#if i had a nickel for every time i made a guy with a problem i didnt have only to develop that problem. well. lotta nickels

[canonkiller]

making disabled characters as a disabled person rules because not only are you connecting with yourself + others by representing that condition and also introducing and normalizing existence with that condition to people who are unfamiliar with it, whenever you have a flare up there IS a significant chance that your first thought before all else will be "wow JUST like blorbo from my mind"

[princesstarfire1234]

Random ideas for a hypothetical Scavengers (mini) series

So I made a google doc a few nights ago and filled it with random ass ideas for how a cartoony likely-episodic Scavengers series could go... It was around the same time I wanted to get to animating a Scavs-related thing but no promises there or to this ever becoming more than rambles

Anyways... heres an unorganized collection of my silly thoughts:

POST-WAR!! War’s over, Autobot-Decepticon alliance is great and dandy for everyone except of course the folks who got left behind and forgotten by respective High Commands and have had to make their own dealings in space to get thru life and shit; focusing on the daily struggles of your average low of the low genericons/bots, the Scavengers

Optimus and Megatron are definitely married (trust); we go the IDW MTMTE route but instead of Megs off on a quest with Roddy and gang, he’s with Optimus and they both publicly surrender/call truce or whatever on-video and agree to help repair cybertron instead of squabbling, sending a message to all cybertronians taking refuge amongst the stars blah blah blah its time to go home (pilot should open with this i think, set the worldview up straight from the beginning)

It could either be set in the slums of like some populated city or smthn, like maybe Dead End of Kaon or smthn OR… now consider… Set NOT on Cybertron, literally anywhere BUT Cybertron; the Scavs wander space, at least every few episodes or so would be set in a different planet or smthn, having them do their usual shenanigans and (failing) their supply/scavenging runs, as well as the occasional star station too for like a pit stop i guess; there’d be atleast one episode where they go to earth probably

Main characters (scavs duh, but lemme write some shit down here rq):

Krok - the dutiful, ever-patient (one can of engex away from losing it) leader of the Scavengers; he’s the one that usually has the single functioning brain cell

Crankcase - the skillful pilot of the crew’s beloved Decepticon-hijacked Autobot vessel, always in a sour mood, think TFA Ratchet but up the old man crankiness to 500; really good at fixing things (mechanic)

Spinister - a little stupid… all the stupid actually… but he’s got things rattling in there too, don’t worry! The Scavengers’ medic; would probably be Cybertron’s greatest surgeon if it weren’t for everything else

Fulcrum - Defunct?? Rejected?? Something-class Decepticon, a bit of a coward, found in a dumpster by Misfire; he’s a technician too! Score!

Misfire - ideas are about as good as his aim (which is not at all); the really really talkative and social one; rejected Rainmaker/Seeker (bro didnt pass Decepticon Academy, rip)

Additional members that get added to the crew later on!

Grimlock - resident Dinobot and the only Autobot on the crew (for now or smthn idk), thinking of either having them find him during the pilot episode or a bit later on?; i think Krok would definitely have a thing where he’s super wary of him until a big character development episode thing happens like in MTMTE #46

Nickel - hmmm idk yet.. Maybe a former high ranking decepticon officer whose position has been stripped from her the more fucked up and bad the faction ended up becoming because she was very vocal about its problems til the current day? (I just don’t think her being connected to the DJD would work here womp womp)

Flywheels (unsure) - some mech that tagged along with them during one random shenanigans episode

MP3 / or some other new human character (unsure) - they have an episode where they go to Earth and befriend silly human… may or may not keep them, maybe they could be an honorary Scavenger but only appears sometimes or stays on Earth but keeps in touch with the Scavs (look I just think having a human on the crew would be kinda silly and funky for the dynamic)

Meanies to the crew (weekly bad guy):

Novastorm - leader of the Rainmakers; has beef with Misfire

Skullcruncher- Krok hates his guts; he’s the TFA Sentinel to Krok’s TFA Prime, probably served together on like whatever the equivalent of a Warworld ship would be in this

Raiders??? Space pirates??? Idk but I’d def make em be related to Spinister’s past or smthn (this was inspired by some fanfic I read a bit ago, I think Fool’s Paradise on AO3)

Needlenose? (Spin trusted him, betrayed copter boy :((( or smthn)

Scorponok - probably the biggest threat of the show (ofc not in universe), but he’d be like IDW Scorponok in that one Scavs issue, all kinda silly and dramatic but def a threat, he kinda reminds me of Dino/BW Megatron a bit

DJD (absolutely unsure, maybe a passing mention or not at all) - would probably have to sillify them a bit (a lot, idk how the hell Cyberverse managed it with Tarn)...

There's more in the doc but they're not fully formed ideas yet... My countless hours scrolling the Scavengers tags on tumblr have also given me ideas for certain kinds of episodes that could happen but again, nothing concretely written down yet

If I have the energy or remember this, I'm def gonna be updating it with some more ideas cuz whether this becomes real or not, its fun!! Maybe I could write it as a fic one day or if someones wants to idk

Okay bai bai for now, I gotta eep 👋

[ryin-silverfish]

Between ancient Chinese novels, if one of them could get the "epic the musical" version of it, which one would you choose?

...Is it too predictable to say "FSYY"?

