#people can expect that if they send a silly ask I will still answer with Primary Sources and a narrative arc.

[focsle]

what's the best way to serve whale?

am hungee

Can’t attest—I have not eaten whale.

Muktuk is a traditional Inuit food. It’s skin and blubber usually from bowheads (but also beluga and narwhal) that’s diced small and often eaten raw. It can also be prepared in other ways like frying or pickling. Very high in Vitamin D & C.

Turning to my 19th c. American whalers, it being my schtick and all, they tended to not be particularly interested in eating whale. Nor were whales hunted for meat. But sometimes the odd recipe comes out here and there. John Martin, whaler on the Lucy Ann, 1840s talked about ‘roasting the top of a whale’s head’ that they were otherwise processing.

“The top of a right whale’s head is covered with barnacles & small crabs. When roasted they are good eating. They also take part of his lip and render it out in the hot oil. When eaten with pepper & vinegar it tastes very much like soused tripe.”

Mary Lawrence, whaling wife on the Addison, 1850s also mentioned eating whale up North:

“We have been eating bowhead meat for several days, made with pork into sausage cakes, also fried, and it is really good eating, far before salt pork in my estimation.”

J.E. Haviland, greenhand on the Baltic 1850s shared a similar recipe for porpoise, which is similar enough.

“We had it for Breakfast this morning. The way it is prepared at sea is to take + hash it up very fine seasoned with sage pepper + salt and then made in small balls + fried or baked in pork + I can say from experience it is proper good.”

William Tripp, boatsteerer on the John R. Manta, 1920s,

“The meat was cooked as steaks, while some was ground and made into 'whalemeat balls.' It was eaten by all hands and much relished as the first frest meat since leaving port."

John Ross Browne, writer on an unnamed whaler in the 1840s, talked about snacks whilst trying out. In addition to frying saltwater-soaked sea biscuits and celebratory donuts in the whale oil, sometimes whalers would eat the leftover ‘cracklings’, i.e. crispy bits of whale skin left over after the process, as well as:

“Sometimes, when on friendly terms with the steward, they make fritters of the brains of the whale mixed with flour, and cook them in the oil. These are considered a most sumptuous delicacy. Certain portions of the whale's flesh are also eaten with relish, though, to my thinking, not a very great luxury, being coarse and strong. Mixed with potatoes, however, like " porpoise balls," they answer very well for variety. A good appetite makes almost any kind of food palatable. I have eaten whale-flesh at sea with as much relish as I ever ate roast-beef ashore.”

Not everyone’s into it, though. When John Langdon and other crew members aboard the St. Peter, 1840s, came to air grievances about the captain expecting them to be content with eating spoiled beef, the captain,

“rowse[d] up a little telling us how he had lived on whale and blackfish meat for a time on the Nor’west; but this would not go down with us and we demanded state’s allowance. He saw we were in good earnest so after while concluded to give us good beef.”

And lastly, from Moby-Dick, Stubb’s preferred method of cooking whale steak which he berated the cook with:

“Hold the steak in one hand, and show a live coal to it with the other; that done, dish it; d’ye hear?”

[unluckilyimnot]

can u do the "i like you I said I like you" thing with any random blue lock boy if u don't know it just search it up and it will be there it's pretty cute and when you do or u already know can u make like a big misunderstanding and it's a happy ending ty!

 I like you - rin, yoichi, hiori

– In which the popular kid (you) asks them out and they can't believe it.

Note: I hope I find the right thing 😭 rin is longer bc i missed the happy ending part at first. reader really doesn't take 'no' for an answer. mia 🤝 writting only with her favs

m.list | rules

Rin isn't the type to make friends in the first place, so when he found a note on his desk asking him to meet up with an anonymous person his first reflexes was to put it in the trash. He had better things to do than to talk to someone he doesn't even know.

He never expected this note to be from you, his pretty seatmate that, surprisingly,  liked to work on a few projects with him. Everyone has a crush on him, but only a few can actually manage his personality. 

But here you were, hands on his desk before he could take his remaining papers before leaving for practice. He glared up at you to realize you were frowning at him too, obviously upset. Yet you weren't saying anything, stealing glances around to see if people would actually leave one day.

"You're waiting for a deluge of what ?!" You yelled at the duo whispering behind him and he heard them running out in a second

"What's your problem?" He asked about your behavior.

"What is your problem! You never came yesterday," you argued, cheeks flush red and he can't tell if it's from embarrassment or anger. "I've waited for a while you jerk."

"You should've signed then." He added while looking away from the small pour on your face, trying to pull away his papers beneath your hand. "Now I have to go so be quick."

Lifting your hand so he can organize his bag, you didn't wait for him to finish before talking.

"I like you." You said, a lower voice, less confident ; a voice that sounded nothing like yours. He scoffed at your face, getting up and putting his bag on his shoulder. As if someone like you could actually have feelings for him, ridiculous.

"I don't have time for your joke. Get lost." Without caring to look back at you, he left the classroom with a bothered face. It's not that he didn't like you, but everything sounded fake. Despite himself, he doesn't want to be the joke of your stupid friends' group.

"Wait Rin !" Your voice followed by footsteps suddenly sends shivers down his back. Couldn't you just leave him alone ?

But your hand grabbed his wrist in a hurry to try and stop him in his tracks. You couldn't bring yourself to look at him, already trying to hide the emotion in your voice.

"I wasn't kidding ! I really do – "

A million thoughts pass by his silly little brain in a second but he sadly didn't have time for this right now. Or he didn't want to think about it at all.

"If you do then let me go." He sounds sharp and uncaring but his heart is weak when you let go of him with a pitiful try to hide the disappointment written on your face. Yet the only thing he does is run away from you, already late for his schedule.

"We'll talk later."

He sent it out of guilt before starting, not liking how he left you like this. Yet the notification of his message fell in deaf ears as you were already crying, hiding yourself in the bathroom.

After crying your emotions out you still went and checked your face after – bad idea. Your eyes are red, cheeks flushed and you can't get rid off the mascara that fell below your eyes. Great.

You sighed, getting yourself together before leaving the building to go home. You've seen his message but honestly you don't think you'll ever have the strength to face him now. Ever. Tears are always on the verge of falling from your eyes and you’ve never felt this shitty in your life. It was the worst day ever ! And your friends would tell you "I told you so." . You hated it.

Yet, without meaning to, you still passed by the football field and saw Rin was still there training, all sweaty and panting as he scored yet another goal. As you ponder if you should stop by and wait for him, since he told you you’ll talk later, you stopped in your tracks right in front of the tribune. From where you stand, you staying or not wouldn’t probably change a thing to your situation. No-one’s waiting for you and you certainly don’t wanna see your friends at that moment. So you decided to stop and take a seat in the front row, gazing at him as your head lay on your arms. 

It doesn’t take long for him to notice you, you can tell and even if you didn’t expect much from him, he stopped and slowly made his way to you.

He feels like an asshole, for once in his life. It’s like he really did something bad that he regrets.

“You’re going to catch a cold.” was all he could think about to break the heavy silence between you two. He doesn’t expect much either, knowing well that you might be upset.

“It’s summer’s end though, it’s still hot…” you answered, muffled in your arms. He was right, the light breeze past nine was in fact colder than you thought but you never wanted to admit that. But you weren’t dumb, you knew he'd notice the goosebumps on your arms. 

Soon his jacket fell on your shoulders, making you blink a few times in a vain attempt to process what happened.

“Take this and go home. Don’t forget it tomorrow.” he finally said before leaving you behind, flustered but with a small smile on your lips. At least he cared more than he looked like.

Putting it on properly, you took your bag and made your way to the exit, following his words – he made sure for you not to get cold, you could at least listen. You expected it to smell like him or some strong cologne he might wear, but instead it simply smells like detergent. And for some reason, it comforted you even more. 

It was a good idea to stop by. 

Hiori never was on the popular side, even if he was a good football player for his two years of high school, he never compared to some of his teammates that got way too much attention for their well being. Not that he ever minded, it was just like this. He prefers his routine to stick to what it is, meeting with his small group of friends, talk about games then go back to his training. It can be boring, but it was simply his life.

Or it was before you came into his life out of nowhere during his last year. You’ve always been in his class but for some reason you two never talked before, he knew your name and that’s it. Until you started to come see him play and encourage him with everything you’ve got.

After that, it seems like you’ve never missed a game and always come to see him at the end of it to tell him how well he played and then proceed to talk with him. It was nothing particularly weird, anybody can start to like football at some point and tell themselves that it’s never too late to befriend someone – beside the fact that you were the prettiest person he had seen.

For some reason, all this happening out of nowhere seems way too suspicious but he never mentioned it to you and was still happy to talk to you and learn more about your interests. He was really awkward at first but as the days went by, turning into months and you never stopped being nice to him, he thought he may have had the wrong idea. Until that day.

“I like you,” you mumbled to him after catching his sleeve before he could leave. Time stopped and your words were echoing in his head endlessly – he couldn't come up with an answer. His mind went blank and all he could do was stare at your feet, trying to ground himself. But you pull on his sleeve once again, right when he feels able to answer.

“Come on, don’t ignore me when I just said that…” He can see you chewing on the inside of your cheek and a disbelief scoffed escaped his mouth.

“Look, I know but it’s just not funny,” he answered lightly but he couldn’t look into your eyes or else he would’ve cried. Saying he didn’t develop a crush on you would be a lie, but he knew it was one sided and was fine with it. But you joking about it wasn’t funny.

“What– No ! I’m not kidding Hiori, listen–”

“I’m sure your friends are laughing a lot but you really should stop now…” he cut you out before you could explain yourself and it felt like it was now or never. You took a step closer to him who was still avoiding your gaze and left a peck on his cheek, close enough to the corner of his lips for him to realize you weren’t lying. His cheeks heat up at your move and he backs down quickly, taking a few steps away from you.

You were the awkward one now, looking away from him. You didn’t want to seem too much of a push over so you nodded to yourself before.

“Just because you don’t like me back doesn’t mean you have to say I’m joking. With that,” you added before waving at him awkwardly and were about to leave but this time it was Hiori who stopped you. Leaving a quick peck on your lips, he smiled shyly at you who was now a blushing mess – trying to hide your face away but with nowhere to do so.

“It just feels weird, because you’re the pretty one you know.” he giggled. “But I like you too.”

When Yoichi discovered the letter in his locker this morning, his heart stopped. It seemed normal from the outside – and thank god for that – but the inside contained words about how the person felt for him but he felt like dying. Nobody ever confessed to him, even less with a letter.

Nothing helped that he knew who it was. It wasn’t as anonymous as he wished it was, it’s always like this in the movie. He looked like his soul left his body, making his friends worry – even more when he never wanted to mention what was up. He couldn't just tell them, they'd ask to read it and he didn't want them to know who it was. While being asked a thousand questions about it, he secretly glanced your way, a blush on his cheeks. 

You were looking their way, not catching his eyes but with a knowing smile on your lips and he prays for them not to look away from him. He needed to talk this through with you, even if he didn't want to. 

You squeal when your arm is suddenly pulled to the opposite side. Yoichi shushed you down, panicked at the idea of you screaming all of sudden. You blinked a few times, flustered at the sudden proximity. He was only a few centimeters away, looking around to be sure nobody would come and annoyed you and your heart had a hard time following. 

Out of nowhere, he took out the letter from his pocket and almost shoveled it into your face. 

“What is this ?” he whispered as if everyone around was listening to him, making you giggle. 

“A love letter ?” you said, trying to hide your trembling voice. You never expected him to face you like this, he was the kind you can easily forget and yet he was bold enough to ask you straight about it. It charmed you even more at first. 

“Yeah I can tell,” he scoffed. “But that's not funny ok. Get it back and leave me alone.” 

The small shadow of a smile fell from your face in a second, horror rushing in your body when he gave you the letter back – more like pushing it in your hands – before leaving the other way. You have to compose yourself a second before gripping on the letter and run after him.

Stepping out of the corner he pulled you, you rushed after him before tugging on his sleeve. Once again, your letter flew away from your hand right to his face.

“I just told you I liked you ! You could at least keep it even if you don’t feel the same !” you yelled in the middle of the highway, people were sending Yoichi weird looks and he couldn’t control the blush on his cheeks. On the other hand, you never felt so dumb in your entire life. It wasn’t because he seems the most normal boy that he would like you back, not when he didn’t know anything about you, yet you really hoped he would at least treat it well.

“I thought you were joking !” he yelled back, not sure what to believe anymore. “you can whoever you want… why me ?” he subtly asked, not daring to look you in the eyes.

“Why not,” you argue with a pour on your lips. “You’re cute, that’s it. You’re caring with your friends and your mom – I overheard you on the phone once.” your ramble started to get a bit creepy, so instead you got close to him and bump into his shoulder. “Even if you don’t like me yet, we could at least, I don’t know, hang out from time to time.”

A sweet smile formed on his lips. “I’d love to.”

let me know if you liked it !

[popatochisssp]

hiya poppy! i dunno if this is a silly ask but I’m a bit curious… do any of your unique boys have weird condiment obsessions or comfort foods?? tale sans has ketchup, swap paps has honey and so on, i assume that the rest of hoodie gang (what i loosely refer to the lazy brother role as) has the same weird habits. mostly curious about ash, brick, ell, nemo, sunny!

(Anon, I know you did not initially send this on anon, and you included an Art with it that I enjoyed very much, which is why I was so very upset to somehow lose this ask??? Luckily, tumblr cannot eat my emails so I still had the text saved and can at least answer the question, but if you wanted to re-add your art to this post, I would like that very much 😭)

I did do a favorite condiments/toppings post ages ago, when I only had ten of these losers, so it might be about time to update it!

Sans (Undertale): Yeah, it’s ketchup, he likes it on anything and everything, and he will drink it straight ‘cause he’s a terrible gremlin man. He started doing it as a joke to freak people out but it grew on him and, uh… well, now, he just likes it. This is his life and he has no shame.

Papyrus (Undertale): Nothing so uncouth as his brother, ugh! …But… on occasion…very rare occasion, mind you! He…has been known to sneak a spoonful of peanut butter straight out of the jar… Just the one, though, he never double-dips! He’s not disgusting!

Sky (Underswap Sans): As far as condiments go, he likes relish! He won’t eat it straight, if anyone’s looking, but who doesn’t like a hearty helping of it plopped onto a hot dog? Or a hot cat, he’s not picky! Spicy or sour is equally fine, just not the biggest fan of sweet.

Paps (Underswap Papyrus): Nothing new here, he likes honey a whole heck of a lot, though mostly just to sweeten his tea… or in a candy-bar, or drizzled on a pastry or something… Damn, he’s making himself hungry just thinking about it…

Jasper (Underfell Sans): Mustard, obviously, anything else on a ‘dog is the blatantly incorrect choice. Also pretty good on a sandwich, but you’re never gonna catch him guzzling it straight from the bottle. He never tried to pull that prank like his classic counterpart did, and never got accidentally hooked on his own condiment of choice. Ha!

