#seeing people make serious arguments and then pull that out is so insane to me

[getosugurusbangs]

seeing people say how gege (allegedly) hates gojo is so infuriating oh my god

[pyfsan]

Law of Return

pairing: jake x reader

You cannot let go of your stupid high school crush after seeing him again at a Reunion Party, so you take your last shot.

Smut MDNI

warnings: fingering, public space sex (no one sees thou) mild humiliation, reader is kind of a brat. there's not much to warn on this one.

wc: 945

note: english is not my first language, there'll be gammar issues

smut under the cut

So what that you have had a enormous crush for this guy and got rejected years ago? So what that now, without any self preservation, you where trying to hit on him again on this stupid class reunion? You feel pathetic, you even sound pathetic in your head when you try to argument with yourself... but you have no reason to go home without at least trying something. People around you were already tipsy, you've seen some bodies here and there already hooking up... it was nothing serious.

Plus you bet that Jake himself was not against casual hookups too. Before when you confessed to him on the hallway of your high school everything was different... he was a committed student and you had horrendous braces. Now your teeth were perfect. Now jake was an adult.

So yes, you were hitting on him tonight and for your liking... yes, jake was very positive about casual hookups. Cause it took you few words exchanged, some glances to his lips and a small fix on your boobs inside your tight top for him to just start following you around with his eyes. And now you are sitting on his lap inside a cabin on the women's bathroom, fighting against every piece of clothe on your bodies just to feel an inch of each other's skin.

His mouth is way softer that you could ever imagine, his hands can pull you even closer to him that you could have ever wished for. This was absolutely insane. Jake humms against your lips as he kisses you, his body rocking back and forth making you grind on his hard clothed cock. You feel dizzy with every thrust, your core getting hotter and hotter as time goes by. He gets his cold hands inside your top and pinches your sensitive nipples, making you moan on his mouth. Jake smile middle kiss proud of his effect.

"Are you letting me finger you or did you bring me here just to kiss me without anyone seeing?" He asks as he buries his face on the curve of your neck, sucking your skin.

"Get your hand inside my pants, then" you say with a mischievous grin, grabbing his hair hard enough so that his head is lifted to face you. He smiles even bigger than you, running his right hand down your belly and inside your shorts. You hold your breath the second he touchs your heated core, your pussy clenching on nothing.

"So wet for me already, hm?" Jake coos at you, pressing his now wet finger on your clit. You nod your head and it makes him smile again. "Want to get yourself off on my hand?" You nod again, panting. It makes him go back to kissing you, so extra horny that he has to use all his control to not start chewing on your mouth, his hand working you up second by second.

You start moaning and he haven't even put a finger inside you yet. So when you start bucking your hips to increase the sensation,  he slips two fingers deep in your pussy. You grab his shoulders so tight that your nails will surely leave marks, but jake doesn't seem to bother when you look at him.

"You've always wanted this, don't you?" He smirks and you swallow hard with his words "did you kept thinking about me all those years that you just had to try to fuck me anyway?" jake keeps talking, a fake ass comforting sound in his voice. It made you so embarrassed the way he was looking at you, pouted lips and shining eyes. "Will you keep thinking of this later, hm?" He coos again.

Your moan gets out sounding almost like a cry after that. It was humiliating yet you are so fucking wet that every move his fingers make just keeps getting you closer to the edge and every word he says makes you hotter.

"Don't act like you weren't hard the second you saw my boobs" you point back and it makes him chuckle, loving your attitude.

"Yeah, babe? what you're gonna do about it?" The point of his fingers rasping right there in the right spot inside you. You're panting again causing him to increase his pace.

"Make me cum first then we see" you say struggling a little to sound more than a pathetic whimper, but you make it anyway.

Jake takes the challenge right away and focus on his moves, getting you closer to orgasm faster and faster. You can feel your walls clenching around him and your body is starting to tremble. He even uses his free hand to hold you in place so you won't fall. You rock your hips chasing your high and he presses his finger again on your clit, pulling you to the edge. You cum so good on his hand that your vision goes shut for a second.

"That's it, cream on my hand like you always wanted" you feel a soothing caressing on your back as he tells you the most humiliating thing he could possibly do now.

"You're so not getting that dick wet if you keep bragging about this story to my face" you roll back your eyes but jake just laughs.

"You're not that cruel..." he pulls his fingers out of you "wait. You're not that cruel, right?" He looks at you again, worried eyes on you.

"I don't know, jake" then you start to get up from his lap. "I'll give you my number and think a little about it... you can try again later" you smile kindly as you fix your clothes leaving him speechless.

[suckerforblondeathletes]

can you write a cc fic/blurb where she’s with connor but realizes she’s catching feelings for you(iowa wbb player!) and isn’t sure what to do, so she goes to kate, calls monika even, and then shows up at your door talking about how she wants to be with you and has broken up with connor despite what people might say?

Maybe it is you - Caitlin Clark .1

Caitlin Clark x teammate reader

Warnings： C*nnor (a warning himself) | angst to tension | toxic relationships | this might trigger some people so please be aware!! | foul language | mentions of blood | cheating? | WLW allusions |

Summary: After a heated argument with Connor. Caitlin drives to your apartment in tears and you comfort her, one thing leads to another, the tension between the two of you gets brought up.

Caitlin Pov:

Being with Connor in the beginning was great. He was sweet, kind, thoughtful. Until he wasn’t. He started spending more time on his phone. Away from me, pretending like I don’t exist really. So I started hanging out with others. Especially number 8 on the Iowa Women’s Basketball team. She was the sweetest girl I think I have met. Her beautiful hair was always perfect. Even if she thought otherwise. Now that I think about it. She’s just perfect. She’s thoughtful, kind, really funny, and very, very pretty.

“What the fuck is your problem Caitlin.” Connor yelled in her face when she caught him smiling at his phone for the 5th time at the dinner table. “What the fuck is up with you lately.” I say, throwing my spoon down on the table and leaning back in my chair. “Here you fucking go again. On this weird shit thinking I’m cheating.” He says as he runs his hands down his face. “Well I don’t know what you want me to expect when you act like this. How do I know if you aren’t?” “Maybe I fucking am Caitlin. Which I’m not. But if I was, you couldn’t do anything anyways. What would your fans think? Huh?” I feel tears brim my eyes as he finishes his sentence. “Just answer me. Are you cheating on me?” I ask, my voice shaking as I try to speak. “SHUT THE FUCK UP CAITLIN. YOUR SO FUCKING INSANE AND POSSESSIVE.” He says as he stands up and grabs my jaw. “You’re fucking sick.” He spits as he walks away. Leaving me to hold my tears back at the dimly lit dinner table. I taste blood in my mouth from trying to hold my tears back.

I get up quickly and grab my phone, and rush out the door into the pouring rain. I don’t hear him ask where I’m going. He wouldn’t care. I feel a shortness of breath and dizzy as a drive in the rain to her house. I pick my phone up with a shaky hand and call dial her number.

-

Reader Pov:

“Hey Caitlin. I was just..” I say before noticing her shaky breath. “Caitlin? Caitlin what’s wrong?” I ask frantically, so many thoughts run in my head before she answers. “Hey um.. c-can I just come to yours and talk.” I hear her sniffle and try to catch her breath. She has called me before after a fight with Connor, so I assume this is the reason. “Babe I need you to breathe. Okay?” I call her babe when I’m serious. Or trying to calm her down. I started doing so after her games when they weren’t good. She just calmed down when I did. I never thought much of it.

I hear her take deep breathes on my command and she tells me she’s here. I run outside in the pouring rain. In her hoodie and a pair of Nike shorts. She gets out of her car and I run to pull her in my arms. I shush her to stop her crying and quick walk her inside my apartment. We don’t speak. We understand each other. It’s always been that way. Just one look between us and we understand what the other is thinking.

“Come, I’ll start a shower for you and make you food.” I say as she finally calms down and sits on the wooden stool in my dining room. We’re both soaking wet and cold. I rush to the bathroom and get the water to a warm temperature before I walk back into the kitchen to throw something in the microwave. I look back and see her sitting there at the island that’s off my kitchen counter. “I missed you” she says, not even looking up. “I missed you too. I always do.” I give her a soft smile before walking around to her. She’s sitting at the perfect height so I can wrap my arms around her wet head. As I cradle her head in my arms. She wraps her arms around my waist.

I feel like we’ve been here for hours before I pull away. “Let’s get you in the shower” I say with a soft voice and walk her to the bathroom. Her face is still sunk in and looks almost empty of color. I take her ‘Iowa Basketball’ sweat shirt off and throw it into the basket. “Let me know when your finished.” I say on my way to turn around when she grabs my wrist. I look at her, thinking something is wrong. “Can you join me?” She speaks softly, almost a whisper, looking into my eyes for an answer. “Yeah, yeah of course.” I say taking my clothes off too. There is this look in her eyes, I just can’t pin point what it is. She gets in first and I get in behind her. The hot water running on her chest as she looks down.

I come up behind her and snake my arms around her waist as I lay my head on her back. I try to comfort her by pressing soft kisses onto her muscular back. Doing so, she turns her head to the side to look at me over her shoulder. “I never liked him much.” Her face doesn’t change as I say that. “I think you deserve better. Someone who would care for you, love you.” I say as she turns around to look at me. She still says nothing as I wrap me arms around her neck. Hers going to my waist to pull me closer into her. Our faces get closer and she speaks. “Would you?”

－

[mamisfavmosher]

I love your writing

Can you write about reader having a fight with the judgment day about something that happened like they were partying and some people couldn’t stop flirting with reader but they were feeling uncomfortable for example but reader was in the right but they wouldn’t believe them so that lead to a huge fight and reader feeling completely alone until someone realised they made a mistake and try to convince reader to take them back please?

thank you!

tainted trust // poly!judgment day x fem!reader

warnings: angst, yelling, insecure!jealous!judgment day, argument, language, etc

Readers POV

"You're pathetic, you know that?!" Rhea bellowed as soon as she slammed the front door shut. "You think you need to flirt with every man who gives you the slightest bit of attention! Are you that much of a whore? Huh?" Her aggression and anger were the most apparent out of the four of them.

Rhea's insults cut into me like knives. "I didn't flirt with him! I already told you that!" I defended. The Judgment Day and I had gone to a bar with some coworkers after the weekly show had ended and at some point throughout the night, the four gothic members had left my side for a few short moments. Enough time for some creep who had kept his eye on me to make a move.

*Back at the club

"Hey, beautiful! Let me buy you a drink!" The man shuffled toward me and attempted to grab my hand.

"No, thanks. I'm not interested." I tried to keep my voice blunt and void of emotions in hopes of turning the man away. As I took my eyes off of him to search for my partners in the crowd, his hands gripped my waist and pulled me into him. "Get off me!" My hands pushed at his chest until he released me.

"Relax, babe. I'm just having some fun!" He gave me a gross smile and ran his hand down my arm. I shoved his hand away and scanned the crowd in a panic. The four of them weren't hard to miss. Where could they be? "C'mon! Let's go dance!" The man forcefully grabbed me and pulled me along with him to the dance floor. He turned me around and tightly held my hips against him, preventing me from pushing away. As I worked on slapping his hands off of me, I noticed a tense energy surround us. I looked up to see the four members of the Judgment Day fuming with anger.

Damian shoved the man away from me while Rhea grabbed hold of my wrist and dragged me out to the car. The car ride back to the house was insanely tense and silent.

*Back at the house

"Bullshit! You weren't even doing anything about it! You just let him put his hands all over you!" Rhea shouted back.

"That's not true! Guys? You saw me trying to get away, right?!" I attempted to get backup from the boys, but to no avail, they looked equally unhappy.

Damian threw his keys and wallet down on a side table before looking over at me with a glare. "Don't try and act dumb. We all saw what you were doing." His tone gave it away that he wasn't on my side.

"But I wasn't doing anything! I was trying to get him off of me!" I was exasperated at this point.

"We won't tolerate lying, and we definitely won't tolerate cheating. Either admit what you were up to and explain yourself, or find somewhere else to stay tonight." Finn sighed in disappointment and crossed his arms, waiting for my response.

My jaw dropped at his ultimatum. "What? You can't be serious-"

"Dead serious. You heard the man. Make your choice." Rhea cut me off and seeped her words with poison. I looked at them all, trying to determine if they were being literal. They definitely were. I shook my head in frustration, snatched up my bag, and stormed out the front door. I don't know if Liv is back from the club yet, but I'll wait on her front porch until she is...

Liv had actually gotten home only five minutes before I arrived at her place, and she immediately brought me inside and had me tell her all about the drama that just ensued. To say she was angry was an understatement. She was completely dumbfounded at how they had treated me.

The feisty blonde sent a lengthy text message to the group members about how they were in the wrong, I would never do something like this, how blessed they are to have me, and then followed up with some threats if they didn't apologize. She insisted we have a fun sleepover to forget the fight, and I couldn't say no.

***next morning

A harsh pounding on the front door woke the both of us up and Liv hurried to go see who it was. I heard her mumbling before she quickly came back to me. "They're here." She gave me a look of reassurance and allowed me room to walk past her.

I took a deep breath before opening the front door.

"Hey. We need to talk." Rhea demanded and motioned for me to step outside. I obliged, closing the door behind me. She sighed and raked a hand through her dark hair. "Tell us the truth. Were you flirting with that guy?" She asked, her face wore an expectant expression.

"No! I told you guys that last night, but you didn't believe me!" I was quickly becoming defensive, ready to pick up the argument where it had left off.

"We believe you, honey. Liv sent us a long message and helped clear everything up." Damian stepped in. "We're sorry. You tried to tell us and we wouldn't listen to you. It's our fault." He apologized.

I took a moment to think to myself, contemplating how easily my forgiveness should be handed out. I mean, they kicked me out of the house without even letting me explain.

"So," Finn interrupted my thoughts. "Are we forgiven, love? You ready to come home?"

I let out a huff. "I'm not happy about the situation and how I was treated last night, but I'm content for now. I can't forgive you all so easily right now. My feelings are hurt and I don't really feel like everything's okay yet. I just think we still need to talk about it a bit more when we get home?" I looked around to gauge their expressions.

"Sounds fair to me." Dom smiled.

I grabbed my stuff from inside Liv's house and headed to the car. While Damian loaded my bag into the trunk, Rhea gazed at me in the rearview mirror.

"Baby..." Her eyes flicked away, instead turning her body to face me. "Are we gonna be okay?" She motioned between us and then to the boys outside of the car.

I nodded with a small smile. "We'll be okay, Mami. Promise." Seeing relief flash in her eyes, I quickly kissed her cheek. "Everything will be perfectly okay."

[katyspersonal]

Personal stuff from work

I think I am going to leave this job and seek another one. I don't know how I am going to pull this off with my absurd medical expenses recently, but this is just impossible to work here anymore!!! I actually should be at work right now, but I went back home crying, just. straight up left

Remember that story about an ex worker who constantly got at work drunk and snapped at everyone for smallest reason? Where one time he came at work so full of vodka the smell was all over the office, got super angry at smallest things and screamed at the boss and her vice that he would "smash her face with the keyboard if she doesn't shut up" before other workers and customers? And everyone was either scared or passive, but I straight up told him that he should just go home and sleep instead of getting in THIS state at work and causing god knows what? That resulted in the day worth of him distracting me from working bullying me like 'lmao are you feminist or something?!', 'have you believed in yourself or something?!' etc etc, that progressed in a STUPID verbal fight where he kept saying dumb shit, I was objecting, he was yelling at me to shut up, I objected that if he wanted me to shut up he should not have prompted the discussion with dumb shit to begin with etc etc etc.. That then ended in physical fight too, while all coworkers who were much more capable and strong than me just hid like rats and let me fight him alone 🤦‍♂️

Or another story, kinda recent, where another coworker smashed my head against the deck from a likewise long verbal argument that started from her genuinely giving customers and us troubles by refusing to do her job right and me pointing it out? There were a lot of threats prior, like throwing a can in my face if I don't shut up, when she genuinely was wrong and refused to take request from the boss over stupid petulant reasons? (by the way later after that situation turned out that she also did fight with THE boss physically before, and with one of the regular customers that sued her later)

It is more like 'three times is a charm' situation because today something very similar happened, and with a DIFFERENT person again. She has been working here for a while, and also had problems with alcohol and such, but after previous boss left the job and new one arrived she befriended her a lot. That resulted in them constantly dumping all work on me while they CONSTANTLY leave to smoke, drink at the work place (!) or bring their stupid equally alcoholic friends at the office (!!!) 🤦‍♂️ However, today was ANOTHER time where she was STUPID late at work all because she got drunk shitless yesterday (also at work while I was left with customers alone).. I addressed that, and... yeah, you guessed it, more insults, yelling, threats of physical violence etc followed. This time we surprisingly did not end up in a fight, I kinda just ran away..

Like, this workplace feels like abusive relationship I know, I just bothered to carry on because it is stupid hard to find a job in my city.. But I swear they hire any sort of deranged, violent, stupid people without even a minimal check fdhfdhs These are just the three I've had open fight with! And in each and every situation it is basically 'a person who is like 50, the third one is 60 wants to beat up a frail young girl for pointing out something that was GENUINELY wrong while other coworkers are either passive or claim that the girl is insane and inadequate in this situation' 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ I am dead serious, the third parties always act like /I/ am the bad person here for pRoVoKiNg (if this is what you call seeing a bad thing and saying it is bad). And also for "arguing"??? Bitch you say the dumb shit that makes no sense and expect me to stay silent or how that Tweet went

I just really can't work with these idiots anymore. Though to think of it, it isn't just here.. to look back on it, all my enemies happen specifically because I point out something genuinely wrong about them and they can't take the L. When I am not like, holding them at the gunpoint or posing any threat to them (looking at YOU, online cancel-culture mobs who might THINK you can relate!!!). Heck, my worst online drama happened all because someone in the fandom straight up bullied another fan and I jumped in to obliterate them with facts and logic for that behaviour, and not the "noble fight" reasoning they ended up making up to justify harassing me. It is not like I am some noble fighter for justice ffs!!! I am just a kicked stray dog that barks at the things it doesn't like, I won't and CAN'T make any change in this world. But it is always enough to end like this. I just can't play by this world's rules at all if you are supposed to "just ignore" people who are so deranged. By this logic I could also keep everyone in fear with threats and inadequate reaction to objective, non-threatening, justified criticism, but I am not doing this!!

At the same time, hating petty bitches that will either openly get hostile like my coworkers, or plot revenge like Alfred-chan or A, over the justified "attack" on them made me overcorrect myself to the point I tolerate shit like this more than I should. Like you know how unwillingless to become the very thing you hate might put you on the opposite extreme? Because it should not have happened three times for me to be done!!! (especially since none of these idiots got fired for their behaviour) Not to mention less extreme conflicts and these idiots doing god knows what at the WORKPLACE 🤦‍♂️

[dabihawksluvr]

the reason i'm on anon is bc i wanna see ur fuck ass response LMFAO and my problem isn't w you having a headcanon!!! genuinely, i personally believe dabi is a rapist and a murderer so like. my problem isn't w you having a headcanon babes trust. my problem is when you make something that is ROOTED in misogyny, and then when you get called out for it you double down instead of going 'my bad, i didn't realize it could come off that way'. also, afab people can still have internalized misogyny, hope that helps! again, TO BE CLEAR: i do not have a problem w your headcanon and i actually do think w the way you explained it in the tags (coward. i feel like calling you a coward for talking in the tags instead of outright is fair since you called me a coward for wanting to see your response) IS genuinely a cool concept and i too would love to see character development shown in new and different ways. but you didn't make that clear at all, so. yeah. people are going to see your misogyny for what it is. so. again, headcanon whatever you want. but don't expect to get away with blaming your problems on a fictional character and getting no backlasshhh... also insulting people when they call you out for something is nawt the way to win an argument, like at all... it actually kinda proves that ur pulling shit out of your ass for your own personal entertainment/because you have nothing better to say or do. hope this helps!! (and btw, i do have you blocked im just a hater <3)

I'm gonna have to get serious for this one...

+ You do have a problem with my headcanon, otherwise you would've left me alone instead of causing drama. (I do thank you for blocking me tho at least you're somewhat aware of what you're doing)

+ Dabi is canonically a murderer, he's a villain and shown to burn people with his flames all the time. But you seeing him as a 'rapist' is on you, it honestly sounds more 'misogynistic' to me than him simply hating on women but not acting on it besides maybe some dejected words or not seeing women as a threat. And news flash, Dabi hates everyone already. So that includes women by default.

+ You and others have told me several times that I am 'misogynistic' for my headcanon, I may be delusional but I'm not going around saying whatever you and others are trying to imply. I never once said I look down on or hate the female characters (or any females who did respond to my post), my OG post was meant to be a little bit of angsty fun and nothing more. If you got this upset, I suggest seeking therapy because you have greater issues than I ever will. And I admit, my mental health is pretty bad. But even I can see you are going through some stuff, just go seek help.

+ I did make it clear. I wrote it in my OG post, how it would be a cool concept to see Dabi/Touya be a bit misogynistic but then he'd get over it because Fem!Y/N helps him see that women can be strong rather than just pawns to men. If you misunderstood that, maybe you should've been nicer about it instead of insulting me outright. YOU are the reason the drama started, so take responsibility for that. You are trying to push it all on me, when you were the first to make a response and 'call me out' for literally no sane reason.

+ What 'problems' have I blamed on any character? Sure, I do connect with Dabi on a deep level because his story is close to my own experiences with past trauma/abuse. But I have not once blamed any character for my own issues. Unless you can find any post of mine where I say that I exactly blame a character for my own shortcomings or behaviors, then just stop saying that I'm blaming a fictional character for things that I've done. I may not be mentally aware of reality 90% of the time, but I still have enough intelligence to distance myself from the fiction I enjoy.

+ You are doing the exact same thing. I'm actually being serious with this response, if you cannot handle someone cursing at you then not my problem. It's insane that you are taking it THIS seriously, to the point where I don't even find it funny anymore. You are sad and pathetic, literally you could've just blocked me before but you had to respond and insult me because you saw me portray a FICTIONAL CHARACTER in a way you didn't like. Even I'm smarter than this, if I hate what someone posts this much I just block them and go on with my day.

+ The ONLY good thing you did was block me, but that is the bare minimum here. I could call you all the same things you called me, that you are a loser who has nothing better to do than stir up needless drama. At least I admit my OG post was just for 'funsies', unlike you and many others who've started attacking me because you are too chronically online. You are the one pointing the finger, saying I am a 'misogynist' because of a stupid headcanon I didn't even take seriously to begin with. Dabi is not real, it doesn't matter what headcanons I decided to give him because he is not a real person who can just come up to me and reply back.

...I think those are all the points I wanted to respond to. But honestly, just grow up. Dabi/Touya is not real, if you are this hurt over somebody that's fictional then just go seek therapy. I'm delusional, but I'm not THIS delusional to where I attack other people over stupid things like this. Just move on and block me.

You are no different than the homophobes who use IzuOcha as a vessel to attack the fujoshi and lgbt members of this fandom. You are using a fictional character to justify harassing someone else, while putting blame onto that other person because you got upset and were called out on it.

This will be the final Anon I will respond to. Any others I get in the future will be ignored.

[lycorid]

Sometimes venturing onto the For You side of Twitter sparks joy.

Based take. Shoujo and Josei are fucking top notch, both in characters and art style (how can you not think they’re beautiful?)

“Ruined the JJK and MHA fandoms” is WILD. I avoid fandoms for the most part (except perusing tumblr for the occasional fucking thesis women write about character motivations i love you women <3) because they usually suck. Seriously, I kept up with OPM for a bit because it was entertaining but holy shit the subreddit (very much full of men) is literally just… sexy woman. More sexy woman. Memes about artist constantly drawing sexy woman. Memes. Occasional power scaling arguments. Low quality page colorings of the exact same page. There is NOTHING. How the hell can women ruin the fandom when the fandom IS the women?!

It’s the women creating in depth analyses on characters; it’s the women writing fanfiction, creating doujinshis; it’s the women creating fandom centered accounts; it’s the women buying every new merch piece that comes out AND giving free advertising by posting about it online. And then men will go on and rag on women for doing all these things. It’s infuriating.

Longevity of a series is also something these idiots ignore. Seriously, look at Katekyo Hitman Reborn. The manga ended in 2012 and the creator is working on a different series. Katekyo Hitman Reborn still gets regular merch releases. This is a series that ended over a decade ago and still has an incredibly dedicated fanbase of, I wonder who, that regularly spends enough money to keep it consistent. You cannot look me in the eyes and tell me that series is supported mainly by men. I do not care how hard Amano Akira tried to alienate her female fans with her treatment of the female characters you know exactly whos spending the money based on who is constantly getting merch (minus the titular character, because of course he has to be there.)

Honestly I don’t give a damn that fandom can often be absolute insanity; you get a group of people together and it’s always going to be a shitshow, that isn’t unique to fandom, people just like to pretend it is because as always, there’s an undercurrent of misogyny because people know women carry that shit but they only want to acknowledge it when they can use it to criticize them.

I love that she came for the JJK fandom as well. I’ve been following the series because honestly it is really fucking funny because it is the epitome of shounen tropes. The author literally baked them into the world. Explaining your abilities to the opponent makes them stronger. So this entire series you get giant pages of just white with text explaining every little fucking thing like theres a narrator standing over your shoulder making sure you can’t possibly miss anything on the first read. Fuck dude, I don’t mind exorbitant amounts of text in my manga, but you cannot be serious in pretending that is good writing. There’s a deus ex machina that every character can pull out of their ass called a binding vow. Black flash also falls into this category.

Hell, the latest arc has literally just been flashback after flashback playing during the battle of the characters forming a bunch of plans in preparation for the fight we currently are following. This is genuinely one of my most hated tropes. The characters just get off screen power ups that then get handwaved as “well we showed you the flashback right?” there is NO anticipation, any excitement you feel for the battle is purely manufactured rather than genuine. It’s not “I can’t wait to see how the growth I followed of these characters affects the battle” it’s “wow, what cool ability will they pull out of their ass next?” I hate it I loathe it and it’s even worse with emotional moments. Why couldn’t you write this into the story in the first place? Why are you giving it to me in a shitty flashback?

Maybe I didn’t explain it well enough because I launched into a rant. The reason I hated it so much is because it forced the reader to be an observer rather than an active participant in the manga. Everything is spoonfed to you. You don’t need to reread the chapters over and over to put together the pieces on how, where, and why each action took place, the author does that for you. You don’t see everything from a new perspective when you read it a second time, catching lots of things you may have missed because you’re not allowed to miss anything the author deems important.

I enjoy this manga. There is good things about it. But it is nowhere near the god manga (“kamige” would be the term if it was a visual novel; I don’t know a manga equivalent) men like to pretend it is. It genuinely seems like they think everything being explained every page is good writing.

Based and succinct.

Anyway, you shouldn’t restrict yourself from experiencing specific genres because they’re for “the lessers” because that’s actually fucking cringe and maybe you should touch a Josei manga, or even a Shoujo manga. Maybe it’ll open your eyes and you’ll realize, hey, women’s media is actually- oh who the fuck am I kidding just pull the trigger.

[fluidfox123]

Izzy Hands is a complex, dynamic, and well-rounded character. The fandom's depiction of making him a flat, simple, all-villain and all-hero character–when it isn't silly-haha and having fun (obviously because me too, girlie, me too)–but as a genuine, serious perspective of his character and his place in the show is something that I would like to point out. 

So, obviously, some of this fandom has strong ass opinions about Izzy Hands, and I have seen so many takes on him, especially with the release of the first season 2 episodes. Now, for those of you who don't know (for any new fans), Izzy Hands is the first mate to Blackbeard's crew and frequently, in season 1, was uptight, persuading Edward Teach to do things he didn't really want to do (Kill Stede Bonnet, act a certain way around the crew, not show weakness, act on another side to him that was present on the Revenge, etc.) 

This has caused a lot of fandom splitting on opinions about him, especially his toxicity to vulnerability when Ed was heartbroken over Stede leaving, Ed and Izzy having more than a captain and first mate relationship, his actions towards the crew, and so on other unpleasant things he's done. This has caused fandom to view him as homophobic (at times internalized), masochistic, an abuser, and villainized. Other parts of the fandom see him as a victim of societal symbolism, a scorned lover (going through a divorce), a one-sided lover, and an actual hero for not only the progression of the story but Ed and Stede's relationship.

A lot of the fandom is insanely split on this, so split I've seen entire arguments about it and people pulling some unbelievable shit over some lil guy in a comedy-emotionally-symbolic pirate show, so I am here to say, very loudly and clearly: Izzy Hands ain't no villain or hero, no abuser or victim. I am here to say he is fucking BOTH simultaneously and that he isn't more of one or the fucking other. He has two hands, and both hold the complex nature of humanity as the beautifully well-rounded character he is. 

To get the ugliest explanation out of the way, the idea of an abuser being a victim and a victim being an abuser is something that, I believe, is something that has to be considered when speaking of Izzy Hands, especially concerning Edward Teach. Like, practically ESSENTIAL, if you want to dive into the meat of their relationship. And I don't just mean that as in, like, "Izzy Hands fucked over Edward emotionally to the point of mentally breaking him and then got physically abused in return by the man he mentally broke with his idiocy," BUT ALSO through the lens of "Edward AND Izzy have spent long years in a hell they can't escape in the line of work they have been forced to stay in, even by those who are supposed to be by their side/society, and in turn twisted the dagger into the stomach of those who placed it on them." 

Now, to clarify, in similar terms, Izzy Hands–someone who is affected by the view of what piracy is supposed to be by literally everyone outside of the Revenge and Blackbeard's ship, as shown in season 1–has abused Edward emotionally, brought upon him ideas that harm him and tear that man apart to the point of feeding into his suicide ideations that have been present from the very beginning. At the same time, Edward has internalized those views and reflected them upon the one who hurt him and others. Izzy Hands and Edward Teach are victims of an idea of what is "right" for them to do, be, and believe, and CONTINUE that cycle by feeding it into the other.

Now, this show isn't the real world, no matter how much you want it to be, so pointing out who is more or not problematic is like looking at a lineup of Hannibal Lecter from multiple types of media and trying to decide who did cannibalism and murder the nicest. They're PIRATES; they KILL people. The fact is that this show uses death and fighting as something that is not serious, goofy even, and injury to the main characters as EMOTIONAL, SYMBOLIC storytelling. Edward getting verbally abused by Izzy Hands daily and Edward choking the man out and taking away his toes and then his fucking leg is on the same level as the storytelling and NOT about one being evil and one being a poor baby. It is simple: they are fucked up guys who hurt one another despite caring for one another. You can find REFLECTIONS of real life in OFMD, but that does not make it real life and should not be treated as such. 

To the "But people don't deserve abuse! You're being an abuser apologist by saying Izzy deserved it!" "Izzy hands brought this on himself and deserves all the physical, emotional, and mental pain, and I hope he dies." I bring you: Izzy is an abuser; the consequences of that abuse broke a man who, in turn, broke him with abuse. It is a cycle, an unhealthy relationship on both sides. No one deserved it, but it happened (is happening even), and what matters is how the show decides to address it. And liking and supporting the prevalence of it on screen to dive into this kind of relationship is not fucking evil. It does not make someone good or bad to explore harsh topics, see them on screen, and enjoy and want MORE of them. 

They are pirates who have been around captains who force-fed crew mates live crabs that ripped through a stomach, watched people burn alive without a second glance, killed their fathers, and threatened each other with guns and weapons on a daily fuckin' basis. This isn't that far-fetched that this would have happened. It doesn't matter who is redeemable; it's about criminals who are fucked up in falling in love and working through issues. And the mere fucked up but REALISTIC SYMBOLISM AND STORYTELLING of Ed and Izzy's relationship brings so much to not only season 1 but their characters and what this means for them in the past and future. In my opinion, it is masterful to see such characters like this on-screen who DO care for each other but can never love each other like they want. Because that's another thing: they truly love each other, and if you want to get deeper into that part of it, I recommend this post I made. 

In summary, this man is the abuser and the abused, and those who refuse to see this are missing the entire part of his character and Ed and Izzy's relationship.

To get to the other point, Izzy is, yes, an abuser and a victim, but at the same time is a fictional being deserving and capable of change, just like every character in the show who is part of the main cast (he is not Big Jack Horner from Puss in Boots, now THAT is an irredeemable character in media done RIGHT). 

People look at Izzy Hands being an asshole and make him a flat-ass villain who is homophobic JUST because he treats the queers on The Revenge like shit and is not deserving of getting the arc he is getting because he wasn't the most pleasant guy in the room is the equivalent of people who took one look at all Izzy's done and thinks Izzy has never done anything wrong in his entire life, everything Izzy has done is justified because he's changed in season 2. And just like I said before, this doesn't apply to the fandom inside jokes. No, when I state these things, it's about people who take it SERIOUSLY. Look at Izzy and GENUINELY THINK IN A VERY REAL, VERY "I WILL FIGHT YOU TO THE DEATH" OPINION ABOUT HIM BEING A VILLIAN OR HERO. Which isn't at all right. He is not at all one or the other; he is just a little guy who plays both roles in-story and out-of-story ways.

He is more than capable of changing, and this is shown in season 1 when he apologized for snapping at Blackbeard over his stress of trying to make sure they survive day to day; he knew he was hurting Edward but was, in fact, doing it to ensure Edward's safety despite how misconstrued it was and still is in season 2 (based on his conversation with Stede in the Captain's Quarters). He is not only protected by the trauma crew on the Revenge but protects them IN RETURN from things that happened off-screen, and those who do not think the end of season 1 Izzy and the beginning of season 2 Izzy match up or are not the same character have missed much context from his past appearances before season 2. And that applies to people who ignore either part of his character, the good or bad.

People who are not redeemable do not apologize for their actions. They do not verbalize and tell people they know they're doing things wrong. These are all signs of a character capable of being self-aware if they choose to. We have seen Izzy Hands choose it between seasons. Just because it wasn't on screen with a neon sign pointing to it doesn't mean it isn't happening and DIDN'T happen. Izzy's reaction to Fang asking what happened to his toe in the library scene isn't how we first interpreted it; it matches the beginning of an abusive cycle we see later. It is a nervous laugh, the settling of something, joy, delight, and fear. Because Izzy was PUT in his place from an idea that Izzy placed in Ed's head. But we know Edward has never been this far gone, so when he continued to be punished, it was no longer a sign of his Blackbeard; that delight vanished and turned to horror and regret and him owning up to his actions. 

Izzy states he and the rest of the crew are WORRIED about him. He cares, and because he doesn't care healthily and cutely doesn't mean he doesn't care because care isn't always pretty and good; it doesn't have to be righteous and morally right. (This applies to Edward and people hating him for his treatment of the crew and Izzy. Everything I have said applies to him as well, just as much. Despite everything, the crew cares about him, but that doesn't mean everything is good and dandy either; it is COMPLEX.) 

Izzy Hands quite LITERALLY has only followed Pirate Protocol this entire time that Edward has followed for years alongside him, and to call him evil and irredeemable is to call Edward the same thing, and to call them both monsters is to miss the entire fuckin point of this show and it's story-telling. 

This is not about what is right and wrong in the lens of real life for every little detail; it is about the right and wrong of love, relationships, and societal expectations upon outsiders and people who don't follow what is expected of them. It is about how each person interprets it and has fun with it, and to make it a battleground is so fuckin sad. I am so sorry you think you must do that and make everything censored and pure when we finally get a show that doesn't queerbait, demonize individuals who usually are, is anti-racist/colonist and doesn't shit on neurodivergent folks.

And last but not least, allow Izzy to be interpreted by fandom as fandom wishes. It's about having fun, so have fun with him while RESPECTING his character and your fellow fans! See him as a masochist? Don't equalize his abuse and victim moments as masochism because abuse does not equal masochism in any form. See him as an antagonist? Hell, yeah, give the bad sides of him some love! See him as a protagonist? Awesome, feed into those positive points! But in no fuckin world is there a reason to attack one another over this little fictional man who is literally nothing like his real counterpart. In summary, everyone's opinion is valid, and if you don't like something, don't interact, and not everything that makes you uncomfortable is evil. 

[thotsforvillainrights]

Wowwww the box is open!! Woo!

Can I request that reader and giran get into an argument so one of them leaves and then they make up in like a hallmark way under a Christmas tree outside

Merry early Christmas!

(Reading Giran and Hallmark in the same breath is absolutely insane, I love it! I'll try to make it Hallmark-esque but we gotta keep in mind this is Giran we're talking about lol. Anyway, Cue the cheesy title!)

~I'll Be Home for Christmas~

headcanon|scenario|imagine|match-up

Nobody and I mean nobody would like to have a big knock-down/drag out fight with their significant other during the most cheerful season of the year. However, with billions of people in the world or course it would be happening to someone out there. How even more unfortunate that it's also happening to you in this very moment.

To sum things up shortly: the two of you were on opposing sides. Every year you and Giran were supposed to come with you to visit your family (or close friends depending on reader) during the holidays. It's become sort of a tradition by which you both usually had no issues upholding. However, this year it was different. He had a bit of important work come up between the two of you and that led him to packing up and preparing to go halfway across Japan to get the job done. You begged, pleaded, complained, shouted, and did all you could do in the moment. How dare he put work between the two of you during Christmas of all times? It's not like you were being a total brat about it. You didn't mind letting him do what he needed to do all year round. There have been times during some of the years where he's ditched you on your own birthday just to get it done.

You never complained then. You let him handle it and waited back home for him to return like a good little partner would do. You compromised on everything but this time it was different.

You had boundaries and you put your foot down. Christmas/the holiday season was the ONLY time of year you didn't want him leaving you all alone during. You would think he would return the same amount of respect and patience toward you as you did for him, but it appears you were wrong..."Y/N, look. It aint no hard feelings towards you. I told you this a million times. I need to handle this shit sooner than later because if I don't then it might spiral outta control." He grumbled while packing his bag. You weren't trying to hear it, instead opting to cross your arms and glare at him from the doorway while he zipped the suitcase. "Giran I don't want to tell you this for the millionth time but I-"

"You don't have to tell me anything for the 'millionth time'. I'm a grown ass man and I demand respect. Simple as that. So you can go throw your little childish hissy fit all you want." He shrugs it off and lifts the suitcase from the ground. You can't help but to feel a new round of tears threatening to spill over. "Are you being serious right now? After all I do for you this is how you're going to return the favor? I really can't fucking stand you for it." You try to not escalate the moment anymore than it already is, but he bites onto it and adds more on top. "No, this aint how I return the favor as you would call it. This is how I fucking make the money that keeps you living lavish. The way I see it, you outta be thankful for me working my ass off." That was that. Before you knew it he'd brushed past you without so much as a goodbye before getting into the car and leaving.

You cried a lot that night. For some reason the bed felt a little extra cold and it had nothing to due with the drop in temp outside. The next morning you had a hard time trying to find the cheer in anything. This carried on for another day or so until it was Christmas eve. You found yourself numbly folding and packing clothes before departing to your loved ones...alone. It was the sudden soft knock at the door that pulled you out of the emotional pit you were sinking into. You were cautious and slow to answer, wondering who was even here considering you hadn't expected anyone but the show shovelers today. You opened the door to see a familiar face standing beneath the snow covered tree festively decorated in the front yard. Although you had an annoyed face, it couldn't mask the way your heart beat in the moment. "What, did you forget something here?" You spoke flatly as he smirked. "Yeah, my mind I guess you could say." He reached into his coat and pulled out a small box adorned with a red bow. "Can we talk?" He asked with a small smile. You sighed and went back into the house to retrieve a jacket.

You'd come back outside and joined him beneath the tree, crossing your arms and waiting to hear whatever he had to say to justify leaving you all alone. Giran sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Listen...I'm no good at this kind of thing. I'm shit at apologies and whatnot. I just uh...I wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I was acting. I mean, I thought about what you said. I thought about all the times you let me go knowing I was missing birthdays and anniversaries and whatnot. Well Hell, I guess I'm trying to say I was an asshole. I'd love to join you on the trip if you'll have me?" He smiled small and held the box out toward you. There was a bit of hesitation hanging in the air considering you were still slightly hurt by his previous actions. However, your curiosity never failed to get the best of you as you grabbed the box and opened it to reveal a beautiful gold herringbone necklace. "Forgive me?" He asked hopefully and you sighed before rolling your eyes and opening your arms for a hug.

It was too cold outside anyway to deny such an offer as this.

[moonbeam-dreamer]

Reawakened (Continued from part 3. Ending)

"If something happens, or you feel unsafe, don't hesitate to use it". His tone left no room for argument. Something in my manner of speaking must have alerted him to the fact that I'd opened the door a sliver, yet there was a tidal wave ready to rush over him. He wasn't wrong in that respect, but I dreaded the day when he managed to break through my defenses and learn the truth. It was bound to happen. As much as I tried to hide the truth from my closest friend Jessica, and that lasted a month in total, I eventually caved. Li was a smart man. He'd figured out the right combination of buttons to break the seal wide open.

"I'll try not to", I said and pulled my wallet from my bag. The card was placed behind my license and the picture of Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend Robert Maltby. I could see another leap of curiosity but after our last discussion he kept a tight lid on it.

"How much do I owe you?" The copy said it was $24 but shops usually had their own pricing system to make it cheaper, or so I hoped. I wasn't going broke since I no longer paid my mother's expenses with mine. Didn't mean I wanted to spend another over $20. Seems like he had a mind reading ability, though.

$15, repeat customer discount". He took the book from my hands and scanned into the computer. His fingers danced gracefully across the keyboard and the price reflected the bargain. Not even tax included. What a dangerous game he was playing for someone who'd given him a lecture that brought out his humility. Still I stood paralyzed. It was a fantastic bargain and my head was telling me to keep my mouth shut. My conscience was the mule kicking me in the ass to speak up, and I relented, though casually.

"Sure your boss won't fire you for the indignity of selling a high priced item so cheaply?" It was only six years old, but it was the special edition. 'Highly sought after', in other words. Still, it didn't keep me from pulling my debit card and handing it over readily.

"Seeing how it's the family business, I don't think they'll take a second look". He swiped the card and slid it back, ignoring my wide eyed gaze. How the hell did I get lucky enough for this to happen?!

"I meant it", he reiterated after bagging the book and passing it over. My cheeks were red for embarrassment. "Doesn't matter how small you think it is, or you don't want to bother me. Call".

I took possession and stepped back quickly. The urge to spill the tea was at fingertips. All I had to do was confess and then he'd understand how serious it wasn't. I hadn't been so quiet to tell people off before. Why was it, with him, that I couldn't make my mouth form the words that were rolling through my head? Rather, I gave a curt nod and put both wallet and novel in my bag before leaving. This feeling of safety, having a friend close again, was gnawing at me and I didn't know how to process it. Like standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean, while a wildfire burns behind you. All you have to do is leap to safety, despite the risks involved, but fear keeps you in danger's path. It was only a matter of time before you were consumed, and the fire was already nipping at my heels.

I barely remember the drive home. Not even planting myself in the same armchair that offered comfort at the easiest of times. It was the later barrage of texts from my mother about my father's 'Girlfriend" that prompted me to my senses. Shutting off the device I went to shower before settling into my blog. It's become my only escape now, but I'm grateful. Perhaps, through this, I'll find clarity, or a voice to tell me I'm not insane.

One can dream, and that's the most beautiful part, isn't it?

[iliveonmycdrive]

@systemadministratorclu - Sorry this took so long, this one was hard and feels more rough to me. I actually started writing this right away and then forgot about it, anyway: The issue with Legacy is that it has this amazing, highly charged, emotional soundtrack. You could probably just play the music and have people dance and or do ballet to it and tell the story pretty effectively, but here goes:

ACT 1

“Bedtime Story / Father and Son” - Mostly spoken word against music - Flynn tucks kid Sam into bed, recounts his original ENCOM adventure, and how he built The Grid.

“News” - Acts as a transition, buys time for the stage to be remade - A lot like how it was in the film - We see clips regarding Flynn’s disappearance (I’m picturing an actual giant TV being lowered down?)

“Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” - yes the Journey song, although maybe change some lyrics - Duet between Flynn and a growing Sam - one half of the stage is the Grid, the other the real world, each character trading off and singing each section - hammering in that Sam and his dad are beyond separated

“Unlikely Successor” - Sam pulls off his prank at the ENCOM building, he implies he does stuff like this all the time, and relents he could have been in charge of the company, letting the software be free like his dad intended. Dillinger Jr. and Alan have a few spoken lines in between Sam singing.

“Paged by Ghosts” - Alan comes to Sam with info about the page from the arcade. The song should start with banter between the two, rapid back and forth, catching up, trying to get Sam to see things his way. After he mentions the page, the banter stops and the song gets serious.

(Separate Ways plays as Sam investigates the Arcade)

“This Isn’t Happening” - A long sequence that covers Sam getting zapped, taken to the game grid, armored up by the sirens and enduring the disc battles. As soon as he meets Rinzler the singing stops, and it’s more like an action sequence set to a score.

“I’m Not Your Father, But I’m Happy to See You” - Clu confronts Sam - Clu’s villain song melody should be foreshadowed here

“Lightcycles and Escape” - Again, absolutely insane synth solo/instrumental - Quorra rescues Sam

ACT 2

“Awkward Reunions” - Sam and Flynn reunite, Quorra observes and comments. It starts bittersweet, then transitioning into the awkward dinner together, and turns into arguing about what to do regarding leaving the Grid and Clu, with Quorra interjecting, sometimes comedically

“Castor or Zuse?” - his intro, his solo, and just absolutely bombastic. He does the stereotypical Broadway going down stairs thing - he should literally say "This is my only number, so I'm making it good" - Sam and Zuse discuss the disc

"Party Crashers (Who Invited God?)" - More instrumental/action, until Flynn arrives and it turns into Greek Chorus meets Gregorian Chanting

"What'd I Miss?" - Flynn and Sam get more reacquainted and heal Quorra's arm - when Sam talks to Quorra the song slows down a bit and we hear the melody that will be used for the finale in the real world

"Out There Is Our Destiny" - The Clu villain theme is presented in full, and his speech is integrated into the song, literally scream-singing his evil plans - the end of this becomes something that sounds like Disc Wars and becomes the Light Jets sequence

"Unknowable Perfection" - Flynn and Clu duet before reintegration, which would be the end of the song of course - all of Clu's arguments falling apart as Flynn explains his mistakes and that he's doing this for Sam

"Sunsets/Finale" - Sam and Quorra duet - Sam takes Quorra to see the sunset on his bike, Quorra talks about all the things she wants to see and Sam comedically corrects her (kind of like when she asks if Sam knows Jules Verne)

"Credits" - like the Daft Punk OG a little energetic - we see some disc-fu moves from everyone before they take their bows

[tinyyoungblood]

hi!! do you know that tiktok trend where the girl asks her bf if he can temporarily break up with her so she can be heartbroken when she listens to olivia rodrigo’s new album and the bf always says no? could you do that but with peter and avenger!reader? i don’t really know how the avengers play into that but i trust you to think of something great. love your work babes <3

pairing: peter parker x avenger!reader

word count: 2.7k

a/n: hey fren, tysm <3 i do know that trend, and it always warms my darn heart. you probably meant for this to be a headcanon but halfway through i realised that i was writing full sentences, so i just rolled with it bc i have no self-control lol enjoy x

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Peter, I need you to break up with me.”

Not a moment later, you heard a series of loud crashes and Peter stumbled out of the bathroom, hopping on one leg while fiddling with his zipper. “What did you just say?” His eyes were wild as they scanned your face.

“I need you to break up with me,” you repeated calmly, not taking your eyes off your laptop.

“Break up with you?” Peter echoed, hand raking through his hair in bewilderment. “Why would I do that? Do you want to break up?”

This made you look up. Peter was staring at you like you had just insulted his face, making it quite an effort to stay serious. “It’s just for 34 minutes and 46 seconds,” you assured. “So I can listen to Olivia Rodrigo’s new album.”

He blinked at you.

“What?”

“Please?” You set your laptop aside, shuffling to the end of the bed so you were sitting right in front of him. “I want to listen to it in full effect with a broken heart and everything.”

“I…” Peter slowly shook his head. A helpless laugh escaped him. “Um, no. Thank you.” He turned and made to return to the bathroom.

“Peter,” you whined and grabbed for his hand, pulling him to a halt.

“Sorry, angel.” He shrugged, supressing the faint tug at the corner of his mouth.

“Pleeeeaase.”

“Nope.”

You pouted. “We can break up when you train with Bucky! In that way you won’t even notice because you’ll be busy and distracted. I won’t even be on your mind.” You weren’t sure what you had said that made Peter stare at you like you were insane, but it took him a second to snap out of it.

He cupped your face with his hands and made sure to meet your eyes. “Babe, I think about you all the time.” He said it like it was a wish he wanted to word correctly. Slow and precise. Then he switched to a lighter tone that implied that he was done with the conversation. “I’m not breaking up with you.” With that he turned and left for the bathroom.

“Fine,” you called back although the water was already running and you doubted that Peter could hear you. And if he did, he probably didn’t care. You took that as your cue to leave. Defeated, you plucked your headphones into your phone and picked out a song of Olivia’s album at random.

Steve was lounging on the couch of the common room when you entered. He looked up from his magazine and gave you a small smile by way of greeting. You returned it by tapping two fingers at your temple in salute, ignoring the way how his stare lingered a little longer. You sat down next to him. When you locked eyes again, you saw the silent question on his face and let out a laugh. It ended up sounding more like a delightful scoff.

“I know Tony takes pride in being the philanthropist amongst us, but for someone who grew up in the ice age, you’re really good at reading people’s faces.” You wanted to annoy Steve, maybe even coax out a laugh, but he just kept looking at you, and you held his gaze. You were good at it—an aftereffect of living with Bucky who happened to love the same yoghurt as you did. Sometimes you put all western movies to shame with the way you narrowed your eyes at each other early in the morning in front of the fridge.

To your luck, Steve was just as stubborn, which meant that you two could’ve kept it going until death if it weren’t for the door banging open.

“I can’t believe you did this to me!” A voice boomed. You took a wild guess and assumed it was Clint.

“Tell me about it!” Another voice bellowed right back.

A second later, Sam and Clint marched into the room, furious, whereas Bucky strolled in behind them with no care in the world.

The former two were holding bags of food. Both were animated and waving their arms through the air while arguing. You turned down the volume of your phone in time to hear Steve demand, “What’s going on?”

Clint and Sam stared daggers at Bucky until Steve amended, “Buck, what did you do?”

The man in question turned around, facing his best friend in exasperation. “I asked these two to get food for me.” This earned him a snarl. Bucky waved them off and examined his metal arm, unconcerned. “Honestly, I have no idea why they’re getting so worked up about it.”

“We—” Sam gestured wildly between Clint and himself. “—were asked to pick up food for him from two different places. And neither of us knew about it!”

“Yes, neither of us knew,” Clint chimed in, eyes narrowing at Bucky who was busy flicking dust off his arm. “And I don’t know about you, Sam, but I was touched. I was moved, okay? Because Bucky never asks for anything and here I was, thinking we’re starting to bond or whatever but now I just feel USED.”

Sam gave a harsh sound in agreement.

“Bucky,” said Steve after no one had anything to add. “What do you have to say to that?”

Your gaze flitted between them, not sure what to expect. Bucky didn’t give any sign of wanting to respond, making you wonder if he had heard Cap at all. But then a slow smile swept over his lips and you noted that it was probably the most feline smile you’d ever seen. It was a smile storybook villains wore after burning down the world.

“The only thing I have to say is that I regret not having the moment they ran into each other in the elevator on video tape, because that—” He turned and looked Sam and Clint straight in the eye. “—was amazing.”

No one spoke.

“Ruthless,” you said under your breath and just like marionettes, the four men glanced you before another argument broke.

You took the chance to turn the volume back up. “happier” was playing and you settled further into the couch to watch the scene unfold. Sam was arguing so passionately that the vein on his neck was making an impressive appearance. Clint, on the other hand, had a palm pressed flat to his chest; his face showing pure betrayal. Bucky didn’t seem to care for the chaos. He tried multiple times to grab for the bags only for one of them to move out of his reach. When you glanced at Steve, you nearly lost it.

He was staring at them like his lifespan had just been reduced to ten years. He looked like he wanted to throw pebbles after them.

Nudging him with your arm, you silently handed him one of your earphones. He glanced at you and hesitated, probably thinking of the many times you had offered him a taste of blaring electronic music. You rolled your eyes and insisted again. This time, Steve took it and you watched in amusement as his brows rose in surprise.

“I like the piano,” he mouthed and glimpsed at the name of the song. You grinned.

In the meantime, Clint and Sam had decided to form an alliance. They had planted themselves in the opposite couch, digging into the contents of the brown bags while Bucky gawked at them from the other side of the room with his mouth ajar and heart ripped out of his chest. Shaking his head in disbelief, he let himself fall into the armchair facing them. He looked devastated. You weren’t sure if you had to stifle a laugh or tears.

Next to you, Steve chocked back a laugh. You quirked an eyebrow and considered him only to realise the reason behind his glee. Bucky was brooding in his seat while Sam and Clint did an excellence job on commenting every bite. Nothing has ever received as much praise as that pasta, and you were certain that if this were a cartoon, there would be rain clouds hovering above Bucky’s head. As if the angels had set it up themselves, you took notice of the lyrics.

I hope you're happy, but not like how you were with me

I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go

So find someone great but don't find no one better

Bucky was pouting, poking the leather of his armchair with his finger while stealing glances at Sam and Clint. It was perfect. Steve slapped a hand on his chest and he tipped his head back, laughing.

I hope you're happy, I wish you all the best, really

Say you love her, baby, just not like you loved me

And think of me fondly when your hands are on her

I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

You were both laughing hysterically. The others had stopped their on-going war to stare at the two of you; their expressions baffled. The song came to an end and Steve gave back your earphone, rubbing his eye as if wiping away a tear. He rose and walked over to Bucky, hurling him to his feet and putting an arm around his shoulders.

“Oh, Buck,” Steve said with a note of laughter in his voice. “There’s a song I need to show you.” You smiled as you watched them leave.

“Well, this was fun.” You pushed yourself off the couch and shook your head as Sam offered you some of his sushi. “Thanks, but I’m on a mission to get heartbroken.”

Leaving the men to their food, you wandered the halls and listened to ���traitor” as you walked past Wanda’s room. Her door was open and you could see that Vision was in the middle of a chess game with Bruce and Wanda. By the looks of it, Vision was as good as winning and you reined the urge to cheer for him. You peaked around the door frame and saw that Vision had their king in check. Deep betrayal crossed Wanda’s face.

You chuckled quietly and whispered, “FRIDAY, play what I’m listening to right now through the speakers in Wanda’s room.” FRIDAY didn’t bother to respond but not a second later, the lyrics were blasting through her room and their heads snapped up in confusion.

Don't you dare forget about the way

You betrayed me

'Cause I know that you'll never feel sorry

For the way I hurt, yeah

“Wanda?“ You heard Vision’s careful voice. “What is going on?”

Guess you didn't cheat

But you're still

You're still a traitor

“I’m not sure, but these lyrics aren’t wrong…You are a traitor.” Wanda narrowed her eyes at him, slowly bobbing her head to the music. Treason danced in her eyes. It was the beginning of a villain origin story.

“Maybe it’s a sign of God,” Bruce said and you almost burst out laughing.

God, I wish that you had thought this through

Before I went and fell in love with you

“Hell yeah!” Wanda yelled and this time you bolted down the hallway, wheezing. You dashed right into Tony’s lab and slammed the door.

“What are you on?” He looked up in amusement. You simply shook your head, laughter still bubbling over your lips.

“Just spreading love in this facility.” You waved your hand at nothing in particular and Tony nodded.

“Right, I heard you asked Peter to break up with you to listen to that one album? Very dramatic. I like it.”

“See.” You gestured at him, indicating that he was the only one who got it. “It’s a good album. Maybe you should ask Pepper to divorce you.”

Tony gave a humourless laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think she would come back if I asked her.”

“Yikes,” you mumbled and this time Tony’s laughed for real.

“So what? You’ve just been walking around waiting for heartbreak?” He turned back to whatever he was working on. You stepped closer to get a peek.

“Precisely.”

“Sounds tiring.”

“I’m powered by exhaustion” You handed him the wrench he needed. “Want a listen? I think there’s a song you might like.”

He contemplated the offer and lifted his shoulder in a half-shrug. “Sure, why not.” You couldn’t help but squeal. You knew that Tony probably didn’t care but sharing your music was always exciting.

Beaming, you removed your headphones and connected your phone to the speakers of Tony’s lab. The first tunes of “good 4 u” started playing and Tony tapped his foot to the beat, head bobbing just slightly. When the chorus hit, he stood up and you stepped back, thinking he wanted to headbang. Instead, he reached for a tool that was further away. You didn’t miss the way he moved his shoulders in a little dance move though.

“I like this one,” he said, and you flashed him a smile. You continued working on the suit, handing Tony things you knew he needed until you passed him a plier and he froze. You furrowed your brows, glanced at the tool you knew was the right one, and cocked your head in silent question.

Maybe I'm too emotional

Or maybe you never cared at all

Looking you straight in the eyes, he flung the plier over his shoulder, opened a drawer, and took out another plier to use on his suit. You gasped.

“How dare you,” you whispered in shock. Tony had the nerve to shrug.

“Enjoy your little heartbreak moment, Y/N.” He shooed you away like a cat. “FRIDAY, yank up the volume, would you.”

Well, good for you, you look happy and healthy

Not me, if you ever cared to ask

Good for you, you're doin' great out there without me

“Guys?” Peter’s voice was drowned out by the booming music. He was leaning against the doorframe, watching in amusement as you and Tony towered on the lab tables, using screwdrivers as provisional microphones. While Tony played a terrific air guitar, you sank dramatically to your knees and impressed the crowd with your air drumming skills.

“Guys?” Peter tried again, chuckling. This time you and Tony whipped around at the same time and pointed straight at Peter.

Like a damn sociopath

You threw your arms up in the air and spun in circles while Tony jumped into quite an impressive split leap.

I've lost my mind

I've spent the night cryin' on the floor in my bathroom

Just over the fact that I really don't get it

But I guess good for you

The song came to an end, and you leapt on Tony’s table to share a screwdriver with him as you sang the last lyrics together.

Well, good for you, I guess you moved on really easily

The song ended and all you could hear was heavy breathing. Peter began to clap. “This was great, you guys. Wow.”

You exchanged glances with Tony before making a show of bowing at the waist.

“So this is what happens when I refuse to break up with you?” Peter strolled over to where you sat on the lab table, positioning himself between your legs. Tony chuckled and jumped off to grab a water bottle from across the room.

“I’m gonna need you to elaborate on that,” you said, just for the devil of it.

Peter smiled. “Cap and Bucky are crying over a song, Vision is sending Wanda flowers in ten-minute intervals, and you are down here having a rock concert with Tony.”

You gave him a toothy grin. “I was just feeling sour.”

* * *

stay hydrated pals

[tautozhone]

hey there’s a singular loser in the comments of this post that’s inspired this addition to this post, but i wanted to give a more serious take on this.

we all live in societies with cultures, right? good old human history revolves around that. we all are born with surface level obvious differences that make easy categories and one of those BIG ones we’re obsessed with because of reproduction is our genitalia. it’s so easy to categorize on genitalia because it’s an assumption of reproductive roles. however the tricky thing here is the societal expectations that come with these roles, and how that shapes our understanding and perception of identity. even in cultures that don’t recognize sex as a category, they have what we can understand as gender roles.

people should not be rigidly restrained to these expectations that come with gender roles, but you literally cannot abolish the concept of gender in the same way you can’t remove biological sex from the conversation. we use gender to communicate our relationship to our biological sex. that’s about it. that’s the summary. the rest is back to the original point

if someone wants a bigger or smaller chest for some reason, they should have the right to pursue that. if someone wants procedures below the belt they should have that right too. it’s not just about giving in to gendered expectations of how bodies should look or perform, it’s about how someone wants their body to look and perform.

also: i genuinely don’t see how the common argument of elective surgery as unnecessary mutilation doesn’t alarm people who make it. do you not understand people’s rights to argue for what medical care they need? are you going to keep pulling in exception cases? and if i say that i think the right to transition medically is just as necessary as the right to chose to detransition? people shouldn’t see this as some siren call to have everyone lined up for whatever surgery they want possible, it’s supposed to serve as an example of how anyone getting the exact same medical procedure is entirely different based on context.

this is not a brand new discussion i started thinking about yesterday, i have presented to a 400 level political science class full of right wing conservative assholes about this. gender affirming procedures for queer people have proved to curve suicidal ideation and improve quality of life, and i just think it’s fucked up. people who will fight tooth and nail and rightful argue they NEED the procedure get shit on more than someone out there who wants to adhere even harder to a norm that society will gladly help them adhere harder to.

want to talk about reinforcing gender roles even and beauty standards at the same time, sure! you fundamentally can’t stop gendered expectations from happening in a society, and you can’t stop those expectations turning into standards and norms. do you want people to want to change their bodies so much it can genuinely become resentment and then have nothing to do about it? i have a couple of statistics to help show what happens and what they do about it actually.

i actually think these gendered expectations of beauty are more enforced by assholes pushing people into categories based on biology that will fail to agree with them in the long run. if you want vagina = woman and man = penis you’re already playing into history that had the actual reality you seem so horrified on: babies being given corrective surgery to fit one or the other and then raised and socialized as what was chosen.

and maybe you aren’t ignorant to that, sure, but it makes me so fucking insanely mad that no one seems to be able to agree on how much people should be able to argue their own case for medical treatments. yknow instead of them just being written off as nothing but unnecessary.

do you want me to argue for every corner? say that everyone should be sent to therapy to be made REEEEAAALLLY sure they want that jaw implant, that pec enhancement, that tummy tuck, that face lift, whatever it is? make sure they aren’t falling into a predatory mindset that would lead them astray to getting such a horrid procedure and oh! oh hey congrats! queer people have to do that pretty much every time! across the board! it’s not even new information!!

THE POINT IS THAT CIS PEOPLE DO NOT. that is the point of the original post. the moment it’s “trans” medicine is the moment it’s an argument. we already know that elective surgeries or plastic surgeries or whatever you want to call it are entirely rooted in the concept of aesthetic, the thing is i actually can’t make myself care about what other people want to do with their bodies and much less their money and time.

standing on the corner of the street with a sign that says “ask me about how i think a vast majority of plastic surgeries can be considered gender affirming procedures” and on the back it says “trans people getting the surgery doesn’t make it trans surgery”

[staceymcgillicuddy]

Day 17: Angels

(The graphic is insane, I know. I'm still pretty sick, so that's my only explanation.)

@hellcheerxmas

December, 1986 Hawkins, Indiana

Eddie doesn’t even get the chance to knock before Chrissy opens her front door and pulls him inside. And what a trip it is to enter through the front door of the Cunningham estate—an honor, he’s sure, to some people. But either way, it beats shimmying up a drainpipe and over the porch roof to Chrissy’s room. 

The brief respite has been granted because the other members of Cult De Cunningham have been summoned to Grandma’s house for Christmas. Chrissy, genius that she is, wangled her way out of joining them for a couple of days, and it’s not a total lie. It’s just not the total truth, either. 

“I do have one last pep rally,” she’d protested when Eddie teased her about his influence turning her into a juvenile delinquent. 

“Yeah, and you said half the squad’s gonna be out.” 

“All the more reason for me to make an effort and show up.” 

That had been accompanied by batted eyelashes and her spreading her legs in the back of his van, so he’d sort of short-circuited and let her win the argument. 

Anyway, he’s through the front door and checking out something outside of Chrissy’s pink-and-ruffled bedroom, which has always struck him as more appropriate for an eight-year-old than an eighteen-year-old. Seeing the rest of the house, though, he gets it. Everything in this goddamn place is ruffles and frills. 

Don’t get him wrong, he’s into Chrissy’s girliness. He likes her hairbows and scrunchies and the way she smells, and her shiny hair. Beyond that, he likes how she’s soft and giggly and squirmy. How she says, oh gosh, Eddie and hides her face against his chest when he tells her dirty jokes. How she’s just this… opposite creature that fascinates him on every level.

But she’s not ruffles, and she’s not frills. There’s a claustrophobia to the decor in Laura Cunningham’s design scheme that makes Eddie want to claw at his throat. It only gets worse as Chrissy drags him through the living room that sports a Christmas tree decorated like a tartan and lace factory barfed on it. 

The worst part is the giant, lit-up angel perched atop the branches. It’s… kind of a theme, honestly. Angel on the tree, angel painting on the wall, and angel… yeah, an entire curio cabinet full of porcelain angel figurines. 

“Jesus Christ, Chrissy,” he says. 

“What?” 

“The uh… angels?”

“Oh. Yeah. My mom’s like… really into that stuff.” Chrissy shakes her head, then retakes his hand. “C’mon. Upstairs.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” he replies, and he would have made it, too, except that as they climb the stairs, past dozens of family portraits, he is brought up short by one in particular. 

In the photo, a tiny, golden-haired diaper-clad baby is lying on what looks like a cloud, with a pair of honest-to-God angel wings strapped to its back, and a halo on its head. 

There’s no mistaking the eyes or the smile. 

“Oh fuck, that’s you,” he says, leaning in closer.

“Eddie.” 

“Please tell me you still have the wings.” 

“Eddie.” 

“What? I’m serious. That’s kinda hot!”

“You’re so weird.” 

“You don’t see the appeal?” He turns her around, right there on the stairs, and hugs her around the waist. “The devil incarnate and the wholesome angel?” 

Chrissy’s smirking, and her step up puts them face-to-face, so she kisses him. “Thanks, Munson. But I’m not that wholesome.”

The lady has a point. Eddie’s still gonna imagine a halo when he’s going down on her, though.

[tickledpink31]

Will Minako tell the boys about the culture and language of the Philippines? Anyone dare to insult Filipino culture?

Not going to answer the second question because I find it uncomfortable to answer.

But yes, Minako does like involving Japanese and Pinoy traditions and into her lifestyle. She often expresses her heritage in food or holidays. Filipino culture is such a phenomenon to me because although we’re Asian, the Spanish influences on our country are quite heavy.

When it comes to languages, Minako is more fluent in Tagalog than Japanese. She also swears a lot in Tagalog, a habit that she got from her mother who was a bit of a sailor mouth.

We have this tradition called “Kamayan,” which means to eat with our hands. That might appeal to some of the boys at the prospect of not having to wash a lot of dishes since there is no cutlery involved and the food is plated on banana leaves that you can just throw away. Some don’t like it because they prefer having their hands clean while eating.

To celebrate Christmas (or in Twisted Wonderland’s case, Winter Holiday), people would find Minako making traditional Filipino Christmas star decorations that we call parol. Malleus even helped put lights in the stars. The glowing stars hanging on the windows makes the dorm look enchanting at night.

Filipinos also tend to celebrate Christmas for months, and I mean MONTHS!!! We start celebrating from September, and we’re usually not done until February. Minako doesn’t really do that though. She loves Christmas, but she and her family are among the people who are annoyed that Christmas music is already playing on the radio as soon as November hits.

Parties! For someone who leans more into introversion, Minako’s great at throwing parties or just hosting in general. She caters the best food and the pabitin game (rack of goodies, our own kind of pinata) is always fun on her birthday.

Filipino dramas may not have the same level of insanity as Spanish or Indian soap operas, but they have their moments. We even have our own Pinoy version of the famous Spanish telenovela, María la del Barrio. You know, the soap opera that gave us this iconic scene.

Vil gets introduced into ABS-CBN soap operas. He’s caught in between hating how cheesy and over-the-top the performance of the actors are but also secretly liking it. He catches on pretty quickly that the moment a character speaks English during an argument, it’s SERIOUS. Meanwhile, Lilia is eating up his popcorn when a physical fight breaks out between the bida (the heroine) and the contrabida (the villainess). He lives for the screaming, hair-pulling, and slapping after someone’s been cheating on his wife. Anyone getting pushed down the stairs has him at the edge of the seat no matter how many times he’s seen that cliché.

Augh, the cgi of the fantasy soap operas makes Idia cringe. It’s so low-quality. Too bad though because Minako decided to show him one of the many adaptations of Mars Ravelo’s Dyesebel.

This one Pinoy show, Kara Mia, while I’ve never watched it myself, seeing the preview terrified me to an uncomfortable degree because of the two faces sharing a single body. They try to paint it as a cute friendship between the two faces, but everyone who has laid witness to the show were green at the gills.

Ah, I think that’s all I have for now. I’m out of brain juice.

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Twin!AU Part 2:

Gwaine is ecstatic to find that he’s technically dating Royalty (Arthur still isn’t best pleased), and Merlin begins to recover his true heritage.

Part 1   Part 3

Gwaine stares at the two of them open-mouthed from where he sits on the edge of the bed.

Re-telling the story had re-ignited Merlin and Arthur’s anger, but they do a good job of keeping it in as Gwaine tries to process that his partner and The Prince of Camelot are... twins. Gods this sounds like something out of one of Leon’s ridiculous fiction books: long lost royal twins and insane Kings and emotional reunions with long-dead, ghostly relatives. But to be fair, Gwaine has found that in all of his travels, Camelot has definitely been the weirdest place he’s ever been. Or perhaps it’s just the people.

He finally shuts his mouth, nodding slowly as he takes a deep breath and stands. He wipes his sweaty hands down his trousers briefly before stepping forward and pulling Merlin into a hug, making pointed eye-contact with Arthur over his shoulder. The only thing that Gwaine and Arthur had ever agreed on was that Merlin’s safety was of the upmost importance; this whole ordeal had just strengthened that agreement:

“That’s... you guys have had one hell of a day, huh? You said Gaius, and your mo- Hunith, and that bloody Dragon knew?”

Merlin tenses in his arms before pulling away, and Arthur’s expression turns stormy once more as he nods. Gwaine frowns, keeping one hand on Merlin’s shoulder as the servant (Prince?) responds bitterly:

“Hmm. We haven’t spoken to Kilgharrah or Hunith yet, but they’ll be getting a bloody mouthful from me, when we get time.”

Gwaine nods sympathetically, muttering his reply more to himself than the others:

“...Bastards.”

Arthur nods, but takes a deep breath as he puts his own hand on Merlin’s other shoulder:

“Agreed, but we’ve been gone too long; Leon’s been dealing with the council for at least half an hour and we need to go explain things sooner rather than later. News of my- The King’s arrest will spread like wildfire once it gets out.”

Merlin sighs, sagging slightly where he stands, and Gwaine steps even closer to him, moving his arm to be over his shoulder in a side-hug:

“Hey, I’m sure Arthur and Leon can deal with this if you’d rather hide out in here for a little peace. We could always set Morgana loose on the council, she’s bound to whip them into shape.”

(Yes, this fic is ignoring the timeline both in terms of the knights AND Morgana. She knows about Merlin’s magic, and Merlin, Arthur, and Gwaine (and Lance) know about hers.)

Merlin lets out a quiet huff of laughter, leaning into Gwaine’s side slightly as he looks up:

“No, I can’t. Arthur’s right, we need to sort this out sooner rather than later. I’d be perfectly content to not tell anyone about who I really am-”

Gwaine raises an eyebrow and Arthur narrows his eyes, ready to protest, but is interrupted by Merlin’s loud continuation before he can say anything:

“-but I know neither of you will let me get away with that so... here we are.”

Arthur nods decisively and Gwaine hides a grin, clearly thinking about how he’s technically courting a Prince. Arthur rolls his eyes at Gwaine’s expression, a small part of him cursing himself for letting the drunkard stay in Camelot, but the rest of him is grateful, knowing that Merlin needed more than Arthur on his side, especially now he had lost, or partially lost, Gaius, Kilgharrah, and Hunith.

The blonde Prince lets out a deep sigh, looking towards the door despondently as he decides that they really can’t leave Leon to fend for himself any longer. The three of them make their way from the room wordlessly, but Arthur halts the group again at the end of the corridor, turning to Gwaine with a thoughtful frown:

“Go find Elyan, Percival, Lancelot, Morgana, and Gwen. Gaius is a member of the council so he should already be there but double check he isn’t in his chambers, and Leon may have fetched Morgana himself, but I don’t know.”

Gwaine turns to look at Merlin and speaks quietly:

“What should I tell them?”

Merlin’s frown deepens and he glances at Arthur, but he just shrugs slightly, giving the choice to Merlin:

“They’ll all find out in the meeting anyway, so it might be best to pre-warn them so they aren’t blind-sided. Tell them the truth, I was born with magic, and am Arthur’s long lost twin brother, confirmed by Igraine’s ghost and then Gaius.”

He looks bewildered as he says it, almost as though he doesn’t fully believe it quite yet; Arthur nods in agreement and continues his instructions to Gwaine:

“Have everyone meet us there as soon as possible, I want to get this sorted now and I’m going to need as many people on my side as I can get.”

Gwaine nods seriously, pressing a brief kiss against Merlin’s forehead before rushing off in the other direction, hurriedly knocking on the knights’ doors down the corridor as Merlin and Arthur turn the corner.

They make quick work of the journey back through the castle, stopping just outside the doors to the Throne Room with sweaty palms and shivering lungs. The two of them listen to the annoyed sounding murmurs coming from inside for a few moments and the guards try not to give them odd looks as Arthur glances to Merlin—stood at his side instead of behind him—with a fond, though nervous smile. He puts his hand on the other man’s shoulder:

“We’re about to cause one hell of an argument, you ready?”

Merlin takes a deep, calming breath, smiling briefly as he hears Leon pleading with the council to be patient for just a little longer, looking to Arthur with anxious eyes and pale cheeks:

“Yeah. Come on, I think Leon might hurl himself from the window if we make him wait much longer.”

Arthur chuckles quietly, and the guards quickly divert their gazes when he looks back to the doors, taking one last fortifying lungful before walking forward and pushing them open with a bang, Merlin at his side.

The room goes suddenly quiet and Leon visibly relaxes when they walk in, bowing briefly before stepping aside and allowing Arthur to take his place in front of the thrones. There is no table in the Throne Room, so the council stand gathered in the middle, staring up at Arthur incredulously as he runs a hand down the arm of The King’s throne absent-mindedly. He was grateful to see Gaius present, despite not being in any sort of mood to talk to the man; he holds a smirk in when he sees several of the councilmen raise eyebrows at Merlin, still stood at his side when he technically shouldn’t even be in the room. There was even further incredulity as Sir Leon moves to stand guard behind him, as opposed to The Prince.

One of the Lords nearer the front of the small crowd finally breaks the tense silence:

“My Lord, what is the meaning of this? We were told it was an emergency, that we were meeting in the Throne Room as opposed to the council room, and were then made to wait for almost a candle-mark. The King has yet to arrive, what is going on?

Arthur turns to look at them with a raised eyebrow, back straight and face impassive:

“Patience, Lord Angar, The King will not be joining us, though we are waiting for a few more-”

The doors open before he finishes and every head turns to see the remaining knights, Gwen, and Lady Morgana enter, led by a serious looking Gwaine. All of them give Merlin a small smile and a bewildered nod, bar Morgana, who looks nothing short of furious as she moves to stand protectively at his side, glaring at any councilman who dares to look their way. The knights spread out, standing to attention with hands on their swords around the edge of the room, whilst Gwen moves to stand against the wall behind Morgana, Merlin, and Leon. Only Gwaine, Leon, and Lancelot are in full armour, but all the knights are armed and angry looking.

The councilmen, looking more confused and annoyed, look back to a still impassive Arthur. He fixes a short glare on each and every one of them before turning to face them properly and speaking confidently, his tone inviting no argument:

“The King has been arrested and confined to his chambers for the murder of the late Queen, and gross crimes against the Kingdom.-”

The room immediately explodes into angry and incredulous yelling, and Merlin flinches away from the sudden noise. Morgana squeezes his wrist comfortingly, knowing that it was only going to get worse when the rest of the truth is revealed, and Leon steps out from behind him, moving to be at his side with his sword halfway out of it’s sheath.

The other knights and Gwen all tense in place and Gwaine has to resist the urge to run to Merlin, knowing that the council’s disdain for both him personally and his courtship with Merlin would just make things worse. Arthur rolls his eyes at the cacophony of noise and slams the metal part of his gauntlet against the arm of the throne with a bang:

“ENOUGH! You’ll find, gentlemen, that remaining calm and quiet will make this conversation much easier.-”

He glowers at everyone until the hall is drowning in another tense silence before taking a deep breath, forcing himself to keep his hands from fidgeting as he continues:

“-It has come to my attention, through the Witch Morgause-”

A few murmurs of dissent go around the room, but they quickly cease when even the ever-calm Sir Leon begins to glare at people:

“-and further confirmation by The Court Physician, that King Uther used sorcery, against The late Queen’s wishes, in order to conceive a child. He was warned of the dangers, and went ahead with his plan anyway, which resulted in not only the birth of twins, one of whom was magical, but the death of the Queen.-”

At the mention of Gaius, the elderly Physician gets a few confused glances, and even more glares; no one likes being kept out of the loop, especially when everyone there is a Lord except Gaius. At the mention of twins, everyone’s attention is abruptly back on Arthur, and the knights have to resist the urge to look at Merlin, in fear of giving anything away too early.

Before he can continue, Arthur is interrupted by Lord Angar again:

“My Lord, I very much doubt the validity of anything you have just said, but either way, is this really the sort of meeting to be had with servants, a Lady, and your peasant knights present? I know you’re oddly fond of them but-”

Arthur, Leon, and Morgana have to resist the urge to punch the Lord in the face at his words. Gwen, Percival, Lancelot, and Elyan manage to keep their faces neutral, though Gwaine glowers openly. The knight does however hold in his smirk when he notices the fury on Arthur’s face. The Prince takes a threatening step forward but doesn’t lower himself from the dais as he speaks, his tone cold:

“Lady Morgana, Guinevere, and Merlin have proven to be better advisors to me than you ever have Lord Angar; Sirs Percival, Elyan, Lancelot, and Gwaine are amongst the best knights this Kingdom has ever seen, and you will show every one of them the respect they deserve, or you will excuse yourself from this room, and this council. Am I understood?”

The red of Angar’s face gets more severe as he splutters:

“My Lord you can not be-”

“Am I understood?!-”

Arthur’s voice cuts through everyone in the room, despite it’s low volume, and where Leon hides his proud smirk, Morgana doesn’t hold back at all, especially when Angar takes a deep breath and nods his purple head in embarrassment. The rest of the council seems to finally have grasped the seriousness and severity of the situation and play close attention to Arthur as he continues, no one daring to interrupt again:

“-This information changes everything we know about sorcery; my father started a genocide against an innocent group of people because he was too much of a coward to admit his mistakes and refused to take the rightful blame for killing his wife. I will not stand for this, and things will change very soon. If you are not outraged at the unjustness of his actions, at the death and suffering he has caused our people, the people we are meant to serve and protect, then you are more than welcome to leave. Meetings to organise and begin the process of legalising magic will start early tomorrow, and I will be accepting no excuses, this is non-negotiable. As for the matter of my twin brother...-”

Arthur glances back to Merlin, and at his slight nod, Arthur shoots him a small smile and holds his hand out to him. Merlin walks slowly forward to the sound of the council gasping and muttering to themselves, Leon stays barely a hair’s breadth behind him with his sword fully drawn:

“-may I present Prince Myrddin Pendragon.-”

Lord Angar, among others, looks seconds away from bursting once more, so Arthur hurries to continue, though still manages to keep his voice forceful and confident:

“-This information was unconfirmed for both of us until around a candle-mark ago; I have never believed in fate before now, though I think we can all be grateful that The Prince managed to return to Camelot all on his own.-”

He settles his hand on Merlin’s shoulder, but doesn’t pull him forward too much, understanding that his serv- his brother, probably wants to be as far away from the centre of attention as he can get.

“-I want him presented to The Kingdom and crowned before the month is out, this matter is also non-negotiable. Any questions?”

Lord Angar looks desperate to start yelling, but he also seems to have finally accepted that his influence over this room, and now the council in general, was tenuous at best. One of the newer councilmen, a young Lord who Arthur has a slowly growing respect for, steps forward slightly, bowing his head before meeting Arthur’s gaze and quietly asking:

“And The King, My Lord? Should we plan for your coronation as well?”

It was clear that the question was unexpected and Arthur frowns at the realisation that he had... arrested The King. Uther may have deserved it, but Arthur couldn’t bring himself to order his execution, and knowing Merlin he’d argue against it endlessly anyway.

Morgana senses Arthur’s hesitation after a second or two, thankfully before the council becomes restless and annoyed:

“You could always take over as Regent whilst we sort all of this out; that way we can revisit the issue of actually crowning you King later. Though we can’t confine Uther to his chambers forever, we’ll have to deal with him at some point.”

Arthur hums and nods, giving her a thankful smile before looking back to the young Lord:

“Lady Morgana’s suggestion is sound. I’ll take over as Regent,-”

He nods at Geoffrey of Monmouth, who takes a note down in the giant leather tome he perpetually has under his arm. If Arthur thinks about it for too long, he might come to the conclusion that the older man looks proud:

“-and we can revisit the issue when the dust has settled.-”

He rubs his eyes tiredly, as though the last day or so of drama had finally landed with it’s full weight upon his shoulders:

“-I think it goes without saying that, for now, none of this is to leave the room. I trust only Sir Leon with assigning who is to guard The King,-”

He glances to Leon, who nods seriously at his words:

“-keep it discreet Leon. I want to keep as much of this under wraps for as long as possible to avoid public panic; this is going to be a lot of hard work gentlemen, but I mean to see it through with or without your support, the choice is yours. The first meeting will take place in the normal council room tomorrow, two candle-marks after dawn. You’re all dismissed.”

The councilmen—including Gaius, after he sends a forlorn look Merlin’s way—slowly trickle out of the room, some looking angry, most looking resigned, but a few looking rather content, happy even (Arthur and Morgana take mental notes of who is who). The door shuts quietly behind the last man, leaving only Arthur, Merlin, Morgana, Gwen, and the knights left, all of whom understanding that the dismissal did not include them. Arthur lets out a deep sigh when the room quietens, looking back up to Merlin with a tired smile and even more tired eyes:

“Ready brother?”

He quirks an amused, but hugely pleased eyebrow as he says it and Merlin grins, rolling his eyes fondly:

“Not even close, but that’s never stopped me before.”

Arthur chuckles as the others all move closer, an odd mix of exasperated, because Merlin turning out to be Arthur’s long lost magical twin is exactly the sort of insanely dramatic thing that’s likely to happen in Camelot, and hesitant, because... how do they even deal with that? Other than with a great deal of confusion?

Gwen is the first to reach him, pulling Merlin into a tight hug that is very well received:

“I’m sorry Merlin, I can’t imagine how difficult this must be, and I’m so terribly sorry for all the horrible things I’ve said about magic.-”

She pulls back but doesn’t let go of his shoulders, staring up at him with tears in her eyes and a desperate look on her face:

“-You know that we all love, and trust you, don’t you??”

Merlin rolls his eyes fondly and pulls her back into a hug with a wide smile on his face:

“Of course I know that, I love you too Gwen. And don’t worry about it, you believed what you were taught, it’s not your fault.”

She looks like she wants to argue again when she pulls back, but Merlin just pats her cheek softly and gives her a warning glare. She huffs but dutifully steps back, allowing Gwaine to take her place as the rest of the knights pat his shoulders and run soft hands through his hair as way of apology and comfort. 

Merlin smiles at them, but sobers quickly when a particularly horrible thought re-occurs to him. Gwaine squeezes his shoulder in question and Arthur furrows his brows:

“Merls?”

Merlin just sighs and leans into Gwaine’s side slightly:

“I need to talk to my... Hunith. And Kilgharrah, but I really don’t have the energy for him right now.”

Arthur nods in understanding, thinking for a moment before looking up to the huddle of knights (most of whom look marginally confused at the mention of whoever the hell Kilgharrah is):

“Percival, Lancelot, you know where Ealdor is?-”

The two of them nod, remembering the route from visiting with Merlin a few months ago:

“-Leave at dawn, take an extra horse and bring Hunith back with you. With all that’s going on, me and Merlin can’t afford to be gone for even a day and it’s a four days’ journey there and back.”

They nod, but Lancelot quickly responds with a quiet:

“We can leave now if you like, it’s not like the journey will take much prep. What should we tell her?”

He looks to Merlin, who frowns slightly as he replies, his words slow:

“Don’t tell her anything, Arthur and I need to have that conversation with her. She’ll panic when you turn up without me so feel free to tell her that we’re all alive and uninjured and not in any danger but... just don’t tell her the real reason.”

Their smiles are understanding, and just a little pitying, but they turn and march off the moment Arthur nods at them in approval, determined to do everything they can to make things go smoothly and easily.

It’s Elyan that breaks the now slightly uncomfortable silence a few moments later:

“So... do we still call you Merlin? Or is it Prince Myrddin, My Lord?”

Merlin grimaces the moment Elyan mentions what would soon be his official title, and the others grin at his reaction, chuckling as he runs a hand through his hair:

“No one’s called me Myrddin since I was about five, and I think it would be a little odd if that changed now, so Merlin is just fine.”

The others nod in agreement, though Arthur sighs as he responds, faux annoyance in his tone:

“Paperwork’s going to be bloody confusing.”

~

It takes Merlin all of three hours to figure out that Arthur had subtly assigned him a constant guard. The guard consists of Sirs Leon and Gwaine, so he isn’t... complaining, per se, but it's annoying, to escape company for a quick piss to find his partner and friend casually hovering right outside the door.

But to be fair, Merlin only notices when his brain registers that Gwaine isn’t there, and how odd that is. Whilst Merlin is interrogating Leon, Arthur is cornering Gwaine in a seldom used corridor, though the rambunctious knight beats Arthur to the punch:

“I think we’ve been here before, Princess.”

Arthur raises an amused eyebrow at Gwaine’s teasing grin, before sagging slightly in place and sighing. Gwaine sobers immediately, putting a hand on the blonde’s shoulder and trying to meet his gaze:

“Arthur?”

Arthur sighs again, looking up to him with tired eyes:

“This goes without saying, but Merlin.... he is everything to me. As far as I’m concerned he and Morgana are my only family, though I suppose I believed that before all of... this; but that’s besides the point. I know you won’t ever mean to hurt him, and I do trust you, as... difficult as that is to admit, but I need to you understand, Gwaine,-”

Gwaine nods in understanding and agreement:

“I do understand, Arthur. He’s everything to me as well.”

Arthur shakes his head and steps back, bringing himself to his full height:

“No, you don’t. He is my brother, and he was taken from me. He has suffered, more than I think either of us will ever know, and that stops, this Kingdom is now being built for him. But I would burn it all down if it would make him happy. Everything is for him, for Morgana, for my family. Do you understand?”

Gwaine nods, only once, before holding his hand out. Neither his hand nor his voice shakes as he responds:

“I’ll pour the oil, you light the match.”

Arthur pauses for a moment, as if trying to gauge his own trust in the other man, before clasping Gwaine’s hand strongly. 

The seriousness of the moment ends when Gwaine lifts his other hand to tug sharply at Arthur’s hair before ducking under his arm and skipping down the corridor towards where they’d left Merlin and Leon. Arthur just huffs and follows him, definitely not sulking.

Merlin turns to them both with a scowl when they enter, immediately taking note of the residual gravity in the tightness of Gwaine’s shoulders:

“And what have you two been doing all of sudden?”

Leon bites his lip to stop himself from snorting in amusement, but fails miserably the moment Gwaine shrugs and opens his mouth:

“I don’t know, some sort of mutual arson pact I think.”

Arthur rolls his eyes first at Gwaine subtly, then at Merlin, far more obviously:

“Honestly Merlin, we’ve spent practically every second with you all day, you can’t go a few minutes without us?”

Merlin huffs noisily and turns around to grab Leon’s wrist, dragging him from the room and not looking over his shoulder as he snarks:

“Leon’s always been my favourite knight anyway.”

Gwaine and Arthur just look outraged, both speaking at the same time:

“Hang on, what about me?!”

They fix each other with narrow-eyed glares before shoving each other childishly, fighting over who could shoulder their way through the door first.

~

The next conversation, a few days later, is... a lot harder.

With Kilgharrah’s odd ability to seemingly know about everything that happens in Camelot, Merlin couldn’t get away with putting off speaking to him for long, especially with how The Warlock could feel the way he was angrily clomping about in his cave.

The short journey down through the dungeons, made by Arthur, Merlin, and Gwaine, was made mostly in silence. The oppressive feeling of Kilgharrah’s mishmash of emotions bouncing around in Merlin’s head made focusing on any other strain of thought impossible, and Gwaine and Arthur were too busy stewing in their own anger and worry to want to disturb him.

They pause momentarily outside the large iron gates leading to Kilgharrah’s lair, none of them looking to each other as they take deep breaths in an attempt to gather some bravery. Arthur and Gwaine have never said anything, but Kilgharrah terrifies the shit out of both of them; Merlin normally takes these trips alone—Arthur and Gwaine’s fear wasn’t difficult to pick up on and he never wanted to make them uncomfortable—allowing the other two their blissfully ignorant beauty sleep as he sneaks away to argue with a Dragon. But that’s obviously not in the cards today; no way either of them would let him face this alone.

Kilgharrah is waiting for them when they push open the gate and stalk out onto the ledge, and he raises himself to his full height, sparing barely a glance in Arthur’s direction and sparing Gwaine even less as he stares at Merlin with aloof, golden eyes:

“You have discovered who you are, Young Warlock, at long-”

Merlin interrupts him with a scowl and a held up hand:

“You had no right,-”

His voice is echoingly deadly, and the two knights find themselves being reminded of Merlin’s seemingly endless power. Merlin being angry at Gaius was... was like a child being heartbroken at a parent’s betrayal, which it was in some ways. But Merlin being angry at Kilgharrah... that was much more; like a God being angry at a creature of His own design. Merlin stands before The Great Beast, centuries old, full of unimaginable knowledge, and he stands tall, and proud, and angry.

“-no right, to keep this from me. You claim that no one can know their destiny, and then proceed to prattle on about mine in riddles. In my search for answers, you gave me more questions. In my search for comfort, you gave me fear. In my begging for help, you gave me nothing but pain. I’m done, you’re just as bad as Uther.”

Kilgharrah bristles, flaring his arched nostrils as his furious reaction ripples across his hardened scales:

“How dare you compare me to-”

Merlin interrupts him with a yell, his voice growling in it’s reverberation, a hidden power more ancient than the mountains themselves echoing in his words:

“You separated my brother from me and you had no right! You whine about how Uther took your kin from you, but you took my kin from me! You suffered so you made it your greatest goal to make everyone else suffer just as much. You are cruel, and cowardly, and I am done. You will not manipulate me anymore, you will not lie to me, or mislead me. You tried to get me to kill the boy, but I didn’t, and I forgave you. You tried to get me to kill Morgana, but I didn’t, and I forgave you. You keep trying to get me to free you, but I won’t. You will rot in here until you can tell me the truth, a truth I deem worthy, on why you kept my heritage from me.”

He doesn’t wait for a response, turning on his heel and marching out of the gate without another word, Gwaine following closely behind. Arthur stays, just for a few moments, though with Merlin’s sudden display of power over the beast before him he finds himself significantly less frightened:

“He’s right, you know. Every one of my brother’s successes has come to pass because he ignored you. You have haunted him every step of the way, causing nothing but grief; you should be grateful, Merlin has offered you a chance of redemption that I would not have.”

Arthur doesn’t wait for a response either, jogging up the steps to catch up with the other two just exiting the dungeons.

Merlin doesn’t ask what was said, though Gwaine does raise an eyebrow in The Prince Regent’s direction; Arthur gives him a short nod, acknowledging Gwaine’s need to know, need to keep a tight hold on everything so he could keep Merlin safe and happy. Or as happy as he can keep him in this situation. Gwaine relaxes when he understands Arthur’s promise to tell him later, trusting the blonde to have Merlin’s best interests at heart.

The slight relaxation doesn’t last long however; Merlin heads up through the castle towards the large doors leading into the courtyard. The other two follow him, knowing that the younger man likely needs some fresh air to recover from the pressing darkness and power and heaviness of Kilgharrah’s presence, but they quickly tense when he suddenly halts on the steps just outside the doors.

When they peer over his shoulder, they are abruptly reminded of the amount of time that had passed since Percival and Lancelot had left. And apparently returned.

Hunith dismounts her horse quickly, her mouth stretching into a relieved smile as she runs towards him. Merlin doesn’t move, just stares at her with blank eyes, and Gwaine’s eyes shift nervously between the two of them. Hunith’s relief is quickly dropped when she notices Merlin’s non-reaction, and she slows just before she ascends the steps, looking up at Merlin with her brow creased in worry:

“Son?”

Merlin’s expression hardens; his hands clench and his eyes and tone turn icy as he responds:

“I’m not your son.”

~

END of part 2!!!

Sorry to be a teeeaaasssee :))))) (Not really)

I’ve recently got a BUNCH more hours at work (which is like... good for me personally but not so great for my social life or hobbies lol) so things might take a little longer to come out from now, but I promise this blog is still ultra active and going!! I’ll just only have time to write in the evenings nowadays.

I’m not sure when part 3 will be, but it’s in the works and won’t be too long!! Two weeks at absolute MOST I imagine :D