(cough cough if you think about it all the traditional Chinese opera adaptations of classic vernacular novels are musicals, which, in turn, would mean the novel themselves grow out of "musicals" bc of their oral lit + popular performance art predecessors cough cough)

tbh, it's just my personal itch for a crack FSYY/Homeric Epics crossover talking ("If I had a nickel for every time a bronze age civilization undergoes an epic war with divine aid on both sides because Fate Says So a guy simped too hard and made it everyone else's problem, I'd have two nickels...").

But it's either that, or Three Kingdoms, and although ROTK is the better literary and Yanyi genre novel, it's also a lot more grounded in official history records and doesn't quite have the fantastical + mythical feels of the Iliad & Odyssey.

JTTW is *the* fantastical one, but it also lacks the Homeric Epics' focus on war and its triumphs and tragedies——that's ROTK and, to a slightly lesser extent, Water Margin's forte.

So yeah, I'm still biased towards FSYY, mostly bc a "FSYY: The Musical" that seriously explores the characters' inner thoughts and conflicts and their reaction to Fate + the WOI would be a vast addition and improvement to the original novel.

[gemwolfz]

see my problem is that if you say hole with little enough context i will immediately start laughing anyway. Hole. What the fuck hes digivolving

Ohhhhhhhh if i had a nickel for every time keroro was possessed by ass demons i would have two nickels wh

ASS STABBING VAMPIRISM!!!!!!! YEAH SURE OKAY WHY NOT!!!!!!!!

you know what they say about guys with two horns. uh. um. Someone finish this joke for me

now thats just being dealt a bad hand. at least youre truest to a mole (cant fucking see). Giroro is still down there he could jump out at any moment kids evacuate please please please

guys i swear to god theres a voice clip of super smash bros GAME SET mixed to say GAY SEX but its nowhere to be found whenever i need it. its so clear in my head but i cant fucking reference it. god dammit.

Put mois away i dont wanna see that shit

i like how they act like this would help at all as though keroro wasnt drilling directly through walls a minute ago. you guys are stupid GIRORO YOU CANT JUST SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His deliberation implies they still have some degree of free will are you guys just doing this for fun or BOING????????? BOING SOUND EFFECT??????????????????????????????????? BOIIINGGGG!!!!

sorry im laughing uncontrollably WRITERS PLEASE DIRECT YOUR COMEDY SOMEWHERE MORE APPROPRIATE HONKA HONKA AWOOGA BOING

he literally got dealt a bad hand. he cannot succeed at drilling holes. he cant fucking see. sad i guess. Kururu CELIBACY image

KOGORO!!!!!!!!! KOGORO ASS JUMPSCARE!!!!!!!!!!!! KOGORO MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER ALL THE TIME wrong. he made things a little worse. uh. ah. hm.

PURURU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HI PURURU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the only one allowed to stick pointy things in yalls asses has arrived

i. yeah sure okay that tracks. giroro deepthroated that thing btw if you care

Review really cool you guys are going to get the most horrendous doodles once i watch the chibikero ep.

[vaguehotels]

Mortal Kombat: Questions 1, 10, and 25.

the character everyone gets wrong

OH MAN. if i had a nickel every time i saw someone talk about johnny being bad with kids. i would use them to buy a baseball bat and hunt said someones down. HE RAISED CASSIE ALL ON HIS OWN. sonya was not a good mother, johnny did literally all the work. you guys.

10. worst part of fanon

i actually dont have THAT many problems except for the cinnamon-roll-ification of syzoth. that man had a wife and child and withstood months (possibly years, they dont clarify and i cant keep track of the timeline) of servitude under an evil sorcerer all while being told his family is being kept alive only as long as he stays (they are not, in fact, alive).

this is how i feel btw^

25. common fandom complaint you’re sick of seeing

I HAVE TWO. first of all, people on tumblr especially, complain that most mk fans are men who enjoy the violence and the sexual costumes and the angsty dialogue. THATS THE TARGET AUDIENCE. it was not made for johnshi shippers. SECONDLY. 'ughhh theres no new content mk1 is boring already' very first and foremostly it is an arcade style fighting game. do you think they had "seasons" in 1993. i played mk11 for YEARS without even knowing about the story mode or the towers. if you cant enjoy something without new content for it constantly then you need to step back and slow down.

[cuban-feminist-that-gives-a-hoot]

Persona 3 Reload *SPOILERS*

So, I've let this sit for two weeks now and I think it's time for me to finally dish my thoughts. There will be spoilers for those that either haven't finished Reload or those who haven't played any version of Persona 3 at all. If you haven't done either one, I highly recommend you stop reading and go finish it *now*. This is your only warning at this point.

Have you finished it? OK, good. Let's get started.

Persona 3 Reload is a really, really good game. It makes what was once old new again and playing through P3R gave me the same strong feelings I had back when I first played Persona 3 FES. It was like meeting an old friend again after they got themselves both a makeover and nearly 20 years passed between the last time you saw them in person.

Let me get my nitpicky stuff out of the way before I heap the praise it deserves.

I straight-up did not like them taking away school club choice from us. How dare they?! I wanted to do Kendo and Photography like I did in FES, yet I was stuck with Track and Art? If I had to be stuck with a culture club, music should've been the canon club of choice. Our protagonist literally wears headphones all the time! You can't show me the music room at least thrice and tease me with us seeing it, yet not joining the club.