Pyre (Underfell Papyrus): He’ll deny it to his dusting breath, but you cannot bring Nutella or any kind of chocolate spread into the house and expect it to still be there when you come back. He will eat it directly out of the jar, the whole thing, especially if he’s had a hard day or something. You’ll just never find the evidence. He’ll do it with ice cream, too, so y’know…keep an eye on your groceries.

Mal (Swapfell Sans): He likes spicy flavors so any kind of salsa or hot sauce is a favorite for him. His tolerance is damn good, so he can–and will–pull a Power Move and drink it straight if he feels the situation calls for it, but he generally just likes it on his food, like a normal person. Don’t test him, though, remember the freak that lies just beneath the surface…

Rus (Swapfell Papyrus): Can he pick literally everything sweet ever? No? Okay, then it’s probably maple syrup that he likes best, he’ll have it on waffles, in candy, or even to sweeten up some normally more savory foods like beans or ham or just about anything else you can think of. …Not that he, uh…really knows how to cook, himself… But he was a picky eater as a kid and syrup was easy to get in Snowdin, so it was usually used as a bribe to get him to eat A Thing He Didn’t Like and it’s a bit of a comfort-flavor for him now!

Slate (Horrortale Sans): For obvious reasons… he’s not picky. He’ll eat anything– burnt, flavorless, or even a little moldy, just drown it in ketchup and it’s good as gold. Like his classic counterpart, he’ll drink it straight, but surprisingly he’s also developed a bit of a fondness for mayo, mostly post-surfacing. It is not an unusual occurrence to find him just eating it straight, especially if he’s managed to get ahold of one of those squeeze-tubes that make it even easier. You might think he’s trying to pull a vanilla-pudding-in-the-mayo-jar prank but…alas, it’s real.

Papy (Horrortale Papyrus): He’s in the health field and knows in great detail why this is a thing he should probably not be doing but… You know those tubs of whipped topping…? Yeah, he’ll eat that with a spoon until the, “Oh My God, Why Am I Doing This” thoughts hit him and he shamefully puts it back. It would easily be one of the most mortifying moments of his life if you ever caught him at it, standing in front of the fridge in the dark at two in the morning like an oil-and-corn-syrup-loving cryptid.

Ash (Undergloom Sans): Worcestershire sauce is probably his top choice of condiment. His brother’s cooking has spoiled him a little bit, so plain old ketchup doesn’t quite cut it for him anymore. A lot of his favorite foods are hearty, heavy, meaty or all of the above, and Worcestershire can go on and in most of them! Now, will he drink it? No, probably not… but if there’s any on his plate that he can sop up with a bread roll and eat, he absolutely will be doing so.

Yrus (Undergloom Papyrus): No one can know. Whenever he buys those little jars of maraschino cherries, it’s for garnishing drinks or desserts or whatever else he might need them for, and when he cleans out the jars to reuse them for other things, there’s no reason to wonder what he’s done with the juice, probably dumped it, right? Well…no. He drinks it, straight from the jar, like some kind of fucked up, bookish skeleton hummingbird. Don’t judge him!!!

Brick (Horrorfell Sans): Whether he acknowledges it or not, he’s living a bit more of the high life these days than he used to, and with that tends to come some upgrades in the little things around you. In his case, that means he still prefers mustard over any condiment, but it’s Dijon mustard specifically that he tends to reach for—a bit fancier, more of a bite to it, and now the plain yellow stuff feels like a downgrade. He’ll eat whatever, he’s not picky, but y’know…if given the option…

King (Horrorfell Papyrus): He has no such vices…that he’ll admit to. But neither will he back down or show even a hint of shame if you catch him squirting a bottle of chocolate syrup straight into his shaker full of milk that you may have previously assumed was a protein or workout shake of some kind. As for whether or not he’ll drink the syrup straight… You’ll never catch him. Don’t even try.

Merc (Horrorswap Sans): Probably sweet-and-sour sauce for him, there’s a lot of different things to use it on and he likes the versatility of that. To the point that he’d drink it? Yes, sure, boldly so, in front of anyone, admittedly mostly as a bit for the reaction but hey, it’s tangy and delicious, no regrets!

Ell (Horrorswap Papyrus): His favorite topping to snack on is also a backfired prank. His brother is a baker and buys more new and unnecessary kinds of sprinkles than anyone could ever reasonably need, and he may’ve stolen a bottle or two to see how long it’d take him to notice. …And then maybe…grazed on them a little bit one time, when he was hungry and busy and didn’t want to get up. In his defense…they’re crunchy?

Pitch (Horrorswapfell Sans): He’s still all about the hot sauce, baby! Buffalo sauce in particular is probably the favorite, perfect for wings, but he’ll branch out if there are options—especially if they’re advertised as the hottest around, or put to him as a challenge. He’s a defiant thrill-seeker at heart, he all but has to drink it straight from the bottle if someone thinks so highly of it.

Nemo (Horrorswapfell Papyrus): He’s a caramel fiend. He pretty much always has been, in its candy form, but pretty much as soon as he started cooking for himself and realized how easy it was to just put a few things in a pan and have caramel sauce? It was over for him, he does it all the time now. It’s lucky if it actually makes it on top of anything because he’ll eat it by the spoonful almost straight out of the pan, but if he doesn’t, it’s still a perfectly good snack after it’s cooled a little. Not even store-bought jars last any longer in his house.

Sunny (Gastertale Sans): He loves a good steak sauce, obviously for steaks but on pretty much anything—burgers, sandwiches, jazzing up some veggies, what can’t it do? He’s not quite at the level of drinking it straight from the bottle, but it can seem close some days when he’s really slathering it on.

Aster (Gastertale Papyrus): Definitely some kind of weakness for tahini. It makes such a good dip, or spread, or partner with jam on toast to make a not-quite-pb&j, so even though he doesn’t usually find it on a menu, he tends to keep some around the house. Would he eat it all by itself? Has he? Well, what’s the fun in just telling? He has some kind of mystique to maintain, you know…

Spectr (Transcendtale Sans): Ketchup is super nostalgic for him, a very comforting flavor. He’ll totally drink it straight or eat it out of a packet just for the taste of it, even if he doesn’t have the hunger to actually eat it with something. He’s also gotten a bit more adventurous, though, and is a lot more open to trying different varieties of ketchup, and those trendy combos with other things—spicy ketchup, mayochup, thousand island—if it’s available, he’ll try it, and he’s slowly amassing a personal catalogue of favorites tried all across the globe.

PapAIrus (Transcendtale Papyrus): He doesn’t eat. He doesn’t need to and he’s not actually capable of it, so… It’s fine, he really doesn’t miss it or think about it much. …But whenever he gets around to having that back-up body made, probably the first thing he’d eat with it is a big jar of peanut butter, the crunchy kind.

Xanth (Ascendswap Sans): Having almost completely done away with any sense of shame and a large amount of awareness of social norms, he is no longer shy of straight-up eating relish. He is also not shy of going for maximum sour, vinegary flavor and will fully sip pickle juice out of the jar. He is living his truth and we are all so proud.

Piper (Ascendswap Papyrus): Did I call somebody else a hummingbird? I should’ve saved it for him, he’s graduated from honey to something a bit more concentrated—agave syrup. He follows the trends a little more attentively these days, gave it a try when he heard about it as a honey-substitute, and that was…kind of it. His sweet tooth is his weakness, and he doesn’t even mind paying a little more for the ethically sourced brands, he’s too hooked on that super-sweet sweetness for his tea and candy and pastries and whatever else he can find to drizzle it on.

Carmine (Underfell Fruition Sans): He’s a cool ranch guy, all the way. As a dip, it’s the perfect accompaniment to anything crunchy and he’ll freely load up his carrots and celery and chips with it. As a proper condiment, it’ll go on anything from pizza to burgs, and while he’s definitely taken a swig once, just to try it, he probably likes it better as supporting cast than the lead act.

Tank (Underfell Fruition Papyrus): He was ruined the first time a jar of marshmallow fluff came into his possession. He didn’t get much in the way of sweets growing up, so pure, soft, sticky sugar…? He has no defense against it. He’ll actually need to be told you can make things with it if you want to, because eating it with a spoon is all he knows and that’ll be a beautiful brave new world for him.

Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans): He’s a barbecue sauce fan. His preference is for the smoky or spicy kind, but even the sweeter stuff has its charm and he hasn’t really eaten a kind he hasn’t somewhat liked. He won’t take a swig from a bottle, but if he ever comes across a brand he really likes, he may go out of his way to buy some to take home, and that's a huge compliment from him.

Hunter (Swapfell Fruition Papryus): Butterscotch is his thing, actually. He likes it as a topping in sauces and cocktails quite a bit, but if there happen to be any butterscotch chips around, that’s more to his preference. Be wary trying to get any baking with them done around him, he actually prefers them outside of the baked goods and he’s not above petty theft. In fact, he’s below it, far below it, a little quick yoinkery is the least of what he’ll do to get something he wants.

Kohl (Descendtale Sans): He’s a soy sauce kind of guy. It’s salty, savory, and strong, a little goes a long way even to overpower a flavor you’re sick of, but you have to eat because it’s nearly all there is… Yeah, he got a little hooked on it when monsters started eating the echo flower root, and it stuck around as a new favorite after. Would he drink it? Not unless it would be really funny, he has limited room in the tank these days and would prefer to use it for food he likes, not on a bit.

Bram (Descendtale Papyrus):  Nothing beats a nice crème anglaise drizzled over something sweet… Of course, he’s not much of a cook so mostly he just waits for vanilla ice cream to melt and that’s basically the same thing, right? Ice cream soup is delicious and also a perfectly valid topping for all manner of deliciousness, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

And as for comfort foods…well that’s a whole other post to update! ;)

[writergeekrhw]

There's a Reddit screenshot going around (including here on Tumblr, Wil Wheaton reblogged a post about it) where a Trump supporter got whiny that at the Vegas convention this year, a couple of the Voyager actors were asked about their political beliefs by a fan, and they answered by praising Kamala Harris and condemning Trump and Trump supporters. This person on Reddit (not the same person who asked the politics question at the con) was upset because they felt they and their friends "learned that 7 of 9 hates them" and they were roundly made fun of for expecting that a Star Trek convention wouldn't contain anything that contradicts their MAGA beliefs given that, you know, it's such a progressive show where the future is LITERALLY luxury space communism, and where it has always spoken in favor of diversity.

This led to a bigger discussion about the place of politics in fandom spaces. I personally would understand not talking about electoral politics if we were in a normal election, like Obama vs. Romney, even though the Republicans even then advocated a lot of things that I think is at odds with what Star Trek says. But I don't think people who voted for them were necessarily hateful. I don't think they are people I can't share fandom with, you know? We can be friends. But I think with Trump people are hateful, or at the very least they're okay with hate, given how often he spews it and encourages it in his supporters. I'm a lesbian and I absolutely do feel less safe around people who wear MAGA hats in a way I just didn't around Romney or McCain or Bush supporters. My opinion personally is that it's probably a mistake and what got us to where we are today (sending this in late September 2024, where Harris is slightly up in the polls but it's still very close and Republicans are trying to ratfuck the vote in a bunch of swing states - maybe by the time you answer, the election will be over and we'll know?) that we didn't do enough to recognize that Trump support is either bigotry, or support for bigotry, in a way that should be socially unacceptable and treated as such. That we should have deployed more social shaming over it, especially in places that should be understood to be safe spaces for diverse groups of people, like the fandom of a series like Star Trek.

I was wondering what you thought about this topic. Personally, while I don't think American electoral politics need to be in every aspect of a convention, finding out that actors who played characters I like, writers who wrote shows I love, etc. are supportive of my basic civil rights, not just in broad platitudes but also in how they vote, is really heartening and makes me feel more "welcomed" in fandom. It makes me feel safer there. And the fact that Trump supporters feel excluded also makes it a safer space IMO, because I don't feel safe around those people. I have Republican friends - but none of them who have voted for Trump.

I commented on that while I was still on Xitter. I honestly worry Trump may pose an existential threat to our democracy. I think others feel similarly. I suspect Jeri Ryan, who's seen the rot inside the GOP firsthand, has particularly strong feelings about that as well. So it's no surprise she chose to speak out before the election. And it's certainly her right.

I think it's a bit silly for fans of a franchise that has a strong progressive POV to feel alienated when the artists involved in said franchise embrace its philosophy and choose to take a stand for it.

I worry for us all over the next four years, but the voters have spoken. We'll see how it goes.

[imababblekat]

Delirium?

@lil-hun-bun​ , “Raph x fem!Reader where he's taking care of her because she's sick and they end up confessing their feelings for each other, perhaps?”

~xXx~

All it took was one word, and the red cladded ninja turtle was scaling across rooftops to your place of residence. Sick. That’s what you had texted him after rejecting his call to hang out. It had him notably concerned, as there had been times when even if you had a small cough you’d still at the very least enter a video chat with him. However, no interaction at all was very unlike you. 

Raphael did his best to conceal his racing thoughts, picking the lock on your window before making his way in. He couldn’t quite understand why he was so worried to begin with. It wasn’t like you were in the hospital or anything else of a more serious level. Part of him was actually quite irritated by the his fretful emotions. Not at you of course, more of what you seemed to do him lately. He’d never been this concerned over something so silly before. Even when one of his brothers or April would come down with a nasty cold, he’d just offer if they needed something from the store and leave it at that. In fact, in most cases he’d leave things to Donnie, unless it was said terrapin who had been ill. Yet when he’d received your message, the thought to ask Donnie or give his brother the heads up, didn’t even cross his mind. 

What was it about you in particular that made Raph of all people go out of his way, just by one simple text message? 

The answer had struck him when, after giving you a quick heads up to his presence, he entered your room to find you in an unsightly state, his heart dropping in his plated chest.

Across the room, snuggled under a pile of blankets and surrounded by tissues, you lay as pale as your sheets and covered in sweat like on a hot summer afternoon. The weakness in just lifting your head to peer over at the larger turtle and the croak in your voice had Raph’s heart strings tugged. 

“Raph? What are you doing here?”

It wasn’t even a second after finishing your question that you fell into a fit of coughs, and Raphael was quick to make his way to your beside, taking off and opening the small backpack he’d brought with him. Inside were bottles of water and multiple types of medicine he’d dumped in his rush to get to you.

“What da ya think? You don’t answer my call, send me a one worded text with no further explanation, and expect me to not show up?”

You gingerly reached for a water bottle he’d opened and offered you, sitting up as best you could to take a few sips and completely unware at Raph’s resistance to assist you. 

“To be honest, I would have expected Donnie, but you’re a nice surprise.”

