opened the doors of the truck and spotted the hostage. He noted that medicines and vaccines were in the truck.

As you processed the information, you could hear him talking to the hostage before you heard the loud slam next.

You saw Bucky suddenly got shoved back and slammed into the front of the truck that was following behind. You noted a redhead woman who put on a mask and then the other two men who hauled Bucky up to the roof of the truck.

Seeing that both men whom you assumed were incredibly strong to hold Bucky down, you went for those guys first while Sam took care of the woman. You tried throwing a few punches at them but they barely flinched.

You turned your back to see Sam being thrown off to the next truck by the woman and another huge man with shoulder-length hair going for Sam. Who were these guys and how did they have such strength? It was almost like they were….

Your next thoughts were interrupted when you sensed a fist coming your way to which you dodged. You tried to hold your ground by avoiding the attacks. They keep coming relentlessly and you knew you couldn’t hold back. You had to use your powers now.

Channelling your powers to your fist, you sent a blast of energy to knock down the two men that held Bucky down. The woman turned to look at you in surprise at the sight of your abilities.

You wanted to go for the man that was about to attack Sam before you heard the sound of metal clashing. Your head tilted up to see a helicopter with someone peering down. He swooped down onto the truck and you immediately recognised who he was.

Why was he even here? You briefly thought before you turned your focus to the fight. John Walker proceeded to use the shield almost effortlessly to knock down members of the Flag Smashers before introducing himself. His partner followed after. They both claimed to help before everyone started to focus on their own fights.

You used your powers to knock people over and fend yourself. In the midst of all the actions, you noticed that Bucky got knocked down and was holding onto the bottom of the truck, avoiding to fall flat onto the road surface. You wanted to help him but got stopped by the man with shoulder-length hair.

You raised both hands surging with flaming energy and saw how he stood still for a moment. You believed that he was more hesitant knowing you were an enhanced individual.

“Be warned, this might leave a burn.” You were nice enough to give a heads up. Before he could take another step further, his companions took you by a chokehold. You grabbed onto the person’s arms and gave them a slight burn.

The person exclaimed in pain and let go. You saw that Bucky and Sam were nowhere in sight while John Walker’s partner was out. Another person came for you and you let out a burst of energy that blinded everyone in their surroundings with its sheer brightness.

You saw how everyone hunched over and the shoulder-length haired man started backing down and it led to him leaning over to almost fall off the truck.

On instinct, you went over to grab his hand. Even though he was the enemy, you didn’t want to take lives unnecessarily. You felt him grabbing onto your arm tightly and pulled him back up by having your right arm blasting energy to weigh you down on where you stood.

He managed to recover and you left him be. You looked over to see John Walker taking on the redheaded woman but to no avail as he got shoved off the truck and landed on the front of a car below.

Seeing that you were the only one left, you gulped as you realised you were outnumbered. Should you even take the risk? Before you can think of your next actions, someone came up from behind you again and you quickly turned to intercept.

What you lacked in strength, you made sure to utilise your powers. You managed to slam the person down in a chokehold which you learnt from Natasha and aimed a fist that was covered in energy flames.

You heard a loud ‘NO’ and before you realised you were picked up and dragged off to be thrown off the truck. Quickly gathering your energy to soften your blow, you barely floated off the ground as your energy acted as a cushion to lift you off the surface.

Letting yourself stand steady on the ground, you didn’t give John Walker and his partner a second look before you flew off to find your friends.

-------------------------//---------------------------

When you found Bucky and Sam, they were huddled together in a flower field. The two of them looked more irritated than ever. You gave both of them a hand and pulled them up. You gave Bucky a glance over and noticed he had a bruise forming near his eyes.

He shook it off like it was nothing and asked after you. You reassured him that you were alright, just a little worn out. You asked after Sam and was glad to know he did not sustain any major injuries.

The three of you decided to make your way back on foot. The road ahead looked far and Sam started to strike up a light-hearted conversation with Bucky. You quietly listened in as you were too tired to even bother participating.

You smirked at how even though Sam was trying to tick Bucky off, you knew he only had good intentions to check on Bucky’s state of mind.

Bucky ignored whatever Sam said and then noted that there was a need to find out where the group back there got their super serums from. Sam couldn’t fathom how eight super soldiers were on the loose after eighty years.

You chimed in that you thought that the super-soldiers were eliminated in Siberia years ago. As you three were figuring out, you heard a vehicle coming from behind you. You saw it was John Walker and he stopped slightly ahead to open the door for you three.

You were almost slightly tempted to save your aching legs if not for the fact you weren’t so keen on him.

The men were all in a discussion about the group and you could all confirm for a fact that they weren’t part of the Big Three. In fact, they had to be super soldiers. John Walker proposed to work together but Bucky wasn’t having any of it.

“Just because you carry the shield doesn’t mean you’re Captain America.” Bucky shot back harshly. John Walker with that thick skin of his brushed it off and countered that he was more than qualified.

You could not stop yourself from intervening this time.

“Being Captain America is more than about just being a good soldier! There’s a lot more where it comes from.” Sam and Bucky felt the emotions from your statement, knowing that it wasn’t just out of distaste for the new ‘Captain’ but of how you really felt about Steve’s legacy.

Hearing your words, John Walker let out a sigh before continuing to persuade everyone again. He claimed that it was still a long way to the airport and that you should just accept the ride. Asking the driver to stop the vehicle once more, you, Sam and Bucky gave each other another look before you all hopped on.

Sam went in first. Bucky was ahead of you but stopped short before holding your hand to help you up. You took the seat next to Sam and Bucky took his place beside you. Looking across John and his partner who you remembered was Lemar from earlier.

Everyone started discussing about the Flag Smashers and what their purpose was. You listened in until you heard something from John that made you livid. He remarked how the serum doesn’t exactly have a great track record and meant no offence as he glanced at Bucky.

“Offense is already taken! How dare you-” You burst out before being motioned to calm down by Sam. Bucky was moved that you stood up for him.

“Woah easy there.” John tried to look innocent before Sam interjected and continued on the topic of the Flag Smashers. You learnt that John and Lemar managed to track you three by hacking into Redwing. They were acting on behalf of the government to keep things stable while resources were being managed, claiming there were violent revolutionaries happening post-Blip.

John went on to propose that you, Sam and Bucky should team up with them but Bucky flat out refused in a second. Lemar then went on to quip that all of you weren’t really handling it well until they stepped in.

“Y/N.” You scrunched your face in response when John called you like a familiar friend.

“I have only seen you from your profile but I must say I am glad to finally meet you. You look even prettier in person.”

If looks could kill, John would be dead a hundred times over under Bucky’s death stare.

You wanted to blanch at John’s word but controlled your expression. You tried to return a polite smile as he continued on.

“Why didn’t you accept our offer to be recruited to our team?” You gave a bewildered look before realization dawned upon you. The government official from that time wanted you to join Walker?

“What is he talking about, Y/N?” Bucky perked up at the new information and you looked over nervously, unsure what to say.

“When we were first brought together, we wanted to recruit Y/N here to be part of the team. We see her as a great asset given her powers and abilities. It would be amazing if we have her on our side.” You looked over to see Bucky literally looking like he was going to combust.

Bucky really hated the word asset, knowing that was how he was addressed back in the days. The word had a connotation of objectification and he was mad that John actually used it to describe you. You were more than that.

“Yeah, you should join us. We could really use your help. You were literally the last one standing with the Flag Smashers back there!” Lemar egged on.

“When was this?” Bucky asked with a tinge of hurt in his voice. He couldn’t believe you didn’t tell him about it at all.

“It was several months ago Buck, I refused their offer straight out.” You answered him before looking straight at John and Lemar.

“I did not want to give them a chance to exploit me for my powers. I know your type. You claim to appreciate what I can offer but I would never be free of my own will.” Your words were sharp and laid with revulsion.

“They only seek me to control me, they are afraid of what happens if I am left unsupervised.” You added with finality. You spared no sugar-coating and everyone kept silent for a moment.

This was the price to be someone like you in this world. Even when you know you won’t do anything out of turn, the government bodies would never trust you.

John pretended to clear his throat before speaking. “Y/N. I can assure you that I will do my very best to make sure that does not happen if you join me. I will speak up for you.”

No, you won’t. You can’t. You wanted to shoot back.