I hate the name change for Operation Babe Hunt. What's wrong with calling it Operation Babe Hunt? The name was fine! It was the creepy behavior of the boys and the transmisogyny that was the problem in it in the original, not the name!

The AI programming is shit. Look, a majority of folks bitching about not being able to control the characters in the original game and FES are being whiny babies that don't know how to use the tactics menu. It's a nitpick because I know that the game has decidedly gone for direct control, but honestly? I would've loved the sophisticated AI that Persona 3 and 3 FES used to be utilized.

Folks bitching about the High-Cut Bikini honestly just need to calm the fuck down. You don't have to use it if you don't want to. Whatever happened to the "Don't like? Don't use!" mindset? You're not being forced by evoker-point to use it.

The music is a downgrade. Lotus Juice is fine as always, but the new singer had a tough job to take over for Yumi Kawamura and fucking failed. The new songs that Yumi never sang are fine, but the new versions of the original songs? Oof. It is bad. Mass Destruction was whack and the less said about her version of Kimi no Kioku, the better.

So, yeah, those are my main nitpicks. Now onto the praise.

The voice acting is top-tier. And I need to put it in a second post because it would be too long. Just know that the English dub is fantastic and no one misses in it at all.

The extra scenes and hangouts we get with the boys are perfect. It fleshes out the guys in ways I wouldn't have expected. For example, I never knew Akihiko was adopted and has parents until Reload put that in there. Do you want to know where that information was originally known? In an artbook and a drama CD! Thank you, Reload, for giving us this vital information I never knew about.

The animation where there's a fusion accident is the funniest fucking thing they've added to the game. I love it, it's hilarious.

They made Shinjiro's death even sadder than the original. For those who have not played the original/FES, Shinjiro has enough strength to walk off before dropping dead under a streetlight. It was a more surreal, trippy moment for his death than anything else because of the art direction in the original/FES. In Reload? They went with what was shown in the movies, with Shinjiro dying in Akihiko's arms. If I had a nickel for every time the edgier of the two men in the ship die in the other's arms, it'd be two nickels. It's not a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice now. Not to mention the link episodes with Shinjiro are killer. You actually get to see how Shinjiro would look in his school uniform and, fuck, seeing baby Shinjiro, Mitsuru, and Akihiko together is just... it breaks the heart. And that conversation with Mitsuru the day after when you go in Shinjiro's room? Fucking ow! Way to break my heart, Shinjiro.

I'm glad that you *can* save Chidori's life. My Junpei/Chidori heart is so happy about that. And Junpei's second theurgy? Heartbreakingly beautiful, whether Chidori lives or dies.

I am so glad the game allows us to ask why Takaya doesn't wear a shirt. Strega's motivations have always been clear to me from day one. But Takaya, why the fuck do you not wear a shirt?

But yeah, those are my thoughts. It's a good remake. If you're not certain it's for you, try it out on GamePass. Otherwise? Buy it, you won't regret it.

[skaruresonic]

Man, if I had a nickel every time I've heard the word "disgusting" slung around in posts like this, I'd have enough to buy a smoothie.

Besides, Mom said it was my turn on the brain cell today. Quit hogging all the hivemind juice, guys.

---

But i want y'all to put this into perspective, his work is LEAGUES above the shit we've gotten for the past 10 years.

Why do you act like that's an objective fact? What if someone disagrees with your assessment? What if someone finds it worse than the "shit we've gotten for the past 10 years"? Are you going to "nuh-uh" them into submission?

People are not going to agree with things you'd consider universal truths. That's okay.

---

All of these games' stories were either mid to dogshit, at least people can somewhat agree that yeah, Frontiers is better than them. Is the story perfect? No, OF COURSE NOT!

So like, how much am I allowed to complain? Is it acceptable if I attribute it to Kishimoto instead? Because bad writing is bad writing.

My problems with Frontiers stem from overall gripes with story, characterization, pace, art direction, voice acting, marketing, tell don't show, reference overload, and reasons for existing, to name a few things.

Of that list, Flynn's involvement is only a portion, a very small portion at that. It's symptomatic of a larger problem, but not the only one.

---

He helped write Frontiers, Archie comics, IDW which has some cool stuff in it, Shadow Generations AND Dark Beginnings. This man has a better track record and actually LIKES THE SOURCE MATERIAL HE WRITES!!!!!!!!!

>>don't like Frontiers >>slowly grew to dislike Archie as I read more >>same for IDW - I literally only read it when I'm so bored that it has to be better than watching paint dry. it brings me exactly 0 enjoyment as a piece of media >>haven't played SxS Gens but not happy with the few glimpses I have seen so far >>Dark Beginnings is cool mostly because I have my Shadria ship goggles strapped on too tight, but even that is not exempt from its moments of :L ...I only like about maybe one out of those five examples you listed, and even that like was fueled by me being a shipper while ignoring other problems. Much peak, many wow.

Anyway, he likes Archie. His actual thoughts on the games seem far less enthusiastic, especially given how often he denigrates games characters (Amy is "all over the place," Eggman "never, ever has a solid plan," he's frustrated that Shadow "isn't a conversationalist"); he's referred to Archie as the "sacred texts" while saying he's "made an effort" to track down and play as many Sonic games as he can, as if the latter is a chore and the former is a passion.

