#this was a self deprecating joke and not directed at you at all lol

[rachelthesquid]

no no no, believe me, I don’t expect *anyone* to be able to tell uncanny CGI shark faces apart unless the movie Shark Tale lives rent-free in their brains and that’s why those tags were funny to me 😂

LMFAO

[northopalshore]

Hii💝💝

I'm curious, based of your experience, what is your first impression of each rising sign ??

♀Hello 🌝

Personal experiences with the rising signs

Note that these do not reflect the entirety of those with the rising signs mentioned, these are just my personal opinions of people I've met in real life with these placements.

๑ஓ Aries risings:

All the aries risings I've met up to this point are very direct. They look like they bite but really don't. Also, a lot of them kind of look & act like a dumbass (in the best way possible). The edge lords with no filter, no patience, no tolerance, but most of all no bullshit.

If they call you an ass that's a term of endearment lmao. Sarcasm is their love language, jokes and wit are their strong suits. They're the ones that will debate you just for fun (the guys especially).

Intense, passionate and lively. They always look mad for some reason but they swear they aren't. It's like their eyebrows are just angled that way naturally. I love being around them though. It's always refreshing.

First impression in a single sentence: Annoyingly charming.

๑ஓ Taurus risings:

Literally the most patient and chill people I've ever met. Super friendly, slightly dorky. Perhaps it's because I have Taurus in my 3rd house, but I'm usually at ease around them. Although, sometimes it's rather awkward when we run out of things to say lol.

I'd say they are the goofiest people I've ever met.

First impression in a single sentence: Fun but kind of awkward.

๑ஓ Gemini risings:

Very talkative. Very friendly. Always seem to have some sort of new gossip or topic to think about. They do tend to be a bit two-faced at times especially when it involves gossiping, however I've noticed that if they have sun or moon here they are rather passive aggressive. By that I mean they don't "split faces" or pretend to like something as much compared to those without it. How do I say it .. they have more integrity?

It's not like all the gossip is bad, sometimes they comment on the right stuff but just hide their distaste rather than facing any sort of confrontation.

Maybe it's because my 4th house is Gemini, but I sort of have a hit or miss relationship with Gemini Suns & risings. They tend to "mother" me quite often. Perhaps they remind me of some traits my mother has? Both good & bad. I tend to have a love hate relationship with them for some reason, but I don't dislike Gemini.

There's sometimes this codependent feel whenever I'm around them. But Gemini moons? Those are my bffs lmaoo.

First impression in a single sentence: Gretchen Wieners

๑ஓ Cancer risings:

The sweetest most genuine people I've ever met, regardless of their gender. They are always honest with what they're trying to communicate. (Although most cancer risings I know have either sun or moon in the first house)

Note: I'm realising now I know quite a handful of people with sun/moon in their 1st house.

First impression in a single sentence: "I can't believe people like you still exist."

๑ஓ Leo risings:

Omg. They are super friendly & very caring. They definitely are divas in their own right. Very expressive especially when it comes to their makeup or looks. They love accessories, and outfits that stand out.

I have a leo rising friend with moon & jupiter in her 1st house. Girl, lemme tell you she is extra. Contact lenses, head accessories, heels, the works. She's very confident of herself as well. Posting videos & photos of herself often.

There is a bit of a temper but it's not that prominent & doesn't really last long either. Still, I've never met a single Leo rising that is selfish. Self obsessed yes, but not without the heart to match.

First impression in a single sentence: The bigger the hair the bigger the heart.

๑ஓ Virgo risings:

Edge lord II. There are three types of virgo rising that I usually meet. The self deprecating, the self obsessed perfectionist & the one in the middle.

On one hand, they are a super deadpan, no bullshit typa person then on the other, they are extremely self focused and sensitive towards judgement but super judgemental themselves. Then on the otherr other hand, they couldn't care less about what you think.

Very analytical, as you'd expect from Virgos. I always notice them looking around or at me trying to evaluate their surroundings lol. I appreciate their sense of thoughtfulness.

If they're nice, they're really nice but if they're immature or have issues with confidence or control especially then it's very evident. Still, I don't dislike them by any means. Virgo is my descendant I guess I'm a sucker for an edge lord lmaoo. Maybe that's why I keep marrying Sebastian in Stardew Valley.

First impression in one sentence: Okay Sasha Fierce/ 'cause tonight will be the night that I will fall ferr yeww ovar againn— ♪

๑ஓ Libra risings:

They are usually very sweet & open to communication. The ones I've met in real life are very intuitive, or at least are somewhat of a deep thinker. However, some of them tend to judge things based on looks quite fast lol. Other than that though, they usually have very good (fair) judgement & good values.

They are usually very pretty (conventionally attractive). With symmetrical oval shaped faces and a gorgeous resting face. They just look like an ad.

However, I have a housemate with a libra rising & aquarius degree and she's.. well you wouldn't expect her to be a Libra rising based on her looks. It's not like she's ugly, no. Her features just differ from what you'd expect from a Libra rising.

Also, she tends to be rather biased at times. Saying that one thing is bad, but she acts on something else which isn't "applaudable" by any means.

First impression in a single sentence: Clueless' Cher meets Karen Smith

๑ஓ Scorpio risings:

These are the asian baby girls or "goth chicks". Their favourite colour is usually black or purple. Normally I see them with tattoos or dyed hair. These are my people though, they are very inquisitive. A lot of the scorpio risings I know like to ask questions. Sometimes very.. strange or intense questions.

I love how genuine they are to themselves however, speaking their mind and expressing their feelings through their expressions. Some of them tend to be... Reclusive? They see themselves as this dark entity, either too smart for the others to comprehend or dismissive of what people have to say about them.

Although, I've never met a scorpio rising who isn't slightly obsessed with themselves lmao.

First impressions in a single sentence: I bet they listen to Mitski & Lana Del Rey.

๑ஓ Sagittarius risings:

I feel like people tend to sleep on how attractive Sagittarius risings are. Like, they're giving face, body, curves and everything in between. I have an older friend (27-28) and she's just so pretty. Especially when she smiles. Ngl but I did side eye her man a couple times during their wedding.

Usually very active outdoors as well.

Most of the guys I've met with this placement are rather religious. Like, the type to debate over it. The men are quite preachy (at least the ones I've met are). Most of them are reliable and fun to be around. Certified yappers.

First impression in a single sentence: The bigger the brain the hotter the person, I just hope they don't get too big now.

๑ஓ Capricorn risings:

Usually, the people I met with this placement give a pretty cold attitude towards the things around them. Their muscles on their faces are usually tense or there's this resting b face there. Sometimes they look like they're in a hurry to do something but you see them doing nothing in particular after lol.

They look like they've got shit to do & their lives together. Either that or they look rather unmotivated lmao. When you're talking for the first few times, there's usually no expression on their face. They'll just blink every now & then.

They are competitive too which is something you'd normally expect from an Aries more than anything.

First impression in a single sentence: "They are so practical."

๑ஓ Aquarius risings:

Weirdest mfs alive. Both male & female. Also tend to be the loudest (but differs depending on the degree it's in), though still charming in a way. They tend to be very chill and always down to hang with whoever. Usually always laughing at their own jokes or something they thought of randomly. They tend to be very intuitive, although it manifests differently with every aquarius rising I've met (whether their focus is on society or themselves). There's this tunnel vision aspect as well. They are genuine to a fault lol. The ones I've met personally are a little wild or quirky, always doing their own thing.

Very opinionated usually. Always trying to look at the big picture.

First impression in a single sentence: "I mean, if it works for you great."

๑ஓ Pisces risings:

They are a little erratic, a little strange and other worldly in a way. When you look at them, at times you'll notice that they aren't really there. Their interests are always different from the people around them.

Some of them tend to have this victim mentality to them, but I think it's just because most of the ones I met were when I was younger. They're probably just as immature as other kids at the time.

Very spiritual regardless if they follow any specific religion or not, I've never met a pisces rising (or w the degree) that isn't open to the idea of a higher power or karmic cycles. This seems to be true especially as they grow older. They also always have some sort of connection to music.

First impression in a single sentence: "I wonder if their mind is at Jupiter right now"

₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑

***entertainment purposes only, reader discretion is advised***

Hope this was entertaining ʕ⁠´⁠•⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠`⁠ʔ◜⁠✧

@northopalshore

[dujour13]

Hehehe. 3, 13, 18, 42 <3

Thanks Dolly, intriguing choices lol 🥰

Some PWOTR spoilers under the cut

3. How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

Well, he’s a bit of a chaos monster so it really depends. The one thing you can almost always catch him doing is playing guitar in the evening, with a glass of wine if he can get one, staring off into the distance and just vibing and winding down. It might be the only thing that saves his sanity during the Crusade. It’s absolutely canon that he reads Ophenia Thwait novels in his downtime too.

He’ll usually try to make his way to somewhere in the bed vicinity to sleep because it is comfiest, but in which direction and whether dressed or not is a coin toss. Once Woljif starts coming around evenings he develops more regular habits.

13. What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

HAHAHAHA

Love how this is phrased.

He knows he looks amazing in an assortment of pastels and earth colors, but especially sky blue. Lilac, mustard and leaf-green are good too.

In reality I think he would look great in earth tones with just flashes of color here or there. It would complement his hazel eyes, tawny-blond hair and tan skin really well. Alas he only wears browns, beiges and deep greens as accents and not the other way around.

18. What embarrasses them?

This is a hard one because with that laid-back attitude and that Cha score I think he can easily fake his way through even some of the most awkward situations. (usually. no one is above a nat 1)

Because of his guilt/failure complex he can’t always disguise his feelings when someone rightly criticizes his performance, whatever kind of performance. He’ll crack a self-deprecating joke and laugh it off but you can tell he’s a little peeved underneath it all. To his credit he will try to do better.

42. How badly do they want to reach their end goal?

When the end goal was leading the Crusade to victory, he wanted it badly enough to stick with it even when things got bad, even when gargoyles destroyed the camp and Woljif ran off, even facing swarms of vescavors, even being exiled to the Abyss. For him to commit to that extent is extraordinary. I joke but he is actually capable of committing when his mind is made up about something. He’s a lazy, flaky, careless person until some strange, unpredictable flame ignites in his heart and then he’s unstoppable.

Post-crusade he’s just as committed to his new goal of ending mortality but the stakes are quite a bit higher and there are forces aligned against him that he has no conception of. I’d still put money on him but I’m not sure Woljif would.

[mageofseven]

heyyy, can i get a match up?

U can match me up w anyone lolol

so uhm, ig my hobbies r video games, playing electric guitar.. watching movies/kdramas. Sometimes i watch anime,, music (i mostly listen to kpop, metal and rock 😭), dancing. My hobbies change a lot, but these r like my main ones that dont rlly change if that makes any sense..

Im an infj 4w5. Im also a january capricorn loool. I cant take criticism well and i get annoyed easily. Im either extremely sleepy or too energetic, no in between.. i try to get along with everyone. Even if i dont like the person, i try not to get into fights unless its necessary.

Im messy depressy so i make a lot of self deprecating jokes. I act carefree most of the time, but i can have serious/deep convos too. I tend to make jokes out of everything and be sarcastic..

Im interested in psychology and criminology! Oh and science too. I have no clue what I'd like to do w my life though ^○^!!

I tend to lie a lot, like its subconscious at this point lol. Or i manage to get myself into uncomfortable situations with my lying. I also sometimes shut myself in and ignore everyone. I also either talk too much or barely talk,,,

Im a cat person. Ive been a cat person since i was a kid. Ive been obsessed and i still am obsessed with them. Theyre just so cute (゜ロ゜). I dont even know what kind of genre it would be, but i really like animes similar to serial experiments lain. I like horror and coming of age movies, or anything that is sad..

