#probably not the answer you were asking for but i'll never turn down an opportunity to talk abt my little pony

[anaalnathrakhs]

yeah she is one of them little ponies, the main antagonist of the fifth season, culprit of turning a village into an egalitarian cult, and then of traveling through time to prevent the protagonists from forming their world-saving team as children.

her authoritarianism was overturned by the power of friendship, and she has a good number of fans now that's she's a main protagonist, but like, dang, it's a jarringly fast character arc.

^ the authoritarian herself

yes she committed atrocities. BUT! she's my special little guy. AND! she looked hot doing it. so.

[thebeast-dennis-etcetera]

Training Part 2

Prompt: Enemies to Lovers type. You and Gibbs never got along, and luckily you never really had to work with each other…until now.

Part 1

It was entirely too early in the morning when you walked through the NCIS squad room with Fornell in front of you.

"Woah. Rough night Agent L/N?" DiNozzo jabbed, instantly pressing all the wrong buttons. You decided to bite your tongue this time and ignore him before seeing an opportunity to get back at him. As he handed some papers to McGee, you swiftly stole his seat and leaned back in it exaggeratively, while sipping on your fresh cup of coffee.

"Ha ha Agent L/N. Now get out of my seat."

"Make me Agent DiNozzo." You stared him down as his colleagues and Fornell watched, wondering what was going to happen next. He chuckled to himself and turned around as Gibbs walked in.

"Gibbs. Tell her to get out of my seat," he practically whined, making you snicker.

"Daddy Gibbs isn't going to help you DiNozzo," you ridiculed, catching the eye of said Agent as he took a seat at his desk. Choosing to give up, DiNozzo went to sit on the edge of Agent Bishop's desk. She didn't look too thrilled about it but didn't say anything.

"So you two interrogated Ramos and got a name, right?" Fornell asked, bringing the conversation to work.

"He's not talking. As soon as we brought up our Petty Officer, he closed up tighter than a clam," McGee answered.

"Let me at him. I'll get him talking," you offered, causing DiNozzo to snort.

"Well if we need you to shoot him, you'll be the first to know," he quipped.

You were about to snap on him but Gibbs saved his ass again by inturrupting.

"Fine. Agent L/N, you're with me. Tobias, Abby will fill you in on evidence findings we collected from the crime scene."

You left DiNozzo's chair and waited as Gibbs grabbed his gun and badge from the desk drawer.

"What about us, boss?" DiNozzo bellyached.

"You keep doing what you were doing DiNozzo. We'll be back."

As you passed the tall Agent, you made sure to give him a small shoulder check, silently laughing to yourself as he made a face. Maybe working with NCIS wasn't so bad. It was definitely entertaining.

- - - -

The drive to the bar you knew Ramos to frequent was quiet as neither one of you had anything to say. You turned the radio on to a pop station but it was shut off by Gibbs, making you huff and send him a glare.

Both you and Gibbs walked into the musty smelling bar and you immediately spotted Ramos sitting at a booth, back to you, drinking a pint of beer.

"What is your plan?" Gibbs asked, stopping you.

"Too do the job that your agents failed to do."

He sighed in annoyance as you led the way, sliding in to take a seat right next to Ramos as Gibbs sat across from him. Before he had a chance to leave, you pulled out your badge and showed him discreetly.

"Hey Ramos. I'm with the FBI and I believe you already know Agent Gibbs."

"I don't know what you plan on asking me that you haven't already. I don't know anything, remember?" he spoke confidently while taking a sip of his drink.

You looked over at Gibbs who just sat there, stoic expression on his face. Scooting in closer to Ramos, you leaned in by his ear as he visibly became uncomfortable.

"Oh I haven't interrogated you yet Ramos. See, Gibbs and his lackeys do it all by the book. Bring you in, sit you down in a room and ask a bunch of questions, then let you go. I prefer the simpler way. You come to this bar every Friday around 5pm, after working at the gas station. You play in their little pool tournament every month, and even have your picture posted up on the wall as champion. No, I'm not going to interrogate you. I'm gonna ask one question and if you cant answer said question, I'm gonna let everyone in this bar know that you're an official informant for the FBI. I could probably bet that there are a few questionable individuals here that would hate to hear that information, don't you think?"

A couple second went by as you waited for him to break. He licked his lips nervously, confidence now completely gone and his eyes looked to Gibbs who just shrugged.

"She doesn't work for me. I can't tell her what to do."

Another few seconds went by and you moved to stand up, but Ramos' hand shot out to stop you.

"Alright, alright. What do you want to know?"

You smirked and gave Agent Gibbs an arrogant wink.

"Tell me everything you know about the death of Petty Officer Killbourne. And please, the more details the better."

- - - -

Once you left the bar and got into the car, Gibbs laid into you.

"That's not the way you should've handled it in there."

"Oh yeah? Because your way was getting us soo far."

"We don't threaten people for answers Agent L/N. You can't be so negligent."

If he thought that was being negligent, he was delusional. You didn't do anything wrong and you actually got a lead on your case, something Gibbs couldn't say the same for himself.

"Negligent?! First of all Gibbs, it wasn't a threat. Second of all, my "negligence" got us a very important lead that will now help us continue our investigation and bring down this asshole. You might not like the way I do things but you're just gonna have to suck it up because I'm here until this is done."

He didn't reply back, but just started the car and drove back to the Navy Yard, you practically jumping out of the car once he parked. In the squad room, you didn't bother waiting for him before debriefing the team on your findings and talking with Fornell about arranging a sting operation. The rest of the day, you stayed as far from the silver haired agent as you could, only giving him one worded answers, if any, when he asked you a question.

He seemed to have the same mindset, acting as if you weren't there, never looking you in the eye, just in your direction. The entire team, including Fornell were uneasy but you weren't backing down.

It wasn't until you found out that Gibbs had his team follow a lead without looping you in that you lost it. The next time you saw him, he was getting into the elevator and you made damn sure to get there before it closed.

He visibly made a face of annoyance once you joined him and the doors shut behind you.

"Why wasn't I or Fornell informed about your team finding another lead?"

"I told Fornell," he answered presumptuously, not looking at you.

"Yeah, after you had McGee and Torres meet with our suspects dealers. Listen, if this is some pissing match to you-

He leaned over, flicking the emergency stop switch, causing the elevator to abruptly stop and closed in on you.

"This is about a dead Marine, Agent L/N. I'm not here to impress anyone, especially the FBI. If you want in on our investigation and leads, than start acting like a Federal Agent and less like an immature probie."

As he had you cornered, you finally saw the look that everyone talked about. The stare that could get even the hardest of criminals spilling the beans. But in that moment, you weren't scared. No, you were turned on.

You glanced away from his burning blue eyes to his lips and back to his eyes.

"And stop doing that," he warned.

"Doing what?"

He took a step closer, successfully trapping you against the wall and leaned in to growl in your ear.

"You know what you're doing Agent. I could feel how needy you were for me in the training room just like how I can feel it now. Do you do this with every agency you work with?"

Your breath got caught in your throat at his words and couldn't help but egg it on. You looked up at him as you let your fingers trail along his beltline, dangerously close to where you really wanted to touch.

"No, just you, funny enough," you whispered.

He reached up and gently grabbed your chin, brushing his thumb across your slightly open bottom lip. Your heart was racing as the tension continued to build.

"This is completely unprofessional," he stated, making you smirk.

"Than do something about it, Agent Gibbs."

He leaned in closer as if to kiss you but stopped and dropped his hand, backing off and flipping the emergency switch back on. You stood up straighter and took a breath, trying not to look like you weren't about to just get fucked in the elevator as Gibbs shifted his stance.

It did nothing to hide the obvious bulge in his pants and you smiled to yourself. Once the elevator doors opened to the Lab floor, you watched as he made a hard left turn for the bathroom as you continued on to Abby.

"Hey Gibbs- Oh, you're not Gibbs," she said, surprised.

"No, but he's right behind me. A little too much coffee I think," you hinted, making her smile.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Well, until he joins us, I'll just go over the new information I gathered about the murder weapon."

You listened to Abby talk and Gibbs joined a few minutes later, standing a bit closer to you than usual.

[lokilaufeysonslove]

𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥

𝐦𝐜𝐮!𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝!𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝!𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

// Summary // Peter is your boyfriend, that’s all.

// Warnings // none.

// Author’s Note // just a random drabble / divider by the amazing @saradika-graphics / gif by @clementloyalty

You were sitting on the couch in your apartment, scrolling through your phone while waiting for Peter to arrive. You had been dating for a few months now, but it still felt surreal to be dating the friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

As if on cue, there was a soft knock on the door and you quickly put away your phone, getting up and heading towards your door. You smiled as you opened the door to see Peter standing there, his hands shoved in his pockets and a shy smile on his lips.

"Hey," he said, leaning down and kissing your cheek.

"Hey," you replied, stepping aside to let him in.

Peter walked in and immediately headed towards the kitchen, probably to grab a snack like he always did. You followed him, leaning against the counter as you watched him rummage through the cabinets.

"So, how was your day?" you asked, trying to make conversation.

Peter shrugged, "As always. Fighting crime and all that."

You chuckled, "Well, at least you're good at it."

He turned to you with a grin, "That's because I have a great teacher."

You rolled your eyes playfully, "Oh please, I just give you a few tips here and there."

Peter leaned against the counter next to you, "You know you're more than just a teacher to me."

Your heart skipped a beat at his words and you couldn't help but smile, "Really?" You asked playfully.

"Of course," he said, pecking your lips lightly.

You intertwined your fingers with his, feeling a sense of warmth and contentment wash over you. You loved moments like this, just the two of you, away from the chaos of the world.

Suddenly, Peter's phone started ringing and he reluctantly let go of your hand to answer it. You watched as his face fell and he turned away from you to have a conversation.

"What's wrong?" you asked, sensing something was off.

"It's Mr. Stark," he said, his voice tense. "He needs me for something urgent."

You nodded understandingly, knowing that your dad’s calls were never good news.

"I'll drive you there," you said, grabbing your bag and following Peter out of your apartment.

As you arrived at the Avengers compound, you could see the worry etched on Peter's face. He was always so dedicated to his job, which was one of the many things you loved about him.

"Hey, Peter," your dad greeted as soon as he saw you both. "I need your help with something. I have a new project that I need you to work on."

"Sure, Mr. Stark," Peter said, a look of determination on his face.

"And you," Tony said, turning to you. "I need you to work with Peter on this. I have a feeling your expertise will come in handy.” You nodded.