Of course he's not going to say he thinks the games are dumb but that doesn't mean the underlying insinuation that he thinks they need to be improved isn't there. It'd just be bad PR to say that about stuff you're working on.

---

YOU WANT HIM AROUND!! IF SEGA LISTENS TO SOME OF YOU AND HIRES SOME RANDOM WRITER IT'S GONNA BE YOUR FAULT AND YOU'RE GONNA START MISSING HIM! 100000%

if Sega listened to me, we'd have the Advance games ported to the Switch by now :v

Okay... but, and I say this not to be combative, what if I don't? What if I want somebody else to take a crack at it because at this point it sounds like he's really tired of writing for the franchise, and in some cases warping canon to fit his fanon?

Like, you guys are assuming whoever takes the reins next will be Pontaff-tier disasters when that's just not a given. Maybe they will be worse, or maybe they will be better, or maybe they will present a different set of plus and minuses just like every other writer. Sometimes, it can be good to have new blood working on the IP because they can offer fresh perspectives not colored by their own biases as a fan.

Did Pontaff mess up various characters? Depends on who you ask. Their Eggman was pretty good, though. They weren't perfect, but at least they didn't push to straight-up alter established canon because they liked their fanon better.

---

Ian Flynn is a fucking human being that has a developing craft and he can take criticism to improve his work,

You speak of him as if he's a fanfic writer posting to AO3 for free and not a professional being paid cash money for his work.

Also, I know he's a human being. Not sure what you're trying to imply here, but it's not like I've ever talked to the guy since I've got a staunch no-contact policy with IDW staff. Meaning he shouldn't be looking at my blog for criticism anyhow.

---

he is NOT on the same fucking tier as the previous game writers and localizers.

Why is it that his authority is so selective that his word on the series is to be taken as practically as good as ST's, but when it comes to his mistakes, he's Just a Guy(tm) we shouldn't criticize?

Plus, he's been writing for the series in some capacity for close to 20 years at this point, and he keeps making the same mistakes over and over again. You'd think he'd understand that Shadow isn't a conversationalist by now.

The amount of hate Ian Flynn gets in the Sonic community due to some YouTubers criticizing his work, is actually fucking psychotic and kind of disgusting to be honest. You guys can be a real hive mind sometimes.

Now look, is his work perfect? No, no writer is PERFECT! NOTHING CAN BE PERFECT! Are some of the callbacks forced? YES! MHM! AGREED!

But i want y'all to put this into perspective, his work is LEAGUES above the shit we've gotten for the past 10 years. Colours is mid, Generations is bleh, Lost World SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Forces was LAUGHABLE!!! All of these games' stories were either mid to dogshit, at least people can somewhat agree that yeah, Frontiers is better than them. Is the story perfect? No, OF COURSE NOT! Ian Flynn is a fucking human being that has a developing craft and he can take criticism to improve his work, he is NOT on the same fucking tier as the previous game writers and localizers.

He helped write Frontiers, Archie comics, IDW which has some cool stuff in it, Shadow Generations AND Dark Beginnings. This man has a better track record and actually LIKES THE SOURCE MATERIAL HE WRITES!!!!!!!!!

YOU WANT HIM AROUND!! IF SEGA LISTENS TO SOME OF YOU AND HIRES SOME RANDOM WRITER IT'S GONNA BE YOUR FAULT AND YOU'RE GONNA START MISSING HIM! 100000%

GOODNESS! Get it together Sonic community, fucking hell.

[sagau-my-beloved]

I love we now made venti a potential hitman, like he’s so eager to kill for the all creator just to get attention, just imagine on the rare occasion you send him to kill some boss guy that been a nuisance for a while. Like on the outside to the public your the gentle all loving god. but in the shadows you have a team of your most loyal followers willing to kill people that you send out to take care of stubborn nuisance that refuse to make peace with you after giving them every offer you can. I imagine childe would be on the team of course, but also surprisingly, venti would too, like seriously, you a big bad boss guy that has unknowingly pissed off the all creator and this bard dude is sent to kill you? Only to come back to him master covered in blood and smiling cheerfully. Just, pure all creator secretly has a dark hitman unit she uses. She’s not all pure.

Really I mean what desperate acolyte wouldn't kill for the creator, I can't imagine there would be a lot

If we're talking about who all would be a willing hitman for their divine grace, all the Archons immediately make the checklist and also all the characters who have caused a death before, so obviously Childe's there, like a few different times

I'm just saying it would be really funny if the list looked like this

1: Childe

2: Venti

3: Tartaglia

4: Zhongli

5: Ajax

6: Ei

7: The 11th harbinger

Etc.