I think this is it. I can be 🐈 anon. Oh and sorry if i said too much shit <//3. Tyyy •☆•

Oh!!! You're a 4w5 just like me! Hello 🥰

And trust me, you said just enough so no worries~

Okay! So let me break down some of your information.

Being an INFJ means your stack function is NiFeTiSe or NiFe.

This means your primary function is Introverted iNtuition. This is the function you use with how you perceive your inner world and how you store information. You collect a lot of info and have the ability to see it all as a whole and focus on the details, making it easier for you to cut through till you find the answer that seems the most likely.

Your auxiliary (or secondary) trait is Extraverted Feelings. This is the function you most use with the external world. This functions focuses on the emotions of others and works to support your Ni.

Next, your ennegram. Being a type 4 means you are creative and unique. You have a deep need to connect with others, but also feel that there are very few people in this world that can understand you. With your Wing being 5, this also shows that you are reserved, intelligent, and introspective.

Being a Capricorn means you are hardworking, direct, and persistent.

Combined with the rest of your information, there has been one Boy who stuck around I'm my head for you.

I pair you with...

Belphie

A chill but depressed person who makes self-deprecating jokes who can switch from cracking jokes to having serious conversations? I found your man easily lol you two already share this together.

I can also see him really appreciate your sleepy and direct traits. I mean, this man gets a new nap buddy to cuddle up to and it's someone he never has to waste brainpower reading between the lines. What you say is what you mean and that makes things so much easier for this sleepy man.

I also see Belphie as the lazy genius kind of dude so I think he could really understand and keep up with you when talk a bunch science-y and would probably share your interest in criminology.

Lastly, your use of Fe would probably be really appreciated by this man, who is also "messy depressy" and needs comfort. Plus, it would make you remind him of Beel, who I see as also being an Fe user.

But ya! So you two have fun cuddling and talking science-y stuff 🤭💕

[22degreehalo]

Sooo once again recently I have been browsing various queer-centric merchandise on etsy and the like, and (as always) been disappointed at the quantity/quality of aspec-focused stuff. Which also ties in to an overall (IMO) egregious lack of aspec... memey stuff?? and general place in, like, actual community everyday conversation, outside of painfully repetitive and boring identity glossaries.

And. It's difficult. It really feels so difficult, sometimes. To talk about being aspec without

a) being sex-negative in really gross, harmful ways (that just as often harm other aspecs btw)

b) being like... super self-deprecating in a way that I feel also harms aspecs and reinforces the idea of us as losers and failures in a kind of 'are they laughing at us or with us' kind of way.

One way is to lean into the silly quirky 'food is better than sex' kind of thing, and also puns. The puns I like but a really shitty and awful part of myself deep down sometimes finds the food stuff actually kind of. cringey...? Which is stupid and I hate it but once again I feel myself being made fun of by allos and also it's just. kind of shallow and a one-note joke that has been overdone at this point (due to lack of other options) for me personally

The other big way I've seen is to lean into the whole confident rejection schtick. Big 'Nope' word art and the like. And that's fine but it often feels a bit too... misanthropic? for me. I like people!!!!! Or it's very female-focused and feeds too much into that whole ideals of 'women who let men touch them are Tainted' and/or 'women deserve better than men' which I. hate.

so I've been wondering a lot if what I'm wanting - memey/funny aspec-focused stuff that actually feels authentic and at least some tiny amount of original - is even possible?

So far my ideas are. a) make it casual/nonclinical by going so fucking dorky that it wraps around in the other direction. like idk a shirt that says 'Asexuality: the lack of sexual attraction to people of all genders. Hope that helps guys!!! Subscribe for more cool asexuality facts :)' I think if I saw that shirt I'd slightly suspect I was being made fun of but would vibe so hard I'd still like it unironically lmfao

Softening the rejection stuff also could be fun. Like 'I love every person in the world!! (as a friend <3)' or something. more eloquent lol

And just, in general non-sequiturs. It bugs me so inordinately when I see those kinds of posts or whatever that are like 'I'm tired, I'm gay, and I don't pay taxes' (theoretical example) and like, you could just as well have put 'ace' or 'aro' in there!!!!!! But nobody ever things to do that with us :( as always my plan is to make really cool things but only for ace and aro so we can get to be the ones with things for once hahaha but unfortunately I do not know how to make cool things. Anyway the whole idea here is to write things that make people on reddit go 'uhh, why did you feel the need to mention that you don't date, here...?'

And to cap this off I guess I should affirm that yeah, the self-deprecatory stuff CAN be done well... with a very very VERY precise hand. By which I mean that I was permanently psychologically online-ified by ace discourse and have the sensitivity of an earthquake detector to non-obvious slights against aspecs' importance or worth as human beings. But self-deprecating humour is just kind of our generation's style, so. There's some level of 'yeah I like anime and don't date B)' that is JUST the right balance of 'this is not at all what society says you should be proud of' and 'but fuck it society sucks lmfao I love freaks'.

IN CONCLUSION more aspecs should have my exact same sense of humour but actually good at art. or writing text posts. Or literally anything other than complaining on unpopular tumblrs. no actually we need them too so I can follow you and feel faintly not alone occasionally when our opinions happen to line up. Your honour I rest my case.

[bmpmp3]

i often, with very little seriousness, say that i prefer to read shoujo, josei, and the occasional seinen manga over anything from shounen magazines because even if they take a turn in quality, at least they will End within my lifetime HFKJSDHKDSHFD and this really is a joke: mostly as a way to combat the last 15 years of shounen elitists coming at me for liking things published in different magazines while also, in a slightly self deprecating way, pointing out how a lot of series in other magazine demographics usually either end at a natural stopping point or get canned unceremoniously with no conclusion (although shounen magazines are no stranger to the latter either LOL the nature of magazine publishing........) compared to just going on for hundreds of chapters after the quality took a nosedive

but make no mistake, despite how a lot (and i mean a LOT) of shoujosei is cancelled early before it can really start to get bad (or it gets trapped in an eternal hiatus because of magazine changes, or it just ends normally LOL), there are still plenty of series that went on way too long or struggled because of their length. some are worse than others: i remember Special A being solid but with a serious plateauing problem in like the latter half where it felt stagnant and boring (albeit not egregious or anger inducing or anything). but then theres other stuff like. hkjfdajhkgrlfjd. Peach Girl my beloved and beloathed <3 HHRJKFJRFEd and dont even talk to me about Vampire Knight or Black Bird. don't even say those words to me

and of course getting cancelled early can also give a series a great opportunity to fumble the bag horrendously in 3 chapters or less: one of my favourite shoujo manga of all time, Penguin Revolution, has an absolutely hilarious last chapter in that you can feel how much the author was like "SHIT FUCK I NEED TO WRAP THINGS UP RIGHT NOW" so hard that i cant even be mad about it LOL

and with that as a preamble: last night i finished reading A Devil and Her Love Song/Akuma to Love Song and well. um.,

quick TW: because of the topics that the manga touches on, I am going to talk a little bit about sexual assault, specifically sexual assault of a minor, and suicide. i will do it somewhat frankly because i want to take it seriously and not beat around the bush and i will do my best, but feel free to let me know if im off-base

SO the first half of the series is really solid, specifically with the characters. Maria in the beginning, especially with the bullying arc, was really engaging as someone so (intentionally or otherwise) neurodivergently coded. and The Boys: Shin and Yusuke were also really strong - moreso on Yusuke's end as like, a foil to Maria's complete inability to mask, Yusuke is like the king of masking. but even Shin, despite everything that comes later (and we'll get to that. by god we will get to that) was also interesting as like a foil in a different direction: a person resigned to his loneliness compared to Maria's drive to connect despite her struggles. And despite how sidelined the girls get, in theory I really loved Ayu and Tomoyo's connection to Maria and the whole squad as well (can't help but love a mean girl redeemed and a shy but secret goth kid respectively)

the series starts to take a turn for the worse after the new school bullying storyline and into the beginning of the Anna Situation. im gonna refer to this Anna, the friend of Maria's from her old catholic school who lost her voice as Anna (friend). it seems clunky but we'll come back to that LOL

i actually didn't hate the whole situation, i found Anna pretty compelling in her anger and resentment and even cruelty, and i was invested in seeing how her relationship with Maria would pan out. unfortunately she herself was basically forgotten about after she moves away to america and instead a lot of the situation was spent focusing on Shin's turmoil which was where his character started to. test me.

this is where Maria's backstory with her mother comes in: maria was born from the rape of her 14 year old mother, who then committed suicide with a preschooler Maria in her arms because of the turmoil and the way she and Maria were treated in the aftermath. this is. an absolutely unreal turn. really fucking dark and tough topic, but i had an inkling of hope! the series was handling its first like, 30 chapters with a surprising amount of care despite some clumsiness...

and the thing is i love a lot of stories that attempt to handle dark topics in loud, fumbling ways as long as theres a sense of compassion and honesty in it you know? and compassion and honest really is the thing, i actually prefer a messy but earnest story about dark and sad events compared to something that knows all the correct words to say while still dancing around serious topics (this is a problem i run into often in recent years. i think its a selfconciousness in storytelling that makes me feel like im being talked down to you know?)

but there is a difference between fumbling a bit an dropping the ball entirely. and MAN that ball was dropped HARD when you bring in the american soldier kidnapper and rapist of the main character's middleschool aged mother and try to turn him into some "redeemed" priest goofy crybaby dad character for the main character to forgive and reconnect with. but we'll get to that, i need to get back to shin

Shin learns from Anna (friend) about Maria's past and how Maria had forgotten it all because of the trauma, but may remember when she's held by others. not wanting to retraumatize her, and believing not remembering her past is what's best for her, he starts distancing himself from her. he also tells the other boys, the blonde bitches (Yusuke and Kurosu (we'll get to him later i prommy)) that have a crush on Maria as well about this, essentially deciding for Maria that she should never learn her past and attempting to control her relationships with other boys behind her back. THIS is intensely possessive and paternalistic WHICH in a vacuum COULD BE a really interesting, dark, but prescient and complex major character flaw to explore (especially in a story written for young women and girls like a manga serialized in Margaret would be). unfortunately the story never grapples with it, its framed like your classic possessive-but-like-in-a-sexy-fantasy-way despite being written in an incredibly embarassing and pathetic manner

like dear GOD i wanted nothing more than him to get some sense knocked into him by the blonde bitches. i LOVE a good character arc where a shojo manga love interest with possessive tendencies learns to respect his gf's autonomy its a classic!! especially with Maria's past, learning that helping someone with trauma means being there for her, not controlling her life behind her back! so much potential there

but alas. all we got was Shin hiding in the shadows from Maria for several volumes until, during an argument where Maria remembers her past and has a panic attack, he attempts to force himself on her and gets his hand hurt in the process. and. god. this is a shojo manga trope i Do Not Care For, honestly it is one of the few things that'll sour me complete on something:

the plotline where through a series of very bizarre circumstances the main love interest will sexually assault (or attempt to) the main character and then get really mopey about it (ouuhhhh im the baad guy how could i do thisssss i feel so sorrrrrrry for myself) and then the narrative will bend over backwards to say that UMMM ACTUALLY its okay the main character wasn't upset about that! it was something else! she didn't think it was rape!! she's cool with it!!! don't feel bad love interest guy!!! LITERALLY i hate it so much. the next several volumes spends so much time on Shin trying to make him feel better about his hand injury and how everything he did was okay because Maria loves him and it was PAINFUL so so frustrating