Raph raised a brow ridge, sitting at your feet, the bed dipping with his weight and you’re feet resting against his thigh beneath the blankets.

“I’m not sure how to take that, so I choose to take it as a compliment.”

You giggled at his scowling face, eyes crinkling in the corner. Man, even when bed ridden, Raphael couldn’t deny the way you caused a light flutter of butterflies in his stomach. However, the sweet moment hadn’t lasted long when you suddenly erupted into another, heavier fit of coughs. Seeing you turn over to your side, nearly dropping and spilling the water in your hand had he’d not rushed to grab it for you with his quick reflexes, Raph felt a newfound type of panic.

“Hey, don’t go dyin on me now, doll. Tell me what I can do.”

His voice was softer than usual, you almost hadn’t heard him, but you did, and could just about feel the deep worriment dripping from each word. 

“Got any cough meds in that mystery bag of yours?”, you asked, laying back against your pillows, head pounding and body sore.

There was a minute of rummaging beside you, when your normally brutish friend procured a plastic bottle with red liquid within. 

“Um, I’ve got this?”

You took a peak, too tired to sit up again.

“Cough syrup. That’ll work.”

Raphael said nothing in reply, simply working to get the lid off and pour the heavy cherry smelling liquid into the small cup it came with. No words were spoken or asked, as a large hand, one usually so fierce had cradled and lifted your head with the upmost care and gentleness. Raph watched as you slurped down the cough syrup, cringing at the sickly gag you let out once finished, before just as gently resting your head back down against your pillow.

“Need anythin’ else?”, he questioned, hand resting on the dip of your side as you slowly rolled over to face him.

“Yeah.”, you mumbled, snuggling into your covers but keeping your gaze tiredly focused on his, “For you to know I mean it.”

A small chuckle left Raph’s beautiful lips.

“Mean what?”

“What I said earlier.”, you murmured, reaching a shaky hand from your covers to reach for the wrapped hand resting by your pillow. 

Even in such a weak state, the light caresses you made across Raphaels large hand was enough to cause his heart to skip a beat. He looked to the side, suddenly feeling pressure under your gaze, his cheeks tinting ever so lightly.

“Pfft, sure. You’re delirious.”

“Raphael.”

The full call of his name, as well as the light squeeze of his hand by your much smaller one, was enough to convince the ninja turtle to take a chance and look your way. Despite the bags under your exhausted eyes and the strands of hair sticking to your sweat clad face, you somehow managed to convey every bit of seriousness and truth to your next words.

“Why is me enjoying having you here instead of anyone else that unbelievable? You’re my closest friend. You know how much like being around you. . .how much I like you.”

The last words were said with your cheeks flushing a lovely red hue, and while you knew Raph was aware of the true cause, maybe, just maybe it could pass as due to being sick. Gently shaking your head, pushing aside the anxiousness in your own chest, you looked back up to offer a silent Raphael a gentle smile.

“And I’m not delirious.”, you reached up to gentle boop his nose. 

Raph grasped your hand in his, but didn’t release it as he had started to copy the same soothing motions you had done with his hand a little earlier. His heart felt so full. Just as you caused him to fret so much over a single worded text, only you could make his heart do ninja flips while looking like the plague. Honestly, that somehow made him even more fond of you. Just like all those times you had gone out of your way to care for him, a mutant turtle who people only saw as a burly ball of anger and furry. Perhaps those times of your unique kindness towards him was also why he’d go out of his way to care for you in this moment as opposed to how he would for anyone else. 

Maneuvering your hand, Raphael turned his face ever so slightly to place his lips softly against your palm, the feeling of a chaste kiss being left there as he spoke.

“Yah, I know, doll.”

~xXx~

[mirisss]

Enhypen reaction to their gf's solo debut

The New Kard part 2, part 1 can be found ~ here ~

Pairing: Enhypen OT7 x idol! (Y/n)

Wordcount ≈ 1.1k

Warnings: People sending some hate to (Y/n), a tiny bit of angst but mostly fluff

Summary: In a world where the Kard we know today doesn’t exist, a new Kard is created. “The new Kard” = (Y/n) - 02 liner dating Enhypen, Keeho (P1harmony), Ricky (ZB1), & Yunjin (Lesserafim). After The New Kard made their debut with Cake, the promotions for the song were over. However, (Y/n) still had much to do as she prepared for her solo debut. 

Authors note: Thank you for the request! I hope you enjoy it even if I couldn’t fulfill everything in your request. 

Request by 🍮 - anon

Please reblog! 

Third Person POV

The New Kard’s debut was quite a success. Everyone was talking about it. The MV received a lot of views and the rookie group even got a win on one of the music shows. Thousands of videos went viral of moments where the group hung out, performed, or joked around on variety shows. (Y/n) became particularly popular, netizens loving her stage presence and personality. Her group and her boyfriends were all so happy about their successful debut. 

Once promotions were over for Cake, the company booked a meeting with (Y/n), telling her that she would be making her solo debut after they saw how popular she was. (Y/n) was incredibly happy, she decided that it should come as a surprise for everyone, they wouldn’t find out until the info was posted. (Y/n)’s groupmates Keeho, Yunjin, and Ricky were all busy working as MCs or acting in a drama. Enhypen was busy preparing and then promoting their newest album, Dark Blood with the title track Bite Me. 

(Y/n) was working hard and tried her best to hide the fact that she was preparing for her solo debut. Her title track was just her style, she loved it. The styling was top-tier, the MV shooting had been a lot of fun, and she truly hoped the song would be a hit. Her friends and boyfriends were so busy with their own work that they missed the post announcing that (Y/n) would be debuting as a soloist in 3 weeks. Her debut album became one of the most-bought debut albums of all time. The fans seemed super excited for (Y/n). 

The day of her debut was finally here, (Y/n)’s MV was just posted, and thousands of views rolled in within seconds. It wasn’t until that day when the MV was released, that Enhypen found out that their girlfriend was debuting as a soloist, or well she now was a soloist as well. They watched the MV, mesmerized by her dance moves and her beautiful voice. The second it was over they called (Y/n), who answered, expecting them to have found out by now. “(Y/n)! You’re a soloist now!?! Why didn’t you tell us?” Jake along with Sunoo exclaimed loudly. “Surprise!” (Y/n) chuckled, nervous to hear their opinions. “Can you come over or should we come to you?” Heesung asked, wanting to congratulate her in person and not just over the phone. “Uh, hold on,” They heard a low mumble in the background, probably (Y/n) asking her manager when she could meet with her boyfriends. “I can head over to your place in 2 hours,” “See you then, miss you, love you” Sunghoon began saying goodbye, and as he came to the last part all the boys joined in. 

2 hours later, (Y/n) was knocking on Enhypen’s door. Jungwon opened the door, a silly smile on his face as he basically threw himself on the girl, hugging her tightly. “(Y/n)!” Jay shouted happily from the living room. Jungwon released her from his hug after a minute, allowing her to step inside and close the door, they walked over to the living room. The other six boys stood there, with a cake and a banner that read “Congratulations honey,” Which they all also said once (Y/n) had noticed the banner behind them. “Thank you,” Everyone was smiling as love-sick teenagers as they sat down together, eating some of the cake and talking about everything. The boys told (Y/n) about everything they loved about the song, the MV, and the dance. 

A little later, (Y/n) opened up her Instagram, checking some of the comments people were posting under her latest post, the one with the announcement of the MV’s release. Many comments complimented her and congratulated her for her fast solo debut. However, her happy feelings and smile soon disappeared as she found hundreds of people writing their dismay and dislike of the song and the choreography, saying that (Y/n) should have done better. Her heart fell as she found people writing that they regretted buying her album. Niki noticed the way (Y/n)’s smile disappeared, he scooted closer to her, throwing an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. He glanced down at her phone, finding her reading comments. “Hey, what’s wrong?” The others noticed the scene once they heard the maknae’s voice. 

“People are disappointed, I should have done better,” “Oh darling, no, you were amazing, they’re just being haters for the hell of it,” Jay said, also coming over to comfort (Y/n). “They hate the song and/or the choreo, saying it’s not my style and it was just a waste of money for the company,” “Do you like the song?” Jungwon asked, “Of course, I love it,” “Do you like the choreo?” He then asked, “Yes, it’s something I’ve dreamt of doing,” “That’s all that matters then. It wasn’t a waste of money or a disappointment if you love it, then it was a success,” “Wonnie,” “Hey, look, we’re so proud of you, your members are so proud too! And real fans will love it too!” Sunoo said, giving (Y/n) a bright smile, his eyes crinkling up along with it, something (Y/n) loved about Sunoo, his true smile was cute and sweet. 

“Please teach me the dance? I want to be prepared for the dance challenges for tiktok,” Niki said, Sunghoon and Jake immediately stood up to learn the dance too. No matter what happens, as long as (Y/n) has Enhypen, she will continue to smile and be strong. Within seconds of standing up and trying to teach the boys her choreo, she was smiling and laughing. Completely forgetting about the hate she had received. 

[meiandue]

hello !! can i request for newjeans where they react to their s/o looking good in glasses and their s/o being popular due to their nerdy look?

will do !! thanks anon for this request, enjoy~

notes : this will be in high school au :)

hcs and scenarios ahead !!

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

— MINJI

the type of person to judge you a bit but soon to realize that you look even good with your glasses on. casually stealing glances from you during class, and one time in gym that a sport where a ball is included, you had to take off your glasses and you placed them by minji's seat. and almost everyone didn't seem to know you because you had your glasses off. and now you're known as 'pretty with glasses on, even prettier when off.' she's like, shocked, when you became popular because of it. she doesn't mind but the thought of someone crushing on you has been invading her mind recently.

— "hey, you look so funny." minji laughs, she hands you your glasses back after pe. and the both of you are outside, in the courtyard.

"how so? i just took off my glasses." you ask, rubbing your eyes before putting your glasses back on. minji doesn't answer as she stares at you, taking her time to admire your eyes.

"they're definitely right." she mumbles out of nowhere. and you don't know what she's referring to, you just spoke to each other just now, after all.

"what do you mean?" you tilt your head.

"that you look prettier with your glasses off."

— HANNI

doesn't mind at all! whether your glasses are on or not, she still sees you as her wonderful lover. but actually cares for yout eyesight, thought of something silly where you mistaken her as haerin. she just loves you and cares for you, but since you're getting a lot more attention and popularity, she was just happy for you. but still quite shocked because you weren't that popular when you first met. she loves to borrow your glasses, but she doesn't wear it over her eyes, but over her head. she has a lot of pictures of it on. and she sends them to you whenever she has one.

— "i love your glasses so much. it suits you the best." hanni spoke while sitting on her seat during break time.

"really? no one compliments my glasses, that's a first." you adjust your glasses so it doesn't fall off. hanni turns to you with a confused face.

"they don't?" she asks. not believing what you just said. how could they not compliment your glasses if you're this popular now?

"would you be mad if i tell you that they've been complimenting my face and not my glasses?" you ask, it's pretty much of what's happening everyday in school.

she shakes her head, "no, not at all. i actually agree with them." she smiles and nudged you playfully.

— DANIELLE

she has one herself! (i just see her with glasses in this high school au 😭). would ask you to have matching glasses colors and stickers. she prefers your plain glasses though, dani jokes about being harry potter when she brought a stick with her so randomly when you both went to see more glasses designs 😭 she finds you cool like the others, even if with your nerdy look, she'll love you no matter what <3 she's not against with you being popular around the school, but like minji, she worries about other people admiring you.

— "hello my little intelligent bird~" danielle hops on your side while you were checking some books in the library.

"bird?" you ask, setting what you're doing aside and turned to look at her.

"just saw a picture of a bird in instagram wearing the same glasses as you! but i prefer your version, it's much cuter." danielle shares with such joy on her face.

"i'm not a bird." you chuckled.

"you are, let me give an example. i tried to stop you from studying, but all you did was say, 'wait, wait, wait!'." danielle explains, she looks at you with an expecting face that you don't get it.

"that doesn't make any sense."

she shakes her head and laughs, "what does a bird say? 'wait, wait, wait!'." (please tell me you get it 😭)

— HAERIN

expect silence from this girl. she's just staring at you 😭 a wave of wows exit her mouth while she watches you work on a project. telling you how much your glasses looks good on you while you're busy and focused. she was honestly shocked when she found out that your source of popularity was from your glasses. she always believed that your pretty face was the cause of their attraction. since she sits far away from your during class, she seriously took this opportunity to stare at you the whole time.

— "haerin, you're staring again." you groan, you've been talking to her for a while now during lunch break.

"sorry, you're just so undeniably pretty." she admits with a sly smile.

"seriously?"

"seriously." she repeats, she raises her hand that you thought was gonna cup your cheek. but instead, she snatched your glasses and wore it.

"haerin." you sighed, she's been stealing your glasses whenever she can so she can use it for silly reasons.

"i love it. but i love you more." she says and pecks your cheek.

— HYEIN

like haerin, she likes to steal your glasses and take pictures with it just like hanni. one time she used it, she faked being dizzy so she can fall in your arms and pretend as a princess 😭 loves your popularity, she's popular herself. being the tall girl crush of the campus and dating the hot nerd. but feels jealous when her friends talk about you so much when it's her responsibility to brag about you. :( and absolutely loves to BRAG about you.

— "i love the glasses." said some girls passing by you.

hyein eyes them as they walk away, rolling her eyes in response.

"they don't know i only get to say that to you." hyein crosses her arms and pouts.

"forget about them, they don't have me but you do." you smile.

"i know. but still." hyein huffs and rolls her eyes at the girl's once again.

"there's nothing to worry about. you're much better than them." you reassure.

"i also and always love the glasses. by the way." she adds cutely.

[morgana-larkin]

just saw that u r now accepting chessy prompts, ofc I'm gonna go send another crazy, SILLY one [😭] anw, here it goes 🫴🏼✨

So Annie and Hallie has a new personal music teacher, she's giving golden retriever vibes and a type of go with the flow person. Reason why the twins immediately liked and picked her as their music teacher. She goes to the twins' house every weekend for their piano lessons. First time she arrived in the house, it seemed like no one is there yet few doors are open so she let herself in to search. However, Chessy who wasn't informed about the teacher's arrival immediately sprung into the action because of the unknown woman who looks like sneaking around. The music teacher is about to go back when she bumped into someone [or rather been tackled to the floor by someone] and then the person started questioning her a strictly about who is she, why's is she there, what's she's doing inside and the likes. Turns out, chessy thought that r is a thief and r is like "really?! A thief?! I'm literally wearing a floral dress and I thought I look cute today :( ... yet you thought I'm a thief?!" and then chessy was like "yeah, you are cute but hey, looks can be deceiving, so now tell me who are you and why are you here?!! " r is about to answer when the twins and the parents gets inside because of the commotion and rather became flabbergasted especially the twins when they saw their dear nanny, chessy tackling their dear music teacher into the floor, altho shocked seeing the scene, the twins looked at each other with a knowing smile

Hi! I really loved this prompt you sent in for Chessy and I’ll be honest. I don’t know what the fuck happened. I started writing it and then all of a sudden I’m at 5000 words and the story gets completely carried away. Anyway as always, not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: I’m still accepting Melissa and Chessy prompts! Send whatever you want, I do it all! Fluff, angst, smut. Although if you request a not happy ending then I will do that but then write a part 2 with a happy ending lol. This is my first Chessy prompt so let me know what you think!