But something's just weirdly wholesome about the image of Venti covered thoroughly in blood, happily trotting back on his merry way to gush to his beloved how good he was for them, smiling and blushing as you clean up his face with a wet washcloth and he recounts the death in explicit detail, then you give him a lil kiss on the forehead for a job well-done

Que Childe pouting in the corner cause he didn't get a lil kiss

Anyway, yeah, it really is unrealistic to expect dear creator to just be all happy-go-lucky "let's solve this with the power of friendship!" when they literally came from our world, which is not notorious for having a lot of conflict solved in that manner

I mean at some point you just have to call it and resort to the secondary option, ie. murder

And who is a better helper than the drunk innocent bard, who looks as if the very worst he could bring himself to do is maybe steal a few sips of wine from unsuspecting patrons when they finally blackout after a long night

Realistically, if word ever got out to the general public that some 'less than innocent' things were going on behind the scenes, they would be relatively fine with it, I mean you have the right to enact divine judgment on whoever you see fit of course, and the fact that you're so loving and caring and pure on the outside only helps emphasize that everything you do is justified for one reason or another

And also what are the harbingers if not a team of 'problem solvers', I mean let's be real here, the game already has a canonical hitman team loyal to a divine power that everyone seems generally ok with, so you really wouldn't have to worry too heavily about that, your word is absolute after all

But if word did get out, there would suddenly be a very long list of people that want to join your elite hitman team, just saying, the line would be out the door

Then you'd probably have some of them claiming that they're actually better than the harbingers because they're loyal to a higher divine power, and then there's just Childe there who has to nervously sweat in the corner for being a part of both

Poor guy always gets swept up in divine hitman teams for some reason, if I had a nickel for everytime—

Anyway yeah, feral characters covered in blood and ready to kill 👌, more of that in fiction pls, we deserve it

[imhereformr]

brella- “you look so pretty when you smile” + [FLIRT]

(maybe like pre-season 1 or during season 1? idk whatever comes to your brilliant mind 💗)

Neither of those. Have High School party Brella first meet instead. Hope you still enjoy it 🧡💚

Stella Saule – most beautiful girl in school, richest girl in school, most fashionable girl in school, but maybe not the most popular – pushed her way through the crowd. It was, in her opinion, criminal that she wasn’t more popular, but apparently there was something about her sense of humour or, as Musa called it, her brashness that rubbed people the wrong way. Nevermind, she had her girls, so who needed the rest of them anyways.

Unfortunately for her, one of her girls also happened to be dating one of the most popular guys in school and somehow, she always ended up getting dragged to his house parties alongside her darling best friend. Bloom hated parties, so how she’d ended up dating mister popular football jock man Skylar Eraklyon was beyond Stella. Usually, Musa and Aisha would be dragged along, but the latter had family commitments and the former was out on a date with her dumbass jackass of a boyfriend. He’s not that bad, she claimed – whatever. Tecna and Flora weren’t partiers, so they never came. Which, tonight, left Stella all alone while Bloom was dragged away by her stupid boyfriend to be introduced to more people whose name Bloom would never remember.

Stella dropped herself onto one of the striped blue and white lounge chairs on the back patio of Sky’s mansion, which she found ridiculously large even by her standards – and her home had a ballroom, six guest rooms, two dining rooms, three living rooms and a servants’ quarters. She nursed the repulsive beer that she’d plucked out of a cooler – the only alcoholic option she had, and lord knew she’d need that to survive the night – as she watched Diaspro, miss head cheerleader and Sky’s ex, flirt with Pete, Stella’s ex.

It had only been two weeks since they’d broken up; how the fuck was he already flirting with other girls? Especially such heinous ones. Stella rolled her eyes, drank and scrolled through her phone, occasionally getting a text from the others asking how the party was. Bloom came by once or twice, but Sky always pulled her away. If Stella didn’t know any better, she’d think he was jealous that Bloom would prefer to hang out with her instead of him.

“Hi there.”

“Fuck off.”

“Wow. You’re friendly.”

Stella rolled her eyes. She was not in the mood for some jackass to hit on her. And yet, said jackass took the chair next to hers and leaned back. Stella stared straight ahead at her phone; she would pay him no mind. If he couldn’t get the very straightforward message of fuck off that wasn’t her problem.

“So, what’s it like?”

“What?” Stella questioned against her better judgement.

“What’s it like?”

“What’s what like?” Stella demanded with an exasperated sigh as she dropped her phone in her lap.

“Being the most gorgeous woman to ever exist.”

“Seriously? That’s the best you can do?” Stella gave him the most unimpressed look she could muster and... fuck.

He was gorgeous.

Fuck him.

Broad shoulders, perfect square jaw, sparkling smile, deep chocolatey eyes, shiny brown hair, skin so smooth it would make a newborn jealous. He made Pete look like a dumpster. Stella forced her unimpressed glare to stay on her face solely for appearance’s sake, but she actually found herself okay with the idea of him continuing to flirt with her. Did that make her a hypocrite? Absolutely, but she didn’t care. His gorgeous ass could distract her from this misery.

“If I had a nickel for every time I saw someone as beautiful as you, I'd have five cents.”

Stella grimaced.

“Are you a parking ticket? Cause you've got fine written all over you. If I had four quarters to give to the four prettiest women in the world, you would have a dollar. You must be made of cheese because you're looking Gouda tonight.”

“Oh. That... was awful, but I’ve not heard it yet” she admitted. She tried to maintain her uninterested demeanor, but she had to admit that there was something charming about him. She let her eyes roam over the backyard, hoping that Pete had noticed this delicious man flirting with her. She had been the one to break up with him, so she wasn’t particularly heartbroken, but it stung to see him already moving on. She needed to show him she was too.

“Awful?” He furrowed his brows. One of his hands found its way to his chest as he feigned offence. Stella tried not to notice how his arms flexed at the movement. She failed, of course.