which brings me to the other guys, the blond bitches. Yusuke is mvp we know this, especially in the early volumes. but after he realized maria's in love with Shin no matter what and he has no chance, he also becomes frustrating because all his edges get sanded off, he's still a wonderful friend to Maria (although he unfortunately drinks Shin's koolaid and also hides her past from her) but he completely stops pushing Shin to be better which makes both characters worse. he was so interesting as the king of masking, such a relatable character type but MAN things went downhill

earlier in the series before Shin tries to push himself on Maria and I was still a bit sympathetic to him, i was thinking like damn. Maria should just get with Shin because she likes him but also setup a polycule where the two blonde bitches can orbit around and keep shin in check LOL

and kurosu. im going back to kurosu finally. a third anime boy has hit the love triangle. hes contentious for very valid reasons but the thing is. i kinda liked him? OKAY okay he has serious SERIOUS personal space issues which were played a little too much for laughs and we'll get to his relationship with Maria's father in a moment but i couldnt help but relate to a big dumb seemingly outgoing but still distant kid who talks too much about horny shit. Yusuke is just like me fr but. also. Kurosu is just like me (idiot highschooler edition) frrrrrrrrrrrrrr sorry i do see a bit of myself in him. hell i even see a bit of myself (dumb possessive middleschooler edition) in the earlier versions of Shin (before you know. he went off the rails), and i think thats whats so frustrating: these characters start with ideas that are ALMOST relatable and intriguing character flaws and then it just descends into madness

and back on kurosu's relationship with Maria's biological father, it is pretty fucked that he hides the fact that he knows Maria is the daughter of the child his adoptive father figure raped for so long, and its especially fucked he brought Maria to the church where maria's bio dad is now a priest taking care of orphans as like a way to "reunite" them and show that "he's changed" and such, but this is really a problem less with the characters and more with the way the story's themes are coalescing in general. The character of Kurosu himself was quite interesting as like a foil to the foils of maria and yusuke, simultaneously really good at masking while also not being good at ALL. and I loved that he got on Shin's case to stop being so possessive and weird about maria. And not to be all "he's literally neurodivergent and a minor" but i can't get all that mad at a 15 year old who (as revealed really quickly in a random chapter near the end) who had to leave his abusive father and scared abused mother under really traumatic circumstances and then suddenly was taken in by a seemingly kind priest trying so hard to defend said priest. i think theres something very compelling and emotionally resonant there: grappling with the the fact that someone you love, someone who treats you with such kindness, someone who you think saved you even, could have been so cruel to your other loved ones.

i know i have a bajillion experiences like that (much smaller scale things like finding out a person who was nice to u is bullying others, or more serious things. im sure im not the only one who's got crazy shit happening with cousins and aunties and uncles and such). like it changes things: you can't just sit idle about it, but you also don't have the authority to confront anyone, you can't go back to the way things were before and there's an irreparable distance between you, but you don't know how to move forward other than letting that distance grow. I think theres something here!!! but unfortunately, the series as a whole was largely uninterested with anything other than turning the main character's mother's rapist into a doting father type character out of nowhere, treating the aforementioned rape as if it was just a little "mistake"

when i read or watch something and i have a very strong reaction to it, good or bad, i often like to look at reviews afterwards. a lot of people seem to think theres no reason to look at reviews if you already have your own opinion, but i personally find them really helpful to get new perspectives and sometimes find catharsis with others with similar perspectives to mind. and so i was looking at some fan reviews and this review's first line killed me

THEYRE NOT WRONG the full sentence is "This story really reminds me of Usagi Drop, just for the way that the ending butchers my enjoyment fo the entire series" which is VERY true, but also its very true more specifically n the sense of WHY on gods green earth is this series trying to frame the rape of a young teenager as a romantic thing (albeit in akuma to love song's case the circumstances are less grooming and more violence, which just makes it bizarre in a different way). but this person's review is great, it just puts the problems with the series in such a succinct way: it swiftly turns from a decent little drama about teenagers learning to grapple with communication into Rape Apologia: The Manga.

all in all i think the big problem with akuma to love song is how much the story is just uninterested in the topics it brings up. its not a matter of taking on tough subject matter and handling it in a slightly clumsy way, its a matter of taking on tough subject matter and then trying to tie it all up in a neat little black and white bow. the series best part of the series, which is kind of seen in the section where all the kids go to the beach together, is when the characters try to learn to communicate and be honest with eachother despite their difficulties. but that was forgotten and thrown away for some very bizarrely cruel melodrama, brushing aside one of the biggest victims: Anna (mother), the girl who was assaulted and the abandoned by all her loved ones in the process. a teenage girl alone with just a toddler. a character the series had no interest in, not her life or thoughts or agency. really depressing

also yeah maria's teenage mother has the same name (and looks???) as one of her former best friends. and you know. thats what got me kind of thinking. with how much Anna (friend) was like completely forgotten about. i honestly wonder how the writing for this series went. this is why ive been so frustrated after all, its highs are so good but its lows are so so SO disastrous. it appears to have been in a biweekly version of Margaret, im unsure if it was published in every issue though. if it was, maybe rushing to get out something every two weeks was in part to blame for how downhill the writing got? i dont think manga should be published more than once a month at most, i think its unethical working conditions for the sake of a worse product and its bad for everyone involved.

and i know its not really considered standard in art and media criticism to focus so much on the working conditions and mindset the author was in while creating. looking at art as itself divorced from its circumstances and death of the author (as in the actual essay meaning like the author is not god and the intended interpretation is no more or less important than the audiences) and so on and so forth. but i can't help it ive always been like this LOL if something bad i wonder how the creator felt creating it....

but anyway. now. one thing i will give the series: they did not randomly pair off the remaining ensemble cast at the end. one thing about shoujo manga, especially from the 2000s is that if there are an equal number of boys and girls, they will be unceremoniously split into couples by the end regardless of how compatible they are HJKDLDHFJKD i was so scared when i realized there were three boys and maria had two gal pals. i was so scared. but we were spared from that at least orz

i do want you to know something though. despite all my criticism, the thing about this all: i love garbage. i love trash. i will read like anything even if its bad as long as i think i can get SOMETHING out of it. even if that something is just "wow that was bad". do you remember the aforementioned Black Bird? what did i get out of that? i dunno, probably just something absolutely crazy to read in a public library as a 17 year old LOL. i love garbage melodramatic soap opera bullshit so much

but i think what frustrated me so much about akuma to love song, as mentioned before, is that it was like. genuinely really good! in some parts! its the potential that is killing me i think. its one thing to read some big dumb and questionable melodrama knowing what youre getting into in the first few chapters, and its another thing to start out written with such emotional intelligence only to take a complete and utter nosedive so dramatically

is this how shounen manga readers feel all the time. dear god.

but well. i guess i still got something out of 90 chapters of this. a really strong start. some good art. and a what-not-to-do manual for the latter half

[themovieblogonline]

Air Jordan Takes Flight: A Game-Changing Partnership That Revolutionized Sports and Culture!

If you're looking for a slam dunk of a movie, look no further than AIR! This movie reveals the untold story of how Michael Jordan and Nike's basketball division teamed up to create the iconic Air Jordan brand, which changed the game both on and off the court. THE GOOD This movie hits all the right notes - and I don't just mean the music, although that's on point too. The writing is sharp and funny, with plenty of jokes that had me in tears in the theater. And unlike some other movies (ahem, Marvel), the laughs aren't just there for cheap thrills. Matt Damon is the MVP of the cast, but he's not the only one bringing their A-game. Viola Davis is a straight-up sniper with her performance because this woman DON'T MISS! Even Ben Affleck gets in on the fun with his self-deprecating humor (seriously, those chicken legs had me in tears). The pacing is perfect, with just the right amount of action and humor. And the visuals are stunning - director Ben really knows how to use color to set the mood. I mean, who knew that Nike orange and blue could be so damn stylish? Michael Jordan himself deserves a standing ovation for his casting choice. Viola Davis nails it as his mom, and you can tell that MJ was invested in making sure this movie got it right. Ben does some great direction with this movie and continues his streak of making great movies! He gives the movie a good color palette and soundtrack to evoke all the 80s feels. Y'all know I almost never mention color palettes unless it's important. Ben uses orange and blue a lot and ever since The Matrix I keep an eye out for when and how it's used. You'll see it in the Nike offices painted on the wall, you'll see it in the lighting bouncing off the actors' faces, hell you'll even see it on the computer screens. You know how back in the 80s the computer screens were green? Nah, in AIR they're Nike orange lol. And that's a cool detail that most won't notice that they appreciate until they're just immersed in the film and having a good time. THE BAD Okay, okay, I'll nitpick a little here. Chris Tucker could have brought a bit more energy to his role, and Marlon Wayans disappears almost as quickly as he shows up. And while there's plenty of Air Jordan eye candy, some die-hard MJ fans might wish there was even more of the man himself. OVERALL AIR is a slam dunk of a movie that will have you laughing, learning, and cheering on Michael Jordan and Nike's game-changing partnership. It's got great acting, great writing, and great visuals - what more could you ask for? And if this is any indication of what director Been has in store for us, I'm already counting down the days until Hypnotic hits theaters. Read the full article

[hexhomos]

im curious to know your thoughts on viktor's biography saying jayce was nothing more than an inconvenience. how do you handle him saying they were never friends? was this because of piltoverians superiority or? (correct me if im wrong but i cant remember if you touched on that)

A friend of mine once said a catastrophic breakup has the unforeseen consequence of tainting everything that came before it in the harsh, abrasive light of the fresh argument, and after that initial damage is done it’s hard to pick out how the memories *really* were. No matter how positive. You begin to doubt, re-read and re-write what happened, so the ultimate split "makes sense."

This may not even be a conscious process half of the time! But jokes about crazy-ex-girlfriends exist for a reason, and I believe that reason might be a surplus of unwarranted crazy-ex-girlfriend stories that are told after the dissolution of every messy relationship. You need a clear Right and a clear Wrong. Rationalizing your behavior as “only logical, in the face of irrationality,” is a defense mechanism. It’s not a pretty one, but it boils down to this: avoidance of guilt, rejection of any criticism you may consider too true, the reshaping of your narrative so *you* are the one in control, the winner, the guy who’s closing the debate with the perfect comeback, one thought up in the shower 12 hours after the fact.

Viktor lies a lot. By omission, exaggeration, negligence and a sense of dwindling pride. Jayce is simultaneously unstoppably unjust and a worm-man that could be crushed beneath his heel; an insufferable viktor never chose for himself! Who is, at the same time, somehow, his work partner of years, actively by his side right up until his last project - or until he's had enough. And the dissonance is the point. This is an image that has been warped so much in editing you can see the smudgy click and drag marks in the surroundings. 

I do think Jayce and Viktor were friends, and this is an assertion I make without doubt. Viktor calls jayce his old friend when the plea benefits him, this is corroborated by how positively Jayce's bio speaks about Viktor, even while criticizing his methods.

Jayce is indifferent to nearly everyone he meets, he says so himself, in his opening paragraphs; if he really was so Out There To Get Viktor And Ruin His Life &/Or Reputation- what fucking reason does he have to defend Viktor's honor after he's proved himself to be unstable and aggressive? If their relationship was nonexistent, sour, or predicated exclusively in rivalry or animosity, why does Viktor ask for Jayce to join him in his grand plan, after years of alleged cold war? What reason is there for Jayce to apologize and still extend him an out after Viktor sinks his head in with a giant crystal? What reason is there for him to even disclose doing that? (what reason is there for Jayce to call Viktor petnames after multiple direct attempts on his life???? LOL)

To put it mildly. If we are to take Viktor’s POV by his word (imagine he is being honest,) and see this as a straightforward detached revenge story about prejudice or jayce’s unreasonable hero complex or piltover carelessly wanting to trump over zaun or whatever - why doesn’t Jayce’s side of the story simply call him a cunt and move on? He has all the setup to prop himself as the true hero, but he doesn’t. Like Bon points out here, Jayce’s bio doesn’t even bring up that Viktor is a Zaunite. Not Once. There is no stereotypical city grudge casting him in a bad light. The information is implicit: they talk about Zaun, extensively, but Viktor’s ideas and standing and existence are what you know him by, not some undercity-dwelling boogeyman. If anything, Jayce self-deprecates far more frequently than Viktor does, and makes a sustained effort to poke holes on the audience’s perception of him being a ‘valiant hearted hero’ of any kind. He dont give a fuck. He doesn't want this title. He did not pick it. He is not choosing to represent this city. He has other, better, palpable things to care about. Namely his work, and generally ‘preventing people from being made into fucking zombies’. Jayce doesn’t want you to think that he is right(eous), but that what is happening is wrong.