Bucky placed his hand over yours and held onto it as his way to show his care. He then went to ask again who Lemar was and Sam chimed in that he needed to know more. When Lemar gave his alias, that tipped the iceberg for Bucky before he called for the vehicle to stop.

He then immediately stepped down and started stalking off. John tried to call after Bucky and talk sense into him but of course, Bucky didn’t care for it.

He then went on to try to tell you and Sam that he wasn’t trying to be Steve or replace him and that he just wanted to be the best Captain America he could be.

You scoffed out loud at his words as it only served to rile you up. His next sentence took you off the edge.

“It’ll be a whole lot easier if I have Cap’s wingman by my side.” Disgusting. Does he even know what he was saying? You look over to see Sam in disbelief and you felt angry for him.

“It’s always that last line,” Sam said before you and he proceeded to step down from the vehicle.

“Eat shit, John.” You spat at him before you turned your back. You couldn’t go before you showed your loathing for him. Sam clapped your back and shook his head to tell you that Walker wasn’t worth it.

-------------------------//---------------------------

It was tense on the way back, but it was now for an entirely different reason compared to the first time. Sam checked in on you and Bucky to which you reassured him that you were alright.

“Let’s take the shield, Sam,” Bucky spoke up for the first time since the flight back.

Sam countered that it was not something that could be done simply and reminded him of a past similar event. The shield was technically government property and there was no way we could take it back without starting something.

Sam recapped how Sharon, Steve and he became fugitives and how he never wanted to live that life again. You couldn’t say anything to that knowing you managed to get a free pass in Wakanda alongside Bucky.

You all had no information to start with regarding the super soldiers but Bucky claimed otherwise. There was someone that Sam and you should meet.

-------------------------//---------------------------

That's it for chapter 2! I figured it will get too long if I cover the whole of ep 2 so I stopped here! We continue off on the next chapter! 😆

Tag list:

@tanyaherondale @spookycereal-s

[1ddotdhq]

🎤Wed 9 Dec ‘20❄️

LOUIS!!!!!! I am posting this from beyond the dead because Louis’ trailer KILLED MY MIND! But THEN, it brought my body back to life because I HAVE to be around on Saturday to see this show go down. NEW LOUIS SONGS!!!! I AM NOT READY!!! First Eleanor kicked off promo for the livestream day by modeling Louis' purple Balenciaga windbreaker for us with a caption about her “BF”. I mean, it’s a look! No dogs today tho :(. Oddly though after posting herself in the outfit and saying that she was going to go out in the get up, she didn’t! Changed right back into her own clothes after all. Just like how Louis liking her post a few weeks ago was the first sign of action, this too was an indication NEW THINGS COMING! And boy, did they come! After Louis this posted his fifteen (15) second long clip, which included at least one full second each of an as of yet untitled song, KMM, Too Young, Walls, and a badass unidentified riff by Michael Blackwell (POP OFF, dude)! Louis was NOT done there though; fans were wondering what the unfamiliar songs in the trailer were. In what seemed to be a hint, Louis tweeted “copy of a copy of a copy”, which, when googled, turned up with two musical results. The only one that matters is the song ‘Copy of A..’ by Nine Inch Nails (“I am little pieces. Pieces that were picked up on the way, invented with a purpose, a purpose that's become quite clear today”). According to the band, this song is about breaking out of an image that no longer fits you: “How dare you have the audacity to not perform in the role you have been placed in”. Nine Inch Nails has also been really vocal about the importance of artistic freedom and the struggle to maintain it in the face of label interference, which I’m sure Louis can relate to. But! It turned out the untitled song that fans were wondering about isn’t ANY of these, it is, instead a “New song. Not a cover!” according to Louis himself! Let’s be clear: this does not mean that he WASN'T tweeting that lyric about doing a Nine Inch Nails cover, just that the snip in the teaser ISN’T ‘A Copy of A…’. Okay guys, I didn’t say this when the show came up, but now I will: I am IN LOVE with 12/12!! Last year, we got Fine Line on the 12th, and THIS year, we get BRAND! NEW! LOUIS! SONGS!!!!!!! This is one trend that is welcome to keep continuing!

And, for the TRUE piece de resistance: LOUIS’ HAIR! It is long long long, and slightly curly at the ends, and “HIS HAIR” (in all caps) was trending under “Beauty” immediately after the trailer was released. As it SHOULD! It’s BEAUTIFUL! And, in the middle of all of this, we got pictures of Louis from outside his rehearsal studio two weeks ago - OP said he said not to tell anyone about his hair, so they posted them the second after the trailer went up like “well if HE'S showing everyone..' They also scribbled out his hand. People asked does he have a new tattoo?? A ring?? Nope! It seems that he was probably holding a beer, which was edited out because yes certainly fans should jump in to take on the role of 1D management circa 2011 and preserve Louis' squeaky clean teen idol image! If Louis didn't want to be photographed with something he wouldn't come out to do fanservice holding it, give me a break, you really think he's sharing actual secrets with you? Grow up! Anyways, while on twitter Louis followed Isabella Signs, who he met through the charity work that she does for her younger brother. She has a YouTube channel by the same name and does A LOT of really cool SSE (Sign [language] Supported English) covers of all the boys plus 1D, check her out!

The Naughty List music video is OUT! It is a #quarantinevideo made with the green screen that Liam talked the other day about having had set up in his living room for days and how much he disliked that. It features Liam in a Snow Globe and Dixie and her friends dancing in a photobooth in colorful outfits (Liam in a red sequin vest with nothing underneath anyone?), pastel and glittery backgrounds, and lots of Christmas cheer! More than Liam had today, that’s for sure! Dixie loves Christmas, but Liam said that if it wasn’t for his son “pfft, Christmas can pass me by” in the joint live Liam/Dixie did to introduce the video. Steve the Manager (who made Liam’s naughty list for “making him work today”) spent most of the time feeding Liam questions for Dixie and trying to keep him on track. Liam and Dixie shared stories of Christmas presents (Dixie’s best Christmas was when she got a four wheeler), who made their Naughty List this year (Dixie: No one, Liam: “NIALLLL” - no he did not say why), and if they’d ever been kissed under the mistletoe (Dixie was when she was 12, Liam has not yet because he’s “a loonneeelyyyy boyyyy”, but then went on to say, “Mayaaaa you gotta kiss me under the mistletoe!!” so I guess that’s that).  Steve the Manager kept cutting Liam off before he could even TRY to do his Harry voice, so we didn’t get any of that, but we did get a nice solo Liam alarm to wake up to this morning, where he did a meditative bit and reminded people that it’s almost Friday!! And he's added some signed Naughty List single CDs to his store and merch! Really cute hoodies-- I'm not personally sure I want my chest to say Naughty List all over it but Liam can work it and it is a cute design. He also went on a radio show (not Roman’s) to promote Naughty List and revealed that he had NOT done any Christmas shopping yet, which IMMEDIATELY put him on their naughty list. Not to worry Liam, I think you’re still pretty nice!

And my favorite larrie is BACK: we got a sneak peek of Harry’s Jingle Ball set and, surprise, surprise, it’s the pre-recorded set with the Free Nationals! The description is, “Harry Styles and the Free National light up an LA backyard celebration with a hit-stacked set”. So, uh, I guess he’s not going to be playing in front of a blank wall - it’ll be a garden with a camper van, little blue flags, and fairy lights strung up. His shirt matches the small flags in being That Color Blue, and my one and only prediction for the set is that he’ll be covering Blue Christmas. I gotta say that I have NEVER seen anyone as dedicated to that - or ANY color - as Harry is. He still hasn’t popped up anywhere, but this is EXCITING! A new Fine Line set!!

Zayn made Martyre’s Instagram story again, and though you STILL can’t see his face, it’s his neck this time instead of his hands! I think that he’s meant to be modeling the necklace he’s got on, but the picture is too blurry for me to make it out. Alas. Anyways, I’d love to see some pictures of his FACE if Martyre has those? Please? Meanwhile, Niall promoted  a beloved Doncaster native musician... no it was Yungblud! On Instagram, of course: he did tell us he wasn't going to be on twitter for a while! 

[hellomynameisbisexual]

Here's a shortlist of those who realized that I — a cis woman who'd identified as heterosexual for decades of life — was in fact actually bi, long before I realized it myself recently: my sister, all my friends, my boyfriend, and the TikTok algorithm.

On TikTok, the relationship between user and algorithm is uniquely (even sometimes uncannily) intimate. An app which seemingly contains as many multitudes of life experiences and niche communities as there are people in the world, we all start in the lowest common denominator of TikTok. Straight TikTok (as it's popularly dubbed) initially bombards your For You Page with the silly pet videos and viral teen dances that folks who don't use TikTok like to condescendingly reduce it to.

Quickly, though, TikTok begins reading your soul like some sort of divine digital oracle, prying open layers of your being never before known to your own conscious mind. The more you use it, the more tailored its content becomes to your deepest specificities, to the point where you get stuff that's so relatable that it can feel like a personal attack (in the best way) or (more dangerously) even a harmful trigger from lifelong traumas.

For example: I don't know what dark magic (read: privacy violations) immediately clued TikTok into the fact that I was half-Brazilian, but within days of first using it, Straight TikTok gave way to at first Portuguese-speaking then broader Latin TikTok. Feeling oddly seen (being white-passing and mostly American-raised, my Brazilian identity isn't often validated), I was liberal with the likes, knowing that engagement was the surefire way to go deeper down this identity-affirming corner of the social app.

TikTok made lots of assumptions from there, throwing me right down the boundless, beautiful, and oddest multiplicities of Alt TikTok, a counter to Straight TikTok's milquetoast mainstreamness.

Home to a wide spectrum of marginalized groups, I was giving out likes on my FYP like Oprah, smashing that heart button on every type of video: from TikTokers with disabilities, Black and Indigenous creators, political activists, body-stigma-busting fat women, and every glittering shade of the LGBTQ cornucopia. The faves were genuine, but also a way to support and help offset what I knew about the discriminatory biases in TikTok's algorithm.

My diverse range of likes started to get more specific by the minute, though. I wasn't just on general Black TikTok anymore, but Alt Cottagecore Middle-Class Black Girl TikTok (an actual label one creator gave her page's vibes). Then it was Queer Latina Roller Skating Girl TikTok, Women With Non-Hyperactive ADHD TikTok, and then a double whammy of Women Loving Women (WLW) TikTok alternating between beautiful lesbian couples and baby bisexuals.

Looking back at my history of likes, the transition from queer “ally” to “salivating simp” is almost imperceptible.

There was no one precise "aha" moment. I started getting "put a finger down" challenges that wouldn't reveal what you were putting a finger down for until the end. Then, 9-fingers deep (winkwink), I'd be congratulated for being 100% bisexual. Somewhere along the path of getting served multiple WLW Disney cosplays in a single day and even dom lesbian KinkTok roleplay — or whatever the fuck Bisexual Pirate TikTok is — deductive reasoning kind of spoke for itself.

But I will never forget the one video that was such a heat-seeking missile of a targeted attack that I was moved to finally text it to my group chat of WLW friends with a, "Wait, am I bi?" To which the overwhelming consensus was, "Magic 8 Ball says, 'Highly Likely.'"

Serendipitously posted during Pride Month, the video shows a girl shaking her head at the caption above her head, calling out confused and/or closeted queers who say shit like, "I think everyone is a LITTLE bisexual," to the tune of "Closer" by The Chainsmokers. When the lyrics land on the word "you," she points straight at the screen — at me — her finger and inquisitive look piercing my hopelessly bisexual soul like Cupid's goddamn arrow.

Oh no, the voice inside my head said, I have just been mercilessly perceived.

As someone who had, in fact, done feminist studies at a tiny liberal arts college with a gender gap of about 70 percent women, I'd of course dabbled. I've always been quick to bring up the Kinsey scale, to champion a true spectrum of sexuality, and to even declare (on multiple occasions) that I was, "straight, but would totally fuck that girl!"

Oh no, the voice inside my head returned, I've literally just been using extra words to say I was bi.

After consulting the expertise of my WLW friend group (whose mere existence, in retrospect, also should've clued me in on the flashing neon pink, purple, and blue flag of my raging bisexuality), I ran to my boyfriend to inform him of the "news."

"Yeah, baby, I know. We all know," he said kindly.

"How?!" I demanded.

Well for one, he pointed out, every time we came across a video of a hot girl while scrolling TikTok together, I'd without fail watch the whole way through, often more than once, regardless of content. (Apparently, straight girls do not tend to do this?) For another, I always breathlessly pointed out when we'd pass by a woman I found beautiful, often finding a way to send a compliment her way. ("I'm just a flirt!" I used to rationalize with a hand wave, "Obvs, I'm not actually sexually attracted to them!") Then, I guess, there were the TED Talk-like rants I'd subject him to about the thinly veiled queer relationship in Adventure Time between Princess Bubblegum and Marcelyne the Vampire Queen — which the cowards at Cartoon Network forced creators to keep as subtext!

And, well, when you lay it all out like that...

But my TikTok-fueled bisexual awakening might actually speak less to the omnipotence of the app's algorithm, and more to how heteronormativity is truly one helluva drug.

Sure, TikTok bombarded me with the thirst traps of my exact type of domineering masc lady queers, who reduced me to a puddle of drool I could no longer deny. But I also recalled a pivotal moment in college when I briefly questioned my heterosexuality, only to have a lesbian friend roll her eyes and chastise me for being one of those straight girls who leads Actual Queer Women on. I figured she must know better. So I never pursued any of my lady crushes in college, which meant I never experimented much sexually, which made me conclude that I couldn't call myself bisexual if I'd never had actual sex with a woman. I also didn't really enjoy lesbian porn much, though the fact that I'd often find myself fixating on the woman during heterosexual porn should've clued me into that probably coming more from how mainstream lesbian porn is designed for straight men.

The ubiquity of heterormativity, even when unwittingly perpetrated by members of the queer community, is such an effective self-sustaining cycle. Aside from being met with queer-gating (something I've since learned bi folks often experience), I had a hard time identifying my attraction to women as genuine attraction, simply because it felt different to how I was attracted to men.

Heteronormativity is truly one helluva drug.

So much of women's sexuality — of my sexuality — can feel defined by that carnivorous kind of validation you get from men. I met no societal resistance in fully embodying and exploring my desire for men, either (which, to be clear, was and is insatiable slut levels of wanting that peen.) But in retrospect, I wonder how many men I slept with not because I was truly attracted to them, but because I got off on how much they wanted me.

My attraction to women comes with a different texture of eroticism. With women (and bare with a baby bi, here), the attraction feels more shared, more mutual, more tender rather than possessive. It's no less raw or hot or all-consuming, don't get me wrong. But for me at least, it comes more from a place of equality rather than just power play. I love the way women seem to see right through me, to know me, without us really needing to say a word.

I am still, as it turns out, a sexual submissive through-and-through, regardless of what gender my would-be partner is. But, ignorantly and unknowingly, I'd been limiting my concept of who could embody dominant sexual personas to cis men. But when TikTok sent me down that glorious rabbit hole of masc women (who know exactly what they're doing, btw), I realized my attraction was not to men, but a certain type of masculinity. It didn't matter which body or genitalia that presentation came with.

There is something about TikTok that feels particularly suited to these journeys of sexual self-discovery and, in the case of women loving women, I don't think it's just the prescient algorithm. The short-form video format lends itself to lightning bolt-like jolts of soul-bearing nakedness, with the POV camera angles bucking conventions of the male gaze, which entrenches the language of film and TV in heterosexual male desire.

In fairness to me, I'm far from the only one who missed their inner gay for a long time — only to have her pop out like a queer jack-in-the-box throughout a near year-long quarantine that led many of us to join TikTok. There was the baby bi mom, and scores of others who no longer had to publicly perform their heterosexuality during lockdown — only to realize that, hey, maybe I'm not heterosexual at all?

Flooded with video after video affirming my suspicions, reflecting my exact experiences as they happened to others, the change in my sexual identity was so normalized on TikTok that I didn't even feel like I needed to formally "come out." I thought this safe home I'd found to foster my baby bisexuality online would extend into the real world.

But I was in for a rude awakening.

Testing out my bisexuality on other platforms, casually referring to it on Twitter, posting pictures of myself decked out in a rainbow skate outfit (which I bought before realizing I was queer), I received nothing but unquestioning support and validation. Eventually, I realized I should probably let some members of my family know before they learned through one of these posts, though.

Daunted by the idea of trying to tell my Latina Catholic mother and Swiss Army veteran father (who's had a crass running joke about me being a "lesbian" ever since I first declared myself a feminist at age 12), I chose the sibling closest to me. Seeing as how gender studies was one of her majors in college too, I thought it was a shoo-in. I sent an off-handed, joke-y but serious, "btw I'm bi now!" text, believing that's all that would be needed to receive the same nonchalant acceptance I found online.

It was not.

I didn't receive a response for two days. Hurt and panicked by what was potentially my first mild experience of homophobia, I called them out. They responded by insisting we need to have a phone call for such "serious" conversations. As I calmly tried to express my hurt on said call, I was told my text had been enough to make this sibling worry about my mental wellbeing. They said I should be more understanding of why it'd be hard for them to (and I'm paraphrasing) "think you were one way for twenty-eight years" before having to contend with me deciding I was now "something else."

But I wasn't "something else," I tried to explain, voice shaking. I hadn't knowingly been deceiving or hiding this part of me. I'd simply discovered a more appropriate label. But it was like we were speaking different languages. Other family members were more accepting, thankfully. There are many ways I'm exceptionally lucky, my IRL environment as supportive as Baby Bi TikTok. Namely, I'm in a loving relationship with a man who never once mistook any of it as a threat, instead giving me all the space in the world to understand this new facet of my sexuality.

I don't have it all figured out yet. But at least when someone asks if I listen to Girl in Red on social media, I know to answer with a resounding, "Yes," even though I've never listened to a single one of her songs. And for now, that's enough.

[amysubmits]

Hello! I've just listened to a couple of episodes of your podcast and I wanted to let you know how much I admire what you've built with CD.

DD is not something I'm interested in, so I don't completely understand some of what you talk about, but I am a sub and I strongly feel the need to serve (someone who has earned the gift of my submission). The way you talk about your needs and how CD gives you what you need through DD is beautiful.

Tumblr can be so helpful for people who are interested in D/s dynamics, but I've often come across blogs that give off vibes I don't entirely like. I can never be sure if I'm getting off to posts from someone who has abused their power as a Dom, because as sad as it might be, I know there are people like that here.

Reading your experience with D/s, although it focuses on a dynamic I'm not specifically interested in, has been comforting in a way.

(Do you have any plans to resume recording your podcast?)

Aww, thank you so much for the kind words!

Glad you like the podcast. We do plan to go back to it, hopefully in the relatively near future. It will be less consistent than it used to be as our lives are more stressful than they used to be, but we think we're in a place where we can do some episodes here or there.

I know what you mean about how it can be hard to know if what you're seeing or reading on Tumblr is ethical. I still sometimes question things I see and wrestle with wondering if I'm being too judgmental, if I am lacking understanding/awareness of other D/s styles or other kinks, or if that hesitation in the back of my head is there for good reason. So, I still don't always know. But I remember being really confused when I was newer to Tumblr. The longer I spend on here, the more aware of red flags I've become, and the more I've learned about different D/s styles. I feel like those things helped me to get a better grasp on what things I just find distasteful personally Vs what I really feel is not okay, not healthy, or even outright abusive.

It's also complicated further by how a lot of tumblr posts don't (maybe even can't) give full context to the relationship. For example, if I posted something about CD "making me" do something, let's say go to bed at a certain time, and that post talked about how I really didn't want to - I would understand how someone might think he didn't have the right to 'make me' do that, if they just see that one post of mine and don't understand our larger dynamic and the consent involved and how it all works. At the same time, I can't re-explain my entire dynamic every time I share something, as that would be extremely repetitive for people who read my posts regularly. So while I guess i technically could, it doesn't really feel practical to give full context in every little post. So, I try to keep that concept in mind when seeing other posts on here, too. That if a post feels a little sketchy to me, I may just be lacking context of how their whole dynamic works. Perhaps this is even more true when it comes to captions people put on porn images or erotica. A lot of people like to say things or write things to get off that aren't representative of how their real relationship works full time...they just write it because it's a hot idea even if it's not something they'd really do or something they really believe. So it's just very complicated to make sense of the ethics of it all, sometimes.

Anyway...I think it's really reasonable for anyone to be unsure, but especially people who are newer to the community. But you might find that it becomes at least somewhat easier to navigate what people are sharing in a 'real' way vs a fantasy way, and also what things you personally think are ethical vs not to do in 'real' relationships.

[fallingsunflower]

Do you think someone can be queer and still queer bait? I think Harry really is bi, but something about the way he does things regarding his sexuality and ‘support’ of the queer community still to me seems very manufactured and done for money and attention. Like sure he waves around the flag on stage and hints around about stuff, but what exactly does he do besides that? What issues has he spoken on? What exactly does he fight for? What has he taken a stand on? How does waving a flag help if you aren’t doing anything else? And sure he may date men in private but it’s like the same damn thing with him for years, wave the flag on stage, but actually date a woman, make some statement that fans interpret as him being gay, but then stunt with a woman, wear a dress or traditionally “feminine” clothes and get people talking about him possibly being trans, but talks about sleeping with women. It just rubs me wrong and I’m tired of it. And I don’t believe it’s “big bad management” closeting him like some people want to believe. Harry is not a baby and he knows this stuff gets people talking about him and he makes money that way. He willingly chooses to do this stuff. I totally get what Billy Porter was complaining about. I think if Harry finally came out, his family, work colleagues, and queer fans would praise him from here to the mountains. He wouldn’t have to worry about getting disowned or struggling like some people would so why can’t he just be honest? Either he knows people would initially be excited about it and then lose interest because (unfortunately) there isn’t much else people talk about regarding him other than his looks, clothes or who he sleeps with, OR maybe he isn’t even really queer. Which one is it? Because all of this seemingly performative stuff he does and making people wonder is he or isn’t he gets old after a while. It’s all doing the bare minimum but not really doing anything at all.

I get it. It's frustrating. I feel similarly and the only thing keeping me from being entirely angry over it is the belief I hold that he's bi, or part of the community to some degree, and even that might be naive or a stretch.

I think it's possible to queer bait if you're queer, at least to some degree. It would have to be a case of you have absolutely no intention of ever coming out, which I worry might be the case with Harry. Not that he should be forced to come out at all, and that's where part of the problem lies. He shouldn't be forced to come out but in my opinion, he should in turn be mindful that some of his actions could be harmful towards the LGBTQ+ community. And I don't mean harmful as in it's the most important thing, because there are far more pressing matters, but it's certainly not helpful.

I don't think Harry's problem lies with his clothing, however. A cis man can wear a dress without identifying as trans, just like a cis woman can wear a suit without identifying as trans. Harry most likely identifies to some degree as metrosexual, although I'm fairly certain that term applies to straight men only. But technically speaking, Harry is straight, at least to the general public. He hasn't identified otherwise. And I know there's the argument that he said he doesn't like to label himself, which is true, but unfortunately that only adds to the sexual ambiguity if you read it as such.

Queer baiting is very common with celebrities - it's not something that's exclusive to Harry, and I also don't think a lot of people are aware of what queer baiting looks like. Billie Eilish was accused of it from her "Lost Cause" video and posting a picture with the caption "I love girls". Ariana Grande was accused of it through her lyrics in "break up with your girlfriend". Calvin Klein/Bella Hadid was accused of queer baiting through an ad where Bella kisses another female. JK Rowling was accused of it by claiming a couple of her characters in Harry Potter identified as gay, even though it was never explicitly said in the books. Harry is accused of it through his "Medicine" lyrics as well as his "Lights Up" music video (amongst other things). Many TV shows and movies also queer bait by promoting LGBTQ relationships but then those having not much presence in the actual product.

In the end, maybe Billie or Ariana is bisexual and we just don't know it. Maybe JK Rowling always had the intention of having gay characters in Harry Potter but only revealed it recently. Maybe Harry is bisexual or gay and just isn't ready to come out. Listen, it's celebrities' information to have - they don't owe it to us. But as the conversation opens up about legitimate representation and statements for likes, it’s fair for many to want answers. The LGBTQ+ needs support, and queerbaiting is not the right way to go about it.

[jackalgirl]

Telling vs. Showing

I had posted an excerpt from the Turkey City Lexicon a while back, about "Telling Not Showing", which is one of those things that writers are recommended not to do.

Violates the cardinal rule of good writing. The reader should be allowed to react, not be instructed in how to react. Carefully observed details render authorial value judgments unnecessary. For instance, instead of telling us "she had a bad childhood, an unhappy childhood," specific incidents--involving, say, a locked closet and two jars of honey--should be shown.

I was thinking about this the other night -- and I stress that it came to me by itself, please please don't anyone think I'm calling you out on this, because I am not -- and thought it might be fun* to provide an example. Stick around (under the cut) if you're interested.

* I lie. Aethel and Felix told me to write this, and woke me up early to do so. Fine. I'm done, you two, may I please go get some more coffee? Thank you.

Telling

Felix found Aethel in the galley, reading one of Max’s books. He made a face, wondering why she was reading it. When he’d first met her, it probably would have never occurred to him to ask her why — she’s weird and more than a little scary — but he had come to understand that she put all that weirdness and scariness to service in the way she cared for people, and he knew she cared for him, so he sat down and asked anyway. She looked, he thought, a little relieved to be interrupted, which did not really surprise him. She was very much willing to tell him about it, and in fact confirmed his suspicion that she found the text…how did she put it? Tedious. But she was reading it to better understand the way the people in the Order think, so she was determined to read it anyway. Good luck with that, he thought, and got himself something to eat out of the fridge.

versus Showing

Felix found Aethel in the galley, a book open before her on the common table and a line between her eyebrows. It must be one of Max’s books, he thought. He sat down and she looked up. Perhaps he was imagining it, but it appeared to him that she had a look of relief on her face. “Watcha readin’, Aethel?” He asked her. When he’d first met her, it probably would have never occurred to him to ask her a question like this — she’s weird and more than a little scary — but he had come to understand that she put all that weirdness and scariness to service in the way she cared for people, and he knew she cared for him, so in this particular moment, he hadn’t hesitated. “One of the vicar’s books on Scientism,” she said, confirming his guess. He made a face. “Ugh. Why? You’re always arguing with him about it.” And driving him nuts. Another point in her favor, actually. “It’s important to him,” she said. “And what’s more, it’s important to this colony. It would be foolish for me to dismiss it. I want to understand it better.” Felix gestured at the book. “Is that helping?” Aethel let out a sigh. “Alas, no. It is tedious.” “That’s why I like serial books,” Felix grinned. He tilted his head. “Why is it, ah, tedious, though?” “The author uses words like a collector,” she said. “But not like an artist.” Felix tilted his head and his expression must have told her he didn’t get it — I don’t get it — because she leaned back and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Do you remember the Sprat Fancy party in Byzantium?” She asked. Felix felt his face screw up again. “It was awful.” At first, Byzantium had impressed him. It was so clean! But eventually he realized it was as full of trash as the rest of the Colony — just higher-class trash, is all. Plus, the people there were always looking down on him — worse than the crew of the Groundbreaker, if that was possible. Or worse than the crew had been, before I helped Aethel fix the heat. Now they liked him well enough. But in Byzantium, nothing the crew had done had changed the Byzantines’ attitudes towards them. Their disdain is baked in, Aethel had said at the time. And speaking of baking, Aethel said, “do you remember the food?” “Ugh. Do I ever. The prettiest food you ever saw. Tasted like shit, though.” “What would those people have thought of a Boarst Pocket?” Aethel asked. “Ha!” Felix drummed the table with his hands in amusement. “They’d hold up their noses, for sure. Something that plain and simple?” “And yet, it is delicious?” “Yes,” Felix spoke with the conviction of a dedicated cultist. Aethel nodded. She tapped the pages in front of her. “This book is like the food in Byzantium. It is concerned about its appearance, and about all the different colors it can show you — it is very pretty. But it tastes like shit.” “So why are you eating it?” Felix asked, then remembered she’d answered him earlier. “Because you want to understand the system,” he said. She nodded. “I think of it as reconnaissance,” she said. “At some point, I’m going to have to deal with Order people who are higher ranked than Max. I need to understand what they think — or at least, what they’re telling people they think, which may not be the same.” “I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they all turned out to be a pack of hypocrites,” Felix said. “I’ll bet it’s all a show for power.” “Perhaps it’s not all a show for power,” Aethel suggested. But then she relented. “But yes, I tend to think that in the end, that’s the Order’s primary goal.” All that talk about Boarst Pockets made him want one, so he got up and got one out of the fridge. “Would you like one, boss?” He said, waggling the packet, knowing her answer in advance: “No thank you, Felix,” she said politely. He chuckled to himself. I don’t get how she can like spratwurst and not like boarst. Some things just defied understanding. I hope she has better luck with that book.

I liked writing this, because it gave me a little epiphany for another scene (the "Sprat Fancy" party) and an opportunity to put Sprat Fancy magazine into the actual fic, as opposed to it remaining as something of a joke.

[ Image description: cover of "Sprat Fancy", showing an adorable pink-splotched, white sprat from above, looking up at the camera with her gorgeous black eyes. Text reads: "Sprat Fancy Magazine - your guide to Halcyon's Fancy Sprats" and "Volume 22, Issue 8, 2 bits" with article leads: "Sacred Beasts: The Role of Sprats in the Faith", "Refuge: Keeping your precious sprat safe from marauders (and hungry neighbors)", "Ooo La La! Jolicoeur Haberdashery releases an all new line of fancy sprat fashion! Get a sneak peak of the latest on the Byzantine spratwalk!", "Place Your Bets: Your comprehensive guide to this season's All-Colony Fancy Spratstravanaza - who's in? Who's out? You may just be surprised by this year's contenders!" and a corner flag: "Ask Doctor Sprat". The cover image is captioned: "'Bakonu' by Captain Pearl Jenkins. With this large beauty take 'Best in Show' from Lord Reginald Kim III?" End ID. ]

Sometimes, having to write stuff out like this (especially between major scenes) is really daunting, because it generally doesn't come to me all at once like the major scenes do. I know, right from the get-go, that this is going to be a time-consuming process (I call it "sausage making"), and it's scary when I don't immediately see a clear way forward or understand how it will turn out. But I find that once I get going, the characters are happy to cooperate. And it's always worthwhile, because most of the time, I get some kind of revelation or epiphany (as above) that makes the story better, or maybe it's just neat and makes me giggle. But that's reason enough.

This is part of the pros of showing versus telling, in addition to giving the reader more to discover, understand, and react to on their own (rather than simply telling them how to react, which is what you want to avoid). The obvious con is that it takes so much longer. I would think that telling would be useful in contexts where you just don't have the column space, or are limited in the number of words you can provide. And I think it could also be useful -- used judiciously -- if you're deliberately trying to hide something from the reader.

But if you've been telling instead of showing because the amount of work you can see in front of you daunts you (or you just can't envision how it's going to go), I can only say: give it a try. You'll be surprised at what the characters are just waiting to tell you, if you only give them the chance.

[anonil88]

TFATWS SEASON 1 FINALE Liveblog

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Lots of action starting from jumping, i get that its necessary but some of it seems or feeld too long and drawn out.

I love Sam's winged captain America suit....mostly, that chin strap to ear cover thing looks weird to me outside of the comic books.

Does it even have a function? 🤨🤨🤨

Disney/Marvel is smart for during these flying and action scenes keeping the camera moving constantly because the eyes are less likely to pick up on what is real.

"MORGENTHAU!" Here comes great value super soldier ladies, gents, and those of the many varying gender identities......JOHN WALKER.

(Insert welcome to Walmart sound)

Him and his janky ass homemade shield that looks like a damn toy in this fight.

She said i don't give two flying fucks about you or your lil friend dude. RIP or whatever lmfao.

They are really jumping John like he's some guy off the street that stepped on their shoes.

Yay Bucky got to be the hero!!! And now he's back to kicking people in the chest. These flag smasgers lack fighting skills, all brawn and instinct with no skill. They keep going for Bucky' left arm not the right.

I really like that if you have closed captions on everytime Sam speaks it says Captain America. :)

Yea you bouta get ya ass beat mr. helicopter soldier.

Very smart planning Sam. 👏 👏

John might kill Karli but I want him to get his ass beat so badly.

Ayy nice kick girl nice kick.

If you really want to be a hero save these people.

Ayy here we.....go?

Oh it's Sam! When the hell did jet packs get strong enough to hold up an armored vehicle with people in it and a man in a full vibranium suit? Comic logic i guess haha.

Let me guess all this smoke is Sharon as the power brokers doing? Oh no maybe not.

They really forgot the power broker is looking for them in all of this.

We were right, she is the power broker that was obvious though.

Ah fuck she, Karli, shot Sharon no!

I hope Sam can get through to her even though his ass really can't fight at all.

I never thought John would be right about all three of them fighting on the same team but here we are.

Can John not make jokes...ever again....

Oh she wants a fight and he won't give it to her and that makes her so angry. Sharon to save the day but also Karli was just a very angry young person who the world fucked over so many times she thought anger was not only her purpose but her solution.

Aw Sam he actually cared about her though and shows up with her in his arms kid of like an angel.

Oh he is calling the politicians out too, in front of the press. Oh?

I wonder how the people will perceive him not as Sam, but as Captain America and Falcon for speaking his truth. He is a black man being the middle ground and mediator between those in power and the people.

Yea I really hate the goggles connected to the neck gaiter.

Bucky has a new Cap for a bestfriend 😭

Also, Bucky really loves being in the company of criminals i swear.

That movement is strong as hell now lol

Oh shit who is this old man? He just killed them all lmfao.

Ayyy the raft!

Oh that was Zemo's henchman lmfao Zemo planned it lmfao.

Time for US Agent to be shield's new personal attack dog.

Sigh Buck.... he has to let go of his old man friend. This older man does deserve closure and he will still have the girl to help him through his emotions. She didn't look upset at Bucky though which is good. No grudges just releasing the past.

Isaiah looks really good and just confident now maybe it is the a haircut. Awwww Isaiah and his grandson at the cap exhibit awwww they gave him a statue. This is making me tear up not gonna lie. Oof this man deserved and deserves so much better than how they treated him. Sam a real one for this.

Ay back in Louisiana!

Bucky looks mighty comfortable in this town full of black people...playing with the kids....helping out during the boil *sips tea* mighty comfortable ☕

Aw the change of the title 😭

Captain America and The Winter Soldier. I.E my captain America is black.

Post credit scene: THATS RIGHT MY BAD BIH AGENT SHARON CARTER BY DAY AND UNDERGROUND CRIME LORD BY NIGHT. "girlboss gatekeep and gaslight" lmfao

Overall thoughts: First i will start with my thoughts on the finale the first half with all the action was just okay in my opinion. I did not have many expectations high or low, but it was lacking something in all the action. Something that most of the other fight scenes had and have had in the MCU. I don't know what that spark is though (could be neat being tired) but it still felt underwhelming. Even Sam's speech was not the heroic candor or bold speech i expected. His talk with Isaiah was better imo. The second half of this episode really stood out for me though and had some very touching moments. Overall for the season, I really liked this show more than I thought I would and I wonder if we will see a season 2 instead of a movie spin off. Honestly from what I've heard from others that might be better if Disney/Marvel is going the route of deep dive with all of their characters. Bucky still has some things to work through but for now he is good and Sam has things to do as Cap so idk how much they would be able to tie together to make a season 2. I would be up for watching it though, really love the dynamic of these two on and off screen.

[harper44]

Thank you for 100 followers!

I have a little something for you to celebrate: TikTok Lovers

Rhett is one of the people who downloaded the app as a joke and got roped in way too quickly. At first, he thought he was too old for TikTok, but he soon finds college students like him and plenty of other adults. Now, the TikTok algorithm is known for knowing you a little better than you know yourself and Rhett has only been on the app for a few hours before he starts seeing the thirst traps. Specifically, the gay boy thirst traps. Rhett has entertained the prospect of being attracted to men before, but TikTok compounds it tenfold. 

He’s scrolling late one night, swipes up and hits a video the campus wifi struggles with, reads the caption, “Thought I’d try a thirst trap?” Eyelids drooping from exhaustion, he elects to wait it out and let it load. The music starts and on the screen is a guy who must be his age in a plain t-shirt, black hair swept up and off his forehead, and a little smirk on his face. He glances down to see what filter he’s using to make his eyes that blue, but whatever he’s doing, it isn’t a normal filter because there isn’t anything listed. The guy reaches forward to cover the camera with his hand for the transition and Rhett nearly chokes on his own spit when he pulls back again. The man sits back on a couch, legs spread wide, that smirk stretched wider. He’s wearing a dark blue button down that’s completely open to show a tanned and defined chest with a chain around his neck that sparkles in the filter. 

After Rhett has watched it several times, he goes to the guy’s profile to check out the rest of his videos since he’d said it was his first thirst trap. Turns out, he does some comedy type stuff and it’s pretty funny when Rhett remembers to pay attention. Most of the time he’s zoning out, staring at the guy’s lips or eyes or jawline. Eventually, he hits the follow button. A strange emotion zings through his chest when he reads the bio. It’s a rainbow flag and “North Carolina.” So Rhett has a tiny chance of meeting him in person. He figures there’s no way they go to the same school, but he takes note of the username in case the guy’s name is in there. It’s “linksblueyes,” so maybe he goes by “Link?” Strange name if he does.

In the following week, Link posts a few more thirst traps and comedy videos. It’s during this same week that Rhett breaks down and starts making videos. He gains a good number of followers for his humor and maybe a little bit his looks. One of his running jokes is alternate universes. About a month into his minimal fame, Rhett starts getting tagged in one of Link’s videos. After a day full of classes and a hundred tagged notifications, he goes to watch the video. It starts with Link staring into a mirror and a monologue overlay. Pausing it, Rhett quickly switches to dueting it since that was suggested in a lot of the comments. 

Finally, he settles in and hits record, exaggerating his facial expressions to react to what Link is saying. He gets closer and closer to the mirror, leading Rhett to wonder where in the world he’s going with this. All of a sudden, the man in the video is thoroughly making out with himself in the mirror and Rhett nearly drops his phone, wet sounds of the man’s tongue echoing in his ears. He hurriedly saves the video to drafts, he’ll unpack all that later, and goes to Link’s profile in order to watch the video a few more times. Battling arousal and trying to catch his breath, Rhett goes back to watch his own duet and eventually decides to post it, as his reaction to the end is more comedic than anything. 

That’s when a different type of commenting starts. He starts getting tagged in more of Link’s videos and Link in his, a lot of their followers encouraging them to meet up. Rhett’s scrolling through his most recent notifications when he does a double take. @Linksblueyes followed you. Rhett puts double the effort into his videos after that. 

A few months after Link has followed him, Rhett is walking back to his dorm. The sun is hot on his neck as he passes the student union, tables full of students sitting outside.

“See you later!” Someone says to their friend. Wait. Rhett recognizes that voice. He stops in his tracks, whipping his head around to find the source. Maybe he’s just going crazy, but then he sees him, the guy he’s been simping over for months walking in his direction. He opens his mouth to try and get his attention, but before he can say anything, Link meets his eyes. Confusion passes over his face like he’s trying to figure out where he knows Rhett from, and then his face registers recognition. They stare at each other for a second before Link finally breaks the silence with, “Are you Mythical Rhett?”

“I- yeah, are you? You’re Link’s Blue Eyes? You really don’t use a filter,” Rhett blurts, enraptured by the man’s impossible eye color.

Link tips his head back and lets out a gorgeous laugh. He’s so much more attractive in person, and that’s insane considering the number of people who comment on his appearance in videos. “I really don’t. Man, I knew you lived in North Carolina, but I never thought we’d go to the same school. It’s nice to meet you,” Link holds out his hand for a proper introduction. 

Rhett takes it, grin on his face. “Yeah, wow, this is crazy. Want to grab coffee or something?” Rhett ventures, holding his breath for the response.

“Sure,” Link offers with another smile.

After hanging out several times more, they decide to do a collaboration which sends their followers into a frenzy. They play off of each other so well and have such great chemistry, that it isn’t long before they’re starting an account just for videos with the two of them. Spring bleeds into summer and it turns out they live near each other away from college. Videos turn into their adventures together and the shippers get louder. That summer is perfect, in Rhett’s opinion. He liked Link even before he knew him, but now he knows he’s falling for him. Occasionally, he privately reads the comments talking about how cute they are together, but Link continues to make it clear in the videos that they’re just friends. 

Going back to school in the fall, the boys end up rooming together and they proudly show off their dorm to TikTok. Rhett doesn’t miss the suggestive comments about what they’re going to be getting up to in their room. Though Link remains firm on the friend front, when the camera isn’t on, Rhett could swear he’s flirting. That’s what leads him to think about trying the Electric Love trend. He has a few ideas in mind when one day he’s sitting in his bed doing homework and Link jumps onto the mattress and sits next to him. Rhett turns to look at him and his mischievous grin, opening his mouth to ask what he wants, when Link pulls him in by the front of his shirt, stopping just short of his lips. “Can I kiss you?” He mutters.

“Yes,” Rhett breathes, and just like that their mouths are together, Rhett sliding his arm around Link’s back, the other hand coming up to hold the back of his head. They slowly lean down so Link’s back is on the bed, Rhett on top.

He only pulls back when he has to take a breath, grin on his face. Link’s smiling right back up at him. “Full honesty,” Link says, jerking his head in the direction of his phone, “I was recording, but I meant it. I like you a lot.”

Rhett laughs, giving him another kiss, “I mean, they’re the real reason we got together, so they deserve to see the first kiss. The remainder of the make out, however…” Rhett nuzzles down his neck, making Link arch back to give him more room. “I really like you too.”

“Rhett,” Link says breathlessly due to the other man sucking gently on his neck, “I vote we post that video and then silence our phones till tomorrow morning.”

“Deal,” Rhett says, pressing another kiss to his lips and then letting him go grab his phone so they can edit the video. 

Everything else from there is TikTok history. The video goes viral among their followers and gains them a good chunk more. They continue to make comedy videos, but plenty of cutsie couple ones are in there too. Their followers are happy with every hint that the relationship portrayed is genuine with @Mythicalblueyed_RhettandLink.

[felassan]

Hi!

Thank you so much for posting all the interesting stuff from the book on here! I was just wondering if you think we will be playing as a Lord of Fortune in the next DA game?

I think we will from the mention in the book about DA4 and the description of them being good with disguises and stuff from Tevinter Nights but what do you think??

Hi Nonnie, you’re welcome. This answer is under a cut due to length. Tevinter Nights spoilers under cut.

I’ve definitely wondered about the possibility before (Tevinter Nights spoilers at link)! My speculation is that we’re in for either a Lord of Fortune companion or possibly a Lord of Fortune PC / PC background (or background option) in the next game. As you say, post-TN the Lords have been ‘flagged up’ again now with the caption in the book (“Where there’s treasure, there’s adventurers braving death to get it. The Lords of Fortune are always on the hunt for treasures - wherever it might be”). The companion feels like the more likely of the two but I do think it could work well for a player character. Paraphrasing a bit from the linked post, with a few additions:

Lords can be humans, elves and dwarves at least. I don’t see why a Tal-Vashoth or Vashoth horned person couldn’t join either, and with the general Qunari presence in Rivain there’s proximity. So there’s the race selection

They can be male, female or other genders, so there’s gender

They’re warriors (Mateo) and rogues with different specialties. I don’t see why a mage couldn’t join either, especially since TN gives us an example of a mage who, while not a Lord, is also a thief and uses their magic in that, and the Lords seem to be about skill and merit. Plus Rivain have some different views on magic and mages. So there’s class and specializations

It seems like people from other countries in Thedas can also join too as Hollix essentially offers to the Tevinter girl. All this kind of stuff is a solid lead-in for CC and space for RP, both in-game expressions of it and headcanon

Hero of Ferelden, Champion of Kirkwall, Herald of Andraste, Lord of Fortune. Not a bad PC title either, and the “Lord” part in LoF is gender-neutral

RP flexibility: someone could have joined up for any one of a number of different reasons - adventure/thrills/fun, fame, fortune, glory, history buffs, to earn money, to be doing a job that isn’t a life of drudgery or mundane, to see the world and the sights all over Thedas, and for common thieves and similar folks it could be a way of advancing, putting their skills to use, doing something more ‘glamorous’ or getting off the streets (their situation-depending). Bharv had a farm and a family while being an active Lord and planned to retire after being in the game for like 40 years. Herold had previously done naval service before joining. Hollix was in the circus before joining. Again lots of room for RP and variance, there’s more to them than ‘just another merc faction’

the live service elements could involve jobs, heists, monster hunts and stuff? some kind of mechanic based around that and a Lord’s reputation?

Solas definitely could know of them but so far there’s no indication that he does (“find people he doesn’t know”), whereas it’s specifically mentioned that he has knowledge of a whole bunch of the other factions

As a new faction to us it would be something new, fresh and interesting for the PC to be part of

They usually act solo or in pairs/small groups, so there’s the “here’s why you aren’t going about in a group of Lords or getting help from your whole faction” stuff (I’m thinking of the story reasons that were set up which explain why the Hero and Alistair are the only Wardens in DAO)

The accessories and trinkets and stuff = customization

Being a Lord also gives the PC a reason to be knowledgeable about history, Deep Roads, ancient ruins, artifacts and for dungeoneering, travel and monster fighting. Those are things handy for Generic RP Protagonist in general but also, some of them are going to be useful things to have in the conflicts to come (history, Deep Roads, ruins, artifacts)

It sounds like the next PC is going to be a nobody initially or largely anyway, rather than someone in a role like the one the Inquisitor occupied, so this point might be moot, but - it would also be more sensical for why the PC is going around doing the quest they’re doing. A lot of DAI is like “Why is one of the most important people in the world currently doing all this busywork? They have an army of goons they could be sending out and tasking with doing this stuff”. I mean, we do do that delegation with the War Table and everything, and it was important to build the Inquisition’s power and for the Herald to be seen around, but y’know? A Lord of Fortune is a bit more like a Geralt-type, going around doing side quest-style contracts for people. So side-questing could feel more natural

Semi-related, there’s also the fact that DA4 sounds like it’s going to be a story of someone who’s the opposite of the Inquisitor - someone unknown, from the bottom, with no power, or at least initially. The Lords are considered among the best treasure hunters in Thedas so they’re not nobodies, but you could be a ‘junior’ Lord who hadn’t been one for long and hadn’t made a name for themselves yet. I’d actually be quite interested in amassing the LoF display of worn-treasure, accessories and trinkets as the story progresses and the PC does more stuff

They’re based in Rivain and we’re going north

The LoFs as a faction might have their own knowledge and concerns about Solas (Mateo was on the shadow Inquisition’s Genetivi Expedition)

The shadow Inquisition know of them now via Mateo and Hollix

Their propensity for the covert/subterfuge type stuff - breaking and entering, thievery, roguey-stuff, disguises, stealth, deception and so on - would suit both the previous "spies and heists" version of the game and the whole Shadow Inquisition’s “we must operate secretly and below the radar to limit the possibility of Solas finding out about our plans" stuff

And it’s a decent way of getting a new unknown PC mixed up in the narrative - Lords travel all over Thedas, dungeoneering and everything, obtaining ancient artifacts, fighting monsters, protecting people on jobs. They take contracts. The shadow Inquisition have been hiring at least some people for work to do with their current efforts. Solas and his followers have been recruiting people. The shadow Inquisition have been looking for things that could stop him and Solas and his followers have also been looking for artifacts. I can totally see, like just for example, a Lord initially being like on a job or something trying to find some artifact that it also turns out that Solas’ people or the shadow Inquisition also want to get their hands on and so becoming caught up in everything that way, or knowingly or unknowingly being hired by either faction and it going from there

tl;dr I think a LoF companion is more likely but can def see how a LoF PC would work! A Vint Siccari also seems like a likely candidate for the PC, though I would rather the PC is not a slave or former slave.

Sorry for the scrappy nature of this post!

[The Future of BioWare - Tevinter Bound (2)]

[Mark Darrah’s Mysterious Red Book]

[Highlights and insights from the DA chapters]

[brelione]

Ooh congrats on 200 girl!! Can I request something with Rafe please where he slowly falls in love with the reader every time she comes round to tutor Wheezie but she's not interested because of what she's seen and heard about him (non cannon Rafe pls, him just being a rich stuck up dick) so he puts in the effort to win her over and is determined to show her a different side to him!?

Sorry,this sucks lol.

Rafe Cameron,the bitchy,rich,straight white male.He was privileged as all hell and could get away with anything because of his daddy’s money.He did get away with anything,including beating the living hell out of multiple pogues.He was probably the person you hated most in the world and yet you were in his house,being payed with his daddy’s money to tutor his younger sister.You tried not to judge people based on their families but part of you wanted to decline the offer to tutor Wheezie and spit in Ward Cameron’s face.

But of course thats not what happened,you needed money to live and Ward had offered a ridiculous amount.It was your third study session,common core math books and Type Two Writing for Students opened on the table,piles of flashcards and worksheets flooding the marble.

Wheezie needed to go to the bathroom,meaning you were all alone when Rafe came along.Your fingers tightened around your pencil as you went through Wheezie’s first draft,wanting nothing more than to pierce the boys eyeball with the charcoal tip.He stared at you from across the kitchen,looking around with a confused expression. “What the fuck?’He asked.You rolled your eyes,ignoring him. “Who are you and why are you in my house?”He asked,his voice dripping with venom.Wheezie came out of the bathroom,glancing between the two of you. “Shes my tutor,chill.”She sighed,sitting across from you again.The boy glared at you,trying to hide his wonder.

He didnt really know who you were but he was sure he had seen you somewhere.His eyes were focused on your face,trying to figure out if he had seen you at a party or something. “What?”You asked,he shrugged,leaning against the counter and still staring at you.Then it clicked.

He had shown up to a boneyard party,just to be a fucking asshole.He had seen a girl hanging upside down from a tree,talking to JJ Maybank.He could see why he was interested in her,she looked pretty cute,arms crossed over her chest as she swung back and forth.He had always wondered who she was and why he had never seen her before.He thought about her every once in a while,trying to think of why he never saw her again.And here she was,sitting in his kitchen. “You’re a pogue?”He asked,squeezing his cup.You ignored him,tapping your pencil on a word and asking Wheezie what it said. 

“Hey,i asked you a question.”He was closer this time,leaning against the table. “And I ignored you.”You answered,sending a glare his way.He chuckled,shaking his head. “Are you a pogue or not?”He asked.You sighed,looking his way. “Does it matter?Im trying to do my job and you’re being a pest,do you want Wheezie to fail all of her classes?”You asked.He rolled his eyes. “Oh,so you are a Pogue.What does a pogue know that I dont?”He asked Wheezie.You laughed,shaking your head. “We all know you only graduated because of your daddy’s money.You had like...what?A 2.0 gpa?”You teased,gripping your pencil tight.He bit on his lip staring down at you. “Oh,so what’s yours then?”He asked,watching as a smirk came across your face. “4.2,now fuck off.”You growled at him.

Something about the way you told him off completely freaked him out.Most people knew better,especially when they were in his house.He had a habit of sitting on the couch and watching you as you corrected Wheezie’s essays,telling her which words would be better for getting her message across.You would shoot him glares that made his heart beat quicken,making him nervous.Other times he’d see you smile at Wheezie’s progress,his heart beat quickening but for a different reason.As Wheezie put it,he was completely in love with you.He couldnt agree more but didnt want to admit it.He hadnt even talked to you since the first time he saw you.It wasnt until you were packing up your bag and dropped papers that he talked to you again.He had rushed to help you pick them up,handing them to you.

You thanked him quietly,rushing past him.He followed you to the door,working up his courage to talk. “So um...do you have a criminal record?”He asked.You turned,rasing your eyebrows. “Oh,so because im a pogue I have a criminal record?”You asked.He shook his head,mumbling. “No,no not what im saying at all im just trying to make conversation and like….i dont know i just thought it would be a cool question.”He played with his hands,following you outside. “I mean,yeah,I do.I wouldve fuckin gotten away with it too if I was a kook.”You sighed.He laughed nervously,hands shaking a little. “So...what did you do?”He asked.You grinned at the memory. “Vandalism,I used to go around and steal confederate flags and then paint rainbows on their houses.”You answered.He chuckled,nodding.

 “So what did you do with them?The flags,I mean.”he tried to continue the conversation,following you down the driveway. “Burned them.”You answered,turning to look at him again. “Are you gonna follow me home,stalker?”You asked.He blushed,shaking his head. “Um...no,unless you want me too.”He offered.You shook your head,continuing your walk as he just stared at you,jumping up and down,joy washing over him now that he had talked to you without you looking disgusted.He had asked Wheezie to talk to you for him,making her confused. “Talk to her yourself.”She scrolled through her phone.He shook his head. “No,no she hates me I just need you to ask her about like...if shes single,what zodiac sign she likes,what she looks for in a guy.You know what i'm saying?”He asked.She smirked. “You like her!”She exclaimed.He shook his head. “No,im asking for a friend.Please just do this for me,okay?”He asked.She grinned. “So what do I get out of it?I could really go for McDonalds.”She grinned.

“So...what do you think about Zodiac signs?”She asked,writing down some dialogue ideas.You raised your eyebrows. “what?”You asked.She laughed,repeating herself. “Why are you asking?”You asked.She glanced over to Rafe in the living room,the boy twirling his fingers and encouraging her to keep asking questions. “I just think its important that I know.”She mentally face palmed herself. “Ok,Scorpios are superior and Virgos suck ass.”You answered.Rafe’s eyes widened.You had to have known that she was asking for him.You wouldnt have said that if you didnt know he was a virgo. “Ok….what about your ideal first date?”She asked.You laughed,shaking your head. “Keep working on your dialogue.”You told her.

Rafe tried.He really tried so hard.He knew that it was the fact that he was a kook that made you hate him so much.He tried to act more humble,less cocky and tried working on his manners.He went through Wheezie’s instagram followers to find you,cursing when he saw that your account was private. “Wheezie,let me see your phone.”He sighed nervously. “Why?”She asked. “I need to see (Y/N)’s instagram.”He explained,scrolling through your page.You posted pictures of sunsets,your dog and a couple of photos of you holding up peace signs and middle fingers.Your bio made him chuckle. “Fuck the patriarchy and fuck you too.”He went through who you followed,seeing a lot of fanpages and the official Harry Potter account.

That lead him to binge watch the Harry Potter movies,take the sorting hat quiz and order a Slytherin shirt.He purposely wore it when he knew you were coming over,walking into the kitchen.Your eyes fell onto his shirt,laughing. “Oh,of course you’re a slytherin.”You sighed.He grinned. “Wow,thanks.What house are you in?”He asked.He held a long conversation with you as you talked about how much you hate J.K Rowling and how Dobby didnt deserve what happened.He agreed with everything you said,loving the way your eyes lit up.The study session somehow turned into you and Rafe speaking about Draco while Wheezie grinned to herself.

He looked through every single post of yours,every single caption until he learned that you loved horror films.He learned your favorite one,putting it on when you came over.Wheezie didnt even need tutoring anymore,she just liked having you over and you still got payed.You had then become her babysitter because Rafe was deemed to irresponsible and Sarah had a social life. “Dude,are you watching (Y/F/H/M)?”You asked,hearing the dialogue.He nodded,letting you sit next to him to watch it. “I didnt know you liked horror movies.”You sighed,leaning back on the couch.He blushed. “Only this one.”He answered.

It took him three months of talking to you about Harry Potter and horror films for you to stop telling him off,cussing him out and giving him glares.He could feel himself falling for you more,seeing who you were when you werent angry or annoyed.He avoided The Cut,learning that maybe if he let go of his Pogue Beater reputation you’d eventually like him.He tried to be more open,to tell you about himself and have deep conversations with you.He answered your questions honestly,laying his trauma and issues bare and letting you ask questions about the worst sides of his life.He had cried in your arms a couple of times,becoming your friend.He had gotten buried deep in the Friend Zone but he was fine with that,knowing you didnt hate him anymore.You two would hang out all the time outside of babysitting Wheezie,he’d come down to the beach with you to have splash fights.

One night while you were at the beach,the area completely empty besides the two of you as you splashed cold water at eachother.He had pushed you into the water,your clothes,hair and skin becoming soaked.You jumped up,hugging him tight and getting him soaked too.He pulled away,grinning down at you.He didnt know why he thought it was a good idea,leaning down and kissing you.All the three months of feelings spilled out just then,his hands holding your waist tight.You didnt knew what to do,what to think,pulling away. “Um….so you just-what?”You huffed,trying to understand.His bottom lip trembled,his hands shaking. “I just….I dont know.”He mumbled,still holding you.You nodded,finger tracing his jaw. “So you dont know why you did that?”You asked.He looked out at the ocean,biting his lip. “Cause I like you...love you and I just thought….”He mumbled,trying to form words.You rolled your eyes,pulling him into another kiss. “Asshole.”You grinned,running a hand through his hair.

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