“You couldn’t possibly think it was good.”

“Well, let’s see you do better then” he challenged.

Stella spotted Pete looking at them and gave him a wicked smirk. She returned her attention to her admirer, deciding that she was willing to play along. Letting herself slide down the lounge chair, Stella angled her body towards him. She used the arm of the chair to support her arm as she propped her chin onto her palm and gave him the sweetest look she could. “I'm not so good at holding conversations… is it okay if I hold your hand instead?”

He smiled at her. Oh God, that really was a nice smile. His dentist must be a magician. The man sat up and threw his legs over the edge of the chair, leaning into her. “They say Disney World is the happiest place on Earth, but clearly they've never sat next to you.”

“Are you an artist? Because you’re really good at drawing me in" she replied flirtatiously. If he wanted a pick up line contest, she would win. She'd heard them all.

“I hope you know CPR because you are taking my breath away.”

“I'd take you to the movies, but they don't let you bring in your own snacks.”

“When I text you goodnight later, what phone number should I use?”

Oooh that was a smooth one. She wouldn’t mind if he texted her good night. Or good morning.

“Aside from being sexy, what do you do for a living?”

“If you were a chicken, you'd be Im-peck-able.”

“Oh... noooo” Stella laughed. He’d been doing so well. None of the lines were that good – except maybe the goodnight text one – but at least they were passable. She tried to reel in her laughter, but it was so bad, she couldn’t help it. She loved a good bad joke.

“So, uh... do you have a name, or can I just call you 'mine'?” he asked as she wiped away the tears that had started to form in the corners of her eyes.

“Are you only gonna talk to me in bad pick-up lines now?”

“Well, it seems to be the only thing that you’ll respond to, so” he retorted with a laugh. Stella laughed again. When she stopped, he was watching her with a smile that she couldn’t quite decipher. It wasn’t the charming one he'd been using on her before, it was more… genuine. “You’re really pretty when you smile.”

She almost brushed it off as another pick up line, but something told her it wasn’t. She smiled again, which he returned. He was really cute. And, for the first time since she’d found out she’d be accompanying Bloom solo, Stella found herself genuinely enjoying herself.

“Stella” she told him, extending her hand.

“Brandon.” His hand took hers and shook it. He smiled at her, his dark eyes meeting her own. She couldn’t help but notice that the smile extended into his eyes and there was something incredibly comforting about them. It was only after she realized they were still holding hands some minutes later that she spoke again.

“It’s nice to meet you, Brandon.”

[from-the-clouds]

oh i have a question too since you've dated older men! what are your thoughts on age gaps? i mean like 7 to 10 years. the good, the bad...?

My irl boyfriend who I’ve been with for awhile is 7/8 years older than me! I think 10 years or less is like fine and might not be a problem depending on your age. Like if you were 18 dating a 28 year old that might be a little weird tbh, but I was mid-twenties and he was early 30s when we started seeing each other so I felt like it wasn’t weird esp bc we met at work. It also was hot to me because he was a little more advanced in his career and helped me out with a lot of financial stuff at the beginning of the relationship. He also didn’t like nickel and dime me every time we went out to dinner since he made more money than I did. I felt like he was very nurturing and sweet and did a good job taking care of me. I’ve always found in general I’ve gotten on better with older men compared to guys my age because they tend to be more mature, HOWEVER-

I’ve also dated guys a lot older than him and when you get to 10+ years is when I feel like you have to be careful. In my mid twenties I dated a guy in his 40s and a guy in his late 30s. and I found with the guy in his 40s that while he was nice and we had a lot of fun - he was ultimately very immature, which was why he was still single at his age. Nothing wrong with that but I just didn’t see him actually being able to be a reliable partner long term. And same with the guy in his late 30s. Like he was very kind and sweet and seemed very serious about planning for his future but had this ex girlfriend who was awful to him that he kept going back too which I felt like was kinda a red flag that he couldn’t end that relationship for good even though it was clearly toxic. I’m still friends with both of them now so they weren’t bad people just sort of unserious lol.

I think it’s all fun and games on here to fantasize about older men for fics and such, but I do think that in real life, when an older man (I’m talking 10+ years) is interested in you as a younger woman, there’s usually a REASON why he can’t pull women his age, or he’s a creep and will probably just find someone younger once you get too old. As I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten a lot better at seeing through bullshit and asking for what I want out of my partners, and I think that sometimes older men go for younger women because they think they will find someone who won’t call out their bad behaviors or will accept being not treated as well without leaving. I could talk about this subject for DAYS so I will stop now lol. I don’t think this is ALWAYS true, I’m sure there’s always exceptions to the rule, but I feel like you just have to be careful if you are dating a guy 10+ older than you.

[booksandchainmail]

Pale 8.7

Going back a bit

nice! I'm glad we get to see some of Avery and Fernanda's not-a-date (channeling Verona here)

Fernanda went on, “In some circles, it’s the only kind of card you can play.  It’s more useful for putting someone you know into a compromising position than for drinking yourself, because the pregnancy comes on hard and heavy.  Depletes the body to make things happen.”