The three of you sat down to discuss the project, you were feeling grateful for the opportunity to work with the two most important people in your life.

[moonswolfie]

You get caught by the sibling

Originally I was gonna write this for Lev but then I realised that I want to write this scenario for a fair amount of haikyuu boys so here we are (I decided to do characters who's siblings appear in the anime/manga excluding the miya twins and hoshiumi, sorry hoshiumi 😔)

I wanna write more for my boi hirugami, I just KNOW everyone's gonna be simping for him once the movies come out

CW: reader is gender neutral, I use the phrase "nii chan" cuz bro/brother sounds awkward, I use a name insert, some manga spoilers

Characters featured: Lev, Hinata, Kageyama, Tsukishima and Hirugami

˚ ༘ ೀLev Haiba

You were staying over at your boyfriend's place for the first time, and his family had been nothing but welcoming of you. They're all really sweet and excitable people, just like Lev himself.

That made you relieved, since you were scared his parents would be super strict or something, although that would be a little strange considering Lev's carefree behaviour.

Right now, you were sitting in his room in awkward silence. His room was surprisingly clean, you noted while looking around. (Alisa later informed you that he spent 3 hours cleaning his room before you arrived.)

"Hey, ummm..." you turned to him. He was looking off into a corner, eyes avoiding you nervously and a cute pink blush on his cheeks. He never usually acts like this. He isn't one to get nervous when asking for physical affection. He just asks you to hug him or hold his hand straight up. Or he just does it without even asking.

So that got you curious. "Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, eyes shifting to you. He looked excited, looking at you with wide eyes and a smile, waiting for your answer.

"HUH?!" that was the thing you expected to hear the least.

"Hey, don't be so loud! I don't want anyone to come here right now..." he said, a pretty pout on his face. You just stared at him, wide eyed.

You noticed his body slightly trembling, probably from trying to contain his excitement and nervousness.

"Let's... do it." you said, clenching his blanket in your hand nervously.

At your confirmation, he made a noise of excitement, smiling widely like an innocent boy whose mom let him get candy while grocery shopping.

"Okay. Sit still..!" he instructed, awkwardly grabbing your arms. You closed your eyes, too nervous to look at him lean in. The bed made a noise as he shifted closer, and you soon felt his breath against your face. You were sure he could hear your heart beating out of your chest.

"Levochka~ I came to- Oh my!"

Your eyes opened immediately, and you spun your head around to find a surprised Alisa at the door. You didn't see it, but Lev looked equally shocked.

"THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" Lev shouted nervously.

"Ah, I'll come back later~ Have fun!" Alisa smiled cheekily and closed the door. Your head slowly turned back to him, and he looked both embarrased and annoyed.

"Damn it, and I was so close..." he mumbled.

"...You can still do it, you know?" you said, looking down at his blanket. There was an awkward tension in the room.

"Not now that the mood is ruined!" he grabbed his head in frustration, blushing wildly.

"Later, then." you shrugged, blushing wildly yourself.

˚ ༘ ೀHinata Shoyo

You were helping Hinata with his summer break homework, solving it together in his room. He thanked you excessively when you agreed to come over, but you could never refuse an opportunity to come over to his house anyways.

His mom was really nice and even brought you two cookies. Natsu seemed excited to see you, as she always is. She even asked you to play with her, but Hinata's mom explained why you came over and she had the cutest pout on her face after.

After a while, you two were finally done with the homework, and he looked over to you, an idea flashing in his eyes before his cheeks turned pink. He was avoiding your gaze nervously. You tilted your head slightly, curious about his behaviour.

"So, ummm... since you've come over and, uhhh, helped me and everything... I-I wanted to thank you." Hinata was bright red at this point and seemed really nervous.

You hummed in question, waiting patiently for him to continue.

"W-With a kiss..." he mumbled quietly, probably too embarrased to say it louder, but you still heard him. You giggled a little at how cute he was.

"That's the best form of thank you I can possibly get." you couldn't contain your smile. You saw him tremble a little in excitement, and he scooted closer to you.

"O-Okay... I'll do it n-now..." he whispered, and you closed your eyes, knowing that he would get nervous if you kept looking at him.

You felt his lips press gently against yours, and you felt his hair brush against your forehead. You didn't kiss Hinata often yet, so every time it did happen it felt special, exciting.

"Nii-chan, let's go play with your...EW!" Natsu slid open the door to Hinata's room without warning, scrunching her little face up in disgust when she noticed what you two were doing.

"Nacchan! I-" Hinata scrambled away from you, stumbling over his words and not finishing the sentence.

"I'M TELLING MOM!" Natsu yelled, running away without closing the door. Hinata was too shocked to move, but soon swiftly got up, face scarlet red. "No, Nacchan, wait!" he ran after her.

You could hear Natsu tattling "MOM! NII-CHAN IS KISSING [NAME]!" downstairs with Hinata nervously denying it, attempting to do damage control. You could hear Hinata's mom chuckling at the scene, too.

To be fair, you were laughing right now as well. Whether it was from embarrasment or amusement, you're not sure.

˚ ༘ ೀKageyama Tobio

Kageyama randomly invited you over today, saying he was home alone. You knew his parents are often busy, but his sister was usually home with him, so this was quite the opportunity.

Knowing Kageyama, you were sure he didn't invite you over to do anything weird and simply wanted to spend time with you alone since things tend to get awkward when his family is around.

That being said, all you were doing was sitting in his room in silence. It didn't really feel uncomfortable, though. You have a feeling Kageyama simply enjoys being in your presence and doesn't feel the need to talk around you. Either that or he's just awkward.

Suddenly, you felt your hand being grabbed roughly, and you looked to your left to see Kageyama looking at you with strange determination. You haven't ever seen him make this kind of face, not even during a volleyball match.

"...Tobio?" you questioned, confused by his behaviour.

"Kiss me." he choked out, furrowing his brows.

"Uhhh, what?" you raised your eyebrows in disbelief. There's no way he just said what you think he said. Where is this even coming from?!

"I said, kiss me." Kageyama grit his teeth, face completely red now. You have a feeling he just doesn't know how to ask for a kiss properly, holding back your giggles as you let him do what he wants.

He grabbed your upper arms, and you let your eyes shut. You felt his breath on your face, lips so close to touching, when you suddenly heard a gasp.

"Tobio-chan, you little charmer~" Miwa leaned on the doorframe, smirking mischeviously. You covered your mouth with both of your hands, eyes wide as you moved away from Tobio.

"Why are you home?!" Kageyama yelled, mortified. He immediately let go of your arms.

"Work ended early. And there's no way we aren't talking about this later." Miwa seemed awfully amused. Kageyama huffed in annoyance at getting his opportunity to kiss you ruined.

"Oh, and by the way, you were doing it wrong. I'll teach you how to kiss the right way later." she said, closing the door behind her. There was complete silence in his room for a long time after that.

You turned to Kageyama, who was still red all over, gently taking his hand. "Tobio, I-"

"Don't. D-Don't say anything." he said quietly, his hand wriggling out of your gentle grip. Oh well, gazing at a flustered Kageyama is also a great activity.

But you can't help but worry about what Kageyama will do with Miwa's advice.

After his parents found out he has a partner, they incessantly kept asking him to meet you. In their own words, they wanted to "know what kind of person would fall in love with a kid like Kei". And you couldn't really blame them, knowing Tsukishima.

˚ ༘ ೀTsukishima Kei

They were pleasant to you, treating you well and even letting you stay over for dinner. You were a little surprised at how different they are from Tsukishima.

He took you to his room as soon as possible, wanting to avoid his mom questioning how you two ended up together, what he's like around you and such.

His room looked about the same as you expected, and he let you sit down on his bed, joining you.

"Your family is so nice! I wonder how they managed to get a grumpy boy like you mixed in there." you commented, smiling at him. He rolled his eyes, that being the only answer you got.

You didn't really know what else to say, so you just sat next to him in awkward silence. Then, you suddenly got an idea. A very very fun idea.

"Kei." you said, leaning forwards. He looked at you from the corner of his eye, waiting for you to continue. "Let's kiss." you said in an excited tone, and his lips pursed, face remaining blank.

"And why?" he asked, turning his head to you.

"Don't couples do that all the time?" you tilted your head, acting innocent. He sighed.

"...Fine." he acted like this was a pain to do, but you didn't miss the tiny sliver of a smile on his face. He was definitely excited right now. You leaned close and accidentally bumped your nose against his glasses.

"Be careful, those are- mmph..." you pressed your lips to his before he could finish his sentence, trying not to smile too hard into the kiss. This feels awesome!

His arm slowly wrapped around you, deepening the affection.

"Kei, mom says that- Ah!" you quickly broke the kiss to find Tsukishima's brother, Akiteru, standing at the door, frozen in shock.

"Well.... This is unexpected. I'm glad you two are happy together?" he said, awkward smile on his face. He slowly moved to close the door, not wanting to disrupt you further but just before he did it, Tsukishima stopped him.

"If you ever tell anyone about this, I will murder you." he said, furrowing his brows. The door opened again slightly, Akiteru wearing a worried smile on his face in the crack of the door.

"I won't, calm down. Just what do you think of me?" he assured him before shutting the door. As you sat there, processing what just happened, Tsukishima slowly brought his hands to his face, pushing his glasses up to his forehead. He groaned loudly into his hands.

"Are you okay?" you asked cautiously, blushing yourself.

"Do I look okay to you? Of course not." he pinched the bridge of his nose, face red.

You came over to your boyfriend's house for another study session this week. Exam season has been wild this year and you're eternally grateful for his help in your studies.

˚ ༘ ೀHirugami Sachiro

His family welcomed you upon your arrival as usual, the dog being especially happy to see you. The two of you are taking a break from studying just now, talking about various things in his room.

You suddenly felt the need to be close to him out of nowhere, wordlessly settling on his lap and hugging him. "Oh? Why are you hugging me?" he asked calmly.

"Do I need a reason?" you mumbled against him. "I guess not." he responded, gently placing an arm around you.

You looked up at him, not even trying to disguise the fact that you were staring at his lips. He raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly.

"Can I...?" you asked gently, not removing your gaze from his lips. He chuckled, asking "Can you what?"

He definitely knew what you were asking for, but just wanted to tease you a bit. You pouted, grumbling "I know you know what I mean." His smile became wider. "You're right, as always."

Before you could ask again, he gently pressed his lips against yours, and you hummed happily, squeezing him in your hold. His other hand gently moved to your face, holding it.