Music Of Her Heart

Warnings: just lots of doubting, reader gets sick

Words: 5.15k

Annie and Hallie are 12 now, 4 months from turning 13, and have recently gotten into the piano and wanted piano lessons. Their parents immediately agreed and started looking at people who give at home piano lessons. They found you and met with you and the twins immediately liked you.

So that Saturday at noon you went over to their house for their first piano lesson. You’ll be giving a 4 hour lesson instead of 2 since there’s 2 of them. You went up the path from the driveway to their house and saw the door was open. You stopped at the door and said a “hello” but no one answered. You stepped in the house and looked around for someone but didn’t see anyone. You were walking backwards more into the house and looked at the house. When you turned around to look one more time before leaving you found yourself getting tackled to the ground with a “ahh” from you.

“Who are you and why are you here, you thief?” The person asked you and straddled your lap and pinned your arms to the floor. You look at them shocked.

“Really?! A thief?! I’m literally wearing a floral dress and I thought I looked cute today.” You say and you frown. “Yet you thought I’m a thief?!” She looks at you surprised of your answer, not expecting that at all.

“Yeah, you are cute but hey, looks can be deceiving. So now tell me who you are and why are you here?!!” She asks you.

You open your mouth to respond but then you hear footsteps running inside. You look and see the twins and their parents running inside upside down since you’re still pinned to the floor.

“What’s going on here?!? We heard yelling.” Nick said.

“Hey guys, I’m here for your piano lesson and got tackled by this strong but beautiful woman.” You said cheerfully. The twins looked at each then looked at Cheesy pinning you down and you calling her beautiful and they grin.

“Piano lesson?” Chessy says.

“Ya it’s alright Chessy, she’s our piano teacher and here for our lesson, sorry we forgot to tell you.” Hallie says.

You look up at her. “Chessy? Oh you’re the nanny! Hi, I’m y/n, I would reach out to shake your hand but they’re kinda pinned down at the moment.” You tell her and she lets go of your hands, gets off of you and helps you up.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” Chessy says, a bit embarrassed, you wave her off.

“Don’t worry about it, good to know this house has a great bodyguard.” You tell her with a wink and her cheeks go pink. You see her wearing beige khakis, a pushed in pink shirt and a denim sweater. “You look cute too by the way.” You tell her and she looks down at the ground a bit embarrassed and puts her hands in her pockets.

“Maybe I could make you a snack or something, as an apology.” She offers and you could tell she feels guilty.

“Oh you don’t have to make me anything, I already told you it’s fine. It’s honestly been awhile since I was pinned down by a woman.” You say and she looks right up at you. “But if you really want to make me something then I won’t say no.” You tell her and she smiles. You smile back at her then turn to the twins and clap your hands once. “So where’s your piano?” You ask them. They smiled at you then run up and grabbed one hand each and pull you to the living room with a ‘woah’ from you.

“Careful girls, don’t want to hurt her.” Elizabeth yelled after them. Chessy looked at the parents with an airy “ok” then went to the kitchen to make a snack for you and the twins.

An hour later, you were trying to teach Hallie the first part of ‘Twinkle twinkle little star’, surprisingly Annie got it almost right away but Hallie was struggling a bit. You were sitting beside Hallie on the piano bench and she was finishing the first part of the song when Chessy came into the room. As soon as Hallie finished, both of them asked for a small break to which you gave them. They both ran off and you were alone with Chessy.

“Hey Chessy.” You said to her happily.

“Uh hi” she replied nervously. You look at her with a confused expression.

“Do I make you nervous? Cause if I do then I’m sorry, I don’t want you to feel nervous around me.” You told her.

“No no it’s not anything you did.” She said and you saw the food in her hand.

“Is this still about earlier? Cause I already told you that it’s alright, I’m not mad or annoyed about it at all. I never was. More offended that you thought I was a thief in a dress. Cause honestly if you were a thief, it probably wouldn’t be the best to wear a dress.” You said and she laughed.

“Maybe you could have been the pretty distraction, who knows.” She told you and walked over to you a bit.

“You think I’m pretty?” You asked with a quirked eyebrow and her cheeks turned pink.

“I… I- I brought food.” She said, changing the subject.

“I’m sure the twins will appreciate that when they come back.” You told her with a smile.

“One of them is for you.” She said and you looked confused.

“You brought me food?”

“I told you I would.”

“I guess you did.” You tell her with a giggle. She still looks nervous so you did something that might ease her. “Come here.” You told her and patted the spot next to you on the bench. She looked stunned but then put the plates on a small coffee table near the couch and joined you. “Have you ever played piano before?” You asked and she shook her head. “Well try this.” You said to her and played a few notes. She looked at the piano and didn’t know where to start and you pointed to the first key to play. She tried to repeat it but she kept messing up. “Here.” You said and got up and went behind her and placed your hand on top of hers. You moved her hand over the keys to play and you felt her start to shake. “Are you ok?” You asked her. “I feel you shaking.”

“Ya I’m alright. Just, I heard you playing so beautifully and here I am messing up a few notes.” She said with a laugh.

You snorted. “Chessy, it took me years to be where I am now. I started the same way, messing up a few notes. But then I got better.”

“Can you play a song? Just any song, just to hear you play more.” She asked nervously and you nodded.

“Sure.” You said to her and started to play a song that you thought she might know. She smiled as you started to play and sing the song ‘my heart will go on’ by Celine Dion. “Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that the heart does go on.” You sang and she looks at you with soft eyes and a warm smile. Everyone else seemed to hear and walked in to watch as well. Nick and Elizabeth came in from the backyard and the twins came from somewhere in the house. Not only did they watch you play but they saw how Chessy was looking at you and they knew that their nanny has a crush. “You are safe in my heart and my heart will go on and on.” You finish and look at her with a smile only to find her already looking at you, neither one of you noticed the other people in the room.

Not until the twins started clapping and startled both of you. “I guess you’d want to continue your lesson.” Chessy said to you and the twins while getting up off the bench.

“I’m not sure, you looked pretty comfortable there.” Hallie said and Annie grinned beside her. Chessy rolled her eyes at them. “I made you guys some snacks.” Chessy said and showed the plates.

“Who’s the third plate for?” Annie said.

“The third one is for y/n.” Chessy said and they smiled. “Don’t be saying anything, she’s a guest here.” Chessy said, knowing they were about to say something that might expose her crush. The twins went back to their lesson while Chessy went back to the kitchen to make some tea. “Do you guys want tea?” Chessy asked Nick and Elizabeth.

“No, I'm good.” Nick said and Elizabeth said the same thing before going back outside.

Chessy continued watching you give the twins a piano lesson from the couch, pretending to be reading a book, with her glasses on and everything. You kept looking back at her and every time you do, you see Chessy turning a page. You must have amazing timing, you thought. Every time you look, Chessy notices and turns a page to keep up her pretending.

After 2 hours, the twins asked for another small break and that again leaves you alone with Chessy. You decide to skip a bit to her, the few feet away that she is and lean on the back of the couch, right behind her.

“Whatcha reading?” You ask and she looks back at you then shows you the cover, she was reading the first Harry Potter book. “Ah. That was a good book. Did you hear they’re turning it into a movie?” You ask her and she shook her head. “Ya I heard it’s coming out next year sometime.” You tell her and she smiles.

“Well maybe we could go see it together.” She says before she could stop herself.

“Ya we could.” You tell her. “Do you still work on the weekends?” You ask her.

“Ya, but I get a lot of breaks. Like right now, I’m just reading, but I do have to start making supper in about 30 minutes.” She says and you go around the couch to sit beside her. Chessy places a bookmark, as if she was reading, then faces you. “So what made you become a piano teacher?” She asks you.

“Well I love the piano and always felt like teaching it would be a lot more fun than being in an orchestra or a band or something like that.” You told her. “And I love watching the progress of people, it’s always amazing to watch how happy they get when they make progress.” You add and she smiles. “You’re really pretty when you smile.” You say to her and she quickly frowns and cheeks go pink. “Not that you’re not pretty when you don’t smile, cause you are.” You quickly add, thinking that was the reason for her quick facial expression change. “And, I’ll just stop talking now.” You say.

The twins enter at that moment and you hear Chessy take a breath, you think of relief and you think that maybe she doesn’t like you being close to her or talking to her. And you think back to your conversation and realised that maybe when she said she had to make supper soon, was her telling you to leave her alone to read. On Chessy’s end, she breathed a sigh of relief cause she almost just admitted her crush to you. She has no idea if you even like women, sure you’ve called her pretty and beautiful but it could just be who you are, she wants to get to know you more.

After the lesson was done, Chessy was in the kitchen, finishing up dinner, when you and the twins walked in.

“Hey you two, did you like the lesson?” She asked the twins and they both nodded and grinned, then proceeded to tell her what they learned. She really tried to pay attention to them, but kept staring at you every so often. You were looking at the twins talking and caught Chessy staring at you a couple times. I guess it was your cue to go, you thought. Chessy on the other hand was wondering if you’d stay for dinner. Just then Nick and Elizabeth came into the kitchen.

“Hey everyone, oh you made Chili, how wonderful.” Elizabeth said. “Y/n are you staying for dinner?” She asked you.

“Oh, I should probably get back home now actually.” In truth, you wanted to stay but kept thinking that Chessy didn’t want you there. “But I’ll see you 2 next Saturday.” You told the twins and they all said their goodbye to you.

A week passed by and you came to the house again for another lesson. You were greeted by Elizabeth and yelled at the twins to come down for their lesson. You entered the house and saw Nick on the couch next to the piano and didn’t see Chessy anywhere. You began the lesson and about half an hour in, you hear the front door open and close and someone carrying bags to the kitchen. You carry on with the lesson then see Chessy cleaning up a bit a few minutes later. You continue on to try and ignore her presence since you still think she doesn’t like you, but it’s hard when she looks so good. Her look you think is simple yet beautiful.

The twins asked for breaks a couple of times, and instead of talking to Chessy like you did last time. You continued with the song you were making in your notebook. Chessy noticed the change in you from last week and thought that maybe something happened but didn’t want to pry. Or maybe you were writing something important and that’s why you didn’t talk to her. She got close enough to you to actually see what you were writing without being obvious. You were writing music notes and what looked like a music sheet, were you making your own music?

Once the lesson was over, you did the same thing as last time, pretty much left right away. Chessy didn’t like that she couldn’t talk to you as much but thought maybe next week she could. She was wrong. You did the same thing as last week, and she was starting to miss you, somehow even after only talking to you a hand full of times, she missed talking to you after you stopped talking to her.

On the fourth week she decided to say something. When the twins went to take a break, she approached you where you were writing in your notebook. “I couldn’t help but notice that you’re writing music.” She says to you and you look up at her confused.

“Um ya, I write my own songs here and there. No big deal.” You tell her with a shrug.

“I think it’s cool.” She simply says and you’re wondering why she’s talking to you.

“Well thank you.” You tell her then go back to your notebook. Chessy notices that you basically just tried to block her from conversation but she wants answers.

“Why did you stop talking to me?” She asks and you freeze then look up at her.

“What?” You ask and she explains.

“The first time you were here, you kept talking to me and then all of a sudden you stopped. You still talk to Nick or Elizabeth if you see them but not me. Why’s that?” She says.

“Because you don’t like me.” You tell her with a shrug before going back to your notebook.

Chessy looks at you surprised. She begins to look back at your sudden change in behaviour towards her and when it started and what she could have possibly done to make you think that. But she couldn’t think of anything.

“What makes you think that?” She asks you.

“Because of the way you act towards me. You kept brushing me off that first day so I stopped talking to you. Then you didn’t say anything to me after so I figured I was right to stop talking to you.” You tell her and look up at her surprised face. “It’s ok if you don’t like me. Not everyone does, for some people I seem too happy or energetic.” You tell her and she looks at you confused.

“I never disliked you.” She told you, you don’t really believe her. You think maybe she’s just saying that to be nice. “I’m sorry if you thought that I did. I didn’t mean to.” She told you and you could see she was being genuine. But she never said that she liked you, just that she didn’t dislike you, so you guess that she tolerates you then..? She really confuses you. You don’t really know how to respond to her so you just smile at her. Chessy sees you smile at her for the first time in 3 weeks and that makes her happy again and hope to finally get to know you now. “Did you want to stay for dinner tonight?” She asked you. “Nick and Elizabeth won’t mind, they’re always asking you to join us but you never do.” She tells you.

Chessy always wants you to join as well, she makes a bit extra every time but it always ends up being put into a container for whoever later. She sees the fight you’re having with yourself over the question and she thinks that you really did think that she didn’t like you, then it clicked. She was the reason you never stayed, you thought that she didn’t want you there. Which was the exact opposite, she wanted you there more.

“I would like it if you joined us for dinner tonight.” She told you and you froze.

“Are-are you sure?” You ask and she knew she was right in what you thought.

“Of course. I always make extra in case you decide to join.” She tells you and you look down and blush a bit.

“I just don’t want to inconvenience anyone.” You tell her. She just waves you off.

“Hun, I don’t think you could do that even if you tried.” She tells you and you smile.

“Well alright then, I can stay tonight.” You tell her and she smiles at you.

“Alright then. Do you have any allergies?” She asks and you shake your head. Just then the twins come back. The twins were listening to the entire conversation and hoped you two would talk. They know about their nanny’s crush which is why they usually ask for breaks when Chessy is around the room or not doing anything.

After the lesson the twins get super excited that you’re staying for dinner and run to tell their parents. You are left alone in the kitchen with Chessy.

“Here, you should taste this.” She tells you and holds a spoon with some sort of spaghetti sauce on it. You wrap your mouth around the spoon and taste the sauce as you pull away from the spoon.

“Wow, that’s really good.” You tell her and she beams. You two talk for a couple minutes before the twins and their parents enter.

“Hey, we heard you’re staying for dinner.” Nick says.

“Um ya, if that’s ok with you.” You say to them.

“Of course, you’re always invited.” Elizabeth says. They also caught on to Chessy’s crush and that’s why they always invite you to stay for dinner, so Chessy can spend more time with you and get to talk to you.

At the dinner table, the twins were on the ends of the table, Nick and Elizabeth on one side, you and Chessy on the other. You all dived into the spaghetti that Chessy made and you loved it.

“Omg Chessy, you’re an amazing cook.” You tell her and she blushes.

