#it's not like. super imminent i don't think

[queerpyracy]

wish we had a social script for when an older relative you don't hate but with whom you do have a strained and complicated relationship is dying. like how am i supposed to talk about this and how are my friends supposed to respond. condolences feel like a burden but that's not anyone else's fault

[pathofelation]

i keep remembering i'll be going into emergency medicine and i am filled with both so much joy and so much fear. like.. woah dude.. i was not expecting to get this far. you mean i'm really gonna do that? you mean i am given the privilege to help people like that? you mean i am given the chance to be in a position to serve my community and the people around me in such a tangible way? you mean the kid i never got to be would be happy to see me now? like woah.. hey there.. let me sit down for a second that's a lot.

ignore the essay i wrote in the tags. it's a night /humorous

[bitchimasnake-sss]

Hey love ❤️ I love the way you do Zoro angst. I was thinking like Zoro and the reader get pretty drunk at a festival and some guy sweeps her off her feet. Like she's all giggly and blushy and he's miserable about it. I was thinking maybe his perspective. She ends up not going home with this guy cause she knows Zoro's tendency to get lost. He's pissed off but also wasted so he doesn't make much sense. Maybe they argue. Maybe he drunkenly confesses. I think you can pick whether it ends well or not. I like pain.

mwuhahah i thrive off of angst (but i suck at writing it). this also shall have little bit of miscommunication trope (I HATE IT AS MUCH AS THE NEXT PERSON BUT IT MAKES FOR BRILLIANT ANGST HELLO!), and this ends in like unresolved angst and tension (cause i thought that was super funny of me). also a bit of crack included (cause im a jester and a clown and i enjoy making everything a bit stupid).

drunken liabilities ft. roronoa zoro!

set up: check above! the strawhat crew are invited to a celebratory party after saving an island from merciless pirates and somewhere between the drinking and the dancing, zoro finds himself yearning for a certain someone. warnings: dumb people, even dumber plot by me. mentions of alcohol, a fight, random party shenanigans; zoro gets jealous and petty. mutual pining by two idiots. "We're just crewmates" stfu no you're not. nami is the best thing in the universe. yeah, thats about it. wc: 2.7k

zoro saw you.

he saw your smile, and your ability to turn every one of his jabs into a nice, little argument. he saw the way you smiled, all self-satisfactory when you finally shut him up in those arguments. he saw the way you took him on in drinking competitions and how you giggled when he pretended to lose. he saw how pretty you looked, eyes hazy and cheek flushed after each of those competitions.

roronoa zoro saw you, whether you knew it or not.

but now, he saw you swaying your hips with your hands wrapped around a man. a maN?? A MAN THAT WASN'T EVEN HIM?

nami cleared her throat, raising the bottle of beer to her painted lips. she wanted to laugh at zoro's grumpy face, the way his eyebrows were knitted together. but being a woman of honour and virtue, she held back.

"fuck is wrong with him?" zoro muttered under his breath, mentally slicing up that man that was swaying with you. "why is he eye-fucking her?"

"you good?" nami laughed, finally.

zoro begrudgingly shifted his vicious glare from you and that stranger you were dancing with to nami. he gave her a shrug, "whatcha laughin' at, woman?"

"nothing, you're just murdering a man in your head again."

zoro said nothing, finding his words too simple to convey whatever it was that he was feeling. he didn't need to defend himself, after all.

it wasn't jealousy. pfft, ofcourse not.

maybe protectiveness? yeah, thats the word. you were part of the crew. and so, as the first mate, it was his duty to ensure that you were safe and sound from any imminent threat. even if that imminent threat was a man who you were dancing with. now, ofc, the swordsman wasn't a complete idiot. he knew that maybe he had a teeny, tiny-miny crush on you. maybe.

"i don't think it should be this normal for a person to be this casual about murder, zoro." the navigator egged him on.

"we're pirates, who cares." his shoulders slumped downwards as if to showcase his nonchalance about the subject matter.

"we care, we're the good kind."

"yeah, yeah. good kind." the former pirate hunter dragged the bottle to his lips, drinking in the intoxicating liquid as a light thump thump thump built in his head. he closed his eyes and tried to find a second of peace. but the people were singing too loud, and the makeshift lighting too blinding and if zoro recalled correctly, the sake he was chugging on was cheap as fuck. and he had had one too many as always.

typical celebratory things.

"you do know that she's single, right?" nami quipped after a minute, nodding in your general direction, "like, she isn't doing something morally wrong by dancing with a random dude. it's your own fault you're a pussy and can't ask her out."

he cracked open one eye, glaring at the red-head, "yeah okay, do you get paid to be all up in other people's business?"

"no," nami grinned, "but it's fun."

"right." zoro closed his eyes again and ran a light hand through his hair. he tried to guess where the other members of the group were. it wasn't hard to come to a convincing conclusion. he was sure that somewhere in the party, luffy, chopper, and ussop were busy playing some sort of food-related game. sanji was probably busy trying to pick up women. and the others mingling with the townsfolk. but you— what were you upto?

the swordsman's thoughts grabbed him by the collar and shook him like a wet, rabid dog. what if— what if you were swaying along with that man? your head on the stranger's chest, your ass hard against that man. what if that man took you through the unknown alleyways and up to his house and fu—

zoro whipped his face to look to where you were previously dancing. relief washed over his face when he found you on the dancefloor, still intoxicatedly dancing with the stranger.

but now the scene was different.

that guy had lifted you up in his arms. and the people around you (who were drunk out of their pea-shaped minds) hollered and cheered as you burst into a fit of giggles.

"hey, hey easy now." nami gently withdrew the glass bottle from zoro's grasp before he shattered it into a million pieces. the action from the navigator made the green-haired man looked down at his reddened palms in surprise. just protectiveness, right?

when nami spoke up again, she offered her (annoying) crewmate a sympathetic smile, "just go talk to her," zoro ignored the next part of her sentence, "when you're sober, okay?"

and that is how a very drunk roronoa zoro ended up in front of you on the dance floor.

the guy was swiftly carrying you away from the dance floor, to one of the darkened alleyways as you blushed and giggled when zoro approached the both of you.

"hey, i need to talk to ya for a sec." zoro's voice was slightly sluggish while addressing you, but the man turned around and gave him a confused look, "you want something, zoro?"

the swordsman shrugged, dismissing the well-natured man, "wasn't talking to you, was i now?"

drawing out your gaze on zoro, you scrambled off from the man's grip, standing up before answering, "sorry. what is it, zo?"

but it seems like whatever had been on zoro's tongue died within a minute of approaching you and that bastard. he resigned himself to a soft sigh, looking away from you. "nothin'" he grumbled, "nami was sayin that once you're done dancing, meet up with her."

"oh? is that all?" you asked softly, hoping that the stoic man would say something else.

but he was a man of few words, that you knew.

"yeah, well, she says she wants to walk back to the sunny with you. it's unsafe alone." he shrugged, "also, im heading back to the sunny."

"so soon?" and he nodded curtly in response. he gave the man next to you a quick side-eye before attempting to walk away from you at lightning speed.

by now the stranger had almost faded to the background as all your focus fell upon the man your captain called his first mate. as he walked away, his green hair were tousled, his walk a bit jagged up from all the alcohol. the overhead lighting plays with the dips and creases of his kimono and you found yourself following after him.

"hey!! where are ya going?!" the stranger called out after you but his voice faded between the rhythms and thumps of the songs and dances.

"zo!" you called after him, long forgetting the stranger that was spinning you around a few minutes ago. you caught up with him, "you know what? i actually wanna go back too, mind if i walk with you?"

he nodded solemnly, and you didn't mention that it was because you knew he would get lost and get drunkenly passed out on these unknown streets. and you didn't mention that you were worried about him, just because he was your crewmate. that's it.

the both of you walked in uncomfortable silence, as if something sinister was lurking around, waiting to ruin whatever peace remained between the two of you.

"you know." the swordsman voiced as he followed you into a dimly lit street. you were now far away from the celebratory festival, trying to take a shortcut to head back to the ship.

"hm?"

"you shouldn't get that close to a stranger." his words were innocent enough; a cautionary advice from one crewmate to the other. but it was his tone — dashed with a tiny bit of accusation — that made your skin crawl.