"Now what's this I see?" you were interrupted by Hirugami's older sister, standing at the door with an amused smile on her face. "You hate when my boyfriend is lovey dovey with me, but it's fine when you do it?"

Hirugami let out an annoyed sigh. "I hate your boyfriend because he's getting lovey dovey with you in front of me. I atleast do it in private."

"Jeez, okay then, you prude." his sister narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not a prude, I just prefer to not make others uncomfortable by making out with my partner in the living room." Hirugami still had a calm smile on his face, which made his sister even more annoyed.

"Whatever." his sister huffed, closing the door and walking off. When her footsteps could no longer be heard, he looked back at you with a slight frown on his face.

"Sorry about that. Where were we again?" he asked casually. It surprised you how calm he is about the whole thing, while you were turning red from the embarrasment of being caught.

"I... believe you were kissing me..." you mumbled.

"That's right." he said, cupping the side of your face.

[spaceman-earthgirl]

Supercorptober 2023 Day 3: Kara

As I mentioned on the previous post and on ao3, I won't be doing all the prompts this year but I will do my best to do a decent amount of them! I'll be posting them all both on here and ao3. Enjoy!

ao3 fic link. series link.

Alex knows something is wrong. She knows her sister, has been watching her all night, and something is definitely up.

The whole night her movements have looked controlled, like she’s holding herself together, or holding herself back. Which is entirely confusing because she also can’t stop smiling. Yes, on movie nights like this, Kara is usually happy, spending time with her two favourite people, but this is different.

It’s not until halfway through the movie that Kara pauses it before excusing herself to the bathroom, and Alex takes her chance. If she doesn’t have the opportunity to talk to Kara alone, then Lena is the next best thing.

Alex waits until she hears the lock click on the bathroom door, then waits a few more seconds before she uses the chance while she has it.

When she looks back at Lena, she finds her smiling down at her phone. Alex knows that smiles, and it almost derails her Kara questioning just so she can find out who Lena is texting because that’s definitely the smile of someone with a crush. But that can wait, she needs to check on her sister first.

“Is Kara ok?”

Lena startles at the question, dropping her phone. Something flickers across her face before Lena schools her features. “What do you mean?”

“She doesn’t seem different tonight? She hasn’t stop smiling,” Alex gestures to the other side of the couch Lena is on, to where Kara has spent the evening sitting on her own. “But she also isn’t sitting curled up beside you like she usually would.” Alex frowns. “Has something happened between the two of you?”

Lena’s eyes widen in alarm, but Alex’s mind is already spinning through other scenarios, so she misses it.

Is that what this is? Alex has always wondered if Kara may have a little crush on Lena. Despite Alex’s teasing, Kara has always denied it. But if Lena is seeing someone, then maybe Kara is probably upset about that.

But that doesn’t explain the smiling.

“No that can’t be it, she seems too happy for you guys to be fighting.”

Lena hesitates. “Maybe you should just talk to Kara.”

Alex is frowning again. “So, she hasn’t spoken to you either?”

Lena pauses. “No, she has, but she’ll want to talk to you about it herself.”

Alex is stopped from continuing her questioning when the bathroom door open and Kara returns, retaking her seat far too far away from Lena to be normal.

Kara pauses when she realises they’re both silent and watching her. “Are you two okay?”

Alex opens her mouth but she’s beaten to answering by Lena.

Except Lena doesn’t answer out loud, she leans forward and whispers something to Kara.

There’s a long moment where they share hushed whispers, Alex wishing she was the one with super hearing because the confusion is killing her.

“What’s going on?” Alex finally asks, the wait getting the best of her.

Kara and Lena both turn to face Alex. “So,” Kara starts. “I have something to tell you.” Kara takes Lena’s hand, threads their fingers together. “Or we have something to tell you.” Kara’s grinning again. “Lena and I are dating.”

Alex’s mouth drops open. Of all the things Alex had expected it to be, it wasn’t this.

“It’s new, we wanted to keep it to ourselves for a bit, but we were going to tell you soon.”

“Well, trying to stay away from Lena was dumb if you were trying to act normal, you two can’t stay away from each other.” Alex pauses. “Which suddenly makes a lot of sense, maybe I should have seen this coming.”

Alex stands, reaching out to pull Kara up too, wrapping her in a big hug. “I’m so happy for you.” She tugs Lena in too. “I’m so happy for you both.”

Kara’s absolutely beaming when they all release each other, but then she looks at Lena and Alex really feels dumb for missing this because she’s never seen two people look so in love as Kara and Lena do looking at each other right now.

“No kissing in front of me though please, I don’t think I could handle that,” Alex adds. She truly is happy for them both, but Kara is still her sister.

“No promises,” Lena winks and suddenly Alex wishes she hadn’t pried.

[racingline3]

Unexpected ~ Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc x reader

Description: Small blurb about idiots that can't communicate

~ Fluff ~

*********

"Charles?" You interrupt the interview. If anyone asks, its because of time constraints.

It may or may not be because you were jealous of the interviewer getting the full force of Charles charm.

"Yeah?" He turned his head at your quiet tone, you were surprised he had heard at all, but he didn't meet your eyes. He rarely ever looked you in the eye.

It was probably for the best considering you had a crush on him and would probably melt under his gaze but you couldn't help but want the attention he so easily gave to everyone else.

"Time's up." You say more to the interviewer that was standing too close to him than to the Monasque himself.

He nods, apologies to the interviewer, then turns and trips over his own feet before righting himself.

"Should you be really driving such high speed cars?" You joke with a smile. But like everything you had done to try and be friendly with Charles since starting your job with Ferrari 3 months ago, it seems to fall on deaf ears.

He mumbles something you can't understand and his cheeks turn so red they compliment his shirt.

"I have to go get Carlos for a sit down interview with a magazine reporter, I'll catch you later for a debrief on the media debrief?" You cringe at your own words as you try to joke and fail.

"Sure whatever." He says, suddenly looking like a kicked puppy. You huffed, it wasn't your fault he had to spend more time with you than the interviewer he obviously liked.

**********

The sight before you should be criminal. Charles is waiting for you at the board table in the empty office room in a soft hoodie and freshly showered hair.

He sits up straighter when you enter the room, "How is Carlos?"

You shrug, "He's not too happy, bad strategy call all around, wasn't it?"

You could feel his eyes following you as you sat down with your laptop and folder. "I wasn't too harsh with the media afterwards?" He asks, taking the stats sheet you hand him.

You had to squash the jealous monster rising up your throat, if anything he had been all too comfortable with them.

"No, you followed the points we had set out." You said. "You were great...like usual." You admit.

It feels like watching the sun come out on a rainy day as a soft smile dawned on Charles face. "I'm great?" He asks.

You urge the ground to swallow you up to no avail. You were just an assistant working on different marketing projects, you were supposed to be professional and not be crushing on one of the drivers.

"I...that's not...I mean..."

You could not have been more delighted when your manager appeared in the doorways ask how Carlos interview went. By the time you got back to Charles, he had backed away, both physically and emotionally. Giving one word answers and not looking at you until he was leaving the room.

"I think....you are great, too." His accent seems to smooth the words over. Enough do that you know they will slip easily past your defences and nestle under your skin for a long time. You already know you'll hear them on repeat in your head while you walk around pretending you aren't hopelessly crushing on Charles.

**********

"So today is my last day being your media handler" You try to keep your voice light but you had not been looking forward to this. At all. You know you are going to miss Charles, but it wasn't like you ever had him in the first place.

"What?" Charles stops mid step, eyes wide.

"I thought someone would have told you." You say.

"You're leaving?" He sounds like he does when his car goes out of control on a spin in the rain.

"Yeah I'm moving to what's Carlos' side of the garage, the assistant manager there has the same degree as me and I really want to see what I can learn."

"So I'll still see you around?" He asks. You frown to yourself, he never seemed so eager to see you much before.

"And its good for your career?"

"Yeah it's a great opportunity."

He leaves you completely surprised when he goes into the media conference room like he's just won a Grand Prix

***********

You hear your name being called and you'd recognise that accent anywhere.

"There you are. I was looking for you." Charles says as he catches you before you leave the Paddock after practice on Friday.

You rack your brain for something you'd forgotten but you had finished your to do list for the day and Charles name hadn't been anywhere near it.

He gives you a lopsided smile, "You didn't forget anything." You wonder when he started reading your mind. "I just hadn't seen you since before the summer break. How was yours?"

"Oh." You blink, "I had some work to do but I did get home to see my family. Yours?"

"Stressful."

"Oh I'm sorry..."

"No." He groans, "I'm sorry I keep putting my foot in my mouth. What I mean was that I did a lot of thinking..."

"Dangerous." You quip with a quick grin.

"About you."

"Me?" You're voice comes out in a squeak.

"Yes." You finally notice that he's gazing into your eyes.

"I cannot stop thinking about you. I make a fool of myself in front of you. I can't talk, I replay our conversations over and over. I like you, since the first time I met you. Do you want to go out sometime...with me?"

You presume this is what driving an F1 car is like, adrenaline coursing through your veins.

"I thought you hated me."

He looks stricken, "No, no! Dammit Arthur was right..." He mumbles more to himself than to you and you can't help but find it adorable.

"I didn't mean for you to think that."

"But you're so charming with everyone but me."

"Exactly, I can't form proper words around you. And we were working together so I couldn't let you know I liked you. I don't want to affect your career."

And that was the Charles you had developed a crush on, the earnest, caring man.

"Oh." You never would have dared to hope for this scenario.

"You're smart and funny and beautiful and would you consider going out with me?"

You assume this is what it's like when the lights go out and the cars roar into action.

"I would really like that."

[juyomiao]

Only ONE - sung hanbin x gn!reader

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09 ☆ (in)direct kiss

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chapter warnings: joking implications of killing someone , written part isn't proof read n very dialogue heavy

written part under the cut (749 words)

you're considering turning around and making a stop at chaehyun's house to make her regret whatever she planned – maybe include taerae in it too since he's clearly her accomplice in all of this. seriously, what on god's green earth were they thinking?

keyword, considering.

something is telling you this is an opportunity you can't pass on, it's now or never, and the way hanbin looks up from his phone and directly at you almost at the same time as you do is the confirmation you needed.

you don't know where all your insecurities about your feelings not being reciprocated went, but as you walk up to him you find out you it doesn't feel bad, being confident about hanbin feeling the same for once.

"hi," no, nevermind, there goes all your confidence, disappeared into thin air once you make eye contact with hanbin.

