raviladia-blog

[saintedbythestorm]

Time to start trying to get my medication renewed then... and fight the doctor or nurse or whatever about them trying to force tests on me... cause I can bet you anything they will do that again.

[sidekick-hero]

First Love, Second Chance

(steddie | teen (for this part) | tags: exes to lovers, canon divergence (Eddie lives), future fic (set 2001) | Part 1)

Steve stood at the entrance, his hands buried deep in his pockets, shoulders hunched slightly against the winter chill still clinging to his skin. The woman at the front desk greeted him with a smile so bright it could've doubled as a flashlight. "Mr. Harrington, what a pleasure to have you. You can leave your coat with me, and Joanne over here will lead you to your table. We’ll be starting in ten minutes, but feel free to get settled and order any drink you’d like — it’s included in the entrance fee."

He blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the sheer enthusiasm in her voice. That’s a well-practiced customer service smile, Steve thought, as he shrugged off his heavy coat. He’d bet the contents of his one-bedroom apartment downtown that she was already dreaming of the moment she could get out of here, change into something comfortable, pour a big glass of wine, and let her face relax into something more human.

Steve knew all about jobs that drained you down to the marrow. He was a kindergarten teacher, after all. The difference was, at least his work came with the occasional hug and finger painting masterpiece. Besides, he’d spent enough time hiding behind his exhaustion to know that it wasn’t just the job. Robin had been right — he was hiding. And here he was, exposed under the bright lights of some cheesy blind date event, about to sit across from a stranger and try to pretend he was open and available.

He handed his coat to the smiling woman and turned toward Joanne, who had been pointed out to him. "Hi, I’m Steve Harrington," he introduced himself, offering a smile that he hoped didn’t look as forced as he felt. "I was told you’d show me to my table."

Her eyes flicked over him, not too obvious, but not quite subtle either. It had been a while since anyone had looked at him like that. Most days, his life was a blur of finger paints, snot stains, and explaining why sharing was important. Flattering, he thought. Strange, but flattering.

Joanne’s lips curled into a friendly smile. "Of course, Mr. Harrington. Let me check my list real quick to see where we’ve put you." Her finger, perfectly manicured, scanned down a clipboard. She paused, then grinned. "Ah-ha! Found you. Follow me, and I'll take you right to your seat."

Steve followed her, his steps feeling heavier than they should. He could almost hear Robin’s voice in his head, teasing him: Just go, have fun, stop being so damn serious, Steve!

Right, Robin, he thought. Fun. As he moved through the room, he tried to shake off the creeping dread. He was here, wasn’t he? That had to count for something.

The room was a maze of small tables for two, clustered together in narrow aisles, each one its own little island in a sea of forced intimacy. Steve found his table, the one they’d assigned to him, and sank into the chair with a sigh that came from somewhere deep in his chest. Okay, step one, taken. He glanced around, noting that his blind date hadn’t arrived yet. He wondered who they’d paired him with, what kind of person would be willing to spend hours - potentially very awkward hours - with a virtual stranger.

Robin had practically shoved the registration form in his face, a little too gleeful about the whole thing. He remembered the questions — his past relationships, his hopes and dreams, what he was looking for in a partner. The usual stuff, he supposed. But then there was the unexpected question: was he looking for a man or a woman? It had caught him off guard for a moment. Progressive, he’d thought. Robin assured him the agency was very queer friendly, so he’d ticked both boxes, “men” and “women.” Why not? Life was complicated, and so was he.

He flagged down a waiter and ordered a beer, then let his eyes wander around the room as he waited. He watched the faces of the people around him, wondering if they felt as lonely and unlovable as he sometimes did. Or maybe not. Maybe that was just him, and the ghost of Eddie, still riding shotgun in his mind, his voice as dramatic as ever.

Five years together — his “formative years,” as Robin liked to call them — had left their mark. It didn’t matter that they’d been apart longer than they’d been together; time had a way of playing tricks like that. Some days, it felt like Eddie was still right there with him, leaning in close to whisper old secrets and inside jokes, making him laugh at the worst possible moments. Other days, it felt like he’d been gone a lifetime, the memories fading at the edges like an old photograph.

Steve took a sip of his beer, letting the cold liquid steady his nerves. He was doing this, trying. Maybe this one would stick.

Steve’s eyes drifted around the room, lingering on faces, searching for clues. He spotted a woman nervously tapping her fingers against her wine glass, a man adjusting his tie for the tenth time, another couple already deep in conversation, leaning in like they’d known each other for years. And then, just as he was about to turn back to his beer, he saw him.

His heart stopped. Or maybe it just skipped a beat — whatever it was, it felt like a punch to the gut. Eddie Munson.

Part 2

A few words about this: I wanted to try something new, so I'll be posting a new part here every day until it's done and then I put it on AO3. This actually started as backstory to my @steddiesmuttyseptember (follow this awesome blog for smutty goodness!) fill for make-up sex but now I'm at 5k and still no sexy times. Also, is exes to lovers make-up sex? Anyway, I'm loving the trope so I do what I want 😅

Part 2 will be up tomorrow, I promise.

[ryuichirou]

TWST boys’ type HCs

We’ve had a couple of pretty similar HC prompts in our askbox for a while now, and today we got another one that is kind of similar to it as well. There are sooome differences to them, but I figured it’ll make sense to write one list for all of them!

Thank you so much for your questions <3 And I am very sorry for the wait, especially to the first two Anons who’s been waiting for months…

Anonymous asked:

I apologize if this has been asked before but do you have any headcanons on what body parts the twst boys have a particular liking for? You know like who’s a leg guy, who likes the booty, who prefers thighs, etc.

Anonymous asked:

What is each of the twst boys’ type both personality and looks-wise? Is there anything that’s an automatic NO?

Anonymous asked:

Are the twst boys physically attracted to their lovers? What’s their favorite part and why?

Overall, here are our questions: What is his type personality-wise/appearance-wise? What is his favourite body part? How strongly he is physically attracted to his partner? I’ll try to answer all of them…

I’ll also try to keep in mind canon trivia as much as possible, but let’s be honest – I don’t remember everything lol Also, a lot of these boys aren’t fully aware of their types and feelings.

Riddle – in theory, his type would be someone who takes care of him, spoils him and soothes him, but in actuality I think he falls for people that excite him lol Without fully realising it, too. This is why he ends up getting conflicting feelings towards Floyd of all people. Ironically, he is terrified of repeating his parents’ mistakes and spending his life with someone he always viciously fight with, but I guess he’s self-sabotaging oops. In terms of appearance, he is definitely attracted to taller and bigger men LOL (he doesn’t realise that...) The ones that would drown him… in embrace, of course! I think his favourite body parts are arms, hands and, interestingly, chest. I also think physical attraction plays a bigger role in his life than he cares to admit; somehow, despite how sentimental and inexperienced he is, I see him as someone who would get very into someone’s appearance (and would be oblivious about it).

Ace – this bitch outed himself in the Ghost Marriage event: he wants to be with someone he would have fun hanging out with, but also someone who he could be honest with, fight with, someone who would call out his bullshit as much as he would call out theirs, so yeah Deuce Spade lol Ace just wants a partner who is also a buddy… But in terms of his physical type, he seemed to express several times that he finds Epel attractive?? I guess your type and your ideal partner aren’t necessarily the same thing. Maybe this is also why Ace has complicated relationship with Riddle – he definitely thinks he’s cute on some level. As wholesome as it might sound, I think Ace likes long lashes… But he also strikes me as someone who is very into legs, and not necessarily soft “girly” legs. No matter who he ends up dating, he would be very physically attracted to them, even to the aspects of their appearance he wasn’t initially interested in.

Deuce – serious, reliable and responsible older men do things to his heart… and even just older men who look like they have their shit together. In a way, he’s always been drawn to his senpais (who weren’t very responsible but) or any other older male figure that felt like a perfect and shiny example of what Deuce wants to be. In reality, it was just Deuce wanting to be with these men lol I think taller men make him feel things too, but his favourite features are a face (handsome!) and probably arms. In general, Deuce is very physical and, similarly to Ace, would be very into his partner’s entire body.

Trey  – as everyone’s caretaker, he would be attracted to someone who allows him to take care of him… to an uncomfortable degree. I guess that would mean that he likes helpless people, in a way, which sounds very mean somehow lol In terms of physical attraction, he definitely has a bias towards more petit people, and I think OTHER THAN TEETH he is very drawn towards small hands, big eyes and let’s be honest, he is mostly into Riddle lol But he would go even more feral over Riddle if he was a little bit more plump… Trey is working on it, alright? Also, somehow despite a very clear type, Trey finds himself attracted to thighs in general. He is also very physically attracted to his partner, even if he doesn’t seem like it, he’s constantly losing his mind in his head.

Cater – I think Cater has his actual type (someone who he could be honest with and someone who would ground him) and an “ohh that’s totally my type!”. The second one is all over the place because he flirts with people left and right, but I think one way to describe it would be cool/shiny. All of his exes were either local school stars, or someone who is a good musician, or someone who was very cool to take selfies with. Cater’s “first layer” is superficial, but it’s because he never got to know people properly and never really had a chance to connect with anyone. Alright, before it gets too depressing: good fashion sense! Long fingers! Good smell! And of course, BUTTS! But even then there isn’t anything specific appearance-wise that Cater is looking for. He just wants to go “woah”.

Leona – I don’t know if this could be considered a type, but Leona prefers people who take care of him, but don’t make it very obvious that they do or don’t act like a caretaker. Ruggie works because he complains all the time, there is this feeling that he does it for his own benefit. In terms of appearance, unfortunately Ruggie is way off because Leona is drawn to strong men with good build, but at the same time they have to be low-key about it so Leona doesn’t feel a threat to his ego I mean, doesn’t feel the urge to assert dominance. He does want his partner to overpower him, but in a very specific way I guess. He is also all about physical attraction.

Ruggie – what he needs is a “partner in crime” that shares his worldview and also respects his boundaries, which sounds nice, but for Ruggie it’s more of a “I’m doing my own thing, you’re doing your own thing, but we’re working towards the same goal somewhat”. Anyways, he isn’t super interested in finding someone like this, it’s more of a “if I end up with someone, it’s better be this kind of person”. It’s not like he has a physical type but… I think he is drawn towards meaty people. I think he loves big thighs, heavy butts, huge arms and fat tits.

Jack – oh he has very specific ideas for who he wants his partner to be because he is very determined to be with one person for his entire life – this is how things are in his family, after all. He is such a monogamist it hurt… He needs someone who is very into constant self-improving, but also isn’t a chore to be with emotionally. Ironically, I think both Deuce and Vil suit him well in that regard lol In terms of physical appearance, he loves athletic bodies and muscles, but he isn’t super into someone huge and beefy like him. I think he also loves butts a lot, but he is extremely shy about it…

Azul – in his head, his type is someone who is at the same time on the same level with him in terms of skill and potential, but also someone who is easy to bully because Azul still wants to always have the upperhand. In actuality, Azul kind of wants someone he could ease up with a liiittle bit. Not too much though. This is why even though I love both ships, I think Azul/Idia would have more longevity: Azul is crushing HARD on Jamil, but he would never allow him to get closer even if Jamil himself was willing. With Idia though, Azul is somehow more chill. Maybe it’s because Idia is easier to bully lol In terms of appearance though, I think it’s… Jamil again. Azul is so physically attracted to Jamil it makes him a bit feral. His hair, his body, his face, his hands – everything. I think he loves longer hair in general, but also elegant hands and pretty faces – those are parts he loves in Idia very much as well.