If I had a nickel for every time wildbow wrote pregnancy-based horror, etc etc

“Come, let’s shop more,” Fernanda said, taking Avery’s hand, and the way she took it was by bumping shoulders, her arm winding around Avery’s to make it impossible to do anything but walk shoulder to shoulder. Verona wasn’t looking, was she? This was just Fernanda being Fernanda, wasn’t it?

OwO?

And honestly, Fernanda being Fernanda does not rule out flirting

Fernanda leaned into Avery, confiding, “Just… do yourself a favor, and never wear a sports bra when you’re not actively playing sports.”

have to disagree here, sports bra and tank top is a classic combination for a reason

The last time I met someone who was properly nice to me and that simple smile or ‘how are you’ actually made my day?  I was a child, Avery.  Now I know it for the chore it is, I know it’s strategic and how nice a person is… social calculus. 

I think you may have met a skewed sample of people

The top, a simple ‘this is me’ identity stamped on it instead of conveying that same message from the design of the thing? It’s childish. Like a man’s suit, the closer you get to the top and the older you get, the more you come to appreciate the subtle tells.

one of the fun? things about formal menswear is that since there's not that much variety in what it is overall (ie a suit), the rules about how it is supposed to look are very strongly defined. If you look at men's traditional fashion blogs, the vibe often starts out at "here's what the width of your lapels signals about you personally" and ends up at "if you're not getting everything tailored you look like an idiot eight year old. fuck you." There is a very fine line for me between finding those articles interesting and useful and finding them incredibly depressing.

but also, fuck off Fernanda. You guys are thirteen on a field trip. That tank top is fine.

“That’s ladies’ fashion for you. So much of it serves us up on a platter for the world to feast on. Sorry.”

but of course the upside of men's fashion is that you can just default to basics and it signals nothing about you.

And given how Avery dressed up for the party back in Kennet, I don't think she's going to have the particular problems Fernanda is talking about.

“Huh,” Fernanda said, looking like she was considering that. Then she smiled a bit. “Well, if there’s any food for thought in the mix, I hope it makes up for it. I was going to buy you a top. Can I still do that?”

... has she been negging Avery?

Weird.  Avery couldn’t find mental footing, and the more time she was spending with Fernanda, the more she was coming to suspect that was Fernanda’s thing.  It recontextualized a lot of other stuff. That, and that smile- was Fernanda enjoying this back and forth?

emotion manipulator! Though I'm not sure what her strategy is here. Honestly, she might have just decided Avery isn't worth working an angle on and is just having fun fucking with her.

“I don’t know what to say, Fernanda,” Avery admitted.  “You don’t want nice.” “I do, I simply don’t believe in nice for niceness’s sake.”

Once again coming back to my statement that Avery is sweet, though here it might be a drawback. Then again, I think if Lucy or Verona was paired with Fernanda hostilities might have broken out.

“I think I’d have more peace of mind knowing I’m the real me.” “Oh honey. You’re naturally pretty, so of course you get to say that.”

going to be honest, at thirteen if I was in Avery's place I would have just fully stalled out of this conversation

“It’s reality.  I can’t control what my family does.  I can only… fake a phone call, to deflect and drop a tidbit of information that nudges them one way.  Or happen to be sick one day they want me to meet a man they’re thinking about marrying me off to.”

practitioner society is so fucked up

“Always have to have my guard up against that sort of thing.  Always a card in my back pocket, so to speak.”

and in the general danger of this world, theoretically your family is meant to be your allies. But for some of the students we've seen, that family ends up being the most pressing threat

It was sheer, shimmery, and a kind of halter style, tying up around the neck and draping forward while leaving the back completely open.  And Fernanda laid it across Avery’s front.

OwO ?

No, they were older, by maybe ten years.  A twenty-three year old Avery wore the top, as well as a resized version of her regular jeans.  Tattoos decorated one arm, shoulder, and disappeared behind the fabric at her side.

nice

It hadn’t hit home, until that… absence. She felt so stupid, so irresponsible, not thinking about this more. Thinking… what, that opossums were out in the wild so that simple internet search on lifespan might be skewed?

oh. There has to be ways around this, right? Becoming something more complex or spirit-focused? Miss had started preparing Snowdrop to potentially take her place, maybe she'd know something? That seems like a plan longer than ten years.

Avery hadn’t been sure if she would take the demesne or the familiar, and she’d been leaning toward the demesne, because it worked on so many levels.  But if it was a question of saving Snowdrop, tying Snow’s lifespan to her own, then there really was no question.

oh! yeah, forgot that about familiars

“You seem to have taken away something from this shopping trip of ours.  Something good?” “Something I needed.” “Good. Then I’m glad I spent the money. I’m glad you three picked this place. Good move,” Fernanda declared.

Is Fernanda also looking to build alliances? Her family's in rough shape now, and she doesn't have much leverage even within them. If she's looking for outside allies, the Kennet Trio have proven they're strong enough to be worth it, while also being isolated enough that getting goodwill with them has relatively low buy-in.

She put her hand at the crook of Avery’s elbow and swung her bag a bit with her other hand.

so she's definitely doing this on purpose

“Verona improvises, she’s really good at some parts of practice.  Finding answers.  Lucy’s got some of the combat stuff down, and showmanship stuff, she’s really good at that.  I’m… I like to think I’m good at exploring places.  Not so much here.”

you're also really good in a tight spot! Avery's the default hitter in the group, as well as basically all their mobility. She also doesn't freeze up in conflict, but starts moving and taking action, and spends the fight taking pressure off the other two so they can set up practice.