"well," you glanced back over your shoulder, finding his drunken form trailing you, "i don't really need you to tell me what to do. i can take care of myself, i know how to fight."

he scoffed, "oh, do you?"

maybe it was his tone. oh no, it was definitely his tone that pissed you off. so, you turned around. crossing your arms over your chest, you stared him down, "what's the problem with you?"

both of you were drunk, and the tension between you two ran high. one slip of tongue, one wayward action and the swordsman didn't know how the night would end— with you in his arms or with your dagger in his chest.

so, he decided not to take his chances. it was too risky, too bold. and the swordsman was never the kind to take uncalculated risks. so, he stifled his words and brushed past you. walking ahead now, he declared into the night air, "nothing's the problem with me, was jus' offering advice. don't take it if ya don't want it."

you followed suit, voice growing agitated, "why do you have a problem if i'm dancing with somebody else. or even making out or fucking them. it's none of your business. we're friends."

now it was his turn to turn around and glare at you, "i know that."

he paused for a second. were you really that stupid? did you not notice that whatever was left of his wretched heart belonged to you? or did you notice and you liked to stomp over it, anyways?

he finally sucked in a breath, steadying his drunken thoughts, "as you said, we're friends. you're part of the crew. and i was just l-looking out for you—"

"—well, you don't fucking have to. i am grown adult, zoro."

and just like that, whatever argument he had died within him. and he looked at you, dumbfounded. then, his gaze hardened and he stepped forward. were you really that stupid? or was he just that good of an actor for you to not see him the way he saw you?

he highly doubted the second one. maybe you were just very dense.

your breath hitched as he walked forward. if you had forgotten how scary the former pirate hunter can be, you were reminded right this second as you backtracked slowly. the two of you moved in tandem till your back was pressed against a solid wall and zoro stood directly in front of you.

towering over you, the menacing first mate said nothing as his gaze bore down holes into you.

"zo—zoro?" your voice was a meek whisper, eyes drifting downwards to avoid looking at him.

and suddenly, he was hyperaware of the situation he had forced you into. the closed proximity of it all, as you looked away from him. for someone who was a swordsman, he was certainly losing his patience. so, he simply pulled back, giving you some space. he sighed, he had clearly drunk too much tonight.

all that alcohol with all that pining was messing with his brain, "you should stay back, i'm going to the ship."

"what are you talking about—"

"—just go, enjoy. you're right, it is none of my business who you see." and with that the swordsman walked away.

"huh?? zoro!" you yelled after him, an unyielding resolve in your voice, "whe- where ARE YOU EVEN GOIN' ALONE? YOU'RE GONNA LOSE YOUR WAY!"

but in his classic avoidant way, he ignored you. taking long steps through the dusty road to reach the ship.

"oh my god, are you GONNA MAKE ME RUN TO REACH YOU?"

but he dismissed you again, clenching his jaw and continuing to walk. and you decided to jog to catch up with him, much to your dismay. he scoffed over his shoulder, fingers dancing along the hilt of his swords, "no need. sorry i ruined your plans tonight."

and that halted you dead in your tracks. to fuck with any apologies you had, who was he to pass around judgement for what you do?

"what's that supposed to mean? fuck you." you spat out, "i'm going back to the crew."

"fine by me." he grumbled, turning around to face you, "have fun."

"will do." you seethed, trying to raise his hackles, "make sure you don't pass out on the streets like a drunkard."

"even if i do, i'd be fine." he was getting more and more irritated, trying to raise your hackles right back, "why do you care?"

"ugh." you stepped forward, jabbing his chest accusatorily, "i was so dumb to leave that super nice guy to come chase after you! all you care about are your swords and your dumb sake."

he pursed his lips. what were you both even arguing about anymore? it made no sense, any of it. he wasn't even sure why the two of you were yelling at each other anymore. the nightly winds were unforgiving and cold. and all he knew was that as you yelled at him, blood rushed to your cheeks and your eyes came ablaze. your brows furrowed and lips fell into a pout as you awaited him to answer you. the gentle caress of the winds washed your hair over your face and you pushed them back in annoyance.

dammit.

zoro never believed in gods, but right now he would curse whatever deity sat above for making you so goddamn pretty. and making him so goddamn stupid.

as if looking at you would lead to his demise, now, it was his turn to look away. slowly drawing in a breath, he muttered, "jus' go back, there's no point arguing."

"fine. i'm leaving."

and wow, there must be some sort of cruel deity above. one who especially had a vendetta against zoro.

because, as if on cue, the man who you had been dancing showed up. he was slightly out of breath, as if he had run to come catch up with you, "hey! uh," he stopped short as he saw the stare off between you and zoro. "sorry, am i interrupting something?"

you turned around to look at the man, "what? no. nothing." you paused, giving zoro a short glace, "what are you doing here?"

"i uh—" the stranger shifted on his feet, a nervous smile on his face, "i- well, my friends forced me to come after you. i— i just... i know you guys are leaving in two days, but i was wondering if you would maybe wanna spend some time with me tonight? i, uh, i would really like to get to know you."

zoro stared at the man in a strange mix of jealousy and awe. was it that easy to confess?

"—it's okay if you're tired!" the man spluttered on, "i mean, i just wanted to talk— only if you want to, of course."

clearly, it was. because you turned away from zoro, giving that stranger a genuine smile, "you're too sweet. and, i was heading back to the party anyways, so might as well—"

"—really?" the man beamed and you nodded, walking towards him, mirroring his smile.

roronoa zoro watched you walk away, not even sparing him a sliver of a glance. and all of a sudden, the night air was too chilly and his headache too annoying and his heart, it ached.

before you turned to next street and disappeared with the stranger, you looked back at him. something in your gaze that begged the first mate to stop you, to call you back to him instead.

but he didn't.

all zoro could do was stand there, stupefied. you turned the corner, taking your gaze off of him with mild disappointment. before you turned, he saw you laughing at something the stranger had said.

zoro had no idea how long he stood there, transfixed at the ghost of you that was once in front of him.

roronoa zoro always saw you, right? well, now, he just saw you leave.

"what are you doing here? lost your way, marimo?" sanji asked as he materialized out of thin air on that street.

"huh?" zoro broke out of his daze, "what are you doing here?"

"hah," sanji looked smug, ignoring his question and blowing out a puff of smoke, "what did i expect from the idiot with no sense of direction."

"oh, go fuck yourself, shitty cook."

now, why did sanji show up at the exact moment zoro got his heart (whatever of it was left, anyways) broken?

the gods above must be laughing at the swordsman.

credits: to @bucciniexe for the format of the header; @chachachannah for the divider above! a/n: i don't know if this was nearly angsty enough, but i really do picture zoro as an avoidant who runs from his feelings for quite a long time. sooo, i hope this was angsty enough. thankyou @screaming-crying-screamingagain for the prompt, hope you like it mwuah <3

[gotham-daydreams]

Okay, so, I love Isekai fanfic. I just do, it's so fun. I like the idea of the reader loving this stuff and dreaming of it, but being so worried about them thinking ill of you. I would also be so embarrassed. Like, "Crud, they're gonna think I'm so lame and stupid." Only to find out, "Oh. I have some of the most dangerous, intelligent people on the planet obsessed with me who will never let me go home... Not the kind of bad I expected, and yet this is somehow worse." I'm also interested in the Idol one. The idea of someone being friends with Idols, and this fear that people only like you to try to get close to these people. That you're just being used. And then the sudden whiplash of them wanting you, and the fear it brings when you realize you're being stalked. From one kind of bad, to very different and worse kind of bad. I am very excited

Yes!!! Exactly!!!

For the Isekai one, I also decided to do that because... well, usually the MC is placed right at the foot the the yanderes/Batfam, or tries to go to them - which isn't bad by any means! Honestly it'd be pretty smart to do that considering things, and it works out for plot convenience.

Though, I couldn't help but think about a reader that just... avoids them? At all costs? Not because they have something to hide necessarily, but moreso because, well, that'd be really embarrassing... and sure, it's one thing to read about them- but its an entirely different thing to meet them face to face. How are you supposed to act? Of course you'd have to pretend you don't know them... but they're scarily good at reading people! What if they think you're some kind of stalker??? Or worse!

Basically, I need a reader that is super anxious and an overthinker so they decide to take a harder but socially 'easier' route of just... avoiding them, LMAO

Though yeah, when that realization comes around, and the reader notices a little too late that maybe the Batfam is obsessed over them? And they can't go home? It's so over. A breakdown is definitely imminent.

As for the switch one? I know!!! I love it so much!! I've only read a handful of yandere stories where the fixation for the yans switches, and even less where the original fixation wasn't an asshole, so this is me trying to do that but with the Batfam :]

The feeling of being used will definitely appear every now and again, but there is more of a fear of "something you didn't take seriously now becoming serious and it's too late for you", especially as the reader does try to pull away and break things off from the family, but it definitely doesn't work out.

I'll be honest, there is more than just the idols and the family using the reader to get what they want out of them, but that is the general premise without me getting into details and writing even longer descriptions, lol

For example: just to live, the reader does some shady buisness - but they are trying to get out of it (the family doesn't know they're even doing that kind of buisness, though). The reader also knows a lot of people... more than the Batfam thought! And just generally the Batfam looking into the reader as they realize they don't actually know a lot about them, and through that some of them become obsessed and super jealous...

It's not a lot as the whole switch from the idols to the main character does take more of a focus, but what I've mentioned above is just more things in between and during that gradual switch.

It's even worse then you think that the Batfam was doing it out of malice at first, then it slowly became something else.... oh man. And just how all these little things that meant to harm you, are now supposed to like, be signs of affection??? Super confusing, but god is it dreadful and terrifying.

[phantomrose96]

I had a dream last night that I was in a work call and I made some kind of short-people joke (on account of I Am Short Person) and then I realized after the call I'd accidentally said "little people" instead of "short people." Which was immediately mortifying and I was like "okay HOPEFULLY everyone present understood from context I just misspoke and meant short people and that it was a joke about myself?"

Then a few hours later I checked my Teams and it was blowing up with messages from coworkers demanding an explanation for my insensitive joke (including clients? I don't have clients.) I drafted a whole ass twitter-apology style letter like super owning up to my mistake and fault but also I just misspoke I swear. It was a short-person joke at my own expense. The meeting was recorded please watch it.

But no one read the letter because trial like, immediately started, which included one of my coworkers walking in with some(?) company product(?) designed specifically with accessibility standards for little people and my coworker was like "this company stands with little people. you don't get it because you HATE them" and every time I TRIED to speak to explain myself I got silenced because it wasn't my turn yet to speak so I just had to listen to everyone else yelling at me for how much I clearly hate little people. Then I woke up and it took me a solid few seconds to process it was a dream and I WASN'T facing imminent firing and work-cancelation by work-trial.

Anyway I think I have a perfectly normal and healthy relationship with the internet and how it treats perceived transgressions.

[littlefingies]

I'm gonna share another

Fandom Pet Peeve

that I'm sure has been written about before (and better) but it's been lodged in my brain for a week so I need to exorcize it here.

You can't watch the show and come away with it thinking "Izzy is the real brains/skill behind Blackbeard" without fully ignoring race. White/straight/cis/able-bodied/masc/Christian/men are allowed to be mediocre (slash downright middling) and successful, and the further removed you are from that standard, the better you have to be to be successful*.

If anything Ed would need to keep Izzy around purely because he's a white man who is (allegedly) loyal to him, and therefore has access to spaces and people that Ed doesn't. I'm thinking about getting the best prices for different goods, and which buyers Izzy would have access to. (My read on canon is that he probably was loyal for a long time, and as Ed grew more depressed, Izzy started to take more liberties with the truth.)

The casting in OFMD is not race blind. They make that abundantly clear in the second episode, where Stede, Pete, and the hostages are caged and Olu is not. It's even in the first episode, in how Stede sets up the little fuckery for Nigel. The characters' race matters to the story.

The idea that somehow Ed, as an indigenous man, would have a reputation that big and not have earned it 10x over is just mind-boggling to me.

Especially when you consider how imminent and commonplace the show treats the threat of mutiny. If Ed wasn't very very good then he wouldn't be captain.

And it's why I tend not to enjoy any fic or meta where Izzy is treated as being correct in his belief that he needs to manage Ed, that he knows better than Ed, that he's a super competent sailor. (Write/enjoy that fanon if you want but I don't like that flavor.) He's good at swords, he's mean, he's white, and he's (or rather was once) loyal. That's what I see in canon.

*As an example I like to think about the qualifications of Bret Kavanaugh vs. Ketanji Brown Jackson. (It's not that she's out of his league, they're not even playing the same game.) Or - sorry Stede (I love him and I know he's nothing like Kavanaugh in actual character) - but Stede vs. Zheng Yi Sao.

[princessofmarvel]

Secret moments

summary | a collection of steve and yours moments together while hiding your relationship from your brother johnathan, before he finds out. 

pairing | steve harrington x fem!cheerleader!byers!reader 

wc | 1.6k 

warnings! | steve uses the reader to get closer to nancy (it’s only for like a second) and, very slight smut! 

genre | fluff!

requested? | yes! 

authors note! | hey everyone! i got this request right before last week, and i have just now finished it, so if you sent something in around that time i promise that i am getting to them now! i have just been super busy! and as always, i do i have really bad OCD that causes me to write in some random capitalization, and punctuation, But I think that we don't have to worry about that in this fic lol. And let me know if there are any mistakes, but please be kind

  “Bye! I’ll see you at school!” She yelled to Johnathan as she left out the door to head to school in her cheer uniform. Chrissy had just gotten her driver's license and wanted to drive her and her best friend to school that day. She got into the car and the two imminently started gossiping to each other as if she hadn’t just seen her best friend a few days before. 

  “Oh my god, you know who has started calling me?” She said to her, turning your head towards her as she was driving. 

  “Who?” She asked while barely giving her a glance, keeping her eyes on the road. 

  “Steve.Harrington.” She said while bringing the mirror down to apply some lip gloss. 

  “Shut up.” Chrissy said while pulling into the school parking lot. 

  “Yeah, it has been so random.” She said while putting the mirror back up. “He just started hanging around me last Friday when I was with Nancy and Johnathan. I thought it was just a coincidence, but then he started calling the house, and thank god I answered, Jonathan would flip.” 

  “Well, Speaking of Steve, he’s standing by the doors to get into the school. Do you think he’s waiting on you?” Chrissy said while the two of them got out of the car and started walking towards the door. 

“There is no way.” She said while walking with Chrissy to the front doors. 

  “Hey (Y/n).” Steve said when he looked up, and then he pushed himself off the wall while taking his sunglasses off. 

  Chrissy mumbled a quick “Told you so.” before throwing her friend a smirk and leaving the two of them alone. 

  “Um, Hey Steve.” She said back while giving him a smile. 

  “Will you mind if I walk you to class?” Steve asked her while running a hand through his hair. 

  “Yeah, I don’t mind!” The girl said while smiling up at Steve. 

  That was all a month ago, it had become their routine. Everyday Steve would walk her to class, until he started picking her up for school too. When he started taking her home as well, was when she started asking questions. 

  “Steve, what are you doing all this for?” She asked while playing with her hands, 

  “What are you talking about?” Steve asked while they walked to the car together. 

  “You suddenly started to hang out with me, you never showed any interest before, and now you are driving me to school, and from school, and hanging out with me all the time, I mean, what happened?” She asked when she stopped in front of Steve's car.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Steve said while laughing, causing the girl to hit him lightly on his shoulder. 

  “Steve! Tell me, what changed?” She asked again, with a smile on her face while she looked up at him. 

  “Alright, okay.” Steve said while laughing with her. “You know how you’re good friends with Nancy?” Steve watched the girl nod, knowing that what he was about to say next could ruin their friendship. “I started hanging out with you because I wanted to try to win her back.” 

  “Excuse me?!” The girl said while taking a step back, even though she just backed into his car. 

   “Just let me finish.” Steve said, while grabbing her shoulders to steady her. “I know it was a shit thing to do, that’s why I stopped, except I found myself wanting to actually be with you whenever I could, and not for just trying to win over Nancy. I genuinely started falling for you, I know that you will tell me to go to hell after this, but damn, does that feel good to-” Steve couldn’t get his last few words out before (Y/n) rolled her eyes, and grabbed Steve's face to pull him in for a kiss. The kiss was rushed, but it got Steve to shut up. 

  When they pulled away, Steve held her by her hips. “Wait, so you’re not mad at me?” 

  “Oh no, I’m pissed.” She said while leaning back against Steve's car, with a smirk on her face. “But, you can make it up to me, with a really, and I mean really nice date.” 

  Her and Steve had been seeing each other for months now, the two of them keeping things quiet to avoid her brother finding out, the end of the school year was ending, and they wanted the cheerleaders to perform at the end of year rally. She was just finishing up practice with the other cheerleaders, when she noticed her boyfriend sitting in the stands, watching the practice while pretending to do homework. 

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” The girl said, while running up to him with her bag hanging over her shoulder, practice just having ended. 

  “Well, I wanted to watch my girl practice.” Steve said while wrapping his arms around her waist. “I mean you know that I can never get enough of you in that uniform.” 

  “Steve!” She said while pushing him away from her, causing Steve to pull her back into him. “Someone will see!” 

  “Let them.” He said, while placing a hand on the side of her face, and pulling her in for a kiss. They were in a public place, so people would have been able to see, but Steve knew that the field was now empty, leaving only the two of them. 

  Later that summer, the two of them had been spending more time together than ever before. Even with Steve having a new job. 

  She walked into scoops ahoy, to see her boyfriend serving ice cream to some customers. 

  “Hey babe!” He said, while the customers made their way out and into the open mall. Steve came out from behind the counter to greet her, but she just started laughing. 

  “I’m sorry, but what on earth is that hat?” She said laughing while leaning on the counter. 

  “Yeah, ha ha, just remember, you date this.” He said while pointing at himself, causing the girl to just laugh even more. 

  They spent the majority of the summer like this, her showing up at his work, and him imminently having her vanilla ice cream ready for her. He would spend his breaks (and even some of his work time) with her, playing with his hair while she ate her ice cream. 

  “Steve, you know you have work to do?” Robin said from behind the counter, getting a groan from Steve before he got up to go back to work, leaving you alone. 

  “Steve, will you please focus on the russians.” Dustin yelled to him, while Steve was staring at (Y/n) while she was reading a book. 

  “I’m sorry, but how do you expect me to help you translate evil russians?” 

  They were successful in keeping their relationship a secret from Jonthan until one day in late July 1985. 

  “Steve, what if Jonathan walks in, shouldn’t we be doing this at your place?” (Y/n) asked while Steve was kissing her neck. 

  “He’s out with Nancy, don’t even worry about it sweetheart.” Steve said while she had her hands in his hair. “Especially if you keep on doing that.” He mumbled close to her before he leaned back in, and connected their lips. 

  The two of them were so lost in each other that they did not even hear the door open to her bedroom. “Hey (Y/n) have you seen my- OH MY GOD.” Jonathan yelled, while covering his eyes causing the (Y/n) and Steve to pull apart, and Nancy to run in. 

  “What’s Wrong- Steve?!” Nancy said shockingly. “What are you doing here?” 

  “Well, I was trying to do he-” Steve started to say, before he was cut off by his girlfriend. 

  “Steve Harrington if you finish that sentence, I swear to god I will-” (Y/n) started before Steve cut her off 

  “Okay, okay sorry!” Steve said while he was holding his hands up. “How long has this been going on?” Jonathan said while pointing his finger between the two of them. 

  “Almost a year.” She said, causing Johnathan to gasp. “A YEAR?!” 

  “We didn’t tell you because we knew that you would react this way!” She shouted at her brother. 

  “Well yeah! What if he hurts you?!” Jonathan shouted back. “You know what people say about him! No offense Steve.” 

  “None taken” Steve said back while waving a hand. “I know what they say about me too, all good things.” 

  “We have been together for almost a year, Johnathan, if that was the case, it would be over by now!” (Y/n) said while rolling her eyes at Steve's comment. 

  “He treats you right?” Jonathan asked, still being protective over his sister. 

  “Yes he does, you have nothing to worry about, Jonathan.” She said back to her brother.  

  “Alright then, but if you hurt her, Harrington.” Jonathan said while trying to sound all tough. 

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.” Steve said while he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist, watching Johnathan and Nancy walk out of the room, shutting the door behind them. “So, should we continue?” 

  “We just got caught by my brother, and you want to keep going, Steve?” (Y/n) said while turning her head to look at him with an eyebrow raised. 

  “Well, yeah?” Steve said, smiling back at her. 

  “You are going to be the end of me, Steve Harrington.” She said as she turned to face him. While wrapping her arms around his neck.   “And, I’ll be there until that happens.” Steve says while smiling, and leaning down to kiss her again.

Tags! | @minty-fox-candyyki

[vrmxlho]

hii kira !! do u have any hcs for sae abt how he would be as a bf?

SAE ITOSHI 糸師冴

if sae were a love trope he would 100% be belated love epiphany

"i never realised how much i loved them until they were gone." type beat yk

like pride and prejudice, except he's elizabeth and you're darcy ??

where you confess first and he rejects you but once you're not near him he realises that he really did love you

or when he saw how loaded you were, you be the judge (kidding)

y'all already know i think he's a good cook. like he was in spain for ages you bet he picked a few things up. cuz idk about spanish men but ik most italian men know how to cook and well.

he pours all his love into everything he makes, probably his love language honestly.

but he'd never let you know he's cooking for you because he cares

"you look like a ghost have you been eating properly?" "oh, no. unfortunately, i haven't found much time to cook lately..." "how bothersome. am i gonna have to take you all the way to the hospital when you faint from anemia?" "but i'm not even anemic..." "you will be if you don't eat your spinach." "..." "you know what. since you're so incapable i'll just cook for you." "excuse me??"

forgive him, he's just a bit of a cunt, but he loves you i promise

(also if you didn't know fun fact: preparing a homemade meal for someone is akin to confessing your feelings to them)

he's not much for PDA in fact in public he has his same, stupid, emotionless, deadpan face that is so punchable (affectionately?)

but when you're at home he'll find any excuse to lean his whole bodyweight on you

he also loves leaning in to kiss you and then reaching behind you to grab something or whatever, just to leave you flushed and stressed the fuck out

annoying asshole

he also gets very touchy when tired, if you're sleeping next to each other he tends to end up hugging you close to his heart by the time you wake up

he may not seem it but he would genuinely do anything for you

he tends to ignore most messages/texts/emails unless they're super important but he'd reply to you the second you text him

or even if it's a silly tweet

@you: there are 2 many ppl at this café 😞 @officialsaeitoshi: send me your location i got you your usual @you: ayo, how did you have it prepared n everything 😭 @officialsaeitoshi: spidey senses

he also has the most deadpan, sarcastic humour known to man

he's horrible (just my type)

nothing that comes out of his mouth is to be trusted

beware!!!

he is the no.1 gossiper alive, he knows everything about everyone's business even if he looks like the type of person who'd never think of anyone other than himself

somehow he's both at the same time

he could go hours talking about this random guy in his club who's actually the secret son of a drug lord and who ran away from home to save himself from imminent death...

what???? how does he know this?

i'm pretty sure he doesn't know either, anyway

he loves his lil self care night routines

you both sitting on the sofa talking about life (actually it's just him talking and you listening but whatever)

sae itoshi was an evening person. not because he felt most productive then. and not because he enjoyed the peace and quiet of the city. but because he enjoyed his night routines with you right next to him every second. you'd sit on the sink sill as he gently passed a finger with clay on it over your face as you kept talking about your day. "and then when i went to get coffee there were just so many people at the café it was such a hassle. this guy–" "shush. do you want clay in your mouth?" he kept swiping the remaining clay mask on your now stationary chin. once done he lifted you and walked to the sofa. this was no new routine. this was the only way he was able to unwind. with you next to him, just talking about the little, almost meaningless things. "i read somewhere that your coach is having an affair is that true?" you didn't know why you kept instigating him. it was late and you knew if he began talking now he'd only finish once the sun rose or your wake up alarm rang. but seeing him so animated was a rarity so you had to take advantage anytime you could.

now for how he confessed

at first when you confessed he rejected you and didn't think much of it at all

until he started noticing the little things about you, he started obsessing with every bit of you

how you looked, how you dress, how you style your hair

but also how your under eyes crease when you smile

how you're very picky with your food, especially dessert, but you'd eat anything if someone handmade it for you

how you're so patient when you tutor even if the person is being a dumbfuck

after obsessing over everything you did for about a day or two he was sick of the weird, nauseating feeling in his stomach

it had been about three days since the confession. being rejected right on the spot, especially in that cold manner was painful to say the least. but you were sure you had gotten over it. and you hoped with all your heart that he too had forgotten. he had just stood there as you finished telling him how he made you feel and how you had liked him for a while now. he had a horrible scowl on his face, arms crossed and an uninterested posture. you already knew what the answer was when you were done but it hurt so much more when he finally confirmed it all. so it was surprising when you saw sae march up to you as you ate your lunch with your friends. he had the same horrible scowl on his face from before. and you could feel your stomach drop as he pulled your wrist in a gruff manner. careless. he didn't care for you. "itoshi what are you–" he finally stopped once you were in a quiet corner behind the main building, away from curious eyes. "we need to talk." "about what?" "i couldn't sleep." "ok..?" "i couldn't stop thinking about you." "oh. i'm sorry if my confession made you uncomfortable. i didn't mean for it to bother you so much." "yes. it's so bothersome. now every time i see you with anyone but me, it hurts. i can't stand hearing about anyone but me, from you. i don't want you to think of anyone but me."

and then you were just like 😧🫣😏🤩

if you think rin's dramatic just WAIT until you talk to sae he's insane

THE BIGGEST drama queen (i hate him)

although i do think he is secure about himself and knows you wouldn't ever hurt him

i feel like he does have abandonment issues (a bit)

like imagine going through your teen years without family in a foreign country, you'd feel isolated no matter how many friends you made or how nice your host family was

he tries not giving any external reaction so you barely notice at first but every time he sees you with someone, looking a bit too friendly, he always feels his heart tighten

he's very gentle when kissing you

it's not like he's super strong or anything (mans is tiny)

and it's not that he's scared to hurt you, he just doesn't wanna appear too possessive or anything

favourite places to kiss you: why do i wanna say your waist, also knuckles

no idea why i just feel like if he weren't allowed to kiss your lips for any reason he would kiss there

but he definitely needed you to initiate the physical contact when you first started dating

speaking of which

dates with sae

100% movie nights, or just staying at home in general

mans hates going out if it's unnecessary

although, if you want anything he'd do it for you in an instant

or when he's feeling extra energetic

he'll take you dancing; this can either be ballroom dancing (which makes you cringe a bit but it's fun), salsa or literally just clubbing

i think he secretly loves clubbing at techno clubs (is that what they're called?) he hates commercial music cuz it just gets so repetitive

ideal vacation destination: somewhere isolated

like a random island in greece

or some forest in south america

idk man

he absolutely hates tourist destinations, tourists are his no.1 worst enemy

that's why you always end up going on holiday at random times of the year

"hey love, take a few days off next week. we're going to bora–bora." "it's the middle of march..." "not in bora–bora." "that's not how it works..." "i've already bought the tickets and spoken to your boss so you really just have to start packing."

now about pet names

he generally doesn't like them and thinks they're cringe and annoying

which they can be if used excessively ig

he tends to call you by a nickname or just your name

he only uses pet names when he wants something or has something to tell you that he knows you'll be angry/annoyed about

like the fact he planned a whole trip to bora–bora in middle of march and didn't tell you a thing 😞

however, if you're open about how much you hate him doing things without involving you he will change his ways

he's a quick learner after all ❤️‍🔥

[feroluce]

So this ficlet-ish thing was inspired by @hydrachea, nsfw super genius extraordinaire, but also by the fact that in addition to Boothill's left eye being cybernetic, I like to hc even the parts of him that look human aren't fully natural. I mean the dude eats bullets, after all. I think he should also have vents in his mouth so he can literally blow smoke/steam, it would look super cool. Think Father Gascoigne or Studio BONES' Todoroki. We as a fandom deserve that!!

So anyway, of course, sometimes these vents get blocked up and need to be cleaned manually. Thankfully, Dan Heng is super helpful ☆

Like there's one day where Boothill is lazing around in the archives, fresh off a bounty and happily soaking up the luxury of the Astral Express after however long he's spent tracking his prey through all the dust and dirt with almost no rest.

Boothill likes it in the archives. It's not silent, but it's quiet. There's no music and only muffled voices from outside, but there's the hum of all the computer systems. It makes for a nice place to hide away and recharge when he's just finished exhausting himself.

And besides, Dan Heng is there.

Sometimes the two of them talk back and forth, but today it's mostly quiet...except for-

"I didn't know it was possible for you to get sick."

...Except for Boothill having to constantly clear his throat. That's the thing about your mark trying to flee into the desert. You either go after them and get sand everywhere (and even worse, sticky sand once it gets all bloody) or you wuss out and lose out on the bounty. Personally, Boothill likes being able to afford to eat.

"Grit's stuck in a vent somewhere, 'n' the usual maintenance ain't gettin' it. I'll prob'ly have ta manually dig it out." But later, when he's not laid out half asleep on Dan Heng's extra futon. Usually after a chase as long as this one took, he can shut down for almost a full day. He doesn't want to get up yet.

Something shadows over him, and reflex demands Boothill's eye open. Dan Heng steps around him on his way to some drawer built in the wall on the other side of the room or something. Boothill closes his eye again.

From under his hat he hears the sounds of rummaging, drawers sliding open and shut, the swish of a long coat. The shadow returns.

"Sit up, just momentarily. I have something to help." And Boothill groans a tired don't wanna, but he does it anyway, he hauls himself upright into a kneel. And then he sits up a little straighter because he realizes Dan Heng is standing right over him.

Dan Heng tells him "open your mouth," and Boothill's jaw pops open without his permission, without even a second thought, and hey, what protocol in there ok'd THAT?!?!

Before he can really unpack whatever the heck that just was, though, Dan Heng murmurs for him to say so if he needs them to stop, and then he's sliding a long, hard rod down Boothill's throat, tipped with some soft little brush he probably uses for all his fancy archival equipment.

Dan Heng tells him the handle of the brush is straight and can't be bent, he needs to move his head to be able to reach the vent in his throat. Boothill hums affirmatively; he can't do anything else with his mouth occupied.

Dan Heng's free hand holds him by his jaw, tilts it up slowly but firmly so he has to look straight up at him.

Boothill feels dizzy.

The cycle of blue blood through his artificial heart whirrs just a bit faster, his temperature sensor pings an internal alarm to warn for imminent overheating. Boothill curls his fingers into the guard over his knee as Dan Heng carefully brushes at the dust irritating him. All other sounds- the hum of running equipment, the occasional beep from the computers, the noise of the crew outside of this room- seem to pull away, until all Boothill can focus on is the steady and measured breathing from the man above him.

"Almost done."

Thank the aeons, maybe one of them likes him after all.

"Your tongue is in the way... I'm going to hold it down, ok?"

Nevermind.

The fingers holding his jaw curl around his chin, thumb slipping past open lips to dip into his mouth and pin down his tongue. One of his teeth catch on the digit, breaking skin just enough to bleed a drop where he can taste it. Dan Heng doesn't even flinch. Another temperature alarm pings off in his brain, then another, then another.

Boothill has never been shy about eye contact but oh, god, it nearly kills him when dull green irises flick away from their task and look down right at him as his mouth is held open. He quickly squeezes his own eye shut for some relief.

With his vision cut off, the rest of his senses automatically recalibrate to compensate. He can hear every breath even more distinctly now, every soft inhale and exhale, feel the strain in his neck, the softness of the brush, the hard floor beneath his knees, the hand holding his jaw and the fingerprints that feel like they should leave burns in his skin, the taste of Dan Heng heavy on his tongue-

Forget it, eye open, eye open!!

"Alright. There's one last pebble stuck."

Boothill had been trained to endure torture, back on his homeworld. It was part of being in a gang, part of being a bounty hunter.

Somehow, keeping himself quiet and still as Dan Heng inches the brush even further down the back of his throat is a profoundly similar experience.

The seconds tick by, Dan Heng's brow furrowing, face growing ever more concentrated and Boothill struggles not to watch him too closely, fights down the noise that suddenly tries to escape him as the brush withdraws-

"Swallow."

Stars and aeons, Dan Heng is going to be the death of him.

Boothill swallows. He feels it when the movement finally dislodges the loosened pebble from his vent.

His face feels shockingly cold now bereft of touch, even though Dan Heng's hands are always cool. He asks to see, and Boothill's mouth is already open again to show him, even as he belatedly realizes he could have just told him it had worked.

"Good." There's the slightest smile on Dan Heng's lips as he finally, mercifully, leans back out of his personal space, goes to put away the brush. "That should feel better now." Boothill spends a moment dizzy and dazed, feeling the need to blink spots out of his eye even though his vision is clear. He still hasn't moved off his knees.

What the fudge.

[scarlet--wiccan]

Semi related to the "Mayomoff" thing, but I really dislike sometimes how cb twt tries to distance Billy from Wanda. I get it's a way to overcompensate because MCU stans usually have the misconception that Billy and Tommy were raised by Wanda, but the insistence feels icky. By the way these people write about these characters, it would make you believe that Wanda tried to steal baby Billy from Rebecca's arms (anti roma tropes are still super present even in "leftie" fandom spaces).

This has been a thing for years, and I've definitely noticed an uptick recently, from both sides, in response to Billy's imminent arrival in the M C U. I think a lot of comic fans, in particular, have a hard time accepting that characters can be more than one thing, or have more than one important storyline or relationship. Whether or not you find it interesting, Billy's relationship with Wanda is a major part of his story, and both characters care about each other a great deal. If you think you can have one without the other, you've lost the plot.

But if I'm being honest, I do think that racism is a part of the problem. People undervalue Wanda's relationship with her sons because they don't understand the significance and nuances of Romani heritage and identity. They undervalue how meaningful a story about family separation and reunion can be, because they have no investment in our history or generational trauma. I think a lot of folks are not willing to hold the space for those perspectives or learn from Roma voices. When we talk about representation and authenticity, a lot people think they need to understand the interiority of Romani culture, but I think these experiences and historical perspectives are much more important.

On top of that, a lot of people seem to think that acknowledging Wanda as Billy's mother or labeling him as a person of Roma heritage somehow erases other aspects of his identity. In some cases, this is well-intentioned-- Jewish identity can be just as nuanced and specific, and needs to be respected-- but a lot people clearly just feel threatened by the idea that he might not be white. And that's a real shame, because in my mind, Billy's Romani heritage only adds to the richness of the character. Mixed families with varied identities exist, and there several real-world experiences you can map Billy's identity onto without invalidating his Jewishness.

-----

Homophobia and gender anxiety are also important factors. I've been following this character for nearly two decades, and I find that Billy's depiction, and how fans respond to him, often reflect shifting attitudes about "positive" gay representation-- specifically, where femininity, diverse gender expression, and gay cultural semiotics fit into that narrative. [x] [x] The character has always been legible as a certain type of gay guy, and over the years, more writers and artists have taken license to explore that aspect of Billy's style and personality. All told, it's pretty subtle, and since most of those writers are gay/bi men, I usually find it quite authentic, but certain fans-- particularly the Young Avengers fanbase-- always respond negatively to any degree of femininity or androgyny.

Billy's proximity to Wanda-- as a legacy character based on a female hero, and as a man who identifies positively as a "witch," when that word is used with explicitly feminine connotations elsewhere in the Marvel canon-- evokes a lot of those same responses. Again, I think this is a perfectly authentic and frankly very common relationship for gay men to have with femininity. But characters like that are rarely represented as powerful, admirable, or desirable, and Billy is all of those things. To me, that is positive representation, and anyone who can't see that has an internalized bias they need to work on.

On the flip side-- homophobia and transphobia are on the rise in America, and I really think the pendulum has swung back around in terms of how comfortable people are expressing those views in public. I've been more plugged into the M C U fandom lately because of Agatha, and I've seen a lot of folks just saying mean, homophobic things about the actor and character. I don't want to defend Locke, because of the whitewashing, but that sort of hate okay is not okay.

[ideasarestuckinmyhead]

Imagine if one of the listeners got married in Vagas...but forgot to divorce the person they married-

Even better if the person was a friend they lost contact with and when trying to marry one of the others boys or sent a letter they go on a side quest to get divorced.

I think it would be hilarious with Boo, Casper, and Rook. Bc Boo hasn't talked about their exs but once that letter came they shout fuck. Al says how he's the mistress and Seth is just shocked.

Boo is rolling their eyes at Alphonse and explains that night in Vagas. The two only married bc there was a lot of deals for newly weds. And no alphonse your not the mistress stop. Seth then tells Al "Guess you were the homewrecker not Sugar-" Sugarboo is done with both of them as they talk shit to one another. All three get into the car to the persons place to settle the divorce.

Casper asks Charlie to open the door and see someone with papers. The person asks for Casper and they come seeing the friend like oh shit how you be- Are those divorce papers??? Charlie is freaking out and Casper has a headache. Since Casper is kinda rich the old 'friend' is trying to get shit in the divorce.

So it's a series of court hearings to settle it. Casper got a good Lawyer and told Charlie if the other person tried to tell him shit immediately contact their lawyer. Charlie does feel a bit weird about the whole thing but Casper explains both of them got married bc they got super drunk and decided why not.

The person tried to say Casper cheated on them but evidence showed that the other person wanted to steal money from Casper bc they got rich. It was a field day for Casper's lawyer, bc there was also evidence that the person split off with money after Casper married them. So it was a whole thing but they got the divorce cleanly.

With Rook I think it would be funny bc as their working one day, the person comes in and sees Auron. Auron who just got to work is wondering why this person is talking to him. The person then says "I'm here to see Rook. My partner." Bc of that Auron is imminently defensive for them, to prove the person is married to Rook they showed the papers. And it has Rooks signature, Auron knows it he looks over their papers all the time.

So while in a meeting Rook is talking to the legal team and hears loud foots steps and yelling. Turns out the person heard someone say is Rook in that meeting room on the 7th floor? And ran into an elevator, Auron wanting answers rushes after the person. So as Rook is explaining some numbers the person slams the door open "I WANT A DIVORCE!!" Everyone is thrown into chaos bc Rook started yelling at the person.

Rook did love this person at one point but they cheated on them but forgot they were married bc it was Vagas. Rook is trying to explain but everyone is trying to understand bc wtf do you mean your married??? Auron gets there and sees the chaos. To stop the arguing he yells, everyone freezes and Auron looks at the person then Rook "My office now."

Rook is panicking in their mind as they try to sum up the story of them marring someone. The person though trues to act all high and mighty (wrong thing to do with Auron-) so after explaining Auron simply says "Rook, is my partner and I don't like how you came here after all those years for a divorce. You want something don't you?" The person is fumbling over themseves and us trying to deflect but Rook pressures then to say how they lost money in a casino and need it to not be bankrupt anymore.

Rook then says that they will go to court for the divorce. But the person better not try and get greedy with what they want. Auron ofc gets a high end lawyer for Rook and the divorce goes smoothly. And bc i love drama this is how Rook's and Auron's relationship gets put to the public.

[total-drama-brainrot]

Total Drama Psycho Noah AU, in 'World Tour' when everyone was falling and singing, Noah was cackling like a maniac half the time... Everyone thinks that Noah was laughing, because Noah was 'terrified and losing his mind about dying'... But actually, Noah LOVES falling through the sky as much as Izzy... Noah also laughed like a maniac when he dived off the giant cliff, in the first episode of 'Total Drama Island'... Noah, Izzy and Eva would probably jump the cliff again for fun! 🤪

I'm actually so giddy over the idea of Izzy and Noah holding hands mid-air and spinning in circles as they plummet through the sky, cackling in joy at the thrill of free-falling, whilst the rest of the cast are screaming and fearing for their lives.

Because they're both smart enough to know/realise that Chris would never risk killing the whole cast for one gag- it'd be bad business, and terrible for ratings.

So they're contented to enjoy the feeling of whip-sharp wind dancing around them as they continue their rapid descent to the earth below, basking in the crispness of the high altitude air.

Over the racket of their own perilous cries, no one else notices these two having the best time. At least, until a familiar ringing chimes from above (somehow it's clear as day, despite the howling gales around them) and the incredulity of the situation halts everyone's mortal terror.

Then Izzy and Noah's giggling is just discernible over the sound of wind resistance.

Luckily, the situation itself warrants the casts' full attention, so no one present is in the right mind to notice that the pair were concerningly unconcerned with their imminent demise. Instead, all focus is directed towards their musical performance.

-

As for the cliff diving in the first/second episode of Island? I want to keep this AU as canon adjacent (i.e. nothing that would change the established timeline of events) as possible pre-reveal, which actually works really well here.

Since Noah is literally the only contestant we don't see or hear do the jump, it's super easy to fill in the blanks with whatever headcanon you want. In the context of this AU p!Noah does his dive silently, because he's so overcome with giddiness at the prospect of potentially fatal cliff diving that he's gone non-verbal. But he has the biggest, feralest, most unnatural smile on his face as he launches himself face-first into the shark infested depths below. It's so unnerving that the editing crew scrapped his footage entirely, since there's no way the producers/network would let them air something so creepy.

Of course, since it's a pretty big cliff, the contestants themselves are too far away from Noah to see his facial expression. They all just assume he's really that apathetic, since he doesn't make a noise as he dives.

[ave-immaculata]

Can I still be Christian if I don't fit into the gender roles? Ok, typing it out makes it sound like a ridiculous question, but still. I'm a woman, and I just feel like I don't fit into any of the 'norms'. I don't wear make up because I don't want to, I've never shaven, and honestly most of my clothes are boy's section because I like the cuts and the material better. (It's thicker, it's not tight and it doesn't look ridiculous- for whatever reason even teenage boy's clothes are more practical than women's.) I'm in a male-dominated field of study as well, and I don't plan to ever have kids, and if I do, then it'll be through adoption.

Buuut counting all of that, I've gotten some pretty strange looks when I started going to church. I've had people make all sorts of assumptions and it does feel tiring. I've had a friend I made there subtly send me a link through Whatsapp for bible verses on 'femininity', and all that even. I don't know. I feel pulled towards God, but I also feel that I'm all alone in this. Virtually every other Christian woman I encounter wants to be a mother and take care of her husband. It's only on this website that I've even seen Christian women who are in tech and all that.

Absolutely, a resounding and explicit yes. In all sincerity, those norms do not matter in the Christian life, and even if Christians might culturally expect those things from women, Christ does not. The Blessed Virgin, the holiest woman to ever live, never wore makeup or shaved, and her clothes would have been practical and loose fitting. Openness to life (i.e. being open to having biological children) is crucial if you're called to marriage, but adoption is a noble and virtuous endeavor regardless. If it's not imminent (i.e. you're engaged, married, etc.) then take it to prayer as you grow with Christ! There's no rush and need to have it discerned right at the beginning.

That does sound exhausting; I think there's sort of an overcorrection where Christians, in an effort to reclaim their identity as men and women, are very rigid and enforcing extrabiblical rules about what 'real' masculinity and 'real' femininity are. A lot of men and women do thrive in those stricter rules, but plenty of women are virtuously feminine even if they might be less 'obviously' feminine. I would hope that the friends from your church are sincere and trying to be helpful, and I'm sorry that it seems like they're kind of shooting in the wrong direction. Finding fellowship is something I still really struggle with and I've found tumblr super helpful.

Keep praying and keep seeking God; conform yourself to Him and try to live righteously. You're so so welcome in the Christian life.

[lunarriviera]

another thrilling spirealm update

henlo my friends yes it's that time once again where i tell you what is happening on the bizarrely named drama "the spirealm," i am at episode 25 having shotgunned it all weekend and i have thoughts, opinions, and a gabillion screencaps of ruan nanzhu looking stricken, i finally had to stop taking them because he has the exact same face of devastated yearning in all of them and i was filling up my cloud drive. spoilers ahoy! [parts one and two are here if you even care]

as just mentioned, ruan nanzhu spends his time looking either 1) icily indifferent (when people who aren't qiushi are talking to him and/or dying in front of him, to his vast annoyance) or 2) torn asunder by pangs of desire (whenever he's staring at qiushi, who's babbling obliviously about science or clues or absolutely nothing of any importance whatsoever). here is a representative screencap but he has this look on his face pretty much continually, like he's just been hit by a car. a car of love.

it makes me put my head in my hands and scream quietly, i haven't seen a BL actor who understood the assignment this well since zhang xincheng or maybe even z1l. (who all clearly not only read the novel but underlined it, highlighted it, and stuck in colored post-it notes.) when not busy with adoration, he swans around being magnificent in a frockcoat like he's edward rochester, while lin qiushi trails behind him wearing a fit he got out of the goodwill box in his college dorm.

in spite of being besties with a literal fashion icon, at no point does it ever seem to occur to lingling "hm maybe i should dress a bit more formally for my imminent demise inside the doors"—no, instead he proudly wears his ratty sweatshirt with holes in it. which i sort of think might belong to huang junjie. idk maybe qiushi trusts it, and feels safe in it, hey look at that i made it sad.

massive power couple energy. also notice how their outfits are exact black-and-white negatives of each other, the harper's bazaar wedding photoshoot would have been so goddamn lit.

taking a brief moment for a shoutout to this guy. chen fei i don't even know what your fate will be but i already know you deserved better. not only do you patch everyone up with your veterinary knowledge, but i have seen your unrequited love. it did not go unobserved. you would have been a great partner, you're unimpressed by everything and drink your soy milk with chilling apathy. i'm real sorry the theatre gay didn't love you back. you're too similar i guess.

back to lin qiushi who has the worst case of main character energy since harry freaking potter. somehow the game is about him??? he has trauma??? none of this was in the novel and i'm just pretending it's not happening until it becomes impossible to ignore. in the meantime he continues to sympathize with door ghosts because he's just that nice of a guy. (EXCEPTION: nanzhu literally murdered two competitors bc they threatened his darling, and lin qiushi helped him cover it up. i was appalled for like 5 minutes then i shrugged. it's a cutthroat game, the doors change people. also it's like captain mal used to say: if someone tries to kill you, you kill 'em right back.) i have big Theories about what is fixing to happen but for now i will end by relating that lin qiushi has gone into a door alone, because he wants to butch up and be a better partner for ruan nanzhu. and that would be a great idea and super helpful except that nanzhu IMMEDIATELY WENT OUT OF HIS MIND WITH BLIND TERROR. outwardly of course he gives no signs of this (other than hiring someone to protect his fragile boyfriend, which, if lingling figures this out, ruan nanzhu will be sleeping on the sofa forever).

here he is pushing food around his plate miserably at lingling's funeral pre-solo-door party. everyone is having such a fun time.

and here he is standing in front of the door waiting like a dumb wounded animal. i have a feeling if lin qiushi doesn't emerge at 15 minutes on the dot, nanzhu will simply expire on the spot, like a wolf separated from its mate. maybe that's the end of the spirealm JUST KIDDING, we still haven't gotten to the part where they're on either side of a different door wailing at each other. i really need lin qiushi to stop being such a cheery equanimous little frat boy and START SUFFERING, can we get some mutual pining up in this bitch. (also i need his hair to change in the traditional BL post-wedding hairstyle alteration because i can't remember at this point if huang junjie even HAS a forehead under that vast curtain of bangs)

to sum up, we've had a) sexy handfeeding of lychees b) tender cat fur removal from face and c) stalking your pretty boyfriend aggressively against the wall so you can…offer him a packet of disinfectant. in the novel of course nanzhu bites him and yes xia zhiguang absolutely knows that's what he's supposed to be doing here, we love to see it.

oh and also d) "i'll protect you. i'll protect you forever."

SOON: THE THRILLING CONCLUSION. IT'LL BE SO FUCKING SAD. PS unrelated to any of this but the OST SLAPS and i sing along every time now, that opening song is an unskippable cut scene of a banger

PS gonna be sad when [redacted] dies, he's a real card. and that other person dies too. and that third person. shit it's about to get messy

[zmediaoutlet]

Happy Wincest Wednesday! Would Sam and Dean have ever fucked or fooled around in the pre-Stanford years?

helloooo anonymous friend, and a happy wincest wednesday to you and yours as always.

I think there might be just a leetle bit of scholarship on the matter of Sam and Dean fucking in the pre-Stanford years, haha. Although I like the way you phrase the question -- would they have? Hard to say.

Obviously, every concept can be made to work -- you've just got to put in the work to prove it's possible. From a standing start, though, with all the closest-to-canon options we have -- John not being super present but not being a hilariously abusive evil shit as he's sometimes presented; the boys being relatively well socialized and actually very integrated into society via school etc, even if they're clearly still outsiders; Sam being wildly self-possessed, Dean being a caretaker but also clearly being a big bro who goes on dates etc and not actually Sam's slavishly devoted momfigure -- I gotta say, the weecest doesn't actually seem... that likely to me.

But let me clarify there. In ceteris paribus spn-world, I really struggle with the kind of weecest 'dating' that you sometimes see. Like... no. But even in a more realistic way -- like, long-term fooling around? It has to be angled juuuuust right to make it believable to me. Dean being super alarmed by it just puts up a big barrier -- and also, Sam's not that weird. His desire to be normal puts a big ol wall in front of the possibility. Clearly you can work with that and make it feasible! It's just one of those things that doesn't totally work with the guys-as-presented in s1.

What does really appeal to me is a crazed weird mistake that happened at some point in the distant fuckup past that now informs a permanent crack in the current-day adult relationship. Like they both know there was That One Night but they don't talk about it, because it was insane thing that happened and it's obviously not happening again. .....But. (--etc, you can build a whole fic of that.) And that can be one of those abrupt sexual tension moments where absolutely nothing happens but one or both of them know it could have (my favorite), or it can be a whoopsie drunken kiss (or maybe not even that drunk, but you can pretend you were more drunk to make it feel better), or some kind of actual sex that you can pretend is just 'helping a bro out' (least realistic, lol, but it has its appeal) before you realize, uh whoops, this is super weird, and then you don't talk about it again until it's s3 and you're giving your big brother a blowjob out of imminent death panic. For example.

[pls-hold-me-im-justa-weeb]

Hey there! Your writing is so good, I read through the Train Me Zoro series on Ao3 and I'm just sobbing wailing scratching at the door asking for more of your content-

Anyway, I saw requests are open for the 333 follower event (Congrats!! 🎉) and the prompts are really nice so it was hard to choose but could I ask for the prompt "23. forced proximity" and "25. Confession during an argument" with Zoro and male reader? A bit humorous, Angst to fluff? And sfw or nsfw, whatever you feel like ♡ (if nsfw, afab masc reader if that's ok!) thank you so much!

Thank you!! I got super busy but I'm close to finishing that last chapter of Zoro. Train Me. series!

This is not my favorite piece I've written so I may come back and edit it eventually.

TW's: alcohol consumption (it's Zoro), small spaces, argument (angst to fluff), confession, heavy kissing

🍶WC: ~1.4k (1395 words)

333 Followers Event: Zoro x Masc!reader

Outrunning the hoard of Marines should’ve been a piece of cake. Easy. Simple. Duck into an alley and hide until they give up. But of course, you had been stuck with Zoro.

He just HAD to fight his way through the marines, sprint down a random alley, and into an abandoned house with a trap door to a tiny cellar. Marine boots thudded and stomped with fury, making dust cascade from the floorboards above your head. A particularly harsh screech of the wood made you flinch as the trap door tilted on the hinges. You counted yourself lucky you were with the swordsman so he could cut through the floor to get you out, because there was no way you’d be able to get the door open by yourself now that it was stuck like that. You shrank further back behind the wood barrels the swordsman had dragged you behind.

“Let’s go! This place is about to collapse and they’re not here” a nasally voice called out to the group, inciting a flurry of stomping boots that shook the wooden slats worryingly. You heard them fade away into the distance as you finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Without the imminent danger of being found by marines, you could finally take in your surroundings. Barrels of what were presumably alcohol lined the sides of the tiny room, and crumbling herbs hung from hooks drilled into the stone wall.

"Get off. You're heavy" Zoro's voice rumbled in your ear. You nearly jumped out of your skin as his lips grazed your neck from the proximity. You were sitting on his lap. Your body reacted quickly, jolting forward ungracefully as you crawled off him and stood quickly. He snorted at your clumsiness and stood easily before smacking his head on the wooden floor above your head with a loud thud. He groaned as he ducked and held his new wound.

"That's what you get for insulting me" you snickered.

"Shut up" he muttered.

You rolled your eyes, holding back a grin at the banter.

"C'mon. Let's get outta here" you ordered. His eyes found yours, and trailed briefly down your body to take in your confident stance.

"Nah. I don't think so."

You blinked at him, face blank with surprise. I must've misheard.

"Sorry I don't think I heard you right. What did you just say?"

He leaned over towards you, taking care to keep one hand on the ceiling so he wouldn't hit his head again. The pose only served to let his body seemingly tower over your slightly smaller frame. His face was only inches from yours, and mischief glinted in his usually stoic expression.

"Oh you heard me right. I. Said. No."

Your brows furrowed in shocked confusion rather than annoyance.

"What? Why?"

He leaned back slightly, eyeing the barrels of alcohol before seemingly deciding on one. He stepped towards the barrel and sat cross legged in front of it.

"Don't feel like it. All this alcohol shouldn't go to waste, right?"

You looked at him blankly before your annoyance bubbled over.

"Are you fucking with me? Zoro! I can't open the trap door by myself and if you're passed out from drinking, neither of us are getting out of here!"

He glanced over at you with a shrug before cracking open the barrel and drinking straight from the spigot.

"Seems like a you problem. I can get out anytime I wish. If you were stronger maybe you'd be able to get out."

You could feel the way he regretted his choice of words as soon as they left his mouth. He couldn't even blame it on the alcohol because you both knew he was nowhere near drunk.

Even though you knew he regretted it, you couldn't help your reaction.

"If I was stronger?" you echoed quietly. Zoro sighed and gulped some more alcohol. You lost it at his dismissive attitude. Your leg kicked out and your foot planted solidly on the side as you kicked it from his hands, spilling the alcohol on the flagstone floor.

"Oi! That was some good alcohol!" He looked at you angrily, but you didn't flinch at his intimidating aura, too pissed off at him. Your jaw clenched as you glared.

"You think I'm some weak fucking princess waiting for prince charming to save me? You know damn well that very few people are as strong as you. I'm on this crew for a reason and I have every right to be here even if I'm not as 'strong' as you, you alcoholic mosshead!"

His eyes narrowed as you spoke, standing and leaning over you with his hand on the ceiling again. You didn't flinch.

"I meant that you can always get physically stronger. You, Usopp, and Nami just aren't very physically strong. All three of you could stand to train a little more" he said evenly.

"You think I don't know that? That I'm not painfully aware of how 'weak' I am?! I watch you train all the time, wishing for once I could keep up with you! How could I interrupt you to ask for help training when you're so serious about being the strongest?!"

"Well if it were you interrupting me, I would be fucking happy, okay?!"

"Why?! Because I'm that fweak?!"

"Because I fucking love you!"

The words echoed off the stone walls, reverberating straight into your heart. Your anger dissipated like smoke at the confession. Zoro hissed out air between his teeth, clenching his jaw as he looked down and away from you. His body tensed as if preparing for a hit.

"...what?"

"You heard me" he said quietly. Your breath stuttered at his vulnerability, and your heart clenched at how he expected to be rejected. You reached forward, fingers finding his calloused ones. He flinched away at first, but you held firm.

"You love me?" you whispered. His gaze met yours briefly before it dropped to your lips. He swallowed hard before looking down again. He said nothing.

"Zoro. I love you too. Fuck I never thought you were interested in romance or anything so I never thought I had a chance. Even if you were, two men... it's not common."

He met your eyes as soon as he heard your answer from your lips. He looked shocked.

"You thought you never had a chance? You?"

You looked at him, a laugh escaping from your throat.

"Well, yeah! Obviously! I flirted with you and didn't get any positive reaction so I dropped it" you confessed. Zoro looked utterly confused.

"You flirted with me? I was flirting with you!"

It was your turn to be confused.

"You did? When?"

"I shared my alcohol with you!"

"That's common for crewmates! You let Nami drink your alcohol."

"I... worked out in front of you"

You couldn't help the snort that escaped.

"And as much as I enjoyed the view, there's only so much space on the ship. Face it. You aren't good at flirting."

His embarrassed groan faded into a chuckle.

"Well neither are you, apparently."

You scoffed.

"I'll have you know that I was at least better than you... idiot" your words trailed off to a caring whisper as his calloused hand curled around the back of your neck. His lips were right there. His breath fanned across your lips, sweet with the unknown alcohol he had drank before. A shudder went down your spine, and your lips parted automatically.

"Kiss me if you really mean you feel the same" he murmured. You closed the gap quickly, kissing him passionately. His lips molded to yours and his hand at the back of your neck pulled you impossibly closer as his other curled around your waist to grip at your ass. You moaned into his mouth, and he took the opening to run his tongue along yours. You sucked it into your mouth, caressing it with your own. He explored your mouth, and you let him. You nipped at his bottom lip before he separated completely, both breathing heavily.

"So. Wanna go back to the ship?" you asked breathlessly.

"Um. Yeah. Yeah we should" Zoro replied, stumbling over his words as you kissed his neck.

"Get us out of here then."

"Fine. But I'm bringing a barrel. That was some good booze."

You rolled your eyes, chuckling a little. He was still Zoro, after all.