#actually this didn't turn out too bad I dig it ^V^

[mitamicah]

11/13 Käärijä stickers 🦩🌴⛱️

Did I plan that I'd take this long between drawing the sketch and rendering the finished piece so that Jere is now on vacation again making this relevant? Nope, but it would've been fun if I had x'D

I couldn't leave Frank out tho :'3

⬅️Previous entry ➡️Concept sketches

[dollfacefantasy]

can't get started ♡

older bf!logan howlett x fem!reader

logan can't get it up one night and is humiliated. but that just means he'll have to prove he can still satisfy you.

cw: nsfw (18+), smut, p in v, daddy kink, age gap (reader in 20s)

a/n: the part in dpw where he said he's got whiskey dick with the claws turned me on too much tbh

This had never happened to Logan before.

That wasn't a lie he was telling you to make himself look less pathetic. It wasn't an affirmation he repeated in his own head to feel like he was still hot shit. It was the truth. One he would swear to on anything.

He'd never had a problem getting it up before.

Not with you, not with anyone. He thought the healing factor made him immune to whiskey dick or any kind of down-there dysfunction. But apparently not. Because the two of you finally had some time alone after being amidst the chaos of the mansion all day and his body was stalling.

The second he had the bedroom door shut, you were dragging him over to the bed and climbing into his lap. You were doing everything like usual. Your lips pressed against his, and then moved to his jawline and down his neck. Your hands glided across the firm muscles of his chest. Your hips rolled down against his lap, beckoning the appendage between his legs to reciprocate your desire.

But it just wouldn't. He tried to make it because it wasn't a matter of not wanting you. He wanted you bad. 

He grabs your chin and brings your lips back up to his mouth so he can communicate his passion wordlessly. He digs his fingers into your hips, feeling the beginnings of where your flesh swells into your ass. He envisions how you'd been prancing around the whole day, cute tits pushing against the fabric of your t-shirt and calling out for him to grab.

You're so soft and warm. The little mewls that leave your lips sound like calls of angels up above. It doesn't matter though. His cock had clocked out for the night.

"God damnit," he grumbles before brushing you off his lap and bringing his fist down against the mattress. He sighs and his head hangs.

He can already sense the look on your face. Worry, hesitation, and affection swirling into one humiliating look. He feels your hand find his shoulder, the touch tender and accepting.

"It's ok, Logan. We don't have to," you say. Your tone is so soft and gentle, and it just drives him fucking nuts.

"But you want to," he says and looks over at you. The look in your eyes kills him. He knows you don't mean it, but it looks so patronizing. As if he's an old dog about to be taken out back and old yeller'd.

"Yeah but I don't want you to force yourself. We can just cuddle," you offer, sweet as can be.

"It's not forcing, I want to do this. I want you so bad," he says and cups your cheek. He pulls you back onto his lap and nuzzles your neck. "Been thinking about this all day."

You let out a little sigh as he lays some kisses on the column of your throat, and that gives him a spark of hope. Maybe he can do this. Maybe he doesn't have to be put out to pasture just yet. The two of you make out and grind and feel each other up some more. But eventually your tits are all but in his face and his dick still doesn't have a pulse.

He huffs and pulls back. 'Fuck, I'm sorry, sweetheart," he says.

You watch him, the gleam in your eyes as adoring as ever. It was the same look you gave him when you'd have to explain a basic function of a cell phone to him.

"It's ok. You don't have to be embarrassed," you reassure and lean in to peck his cheek.

He groans and gently brushes you off. "Don't. I don't need you coddling me."

"I'm just saying. I understand," you say with conviction, hands splaying on your chest to physically convey your empathy, "It happens to lots of guys when they get older. You don't have to be ashamed of it with me."

And in that moment, he wishes he didn't have his mutation so he could just die on the spot from being utterly mortified. He'd actually have preferred if you laughed in his face and called him an old man. A sad, old, perverted fuck who decided to date some half his age even though he couldn't keep up with her appetite. If you'd told him you were gonna find someone who could satisfy you, it probably would've stung less than being talked to like a patient who doesn't know their cancer is terminal.

There was no chance in hell, you'd ever do any of that though. As much as he hated that fact right now, it was part of why he loved you.

All he does is mumble a thank you and kiss the corner of your mouth. He doesn't just cuddle you after though. He gets you off on his thigh. You were still going to cum even if he couldn't. When you're done, he holds you close and rubs your back till you're sleeping curled up to his side.

His night isn't very restful though. It's haunted with the prospect of future incidents like this, of your perception of him changing. The look in your eyes changing from admiration to pity.

He can't live with that. The next day for the two of you is super busy, but he makes sure there's a spot at the end of it for him to secure his redemption.

This time around it's him carting you away from the others once the sun is down, mouth on the curve of your neck before you even reach the bedroom. His hands grope your waist and paw at your tits. You stumble into the door, bumping it loud enough that you'd be worried about someone hearing you if they weren't all downstairs.

"Logan..." you giggle. You push your ass back against him and glance at him out of your peripheral.

"Not what you're gonna be calling me before the night is done, sweet thing," he grunts and boosts you up.

Your legs press into his sides to support yourself as he opens the door. He takes the two of you inside and kicks it shut behind him before heading to the bed and tossing you on the mattress.

You look up at him with a coy smile, arms propping you up and one of your legs extended to entice him.

"You know... you don't have to prove anything to me, right?" you say.

"Oh, I don't?" he asks and grabs your ankle, pulling you to the edge of the bed so your hips meet, "You're too easy to please, babydoll."

Another laugh bubbles through your lips. Your legs drop to lock around his waist. "I'm just saying. It's like totally normal, and I don't want you to get all grumpy about it."

"Oh, I get grumpy, do I?" he asks as he leans over you. His large body envelopes yours on the mattress. He ducks down further to swallow your words up with kisses.

You hum into the exchange but pull back a little to finish your thought.

"Mhm, you do. And I just don't want you to feel that way cause I knew when we got together what I was getting into," you say.

Your confidence is so cute. You talk with absolute certainty, like you understand all there is to be understood about him. Like you'd known him forever and he hadn't been doing things like this for decades longer than you walked this earth.

His mouth crashes against yours again, his body weighing down on you and crushing you into the mattress. 

"You did, hm? You knew what you were getting into? You got with me thinking I wouldn't be able to give it to you how you need all the time?" he mutters against your skin.

"I didn't mean it like-"

"Didn't mean it like that? How'd you mean it then, sweetheart?"

"I dunno..."

"Doesn't sound like you knew what you were getting into to me," he breathes.

That little sentence that you'd said in an attempt to comfort him unlocked something between the two of you. He felt his cock waking up and pressing against his zipper, eager to get out and slide home. It's hard to register your clothes being pulled off when he's got his tongue in your mouth and his fingers playing with your clit. In no time at all, he's got the both of you bare and his cock nestled between your thighs.

Like he already knew, the issue last night had never been about lack of desire. And he intended to prove that to you, fuck you so good it wiped your memory of any placating word that fell from your lips.

He ruts into you hard. The mattress rocks on the bed frame and threatens to slide off. His dick is big and even though it's not a new sensation for you, each time you take it is a stretch. It's even more so when he pushes you up by the back of your knees. You whine as you're folded in half. His thrusts hit your sweet spot every time at this angle.

"Thought you knew what you were getting into?" he teases as he pistons himself in and out.

You mewl and bob your head, though you aren't sure if you're shaking your head or nodding.

"Fuckkkk, Logan. 'm sorry," you pant. Your walls squeeze tight around his shaft as your eyes close up. He made every part of your body contract and feel like it was moments from exploding.

He simply laughs at your apology. "Don't gotta be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm just showing you what happens when I get older."

His balls hang heavy and swing with each motion, clapping against your ass. The heat between your legs is enough to make you squirm. Constant whimpers pour from your lips as he fucks into you without mercy.

"I know," you moan, "You fuck me better than anyone else."

"That's right," he grunts, "Nobody else could fuck you like this. Just me."

"Mhm, just daddy," you slur and cling onto him tighter. Your arms hook around his neck and keep his sweaty skin flush against yours.

"Just daddy," he repeats, his tone smooth like silk despite his raspy voice, "You don't need anyone else. Not when I can take care of you like this."

His tip prods at your cervix, making you yelp and buck. He doesn't stop though, just keeps battering into you, hammering into your warm, wet hole.

"You don't need any little boys thinking they know how to handle you," he breathes and nuzzles your neck, "Your old man can handle you just fine, make you cum whenever you need."

A strangled cry leaves your lips. Your nails dig into his back so hard that it seems like you wanted to draw blood. His words just make you melt for him. Reduce you down to a compliant jumble of flesh for him to mold and play with how he wants.

"Needa cum right now, daddy," you whine.

"I know you do, spoiled girl. You act so understanding, but I know that little pussy is aching to cum around my cock. To get filled up with my cum," he murmurs.

You nod wildly.

He chuckles at your eagerness and snaps against you even harder.

"Hold on tight, baby," he whispers.

His hips ricochet off your ass, clapping against you with intensity that borders on violent. You squeal and hang on as directed. Your whole body rocks with his momentum. Your head bobbles around like it's empty, which it is. Empty of everything but him.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck," you whimper.

"Let it out for me. Let me feel you burst, pretty girl," he grunts as he continues plowing into you.

Your body rolls. Your hips vibrate with the ecstasy release brings you. It crashes over you in one intense wave, like a gallon of liquid euphoria being poured over you. Your eyes flutter, and you bury your face in his neck like he has his in yours.

He fucks you through it. Coos in your ear too. "That's my baby. My sweet girl. Always sound so pretty when you're cumming."

One of your hands flies up to clutch at his thick, dark hair. Keeping him close keeps the words flowing.

"Getting so tight for me, fuck. No one can make me cum like you, honey. Drains me dry every fucking time."

Moments later he spurts into you, unloading thick ropes of his spend inside you. You let out another moan from that sensation alone. He growls and pants against your skin, his hands locking you in place as his hips pummel into your cunt and make sure every last drop has been released.

He lingers on you for a few moments before pulling out. His body feels loose in the afterglow. He stands at the edge of the bed and looks down at himself and then you. He knows he's gonna have to clean you up. Your inner thighs are shimmery with a mix of fluids, and the bush of dark hair at the base of his cock is in the same condition.

"Time to shower, baby?" he asks and pats your leg. You don't respond at first and he smirks. "Or did I tire you out too much?"

You whine something incoherent and shift to turn your face against the blankets. His smug look grows. He crawls over you again and nips at your jaw, rubbing his nose against your cheekbone.

"You know, it's ok, sweetheart. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's totally normal for pretty little things like you. I knew that going in."

His tone mimics your soft and understanding one from earlier. You make a little growl and swat at his bicep.

“Shut up, old man.”

[edens-notesfromthegarden]

v1/zadkiel (oc) || spicy

[oc uses he/they]

the first time zadkiel touched v1, it needed time to recover.

on a day like no other, they had approached it in minos' home. a hop in their step and a smile on their face, he told it how curious he was about its design, and asked if he'd be allowed to take a closer look.

while with most people, it wouldn't allow them such an intricate look at its body, zadkiel had been staying with itself, gabriel and the two prime souls for some time now. it simply shrugged and got comfortable, allowing zadkiel to satiate their curiosity.

were the angel's touches intimate on purpose or accident? v1 couldn't tell, fans straining at the need to maintain its composure as zad explored its body. they were slow but methodical, so gentle and delicate in their tracings as if it were glass. the words of praise and awe did nothing to calm it either.

"hardlight technology is such a wonderous advancement," zadkiel mused, a hand upon v1's wings. he smoothed down one of the lit wings, and v1 failed to hide the whirring of its fans as fingers dipped inside, being so intimately aware they were in. "such a marvelous tool for the transportation of goods... was their purpose always for storing such intriguing weaponry? or have you found other means for them?"

a gentle nod. it was hard to fit much else in the wings with its weapons, but when it had the chance, it would pick up small trinkets and knick-knacks whilst exploring hell.

those hands were now further down, tracing the seams between metal plating. its fists were beginning to clench; an act to try and distract itself from how it felt. the hands danced on its hips, tracing the tubes that carried blood across its systems.

"such small tubes," zadkiel whispered. v1 could feel the warmth of the angel's face near its hip. "and yet... they do so much... they work so hard every day to keep such a wonderous machine running."

zadkiel's finger accidentally tugged on a few wires, caught in the seams. v1 jolted completely upright, wings flaring as it scrambled out of zadkiel's hold. the angel simply sat there, mildly surprised.

"ah, i'm so sorry, v!'' zadkiel was quick to apologise, "my fingers got caught, i hope i didn't hurt you at all!"

v1 was too flustered to admit that zadkiel had done the exact opposite, that it wanted him to dig his fingers further into its body. they signed that they had to go refuel in a quick manner, and practically bolted out of the room they were sat in, much to the calling of its name.

-----

it was later in the day now. zadkiel had found gabriel to lament over what had happened with v1.

"... and then i accidentally got my fingers caught in its wiring, and it ran on me! oh, i feel so bad, gabe!"

gabriel blinked for a few moments, before laughing. "zad, you don't realise what you actually did, do you?"

zadkiel paused his pacing.

gabriel paused to take a sip of his tea. "gods, that explains why v1 looked so flustered today. it practically begged me to help it out after what you did."

"wait, flustered? what do you-"

zadkiel's eyes went wide.

"oh."

gabriel chuckled watching zadkiel's expression shift into a fiendish grin. "oh boy, i recognise that smile. you're plotting."

"oh, whatever do you mean, dear gabby?" zadkiel crooned, hands clasping together. "no, little old me planning? with what you told me? no, definitely not!"

the taller angel let out a sigh. "just don't tease it for too long! i know from personal experience it can give twice as hard as it takes."

"and you know from personal experience that i don't break."

-----

for days, they committed to this dance: zad would get close to v1, they would touch it, and then it would run off looking for one of the other three in the house. minos and sisyphus had been informed of zadkiel's antics, so they were now playing along just as much as gabriel was.

fluster turned to frustration. v1 quickly realised that if those touches weren't purposeful the first time, they sure were now.

today, they come across one another in the library. that same chipper smile, that same hop in their step. they crouched down where v1 had been scanning through a history book, reading along with it for a few moments before finally making a move.

that hand smoothed up v1's wingpack, so slow and gentle, and that's when v1 finally snapped.

the book is shoved aside in its sudden movement, swivelling around and pinning that hand down on the floor with the knucklebuster. they laid there in silence, zadkiel only blinking as he watched v1's body shift, mimicking deep breathing.

"gosh, is everything alright, v1?" zadkiel asked, playing innocent.

"STOP TEASING ME." it signed.

"me? teasing?" zadkiel let out a laugh, "my apologies, v! i was only ever... curious."

from the way zadkiel's other hand traced down its chassis, it just knew they were bullshitting it. that hand quickly joined their other with the help of the whiplash, v1's optic now squinting at the angel beneath it.

"okay fine, maybe i was teasing you a little," zadkiel admitted. "but i promise that didn't start until after that first session!"

from underneath it, a leg snuck out from under v1 and hooked around its hip, pulling it closer.