Jade – someone who wouldn’t bore him, someone who would always keep him guessing. It’s very difficult to fit his type, he is more difficult to excite than Floyd in general. But he would still love someone who would share his hobbies (mountains, mushrooms, teasing Azul)~ Until they become boring, of course. I also don’t think he has a type in terms of physical appearance – he is pretty open to anything, as long as it’s interesting and hopefully weird, and he would probably consider having a preference limiting somehow, even if it’s just in theory. That being said… He is somewhat interested in people’s necks. But also, since he is a merman, he is a liiiiittle bit into legs, because those are very new to him.

Floyd – he is the heartthrob out of the two tweels, and his romantic and sexual interest is higher than Jade’s, but his type personality-wise is pretty similar: he doesn’t want anyone who would bore him. At the same time, he is also attracted to people who can take him, meaning those who are strong enough to make him shut up somehow. This was Riddle’s mistake when they first met: Floyd was so impressed by his strength that he got obsessed instantly. Something similar happened with Vil during Beanfest too. At the same time, both Jade and he get very into those who hide from them because it feels like the person is teasing (hi Idia) them… In terms of appearance though, Floyd is also pretty omnivorous, but he still loooooves little cuties with feisty personalities. If a boy looks like Floyd could chomp his skull in half, he is into him. If the boy looks like Floyd could break his wrists but just squeezing them, he is into him. If the boy is very angry and fussy at the same time, man, Floyd wants to eat him alive. Maybe this is why he likes Epel too. He also loves chest because there are nipples there and they’re fun to rub against ahem. Also… I hate to say it, but probably feet :(

Kalim – I honestly don’t think he has a type, but he would prefer someone whom he could have fun with! Of course, Kalim doesn’t think there are people whom he wouldn’t have fun with…  But unintentionally, I also think he is drawn to those who aren’t super ready to open up to him from the get-go. Maybe it’s because he feels like it’s his mission to make that person open up? Look at Kalim, making projects out of people lol In terms of appearance, he sees beauty in a lot of people, but realistically, he is probably drawn to a lot of Jamil’s characteristics: his arms, his stomach, his face, his hair, his back – this is just what Kalim subconsciously would consider to be very attractive, without necessarily understanding that he’s describing Jamil. If he had to pick one thing though… Neck. Kalim wants to dive into his lover’s neck and collarbone and just smell it. And then hair too…

Jamil – similar to Ruggie’s type in theory, but in practice Jamil is drawn towards those who are somewhat domineering – he kind of enjoys it too much whenever Kalim has to pretend to be very dominating and scary (like during one of the Halloween events) lol I think to him it’s more of a guilty pleasure though; as he starts thinking about it, it feels wrong in every possible way. I also don’t think he has a type in terms of physical attraction. If the body is attractive, it’s attractive: I think Jamil is more drawn towards the attitude than any physical traits. But if he absolutely had to pick one body part to be attracted to, it’s forearms. His are better though.

Vil – someone who is passionate, determined and hardworking, but also someone who gets him and is honest with him. It’s also pretty important to Vil that he could share his interests and passions with that person, which is why Rook pretty much speedran the entire “getting closer” thing with Vil that would usually take much longer lol Vil gets very soft when he is in his element, after all. He also tends to fall for people with headstrong and somewhat stubborn personalities for some reason, even though he himself is very bossy and in theory would want his partner to be more obedient... In terms of appearance, I think Vil tends to prefer someone on a manlier side, but not overly masculine (no beard!) + he is attracted to buff people with strong bodies. He loves big thighs and strong necks, and it’s not unusual for him to feel butterflies in his stomach because of his lover’s body… He also would obviously demand his partner to always be super clean, but in actuality there is a certain level of body odour that he doesn’t mind and finds kind of attractive. What are those, pheromones?

Rook – both in terms of personality and appearance, Rook is in love with anyone and everyone! He is enamoured by a lot of people, so naturally there are a lot of things that he finds attractive that contradict each other: he loves Vil’s strong personality, but he also loves Idia’s shyness, he loves Epel’s naiveté, but he also loves wisdom and deep thinking behind Jamil’s eyes. Same with bodies: he loves Vil’s legs, he loves Leona’s mane, he loves Malleus’ horns, he loves Deuce’s calves, he loves Silver’s chest, the list goes on and on… And whoever he is with, while he is with that person, he is the most physically attracted to someone person in the world. For the window of time he is with that person, he is obsessed to every single body part and every single detail and imperfection of this person.

Epel – in a way similar to Deuce, but not quite: he is also drawn to older men, but he doesn’t like the calm and collected ones, he loves those who are a bit unhinged, unapologetic, cool in a way ~a boy~ would consider cool. This is why he is into people like Floyd or Leona or Rook when he is acting closer more feral or shows his physical prowess in any way. He wants someone to be reckless with, he wants to be loved in a bit of a crazy way, but yeah of course deep inside he is also a romantic that wants to spend his life with one person who would grow apples with him back in Harveston… In terms of physical appearance, yep taller muscular men!! lol muscles are this boy’s main fetish after all. The face doesn’t even matter to him much, Epel is all about thigh and arms that could choke him out. He loves strong backs too.

Idia – I think I wrote about his type at some point but there is no way I’ll find this post now so I’ll do it again and hope that I don’t contradict myself: Idia loves people whom he could spend time with doing things that he loves! He wants to play with someone, to watch anime and movies with someone, to talk about programming and stupid people on the internet with someone. Both Lilia and Azul are good in that regard – he is the happiest when he is playing games with them. But also, despite being capricious and easily freaked out, I think Idia is in a way attracted to stubborn people with strong personalities that take all the guessing out of their relationship. It’s easier for him if his partner decides for both of them, even if Idia doesn’t agree: he’ll still bitch about it, so it’s okay. But actually, Crimson Muscle is perfect for him. CM never oversteps and always minds the distance, as if not to scare Idia away, but he also instantly notices when Idia is getting upset, and always shows the exact amount of interest and investment in Idia’s stories that Idia wants… Idia is crushing hard on that man. And the fact that this is an experienced older man probably does things to Idia as well, oops. In terms of appearance, even though he keeps ending up with petit men, I think Idia loves those who are a bit on a stronger side… he also loves deep voices. Can’t think of any one body part though; I don’t think Idia would have a lot of physical attraction towards anyone in general to be honest. Shocking, I know lol

Ortho – he loves those who respond well to him being playful! I also think he has a bias towards those who are a bit older because he is very used to being around Idia, even though he mostly takes care of him. Still, he loves being a little cutie that people compliment on his achievements; this is probably why he works so well with Vil. I also don’t think he has a physical type because he still isn’t sure about what is considered appealing, but he consciously decided that he is into butts! He even told Idia once that he is now into butts. Maybe it’s a phase, the boy is learning about himself okay? Realistically, he probably responds to faces the most, which is kind of sweet to be honest. Real!Ortho would be a leg and thigh boy though lol

Lilia – nowadays he just wants someone to have fun with, he isn’t concerned about anything else – it’s not like he has to build a family with someone after all. So yeah, fits very neatly into Idia’s desire to have quality time together! In terms of physical appearance, I think Lilia also is someone who would be into a lot of people, but in general… those who are significantly taller than him. The taller the better. He doesn’t mind short cuties, but lovers with long-ass legs are his jam, and this has been his bias ever since he was a very young fae lol  So much space to bite~ He also is very into butts; probably the biggest butt enjoyer in NRC. And dragon tails which is super specific wow. He finds physical attraction to be very important, and he kind of think that there is no relationship without it… he’s a bit old-fashioned like that. I also feel like he is kind of haunted by the image of a tall busty woman with long dark hair and fair skin (I wonder why), so he is naturally drawn towards those elements as well.

Silver – does he have a type… not really, I think. He is close to people he is close with, but he never really considered romantic attraction towards someone… It’s easier for him to be around extroverted people though. In terms of appearance, he probably has a bias towards people similar to Lilia, but it’s not like he’s ever met anyone who is even remotely similar to him. I guess he is his one and only in terms of this specific type of beauty lol But other than that, he does find himself staring at Sebek’s back or chest from time to time… Maybe it’s because those look like nice sleeping surfaces though.

Sebek – someone who wouldn’t stand between him and his liege of course! Someone who would be understanding of how important it is for him to dedicate his life to Malleus first and that person second, or even third! Or something among the lines. In actuality though, I think Sebek is drawn towards those who make him… feel and think unexpected things. Partially because he doesn’t know how to deal with those thoughts and feelings, and is eager to figure them out by chasing that poor person lol In terms of physical type, I think it’s fair to say that Malleus is his Ideal Man, but Malleus also feels somewhat otherworldly, like it’s not appropriate to compare others to him…but he does love elegant appearance, long fingers and lips that look somewhat… darker, like they’re coloured I guess. He wants to kiss instantly lol He would be extremely into his partner physically though and might discover a lot about himself when he’s actually with someone for the first time.

Malleus – another one who really loves those who respond well to his teasing. Someone who would play along, but also not be afraid to stop him when he takes things too far. Maybe scold him a little bit, but just a little bit, because otherwise he’ll get mad. He wants someone who would pay attention to him, be attentive and actually listen to what he has to say, but also he has to be interesting to listen to… Someone who looks serious, but isn’t boring and allows him to be playful from time to time… and an adventurous nature! Malleus has a lot of preferences when it comes to personality lol but this code isn’t as difficult to crack as it seems. In terms of appearance though, he doesn’t have a preference, buuut I guess he has a slight bias towards serious faces, because he loves to fluster their owners. His favourite body part is actually… ears. He just likes to whisper and to tickle them with his breathing, okay?

[dinitride-art]

Au fics that i think are neat and that i want to compile into a list because im trying to figure out how to comment on a chapter of a fic but i need time to sort out my thoughts (usually for fic recs i try to rec fics with less kudos/engagement because reasons but im just gonna throw everything in this list. probably multiple fics by the same author in the same universe because thats the one im trying to sort out my thoughts on.)

the strawberries are dying by eggowlss - historical fiction and very interesting character relationships and also character exploration within the time period. I really like this one because the pacing and tone are very gentle. There’s a srt of ebb and flow to the story that makes both the time period and the characters really fit into it. idk how to describe it i just like it a lot.

in the quiet of the night (acswy ao3 series) - they’re putting those characters in situations. It’s a very good time. 10/10 do recommend. If you haven't heard of this one though, it’s basically a modern au where everyone works at a summer camp and Mike and Will cause problems for themselves, each other, and usually everyone else around them. 

si vis amari, ama by perexcri - demons and angels and heaven and hell and its honestly just one hell of a story. like ive got vivid images in my head of scenes i imagined when reading this. 

you start to kiss (and the record skips) by eclipseadventure - this is a band au with a side of a secret relationship and im a sucker for secret relationships. a bit of drama/high stakes in here too which is always pretty fun. 