If I take a step back from text interpretation here and tell you what I personally gather from it, Opinion Wise, it's this: Viktor is concerned with presenting you with a tragic fable because he has an ideology to sell. The revisions and concessions he makes along the way are for the ultimate purpose of crafting a legend. And sometimes that requires humility. He needs the rationalization to make sense of every single bad thing that has ever happened in his life; and in his way there he also tends to mix up one sore spot with the other, like they're all this elaborate multi-step prank destiny sprung on him, like every single other person in his life has been Lowkey Conspiring Against Him, so you can eventually agree to this:

Humans suck, right? We agree humans suck, right, guys? I mean wouldn't we love it if humans didn't suck? Thats Why I Came Up With A Solution!! THE NEURALINK. - Viktor. (note: whenever there's a mention of the student body, swap it with 'Jayce' to see how the motivation builds up. Viktor makes an effort to omit him whenever possible anyway)

He's kind of at the end of his rope. This is his last ditch effort to build himself back up.

Generally speaking, the opposite goes for Jayce. He frontloads his statement with mentions of how he is a huge dipshit, unabashedly so, to get really at the meat of things: He thinks Viktor's preaching is fucking bogus, but the point is that guy used to be his friend. That guy used to be someone he knew! That guy was brilliant at what he did, even, but something went really terribly wrong down the line and it's frankly fucked up that it happened. But nobody really cares nor can they fully understand, because as Jayce previously stated, maybe everyone else is kind of fucking stupid, so he has to fix things on his own. (Jayce doesn't have any 'I stand for justice and righteousness and the american way,' comeback prepared to rebuke Viktor's speeches. That sentence could make him barf. He just has very strong feelings about where the line is drawn, and he’s not going to wait for the worst case scenario before doing something.)

I do think that more than anything else, It’s important (and telling) that both of their bios admit to them being deeply hurt by their falling-out. Jayce calls it ‘growing more insular’, Viktor calls it ‘traumatic’, there are attempts to patch things back up on either side (even if a bit tilted, even if the propositions don’t work) Viktor regrets trusting anyone at all, so he covers it up with detachment. Jayce regrets not having enough faith to communicate anything, when he could have, so he tries his best to own up to every present or imagined failure in his way towards improvement.

Of course Viktor would describe Jayce as inconvenient. Viktor is one of the many perceived past failures Jayce is desperately trying to do damage control for. And if he *can’t* change Viktor’s mind, well. At least Jayce can stand in his way and be really, really annoying.

[zumipop]

haikyuu!! characters as stupid things i’ve done.

a/n: first post 🫠🫠 when i want to remember my embarrassing moments why does my brain go blank.. 🥲

☆★☆. IWAIZUMI HAJIME

stubbed his toe. got so angry, he kicked the table with that same foot. very hard. cue him grunting in pain and muttering very colorful curses. insulted oikawa too bcuz why not 🤷‍♀️

★☆★. AKAASHI KEIJI

saw someone cute looking in his direction. like, full on staring and thought they were looking at him. made eye contact with them multiple times too and low key felt super flustered. they waved at him randomly and akaashi built up the courage to wave back and smile, only to realize they were waving to someone behind him; rip. hid his face in his hands out of embarrassment.

☆★☆. OIKAWA TOORU

made a self deprecating joke with a 7 year old once. his sister’s friend's son came over and he volunteered to babysit for a while. “so, do you like school?” “yup! i love school :)” “that's nice, means you have friends right? imagine having friends could never be me LOL”. the kid stared at him. oikawa never interacted with children other than his nephew again. also, his sister never let him forget this

★☆★. BOKUTO KOUTARO

went on omeagle because he was bored. some stranger asked him how he was and somehow he overshared. like, over over shared. by the time the stranger cut the connection, he probably: knew his full name, his mother’s maiden name, all about akaashi, his volleyball number, all his socials and family member names. safe to say that person never visited omeagle again.

☆★☆. KUROO TETSUROU

was never really one to text and talk in his class group but once when he saw someone had asked a question and no one answered even after 5 hours, he decided to put them out of their potential misery and give them a reply. only, three minutes later, yaku private messages him and asks him what the fuck he sent in the group. kuroo, confused and slightly scared, checks the message he sent and asks yaku what he’s on about. yaku starts cackling and tells him that what he sent was wrong, and right then a teacher replies to kuroo’s message and tells him he's wrong, too. kuroo never opened that group again.

[trashcanfanfics]

uh legit can't remember if I sent this in already but I think it'd be hilarious if there was the hh overlords with a s\o whos kinda like genz??!! like the self deprecating jokes, not really taking great care of themselves,"asphyxiation is my kink but its not fun until they finish the job"

(that joke was one I found a while ago and constant die of laughter whenever I hear it lol)

Absolutely!

That joke is really funny and I laughed when I read this request

Alastor:

*Doesn't quite get your humor but enjoys how chaotic you are

*He worries about you not taking care of yourself and the things you do that put you in harms way

*You said you wanted to "cronch" on glass and he just stared at you with slight concern

*He gives you snacks throughout the day and gives you a water bottle twice daily

*One day you only spoke in memes and only Vaggie was able to decipher what the fuck you were talking about

*"Wow, that was so pog" "darling, please"

*You say the most out of pocket shit and he doesn't understand but he's supportive (until it comes to putting yourself down)

*Would argue with you that you're amazing and he loves you

*"Oh, I just shivered, I wonder what that was?"

*"You're skeleton is ready to hatch"

*Cue confused and slightly horrified deer noises

Rosie:

*She doesn't understand at all

*She'll be sitting across the room watching you dance like "????"

*"I'm gonna throw a twisted tea at Vox"

*"What?"

*The self depricating jokes get a long lecture and presentation on why she loves you and thinks you're amazing

*There is no way that you can't take care of yourself because she'll be making three squared meals a day and has enough snacks that she carries around to feed a small country

*"Asphixiation is my kink but it's not fun until they finish the job"

*She knits her eyebrows in confusion and gently puts her hand around your throat

*Nearly had a heart attack when she saw you jump from the roof yelling "YEET"

*She caught you and had to calm her brething while holding you tightly

*You are supervised for the next month and not allowed out of her sight

Valentino:

*After you make that one joke, he chokes you in bed now

*Doesn't get your humor but thinks you're joking about everything so he just kinda laughs

*You do things that make him question how he finds you attractive

*Caught you crouched on the kitchen table and drinking a monster energy drink in the middle of the night

*You take full advantage that your eyes are reflective now and it scares the shit out of him

*You were on a video call with him and he noticed you were on the roof

*"Yo, what if I just, like, jumped off this right now?"

*He'd tell you not to and that he's on the other side of the Pentagram and wouldn't be able to catch you

*Is worried when you tell him that's the point

*You drop your phone on accident and he thinks you fell off/actually did jump

*He's never flown so fast

*No more rooftops for you

*Forces you to at least drink water daily

Velvet:

*"Same"

*She gets your humor and has the same sense of humor you do

*Y'all speak exclusively in memes in front of Vox and Val to confuse them often

*Y'all eat enough junk food to give God diabetes

*Will indulge in your chaotic nature

*You both do stupid shit and share one braincell

*But sometimes you forget it at home

*"I thought you were bae, turns out you were just fam" "bruh"

*You call Vox a Boomer and she just fuckin loses it

*You casually say that glass looks tasty and she agrees

*You were hanging with Val once and asked him if he wated to catch a fade and Velvet's on the other side of the room

*"Nah, he doesn't want that smoke"

*Val went home crying

Vox:

*You called him your "little pogchamp" and he just "thank you??"

*Has seen you flat out demolish someone using your slang and insults

*Velvet and you have conversations and switch to your slang and he can no longer follow the conversation

*Tries to research and understand memes but it's like your dad trying to use modern slang to relate to you

*You're constantly munching on chips and he brings you sandwiches after seeing you only moe down on a family sized bag of corn chips

*Gives you water with the flavors in it so you are tricked into being hydrated

*Learned the phrase "hydrate before you die-drate" and began using it on you while throwing a water bottle in your direction

*He's getting the hang of it

[randomshyperson]

hey, you :) can i request a wandaxreader christmas fic? i know it's kinda out of time lol but i just love christmas and miss it very very much. thx

Hello anon! How are you? This took me a while, but I've been kind of busy lately, hope you don’t mind. It’s sweet as you asked and it made me excited for Christmas.

Wanda Maximoff x Reader - The Perfect Gift

Summary: The reader tries to find the perfect gift for her best friend Wanda Maximoff during her first Christmas with the Avengers.

Words:  5.283 K    // Read on AO3

Warnings> 14+ / A bit of language and anxiety/self deprecating thoughts suggestions, but is mostly fluff, kissing and teasing.

Marks> @mionemymind @wandamaximoffpuppy

You were having a little trouble finding the ideal gift for Wanda.

Two weeks ago, you had already finished buying the gifts for all the others Avengers, but with the redhead, you wanted to find something special. Maybe it was because she was your best friend, or maybe it was the secret crush you had on her.

Anyway, you were having trouble deciding exactly what would be good enough as a gift for her.

Pietro assured you that Wanda would like anything you gave her, but you wanted something amazing.

So here you were in the mall, arm in arm with the witch's brother, trying to find the perfect gift.

As it was Christmas, the place was crowded with people as desperate as you were. Fortunately, no one recognized you two, and you would remember to tell Natasha that a cap and a sweatshirt really do work as a good disguise.

After leaving the fifth store without liking anything, you heard Pietro let out an impatient grumble.

- I have an idea, you know? - He said when you stopped in front of a shop window. - Why don't you wrap yourself in gift paper? Wanda will love it.

You blushed, nudging him lightly on the shoulder.

- Shut up. - you mumbled clumsily. - Why don't you give me a real idea? Isn't there anything Wanda really wanted?

Pietro sighed, assuming a thoughtful expression.

- I don't know, I guess not. - he says, putting his hands in his pockets. - You know what she likes, why don't you give her a DVD or something?

- I said I want it to be special. - You reply, looking around. - I just need to find the right thing.

- I am hungry. - He grumbles, then starts walking toward a doughnut cart. You hurry to keep up with him, having become slightly distracted. - I don't know what you want to do, but you can try to make something for her. 

- I don't know how to do these handcrafted things. - You say, running your hand through your hair. Pietro joins the line at the cart, and you stand in silence while he buys some sweet doughnuts. 

- It doesn't have to be a handmade thing. - He says as he picks up the doughnuts. - You can prepare something for her. A dinner, for example.

And then you stop walking, widening your eyes.

- You're a genius, Pietro. - You tell him happily, thrilling at the thousands of ideas that come to you. He frowns in confusion. - Now I need you to tell me exactly what you two used to eat in Sokovia.

//-//

On Christmas morning, you jump out of bed bright and early, extremely excited. You shower, and put on some comfortable clothes, and then leave the room. You are quite impressed by the Christmas decorations that Tony has put up for the night. There are garlands, and small trees, and colorful ornaments scattered throughout the hallways. You smile when you notice the little holographic Santa Claus walking through the compound.

Squinting slightly, you walk toward the kitchen while ignoring the nervousness in your stomach as you prepare Wanda's breakfast, also know as the first stage of her Christmas present.

No one is awake yet, and you take the opportunity to turn the stereo on low while humming a rock song from the 50s. You are distracted by making some Grénki, when you hear a whistle, and let out a startled exclamation.

- Where is the fire? - Ironized Natasha as she entered the kitchen, a playful smile on her face as she sat down on the seat in front of the counter. - You waking up early is a Christmas miracle.

- Ha-ha very funny. - You retorted in the same ironic tone, turning your attention back to your food. - Merry Christmas, Nat. And good morning.

- Good morning, sweetie. - She says slightly distracted, looking curiously at what you were doing. - Aren't you going to tell me what it is?

- It's not for you. - You say humorously, walking around to organize the tray you're taking to Wanda. - This is my present for-

- Your girlfriend.

- Nat! - you exclaim with flushed cheeks. - Wanda and I don't...

- Yes, yes! - she interrupts with a slight laugh. - It's just a healthy, platonic friendship with lots of affection. And touch.

- You know you don't have to be jealous, I'll let you have some of the food. - You scoff, trying to change the direction of the conversation, and Nat laughs.

While you set up the tray, and pour some coffee, you both remain silent. But then Nat asks:

- You are still going to attend the party tonight aren't you? Tony is excited about this.

- Oh, yes. - You confirm with a smile, pouring Nat some coffee. You also hand her some Grénki, and she smiles in appreciation. - I have the slight impression that the participation of all the avengers is mandatory.

Nat laughs, nodding her head in agreement. And then you let out a sigh. The tray was ready.

- Nice breakfast to you both. - She teases you with an insinuating smile, and you ignore the feeling that your face was getting warm and thank her, carrying the tray toward Wanda's room.

//-//

Your hands were sweating a little when you entered the room. Wanda was still asleep, and you placed the coffee tray on the bedroom table as you made your way toward her bed. Kneeling beside the bed, you called softly a few times to wake her up, while you shook her knee lightly over the blanket. Wanda grumbled, pressing her face against the mattress, looking absolutely adorable.

- Come on, Wandy, I have a surprise. - You said softly, smiling at her. She opened one of her eyes, interested, causing you to laugh softly. You then stood up, walking toward the table as Wanda stretched out in her bed.

You picked up the tray, and turned, walking back to the bed as Wanda sat up, running her hands over her face to wake up completely. 

- What is this?- she asked in a hoarse tone as you approached. Then you put the tray on her lap, and stepped away, wringing your hands lightly.

- I made you a proper Sokovian breakfast. - You declare with a smile, and Wanda stares at the tray in her lap in surprise. You swallow dryly. - Pietro told me what you ate as children and I tried to make it as similar as possible. But it's okay if you hate it…

- Thank you. - She interrupts impressed. - That's... That's very sweet of you.

You look away, embarrassed by the way Wanda is looking at you. But then she is letting out a sigh of excitement, and starts tasting the items, and your heart is racing because she looks absolutely beautiful with her slightly tousled hair, and her cheeks flushed, as she makes satisfied noises when  tasting the food.

Wanda looks at you again.

- This is so good. - She comments with a smile. - Don't just stand there, sit here with me. Let's eat together.

You laugh shyly, doing as she told you. And as you two are sharing the breakfast, the door opens again, and Pietro is rushing into the room, flopping down on the bed next to Wanda while shouting "Merry Christmas”.

- Wow, that looks tasty. - He comments as soon as he notices the tray, but Wanda pats his hand when he threatens to take it some of the food.

- It is my present, not yours. - She grumbles, and he pretends to be offended.

- Haven't you ever learned that you must share things? - He scoffs, using his powers to steal one of the buns quickly and Wanda lets out an angry exclamation, but he laughs, stopping her from taking the item back with his speed. You laugh at the interaction.

- I made more of those, you know. - You joke. - No need to fight.

- Of course not. After all, the breakfast was my idea. - Pietro retorted with irony, causing you to roll your eyes with amusement.

- Oh yeah, you're going to bring that up now aren't you? - You smile back and Pietro laughs lightly, taking a bite of the bread. 

You are silent for a moment, just eating together, until the boy speaks again.

- I came to tell you two that we're opening presents during the party tonight. - He said, wiping his hands on a napkin. - Tony just told us all in the kitchen. I said I would tell you both since you are making your platonic move on my sister.

You feel your face getting very hot at Pietro's insinuation, and you look down at your own lap, dryly swallowing your nervousness. Wanda feels her heart race, and looks at you, but you're looking down, and she's embarrassed and guilty that you're uncomfortable. Then she gives a angry look at Pietro, but he doesn't seem to care much.

- Anyway, you have been warned. - He says smiling. - When you're done with the second part of your gift, come spend some time with me. I want to beat your ass at Call of Duty.

- Second part? - Wanda asks with a frown of surprise and confusion, and you look at Pietro reproachfully.

- Damn, I forgot it was a surprise. - He says as he notices your gaze, but he is already getting up. - Good luck anyway.

You sigh as the boy uses superspeed to leave the room, and you run your hands through your hair. And then Wanda is looking at you expectantly, and you lets out a short laugh.

- It's a surprise, Wanda, there is no point in looking at me like that. - You tell her with a smile and she makes an excited noise with her mouth, and you laugh. - After lunch, I'll take you out. Make sure to hear something warm, because it's snowing.

When Wanda finishes her breakfast, you take the tray back to the kitchen while she goes to take a shower. You ignore the feeling of having her arms around you when she hugged you to thank you for the present, and force yourself to stop grinning like an idiot when you enter the kitchen.

- Merry Christmas, Y/N. - said Bucky as soon as he walked into the kitchen while you were washing the breakfast dishes. 

- Merry Christmas, Buck. - You replied, smiling when he kissed you on the cheek. 

- I heard that you made a special breakfast for a certain little witch. - He remarked as he left the newspaper that he was carrying on his hand on the counter, while he picked up a dishrag and began to dry and put away the dishes you had already finished washing.

- Natasha is making fun of me, I imagine. - You mumble with a laugh, and Bucky chuckles, agreeing.

- You can bet she is. 

You finish washing the dishes in silence, and Bucky hands you the dishrag to wipe your hands, while he has a thoughtful look on his face.

- You do know that Tony has spread several mistletoe around the tower, don't you? - He remarks with an insinuating smile, and you blink in confusion. He chuckles. - I'm just saying it might be an opportunity to, you know.

And then you understand and widen your eyes in surprise, feeling your face heat up.

- I don't... What... We don't...She’s not...

- I didn't even say a name. - He sneers, making you blush more.

Bucky laughs at your state, and pats you on the shoulder, before walking out of the kitchen, humming a Christmas song. You bite your lip, imagining you and Wanda in the hallway, a mistletoe above your heads, and her leaning toward you. And then you shake your head slightly, trying to push those thoughts away, while repeating that you are best friends. And that your best friend is a mind reader, so you'd better keep those thoughts very quiet.

//-//

At lunchtime, after doing your few chores for the day, and telling Pietro that you wouldn't play with him because he almost ruined the surprise, you returned to Wanda's room. Wearing clothes warm enough to go out in the snow, and with two tickets in your jacket pocket. You didn't even have to knock, and Wanda was already using her magic to open the door, and she seemed excited.

- Will you tell me where we're going now? - She asked as you signaled for her to follow you down the hall, and you laughed.

- You'll know when we get there. - You retorted with amusement, biting your lip when Wanda made her puppy dog eyes at you, trying to get you to tell her. - It's no use, honey, this pretty eyes of yours won't work.

Wanda laughed lightly, her cheeks flushed at the compliment, giving up. You borrowed one of Tony's cars, telling the redhead that if she didn't tell him about it, you wouldn't either.

Driving for a few minutes while you and Wanda hummed along to the selection of Christmas tunes on the radio, you finally arrived.

The European Christmas Fair was set up in downtown New York, and was a long row of food and craft stalls, with items from many European countries. When you heard that there would be stands from Sokovia, you bought tickets.

The place was quite crowded, and Wanda let out an exclamation of excitement when you pulled into the parking lot, and she could see the big banner up high with the name of the event.

- My God, are you for real? - she asked in disbelief. 

- Am I suppose to take your statement as "I liked it"? - You retort playfully but slightly unsure, and Wanda laughs, advancing towards you.

She hugged you tightly around the neck, and then began to kiss you repeatedly on the cheek, making you laugh and blush. She pulled away, bouncing with excitement, as she entwined your hands and pulled you toward the event.

After handing over the tickets at the entrance, you didn't mind that Wanda's hand was still in yours. 

You strolled for hours among the stalls, tasting different foods, and looking at the shelves. You bought some souvenirs for Wanda, and she did the same for you. And then you found the Sokovia stall, and you tried to learn slangs and dialects in the language, with Wanda and the stall mistress as your guides. When you whispered to the lady to teach you how to say "you look very pretty", Wanda laughed with flushed cheeks when you tried to say it to her, helping you to pronounce it correctly afterwards. You ended up tasting soups of different flavors, and other typical foods.

And at the end of the day, you took Wanda to see a fireworks display, and it was almost nine p.m when you got a message from Nat telling you that the party was about to start and Tony was asking about you two.

As you both walked back to the tower, you think that if anyone asked you, you would say that it was the best afternoon of your life.

//-//

Tony's party was surprisingly Christmasy and cozy. You would think he would do something big and fancy, with electronic music and gala costumes. But he just organized a meeting among the Avengers, and asked everyone to wear comfortable and warm clothes.

He had set up a big tree in the room, and the presents were on the bottom. The same decorations that you had noticed earlier were now accompanied by twinkling lights, and there were other smalls holograms of reindeer and sleighs moving all around the place. You and Wanda exchanged an amused look as you took off your coats and walked toward the living room.

There was a table full of typical Christmas foods set up in the living room, and you noticed that the whole team was already sitting on the couches and armchairs, and it looked like Clint was telling a funny story. When Tony noticed that you two had arrived, he let out a happy exclamation.

- Finally, girls! - he remarked with a smile. - I was about to send a suit after you two.

- It's not even ten o'clock Tony. - You countered in the same tone and approached the food table, while Wanda sat down on the couch next to her brother. - Yay, cookies.

- We've been waiting for you to exchange gifts. - He clarifies and you make a noise of understanding as you grab some cookies before moving toward the couch. 

Your natural instinct is to go toward Wanda, but since she has sat on the end of the sofa, you sit in the free chair next to Nat. 

- Did you enjoy your date? - She quietly asked you with an insinuating smile, and you felt your face heat up. Clearing your throat, you nodded in agreement.

And then Tony let out an excited exclamation, picking up three packages from the tree. He tossed each one to its respective owners and then picked up more gifts, repeating the action until everyone had a gift to open.

- I'll start obviously. - He declared as he began to tear open a golden package. - Who gave me a book, people?

The group laughed, and then Steve raised his hand. 

- Please finish opening the present.

Tony looked at him suspiciously, finishing tearing open the package. Then he let out a surprised exclamation.

- What? - He seemed to be talking more to himself than to anyone else. And then the group became curious. - "Advanced Mechanics, autographed and annotated edition by Howard Stark" - Tony read from the cover, and then turned to Steve. - H-How did you get this? My father only autographed copies during the war, and...

- Yeah, i know. - Steve interrupted with a smile. - I was there myself. Actually, this was my copy and I just got it back from S.H.I.E.L.D now. I thought it would be a nice present to you.

- Damn it, Cap. You're going to make me cry. - Retorted Tony with a smile as he reached over to hug Steve. The group let out an excited chorus. You smiled fondly when you saw your friends hugging, Steve whispered "Merry Christmas buddy" as they parted.

The gift exchange became kind of generic yet sweet after that. Since everyone had to buy gifts for everyone, most members got new clothes, or simple souvenirs, or electronics. Besides jackets, socks, and a headset, you also got a box of Belgian chocolates from Clint, and you were very pleased. And then you had a gray package in your hand, and you tore open the wrapping with curiosity.

Your breath caught in surprise. In your hands was a board game. But not just any board game. It was the same game you used to play with your siblings when you were a kid, an item you thought you would never see again. 

- How...? - you whispered as you examined the box. Several memories invading your mind at once.

- I guess we're back to emotional gifts, guys. - Tony commented with light excitement as he noticed your reaction. - Share your gift with the group please, Y/N.

You swallow dryly, trying to control your emotion.

- It's a board game. - You say turning the gift over so the team can see the cover. - I used to play when I was a kid. I couldn't even remember how it looked but seeing this again brought so many memories back. How...

- You dream about it sometimes. - Wanda says shyly, and you and the team look at her in surprise. - It took a while but I found it online.

You think Natasha said something about this being really sweet, but your heart is racing as you look at Wanda. She blushes but holds your gaze, smiling coyly. And then Bruce asks you if he can look at the game, and you blink in confusion, turning your attention to him.

Later, when all the presents on the tree have been opened, Tony and Steve hand out blankets to everyone, because even with the tower heater, it is considerably colder.

And then you and Bruce go out to the kitchen to serve everyone eggnog, and Pietro uses his speed to deliver all the mugs quickly. When you go to sit down again, the team moved around the seats and Wanda opens the blanket for you to join her.

Completely wrapped in the warmth of the blanket and the girl next to you, you feel your chest heat up with comfort. The avengers begin to share life stories in the next moment, each one with their own mug of hot drink.

You are about to fall asleep when Natasha starts humming a Christmas song, and soon the whole group is singing along. You chuckle lightly, watching the scene. Then you rub your eyes, trying to stay awake as you join them. 

Thor is the first to fall asleep a while later. He lays his head against the couch support, and a moment later Bucky is asleep on his shoulder. Tony and Steve sleep on the floor, Tony's head resting on the captain's lap. Soon the other members are falling asleep in the same way. You blink, and notice a blue flash. Pietro is collecting the empty cups to avoid any rest of the drink the spill, and he smiles quickly at you when he notice you awake. You decide to help him, moving slowly on the blanket so as not to awaken Wanda, who had just fallen asleep.

You carry your mugs back to the kitchen, and Pietro appears at your side soon after.

- Man, I loved that. - He comments with a smile, and you nod in agreement.

- Yeah, me too. - You say. - It's the most peaceful we've been in a long time.

- By the way, thanks for the game. - He mentioned the video game you had gifted him while leaning back against the counter. - But it's a tricky gift, because you'll also enjoy it since you'll be playing with me.

You laugh, shrugging your shoulders. Pietro lets out a yawn.

- I'm tired, but I'm going to go back to the room and play for a while. - He counts and you nod. He gives you a hug, and wishes you a Merry Christmas before leaving.

You bite the inside of your cheek next, remembering Wanda's latest gift. It is a DVD collection of old American sitcoms, editions with behind the scenes and commentary, and you had left it in your room, hoping to give it to Wanda after the party. But now that she was asleep, you thought it best to go back to your room.

You almost screamed with fright when you tripped over the redhead on your way out of the kitchen, and looked behind her to see Natasha moving around on the couch, probably having heard your surprised exclamation, but she didn't wake up. 

Wanda exchanged a giggle with you, signaling for you to be quiet, and you bit your lips to keep from laughing. 

- Are you going to bed already? - she asked softly, and you denied it with your head.

- I was going to, but now that you are up, I want to give you your last present. - You tell her, nodding for the two of you to leave the room. Wanda looks at you curiously, but follows you to your room.

As you walk toward your closet, she closes the door.

- You're spoiling me today, printsessa. So many gifts - She comments with a smile, and you bite your lip trying not to show how much you like the nickname.

She sits on your bed looking at you expectantly as you walk toward her, a neatly wrapped present in your hands.

- This is the last one, I promise. - You assure her with a small smile as you hand her the item. 

And then Wanda is carefully undoing the loop, and when she finishes opening it, she lets out an excited giggle.

- This is absolutely amazing! - she says, running her fingers along the DVD cover. You smile, putting your hands in your pockets. But then Wanda bites her lip, and is quiet for a moment, her expression serious. You blink in confusion, but before you can ask what's wrong, she's talking again. - Why are you doing all this?

You stare at her for a second, your heart racing. Shifting the weight of your feet, and looking down at the ground afterwards.

- I just wanted your first Christmas with the Avengers to be special. - You lie, risking a look at her. There is something in her gaze that tells you that this is not the answer she expected, or that she doesn't believe you.

- Is that the only reason? - she asks. You think you are imagining the thread of insecurity in her voice.

You swallow dryly, nodding in agreement. Wanda forces a smile, looking away. Then she is placing the gift on the bed.

- I'm tired now. - she says clumsily. - But I loved all the presents.

You nod frantically, watching her get up. It's a cue for saying goodnight, and you swallow the bitter feeling in your stomach as you smile and walk toward the door, Wanda following you.

You open the door, and she step out, but turn around as you shift the weight of your feet, smiling slightly at Wanda standing in the doorway.

- Good night then. - She says slightly hesitant. 

- Good... 

Your sentence dies in your mouth when something catches your attention and you look up in confusion. The hologram of Santa Claus coming down from the door frame to the top of her head. Wanda looks surprised too. And then you feel your face heat up as the image turns into a mistletoe.

- What the...? - You frown in confusion, but the picture doesn't change even when you run your fingers up at it. And then Wanda lets out a giggle.

- Well, a tradition is a tradition. - She says before moving closer, and giving you a lingering kiss on your cheek that completely takes away your ability to think.

She remains very close even after she moved away, and her pupils are fully dilated in her green orbs, drawing the air from your lungs. You want to kiss her. Very much.  And this thought keeps looping over and over in your head.

- Wanda, I.... - You start hoarsely and breathlessly, but the redhead just nods.

- Do it.

So she had read your mind after all. You didn't care, though. Not when you closed your eyes and brought your mouths together.

It was sweet and tender, just as you expected a first kiss, or a kiss under the mistletoe to be. And then you pulled away, your lips tingling, as you pressed your foreheads together and normalized your breathing. 

You looked up, a playful smile on your lips. The mistletoe was still there.

- I guess we'll have to continue then. - You commented with an amused smile and Wanda let out a giggle, bringing her hands up to your face.

- Yes, it's a tradition. - She whispered before joining your mouths in a much less innocent kiss. You felt your body shiver as she pulled your face to her, her fingers stroking the hair at the nape of your neck. You moved your hands up to her waist, and she stumbled into the room, dragging you along with her as you closed the door with one of your hands.

Neither of you notice the low celebratory chorus at the end of the hall, or the remote control in Tony Stark's hand, deactivating the hologram on the door.

//-//

You two kiss until you are breathless, and your lips are swollen and your hearts are racing. At some point you fall onto the bed, with you on top of Wanda, your kisses gradually slowing down.

- Hey. - You say breathlessly as you part, a silly smile on your lips. Wanda looks at you adoringly, and you feel your heart race even more.

- Hey. - She greets back, stroking your cheek with her thumb. Then you're lying on the bed beside her, leaning your face against your arm to face her, and Wanda mimics your position.

- I have another reason. - You say after a moment. She frowns in confusion. You swallow dryly before you clarify. - To give you the gifts. I have another reason.

Wanda bites her lip, waiting. She starts running her fingers down your cheek, tracing your skin and making you smile. 

- I... - You start feeling your heart racing. Wanda's gaze is making you nervous. Then you sigh, trying to calm yourself. You start thinking too fast afterwards. She just kissed you, she must feel the same way. But maybe she only did it because of the mistletoe tradition. Or maybe she just wanted to kiss, because people do it without being in love with each other. If you confess,  things would get awkward, because Wanda is absolutely breathtaking and she wouldn't like you that way. You find yourself starting to sink into derogatory thoughts about yourself in the next moment, thinking about how you would never deserve someone like her.

- Your thoughts are loud. - She declares with a slightly concerned expression as she lets her fingers caress the back of your neck. You blush clumsily, ready to apologize, but Wanda is moving closer again, bringing your foreheads together. - Why are you thinking such cruel things about yourself?

You swallow dryly, closing your eyes, trying to clear your mind as your therapist has taught you. 

- I can't help it. - You confess in a whisper, and then Wanda's nose is touching yours while her fingers remain in your hair. - I'm sorry about this.

- I don't like when you think that kind of nonsense. - She says, bringing your lips together quickly, and then she is pulling away only to kiss your cheek. - None of it is true. - she whispered, her lips caressing your skin. - You are simply spectacular and my favorite person in the world. - She says against your lips, making you shiver a little. - And I'm completely in love with you.

You open your eyes in surprise, feeling your face heat up. Although Wanda also has flushed cheeks, she smiles with confidence.

- Do you really mean that? - You ask in a slightly trembling voice, but Wanda's smile does not falter as she nods. You let out a sigh of relief and happiness, burying your face in Wanda's neck and wrapping your arms around her waist. You envelop her completely, rolling on top of her on the bed and she giggles against you, enjoying the warmth of your body.

- Kiss me again, please. - She asks playfully against your ear, and you blush, burying your face even deeper into her collarbone.

- I'm hugging you now. Kissing is for later. - You declare against her skin, eyes closed as you enjoy Wanda's scent. She laughs softly, her hands caressing your back.

And you think she has accepted your statement, but then her fingers lightly invade your shirt, caressing the skin of your waist, making you shiver at the sensation.

You let out a satisfied sigh, but don't let go, and Wanda lets out a mischievous laugh when you shiver briefly as you feel her fingers going up the base of your spine.

- That's not fair. - You grumble against her skin. And when Wanda's fingers start to rise even more, you sigh with both pleasure and impatience. - You're going to play like this, then? That's fine.

Wanda raises an eyebrow, not knowing what you mean, but then she closes her eyes tightly when she feels you deposit a wet kiss against her collarbone only to bite and suck her sensitive spot next, her fingers stopping the movement the same minute she moans.

You smile at the reaction you have wrung from her, and move your kisses up her skin to her chin, until you finally bring your lips together again. 

After many long stolen kisses, you fall asleep completely entwined in each other. Definitely the best Christmas ever.

[builtyouahousefromabrokenhome]

So I actually listened to Liam on Impaulsive and I’m so tired of this flood of people hating and concerning on him. Holy fuck the hosts are obnoxious (it’s their trademark) but when people are piling on like this I have to check the source. And I wish others would do that too before posting ...

I think it just comes down to:

1. People not getting Liam’s self deprecating deadpan humour.  He exaggerates about negative and uncomfortable topics as a joke (like the stuff about his “demons”). I do that too and it makes especially Germans and North Americans upset because they just don’t understand sarcasm.

2. People not actually listening to it but just repeating what others are saying, or only hearing snippets out of context, and it gets distorted in a game of telephone. I mean I really don’t blame anyone for not wanting to expose themselves to that podcast, but then maybe just accept that you don’t know what exactly he said and in what context.

3. People not knowing enough about 1D because Liam didn’t actually say anything new. He’s said variations of the same stuff before, and the rest are known facts. I’m a quarantine Larrie and “even” I know all this stuff. O_o The one thing that I didn’t know as much details about before was about S*mon having dinner with Liam and “having a plan” for him, and pretty much building the band around him. Of course S*mon had a plan for Liam, as he did for everyone on his show. And of course he had a plan for each of the other 1D members. Liam only talks about himself and S*mon’s plan for him, because it’s his own story and this podcast is about him, and maybe he really doesn’t know about the others in that respect, like he says on the podcast.  If you actually watched them on X Factor you’d have seen what Liam said, about having to start all the songs because he had more experience and the others were too nervous. Liam was set up as a “frontman” in the beginning, until they all got more comfortable and found their vibe together.

Liam didn’t put Louis down by saying Louis “found his voice behind the scenes” - he said Louis basically masterminded their sound and direction as a band. And that’s also something that’s already known, they have talked about it before, how Louis was paying a lot of attention to their contracts etc. 

As for the Zayn comments, when he said “that didn’t age well” I took it to refer to that Gigi went from defending Zayn on twitter against JP to reporting him to the police lol for basically swearing on the phone at the Yol///anda incident. Liam wasn’t making any judgement on Zayn, and he actually said he’d always be on Zayn’s side. But he spoke in a kind of bungled up way and said a lot of different things. And a few of the things he said on their own out of context can sound pretty negative. EDIT: Oh, and I didn’t even react much to when Liam compared the support he got from home to Zayn, and said something like that it was different for Zayn. Liam also talked about how his own dad was very much involved and coaching him through it all, and that it was like he was more or less just doing everything for his dad, and for example asking his dad first what he thought about being put in a band, before making the decision. And while Zayn’s mum did get him out of bed to go audition for X Factor, it’s not a big surprise if Zayn didn’t get the level of support/coaching from home as Liam got from his dad. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, just different, and that he’s had to figure out stuff on his own and fend for himself more than Liam has. (Both of their situations surely have pros and cons tbh.) So I don’t think it’s time to jump to the conclusion that Liam was shitting on Zayn and his family and stereotyping him in a racist way ... :/ 

Strip That Down really did reach a billion streams very quickly, before anyone else from 1D had reached that many streams. Zayn was huge from the start but didn’t quite have a smash hit like that. In the last couple of years Harry surpassed them both and broke huge records this year, but it wasn’t so back then. 

.

I actually enjoyed listening to Liam and thought he was funny, and I think he made the best out of being on that kind of podcast. Social chameleon in action, basically. And maybe it’s like giving him a cookie for just basic human decency, but I appreciated it that he shut them down when these shitty hosts wanted to talk about JD/AH and other obnoxious topics.

[maramahan]

hi :)

I saw your interesting add-on to that post you made about using self-aggrandising jokes instead of self-deprecating ones, and that really inspired me. it’s what I’ve been doing for a while now, but there’s a problem. My friends are fairly good ones but when I do stuff like that, like, I trip over myself or I say something dumb I’ll be like, “oh yes I am the height of eloquence”, but then they seem to take it seriously? Like, they’ll be like, no you aren’t lol, that was dumb, and it seriously makes me feel a whole damn lot worse about myself. You sound like you know what you’re doing, so I figured I’d ask you.

Disclaimer: I’m just some rando on the internet and I don’t know the Vibe between you and your friends, but like

Oof that sucks

It’s not a cool feeling at all when your friends — the folks who are supposed to be there for you — are the ones actively tearing you down

I mean, if you’re inviting your friends to laugh WITH you, and they’re consistently like “nah lol I’m here to laugh AT you” — well… that ain’t a very nice vibe

Now, that’s NOT to say your friends are bad people or anything — it could very well be that they’re just talking to you the same way they habitually talk to themselves — but… that still doesn’t make it okay?

As for how to handle it… again: I’m just some rando and I don’t know the kind of relationship you and your friends have, so. like. I can’t tell you what’s best — but off the top of my head:

1.) The Direct Approach

“lol nah fam, in this house we engage in Positive Self Talk!”

Say it with a grin, say it like a joke — but make it clear: this is an active self-care effort focused on breaking self-destructive thought patterns

You don’t have to make a big deal about it — but even just explicitly pointing out the fact that you’re trying to be kinder to yourself might get your friends thinking

And if it’s really a case where your friends are just stuck in some unquestioned habits of their own, they very well might start thinking ‘oh wait hang on you’re right’

2.) The Heartfelt Approach

“I’m sure you didn’t mean it this way, but it really bummed me out the other day when I said [insert joke] and then you were like [insert lol no].”

If you have the kind of relationship where you feel comfortable opening up and getting sincere about things, it might be worth taking your friends aside and really just having a conversation about this stuff. Chances are, they didn’t realize they were hurting you — and they won’t mind at least trying not to let it happen again

3.)The Sharks-are-Smooth Approach

“No, obviously I AM the height of eloquence. I’m reinventing language as an artform. Take notes: this stuff is modern poetry and I’m gonna be in your textbook someday”

This one’s great for when you’re in the mood to be a bit of a clown

Doubling down on the joke and getting even sillier makes it even more obvious that you ARE joking — and this can lead to entertaining nonsense if you’re the kind of person who enjoys ridiculous-argument-as-play

AND this puts the ball back in their court: if they don’t get the joke, that’s on them. If they double down on making you feel bad, they suck and that’s ALSO on them

4.) The ‘Get Better Friends’ Approach

It’s one of those unhappy truths that’s easy to say, but often hard to swallow: Sometimes people who seem like good friends… aren’t actually good for you.

That’s not to say they’re straight-up Bad People, nor am I saying that this is where you’d just ghost ‘em and run — but…

If your friends are continually making you feel worse about yourself, you have every right to back away and look for friends who’ll lift you up instead

After all, friendship shouldn’t have to hurt.

[collecting-stories]

Lucky - JJ Maybank

Request: 15. “I don’t deserve you.” - “You deserve everything.” with JJ pls <3

A/N: I wrote a blurb similar to this a while ago and always wanted to expand on it/rewrite it with more detail so I did lol. 

Outer Banks Masterlist

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

JJ sat in the holding cell, waiting for Shoupe to reappear and tell him that his dad was here to pick him up. He didn’t regret what he had done for Pope, if he had to he would do it all over again. But he also realized, the longer he sat here, that any hell he could endure actually being locked up was ten times better than inevitably facing his dad.  

He could still remember the look on your face when Shoupe had pulled up and he’d taken the fall for sinking Topper’s boat. There was a list a mile long that Shoupe wanted to pin on him and knowing he could add that to it had him smiling like a kid in a candy shop. You looked devastated though, freaked out maybe, you’d gone back inside of Heyward’s before Shoupe had even finished putting JJ in the car.  

“She’s just upset.” Kiara had said, doing her best to sound supportive. It was no use though, watching you rush back into the store had practically broken his heart.  

If you’d thought it through you would’ve stayed until the car pulled out of the parking lot. But the only thing running through your mind at that moment was that you could not, would not, let JJ’s dad be the one to pick him up from the jail cell.  

JJ kept his relationship with his dad under wraps for the most part but you’d found out how bad it was just two weeks prior and there was no doubt in your mind that you could not let him go home with his dad. You didn’t take the time to think about anything other than running inside to grab your phone from behind the register where you’d left it when Shoupe came in. It was a long shot, maybe, but you had to try.  

“Must be your lucky day Maybank,” Shoupe called, walking into the holding pen and coming up to JJ’s cell, “your lawyer is here to bail you out.”

“My what?” JJ asked, too shocked to be smug.

“Lawyer.” Shoupe repeated, opening the door and letting JJ walk out.  

At the desk, signing the paperwork for JJ’s release, was a well dressed man that definitely looked like he lived on the Eight. Not JJ’s dad by a long shot, not even someone he knew, though there was something familiar in the face. When the door opened to let JJ out onto the other side of the precinct the man turned toward him fully, introducing himself. Only when he heard the last name did it click in his mind.

“Not exactly how I imagined meeting my daughter’s boyfriend but I guess a trumped up vandalism charge is better than some other things.” He said, glancing at Shoupe purposefully.  

You had been dating JJ for a solid four weeks, enough time to know that you were pretty sold on the pogue but not enough time to sell anyone else in your family. He hadn’t met your parents yet and he was putting it off because of obvious reasons, the most notable being that you were a kook and he wasn’t.  

There was no way, according to JJ, that your dad would ever approve of you dating him. If there was a hierarchy in the Eight then there was one on the Cut too and JJ sat right at the bottom, lowest of the low.  

“Just like, one dinner,” you had practically begged when you asked JJ to come over for dinner the week before. “my parents really wanna meet you.”

“Tell them they can wave to me when I pull in the driveway.” He joked, twisting away from you when you tried to shove him.  

“I’m serious, this is important.”

“I’m serious too,” JJ replied, “they aren’t gonna like me. And they definitely aren’t gonna let you date me after they meet me.”

“You don’t know that.”

Clearly, you had been right. JJ didn’t know that at all because here he was with your dad, Shoupe finishing the last of the paperwork, explaining the charges and the cost of the fine and then releasing him into your dad’s custody. For once in his life JJ wasn’t entirely sure what to say. Thank you seemed like too little. He doubted that your dad truly knew what this meant, it wasn’t just getting him off of a charge, it was making sure he didn’t have to go home at the end of the day.  

When they got out of the precinct you were right there, waiting by the car. You practically tackled JJ to the ground in your excitement, throwing your arms around his neck and hanging onto him for dear life. “I was freaking out.” You explained, lips brushing against his neck as you spoke. He kept his arms around your waist, holding you up.  

Your dad cleared his throat, standing at the driver’s side of his door and waiting for the two of you to direct your attention toward him. When you pulled away from JJ to face your dad, he stared speaking, “there’s still some things to go over with the charges...like whether there is merit to them. I can reach out to Dr. Thornton when I get home. I expect you at our house for dinner...think it might be a good idea that we were properly introduced, since I just bailed you out of jail.” He said.

“Right, thank you too, for that.” JJ replied, a little stiff. Aside from Heyward, there weren’t too many adults that he was comfortable around.

“We’ll be back for dinner, promise.” You were already grabbing JJ’s hand, leading him away from the precinct and your dad, heading toward the Wreck. You had texted Kiara that your dad was springing JJ and asked where exactly she was planning a meet-up.  

Not ten minutes ago JJ had been sitting in a cell considering all the things that would happen once his dad got there. That familiar disappointment settling in his stomach. He’d done a good thing for his friend, he couldn’t deny that, but his dad would never have seen it that way. In his mind it would’ve just been his only son, screwing up once again, proving him right that JJ was nothing but a loser. He had imagined the whole scenario, multiple times. Would he hit him in the car? Would he wait to get home? It was all a little more than he could handle thinking about.  

“JJ,” you had stopped at the corner of the street for a traffic light only to realize your boyfriend looked almost catatonic as he followed you. “JJ?” You repeated yourself, pressing a hand against the side of his face and he visibly flinched before withdrawing.

“Sorry.” He muttered.

“Are you okay?” You asked, “sorry I put you on the spot like that with my dad...I just didn’t want anything worse to happen.”

“It’s okay,” He promised. “I just freaked a little when I saw you run inside, I figured you realized this wasn’t what you signed up for.”  

A kook dating a pogue wasn’t unheard of but JJ was a little off. Everyone said so. He was okay for a night, for a hookup, but he was a little too intense to go out with for longer than that. He was sure that firing the gun at the boneyard was going to be your limit but you kept showing up, kept wanting to hang out.  

You shook your head, “I...signed up...for you. For whatever being with you was and I wouldn’t change my mind. I don’t wanna see you sitting in jail, I don’t wanna see Pope sitting in jail either, but I definitely don’t have any regrets or wish we weren’t dating or something.”  

“When you went back in Heyward’s I thought it was over.” He admitted, remembering the feeling, like a weight settling itself on his chest and cracking it open.  

“I just went in for my phone. I wanted my dad to get down there before Shoupe could call your dad. I was freaked that he’d do something.”

“I can handle him.” He lied.

“JJ.”

“I don’t deserve you.” He sighed.

You frowned, stepping closer to him and wrapping your arms around his waist to hug him. Just hearing him say something so self-deprecating made you ache. “You deserve everything.”  

JJ kissed the side of your head, closing his eyes, “...not how I wanted my first meeting with your dad to go though, I’m sure he already thinks I’m a loser.” JJ replied.  

“He doesn’t. I swear. If he had any doubts he wouldn’t have been there. Besides...Topper’s a dick and he totally deserves whatever alleged thing happened.” You said, trying not to laugh.

“Hey you think your dad can get the video?” JJ asked, “Shoupe said there was video surveillance and I’m dying to see it.”  

-

taglist: @maplelattes22 @poguesrforlife  @freckled-and-daydreaming  @chasefreakinstokes @millie-753 @fangirlwithme @alex12948 @katherine097 @tangledinsparkles @carbonated-beverage @mariofgreengables @damonsalvawhore27 @dopedoodes @dolanfivsosxox @belledutchess @poguelifeeee @faded-blue @parkerpetertingle @thebookwormlife @summer-clouds-and-long-days @jellyfishbeansontoast @minigranger @hoewkeye @love-someone-special @tiredfeels @strangerthanfanfiction713 @the-only-nana @tomzfrog @mozz-are-lla @vindictive-hearts @wldflwrskyee   @ssprayberrythings @jenahbell @beautyandthebleh @gothackedalready @teenwaywardasgardian @sarahcxmeron @haha-fuck-you-thot @stillbelieve398-5 @rewindlr @queenniccimicci @kissessforharryyy @thedarkqueenofavalon @alytavzla @bqmblebee @linniep @nerdypartytrashpsychic @xxchxrryxx @spencer-reid-is-a-cutie @mirjanak @danielladreaming @obx-saltlife @youngestxhearts @spnobsessedmemes @wowitswondergurl @celestialmaybank @aoba-josigh @pineappleandcherries @mysterious-adventurer @justawilddreamerchild @rhyetaylor62 @calm-rejects @balletandyuzu @oh-annaa @aiifandomsunite @x-lulu @ceruleanjj @wicked-laugh @obxwriterfan @allie-mcginn @pcterparxer @literarycharleton @khiaraaa-in-spacee @crushe-s @teamnick @daydreamlilys @collectiveuniverses @activist-af @mdgrdians @buckys-sunflower @vindictive-hearts @copper-boom @talksoprettyjjx @5am-cigarette @smiithys @dontjinx-it @outerbanksbro @mysticsthinking @heavenlymama @louisolos  @rudy-pankow-needs-an-oscar @babymatilda @raekenliar @lemur46 @under-a-canyon-moon @calums-betch @dpaccione @jolomez @summerkaulitz 

[theoriginalladya]

Kiss prompts: Under the stars/power for rydenko ;)

from this list

on AO3 here

Well, it took me almost four months, but I finally got this one sorted out! :D  Hope you enjoy it, m’dear!  They sort of surprised me with the way it worked out! lol

Setting:  Sulphur Springs, Kadara in Andromeda, Scott Ryder, Kaidan Alenko, Rydenko

~~~

Scott secures the flap on his pack and tosses it into the back of the Nomad just as Kaidan exits their rooms at Ditaeon.  Nice thing being a part of the Pathfinder team; they’ve got a private suite they can use whenever the Tempest is docked.  It’s definitely better than having Drack’s snoring shake the bed frame all night-cycle long.

“Ready to go?”

Scott steps to the side and gestures for Kaidan to enter the vehicle.  Voice dropping slightly and with a teasing wink, he nods.  “After you, Pathfinder.”  

Kaidan hesitates already half inside the vehicle and tosses a look of suspicion in Scott’s direction.  Scott struggles to bite back a laugh and a grin, and somehow manages to maintain an innocent look before climbing inside after him.  

Once secured and while mentally going over Vetra’s directions, Scott turns the Nomad out in the direction of Sulphur Springs.  Their destination isn’t far, and once they arrive it’s just a matter of maneuvering the vehicle up the right ridge until they reach the top.  He isn’t used to approaching from this direction, thus the necessity of Vetra’s directions, but Kaidan, thankfully, remains silent throughout the trip allowing him to focus.  Scott is nervous enough.  Handling a bunch of questions on top of that would be too much.

Finally, he pulls to a stop and takes a moment to stare out the virtual windows.  It’s difficult to see much with the darkness out there, but really, he’s only buying himself a minute or two to settle.  

Nothing’s gonna happen if you don’t move, he reminds himself and reaches for his safety harness, tossing it aside as he announces, “Well, we’re here!”  

Kaidan gives him a raised eyebrow, but is still silent.  No comment, no question.  Scott isn’t sure what to make of that, and cannot help it when his nerves kick into even higher gear.  Somehow, even though he stumbles his way to the hatch, he maintains his balance. After opening the door, he grabs the pack from behind the seat and slips outside to wait.  With the sun fully set and the skies overhead well on their way to full darkness, he finds unexpected reassurance in the sight.  

A sound behind him pulls him back, and he turns to find Kaidan standing behind him.  “Right,” he huffs softly, forcing a smile that he hopes looks genuine.  “Over this way.”

The spot he wants is less than a hundred feet away, still part of the relatively level mesa-like outcropping.  Scott pulls a blanket out of the pack and lays it out on the ground, then takes a seat and pats the space next to him.  Kaidan doesn’t hesitate, but it’s impossible to miss the skepticism in his expression.  “Just… thought it might be nice to get away and relax for a little while,” Scott explains. “You okay with that?”

Settling next to him, Kaidan replies, “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have let you drag me all the way out here.”

Scott chuckles.  “Fair enough.”

“So, what are we here for?”  

A soft snicker escapes before Scott can stop it.  “You make it sound like Kandros is locking us up or something,” he jokes.  “Don’t like the out of doors?”

“I’m not saying that.”  There is a hint of darkness in his cheeks, and for just a second, Scott wonders if he’s embarrassed him.  “It’s just… Guess it’s been a while since I took a moment to just sit and relax.”  He rubs his hand over the back of his neck.  “And I do like the out of doors,” he adds, glancing over at Scott.  “My Dad and I used to go camping up in the mountains near our home when I was a kid.”

“Sounds like fun,” Scott muses.  Reclining back until his arms rest on the ground, he stares up at the starry sky.  “I never got the chance to do stuff like that.  Sara and I grew up on the Citadel.  By the time Mom and Dad moved back to Earth, we were on our own and enlisting with the Alliance.”  He sighs. “They look so different than back home.”

Kaidan nods as he leans back to mimic Scott’s stance.  “Andromeda is definitely… different, I’ll give it that much.”

“You think?” Scott can’t help but tease.  “What gave it away?  The bone-armored alien race bent on our destruction?  Or, the dark energy cloud that wants to kill us and every single planet we wanted to colonize?  My bet’s on the alien race, in case you’re wondering.”

Kaidan huffs and bumps his shoulder into Scott’s, but a laugh quickly follows.  “You are so irreverent.”

Scott’s reply is just as quick and, at least he thinks, witty.  “I think you mean irrelevant.”

There is a long moment of silence in which Kaidan shifts just enough to face him.  Scott stares up at the sky, unwilling to face him just yet.  What he expects is a dressing-down for his self-deprecating sense of humor.  What he receives, however, is nothing less than perfection as Kaidan leans over, slides his hand behind Scott’s head until his fingers thread through his hair, and pulls him in for a very thorough, very intense meeting of their lips.  A kiss of which Scott hasn’t experienced in over six hundred years.  Heat and fire burn through him leaving him numb, and he cannot stop a soft whimper of delight as it escapes his lips.

When Kaidan breaks the contact sometime later – Scott’s brain is so scrambled he can’t even make a guess at how much time has passed, in all honesty – he pulls back only enough so they can get a clear look at one another.  As usual, Kaidan’s face is neutral, not quite expressionless but difficult to fathom.  Scott, well…  He is well aware of his downfalls, and has no doubt the man can read him perfectly in the moment.  Greedily sucking in air, he prepares for the chastisement…

… and instead, finds himself absolutely stunned.  “Never irrelevant,” Kaidan insists, his voice at least an octave lower than his usual rumbly, gravely, incredibly sexy tone.

Scott blinks and has to swallow twice before he rasps out, “O-okay…”

Kaidan lies back on the blanket, tugging Scott to him.  It never crosses Scott’s mind to refuse as he ends up lying next to him, Kaidan’s arm wrapped around him.  It’s strange, yet not at the same time.  The only other time they’ve ever laid this close to one another on purpose was back in the Milky Way.  Scott thought it a fluke then, a one-time thing that never stood an ice cube’s chance in hell of surviving.  But after arriving in Andromeda and discovering Kaidan made the journey as well, Scott hoped they might be able to rekindle what they once had.

It seems like they have.  It’s a dream come true, to be sure, but also sobering at the same time. So, of course, Scott falls back to his usual snarky side to find his way through the moment.  “Soooo, irreverent, is it?”

Kaidan laughs, his chest moving up and down and Scott’s head following the motion as he lies there.  “Why do I get the feeling that’s going to haunt me from now on?”

Reaching over with his hand, Scott laces his fingers through Kaidan’s other hand and pulls it up to lie on his chest.  Kaidan doesn’t pull away.  “Oh, I don’t know…  Maybe because you know me?”  He tilts his head up, smirk in place, and meets his gaze with a twinkle of delight in his.  

“That I do,” Kaidan replies, tightening his hold on Scott’s hand.  “That I most certainly do.”

[littlebigmouse]

Some Moceit headcanons

Don’t even need to be read as romantic I just love the dynamic lol, and some of these work better for AUs, but whatever.

• Janus is an observer, so whenever Patton puts on a smile thats a little too forced, or distracts from his feelings with a joke or two, he will find himself on the other end of that tiny, scrutinizing frown • Janus is no creativity, but behind that frown he is already cooking up five different schemes to find a way for Patton to confront his potential issues of the day in a somewhat healthy, probably playful, questionably educational but definitiely dramatic manner • not once does it occur to Janus to just ask him about it, that’s just not how he operates • and the same goes of course for expressing affection • Patton returns from that surprise treasure hunt that was supposed to teach him the difference between humility and self-deprecation, “why anarchy is great, actually” and to cheer him up • (but the entire thing was set on fire halfway through and then they got lost and look, the last time one of Janus’ plans worked the way he intended was when he convinced Thomas to eat an entire cake for dinner, but he and Patton had unknowingly been on the same side on that one). •  So when Patton returns from the treasure hunt and notices that Janus wanted to cheer him up? He outright thanks and hugs him and maybe coo’s a little bit •  and the snake just stops functioning because - he knows, rationally, that Patton is an expressive side, but that does not mean that the open expression of emotion (directed at him!) isn’t utterly mortifying to him • Janus acts annoyed (he isn’t a feeling this isn’t important to him at alll) but internally is absolutely taken by Patton’s sincerety. •  later, Janus will internally scream because he doesn’t understand how someone can stand to be so vulnerable, Patton is just waiting for someone to exploit all his vulnerabilities, and maybe Janus is filing these away in case, you know, he needs to exploit Patton’s weaknesses to get a point across (there is no internal conflict to be found here he is confident and suave, okay, he absolutely does not consider maybe becoming a slightly better person because that is objectively not his job, I mean, can one imagine?) •  Patton is, in a way, the more emotionally mature of the two, but neither of them realize for a while