“Then… I’m the nicest?  That might be mean to say, and it doesn’t really matter to you, does it?  You don’t think nice for nice’s sake matters, right?”

also this! Being the friendly face, smoothing things over, reaching out without ulterior motives

This was weird, being arm in arm with an objectively pretty girl, one who was touchy-feely, on what could be called a shopping date…

:)

“Lucy’s…” Avery said, looking.  She found Lucy, talking to Kass and some of the boys.  “Mission-focused.  Tackles the issues.  Verona’s… she pulls back, waits.”

continuing this, I would say Avery flanks. While Lucy takes point and Verona sets things up, Avery can literally come at an enemy from a side they didn't expect, or more metaphorically take a new angle on a conversation

“Ah.  Yeah, I mean, I can see that, but I feel like we’re dancing around… you know I’m into girls, right?”

that's one way to handle things! Good direct approach instead of dancing around it. I have a feeling that Avery will not grow into one of the lesbians who spends several months trying to figure out if she's in a relationship or not

“I did not.  I’m not, for the record.”

:(

“Are you into me?” Fernanda asked. “No.” “I’ve dropped my opinion of your taste.  Who are you into?”

oh wow

“I liked… my old classmate, but you wouldn’t know her.  Clementine, a bit.  She showed up that other night.  Cute hair and she looked… huggable.  This is awkward.”

valid

Her eyes fell on a tall woman, tattooed, with clothes draped down from a single piece of metal that had a hole for the head and draped across the shoulders. A bit muscular. Fernanda leaned her head over, to match her gaze roughly to Avery’s.  “Huh. I forfeit, don’t know what to say.  Follow your heart.”

this is what I was getting at with my objections to Fernanda's advice earlier. Queer attractiveness standards tend to be different!

“This is my game, and this is how I win, I win people over, or I destroy them, and I’m tired of destruction right now,” Fernanda said, before addressing the key salesman.

:| losing Laila did a number on her

“Escape keys. To find the way home. Or get home, depending. If you’re stuck somewhere, they’re a way back. Looks like he sells locks you can carry with you and mechanically install, so you have somewhere to stick these keys. If the way home is easy it opens a door and you can step through. You’ll be back. If not, it breaks the door or wall or whatever, and you use the way the pieces land or point to find the best direction to take.”

oh that seems incredibly useful for the Paths. I think that family she was working with had something similar?

“I don’t.  I really don’t.  You don’t have to reciprocate, you do realize that?  You don’t have to get involved.  Trying might get you hurt someday.  You got into the thing with the school and the fight between headmasters and you didn’t have to. Start looking for other ways. You don’t have to save me or help me.” “It’d be nice if there was a way to.”

unstoppable force (Fernanda's cynicism) meets immovable object (Avery being an innately kind person)

“Nice for niceness’s sake is meaningless, remember?  You can’t.  You’re not all powerful, you’re not even that important.  Do your thing, enjoy what parts of life you can.  I kinda hope that tough conversation that’s waiting for you goes okay.  I kinda hope that crisis goes okay.  I don’t care that much but it’d be good if the world sucked a little less.”

thinking of some lyrics from Into the Woods here: You're so nice You're not good, you're not bad, you're just nice I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right

“Ask your three questions,” the woman at the booth said, as she put the money on a shelf beneath the table.  “For each, you get one answer you want, and one you didn’t expect.”

interesting. An answer you didn't expect can still be useful

“More than that.  If left too long on something unattended, it can seize the item for itself, making it impossible to retrieve.”

so no matter how they were using nettlewisp, it would probably end up backfiring. They could have lost a lot of resources like that

“The like-to-like charm,” Avery murmured. “You give up a bit of claim to the person who gave you the glamour, every time you make the change. They could take these items from you in a critical moment.”

interesting. IIRC, Avery's the only one who uses that glamour, for her charm bracelet. I think the only important things she's stored there are her mask/hat/cape? Which could be a problem. I don't think losing the hockey stick or shoes would matter long term, though in the middle of a fight it could be nasty.

“That she has her traps for you, in the midst.  Three simple traps that she may use to foil or distract you.  Inconveniences. But there are traps there that are from you, for yourselves.”

Hmm. Are those tied to the simple traps? As they use them, it pushes them in certain directions? Maybe pushing Lucy to be more aggressive, Verona to be less human. Not sure about Avery.

She’s set your trajectories by handing you tools. Telling you that you may easily become Other and that you were chosen for that reason. Giving you a way of putting your mark on an argument and making it yours, when it’s rare you would want the argument and its consequences. Giving you another face to wear, so you’re left more certain that you want your own individuality, your own Self.

give someone a hammer and suddenly everything looks like nails. But what do all of these lead to? The middle one seems like a general way to get them into more problems. But the first and last one... making them more attached to their own selves and aware they could become Other. Was Maricica trying to keep them human? Or was each trap tied to the specific girl it was given to (Other for Lucy, argument for Verona, Self for Avery)?

“Can we delay it?  If it’s motivating some awful behavior-” The faerie woman was already shaking her head. Avery thought of Snowdrop again. Gone from her shoulder. She stroked her pet.

Would making him a familiar stop/slow it? