#non threatening smileys

[adastreia-12]

hey show of hands do we have greeks of any kind in the pjo fandom? or just ppl who know greek? I got something cool I wanna show you :))

[undercover-smutlover]

Captain John Price...🏷️

main masterlist📌

*·˚Don’t forget to reblog, follow, like, and comment on the authors’ or artists’ pages. Show them some love!

*·˚Broken link or @? Pop a note in the comments or my ask box.

Works by @miniwheat77

Sweet: Price is harsh on y/n until a mission goes sideways

Sensitive: The only person reader can confide in is her captain

Maneater + Gaz: Reader is a mechanic on base who takes a break with the boys

Give ’em hell Pt.1: Reader and Price are exposed to a weird chemical

Give ’em hell Pt.2: Repercussions of the weird chemical

Red Lipstick: Reader and Price keep one another company

Works by @captainfern

Lake Of Fire: Price isn’t happy about working with another team

Heart-Shaped Box Pt.1: You help Price feel better

Serve the Servants P.2 + Ghost: The aftermath involving Ghost

Breed: You and Price meet up off base

Marigold Pt.1: Price asks you to meet him upstairs

Marigold Pt.2: Crying becaouse you missed him

Unhappily-Married!Price x Nanny!Reader Pt.1 and Pt.2

Works by @halcyone-of-the-sea

Songs That Sound Like Sea-Foam: Fisherman Price meets an unexpected person

Our Remains: You are hiding something big from John

Lions and Ibexes: Your voice cuts through and John’s shoulders sag under a non-existent weight.

See No Evil Pt.1 and Origami Boats Pt.2: But you’d been hurt because he had been too late. Nearly bled out. 

I’ll Take the Night Shift: It doesn’t matter what I feel…Where is my John?

Works by @xyziiix

ARDOUR: He could already hear the pleading edge in your voice

Three Is A Crowd: Well your Captain always liked proving you wrong

Works by @the-californicationist

He Opens the Mail and Part 2: It was hard to concentrate when he was nearby.

Wonderland: He chuckled, and you enjoyed seeing his eyes shine with his laughter

Works by @charliemwrites

(Re)organized Crime: In general, you’re like a breath of fresh air. A smiley little charm of colour and delicacy in his world

Squeak 'Em If You Got 'Em

Works by @fireya-x

Champagne Dreams

When Lilacs Bloom

The Wolf and The Nightingale

Price Eating You Out by @catsnkooks: Too blissed out to notice a guest

Civillian Reader Is Hurt by @lvlyghost: She believed he would save her. And that was enough

Jealous by @stormiwaves: “I like it when you’re jealous”

Angel of Small Death Pt.1 by @whynot-tryit: Price hires a team medic

Not Meant to Be Here, But Glad You Are by @paranoid-borderline-insane: You need to remember all the tips John gave you to survive

Breaking and Entering Pt.1 and Reprieve Pt.2 by @sprout-fics: No place safer in the world than with him

Doll by @blingblong55: It started as innocent stares

No Hero, Just Me by @firsttimewriter92: Price rescues reader from an abduction

Duty Over Heart by @a-small-writer-in-a-big-world: Your lives were forever changed afterwards

Million Dollar Man by @qilinxingg: John gave a satisfied smile as his arms tightened around your small body

Price’s Young Housewife by @moongreenlight: Weekly manicures and pedicures that he’s put his card on file for

My Girls by @bearieio: happy just being able to share moments with your 3 favorite people

Hell on Earth by @ghostlywhiskey: His demeanor and lack of response to your attitude caught you off guard

Designer Dress by @halfmoth-halfman: You can’t think of a better place to start your new life

I Think I Might’ve Inhaled You by @agentmarvel: It eats at him daily, knowing his own indecisiveness is the root of anguish for both of you

Nobody Does It Like You Do by @bunnyreaper: In his embrace, firm and reassuring, you might actually believe him

Spread Your Wings by @crashandlivewrites: “Besides, I find my scene partner enjoys it more when there’s a lot more sensual physical contact involved.”

A Warm Heart by @flowermiist: That clicks in John’s head, it really was you and he was almost amused to say the least.

Soulmate AU Part 1 and Part 2 by @shotmrmiller: your vision distorts with the tears that threaten to spill and bite your bottom lip to stop it from trembling.

To The Flame Pt. 1, Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4, Pt.5, Pt.6, Pt.7, Pt.8, Moving Day, Afternoon Coffee, Seeing Shadows, A Drink From Her Cup: by @lunarvicar

Dangerous Pursuit by @gloomwitchwrites: The two of you will either close the distance or end this entanglement in blood.

The Prowl by @cordeliawhohung

Elephant in the Room Pt.1, Pt.2 by @penelopepine

Mafia!Price Pt.1, Pt.2 by @lovemebutleavemewild

Blowing off Steam by @yeyinde

New Pen Pal by @sherriesherbet

Call me Captain, Captain by @highlandhour

Price’s Assistant Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3 by @angel-eyes-and-devil-hearts

The Favourite by @inkbybambi

Don’t Poke The Bear by @sirenmoth

Didn’t Have Time by @highlandhour

She’s With Me by @evermoreal

Business Call by @evilgwrl

Captain's Good Girl by @uhohdad

John Price and The Girl Next Door by @eowynstwin

Price x New Assistant by @sunni-stuff

“I’m Tired.” by @tojisun

Humor Me (Even When it’s Ruining Me) by @pricegouge

Surprise Pt.1 and Pt.2 by @yourloverslost

Soccer Coach John by @i-love-you-just-the-same

Dollhouse by @lay-z

Dividers by @cafekitsune

[mulletmitsuya]

Toman Groupchat (Final Timeline)

Warnings: suggestive, dark humour, mentions of abuse (kazutora's dad) in a serious and non serious way

Desc: so uh, it's not exactly like this (the request), but this is the basic format of events. the founders know kind of but Smiley and Angry don't. 🍎anon, forgive me if you hate it 😓🙏

Side Note: all the dark topics i'm making fun of (homophobia, abuse etc) are things i've personally gone through! i'm not just an asshole who jokes about bad things✋️😪!

Angry: i'm beginning to think there is something wrong with our friend

Draken: be more specific

Baji: that's literally all of us

Baji: ESPECIALLY Mikey

Mikey: ?

Mikey: you can't prove that

Baji: there's a deep sadness in your eyes

Baji: *madness

Mitsuya: tbh, both work

Mitsuya: sorry

Mikey: what do you mean

Mikey: i'm perfectly fine

Mikey: everyone in my life is alive and no one is dead

Mikey: i haven't committed any unforgivable sins

Mikey: see? i'm fine

Mitsuya: what are you ever talking about dude

Baji: see? he's crazy

Baji: i'd say something's wrong with Takemitchy but he's just ugly. does that count

Takemitchy: my wife would think otherwise😒

Baji: idgaf

Mikey: i also think otherwise just btw

Draken: bro let it go

Mikey: let what go😁

Mikey: it should've been me walking down the isle fr but like, i don't mind

Takemitchy: Mikey-kun i can't tell if this is a joke 😂

Chifuyu: Mikey you're making him uncomfortable😒

Mikey: Chifuyu, did you know that in another universe, i shot you in the head?

Chifuyu: yeah i bet, fucking psycho

Takemitchy: Mikey-kun😐

Anrgy: i mean Kazutora

Angry: there's something wrong with Kazutora

Draken: can't argue with that

Mitsuya: yep

Mikey: oh yeah definitely, but we all knew this?

Chifuyu: he should be admitted to a psych ward, in my personal opinion

Smiley: he has a few screws loose, but that's what makes him funny

Smiley: he threatened to kill me the other day and i genuinely didn't know if he was joking or not. i love that guy😁

Takemitchy: i'm sure he was joking. we all joke like that🤣

Chifuyu: he probably wasn't and we all know it

Draken: why did he threaten to kill you

Draken: did you do that thing where you intentionaly trigger people to get a reaction out of them

Draken: cause then i can vouch for Kazutora and say that Smiley would deserve it

Smiley: i only do that with you, Draken. it's really easy

Smiley: you're hot when you're mad

Smiley: i love seeing that vein pop out of that big ass head of yours

Smiley: makes me wonder what else is veiny

Angry: ew😠👎

Mikey: do you mean his penis?

Mikey: cause yeah it has like one vein

Baji: how do you even know that

Mikey: Emma has pictures

Draken: i'm gonna hurt you, Smiley

Smiley: see?

Smiley: easy

Angry: can you please stay on topic😐

Smiley: fine

Smiley: he tried to kill me cause i beat him at UNO

Smiley: insisted i cheated🙄

Mikey: did you?

Smiley: yeah

Angry: you find new ways to disappoint me big bro😡

Smiley: it's just a game lil bro 😁

Draken: one day, i'll do something i can't take back

Smiley: what, you'll fuck me?

Draken: enough

Angry: before you hurt Smiley, can we please talk about Tora

Angry: since you guys are super close

Angry: i really am worried

Chifuyu: he's fine

Angry: how do you know

Chifuyu: i'm with him like 24/7?

Chifuyu: okay maybe he's not fine fine, but Baji-san and i are dealing with it

Baji: he's going to therapy, so it's not like he's not getting help

Takemitchy: but what's wrong with him?

Takemitchy: oh, nevermind, i remember

Baji: how would *you* know🧐?

Takemitchy: uh

Takemitchy: i don't

Takemitchy: i just didn't want to look stupid!! yeah, that's it haha😅

Mikey: dude, you're gonna blow our cover

Mikey: when you could be blowing me instead 🤣🤣😭💔😂🍆💦

Mikey: anyway

Takemitchy: i don't know what to say anymore 😄

Angry: GUYS

Angry: PLEASE

Draken: see, idk if we should be disclosing why Kazutora's the way he is

Draken: isn't it like, super personal?

Baji: his dad used to beat him, real bad

Baji: his mom too. they'd fight all the time and they'd make him pick sides and shit

Angry: his mom also used to beat him🙁?

Baji: no, his dad would beat Tora and his mom

Baji: i set his dad's car on fire once 🔥

Draken: ...😐

Baji: what? it's not like he keeps it private. if you ask him, he'll tell you

Draken: yeah, we should have asked *him*

Baji: you don't get him like i do fr

Chifuyu: wait 😌🤚

Chifuyu: they don't love you like i love you 🫵

Baji: ?

Baji: i love you too?

Chifuyu: it's... it's a trend

Chifuyu: yk, on tiktok

Chifuyu: nevermind

Mikey: you look so fucking stupid🫵😭

Draken: why do i ever bother

Draken: i'm gonna leave this group for good

Mikey: you've been saying that for the past 10 years 🥱

Angry: oh😕

Angry: is there any way we can help him?

Smiley: man i feel like we should have known this

Smiley: that's why he gets so mad at "yo mama" jokes

Smiley: i feel bad now 😬

Baji: just don't talk about dad's or mom's or families at all

Baji: he's not gonna do anything, but i'm sure it hurts him inside

Mikey: we should find his dad and kill him

Mikey: amiryt guys

Draken: why are you so casual about murder

Draken: but i agree, this once

Mitsuya: you literally always agree

Kazutora: who are we killing

Kazutora:

Draken: why does it look like that

Kazutora: hang on, let me catch up

Draken: don't do that. we weren't talking about anything

Baji: we were talking about your abusive parents

Draken: 😐

Kazutora: ...

Kazutora: i thought i was hiding it well

Smiley: hiding what?

Kazutora: mental illness

Smiley: oh

Smiley: you weren't

Mikey: dude

Angry: there's something wrong with all of us! so it's okay

Smiley: yeah but it's more obvious with Kazutora

Draken: are you good tho?

Kazutora: yeah i'm fine. my dad came to the pet shop the other day and i guess i've been freaked out

Kazutora: but i killed him👍

Angry: 😧

Takemitchy: SHIT

Mikey: oh god, please tell me you're joking

Baji: dude😐

Kazutora: i'm joking lol

Kazutora: i just hit him several times in the head with a crowbar

Draken: ...

Draken: so you, killed him?

Kazutora: he's in the hospital. he's fine

Kazutora: well, he's in a coma, but he's alive

Smiley: dude, you're gonna go to jail?????

Kazutora: nahhh

Baji: fym "nahhh" ???

Kazutora: no evidence

Kazutora: i followed him home and he didn't see me

Takemitchy: what about camera's??

Kazutora: i have an alibi

Draken: holy shit you're gonna go to jail man

Draken: ok we need to have a meeting or something. plan of action

Mitsuya: Kazutora why would you do that man

Mikey: Kazutora

Mikey: do you know the amount of work you just undid😟

Mikey: why do you like bashing people's skulls so much holy shit 😓

Angry: what do we do

Kazutora: guys it'll be fine

Kazutora: my dad has so many ops. he's the worst guy ever. people hate him

Kazutora: and i stole some stuff so they'll just rule it as a mugging

Draken: ...or as an attempted murder😐

Kazutora: you guys are bumming me out😒

Draken: us????

Takemitchy: ok you know what

Takemitchy: let's all meet at my place

Takemitchy: we'll eat and drink and uh, discuss the situation at hand

Takemitchy: in a normal, non bumming out way

Mikey: we're cooked

Baji: i'll take the fall, if necessary

Mikey: holy shit i'm going to kill myself

Draken: THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU

Mikey: YES IT IS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

Takemitchy: we're cooked

[byhees]

being told pick-up lines.

엔하이픈 ・ female reader + word count 600 genre fluff established relationship non-idol au warnings not proof-read kissing skinship — more

a/n. blank

heeseung would be so charming in his response, it’d actually throw you off guard; his eyebrows would raise in a glint of pleasant surprise, and the corner of his lips would curve up in the wake of a small smirk. very very likely that he’d return one back— he’s a walking pick-up line encyclopaedia. his grin would probably deepen at the sight of your fluster— well, attempt gone wrong, i guess! (or right??) would be so suave during the whole interaction; drapes an arm around your shoulder, and kisses your cheek, the word ‘cute’ slipping from his lips…

jay would be so taken aback, and actually, really smiley; he wouldn’t be able to contain the sheer amount of flabbergast. his laughter would definitely linger in the air for five seconds longer than usual. would be so flushed from shyness, and would try to hide it too; flustered little giggles. him burying his face into the crook of your neck, face flaming from the nonchalance and charm of it all. would stay in that position for a good minute or two, arms wrapped around your waist, the tip of his ears three shades of red darker…

jake would shamelessly pretend to be unaffected, when in actuality, his heart’s thumping and racing at the speed of a fully-fuelled race car; would purse his lips together in an attempt to shield his billion-watt grin. “nah, that one sucks”, is what he’d say— his stomach would be aflutter with a kaleidoscope of butterflies though, how contradictory. would not make direct eye contact with you for the next ten minutes, embarrassed about the obvious flush adorning his cheeks…

sunghoon would try and act cool, but would fail miserably; would send a playful wink your way, as well as a little “well, consider me thoroughly smitten”. falters when you scoot a tinge closer to him, and unintentionally lock eyes with him. would wind up hiding his face behind his hands, eyes crinkling at the corners, smile threatening to beam brightly under your gaze; would definitely engulf you in a hug. might recall your cute pick-up line thirty minutes later, and might softly laugh in remembrance…

sunoo would be shocked— the perfect personification of an emoji with its mouth agape, eyes widened and everything. would clutch onto his chest theatrically, and stare at you with slow-motioned blinks. might get pretty amused at the quality of the line; asks you to simply bombarde him with all your best cards, and reacts equally as surprised to each one. might kick his feet in the air upon hearing a really really good one, cheeks tinted with a faded shade of pink. would hold you close to him, heart dancing within his chest…

jungwon would erupt into a symphony of “woah”s, fluster overtaking his features; would grin stupidly at your attempt to charm him— it worked though. he’d be full-on stuttering; just when he thought he couldn’t fall for your charms any further. would lie in bed thinking about that one line, body rolling about on the covers in elation. would immediately google these few words in the search engine— ‘best, cutest, pick-up lines to use, 100% success’— and would memorise them in hopes of wowing you the next morning…

riki would finish the pick-up line on your behalf— a playful smile would dance on his lips, and his eyes would be imbued with a knowing glint. “one point for riki”, he’d cheer upon seeing the immediate drop of your jaw. knows nearly every pick-up line out there; he’d study one each day just to pull them out in the most unexpected ways, relishing the obvious blush that paints your face. would hold you close to his embrace, a small, victorious smile proudly plastered across his features. would press kisses at the corners of your lips, and pat your head in adoration…

taglist open! @halcyoni-ki @wondipity @yjjungwon @shysakuno @niktwazny303 @crxzs @g4m3girl @minhosify @haechansbbg @yeomha @stepout-09-15 @chansburgah @sona-verse01 networks! @kflixnet @enhanet @k-labels

[oneatlatime]

City of Walls and Secrets

I am also once again saving the commentary for a rewatch.

I still think rock trains are neat but their inefficiencies hurt my brain. The friction! They should at least install dynamic braking.

That's big. This show has really confined itself to the hinterlands so far, so this is really novel. I had no clue anything this big existed in the Avatar universe.

Complete nitpick time! Given that earthbending is a thing that exists, why bother making things out of stone with individual tiles like this?

Single most threatening musical sting of the whole show so far goes to an overly smiley tour guide.

Wow! I hate this lady already!

"Oh, Ba Sing Se has many walls! There are the ones outside, protecting us, and the ones inside, protecting us from smelly poors!"

"In case someone brings home a lady friend!" Do you know your nephew AT ALL?

Both Iroh and Zuko are right. Life does happen everywhere and without your permission. But, the city is also remarkably prison-like.

He got them jobs in an afternoon. AN AFTERNOON. Stop it Iroh, you're making me feel inadequate.

Once a fuckboy, always a fuckboy. This particular leopard can't change his spots, no matter how he tries to dress up his actions in a new law-abiding veneer. I feel sorry for Smellerbee. Her faith in her leader isn't exactly being rewarded.

So... is there a law on the books that makes being a firebender illegal in Ba Sing Se? Because the head-in-the-sand vibe I'm getting from Judy makes me think that the average citizen doesn't even know there's a reason to dislike the Fire Nation. Iroh and Zuko could probably bend as openly as a waterbender or an earthbender could here.

This whole being handled thing must be dredging up some pretty nasty feelings for Toph. This is specifically what she left behind.

Speaking of precisely targeted torture, Judy is engineered to be as irritating to Sokka as possible. Man of action versus Lady of script.

What a productive use of time! What an exemplary case of turning over a new leaf!

Iroh buddy I have news for you regarding the ingredients of tea.

That's like the nicest thing a member of the Fire Nation royal family has said all year.

How to get Iroh's ass in gear: Step 1: Make insulting tea. Step 2: There is no step 2.

I thought that little thingy in the background was one of those electricity things.

The attention to detail in this show is stupid. There's a moving reflection of the carriage in the water as it goes past.

Hi forbidden city!

Ba Sing Se has a morality police?

I've already run out of patience with the city and I'm 7 minutes in. I haven't even made it to a commercial break yet!

Their house is cute but the veranda is so substantial that it's probably really dark inside. Also there's a pumpkin hood ornament on the roof.

I don't think you can stop there for a month. Have you guys forgotten the now-doubled ticking clock? Eclipse and comet?

Oh ok we're doing 1984 now. Damn. This show goes places.

I stand corrected. Everyone knows about the war and would be appropriately non-welcoming to firebending. But not openly. This could be like one of those Bugs Bunny bits where he traps someone in societal rules. If someone told a firebender not to bend, all they would have to do to get the guy off their case would be to ask why they aren't supposed to be firebending. What's the guy going to say, because there's a war on?

Shout out to Pong for doing the Gaang a solid and providing the only useful info since they've arrived.

There is something very Gollum-like about Jet, crouched in laundry on a roof in the dark, talking to his stolen spark rocks.

Sokka. Feet off the artwork.

Time for Toph to weaponise her oppressive upbringing and out-fancy the fancies in the name of ending the war.

Aang can master an element in a couple of months but a qualified expert declared manners to be beyond him.

I just realised that Sokka and Katara don't have a last name.

Sneaking into a Bear's (JUST Bear's) birthday party may be the single least violent infiltration attempt in the show so far.

Smellerbee is very articulate, and it's rare that this show spells out its themes so obviously. No metaphors, just "you're obsessed. It's not healthy." And Jet still doesn't get it. Maybe Smellerbee should have tried metaphors.

Normally glowy green stuff is bad news, but all of Ba Sing Se's green lighting is surprisingly cozy.

Sometimes, rarely but sometimes, Zuko has to put up with a lot of nonsense.

A raise? Did I miss a timeskip?

Busting in to a local business, yelling about the enemy, pulling out a lethal weapon: How to Look Sane, A Guide by Jet.

Customers, amirite?

I guess the Bei Fongs are too minor as nobles?

"You don't know what I had to do to get seats this near the bear!" but I want to.

I know this guy's voice from something.

Momo ghost plan. I want it.

Pretty funny that the busboys plan works better than the fancy ladies plan. Goes to show you should always play to your strengths.

Get de-wheated punk.

I'm not sure I've rooted for Zuko this wholeheartedly since The Storm.

Jet be like.

Judy is not good at her job. Like really not good. Her insistence on getting out of there before they cause a scene caused the scene. Nice going!

The music slowing down when Judy's face falls is really effective.

You ever get the feeling that it should be Aang who ran away to the circus rather than Ty Lee?

Actually a travelling circus would be a great way to be, and remain, an incognito airbender. Aang should have done that rather than frozen himself. Ok I'm not sure how much say he had in that, but you know what I mean.

For the first time in his life, Zuko has people take his side. It's too bad that it's based on a lie, but it must feel nice.

I would have preferred if Zuko had a clean win against Jet - they're both great with swords, but I thought Zuko was better - but an assist from the funky hat police works too.

I'm getting some funky vibes from the funky hat police.

