#i’m a grown woman sue me

[plutoccult]

i am a sad little 21 year old who goes on tumblr first thing after getting home from a bar… but thank you for all the notes on my reiner headcanons so far 🫶 got some levi headcanons in the drafts that i’ll drop eventually!

[mellowsadistic]

Envy

“Dr Smith!” Jennie’s mother shouted furiously as she marched into the therapist’s empty waiting room, dragging her daughter along by the hand. It was after hours, and even the blonde bimbo secretary was gone from her place behind reception. “I know you’re here! Come out and explain yourself!”

Before she could reach the office door, Dr Smith had emerged, hands in his pockets, smiling politely. “Mrs Brown! And Jennie too. How nice to see you. What seems to be the matter?”

“What seems to be the matter?!” Mrs Brown raged. “What do you mean what seems to be the matter? What the hell have you done to my daughter?!”

Dr Smith’s eyes drifted over Jennie, and the faintest smirk twitched at his lips. The outline of a thick adult nappy was visible through her tight jeans, and an inch or so of the plastic waistband was sticking out of the top, leaving no doubt about what the twenty-one-year-old woman was wearing. Her thumb was planted firmly in her mouth and she was sucking on it rhythmically, but when their eyes met, she yanked it out, her mouth wet with drool, and shouted, “You makin’ me act wike a dumb baby! I can’t stop… can’t stop copying my wittle sister! Whatever she does, I hafta act wike dat too!”

Dr Smith chuckled. “I was only helping you with your little problem, Jennie. I’m sure it was hard growing up as an only child all your life, only for your mother to suddenly have another baby. You were telling me how jealous you were of your baby sister and all the attention she was getting. Well, this seems like a perfect solution to me. If you act like her, you’re bound to get just as much attention, if not more!”

“You’re crazy!” Mrs Brown shouted. “Just fix it! Undo it now or I swear to God I will sue you until you’ve got nothing left!”

“Don’t worry, Mrs Brown,” said Dr Smith calmly. He walked over to them, taking his hands out his pockets as he went. “I think this should explain everything.” He held his phone up to her eyes, and at once Mrs Brown’s face went slack.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong, you see. Jennie’s just being silly, as usual. You know how immature she is. She’s jealous of her baby sister, so she’s acting out for attention.”

“Mummy, stop!” Jennie cried, looking at her mother’s blank expression in panic. “Don’t wook, Mummy!”

“Hush Jennie,” said Dr Smith sternly, and Jennie’s mouth closed at once. “The grown-ups are trying to have a conversation. Go stand in the corner and poop your pants while I talk to your Mummy.”

A whine bubbled up in Jennie’s throat, but she couldn’t stop her body obeying. She fought to put her feet back under her control, but it was useless. She walked over to the corner, facing it like a naughty child. Then she bent her knees slightly and started grunting. She could still hear Dr Smith’s voice behind her.

“During our sessions, Jennie told me all about her plans to start acting like a toddler. She told me she was going to watch what her baby sister did and start copying those behaviours. So if her little sister sucked her thumb, she’d start sucking her thumb. If her little sister made a mess with her food, that’s what she’d be doing every meal as well. And if her little sister wasn’t potty trained, then she wouldn’t be using toilets either. I tried to tell her not to, but she was insistent.”

There was an especially loud grunt from the corner, and Jennie felt a yucky mess begin to fill the back of her nappy. “Nooo….” she whined softly. “Dat’s not twue…” Her face was bright red with shame, but there was nothing she could do to stop herself straining to make a dirty diaper. A strong rush of pee flooded her nappy as well, and it began to sag inside her jeans.

“Of course, it’s totally ridiculous for an adult woman to act this way,” Dr Smith continued. “But my advice is to give her exactly what she wants. If she’s going to act like a baby, then treat her like one. That ought to teach her a lesson.”

Jennie was still facing the corner, and her face was scrunched up with the effort of messing her nappy like an overgrown two-year-old, but she could just picture her mother nodding blankly along with Dr Smith’s words.

“If she wants to embarrass herself by acting like this, then you might as well make sure she goes all the way. Dress her up in onesies and tutus and pink, frilly bonnets – or just let her run around in nothing but her nappy. Feed her baby food and formula. Change her Pampers in the public park. Invite her friends to babysit. And of course, make sure she gets plenty of strict discipline. Maybe that will persuade her to start acting her age.”

Jennie finally finished pooping herself, and she whined again in disgust at the heavy, yucky load in the back of her pants, and in fear at Dr Smith’s words. She looked anxiously over her shoulder, and felt a horrible shiver run down her spine. The doctor was putting away his phone, and her mother was standing there looking perfectly satisfied.

“Thank you very much,” her mother said. “I’m so grateful to have your advice. I don’t know what I’d have done without you.”

“Not at all, Mrs Brown,” Dr Smith said graciously. “I know little girls can be a handful sometimes.”

“Oh they certainly can,” Jennie’s mother agreed, looking over at her panic-stricken daughter sternly. “Come along, Jennie. It’s time to go home. You can finish your corner time when we get back, after you’ve had a spanking.”

Jennie burst into tears. “Mummy, no!” she wailed. “This isn’t wight!”

But her mother strode over to her, grabbed her by the arm, and started dragging her out of the room. “It certainly isn’t! Twenty-one-year-olds shouldn’t need spankings and corner times. And they certainly shouldn’t need nappies.” Mrs Brown paused for a moment, then she reached down and quickly tugged Jennie’s jeans down her legs and over her feet, leaving her in nothing but a sagging diaper and her socks and shoes below the waist. “There. If you’re going to wear nappies like a baby, then everyone’s going to know it. Plus it will be easier for me to tell when you need changing.”

“Stob it, Mummy!” Jennie sobbed. “It’s Dr Smith! He hyp… hypno… he did something to you too!” She looked back at Dr Smith. There was a wide grin on his face, and his eyes were sparkling malevolently.

“Don’t be silly, Jennie,” said Mrs Brown impatiently, pulling her daughter over to the door and dumping her jeans in the bin beside it as she passed. “Dr Smith is a wonderful man who’s only trying to help us. You’re just a naughty girl who’s acting out for attention because you’re jealous of your baby sister. Now stop struggling, or you’ll be getting a spanking every night this week!”

“Waaaaaaaah!”

[notstilinski]

Book Lovers Starters !

Taken from the 2022 novel by Emily Henry, Book Lovers! Some of these have already been edited. You can change them however you see fit!

“Is she a baker? The woman you’re leaving me for.”

“What went wrong is that, in a past life, I betrayed a very powerful witch, and that put a curse on my love life.”

“All I need from them is a full credit report, psych evaluation, and a blood oath.”

“Oh my god, what is that? Are you planning a bank robbery?”

“FOR ALL I KNOW, YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE FEELINGS.”

“I could tie a bedsheet around your ankle and drag you up.”

“I’m a grown adult, (Name). I can buy my own Bigfoot erotica, thank you very much.”

“You are in control. You won’t let anything bad happen to them ever again.”

“I wouldn’t call it bloodlust. I don’t revel in exsanguination. I do it for my clients.”

“(Name) is here. Everything must be okay.”

“You really are sickeningly good at everything, you know that, right?”

“If you offer to lend me your Crocs again, I’m going to sue you for emotional damages.”

“To be known isn’t necessarily to be admired.”

“If I knew the answer to that, (Name), I’d have ascended to a higher plane.”

“Yeah, well, you should try almost marrying then and see if that helps.”

“If you’re into cat pee and gasoline.”

“I’m going to be up all night making diagrams and charts, trying to figure out what you just said.”

“You are much weirder than I thought.”

“Do they eat outsiders?”

“Can it really be called fanfiction if the author clearly isn’t a fan?”

“I can tell you’re pleased with yourself when your eyes go all predatory like that.”

“(Name) will listen to you. You could sell snake oil to a snake oil salesman.”

“The ship of their disappointment in me set sail a long time ago. I’d have to do something WAY sluttier to let them down now.”

“Right. There will make it easier to knock them out and empty his pockets. What should our signal be?”