"i have meant every word i've said though, v," the angel added quietly, "i think you're a marvellous machine... capable of so many wonderful things..."

for a moment, the only noise in the room was the heightened noise of v1's whirring fans. then a clicking noise, followed by hissing as a panel slid open and something pressurised against zadkiel's thigh. the angel let out a little gasp upon noticing the glowing member pressed against them.

"oh my, what a pretty looking thing you have there," they praised. "is that for me?"

"YES. PLEASE. CAN I?"

zadkiel laughed again. v1 felt one of their hands wiggle in its grasp, followed by metal tapping against the floor twice (the staff he always had, it realised), before zadkiel's pants de-manifested themselves, leaving his lower half naked. it stared at the folds that adorned the apex of zadkiel's thighs, before looking back up at the angel's face.

"well, what are you waiting for, v?"

[meepetteoneonly]

Snakes and Ladders: V.

Previous chapter: here

Also on AO3: here

Chapter summary:

Octavia's rent is due again and this time, her landlord seems to be serious about it. When she thought her life cannot suck more, it does. Astarion is a prick as usual, but this time, he actually manages to push Octavia over the edge.

TW:

Poverty. Money related stress. Sexual harassment at workplace.

Note:

I have never enjoyed slow burns and now I am writing slow burn I haven't even ignited yet. Sorry guys.

Persistent and by the sound of it hasty, angry knocking stirred Octavia awake and shoved her into another lovely morning. The entrance door vibrated under the vexing pounding. Whoever it was, they were stubborn. Pretending she's not home would turn into contest in patience and unfortunately, Octavia wasn't in mood for one. Not that she had time for it anyway. She wondered who could pay her a visit this early, but she narrowed all the options down to the only one. She huffed and growled once her feet touched the cold wooden floor.

"For the Fuck's sake!" She yelled as she was wrapping herself with a bathrobe. "I'm coming!"

Yet, the knocking didn't stopped until she finally opened. As expected, it was no one else than her landlord who took over her alarm clock's shift today. Fuck.

"Tav! Good morning to you too. Quite an early bird, aren't you?"

She let out a sigh that turned into a long yawn halfway. "What the hell is going on? What are you doing? You'll wake the whole building up!" She hissed, but she knew exactly what was going on. She was due with her rent. 

"I wouldn't worry about the building, Tav. I would worry about the rent you forgot to pay." He crossed his arms, chewing on his lower lip.

"Sure." She said. "Yes. The rent. I must have forgotten. You know, the Christmas last month and-"

"And Thanksgiving before. And Halloween… Of course I know how financially burdensome it is for someone who lives alone and goes out only for work."

Or more precisely - she was due with her rent again. Octavia knew that she cannot test his nerves much longer and exploit the privilege of having quite lenient landlord forever, but there was simply fire in need of extinguishing elsewhere. Being kicked out of her flat - that would be bad. But having both of her legs broken in some side alley - that would be worse. She had her priorities. 

"Come on! I know. I'm sorry. I'm gonna pay you next week, I promise!" She pleaded, her eyes digging into the wrinkles forming on his forehead.

"Tav! We have this conversation almost every month. How is it that you are broke all the time? You do have a job, don't you?"

"I do. It's just - I am sending almost everything I earn to my parents. They are sick." She said. 

He didn't believe her. She knew he didn't and he knew she knew he didn't. But he had Octavia for a smart woman, she worked at the court after all, so he guessed she had her reasons for coming up with such a stupid lie. 

"Sure." He said with doubts in every letter. "Whatever you say. Pay day is next Wednesday. If you don't pay it all until next Thursday morning, we are done." He said unusually firmly. 

Octavia's heart throbbed. "F-fine. Morning. Next Thursday. I promise. Really." She stammered. 

The landlord nodded. "Good. Have a nice day, then." 

"It better be." Octavia murmured and waved him goodbye. 

She closed the door gently and waited few moments, listening to receding footsteps in the hall. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. If it happened - if she didn't pay the rent at time, Shadowheart would probably let her sleep on her couch again, but that would be only temporary solution. Moreover, solution that would not solve anything at all. 

"Fuck!" She slammed her fist against the door. The old wood creaked and her scarf fell off the poorly attached peg near by. What a morning, she thought as she took the scarf into her shaking hands and hung it back. What a fucking morning.

- 

As Octavia was rushing towards the court building, she was already late. She spent the whole morning frantically walking around her little flat, looking for the bra she forgot she threw into laundry, keys that played hide-n-seek with her and her empty purse. It was simply one of those mornings when the whole world was against her and once she made it to the office, she became certain the rest of the day won't get any better. Astarion's self-righteous grin made her sure of it.

"Good morning, darling." He said, so certain and full of himself again. 

Over the past few days, Astarion was suspiciously quiet - well, less talkative - and kept his distance. Octavia would have almost thought he finally acknowledged her boundaries or may have even given up, but he was just about to prove her hopes false.

She raised her chin a little in response. But her subtle smile wasn't enough of gratitude for his interest it seemed. 

"Ah, silent treatment again I see. And I haven't even had a chance to do anything I would deserve it for. A simple 'Hi' wouldn't hurt you, don't you think?"

Octavia dropped her bag next to her desk and let all her weight fall into the chair. "Hi." She said, maintaining eye contact. 

"Oh, that's better, darling." Astarion chuckled. However, there wasn't a single emotion in her voice, definitely not the one he would like, or muscle movement in her face. Not even a hint of sympathy he craved so much. But he had a plan already. A nice, simple plan how to get under her skin. Or clothes, at least. 

"So - you look like you had quite a rough morning." He started anew. "Anything happened? Black cat crossed your way, perhaps?"

"I overslept." She put bluntly and reached for a folder overflowing with papers. At this point, Octavia was simply tired of his shit and with each letter said, Astarion was closer and closer to get his face smacked or balls kicked just as Mrs. Hanford from the filing office suggested. A wise woman indeed. But without money, certainty of the roof over head and any reasonable idea what to do with her life, Octavia couldn't afford the luxury of putting this creep in his place. So she dig into the work instead.

-

Time felt to be passing too fast. When afternoon came, Octavia had the impression she has done nothing. She sorted out the post, organized few files and started a new draft, but her attention kept jumping to her due rent. When she had to put new paper into her typewriter again, she was ready to pack it in for today. Her fingers slipped away from the keyboard, aching for a cigarette. Silence filled with unrelieved anger replaced her mechanical tapping. Slipping away earlier would be nice, but Astarion was still occupied with work and although he might not care for her leaving earlier, he would certainly give her some slimy compliment to go. So she sat behind her desk, smoking and stuck between options. 

Astarion has noticed Octavia was not herself today and it somewhat fascinated him. He wondered what it took to throw her of balance this much, because she was actually expressing emotions.  What a special occasion to wear forehead wrinkles, Astarion thought. She was glowering at her desk, her eyes cracking it to splinters. It seemed that the cigarette didn't help much as her shoulders were tensed as a strings. He decided to play them.

"It would scare me if I met you with this face in the middle of the night, you know? What's bothering you, darling?" He asked, observing her with his chin tucked in his palms as he was leaning over a thick case-law collection. 

"That's none of your business, Astarion." She said, her words followed with explicitly irritated exhale. Then she threw the butt away and silently lit herself another one. She should't have been thinking about it - she should have just left regardless any flirtatious bullshit he would have wave her good bye with.

"Come on, Octavia. We are friends here, are we not? A little court family, right?" He chuckled. "You can tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help."

Family. Octavia smirked. Last time any family cared about her was when her sister needed a life saving and quite a pricy surgery so it could be avoided to institutionalize her. It wasn't avoided in the end. Octavia still remembered silent scream for help in her pale eyes when she was forced to an ambulance. It is the best for her. It will be easier for all of us. 

Her hand froze halfway from her mouth. "You know what, Astarion?" She said with new, anger driven confidence. "You are bothering me. Among all other things, you are bothering me the most." 

"What?! Oh please, enlighten me, how specifically I bother you, Octavia?" He spat, as he slapped the book closed and crossed his arms.

She kept staring an him in silence. It was almost as if the burning tip of her cigarette was piercing the veil of his ever so smooth and charming persona that agitated her so badly. "All of these… shenanigans of yours. Can't you just find someone else for them?"

"Shenanigans? Excuse me? Wh- what shenanigans? Octavia, dear, I am merely trying to be your friend, to help you, you see? And  yet, all you do is spitting on my hand!"

"Friendship? Help?" Octavia raised her voice. "Since when do friendship or help equal to staring at my goddamn ass all the fucking time!?"

For a moment, Astarion was left breathless. In a dim light of his lamp, he resembled a wax figurine slowly coming to life, startled by the situation it woke up to. Utter disbelief that set in his face made him look comical, dumb even. Octavia wondered what shaken him more - her words themselves or that she managed to cripple his wit. Either way, she savored the moment. 

"Ah- are- aren't you a little… hysterical?" He said as he found his footing again. "I mean, you are clearly unwell."

Cigarette in her hand reached its end, but she kept holding it. "Hysterical? Are you serious?" She lowered her voice.

"Yes. One may say… that. B- but maybe - maybe you are just overworked."

She threw the cigarette away. "I'm done for today. I'm going home."

"Wait! Wait a minute!" Astarion blurted as she swiftly got up to take her coat. 

He quickly stepped between her and coat hanger and gently grabbed her shoulder. "I think, that you are overworked. You took no time off during Holidays and there you have it. So what about going to that City Hall auction with me?"

Octavia took a step back, brushing his hand off. "No, thank you." 

"Why not? You can't be all work no fun all the time! You- you just saw where it led to!" He got in her way again as she tried to go around him. 

"Because I don't want to. I don't want to go anywhere with you. I don't have anything to wear. Can you just-"

Astarion smiled. There she is. Ever so serious Octavia had nothing to wear. Poor girl. Fortunately, he had just recently obtained considerable sum of cash that may helped with such a insurmountable problem.

"-get off my way?" Octavia finally slipped around him, only for him to take her scarf away from her. "Give it back." She growled.

As she tried to snatch the scarf, Astarion caught her hand. "You are going to accompany me to the Auction. And you are going to wear something nice." He said and pressed a pack of banknotes into her palm. 

[cherrieguroo]

um this is my alr typed out desc of vic but if you wanna know more past this lmk!!! this is as of ep3 i think um there has been More.

his deal. he was a normal happy teenager living with his mom and dad, and i think little sister? maybe, and he would hang out with his friends and go on cute little dates with his gf.

but then the riddler floods gotham, and vic's parents die and his house is gone. so now, he's left to fend for himself on the streets and it's been a couple weeks or smth. and he and some other kids try to steal the tire rims of this rich guy's car.

the guy catches them and scares them all off, but stops vic when he hears his stutter. turns out the guy is the penguin, a famous like. crime mob guy or wtv. he has this club. anyway. he's called the penguin cause he's got a bad leg that's like painfully bent and misshapen and when he walks, he waddles. penguin. oz decides not to kill vic and instead takes him in and makes him his personal driver.

vic was literally held at gunpoint five secs ago and now bro is joking around with him and stuff. while also making threats and shit. it's all v confusing to vic. he feels kidnapped. he's basically kidnapped.

so, oz kills this guy, alberto. who's the son of the biggest crime family in gotham. and his sister is not okay with this. oz lies to her and gaslights her into working with him. and vic is there too. he makes this small little innocent mistake. and oz makes him dig a grave for the bodies and spend the night in said hole. fuck oz bro i hate oz. poor vic.

some time has passed and vic's gf finds him and is like, my family's moving to california. come with us. please. you'll be safe and away from here. you have nothing left here, come with me.

so he tells oz he's leaving. and it's kinda emo. bc oz got attached to this kid. even if he didn't rlly show it. but he lets him go. and he goes. and he gets so close. he almost gets on the bus with her. but at the last minute, he goes back to oz. and rams the car into some guy. and i think that's what we've last seen of him. yeah.

words are failing me rn but holy fuck wow i. ive seen posts on my dash about this and finding out its not about an actual penguin was a surprise for some reason. anyways wth poor kid is going through it. also fuck oz??? wth??

[himebushou]

So I watched Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury in 24 hours — some scrambled thoughts below.

Ep 1.  The visuals of The Witch from Mercury... wow.  And I had such chills when Aerial used the shield.  What a gorgeous Gundam!  And ahh — the tomato stuff was so cute.

Ep 2.  The worldbuilding!!  It's amazing that they literally explain nothing to the audience fjdkdm and wow the way they play with gravity is something (though a bit inconsistent).

Ep 3.  I love this soundtrack and WOW PROSPERA IS SULETTA'S MOOOM — I felt sorry for Guel in this ep and I liked the strong stance against AI LOL but wow, Guel taking Suletta extending her hand as an opportunity to propose marriage is just.  BOY.

And phew, the mobile suits are stunning... I really want to know why the Cathedra Agreement outlawed Gundams.  Poor Gundams are always punished for some reason or other.  :(

Ep 4.  Bloody hell Chu-Chu nearly KILLED those girls FUDIKDK

Ep 5.  Some Elan character development and SHEESH IT'S DARK.  Also, I love how diverse the character designs are.

Wait.  HOW is Elan allowed to use a Gundam without people freaking out fhdjd like hello???  And is is a witch anyone who pilots a Gundam?  Who are the enhanced human beings?  What is going on!!!

Ep 6.  Okay I love the little slumber party at Earth House tbh these girlies are so sweet and supportive — WHOA WHAT.  CLONES?  FACE STEALING?  HUHHHHH????

I thought Elan was gonna die in front of Suletta or something but they just killed him??????

Ep 7.  Man, Miorine forming that company and getting investment was really moving... and we finally get confirmation thar Aerial is a Gundam.  Tbh, I'm pretty surprised that the lives of pilots are prioritised so much in this world.  Hmm.

Ep 8.  It was cool to see all the business stuff being taken seriously and to finally get sort of confirmation that a witch is anyone involved with Gundams (honestly the title is a massive chunk of the reason why I picked up the show; it's so cool).  But man, I'm wondering what direction they'll take for the last few eps of the season... that's obviously too short a time to have any significant progress in developing medical tech.

Felt bad for Guel in this ep... and what is Shaddiq's deal, anyway?

Ep 9.  Yahoo, another battle!  All the Grassley House drama was interesting to watch (the name makes me think they should be running a gym in Pokémon).  The nature of Suletta's bond with Aerial seems to be changing... interesting.

Ep 10.  Flipping heck, the new Elan is a lot??  I'm glad that we got this lil timeskip to progress the plot — the prosthetic legs are definitely v. cool.  BUT WHAT IS THIS INTRIGUE with Shaddiq and Nika?

Ep 11.  Hot dig there was a lot happening in this but flipping heck I'm honestly so sad that Suletta didn't get to have lunch... and that might actually impact her piloting skills if she has to use Aerial in the next ep because she needs to be in good physical and mental condition?

Someone save Guel what the heck!

Ep 12.  Wow so much death in this ep!

- Miorine's daddy dies trying to save her (presumably — I don't think he'll live)

- Guel kills his own daddy in a weird twist of fate

- And Suletta???  I'd seen the mentions of Suletta killing someone in cold blood but that was GRUESOME.

What a way to end a season!

Ep 13.  Miorine seems to be keeping her distance following the last ep, which makes sense... Sophie is kind of an annoying character tbh.  I'm wondering how all of these different threads will come together, what with Earth folk vs Spacians, the Gundams' true forms and all the stuff with the Big Three.

Ep 14.  She turned her daughter into a Gundam?!?  What?!?!?

PROLOGUE.  I'm a goof djdjd I skipped the prologue because I figured it wouldn't really add to the story but I just watched it and everything makes so much more sense now fhdj what a dummy

Ep 15.  Man, Guel is shaping up to be a rly interesting character.  I feel for this boyo.

This ep was good; it was interesting to see the Earth stuff (although I am losing track of ppl's motivations).

NOREA IS SCARY.

Ep 16. Guel is back and taking matters into his own hands!

Man, seeing the extent to which Suletta is brainwashed is pretty scary.  I'm glad that Miorine confronted prospera directly...

Ep 17.  Oh geez, that duel!  Definitely emotionally-charged...

I really want everyone to find out the truth about Elan already...

Ep 18.  The Elan reveal dropped like a lead balloon and I'm mad that they didn't do more with that moment.

BUT WOW.  When the Gundam itself is accidentally the villain...?

This anime has so many themes linking to a notion of people only being important when they have utility and it's just so sad...

Ep 19.  I'm feeling a bit frantic because there are only 5 eps left and these chars are so bad at communicating with each other djdjjd like to this point there isn't anyone who knows the full story.

Ep 20.  Whoa... whoa.  The level of destruction in this episode?  All the feelings being aired?  All the death?  This was so —

And man, I didn't realise that I had been missing out on end of episode illustrations! This one of Norea and the fifth Elan is heartbreaking...

Ep 21.  Petra is alive!  For now, at least.

I cried a few tears when Suletta told everyone the truth about herself — and whoa, the power of Quiet Zero was SOMETHING.  But damn, I think they really wasted the Elan revelation AGAIN: Nika's outburst was so vague and there was basically zero reaction from the others, even when he barged in.  Considering the horror of Number 4's death sceen, they really just... kind of shrugged it off?  Even though there are so many parallels between Elan and Suletta.  Sighs.

Ep 22.  Finally... a conversation between Suletta and Elan, mostly off-screen, but at least it happened.

One thing that's odd is how everyone seems to have a secret Gundam hidden up their sleeve. Like it was weird enough to find out about Schwarzette but Calibarn literally came from nowehere lol

Ep 23.  I feel a bit dopey because a lot of technical stuff happened in this episode and I didn't really follow/understand it, lol... like Miorine recoding the password?  Huh?

Man, when I thought Landa had killed Guel I was SAD but then I was pleased to see Felsi for like the first time lololol

Ep 24.  A very flashy ending — the visuals were super cool!  And things ended well for everyone (except Shaddiq); the epilogue demonstrated that there was still work to do.  Guel working for OG Elan Ceres is pretty hilarious

AND MAN, dead Elan appearing was a welcome surprise!

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Hmm.

So yeah, on the whole, it was a very good and enjoyable show, though not one that really gripped me, I suppose (though I did watch the whole thing in a day, so maybe I didn't give myself enough time to absorb what was happening).  Some things felt a tad convoluted towards the end.

I thought the scenes where the characters were crying or having difficulties in their Gundams were really, really well done. And there was a lot of sweetness between different characters, especially Earth House. But yeah... I guess it felt like there were some missed opportunities (like we probably could have looked at the events of Episode 12 a bit more — there were some viewer theories that "Gain two" was some sort of trigger phrase for Suletta that sent her into a trance and this idea was glossed over pretty quickly, despite Suletta and Miorine having a heart-to-heart in the greenhouse).

The tech was freaking cool, so I enjoyed that aspect a ton!

It might just be that I'm currently on more of a nostalgia kick, lol.

[leo-interactive-fiction]

What would happen if Mc baked their LI a cake as a birthday surprise, but it turned out to be the foulest cake out there because MC just sucks at cooking

Haha let's see...

----

At E takes a bite of the cake, their face phases through several expressions before settling with a forced smile, "I-It's, uh..."

You're excitement slowly fades, "Is it...not good?"

"N-No, no! It's good! Er...great? Y-Yeah?"

You look incredulous, "Why does it sound like a question?"

E shakes their head vehemently, "I-I was just surprised! I love it! Really! I-It's...the best cake...because you made it for me..."

E begins shoveling the near inedible slice of cake into their mouth. It made you happy in the moment, even if you could hear them puking up their food poisoning an hour later.

-----

"You baked me a cake?" R's eyes widen in surprise, "You didn't have to do all that. My birthday isn't...that...uh..." Rs voice slowly tapers off as they see you bringing over the 'cake'.

It looks like someone mixed the cake batter with bits of gravel and threw in a pipe bomb during the baking process for good measure. You somehow managed to sear the top into a black charcoal while keeping the bottom a doughy undercooked lump.

R's voice sounds almost apologetic and pleading, "You really didn't have to...I don't deserve this..."

------

L looks down at their plate for a long while, eventually finding their voice after a moment of contemplation, "Um...uh...I-I am not too familiar with the culinary practices, but, well, is it...supposed to look like this?"

"Like what? It looks like cake, right?" You say with complete confidence.

L looks nearly perturbed as they return their eyes back down at the food, "O-Oh, this is cake? W-Well, yes, I suppose I can see a...resemblance...somewhere...a little?" They would feel too bad telling you that they thought it was a completely different dish entirely.

-------

V has to take a slight pause as they taste the food, the fork still stuck in their mouth for a moment before they reach for another bite.

"...it's good."

"Really?!" You celebrate, happy that you finally made a good cake. It's true that V enjoys the taste, but your excitement clouds you from the reality that relying on the opinion of someone that eats grass mulch and bugs isn't the best decision for your culinary development.

It doesn't stop you from savoring the victory now, though.

------

P knows better than to judge something before they taste it. That being said, once they taste the 'cake', it immediately becomes 'garbage' as they toss the entire tray in the can, along with the dishes and any utensils you used to make it. They've become angry enough that they've popped something and doubled back to being calm.

"I've never seen this in my fucking life...How the fuck did you manage to undercook and overcook batter? I am genuinely impressed at the level of stupid you managed to show me today. You're actually the first person I've ever thought to say this to, but I really wish you could've been born smarter so you could realize and contemplate how extraordinary of a fuck up you made."

---------

M takes a small, tentative bite of the abomination before quickly spitting it out. As you're about to take your own bite, M's hand darts across the table to stop you. It's the fastest you've ever seen M move, and you could barely even register the blur before M's hand knocks the fork out of your hand and across the room.

They slowly recede back into their seat, dabbing their mouth with a napkin and giving you a gentle smile, "It's...not...good..."

"O-Oh...you could've just said that instead..."

"You were...in danger...so I...got a little...scared..."

You look down guiltily, "H-Hey, come on, it couldn't have been that serious..."

"It's...very...not...good..." M emphasizes.

--------

Raven stares at the cake for a moment before digging in happily. You look down at them expectantly as they wolf down the food.

"Is it good?"

"No!" Raven replies honestly, giving you a bright, wide smile, "But...that's alright! Because I treasure everything you give to me..."

Your expression drops into a guilty one, "You don't have to keep eating if it's bad..."

"It's really bad! I can't lie to you about it...but you wanted me to enjoy it, didn't you? So I'll enjoy it even if it's bad, because I can enjoy anything if I know it makes you happy..." Raven continues eating the cake despite the flavor, a wide smile plastered on their face as they seem genuinely contented in their choices.

------

S takes a small bite of the cake before their entire body revolts and rejects it, spasming in its attempt to spit it back onto the place and throw the plate away.

They take a moment of silence to recollect themselves before facing you, "Hey, so uh...sorry 'bout this, but I don't think ya should be doin' the whole...cookin' thing. Did you uh...make anything else for today? No?"

There's a visible sigh of relief throughout S's entire body, and you think you can see them thanking some divine for their benevolence. They quickly return to their cheery self.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, let's make sure no one else eats...Oh, shit, no! Everyone already took a slice!

--------

F's nose upturns in clear disgust when you present the slice of cake to them.

"...Are you insulting me?"

"I-It's your birthday cake..." you murmur.

"Yes, I very well understand what it is attempting to represent..."

You glance away, slightly insulted, "You could at least taste it first...

F prods the inedible mass with their fork before collecting a bite and holding it up to you with a menacing smile, "You are confident enough in your own creation, yes? You will not be leaving until you clean both my plate and your own... and afterward, you can tell me all about how it tastes. I will take your word..."

-----

Thank you for the ask haha, I enjoyed it

[crazy4myself]

No Harm List | Pt. 13

Word count: 5k

Warnings: Violence, explicit language,

Summary: You live in a city where crime runs rampant. One day, you save a young boy’s life, not knowing that he is the most powerful crime lord's heir. And you have just been put on the no harm list.

Beta reader: @punkisnotdead2318

Banner: @bangtanloverboys

A/N: hello lovelies I am back! And posting this from my cellphone so sorry if this formatting is shit I’m doing my best. I’m a married and working woman now so writing is a bit harder in my new phase of life but I hope to continue bringing you this story 💕

UPDATED 3/26/24

Masterlist

————————————————

✨Plz reread pt 12 for maximum drama✨

It was a quiet night in for Seokjin.

A luxury he planned to milk for all it’s worth as he settled into a recliner with the book he’s had for months, but never got around to reading.

Namjoon locked himself in his study tending to god knows what business, but with Yoongi hiding out for the next few days, he knew his lover could only keep himself busy for so long.

Maybe he could convince Namjoon to turn in early this evening, this was the first time in a long time they had the house to themselves.

Hoseok’s mission this morning was mostly a success, but the potential spotting by cops and their ability to trace the security camera’s signal disruption back to Yoongi had both men hiding in a safe house for the next few days. If he thought about it for too long, Jin was unnerved that Tate Hyde’s team bothered to trace Yoongi’s surveillance back to him and send out cops to hunt down Hoseok.

They had arranged for this event to happen after all, and while a wild goose chase made the event more believable, this goose chase wasn't wild at all, it was accurate. Suga and J-Hope planted strategic evidence to get the cops off their trail. But the investigators blew right past it and Jin’s sources confirmed both men were on the suspect list. They may have to actually find a shooter to use as a scapegoat if the cops don't end their digging.

Before Jin could even finish the book's first chapter, his phone rang. He sighed as he recognized the number from V’s burner phone and swiped to answer.

“Thank you for calling Domino’s” Jin greeted, partly as a joke, partly because answering the phone with “hello this is Kim Seokjin of BTS” would definitely blow V’s cover if he was caught.

“Pull in your men,” V ordered, breezing past any kind of pleasantries. He didn't even huff a laugh at Jin’s joke.

“Why?” Jin asked suddenly on alert.

V had been in deep cover in the Black Tips territory for the better part of two weeks now. And his involvement there had been vital for BTS to stay ahead and avoid any other major attacks while they were still recovering from the shooting at the Bulletproof.

“Fin sent out some of his top guys this evening, and they haven’t come back yet. And someone in his inner circle just bragged that they’re taking a hit on BTS tonight. Call in anyone on the street and warn Bulletproof to be on high alert.” V briefed.

“How long ago did his men leave?” Jin asked, already typing out a message to Jungkook and Jimin, both were out taking care of a big shipment of methamphetamines in the warehouse district this evening. If the deal went south, BTS would take a massive hit. But not as bad as if Jungkook or Jimin were hurt during it.

“Just over an hour ago. Tell Suga to have his eyes everywhere he can, but don’t have anyone on the street.” V continues.

Jin responded as he finished his text to Jungkook “Suga’s offline for the rest of the week.”

“What? Why?”

“He and J-Hope have to lay low, you don’t need any more details.” Jin explained as he reached for the tablet on the coffee table. There was no need for V to have any major updates on BTS’s plans while in deep cover like he was.

His cousin cursed under his breath, “Well, get Jungkook or someone on surveillance.”

“I’m on it right now, is that all you have to report?” Jin asked as he opened up the surveillance feed from the tablet, checking out the lobbies of the Bulletproof Casino first.

“Not at the moment. If they send a second group out to help clean up whatever damages they caused, I’ll try to get in on it and report back afterwards.” V responded, Jin could hear the tension in his voice.

“Don’t do anything too reckless, and don't worry, with this heads up I doubt there will be any messes,” Jin assured.

V grunted in agreement, not wanting to accept the pity praise his cousin offered him. He was about to give his goodbye and hang up when he heard Jin cuss.

“What is it?” V demanded.

Jin was silent for a moment as he took in what he saw on SugarDaddy’s security cameras. His heart sank at the sight of the wreckage.

“They’re in the bakery, it’s totally wrecked and it’s smoking like it might be on fire.” Jin explained as he moved to the cameras in the kitchen hoping they would still be in use. He was confused to see four men wandering around the kitchen, directionless, with no signs of wanting to leave.

“Shit.” V hiss, realizing he dismissed a very important asset. “Who closed?” V asked, already dreading the answer.

“Ella, but she must have gotten out because-” he cut himself off as he checked the final camera to the lab where he saw you pacing before taking a swig from a glass vial. “Taehyung, can you get out of there and to the bakery without getting caught?” Jin asked, his voice so serious it made V’s blood go cold.

“Yeah, I’m right on the edge of the sixth ward.”

“I’m heading there now,” Jin said, getting up and making his way to Namjoon’s office. “Jungkook and Jimin will be on their way. We’ll meet you there.”

And with that order, the line went dead.

------

The sound of the disoriented intruders rang clear through the bulletproof door to the lab.

You took a deep breath to steady yourself before pulling the trigger on another gas canister, opening the door, and launching it into the kitchen. The bakery was hazy with the smoke now, but you could see the silhouettes of four men in the clouds.

They grew quieter as the effects of the gas began to set in.

You made your way for the one nearest to you, he was swaying- lost to the influence of the smoke. If slight exposure made someone as disoriented as you experienced first hand, you couldn’t imagine what prolonged exposure at this intensity could do to them.

He didn’t even seem aware of your approach as you snuck up on him and made quick work of jumping on his back and wrapping your arm around his throat; pressing down on the back of his head while squeezing the column of his neck.

He let out a strangled sound of surprise at the attack, reaching up and clawing at your forearm.

The other three men were startled at the sound, but instead of coming to their partner’s aid they abandoned them and made their way back out to the kitchen.

You gritted your teeth, squeezing tighter in an effort to keep your grip. The man under you bucked, trying to throw you off him, growing more frantic as the pressure into his head grew.

You felt a rush as he tipped onto his back crushing you under him. Your vision exploded into stars at the impact, but you forced yourself to keep your grip even as his weight knocked the wind out of you.

Finally, his thrashing ceased and he went limp in your arms.