"hi, yn," he smiles, the same way he always does, but for some reason it feels different "so i guess we both got caught up in whatever our friends planned?"

"i guess, yeah," a few seconds of awkward silence pass. you have to save this conversation before it ends up where all the conversations between you two end up: nowhere. "so? what do you want to do?"

"well, i was supposed to meet up with hao, but we didn't really have any plans on what exactly to do… i guess the same was with you and chaehyun?" you nod "that mother fucker, once i get her i'm going to- sorry, that's not the point, i always get sidetracked…"

"that's why i like you,"

your eyes widen. did you hear that right?

"what?" hanbin seems as confused as you "what?"

oh, so he didn't actually say that. you're hallucinating too, now? chaehyun gave you the number of that psychiatrist, maybe you should contact them…

"nothing, i thought you said something. do you want to get ice cream?" it's the first idea that comes to your mind, you don't even mentally beat yourself up for how lame it is, anything is fine as long as you stop standing there.

surprisingly, almost all the awkwardness between you two slowly goes away. spending time with hanbin outside of school and your student council duties is fun, time goes by quickly, and before you know it you've already bought your ice cream and sat down on a bench nearby.

"what flavor did you get?" hanbin asks.

"strawberry," it's pretty obvious, the vibrant (and a bit too artificial) pink of the ice cream should give it away easily, why would he even ask?

"can i try it?" you nod your head, standing up "i'll go ask if they have one of those stupid plastic spoons they have at ice cream places,"

"why?"

"uh, i mean, unless you want us to indirectly kiss or something, that's our only option,"

"mh… right, we should probably avoid indirect kisses..." before you can start walking away, he grabs your wrist, making you sit down again. "hanbin what…?"

"how about a direct kiss instead?"

okay now you've completely gone insane. there's no way in hell sung hanbin, your lifelong crush sung hanbin just said he wants to kiss you. no way.

"yn?" then why is he looking at you like he's waiting for an answer?

you know what, fuck it. maybe you're delusional, maybe you're hallucinating, maybe it's a dream. you're still not missing the opportunity to kiss someone you've had a crush on since middle school.

"yeah, a direct kiss sounds great, actually."

all the times hanbin has taken your breath away metaphorically, with something he did or said, could never compare to this one.

"so you like me too?"

"no, i just kissed you for shits and giggles," you roll your eyes "of course! i've liked you since you gave me a pencil when we were twelve!"

"oh," well, now he's going to think you're some kind of creep, great job yn! "well, that's nice. since i did that because i liked you,"

"wait, you liked me before i liked you?"

"i mean, i didn't know you had feelings for me until… today, actually. on that note," he takes his phone out of his pocket "do you know why chaehyun told me, and i quote, 'if you keep up this search for yn's crush you're going to get your feelings hurt'?"

you make a mental note to still take that detour to chae's house on your way home.

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☆ note: RAHHHHH THEY KISSED WE CHEERED . why does hanbin kind of have w rizz now what happened . btw this is almost as long as the ricky one shot but instead of taking me 3 weeks to write this took me 30 minutes . worms in the brain fr . btw yes i accidentally posted this while editing the draft🧍

☆ SYNOPSIS: sung hanbin is everyone's dream guy: perfect grades, perfect looks, perfect personality, he has it all. he's even class AND student council president! everyone loves him, and you, as his vice-president, are no exception to that. having been in love with him since you were 12, you try to tone down your feelings "for the sake of professionalism" and claim it's simple admiration for someone who objectively has no flaws. but there is one small detail you missed, in all these years admiring him: he has an even bigger crush on you.

☆ TAGLIST: (italics = couldn't tag)(had to remove even more ppl bc tumblr is being a bitch ,, sorry) @hananovi @soobeaniee @idkwatodoanymore @huipinkhair @homohoons @sunnyglower @lethalvenus @sunoksunny @tocupid @deafeningtyrantmilkshake @winteringdream @ikeryn @ilovechanhee @thesiriusmap @hee-lanat @baekstans @blaycke @vernonfernandez @8turning @yeolsbestie @asteroidchenle @hvnyujiq @hikyeom @r4innoms @enhypen-scholarship @sulkygyu @meowrinz @rikimylove @ridinhyuck @lumixen @neohyxn @ceanairy @beomibeom @cherriegyu @sunwcloud @k4hzuhas @annoyingbitch83 @stickersim @dreamyyn @anawesomeaquatic @softforjungwoo @utopiakys @247hrs @sunswoonie @minhui896 @chanhee-hee @nxurxn @peachysohn @garaaaaaaaaa @haesunflower

[akwolfgrl]

How sweet it is to be loved by them 17

This is a flashback

"Zeff!”

“Chef!”

“Owner!”

A cacophony of various voices screamed for him. The Baratie wasn't even opened yet. They hadn't even started morning prep. Everyone had just woken up, himself included. Not all the staff lived on the Baratie, just some of them. Not everyone had a home to go to after work. Patty and Crane being two of them. They were the first two to bust through his bedroom door. 

“What the hell do you thi…” Zeff started to yell until he saw what exactly they were all yelling about. Patty held Sanji arms length from his body by his armpits, Sanji hadn't hit a growth spurt yet, so he was still small for his age. The eleven year old was struggling kicking and clawing in antep to free himself. Blue flowers were blooming from his blond hair. Sanji was an omega, far too young to be presenting. Most omegas were rather late in presenting, typically not until fifteen to seventeen. They were usually the last to present. 

“Let me go!” Sanji yelled. “Fuckers!” 

“Fuck, Koushirou was right,” He owed him a drink and a call. 

“What do we do?!” Carne asked in a panic. There was not a single omega on this ship…except for Sanji. 

“Put him on my bed and bring me the den den, I have to make a call,” 

The chefs deposit the kid on his bed and scuttle out. Zeff sighs as he watches Sanji huddle in the corner of the bed, glaring at him, one hand gripping his hair thighly, and then the other arm warps around his knees. Soon enough, they brought him the den den and Sanji's stuffed goat. It was the only toy the kid had…he should probably rectify that mistake. For as small as he was, Sanji didn't act like other children. But seeing the boy clutching the goat like a lifeline was proof that he was still a child. A child going through a scary and confusing time. Zeff waited as the call was made. 

“Hello?” Koushirou's familiar voice came threw the snail. 

“You were right,” Zeff got straight to the point, the other omega had been right about Sanji. 

“It's a bit early but I'm not surprised, I suspected he and Zoro would be compatible. Zoro is in his first rut at the moment also early,” Zeff huffed a second warning would have been aprishted. “What flowers is he growing? “

“I've never seen em before, they're blue, ” Zeff admitted as he turned to Sanji, the blue flowers were scattered around his bed as the boy plucked the flowers from his hair, tears streaming down his face. “Shit!” Zeff took Sanji's hands in his own. Their hands were so small he could hold both with just one of his own.

“What's happening?”

“Sanjis plucking his flowers,” 

“Try scenting him, help him make a nest,” Koushirou instructed over the den den. 

Zeff let out a soothing scent, rubbing his free hand over Sanji.

“Noo! I gotta stop it! Fore he finds out!” Sanji whimpers out. “Were suppose ta be alphas! Fathers gonna be so mad at me! He cant find out,” 

“Eggplant it's OK, you don't have to be an alpha,” Zeff had assumed that the boy had been an ophen. 

“Sanji,” Koushirou's voice said. “Did your father tell you that omegas were weak?” 

“Yah,” Sanji sniffles. “He said they were weak and useless like me, even mom had been an alpha,” 

“Omegas are just as strong as alphas, I am an omega and a master swordsman. After your heats over, you should come visit. I'll be more than happy to teach the ways of the old country, where omegas were equal to alphas,” 

“Can I really?” Sanji asked, sounding hopeful,  Zeff wasn't sure if he was asking if he could visit or if he could be strong. Either way was the same answer. 

“Of course, what are you and Zeff going to make with your flower?” Koushirou asked, Zeff never had the opportunity to cook something with the flowers from an omega. He knew it was a common practice. 

“No! You can't eat delphinium! It's poisonous,” 

“Shh it's OK, eggplant. we won't eat it,” zeff reassured his boy. He tucked his blanket around his small body the best he could in a poor attempt at a nest. 

“Hmm let's see," Zeff could hear the pages of a book turning. “delphinium it represents someone with a big heart, the blue is dignity and grace, in love the delphinium symbolizes strong bonds,” Zeff counted to scent sooth and scent sanji as the young boy fell asleep a small quiet purr rumbling in his chest as clutched the stuffed goat. 

[thegentlemansresurgence]

Ok, I will ask anything, thanks for the invitation on your blog to do so. I am randomly asking men who use the moniker of gentleman on their blogs to tell me what they think defines a gentleman. I am so interested to know if the term has morphed. It isn't used so much in current conversations, but I love this term and would like to if the essence is the same in a man's mind's eye. I do not however, have the same fondness for the term Lady! Ok if not interested in answering but if you are just let me know what you think are the key qualities, behaviors, thoughts etc a gentleman should possess. Thanks and take good care

Apologies, but this is going to be a long drawn out answer because I'm also going to take this opportunity to brag on my grandpa.

My grandfather would be my definition of a gentleman. Papa Esley was a tall wiry man, but his biceps and tricep were ripped. He was only 6'3" but as a child it seemed like I was looking up at a sequoia tree. He had a slightly offset nose from his boxing days, and missing middle finger from his days in a textile mill.

Papa Esley always dressed well. Always in dress pants, a long sleeve button up shirt and wingtips. If he was going to work on something he'd take his dress shirt off and sport his wife beater. Occasionally he wore a fedora, had an old leather band watch. Drove a 1970 pea green Buick skylark. He said he got that color cause it looked just as nice when the pollen covered it.

If you can’t tell Papa Esley was my hero. I tried to dress like him, walk like him, talk like him and once and only once, had a haircut like him.

He took me to Oney's barbershop. I remember a handful of men arguing over current events, their wives spending money and sports. Papa loved to bring up Mike Tyson. It was finally my turn to hop in Oney's chair. Oney never asked how you wanted it. Oney gave one haircut, high and tight! I gave the man my $7 and back home we went. Mom was not near as excited about my new haircut as I was.

In 7th grade I shattered my ankle playing basketball. A few days later papa slipped getting out of the shower and broke his femur. Mom took care of both of us.

He had two twin beds in his bedroom. It hadn't changed much since Mema died in 1985. I asked why the twin beds. He told me after 9 kids they figured they might need to try something different. He knew I didn't want to hear it and he'd laugh and laugh.