End Racism on the OTW! - you and me and the horrible teenaged ghost who keeps eviscerating himself in our apartment makes three by TheWrongKindOfPC - i am also a sucker for buzzfeed unsolved aus. buzzfeed unsolved, hauntings, ghosts, yknow the fun stuff. 

into the daylight by andiwriteordie - THIS IS NOT THE FIRST ONE, it’s just the first one that came up in my bookmarks. anyways, this is the second fic in a fantasy au series. The worldbuilding is really cool and there’s magic and history and politics and i like it a lot. the most recent chapter is spinning around in my mind.

the heartbreak prince by andiwriteordie - THIS IS THE FIRST ONE. 

beneath these boughs, my devotion blooms by perexcri - this is the fic that nearly killed me. i literally cant summarize it because im still recovering from what happened to me when i read it. Did i read it in april? Maybe. Listen, it had me asking questions about things i had never considered before. its 11k but im pretty sure it took me a good few hours to read because it made me think about it so much. again, ive got a bunch of visuals running through my head. its just... so much.

sweetheart, you're so cruel by perexcri - Mike’s in a band, Will’s a music snob, they’re both contemplating their life choices. very fun, very interesting, also made me think about some things. 

keep it hush by wiseatom - theres an amusement park and the horrors of customer service. and some other stuff but basically its pretty bright (the visuals of the fic in my head are bright- like sun glinting off metal- and idk how else to describe it)

the start of an age by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy) - this ones funny and serious at times and its got Max in it. fantasy au with prince will and knight mike and a secret relationship and a small scheme between three parties that involves a fake (ish) marriage. 

superhero therapy by silverluminoqity - spiderman au with a side of trauma and healing? it’s complicated theres stuff happening, i had a good time reading it. 

you've got this spell on me by andiwriteordie - this one was really fun. basically its a fantasy au theres magic and mike gets himself hit with a spell that makes him fall in love with will and will freaks out about it for a while.

Daydream by disaster_energy - i really really liked this fic. its a fantasy au and its got gods and stuff and will gets chosen by the moon goddess because hes Will and everyone is like... woah.

takes one to know one by andiwriteordie - i also liked this one a lot, its a superhero au and its got ironic (like... dramatic irony- i think is what im talking about? maybe? but like fun irony) secret identities. 

Love goes 'round by evil_ontheinside - conversations in a laundry mat. mikes flopping (as in, flopping around like a fish) around a bit and this was pretty cute. 

my promise could be your fiend (could be the smallest of signs) by s0ld_it - spider man au, theres a bookstore involved and a lot of stuff. ive read this fic twice and greatly enjoyed it both times. 

Tip-toeing on Lily-pads by cherryisgone - very very fun, fantasy au and... mike gets cursed to be a frog. can only be un-cursed with a kiss. 

filling in the blanks as we go by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy) - bookstore meetcute

there’s more but i spent all day painting my room and i am tired. Ive also got way too many bookmarks to go through and i have decided to stop here. still haven't figured out how to write that comment (but i am working on it because i love the fi(s) and ive been thinking about one specific thing that came up in a new chapter for so long). anyways, i hope someone enjoys this list of au fics from my bookmarks. 

[oiblackestsheep]

what, in your opinion, are an intp’s needs in a relationship? (coming from an infj.) love your blog, you’ve got some amazing insights 🫶

Aww, thanks INFJ anon. 🫶 I try my best to have interesting insights that bring something fresh to the table!

INTP's Needs in a Relationship

I've been in the same relationship for 8.5 years (and we actually MET ON TUMBLR BECAUSE OF THIS BLOG WHICH IS SO FUNNY AND NERDY), all of this to say, I've had a lot of time to think about my relationship needs even from the MBTI perspective as an INTP, because that was how my ENFJ and I kinda started out getting to know, like, what we each needed from each other, so, here we go!

Disclaimer: This is assuming that the INTP is already getting everything that everyone needs in a basic healthy relationship like, you know, feeling emotionally safe and being treated with respect, etc..

Intellectual stimulation: INTPs generally love understanding new things and how they work, so ideally their partner can share that interest with them in some way! They can be pretty curious people, so joining them in their quest for uncovering the "how" and "why" of everything will make them feel understood, themselves, and closer to you in the process!

Clear explanations of your feelings: Because INTPs have inferior Fe, they tend to have a habit of intellectualizing their own emotions when they talk about them, which can cause complications with understanding other people's emotions, too. Finding a way to be patient and know that even healthy INTPs might still struggle with connecting with other people's emotions (especially at first in a relationship) isn't necessarily because they don't want to, but more that it doesn't always come naturally, so they don't always know how to. If they're a healthy person, they will want to understand, just try not to take it personally while they are practicing/learning!

Alone time: This one should be pretty straight-forward lmao. They're introverted, so they like to recharge doing solo-activities, and they're intuitives, so they have their own little theoretical world full of bizarre ideas to entertain themselves with that might not always be easy to follow at first. I find that introverts in general (maybe the INxx types even moreso) like to engage in parallel play where their partner also does something quietly nearby, but still a separate activity. As an INFJ, yourself, I'm sure you can relate in your own way, so it's likely easy to give them what they need!

Humor them/hear them out: This might sound a little vague, and I guess in some ways it is, but this is mostly about their auxiliary Ne. ENTPs and ENFPs get most of the attention when it comes to high Ne, but INTPs (and INFPs, too!) place a lot of importance on it, too, which can often manifest itself in conversations like "what if __", "imagine if __", etc.. To put it bluntly, it might seem a bit... directionless, and that's because sometimes it kind of is! It's just about thinking of random possibilities that are non-serious and funny in the moment, and don't really go anywhere else outside of the current discussion or hold any larger, overarching significance. Sometimes it's less about the actual topic itself, and more about having some random fun and "playing along" that makes a world of a difference to a playful INTP (or high Ne user in general). This point got away from me a little bit which I think, in a way, is the perfect exemplification of what I was trying to say in the first place, lmao. Hope that makes sense! If your INTP ever sounds like whatever the hell I just said, just try not to disengage right away, because they probably have a point that they are struggling to reach. Put that dom Ni to work and summarize it for them, I know you can do it from experience with my own ENFJ lmao.

Anyway, uhhhhh: Every single point on this list has gotten progressively longer because my Ne loves extrapolating (and I love Ne, but sometimes its gotta CHILL you know?), so I'm gonna end it here before it gets WILDLY OUT OF CONTROL.

This was a fun question, anon!: Thanks again for reaching out, and basically giving me full range to just write multiple paragraphs about myself and my relationship!

[septic-skele]

UT - It's Illegible Chicken Scratch

Summary: Papyrus' classmates think he's a tryhard. His teacher thinks he's not trying hard enough. Sans thinks he may need to do some research on dysgraphia.

A/N: In which I take that one line about Papyrus' puzzle notes (see title) and ruuuun with it

~

Papyrus had a…complicated relationship with his words.

Complicated: c-o-m-p-l-i-c-a-t-e-d. See, he knew how to spell it, unlike some of the other third grade students; he could recite the letters aloud without stumbling and recognize them when they were in a book with ease—so why couldn’t he put those very same letters down neatly on this expectant piece of paper?

His vocabulary (v-o-c-a-b-u-l-a-r-y) was supposed to be a point of pride. He and his brother were font-based by design; words were their specialty. Sans put his practice toward making even the smallest, most casual words more effective but Papyrus had always wanted to aim higher. Maybe it was the upper-caser in him; he devoured the puzzle of sounding out larger, longer syllables, echoing them over and over (even a little uncontrollably sometimes) until they settled just right in his mouth.

When he piped up to contribute to older monsters’ conversations, they would often exclaim that he was “so well spoken for his age!” Sans would look at him with such a fond warmth in his eyelights and reply, “Yep, that’s my bro. He’s the coolest.”

The other kids in his class didn’t seem to share the sentiment, not even after he offered to help them with the words of the day. He had hoped studying together would be the start to a friendship (or at the very least what Sans called a give-and-take relationship.) Maybe if they were friends, they would in turn help him in the areas of study where they all excelled and he might, theoretically, ever so slightly fall short.

Instead they accused him of thinking they were stupid, insulting them just because he knew they wouldn’t understand. They complained to the teacher that he was being a showoff, using all these fancy words to act like he was better than them.

Perhaps it had reminded his teacher of the bad mood she was in last week when Papyrus told her the spelling flash cards were too easy. Whatever the case may be, she had issued a challenge: “Well, if you’re so confident in using your words, you can practice your cursive with the fourth grade word list.”

It wasn’t the more advanced list that dropped Papyrus’ soul into the pit of his metaphorical stomach. It was that one particular word: cursive.

Reading and recitation were doable, give-and-take; he was given letters, words, phrases and took them with him for future use. Writing, however, was…not that. It was the far less fun kind of puzzle, too much giving with too much room for mistakes—and he made many, many mistakes.

The margins of the designated writing zone never moved yet somehow he always managed to over- or underestimate how much room he had on the paper, sentences skidding sideways. The level of concentration he needed to make letters fit between the lines was ridiculous and it usually led to him missing some crucial punctuation. The joints in his fingers ached with every painstaking swirl of the pencil, and that was when he put his all into typical uppercase.

Cursive was, true to the name, a curse, and his teacher was well aware. She couldn’t not be, considering the number of exasperated conversations she and Sans had about it after class. After just such an occasion this afternoon, Sans even put on the serious tone when they got home, cajoling Papyrus to explain what was wrong, to just be honest with him. If he had hurt his hand at some point and decided to hide it from him, if it had healed wrong and it was affecting his line work—

Some of their frustration must have rubbed off on him because Papyrus’ honesty was a little louder than necessary. “It didn’t heal wrong because I didn’t hurt it! Whenever I try to write, it hurts without being hurt! I can see—” That didn’t sit quite right in his mouth for the context. Hissing a sharp breath through his teeth, he adjusted. “I can vis-u-al-ize the words I want but my head can’t make my hand write them! Either hand. I’ve tried both!” When his brother’s eye sockets narrowed, his irritation gave way to pleading, his offending hands flailing at the equally offending worksheet. “Just look at it, Sans! I know those words and you know I know them! I can read them, I can say them, I just can’t make them!”

“You can’t,” Sans repeated, and though his tone was unreadable, it still stung. “Can’t”, however small it may be, was a word Papyrus rarely ever liked using, especially in regards to himself. He preferred to think with enough optimism and time, he could do anything! But this? Detailing every one of those curling, spiraling lines with no slips, no misjudging the size, no smudges or streaks?

“No, I…can’t.” Resisting the urge to hunch his shoulders, he lowered his gaze, took another sharp breath and tried to pretend it didn’t catch in his throat. “But…I can try harder. I can try really, really hard if it means my teachers will stop yelling at the both of us. And I apologize for yelling at you just now too.” That was rather hypocritical: h-y-p-o—

“Hey.”

Sans lightly nudged his mandible, coaxing him to peek back up. His sockets were still narrowed, still serious, but thankfully not disbelieving or angry.

“Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean you aren’t trying. I’m an expert at not trying, remember? I think I’d know if you weren’t. And just because you’re trying real hard doesn’t mean you can’t have help. But if I wanna help, I need to know when something is hurting you. Cause your homework shouldn’t be doing that. Do your hands hurt every single time you write?”

“Not as much if it’s something short but…even then, the pencil doesn’t make the letters small enough to suit the smaller words. They sit right in my thoughts but not on the paper.”

“Huh. And your teacher, how often is she getting mad at you for this? As often as she gets mad at me?”

That sounded suspiciously like Sans using his casual words to achieve an effect Papyrus might not agree with (or even be privy to.) Why did it feel like he might get someone in trouble? “Only as often as I do it wrong…”

“Huh,” Sans exhaled again, and there was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it flash of anger, just as Papyrus happened to blink. “Well, seeing as she couldn’t be bothered to ask nicely, I don’t see why you should have to bother with this.”

“What? Why not? What does that mean?”

Sans shrugged, folding the paper with surprising neatness before tucking it into his jacket. “I’ll take care of it. I’ve slept through my third and fourth grade classes already; it ought to be a breeze.”

“Sans, you can’t just do my homework for me!” Papyrus sputtered incredulously. “That’s cheating! And it wouldn’t even be clever cheating, considering our very different, very well-known fonts!”

“Who said I was gonna do it for you? I’m just gonna supervise like Teach told me—heh, ‘like a real, proper guardian would’—while Papyrus does it.”

For a moment Papyrus had to uncharacteristically wonder if Sans had gotten enough sleep last night. “Right. Yes. Papyrus…which is me…who, as we just discussed, can’t do it.”

Sans’ only response to that was one of his annoyingly cryptic winks before he padded toward the stairs. “Our fonts are pretty recognizable, aren’t they?” he mused offhanded after three or four steps. “Couldn’t mistake ’em for anything but Comic Sans and Papyrus. We fonts are so recognizable, the computer’s got a database chalk full of ’em. In fact, I think I saw one under the P’s that looks juuust like you and it doesn’t even hurt. The wonders of technology!”

“Wha—Sans!” As soon as his brother took a shortcut out of sight, Papyrus was bounding toward the stairs, hollering after him. “That sounds like a lot of effort to not try while helping me, in the worst possible way!”

“Sorry, can’t hear you! Me and Papyrus are too busy studying real hard up here where it’s quiet,” Sans called down the hall. “And actually, we’re making so much progress and I’m so proud, I might just make a fancy printout of his work when he’s done to show your teacher!”

“Sans!”

Forgery: f-o-r-g-e-r-y.

[dyns33]

Specificity

I will be honest, I didn't like Inception. Saw it once, understood it but didn't like it. But I like Tom Hardy and I liked Eames, so I tried to write a little something for him.

The first thing Arthur had said before she met Mister Eames was that he was difficult.

Cobb had corrected by saying that he was very good at his job, like the whole team since he only worked with the best, but that his style and the style of their Extractor were very different.

"Eames can seem playful…"

“He is childish, frivolous and careless.”

"Thank you, Arthur. Let's just say he likes to have fun, but he knows how to be serious when necessary. We've never had any problems with him."

The work went well, apart from the incessant arguments between Arthur and Eames, although it was obvious that this amused the Forger a lot.

The rest of the time he flirted with Y/N. As an Architect, she had to concentrate to maintain a coherent universe during the dream, which was not easy with this smiling man who distracted her whenever he had the opportunity.

Difficult, Arthur had said, she saw quite well what he meant.

But really very talented, and really very charming. Hard to resist. The problem was that Mr. Eames was a gambler. A player. He loved risk and challenge, which is why he continued to tease Arthur whenever he saw him.

As soon as he saw that he wasn't getting what he wanted with Y/N, she immediately became interesting.

She didn't really think the first time they kissed. The dream had been difficult to manage, the mission dangerous, they had almost died and Eames had been injured protecting her.

Her lips were pressed to his before she realized what she was doing, too relieved that he was alive. Immediately he had hugged her, responding to her kiss without worrying about their colleagues.

Cobb had sighed, Arthur had rolled his eyes, Saito had shrugged, Ariadne had smiled and Yusuf had taken notes.

No one blamed her for her reaction, because the whole team had been affected by what had happened. They didn't talk about it again.

Eames didn't mention it again either, but he called her more often. He came to her hotel room as if everything was perfectly normal.

It was hard to remember when he joined her in bed. It seemed impossible to resist Mr. Eames's charms, despite her best efforts.

"I'll take everything you want to give me, darling." he said to her one day, kissing her forehead as she fell asleep against him.

He kept his word. Eames took what she gave, giving nothing in return. He responded to her messages, her calls, he came when she asked him, he received her kisses, her caresses, and he took everything with a big smile.

Y/N didn’t blame him, he didn’t force her to give either. It was a balanced arrangement. She just had to avoid anything complicated with feelings. This was not the domain of Mr. Eames, eternal child.

Normally, she would have acted thoughtfully and carefully, being a very gifted professional at her job. But it wasn’t about work, and Y/N wanted to take some risks when she was with him. A game could be fun, once in a while.

“I want us to get married.” she said very calmly as they dined in a chic restaurant in Paris.

"… I don't have a ring on me right now, but I can get down on one knee with a baguette."

She hadn't thought he would accept. As he was a gambler himself, perhaps he wanted to see how far she would go. So Y/N offered everything.

A grandiose wedding, with lots of guests, two cakes, a princess dress, an indecently expensive wedding ring, with less than a year to prepare everything.

She quickly realized that she had no chance of winning this game, which very quickly became more painful than fun.

"Yusuf made me think that we need several options for the banquet. We need to add dishes."

"Very well dear."

“I mean, what dishes do I add ?”

"Oh, whatever you want. Anything is fine with me."

“And Cobb asks for the gift list.”

“Yes, he asked me too, I told him to check with you.”

Very effective response, always the same. Eames said yes to everything, without ever having to do anything, since the marriage was her idea, and therefore it seemed normal that she would be the one to organize it from start to end, even if he handed her his numerous bank cards as soon as she asked.

In the end, it wasn't their wedding that she was planning, but a wedding in which he would participate, perhaps, if he didn't run away at the last moment.

Y/N wondered if she was going to break down first. And probably she should, because the game was affecting her more than it should, and for a reason that was starting to become quite clear.

After all this time together, and despite all her good intentions, it was obvious that she liked Mr. Eames a little too much.

No, she was in love, that was a certainty when her heart was racing because he whispered her name, when she had trouble breathing when he didn't respond after a mission, and above all because she wanted to to cry every time he didn't invest in the preparations.

Yet he had been very clear from the start. He would take, nothing more.

The wedding was to take place the following week when Y/N turned to him at the end of a mission, trying to hide any emotion.

“I don’t want to marry you.”

He didn't really seem surprised, but still a little disappointed. His only response was to nod, accepting this announcement without putting up the slightest resistance. He took his things and left without giving his destination.

The rest of the team was not as understanding.

Everyone asked her why she was ending such a beautiful story. Even Arthur seemed shocked, as he was the first to criticize Eames.

“You seemed so happy together.” Ariadne sighed in despair. “When Eames looked at you, he had stars in his eyes.”

“It wasn’t serious.”

"Really ? I saw the way you smiled when he called your name. And he said it with such fervor and love."

“There was no love.”

"But…"

"Ariadne, he doesn't love me. He doesn't care. It wasn't a relationship, it wasn't a marriage, just a game that went too far. Please stop."

Y/N took the first flight to Barcelona, to stop thinking about all this and be away from everyone. Unfortunately, their team had the best Pointman and Extractor, who always knew where to find his teammates.

Of course, this normally served no purpose outside of missions, and Arthur never gave out their location if it wasn't necessary.

It was impossible to imagine what Eames could have said or done to get this information, because there was no other way he could have ended up at her hotel room door.

He looked less confident than usual, scratching the back of his neck and grimacing.

"Um… Hello."

“What do you want, Mr. Eames ?”

"Darling, you know I love you right ? Because Ariadne told Arthur, who told Cobb, who told Yusuf, who told me that you thought I didn't love you. I went down on one knee and offered you French bread, it's huge."

"… If you want us to sleep together, it's really not…"

“Darling.” sighed sadly with a terribly sad look. "I think we misunderstood each other. I'll take what you give me, and you can take everything from me."

“I don’t feel like I get much from you.”

"I agreed to marry you ! And be careful, I'm delighted, the happiest day of my life, and I would have accepted all the other requests. Anything to make you happy. That's why I wanted you to choose your dress, the flowers, the meal, to make it the wedding you wanted, because the only thing it ever needs for it to be perfect is for you to be there. I want you, nothing more."

"… I actually think we misunderstood each other."

"If it was just a game, darling… Tell me and I'll go drown my broken heart in a bar. But if you still want this marriage… I'm here."

Some people thought Eames was difficult, but in the end he was a very simple man.

So smart that he was stupid, not thinking it would be necessary to talk about his feelings. To him, it was obvious that he was in love, otherwise why would he spend so much time with Y/N ? Why would he want to hear from her, have her in his arms, have her named after him ? She was as smart as him, if not smarter, she should know that.

Yes, he liked gambling, his life wasn't stable, but when it came to that sort of thing, he was a romantic gentleman. Yusuf knew this. But not the rest of the team.

He hadn't thought that Yusuf didn't talk about his secrets with others, and that the rest of the team had been able to warn her against some of his bad habits, which didn't reflect very well on him.

He seemed casual, but with Y/N, he had been very serious.

"I can take over the entire wedding planning. It will take a long time, I have a lot of ideas. I don't know if you've noticed, darling, but I have imagination. The decoration, the clothes , music… So many possible themes but an unlimited budget. I mean, almost unlimited. I played a bit after the wedding cancellation and you know what they say ? Unlicky at cards, all that. What do you think of an underwater wedding ?"

“Maybe we could slowly resume the relationship before talking about marriage again.” she sneered, as relaxed as at the beginning of their story, when everything was simple.

"We can. I also have lots of date ideas. Are you afraid of heights ? Allergies ? In fact, I already know, I may have hacked your computer and forced Arthur to tell me the rest, but I really want you to tell me about yourself.”

“What if I want to talk about you ?”

“Ah, my love, we are going to be very bored, we will need a lot of alcohol. I know where our first date will be !”

They didn't talk about marriage again right away. No, Eames waited until the third date to propose again with a basket filled with several types of bread.

The team didn't really know how to react when they received wedding invitation again, where the new date had been replaced by hand, with a smiley face. They were happy, because Eames and Y/N seemed happy together, but at the same time they were afraid that the same nightmare would start again.

“If he hurts you, tell me.” Arthur said, one hand resting on his gun.

"Everything will be alright."

"Hmm. And remember he's an idiot, don't hurt him too."

“Oh, Arthur, you care !” cried Eames sarcastically.

"No, you might disappear again and even if I found you, it would jeopardize the mission."

"So charming, mate. Why are you my best man again ?"

“I’m Y/N’s best man.”

“Specificity, right darling ?” Eames chuckled, taking Y/N's hand to kiss it, his eyes shining that screamed that he loved her more than anything, even if he wasn't good at telling it with words.

[risingsoleil]

give is HC about teachers AU linzin🙈

Good evening, anon! Some of my headcanons I'll share are ones that I talked about with @peachchanvidel, and others might be ones that I come up with on the spot haha. Please give lots of love to Peach! 💕💕💕 She has wonderful ideas and has been such a great friend in helping me when I'm stuck or just brainstorming different story ideas/chapters.

Tenzin got his tattoo as a way to rebel against his mom. He got it done secretly at 18 and Sokka helped him keep the secret 🤪 Tenzin didn't reveal it to Katara until he left to complete mandatory military service. He waved bye to her and she saw it, then demanded "Get back here, right now Tenzin Wang!!!" as he continued to walk away with a smile.

Aang was Lin's teacher when she was a high school student, and he inspired her to pursue education as a career. He was also a strong fatherly figure during her teen years, and she's so proud to work with him as an adult.

Lin and Su don't have a complicated and toxic relationship like canon shows us. Rather, we see how their priorities clash and how Su neglects to help Lin and step up in taking care of family affairs.

Lin has only had one past serious relationship (do not ask who this person is lol)

Tenzin has had multiple exes and there's a pattern with them

Lin's social media is mostly pictures of nature, food, and some loved ones. Her IG stories are either food or gym 🤷🏻‍♀️ sometimes the neighborhood cat makes an appearance too

Tenzin's IG is nature, cool places he's visited, art, hiking pics, Oogi, maybe some fun event he went to and dressed up a bit. His stories are videos of views, food, animals, and a selfie with some weird caption

Tenzin prefers sunny weather and reading outside by the ocean or a pool

Lin hates the heat and prefers to be nice and chilly. Rainy weather is the perfect day to curl up with a book, in front of a window, and a cup of tea

Tenzin - early bird

Lin - night owl (also prefers to fuck at night, but daytime is fine too)

I sometimes struggle to come up with a list of HCs bc I wonder what to share that's interesting lol

[mywingsareonwheels]

I was thinking about the whole... what's more progressive debate out of m/m romance representation and actually close and tender (as opposed to buddyish) m&m friendships. And how utterly futile and insulting to the need for more of both a debate it is when we need infinitely more of both and a lot of other things.

Fundamentally, between the lingering after-effects of the Hays Code and the extremist end of Christianity (not that those two are unconnected) and the patriarchy (ditto) and militarism and capitalism... in mainstream Western story media we still struggle to get *any* genuine emotional intimacy that isn't:-

romance between a different-gender couple who are both cishet, and which if it's happy will lead to marriage (but hasn't yet).

marriage between ditto, but only if they haven't been together very long (after they have for a few years they're supposed to bicker all the time).

at an extreme pinch, fond closeness between blood relatives, especially if at least one of them is a woman.

Friendships between men and between women are okay so long as there's a... distancing of rivalry and teasing. If you can imagine one of them tucking the other in or stroking their hair (especially if they're both men) or being utterly and wholly in solidarity with each other (especially if they're both women)... hm, no.

And that's... it. We're still at a point in mainstream western media where anything that deviates from, especially to the extent of serious warmth and trust and confidence and understanding between the characters, that feels at least a little transgressive, especially in e.g. a blockbuster movie. We're still at a point where everything else is under-represented. Less and less so, thank everything, but still.

I'm thinking of some of my favourite relationships in fiction at the moment and how they fuck with those stereotypes and do better things (and always as part of awesome stories, because as always, good rep is important but it should never be treated as everything). :-) This is inevitably a v personal list, I'm not claiming that anything here is The Purest And Least Problematic Thing Ever, and this is very much just a, "this is what's enthusing me right now" thing. :D

yes they're a het couple and both cis, but: Mike and Alison Cooper in Ghosts. They have been married for a few years now, and they actually like each other. They're best friends as well as lovers, and I know that some critics have actually had a problem with this and regard it as unrealistic. [facepalm] I adore so much that they're not a stereotypical sitcom married couple, nothing like. In a quiet way they are utterly defiant and fuck completely with the genre.

Donna Noble & the Doctor in Doctor Who. I mean, do I need to say much more? :D Close, glorious platonic friendship between a woman and... the Doctor. Some of the most beautiful platonic love in any fiction ever and it's so tender and gorgeous and fun. Adore it. <3

Red, White, and Royal Blue is a silly film but omg I adore it and part of it is seeing all of those standard romance beats between two men. And with a lot more true closeness than a lot of het romcoms manage. We're getting more and more of this (we need more between women too, and indeed other queer romances of many and various kinds!!!). <3 <3 <3

yes, they're shit at expressing their love for each other most of the time, but I still stubbornly add: E Morse & Fred Thursday in Endeavour. The fact that they're inhabiting the 1960s-70s and there is no framework for their mutual affection and devotion is of course part of why things get so hard for them both. They don't know what to do with it or where to place each other in their priorities, but the loyalty and the tenderness is there, and some remarkable emotional intimacy at times considering who they both are. We watch and interpret it as father-son or as romantic or as fraternal or as an intense and wonderful (and complicated and difficult) friendship. But it defies easy definition and... and oh goodness well anyone who's been following me for any length of time knows how I can go on about them, apologies. ;-)

the entire Fellowship of the Ring, but especially Frodo and Sam. And whatever my mixed feelings on the PJ films of The Lord of the Rings, my Gods am I endlessly glad and grateful that they retained warmth and intensity and devotion and intimacy. I worry that it wouldn't have been if made now, with a more stereotypical masculinity so much in the ascendant in mainstream film-making (we really are in the midst of a patriarchal/homophobic/transphobic reaction :( ). As with Morse and Thursday, you can absolutely interpret some of the connections there as romantic (and we know that Tolkien was remarkably non-homophobic for a man of his generation and religion), or as platonic. Either way, what matters is that there's serious love there between male characters and that goes right back to the books. Tolkien could be problematic af, but I love him so much for how he writes masculinity and love between men. <3

Heartstopper, not just for Nick/Charlie and Tara/Darcy, but also because of Charlie's friendships with Elle, Isaac, and (especially, actually) Tau.

everything with Found Family, and especially everything with Found Family where there is no easy equivalence to a "nuclear" family to map the characters on to.

Honestly I could go on. Hooray for all of these! But also: we are still in a position where these all feel subversive and make a lot of the more bigoted critics spectacularly uncomfortable (even when there is no actual queer rep). We're still in a position where mainstream film series and some tv shows struggles with anything like this, and/or will sabotage a friendship between men and even an entire character arc because it's got too close and intimate and there's a desperate need to "no homo" everything (*coughs* Steve Rogers *coughs*). We're still in a position where romance between women and any romance involving trans people of any gender is dramatically under-everythinged (but that between cis men is also still not exactly even a fraction of where it should be). We're still in a position where honestly even the representation of romance between cishet characters is most often weirdly distant and lacks real closeness or mutual liking between them (often, let's face it, because the writers struggle to write women as people). I snarked a bit at first about the debate as to which is more important and under-represented between m/m romance and really open and loving m&m friendship, but honestly the main problem with that debate is that dividing up the exact same problem: we aren't going to get more open and loving representations of m&m friendship until the media get less afraid of the relationship being interpreted as romantic whether or not it is, by both fans and haters. (I.e. don't blame the shippers when a production company loses their nerve and trashes a friendship between men so that it's not seen as romantic! Blame homophobia. I mean, to put it on its simplest real-life terms, it's consistently my experience in the UK at least that het male allies are in general vastly more comfortable hugging each other than homophobes are.)

[messinwitheddie]

Dipper "Holy shit, you're really a demon? I thought you were just extremely dedicated to an edgy persona."

Pepito "Yes, I'm a fucking demon!"

Dib "Half demon."

Pepito "Session's over, amegos; you're making me flare up!"

Dib "So it was just YOU?"

Pepito "Yeah, it's just me and you're lucky it's JUST me!"

Dib "So... could you stop?"

Pepito "I'll stop when you stop! Put the damn ouija board away before one of my siblings or cousins tune in! Worse yet, one of my aunts or uncles tune in, they're even bigger cunts-- And so fucking help me, if my DAD shows up, I'll make all 4 of you spontaneously combust right in front of your parents!"

Dipper "Seriously?"

Pepito "YES! Look at my weird fucking goat eyes! See how serious I am?!"

Mabel "I didn't touch it!"

Gaz "I was just making sure this moron didn't curse me again."

Dib "One time! I accidentally put ONE curse on you ONE time!"

Gaz "It wasn't an accident."

Dib "Move past it!"

Gaz "I can't eat hot dogs ever again!"

Dipper "We just ate chili dogs for lunch."

Gaz "Yeah, but they were beef franks and I didn't enjoy it."

Dib "Ok, So I didn't do enough research before I cast the spell file. Drag me to court."

Gaz "I wanted to, but dad wouldn't book his lawyer."

Mabel "We've all put a curse of some kind on our siblings. You can just own up to it."

Gaz "Yeah, DIB."

Pepito "Hey, asshats! Shut the fuck up and put away the board. That's your last warning."

Dipper "We're not going to summon anything dangerous. Just relax."

Pepito "You don't think so?"

Dib "NO. We know what we're doing."

Pepiti "I ASSURE you, you DON'T. Humans almost NEVER know what they're doing when it comes to ouija boards! As the son of Satan, trust me on this."

Dipper "Ok, I call bullshit on that. You're NOT the son of Satan. Satan is just a poster boy for the alienated and G-d is a lie made up by rich people to trick poor people into fighting the wars they start."

Pepito "Let's just say you're not entirely wrong and the multiverse is much more vast and complicated than you think."

Dipper "We can handle a demon. I've been possessed before. Well, by an ultraterrestrial technically."

Pepito "ALL demons are technically ultraterrestrials, dumb-shit!"

Dib "But not all ultraterrestrials are demons. Don't correct him if he's not wrong."

Pepito "What was the demon's name?"

Dipper/ Mabel "Bill Cypher."

Pepito "Ha! The lamest one."

Dib "Right now, that's you, man."

Pepito "Mother fu... ok. So, it wouldn't be out of character to tell *Kimber; make her break this up?"

Kids "NOOO!!"

[A continuation of this dialogue. I had too much fun writing this.

*Dipper/Mabel mother]

[ailendolin]

3 (Smile) for chess husbands?

Thank you for the prompt, anon!

List of prompts is here. Filled prompts are here, here, here and here on AO3.

Prompts are closed.

————

Happy

“Hey, what you looking at?” Robin asked curiously. He’d just come back inside after watching the baby squirrels chase each other around the garden and occasionally joining in on the fun only to find Julian hunched over the laptop in the common room with a peculiar look on his face.

“What?” Julian asked, distracted, and didn’t so much as glance up from the screen.

Robin frowned and came closer to look at the laptop over Julian’s shoulder. His eyes widened. “Is that–?”

A smile as beautiful as the moonrise lit up Julian’s face when he finally glanced up at him. “My daughter? Yes. Look at her, Robin. Look at her.”

Robin did. Rachel Fawcett was dressed in a simple yet pretty white dress and holding the hand of a woman Robin had never seen before. The woman was dressed all in white too and smiling beautifully at the camera, and Rachel was looking at her as if she’d hung the moon and stars.

“She got married,” Julian said, choked up. “Last month. And look who carried the rings!”

He opened another picture which showed a dog with its tongue lolling out happily sitting at the women’s feet. It had a white neckerchief around its neck and in front of it sat a little basket that Robin assumed had held the rings now happily glinting on the women’s fingers.

Robin couldn’t say he fully understood the appeal of marriage. Promising your heart to only one person made things complicated – often unnecessarily so in his opinion. But when he saw the pure joy on Rachel’s face when she looked at her wife he couldn’t deny that some part of him felt a little sorry that he and Julian would never get to share a moment like this.

“They look happy,” he remarked softly. “Very happy.”

“Don’t they?” Julian asked, still beaming proudly.

It was nice to see him like this, Robin thought: genuinely happy and smiling so easily as if he didn’t have a single care in the world. Robin knew the years to come would dull that smile, though: Rachel would grow older and the milestones of her life, now looked upon with so much joy, would slowly get tainted by grief until, inevitably, she would move on and Julian would not. There were no happily ever afters for ghosts – he knew that better than anyone, had seen it happen countless times before and still felt the pain of all those losses deep in his bones.

He wished he could spare Julian that grief.

“The article says that Nicole – that’s Rachel’s wife – is a biologist,” Julian went on, unaware of Robin’s melancholic thoughts. “I wonder how they met.”

“On a field, saving little mouse family?” Robin suggested, only partly serious.

Julian snorted.

“Wouldn’t surprise me.” His eyes grew sombre. “We have fields. Maybe they’ll come here one day to take a look at your mouse family.”

“Maybe,” Robin said, wishing he could believe that. He hooked his chin over Julian’s shoulder. “What would you say to her if she did?”

Julian thought about it for a moment.

“I’d tell her that I’m sorry I wasn’t there, and that I’m proud of her.” He leaned his head back a little to meet Robin’s eyes. “And I’d tell her that I’m happy.”

He smiled, soft and sweet in a way he rarely did, even when no one was around and it was just the two of them. Robin basked in it for a moment before he closed the distance between them with a kiss.

“I’m happy too,” he whispered, trying his hardest not to think about how long it would last.

[thatfreshi]

Dancing (Markiplier x fem!reader)

You and Mark have... a weird history. And it finally comes to a boil at your friends’ bridal party. Lots and LOTS of sexual tension, fluffy ending. (This was really out of my comfort zone and I'm kinda unsure about it but this concept was TAUNTING my brain so I had to write it LMAO)

It’s the night of your friend’s bachelor party. Well, really an entire bridal group party. You’ve known the couple about to get married for years now, and they hated the whole ‘gendered parties thing,’ and they also hated the idea of being left out of any festivities. This entire group of people you knew, were the work hard and play even harder type, and so are you. Successful, living it up in New York, it’s not often you make a trip all the way to Cali. You were putting the final touches on your look, earrings, a reapplication of your lipstick to make sure nothing rubbed off, and you were ready to go. The hotel was nice: a large bed, a nice view, a huge bathroom. After all, you always booked the best. Before you went to put your shoes on, your phone buzzed.

“Mark’s going btw.”

It was the bride-to-be, giving you some information you wish you had hours earlier. You see, you and Mark have a complicated relationship. You’ve vaguely and yet intimately known each other for years, having met at some party one of your friends threw. No one throws you off your game, but Mark gets close. Over the past couple years, you’ve kept in touch, occasionally seeing each other at events and getting a little sloppy on the dance floor, ignoring each other across the room, leaving with other people just to get under each other’s skin, the list goes on and on. Since you live across the country you text and call sometimes, either some SOS in the middle of the night when one of you isn’t doing too hot or pictures of your hookups just to push the envelope a little further. You’re not sure why you hadn’t considered the fact that he would be at this party, as your social groups in California often overlap.

“Okay.”

A simple response despite a complex array of things going on in your mind. Between you two it’s always games, dancing around each other and yet never quite fitting together. You’ve even been in videos a couple times, and the fans get a little rabid. Of course, you’re much more civil out of the nightlife scene, but they still pick up on the tension.

‘So… when are they gonna kiss?’

‘OMFG please have her in more videos.’

‘Maybe they should get a room.’

The comments flood anything you feature in, and you two just ignore them. It adds to the game, having some kind of audience. Funnily enough, the two of you haven’t ever kissed, never done anything more than get a little handsy, and yet it was exhilarating, wondering when you’d see each other again. Perhaps it was a little twisted, but you both were having fun. And yet, since you met, neither of you has had a serious relationship. You two are the only constant in each other’s lives.

You finally stop thinking and leave the hotel room, quickly leaving with a personal driver. In the back of the car, you take out your phone for a quick snap of your look, sending it to Mark shortly after, saying nothing more. You read the ‘seen’ and then put your phone on silent, and quickly place it back in your bag. You’re lucky your friend texted you, because you have an upper hand on the night now. Sure, the night was supposed to be about the couple, but they knew what they were doing by inviting both of you. It was going to be fun to watch, for all parties involved.

After about a thirty-minute drive you arrived. The location was new, and very popular, and they bought it out for the night. The concept was some kind of nightclub/mock bar mix, where they only sold mocktails (with the occasional medicinal addition). Funnily enough, you and Mark had nothing added to your drinks the entire night. Luckily he didn’t have to worry about any alcohol being slipped into something considering the entire facility was dry.

“Oh my god hi y/n! Was your flight alright?”

“It was amazing. And if it wasn’t, you and I both know that wouldn’t slide with me.”

You and the bride laugh, and she leads you into the club. It’s decorated spectacularly, the lights are well-done yet not blinding. Her fiancee comes up soon after, and the three of you talk for a little. You were a little early, mainly because you always like to scope out a scene.

“So, you guys invited him. This part of the party favors?”

“Well, we figured you two will end up stealing the show and that will be entertaining for everyone, us especially, and it is our party after all.”

She wasn’t wrong. After getting yourself something to drink and catching up with a couple other guests, your attention is quickly taken away. He’s arrived, looking nice as usual. You immediately look away, pretending like you didn’t notice. The conversation with one of the party-goers continues as you two talk about how you met the couple. Soon after he walks past you, brushing your arm. He looks back at you, giving you a glance up and down. You meet his eyes, staring at him while you take another sip. Soon after he’s swooped up by the couple, and he reverts back to normal. It was magical to watch. This dance you’ve been dancing for this long, it’s particular, there are rules, there are steps. You and Mark, you’ve always understood each other despite never laying it out for each other. It’s like your brains are synced, your bodies intertwined. The train of thought is interrupted by the couple making an announcement on the stage.

“Hello everyone!”

There’s plenty of cheering in the club. You keep your eyes on him a couple tables ahead of you as he listens to the speech. They go on about love and some sappy shit, and then say that the DJ will start the music soon. It seems selfish. Don’t get me wrong, these are your friends and you do care about them, but as they told you, they knew what they were doing. You turn to the guest you were speaking to, some guy who works at a bank, apparently has good connections to some dealers, and that’s pretty much the only reason he’s invited to all these things.

“You wanna dance?”

He hesitates, thinking about the interaction he just watched between you and Mark, but ultimately decides ‘why not?’

You lead him out to the dance floor, and you’re the first people out there. Mark doesn’t make a move. He’s usually slower to act than you are, which allows him to watch the fun for a while. As you and this bank guy start dancing it goes from friendly to a little less than friendly fast, and you make eye contact with Mark the entire time. At some point, after the dance floor has filled with quite a few more people, he sets his drink down and gives your dance partner a look, cutting in.

“So, we’re doing this tonight huh?”

He spins you, almost in an ironic way, treating you for a moment like some kind of royalty. He pulls you back to him.

“You do know that’s why we’re here right? The bride and groom wanted some free entertainment.”

You jokingly curtsy, giving his hand a kiss. He chuckles.

“Well then, let's give the couple what they want.”

He whispers sharply and leaves a kiss on your neck, going to find his next pawn. Although it seems mean, the two of you have only ever involved willing parties in this game of yours. Mark quickly finds some other woman. Instead of giving him the attention he so clearly wants, you find someone as well, having as much fun as you can while scheming your next move. For the next hour or so you work on making each other as jealous as possible, and boy does it work. Things proceed to get nastier with each person you bring to the dance floor, even some unspeakable things. At some point you look at Mark again, his brow slightly furrowed. You’re getting to him, and you decide to top off the glass.

“Follow me.”

You and your current stranger head to the bathroom. When you lock the door, he tries to kiss you.

“Woah, uh, no. This is just you doing me a favor. I need us to wait in here for a little bit.”

“But… why would you ask me to come in here if we’re just gonna stand here.”

“Because you’re doing me a favor, and if you do this for me I just might do a favor for you.”

You wink at him, and the two of you spend at least twenty minutes until you emerge, messing up your hair a little before you go back out to the floor. You blow him a kiss and return back to your table, getting another drink.

“That was quick. Not even trying to be subtle tonight?”

Mark comes up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. You take another sip.

“Whatever could you be talking about?”

You turn, looking up at him and batting your eyes. He scoffs, and soon enough the couple come back to the floor to announce a group activity.

“So, I have a basket of everyone’s names here, and whichever two I pull together are going to do a duet dance for all of us. So, if you haven’t been out here yet tonight you better get ready.”

You and Mark don’t move, sitting in the comfort for a little bit. He gives you the occasional kiss on your neck or behind your ear as they read off names.

“Mark and y/n! Now isn’t that gonna be fun?”

The bride-to-be laughs and a couple others in the crowd join in.

“She set that up.”

He places another kiss gently.

“I know.”

Eventually all the duos are listed off and everyone is given a couple minutes to warm up. Mark wanders off somewhere and you just keep nursing your drink, mentally preparing yourself. The first couple goes, and it’s fun to watch, considering most of the guests have two left feet. When it’s time for you and Mark to go there are whispers. It’s always been a hot topic in your circles. There have even been bets on the ‘will they won’t they?’ of the whole thing. The song is randomly chosen, but it doesn’t matter. Like I said, nothing throws you off your game. The song begins, you two pick up on the beat, and it’s like you’ve rehearsed it for years. Step, step, feet always in the same formation. He dips you at some point, quickly pulling you back. This number of yours spans the entire dance floor, getting more sensual as the song continues. There are whistles from the audience.

“I bet you’re ecstatic right now. You love when eyes are on you.”

The music is loud enough that no one can hear you talking.

“Of course, but especially yours.”

You step chest to chest, eyes locked in. You step away again, spinning out. The song is almost over now, and you come back close to one another.

“Fuck.”

He mutters to himself.

“What’s wrong? Worried you’ll misstep?”

“Me? Misstep? No.” 

For the last few seconds, you throw taunts at each other, until the silence comes in and you two stop, breathing heavily, feeling the heat of the moment and the heat of one another. There’s applause, and the two of you stare at each other for what feels like a millennium. He leans in for a moment, brushing your hair out of your face, and your lips finally meet. Even more applause roars, and you pull back, pulling him outside.

“Well, seems like those two are gonna have a good night!”

One of the guests taunts you as you two walk outside. You’re at the side of the building, and it’s quiet out.

“I’m done playing.”

He pulls you close and you kiss again, making out against some fucking club after making each other jealous at some fucking party. None of it matters past this moment. You mutter longing phrases in between, wondering why the two of you started this to begin with, why you were so into the mind games. You felt soft, like you were being vulnerable, but it didn’t matter. When the two of you disconnect there’s a sense of relief in the air. You just sit in it for a while, smiling at each other like idiots. 

“You want to go back to my place?”

You nod. For some reason he insists on driving himself despite having the money for someone to just do it for him. The two of you get into his car, and the tension dies down. You kick your feet up on the dashboard. It’s silent for the first few minutes as he drives through night-time LA. The lights of the cars passing, the perfect temperature of the A/C, it’s all just peaceful. It leads you to finally be open and honest.

“You were right. We should be done doing this.”

At first he’s a little shocked, taking your affirmation the wrong way.

“We should just fucking do it. I’m tired of chasing you and your handsome ass around.”

You two laugh.

“You know y/n, no one else gets me like this. It’s just you.”

You smirk.

“I know.”

“I’m serious. I have a job I can leverage from anywhere. Let’s stop playing, like you said. We’d be perfect.”

“So why didn’t we just do that from the beginning?”

“Because the chase is fun.”

“No one ‘chases’ someone like this for this long.”

You pause, thinking as you stare at the city lights.

“Maybe I thought the magic was just in this little fake world we made. Like we were some actors just performing.”

“And yet you call me anytime you’re having a hard time? We’ve always been special to each other, I think you were just scared.”

Maybe he was right. You’ll never really know, but at least you were onto the next phase. In your gazing out the window, you spot a Sonic.

“We should get ice cream.”

He looks at you for a moment in between focusing on the road.

“W- ice cream?”

“Yeah, have an ice cream date like stupid teenagers or something.”

Mark smiles. Soon enough he’s turning off the road so you two can get some ice cream, sitting in the Sonic parking lot and laughing over your antics over the years.

“Maybe I just needed to grow up a little.”

He raises an eyebrow.

“You told me earlier that I was probably just scared. Maybe I was, but I think I just needed to realize what mattered. And I think tonight, looking into your eyes while we were dancing, I realized you mattered more than everything else.”

The air of innocence, the smell of sugar, the smiles in between sentences, that was the real rush you wanted this whole time, you just didn’t know it. Now you do. Needless to say, you do end up going back to Mark’s place, and you surprisingly end up just cuddling the whole night. And sure enough, you end up going to the wedding as a couple. The bride is a little sad that she doesn’t get to watch you guys dance around each other, but she’s happy that she won the bet of ‘will they.’

[briefle]

There's no lightning in the End.

Which is arguably not the most embarrassing detail about the whole ordeal, but it is up there on the list of what went wrong in the moments preceding and following her death.

But death doesn't feel like that much of a stark contrast when you simply fall into the void, all things considered. Instead of collapsing on yourself and being all-too aware of what was once solid ground and is now ether, everything simply stops hurting and your body just keeps feeling like slightly-falling-forever. Which has the additional effect of being an accurate representation of her emotional stability throughout this fun little adventure.

When Jimmy fades to her side, she hears an echo of thunder and the odd smells of singed hairs and mold. Mumbo, about 30 seconds later, also joins with the same entourage. And screaming about fenceposts. Which shouldn't, but feels on par for the course really.

It takes him an embarrassingly long time for him to calm down, but honestly? That made her feel a bit less alone, so she'll look the other way.

"So, – she starts, because it was clear the boys had managed to forget all manners, – how was Life without me. All 20 minutes of it."

Mumbo just sighs.

"Make that 10..."

"Yikes!"

"Yeah no it was- it was bad. I mean it was good for a bit, I was making some amount of progress in being a red name but then uh- chaos. Chaos happened."

"Mumbo. I love nothing more than when you try to sum up a really complicated situation in two or three words."

"YOU DON'T-! There's no task! That's just mean!"

"... Fair. Sorry. Please continue your non-explanation."

She even added a flourish for good measure, but when nothing was left but uncomfortable silence she didn't need a flat surface to tell that if he could Mumbo would be shifting his weight in a quite panicked fashion.

"Do you... not know how you died? What's going on here."

"I do! Warden caught up with me because of a stupid fencepost i placed-"

"Then?"

Jimmy's been so silent. It doesn't suit him.

"Boys?"

"Don't care. Curse's broken 's all that matters."

"Right." He can't be serious. Well... No, that's on par for as well. "Well then, Mumbo? Share what's weighing on you?"

It takes a few more minutes of silence. Then out comes the flood.

"I don't know why I died. And i know it's silly to care now! I understand caring on yellow, or red, when revenge is important and righteous and more useful than when you're stuck here with dead people - no offence. But even then! What revenge would await me at a life 0? Against myself? For falling off a stupid tower of blocks? For not seeing other options than to jump on that strider or for being dumb and falling into lava? Or for not removing my triumphant fenceposts? Would my revenge be just killing myself again? For a fourth time? BUT WHY? A WARDEN AND A WITHER. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SERVER. Oh I should have just moved out of the way. I should have-"

"Welcome to my personal hell!" Jimmy chips in, " "Should have"s and "Could have"s. Ain't got much else to do. Usually it's not long at all before everyone else joins in but, still greens and yellows and such..."

The rest is lost in a vague hand gesture and shrug.

Lizzie thinks it would have made her feel better if anything else was happening in the background. The sun stood indifferent in the distance, opposite the pale, cold moon. Motionless, the both of them. Nothing ever changing apart from the uneven, mischievous fluttering of the stars. One amongst them, refusing to flicker, just stared unblinking like a red eye watching over them.

"You know Jimmy I think you might be right this time!"

"I am?"

"I don't care that I died. That much. Everyone will be here soon and all their deaths will be even more embarrassing than mine because they were closer to victory than I ever was. And imagine choking up when you've almost succeeded. I wouldn't know anything about that."

"Right!"

It sounds almost involuntary as Mumbo chocked out a laugh. But then Jimmy's tentatively laughing with him, and really the wait could be worse.

[it-happened-one-fic]

Charleston - A High-Octane Performance - Strictly NRC Dancing

Author's Notes: I watched so many Charleston performances to write this and learned something. Also, the Scarabia student mentioned part of the way through this fic is techniqually Scarabia B-kun even though he is not labeled as such. The first aerial inspired by Sadie Robertson and Derek Hough’s Charleston on Season 19 of Dancing With the Stars. The flip from Sophie Ellis-Bextor & Brendan Charleston to 'Rock It For Me' on Series 11 of Strictly Come Dancing.The second aerial inspired by Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold’s redemption Charleston on Season 25 of Dancing With the Stars. Written to “Crazy Stupid Love” by Cheryl Cole. Just like the rest of this AU/series the reader is female for this fic. I hope you enjoy!

If you would like to read more this AU/series, the fics can be found here: Strictly NRC Dancing AU Master-List.

Type: Dance AU/female reader/fluff/can probably be taken as romantic

Word count: 1238

The urge to wiggle non-stop in this flapper dress was incredibly great, and I had a feeling that Crewel had suspected that would be the case when he designed it. I also had a sneaking feeling that Jack was well aware of my wishes too, considering the amused glances he kept casting my way.

But, it was all fine and good since the Charleston was one of the silliest yet most complicated dances I’d learned thus far. For the viewers, the dance looked incredibly fun and silly. For the dancers, it was still fun and silly, but also a very technical and high-energy dance.

I was not the slightest bit worried about Jack being able to keep up with the energy of the dance. The sporty first-year had both stamina and energy in spades, courtesy of his beastman heritage.  If anything, he would outpace me and leave me in the dust as he continued dancing on in an unplanned solo. 

I was worried about his ability to master the silly angle of the performance, though.

Jack was a fun guy, but he was also quite serious about making a good grade, and I was worried that he was going to let that get in the way of the general silliness of the dance.

But that proved to be an unfounded concern. He kept up with both the speed and the general ridiculousness of the performance with ease.

He stood next to me, grinning as we both matched one another’s kick steps that were inevitably followed by slipping across the floor on twisting feet as we both laughed. But that was the nature of the Charleston. It was almost impossible to not let loose and start laughing as one danced.

Of course, that only added to the exhausting nature of the dance. It was always harder to keep up with a high-energy dance when one added the exertion of laughing to the performance.

On the flipside, though, we had the added bonus of Jack’s considerable strength, which allowed us to pull off some of the more impressive lifts found in the Charleston. 

Most of the couples were unable to do such holds and lifts due to weight or awkward height differences. Ace and Jamil, for instance, had only succeeded in the very easiest of lifts, which played off the momentum of the dance. 

Even some of my other partners, such as one of the Scarabia students I’d performed with earlier, had been banned from using the higher-level lifts for fear of them dropping me. 

Jack, however, proved capable of even the most difficult of lifts, and his immense strength was the only reason I trusted him to do some of the moves we employed. 

Such as the one where I ended up with my ankles crossed and both of my legs hooked over one of his shoulders while he spun, swinging me around as I hung upside down.

He sat me down with ease, and I cartwheeled back upright. Feeling slightly flushed from hanging upside down, but still smiling as my gaze met his bright-eyed one while we danced side by side. 

Soon though, Jack had shifted around behind me and grabbed my arms as he rolled backwards onto the ground and pulled me with him. It was almost as if I were sitting down on his raised feet to let him flip me on over him where I could then use my momentum to pull him upright. 

As soon as my feet had hit the ground, I could hear cheering from the crowd. One of the more notable voices being that of Ruggie’s. 

Vargas had been right when he’d told us that our greatest boon would be Jack’s impressive strength paired with my absolute trust in him, which allowed us to pull off all sorts of tricks. 

While most of the performers would have one to two flips and/or holds, we were able to keep pulling such tricks off as we trotted around the dance floor to the bouncy beat.

In fact, we even managed to end our dance with yet another hold that involved him scooping me up bridal style before releasing my upper body so that I was once again upside down with my head zipping towards the ground as Jack freely swung me around his body. 

I wrapped around his back and grasped his legs while he caught me with his one free arm. He was slightly out of breath as he bent and pulled me the rest of the way around, setting me down in our ending position with me hugging his side.

He glanced over at me, breathing heavier than usual but still bright-eyed from our performance as our fellow students stood from their seats and erupted into applause, “You good?”

I nodded, no doubt flushed from exertion, but still alright and even feeling a little giggly despite the fact I was worn out from performing three Charlestons in a row. 

Crewel’s stamina potion had been a blessing today, and, to be honest, I was glad this was my last performance. As much fun as I’d had with Jack, I didn’t think I could handle another Charleston.

“Well done, Mr. Howl! I doubt many of the other students performing the Charleston could have pulled off quite so many aerials and swing holds as you did!” Vargas and Crowley were both over the moon and overly excited as they usually were after a more high-octane performance. 

But everyone knew the final word would fall to Sam, the usually nice store-owner who became incredibly hard to impress with any swing dance.

Jack’s tail, which had been previously wagging so fast it was a blur, lowered significantly as all eyes turned to the shopkeeper, who shrugged nonchalantly, “I would’ve liked to see a few more moves typical of the Charleston, such as a flapper walk. But it was still a solid performance, probably a B+. Good job.”

I laughed slightly, turning to face Jack and applauding along with the crowd as he did a first pump and turned, bright-eyed, to see both Vil and Leona congratulating him from their respective seats. 

It was almost cute how much his tail was wagging as he received approval from not only the judges, but also his two upperclassmen, whom he so respected.

But then Jack startled me by turning to face me and grabbing my hand in his, “This was your last performance, right?”

I nodded, before responding, still half-breathless from our dance, “Yeah, Crewel said that even with a stamina potion, I could only handle three Charleston's at most.”

He nodded, and I watched as his tail began the wary but hopeful wag that indicated he was fixing to say something else, and he did not disappoint, “Do you want to come sit with me and the guys to watch the rest of the performances?”

I felt a smile creep onto my face as I bobbed my head, “I’d love to! Just let me change out of this dress and I’ll be right over.”

The first-year straightened, his tail now wagging more openly as he responded, “Sure, I’ll wait for you. That way we can walk up to our seats together.”

I trotted off to the dressing area set up for me in the corner of the room, still smiling to myself as a thought hit me.

 It seemed like Jack had been making me grin all day. 

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[curiousobsession101]

Zombies, Run! Secret Santa Gift Exchange

@enbeast I'm your secret santa this year!

Thank you @delucadarling and @notforconsumption for running the secret santa gift exchange this year!

Sunny, one of your listed favorite ships was Nadia Al Hanaki and Archie Jensen. I'd never seen anyone ship them before but the second I read that in your list I realized how absolutely perfect they would be together, so I've written a fluff piece for them. I hope you like it!

This fic doesn't take place within the canon Zombies, Run! timeline but it does include spoilers for season 6. Also, I'm not British myself so I apologize in advance if my phrasing is off at any point in this fic.

Skate Date

Archie looked around in obvious delight. “Abel looks so pretty covered in snow like this, don’t you think? It’s like a fluffy sheep – only not shaped like a sheep.”

Nadia smiled. Archie could always make her smile, her near-permanent cheerfulness even cutting through Nadia’s serious demeanor when she was being professional while guiding runners on missions. Although truthfully Nadia still didn’t see the point of going to Abel Township for their date since it seemed like Archie just wanted to do things they could have done back in New Canton. Like right now, Archie was leading her to Abel’s frozen-over pond to go ice skating. New Canton had a pond too; they could have gone there. But Archie had insisted. “Silly Nadia, why stay in New Canton when we can go on holiday?” so here they were for a day trip to Abel.

When they got to the end of the cleared path to the pond, Archie asked “Would you like me to help you into the skating sled? Obviously you can get into it yourself, but if you would like some help I should do that before I put on my skates.” Nadia nodded.

Once she was on the sled, it naturally took Nadia much less time to get settled comfortably than it took Archie to put on her skates. So Nadia started sculpting a flower out of the snow piled up by the side of the path. She could tell when Archie had finished lacing up her skates because she gasped and exclaimed “That snowflower is so pretty!”

Nadia smiled up at her. “I’d first thought to make a picture of you, but I knew I wouldn’t have time.”

“Aw, that is so sweet of you anyway! Maybe later we can make snowmen together! Hm, snowwomen? I suppose they don’t have to be people. You could make just about anything from snow. Well, not anything. Some things are too complicated and some things would take too much snow-”

Nadia laughed. “Sure. That sounds like fun.”

They slid onto the ice. Unlike Nadia’s bike, the skating sled had to be propelled manually. Nadia could move it herself, but for now Archie was using the handles on the back of the seat to push her in wide laps around the edge of the pond. Nadia started to understand her insistence on “going on holiday”. It was very pleasant to be whirling past scenery that didn’t include imposing castle walls or endless trees shading a carpet of blue flowers for once. In fact, just knowing she was in a different place from her work made her feel more relaxed.

After a while, Archie let go of the skating sled as they both headed closer to the center of the pond. Archie started pirouetting on the ice. Nadia laughed to see her enthusiasm in her spins, and started experimenting with just what her sled could do. It couldn’t turn on a dime like her bike, but the turning radius wasn’t too terrible for a sled. She was challenging herself to make tighter and tighter turns when disaster struck.

The residents of Abel of course kept the ice as smooth and clear as possible, but this was a naturally iced-over pond with no convenient zamboni to help resurface it. And even if there was, the two of them had been doing some serious skating and would have undone all its work by now. Nadia felt a sudden jolt. The next thing she knew she was lying winded on the ice and the sled was tumbling end over end through the air. She didn’t see where it landed.

“Oh no, Nadia!” Suddenly Archie was standing over her looking even more worried than she expected. Nadia sat up, focusing on getting her breath back. Once she could speak again she said, “It’s alright, Archie. I’m fine.”

“No you’re not. Look at your leg.”

Her leg? Which leg? She looked down at her lower half and realized one of the skates on her sled must have come down on her right leg. It had cut right through the fabric of her winter pants and left a bloody gash on her thigh. “Oh. Well help me back onto my bike and I’ll go have Maxine take a look at it.”

“Yes. I think it does look like it needs stitches.” Archie looked anxious.

“Don’t worry so much, babe. It doesn’t even hurt, remember?”

“Yes, I’m glad of that.” She frowned. “It is too cold to take off my coat and use it as a bandage – oh!” She deftly removed her shirt from under her coat and tied it tightly around Nadia’s leg.

“Thanks.” Nadia waited just long enough for Archie to take off her skates and put on her boots, then the two of them sped off towards Abel Township’s hospital.

. . . . .

The hospital wasn’t crowded when they arrived. People hadn’t been getting sick as much lately and presumably there had been fewer accidents too. Well, aside from this one. Music was playing faintly but clearly through the hospital. Dr. Myers must have the radio on to keep the patients from getting too bored, but quietly enough that some of those patients could sleep. She hurried over to them as soon as they arrived. “Archie! Nadia! What’s wrong?”

“Skating accident. I just got a bit cut up. It’s nice too see you, by the way.” Nadia said. “Yes, hello Dr. Myers,” Archie added, “it’s too bad we’re only seeing you because Nadia’s hurt though, hey?”

Maxine couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, it’s nice to see you both too.” She led them to a cot. After Nadia got herself situated, Maxine untied the makeshift bandage. “Ah. Because of where the gash is, I’m going to need to take your pants off to get to it.”

“Not a problem. You’re a doctor, and it’s nothing Archie hasn’t seen before” Archie chuckled. “You’re very pretty without your clothes.”

“Maybe we should save the flirting for later. Wouldn’t want to make Maxine uncomfortable.” But Nadia sounded amused, not embarrassed.

“Oh that’s nothing. You should hear what some of my patients have said to their loved ones while on morphine.” Maxine said with a laugh.

“Speaking of flirting, how is your wife?” Archie asked.

“Paula’s doing well. Want me to tell her you said hi?”

“Please do.”

“And tell her hi from me as well.” Nadia added.

Maxine finished examining the injury. “It’s not too bad. I’ll just disinfect it and stitch it up, and you can go. Since you use that sled you can even go right back to skating if you want.”

“Thanks, but I think we have other plans.” Nadia grinned up at Archie. “We do?”

“Do you still want to make snowmen after this? Or snow-whatever?”

“Oh! Yes. But we should go get the skating sled first so it’s not just lying out on the pond.”

“You’re right.”

Maxine brought the bottle of disinfectant over. “This is going to stin- oh wait.”

Nadia laughed. Then she and Archie fell silent as Maxine worked, just in time to hear Eugene talk about the history of the song that had just played. Nadia was fairly certain he made it all up. Jack joined in with some banter, and Phil jumped right in too. Zoe waited for the three of them to be finished before cutting in with some dry remark that had them dissolving into laughter. Since Zoe spoke a little quieter than the rest of them, Nadia didn’t quite catch what she’d said.

A few songs later, Maxine was done with the stitching and Nadia’s pants were back in place. Maxine had even let her use a bit of surgical thread to mend the tear. Unfortunately Archie’s shirt would need some serious cleaning, but she didn’t seem to mind with her winter coat on. Nadia levered herself back onto her bike and the couple went to retrieve the skating sled and then go make snow sculptures. That may or may not have devolved into a snowball fight halfway through but, well, the laughing pair didn’t mind.

[dogmetaph0r]

❤️ and 💚 for ask game (i’d actually love to hear your opinion about like the whole ass ask list but i hope two is alright)

why of COURSE........i love this list

putting my answers under the cut because this got long as HELL

❤️: I think the most egregiously mischaracterized character in the fandom is Grace. lil gracie-poo. gracie face. Can you tell I adore her?? I understand why the fandom is divided about her, but I think there can and should be a difference between a character's personality and a character being poorly written. I think they really dropped the ball on Grace since she returned. I have always seen her as a complicated woman. On the one hand, she's very smart. She's capable. She has her shit moooostly together, but at the same time she's a bit of a wildcard and prepared to use her FUCKING GUN to say no means fucking no, you son of a bitch. She can be snarky, bitter, and vengeful. She's quick-witted and can push back at Tommy when he's being.....well, Tommy. On the OTHER hand, she is also so, so sweet. Grace prefers peace and love and family. She likes to be surrounded by good. She likes to DO good. She likes order and has a tendency to follow the rules, both social and according to her job. I think because she's a female character, this comes across as boring and unimaginative because that's what's expected of women (and I don't blame anyone for thinking this, but realistically we ALL know a pretty girl who's a total sweetheart). But I think she had a lot of potential as the lawful good reluctantly drawn into Tommy's chaos after her return, and unfortunately she was fridged because that moved the plot along. I do think it was the right decision for Tommy's resulting breakdown, but not giving us the time to remake that connection with her and learn what she's all about now that she has it all??? and then violently rip her away before many people have the chance to form an emotional attachment???? mannnn cmon. Overall I understand the criticism, because I too didn't really like her at first, but I honestly do think she gets the short end of the stick from the fandom because she's a woman. If we saw a male character doing the same thing (or, hell, also doing what society expects of him. cough cough) I can almost guarantee you that the reaction would not be the same.

💚: AUGH anyway. next one. My favorite character is Alfieee. I already had a bit of a ramble on TGoAS earlier and the details I wanted to analyze more from there, but besides that trauma, I think people honestly give him too much credit for thinking ahead. He is SUCH a good bullshitter. He schemes, yes, but many of those agreements with enemies and planned betrayals are kinda spur of the moment, entirely based on whether or not someone offers him something he likes more. I think the most planning we've seen him do to my memory has been getting Arthur arrested, and it really was mostly Alfie's love for theatrics and excitement that pulled it all together. Tommy figures him out quick as hell, but sees him as an equal. In my mind that means yes, he is incredibly smart and ambitious and a stellar leader, but he's a habitual enough liar that it's not hard to figure him out. Plus, as cute and ursine as his little quirks are, he's no teddy bear. That man is a serious danger and is more than ready to go grizzly mode at a moment's notice (i have thoughts on c-ptsd there too but that's for another time). I love the way people interpret him, because he IS silly and sassy and fun, but he also is kind of a motherfucker and more than a little recklessly impulsive. It's what "kills" him, after all! I've read some really good fics that tap into his rage and impulsivity while also giving him the room to feel disgust at his actions and experience the brutal gift of hindsight (as much as he hides the human part of himself, the section in TGoAS about his nightmares was impactful), but I can't remember which ones they were atm. Also, this is so niche, but I don't know how good of a dad he really would be. I think he'd be FUN, but I don't know about "good at parenting". But I'm gonna ignore that because it's the less fun hypothetical and I like to have fun sglkjslkgjsdl