Bye! I won't miss you!

The face on the guy on the left is the funniest part of this episode.

Now these are some funky hats.

I know this scene is supposed to be scary and tense and action-packed, but I can't get over the fact that the king just did a drive by. They carried him in one side and out the other. This concludes the King's presence at his Bear's birthday party. He's a very busy man, you see.

Long Fang's title keeps getting fancier.

Brain washing crops up quite a lot in kids' cartoons. This is not the first time I've seen this plot beat.

Forget the Fire Lord. Forget the Fire Nation. Long Fang just threatened Appa. Long Fang has to die now.

The Judys are replaceable. Given everything else this city seems ok with, they're probably disposable too. Yikes!

Final Thoughts

This episode was probably the most expository I've seen this season. Maybe even the whole show. It was a big infodump with barely any humour. Actually that's wrong; there was humour, but not to my taste.

Jet is infuriating as usual. I think the writers are going for the villainous decay trope, because smooth-talking season one Jet hasn't reappeared once.

I feel really sorry for Smellerbee and the archer guy. I wonder if they even wanted to go to Ba Sing Se in the first place.

Once again, for the third episode in a row, Zuko is one of, if not the, most reasonable character. Season one shouty Zuko is gone. Is this what I think it is? Has Zuko really turned a corner? If so, I'm liking (rather, disliking less) this new Zuko. This is good. I'm also surprised, because in my experience, if you want to domesticate someone, you don't put them in a customer-facing role. That will have the opposite effect and make them turn feral.

Iroh is having too much fun. It's good for him to have something of his own going on. I think he's been in Zuko wrangling mode 24/7 for the last two? three? years, so he definitely deserves to pursue his own interests for a bit. But I can't see Zuko being a tea boy for long before he's back to needing wrangling.

What's the long term plan though? Are Zuko and Iroh going to live the rest of their lives in Ba Sing Se? Are they waiting for something? Are Iroh and Zuko functionally dead, with Lee and Mushi taking their place?

I will give the show credit for finally coming up with and antagonistic force that Aang & company can't just bend or talk into submission. Bureaucratic tomfoolery covering for authoritarian censorship and information suppression and re-education was not something I'd ever have expected in this show, because it's a little too much like the real world, if you know what I mean.

I don't like seeing our heroes unable to triumph, so this episode was kind of uncomfortable to watch. It felt off the whole way through, which I credit to that creepy music box tune that played throughout. The soundtrack of this episode was a cut above what I usually hear in this show. I noticed it more than I usually do, and I mean that in a good way.

As someone who'd be lucky to pass as a busboy, upper class intrigue and social games stuff doesn't do it for me, so this wasn't an episode I was going to enjoy anyway. I preferred the B plot with Zuko and Iroh, for the sheer absurdity of the concept. Imagine you're in 1950s London, having barely survived the Blitz, and you come across Himmler working in a pub. It's so odd that it almost wraps back around to normal again.

I didn't find this episode very enjoyable. I don't like the forced inactivity that's been imposed on the Gaang. The humour was not to my taste. The worldbuilding was substantial, but - probably thanks to Joo Dee, whose name I've definitely been misspelling - it felt inorganic, like a lecture. Which the writers do lampshade by making Joo Dee sound like one of those audio guide things you rent from tourist attractions. But lampshading a fault does not make a fault go away.

Thanks to what happens to Jet, I know that the people of Ba Sing Se don't dare even think about the war, for their own safety. But after spending more than half a season being shown every type of refugee and victim of war in other parts of the Earth Kingdom, I could not bring myself to give a flying fuck over Pong's concern for keeping his house. The city is frustrating, the officials are frustrating, their priorities are beyond frustrating. Zuko was right when he said he didn't want to make a life there, although I did find the lower ring where Zuko and Iroh are to be far more comfortable than the high ring where the gaang is.

This episode makes me want to bite something.

And still no Appa.

[whollyfree]

The One Where Everyone Finds Out

Summary – You and jake decide to keep your relationship a secret, but the two of you aren’t as subtle as you thought you were

Pairings – Jake Kiszka x Reader

Word Count – 3.2k

Warnings – allusions to sex, teeny bit of violence if you squint, mentions of alcohol

Waking up next to Jake was an unfortunately rare occurrence for you as of late. With how chaotic and non stop his touring schedule had been the past month or so, you were unable to see him as much as you wanted.

Sneaking around was the hardest though. Upon becoming friends with Jake as well as his brothers and Danny, you and Jake hit it off instantly. You began dating just a few months prior, and the two of you enjoyed the privacy of your relationship; just the two of you.

When you did have moments alone, it was nothing short of perfect. The two of you were extremely happy in the relationship; happier than either of you had been in your entire lives. That’s why waking up next to your boyfriend was the most special.

So when you woke up in Jake’s bed, where he had demanded you be the night prior when he returned home from being away on tour, you expected him to be still asleep next to you. Considering how late he got in the previous night, you automatically assumed he would still be dozed off. 

You loved when he was able to sleep in, especially with him cuddled into you; his head would be nuzzled into your neck as his arm was wrapped loosely around you. You knew with the constant traveling and performing, he was bound to be exhausted. He looked all the more refreshed and relaxed sleeping within the comfort of his home. Your heart ached when you realized you weren’t awoken with the view of his chestnut waves splayed across the pillow as his chest rose and fell with even breaths in a peaceful sleep.

Your brows furrowed in exhaustion and confusion that he was missing as you flipped the duvet off of you, your feet hitting the cold wooden floor before throwing on one of Jake’s old crewnecks. It didn’t matter how long ago he had worn it, it still smelled like him and you smiled as you inhaled the familiar scent. 

You padded down the stairs then, huddling yourself together due to the cold temperature of his house. He always kept it freezing in there.

“Jake, you better not be up…writing,” your voice that was once loud enough for the whole house to hear dropped immediately once you saw him sitting in the chair. 

“Him” also known as Danny Wagner was seated on Jake’s sectional in the living room. All of the color drained from your face and your jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He looked just as shocked to see you initially, but a smirk soon crept up on his lips.

“What are you doing here, Y/N?” He leans back further into the couch as his eyebrow lifted cockily.

You sputtered out a breath. “Well, the same thing as you are obviously.”

“Really?” He asks, his voice laced with faux sarcasm. “You’re here to borrow one of his guitars too?”

You looked up at the ceiling and back down to him. “Yeah, there’s no good lie I can come up with here, is there?” 

Danny shook his head, his lips tucked as a chuckle threatened to escape him. “So this is why you’ve been so smiley and giddy for the past few weeks, huh?”

“Weeks?” Jake’s voice is heard as he enters the living room, one of his guitar cases in hand as he walks toward you both. “Try 2 months, Daniel.”

Now that Danny had caught you, Jake wasn’t concerned with keeping the secret you two had from him any longer.

“Oh shit,” Danny leans upward. “For real?”

“Yeah,” Jake response was curt. “So, do you want the guitar or not?” This was him politely attempting to kick his friend out of the house so that he could take you back to bed and really show you how much he missed you on this one day they had off.

“Oh yeah,” Danny stands up and takes the guitar case from Jake’s hands. “I’ll leave you two to, uh, write…”

Jake scoffs, but his tone becomes more serious. “One scratch on this baby and it’s your life, Wagner.”

Danny chuckles. “Right.”

“Hey, Danny,” you cross your arms over your chest. “Can you please not say anything?”

Danny nearly hesitated, feeling uneasy being the only one to keep a secret this big from the rest of the group, but nodded anyway. He said his goodbyes and left, guitar in hand.

As soon as the door closed, Jake made his way to you. Your eyes were on him, but your head was anywhere but Jake's living room. You felt guilty asking Danny for keeping this secret, but you weren’t ready to leave the seclusion of just you and Jake.

“Hey,” his voice brings you back down to earth and you look up at him. “You know I’m ready to tell them whenever you are. And I don’t mind keeping this a secret for as long as you want to. I want to do everything on your terms.”

“I know,” you smile as his arms reach to pull you into him. “I just don’t want to leave our happy little bubble of just us yet.”

Jake chuckles from above you. “Just us and Danny.”

You swatted his chest and he laughed even harder before you turned around to run up the stairs and away from him. He caught you quickly though, catching up to you as he wrapped his arms around your stomach and pulled you back into him. He peppered kisses all over your face as you giggled, relaxing into his touch and leaning back into him. He took this as an opportunity to press a kiss to your neck, and the tone suddenly became more serious.

“It’s kinda hot, right?” He asks lowly into your ear and you smirk away from his view. You hum in agreement, turning back around to face him as you wrap your arms around his neck. He kisses your lips then and you welcome them instantly. 

“Back to bed?” Jake asks in between a breath after the kiss grew more passionate. You hummed into his lips, pulling him by the waistband of his sweatpants and back up the stairs.

-

A few days after Jake and the rest of the band returned from tour for good, the four boys invited you to have a night out with them. You obliged, of course, excited to reunite with the four of them. While you were ecstatic to spend more time with Jake, worry loomed through your mind the more you thought about the night ahead of you. The combination of him, alcohol, and the other boys had the possibility of not being a good mix.

Nevertheless, you slipped on your black miniskirt and a tank top with a pair of boots and made your way to the bar that the five of you frequented. 

The night had been going seemingly well so far. Josh was about 3 beers in while Danny had just finished his second. This was the first time you had seen Danny since the incident at Jake’s house, and with the way he was shaking his leg under the table, you could tell this secret was weighing on him.

Sammy was halfway through his second tequila-infused drink; a girl he was dating for the time being was latched to his arm the whole night. The sight of them made you a bit sad, wanting to be able to touch Jake freely in front of his brothers and share your relationship with the world.

You and Jake were about 3 tequila sodas in and fighting the urge to keep your hands off one another as you sat side by side in the booth. There were a few times he placed his hand on your thigh as a force of habit, but quickly pulled it away once he realized what he was doing. 

The next time he did it, you placed your hand on top of his before he pulled away. You looked over at him as a smile plays on his lips, looking down at the table before tapping back into a conversation with Sam. You almost regretted keeping his hand there as he slid his palm higher on your thigh.

Your breath hitched and you reached for your drink that you placed on the napkin coaster in front of you. You were hoping Sammy didn’t notice as he made eye contact with you, but you brushed it off quickly and looked back down toward your drink.

Bringing the straw to your lips, Jake slipped his hand inward and traced over your underwear with his pinky lightly. All too lightly.

You chugged your drink through the straw before it began making that god-awful sound, indicating that your glass was now empty. Jake kept his hand in between your thighs, moving it over slightly to press his middle finger against your heat to apply more pressure as he calmly carried on his conversation with his younger brother.

“I’m gonna run to the bathroom,” you blurted out, your cheeks flushing instantly at your sudden outburst before standing up.

“Don’t fall in,” Josh joked with you, cackling at his own joke before taking another sip of his beer.

You hurried off to the disgusting bar bathroom, desperate to get rid of the blush on your cheeks and the new fire between your thighs. You locked the door behind you and bring yourself to the mirror. Through your tipsy state, you really couldn’t tell if you looked as flustered as you felt.

It wasn’t long before you hear a knock on the door.

“Someone’s in here!” You call out, sighing as you tried to fix your hair in the mirror.

“I know,” Jake’s voice sounded through the door, and you smiled before opening the bathroom door for him. He hurriedly pressed his lips to yours, pinning you against the bathroom sink. You reached one hand behind you to keep your back from pressing into the edge and gripped the roots of his hair with the other. He moaned into your mouth and you smiled, wrapping your leg around his hip.

Jake grips one of your hips with one hand, and reaches to grab the thigh around his waist with the other. He then pressed his groin to your center, already hard and ready for you.

“Wanna get out of here?” He pulls his lips from yours to ask.

“Please,” you all but whine out and he nods, pulling his body from yours. 

He gives you a moment to smooth your clothes over, reaching his hands out to fix your hair. As soon as he pulls the door open, you’re both met with Sam, an all-too-knowing smirk on his face. Your face goes beet red and you can’t believe it’s been less than a month since you were caught red-handed by Danny.

You don’t have to see Jake’s face to know he’s as pale as a ghost. “Y/N, sh-she got sick and-”

“Oh, shut up,” Sam laughs loudly, and you’re suddenly all too aware that everyone was still in the bar. “You two aren’t fooling anyone.”

“Josh knows?” Your heart races and you’re not too sure you’re ready to hear his answer.

Sam scoffs. “Are you kidding me? That fucker is three sheets to the wind.” You let out a sigh of relief and you feel Jake's tenseness dissipate in front of you. 

Jake clears his throat before he begins to speak. “Listen, Sam-”

“Relax,” Sam waves a hand in front of the two of you. “I’m not gonna say anything about your forbidden love affair.” He makes a dramatic gesture with his hands and rolls his eyes.

“Thanks, Sammy,” you offer him a smile and plant a kiss to his cheek as the two of you exit the bathroom. He mutters a “yeah, yeah, yeah” before you and Jake excuse yourselves from your friends and out of the bar. You got really sick, after all.

-

“Why the fuck is Jake not answering?” Josh nearly had steam blowing out of his ears as he threw the phone on the couch. “He was supposed to be here 45 minutes ago!”

Josh, Danny, and Sammy were all at the studio, prepared to get some work done on their upcoming album. The release date was coming up a lot sooner than they’d like, and it was quickly becoming crunch time for the four boys. Jake, however, was exactly where Danny and Sam assumed he would be: with you.

With the progression of you and Jake’s relationship, it was becoming even harder for the two of you to be apart for such long periods of time. He was either always at your place or you were always at his whenever either of you had free time. When there was at least one moment to spare in both of your schedules, you were together. You couldn’t deny that the two of you were detrimentally stuck in the honeymoon phase, and you never wanted out.

That being said, it was no secret to the two friends seated in front of Josh as he paced the floor of the studio up and down. Danny was trying his best to keep a poker face, but was failing as his leg shook with his chin in the palm of his hand.

Sam snickered as he absentmindedly picked at his nails. “Did you try calling Y/N?”

Danny’s neck snapped in Sam’s direction, and Sam immediately realized the words that just left his mouth. Sam froze and his eyes widened, not quite ready to look up at his older brother.

Josh’s eyebrows furrowed as he continued pacing and he scoffed. “Sam, why the fuck would I call-” He paused instantly, connecting the dots in his head as to what his youngest brother said. His head turned to Sam and Danny, who finally worked up the courage to maintain eye contact with him. The expression on Josh’s face was unreadable as silence filled the entire room. Danny held his breath, trying to search for any emotion on his friend’s face. 

Without a response, Josh took a breath and walked out of the studio.

-

The nap that you and Jake had planned for was supposed to last for 20 minutes. Instead, you found yourself awake at what you thought was only 20 minutes later with Jake snuggled against you from behind. You squinted your eyes to view the time on your alarm clock.

“Oh shit,” you cursed loudly and Jake stirred from behind you. You shook him, not as gentle as you planned to be. “Jake, you’re late! Wake up!” Jake blinks his eyes open, unmoving from his place behind you as he became more oriented.

“Fuuuuck, Josh is gonna kill me,” he groans and rolls over, his palms pressing against his eyes. He lays there for a moment, not wanting to leave the comfort of you and your bed just yet.

“You gotta go, Jake,” you tried your best to shove him up and off the bed and fight back a laugh at how his body was going against your movements. He laughed a little and removed his hands from over his eyes as you gave up, his head falling into your lap as you gazed down at him. 

“Why rush when I’m already dead?” He jokes and you tilt your head at him, giving your best displeased expression. The last thing you wanted was for him to get in trouble because of you, but he truly couldn’t care less.

“Baby, get up,” your tone was the slightest bit more serious, but damn he looked so cute as he stared up at you. “They’re all waiting for you.”

Jake huffed out a “fine” and moved himself off of the bed before throwing his shirt on over his head and slipped his pants back on. You lie there on your bed just watching him; taking in the view of his muscles flexing against his tan skin as he dressed himself. He was a dream.

“Don’t give me that look,” he sighed once he turned around.

You furrowed your brows together. “What look?”

Jake walked closer to the bed and hovered over you. “The one that’s making me wanna get back in bed with you and never leave.”

He leaned down and pressed his lips to yours and you nearly forgot the hurry that he needed to be in as his velvet lips danced against yours. It was too hard to force him to leave.

“Jake,” you said in between kisses. “You need to go.” You finally pull his face back with your hands and he pouts.

“Okay,” he sighs, planting one last kiss to your lips before pulling himself back up and walking out of your room. You hear the door open, indicating that he was leaving, but you didn’t hear the sound of the door shutting. Instead, you hear Jake’s voice again.

“Josh?” 

You practically leap up from your bed and sprint in the direction of your front door just in time to witness Josh shoving Jake backwards into the hallway.

“We’ve been waiting for you for over an hour, Jake!” His voice booms through your entryway as he walks closer to Jake, slamming the door behind him. Jake, not wanting to make things worse, simply backs away from him.

“I know, Josh. I’m so sorry. I overslept and I-”

“And you’re screwing our friend and everyone knew but me?”

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

Jake was silent at his interruption, swallowing hard before looking down at the floor.

“And what happens when your little ‘friends with benefits’ situation gets fucked like it always does, huh?” Josh taunts him, his face growing red. “She’s my friend too, Jake! I’m not losing her just because you need to put your dick in someone-”

“Josh, it’s not like that!”

“What’s it like then?” Josh crosses his arms over his chest. “Fucking enlighten me.”

“I love her, Josh.”

Your heart dropped to your stomach the second he said those words out loud. Sure, you and Jake had been together for a few months now, but neither of you had said the word just yet. You knew you did, and you had an inkling he did too, but now you knew for sure. He loved you.

“You love me?” Your voice was quiet as nerves took over your body. Jake finally turns around to face you and his expression softens, his eyes filled with adoration; a special look only reserved for you. You couldn’t believe that you missed it all of those times before.

“I do,” he steps toward you. “I love you so much, Y/N.”

You smile up at him. “I love you too, Jake.”

“Well, fuck me,” Josh’s arms uncross and he drops them to his side. “Why didn’t you guys tell me?”

You decide to speak up now. “I’m really sorry, Josh. We really wanted to tell you, but we wanted to see what this really was before we told anyone, really. Danny and Sam found out on their own by accident and we asked them not to say anything.” You take Josh’s hands in yours then. “Just please don’t be mad at them, and don’t be mad at Jake either. I was the one wanting to keep it a secret for so long.”

There was a long pause as Josh pondered and you held your breath. “I hate that I can never be mad at you,” He huffs and a chuckle escapes him. “I understand, I do. And to be honest, I wish I was more shocked.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Josh pauses to find his wording before speaking again. “I always kinda knew. You can always tell when two people are in love.”

You smile at him. “So, everyone kinda already knew?”

“Everyone knew.”

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[stray-tickles]

Revenge

Read on AO3

Eiffel doesn't really mind the tickle fights, but it's a little unfair that he can't get revenge.

--

Doug Eiffel had plenty of vices. Many had been left behind on Earth, one or two he’d brought with him. He liked to indulge, sue him. He liked things that made him feel good, tasty food, quality movies, calming cigarettes, and he liked good company.

He was honest enough with himself to admit that he kinda sorta didn’t mind Lovelace finding out that he was ticklish. Or that she’d told Minkowski. They were his friends, his only friends really, so what, was he supposed to complain? Like, oh no, woe is me, my friends keep making me laugh until my thoughts go fuzzy and I feel like I’m on a cloud. Yeah, terrible.

They had to know he was at least okay with it. It was kind of hard to hide when he was all giddy and melted, and he wasn’t being any less annoying despite this supposed comeuppance.

It was a little disappointing that he couldn’t get them back. Lovelace was very certain and smug about how non-ticklish she was, and trying to launch an attack on Minkowski was doomed to failure. The one time he’d managed to sneak up on her, he wound up getting punched in the face.

Yeah, it was fine that he couldn’t get them back. Even if Lovelace got really smug sometimes, and Minkowski couldn’t relax without being forced to at gunpoint.

He’d really like to be able to threaten revenge right now, though.

Lovelace’s laugh followed him down the corridor. “You know I’ll catch you eventually!”

Eiffel knew that, but it didn’t make the chase any less fun. He ducked around a corner, short of breath and smiling. “Hera?”

Hera laughed. “Do you want me to open an airlock? Suck her into space?”

“Not just yet, I’ll keep you posted.”

“I don’t know why you’re even running. I mean, it’s not like you don’t-”

“Shut up!”

“Eiffel you’re running into a…”

He turned another corner and froze. Oh no. Dead end.

The footsteps following accelerated, causing panic to seize Eiffel as he turned around.

Lovelace laughed evilly. “Gotcha!” She cried, stalking towards him like he was a prey animal.

Eiffel squealed, shrinking back until he was up against the wall. “Nooooo!” He whined, squeezing his eyes shut, and despite knowing the futility of it, his arms still shot forwards to counterattack.

His eyes shot open when there was an unexpected and loud shriek.

They both stared for a moment, wide-eyed and frozen. Then, a slow smile spread across Eiffel’s face. “I thought you said you weren’t…”

“I’m not!” Lovelace protested, feeling her face flush. She wasn’t ticklish, she’d never been ticklish, so what the hell?

Eiffel took a step forwards. Had he always been that tall? “Oh, so if you’re not ticklish then you won’t mind-”

She bolted in the other direction before he could finish speaking. Nothing good would come of standing around. While she was familiar with the steps of this game, it wasn’t like she’d been on this side before. Was it normal to feel this… smiley?

Eiffel laughed and took chase. Oh, this was good, this was sweet. “You know I’ll catch you eventually!”

Lovelace almost called him out for not coming up with his own taunts, but between the nervous giddiness in her stomach and running, she decided not to waste her breath. She swung around a corner, grateful that she was faster than Eiffel, and flew into the broom closet, silently closing the door behind her.

Loud footsteps came to a stop not far from the door, and she held her breath.

“Heraaa?”

Lovelace’s eyes widened. “Hera don’t you dare!” She hissed.

She could hear Hera having a conversation with Eiffel outside. It was a little disconcerting when she also heard Hera whisper, “And why not?”

“I’ll kill you.”

“Hmm, you’re not exactly selling me on taking your side here…”

She was teasing her. Hera was teasing and she couldn’t do anything about it. “Fine! I-I won’t kill you.”

“There you go!” Lovelace felt her face warming from the anticipation and how flustered she was getting. Hera continued. “Honestly though, why are you even hiding?”

“I-I…” The question pulled her up short. What else was she supposed to do here?

“I mean, you said you weren’t ticklish, right?”

She cringed back against the wall, “I wasn’t!”

Hera paused. Oh. So that was it. She giggled. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid.”

“No!” She wasn’t afraid, not of Eiffel of all people! Not of…

“You wouldn’t be scared of a few tickles, would you?”

Fuck. She was grinning now, full of nerves and embarrassment. What was is about the word? She sank to the ground, blushing heavily and struggling to keep the nervous laughter in.

Then the worst thing happened. The door opened.

“No!” Lovelace whined, covering her face with her arms.

Eiffel stood in the doorway for a moment, frozen. Then, unbearably, he stopped being frozen.

He gasped. “Oh my goodness! Look at you!”

“Go away!”

He sank to his knees, sliding over to her curled-up form. She recoiled, giggling nervously, and he grinned. “You’ve gotta stop being so cute, my heart can’t handle it.”

“I’m not!”

“Oh yes you are!” He sang, hovering his hands over her teasingly, increasing the giggles and making her squeeze her eyes shut. Why, how could she feel it when he wasn’t even touching her, when she couldn’t even see?

Hera tutted in false concern. “Careful Eiffel, you’re scaring her!”

“Noho he’s not!” Fuck, these two were evil together.

“Hmm, fair point, she did run away real fast.”

Lovelace shoved a hand in his face to shut him up. “It’s reflex!”

He faked a grab at her and the hand was retracted with a squeal, getting a laugh out of Hera and Eiffel.

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Just do it already, it can’t be worse than this.”

Eiffel chuckled. “I mean, if you insist.” He said, one hand latching onto her side and wiggling his fingers mischievously.

He was prepared to duck to avoid getting punched. He was not prepared to see Isabel Lovelace, badass space marine, burst into giggles and go completely boneless. It felt like his heart had exploded in his chest. “Awww!”

“Nonono- shut up!” Lovelace squealed, kicking her feet weakly. She’d definitely never felt this before. It was like vertigo or electricity emanating from that one spot and balling up in her stomach, teasing out laughter. She felt the impulse to squirm away, but found that her bones had turned to jelly. “Eiffel!”

“Hmm?” He was grinning at her. Somehow that made it worse. “Problem, Captain?”

His other hand joined, both now scratching at her ribcage. “I cahahan’t- plehease! It-”

“Tickles?” Eiffel supplied.

She snorted. “Fuck! I guhehess!”

“How’s the whole ‘not being ticklish’ thing working out for you?”

She batted at his hands, although it felt like she had all the strength of a kitten right now. All the laughing was going to her head, making her feel loopy. “I’m not!”

Eiffel snorted, squeezing at the fleshy parts of her sides and drawing a loud shriek. “You may want to reassess that.” He teased.

“I have a theory.” Hera said, amused.

Lovelace tried to turn and bury her face in… something.

“Uh, yeah Hera, it’s called ‘Captain Lovelace lied to us!’” Eiffel said sarcastically, one hand moving to scratch at her neck and send her giggles into a higher pitch than she’d thought herself capable of.

“Hmm, no, I don’t know if she did.” Hera mused. “I think she was telling the truth.”

“Ah yes, this is the very picture of ‘not ticklish’.” Eiffel chuckled, deeply enamoured with the blushing, giggly remains of Isabel Lovelace.

“Shut up!”

“Make me, giggles!” He taunted, clawing at her stomach and earning a loud snort and further kicking.

Hera laughed. “What she said to me was that she wasn’t. As in, wasn’t before. My theory is that this is a new development. Let’s say, from when her craft first docked with us.”

Fuck. That actually made sense. Lovelace didn’t have any evidence but… it felt right. People had tried tickling her growing up, partners had tried as she got older, roughhousing and sex, nothing had had an effect on her like Eiffel’s evil hand vibrating into her stomach. “Yohohou fucker!”

“Oh my gosh, that makes so much sense!” Eiffel exclaimed. He scratched under her chin teasingly. “Of course the Dear Listeners couldn’t resist that smile.”

Lovelace squashed her head down, only succeeding in learning that apparently her ears were also ticklish. “Eiffel shut uhuhup!”

“I’ll have to thank them on my next broadcast.” He said. “Dear Listeners, thank you so so so much for this adorable gift.”

“Gonna kill yohohou!”

“Aww, but I’m having fun!” A finger tried to find her belly button through her shirt, earning an incoherent shriek. “Aren’t you?”

The question had her pulling her arms over her head again, giggles pitching higher. It was stupid, Eiffel was being dumb and silly and… Yeah, she kind of was having fun with this. Between the laughing and the playing and how goddamn teasing they were being, this was just… fun. She felt giddy and giggly in a way she hadn’t in a very long time, and she couldn’t even stop it because someone was doing it to her. Someone she trusted and cared for.

Eiffel noted the fiery blush spreading to her ears. “Oh? Oh my god you are having fun, aren’t you?”

“Fuck off!”

“That’s not a no!”

“Screw you!”

He wormed a finger under her arm. “Tell me to stop then, Captain giggles.”

“Eiffel!” She shrieked, jolting when his other hand started poking around her stomach and sides. She couldn’t catch her breath, she couldn’t- “Hic!”

Eiffel chuckled, relenting. “Okay okay, hiccups are definitely a sign to stop.”

Lovelace hiccupped again, trying and failing to glare. “Yohou’re the- hic- worst.”

He grinned, resisting the urge to ruffle her hair. “So? First tickle attack, how do you feel?”

Like I’m floating. Like that was overwhelming and the best cheer up I’ve ever had. Like I’m never going to stop smiling. “Like you’d better- hic- count your days.”

“Yeah, you’re very scary right now.”

“Sleep with one- hic- eye open.”

“Of course.”

Another voice joined, making them both jump out of their skin. “You know, there’s protocol on what to do if you find two crewmates in the broom closet.” Eiffel turned to see a smirking Minkowski. “But I’m not sure if that applies.”

He huffed a laugh, standing up. “Hey Commander.”

She crossed her arms, looking between them. “Do I want to know?”

Lovelace considered her options. She could not handle any more people knowing about this than already did, Hera and Eiffel were already too much, let alone Minkowski. Maybe Eiffel wouldn’t say anything?

Then she remembered that she had sold him out to Minkowski at the first opportunity, and that hope went up in smoke.

Eiffel chuckled. “Well, you see…”

“We were making out!” Lovelace blurted. It was the first lie that came to mind, unfortunately not a believable one, based on their expressions.

“Anyway, as I was saying-” Eiffel said.

“No!” She flew at him, clamping a hand over his mouth. She felt his grin widen, and only had the amusement in his eyes as a warning before his fingers dug into her sides, making her shriek with laughter and double over, failing to wriggle out of his grip for a few seconds.

When she did, she darted behind Minkowski, glaring at an innocent looking Eiffel.

Minkowski glanced over her shoulder at her, failing to hide her amusement. “Thought you weren’t ticklish.”

“I wasn’t!” Lovelace protested.

“Seems it was a correction from our Dear Listeners.”

“Ah, I see.” Her grin widened. “How unfortunate for you.”

Lovelace felt herself flush. How was she supposed to live like this? She fixed them with her best scowl. “Never again.” She growled and turned to walk away.

Eiffel and Minkowski exchanged a smile. He held up a finger, waited a moment, then faked running after her.

Lovelace span around, fists raised. “Don’t you fucking dare!”

They both laughed, and maddeningly, she could feel herself smile too.

“Bit jumpy there.” Eiffel teased, winking at her.

“You-” She pointed at him. “You’ll pay.”

He grinned. “Okay.” Sounds like fun.

She backed away, glaring at them both until she was out of sight. Then, since they couldn’t see, she let the smile she’d been suppressing spread across her face. Okay, that was horrendously embarrassing and she kind of wanted to crawl into a hole, but… It was fun.

Besides, she could always get revenge.

[casuallivi]

The Midnight Kiss

Summary:  When your future boyfriend appears with a girlfriend, that is not you, there’s nothing you can do but date her ex, right?...Right?

Enjoy. Comments are welcomed and cherished :)

Part 1: Feeling like general Dan in that one scene from Forest Gump

The expression “this party turned into a funeral” never made more sense to Elain than now.

“This is my girlfriend, Morrigan.” He announced with a satisfied grin, a possessive arm draped around Morrigan’s waist.

Pharrell Williams’ Happy blasted on the background, Nuala singing along awfully off pitch. Her choice of song would have been terribly funny had Elain not been feeling the floor swaying under her feet. The man cleared his throat oddly, and Elain realized she had not reacted to the news. It cost everything she had to get herself moving, to reach for the woman's stretched hand and say, “Nice to meet you.”

The words tasted sour in her tongue, bile threatening to rise up as the gorgeous blonde with blood red lips and killer features spoke, probably greeting her back, but Elain could not hear a word she was saying, the sound of her own heart shattering clogging her ears.

He got a girlfriend.

Cassian Marino, her handsome Greek god of a boss –actually, he was her boss’s boss– who she had a crush on since joining her new company, who had a playboy reputation, who was the biggest one-night-stand-only enthusiast she had ever met, who was extremely anti-dating, who ‘would not be caught dead with a girlfriend’ –his words, not hers– was now proudly calling a woman, who was not Elain, his girlfriend.

Elain eyed the woman Cassian called Morrigan, cataloging everything about her, from her perfect posture and educated manners to the gorgeous dress outlining her perfect body. Morrigan’s translucent pearl dress shimmed over her curves ending just above her ass, toned bronzed legs ending in high heels so thin she could use them as needles, impeccable pin straight beach blonde strands pulled over her left shoulder. A sense of familiarity downed on her, brown eyes nearly popping of their sockets when she connected the dots. It was her. His girlfriend was the model selected for last month's pictorial.

Beside her, Cassian shined simple by being his usual smiley handsome self, dressed in casual tee, cargo and flip flops combo, tying his shoulder-length hair back, the act highlighting every curve of his biceps and strong pectoral. He kissed the blonde’s neck and Elain turned back, beginning to remove her silly accessories.

She pushed the silly glittered glasses spelling 2022 inside the back pocket of her shorts –which where currently hidden under an even sillier pink tutu she found on the fantasy box. Why was it, that the model was the one overdressed to a casual party, and yet, somehow, Elain was the one who ended up feeling out of place? It was a karaoke party on Cerridwen’s backyard, for crying out loud! Why this one had to dress like a star attending the Grammys?

Elain considered herself a person with great self-esteem and a high sense of value, not once feeling jealous of the numerous models she photographed for the magazine in the last year. They were all gorgeous women with killer bodies that came out stunning after passing through her lenses, but Elain loved herself and admired her non-model curves all the same. Tonight was different. Tonight, she felt jealous of a model for the first time, cursing herself for not doing those daily squats to grow her butt a little as she said she would on her last year’s resolution…

“Hey, we match.” Cassian’s jolly voice reached her as he tugged his tee.

“Yeah,” Elain laughed awkwardly, hands quickly working to remove the bright red clown nose from her face. ’How fitting’. She thought bitterly.

On the front of her tee, there where two cartoonish sunflowers wearing sunglasses and hi-fiving, the phrase, “hey there, bud!”, written underneath; a twin to the one she gifted him on Secret Santa. On the rare occasions he appeared on the shooting site he made her thrilled. They formed a friendship based on the bad habit of exchanging terrible puns, making lots of inappropriate jokes. Elain thought they were closer than a priest and a choir boy backstage, so she purposefully ordered them matching white tees, knowing he would be tempted to use it on New Year’s Eve; the same day she intended to confess her feelings. Damn it.

His comment earned Morrigan’s attention, who looked at Elain with new interest, while the photographer was distracted, trying to pin a similarity between the two of them. They both had brown eyes and that was it. The problem was Elain’s turned terribly dull and extremely boring putting side by side with Morrigan’s shimmering ember ones. Elain wanted to groan. Life was bitch.

“I’m thirsty.” The model said, running a hand over Cassian’s chest.

“Come on, let’s grab you a drink.”

The couple bid her a quick farewell, Elain pouting as Cassian tow his girlfriend toward other party member, proudly presenting her to every single one of their coworkers and friends. She forced herself to stop watching, marching to the temporary stage, searching for fantasy box with more colorful accessories. Imaging dozens of fake scenarios where she was the one in his arms, she shimmed out of the pink tutu, throwing it inside with a little more strength than necessary, the box nearly tipping to the side.

“Let’s sing ABBA!” Nuala screeched, materializing behind her, beer slouching in Elain’s arms as she was swayed form side to side.

“Later. I need to go to the bathroom.” Elain tapped her friend and slipped away.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you.” Then she turned back and pointed at a man. “You! Let’s sing ABBA!”

Right now Elain didn’t give a flying carrot about ABBA, her mind busy replaying the same scene over and over again.

This is my girlfriend, Morrigan. This is my girlfriend, Morrigan. This is my girlfriend, Morrigan. This is my girlfriend, Morrigan. This is my girlfriend, Morrigan. This is my girlfriend, Morrigan.

She moved across the synthetic grass with robotic steps, sliding inside the house and finding the bathroom with pure muscle memory. Elain stared at her distressed image in the mirror, face flushed from dancing, golden glitter sparkling across her nose and cheeks, braid disheveled from the earlier singing session. Oh my god, she greeted Cassian’s hot girlfriend looking like a toddler high on sugar. Elain stuck her finger in her hair and pulled hard, groaning at her own inability to sit quiet and enjoy a gathering like a composed adult. Nooo, she just had to give into the karaoke and do a crazy redemption of “I Will Survive” because Nuala dared her to do it.

This is my girlfriend, Morrigan. This is my girlfriend, Morrigan. This is my girlfriend, Morrigan. This is my girlfriend, Morrigan. This is my girlfriend, Morrigan. This is my girlfriend, Morrigan.

 On her tiptoes she reached for the upper cabinet, searching blindly for the facial soap, working to remove the glitter with the help of cold water, then she moved to undo the braid, trying look a little more presentable. As she worked to untangle the hair, her anger was redirected from the model for being hot, to Cassian for being an ass and getting a girlfriend.

He said he didn't do girlfriends!

“Don’t do girlfriend my ass.”

Someone pounded on the door.

“Coming!”

Elain practiced an unbothered expression and a happy smile two more times and opened the door, a drunk girl darting by her straight to the toilet. Taking deep breaths she returned to the garden, choosing one of the jumble beanbags to sit on. Elain tried not to look at the couple, she really did, but her eyes kept betraying her and tracking everything they did. God, it was like she was a glutton for punishment.

“You are staring.”

He dropped himself beside her without ceremony, the sudden movement undulating the beanbag, Elain bracing herself on his leg by reflex. Damn, his thigh was solid as a rock. Elain collected her hand quickly, discreetly trying to put space between them.

Azriel sipped his drink side-eyeing her tee, then Cassian’s, judgment all over his usually stoic face.

“Planned a little number, I see.”

“It was a coincidence.” She denied a little too fast, blushing for getting caught.

Elain and the Managing Editor had never really clicked, Azriel getting on her nerves since the first day with his stoic expression and crude orders. Just because he was her boss didn’t mean he get to order her around all the time… well, it did, but he didn’t have to be so obnoxious about it. Most of her previous jobs where freelancer gigs, making Elain used to a certain degree of liberty that was brutally ripped from her hands once she signed an exclusivity contract with Marinos, Azriel being the responsible for destroying her old habits and put her line.

Elain usually did her best to hide her dislike for the he-devil who tormented her working days. She was actually surprise to see him here. Never in her wildest imagination she would picture their soulless manager hanging with his subordinates in a karaoke party on the last day of the year. He had never attendant one of the gathering she went to, all work and no play this one. Sometimes she wondered if he had a single fun bone in his body… probably not. Maybe he had no friends to hang out with. Knowing his terrible personality, that’s was probably the answer. She fought hard to control her evil smile.

Azriel’s short midnight hair was combed back, suit pants without a wrinkle in sight, freshly shined shoes matching the black button down with sleeves rolled to his elbows – the man was wearing all black, for New Year’s Eve. Gee. Elain scrunched her nose; he was the farthest thing from her type in this place. She liked her man carefree, with long hair and lewd jokes.

"Ten minutes for midnight, guys!" Cassian's voice boomed, then he kissed Morrigan red lips, making Elain’s stomach churn with jealousy.

It could have been her getting kisses and being adored by him. It should have been her. Sighing, she turned to ask Azriel what he wanted, only to catch him observing the same pair, hazel eyes flickering with the same emotion Elain had been trying to hide the whole night.

“Do you know her?” Her big fat mouth worked faster than her brain. She was curious about the look he was giving the couple, but she knew better than to try to start a conversation with Azriel.

“She modeled for us last month.” He spoke to her as if she was dumb.

See? This is why she didn't talk to him outside work.

“I meant before that. Did you already know her?”

“This industry isn’t really that big, Archeron.”

His sarcasm was not enough to hide the hint of emotional coming to light; annoyance, irritation, and deflection. Her senses prickled. My, my, would you look at that. He was totally deflecting.

“You're friends?” she probed.

“No.” This time his answer came with a harsh bite to it. “We are not friends.”

“You like her.” She decided triumphantly, a Cheshire’s smile stretching in her lips.

“I Like her,” he mocked her tone, making a hideous face. “What’s this? Seventh grade?”

“Oh, don’t patronize me, you know what I mean.”

“You mean like you ‘like’ my brother?” He emphasized the word like with a taunting end to it, whipping her smile.

"I don’t – what – I’m not – what,”

Elain tried to save her face, but Azriel only sneered at her mumbling, sipping his drink.

“Was I obvious?” she asked after a beat of silence.

“Painfully.”

“Ohmygod.” She groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Someone, please, open a hole and bury her in the earth, now.

“My brother is used to women swooning over him.”

“God, that makes it worse.”

“Relax. You’ll survive.” He mocked a tune, winking at her, making allusion to the music she sang earlier.

Wait a minute. Did Azriel Marino make a joke? What was going on? And why was he sitting here in the first place? Talking to her about non-work-related things, which he never did before? Clarity hit her like a truck. Jealousy. He must have recognized her jealousy, seeing the woman he was interested in the arms of another, his brother nonetheless. Empathy flooded inside her. People were the same when their hearts were broken.

“It’s fine, it was just a crush.” No, it wasn’t. She had been into him for a year. “I just have to like someone else, someone available for starts. Hey, that’s a good New Year’s resolution. Date someone who can take Cassian out of my mind!” Elain laughed nervously.

Just then Nuala passed by with hands full of small tubes containing confetti. She handed one to Elain and one to Azriel, blowing a plastic whistle on their faces.

“You surprise me Archeron. I didn’t know you can turn your feelings off that easily.” He commented when she was gone.

“I can’t, but I have to begin somewhere.”

Azriel only looked forward, Morrigan catching his eyes briefly, offering him a friendly smile as if she had not been in his bed the night before. He doesn't smile back. He can't bring himself to pretend his happy for this new development. Putting a green hat on his brother was not one of his proudest moment, but Azriel had always had difficulty in saying no to the pretty blonde dangling from Cassian’s arm. Ten years. Ten years he stayed in her call back and forth.

“I’m not ready for a relationship yet.”

“I finally booked my first runaway.”

“I need to focus on my career first.”

“You know I’m not seeing him anymore; what does it matter how we call ourselves if we are exclusive again?”

“I finally booked my first cover.”

Morrigan always had a new milestone to achieve, a new tittle to conquer. Azriel understood her, she was a career-driven woman, and he was really proud of her for everything she conquered, but he was also tired, so fucking tired of being played. Azriel truly loved one woman his entire life, a woman who said she loved him as well... Just not more than her career.

That’s why they broke up for the last time. He had enough when she was photographed with another man, this time in a cozy diner in Spain, her companion an indie movie director.

“That's sensationalism, you know that right? I was not in a date with this man. He offered me a role in his movie, acting Az! Can you imagine that, me as an actress?”

He said he was happy for her, but he did not want to continue in this relationship anymore.

“Are you breaking up with me?” She sobbed with tearful eyes.

“How can I break up with you if we never in a relationship?"

She cried and begged and promise to compromise. Azriel believed none of it, they had danced that same dance one too many times for him to have any faith. It was relationship doomed to end.

Now he was here, in a party he would not have attended in normal circumstances, guilty churn in his stomach. Maybe he should tell Cass about last night. Azriel saw Morrigan for the first time again a month ago when she was casted to appear in the cover of Marinos. He also saw the way his brother’s eyes lit up looking at her, heard all about his instant infatuation, about his Christmas proposal, about her saying yes to be his girlfriend, a yes, she never gave Azriel. He could solemn blame the excessive drinking for opening the door to her, letting her in. Deep down he knew whose fault it was.

His fault.

He was an idiot. And a idiot who blabbed when drunk. For fuck sakes, in a few minutes of conversation he practically admitted his feelings for his brother’s girlfriend to the woman who he had done nothing but fight in the last year.

Elain Archeron was a great photographer, a little green for the fashion industry, but her quick wit and capacity to adapt had taken the magazine quality to another level. She didn’t know this, but Azriel was the one who suggested his brother signed an exclusivity contract, despite their first Collab being a horror show. At the time they had hired her for a freelancer job, their photographer was in the hospital and they needed to reshoot the cover asap. Nuala, from advertisement, said she had a friend available, and so Azriel meet Elain. Her style was different from their usual, her creative process clashing with Azriel’s style and his aptitude to stick to the pre-established program. Elain was freestyler. He hated freestyle.