So in his bedroom we both sat up with our right legs slightly elevated and he started sharing his pearls of wisdom:

Never turn down a piece of gum, your breath probably stinks.

Take your hat off when you meet someone.

Have a firm handshake.

Maintain eye contact.

Introduce yourself and say nice to meet you.

Always say yes sir, no ma'am.

Give your chair up if a woman is standing, it also applied to a person that is older than you.

The only people you should get even with are the ones who've helped you.

Loosen the lug nuts on a flat tire before you jack the car up.

This is how you date, this is how you conduct yourself, this is how you barter, this why you work hard, etc etc

This instance it was mostly one sided but I tried to slide a question or two in when I could. Some he would answer, some he would not. Questions about the war he said he would not discuss. “I had to do things I don't want to talk about, I saw things I don't even have words to describe.”

I learned that he met Mema at a state fair. Trying to impress her, he jumped into the ring with a bear... Papa Esley said he got a few good licks in but knew once the bear's paws hit him, he'd be in trouble... but obviously was a great icebreaker.

I'll tell one more cause it's a moment that sticks with me.

Papa Esley told me to never have sex with a woman I wasn't willing to raise a child with, cause that's a possibility. He explained the consequences, and how my life would no longer be the top priority. I left that day know full well where he stood on the issue.

It wasn't long after that a young girl close to my age showed up at church... pregnant. She sat upfront on the left side, alone. I don't have to paint the picture, you know there were whispers throughout the church that day. I watched my grandfather grab his Bible and go sit with her. He whispered something in her ear, put his arm around her, gave a squeeze and then looked back to the preacher.

We went to Papa's house every Sunday after church. I followed him outside... I had questions. I knew how papa felt about sex before marriage but he didn't react the way I imagined he would.

Papa, what did you say to the girl? He said I introduced myself, told her the good thing about being in a small church is everyone knows your business. The bad thing about being apart of a small church is everyone knows your business. I will help you however I can and gave her a hug.

With his actions my Papa Esley, showed love and compassion to a girl who needed it. That woman still comes every Sunday.

Papa Esley looked the part, and lived it. If he could help, he helped. If he felt strongly about something, he'd stand his ground, regardless of the consequences. He was a man of character, patience, humble and disciplined. The thing I admire the most is there was little doubt that he loved his wife. I loved how they always held hands, sometimes even when they were arguing 🤣

[joka13]

FANFICTION: Weasley Twins x Reader (Slytherin Girl) - Part 3

WARNINGS: British swearing

It's the first day of classes, and you're already struggling to stay awake in the middle of a lecture. Professor Sprout's lecture to be specific. As usual, she's going on about some magical plant as you and your peers stand around the greenhouse. On your right, Neville Longbottom is scribbling down notes like he's in a speed writing contest. You can't understand how someone could be so willingly involved in such a subject as this.

A gentle clatter coming from the back end of the greenhouse catches your attention. Everyone else seems to remain undisturbed and Professor Sprout has her back turned, so you take the opportunity and slink away unnoticed to investigate.

To your surprise, you find Fred and George Weasley rustling about in the greenery. Both hold a pair of clippers and are trying and failing to snip a piece of a plant that's fighting back.

You stifle a laugh and tiptoe up behind them. Using both hands at the same time, one for each twin, you tap their shoulders.

Fred yelps and George accidentally flings his clippers onto the floor. The twins spin around to face you.

You burst out laughing as the twins visibly relax in relief.

"Bloody hell, y/n!" Fred exclaims (you're delighted to learn that he knows your name, but you don't let it show). "Don't scare us like that! We thought you were Sprout."

"You sneaky little Slytherin," George chuckles, nodding his head in approval. "Congrats. Not many people can catch us off guard."

"Sorry, I couldn't pass the chance," you giggle. "Are you two stealing?"

"Attempting to," George says casually. "We need some of this one for a new project we're working on." He jabs his thumb at the bush of thrashing, green tentacles behind him.

"Great going, George. Now she knows too much," Fred jokes. "We're going to have to dispose of her."

"Pfft!" You wave a hand of dismissal. "If I know anything, it's how to keep a secret." You pause to peek around the corner, making sure Professor Sprout is still occupied. "In fact, I'll help if you'll let me."

"Oh, that would be grand!" Fred says as he claps his hands together.

George goes to retrieve his clippers and offers them to you. "There must be some sort of trick to it, right?" he asks.

You gently push away his hand. "There is, but it doesn't require any cutting." The twins part out of your way as you move toward the bush. "This plant is commonly referred to as 'Ask', as in 'Ask and Ye Shall Receive'. It's practically impossible to get a leaf if you try to take it by force."

The "Ask" has calmed down by now. You begin to lift your hand, and then are suddenly very aware of the twins peering over your shoulders, one on each side. You do your best to ignore them as you reach for the bush's nearest leaf. You sense Fred and George observing intently as you run your pointer finger slowly up one side of the long leaf. Once your finger reaches the tip, the leaf instantly straightens. The leaf's base then silently detaches from the rest of the plant and falls into your hand.

You turn around, hold up the leaf, and smile, pleased with yourself. You have never done that without Professor Sprout's supervision before. "All you have to do is ask," you say.

Fred and George exchange a look, though you can't exactly tell what it implies. Probably some sort of twin communication that nobody but themselves could possibly hope to decipher.

"What is it?" you ask. They aren't answering you, and they're still too close for comfort. "What? Tell me!"

"She could be of use," George says, raising his eyebrows. It's almost a question.

Fred rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Yes, yes..."

"Don't talk like I'm not right here," you say, placing one hand on your hip and holding out the leaf with the other. "Do you want the damned leaf or not?"

"Ah, yes, thank you for that," George finally responds. He plucks the leaf from your grasp and lightly places it in the little bag hanging from his shoulder.

"Now we must depart, but we will likely be requesting your services again," says Fred as he pats you on the head.

"Um... alright then." You are at a loss for words. You watch as the twins find their way around pots and boxes towards the back door. But just as they're about to make their exit, Professor Sprout's voice rings loud throughout the greenhouse. The twins freeze in place.

"Mr. Weasley... and Mr. Weasley. And... Ms. y/l/n?" Professor Sprout stands only ten feet away with students starting to gather behind her. You already know you've been caught when she glances down at George's bag. "Having a gander at my plants again, boys?" she says sarcastically. "And you, Ms. y/l/n? What are you doing back here?"

You look to the twins for help, but they just shrug their shoulders. You give a sigh of surrender.

"Only assisting my fellow classmates with their project," you laugh sheepishly.

Professor Sprout merely nods, as if implying that she's disappointed in you but that she also knew this day would come eventually.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor, fifteen from Slytherin, and detention this evening at six o'clock p.m. for the lot of you," the professor says. "You'll be re-potting the mandrakes." You, Fred, and George all groan in unison.

[im00flynn]

Kang becoming obsessed and falling for reader with chaos magic? I'm new so idk if request are still open if not love ur work anyways!!!❤️

A Kind Of Magic: Kang x Reader

Summary: The Request

Warnings: A bit of Angst and Yandere behavior

A/N: The reader's powers are from the darkhold, but she hasn't unlocked all powers yet. I'll probably make a part 2 if requested.

You were fighting.

Fighting for the protection for your home in the quantum realm against Kang's army.

You hated him, hated him for trying to take over everything and everyone.

Unfortunately, he couldn't say the same about you.

He saw how you used your powers to take out most of his army.

"Don't kill them, bring them to me." He told his army before sending them out to the battle to retrieve you.

You saw the army coming after you, so you decided to fly up into the sky to find Kang to defeat him one on one.

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You found him looking out from above, and he saw you.

He just stared at you smiling a smile that made you shutter in a bit of fear.

You look into his mind to see what he's up to, 'I know you can read my thoughts, and just know that once this fight is over, you'll be mine.'

This made you more uneasy. You decided to fly back down to your army, "We need to leave, now!" You yell to them.

"Why? The fight just started, and we're not giving up!" Quaz asked, confused

You just look at him with a worried look. He took this as an opportunity to read your mind.

He went from confused to anxious, "Are you sure he was thinking that, maybe your powers malfunctioned or something?" He asks, worried for you.

"My powers never malfunction, Quaz. We have to go now!" You yell before trying to leave.

Before you can leave, a guard comes out of nowhere and tries to knock you out.

You use your powers to rip the guard apart, but this was enough to distract you and for Kang to come down and knock you out from behind.

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You wake up in a strange room bound to a chair.

"What the fu -" You say before getting interrupted by a door opening.

And there he was, the man behind the bloodshed.

"Oh good, you're awake." He says with a small smile.

You stare at him with a grimace on your face, "Oh, don't look at me like that, Darling. I just want to talk." He states sitting down in front of you

"Talk? If you wanted to talk, why did you tie me up?" You ask furiously, and he sighs.

"If I didn't, I knew you would try to run away or kill me, or both." He tells you before come towards you to untie you.

He unties you and turns to sit back down. You take this opportunity to use your powers to throw him against the wall, but he was one step ahead of you.

A force field surrounds him, protecting him from your powers.

"I just want to talk." He states calmly before lowering his shield.

You agree but still on high alert if he tries anything else, Glowing [Color] orbs form around your hands to show him you're ready to fight if need be.

"What do you want from me?" You ask him, staring into his brown dark eyes.

He softly smiles, "I've seen you fight out on the battlefield. You're more powerful than anyone I've ever met, including me. Not a lot of people can do the things you do, and I'm impressed." He tells you.

You scoff, "That still doesn't explain why I'm here, so answer my question. Why am I here?" You ask him irritated.

"What I really want from you is to join me in ruling the quantum realm. So what do you say?" He questions you holding out his hand for you to take.

You look out at the fight outside seeing the people you love and care for being demolished, then look back at him.

You sigh, "If I join you, do you promise to leave my friends and family alone?" You ask him.

He slowly takes your hand in his and smiles at you, "Of course."

-------------------------------------------------------

Ever since you agreed to rule with him, he has left everyone you wanted safe alone like he promised.

Over time, you've grown to not hate him as much, and you did in the past, and life became easy for you and the people in the quantum realm.

Let's just hope a certain Ant and Wasp don't come and try take you and Kang down...

THE END...?

A/N: SORRY THIS IS SORT OF A CLIFFHANGER! AND THIS WAS WRITTEN LAST MINUTE! I'VE BEEN BUSY RECENTLY WITH COLLEGE AND WORK SO I'LL TRY TO POST AS MUCH AS I CAN! ILY GUYS <3

tag list:

@lol-im-done @nicolewithanee @princessknight005 @namor-is-the-way @altheadq

[writeandsurvive]

I had to make myself forgiven for the angst of this fic, and a proposing fic was suggested, so... Hope I made it up to you @mandy426 @novamariestark 🥹❤️

Warnings: so much fluff, long distance relationship, age gap, proposal, romantic!Alden, couple taking a bath together, Alden being a mama's boy, talk about a Las Vegas wedding, riding in a limo

Let me be your husband ~ Alden Parker

"Tim, remember you're on call this weekend if there's an emergency." Alden said to his senior agent, grabbing his bag that had been sitting behind in desk the entire day. "I better leave now if I want to catch my flight." He made sure his desk was cleared, computer off and put the bag over his shoulder.

"Need a ride, Parker?" Torres offered.

"Thanks but my Uber is two minutes away. If you feel like picking me up on Sunday night, though..."

Nick chuckled. "Gotcha. Just give me the time."

"Say hi to your lady!" They collectively said as Alden walked over the elevator. He nodded at them with a smile.

He cannot wait until your assignment in Los Angeles is over so you can come back home to him. Flying back and forth every other month is a nightmare, and the time you have together is absolutely not enough. But this assignment was such a big opportunity for you and your career, Alden encouraged you to take it, saying that your couple would survive those two years apart. So far, so good. He just never imagined how hard it'd be.

Six months left. Alden was counting the days and so were you, even though you loved what you were doing in LA. The position was everything you ever wanted, and when your company offered it to you, you were ecstatic. The only thing that you may doubt was your relationship with Alden. You actually considered turning the offer down, afraid that you'd lose the love of your life. But luckily, you have the most amazing man and partner in Alden Parker.

You've had a very long week. Finally making it home, you poured yourself a glass of white wine, and texted Alden to ask him when you could facetime. He was all you wanted and needed, but unfortunately work caught up with him and he had to cancel his visit. Extremely sad about that, you waited for an answer that wasn't coming so you decided to draw yourself a bath. FaceTiming Alden while you're naked in the bath could be quite fun. You've been discovering lots of different ways to be intimate in the past year and a half.

The tub was practically filled up when there was a knock at your door. Suspicious - because you don't really have visitors - you looked through the peephole and you started to shake from happiness. The door couldn't get opened fast enough.

There he was, in all his glory.

You didn't give him time to put his bag away before jumping in his arms and kissing him. "You're here." You whispered between kisses.

Alden made a few steps forward while carrying you so he could kick the door close for his foot. You stayed in the small entrance, just greeting each other, feeling each other's body and smell. You almost forgot how intoxicating his scent was.

Finally breaking apart, you slapped his chest. "You lied to me, dickhead!"

He chuckled. "I didn't. I really thought I wouldn't be able to make it until last night. And then, the team suggested I surprise you."

"They are a terrible influence." You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him again.

"I'll make sure they know that." He held you tight. "I missed you so much."

"Missed you more. We can't let my bath go to waste, can we?" You teased, biting your bottom lip.

"Oh no, we do not waste water in this house. Lead the way, princess."

Your back against Alden's chest, soaking in the hot water and relaxing. It was the best you've felt in a long time, probably since the last time he was visiting. His arms were wrapped around you, holding you close to him. Every now and then, you felt his soft lips against your neck and shoulder. You could feel his cock twitching against your back, as his hands gently touch your tits and legs. It was long until his fingers were brushing your intimate parts. "Den," you moaned.

"Just relax, baby. Let me take care of you." And he did just that.

It felt incredible to sleep in his arms again, you almost didn't want to fall asleep. Traveling after a rough week obviously exhausted Alden, and it didn't take long before he was snoring against you, his head buried in the crock of your neck. You played with his hair and beard until you drifted away too.

You had no particular plans the next day, just wanted to enjoy being with the man of your dreams. "We could go to Las Vegas." He offered over breakfast.

"To do what?"

"Get married."

You choked on your coffee. "We said we'd wait until I'm back in DC." Alden held your hand and played with the engagement ring on your finger. You looked down there and remembered his proposal.

Alden was having lunch with his mom, like every other Saturday. He's been a mama's boy since he was born and on top of those lunches, he would call her every two days, just to check on her and talk about everything and nothing.

When he told her about you, Mrs Parker wasn't thrilled and it was only because of the age difference. She doubted that a girl half her son's age could be serious about him and she didn't want her baby to have his heart broken - again. Obviously, Alden knew it'd be her reaction, so he quickly organized a meeting between both of you, and by the end, you had stolen his mother's heart.

Since then, every lunch started with her asking about you. Why weren't you joining them? How were you doing? How was work? ...

"Well there's something I need to talk to you without her knowing." He told his mom.

"You are not breaking up with this girl, Alden."

He chuckled. "That's literally the opposite, ma. I wanna propose to her."

Mrs Parker gasped as if she was the one being proposed to. She immediately asked how he was planning it, if he had the ring - he didn't so she offered to go ring shopping with him -, what he was going to say. "I'm actually going to know your help." And he told her the entire plan.

As a date night, Alden invited you to go see a musical at the Kennedy Center, starring your favorite actor. You were absolutely delighted about it, and loved the show from beginning to end. Alden did enjoy it too, but what he loved the most was how your eyes sparkled and your smile widened. Walking out of the venue, hand in hand, Alden listened to you going on and on about your celebrity crush, especially about one particular song they sang. It took you a long moment to notice the limo parked there.

"Fancy!" You exclaimed and started to walk on the other side. But the driver standing there had opened the door, and Alden didn't move an inch.

"That's our ride."

And he wasn't kidding. Alden helped you inside the limo. He offered a glass of champagne as the car moved. "What is happening?" You giggled and blushed, kinda overwhelmed by this much of romance and luxury. You never thought you'd get to ride a limo one day, but here you were. Drinking champagne with the man you love, the smell of leather and his cologne intoxicating your senses. "Where are we going?"

"Just enjoy the ride my love." He leaned in to kiss you, and you didn't waste a second before intensifying it. All teeth and tongue, you were ready let Alden ruin you here and there. You didn't know if the driver could see you, but he could probably hear. "Easy Tiger," he smiled against your lips.

You didn't know how long the ride lasted, but you spent the entire time questioning Alden, about the whereabouts, or what this and that buttons would do. "Well this one, love, does something amazing. Press it." You did and the window rolled down. Alden laughed and you gently slapped his chest. "Jerk!"

"But seriously, press this one. I think you'll like it." Suspicious that he was making fun of you again, you still pressed the button he was showing. You heard a noise and looked up. The ceiling trap was opening itself. You grinned at Alden, who winked. He stood up, offered his hand for you to join him. You quickly kicked off your heels in order to not ruin the leather seats, and stood through the trap. Washington DC was unfolding in front of you in a new different way.

The wind was hitting you, but you didn't care at all. You felt amazing. Carefree. "People who say that money can't buy happiness are liars." You took a deep breath, it was almost too much oxygen. "Look at the city, baby, not me!" You exclaimed.

He shook his head no. "I'm looking right at my happiness."

Could he be any more perfect?

You grabbed him by the neck and brought his mouth to yours. Your tongue immediately went for his, not caring that you were offering a show to anyone in the street at this moment. It didn't take long to feel his cock twitching in his suit pants and you teasingly touched him, earning some nice noises from his mouth. "You do deserve to be taken care of,"

"As much as I would love to, we're almost there."

The car stopped and a few seconds later, the door opened. Alden got out first and offered his hand to you. It didn't take long until you realized where you were. "We're--home. Already?" You laughed and kissed him.

"One day, we saw a limo driving by us and you said you wished you knew what it felt like. Now you do,"

"Indeed! And it was absolutely amazing! What have I done to deserve you?"

You eagerly kissed him again, but he eventually stopped you to get inside. Much to your surprise, he stopped you when you were walking towards your shared apartment and dragged you to the rooftop stairs. "Babe?" You questioned but he just smiled.

You were taken aback once again.

The rooftop was fully decorated. Plants, flowers, lights and a couple of blankets. "I wanted to get a fire pit but it's technically not our property so--" Alden said before you could even form words. You looked at everything around you, tears forming in your eyes. It was the most romantic thing no one had ever done for you. You were speechless and didn't have time to process that Alden was on one knee, holding a velvet box in his hands.

"W-What?" Speechless. Breathless.

"I couldn't wait anymore." He chuckled. "Ever since I've made up my mind, I wanted to ask you there and then, but I had to make it as special as you are."

"Alden--" you breathed out, crying.

"If you cry now, I'm gonna cry too and won't be able to say everything I want to, baby." You tried to take a deep breath and let him continue.

"I spent most of my life feeling like there was something missing in my life, in me. I theorized a lot about what it was, I tried to convince myself it was this thing or that person. I even fooled myself for ten years with-- anyways," he chuckled through the tears. "I'm not fooling myself anymore. I feel complete. I am complete right now, because you were my missing piece, sweetheart." He grabbed the hand that wasn't covering your mouth. "Sometimes I just look at you and wonder how a young, smart, funny and gorgeous thing like you can love me, but then you look at me, and I feel like that most loved person on this earth."

"you are." You cried.

"Other times, I tell myself you should be with someone your age, someone you'll have more time with. But, I'm a selfish man. I want you all by myself. I want to be the one you love, the one you sleep next to every night. I want to be your husband more than I want you to be my wife. Does that make sense to you?" He sniffed with a laugh.

"Yeah, I understand what you mean."

"Okay good." He kissed your knuckles. "I love you more than life itself. I'd take hundreds of bullets for you, and believe me, I know how it feels."

"Stop it."

"My princess, my babydoll. Will you do me the honors and let me be your husband?"

"Like you have to ask."

Alden laughed through the tears because it was exactly the kind of answer he expected from you.

Obviously, the wedding was put on hold when you moved to LA. And getting married in Las Vegas had never been talked about before. "We have to wait for you to come back home, but I'm done waiting for you to be Mrs Parker. We can still have the ceremony we were planning in six months, but I want to marry you tonight."

"You're impossible to say no to, but I'm done waiting too. Let's do it, husband."

[wheels-of-despair]

Enough | A Make Up Story | Tom Grant x You | Series Masterlist

Chapter 15: I Don't Even Want to Be Me Words: 1.8k

The first thing you saw on Sunday morning was a pair of big brown eyes.

"Hi," you whispered, trying to focus on the beauty in them instead of the sadness.

He responded by launching himself at you, like he'd been waiting for the opportunity since he woke up. You laid there and held him until he'd had his fill. When he started trailing gentle kisses down your neck, you gave in and had one more last time.

You laid there a while, just staring at each other, until you couldn't avoid the inevitable any longer. You hoped to be on the road by noon. You had no idea how traffic would be today, and you were expected back at work tomorrow.

You started to get up, but Tom's hand shot out to grab yours. "Don't."

"Gotta get up sometime, Tom."

"If you don't get up, you can't leave."

You close your eyes and sigh. He has a point. But your mind has been made. You have to go home.

"C'mon. Let's see how your pancake skills are holding up." You force a smile, give him a light smack on his boxer-covered ass, and pull yourself out of bed. He lays there and watches as you get dressed. Not dressed for hanging around his van, or packing at April's, or going out, or freezing your ass off in the sea. Dressed for leaving. Dressed for home.

"C'mon," you repeat, holding out a hand to him. His eyes fill with tears again, and he gets up angrily, without your help. He stomps past you and into the bathroom and slams the door.

You take the opportunity to shove the rest of your belongings into your bag and deposit it in the living room.

You're flipping the second pancake when the bathroom door opens. You keep your eyes on the stove. Tom stands behind you. His arms wrap around your waist, and his chin rests on your shoulder.

"Sorry."

You rest your free hand on top of his and lean back into him as a way of telling him he's forgiven for his little tantrum.

"You wanna do the next one?" you ask as you move the finished pancake to the plate.

Tom reaches for the batter with one hand, holding you in place with the arm that's still wrapped around you. He watches over your shoulder as he pours the mixture into the pan, places the batter back on the counter, then resumes his clinging. You worry that your heart will never recover.

He waits until it starts bubbling before he reaches for the spatula. He flips it expertly, even from the odd angle.

"Perfect," you admire. He really is.

You stay like that until you're out of batter, then shuffle over to the table to eat. Most of breakfast passes by quietly. You're trying to think of something to say to him when someone knocks at the door.

Tom licks a bit of syrup from his thumb and goes to answer it. You can't see out the door, but you know who it is when you see his body tense.

"Hi, Tom. Can I talk to her?"

Tom doesn't move.

"I'll be right out, Jade," you call from behind him. He closes the door and turns to you with a look somewhere between fury and misery. "It's alright," you whisper to him, placing your hands on his shoulders. "She probably just wants to say goodbye."

"Again?"

"Again." You kiss the tip of his nose, grab your jacket, and step through the beaded curtains into the mid-morning sun.

"Hi, Jade."

"Hi, dove."

You stand there awkwardly for a moment.

"You wanna…" Jade tilts her head toward a picnic table in the distance. You nod and walk there with her in silence, sitting on top together and resting your feet on the bench.

Were it not for the plywood window, you'd probably be staring at Tom right now.

"Figured you'd be leaving today."

"Yeah. Gonna try to be on the road by noon."

"I'm really sorry about the way this turned out."

You finally turn to look at her. "I'm not."

"You're not?" she asks in surprise.

You shake your head.

"It's time, Jade." It comes out softer than it probably should have, but it's Jade. You could never stay mad at her for long.

You look into her eyes, but you don't feel the pull the way you used to. She's beautiful. She's always been beautiful; she always will be. She'll always have that Jade Charm that can make people move mountains for her; change who they are just for a chance to be near her.

Why doesn't it feel like a relief to gaze into her eyes and feel nothing?

"I'll miss you," she eventually says, unable to stand the quiet.

"I know," you nod, hoping it's true. "I'll miss you too."

"What about Tom?" The corner of her mouth twitches.

"I'll miss him too." You know that's not what she's asking, and she knows you misunderstood on purpose.

"Ruth feels awful about what happened with him."

You pick at a splinter of wood on the table between you.

"I'm glad he had someone here to watch out for him this week. Ruth is too. She says he's a great guy. He's just…"

"He is a great guy. He just wasn't what she wanted," you supply. "Know how that feels."

"Darling, is that what you think? That I didn't want you?" You peel off the strip of wood and twirl it in your fingers. "Please look at me."

You turn to her with a hard look.

"I love you," she says. "I always have. You are the only person I wanted here with me when Nan died. No one has ever made me feel more safe or loved than you. I'm sorry if I made you feel like you weren't wanted. And I'm sorry if I never told you that before."

She hadn't. It had taken five years of blind devotion and what you thought was a last goodbye to get it out of her.

"Then why did you never ask me to stay?"

She doesn't answer.

"I tried so hard to make you love me. I'd have been anyone you wanted me to be."

"I just wanted you to be you," she says gently.

"I don't even want to be me, Jade."

She looks at you curiously, and you change gears before you have to explain.

"Do you love her? Ruth, I mean?" You twirl the sliver of wood in your hands, unable to look at her.

Jade chuckles. "I don't know. She makes me feel… different. I can't quite explain it."

"Is she going to stay with you?"

"For a while, I suppose." It doesn't hurt as bad as you thought it would.

"You've clearly given this lot of thought."

"You were always the thinker, remember? You'd plan things, then I'd ruin them by being spontaneous."

"Hurricane Jade," you smile.

Jade smiles back, and it reaches her eyes.

"What will you do now, dove?"

"Go home, get back to work…" you shrug.

"You deserve better than that."

"What else am I supposed to do, Jade?"

"Something that makes you happy," she suggests. She made you happy once… didn't she? You snap the wood in half and drop the pieces on the ground.

Jade steps off the table, and you instinctively follow.

"Can I hug you?" she asks, almost like she's afraid of the answer. You nod and embrace her.

"Can you do something for me?" she asks. You nod again and rest your chin on her shoulder. "Find someone who deserves you. Someone who makes you happy. Someone stable, and normal, and nothing at all like me."

The irony does not escape you. But the tears do.

"I'll always love you, Jade," you choke out.

"I'll always love you too, dove." She gives you one final squeeze and takes a step back. "Drive safe." She wipes away a tear. "And be happy." You stand there and watch Jade's favorite jacket grow smaller until she turns a corner and disappears.

It feels like she's taken a piece of your heart with her.

You dry your eyes and return to Tom's van. He rises from the sofa when you enter. He's dressed now, and the wreckage of breakfast has been cleared away.

"You alright?" he asks.

You nod as you walk toward him and bury your face in his chest. You squeeze each other tight and you try to banish the thoughts of throwing all your plans out the window and staying here with him forever. But Tom deserves better, too.

You pull back, look at the clock, and meet his eyes.

"Thank you, Tom," you whisper.

"You don't have to go."

"I don't know how you did it, but you turned what could've been the worst week of my life into one of the best."

"So stay."

"Remember what I told you yesterday?" you ask. He looks upward and fights back tears. "We have to figure out who we are without them."

"Will you at least come back and see me?" His eyes pierce holes through you.

"Tom…"

"Please say yes. Even if you don't mean it. Don't leave me here with nothing."

How much simpler would your life have been if Jade had left you with nothing that first time? No phone number, no address, no see you later, dove. Where would you be now if you hadn't spent five fucking years waiting for her to come back to you?

You go in for a hug so he can't see you tearing up. "Tom, you could have any girl you want. You're smart, and funny, and hard-working, and fucking gorgeous. You don't want me. Wait 'til spring, when this place is crawling with tourists, and make some young thing's dreams come true. Hell, you could pick a new one every week. You deserve to see what else is out there. You deserve to have fun, and mess around, and decide what you want out of life."

"I want you." His voice cracks, and so does your heart.

You turn, pick up your bag, and head outside before you break. You throw the battered bag into the backseat, but before you can get in the car, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn, and Tom holds out a crinkled paper bag.

You look from the brown sack to Tom's bloodshot eyes.

"Sandwich for the road," he says emotionlessly.

You accept Tom's gift and carefully put it in the car. Against your better judgement, you come back for one more hug. One more kiss. And then… you were gone.

[tavshortfortavern]

- Mortality

------------------

×Prompt: The companions learn you've been presented with the opportunity to ascend to godhood by the other gods as a reward for being a hero, and turned it down to remain as a mortal. You're not too impressed by gods or immortality, recognising they can't give you the same freedom as being an adventurer.

×Characters: Astarion, Gale, Shadowheart, Karlach, Wyll

×Warnings: none

×Note: Got back into the PJO fandom and thought about that one scene where Percy refuses godhood in the end. Not a long one. Coming out of a break from new years.

Astarion

Didn't believe it at first

But your shared connection with the tadpole presented him with the memory of you facing all the gods offering you ascension

He could feel your emotions then, shock, awe, bewilderment... Then a sense of realization

You refused. Point blank. You turned back, away from the gods, and saw your mortal friends and decided godhood wasn't for you

He couldn't comprehend it at first. As soon as the memory ended he was on you wondering what in the hells were you thinking!? All that power. Glory. Freedom. And you turned it down!

It's not like you didn't deserve it. It was a reward for all the good you've done playing hero. You would deny yourself even that.

You would never have to fear your agency getting taken from you.

You stopped him mid sentence. Simply becoming god wasn't going to grant you freedom, it didn't have what you desired. What you wanted was adventure, to meet people, and help.

As someone who's always desired for protection, denying the promise of power was genuinely confusing for him. He thinks it was a wasted opportunity of a lifetime.

Besides the fact that your were such an accomplished hero for the gods to recognise you, hmm he may just have to stick close

Gale

Another person with a hunger for power. With his whole deal with the Karsus Crown this might just give him a wake up call

He would beseech an answer from you. Tell him why you would refuse such an honor. Only to be even more bewildered at your answer

"Pfft can you imagine being stuck with those stuffy gods for all eternity? I'll pass." "Please I'm asking seriously."

He's so devoted to his goddess. Meeting someone who's not awed by them is puzzling. Especially when you've met all of the gods in person. Barely anyone has had such a chance

All the wonders the greater plans have to offer and you would refuse it for the mundane? For the hardship of mortal life?

He wanted more than anything was that chance to be her equal. Now the chance to be something more. Your decision had him rethinking everything.

Perhaps you'll finally be the one to tell him the truth of divinity. And the treasure that is humanity. In the end you'll inspire him to see his own worth as he is

Shadowheart

She's still reeling at the fact that you've met all the gods and have all their approval

As an acolyte she knows more than most about divinity and the weight of this offer. She's actually more alarmed at the irreverence you have

Honestly how were you not smited long ago...

She wants answers just like the rest. She wasn't expecting such a simple one from you. Gods are restricted from certain things, they might do a lot in the background but you prefer helping the normal way. Like with those refugees

There is something admirable about facing all these daunting challenges without the help of the gods. Seeing you she can't help but want that independency. You never needed to look to the gods, just yourself when times became difficult

The more she learns about you the more she understands she probably wont meet another one like you again

She doesn't know anyone who would turn down ascension. Especially when one reason is boredom

But its something to think about

Wyll

As someone who doesn't hold reverence to the gods either, being disillusioned after seeing the suffering people go through, he understands your decision but is in no less in awe

Standing in front of all those gods and denying the gift of immortality. That's a different kind of courage and selflessness

For one you must have done something truly noteworthy for the gods to decide divinity as a worthy gift. After hearing your exploits he thinks you are absolutely deserving

But he's also happy you didn't accept and stuck around to lend a hand to people in need. He never liked the gods way of considering themselves above mortals, letting injustice run amok in the material plane when they have all that power

He's probably the one who understands the most out of all the companions your reasoning.

He wonders if he would have done the same. He might have accepted like he did his pact, out of the desire to protect the innocent and save people

Karlach

Also has a little irreverence towards the gods growing up

She just lets it slide as the gods knowing things she doesn't but she's also seen how bad people can have it. Even her situation, no god offered any help even if they could easily grant her a new heart

Is so glad you stuck around. Adores the way you already are.

Also a little touched seeing that memory where you saw your loved ones and refused to leave them behind even for something as great as divinity. She's someone who admires the simpler things in life. Things she took for granted before.

But now she wants to hear the stories of what led to that moment. What got the gods to decide to reward you with godhood? Sounds like a tale.

You tell her a tale of monsters, armies invading a city, many perilous quests and a younger you leading a resistance. By the end of your story she agrees that out of everyone she knows, you did deserve to ascend, even more so when you refused it.

[littlewestern]

favorite non-engine exhibit at the MSI?

I see that you have sent a variant of this question to me and @greatwesternway so let me start by thanking you for that! Gives me the opportunity to point out that she has answered in the *spirit* but not the *letter* of the question, and I never miss an opportunity to nitpick as the Winton is, of course, an engine. I understand the assignment, however.

There are a few objectively good answers to this. I'll start by naming my runners-up as well since I'd be remiss in not mentioning them.

One I didn't expect to like as much as I do now is actually the Fairy Castle. When I was young I never really "got" this exhibit and might have even missed it on a couple of grade school field trips since it is neither science nor industry. In fact, on our last trip to the MSI, I asked DJ point-blank what she thought the castle was even doing here in the first place. DJ said, quite simply, that she thought it was a way to get girls to go to the museum at the time, and I couldn't argue with the logic. It's just a big dollhouse.

But the room it's in is very dark and - owing to the waning popularity of the exhibit - usually quiet, which is always welcome. The ambience is nice, and each side of the dollhouse has a directional speaker over it that narrates a little story (complete with airy music and soothing nature sounds) about each room and points your attention to specific objects inside it. When you allow yourself a moment to be immersed, it can actually be a novel experience.

The attention to detail can be genuinely breathtaking, and I think there's merit to having something like this around even if it doesn't necessarily fit the theme of the museum itself. And kids are still enjoying it to this day! When we went last, we were letting the small children in front of us inspect the garden when one of them turned to us and asked if we could see the fairy the narration was talking about, because he couldn't find it. It was very cute.

It's hard to indicate the scale of these things without seeing it in-person, but the larger rooms are big enough to stick your head inside. My favorite rooms are the bathrooms because the tubs have fake water in them. I love fake water.

Another one I make a point to stop in on when I'm there even though it objectively contributes nothing in its current state is Yesterday's Main Street, which I will show to the best of my ability. Because it's so dark down there, it photographs like dog ass so it's hard to really capture why I find it so charming in images alone.

Yesterday's Main Street puts you in the shoes of a 1910s Chicago resident where you walk along a (very, very wheelchair unfriendly) cobblestone street complete with curb and sidewalk past period-accurate storefronts and down to a little movie theater that shows a reel of 10 silent films on a loop.

It's another spot that's quiet, dark, and mostly disused. This doesn't rank higher because it's another exhibit that contributes very little to actual discussion about science and industry and hasn't been updated in probably 20 years or better. It feels dated, not vintage, and I suspect it will be on the chopping block very soon.

That said, I don't think it's a waste of space or anything. The MSI's traveling exhibit space often features things from popular film franchises, and there's room here to talk about early film as an industry or the ways in which a shopping district street from 1910 undergoes infrastructure changes in the course of 100 years. Like, this isn't a total swing and a miss, but it would need so much extra investment of time and money to bring it in line with current exhibit standards, I just don't think it's feasible. I'm very interested to see what is done with the space in the next 10 years or so.

Okay so after all that. What's my favorite non-engine exhibit at the MSI?

I don't think anyone expected this, but I have a few good reasons for why I chose YOU!. This is, in my opinion, the best example of the MSI's ability to modernize their science exhibits. There are a ton of little diversions and screen-based games but it also makes sure to incorporate the museum's history in a way I think is modern and sensitive while still being educational and fun.

If you know the history of the MSI, you'll know that body science has always been one of their primary interests. The giant walk-through heart was a cultural touchstone for children in Chicago, and anyone my age and older will remember it as a right of passage for any grade school science field trip.

It stood there for over 50 years! At some point, it stopped justifying the space it was taking up. What once impressed children in 1954 no longer lights up the eyes of the jaded youth of 2024. Or even 2004. The hard truth is it had to go. But the replacement circulatory system diagrams are interesting, in an open and inviting space, and make the inside of the human body seem much more natural and inviting and less... monolithic and intimidating. I think this is a good change.

The fetuses and body slices are a similarly positive change. The MSI has an extensive collection of real, human specimens which they have displayed in various ways over time. Not all of these were obtained in a way current societal standards would deem unobjectionable, but the fact is the samples are here now. Rather than hide them in storage, YOU! puts them in the best context they can and gives the spaces (in my opinion) both dignity and purpose. You can argue whether or not that's the correct thing to do, but I think there's value in having that discussion and using the exhibit as a vector to do so is another way in which I think YOU! is quite modern and educational.

It also has a "Create An Ad" game which prompts guests to think about the ways in which media can influence us, which is a pretty abstract concept to introduce in an exhibit that could easily just be about the mechanical functions of the body. Taking the idea of "you" as a person away from the esoteric and medical and into the realm of the real, the present, the everyday, is what childrens' museums should be all about. Also the game is fun!

Before the 2020 renovation of the Pioneer Zephyr exhibit, I think YOU! is the best example of the MSI taking their old, weird, sometimes controversial (and maybe even boring), stuff and updating it to be interesting and modern and fun again. It's old now, so there are some things that could use another overhaul, but it's much closer to what I think the ideal science exhibit at the MSI should look like.

Thanks for the ask!

[vexic929]

For the song prompts: Straight Through my Heart for Ricki (or, if there's another character that fits better, feel free to write for a different character)?

yesssss it's perfect honestly lol

I looked down and my shirt’s turning red, I’m spinning around, felt her lips on my neck and her voice in my ear like I missed you, want you tonight (Straight Through My Heart) from this prompt list

info on Ricki here (Sloan Wilson and Barty Gordon to be posted)

Ricki had not expected to get shot tonight. Granted, breaking a murderer out of Arkham to get answers was probably not her best idea, but she was certain things would have gone more smoothly if Barty hadn't decided she was having some sort of psychotic episode and tried to stop her. If he hadn't told the damn GCPD her location…well, it wasn't worth dwelling on now. There was a villain on the run and Ricki was rapidly losing blood from the wound in her shoulder. She needed to stop the bleeding and fix this. Now.

She passed out instead. Because of course she did.

When she came to, someone was digging the bullet out and Ricki was momentarily concerned she'd been arrested by the GCPD. She pried her eyes open but was blinded momentarily by the lamp aimed at her wounded shoulder.

"You really did a number on yourself, little bird."

"Fuck." Ricki groaned. Sloan Wilson. Of all the people to find her, she'd have almost preferred Brie. Almost. "What are you doing here?"

"Here?" Sloan echoed, sounding amused. "We're in my safehouse. You're the odd one out, Grayson." She removed the bullet, causing Ricki to hiss in pain.

"Okay, fine. Why the hell am I here then? Why are you," she gestured vaguely to her shoulder.

"Would you have preferred I left you to bleed out?" Sloan asked dryly, dousing the wound in antiseptic.

"No, but-"

"Then shut up and let me work." Sloan interrupted. "Did Mommy Bat never teach you not to look a gift horse in the mouth?"

"I don't trust you to do anything without payment." Ricki said, ignoring the teasing jab.

"We'll call it a favor owed, little bird. Now hush." Sloan said as she began stitching the wound closed.

Ricki fell silent, surveying the safehouse, or what she could see of it from her prone position. It was sparse and dark and most of the furniture that was there had a layer of dust from disuse. It didn't seem like this was a safehouse Sloan used often. That was likely intentional, she probably didn't want Ricki knowing the location of any other safehouses.

Ricki was so distracted she didn't notice when Sloan taped gauze over the wound and shut the first aid kit, nor did she notice when the older woman took the opportunity to kiss her. Ricki's brain stopped working for far longer than she'd like; Sloan's lips were surprisingly soft and Ricki didn't even try to stop her as the older woman shoved her tongue into her mouth. She didn't come to her senses again until Sloan started trying to undress her the rest of the way.

"What the fuck?!" Ricki demanded, shoving Sloan away hard. Sloan just laughed.

"Are you really so surprised?" She asked as she stood. "You and I have been dancing around this for years, Grayson."

Ricki flushed with anger and embarrassment, tugging her shirt back on properly and moving to stand. "Thanks for the patch-up." She muttered.

"Leaving so soon?" Sloan asked, walking over to block the doorway. She reached out to caress Ricki's cheek in a way that sent chills down her spine. "You can't resist this forever, little bird. We both know it."

"I'm taken." Ricki said flatly.

"For now." Sloan purred, leaning in close enough for their lips to almost touch.

"I hate you." Ricki spat.

"Likewise." Sloan replied easily, before closing the gap between their lips and kissing Ricki harder than before.

Ricki was torn between hating herself for responding to the kiss and not wanting it to ever end. It took all of her willpower to push Sloan away with a growl. "Get out of my way." She muttered, shoving past her and stalking towards the door.

"I'll be seeing you again soon, Grayson." Sloan called after her, laughing as Ricki slammed the door shut behind her.