You ignored the ache of your muscles as you released the tension in your arms and crawled out from under the gangster’s weight. The towel you wrapped around your face already hanging limply around your throat. You pulled it off quickly before it felt like a phantom arm wrapping around your own throat.

It seemed that whatever antidote Jimin had made in his lab was working so far. Other than slight discomfort caused by breathing the thick air you were left unaffected by the effects of the smoke. You made quick work of getting up and taking in your surroundings, adrenalin still pumping through your veins as you look for your next target in the hazy kitchen.

A loud shout rang out from the front of the store, and a looming figure made its way through the kitchen doors easily maneuvering around the bakers’ rack. He wasn’t built like any of the others you saw this evening.

Did they send for backup?

Spine straight despite the thick smoke curling around him. He made his way towards you, his gait so confident it filled you with unease.

Was it possible for a member of the BlackTips to be immune to Jimin’s smoke?

You moved into a fighting stance, centering your weight as the figure got closer, reaching an arm out for you. You didn’t hesitate before wrapping your hand around his wrist, pivoting in place, and launching his body over your shoulder. You flipped the man onto the ground.

He landed with a loud smack but kept his grip on your own arm taking you down with him. You lost your balance, toppling on top of him and landed nose to nose with Jeon Jungkook.

“Glad to see you remember what I taught you.” He greeted, with a smirk.

—————

Jungkook and Jimin were already driving back to the den by the time Jin called. The deal had happened fast without any hiccups. And they decided to take the product back to the Den for safekeeping until they knew it was impossible for the warehouse to get breached despite the new security system.

They were just a few blocks from the downtown side of the seventh ward when Jin broke the news about Sugar Daddy.

Jungkook didn’t hear anything else once Jin mentioned you were still trapped inside. He pressed the pedal to the ground, tires screeching as he sped to the bakery.

For a moment, his mind was scarily quiet. Y/N was at the bakery, trapped in Jimin’s lab while some punks wrecked the area.

It seemed simple enough. Get there, take down the guys, and get to Ella.

Jimin’s lab was one of the most secure rooms Yoongi had designed. The door was bulletproof, as long as she was in there she was safe.

But a countless number of ‘what if’s’ began to creep into his thoughts.

Jimin stayed on the line with Jin, getting information on the men and the condition of the bakery before he ended the call and immediately reached to reload their guns.

“Did he say how many men were in there?” Jungkook asked as they pulled onto the road. Headlight shone behind him and he knew it was Jin and RM catching up.

“Four.” Jimin answered.

And that’s all he needed to know as he pulled up to the wrecked building.

The sound of screeching tires caught the attention of one of the thugs, the welcome bell chiming as he pushed the door open and tried to escape down the sidewalk.

Snatching the gun out of Jimin’s hand, Jungkook barely put the car in park before he was out and making a start to run after the deserter.

Suddenly, out of the shadows, V’s long form appeared, grabbing the man mid-run and pinning him against the wall in one hard motion.

“Marcus, you’re fucking dead.” V growled into the man's face.

“You got him?” Jimin called, making his way toward the two, gun pointed at the pinned culprit.

Considering that situation under control, Jungkook turned his focus back to the bakery, gun in hand as he made his way inside with Seokjin and RM.

Everyone knew Jin wasn’t one for violence. He avoided it when he could, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of holding his own. He just had the most restraint out of the seven of them.

At the sight of wreckage, Jungkook watched a look of devastation flash across Jin's face as he took it all in before it morphed into a cold rage.

There was a large man behind the counter looking as if he was trying to break into the register.

The sweet smell in the air told Jungkook that Y/N laced it with some of Jimin’s gas. He grabbed the bandana that was around his neck and pulled it over his nose. This must be why the thugs were slow to react to their entrance.

“Stay alert,” Jungkook cautioned the others as he held his gun up at the man waiting for Jin and RMs orders on what to do next.

Jin stormed right past him, grabbing the man by his shirt and pulling him over the counter to his side of the coffee bar. The man flailed and his leg got caught, but with a feral grunt and a hard tug Jin slammed the man on the ground, before kneeling down and slugging the intruder in the jaw with all his might.

Jungkook and RM both winced at the sound.

The sound of Ella and a man's shout echoed from the kitchen and Jungkook was instantly in motion, he could barely open the kitchen door thanks to a bakers rack acting as a failed barricade.

The smoke in the room still hung thick in the air, but you were still visible as you pulled your body from under one of the fallen men who Jungkook realized was unconscious.

Jungkook sighed with relief and pride, both flooding his chest as he moved towards you; cautiously, not wanting to scare you any more than you already were.

He should have seen how that could have come off as intimidating, should have said something to reassure you that you were safe now.

So he was more frustrated with himself when you flipped him as hard as you did. He was honestly impressed with your technique and the fact that you were still awake with so much smoke in the air.

“What the hell are you doing here?” You snapped, pulling back in shock. Your hand was still curled into a fist, your breathing restricted to short pants.

“Saving your ass” he explained like it was obvious.

“Saving me? No, I needed saving 45 minutes ago. I'm handling the situation.”

He opened his mouth to argue when you heard another loud shout from the front of the shop.

“It’s Jin and RM. They’re outnumbered, but don’t worry.” Jungkook assured as you pushed yourself off him to get up. His body yearned for your warmth against him again.

He didn’t realize until this moment how scared he was.

But you were safe, and that's all he could think about.

You were safe. You were safe. You were safe. Not only were you safe, but you successfully protected yourself from four men.

He waited a moment, taking in your cautious expression as you hauled yourself up, eyes skimming over the destruction of the room. You stood to your full height and offered Jungkook a hand.

“Ella are you okay? How many were there?” He asked pushing up with you.

“Four, but I knew one of them.”

“Did they touch you?” He asked a fierce protectiveness in his eyes so unguarded it took her off guard.

“No I’m-“ you took a moment to glance at the unconscious man behind her, shocked to realize they hadn’t, not really. You won this fight. That reassurance steeled you and gave you the strength to look in his eyes. “No, nothing I couldn’t handle, apparently.” The concern didn’t leave Jungkook’s eyes and as he stepped towards you. You instantly pulled back, “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” assured again, unable to handle any kind of comfort right now.

There was a low thud and a groan.

You and Jungkook both turned to see the fourth man who they didn’t even realize was still in the room leaning heavily against the countertop as he rose. He must have been hiding or the smoke knocked him near unconscious.

He was clearly disoriented, leaning heavily to his left like a drunk man walking with a tilt. But his face was determined as he reached for the gun strapped to his side.

It felt like time froze as you took in the situation. Instantly, Jungkook was reaching for his gun too, and fear spiked in your chest at the potential of either one of these men firing off a shot this close.

You slammed your shoulder into Jungkook, knocking him off balance as you reached for the broom against the wall. Jungkook yelled out in protest but in two quick movements, you secured the broom, stepped forward, and smacked the intruder’s arm that was supporting his weight on the countertop. He cursed as he lost his balance nearly collapsing. Another step forward and you kicked him onto the ground snatching the gun out of his belt before he had time to react.

“Stay down!” You ordered the man while pressing the end of the broom into his sternum, right between where his ribs met. You knew the pressure would be uncomfortable enough for him to not try to push up against it in his state.

The man lifted both his arms in surrender and laid flat on his back pliant.

Jungkook took in the scene with his mouth agape. He did not teach you that.

“Are you going to help?” You snapped at him.

He blinked rapidly before stepping forward aiming his gun at the man as he did.

“You’re in a room full of knives and you use a broom as your wepon?” he questioned teasingly.

“I thought you would be happy I kept my shoes on.” you teased back, “and put that thing away.” you ordered pointing at the gun, “You’re going to kill somebody if you shoot from this close a range.”

Jungkook held his tongue to keep himself from saying ‘That’s the point.’ and settled with “Can you go tell the guys to bring me some rope so I can tie this one up?”

You agreed before stepping out into the wrecked shop where Taehyung and RM were now tying up three unconscious men.

“Ella are you okay,” immediately you were wrapped into a hug from Jimin you stiffened before melting into his welcomed warmth and hugging him back. The weight of what tonight meant for your friend settling in your gut.

V stood up at your entrance, his expression unreadable, but after assessing that you were not physically hurt he pushed past you and into the kitchen to help Jungkook offering you a single nod as he passed.

“Jimin I don’t know what happened. I couldn’t stop them” you pulled away to turn to a sullen Seokjin “Jin I’m so sorry” your voice was thick but you refused to let tears well in your eyes.

The gang needed you to stay composed at this moment. You needed to keep it together for yourself. This was their safe space and it had been wrecked because you got too sassy with your interrogator.

“Y/N, stop,” Jin had his hands on both your cheeks as tears began welling in your eyes you began shaking your head no as if that could stop them. “Y/N. You’re safe and that’s all I could care about right now. Let’s get you home before you go into shock.”

“I’ll take her,” Jungkook said making his way out of the kitchen.

Jin hesitated.

“V is finishing up the guys in the kitchen, he said he was going to take them to the greenhouse with RM. You and Jimin should both work on damage control for this. Let me take Ella back to the Den so she can get a breather before you question her.” Jungkook negotiated.

Jin looked at you as if asking for permission and you nodded in silent agreement before following Jungkook out into his car.

“Adjust the temperature however you need,” Jungkook offered already reaching to turn on the heated seat. And you realized you were shaking.

You fiddled with the knobs silently adjusting the temperature the way you liked before settling back into the seat and looking out the window. You knew you should be scared and your thoughts should be racing a mile a minute. But your head was empty. Your adrenalin was crashing and you felt numb as if you were watching yourself outside your body. Not numb you felt defeated and powerless.

You had successfully protected yourself from four men, sure. But you felt helpless to the fact that a group of men could barge in at any moment to question you. You felt like it was out of your power to prevent something like that from ever happening again.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Jungkook finally asked breaking the silence.

“Not yet,” you muttered.

“Ella,” Jungkook sighed and you knew he didn’t want to push you, “I don’t want to pressure you. But you should be trying to remember everything you can before the effects of the gas really start to set in. You were exposed to a lot.”

“I took Jimin’s antidote and it worked. I don’t feel any different,” you replied but your voice sounded hollow even to yourself. You wanted to sound more alert, feel more alert after everything that's happened. A part of you wished that you could take an Adderall right now. That would wake you up and probably get you to be more responsive to what the gang needs. But your pills were in your purse which you left in the bakery. You left everything in the bakery: your purse, your phone, your keys.

“How much did you take?” Jungkook asked surprised. The antidote was something Jimin has been working on nonstop since the night of your graduation party.

“All of it I think.”

Jungkook kept his face neutral. He didn’t know anything about chemistry or how the chemicals would affect you. But made a mental note to ask Jimin about any potential side effects or if it was possible to overdose on the antidote.

“Still can you please tell me what happened? Try to picture this from my point of view,” he begged.

You sighed, you knew you should comply despite the way his request annoyed you. Everything about him annoyed you at the moment. You didn’t want to look at anything from his point of view, you were still mad at him for the way he’s been acting for weeks.

Seeing him in the bakery made you feel so much relief. You had been fighting for your life and he was a life preserver cast out in the water for you. A sense of safety. And for a moment everything felt natural the way he joked with you in the midst of a fight You had forgotten about the kiss or the way he tormented you these past weeks. But now that you were alone with him in the safety of his car you felt yourself being thrown right back into the seas of confusion.

But you couldn't let such petty things distract you right now he did deserve answers.

So you gave him a quick and dirty version, “Some dude came into the bakery to ‘talk’ with me. He offered to free me from BTS, pay off my debt, and some other pretty bribes in exchange for spying on BTS. I told him no and he had his goons wreck the bakery. They got a little excited and tried to come after me so I hid in Jimin’s lab and well you know the rest.”

For one peaceful moment, Jungkook was silent as he processed everything you said and turned into the main entrance of the Den. But as they approached the garage all the questions flooded out.

Who was questioning you?

How did they know you were affiliated with BTS?

What did they look like?

Did they say what their motive was?

Did they threaten you?

And your answer was “I don't know” for each one except the last, which to your shock was no. The man had not threatened you directly he only tried to bribe information out of you.

“Jungkook, I’m done for now.” you sighed as you followed him into the kitchen.

“You told the guys I get a breather before they question me and I want it.”

Jungkook bit his tongue to halt himself. He wanted to push you and tell you this information was very important for your safety and everyone else's. But you were right him finding out now versus him finding out in a few minutes when everyone gets back won’t make a difference.

With a sigh, he nodded “You’re right. So what do you want to talk about?” he asked sitting down on the couch next to you. It was important he kept you talking. He was scared if he left you to your own thoughts you would retreat in that little shell inside yourself. You always got quiet when you were stressed, but Jungkook knows from experience if he can distract you or keep you talking you can push past that defense.

He didn’t expect you to have an answer. So already he was wracking his brain for conversation topics. Something stimulating and engaging but also not too silly. He was taken completely off guard when he heard your soft voice ask, “Why did you avoid me?”

He looked at you surprised and you held his gaze as if you could read the answer in his eyes. He glanced away guiltily.

“Why did you avoid me after we kissed?” you asked again your voice clear.

Please comment and reblog to support my content

I’m a Leo I need validation 🥲

[killemwithkawaii]

Okay, so, I sometimes ageregress and I think Sal would too tbh. If you don't know what ageregressing is, it's basically age play without the sexual undertones (dressing up, being in the mindset of a child, having childish interest but more like an episode, you are still a functioning adult). Since Sal didn't get to be a child for that long because of the accident and bullying he could be a child with me as an adult fbjsicjsjsj

It would be so adorable to see him play with action figures or having tea parties with his s/o and plushies TvT

And Larry would be probably really chill about that too. Just imagine lil Sal talking really excitedly about his favorite color and Larry being like: "Woah, dude, that's so sick. Blue n pink really are special my guy"

It would be so adorable drzhdgjg >v<

I've actually answered an ask about Sal being an age regressor! Here's some more headcannons about it:

Sal as an age regressor-

[CW: SFW age regression/ little space, mentions of past trauma and abuse]

>This is likely something Sals therapist recommended when medication wasn't quite cutting it for him. Now that Sal's an adult and has the power and competence to make his own decisions, age regression could be a way for him to reclaim that part of his life where he was put into bad situations and didn't have any sort of control over how things turned out. He can use it as a tool to try and experience some of the childhood joy that was robbed of him when he was actually a kid in a safe and comfortable setting, free of grief, trauma, bullying, hospital stays, and adults with substance abuse problems.

>I'd expect him to regress to around the age he was when he got his injury to a few years older (a general range, probably not a specific age).

>It would probably be really hard for him to get into the mindset. Letting down his guard and forgetting about his self-consciousness and personal baggage takes a lot of practice, plus acting like a kid can dig up some bad memories by association. Most of the time, he half-regresses- not too big to relax and enjoy himself, but not too small to defend himself and snap back to being 'big' if need-be.

>He'd be EXTREMELY hesitant to let anybody know about his age regression or see him regressing, let alone be his caretaker, because it's such a vulnerable mindset to be in (he got enough shit when he was actually a kid, he doesn't need anybody judging him for acting childlike on top of all the other stuff people judge him for as an adult). Gizmo is the one exception, since he's been a major source of comfort for Sal since he was an actual child.

>A fellow age regressor would have better luck catching a glimpse of Sals 'little' side. He'd love to have someone to hang out with that likes video games and cartoons as much as he does!

>His friends DO find out (because he's a horrible liar). Larry finds the concept a little weird at first (because he was always encouraged to 'grow up'/ 'be a man'/ etc.), but totally gets it when he and Sal go to catch frogs at the lake or do some finger painting together and he sees Sal let loose like never before. Ash takes it in stride (it feels just like when she and her little brother were kids) and loves Sals genuine enthusiasm for doing craft projects with her and playing out dramatic storylines with her 'little dudes'. Todd goes down a rabbit hole researching the phycological mechanisms behind age regression and its applications in therapy, and is happy that Sal is using healthy coping mechanisms in tandem with his medication to help improve his mental health (he also gives Sal all the computer games that his parents gave him as a kid).

Also:

Me 🤝 Sal "Pink and blue are the best colors (we'll be in our blanket fort if you wanna fight us about it)"

[may-clouds]

MY VALENTINE

ron weasley x gn!reader dialogue

― ron tries to ask you to be his valentine, but he doesn't say anything remotely similar to what he had planned out in his head.

― fluff

― 0.3k words

― warnings: me making you feel lonely on v-day

― it's been so long since i've actually written anything

masterlist

"Be my Valentine." Ron suddenly blurted out, but instantly slapped a hand over his mouth once the words had fallen off of his tongue.

Your eyes widen as you jerk your head up from your book to look at the boy opposite you. The pair of you were supposed to be studying, but there was nothing written on Ron's piece of parchment.

"Can you repeat that... I think I might have heard you wrong." you ask tentatively, like you were walking on eggshells just by talking.

Ron's eyes bore into you, and he looked shocked at his own outburst. You watched him gulp, then clench his fists before speaking again.

"I didn't mean to say that out loud." he whispered. His knuckles were going white as he continued to dig his nails into his palms.

"You what did you mean to say then?" you try to joke, but there's too much tension behind the words.

Even when you thought it was impossible, Ron's eyes went even wider, "No, I did mean to say it!"

You were very visibly confused. First he asks you out, and now he's retracting that, and then doubling down again. You raise an eyebrow at him, silently prompting him to speak again.

"I did mean to... y'know, just not then. Bad timing." he mumbled quietly.

"So you definitely do mean it?"

"What? Absolutely, have you seen yourself? I'd kill to have a chance with-" he rambles, but turns red the second he realises what he was saying, "I'll stop talking now."

A laugh escapes your lips, "Then yes, of course I'll be your Valentine."

[giorno-plays-piano]

Vicious

Part VII

Pairing: Steve x reader, Bucky x reader, Thor x reader, Loki x reader, Peter x reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, stalking, possessiveness, theft, mention of blackmail, all characters are adults.

Words: 1864.

Summary: Transferring to Stark Academy that has only allowed to take in female students last semester, you realize you are just one of three young women among hundreds of students. Your things are constantly being stolen, and soon you begin fearing for your safety.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

________

You wanted to slap yourself. What the hell was wrong with you today? Why did you tell Peter that?!

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...” Completely baffled with you behavior, you were deeply ashamed, unable to look the guy in the eyes and wanting nothing but fall into the earth.

“Ah, I got it. It’s Steve, isn’t it?” All of a sudden, Peter let out an irritated sigh, rolling his eyes skywards and rubbing his neck. “Of course, who else would say such nonsense. Blackmail, really? Funny he didn’t call me a stalker or anything.”

“Listen, I didn’t mean it, I’m really-”

“It’s ok.” He closed the locker, slamming its door loudly and making you jump. “It’s not your fault. If I heard that from somebody, I’d be scared too.”

He spent a couple of seconds staring into the wall until he rubbed his neck again tiredly and huffed. It took him less than a minute to regain his composure, and you heard him murmuring, “What a freak.”

He didn't return to the corridor, heading to the sports hall for his PE class, instead moving to the bench in the locker room and motioning you to sit. Feeling terribly awkward, you hoped he wasn't going to do anything out of anger, even though he had every right to be upset at your stupid behavior.

"About what he said," Peter took a deep breath, "it's nothing like that. I don't dig up some nasty stuff in the web to blackmail people. I've never done it. The reason why Mr. I-am-better-than-you said that is because I've made him take me into his little bodyguard group when I heard him talking to Loki. You're nice, and I wanted to help. Of course, Steve started acting like I was some creep, so he refused, and I had to remind him that, technically, he had to report your issue to the administration, not play a hero. I said that if I go and tell the whole story to the dean, Steve's gonna be in trouble because he knew who thieves were and didn't report them."

It was a loud off your mind. Goodness. Rogers called this a blackmail? Really? Just because Peter pushed Steve into taking him into their group?

You were less and less sure Rogers was sane. You definitely had to be careful around him.

"I can't believe he called it a blackmail." You admitted quietly, and the guy sent you a tired smile. "Peter, I'm so, so sorry. It was so stupid of me."

"Nah, don't worry. I'd freak out too if I didn't know the whole story."

You knew your apologies weren't enough, but you hoped Peter didn't take it to heart - if you can take such an accusation easily, that is. Shit, shit, shit, why did you believe everything these guys were saying? You didn't even know them in the first place! Why on Earth did you go asking them their opinions on others if all of them were biased, and every guy could twist the truth the way he liked? You shouldn't have let their words affect you that much.

"Whatever. At least now you know what Rogers is like." Peter sent you a grim smile and got up, picking his bright yellow sackpack from the floor. "Shit, I gotta go if I don't wanna be late. Let's meet in a library later, alright?"

"O-of course." You hurriedly stood up and left the lockers room after him, turning to the library: your Lit class was cancelled, so you decided to go study right away. At this time, the library was usually full, and you felt safe there.

Your thoughts were all about the guys again even when you were staring at your laptop, trying to focus on Excel numbers. Why did you feel like the atmosphere between them was so dense? If they were at such terms with each other, why did they group together to help you? What, because all of them loved you so much? It was ridiculous. There was something else to it, and you didn't know. You had a feeling no one was going to tell you the truth until you figured it all out by yourself.

Weird. It was all so weird. Steve's plan, their behavior, the relationships between them, and your nagging feeling they all were hiding something. Was it them who were actually following you?

The thought scared you to the point you started shivering. Oh shit.

"Hi there," the guy appeared behind your back so suddenly you almost jumped, looking at him wide-eyed, "sorry, did I startle you?"

"H-hi Jake! No, it's ok, I was just... studying." Both of you were talking in hushed voices, knowing the librarian would kick you out immediately if she heard some noise. "How are you?"

"I'm great, how're you?" You could hear concern in his voice: he was one of Thor's friends you met yesterday, and although you spoke briefly, Thor definitely told him more about you. "You look a bit worried."

"Oh, it's Math, I didn't really understand the topic, and we're having an exam on Monday... guess I'll be studying the whole weekend." You gave him your best smile to reassure you were totally ok, and the guy relaxed a little, smiling at you, too.

"I'm sure you'll pass. Thor said you're very smart."

What, he said that to all of them? Was he simply boasting about his girlfriend to his friends or was there something more to it?

"You're too kind. Thank you."

His smile grew wider, and he landed on the next seat to yours, resting his hands on the table. Apparently, there was something he wanted to talk to you about, and you grew uneasy.

"Listen, about these incidents... Thor told us all about it, so if you see any freaks following you around, you can message any of us, and we'll come right away." Looking at his serious expression, his bushy brows furrowed, you hoped he eas being sincere with you: you had enough with people you could no longer trust. "And also... that kid, if he's giving you troubles or anything, just let me know, and I'll tell him to keep his hands to himself"

Oh, he was talking about Peter, wasn't he? He had probably seen that silly photo. Wow, you though, Peter was totally right about Instagram: it was the best news source in the academy.

Thanking him for his concern, you laughed a little, convincing him there was nothing serious except for the theft and promising to tell him if anything weird would be going on. While it should have made you feel safer, in fact, you only grew more frustrated with this situation. You wanted to forget about these freaks and just spend you day like any normal student would, but everywhere you went people were staring at you as if you had a horn; one boyfriend or the other was always close to protect you from some unknown danger, and although you believed they tried to help, you hated the feeling they were hiding something from you. Why did you have to be going through all this? Wasn't it really better to drop off school, spend a year working and then apply to a better place?

Thinking of the faces your parents would make once you returned home, you realized it wasn't. This school with all those creeps wasn't worse than home that never felt like a safe place you wanted to come back to. Besides, all money you saved up until now were only good for buying food and things like that: you'd never afford to rent a decent place unless you found a well-paid job. It meant staying with your parents, and it wouldn't be much better than here, just different. If you wanted to drop off, you had to find a good place to stay.

Well, you could at least try, right?

When Peter met you in the library, the two of you no longer talked about anything important, simply studying together to prepare for the exams next week. It didn't feel off: from time to time you met his gaze, and the both of you smiled. You were thankful he didn’t talk about Steve or other guys or that weirdo in the lockers room.

Once you returned home, you went straight to bed, completely exhausted. Luckily, you did much more than yesterday, so you could rest now, but then you thought of Thor kissing you and bit down the pillow, angry at yourself. Why did you keep thinking of him right now?

______________

When you woke up the next morning, you felt like something was off: your body ached, your throat hurt, and your headache was only making it worse. Dammit, you caught a cold, probably. And that’s when it was finally the day to meet Steve, the guy you thought was a mastermind behind all these manipulations that were making you sick to the core. 

Anyway, it’s not like a mere cold would prevent you from doing everything you had planned. You left your bed and went to the bathroom, moving the dresser before again. 

Honestly, it felt terrible. It was definitely because of that flimsy dress you wore to school yesterday when the weather was becoming chilly. Argh. Watching your puffy eyes and swollen nose, you sneezed. Today you had to apply way more makeup to look decently.

Steve showed up earlier than either Thor or Peter: you had to skip your breakfast, hoping to buy something cheap in the cafeteria.

“Good morning.” He said with his everyday polite expression that soon shifted into a concerned one. “Are you alright?”

What, was it that bad? You did your absolute best to apply enough makeup and do your hair. Did you still look so sick?

“Good morning. Yes, I’m ok, just feeling a little sleepy.” You yawned on purpose, covering your mouth with your hand, and Steve’s face softened.

“Did you study all night?”

“Yep, exams are driving me a little crazy.”

“I understand. I also stayed late last night.”

Of course, the student council president studying all days long to be number one student in the academy. If you didn’t know of his twisted nature, you’d think he was the most typical nerd.

You spent most of the time either in silence or talking about studies, the academy, and everything related to it. Steve acted like a gentleman and a scholar, albeit a little too demonstratively. Walking with you as if he were a king of the place, he constantly replied to greetings of others, waved to his acquaintances and smiled. You felt so off you wanted to find Loki and walk with him: unlike Steve, he was considered unpleasant by the prevailing majority of students.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” America golden boy asked you for the last time, and you forced yourself to smile.

“Of course. Thanks for coming, see you later, Steve.”

As he finally left you in peace, you almost fell down into your chair, your fever only getting worse despite the fact you took some painkillers. It was going to be a long day.

_________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki   ​@helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin ​@inlovewiththefictionalcharacters @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @navegandoaciegas @rosalynshields @brattycherub @sllooney @angrythingstarlight @lookiamtrying @buckysbunny @stargazingfangirl18 @dillybuggg @literate-lamb @cosicas-cuquis @sarge-barnes-sir @buckybarnesplumwhore @jaysayey @megzdoodle @gotnofucks @lux-ravenwolf @ximebebx @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123 @sourpatchspinster @biiskuitx @stupendouslovegardener @iheartsebandchris @lovelydarkdaydream @soleil-dor @illyrianprincess @vampirestrawberries @goodgodimaweirdperson @frontmanash @freya-heya @yandematic @mariatietacapitu @d3monslust @maybesandohnos @ibeatuptwinks @mangobangi @nectav @whatever-happened-to-the-ducks

[rogue-durin-16]

THE RIGHT MOMENT

Summary: Y/n and George had been crushing on each other for too long, but neither of them said anything. They both were waiting for the right moment to do it, but with a war upon them, was there really such thing as 'the right moment'?

Pairing: George Weasley x Reader

Genre: angst-fluff

Tags:

George Weasley: ———

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog

Warnings: injuries, blood, implicit beating

A/N: (dis bish long lmao) Idk what is this, I just wanted to do something for George. Bill and Fleur's wedding came to my mind and I was like, ok but what happened after the death eaters arrived? And this came out, so enjoy <3

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

I wasn't expecting to see her.

I had heard my mother mention her name whilst talking about the Order, and I knew she had befriended Fleur at the Triwizard Tournament, but seeing her apparate in our yard was... Well, surprising.

"Son, snap out of it!" My father called me out and I corrected my wand movement; I had almost messed up the canopy, and I blamed the way her dress and hair flew with the wind as she approached our home's entrance.

Fred walked to me the moment we had secured everything, glancing at the house before questioning, "am I delirious or that was Y/n?" with a knowing grin and an intent eyebrow wiggle.

As if taking a cue, we saw the girl coming out, now with a borrowed jacket on, making a beeline to us. "I'm... Pretty sure it's her." I replied, giving the girl a smile when she waved. "Morning, lady."

"Morning, gentlemen." Fred then turned around and stepped to her in order to give her a hug. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Indeed." I agreed, following my brother's lead and hugging Y/n; her arms were quick to wrap around my neck and shoulders and squeeze me tight; I would have sworn she let out a relieved sigh. "Fleur invited you?"

"Your mom, actually." Her reply left me puzzled. "I heard your night was... Eventful." She pointed at the bandages covering my ear with a worried look. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than last night." I replied, scratching the back of my neck.

"You sure, Georgie?" It was then that I remembered we weren't alone. "Last night he was feeling Saint-like." Y/n frowned in confusion. "Because he's holey." Fred pointed at his ear just like I had done the night before and I could feel my cheeks burning. "Get it?"

"Oh, no! it's sooo bad!" She laughed at the joke and a smile tugged the corners of my lips. "I think that's the lamest joke you've cracked." She pointed out.

"I know! I told him."

"Okay, I was bleeding out." I defended myself. "I think I'm allowed to crack a lame joke."

"Dunno, George, it was really bad." I threw my head back with a groan at Y/n's teasing. She waved at Fred, who said something about having things to do inside, and when my eyes landed on him over Y/n's shoulder, he mouthed a clear 'go for it'. "Tonks told me about Mad-Eye." She spoke again in a more serious note.

"You said it," the smile vanishing from my face. "Last night was eventful."

"When your mother told me you got hurt, I just... I got really scared." Her anxious words took me aback. "I went straight into the house to see you." The wind made her hair flow again, and I had to put my hands in my pockets to stop myself from tucking that bloody strand that kept getting in her face back behind her ear. "I was so happy you were out preparing stuff and not in there, unconscious in a bed."

"Well, I'm very happy to see you." I replied, my eyes digging into hers to make sure she knew how much I meant that. "Missed tons that smile of yours."

"I missed your lame jokes." I rolled my eyes at her response. Right after, she stepped forward and gently pulled me down; one of her hands holding onto my forearm, steadying her, while the other one cupped one of my cheeks so she could press a kiss to the other. "See you." And with that, she was off to greet the rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do it."

"She's talking with Luna."

"Excuses." I puffed tired at Fred's reproach before taking a sip of my drink. "C'mon, you got absolutely nothing to lose."

"My dignity?"

"She fancies you!" I shook my head no. "How many times are you gonna have the opportunity to dance with her, Georgie? Stop being a twit."

"Not yet."

"Oi, have you seen Y/n?" Ron approached us, taking a seat by my side.

"It's the only thing he's seen." I pinched the bridge of my nose, unable to deny what my twin had just said. "Just do it." I groaned. "Okay, I'll do it."

"No!" I jumped up and tugged Fred down in the process. "Alright, I'll go."

READER'S P. O. V.

"Yeah, I was about to—"

I involuntarily let out a squeal when a hand tickled my side. "Hello, ladies." I spun my head to see George behind me. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I have this dance?"

Luna replied before I could. "You see, I was wondering how much time it'd take you to ask her." I turned as red as a beetroot; my only comfort was that the towering ginger's face was the colour of his hair. "I think I'm odd man out." She waved us goodbye and headed to see Harry.

"I reckon Luna is way too observant." He spoke, tugging my hand.

"Were you ogling me, Weasley?"

"Maybe." He came to a stop in the middle of the dancefloor and pulled me close. "Couldn't take my eyes off you." He confessed quietly.

As we swayed, I let my forehead land on his chest, savouring what I dreaded would be one of the last precious moments before everything went down.

"George?" He hummed, raising his brows as a prompt for me to talk. I took a deep breath and told myself that what I was going to say mattered little compared to whatever was looming over us. "I've been wanting to tell you this, but I just... Didn't find the right time." Our faces were mere inches away. "But I don't think I'll ever find the right time at this point so—"

I jolted, holding onto George, when a blue volute plunged into the tent; a Patronus.

It was not until Shacklebolt message was ending that I realized George's arms were around me, pulling me flush against his chest.

Both our hearts were hammering violently, and I was sure he could feel mine as clearly as I felt his.

When the Patronus vanished, panic began to spread. I noticed how my own breathing picked up. "Y/n." This time it was George the one calling my name; his whisper sounded so clear compared to everyone else's screams and cries. "If I don't say this out loud, I'll combust—"

"Y/N! GET DOWN!" Tonks's shouts snapped us out of it. We obeyed just in time to see a red hex flying over us, being stopped by Tonks herself.

George and I grabbed our wands and pulled each other back to our feet before joining the Order.

"FREDDIE!"

"LUNA!"

We parted ways, George making his way to reach his twin while I ran to a moderately tipsy Luna, who seemed to be struggling to find her father.

As soon as I made sure she was out of the picture, I jogged to help the twins, casting protection spells against two death eaters.

"STUPEFY!" I managed to take out the one attacking George, and he was quick to stun the one duelling his brother.

"Leave!" George tugged my hand, attempting to get me out of the canopy, his brother quickly rushing to their little sister.

"I'm not leaving!"

"Y/n—" I moved him out of the way to shield us from another hex. "Please— Flipendo!!" I saw another death eater flying away from us. "Shit!" George's hand gripped mine for dear life, making me back off with him to get back in when he realized it was too late for me to leave.

Soon enough it was just the Weasleys, Fleur and her family, Tonks, Lupin and me inside the tent, all back-to-back, surrounded by death eaters.

Corban Yaxley stepped out. "My apologies to disrupt the celebrations." he offered a fake apology to the newlyweds which was equally disgusting and scary. "Let's try by fair means." I knew my knuckles had gone white, given the strength with which I was gripping George's hand. "Where is Harry Potter?" He knew no one would speak. "Aight, by foul it'll be."

I looked around and I saw Molly and Arthur shielding Ginny; Bill and Fleur held onto each other; Lupin and Tonks pulled Fleur's sister and parents behind them; Fred gave a quick look at his twin before moving closer to us.

"Take them inside and register the house."

Soon we were being pushed into the Burrow, a bunch of death eaters before us ready to put all upside down.

We stayed quiet meanwhile, leaving out an occasional 'don't touch that' or a 'there's no need to break that' from Molly and Arthur.

"I reckon you won't find Harry in my grandma's glass cabinet, smart arse." We all turned to Fred, his mother giving him a pleading look.

"Maybe he's between the plates, Freddie," George jumped in, attempting to draw the attention off his brother. "You'll want to check the cutlery too, in case he's now a teaspoon." He suggested to Yaxley with a challenging look.

The death eater tilted his head to the side, as if he had noticed something worth of interest in George. "What happened to you?"

Everyone went livid.

"I fell downstairs." George replied through gritted teeth. His tone was full of what could be easily passed as anger, but by the way his hand was shaking, I reckoned it was fear.

Yaxley seemed to think for a second before turning to two of his mates. "Start with him, then the twin and we'll move on to—"

Before I knew what I was doing, my wand was out and hexing one of the guys that had tried to remove George from us.

"Take their BLOODY WANDS!" Yaxley stalked to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me away. "We'll start with you, miss."

"No! Wait, she doesn't know anything!" George tried in vain to persuade them, pushing through the death eaters in an attempt to get to me. I looked at him and shook my head no, already psyching myself up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were rather quick, and not half as bad as I thought they would be. I was thrown back into the living room with only a shiner and the promise of bruised wrists.

It was enough for George to jump up; not to check on me, though, but to do something as stupid as my impulsive hexing.

"Okay, crippled," three death eaters grabbed him before he could do anything and dragged to the bathroom they had gotten me in. "your turn."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

He looked bad.

Molly was about to throw hands when we saw George leaving the bathroom; a cut on the cheek, a bloody nose, a black eye and by the way he flinched while walking, probably an injured rib.

But the worst was the red pooling the bandage around his head, and the way he was struggling to keep his hand off it.

"C'mon, blabber." It wasn't surprising when Fred willingly approached Yaxley and punched him strong enough to throw him down. "You know-” He got up, motioning at his minions so they would get Fred in. “that just made it worse."

I spared Molly an enquiring look, to which she replied with a nod; in an instant, I was gently pulling George to the settee. "Let me see..." I pursed my lips, tilting his head to the side so I could check his wound. A sigh left my lips, suddenly realizing I couldn't really take off the bandage in front of them. "Can you sit it up?" I whispered only for him to hear.

He nodded, his hand travelling up to mine, which rested on his cheek, to give it a reassuring squeeze. I didn't think twice about how wrong the timing was before leaning in and placing a kiss on his lips.

GEORGE'S P. O. V.

My body moved forward by itself when she pulled back, attempting to chase her lips. I managed to stop myself when I remembered we were surrounded by death eaters and my family was right behind Y/n.

She then gave me a small smile and moved to grab a fresh towel from the kitchen. I caught a glimpse of my family's looks before she came back, ready to clean the blood on my face.

She aided Fred along with my mom; he bore the burnt along with me.

The sun was rising when Yaxley decided to leave. My father rushed to send a Patronus to the trio, and everyone felt a bit of relief and finally scattered through the Burrow. Ginny claimed she would take care of Fred, and she took my twin to our room.

"Now, let's check that." Y/n spoke, standing up so she could remove the damp bandage. "What happened?"

"He threw a punch and—" I hissed when the bandage left my ear, earning a concerned ‘sorry’ from Y/n. "The wound opened. It began to bleed, and they decided to stop." She only nodded, grabbing again the towel, now mildly red due to the blood it had cleaned. "That kiss was too short." I didn't even know how I managed to let that out.

She stopped, her eyes going up and down my body before inquiring, "want another one?"

"Please." She didn't need anything else for her soft lips to return to mines. This time it was one hell of a kiss, but my mouth chased them again when Y/n pulled away, only that this time her lips did return to mines for another short kiss. "Should I ask you on a date?"

"I doubt we'll be able to go on a proper date." We both chuckled; as sad as it sounded, it was true. "You can make me a coffee after I fix this, though."

"Gladly." I replied, my thumb caressing her cheek before bringing her to my lips one more time.

"FINALLY!" We both jumped at Fred's yelling. "It was about fucking time, really."

"Do you wanna get beaten up again?" Y/n harmlessly shoved my shoulder, hiding a laugh. "I just realized," I signalled my black eye and then hers. "We're matching."

"What a lovely way to match, is it not?" She replied, shaking her head with a smile on her face. “Come,” she caressed my cheek before carefully pulling me up. “I saw clean bandages over the sink.”

“Yes ma’am.” 

“Y/l/n,” her eyes travelled to my brother. “don’t you snog my brother in the lavatory where we just got beaten up.”

“Piss off, Fred.” She responded indifferent, pulling me with her into the bathroom, leaving the door completely open; she probably feared my mother would burst it open at the possibility of us doing inappropriate things in there.

“Yeah, piss off.” I agreed, siting down on the toilet so she could clean the wound. “She can snog me wherever she wants.” I added, muffling a laugh when Y/n cursed us both under her breath. “I’m sorry, love.”

“No, you’re not.” 

“No, I’m not.” I confessed with an amused grin.

“Why do I even fancy you?” She questioned, faking disappointment in herself.

“I’m very handsome?” I casually suggested, tilting my head for her to wrap the bandage without much difficulty. 

“Must be.” She agreed, leaning on to peck my lips. “Now where’s that coffee, sir?”

I got up, leading Y/n to the kitchen and instantly preparing the coffee pot. “It’s gonna be the best coffee you’ll ever taste.” I stated, as if it was a scientifical fact.

“Confident, are we?” she laughed, sitting on the counter besides me.

“Well, my four-year-long crush just kissed me.” I confessed. “So yeah, very.”

“Fred’s right.” I hummed, looking at her with an eyebrow raised as I handed her the coffee. “It was about fucking time.” We smiled at each other, way too widely for two people who had just gotten roughed up. We stayed next to one another in silence, looking through the window; I found the customary landscape particularly beautiful. 

[smeraldos]

Love by Daylight (1/2)

➸ characters: Seokjin x Reader

➸ genres: Sailor Moon!AU, fluff, sort of e2l

➸ tags: sly friends, petty enemies/secret crushes, running away from the mortifying ordeal of being known

➸ words: 2K+

➸ summary: The day you find out who your suave partner in saving the world is, you're absolutely, positively, without a doubt sure you'll be over the moon. You'll be so happy you'll think you're dreaming. Turns out you're right. You do think you're dreaming. Because this? This can't be real. You're being pranked. Someone, somewhere, is going to jump out and say you're on Candid Camera. (Please.)

>> PART 2

When the lights fade and the facades fall, this is what you’re left with: Tuxedo Mask without a mask, you without your moonlit glamor. Tux the civilian is handsome, you can tell, and this is it—the moment you’ve been waiting for.

He lifts his face.

The youma's words come rushing back: Let the truth be known, the city’s deepest secrets shown.

Tuxedo Mask is none other than Kim Seokjin.

Suddenly, you’re reminded of a crystalline city; people bowing before you; Seokjin taking your hand, your matching rings gleaming in the light. Was it a memory or a dream?

You stand there, dumbfounded, until Tux/Seokjin dons his mask and brushes past. “Come on, Sailor Moon,” he says, sensible enough to use your alias. “The coast is clear. We’ve got a fight to finish.”

☾

“Why does it have to be Seokjin?" You whine, collapsing into bed and disturbing your sleeping cat. (In your defense, he was on your pillow. Which you’ve told him numerous times not to lay down on because his fur would shed.) Luckily, Agust is acquainted with your dramatic side and simply gets up to move.

“Well, why do you have to be Sailor Moon?” He points out. “It could have been someone less bothersome.”

“Hey,” you retaliate. “You’re the one who came to me. You could have given anyone the Lunar Key.”

“I didn't have a choice.”

“What do you mean you didn’t? You could have walked away and picked someone better, just like that.”

He scoffs. “Not when it’s the Queen.”

“Queen-schmeen." You flop back onto your bed, the springs creaking in protest. "I bet Her Royal Highness is on her throne right now, all nice and comfy. She couldn't care less."

Agust doesn't reply.

At first, you think it's because you've won and nothing else can be said, but when the silence stretches on, you know something is off. You sit up to see Agust no longer curled into himself, but sitting. He stares out your window into the night, his normally keen eyes empty. "She's dead."

Judging by his somber tone, she'd meant a lot to him. "I'm sorry," you whisper.

Agust sighs. "No need to apologize, kid. She was your mother, after all."

"My mother?"

"Not now," he amends. "But she was a long time ago, when you were the princess of the moon and Seokjin the prince of the earth.”

☾

The next morning, you head to school on time.

Your mom—present day mom—was surprised to see you up early, and Jeongguk called you out like the bratty brother he was (wow, no morning run today?), but the truth was you couldn’t sleep.

Last night, Agust recounted your past, how the dark eclipsed the moon. Although the queen tried her best to protect the kingdom, it was to no avail. Seokjin died in the fray, and you fell shortly after, helpless to save your beloved. In the end, the queen sacrificed herself to give you and Seokjin another chance at love, her people another chance at happiness.

A chance to rebuild the Silver Millennium.

The thing was, you didn’t know if that was what you wanted. Not that you’d want the Dark Kingdom to reign, but you weren’t sure whether you wanted to rule in your mother’s stead. Or marry Seokjin. Past you might have wanted to, but the you now could barely stand him. And neither could he. Or so you thought. You’d gotten along just fine with Tuxedo Mask, even grown a crush, but that wasn’t enough to warrant a marriage.

“Hello? Veen to Selene*?” Someone nudges your shoulder, and with a start, you notice Mina looking at you in concern.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Nothing yet, but it looks like you’ve got something on your mind. What’s up?”

You’re about to tell her when you see Seokjin approaching, his uniform blazer neatly pressed.

“Morning, ______,” Seokjin says. “Mina.”

“Morning,” you reply, ready for whatever biting remark he’d say next. But once Namjoon comes up, he leaves. That's it.

Even Mina, who hardly sees the two of you interact, notices. "That's the first time I've seen you guys polite. It's weird. What happened?"

After a discreet look around, you grab her by the elbow. “He's Tux,” you hiss, but Mina doesn’t look the least bit shocked. Her face breaks out into a giddy grin, like a child who’s finally tall enough to get on the big kid ride.

“You knew?” You ask, a little hurt she didn’t tell you.

She pouts, squishing your cheeks together. “Don’t be mad. You don't know how hard it was to keep it a secret.”

◑

You don't blame Mina, for the most part. It would have been better if you hadn’t known who Tuxedo Mask was, and vice versa. You felt like Cinderella running away from the ball, her beautiful dress giving way to rags and ratty shoes. If the prince caught up to her then, she’d probably be humiliated.

Just like you are now.

Tuxedo Mask has seen you at your most embarrassing moments, fighting to have the last word (or milkshake) as Seokjin, and also at your best, saving civilians with grace. You've only wanted him to see the best of you, for him to think of you as the perfect wonder-girl heroine everyone else saw you as, but he's seen almost every side. You don't know what he sees in you now, if anything. And frankly, you don't want to know.

"Have you ever thought that maybe he's thinking what you're thinking?" Mina asks. "You've seen all the good and bad in him, too."

"But it's different when he doesn't have a crush on Sailor Moon!" You say, exasperated.

"Oh, I wouldn’t be sure about that if I were you."

Seokjin thinking of your alter ego that way is embarrassing, but considering he's also Tuxedo Mask...now your face is red, you can feel it. Red as roses in bloom. "You're joking, right?"

"Why don't you wait and see," Mina replies, as cryptically as when she was Sailor V and you hadn't known any better. Having sympathy for you, she gives you a warm smile. "Don't stress out too much, Moon. You're amazing either way. Just talk to him."

◑

You think there's some reconnaissance to sort out first. When you walked into Crown Arcade and saw Seokjin talking to Jimin pretty intently, you didn’t want to interrupt...okay, who were you kidding? You chickened out.

But Jimin is his best friend, so he'll know how Seokjin feels the most, right? It's the next best alternative to actually speaking to Seokjin, which, well, you aren't ready for. Case in point: you've done the impossible and made yourself scarce. You aren’t about to break your streak now.

So the instant Seokjin leaves, you walk up to the counter. Jimin looks up from sprinkling a milkshake. "Hey. The usual?"

"Yeah, just double on the chocolate."

"You got it," he says, passing the drinks he finished making to a server. You watch him blend milk into ice cream, then reach over for a new cup to pour the mixture into later. It's all done with practiced ease, and you marvel at how quick he is, not to mention how beautiful the finished milkshake looks after. The chocolate is perfect, the whipped cream a cloud of snow drizzled with dark syrup.

Jimin slides it over with a grin. "Mademoiselle."

"Why, thank you," you say, digging in with gusto. This is exactly what "stressed is desserts spelled backwards," meant: Jimin's milkshakes never fail to kick your worries down a notch.

"Good?" He asks.

"Mhm," you mumble, more to your milkshake than to him, when the thought that you haven't paid yet crosses your mind. Oh gosh. You pull your purse onto your lap, but Jimin chuckles, stopping you.

"I've got it covered. Besides, I heard you weren't yourself lately."

"Really?"

He shrugs. "From the way you're devouring that, it's kind of hard to believe…"

You take an extra large mouthful to prove his point.

"But you only lay on the chocolate when you're bummed," he finishes, and you’d protest if you hadn’t made it a habit to drown your sorrows in his milkshakes. They were just too good to resist. Not to mention Jimin is a great listener. Your girls, although you love them, aren't always the best. You'd catch the moment they crossed over from attentive to "Is she done yet?" but with Jimin, you've never had that issue. Turns out you have a different one.

"I hate how perceptive you are."

He laughs. "You're just predictable."

"You know what? You can take back your milkshake and go back to work," you say in a fit of grumpiness, pushing the glass back to him.

"Are you sure you want me to do that?"

You meet him eye to eye. After a minute—a long, impressive minute might you add—you take it back. "Fine. What do you want to hear?"

"Anything you want to tell me. And if it's something you can't share, please tell someone you can. It's not great to keep things bottled up, trust me."

You sigh.

"Here's the deal," you begin, feeling a little weird telling your old crush about your new one, but marching through nevertheless, "I met someone on...online. He's nice and funny and understands me even though he's different. I just click with him, and eventually, I want to tell him I like him. The thing is, I don't really know who he is. We've been chatting on Discord and his profile picture is Tuxedo Mask, but he can't be Tuxedo Mask. Or maybe he is, who knows?"

Jimin laughs. If only he knew.

"Anywho," you continue, "I meet him and find out he's someone I actually know...but he's a pest. He always gets on my nerves and it's like he's a completely different person! I don't even know how that's possible, but apparently it is and it's just so frustrating."

Jimin doesn't speak for a while, which is fine by you. You take the time to jam spoonfuls of chocolate and cream into your mouth.

"You know," he finally says, amused, "that sounds a little like the plot to You've Got Mail."

"That isn't funny.” You huff. “Joe Fox was a jerk and I don't know why they played him off as charming."

"Isn't that what you think of the guy?"

"I never said he was a jerk."

"But you said he was a pest."

"That isn't the s—" You pull at your hair. "Ugh. I don't know anymore."

"Did you talk to him?"

"And what? Spill my complicated feelings?"

"No, just talk to him. You don't have to confess right now. Just air out the laundry and see where you guys are at. Chances are, if you're confused, then he's confused, too, and there's no way either of you can get out of it without talking to each other."

"I can't talk to him, Jimin. I avoided him for three weeks! He's going to hate me."

"He isn't," Jimin says firmly, and you wish you could have the same conviction. "Sure, he'll be upset, but if he's really someone who cares, he'll listen. Look, during that time you avoided him, did he try to reach out?"

"Well, I told him I didn't want to talk and he stopped asking."

"So he'll listen. If it turns out he hates you, give him a piece of your mind and I'll give you triple chocolate milkshakes on the house."

When he puts it like that, talking to Seokjin doesn't seem as dreadful. "You're not just saying that?"

"Have I ever said something I didn't mean?"

You get your answer when someone comes trudging in, holding up a bag from your go-to fast food joint. "Jimin! You better be grateful I drove all the way downtown to get you these burgers. Since when did you like ______'s favorite, anyways?"

"Since now," your traitor of a friend says. You glare at him, which he conveniently ignores.

"You're the best," he tells a surprised Seokjin, leaving with a pat on his shoulder. "Enjoy your meal!"

>> NEXT

...

note:

*Venus to Selene, like "Earth to [insert name]?" but replace Earth with Venus and [name] with Selene, Greek goddess of the moon

[noctomania]

I want you to understand the cause and effect of what has led to what is going on in texas at least re: abortion laws.

First off let me clarify: Roe v Wade was not law...yet. When you see a ___ v ___, that is an opinion. Not in the sense you may think. It's an opinion decided through litigation which means it's a powerful opinion that has been hammered out through the judicial process of a lawsuit being drawn up, and worked out in court. It could be a local, state, or federal court. Typically the ones that are most significant are federal, or ones that have come before the US Supreme Court - either because it is the federal government that is being challenged, the defendant petitions to move it to federal, or that the case has been elevated through appeals.

There are particular circumstances that determine if a case can go federal level:

"Federal court jurisdiction, by contrast, is limited to the types of cases listed in the Constitution and specifically provided for by Congress. For the most part, federal courts only hear:

Cases in which the United States is a party;

Cases involving violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal laws (under federal-question jurisdiction);

Cases between citizens of different states if the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 (under diversity jurisdiction); and

Bankruptcy, copyright, patent, and maritime law cases.

In some cases, both federal and state courts have jurisdiction. This allows parties to choose whether to go to state court or to federal court."

Federal courts may hear cases concerning state laws if the issue is whether the state law violates the federal Constitution.

In the case of Roe v Wade, the attorney's filed to the Supreme Court since the argument was that the state law was a violation of a federal law - specifically the 14th amendment assertion of right to privacy. That is what determines the jurisdiction in this case.

RvW was decided in 1973 with a 7-2 ruling in favor of Roe's right to privacy and ultimately right to choose how to treated her pregnancy. Why hasn't it been turned into law? Obvious reasons over the years include what party is in power in executive, congressional, or even judicial circles. Right now though we have a D in the executive and congress, but something many are overlooking is the critically important and understates judicial branch - which holds significant changes Trump installed.

Also regarding congressional, though there is a stronger hold on the house (even with 3 vacancies), the senate is just barely D majority with 50 R, 48 D and 2 independent as shown in the charts below. The two Independent Senators, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, caucus with the Democrats which brings it 50/50 and the US VP - Harris (D) in this case - is the President of the senate and ultimately serves as a tie breaker for votes as well as situations like this even divide of party members. Were the VP a republican than republicans would still have a senate majority.

I will dive more into what's going on with the senate and why even with a D majority it isn't where it needs to be as it's a bit less straight forward.

So how the hell are abortion rights being challenged? Why aren't the all powerful democrats doing anything?!

Well, they are and have been doing a lot - and I urge you in moments when you are frustrated by feeling as though "dems aren't doing anything" to dig deeper to understand how our government operates. It's very clear there is a poor comprehension of our civics system by the general population which is why I'm using this as an opportunity to not only inform but also to learn more myself. I was educated primarily in Texas public education system. I was privileged enough to have decent teachers, but there is still much to learn. I'm doing research as I write this. I've already learned a lot. Come learn with me!

Alright, you're on board with learning more? Great choice! Let's get into it.

So with dem control of executive and congressional branch, all that is left is judicial.

"Trump appointed 54 federal appellate judges in four years, one short of the 55 Obama appointed in twice as much time."

Trump also had a major influence on the nation’s highest court. The three Supreme Court justices he appointed – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett – are the most by any president since Ronald Reagan (who appointed four) and the most by any one-term president since Herbert Hoover

Donald Trump has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 220 Article III federal judges through November 1, 2020, his fourth year in office.

The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through November 1 of their fourth year in office is 200.

Judges are supposed to be neutral impartial parties who use only what is presented in court and through the judicial process (which involves looking at current standing laws) to determine their decisions in court instead of using their personal opinion or political sway to inform them. However, as we saw all too often, trump was not interested in impartiality. He was interested in control, asserting his own personal opinion, even on occasion insisting he himself as president had more control than the constitution actually allows. So with that conflict and the fact he installed so many judges really makes huge impact on the judicial branch of our government. Since every branch is supposed to be fair and equal this causes a lot of road block when one branch is neither fair nor equal. You can't simply use the other two the gain up on the third - though in this case that would be convenient for dems, it would be much less convenient when the parties were reversed. It's also important to acknowledge the reality that D are not always impartial either - which again we will get to after judicial chat - nor are all R unfair. This can be a hard pill to swallow, even for me. Reality is not always easy to accept.

So of course appointments made by trump, of which there were many, can not be trusted to actually be acting in good faith, but in favor of personal or political interests (which also often come down to personal interest of a financial persuasion). When judges are not impartial, they may make decisions that ultimately contradict what was presented in court or what the law of the land says. Typically if a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee (you can see an example here of the first day of Amy Comey Barrett's hearing day 1/3) determines that there is a conflict of interest or that they are illgitimate, then ideally a judge will be blocked from appointment. This clearly also depends on the makeup and impartiality of the Senate and thus the Committee. The Committee will debate and vote on whether or not to confirm every nomination made by a President. (it used to require 3/5 of the senate or 60 votes but since 2017 only requires a "simple majority" or 51 votes for confirmation)

I want to take a quick aside here and go a little philosophical in understanding judicial impartiality, because I hope it will help you have some perspective on how it's an inherently difficult matter. Ultimately the court's impartiality comes down to checks/balances and faith. Not religious faith, but faith in humanity and honesty. Trusting that there is no hidden motive or lies or manipulation at play. We tend to have to rely heavily on the checks and balances part since faith in humanity can be easily manipulated with lobbying and politicians eagerness to look bipartisan for popularity in elections (appealing as more bipartisan is considered a way of winning over more votes like centrists and those just left and right of it). Checks and balances allows oversight of the 3 branches over one another and attempting to keep the scales balanced in order to prevent any one branch being too powerful and ultimately to avoid the US being something more like a monarchy - which was a primary goal at the time of forming the constitution and government since it is what we had fought to escape in the first place.

"So judges aren't allowed their 1st amendment rights?!"

Humans are merely humans no matter what title they have or role they play and humans are inherently flawed and partial. Nobody is perfect and some make mistakes as well as bad faith decisions for ulterior motives (could be a matter of loyalty to well funded lobbyists or even general unchecked and ultimately supported ignorance or a power grab). After and throughout checks and balances, that is where the faith part comes in that we hope we can trust judges to put their personal opinion aside and go with what the evidence presented in court and the law and super precedents tell them. We trust the Committee to do their due diligence in researching nominees and asking them tough questions. Realistically everyone can and likely will have some kind of opinion on any major issue, so it is not that anyone expects a justice to not have a personal opinion, only that they not use it to determine their decision in court. So, say i was a judge looking at a defendant accused of a civil rights infringement and i personally felt that they were guilty but there was no or not enough "valid" evidence to prove it, I couldn't assert they are guilty just based off my own opinion. I would have to depend on the evidence shown in court proving that it has infringed on precedents or existing law.

(All the appointments made by trump can be viewed more in detail here.)

"BLAHBLAHBLAH WHAT ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT"

It would be too tumultuous for me to dig into each of the 3 Supreme Court judge appointments by trump in regards to current issues around Roe v Wade, so I'm going to focus on one that is likely most relevant in particular: Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett was an appointment made when Ruth Bader Ginsburg's passing caused a vacancy in the court. (Why didn't she retire under Obama? The Senate was GOP controlled which made the odds of a pro-choice appointment being confirmed low). RGB was well known for being a strong advocate for the right to choose and for a long time was a stronghold in the court to ensure Roe v Wade was upheld. Since trump wouldn't want to lose too many votes from women and allies to women, he made the clear choice to appoint a woman which is what i would call performative in the case that though Barrett is a woman she does not particularly stand on the side of women's rights.

In day two of Barrett's confirmation hearing, Senator Klobuchar honed in on Barrett's opinions regarding Roe v Wade - especially as to whether it is considered what is called a "super precedent", an important matter when talking about codification. Klobuchar makes it clear that Barrett has said she finds Brown v BoE to be a super precedent despite the Supreme Court never impressing that opinion, but refuses to consider Roe v Wade a super precedent despite that being a Supreme Court opinion. Barrett's argument is that "scholarly literature" she has read has asserted it is not a super precedent because calls for its overrule has never ceased, where as cases such as Brown v Board "nobody questions anymore". Klobuchar digs in again asking if US v Virginia Military is a "super precedent" and Barrett refuses to answer - or as she phrases it "grade" - because it wasn't one of the cases Barrett spoke about in an article she had written.

After Klobuchar asked Barrett if Roe v Wade is a super precedent, Barrett asked Klobuchar how the Senator defines a super precedent. Reasonably so, Klobuchar - who is a senator and not a judge - scoffs and puts that responsibility back on Barrett who was nominated to be a Supreme Court judge. Barrett obliges and asserts a definition that she uses is of (supposedly not conservative) ONE scholarly opinion which depends on a case being "so well settle that no political actors and no people seriously push to overrule"

In a scholarly opinion in 2006 by Michael J Gerhardt at University of North Carolina School of Law defined a super precedent in many ways one being "decisions whose correctness is no longer a viable issue for courts to decide; it is no longer a matter on which courts will expend their limited resources."

However:

in the Roberts hearings, Charles Fried, a prominent conservative legal scholar at Harvard, agreed explicitly that Roe was a superprecedent. As solicitor general under President Ronald Reagan, Mr. Fried had asked the court to overturn Roe. But testifying on behalf of Judge Roberts, he said that Roe had become a super-duper precedent that would not and should not be overturned, because it was reaffirmed in 1992 and extended in subsequent decisions protecting gay rights and the right to die.

Here is a good example of what happens in academia and why i take "scholarly research" with a heap of salt since I have experience in doing scholarly research. When you are doing research, your audience is trusting that you have run through all the hard work of researching both sides of a specific matter - not just looking up opinions based on whether they are from a conservative or a liberal as that is not supposed to be what determines their opinion on any particular matter.

You are supposed to be actually looking into all the differing opinions on the specific subject matter. While it does help to have a context of the profile of the one giving the opinion, it is the evidence they present in their argument that is what should be prioritized in research. The audience is also trusting that the sources the researcher uses are valid, researched, and impartial and that any studies they use are peer reviewed and use proper methodology and are also impartial without any sway from funders. Since many academic resources that would elaborate on these details are often gatekept through paywalls or language or other accessibility barriers, it can be difficult for the general population to do their own research - the majority of which do not have access for one reason or another - they are left with nothing but to choose to have faith the researcher they are reading did their job earnestly.

Barrett focusing on opinions from scholars (actually it seems she is more dependent on one particular scholar's opinion - Gerhardt as seen in notes 128-132) based on whether or not they are typically conservative scholars is basing it on an irrelevant matter when she should have been taking on all opinions about super precedents and digging into comparing and contrasting them based on whether or not they hold water. It seems more like she sought a defense for her pre-determined opinion and insulated it from challenge by excluding any other assertions despite their significance. She ultimately failed at her responsibility as a researcher.

On Wednesday 9/2/21, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to not block Texas SB8, a decision that weakens Roe v Wade.

Now this has been a very long form way of spelling out just SOME of the impact that trump has had on the judicial branch. I want to now go back to 2016 when he was elected, and try to extrapolate why what happened in that election was a serious failure in regards to those responsible for casting their votes: The People.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

"We the people" is every single resident and/or citizen of the nation at any time. The constitution is essentially a contract drawn up between every single one of us including those born and raised here, those who move here, those who's communities were here before the formation of the nation, and those who may be a citizen but living elsewhere. The diversity of The People in every faucet of human life makes this document necessarily complicated and amendable. In consequence the way in which our government is also complicated but also amendable. One matter that has been a point of contention since the dawning of the nation is the right to vote.

Who could vote & When (.):

1776: white men over 21 who owned land

1870 Racial barriers eliminated tho 15th is not enforced by states

1920: white women can vote

1924: Native american's given voting rights

1964: Civil Rights Act - all above 21y/o may vote regardless of identifiers such as race - ensures Black people's right to vote

1971: Voting age lowered to 18

1984: Accessibility extended to disabled americans by setting accessibility standards

In between all of these are other matters that challenged the accessibility to voting for one population or another such as literacy tests, naturalization, and polling taxes. Many of the challenges were directly challenging to People of Color particularly Black Women. To this day there are still many who must fight to assert their right - a right that should never be denied, never be thought of as less than inherent. Access is less a concern for the wealthy and well to do as their needs are never on the line the way it is for people who are poor, Black, disabled, immigrant, or even just have a primary language other than English.

For those of us who have never had to fight to utilize our right to vote in our life have too often shown that we do not respect the power in this right. Or rather know exactly how powerful it is and choose to use that power in a destructive way because we aren't getting our faves. For the first many many years I was eligible to vote, I refused to at all because I do not like how our government and politicians conducts themselves. As soon as I learned about the filibuster I was so pissed I didn't want to partake at all. Have I be impacted by this personally? To an effect, but not in a way that impacts my life significant enough for me to really notice. But in congruence with other privileged decisions not to vote, it has certainly impacted many lives. In a nation where communities are still fighting to have the law meant to protect them properly enforced, it is entirely a privilege abused to choose not to vote.

Though I was 18 in 2007, 2016 I cast my first vote.

Why? Because it was finally looking as though I may face personal consequences if I didn't. Prior to 2016 i wasn't worried bc there was obama, i wasn't old enough to vote when bush was up for relection and seeing him win again embittered me further. by the time I was 18, I saw how unreliable 3rd party was despite my parents being all in that gambit, and otherwise it all felt like nobody was paying attention to the issues only on popularity contests. All i thought of though was my perspective on the matter. It was all me-centric, my choice to withhold from voting in any election. When trump started to look less like a joke and actually got traction, I saw my neighbors trump signs and i looked at where i was in life. I had also began to actually do the work and stop letting apathy guide my decisions, but to rather listen to my humanity and my responsibility as my neighbor's neighbor.

Quite literally. At the time my neighbor was a Black woman. I only spoke to her once and it was when she came by to selflessly make sure I was going to be ok when our landlord was kicking us out to sell the place out from under our feet - something I hadn't even considered doing yet seemed like second nature for her to do (to be fair i was struggling to find a place but i've no idea about her life). I wish i had gotten her name and stayed in touch, it's kind-hearted people like that that are hard to come by. I'm still working on being as selfless.

I was and am proud to have not only voted in 2016, but for my first vote to have been for a woman. I was scared and for someone other than myself for once in 2016. I had high hopes for Clinton based on name recognition and basic common sense.

Humans are not perfect. Nor are they inherently humble.

Trump encouraged arrogance among the most ignorant leaning right. Sanders encouraged arrogance in the most ignorant leaning left. Clinton seemed to always get the most dramatic fire though from both sides, which signaled to me some kind of mess was going on. My own parents tried to sell me on Sanders, but by this point I had a better concept of how to properly research and untangle the mythologies that were parroted by my own parents about Clinton. Even when I proved their parroted lies wrong they were unwilling to concede, only to move the goal post or deflect.

Now, I get to my point.

Which is to really smack upside the head of anyone who chose not to vote in 2016, everyone who is left or liberal but voted for trump, everyone who wrote in someone else. If trump hadnt made it in as POTUS, paired with the republican majority senate, the landscape of the judicial branch would not have faced such a conservative shift, it wouldn't have given mcconnell so much influence, it wouldn't have resulted in the pandemic being so much worse than it needed to be. Many lives would have been spared. You can only blame the government for so long until you realize we are the government, we install the government, and we hold power we must use wisely. We the People.

Many who voted for clinton have been critical of her. As we always should be critical of those we choose in any level of government. We the people hold responsibilities that build this nation from the ground up, and without adherence to those responsibilities it puts other's rights in danger. When we decide that something doesn't matter that much to us or weighing it against the consequences we may personally face - you're failing in your responsibility to your neighbor who is likely doing far more justice to you than you are extending to them.

Yes my white people i look at you.

Yes my white men I look at you.

Yes my white queers I look at you.

Yes my white degree holders I look at you.

Yes white youth I look at you where I once was. When I was younger and arrogant and naive and apathetic and bitter and I let all that guide my choices instead of my concern for the neighbor who was looking out for me.

I still matter in the formation and function of tomorrow's government and I'm going to make sure I let my impact be constructive for all my neighbors who have extended such courtesy to me by not shirking my main duty to make an informed vote in every election i may partake in from local to national.

The differences among us in this nation may seemingly tend to fall along party lines, what the real metric is:

Do you give a fuck outside your own home?

Or is it just about what you want, what you think, what you feel? Nothing in this nation is just involving you or your bestie or your family, we're in this together whether we like it or not. Trust me as someone who struggles daily to find the humanity in others, I know how toxic that can be to your perspective when you give into it. Believe in benefit of the doubt, believe in change, believe in your power to do good for others. Believe and invest in your humanity.

While i can be mad at conservative votes for trump that was to be expected. I'm far more disappointed in the right AND DUTY to vote being given up by so many on the left simply because their fave didn't make it to the finals. That is not how establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, or secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. AOC and Pressley and Porter did not make it where they are by their supportive constituents abdicating their right to vote.

I accept my faults in never having voted before 2016 even in local elections. It was stupid and selfish and 2016 woke me up to that reality. You don't go from 0 to trump overnight. Do you accept your fault in not voting in 2016 when one of the most detrimental candidates was running and won?

[threeletterslife]

ChANA!! I had a weird dream last night where you deactivated your Tumblr and I was like TT TT luckily I wake up and go "ah nevermind"... but ngl I was still kinda paranoid when I googled your Tumblr today 🤡 also, i'm reALLY EXCITED THAT YOU POSTED FLEETING FOREVERS OMG I'M SO EXCITED TO READ IT!! Does that mean you're back from your trip (and if yes, how was it :0)? Also... I'm a little late ;-; but could I send in two questions from the ask game? F, K, U, and V? If you're no longer answering 1

2 them, that's okay too heh. :] I hope you're having a nice day! ~🌻

ok wait sORRY I'M A CLOWN FJDSLFJDLFJD FLEETFOR HAS BEEN POSTED FOR SO LONG AND I NEVER REALIZED UM- sorry I'm just going to go sleep now because my brain has been *fried* for so long now jfdlfjoeiwjlsidjfdslfj 🌻

AHHH A DREAM THAT I DE-ACTIVATED MY BLOG?? goodbYE 😭😭 good news, though! it's safe to say that um, that's not gonna happen any time soon! i have too many things planned for this blog at the moment!

aLsO HAHA yes my lil break is basically coming to an end since i’m gonna start posting next week again! after my trip from florida i was writing nonstop to catch up 😭😭and my trip was GREAT! florida is so nice omg. i went to key west, miami and orlando; key west turned out to be my absolute favorite!!

LMAO OF COURSE IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO SEND QUESTIONS!! 

F. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it

omg this was hard. i’m very bad at remembering what i’ve written, so i had to do some digging to find a scene i’m genuinely proud of. (maybe it’s my own bias but my yoongi fics’ dialogue kinda hit differently?????)

"Why are you even here again?"

You pause. Actually, why are you here? You could've just simply walked away and never had this conversation with Yoongi. But you'd stopped. And now you're talking with him. You answer him truthfully. "I really have no idea."

Another pause.

"Are you gonna ask me to leave?"

"... No."

"Oh." You cock your head. "Okay."

The two of you stare at each other. A staring game commences.

But Yoongi blinks first, claiming you the victor of the little contest. "You can stay if you want."

You scoff. "Excuse me, I didn't know I needed your permission."

Yoongi throws his hands up in the air. "Do you always have to fucking pick a fight?"

"You're the one who starts them!"

"I didn't even say anything mildly rude."

—propinquity (law of seesaw)

originally, i was gonna pick an angstier quote, but i’m actually quite proud of this scene!! i think it really encompasses the ‘enemies’ portion of enemies to lovers, all the while hinting at something more (especially with yoongi suggesting that oc can stay with him)

K. What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

LOL the angstiest idea i’ve ever come up with??? HOW CAN I CHOOSE? at first, i was like, the exam. because, i mean, it’s sad. but then?? i was like... okay but don’t look back... but then no, because i totally forgot about where the colors fade. and then i thought about it some more and realized a whole ass before the looking glass exists. in conclusion, there is no conclusion 💀 especially because my angstiest idea is still in my drafts 👀👀

U. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much

@jimlingss @inktae @readyplayerhobi 

all three writers are so, so talented!! i really appreciate writers who write angst—but the angst is so angsty that you can literally feel the words rip your heart in two 😩their plots, characterizations, obvious eloquence are just a fEW of their best qualities. you can find a lot of their fics on my recs page

V. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

shit that’s hard. i’m not a huge fan of sequels or prequels so it took a while for me to come up with some ideas LOL. my number one choice, however, would be the sequel to game of temptation, by kina! i’m super invested in that universe, and ever since i finished reading it, i always wondered how the future events would actually play out

[the-luckiest-guy-thanks-to-you]

I'm doing the shady thing of screenshot bc they don't feel like engaging with anything but their own thought, and honestly I totally get where they're coming from but while in a way it makes a lot of sense, a lot of non-binary people aren't comfortable considering themselves trans even though they are thoroughly aware that the white line in the trans flag is for non-binary identities.

I also want to say that this isn't posted on a personal hang up of mine like the note says, but I literally live in a theme house that only has one or two cis people any given year, I have multiple years running a college GSA, done coming out day events, co-sponsored drag events, etc. I also more recently have been leaving more towards considering myself non-binary and trans than I have in the last year. I can name people by the dozens who are nonbinary but not comfortable with being called trans.

I also want to explain a bit about this now that that's out of the way. I'm not gonna go over their semi-ignorance of others experiences, but I want to bring up a better way of getting ideas like this across.

1) people can identify however they want to, you cannot assert an identity on them (including "if it's an adjective" if they don't like it)

2) instead of looking at it like "X people are trans" instead "trans people can be X" can be much better. Instead of being pedantic rather than listen to how people actually feel, it shows acceptance should they want to identify that way without putting them in a box

3) "but technically they do fit in the box!" I hear the ghost of someone in the comments shouting. And yeah, they might, but also there's agender people who don't feel like they "cross a gender boundary" and aren't comfortable, there's demi-gender people who don't fully relate to their gender but still identify as nonbinary, and other cases where sure, they could consider themselves trans, but that is up to them.

4) there's also hairy discussions of what gender is in a given context and how it changes and it's cultural and how masculinity and what it means to be a man or femininity and womanhood can be related to in totally different ways and how someone identifies may change with their culture and stuff. Gender is fake in the first place, so defining it as "not cis", while it in many ways makes a lot of sense, isn't actually a great definition in a practical real-life-and-interacting-with-people sense as much as a basic oh-this-is-a-basic-principle/rule-of-thumb-for-understanding sense.

Also like the way we talk about it will change over time(remember how we used to use the word transexual and now it's borderline a slur? Language isn't the same for everyone and it changes, there's countries that proudly use a rough translation of transvestite which is a big no no here in the states), the way different people define the word trans will change with who you ask, so locking it down like this is really limiting too

This is unnecessarily long but I just want to throw this out there in hopes for more critical engagement, and hopefully if someone disagrees, they'll do it in an actual conversational way

Also, I will say, in agreement with lobster's post: transmeds do not interact, we don't need bigotry and stuff here or elitism or any of that and those are terrible arguments and v bad

Also to the one person who called me out for using "nb" for non-binary despite it's other use as "non-black", I will try to be clearer in the future, but also I'm just guessing that that's what you're referring to because you didn't actually provide information to help so I just had to try to figure it out on my own and turns out, you really gotta dig for it. Nb means non-binary, nota bene, noodle boy, no bother, and "niu bi" which is Chinese, all more popularly than that it seems, and you really gotta purposely try to misread the post specially since it's meant non-binary since the 2000s but if I see a good alternative, I'll try to use it or be more clear in the future

Edit: for the linguistic side of things and changing of meaning I want to add another example that may get my point across better. Think of what it means to be trans 80 or so years ago, if you were trans, it mostly means you were in the binary, just on the opposite side than your sex. It didn't really include non-binary genders like it does today so the meaning has changed. My point is you can't stick to a hard and fast definition for the sake of "I am right and gender is organized by technicalities" because there's so much more to that and it limits how we talk about these things