“Thank you.” She says

“Hey y/n, are you dating someone?” Hallie asks.

“Nope, I’m single.”

“Are you wanting to date?” Annie asks.

“Ya, it’s just hard to date these days, especially if you’re someone like me who doesn’t date men.” You say and Chessy immediately whips her head at you. You’re single and into women??? She almost couldn’t believe it.

“Oh wow, what a coincidence, Chessy is also single. Since she stopped seeing Martin.” Annie says and everyone looks at her.

“Who’s Martin?” You ask her.

“The butler mom had for me, but he switched careers last year.” Annie says.

You think about what she just said, Chessy dated men. Of course, you always have a crush on the straight girls. You were starting to flirt with Chessy but then stopped right there, you didn’t want to make a fool out of yourself.

After dinner you thanked them for letting you stay for dinner and thanked Chessy for the amazing food and then you left.

The next week, you woke up not feeling too great but just thought that your period was gonna start so and it was gonna be a bitch. You showed up at the house for the lesson as usual and Chessy could immediately tell that something was off. You didn’t have your usual excitement behind your words and in your eyes, you still smiled but it seemed more forced right now. She decided to keep a close watch on you today. So she decided to read a book again on the couch while you give the lesson. She knew again you were off when you kept messing up the song. About an hour into the lesson, the twins had a break as usual and you took a deep breath and rubbed your eyes.

“You ok?” Chessy asked from the couch. You turned around to face her.

“Ya, I don’t know what’s wrong, I haven’t messed up this much since I was learning.” You told her. Chessy closed her book and stood up and put the book down on the coffee table.

“Maybe you need something to drink or to eat.” She offers and you smile.

“Maybe.” You say and you get up and immediately get lightheaded. Chessy notices and walks up to you.

“You sure you’re ok?” She says while grabbing your upper arms so you could look at her.

“Ya, maybe I do need something to drink more than I thought.” You said, you attempt to take a step down and then immediately collapse. Chessy catches you since she was right there and shouts your name.

“Y/n!!” She yells at everyone comes running in 10 seconds later and sees you on the ground in Chessy’s arms. “She just fainted.” She tells them and feels your forehead. “She’s hot, I think she has a fever.” She tells them.

“Oh dear.” Elizabeth says.

“Do you need to take care of her Chessy?” Annie says. And Chessy looks at all of them conflicted. She wants to but doesn’t know if Nick and Elizabeth will let her stay in the house if you’re sick and technically she’s the nanny so she has a job to do as well.

And as Nick can sense the struggle inside of Chessy from knowing her for so long, puts her at ease. “We can bring her to the guest bedroom and Chessy can take care of her there. If that’s ok with you Chessy.” He says and looks at her, she immediately nods. Chessy picks you up bridal style and carries you to the guest bedroom. Hallie and Annie were surprised of her strength.

“I’m a nanny you guys. I’m always picking up heavy stuff.” She tells them. After placing you on the bed, under the covers, she goes to get a thermometer, medicine and wets some face cloths with cold water. She immediately puts the thermometer in your mouth and has to hold it there so it doesn’t fall out. After a minute she looks at it and it’s confirmed, you have a fever. She places a face cloth on your forehead then goes to get you a glass of water and some soup for when you wake up. The twins keep an eye on you and are instructed to let her know when you wake up.

20 minutes later, Chessy is almost done with the soup when you start to stir. You start waking up and then you open your eyes and Hallie immediately yells to Chessy that you’re awake.

The twins walk over to you and you look at them confused.

“What happened?” You ask them.

“You fainted on Chessy! Apparently you have a fever.” Annie says and you look at them surprised.

“What?”

“You’re sick.” Chessy says as she enters with a bowl of soup and kicks the twins out. “Here you go, I made you some soup and got a glass of water here for you, and you’ll have to take some medicine.” She says and she can tell that you’re still not following what’s being told to you. “You got dizzy and fainted.” She starts and you nod. “Luckily I caught you and brought you up to take care of you.” She says.

“Shouldn’t I leave then? So I don’t get anyone else sick.” You ask.

“Nick and Elizabeth were pretty insistent that you should stay here until you get better.” She tells you and just then you start sneezing. “Hmm, you might have more than just a fever.” She says as she brings you a box of Kleenex. After you blow your nose, Elizabeth comes in holding some clothes.

“Hey dear, I brought you some comfier clothes that should fit you.” She tells you. “How are you feeling?”

“Not great.” You tell her.

“I think she might have a cold instead of a fever.” Chessy says and you sneeze again.

“I see.” Elizabeth says.

“I should go so I don’t get you guys sick.” You say and start to get up. Both Chessy and Elizabeth stop you.

“Are you crazy? You fainted and you immediately think you can drive?” Chessy says and pushes you back on the bed.

“You should stay here until you get better.” Elizabeth says and then she leaves so Chessy can tend to you. “Oh and Chessy.” She says and bops her head into the room and Chessy looks at her. “Don’t worry about the rest of us, just focus on y/n ok?” She tells her.

“Thank you.” Chessy says with a smile and Elizabeth winks at her then leaves.

Chessy gets you to eat the soup then drink some water, then tries to get you to take some medicine, to which you refuse.

“Noooo, that’s the yucky stuff.” You say and then cough. You definitely sound congested now.

Chessy laughs at your reaction. “You sound like the twins.” She says and you pout. “Aw” she says at your pout. “Are you going to continue to act like a 13 year old or like an adult?” She asks you and you cross your arms with a huff. “Don’t make me force this down your throat.” She tells you and then leans in “I’ve done that with Hailey many times so I know how to do it.” She says and you look at her unimpressed. She does actually force it down your throat as you kept refusing to take it. You give her a glare after but she just giggles. “I warned ya. Now get some rest.”

You do fall asleep about 5 minutes later and she just stares at you. They brought up a chair for her to sit on while you were sleeping to which you were grateful for. When you begin to wake up, you hear two people talking and decide to keep pretending you’re sleeping to not interrupt them.

“Do you plan on telling her how you feel?” Elizabeth says.

“No.” Chessy says. “Why would I?”

“Because she might like you back.”

“But she might not as well.”

“When Annie said you broke up with Martin, she looked disappointed.” Elizabeth states

“Why would she be disappointed at that?” Chessy asks confused.

“Because he’s a man. She probably thinks you’re straight.” Elizabeth points out. You don’t get to hear Chessy’s reply as you start coughing. They get startled as they think you wake up coughing.

Chessy takes care of you over the next 3 days and you start to feel better. Chessy thought about telling you how she feels many times but kept to herself as you were falling in and out of consciousness and might not remember or not understand what you’re saying.

One time you did tell her “you know you like just like this pretty girl I have a crush on but of course she’s straight, every girl I’ve had a crush on is straight.” She just looks at you, not knowing what to say. She has no idea if what you admitted is true, cause if it says then you have a crush on her.

On the third day, you’re fever is gone, you coughing and sneezing is down to almost non existent, you’re not congested anymore and you stay conscious for the day.

“Thank you for taking care of me.” You tell her and she smiles at you.

“You’re welcome hun.” She tells you as she tucks a lock of hair behind your ear. You stare at her eyes and Chessy can’t help but lean in and kiss you. You immediately kiss her back and Chessy smiles into the kiss. You suddenly pull back and look at her, with your hand on her chest.

“Aren’t you straight?” You ask her.

“Nah, I’ve gone out with a couple men but women is what I prefer.” She says and you smile at her before kissing her again.

You and Chessy pull back after running out of air and then you look stunned while looking at the door. Chessy goes to look at what you are and sees why you’re stunned. At the door there’s Nick, Elizabeth, Hallie and Annie all looking at you two and smiling. Then Sammy barges through and goes up to you and you pet him.

“You attention seeker.” Chessy says to Sammy and you laugh. “Did all of you know that I liked y/n?” She asks everyone at the door and they all nod.

“It was obvious.” Hallie says.

“It really was.” Annie agrees.

“Did you really need all those breaks?” You asked them and they shake their heads.

“We just thought you two would talk if we left you alone.” Hallie says and Chessy snorts.

“You two sure like to meddle.” She tells them. “But thank you.” She adds then looks at you and smiles.

“I’m just glad you found someone.” Nick says and Chessy looks at him and blushes. She holds your hand and smiles at you again.

“Ya, I’m happy I did too.” She says while looking at you and you smile at her.

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[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

꧁༺ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼 ༻꧂

Listen, I know I have like 8008 wips right now but we don’t need to talk about that. What we do need to talk about is Janny angst, and I’m here to supply in the form of Jake confessing to Danny at a Halloween party and Danny not knowing how to respond. Hope you enjoy!

Pairings: Jake Kiszka X Danny Wagner *slasher

Warnings and tags: 18+ only! Please consider all of my work to not be suitable for minors at this point, unrequited love, angst, Halloween party, brief mentions of sexual activity (Sam and OC), drinking, making decisions while under the influence, sharing a bed, literally one singular kiss

Word count: 2.7k

I’m sorry Jake, but I don’t think I can like you that way.

His response rattled around in his head for the rest of the evening while the rest of the party raged on around him. Why did he say that of all things? Honestly, it was the best excuse he could think of on the spot.

Jake had just caught him off guard. Didn’t corner him or anything, didn’t speak in a way that made Danny feel like this was actually a big deal or not. Danny couldn’t help but keep replaying the interaction over in his mind, thinking of ways he could have responded differently. It got to the point he couldn’t even decipher which memory was real anymore or which was just a scenario hoping for a better outcome.

It had been nearly three hours ago. Danny was the first one to arrive, having brought over some last minute things Sam had text him to pick up on his way. Jake answered the door, quickly offering to take some of the many shopping bags Danny held in his hands and brought them along to the kitchen.

“Where’s Sam?” Danny asked immediately, not thinking anything of it.

Jake’s brows furrowed for only a second, or had they? Danny wasn’t exactly sure now that he tried to recall each detail.

“He went to go pick up Cheyanne” Jake answered as he started to dig into the bags.

“So he expects us to just set up his own party for him?” Danny scoffed, and he did remember the way Jake cracked a smile. Jake always smiled when he said something snarky or witty.

It wasn’t long after they finished setting everything out. They were just waiting around for more people to show up, or Sam and his girlfriend to make it back. Danny was on his phone leaning against the island in the kitchen when Jake slowly approached and placed his hands on top of the granite across from him.

He knew Jake didn’t just come outright and say it, but how the conversation started exactly alluded him now. First Jake asked him if he’d been seeing anyone interesting lately, and Danny simply answered no without looking up from his phone. How could he when the band kept him so busy? He was surprised Josh and Sam found the time to date, but then again even though they put a lot of effort into it the band just didn’t mean the same thing to them as it did him and Jake. Even when they weren’t rehearsing they were constantly messaging each other, sending back and forth clips of chords they were working on together.

When Jake finally worked up the courage to ask him, Danny thought for a moment that he couldn’t be serious.

“Would you want to hang out sometime? Go, I don’t know, see a movie or something?”

“Sure,” Danny finally locked his phone and stuffed it back into his pocket. “I thought you didn’t like movie theaters though?”

Jake might have blushed at that point, his fingers idly poking at the flakes of quartz sealed into the countertop. “I mean, that’s usually where you go when asking someone out on a date, so”.

“Oh”. Danny stood up straight, blinking a few times as he watched Jake for any sort of indication that he was just joking. It was hard to take him seriously when he was standing there in his Halloween costume, dressed as a pirate with the flowy blouse exposing the chains that adorned his chest, and a bandana tied around his freshly trimmed shoulder length waves still a little damp from the shower. Danny felt silly himself when he left his house in his cowboy get up, almost forgetting his hat in the passenger seat of his car because he didn’t want to wear it in the grocery store.

“Can we talk about this later?” That was one of the responses he could have given, but he knew that would have only made Jake’s anxiety spike. He chose to ask him now, who knows how long he had already been waiting?

He watched as a few different expressions flashed across Jake’s features before finally settling on something Danny was unable to read. “Is it Sam?”

“What?” Danny questioned a little defensively. “Sam is with Chey”.

“I know he is” Jake quickly continued, “but just knowing someone is off limits doesn’t stop you from feeling certain ways”.

Danny got his double meaning. Jake must’ve known there was a lot riding on this, but he chose to ask anyway. It made Danny’s heart pound even now as he thought back on it. If it were him in Jake’s shoes, he didn’t know if he would have been able to do it.

Jake finally accepted his answer and they awkwardly agreed that this didn’t need to change anything between them, they could just go back to being close friends, band mates, until Sam and Josh bound through the front door.

The party only got more and more loud and unruly as more and more people showed up, crowding every room on the ground floor of the townhouse. Danny stood idly by in the living room, having been abandoned in his conversation with Sam as he made out with his girlfriend on the couch.

He sighed and left for the kitchen to make another drink, not really feeling the party after the whirlwind of emotions from earlier. Jake had made himself scarce, no doubt hiding out on the back patio where it had to be quieter. Going to find him drifted through his mind, but he figured that probably wasn’t the best solution to his boredom considering the way they’d left things. If only there was a way he could go back and say something else. Anything else.

The statement wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the truth either. Danny didn’t know if he could like Jake that way because he had never thought about it before. Now though, now that he knew how Jake felt it sparked a tingling inside him. Like the time when he played his first successful copy riff on the guitar, or when he was asked to join the band.

When he returned to the living room, Jake had emerged. His was the first presence Danny caught from across the room despite his small size. Jake quickly shifted his gaze to avoid eye contact, but he continued to smile softly as he listened to the person in front of him talking.

Danny wanted to make his way across, past the couch with the happy couple still on it, and join in on the conversation but instead he kept his distance. Continuously he found himself looking back in Jake’s direction though, who didn’t once glance his way again. Or if he did sneak a peak Danny didn’t notice, but that seemed unlikely considering the amount of times he had his eyes on the other man.

Finally after midnight the house started to clear out and the familiar quiet of Sam’s place returned. With the living room at least a little picked up Danny decided to call it a night and climbed the stairs to retrieve his change in clothes and toothbrush from Sam’s room, but inches away from the door he heard what was inside. Soft moans, the repetitive squeaking of a mattress in motion.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me” Danny whispered with a groan, leaning his head back against the far fall and staring at the door in frustration.

Seconds later, the door to the upstairs bathroom creaked open and out stepped Jake in his pajamas with rings of smeared eyeliner still clinging to his waterline.

“Hey” Danny waved, trying not to scare him.

Jake jumped anyway, having expected everyone to have gone home by now.

“What ar-”

Danny cut him off with a finger to his lips, then pointed at Sam’s door. “My things are in there”.

Still clutching his chest, Jake’s eyes darted over, then he heard it too. “Oh”.

His voice came out in a matching hushed tone now. “Were you supposed to be crashing here?”

