#this is my early college grad gift

[reggiesswimteacher]

GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS IM GOING TO SEE HARRY STYLES IN NOVEMBER!!?!?.!.!,! I HAVE WANTED TO SEE HIM LIVE FOR THE PAST 11 YEAR THIS IS SURREAL?!4;!! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED FOR ANYTHING IN MY ENTIRE LIFE?!;!.!!!? YAYYY SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO AND KEEP ME MOVING FOR THE NEXT MONTHDBDJSNFJS

[darkmajesty-xo]

18+ MDNI| tw! ProHero TodoDeku, Assistant! Reader, Age Gap Suggestive

a/n : this is an unedited poorly written thot that i had for christmastime, neglected it then thought to release it for icythots birthday. i'm sorry my love you deserve better but maybe someone will like it !

midoriya is awful at hiding things.

snacks, secrets, feelings and especially presents. so, naturally birthdays are very stressful for him.

he tries his best each year but no matter how creative he thinks he is, his boyfriend always stumbles upon his hiding spots. it can get really frustrsting at times, and even though shoto says that it's okay and still pretends to be surprised with whatever allmight related collectable he gets him-- deku still wants to get this right!

so this year he had the bright idea of leaving the wrapped gift in his office drawer until the big day. midoriya is often up and out of the house by 5am for his morning jog and workout, with his bestfriend kacchan, while shoto sleeps in. however, since it's a "holiday" deku would forgo the gym sesh and drive over to their joined agency like a sneaky little elf.

it's honestly the perfect plan and he doesn't know why he didn't think of it sooner.

izuku was proudly mumbling to himself as he stepped off the elevator and into the office space when he noticed you sitting at your desk in the lobby. you'd been his and shoto's assistant for about a year now; a quirkless college grad with great references and eager to please. both men would describe you as a literal godsend-- single handedly organizing and restructuring the business aspects of their very chaotic agency.

don't judge the man, it's tough being the "on again off again" number one and japan's new "symbol of hope".

between keeping civilians safe and battling it out on the charts with kacchan every other week, he doesn't have time for paperwork and protocol. shoto, who sits comfortably at number 3, simply ignores paperwork and waits for somebody else to do it.

all of that to say that you were a super hardworking and valued employee but it still doesn't explain why you'd be at the office this early on the weekend.

"goodmorning, y/n".

you must not've heard the ding of the elevator because the sound of his voice startled you into spilling the contents of your mug all all over your keyboard.

"shit. shit. shit." you scrambled to blot the mess with your cardigan sleeves, shaking your head and worrying at your lips. deku was slightly amused. not because you'd spilled something but because he'd never heard you use profanities before. you were normally very reserved and meek. your submissiveness was something that he'd spoken about to you in the past because he felt like some of the sidekicks were taking advantage of your kindness. if deku had to list one toxic trait about you, it'd probably be that you were an extreme people pleaser. even moreso than him, and that's saying something.

"are you okay? i hope you didn't burn yourself".

you sighed, defeated, allowing yourself to glance at the annoying intruder only to be met with sparkling gemstone eyes and a soft smile. time has been well on midoriya. even with the slight crinkles by his eye and streaks of gray peppering his emerald green mop, he still looked as youthful as ever. the same deku that stole the hearts of many all those years ago- just a few more scars on his warlorn body and a softer layer to his midsection. but he looked great! if anything that extra thickness on his tummy only emphasized his mouthwatering biceps and juicy juicy thighs. he could probably crack your head open with those things.

"hey, sweetheart. are you okay?" he was closer now, the minty aroma of his cologne flowing into your space. your cheeks burned. here you were lusting over one of your very taken bosses, yet again.

"mr.deku! im fine, im fine. you just startled me is all" you breathed, brushing a stray loc away from your face. deku hummed, seemingly evaluating your strange reaction but choosing not to comment.

"why aren't you at home with your family? i could've sworn we gave all the administrative staff the day off".

"well i don't really have a family or anybody waiting for me, so i figured that i could get some work done. crime doesn't stop on the weekends" you shrugged. that didn't sit well with deku. he couldn't imagine you spending the day holed up in his agency.

"why don't you come home with me"?

it was hard not to laugh at the way your eyes widened. your mouth opening and closing in shock. it was so easy to fluster you. deku didn't know if it was due to your age or if you were just that innocent. he liked that. its perverted, he knows, but the thought of you on your knees staring up at him all doe eyed lived rent free in his mind.

"ouch, i didnt know that i was such bad company" he teased, just to get a rise out of you. and of course you took the bait. rushing to apologize. clarifying that you didn't want to be a bother. insisting that he haad much better things to do than babysit you. but deku wouldn't be deku if he took "no" for an answer, and that's how you wound up in your employer's kitchen watching him struggle to decide what he'd be preparing for his lover's birthday brunch. it was something that his friends did every year for eachother and he offered to host this time but there was one small problem…

deku can't cook.

sure he has the funds to hire a catering service but that seemed so impersonal. he wanted something that came from the heart! but after a couple tik tok videos and several pancakes on the floor- he started to rethink that decision. he then heard the little giggles coming from your direction. he turned towards you with a raised brow and you quickly put both hands on your mouth in response.

"what's so funny, little girl ?" he pointed his batter covered spatula towards you, only to get some on his freckled cheek. you laughed even harder this time, grabbing for your phone to take a picture. he liked seeing you like this, all free and relaxed.

"y'know i didn't see "bully" listed on your resume" he joked, pouting while dramatically turning his back to you. "don't expect a good reference letter from me when you go seek out greener pastures".

"oh please" you snorted, rising from your stool to join him at the stove. "where would i find something greener than your hair, mr. deku?" you teased, bumping him aside with your hip to grab the bowl of batter, "besides i'd never leave the two of you". it grew silent; the only sound being the sizzle of the batter hitting the pan. for a moment you thought you'd overstepped and began raking through your mind for save but the hero mimicked your earlier action-- softly bumping your hip to catch your attention. with flushed cheeks he smiled down at you making heat bloom witin your own cheeks.

"the feelings mutual, sweetheart".

after about two hours of cooking, with deku insisting on "mandatory snack breaks", the two of you had accomplished decenrt brunch spread with a fusion of japanese and american cuisine.

the two of were giggling over a pot of kenchinjiru when shoto sleepily shuffled into the kitchen. it was a welcomed sight to wake up to you and izuku being so cozy. he leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, just admiring how well you fit with his partner, how comfortable you both seemed. he could've watched you all morning, had izuku not looked over his shoulder.

"oh! hey, sho. look at what i found" izuku chirped, happily petting you on top of the head. "izuku--" you whined shyly, glancing at the heterochromatic hero.

even fresh out of bed, shoto looked absolutely stunning. his silky strands were parted down the middle, falling loosely against his tailbone. his beautifull sculpted face held no imperfections, save for his iconic scar. however, his body told a different story. standing bare, in only his boxers, you could see battle scars littered against his pale flesh-- weaving against one another like the intricate lines of a tattoo. he'd always maintained a slimmer physique than deku, showcasing a smaller waist and chiseled abs lightly dusted with a bicolored happy trail that led to his scantily clad lower regions. the sight of shoto todoroki in nothing but his skin tight boxer briefs was mouth-watered. you eyes wandered a bit longer and lower than thet should've and the icy hot hero definitely took notice.

eyes locked on your own, sauntered towards the two of you and pulled izuku into a steamy kiss. the greenette was shocked, especially when his partner's hands dropped to grip his ass. he leaned into the other man's touch, moaning softly with each swipe of his tongue. you were as still as a statue, drinking in this erotic display of passion. yes, you'd seen them kiss around the agenc before but it was never more than a light peck. this was soft porn.