They clashed hard, so hard he screamed at her to do her job right, she screamed at him to take the stick out of his ass, and Nuala paled, thinking she would lose her job for recommending an explosive substitute. In the end Azriel ended up with a winter cover that went viral online, increasing their sales by 2,5%. Elain Archeron was a nasty thing with unruly hair and a questionable amount of overalls, but she did her job right. He could respect that. Azriel liked passionate people - even when they were crazy freestylers.

“You should do the same, you know.” Elain proposed, twisting the miniature confetti tube. “Why do they get to be all happy while we sit here mopping? No, no. Let’s break free from these chains of love.”

Elain stood up, making a victory fist. Her resolution was ready! She had a good job now, a stable job, she just needed to stop pinning for her unavailable boss, preferably by finding a boyfriend who loved her very, very, much, and everything would be perfect. Her new fantasies of world domination were shattered by Azriel’s throaty laughter.

He actually laughed at her. How dare him.

“I’m being serious.”

“Sure.” Azriel said.

“I am! Stay there pinning for you crush if you want, but I will find myself a lover.”

“A lover?”

“A lover.”

“Oh, and pray tell how you intent to do that?”

Elain paused. Good question. How did she intended to do that?

“One minute for midnight!” Someone yelled, lighting a lamp in her brain.

Every good New Year’s resolution starts at midnight. Elain sat again, smirking at Azriel.

"When the clock strike midnight, I'll leave this old pinning Elain behind and make out with the first man that looks my way." She announced puffing her chest.

"And how would that work exactly? You think you'll fall in love with the first guy you kiss after spending years pinning from my brother?"

Years? Elain frowned. She had only known Cassian for a year. Besides, his words sound a little too harsh and bitter for her taste.

"I don't know.” She said carefully. “Maybe, maybe not. But it will be a start. I have to start somewhere. You can’t expect to change your life doing the same thing you always did.”

Silence stretched between them, but Elain’s attention was snagged to the ‘ten seconds before midnight’ counting starting.

[…]

Three,

Two,

“Okay.” Azriel said quietly as the counting reached ‘one’.

Fireworks, confetti, cheers, and wishes of “happy new year” exploded everywhere, yet Elain didn’t feel festive at all. As she watched Cassian deep his girlfriend and give her a sinful kiss, Elain felt more like general Dan in that one scene from Forest Gump; frozen in perpetual agony while everyone else celebrated around her. Was this what torture felt like?

Elain was so busy drowning in self-pity she didn’t notice Azriel's decision until it was too late, a decision that would change both their lives forever, because he went and did the most unbelievable and inexplicable thing in the story of the universe. Azriel, the man who she constantly butted head with, placed both hands on her face and planted a kiss on her lips.

[shiroikabocha]

Was just reading your tags on Avasarala in the Ezpanse tv show, did it by chance also bother you that Amos wasn't a super smiley amiable guy? I felt like they lost this huge chunk of his character but everyone I know in real life who has read the books and watched the show thought it was an accurate portrayal

(late late answer, sorry) I’m kind of a weird case since my read/watch order was:

1. Watch Expanse TV S1 (portrays events of the first half of Expanse Book 1), a little confused, but now I’m super hooked on this story and these characters

2. Binge read every Expanse book yet released, rewatch Expanse S1 now that I have a better grasp on how the parallel/converging mystery plots relate to one another

3. Watch the rest of The Expanse TV show

So, my mental image of most characters (including Amos) was initially shaped by the show. When reading the books, I pictured Wes Chatham as amiable-smile Amos, even though the characterization was so different from how Chatham plays him on the show. I kinda synthesized them both into different aspects of the same character, if that makes sense? The version of Amos who smiles a lot is a version with a good, thorough understanding of himself as a person with low-to-no instinctive empathy, who has learned how to effectively mask among higher-empathy people. The version of Amos who doesn’t smile all the time is the same person with the same feelings, but he has not yet mastered how to interpret, understand, and mirror the emotional states of other people as well as Smiley-Amos does.

Concrete example: a lot of Expanse fans talk about that scene near the start of S1 where Amos tells Holden, “Ask me whether or not I should rip your helmet off and kick you off this bucket, and I couldn’t give you a reason why I should or shouldn’t. Except that Naomi wouldn’t like it.” When you first hear it, the line seems like a threat—which is certainly how Holden interprets it. But that after you’ve watched the whole show and understand Amos better, you rewatch it, and you realize he’s not threatening Holden at all. Amos is telling Holden the straightforward truth: “I don’t have a good grasp on what’s right or wrong in complex situations, but I know there is a difference between right and wrong and I’d like to be on the right side, so I outsource my moral decision-making to Naomi because I trust her judgement. And you need to know about that if we’re going to work together.”

I think Book-Amos and Show-Amos would both describe themselves this way, but Book-Amos would know enough about how other people’s minds work to realize that most people would find this declaration alarming. Book-Amos knows that smiling is how empathy-people say I am not threatening you! in their weird face-language. Book-Amos also knows that his natural affect translates as I am definitely threatening you right now! in the empathy-people-face-language, and adjusts his face accordingly. Book-Amos and Show-Amos say the same thing, but Book-Amos is proficient in his non-native language whereas Show-Amos is still learning.

I love both versions, and if The Expanse ever tackles a screen adaptation of the last books, I’d loooooove to see Wes Chatham play a thirty-years-older Smiley-Amos. Or not! I could see a version of Amos who deploys smiles and laughter strategically, with strangers, but reverts to his normal self among trusted friends—you can tell how close he is with Clarissa because he completely stops smiling when they’re alone together. No need to keep shouting no worries! I’m friendly! in a foreign language when your friend already knows.

All in all, I really like Wes Chatham’s performance! It’s not exactly the same as the Amos in the book, but I think it’s a version that Book-Amos would recognize as himself, just with less masking.

[the-sparkling-diamond-satine]

🍈

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions

This is a mix of canon compliant and modern AU headcanons btw because I have lots of AU's in my wip's/idea list! Also some of these might only exist in wip's but I'm sharing them anyways

For you I have Christian the composer headcanons!

Neurodivergent (AuDHD)

Favorite way to stim is by pretending he's conducting while listening to music

Favorite candy is gummy worms. He likes the sensory experience of how chewy they are + bonus points for being fun-shaped.

Building off of the last one, his favorite foods in general are anything fun-shaped. Smiley fries. Dino chicken nuggets. Character themed macaroni and cheese. If left to his own devices would eat nothing but candy.

One of five kids. He has two older sisters and two younger brothers. When he was little his parents thought the reason he didn't act like a "normal boy"/traditionally masculine (he was very sensitive, liked music and fairy tales, didn't get into fights or play with toys meant for boys) was because he had only his older sisters as role models. But after his brothers were born and they fit easily into socially accepted gender roles, his parents started to treat him poorly and as if something was wrong with him.

Has a really complicated relationship with his own gender. Has a lot of internalized shame around who he actually is vs. who his family and friends have always expected him to be.

Likes having conversations with Baby Doll about gender :) They get along really well!

Nini gets his number from Satine and periodically sends him vaguely threatening texts about what she'll do to him if he ever so much as thinks about hurting Satine. Christian is utterly terrified of Nini. Satine has no idea this is happening.

Loves romcoms. Will cry while watching movies.

He LOVES taking baths. He loves anything that makes baths more fun, like scented bubble baths and sparkly bath bombs. It's one of his favorite date night things to take a bath with Satine.

The first time Satine takes him to a store with bath bombs, he gets so excited by how pretty everything is that he forgets it's soap and he eats some. They have to leave. (No I will not elaborate on this. The idea came to me out of nowhere and I'm putting it in a fanfic because it makes me laugh every time I think of it haha)

He loves carrying Satine around

He loves being on his knees for Satine (sexually and non-sexually)

He loves laying his head in Satine's lap while she plays with his hair

The first time he and Satine have a real fight he loses his temper and yells at her. It scares her, and Christian doesn't think he'll ever forgive himself for it no matter how many times Satine reassures him that she's okay

Christian is high-energy and very enthusiastic, but I like to imagine he calms a lot of that down around Satine, especially when she's still learning to trust him. I think after a couple of times he accidentally startles her by reaching for her too quickly he becomes a lot more careful because more than anything he wants her to feel safe around him

Wakes Satine up ridiculously early on Christmas because he's just so excited

Out of the two of them, he's the better cook.

[hauntedjpegcollection]

I WANT TO FILL MY MOUTH WITH YOUR NAME. I WANT TO EAT YOU WHOLE - PABLO NERUDA

pinterest - writing - tag - benji

BASICS

FULL NAME → Xavier James Wolffe

NICKNAME → Baby (Callsign, CoD AU)

AGE RANGE → 20-30’s

BIRTHDAY → May 20th

SPECIES → Human

NATIONALITY → American

GENDER → Cis Male

ORIENTATION → Bisexual

OCCUPATIONS → Shadow PMC, Corporal, Extraction Unit (CoD Au), Security Guard (Band Au), Mechanic (Slice of Life Au’s) - can generally be in any au as something military or soldier adjacent

THREAT LEVEL → Very High

SPOKEN LANGUAGES → English (fluent), Tamil (sparse and basic)

APPEARANCE

FACECLAIM → Matthew Bell (kinda lol)

EYE COLOR(S) → Green

HAIR COLOR(S) → Dark red

DOMINANT HAND → Right (fairly ambidextrous)

ACCENT → Boston, Mass New England American

HEIGHT → 6’4’’

WEIGHT → 185/195 lbs

BODY → Lean but muscular. Broad shouldered, tapered waist. Very in shape, little body fat. Extremely freckled, typical red haired pale. Has large, calloused palms.

TATTOO(S) → Left arm covered in American traditional black/white tattoos. Has “Sweet Boy” tattooed across his upper stomach in serif font. A smiley face on his hand that was done in stick and poke (faded, potentially because Xavier presses his thumb to the tattoo often)

PIERCING(S) → Xavier has no piercings other than his ears in military au's/military adjacent au's because he doesn't want to risk taking a punch to the face with piercings. In slice of life au's, he gets to branch out and likes to get his bridge pierced, sometimes a tongue piercing.

GLASSES → No, blessed with 20/20 vision, lucky guy

SCARS → Many. Has a great deal of scar build up on his knuckles from fist fighting. Has a faded scar on his nose from having it broken (more than once), a scar along his jaw from a knife. In CoD or any other universe where he’s a soldier, Xavier has a lot of the usual scars you’d expect.

BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN → Boston, Massachusetts, USA

FINANCIAL STATUS → Lower/Middle Class

EDUCATION LEVEL → High School

RAP SHEET → Record expunged when he turned 18; petty assault charges for fist fighting

PRISON TIME → Luckily, miraculously, none

RELATIONSHIPS

BIRTH ORDER → Second

PARENTS → James Wolffe (father) Lorelai Wolffe (mother)

SIBLINGS → Theresa Wolffe (sister, first born), Emily Wolffe (sister, third born), Jes Wolffe (non binary, fourth born)

SIGNIFICANT OTHER(S) → Benji Palanivel (long term partner in most au's, or husband in the sweeter ones), Reno (ex situationship in Vampire AU)

CHILDREN → None

ENEMIES → Probably a lot

PETS → Anika, service dog (belongs to Benji but that's his daughter, your honor)

VICES

SMOKES → Yes (heavy addiction)

DRINKS → Yes, socially

DRUGS → Recreationally to mildly addicted depending; everyday weed user, occasionally cocaine, LSD, club drugs mostly

VIOLENCE → Quick to physical violence in threatening situations, avoids violence if he can

SELF DESTRUCTIVE → Heavily

PSYCHOLOGY

MENTAL → PTSD, ASD, OCD

PHYSICAL → Has a rib injury in most au’s that will be problematic and bothersome

ANGER EXPRESSION → Hot; quick to outbursts or violence

ALIGNMENT → Chaotic Good

PERSONALITY TRAITS → Romantic, kind, loyal, dedicated, hard working, possessive, hot tempered, easily manipulated, oblivious, petty

MISC

SIN → Envy

ZODIAC → Taurus

ELEMENT → Fire

SEX PREFERNCE → Submissive switch, call him lettuce cause he’s a sub topping

ANIMAL → Doberman

MUTATION → Instant healing

[magpies-gold]

I actually got a fanfic for Christmas. Eighteen pages of ridiculous non-canon delight for Alpha Base from @book-lore because they are flippin' amazing. Specifically we've been joking for a while about what I'm calling The Library AU, where Heinrich survives the actual novel, gets sent back to Earth, and on recommendation from his therapist, gets a job. In a library. I meant it as a way to just blow off steam by being silly, but @book-lore took it and ran for a mile with it, delivering unto me a really neat vision of Victoria, BC in a post-major-earthquake future, with a cast of adorable lunatics at the Consolidated Victoria Songhees Public Library to make Heinrich's life on Earth as special as possible. One of my favourite recurring jokes is that a condition of Heinrich's continued freedom is that he's not allowed to possess weapons of any kind - but he still finds ways to unnerve certain individuals without breaking the rules, including borrowing on extended loan a pair of bright green kids' safety scissors to keep on the same hip that he used to keep a gun. Call it a comfort item. Only he could apply a smiley face sticker and still make them threatening somehow.

I decided that Heinrich would also absolutely despise summer. Alpha Base is dark. Very, very dark. It also has a steady ambient temperature of close to 0°C. The first time he experienced a warm day would have been cause for panic. The sunglasses debacle is more madness from @book-lore's fic. I will treasure those 18 pages forever. My god.

[alottamoney]

it’s just so boring 😭 like Tae has gotten more views on naver for doing random shit.

And I can’t believe they wasted the opportunity last september to turn this into a little sob story about privacy and how these poor idols can’t have a normal life because they’re constantly pursued by sasaengs and woe is me etc etc, and ended up just staging a walk?! Like?!

And still not confirming?! Like grow some balls, wasn’t everyone hyping him for being a rule breaker and all that or is that only while his manager is holding his hand? (I laughed so hard when that pic of him and the manager suddenly turned up and the manager is just smiling at the camera, if Tae has bad acting skills, that dude has none).

**I will say, it’s very very weird that a bunch of taennies were threatening debunkers that something was coming in may…

Lmao, this ask is the most entertained I've been by this scandal. Thank you, anon.

I was wondering why no one was commenting on the manager (probably 'cause they're still zooming in on Tae's face). Like why is he so smiley? Is he a Taennie too? Then the companies unofficially saying they don't know about this apparently very private matter. Idk, how about calling your staff for starters lol. I agree about the wasted opportunity; they had so many chances to actually control the narrative instead of getting hijacked by hackers from Azerbijan, or random cosplayer dudes.

Did taennies say something was coming in May? I can't recall, there were too many tangents, I gave up. I think Taennies aren't questioning it enough though. Always be more skeptical when things go in your favor. I also love how they're acting like this was the only respectable way Taennie could have gone about it. I know that idol relationships are a very grey, very weird area, but it doesn't have to be convoluted like this. Joy from Red Velvet, or IU with her latest relationship are examples of uncomplicated relationship reveals. At least that's how I assume serious relationships would be handled not with a year long saga of blurry pics and twitter theories and non-statements.

[christophimer]

Some messy sketches of iolnus - i had a lot of fun doing this (i like drawing him a lot). I'll probably do some more of this style thing with other characters etc

And I'm going to over explain all these sketches because i love talking about the people in my head... so be warned reader

Bitter - iolnus has a habit of smiling when feeling any negative emotion - (usually the more strong the feeling the wider the smile). It makes him very passive aggressive if he doesn't like you.

frustrated- he doesn't really get frustrated at people. more so when he's doing something and it's not working (like when a stain won't go)

jealous- it's been a long long time since he's been jealous of anyone - but he does like to assert himself/reassure himself that he's better/could 'win' against other people and gets...angry smiley if he doesn't think he could.

serious- iolnus mainly keeps himself safe/well kept by working for various spirits, he's only makes these kinds of expressions around them.

disappointed- this flavour of disappointment is when he's given something to one of his dogs and they don't like the taste.

disturbed- he's really really hard to seriously disturb so it's more him judging you and you've failed

offended- he's quite hard to offend as well (mostly because he doesn't really care about most people) but there are a few things that really press his buttons and will get his attention. if continually pressed he will get his dogs on you.

furious- another rare emotion. He tends to tense up when seriously angry into a small sneering ball.

threatened- in this case physically. again he tenses up but is generally more cringing. iolnus' default is to try and be ingratiating/obedient/non threating. The more scared/powerless he is the more sycophantic he is, it's only when he feels he's in control that he will show distain/apathy. Which is why he defaults to (often strained) smiling when stressed/upset/feeling in danger in any way. It's just something he finds impossible to unlearn

panicked- more in he can't find something he's looking for that he wants than fearful in anyway. He doesn't have many items and it bothers him if he loses something/ a button from a coat etc.

possessed- he's never actually possessed in the story etc so i did the closest thing. iolnus dissociates/represses things and while actively doing so he's fairly unresponsive etc (it can seem a bit like he's possessed). it tends to go, stressed/scared -> smiling/fawning/etc -> once a certain stress threshold is passed, dissociate (often while still smiling fawning etc but sometimes not)-> continue until physically exhausted from stress -> fall asleep -> oh dear i slept too long and nothing bad has happened to me and no i won't think about what i was doing yesterday/event that triggered it and nothing happened.

silly- him talking to his dogs or someone he likes (which is basically jaski and three other people)

goofy- he's very good at entertaining himself. he often 'mimics' animal sounds back to the animal, not very well, but he'll have a full conversation with a cat.

a bit wacky- iolnus with his natural hair is always a bit wacky. Here he has been woken up by jaski who want's to discuss an idea or something and although iolnus is too tired/frazzled to understand it he is 100% on board with it and listening attentively.

purified- again not really a thing in my world so i just drew him hugging his dog aniseed. a fluffy dog is purifying.

traumatised- the classic smiling while shaking combination

[yetanothercomicbook]

Heart and Soul

Ghost Rider and Luke Cage [Marvel Comics Presents #131-136]

Muddled.

Darklove!

We open with Luke Cage at a funeral because a recurring character from the POWER MAN AND IRON FIST series has been murdered. Meanwhile, Dan Ketch bumps into an old friend of his, and she's battered and bruised. Her boyfriend (with a weird smiley face) leads Ghost Rider on a deadly car chase, which gets Luke Cage involved. Together, they face a supernatural entity called Darklove, who gloats about his killing spree.

Next day, Cage investigates one of the murder scenes and finds a Darkhold page. Darklove attacks him but GR arrives to save the day. Later, they regroup in Cage's hotel room. A lead takes them to a warehouse and those that brought the Darkhold page into the country. There's a battle. Afterwards, Ghost Rider vanishes and Cage sees where to go next on the Darkhold page.

High above the city, Ghost Rider faces Darklove on a rooftop and hears his origin while he threatens the entire population. Cage arrives (by helicopter!) after Ghost Rider has made a deal to save everyone. But Ghost Rider is able to turn his penance stare on the villain and end the threat.

I read this more than once to get a grip on the plot. A lot of developments happen off-panel for some reason. Scenes that appear to be non-sequiturs are briefly explained later on. It's a frustrating storytelling choice. It's almost as if pages have been cut. The villain's backstory is certainly interesting but his actions are bland. He's just killing lovers. That's his shtick. And he's ridiculously powerful. For some unexplained reason, he's connected to Ghost Rider and Cage. Which is a lazy way to move the plot forward. At the end, Ghost Rider defeats him very easily. And it all feels like a lot of fuss over nothing.

4/10

[hanabeeri]

this is going to be my op live action post. i am not sorry in advance.

__________________

IÑAKI LUFFY MY BELOVED MH ANGEL

he's so smiley so precious. and koby too. miss alvida is cute 😳 ahahahha

falling in love with the entire cast AHAHAHA

i will not survive live action zoro. i am not okay. sir please meet me on friday i am free i- i am going to cry this is not okay NOT OKAY NETFLIX APOLOGIE RIGHT NOW

luffy is so silly. i love how they changed it a bit in the adaption for the non fans 😭

SIR WKDKWKDKAKDKSKSKK i would beg for free mister roronoa. i will be delulu about this.

and nami is so cute 🥺🥹

mister zoro 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳 ahahahahaa 🫦 also bless their souls for keeping the japanese pronunciations

luffy watching zoro is me falling in love

zoro being like a father that doesn't want a cat pet but towards himself not wanting to join the crew

miss nami omg 😳😳😳 ahahahahaha lipbite

it was at this moment that zoro pledged his life for luffy mister zoro i love u please marry me

they made buggy so pretty?

ok the nami escape from buggy thingie was a bit out of the blue

BEAT HIM UP LUFFY BEAT HIM UUUUUP

also love the koby scenes he's my baby

what in the romance is going on between zoro and luffy hello HAHAHAHAH

ahahahaha zoro just hanging there 😳💀😳😔😭🥳🎉😹🥳🙏🏻😳🤨😭😀🥹🥳😭🥳🫶🏻💀😳

SHANKS 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

i will marry zoro i will marry him i will-

my biggest critique is: luffy isn't wearing flip flops

i would chew off my limbs for zoro u don't understand

BABY LUFFY MY PRECIOUS father shanks please adopt me

nami fixing luffys hat will never leave my soul. like the fact that she did it although he is a pirate and she hates pirates but she understood that he isn't an awful person and so she did it anyway despite her beliefs

also again WHAT IN THE HOMOSEXUALITY ZORO???????? explain yourself

ok ngl at first i was a bit sad that zoro didn't have his deep voice but it's growing on me now. as a friend put it i need zoro in a way that's threatening to feminism