“Yeah, I’m just going to sleep on the couch downstairs. Would’ve liked to change and brush my teeth first though”. Danny’s tongue ran across the face of his teeth, feeling the sugary coating of all the mixed drinks he’d consumed throughout the night sticking to their surface. He pushed off the wall and started to walk towards Jake who instinctively backed away. “Guess I’ll just find some mouthwash in the bathroom or something”.

Jake stepped aside and allowed him to pass, their shoulders bumping slightly in the narrow hallway. After swishing with a nearly empty bottle of Listerine and washing his face with some cool water from the sink, Danny shut off the light to the bathroom and gave up on trying to retrieve any of his items from Sam’s room. For a brief moment he debated on just trying to go home, but he had definitely had a few too many ‘beverages’ as Josh liked to call it to believe it was safe. He snuck his way back down the hallway, trying not to disturb any of the rooms’ occupants, but when he reached the top of the stairs he heard a door creaking open.

“Danny” a voice carried through the dark. It wasn’t Sam, he usually preferred to use his full name for whatever reason.

Danny turned to see Jake standing in the hallway again, waiting until he had his attention to disappear back into his room again only to pop back out with a stack of clothes. “These should work for the night”.

“Thanks” Danny graciously took the shirt and pants, examining them in his hands, they certainly looked comfier than his silly western jeans and button up.

“I’m sorry, the couch downstairs is really uncomfortable” Jake folded one of his arms across his chest, his hand gripping just above his elbow.

Danny thought back on how Sam and his girlfriend had spent most of the night making out there before deciding to take it further in the bedroom. He shuddered at the thought of trying to stretch out in the same place, that paired with all the other thoughts he already had racing around up there meant it was likely to be a long night. “Yeah, I don’t really expect to get much sleep”.

He could tell Jake was running through scenarios in his own head now, internally trying to calculate what his next move would be, until finally he spoke again. “You don’t have to, I wouldn’t be hurt at all if you said no, but if you wanted, I mean I have a king size bed so…”. His words came out in a stumbling slur, like every which way he had thought of asking jumbled together into one hardly coherent sentence.

“Umm” Danny gathered enough to understand what it was Jake was offering, and usually he wouldn’t think anything of sharing a bed with a friend, but after earlier he stopped to consider how that might translate.

“It doesn’t have to be weird or anything” Jake added, “I’ll stay on one side. I have an extra blanket. Just don’t want to see you suffering down there”.

It warmed Danny’s heart to see how much Jake cared, even with the reveal of his hidden feelings, Jake was always a generous person. He liked caring for people, and Danny trusted that this was just another example of how Jake always looked out after him.

“Yeah, alright, guess it would be nice to actually get some sleep”.

Jake nodded and Danny followed him into his room. He hadn’t been staying with Sam for long, ever since Josh and his partner got serious and he offered to move out so they could have a bit more privacy. For now he was living in Sam’s spare bedroom because it didn’t make sense to sign a lease anywhere right before they were about to go on another long stint of touring.

Danny looked around, even with the short amount of time he’d been here the space already felt unique to him. Guitars were scattered about, some on stands and some just propped up against the wall or dresser. He watched as Jake made his way back to his side of the bed, the covers pulled back like he’d been waiting to hear Danny emerge from the bathroom, and then he realized he still needed to change.

Jake picked up the book he’d turned over on the page he was at and stuffed his bookmark inside before setting it on his nightstand and clicking the small lamp off. He crawled back into bed but looked up to see Danny frozen in place staring down at the clothes in his arms.

Oh god. He doesn’t feel comfortable around me anymore. Jake beat himself up, not exactly regretting trying to make his move, but still worried Danny might act differently around him now, and not in a good way. Trying to pretend like he didn’t notice Danny’s hesitance, Jake shifted down into a lying position, tucking his hand underneath his head and closing his eyes to try and feign sleep.

After a few minutes and the quiet rustling of clothing, the bed beside him dipped and he felt Danny lay down next to him.

It wasn’t the first time they had shared a bed, more than likely wouldn’t be close to the last either. Certainly, it also wasn’t the first time Jake felt his heart fluttering at the thought of how close Danny was, yet still so far away.

Time passed slowly, Jake could feel the seconds ticking on with each thump against his chest. He squeezed his eyes closed tighter, trying to resist the urge to open them and check to see if Danny was still awake too. His answer came in the form of a warm hand sliding across the sheets, stopping just a mere centimeter from where his head rested on his pillow.

Jake dared a look, and when he did he was met with the overwhelming sight of Danny’s radiant irises. Greens bursting from brown in a way that captivated anyone who got close enough to witness their magic first hand. And captivated Jake was.

“Danny I-” Jake attempted to correct whatever it was that had settled between them. He couldn’t apologize for his feelings, but he could at least attempt to explain himself in a way that Danny might understand.

That was all cut short though, because Danny’s hand reached further, coming to rest on Jake’s cheek. Danny inched closer in the bed, waiting a moment for any signs of reservations from Jake who was caught frozen in his touch.

Without another word muttered between them Danny leaned in and pressed their lips together. It was an odd feeling at first. He had never kissed another man before, not that he had anything against it. But kissing Jake? Even he was shocked at his actions.

Jake parted his lips slightly to let out a content exhale and slotted Danny's bottom lip between his own. He took command of the kiss, knowing full well that Danny was probably still feeling lingering effects from the alcohol. Should he have instigated a more intense kiss in return? The answer was definitely not, but Jake feared this might be his only chance to feel what it was like to have his feelings reciprocated, so he greedily took all he could get.

In an instant Jake stole Danny’s breath, and in the same aching heartbeat Danny pulled away.

They laid there in silence, staring at each other through the dark as they both searched each other’s eyes for the answers to their unspoken questions.

Even if those answers were to remain shrouded in the darkness of this bedroom, they would always share this moment. Jake clung on to that sentiment as he closed his eyes again, forcing his breathing to steady out and for sleep to pull him under.

“Good night Jake” Danny whispered in the end, leaving it to fate to decide whether or not Jake heard him.

Tags: @scarletvanfleet @kultavalo

[feelrush]

JADE CITY.

— dialogue prompts from jade city by fonda lee.

“what’s going on? you seem out of sorts tonight.”

“send me the bill for the damage. i’ll take care of it.”

“tell me, my friend. have you had any other trouble around here lately?”

“sitting out here alone? something the matter?”

“how am i still alive when they’re all dead?”

“what did you come for at this hour, anyway? spit it out.”

“you should have killed that man!”

“i fell asleep waiting for you, and in return you scare the shit out of me. where were you?”

“you’re the most important thing in the world to me.”

“i’ve forgotten the past. everything’s forgiven, now that you’re back.”

“ah, what to choose, pain or failure?”

“where are you taking me?”

“cancel the rest of the day’s meetings. i’ll be in my office.”

“wait here and don’t move until you’re called.”

“i’m sure you’re wondering why you’ve been brought here.”

“may i… ask a candid question?”

“i’ll wait for an answer, but not for long.”

“you have to pay attention every fucking second because i can’t always be there if there’s trouble, understand?”

“sometimes the old ways are not without wisdom.”

“can you drive? can you handle a gun?”

“i keep seeing you, but i don’t know your name.”

“do you have anything to drink? it’s still hot inside.”

“whatever it is you decide to do, i’ll support you. i’ve told you that before, and it hasn’t changed.”

“i’m afraid i’m paying you this visit out of a sense of great concern.”

“there needs to be a balance of power.”

“what do they think we are? hired thugs?”

“why the fuck are you here?”

“i knocked but you must not have heard me.”

“you look as if you could use a massage.”

“i visit here too often; it’s not safe for you.”

“i have a gun, and i know how to use it. i won’t be a burden. i can take care of myself.”

“we’ll talk about this later.”

“from now on, i’ll be sure to call out hello to you when i’m still well out of knife range.”

“what can i do to help?”

“if anyone tried to kill you, you deserved it.”

“what is wrong with you? you don’t know who you are anymore.”

“give me your blessing, or condemn me, but don’t wash your hands of me.”

“not ready to die yet. gonna quit while i’m ahead.”

“you work for me now, you understand?”

“i’m disappointed you didn’t accept my offer.”

“we can plan a wedding, a big one. pick a date. i was thinking soon—springtime, what do you think?”

“you can do anything else you want, but not this.”

“it’s not that i think you’re boring. it’s just that keeping watch over you isn’t all that exciting, you know.”

“and here i was, starting to think all our meetings were because you were working up to hitting on me.”

“where and how did you fuck up?”

“risk your own life how you like, but leave me alone to live mine.”

“i’m not a coward.”

“i’ve never asked you for anything, but i’m asking you now, to keep this secret.”

“you do a good job, you make a big impression, show just how valuable you can be—that’s when we talk for real.”

“you were fantastic out there tonight.”

“do you want to get something to eat? we can do it another time if you’d rather go out with your friends tonight.”

“please don’t kill him.”

“must you leave so soon? come back to bed. stay the night.”

“heaven help me. i’m going to kill them all.”

“betrayal, murder, and war have a way of ruining one’s plans.”

“i could still kill him for you.”

“i can kill my ex-boyfriends myself.”

“don’t look like that. like you think i’m disappointed in you when i’m not.”

“i couldn’t sleep and wondered if you’d be kind enough to join me for a cup of tea.”

“it’s been a long day, and i don’t think i’d be very good company right now.”

“but what’s the value of silly pride compared to doing what’s best for the people one loves?”

“expectations are a funny thing. when you’re born with them, you resent them. when you’ve never been given any, you feel the lack of them your whole life.”

“people are cruel. don’t tempt them with arrogance.”

“so long as i live, i’ll never turn my back on a friend.”

“get out of my sight! i never want to see you again!”

[sariahsue]

Wherefore Art Thou My(stery) Lady

When a failed attempt to let Chat Noir down easy ends with Ladybug learning his name, she does what any lovesick teenager would do: teases him mercilessly. Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6

Chapter Seven (Final)

Adrien – Good morning. I love you.

After sending that message first thing every morning for a week, Adrien knew better than to expect an answer for another hour, probably two because it was a Saturday. No school to look forward to, but he did have a group brunch date. Nino and Alya had organized it and invited Adrien and Marinette along, and Adrien was left to wonder if that had been part of a plan to set the two of them up. 

He took his time showering and getting ready. He knew it was silly, but he wanted to make sure he looked his best.

By the time he got back, Ladybug had sent him a text. 

My Lady – Love you too. ❤️ Figure me out yet? Adrien – Actually, maybe.  My Lady – Really?! Adrien – It's still just a theory, but I know how I'm going to test it later.  My Lady – I look forward to it!

If he was right, she would. It involved a lot of sappy staring at Marinette. 

Brunch wasn’t for another half hour, but he told Nathalie and the Gorilla to drop him off earlier than he needed to be there. It was something he often did, a way to get as much time out of the house as possible. They hadn't caught on yet. (Or if they had, they'd never said anything about it.)

The place they had chosen was small, but Alya swore they had the best pancakes this side of the Alps. Adrien planned on having everything with way too much syrup. 

He found a good seat near the center of the room and texted Ladybug while he waited. Was she getting ready to come to the same spot? If she was, she gave no indication that she'd be seeing him later, just asked what his plans were for the day, as if she honestly had no idea. He leaned back in his chair as he waited for the others. 

Waiters passed with steaming plates of eggs and croissants and coffee. People bustled in and out around him, saying good morning to friends, enjoying the weekend. Adrien hardly noticed any of them until one of them yanked the back of his chair, almost pulling him down. 

“You gotta be careful, dude. You could fall if you lean too far.”

Chairs scraped on the hardwood floors as Nino and Alya took the seats opposite him. It made sense that they would sit together, but was part of the reason to force Marinette to take the seat next to him?

“Lean over a little bit in that chair, Nino.” Adrien reached across the table to grab his hat, but Nino jerked out of the way. “Just so I know how far back I can go. That's all. I promise I won't knock you over.”

“You know, for some reason, I don't really trust you.”

“Marinette says she's coming.” Alya looked up from her phone.

“Did she sleep in or something?” Adrien asked. Knowing when she woke up would help him decide if he was right, though at this point he couldn't imagine how he could be wrong.

“No, she told me she's been awake for a while.”

One hour, he guessed, based on when she had started texting him back. He drummed his fingers, waiting for her to arrive. He needed to see Marinette. Once he saw her, he was sure he would be able to tell for certain. 

Their server came a few minutes later, taking orders. Alya placed for Marinette after getting an assurance over text that she’d be there soon.

“She’s really excited about this,” Alya continued. “Like, texting me nonstop about it since she got up.”

“My condolences,” Nino said.

“Did she say what got her so excited?” Adrien asked. 

“No,” Alya said, eyeing him. “Why? You think you know?”

Adrien just shrugged, pretending to look down to check his phone, though it was really to hide his face. Ladybug hadn’t sent him anything in ages, and the agonizing wait until he knew who she was was even more unbearable now that he had hope it was almost over. 

Marinette came in, pulling out the seat next to his and scooting in until, probably on purpose, her knee brushed his.

“Good morning!” she said, face shining with excitement. She didn't look directly at him, letting him study her profile. The style of her hair was just right. Her freckles were the same. The curve of her lips. (He’d know those lips anywhere.) And he could see the corner of one blue eye. Exactly the right shade.

Marinette glanced over and caught him looking. The corner of her eye crinkled in amusement, then looked down as she slipped her phone into her coat pocket, her hand lingering out of view.

Adrien’s phone pinged with an incoming message. He looked at it reflexively as Marinette pulled her phone out again and laid it face up on the table in front of her.

“What's that, Adrien?” she asked. “Another text from your mysterious girlfriend?”

It was another picture of him, sent by Ladybug, taken just seconds ago. He whipped around while Nino and Alya laughed at him. People were coming in and out of the doorway, but no one that looked like her. He kept looking anyway because it kept him from looking at Marinette. It had been a picture of him and his friends at the table. Marinette had been sitting next to him when the picture had been sent. Ladybug couldn't have been her. 

He'd been so certain... He'd been hoping it was her. He'd had such a streak of luck lately that he'd actually believed that he’d been fortunate enough to be partnered with Marinette. For a moment, he’d been able to believe that the two best girls he knew were one, and she loved him. Disappointment tasted terrible.

Ladybug probably wasn't going to be in the shot, but he held up his phone and took a picture anyway. He glumly turned back to the table and sent it. 

Marinette's phone buzzed enthusiastically, and she swept it out of sight before Adrien could get a good look at it. All he caught was a glimpse of a room, filled with people and tables and an empty doorway. 

“What?” Marinette asked when he turned to look at her. Alya and Nino both waited quietly for once, eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them.

Pulling the picture Ladybug had just sent, Adrien looked over it carefully. He was sitting with his friends, but only two of them. Marinette's seat was still empty. The picture had been taken before she'd sat down. And really, there were hundreds of places to eat brunch in Paris. What were the chances Ladybug just happened to be going to the same one as him this morning?

Found you.

Adrien stared Marinette down. She stared back with the same practiced innocence Ladybug had given him a week ago when they'd first talked about the texting. There was no way they weren't the same person. Her mouth quirked the same way. Her eyes twinkled, whether in civilian clothes or in a red-spotted suit. 

She was right. It was so obvious now that he knew what - who - he was looking at. 

Marinette stayed silent through his whole examination, not raising a question until he pulled away and opened his texting app.

“What are you doing?” she asked. Her phone was face down on her lap.

Adrien – Hi 

The buzz that Marinette's phone gave was much quieter, but he was still able to pick it out over the din of the crowd. 

She clenched her hand around it but didn't look away from him. 

Adrien – I Adrien – Love Adrien – You Adrien – My Adrien – Lady

With each message he sent, Marinette's phone buzzed again. The neutral look on her face started to crack. 

“Aren't you going to answer those?”

“No.”

“Why not?” he asked, grinning. “They could be important. Could be from your boyfriend or something.”

“Seeing as I don't have a boyfriend, Adrien,” she put extra emphasis on his name, making sure he knew it was his fault that she didn't, “that would be kind of impossible.” She pressed the phone into her leg to muffle the vibrations.

“Maybe we can fix that?”

He held up his phone right to her face and snapped a picture. 

Another photo message flashed across her screen, and Adrien could see how it lit up the cloth around it. 

“Admit it,” he said. “I figured you out, My Lady.”

“You did, Kitten. Good job.” Marinette held out her phone to him. The screen was full of a picture of her face. Sender: Future Husband. 

Nino was offering his congratulations. Alya was sighing dramatically and saying “finally!” over and over, but Adrien had all but tuned them out. Marinette was Ladybug. He knew who she was. 

And he still couldn’t kiss her. Not the way he wanted to with their friends watching. 

Instead, he grabbed her hand and slowly turned it palm down, placing a long, slow kiss on the back, a promise of things to come.

When he looked up, Marinette’s cheeks were tinged with pink, but she quirked her eyes with a questioning look. That’s it? she silently asked.

He winked at her, and her blush deepened. “Later,” he mouthed. 

---

“I have one question about all of this,” Adrien asked as they walked down the street. “What was the obvious hint that I missed? I know I talked to you a few times that day, and I can't figure out what it was. The offer of help?”

Nino and Alya had completely ditched them the moment brunch was over. Alya said normally they’d make up some excuse to manipulate them into being alone together. She’d paused dramatically to look at their intertwined hands before claiming she didn’t think she’d be needing schemes anymore, then told them to take advantage of the alone time. Adrien had promised her he would, all while Marinette sputtered in embarrassment.

“I made a cat pun,” she said. “A terrible, awful, bad cat pun. And I am ashamed.”

“What was it?”

“No way! I am not saying it again!” Her emphatic arm movements were hampered by his grip on her hand, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Marinette.” He slowed, and pulled on her arm until she stood facing him. They’d started their relationship hidden from everyone, with secrets and texts and masks coming between them. Now they were in public, where anyone could see them. “Can I kiss you?”

“I think I’ve waited long enough,” she said, tilting her head and closing her eyes.

“You?”

Her eyes snapped back open, though her head remained at the perfect kissing angle. “Yes, me. I didn’t think it was going to take you that long. I was dying!”

He took a step back, grinning. “I’m not sure if I want to kiss you now after all. Middle of the sidewalk’s probably not the best place for–”

Marinette pulled him down and planted her mouth on his, and his teasing argument died. Adrien felt like he was melting, being molded into a shape that fit her better. 

She pulled away too quickly, resting her forehead against his. People walked around them, just two regular teenagers kissing in public.

“Technically,” he said after catching his breath, “I think that was just you kissing me again.”

“You were kissing me back. It counts.”

“No.” He let go of her waist to cup her face. “This is me kissing you.” And he lowered himself to meet her.

The End

---

Tag list: @eclipsesmoonshine14 @maribugette @delectablycoolscientist @mlbigbang

If you’ve stuck around for the whole thing, thank you! If you’re interested, I’ve got over 70 other Miraculous stories of varying lengths for you to check out. And I’ve got a bunch more planned. Next up is a one-shot featuring half-reveal, pre-relationship Ladynoir, and an akuma whose power is to throw them into fanfiction tropes. Super fun! Plus a project that’s going to feature a lot of love square kisses! (Okay, well, actually two future projects fit that description, haha!) I hope you stick around! Thanks for reading and for all the comments!

I don't think I ever directly linked the artwork that goes along with this story, so here they are! Cover Ch 5 scene

[surging-eyes-seeing-through]

"Here comes Justice!"

"My name is Apollo Justice, and I'm an attorney with the infamous Wright Anything Agency. Up until recently, I've been on leave, but I'm ready to get back into action.

Answering questions, though? I'm less sure about that..."

([Headcanons & Notes]) - ([Formatting & Link Info]) - ([Featured Asks & Responses]) - ([Apollo AU ask blog]) - ([General Rules & Info])

[[please block tag #~ℝ𝕖𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕖 ... etc if you want an easier time scrolling]]

(* ooc *) ...finally. an Apollo rp/ask blog. Took me long enough... only been thinking about something like this for 5 years, no biggie.

Expect spoilers for aa456. I'll tag them (sometimes), but still...

If you're unsure about if sending an ask is fine or not, you can either message me pre-emptively or mark the ask as optional.

If you try to spoil future events to Apollo I am likely going to have him refuse to believe you, so don't do that unless you specifically want to see him deny it.

I also don't appreciate people trying to act haughty or all-knowing, past an understandable degree. Just keep general rp etiquette in mind, I guess.

- + -

Info re: This Blog's Muse:

Uses he/him.

He's set mainly post-Dual Destinies but pre-Spirit of Justice (~Late December 2027), and asks will be answered with this in mind if nothing is specified. This timeline overlaps with the very end of Dual Destinies (5-4 and 5-5) and so if specified I can use that time period.

Ship-neutral, I'll answer asks with romance but he'll probably just give an exhausted or confused reaction in response.

Only ship considered canon to this verse is Klapollo, and the relationship hasn't even happened yet in this timeline. Mentioning other ships is fine but he will react with confusion and I will ignore you if you get pushy.

Overtly sexual asks will likely be ignored by default. Flirting is fine.

Spoilers fine, I've played all of Apollo's games twice over... goodbye ~400 hours of my life

For aus, check out @surging-eyes-seeing-au. Aus include Murderpollo, Supernova, and Stardust- more info available on the blog.

- + -

Mun info:

Hello, I am Brody aka @brodorokihousuke (main blog), a nonbinary ace 23-yr old (he/him) who has been obsessed with this series for nearly ten years now. Apollo is and has been my favorite character for that entire time...

Directing asks at me specifically is fine, just clearly indicate it.

Asks don't need to be from AA characters. You can be goofy silly, but Apollo'll probably just react with confusion at that.

I can and am open to rp, however all my experience is on Discord so I might need guidance on how to do it here.

- + -

[destiny-in-the-universe]

Updates on RC9GN Ships & Muses

I don't know why I need to clarify this since the RC9GN community has been amazing, and for those genuinely interested in my content, well, you can ignore this!

I'm going to split this into two different categories as well as how to send an ask because I am at my limit genuinely

Also, I can't remember who had this idea but I might create alternate ship names for the characters based on like, interests and/or objects.

Ships I'm Comfortable Writing

Randy x Howard (Weinerham) - emotionally constipated dumbasses who probably need therapy

Randy x Theresa (Fowlham) - high school sweethearts but they still need the nudge in the right direction

Randy x Debbie (Kangham) - the dumbass and the one who carries the braincells

Randy x Howard x Theresa (???) - i don't think there's an official ship name for these three! If anyone would like to help me come up with one, just let me know! (the enabler, the fuck-all attitude, and the epitome of flowers in human form-)

Randy x Howard x Debbie (???) - they also need an 'official' ship name. I thought of Chaos Trio for shits and giggles, but I'm uncertain atm (braincells and dumbasses: the sequel)

Debbie x Theresa (Fowlkang/Twirling Photography?) - literally a perfect match

Other Ships I Can Write but Are Not My Mains

Howard x Debbie (Weinerkang) - how to describe their relationship? who knows, but- well, it exists now

McFist x Viceroy (McViceroy) - the braincell and the dumbass

McFist x Viceroy x Marci (???) - McFist has two hands, y'all

Randy x Julian (Corpse Scarf!) - pls i don't have a silly way to explain their ship they're just adorable i love them sm goodbye

possibly Bucky x Julian (???) - don't expect me to write for this ship too much-

If there's any other ship you're interested in, let me know! Canon x Original Character is also allowed!

How to Send Me Asks?

Pick a ship! Or a muse (if you want standalone headcanons and/or ficlets/etc). You cannot get an ask answered without this.

Choose a prompt if you want something more specific. This can be literally anything from a song lyric (if it's the whole song, please send me a link- i obviously don't know all songs!), a word or two (park, coffee date, etc), OR anything else to your fancy. You can pick something more detailed!

If you want something set in an AU setting, please- please specify. Or I'm going to just write these as close to canon as I can

You can send multiple asks/requests! I really don't mind tbh- just don't send me more than three at once, I think-?

NSFW will not be accepted. Suggestive content is fine, but you have to be at least eighteen- it just cannot be straight up smut.

For original characters, please provide information regarding the OC! I can't write for a canon I know nothing about-

Anon will continue remaining open. I hope the situation has been dealt with because I just started deleting the asks- I will curate my tumblr experience to something comfortable for me and the people who truly want to have a great time here, but now we can talk about my RC9GN muses

RC9GN Muses

Mains

Randy Cunningham (He/Him, doesn't mind other pronouns) - age varies depending on ask/request. Unlabeled on Sexuality. Randy doesn't care about that sort of thing to be honest- he'll date anyone he feels an attraction for. Personal headcanon that he's trans!

Open for both romantic and platonic asks/requests!

First Ninja/Finja (He/Him) - age varies depending on asks/requests. Asexual, but Open to Dating. Doesn't care for partner's gender.

Open for both romantic and platonic asks/requests!

Human! Nomi/Nomicon (All Pronouns) - ageless/doesn't age due to immortality. Arospec + Asexual.

Open for Platonic Asks/Requests!

Secondary Characters

Howard Weinerman (He/Him) - age varies depending on asks/requests. Queer/Unlabeled. Doesn't care about his partner's gender.

Open for romantic and platonic asks/headcanons!

Julian (He/They) - age varies depending on asks/requests! Unlabeled. Bicurious, leans to men.

Open for romantic and platonic asks/requests!

Theresa Fowler (She/Her, open to other pronouns) - age varies depending on asks/headcanons! Bisexual.

Open for romantic and platonic asks/headcanons!

(I could not find a gif- shit)

Spike (He/It/Doesn't Fucking Care) - ageless bc he's a robot. Unlabeled.

Open for platonic asks/requests!

Nomirandy (No /jk He/They) - ageless?? Unlabeled/Bicurious. Kind of leans to men, but he doesn't care all that much

Open for romantic and platonic asks/headcanons!

Tengu! Howard (All) - ageless?? Who tf cares about labels?

Open for romantic and platonic asks/headcanons!

If there's other canons you would like for me to write, I can try but no promises to be honest- I'm experimenting with a lot of these and I thought they might be fun to write more often!

I might write another set of headcanons for each of these characters later tonight, and I do need to write the next piece of my meta-analysis at some point! Plus an ask I'm very bouncy about hahaha, but anyway- have a lovely day, everyone!

~ Ace (He/They)

[thefrontofmymind]

12 Days of Christmas: Day 1 - Secret Santa

hello all! this is the first installment of @abiiors 's 12 Days of Christmas !!

NOTE: this is a continuation of Nothing's Changed, a oneshot I wrote a few months ago. i would say you should read it beforehand just so you know what's going on

You weren’t nervous for the faculty secret santa, you’d seen a billion listicles of good generic gifts that could fit just about any of you coworkers.

It was only as you slyly opened the folded piece of paper you drew from the box and read the name, a shock went down your spine and you broke into a cold sweat. Ross.

You could argue it was silly to get so worried. You had your lists! But with Ross…it has to be special. You had to get him something meaningful–this was your first Christmas together, and granted you’d already ordered him a stack of vintage records of albums he loved, but you knew you couldn’t flake out and get him…a box of chocolates, for example.

But you had to be careful, anything too special could set off alarm bells in everyone else’s heads. It was common knowledge that you were friends in uni, and when given the chance you would be glued to each other’s sides, but there were policies about fraternisation between colleagues and you couldn’t lose this job.

You wracked your brain from the Wednesday morning of the name draw, up until Friday afternoon trying to think of something–anything–for Ross.

“You still here?” Lou said, popping her head through your doorway. “I thought I’d be the last one out of here tonight!”

You laughed–your neighbouring drama teacher was known for spending her evenings building set pieces and readying props and costumes for whatever performance her classes were doing next. “Just…milling around…”

“What’s up?” In the few months you’d known her, it seemed Lou always had the knack for sensing when someone was off; she’d know to send a student to the school nurse just with one glance at them.

“It’s silly, really…” You trailed off.

“It’s clearly bothering you, what’s up?” She persisted, taking a seat on the desk closest to your work station at the front of the room–where Ross would sit to eat lunch with you everyday for the past 2 months.

“I just don’t know what to get my secret santa–I know it’s stupid to get all worried about it–just…you know, I need it to be perfect,” you answered.

Lou let out a sigh. “What are you doing tomorrow? We can go into town and I’ll help you find a gift.” 

You breathed a sigh of relief at the idea of help. Though, how would you go about with Lou’s help without her cottoning on to the fact that the one reason you were so nervous was that you didn’t want to toe the line of co-workers and romantic partners too much around the people that couldn’t know.

“And maybe I’ll find something for my gift,” she continued. “What do you get Jimmy in Geography, anyway?”

“A map?” You joked.

“Well I imagine he probably has enough of those laying around,” Lou answered with a grin. “Who do you have anyway?”

“Ross.”

“Ah, right, I get it now…” she commented before leaving, calling out a quick ‘I’ll drop by at 10!’ as she strolled out the door.

~~~

It wasn’t as cold as you expected the next morning. The sun had come out and there was a light layer of dew over the outside frames of the windows of your flat. You could even get away with just wearing your coat with a normal t-shirt for once.

You spoke to Ross the night before–he had grading to do before the end of term so he was spending his whole Saturday in a hole in his living room, surrounded by four classes worth of history essays to read. You were grateful he didn’t ask what your plans were, you just left it at a ‘then I’ll leave you to it’ and he seemed satisfied with it.

And in a stroke of rare luck, Lou was at your doorstep at 10 on the dot, with two oat milk lattes in her hands. It was never her forte to be on time, but you were glad your morning wasn’t full of anxiously waiting around for your coworker–and now friend. 

“So what are you thinking?” Lou asked as you strolled through the crowded street mall you found yourself in. She pointed to a fancy cosmetics shop. “Cologne or something maybe?”

“Not personal enough, I think,” you answered. “Why couldn’t I just get someone I don’t know anything about?!”

Lou laughed. It made you realise you may have been overthinking it just a little. You’d known Ross for years, you loved him… You just had to go with your gut.

“You and Ross are close, huh?” Lou continued after a few moments of silent strolling.

“In uni…we were inseparable,” you replied. “Like really close.”

She gave you a look, wide eyes. It was a silent question. Just how close? You gave one curt nod in response, a sign that you couldn’t talk about it, but it was clear what the answer would be.

Suddenly you felt like a weight had come off your chest. Finally you were honest to someone about Ross. You realised you didn’t have to completely hide your relationship, you just had to be careful about it. You immediately caught onto the notion that by and large you didn’t need to overthink this all; just go with your heart, and you’ll find the perfect gift for the most perfect man.

Walking past a jeweller, a gold glint caught the corner of your eye. It was a display in the window–a gold chain, not too delicate, but thick enough for you to see it immediately. You made a b-line for it without even looking to Lou. Every link interlocked with each other and laid so smoothly. 

You remembered Ross wore a thin chain in university–you remembered it dangling over your face as he hovered above you, begging for him to drown you in kisses yet again. At some point over the years he must have either lost it or forgone it as a growing moment. You missed it tickling your face, hiding within his chest hair like a hidden treasure waiting to be unearthed–you got butterflies just thinking about it.

Sure, it was a little out of the price range for the gift exchange, but you always took those sorts of things as just a guideline. You and Lou walked out of the little family-owned shop with a tiny navy blue bag in your hand and a spring in your step.

~~~

You kept one eye on the small wrapped box under the tree in the staffroom during the staff party. Even though no one, bar Lou, knew what it contained, you were still worried someone would take it or misplace it or mistake it for their own gift. Through drinks and shallow conversations about your holiday plans and picking at the spread of potluck appetisers provided but almost everyone in the room, every so often you would just quickly glance to make sure it was still in it’s spot sitting atop a wrapped cylinder that you could only guess was a candle–it made you giggle to yourself to think that someone panicked and grabbed the first think they could think of, the most basic gift imaginable.

You spent most of your time glued next to Ross. He looked so…beautiful in his knitted red sweater with his hair pulled back like usual. You just couldn’t wait for him to open his gift. You couldn’t help but stare at the glint in his eyes as he chuckled along with the group at Kerry from biology’s story about her sons’ antics.

After about an hour and a half of mingling, it was finally time for the gifts. You all sat in a big circle around the staff room as Principal Janine handed out the wrapped presents. You giggled at the gag gifts, smiled at the sweet gifts, and tried to hide your confusion at gifts that were clearly some kind of inside joke you weren’t privy to.

Janine finally picked up the box for Ross. “And this one’s for…Ross!”

You could barely contain your excitement as he began to tear at the corner of the wrapping. You could tell he was being gentle with it, trying to ignore the spurs of “rip it!” from the group. He looked inquisitively at the small velvet box once it was free from the paper.

“Open it,” you whispered from beside him. You almost missed the glint in his eye as he slyly glanced at you. You knew you’d already given the game away–he knew it was from you.

The gold chain didn’t sparkle as much as you hoped under the fluorescent lights of the staff room, but it still caused a mist in Ross’ eyes just the same.

“So who do you think it’s from, then?” Lou asked with a grin–after all, she was there with you when you bought it.

“It can only be from one person, I reckon.” He smiled and placed a firm hand on the back of your shoulder.

You could’ve melted under his touch then and there. Even with all the private escapades you had gotten up to, nothing could compare to the adrenaline rush you felt at the tiniest amount of affection you could show each other in public.

“Well, I noticed you don’t wear one anymore! I thought you could get a little nostalgia from it!” You were smiling so wide, it looked like someone had stuck a clothes hanger in your mouth.

You noticed that underneath the tree was beginning to get sparse. Only about half a dozen gifts were left, you wondered which one was yours.

Janine grabbed a bulky, square-shaped, wrapped box and read the nametag on it. She joyfully passed it to you.

You couldn’t help but immediately tear the wrapping, making just an ounce of the mess you used to love making on Christmas morning when you were a kid.

It was a bottle of perfume. Not just any bottle. Britney Spears’ Midnight Fantasy. You let out a deep chuckle once you’d registered what it was–the perfume you were just about addicted to in uni, you pretty much had a stockpile running of them for your full 3 years there.

You heard a laugh from beside you. Ross had a smile just as wide as yours, his cheeks had all bunched up and he got those little creases at the edges of his eyes that you loved so much.

“Of course!” You bellowed. You realised everyone else in the room looked confused, you thought it’d be kind to clue them in. “I was obsessed with this perfume in uni, like, I don’t think I ever wore another perfume then.”

“Never! We knew you’d be coming when we could smell it while you were still a mile up the road!”

~~~

Ross’ cheeks were lit but the LED tealights surrounding your flat. You set up a picnic of sorts–inside, of course, no one in their right mind would stay outside in the freezing temperatures for longer than necessary–with an Indian takeaway.

It was small moments like this, the intimacy, that made you appreciate Ross even more. You’d thought it out and come to a conclusion; you didn’t mind that you couldn’t be all love-y with each other in public, it was the private times that counted, and with each interaction you could feel yourself falling further and further.

“I hope you like it,” you said, when discussing your secret Santa gifts–coincidentally to each other.

“Are you kidding, love? You’ll have to wrestle it off me now!” He smiled, a little wonky from the two bottles of wine you’d shared that evening.

You giggled. “I’m glad, and likewise with the perfume I…I can’t believe you remembered the exact one.”

“Of course I did!” He replied. He placed his plate on the picnic blanket that was sprawled out on your living room floor. “I actually have something else–to go along with it…”

He shifted and turned to dig through his bag, normally filled with supplies for school and his laptop. He retrieved a brown paper binded scrapbook.

“This was the-uh-second part of the gift,” he continued. “But I couldn’t quite give you this bit in front of everyone else.”

He handed you the book, and you finally got a good look at the cover. There was a picture of the two of you back from some university party back in the day–probably scoured from someone’s Facebook memories. You tried to hide your cringe at your outfit, not quite something you would wear today.

You began to flip through the pages. Photos from your year together, tickets to the films you saw at the cinema, a concert ticket or two as well. Each page had a little paragraph written right onto it in Ross’ scribbly yet concise handwriting–sometimes explaining a memory of a day in the fall when you got excited to watch Hocus Pocus with him, or a poem about snow falling down on you and resting in your hair.

You flipped to the last page, there was a lengthy letter written.

My love,

If all is going as planned, I’m watching you read this right now. I could stare at you forever, you know that?

You looked up to see Ross smiling at you, you couldn’t help but let out a schoolgirl-like giggle.

Even though you’ll vehemently deny it, the truth is you are the most beautiful sight in the world. Ever. I will never get sick of being graced by those eyes, the curve of your neck into your shoulders, your arms that you swear dangle just a little too far to be proportionate, and those hips–my word, those hips.

I could go on about your looks forever, but that is barely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the marvel that is you. You’re always so kind, so caring, and you’re the smartest in most rooms you’re in.

For a long time I thought the only chance I had with you was gone when we split so long ago. I must’ve accrued some bloody good karma to give me a second chance at loving you. I know it hasn’t been that long this time around yet, and I know we’re bound for a hassle the longer this goes on, but I want you to know that I’m in it. Whatever it takes, you are staying in my life and there’s not a chance I’m letting you go again.

All of this to say, I love you.

Your Ross

P.S. Don’t feel pressure to say it back or anything. It’s just important that you know.

You couldn’t stop the grin on your face. There was heat spreading all across your face and neck. You realised you hadn’t looked back up at Ross yet–you just couldn’t help but re-read the last few lines of his letter. I love you. I love you. I love you.

When you finally looked back at him, you could see his smile had faltered just a little. He was worried about your response.

You tried to find the words to tell him how you felt. How perfect this all was.

“Sorry if I…overstepped,” he started. “I just had to get it out, you know? Like there was this-”

You cut him off with a kiss. A deep kiss. The kind that did all the talking for you. The kind where you didn’t care that your teeth hit each other on impact and your neck was craning in an awkward position and all of Ross’ weight was settled on one hand leaning on the carpet and it was beginning to aggravate the skin on the palm of his hand.

In the end, none of that mattered. Because you loved each other, and after so long without one another that was the most important thing in your life.

[symptomsofdeceit]

OMG I HAD A TERRIBLE MORNING, BUT THE MOMENT I SAW YOUR ANSWER I LITERALLY JUST STARTED SQUEAKING AND SCREAMING AND KICKING MY FEET. MY SISTER THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY 💥💥💥

ahEM- hello again :3 no need to apologise ❤️ I was thinking that tumblr just decided to eat my ask on dinner 🍽️ glad that it's not!!! I actually planning to plunge myself in your inbox and live here rent free now tehee :3 so I think I need some nickname so you could recognise me... may I be a yapping shrimp anon 🦐 ??? shrimps are silly AND I talk a lot, professional yapper at your service. also I made an OC for your game that is a funny cherry shrimp guy. would shrimp be an option for MC associated animal???? it's a shame that you can't send pictures as anon, I would love to show the dude to you. I think I got a bit of courage after all the time that have passed and your answer boosting it a lot!!!! be careful, I might send silly ask at any moment now 😈😈😈 I FINALLY DECIDED ON WHO IS MY FAVORITE. it's Nalis!! he's officially promoted to my babygirl now ✨✨✨ sorry Thaumo, you lost this battle. but I still love you pathetic little guy ❤️

HOPE YOU HAVE A NICE MORNING/DAY/NIGHT IDK WHAT TIME IS IT IN YOUR COUNTRY RIGHT NOW!!! thank you so much for answering :"3 ❤️✨ you're my favourite developer!! ALSO I WITNESSED THIS WHOLE MADNESS WITH TAMPON JOKES AND I LAUGHED SO HARD AT IT. Thaumo have no shame it's crazy 😭😭😭

That makes me so so happy to hear 😭💕💕 thank you!!!! Your first ask was so sweet it had me screaming & kicking my feet too 🤝🤝🤝🤝

I’m very happy to have you here as another rent-free & cherished resident of the inbox 🫶 & of course, yapping shrimp anon it is!

Someone else asked for a shrimp too so I’m adding one!! I haven’t decided what type of shrimp yet though, I’m still deciding on specific types for shrimp & shark.

I wonder if there’s a way for me to change the settings so people using anon can send images? I’ll look into it!! Seeing people’s different MCs makes me so happy, I’d love to see your shrimp MC. I’m also so happy to hear that you’ve gained some courage!! ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )💕💕 I’ll look forward to hearing some silly asks from you in the future

Thank you for this ask as well, and I hope you have a wonderful day/evening/night too!! (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)💕✨ Being anyone’s favorite developer is wild to me and not something I ever expected, but it truly means a lot to me 😭💕💕

[figgrrr0]

Hi how are you? I’m new to tumblr so I hope this isn’t a problem anyway I was thinking if you could do hc or a scenarios with (any genshin character) or traveler separate tho where yn isn’t in best shape(chubby yn lol) so when traveling with them they are behind schedule and the journey doesn’t as planned. Yn might feel insecure or uncomfortable with traveling them next time but (who ever you decide to put) assures them that they are not a problem, and they shouldn’t be ashamed of themselves

haha i hope this is alright, and I wish this see’s in good times :D

Pls send help, I can't tell if this is fluff or angst. Both??

Traveler reassures chubby!reader

Character: Traveler (not specified as Lumine OR Aether)

Reader: Gn, implied chubby

Genre: Fluff, angst // Cw: Slight/implied self doubt, tiny misunderstanding

Tagging along with the Traveler wasn't quite how you'd expected it to be. From what you'd seen and heard, you thought that their commisions would most likely entail a few deliveries, getting some information from people, and maybe an escourt mission here or there. Not fighting all day and climbing mountains and cliffs.

Truthfully, you didn't think it'd be so bad! Even when things started to ramp up a bit, with a hilichurl ambush on the road, you'd been able to hold your own for a little while. But when that "one little ambush" turned to "seeking out every hilichurl camp in the nation"... Well. Safe to say, your stamina wasn't high enough to hold out for hours of fighting, especially when you hadn't been prepared for it in the first place.

So, when the Traveler insisted that they accompany you back home earlier than what was planned, (with at least 4 camps left to clear out) you couldn't help but feel as if you'd let them down. Even though they'd easily shut down your attempts at an apology, you still looked back on the day, thoughts telling you that they'd have been better off on their own.

You'd been so concentrated on your own thoughts, that you hadn't seen the bright smile and little wave that was thrown your way before the Traveler turned, leaving you at your door. Their promise of returning later in the week was muffled to your ears, and you only came to your senses to question what you'd heard a few seconds later, but left it at that, assuming it was just an average "goodbye".

...

Safe to say, when the Traveler showed up at your door a few days later, asking if you'd want to join them for another adventure, you certainly weren't expecting it.

Just like the Traveler and Paimon were equally surprised when you hesitated to answer, compared to how excited you'd been the first time they offered. They shared a look, questioning your different behaviour; but unlike Paimon, who was ready to accept your messily thrown together excuse, the Traveler could tell that you were hiding something. Shooing their flying companion away briefly, they looked at you with an expression softer than you'd seen before, carefully asking why you weren't feeling up to it.

Regardless of how you answer, the Traveler can still tell that now would be a good time for some reassurance.

"If the work was too much for you, you're perfectly welcome to sit on the sidelines! I'm sure Paimon would like some extra help being a cheerleader..." they laugh at the image, the sound quickly fading when they have another thought, "But seriously though, what's most important is your safety. I wouldn't want to drag you along with us if you're not comfortable! After all, company is always the best when spirits are high, and you'd still be an important asset to our team without fighting," They look around then, whispering as if telling a secret, "not that I'd stop you if you ever wanted to join in..."

A few seconds of silence pass, before you burst into a small fit of laughter, not expecting the silly display. The Traveler joins in soon after, easing up after seeing you relinquish the worries you'd been holding.

When Paimon returns, curious about the laughter, you accept their invitation after a few more moments of contemplation. It's not like your lack of fighting would be much different than what they're used to, you rationalise. Paimon doesn't do much more than float around, anyway. You'd be doing more work than her just by walking!

Of course, even their little spiel can't completely dissolve everything you'd gotten worked up about; with time, you'd realise that the Traveler didn't need the help. But they sure did appreciate the friendly atmosphere that you brought along.

Want to send a request/brainrot with me? Check my rules!

Thank you for reading! 🩷