"goodmorning, baby" shoto whispered against izuku's lips. kissing him softly once more before pulling away and turning towards you. you didnt know what to expect but it surely wasn't him pulling you flush against his body, big hands resting on your hips while nuzzling his cheek against your own.

"what a nice surprise".

his voice was still husky with sleep and it tickled your skin. he pulled back slightly to get a better look at you. big bright eyes, rich skin and soft curves. the last thing he epected to wake up to was you in his arms, but its not like he's complaining. it's no secret that shoto fancies you. the only person unaware of his crush was you.

for the sake of decorum and professionality, in addition to his long-term relationship, he'd refrained asking you out directly. you were the best assistant they'd had and both men could tell that you were shy, so he would've hated to scare you off. he kept his efforts subtle. one time you mentioned how sweet you thought it was that him and izuku left eachother cute encouraging messages on their desks throughout the day, so he started leaving you cute little notes as well.

"you're doing great".

"i'm so happy you're here".

"you're the perfect little helper".

"you smell nice"

you didn't get the last one, it was intercepted by izuku who felt like it was borderline creepy. he didn't have any problems with shoto's crush/obsession with you; he actually encouraged ti, especially in the bedroom. but there was a time and a place for everything.

the two of you had been staring at eachother for a while when deku's voice brough you back to reality.

"do you mind excusing us for a second, love ? i'm sure you dont want to see this old man in his undies" Izuku giggled, while nudging his partner.

"she doesn't seem to min-

"shoto! bedroom, now."

the two men left you to your simmering soup, and thoughts while they trekked to their upstairs bedroom.

"you've really outdone yourself , izu" shoto began, "i was expecing another allmight figurine, not a threesome".

"shoto, baby, you gotta relax sometimes" izuku sighed. he searched through the drawers looking for a pair of shoto's sweat then threw them at the other man's head. "i saw her at the office this morning and invited her over because aparrently she's all alone. she just thinks she's here for your birthday brunch and has no idea about your little obession with her".

"MY 'little obession' ? wasn't it just last night that you begged me to fuck you like i'd fuck her ?"

Izuku ran his figners through his hair trying to ignore the emerging stiffness between his thighs from the memory.

"i- i will admit that i am attracted to her and after spending time with her this morning i can admit that i do like her BUT i am not the one that purposely gets hurt on patrol so that she'll fuss over me, and i'm definitely not the one that calls her for literally everything just so i can jerk off to her voice over the phone, am i ?"

"i will neither confirm nor deny those statements".

"exactly" izuku rolled his eyes, "m'gonna go check on her, k?"

"don't eat without me" shoto smirked.

"perv" izuku muttered, but winked back at his handsome boyfriend. he opened the door and there you stood wide-eyed with your hand over your mouth.

his eye twitched. they'd just been busted discussing you in a very lewd manner. he was just about to apologize but you did it first

"i'm so so sorry, mr deku. i didnt mean to listen, i just wanted to tell mr shoto 'happy birthday' but then i heard you talking and i didnt know what to do because i have been in love with the two of you since i started working and i never imagined--

izuku interrupted your ramblings with a soft kiss and gestured to shoto who was already sitting on the bed, cock in hand.

"how about we make it a very happy birthday, love ?"

[brandycranby]

brandyyyyy 🥰 your new years post was so sweet! and mentioning little old me? 🥺 hehe come here you get some forehead kissies MWAH 💋🥹 also thank you for the raccoon video, I was very entertained 😌

I hope you’re feeling better! also congrats on finishing grad school 🎊🥰 I won’t be done with uni for another few semesters, but I’m already looking forward to graduating 😂 which also means taking a giant final graduation exam 🥲

I didn’t have any plans for new years (it’s probably my most hated holiday… like, I just don’t get it?), so I just did a biiiiiiig clean of my room! was very satisfying and feels good now 🤓🥰

raccoon readers tree probably looks wild with all the lights haha! I bet when steve takes away the boxes with decorations she’s getting creative with what she can add to the tree just to annoy him 👀 anything with a string attached goes on the tree to see if steve finds it 😌

and I totally get being distracted by the content of your gifts. but reader simply is a responsible gift giver bc quality control is important!!! 😤

hehe all the best vibes for your 2024, brandy!!! and some more forehead smooches 😙💋

-🦝

MWAH smooching ur cheeks 🥺💕💕 ty, it doesn't feel real after six years of college/grad school but we're here i guess. hehe i started cleaning out my desk and reorganizing my room on new year's eve. tbh new years isn't my fave either, it barely qualifies as a holiday to me :/ but letting the year end without a bang also feels weird to me

(WAAAAAAH TUMBLR ALMOST ATE YOUR ASK - it didn't let me edit my draft)

it's early but manifesting the good vibes and lots of braincells for your big big final exam 😤🕯️✨

what presents do you think raccoon reader received? hehe 😏

[graciehart]

🍄⭐️🌺🍀

oooo we're getting deep!! i love these questions.

I'll do a read more since these are longer asks <3

send me an emoji!

🍄 what is something that’s happened in your life that you wish you could go back and change? losing my job a few months ago. it shattered my confidence in what i fear is a very permanent and far-reaching way. associates aren't confident to begin with (they shouldn't be—it's the stage of the career we're in, and most good supervisors say they'd be more concerned by an associate who doesn't have some level of self-doubt), but it's now combined with a fear that i can't trust my supervisor as someone i can ask for help and me questioning every decision i made in the last year. it literally shook me to my core and it makes me so upset because what little confidence i did have was so hard-earned and important, and even though everyone (including my own therapist who is also a supervisor) agrees it was my supervisor and not me, i truly don't know if i'm going to get over this.

⭐️ what is one of your biggest accomplishments? Why is it so important to you? everything about undergrad. i know it's cheesy but it's truly where i became who i am, all because of those people and experiences (particularly getting in/choosing to go, my minor, and my hospitalization/pandemic graduation, as those were the most defining parts).

🌺 what is the best gift someone has ever given you and why is it so important i love talking about gifts so I'm going to name a few hehe sorry

literally every gift you have given me could fall into this category, but the first one that comes to mind is when you sent me those watercolors. it was very much out of nowhere and the way you encourage me to keep practicing art is just so meaningful to me.

the goodbye gifts I got from the last daycare I worked at and my traineeship site for grad school, because both made me feel so loved and understood and I was proud of myself for taking it in.

my favorite undergrad professor gives copies of a book to some seniors, but she gave mine to me a year early because i was having a really hard time with the core classes for my minor ending (meaning i wouldn't see her every week). i was in tears about never seeing her again (we both knew damn well i'd see her again) and she took me so seriously. she gave me the book and told me she wouldn't dedicate it until i was actually graduating, which meant we had to see each other again. it meant so much to me that she took me seriously and made an exception for me.

🍀 what is your comfort show/series and why is it your comfort show? How has it helped you?

I think eventually my answer will include Castle or The Mentalist, but not yet because of the "gets in way too deep" thing.

I think it's a tossup between Bones, Friends, and Gilmore Girls, but I might go with Gilmore Girls. Of those three, it was the last one I watched (I watched when I was 16/17), but it meant that the height of my obsession coincided with me moving away to college, so it's really associated with my freshman year of college 💜

[hollywoodsargeant]

Definitely did not expect you to drop ch 10 on random Wednesday afternoon (where I am). It felt like christmas gift coming way too early but I AM NOT COMPLAINING AT ALLL.

If my memory serves me right, you said every chapter ends with Logans birthday or smthng so chapter 12 will be final year high school, and boi do I know what that means. I also remember airport scene somewhere along your ask post, PERHAPSSSS *bombastic side-eye mode* [Narrator: this anon does not know shit but props for blind confidence].

Chewing glass because my roommate is probably wondering why I kept uttering "he is crazy" to my phone. Your Logan is an absolute mad man I want to observe his brain which probably contains a lot of Oscar-related-neurons but whatever he is SO DUMB YOUR HONOUR.

Ao3 user Miamis you are a legend.

i update boyish on no schedule and just post the chapters whenever they are done which usually is some stupid time in my timezone and at random. and without warning. bc i think it is more fun that way

AND YEAH. chapter 12 will be the second half of their senior year of high school. the list of things i need to make happen in that is long and there is one specific note on the list that scares me more than all the others... but amongst the things is senior prom (which i have plans for) + graduation (which the most those plans extend is me daydreaming about their post-grad instagram posts. for some reason)

there is an airport scene... i've written it (it needs to be edited) and it is sitting on my secondary doc amongst several other scenes for college. again there's a snippet i posted somewhere that only got a few notes lol but it has the answer implicit. when did i become some evil writer sending anons on scavenger hunts I'M SORRY it's in the boyish.miamis tag somewhere i have taken a new liking to Vagueing On Main. i apologize

AND LOGAN IS CRAZY. i know i wrote him but also no i didn't he does what he wants. can you stop kissing your friend's face while you're literally carrying your girlfriend on your back you're crazy

[allthingsfook]

If you're still doing ships (you put so much thought into them. It's amazing), I'm Jake [he/him]. I'm 26 and in grad school. I'm graduating with Masters's in History (studying queer history) in August with the intention of getting my Ph.D. so I can teach college-level history classes. I am always listening to music like Spotify told me I listened to 200,000 minutes last year. It's literally always in the background. my music taste is all over the place. Harry Styles, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and The Smiths are probably my favorite groups. When I have free time, I like to read, i tell everyone my favorite fiction genre is High Fantasy and that's not a *lie* but it leaves out the part where my other favorite genre is romantic comedies. My love language is act of service, like being asked to do things for people makes me feel needed and loved. I hate the taste of coffee but drink it 1. because I have a horrible caffeine addiction and 2. because as a graduate student, I need to be awake more than my body wants to be. I have two cats one named after a star trek character the other named after my favorite poet.

This is my main blog, my GVF blog is @theintelligenceoflove if you get around to this thank you so much.

Hi Jake!!! Thank you!! I hope that these make everyone feel special 🤍🤍

I ship you with….

No surprise… Jake 🖤⚔️🤍

I wanna touch every point, so let’s start with your education! Jake would be incredibly impressed by your commitment to schooling, passion for history, and goal of teaching. I don’t think it would take long for Jake to be enamored by the way you talk about your schooling and what about it interests you most. Jake is definitely a history buff!!!!! As Kelly and Dan mentioned in an interview, Jake is the one that stays up until the early morning and will chat your ear off about anything under the sun. I can picture the both of you sharing a drink on the porch of his beautiful home, talking all through the night. The warm Tennessee air hugging you as you delve into the obscure details of a certain period. 🌅🏔️

No doubt music would fill the house if you lived together. To some people, it might be like an annoying mosquito that won’t go away, but you and Jake prefer it to silence, background noise, or even chatter. Just take a second and imagine the impressive record collection that man has!!! 🤯🤯 I think your music taste would be accepted by him (I don’t think there is much he wouldn’t appreciate) Even Harry Styles — I mean that sometimes the boys come off a little pretentious with their music taste and would like people to think they don’t indulge in anything mainstream, but let’s not forget that summer solstice shoot where they did, pose like Fine Line Harry!)

If I was going to give you and Jake a Smiths song, it would be Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want. I imagine that song is something people wouldn’t normally think Jake would listen to, but I didn’t think he paid any mine to Third Eye Blind either. He’s full of wonder.

I don’t mean to be unoriginal, but it’s not secret Jake loves to read as well. I hope that you could be the person that helps him create more time for it. I picture that being in the form of gifting him books he can’t contain himself from not picking up. As I’m sure you already know, any musician’s autobiography, or something about pirates 😂

Acts of Service is accurate for Jake as well. I remember him saying that if he wasn’t in music he’d probably work in healthcare. That’s very commendable of him and no doubt the biggest form of service to others. Through that statement, you can tell he has a huge heart.

WHATEVER YOU DO!!!!!! do not think about Jake stumbling down the hall, be-lining toward the coffee machine. His hair frizzy from a good nights sleep. His pajama bottoms sagging and lopsided on his waist. His bare chest appearing tanned in the morning sun. 😫😫😫 DO NOT GO THERE!!!!! The thought is more addicting than the coffee 🥰🥰🥰

Lastly, Jake would adore the fact that your cats are named after Star Trek and a poet. That’s right up his alley. And if you convinced him to get another, he’d insist on naming it something like Oscar (Oscar Wilde) or Bedivere (Monty Python).

Hope you enjoyed your ship, Jake! Let me know what you think 🧐❣️

[driptape]

think of your ship meme for h & a

in my humble opinion which one of them:

spikes the eggnog? acacia but only if his siblings aren’t around

hangs the stockings? both of them because why wouldn’t they ? lol 

leaves cookies and milk out to keep up with the santa tradition? both of them and with his siblings until they have a family of their own 

“accidentally” throws away the fruitcake. holt lol our forgetful baby

goes overboard on the whipped cream? holt ? but only if the season’s over . otherwise i think he’s semi strict with his diet

is the inevitable christmas grinch? neither of them . especially when they were in college since they were simply obsessed with spending time together . 

wakes up first on christmas? holt . he’s used to being up early and since his family celebrates christmas more traditionally . everyone’s excited to open gifts that morning while her fam opens gifts once the clock strikes twelve .

rolls their eyes as the same cheesy carol plays in the stores for the millionth time? it’s either neither of them or holt ?? babes idk

starts playing christmas music the day after halloween? acacia because christmas is her favorite time of year after holt’s birthday

decorates the christmas tree? post grad both of them . they purposefully decorate together

[roysexton]

Original post with hyperlinks:

Tempus fugit is a Latin phrase, usually translated into English as "time flies." The expression comes from line 284 of book three of Virgil's Georgics, where it appears as fugit inreparabile tempus: "it escapes, irretrievable time." The phrase is used in both its Latin and English forms as a proverb that "time's a-wasting."

Well, I’d say this wonderful community hasn’t wasted one precious minute this year, nor let grass grow under our collective feet, which is why we're already knocking on fourth quarter’s front door. (How many metaphors can I work into one sentence?) We may be breathless, exhilarated and a little spent, but so much incredible work is in our rearview mirror, with more ahead from regional conferences this fall to our international and regional boards setting goals and budgets for 2024.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This has truly been one of the great honors of my life to serve among all of you this year and I’m excited to see where 2024 President Kevin Iredell takes us. He’s such an insightful, authentic, driven leader, and I know the energy and heart he will bring to his LMA presidency will be remarkable.

As we look toward 2024, I’m going to “pass the mic” for the rest of this message to our fab CEO Danielle Holland. She has been diligently helping steer our macro conversations on long-term strategic planning the past few months and will share where we are headed next year and beyond.

But before I do…I offer you another gift of music📷. What am I going to do next year with all of these playlists? Anywho, I hope you enjoy this #LMA23: Back to (Old) School AmpliMix here on iTunes and Spotify. I dug deep into my high school, college and grad school years for jams firmly placed in the 80s/90s, with a couple of 70s and 00s cuts for good measure.

DJ Roy out — here’s Danielle!

Thank you, Roy, and thank you for your incredible and engaging leadership this year! I know so many of us look forward to your playlists — who else could mash up 80s dance hits with show tunes and somehow have it all work together?

That word, together, has been such an important theme for us this year and extends to next year and beyond.

Together, you have supported LMA and our community like never before. At the local and regional level, with exceptional educational and networking events…and across your organization as ambassadors fueling membership growth and engagement with vibrant member resource groups, collaboration in our Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) and committees, and post-Covid record attendance at the memorable LMA 2023 Annual Conference.

Together, because of each of you, our LMA community is thriving. As we look to next year, it’s this amazing energy and inspiring spirit of together that will no doubt continue to propel us forward.

Membership engagement, growing member resources and strategic membership growth globally will be at the forefront, as will continuing to expand our support for our volunteer leaders in each of our eight regions – all while delivering an exceptional, integrated member experience across LMA. With that, we're exploring new, innovative educational opportunities, as well as opportunities for our service providers to engage with LMA and our members.

Also at the top of the list is strategic financial growth to reinvest in LMA and our community, in both the near and long term. Plus, you won’t want to miss our capstone event of the year, the LMA 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego next April! (Super Early Bird registration is open; my one shameless plug!)

The power and strength of LMA come from our members. Together there is nothing we cannot achieve. I thank you all for your ongoing advocacy and support.

You’ll hear more about what’s ahead for 2024 from Kevin in the coming months. It’s going to be another banner year, but there's still much more of 2023 left. I ask for your continued support of LMA, and I hope to see many of you at our regional conferences this fall.

Now open up iTunes or Spotify and enjoy what DJ Roy has in store for us this month!

Love you,

Roy

President, 2023 Legal Marketing Association - LMA International Board of Directors

Roy E. Sexton

Director of Marketing

Clark Hill Law

#lmamkt

[copperbadge]

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to actually having a diagnosis of ADHD, because I didn’t honestly think I’d really get one. 

It wasn’t so much denial as just...I don’t know, it’s like assuming you’ll never be in a car crash. Nobody actually expects to be in one themselves so that first one’s a real shock. I thought about just processing it quietly, but it helps to get my thoughts in order to write it out, and anyway the last post seemed to have an impact on some people. 

I think about how my mother was roughly the age I am now when she got a diagnosis of a learning disability. I don’t know what the specifics were; I was a teen and  she just told me the basics and not the terminology. She really struggled with rage and grief over her diagnosis in a way I am not and don’t think I will, though it’s still early days. We had very different upbringings; she had a lot of teachers (and a father) who berated her for “being stupid”. I had a much more supportive educational experience. Nobody ever called me stupid, though I did have one teacher who would condescendingly tell me “Can’t is a word of defeat, you know” when I failed my multiplication test for the eighth or ninth time. 

I think it helps that I’m “twice-exceptional,” intellectually capable of making up most of the shortfall, so I did (by and large) cope with things to the point where I don’t think an earlier diagnosis would have changed my life materially. Might have made it more pleasant, or somewhat less exhausting, but not to the point where I’m angry about it. I’m...a little bitter that I was cast as the Normal One in the family, since both my siblings got diagnosed young, but I understand why: if my parents had this one ordinary kid, maybe slightly on the gifted side, then they had a strong defense against the very common assumption in the 80s and 90s that cognitive struggles on the part of the child were due to poor parenting. I was proof my mother wasn’t a Fridge Mommy. I still am, for her, even though she never truly accepted the idea in the first place. It’s a significant contributing factor in why I don’t plan to tell her about the diagnosis. 

I also think about college and grad school. I was in the arts so I was in a lot of classes that came down to “let’s read something and then argue about it for an hour”. I used to have to tune out about once a week when the talking started to turn into a buzz that would make my eardrums hurt, but I assumed I was just tired. Looking back it’s almost definitely some kind of sensory overload...thing, I don’t even know what to call it; I still get it at parties sometimes. I don’t know how medication would impact that, since it’s not like there are a lot of parties going on these days. Tangentially, it does seem to be helping with rejection-sensitive dysphoria mainly because I no longer remember every single awkward conversation in vivid technicolor and surround-sound. Maybe I am saying fewer awkward things? Difficult to tell.  

And I think about the fact that I have A Disability. I think about how to fit the identity into who I am. Even with the relatively radical change the medication is having, it doesn’t feel like a real disability, which is yet more programming to unpick; it’s not like I’d ever say that to someone else, but it feels less real when it’s your own experience, somehow. I’ve had temporary physical disabilities before -- broken limbs, concussion -- and I think about those too because clumsiness is a trait of ADHD. I never got called stupid but I sure did get called attention-seeking when I was still coming home with skinned knees in high school. But also even the more serious injuries were passing, transitory, with a fixed endpoint in sight. With luck, I’ll be on Adderall the rest of my life, which is a lot more permanent. 

I don’t know how much will change or how much I’ll change; probably not all that much. But there’s a lot to think over. Which is admittedly a lot easier these days, so there’s that. 

[outworld-viper]

oh, I love you, I love you

without question

I love you

Commissioned the phenomenal @minilev once again, and this commission means a lot to me as it has a meaning tied to real life🥺🥺

I recently graduated and I got this commission as an early grad gift, and chose the moment Mira says "yes" to Erron! This ship has been with me all through my years in college so I wanted to get something that reflected a major life moment in their relationship as I came to my own, so I chose Erron proposing! Mira and Erron at this point have been dating for 10 Earthrealm years (100 or so in Outworld years) and have realized that they can't see a future without one another, and how through their understanding of each other's past and newfound desire to live, they decide that, without question, they were meant for one another

Anna always puts her 1000% into every commission! From the intricate details of Mira's prized dagger to Erron's signature hat and bullet belt, and the beautiful ocean waves and stars that match the citrine ring on Mira's finger 🥺🥺 Seriously I am always left speechless and struggling to truly express how in love and ecstatic I am with this. I am always in awe at Anna's skills!

Thank you Anna for time and time again taking my ideas and making them reality! Such a patient and understanding person, I wish you nothing but the absolute best 💗💗💗

Here's another version Anna kindly made!

[rothjuje]

Wow guys, thanks for taking the time to answer such a personal question on my last post.

I think I’ve spent too much time looking at perfectly curated photos of large families on Instagram. It’s just not reality. (And I still don’t know how moms of large families make it look so effortless, because it is definitely not)

Reading the responses brought me back to my early and mid 20s, where my dream was not the husband and the five kids. I didn’t want to have to constantly compromise for a partner, I felt very different from the people I was attracted to, and I was content with becoming a single parent. I found fosterhood here on Tumblr and it just seemed...like an adventure that was meaningful and worthwhile. I thought two kids would be perfect and then as they got older maybe more. I’ve always pictured myself as being a foster parent to older kids once my kids were in their teens.

Justin kind of happened by accident. I had given notice at my nonprofit job that was 50 hours a week to have the flexibility to start the process to become a foster parent. Justin and I went out to lunch (he was a grad student and it was part of my job to connect college students to our program, I was an engagement coordinator). We started talking about his graduation/my leaving the nonprofit and what we wanted for our lives. He was Jewish, I was Jewish. He wanted 5 kids, I wanted 5 kids. He wanted 5 dogs, I wanted 5 cats. We both wanted a farm and adventure and independence. And I decided. Hey. Maybe I’ll marry this guy and we can accomplish our goals together. It was very unromantic. Well, romantic to me, but my friends didn’t get it.

Anyway. Life happens. Plans change. It isn’t always a fairytale, but sometimes it feels like it is.

Back to reality. Justin decided to do a spreadsheet of all our expenses over the last year to figure out how much house in MA we can actually afford. He is obsessed with his spreadsheet and I think it is the most unsexy thing ever. I start to eye-roll when it comes out (which I really need to work on per our previous marriage counselor). Anyway. Unsexy spreadsheet tells us

1) we spend on average $500 at Kroger monthly

2) we spend on average $350 at Target monthly

3) after selling here, putting down a larger down payment there, we will only have $600 less a month

$600 less a month is not bad. At all. That’s doable.

Btw, Target expenses are mainly groceries and gifts (most holiday and birthday gifts come from there). And I will only grocery shop there because grocery stores stress me out. We do buy some clothing items there too I guess, it all adds up.

Maybe I appreciate the unsexy spreadsheet. A little.

[thnxforknowingme]

In Orbit (34/40)

Pairing: Klaine

Rating: T

Fic Summary: Blaine starts attending NYU, and he and Kurt weave in and out of each other’s lives - as friends, exes, friends with benefits, and harder-to-define labels - while they navigate college, relationships, and adulthood in New York.

Read on AO3 | All chapters

February 2016

“How do you think it went?” Blaine asked Ishan as he zipped his guitar back into its case.

“It was good,” Ishan replied, glancing at his phone, where he’d been taking notes. “You’re really good with kids, you know that?”

Blaine shrugged. “Their teacher was in the room, they knew to be on their best behavior.”

It was the first session of music lessons for the research study that Blaine was assisting with. The study was looking at some neurological and psychological effects of music education in early childhood, and was a collaboration between NYU’s Music and Psych departments. Blaine didn’t understand a lot of the higher-level details of the study, but his only responsibility was to run music lessons with a kindergarten class once a week. He’d been accompanied today by Ishan, the Music grad student who was working on the study, to oversee the start of the curriculum they’d built. The kids had been excited, engaged, and pretty well-behaved.

They left the multi-purpose room where they’d been teaching, heading downstairs to the school’s exit. They waved goodbye to the security guard and stepped out onto the street.

“I’m going to East Broadway,” Ishan said, pointing down the street.

“Canal,” Blaine said with a shrug. “I’ll see you next week?”

“Sounds good,” Ishan replied, already looking at his phone again. “You’ll be copied on my report from today. Thanks Blaine!”

They said goodbye, and Blaine turned to cross the street and head towards the Canal Street subway station. He passed small, crowded businesses with signs mostly in Chinese, cutting through Kimlau Square, where pigeons settled on top of a memorial statue. It was a cold, clear day in New York, the streets were still littered with leftover confetti and little red envelopes from the Chinese New Year celebration last week.

It was good to be back in New York.

On the flight to Columbus for winter break, Blaine had doodled in the red notebook from the set Kurt had gifted him, and tried to focus his thoughts.

Kurt had said he missed him. And, of course, Blaine missed him too. He missed him in every way. He missed the things that they were, and he missed the potential of all the things they could have been.

Kurt had also said, all the way back in November, that he’d never stopped loving Blaine. And on that plane ride, Blaine decided that he simply could not dwell on that. No matter how much he wanted to fixate on that confession, he knew that if he and Kurt were ever going to have any type of friendship again, he needed to move on from that idea entirely. Kurt had loved him, maybe still loved him - but Kurt also made it abundantly clear that a romantic relationship between them wasn’t an option. So, therefore, Blaine just had to accept that and move on.

Ohio had been cold and a little lonely. Over the holidays he was able to reunite with old friends - even running into Kurt at a New Directions party, where they’d been perfectly cordial to each other. Most of his friends from high school had dispersed quickly after the holidays, though. Cooper had flown in for Christmas, and then disappeared just as quickly. He’d been able to see Tina, Mike and Artie, and had hung out with Sam a couple times over January.

Mostly what he had, though, was space. His parents’ big house, so often empty as they spent their time at work and other obligations. He’d spent a lot of time on his own - in his childhood bedroom, driving around Westerville, toying around on the piano, going on walks through the stinging winter air. And mostly what he realized was that there wasn’t much there for him, anymore. Even though he had all these memories of this place, it no longer felt like home. He wished he were back in New York, with its constant overwhelm of all senses, with its countless people crowded together, with the new people and places he’d grown to love.

And with Kurt - the one solid thread that connected his old home to his new one. Ever since their fight in November, the idea of being around Kurt had been painful. But now, when they were physically separated, Blaine’s anger and sadness and hurt were softened. Left only with his memories and imagination, instead of the daily reality of waking up in the same apartment as Kurt, he started to miss things about him. He began to focus on the more positive aspects of his relationship with Kurt, all their inside jokes and comfortable companionship and easy understanding.

It didn’t mean the pain was gone, but it meant that by the time school was starting again, Blaine was ready to go home to New York.

Kurt wasn’t in the loft when Blaine got back from the school in Chinatown. Blaine was enveloped by the comparable warmth of the apartment. They’d dismantled the Christmas decorations when Blaine had returned from Ohio in late January, but they’d kept the strings of lights hung up, agreeing that they gave the loft a cozy ambiance. They were a little freshman-dorm-esque for Kurt’s typical design taste, but Blaine had always admired how even though Kurt cared deeply about aesthetic, he valued sentiment even more. Now they plugged the lights in most evenings or on particularly dreary overcast days, and they made the space feel homey and comfortable.

Blaine set his laptop up on the kitchen table and settled in to do some reading for class. He’d been wading through music theory for about half an hour when he got a text from Kurt. Getting dinner and drinks with Rachel and some classmates, it said. I’ll be back late!

Blaine rolled his head around, stretching his neck - he’d been hunched over staring at his computer screen when the chime of his phone broke his concentration. He typed out a reply: Have fun! Say hi to Rachel!

A few minutes later, he received another message, which was just a photo of Rachel sitting across a restaurant table, smiling brightly. The boy sitting next to her was leaning over in order to be framed in the photo as well - Blaine vaguely recognized him as another NYADA student.

Blaine glanced at his computer, then at the time. He stood up and began poking around the kitchen to make dinner for himself. He played an Elton John playlist as he made rice on the stove, stir fried some vegetables, and heated up frozen potstickers.

He watched Netflix while he ate, then washed his dishes and cleaned the kitchen. He went to his room and played his keyboard for a bit, but he wasn’t feeling particularly inspired. He lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

He was aware that letting his thoughts wander led him into somewhat dangerous territory. Into nostalgia and longing, into what-ifs, into if-onlys. Into I never stopped loving you.

Blaine took a deep breath. ‘Accept it and move on,’ that was his mantra. He repeated this to himself a few times, then got up to find a suitable distraction.

He was on the couch, apprehensively watching an episode of Fargo, when the door to the apartment opened. Blaine startled, and then laughed at his own twitchiness as Kurt stepped into the room. Kurt raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused, and Blaine shrugged. “High-stakes moment,” he said, gesturing at his computer screen.

“Ah,” Kurt said with a smile.

“How was dinner?” Blaine asked.

“It was good,” Kurt said. “Rachel says hi back.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” Blaine picked a crumb from his computer’s keyboard. “Who else were you out with?”

“Thomas, and a couple girls from Rachel’s studio,” Kurt said as he hung up his coat. He nodded his head towards the bathroom. “I’m going to shower before bed.”

“Go ahead,” Blaine told him. “I’ll be up for a while still.”

Kurt smiled. “Okay,” he said softly.

He headed for his room, and Blaine could hear his footsteps behind him. He pressed the space bar on his computer to start the show again, and tried to refocus on the plot of the episode.

He and Kurt could coexist in the apartment, could be around each other, and it wasn’t too painful anymore. The space had done them good, Blaine thought, and now things between them were relatively normal - if such a thing was even possible. What was normal for him and Kurt? They had been so many different things to each other, what was their default state?

Blaine wasn’t entirely sure, but he was sure of this: he wanted Kurt in his life. The comfort and familiarity of being around him outweighed the awkwardness, and Blaine could press down the desire or regret that sometimes surfaced. He’d made sacrifices for Kurt before, he could stand a little discomfort now. He might not know what ‘normal’ meant for them, but he was willing to try and find it, together.

[lizziesquire]

liz, do you have some wisdom about romance in 2022? your current thoughts/emotions about romance?

hi, bb!!!!

I watched my papa eat his dinner as my maman sat next to him, telling him about her day, down to the most minute of details. he chewed away, listening carefully, nodding along as she told him about things so immaterial that they escape me, now, just as they would likely escape her, were she to be asked about them now—and i thought to myself, then and there, "so, this is love."

your mid-to-late twenties is such a strange time to be—well, anything. it's a strange time to be. i've talked about it a lot on this blog before, but. up until college graduation, society sets up this path of elementary, middle, high school, then college. not saying that it's the only path, nor is it a "proper" path—no value judgments (actually, never mind. value judgment: it's messed up!), but simply stating that regardless of whether we like it or not, this "college degree as the ultimate end goal" path is considered what is conventional and thereby the measuring stick by which we mark the "big moments" of our lives.

but then college graduation comes. some people get married. some people take fellowships. some people go to grad school. some people have children. others move abroad and start entirely new lives. this "roadmap" to refer to of counting milestones via graduations and degrees is suddenly ripped away with no guidance whatsoever on what we are "supposed" to be doing. which is so liberating, on the one hand—and so strange, on the other, as you watch people start families while you're still living by the academic calendar, looking forward to your next seasonal break.

and romance.

for me, romance has been the strangest to grapple with, of all. i've been blessed enough to know that i've wanted this jd, ever since i was in first grade and the thought occurred to me that i'd love to stand up in a courtroom in a suit, a briefcase by my side. but romantic love? 1 year and 4 months out of a 3-year relationship, in the middle of a pandemic, in my verging-on-late-twenties?

god. where are the words.

my first relationship was an absolute blessing. even though breaking up is that much harder when you find someone who loves you with all of their heart, respects you with all of their being, hears you when you tell them how you feel and always, always follows up promises with actions and change, and was constantly learning and bettering themselves to be a better partner for you, it gave me the greatest gift of all in that i would never be able to settle for anything less, despite knowing that many, many people have married for far less. my relationship taught me that love, real love, is a steady and constant rhythm, just as that of the beating of our hearts—and that it is safe and reliable, warm in its unwavering simmer. i look to my parents, 26 years into marriage, still telling each other about their days down to the tiniest details, and i think to myself: i want that. i want that.

but there's still a part of me who grew up devouring books—in particular, fantasizing about a grand romance. the all-consuming, want-you-need-you-right-here-right-now sort of passion that burns tall, even as it holds the potential to crumble to ash, for one reason or another.

and i think to myself, i want that.

i want that, those last-minute red-eyes booked to random countries because we're young, in love, and wild from the bravery that passion brings us. i want that dancing-in-the-rain, twirling-under-street-lamps-in-the-dead-of-night sort of love, where it doesn't matter that we have to get up early for work the next day and we'll be bleary-eyed and sipping on caffeine just to get by, because we want, we need this moment right here, right now, with you. i want that love that burns with the flames of a thousand suns—the kind you read about in novels and could leave you devastated and broken and hurt but is delicious in that possibility, all the same.

but then, i'm afraid.

all this talk about the thirties being the new twenties; whereas it is true, and i love and embrace all of the discourse regarding how life does not end in your twenties, how getting older is not a curse but a blessing, that life gets better and better with age, that there is no set timeline to abide by, i think our generation still has that ingrained into us, and it somehow feels like. time is running out. by the time we get out of this pandemic, how old will i be? will i have time to have a whirlwind, passionate romance, be heartbroken, heal, then find that steady sort of love that will provide friendship and partnership forever?

it sounds silly. i know. but they're the undercurrents i feel constantly, whenever i think about romance and the void i feel in my life while trying to learn who i am as an adult attending her last semester of school, on the precipice of starting her Actual Career ^TM.

but at the same time, i realise that i don't want passion or security. i want them both, in the same person. i want to be dancing under street lamps with my love when i'm old and grey, our passion still making us brave and spontaneous and giggly—because this break-up confirmed for me that i am terrible at letting people in and, consequently, also at letting them go. i don't want to love and to lose—i want to love and to keep, all while the concept of forever freaks me out, especially at age twenty-five, even while standing by and watching the steady stream of engagements and weddings and pregnancies happening around me.

what a strange thing, to desire forever more than anything, while fearing it just as much? to want to make most of one's twenties and to want to casually date everyone and anyone, while not wanting to give any part of yourself away—especially not to temporary people, all while being afraid that you'll find someone you'll want to keep.

but i tell myself that no amount of worrying will change things; love will come when it will. my job is to focus on myself and my loved ones, and the rest will figure itself out, and i will be ready for it, when it does.

this question made me think for a long time—thank you so much for asking it, bb. please let me know if you have any thoughts to share <3

lots of love xx

[dannypuro]

I would be delighted by a breakdown (a la the instrument one you just did) of each of the something telling verse's chararacters' relationships to cooking / baking! Thank you for blessing us with bonus content & good luck with finals!!

of course of course of course there is nothing that i would like to do more! thank u! (Something Telling verse: modern au with canon-era, time-zapped enjolras)

grantaire is a given. he loves cooking because he is at heart very much a snob and who better to cook his food than himself (and also the set of 8-12 takeout restaurants he orders from all the fucking time)? his love language is food. his only form of self-care is food. etc etc etc. he absolutely owns more than three aprons but does not always wear them because they were all gag gifts from his friends and they all have suggestive slogans on them and sometimes that is simply not the vibe. hot insufferable kitchen man.

enjolras is also a given. this is a man who has never ever learned to cook and is not going to start now. be real. he grew up a boy in a decently wealthy family in the early 19th century and then lived on his own at a time period where it was perfectly acceptable to never ever cook for yourself and just eat what your landlady cooks for every meal. think college boy but add a time period where food was just genuinely worse. no wonder he fell in love with grantaire the second he made him instant ramen. he will slowly absorb cooking knowledge from grantaire but it will take a very very very long time and he will not be aware of this fact.

combeferre is a stressed-out medical man and he has no time for fancy cooking, but he’s used to making edible things on a student budget and now he has slightly more money and slightly more time so. like. he can make a pasta dish. he can cook a nice simple meal. he has adequate knife skills. this is a man who can be trusted in a kitchen, but maybe should not be given artistic control.

jehan cannot cook. at all. get real. they are a rich, ex-child-star who uses their stove for decorative purposes. they have literally never cooked anything. they eat out or get takeout for every single meal, or they bother grantaire until grantaire invites them over for dinner. the mere idea of them cooking gives grantaire and combeferre immeasurable anxiety.

courfeyrac knows how to make, like, two fancy, impressive dishes, and he can only do it very slowly because in reality his knife skills and kitchen competences are POOR. all the rest of his food is really just sad mid-20s man food. chicken. chicken and rice. orzo (vaguely burnt). pasta, grocery store pesto. a lot of frozen, pre-made meals that are kind of expensive and therefore surprisingly good. also a lot of delivery. he just feels like restaurants are more fun and all the rest is just... not his concern. his food is restaurant food and then filler food (home-cooked), miscellaneous. 

marius........... oh marius. marius SHOULD know how to cook, because he’s broke, and he can’t afford to eat out or order in or get pre-made shit. however. he eats like a broke college student. ramen. ramen with egg. egg. egg with white rice. white rice. courfeyrac eventually just managed to convince him that it was easier for them to share meals (aka it is better for courfeyrac’s soul when marius is eating things that save him from scurvy.)

cosette has never needed to learn how to cook. of course she hasn’t. she’s in grad school and jvj is a casserole dad with separation anxiety. he stocks her freezer every week. she goes home for dinner like every other evening. she wouldn’t know how to boil water and when she has to she calls her papa and jvj just comes over and does it for her. she’s the person who brings baked goods to social events but also she knows nothing about said baked goods or how they are made. somebody’s like “hey cosette! these are great cookies, what kind are they?” and she just.... “😬 they are.... soft ones.....” and has to text jvj frantically for the sake of her reputation. she also owns multiple aprons. she wears them while she reheats the food jvj made her. god bless.

bahorel can cook but he has also been just a little bit too influenced by gym bro culture. like, he eats normal food and doesn’t worry about it, especially when it comes to takeout, but also he thinks that Chicken Only And A Protein Smoothie is a normal thing to eat for dinner, much to grantaire’s disappointment and rage. feuilly will eventually bully him out of this and he will once again be culinarily tolerable. just give him time.

feuilly can cook, but he was also so genuinely broke when he came to paris that he got used to cooking on a shoestring budget and never really realized that he could stop doing that when he got a better-paying job. bahorel has been sneakily trying to feed him for years. lots of “haha bro i guess i accidentally ordered your favorite dish again :^/ guess you have to eat it or i’ll throw it away and that would be food waste :^/ no i will not eat it myself” which was not very subtle but feuilly actually really appreciated it so much. once he and bahorel start dating he gets a lot more comfortable with baz paying for his food/groceries/whatever.

joly, bossuet, and musichetta are..... Threats. they love to cook! especially all together! it’s a fun throuple activity! they do it every night! However. cooking is a fun game for them, not a serious culinary skill. they do not use recipes. they do not stick to one cuisine per dish. they do not know how food chemistry works. they are not interested in learning. their food is actually pretty decent (sometimes) and it’s very interesting, but they are completely terrifying to watch in the kitchen. bossuet injures himself every other day. musichetta is a force of chaos. if you leave a dairy product outside of the fridge for longer than 20 seconds joly will have a stress aneurysm. in other words... they are having fun leave them be. grantaire has to physically remove himself from the vicinity whenever they do anything food-related.

anyways, my askbox is OPEN to questions/prompts/headcanons/etc. please send me asks so that i may continue to procrastinate on my finals 😗

[professorkenobi]

psst who proposes in the forest twunk AU? And if it's professor kenobi, does he do it with a poem :O :O?

They both propose, dear anon! 

But Obi-Wan proposes first.

There’s a lot of weight behind this proposal, because Obi-Wan’s last relationship ended over the marriage discussion. With Anakin, he didn’t allow himself to think about the long-term too early in their relationship. 

Well, he tried not to. He realized during their first trip up to Rattlesnake Summit, a couple months after the weekend they met, that he was in love with Anakin Skywalker, and that—given Anakin felt the same way—he would very much like to spend the rest of his life with him. 

He always brings up the future as a question—while they cook, while they take a stroll around his block, while they lay in bed together—and Obi-Wan’s never felt more loved than in those moments when Anakin says, I can’t imagine life without you, Obi-Wan, so the answer’s always going to be yes, to everything. 

The proposal comes later, though, after many happy years of dating and adventure. After Obi-Wan’s published a collection of poems about Anakin that was met with critical acclaim and national awards. After Anakin’s started grad school at Obi-Wan’s university to finally earn the Masters in biology he always wanted to pursue. 

After Anakin gets placed across the country for field work and becomes petrified that he’ll lose Obi-Wan.

So he tells him, with bated breath, and of course Obi-Wan responds with love and support. An incredible opportunity, Anakin. You’ve spoken about wanting to get out to the west coast for so long… And Anakin wants to say Yeah, but not without you! but it’s hard to get the words out. Obi-Wan’s right... he can’t turn this down.

A few days later, Obi-Wan checks the forecast and declares Saturday a wonderful day for a hike up to their favorite spot for a picnic. To Anakin, it’s a relief that Obi-Wan still wants to see him this weekend. 

Of course, Anakin’s being ridiculous about all this.

Anakin greets Obi-Wan at the trailhead, and Obi-Wan’s brought fresh strawberries from the very same farmstand that he visited on a whim before their first picnic together.

They hike Rattlesnake Trail up to the summit like they have so many times before, talking about everything and nothing—Obi-Wan asks lots of questions about Anakin’s field work, and Anakin does his best not to let his sadness seep into his answers, his lingering fear that over a year apart will be too much for Obi-Wan to accept.

The view at the summit is as gorgeous as ever, valleys of summer-green stretching on for miles. It’s quiet, too, their little sanctuary, far from the main path. 

They picnic on the bench Anakin had crafted and hauled up to the best lookout spot as a junior ranger. Their lookout spot, now.

Obi-Wan waits patiently for the right moment, and it happens when Anakin spots an albino squirrel and decides he needs to catalogue his unique new friend.

“Obi-Wan, did you bring your notebook?” 

Of course it’s a squirrel, Obi-Wan scoffs to himself, as he pulls out the worn and well-loved college-ruled notebook that Anakin gifted him so many years ago. 

Anakin hesitates as he takes it from his grasp, his face twisted in confusion. Obi-Wan hasn’t carried this notebook around in years, but he made very certain to tuck it into his backpack today.

And of course, the notebook opens to the page he’s dog-eared, the last blank page in the notebook, the page where he’s poured all of his love and hope and devotion into a poem. 

A follow-up, of sorts, to Trail Safety. 

Anakin reads the title of this new, unfamiliar poem and says cautiously, “What’s this?”

Obi-Wan nods in invitation. He’s ready. “Go ahead and read it.”

Anakin’s eyes well with tears long before he’s even finished the poem, and when he’s done taking in every beautiful word he looks up at Obi-Wan, his heart a hummingbird in his chest, tears spilling down his cheeks and blurring his vision. 

“This makes it sound like you wanna spend forever with me.” And his lips quiver a little around the words, almost as if he’s scared of them. Or maybe, as if he’s scared of what follows, if he’s reading this all wrong. 

But Obi-Wan has waited a long time for this moment, and he has never felt more sure of any step he’s taken in his life than the step he takes to get down on one knee in front of Anakin.

Anakin, who’s holding the notebook open in his lap, who’s never looked more beautiful than he does now, the sun illuminating his flushed cheeks and glassy doe eyes.

He pulls the little velvet box out of his pocket and opens it, and he can’t help but smile as he watches those gorgeous eyes grow impossibly wider.

“My darling, I love you. I know this upcoming year will be difficult, but there’s nothing I want more than in this life than to spend forever with you, and no amount of time apart could change that.” 

He grabs one of Anakin’s trembling hands in his own and squeezes tightly, as if they’re about to enter freefall together. 

“Anakin Skywalker, will you marry me?”

His back thumps against the ground as Anakin crashes into him, Anakin’s “YES DUH I’LL MARRY YOU” echoing in the valley below. They wind up rolling around in the dirt, kissing each other frantically, passionately, desperately. 

The notebook falls to the ground in the joyful chaos, and the page gets a little dirty, a little rumpled, but it was fitting for their love story, for a proposal made on the mountaintop. 

Obi-Wan couldn’t really regret proposing to the love of his life while wearing something as uncivilized as technical fabrics. Not when Anakin’s resounding YES was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard and filled him with the most overwhelming happiness he’d ever felt.

Anakin wanted Obi-Wan to have an engagement ring, too, so that Obi-Wan would know he was wholly devoted to marrying him. And also so everyone knew that Obi-Wan was definitely, absolutely, one-hundred-percent taken. Including the people in line at Trader Joe’s.

So Anakin proposes a few months later. In the most Anakin way imaginable.

[theglowstickchronicles]

April, Cream, Daisy, Favorites, Fun Facts, Hobby, Holidays, Love, Introspective, Past, Meadow, Sage, Travel, Universe, Warning, You, Youth, Zoo, and three of your favorite questions.

April- What’s your favorite time of the year?

Autumn/ the entire month of October. Fall in New England is… *chef’s kiss* the perfect temps, the changing colors of the leaves, the pumpkin spice everything, the football, the fairs… unf.

Cream- Do you wear makeup?

Pre-covid I wore makeup to work every day. Now… I threw away all of my old makeup because it was expired (it’s been nearly 2 years) and while I occasionally will wear makeup, it’s only once in a blue moon.

Daisy- do you have any pets? If not, do you want any?

DO I?!? Lol I have 4 cats. Duncan is 13 ��, Ophelia is turning 4 next month, Sebastian is turning 2 next month, and Rosalind in 8 months.

Favorites- what’s your favorite show, movie, and book?

Favorite show: Santa Clarita Diet. Favorite movie: The Princess Bride. Favorite book: The Princess Bride or Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Fun facts- what’s something people would never guess about you?

Hmmm… that I love day drinking? I’m pretty introverted and quiet at work but get me to a baseball game or early afternoon function with alcohol and I’m ya girl.

Hobby- what hobbies do you have or want to get into?

Cycling! I love my Peloton but I need to get better about using it. Also, I bought a bike last fall and now that it’s spring (ish) I need to start bicycling. I’m enrolled to get my indoor cycling instructor certification as well!

Holidays- favorite springtime holiday?

Uhh… is there more than Easter and Memorial Day? I guess Memorial Day because it’s a nice 3 day weekend and warmer than Easter.

Love- what’s your love language?

People doing little things to help you out. I don’t need gifts or flowers or to be verbally told, and I definitely don’t like being touched. But having someone grab something they knew I was going to go out of my way to get? Having someone who would cook a meal when I’m having a busy day? That.

Introspective- what’s one thing you would have done differently in your life?

Started thinking about having kids earlier, so I would have known certain things earlier and could have had more time to get things in order.

Past- what advice or wisdom would you bestow on your younger self?

Learn to say “no” to work and “yes” to friends more often.

Meadow- do you prefer the beach or the woods?

This is too hard. Can I say Lake Champlain with the best of both worlds???? Lol I guess if I absolutely had to choose I would say beach.

Sage- what life advice would you give to someone younger?

Sometimes things are popular or stereotypical because they’re awesome. Stop caring what other people think and if you want to do something just do it.

Travel- if you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I’m really on this big kick of seeing the National Parks, but I think if I would go anywhere I would want to see more natural wonders.

Universe- do you think there’s other life out there or are we alone in the universe?

Oh, there are definitely aliens out there.

Warning- what would your warning label say?

Fragile; handle with care?

You- what’s one thing you like about yourself? One thing you dislike about yourself?

One thing I both like and dislike about myself- I’m willing to go to great lengths for my friends. Very, very few people ever reciprocate.

Youth- do you feel your age?

Yes.

Zoo- what’s your favorite animal?

Turtles!

3 favorite questions:

Changes - what signals the changing of the seasons to you?

December 1st is winter- usually it’s snowing

Daylight savings in March is spring

June 1st is summer

September 1st is autumn

Collegiate - did you go to or are you going to university? what are you or did you study?

I went to a small college for nursing school, a medium university for grad school, and online for my second bachelors

Light - night owl or early bird?

I woke up at 4am on my day off today. Definitely an early bird.

Thanks for the ask!