“If you’re looking for your dignity, you won’t find it here.”

“Does that mean you want to date my bullies, or to humiliate them?”

“And that’s how they discovered your passion for serial killing.”

“So I’ve found the key to (Name)’s joy. My sexual humiliation.”

“Is it possible you don’t have any pain receptors?”

“You’re right. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to accept this can’t be anything.”

“Next time try not to look so excited at the thought of misery. It’ll help you blend in better.”

“Yes, together we add up to one emotionally competent human, a real accomplishment.”

“I would be adorable in Daisy Dukes and pigtails.”

“What do you think the age gap is between these actors? Sixty-eight years?”

“There are far worse things to be. Normal is a badge I wear proudly.”

“And by you’ve seen me, you mean you’ve watched me.”

“You’re not a disappointment. You’re not wrong.”

“I’ll remember you begging until my last dying breath.”

“You fucking undo me.”

“I just don’t want to be here anymore. I want it to stop.”

“You look like you haven’t slept in years.”

“You’re not useless, (Name). I mean, look at all this.”

“If we stay together, every single day for the rest of our lives is going to be the same.”

“I once had a sex dream about the green M&M.”

“If (Name) had known how hot the reverend is, they probably would’ve made it down here sooner.”

“If I had to pick one person to be in my corner, it’d be you. Every time. You take care of shit.”

“I wanted to help. I wanted to take care of you.”

“See? I’m perfectly harmless over here.”

“Yes, you have lost something but maybe, someday, you’ll find something too.”

“What about what you want? Who’s making sure you’re happy, (Name)?”

“You do have me, (Name). I never stood a chance.”

“I had no idea it was possible for you to want me as much as I want you.”

“(Name). You shouldn’t have to be alone through that.”

“It’s just… Ever since then, it’s been hard to imagine letting anyone close like that. Not when I’m so fucking broken I can’t sleep anywhere but my own bed.”

“Don’t be sorry. Please don’t apologize for letting me know you.”

“For what it’s worth, I doubt I will ever like anyone else in the world as much as I like you.”

“Sometimes the first act is the fun part, and then everything gets too complicated.”

“A week ago I liked you so much I would have wanted to try to make this work. But now I think I might love you too much for that.”

“If anyone could be enough, I think it might be you.”

[pagingdr-iverson]

Look Star Trek Discovery is a BOP! For me at least. I’m watching it now and I gotta say as a Trek fan the little black girl in me be too turnt up when I watch it. The captain is black, a woman, AND named Michael. Bro I be in heaven enjoying this freaking show, I’m content just watching Michael Burnham breathe on my screen lol. Just because she IS her and she looks like me! I’m grown as hell but yeah a black, captain, named Michael, who IS Vulcan makes me happy and stuff. Representation really is an important thing out here huh? Also Sylvia Tilly and Hugh Culber are BAE AF honorable mentions. I LOVE THEM. Tilly is amazing and I’ve just straight up loved Wilson Cruz aka Dr. Hugh Culber since “My So Called Life” sue me lol.

[zoiched]

just a (not so) little rant of mine about canonxoc pairings

(A quick clarification on the beginning: all of that said below DOES NOT APPLY to those who just see people shipping their OCs with canon characters and walk away in silence cuz that’s not just their cup of tea. I rly appreciate that guys)

TW: mentions of really harsh bullying

I grew up on 2010s fandom community and some of ya could possibly remember that those times shipping canonxoc pairings was something of big mauvais tone and a reason to drown a person in public shame, bully them and give their OC a Mary-Sue label just because they are shipped with canon char, and thank god fandom community grew up from it, weeeeell, almost.

I myself am Russian and I, therefore, come from Russian fandom community, where in some places and in some fandoms, canonxoc pairings are still said mauvais tone and cringe, and every OC shipped with canon gets called a Mary-Sue in instant just because of that. I’m a big canonxoc/selfshipping fan and apologist, and I myself have an OC to ship with canon for each of my fandoms. And because of my constant fear of being mocked and harassed by canonxoc and fandom OCs haters, I never posted my art and fanfics anywhere/never commissioned artists to draw my canonxoc ships for a long time cuz I KNEW haters would come for me (cheers for my nowadays friends from whom I get support and appreciation with my fandom OCs and canonxoc pairings, you guys and girls are the best, love ya). I felt ashamed and wrong for my desires. Geez, I was mocked for having a fandom OCs canonxoc shipping even around my friends, and one of them actually BULLIED me for that, saying “gurl you need yourself a man or a woman to have some descent fuk with them so you could forget your narcissistic(?!) desire to insert your OCs into canon and make them smash with canon chars, it’s just your desire to romantic and smexual practice that makes you keep doing so” (DAFUQ??? Even if we are accepting this stinky rhetorics just for a moment, then what’s the difference between shipping canonxoc and shipping canonxcanon or ocxoc if we are sublimating our romantic and smexual desires anyway???)

It took me to 10 years or so to become a grown ass 25yo woman who obtained an ability to shoo away those angry toddlers who are trying to be a self-proclaimed morality police and put me to shame because I have a fandom OCs and canonxoc ships. You don’t like it that much you come to bully me, call me cringe and call my OCs a Mary-Sues for being a fandom OCs/bring in ship with canon chars? Oh you sweetie pie, why dontcha write to Hirohiko Araki/Brendon Small/Nikolay Dybovsky/Thomas Grip/any other person created my fav piece of media to let them know that my stuff is cringe so they could write me a prohibition warrant for my canonxoc ships then? Or maybe you are just pissed off to see my female OCs being in shipping with male canon chars because of your internal misogyny? (I’m not a radical feminist, God forbid, but I’m here for all cis/cishet women who love man and are called “boring straights” and “normies” for such a desire). Or you want to stick on canon of the media like it’s holy? Or you just want to assert yourself in any ways possible? Lift up your self-esteem by accusing something you consider “bad and wrong”? Solve those problems anywhere else and not in my and any others canonxoc shippers expense. Grow up.

(I found this picture I don’t remember exactly where, so if you an author, DM me so I could credit you or remove this picture if you want me to)

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 50 - Telling HR (The H Stands for Hilary)

Oh. Word spreads fast, I guess. They should probably tell Xander's family before they hear it from someone else.

You know these two love their shower woohoo!

Well, apparently Ophelia takes her phone into the shower with her, because Becca calls her with a very urgent question. Of course she tells her to say yes!

Talk about multitasking!

Newly discovered neat freak Xander helps Ophelia out with laundry.

Xander: Why do you have your initials on all your clothes labels? What are you, ten? Ophelia: I used to do my laundry at a laundromat and I didn't want to accidentally take someone else's panties home. Sue me!

Ophelia: Now that things are official, we should probably tell Hilary and Hector, right?

Xander: Definitely.

Ophelia: It's going to be weird to look my boss in the eye and tell her I'm dating her brother.

Hilary is managing the restaurant while their parents are away but she can make time for her baby brother.

Hilary: Alexander, what a surprise! You don’t have a shift today. And Ophelia, hello.

Xander: Hey, Hil. Can we talk?

Hilary: Sure. Is it work-related?

Xander: Sort of.

Ophelia can’t help but feel awkward. This is not only her boss, but her boyfriend’s sister. She doesn’t know how to say it.

Ophelia: Xander and I have started seeing each other. Romantically. Like, as a couple. That date.

Xander: Smooth, babe.

Hilary takes a second and nods.

Hilary: I see. Thank you for letting me know. Obviously Hector and I don’t discourage workplace relationships, as it’d be a bit hypocritical. I trust you both to keep things professional.

Ophelia: Of course. Thank you.

Hilary: Okay, that was my reaction as your boss. Now, Xander, as your sister, let me just say I’m thrilled for you two. I’m happy you found someone good for you. Come here.

It’s kind of weird getting a hug from your boss, but Hilary actually gives great hugs.

Xander: You don’t seem that surprised.

Hilary: That’s because I’m not, Alexander, I was just trying to be polite.

Xander: So you knew?

Hilary: I figured you were seeing someone, since our parents say you’ve been spending the night elsewhere half the time.

Ophelia: Oh. But you didn’t know it was me?

Hilary: Not until I was helping Mom with housework the other day. I was doing Xander’s laundry and found a thong with the initials OL on the tag mixed in. Doesn’t take a detective to crack that case.

Ophelia: Oh my Watcher.

Hilary: Don’t be embarrassed, dear. I was young and in love once too. But now that it’s out in the open…

She turns to her brother.

Hilary: Alexander Amir, stealing a woman’s underwear? You were raised better than that!

Xander: I didn’t! I must have grabbed it by accident!

Hilary: I'll choose to believe that. Oh, Ophelia, we were going to go to the Spice Festival this Friday with Hector and the kids. Would you like to join us?

Ophelia: That sounds fun but I don't want to intrude on family time.

Hilary: Oh, nonsense. We'd love to have you.

Ophelia: Thank you, I'd love to go!

Xander: I know you met the kids already but I can't wait to reintroduce you as my girlfriend. Jace has been asking me since he was a toddler why I'm single. According to him grown-ups are all supposed to be married.

I think Hilary ships it.

Hilary has to go tell the chef to actually cook and not just stand outside on the sidewalk, so she leaves the lovebirds alone.

Xander: Well, that went better than I thought.

Ophelia: Yeah, we really lucked out.

Xander: Looks like the hard part's over.

Ophelia: Yep. So now that we don't have to stress… Haha, you got in trouble, Alexander Amir!

Xander laughs as she blows a raspberry at him.

Xander: I don't want to hear it, Ophelia Marie! You probably snuck that thong into my stuff!

Ophelia: When do you think I can meet your parents?

Xander: I called them this morning and told them because I didn't want to wait, but we can probably have dinner with them the day after they get home. They're going to love you, I just know it.

[homosandhomies]

My favorite solo from each main character on glee (because why not)

SUE: Vogue. “WILL SCHUESTER I HATE YOU”

KURT: Rose’s Turn. Chris Colfer rarely got songs that highlighted ALL his vocal strengths. This song used everything. He had a strong head voice, an amazing mix, and he can EMOTE WITH EVERY INCH OF HIS LIFE. No wonder he got the Golden Globe.

QUINN: This Is A Man’s World. This scene is ridiculous, but out of context the song absolutely slaps. Diana can BELT and she deserved to do it more.

ARTIE: Stronger. Probably my favorite Britney song. Kevin ate. That is all.

PUCK: Only the Good Die Young. This song is so fun and I think Puck’s voice is very underrated. A good ol’ jam. Thank you for repping the Jewish community king ❤️

WILL: Sway. It’s a shame that we never talk about his voice because HOLY SHIT MATTHEW MORRISON IS INCREDIBLE. This man is so talented and we never acknowledge it because of Will Schuester’s shenanigans.

BLAINE: Somewhere Only We Know. You can hate Blaine all you want but you can’t deny the POWER of this song. The love in his eyes is sickening I am not okay right now

FINN: I’ve Gotta Be Me. Given the fact that Cory didn’t have any singing experience before, this song makes me so fucking happy because you can see how much he had grown as a singer, but also how proud he was of himself! Look at him go!!! (Bonus: If I’m bending the rules in terms of what qualifies as a solo I would 100% make his Paradise By the Dashboard Light. That was his undoubtedly his very best vocal performance. It’s SO FUCKING GOOD it makes me go batshit.)

RACHEL: My Man. “She may be difficult but boy can she sing.”

BRITTANY: Run the World. The dancing is definitely the more impressive part of this number, but it still sounds great! This song really highlighted Heather’s strengths, when most of her songs weren’t very memorable in my opinion.

MIKE: Cool. Maybe Tina should be a professional vocal coach because damn look at him go!! Idk why an Asian kid wanted to play the role of a leader of a white supremacist group but at least he sounds great 🤷‍♀️

MERCEDES: I Will Always Love You. Literally every single Mercedes song is perfect, so this was the hardest one for me. This means I had to base it on acting. And she DELIVERS here. It should be illegal to be this talented.

TINA: Because You Loved Me. The fact that this is one of TWO solos that Jenna actually got to finish infuriates me. She was ROBBED because she is an amazing singer.

SANTANA: Nutbush City Limits. LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, MISS NAYA RIVERA. HOLY SHIT. Finn saying before the song, “They say that true divas aren’t really mortal” is so true. This woman was an absolute icon and I will always be blown away by her talent.

JAKE: Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself). It’s so EARNEST and HEARTFELT and Jacob Artist popped off with the acting. And the falsetto!! God it’s just beautiful.

EMMA: Getting Married Today. This is a trio, not a solo, but it’s so fucking good that I HAD to do it. That is literally one of the hardest female songs on Broadway, and for some reason they had Jayma sing it even FASTER than the original version? I can’t imagine the stress of trying to do that, but she was perfect.

SAM: Copacabana. This is just a really fun song! Everyone’s having a good time and Chord sounds amazing.

RYDER: Your Song. This is my favorite Elton John song, and boy was it done justice. The acting is really good in this scene. The mix of anxiety and earnestness coming from Ryder is adorable. He had great chemistry with whoever that girl was. (On a storyline note, I hated how this all developed though. If it had gone my way, Unique would confess it was her, then Ryder would sing this directly to Unique.)

KITTY: Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours. I just really like this number. Obsessed with Becca’s high notes.

MARLEY: Wrecking Ball. The cheating storyline with Bree was so fucking stupid and shouldn’t have happened. That being said, Melissa ATE what they gave her and left zero crumbs. She really came in like a wrecking ball.

UNIQUE: I Know Where I’ve Been. THIS SONG MAKES ME GO FUCKING CRAZY!!! THE TRANS CHOIR!!!! THE ACTING!!!!! THE FUCKING HIGH NOTE!!!!!! IT’S JUST SO GOOD I CAN’T HANDLE IT!!!!!!! This is the best part of season 6, full stop. THE most underrated Glee song ever. I will not accept criticism towards this opinion.

[ran-orimoto]

{I’ve…Forgot to crosspost my Junzumi one-shots here again. Sorry🥲. I just feel embarassed sharing my writing here, but I know you asked me to, so I’ll learn to feel more comfortable lmao💕}

[ NOTE: Junpei and Izumi are respectively 26 and 25. The one-shot from this month is sillier than usual and it features a hc I have got about older Izumi liking sewing. Even if my adult Izumi is into cooking, I love imagining her still retaining a love for fashion she can express in her own ways. I like Izumi modelling, ok, but I’m not a fan of it, especially if I take in account the …Creepy scenes she, 10 y.o kid, got in the past. You know, it’s hard to see it in a good light⭐️.]

•Il vento e le sue innumerevoli sorprese•

When he stormed into the bedroom with a note of nervousness accompanying the drumming of his steps, it had just dawned on her she had exhausted her attention and focus on the boring book she was reading. Due to that haste he had stepped out of the bathroom with, he had accidentally left the door opened and now a generous crack was inviting her to stretch her neck and spot some hints of the tempest he had created in there: a crumpled carpet pushed against the tiles of the wall, a pile of familiar clothes abandoned on the floor as if they were nothing more than rags, tired towels peeking out from the edge of the bathtub and being about to slip off it, the most disparate objects scattered on the flooded surface of the sink.

Oh well, she would be the worst kind of hypocrite if she decided to scold him because of that mess: she couldn’t absolutely lie about the fact an hour before that poor bathroom had had to go through another hurricane, making both discover in awe they could add another personality trait in the list of…Lovely flaws they shared.

“What’s the matter? Che c’è?” She couldn’t help bursting in gusts of laughters, but the defined sight of a stout young man in elegant attire froze the dance of those bursts in the chilly atmosphere of their bedroom.

She wasn’t that certain about what she could say, what she wanted to say and she wasn’t when it came to him, either. She didn’t know if he had imagined she would squeal at him and throw herself in his arms, cooing at how handsome he looked, but he should know her well by now, shouldn’t he? He should know she wasn’t that kind of woman and yet…

And yet…

Tossing her book aside, she crawled to the other edge of the bed, near to where he was regulating the strap of his watch. He checked how tight it felt on his wrist, proceeding to repeat the ritual again, and unexpectedly ignored the curious green of large cat eyes inspecting his figure with an enchanted caution.

After a year spent following his bustling tenor career from such a close perspective, she had grown used to seeing him dressing up for special occasions; to observing him shifting from his usual scruffy appearance to an utterly alienating and refined look. She would often get the destabilizing sensation of being in the company of someone else whenever that happened, her voice and sarcasm evaporating in thin air, her wary hand remaining suspended in the air until he would grab it.

However, she had soon realized it would take a simple, goofy smile in her direction to make that illusion vacillate and eventually break. Obviously, in that room with her, standing next to the foggy windows of the incoming venetian winter, there was no one else but the awkward Junpei she had always known.

“This looks so bad,” He muttered to himself with a head shake as he passed his palm down the fabric of his tie. “No, no, it isn’t just bad. It terribly sucks. Definitely.”

She was feeling way too cold to stand up, as at that time in the morning the radiators were still heating up and slowly warming the apartment, but her voice could have the same effective power as her persuading caresses on his shoulders.

“How can you say that? That misted window hardly looks like a good mirror.” She raised an eyebrow in amusement at the way it seemed he was really trying identifying his reflection in there, in the thickest grey of a glacial weather. “Besides…I was thinking you actually look nice.” His back straightened all of a sudden in response. “You look really nice.”

Then, he surrendered to the urge to turn to her and he showed her his blissful face, -because it was really enough to compliment him with the most ordinary and driest existing words to make him feel like the luckiest man on Earth-.

“I look nice,” He repeated in disbelief, the chocolate in his eyes seeming to be melting and being about to stain his pail blue shirt. “I guess I can’t do anything about it: if Izumi says so, it’s because it’s true.”

It is , That whisper prudently advanced through her most inner thoughts, gaining self-esteem at each surpassed millimeter. It became way too cheeky at the end of its fast journey, though, and Izumi found herself smirking, complacent.

Junpei greatly appreciated that feline expression on her porcelain face and probably started feeling a bit more confident about his outfit, just like that whisper of hers had. Actually, he accumulated enough self-esteem to hop in front of her, spread his legs and arms and theatrically put his black waistcoat and brown trousers on display.

“Ta-da!” He chirped at her, as he made his fingers vibrate like if they were sparklers without fire and light, and she spontaneously applauded at that improvised, silly show to exchange his playful mood.

Still, while her pupils were taking a more careful tour down his robust silhouette, focusing on those details she hadn’t been able to catch at first, she started feeling like something looked off. She couldn’t pinpoint what it was until she got onto his feet. That was the reason why her gaze wasted a whole minute of embarassing silence repeatedly going up and down, -from his neck to his knees-, making her fantasy go wild and brainstorm in the most different ways: did he need a hat? One of those Fedora hats that could turn any man in a perfect dandy? Could it be she needed to see him with shoes on well? And now that she thought about that, what kind of shoes had he picked? Don’t tell me he’s chosen to wear trainers!, She sweated at the only imaginary draft of such a horrid decision.

But she fortunately pushed her irises further, down onto the wood floor.

“Uh, have you changed your mind?” He murmured, confused but also slightly anxious. His hands still in the air, he glued his spheres onto her pensive features as his legs started creating a more and more evident distance between each other.

“No, no, it’s just that…”

“It’s just that…? Don’t tell me you want me to wear a bow.”

“No, Junpei, it’s just that your trousers are too long,” She pointed at the mass of linen falling on his socks. “Or your legs are too short,” She let out a chuckle at that teasing remark and ,as if on cue, as if they had been offended by her, Junpei’s legs ceased to his bizarre position by gliding in a painful split.

Izumi didn’t pay attention to the first time of the day he had fallen and hurt himself. At that moment her ears were only listening to her unbridled rambling, no matter Junpei’s whining was covering half of it and turning part of her plans into a mash of incoherent sounds.

“That hurts so much,” He complained, massaging his backside. “These trousers are so uncomfortable even during falls. They have got these stupid buttons on the butt. How will I be able to si-“

“Junpei!” She turned to him again, flames of an excitement he couldn’t interpret at all burning the grass in her eyes. “ Torno subito”.

“ What does it mean torno subito?!” He exclaimed in bewilderment, his jaw dropping at her blonde hair flying away from him, at her taking off at the speed of a butterfly beat. “Ohi, Izumi!” He called her, still struggling to walk properly and slowening down the pace of his brief march to the corridor. From there, he could hear her searching for something among a bunch of objects, opening and closing old drawers and making the stuff inside of them vacillate in the process.

She returned to him after not even a minute with a lovely-looking box in her arms. It was covered by a layer of colourful drawings featuring shapes Junpei couldn’t immediately recognize. By the time he did, -and he sent a chill down his spine right in that instant-, Izumi had already opened the box and had already revealed its content without explanation.

“Iz-Izuzu,” He stuttered as he joined her on the mattress in comical shock. His orbs seemed to enlarge before the view of that tidy kit or, more precisely, before the one of a pair scissors, a bunch of needles and pins, a traditional tape measure, a series of motley fabric rolled on themselves and, finally, also an object he thought he had never seen before.

“This is a thimble,” She pulled the cylindrical item out of its dug nest and showed him the easy way her index slipped in its empty cavity. She allowed him to try mimicking her gesture, but it wasn’t a surprise his fingers, -each of them, not only his index-, were too big and thick to fit in such a small spot. However, he kept on weighing and holding it in his palm to analyze it properly, gradually finding himself being ensnared by its minuscule engravings.

“A thimble keeps you from hurting yourself while sewing,” Izumi promptly clarified, getting silent yet vivacious nods from him. “My mother bought this one from Sardinia. We also have got a very old one whose top is totally pitted.”

His head continued swinging at every single letter her lips would weave. One after the other, they were making his heart drown in an endless stream of admiration, even though he wasn’t actually absorbing that treasure of knowledge she was sharing. And she did know it.

Actually, at a certain point, it became impossible for her not to begin giggling once more because of all that eager agitation next to her.

“You seem to have never seen a sewing kit in your life.”

“It’s kinda true, though?” He woke up from his dreamy trance and looked up at the ceiling, in search of possible memories he had buried somewhere, without actually wanting to. “My mother has always been too busy with her job to think about this stuff. If she happened to spot a hole in my clothes, she would throw it away and buy me something else. La Signora Orimoto is just another kind of mother, completely different from mine. I kinda…Envy you sometimes.”

Izumi wished she could bite her tongue with aggressiveness and punish her lack of tact with an unpleasant taste of blood in her mouth. Nevertheless, for her frustration, her coward teeth remained still on the scared muscle, convincing her to cross another route; one she surprisingly dived in without hesitation. Indeed, at the very first step she took in that direction, she felt a a beautiful sense of release.

“Well, now you have got a girlfriend who can sew and will hem your pants.”

”And-And-“ That name she had used to label herself made him gulp so loudly he almost got scared. “And I can’t just believe my-my-my girlfriend is as unpredictable as the wind for real.”

“I started learning from Mamma after I got into modelling. It would make me so satisfied to fix those dresses they would give me as presents. Most of them were so ugly, hideous, and they would have remained in my closet, if I hadn’t done anything about them.”

“You could become a stylist too!” He highlighted enthusiastically with a clap. “You can really be anything, Izumi. You aren’t only the most talented, charming, beautiful cook in the world! Now you’re also the most talented, charming, beautiful seamstress in the world!”

She bended forward to crack a smile at his delighted wonder.

“All this encouragement is making me want to fix your outfit too,” She reached out to fiddle with his tie. “I like this outfit but I can change some little flaws I’m not that convinced about. Or I could mind my business for this time, what do you think?”

“Again, what I think is that I hope you don’t want to replace my tie with a bow…That would make me look like an emperor penguin. Takuya and Kouji would laugh at me for the whole night, even Tomoki would. And I don’t want that.”

Making her attention land on her kit again, she picked a needle and her scissors, and put them near to her thigh. Once chosen the tools she would use, her hand kept on absently hovering over the opened box, but it wasn’t because she had just got a new idea out of blue.

“Where are you all going?” She asked him after having defeated a pang of jelousy and suspect. Discovering her closest friends, her family, were going to hang out without having invited her was incredibly demoralizing. She prepared herself to cross her arms and pout at Junpei for a whole day as a reaction to a predictable “It’s just a boys’ night”. In reality, though, she had already begun glaring at him. She couldn’t just help it.

“Well, y’ know,” He stood up to clearly avoid the mistral she was summoning over him. He fairly grew bashful, -oh if she could understand why he would!-, and even started finding it difficult to look at her in the eye, -otherwise why would he show his back to her and not face her like he was supposed to? “A dear person to me is starting working in a restaurant this Saturday night and we all are going to cheer for her during her first night there, eh eh.”

Her grip shaking a bit, she threw herself against his chest and grabbed his cheeks between her palms.

“You bought this outfit to impress me that night ?”

“And to impreff your magnificent food,” He merrily joked, his silver tongue weakening because of her affectionate pinches on his puffy skin. Then, it passed from sounding like a frail autumnal leaf to plunging in a thunderstruck mutism.

“You’ve dug your own grave, Great Detective Shibayama. Do you know that?” Her mint fused with her chocolate to give birth to the most distinctive flavour they both had ever tasted.

”Uh?” Dazzled, he protruded his lips in a restless expectation. He risked to lose his balance for a second time when she abruptly let him go.

“Listen: go to the toilet before I start, because I don’t want to hear you saying you need to go peeing while I’m at work. I don’t know how much it will take, ok?”

A change of heart told her she wasn’t going to keep her promise to mind her business any more.

[variousbones]

I’m no longer in the extremely weird fetishizing Gerard way as a supposed trans woman club (led by tumblr user girlgerard), that was 2 years ago and I’ve grown as a person. However comma I will continue to allow myself to still get excited about the interviews where Gerard talks about feeling more connected to women than men. While the trans-truther fan stuff is deeply invasive and inappropriate, I cannot deny that interacting with that content also revolutionized how I view and interact with my gender and allowed myself to explore gender presentation in completely new ways. Like leaning into the inherently monstrous aspects of being trans that are so so so beautiful and sometimes repulsive and also strange and uncomfortable and REAL. I am both Frankenstein AND his monster. Gender is a construct and I am building it with my bare hands using dirty scavenged parts. I was also so positively influenced by the unabashed thirsting over traditionally unattractive features and gender non conformity. Stomach pouch, strong legs and stubble on a fem presenting person, straight silhouette, signs of aging like gray hair, etc etc etc. It gave me the confidence and permission to love the parts I recognized on my own body. Attractiveness is not the be-all end-all of worth, nor should it be. But goddamn it is so refreshing to see a middle aged person with an average body be framed as the pinnacle of sex appeal. And especially because of his gender non-conforming presentation. It’s a kind of representation I needed to unlock new parts of myself. It was so extraordinarily liberating and I’m so grateful for the other healthier sources of those feelings that I’ve found since then. Yes I have a parasocial relationship with Gerard way. Whatever. Yes I still follow an account on here called milfygerard that posts vaguely trans truther stuff sometimes. Sue me, they post really good fandom updates and otherwise I generally agree with their views and approach to things. Whatever. Nuance exists. Two things can be true at the same time. Etc etc. I know how to distinguish online brain rot from real life.

[kareofbears]

A B D J and K, would you kindly?

If it's too many I'm sorry, just pick whichever of them you feel like doing. Have a good night/day Bear, got it memorized?

I missed my Fucking BUS so I’m answering this now so I don’t have a mental breakdown HAHAHAHA if there’s typos it’s because my thumbs are freezing fyi

A: Of the fanfic you've written, which is your favorite and why?

Hmm I think this answer changes all the time. My instinct is always to say my longest one since it’s often times the most difficult one, but for the most part I think that fic has just really grown away from me, so that’s not my answer. For today, my answer would either be ‘desperate as that sounds’ (akiryu, persona 5) or ‘I never gave a warning sign’ (newtmas, maze runner). I always loved desperate as that sounds because I think my characterizations for that fic is just really strong overall. For warning signs, it’s probably my best argument fic to this date, and I really like the conflict and dialogue I gave those two.

B: What was the first fandom you read fic in?

Which was the first you wrote fic for?

Oh my god ok true Alex stans know that i pretty much learned to read and write via my sisters reading fanfic to me when i was 3 💀💀 so probably my first fandom is whatever they were into. I think it’s either Tekken or YuYu hakusho? But the first one where I CHOSE the fandom, I think Percy Jackson when I was 10? The first fic I wrote is an unfinished unpublished Glee fic, I don’t even wanna talk about that 💀 first POSTED fic is MCYTs, mindcrack HAHA The RPF ran strong in me.

D: What's the most personal fanfic you've written?

The answer will always be ‘plainly in truth’ (p5 akiryu) but the special mention goes out to ‘easy in this blue’ (BTS, namseok), a less than 500 word drabble I should probably delete

J: What's your favorite fanfic trope? Have you written it?

The real answer is the “leader and his right hand man” concept where one of the pair is seen as the amazing prodigy leader person, and the other half is seen as “less/inferior”, but behind closed doors it’s actually the other way around. Every single persona fic I’ve written has this concept HAHAHA

But I’m currently posting a fic that’s both an outside pov and a memory loss fic, which are two tropes I LOVE

K: Do you have a guilty pleasures in fic (reading or writing)?

barring explicit themes…

I’m sorry I love a good “who did this to you” trope I’m only a woman I can’t help it, it’s just too good. I also love a good Mary/gary sue concept, I love an overpowered character that just mows everyone down without effort. I also love established relationships—get togethers are slightly overrated, that’s my hot take

Thank you for the ask, I’m significantly less upset at the world after answering this :))

[super-hero-confessions]

I'm sorry, I couldn't stand Cassie Lang in Quantumania. I do want to elaborate though, because I really don't want this to come across as sexism, so long post. Thank you Super Hero Confessions for giving us a platform.

I can't talk about this on any social media without people telling me "why do you care you're a grown ass man" even though I'm a woman and younger than Kathryn Newton, the actress playing Cassie, but thanks for making assumptions and showcasing your need to put anyone with a different opinion in a box (a wrong box, at that).

Cassie is rude. Cassie puts Scott down. Her father. The father she loved so much in the first two Ant-Man movies and in Endgame, after losing him and thinking he was dead for 5 years. She's also inexplicably super smart out of nowhere. I'm no writer, but as a woman I can tell you this is not the way to write female characters. Or if it is the way, then it's not a way I can relate to.

To me, well written female characters are diverse. And by diverse I don't mean just racially diverse, although that too. For example let's take a look at the women of Wakanda. They're all black, but they're extremely diverse. Shuri is the brains, nerdy and fun, Okoye is the muscle, strong and badass, Nakia is the heart, kind and compassionate, Ramonda is the Queen, majestic and elegant. Even Riri, who is not from Wakanda and a bit similar to Shuri personality-wise, is endearing and entertaining. I love them because every one of them has a distinct personality. Something similar happens with the women of Guardians of the Galaxy. Gamora is strong and badass, but also compassionate. Nebula is the angry one, but deep down she's suffering because she just wanted a sister. Mantis is gentle and sweet and her power is her empathy. Again, distinct personalities. Love them. Valkyrie? Despite people claiming she had no remorse, I personally like her. She's deeply flawed. She turned to alcohol to numb her pain until she stopped giving a shit about others. I don't agree with her actions, but I'll take her over any female character who is so perfect it hurts. Once again... diversity. Women with incredibly diverse personalities from one another.

Examples like the ones I just mentioned make the world of female characters richer. And when people complain about "Mary Sues" yes sometimes it's just a sexist take, but sometimes it is true that recently we are getting characters like Cassie: arrogant yet loved by everyone around them, super strong, super smart, always right, effortlessly better than the male character at everything, no flaws other than being "too stubborn" or "too selfless"... Too perfect. I can't relate to that, but it's fine, I don't need to relate to a character if they're at least entertaining but that isn't the case. Because they try to make these characters so many things at once, they end up being nothing, and incredibly boring to watch. Or even worse, cringeworthy at times. I had to roll my eyes when Jen was ranting about mansplaining while explaining how to control your emotions to Bruce Banner/the Hulk. Yes, you can make a woman talk about mansplaining but not while explaining control of emotions to the HULK? She's doing the same thing she's complaining about? Like that's just. I am the target audience and I want to turn it off.

No woman is absolutely better than everyone at everything. It's why I mentioned how important it is to add distinct personalities and diversity. Some women are better at some things than others, and all are important regardless. Some women are very smart, some others are not intellectually gifted but have very big hearts, some have anger issues, some are funny, some others struggle and do shitty things, etc. Women are diverse which is why I don't like the generic, bland, perfect type, I feel as if the movie is grabbing me by the shirt and screaming "GIRLBOSS!! SLAY!! GIRL POWER AM I RIGHT?? FEEL EMPOWERED, WOMAN!!" at me. No, I'm sorry, I don't feel empowered over a character who, to show us how good and better and perfect she is, has to put her own father down, Scott Lang, of all people. Scott Lang! One of the most lovable superheroes!

Nothing screams "we actually think women are weak" more than actively putting the men down to attempt to make the women look stronger. Sure, maybe all the "straight white incel racist males" complain about this. But the implications are these. The implications are that a woman cannot appear strong unless the men are portrayed as weak. And as a woman I find it insulting.

I would like to know what you guys think. Feel free to start a debate if you want, respectfully please. One of my friends irl loved Cassie and if we can talk about this with respect, we all can. Ladies, what are your thoughts on this type of writing for woman superheroes? I want to hear the opinions of men as well (unless your arguments are straight up sexist) and I don't know, but I just really want, for female characters, the diversity and depth that most male characters have. I don't think I ask for much. Each character has their unique strengths and weaknesses, and it should be no different for female characters.

I do want to clarify though that I can understand this writing when there is only one woman in a major role, for example with the OG Avengers. Thor was the himbo, Tony was the genius, etc, but Natasha was the only woman Avenger at first so it's natural that they would make her be too many things, too perfect, too capable, smart, and compassionate. Context matters and I actually like Nat. But when you have multiple women in a movie and still choose to make a woman superhero a "Cassie," I say no thank you.

Thank you for reading!!

[rebels-love]

The reason I find female sneakerheads attractive is a girl from childhood

Now, I don’t have a foot fetish, shoe fetish, or anything like that. But female sneakerheads, who have some baddie aesthetic skills can truly knock me out.

The reason for this is a girl I hung out with as young. She was a pretty and tomboy-ish rebel that liked punk, hip hop culture, sneakers and that kind of stuff. 

Being a couple of years younger than her, I did not understand what was going on in her cuckoo teenager brain. At some point she got a crush on me, for some unknown reason. I remember founding it weird, because I was immature and younger than her. Also, I was annoyed that she wanted to grope and kiss me all the time. Sometimes she held me with the help from her friend, sat on me, and forced me to kiss her.

Being afraid of what she would do to me, I complained to her hippie teacher parents. But they just laughed and said their sweet daughter would never do anything to me. After that episode she proudly told me that I was wasting my time, because she owned both her parents and me. Despite finding that a bit scary, I also found it quite impressive and cool that she was so good at social engineering. As my mom said, she was an astonishingly pretty, intelligent, and spoiled little devil. Her look and style was a lot like the girl in the photo.

I remember beginning to like her streetwise sneakerhead style one day in the school gym, where we tumbled and she pressed her body against mine and kissed me. This while she wore some small denim shorts, that I found quite sexy, and a pair of Nike Air sneakers that she was very proud of. Despite still being sexually immature, something happened to me that day. I began to like her naughty traits, clothing style, and warm little butt quite a bit.

Regarding sneakers, I’m pretty sure this girl is the reason my brain got wired to find women who wear dope sneakers and rebellious outfits the most attractive. Every time I see a pretty woman in a pair of retro sneakers, I still get this butterfly feeling in my stomach.  Just like some men love heels (which I don’t find particular arousing), I love a woman in a pair of dope kicks. The girl basically brainwashed me into liking pretty tomboys with an attitude. Not sure, if I should thank her for that, or sue her :)

The type of female sneakerhead I crave today

Karrueche Tran (above) is a grown up woman, even though she looks quite young in this photo. It’s a good example of what knocks me out today. Now, I don't know much about her, but she seems like a woman that is fun, geeky and refuses to grow up. She loves sneakers and flaunting her little badass body in some outfit that women typically stop wearing when they get older. She’s not that tall, and doesn't have a supermodel body. However, she’s naughty, self confident, and proud of her body it seems. The cherry on top is her ability to dress up in awesome dope Jordan outfits like this. That’s just drop dead sexy irresistible to me.

[liroyalty]

Seeing Godfrey like this…. It was a special moment, one she would remember forever. The smile he held, the way he got to relax his shoulders and just… Be normal amongst the crowd. Well… as normal one could get when obliterating carnival games. She was happy. But… It wasn’t over yet.

“You’re a great person. I hope you know that.” It was easy to see, especially in Karma’s eyes. The woman who chooses to see the best within everyone, who they could be if they tried hard enough. Karma would admit to not knowing much about Godfrey as his past was between himself and her sister. But… What she saw was a man who needed a bit of fun and shined with a warm glow when said fun was accomplished. The mighty and frightening Captain of Noire having fun at a fair? Strange things happened when Karma was involved.

Her feet began moving. Karma learned something, those who walk with a confident stride will be followed… or something like that. She knew the man wouldn’t leave her side until safely back home, but where they were headed was not in the direction they came.

“I’ll make sure Sue and Ann get the proper gifts they need. Don’t you worry.” She laughs a little, seeing the man choose the blue frog and tell her a rare tidbit of his past. The aura he gave off when speaking of that felt off and Karma could put two and two together. Either a bad childhood or a bad moment in his childhood. Either way, she would speak up again.

“You… Look out for my sister. Really well. And that makes me happy. She trusts and loves you so I trust and love you too. Family… is weird. I mean, look at me. Adopted by the Royal family, no real place among the Nobel courts and whatever, I knew when I was young that I was different or even out of place but… Dad, Sue and Ann never treated me any different than how they treated each other.”

She looks at the pile of toys in her arms, a little in thought as they travel down a dirt road. “I’m grateful for them. It’s obvious they take family seriously and it’s important above all else. But I also think about where I could have ended up, how a lot of people don’t have good families or a family at all and… it makes me think… If I can change even one persons outlook that they’re not alone out in this world then maybe that one thing can give them hope for a brighter future. You know?”

On the surface, Karma didn't appear like much. It's said she herself said, a normal girl adopted by royalty, whom had no real place in the Courts of Camellia. Yet here she stood. It was... a painfully familiar feeling. Of not having a place to belong.

Godfrey had learned years ago that judging a book by it's cover was a gross disservice. He learned that under another of the li Fiorenobila family, his master, of course. And though Godfrey may not always understand Karma, how she goes about thing & her motivations, he knew better then to look down at her. And that was not merely because she was Suzanne & Ann's sister.

Like Ann & Sue were grown women of their own right, with ideals & dreams, so to was Karma. With perceptions far beyond normal human reckoning.

"You are your father's daughter, & your sisters' sister." There's a certain warmth in those words, conveyed further by the way his eyes closed & the smile on his face turned soft.

Karma might not be the blood family of Ann, Sue & John, but that didn't seem to matter at all, the way she spoke, the way she carried her beliefs so strongly on her shoulders, it was the real mark of a li Fiorenobila. They all had such strong shoulders. And they all wanted to make a brighter future, each in their own ways. Karma's way, compared to her sister's ideals, were far more simpler, but no less good.

And once again, Godfrey Cross found himself lucky to be as close to this family as he is. His own blood family he will never speak of, but this family he had been welcome into, first by Suzanne, & eventually the rest of it's members, he would fight & die for any day. He had no place with his blood family, his purpose lie here, lie with Suzanne.

"That heart of yours. Do not let others taint it." Karma are as good as they come in this world, & the world did not need to lose more outstanding people. "And if you ever need my help again, do not be afraid to simply ask."

[biceratops7]

You're using the literal same tactics of false reporting posts as transphobes on this site. Congrats, really tells everyone the kind of person you are.

A person with a penis excisting is not explicit.

Ah yes now I’m somehow transphobic for agreeing a guy should’ve put on some pants in preparation for a large group of people to see him.

Unless you’re engaging in THAT KIND explicit content (labeling a live stream 18+ does not suffice, literally nothing about the description of the event would lead people to believe barely covered genitals would be involved), yah I believe that men women and nonbinary people alike should do the bare minimum to be clothed in front of people. Sue me.

Anon shenanigans:

1. Taking giant Superman leaps to the accusations that’ll award them the most shock value ✅

2. Using the serious shit trans women go through to stand up for a cis man ✅

Con O’Neil is a grown as man, I’m not gonna baby him cause he’s also queer. He made his own damn decision to not wear pants. The women who are falsely reported are either just wearing clothes a cis woman would wear and a bulge ended up being a bit visible by happenstance, or they’re deliberately trying to be sexy in a context where you’re expecting something sexy. Hope this helps!

[driftwork]

a woman says goodbye in the park, rather than kill her brother… an ending romance and determinism part 4 of an occasional serial

they are sitting in the cafe in the park to the south of the hospital where they have been receiving physiotherapy. They are both tired. The sun is warm. they both have matching black baseball caps on and dark glasses. There are a few bodyguards in close proximity to them. Ever since they were discharged from the hospital they have been accompanied and protected by them. They have arranged flights back to Tokyo in a few days time. Just at the periphery of their vision, almost imperceptible to them, but not quite they are aware of another set of people guarding, watching following, accompanying. The man who arranged for their protection said — they work for your sister, from K. There are others as well. Across the cafe some twelve metres away, the man is called Kenji and can see his sister sitting, she is talking on the phone, has a pair of sunglasses on, hair tied back in a ponytail, a black jacket on, and black loose linen trousers that disguise her pregnancy. There is a soft brown leather bag in the table. Mineral water, espresso and a so far untouched pain au chocolat…

She is nodding as she speaks into the phone. She hangs up. Takes a bite from the pain au chocollllat, or two. Writes something in her black notebook, makes another phone call. Sips espresso. Speaks, listens. Smiles. Sue moves around to look at her as well. My sister, he says, I had no idea she could be like this. Was she really as bad as you told me? Sue asks. Probably worse actually. She is the stuff of nightmares. It could have been me, i am happy it wasn’t, i used to feel sorry for her. They are not speaking english. There is an unbridgeable language difference between them now. What is an order-word for them is not one for her, the ideologies and assemblages they live with everyday are scarcely recognized by her. She is a part of a war machine, compromised but at the same time, not. His sister stands up, the brown leather bag now strung across her body. She flows, Sue says with a smile, still i’m glad after all we are here. The reason of the stronger is always better… Her balance is slightly off so she’s compensating, pregnancy I suppose. Kenji says. He is mistaken she has simply not grown used to this new body yet, and nor does she believe what Sue said about reason. Hello Nomiko, How are you ? He asks in english. That’s my question, she says in her perfect southern english accent, I’m fine, pregnant, slightly sick. When are you leaving? On Thursday afternoon. are you armed ? Kenji asked her. No, I am retired, an ex-assassin, who will not kill for her ex-family or council again. I am working hard to keep my psychopathic/sociopathic nature under control. We and mostly he needs me to and all I can do is try…. (Kenji smiles at his sister and sensibly doesn’t believe a word of what she has just said.) Perhaps I will succeed, who knows? I like being retired. So no guns. He wants to be a member of a non-repressive-state-apparatus this time, he doesn’t believe a NRSA is possible, but still… ever the optimist. Are you well Sue? I am enjoying the sunshine, my body doesn’t hurt an longer and I am enjoying seeing Kenji looking nervous. I don’t see it very often. That’s not fair. He protests. It’s all right brother, his sister teases him (he finds this vaguely terrifying,) somebody has too look after you, and she’s all that’s available. If we/I lived in Tokyo or Shanghai, in, we’d help. If you two ever have to run, you can come here this time, I am older and have learnt to forgive. You think you can get things under control ? Sue said to her… His sister shrugs eloquently, Yes, we are in a hurry to stabilize things, so we are cutting a few corners, more reliant on Sam being a police than we really like at the moment, in a few months time it will be better as the people we will depend on will be ok… We? Kenji queried. You know, us, touching her stomach and a few others you’ll hear about later. I’ll have a second child in a few years. You can watch from your safe vantage point, or even here if you want and you’ll see. Have a good trip back. When things are stable you can come back for a holiday, assuming the council allows. I am investing in some hotels. I have to go and meet Sam at the hospital… He’s taken the afternoon off to come with me.. Most of these people, she gestures at the bodyguards are not quite trustworthy yet, they don’t know they will be trusted and looked after yet you see. When you get back tell everyone that I’m happy… Many other things were said, most don’t matter…Things about their lives in Tokyo, things that she had never imagined knowing, for example sue’s mother visiting them last summer in Tokyo. The thought of her mother meeting her. Perhaps my child will visit you in Tokyo one day. I am an exile, a refugee, my child’s imaginary will contain that… A certain reluctance to say goodbye. (she wanted to say but didn’t — When you meet me in Tokyo, tell her I am sorry that I am here and that it wasn’t my idea. We are in exile and we are laughing.) Did she always speak like that? Sue asked him. no, she has always been quiet, she is different here.

(perhaps i should remove the capital letters… the commas… should I put some back in?)

[nuatthebeach]

you knew that i'm a mastermind, and now you're mine

comment here on AO3.

mastermind may be an unlikely choice from Taylor Swift's Midnights, but i hope this short fic explains why it's the right one. more on that here.

gifted to @corneliaavenue for ranting with me about this damn album and finding new ways to apply its songs to hinny every day.

At first glance, the press can feel quite irritating.

Not in the she's-Harry-bloody-Potter's-wife sort of way - though there is plenty of that kind too, don't get her wrong - but in the you-are-famous-so-you-must-be-asked-all-sorts-of-intrusive-questions kind of way.

Over the years, she's come up with methods to circumvent those, and she finds herself fairly satisfied with the results.

Ginny flicks her eyes to her watch and claps her palms together. "Right, you lot. You know the rules: one hour, free for all," she raises her eyebrows in question, "Except for?"

"Respect boundaries, no use of passive aggressive questions, don't bring up Mr. Potter, limit discussions to Quidditch but deviations are allowed if not intrusively personal," the small press group chants obediently before one adult with rough skin tacks on, "And absolutely zero tolerance for any - and I quote from you directly - '1950s shite that implies anything about being the Chosen One's baby factory.' We should know better, and we should be better."

She grins, eyes brightening. "Correct, Peter! You learn quick! How are the kids, by the way? Sarah finally crawling?"

"Yes, Mrs. Potter, but we've got a new problem, unfortunately. Changing her nappy has become a bit difficult."

Ginny can tell. The man's hairline is already beginning to recede at the tender age of thirty eight, poor thing. She's not too much of a cow to point that out, of course.

"Ah, well, changing a nappy is a two person job," she states instead, "Maybe get Meghan to hold her arms down?"

"That won't stop her kicking, I suppose. But it is a start."

"And you, Sully?" she turns her attention to the lanky man standing in the back right, the words 'Highway to Hell' spilled colorfully on his shirt, ever the lover of Muggle music that he is. "Did you try that Indian restaurant I told you about last meeting? Remember we talked about expanding your palate to something a bit more…tasteful?"

He smiles a gap-filled smile, his remaining enamel a perfect match to the withering gray of his hair. At least one can't sue The Daily Prophet for ageism, she thinks off-handedly.

"Yes, I did. The curries were to die for. I've got a recommendation for you too, if you'd like."

Remembering his past insistence that she should give a taste for haggis, a quite fascinating Scottish delicacy of a sheep's heart, liver, and lungs mixed intricately with oatmeal and onions, Ginny fights to keep the smile on her face.

"Er, yeah, Sully, let's circle back to that, for sure."

One woman in the front raises her brightly manicured hand, practically bouncing in her eagerness to ask her first question. Ginny obliges, noting that she's among the newer, younger faces. "Hi, Gi - er, Mrs. Potter…I'm Jasmine! I've been cheering for you since your starting position with the Harpies! As someone who has also grown up in a testosterone-fueled house, I can tell you that seeing you earn a place in every league, every tournament you've been in has just - I am honor - I mean, you're just so amazing, and I - fuck, okay, I'll wrap this up."

Ginny laughs, startled but pleasantly so. She mouths a quick 'thank you,' touched beyond words.

Jasmine takes a deep breath and struggles to morph her expression to the likes of the other serious faces around her, self-consciously tucking a piece of chestnut hair behind her ear. Ginny wishes she wouldn't. Her energy is refreshing. She promises to tell her this one day.

"Since your projected wins have been accurate thus far, my question is, what do the stats say about the likelihood of the upcoming game resulting in the Chudley Cannons ranking above the Ballycastle Bats for the first time in seven years? They've certainly pulled their weight this season."

"Well, if you asked my brother, he'd say 100%, but since I'm obligated to tell the objective truth…" They all laugh appreciatively, and Jasmine's smile returns to the avid nature it once was. "On a more informative note, though, I'd say the realistic chances are…"

And this goes on for a while, the push and pull of conversation and banter, like gentle waves yielding to an easy tide, and this, this is the energy Ginny wishes she had been surrounded with throughout her professional life so far. She had never once blamed this particular lack on Harry, of course, for only a dimwit would believe he had somehow orchestrated this whole thing.

And if he still believes this sometimes, he's her dimwit, so he doesn't really count.

And it's not like she cares about what other people think.

Though it is another thing entirely to say it can't be a pain in the arse sometimes. A nail in an already infected foot.

But she refuses to let that bring her down.

It's her life, and she weaves the web of her own destiny. After all, she's spent enough time letting people use shears to tear them down.

"Mrs. Potter, I don't believe you ever addressed your oldest rumor back in your Hogwarts days?"

Ah, she spoke too soon. The Shear Personified.

"It's been overheard from several of your old classmates that Mr. Potter has identified you in his Amortentia during potions class." Oh, Jeffree, don't do it. You were quiet for so long. As you should have remained. "I mean, has there ever been an instance where you slipped in a love potion, let's say, in his pumpkin juice during breakfast? At least once?" I could have introduced you to Aunt Muriel, and you could have been miserable gossips together. "It's just a bit hard to believe - "

She doesn't even have to open her mouth because all of a sudden, the small crowd starts to chatter angrily, glaring at the admittedly social-cues-lacking middle-aged man.

"Boo," gap-toothed Sully chants, throwing his unlit cigarette butt in an aimless direction.

"Poor form, mate," Peter's head shaking causes a child's toy to go off in his nappy bag. "You should know the rules by now."

"Get. Out." This high-pitched but firm squeak is from Jasmine herself, and it's honestly more effective than any of the group's efforts thus far.

Ginny looks around at the mayhem, touched that her little fan circle is responding so strongly on her behalf.

It means the world, truly, considering that she'd gotten comfortable with the accusations and hate for so long, she forgot it had ever bothered her.

The turn of her lips, though slight, is full of awe, taking in the sight around her.

When the din finally quiets enough, she catches the end of Jeffree's defensive words: "All I am saying is that they were adolescents when they first got together, and reports say - "

"Who gives a damn what reports say?!"

"Er, thank you, Jasmine. Reports say that he was soon on the run for months, and - and - " he falters when he sees Ginny's cutthroat eyes, clearing his throat, "even at the last game, there are images of Mr. Potter staring in a 'daze that rivals a sacrificial victim ensnared by an enchantress,' to quote your own colleague Rita Skeeter - "

"Well, I'm glad Rita finds me enchanting," Ginny cuts in dryly, "But what are these images that you keep babbling about? At least have the gall to put your money where your mouth is before throwing accusations in the middle of a private press meeting."

With irritatingly un-shaky hands, Jeffree pulls out the "Exclusive Celebrity Papers," a Rita Skeeter new edition - as if she's written anything else in the past - and jabs at the pictures with one stubby finger.

She narrows her eyes, observing grainy-image-Harry gaping at grainy-image-Ginny, who had been commentating that day for the recent Appleby Arrows and Tutshill Tornados match, his gaze utterly distracted and…unfocused.

That is peculiar, Ginny wonders. Was it possible that he was stupefied earlier that day at work? No, the spell doesn't usually last that long, and he would have told her if he was, and besides, she's seen that look before she just can't place it -

And then, Ginny sees where exactly he's ogling at, and everything immediately clicks together.

"I know love potions are supposed to bring about feelings of lust, but I hate to break it to you, those trousers are known to do the same."

Her crowd laughs appreciatively, and Jasmine lets out a hearty whoop.

At this point, Jeffree's cheeks are a deep maroon.

"That - that's not very appropriate."

Ginny rolls her eyes. "Neither are your questions. I have a fit arse. My husband knows this. The sun rises in the east. Celery is a shite vegetable. Life goes on."

"Oh, please."

Great, here comes Ginny's least favorite part of these press meetings. She had been foolish to think it was put in the past, but alas.

When a man feels hurt that their ego isn't stroked, they spend their time feeling the need to let everyone know, thinking they'll care.

Like a child crying for attention. Only with these types of men, it's not a phase.

"Let's not pretend that everyone here is not wondering the same thing," the prat starts, "What, you think they care what restaurant taste you have? Your daycare advice? We all came here for one thing. A story."

This sends the room in a heated flurry again, but Ginny cuts it short, her biting remark a crisp breeze on a two-in-the-morning walk home.

"I don't need a love potion for my own husband to want me. And I don't care what you think your opinion is."

She skips, of course, the rant thrumming deep within her veins about how she, of all people, would know on a personal level what it's like to lose autonomy and would be the last to take it away from someone else. Such an obvious argument would only go over this dense sack's head.

Besides, she doesn't owe anyone any explanation.

Instead, she settles the building friction in the room with a cool: "But if you dare insult anyone in this room again, you'll find that the next story you cover is the one outside the toilets of the Ministry. And spoiler alert, entries into the departments are not all they use them for."

The rest of the press - no, her friends - cheers in delighted unison, Jasmine going so far as to hold the door for Jeffree's exit.

Sully swipes Rita's paper from his hand and rips it in two.

xxx

Harry laughs, listening attentively to Ginny's recount of the entire debacle, peppering remarks of "it is a great arse" and "if I see Jeffree covering the toilet entries I'll be sure to leave the seat up" and "ah, classic Sully. Maybe we should try the haggis he's always talking about," to which Ginny replies "or maybe we shouldn't" and grins as he affirms "yeah, maybe we shouldn't."

When their low-lit living room falls to a hush, Harry leans into Ginny's side, refilling her wine without her asking, and she ponders at how being with him just fits.

Like dominoes cascading in a line.

She puts her glass down and snuggles under his chin, preferring his clean scent as her method of intoxication instead.

"It's amazing," he breaks the companionable silence after a while, rubbing her back.

She lifts her head curiously.

"Only you could turn around a whole group of paparazzi and make them not only respect your boundaries but adore you. As a person. You just win over people so easily."

Ginny laughs and playfully nudges her elbow into his side, pressing her forehead to his. She knows he's really saying You win me over too, you know. Every day.

And all the rich colors of the grass around the world can't capture the natural comfort that his sage eyes make her feel.

She just has one final, teasing question to ask him.

"I mean, are you really surprised?"

His smirk is wide.

"Not in the least."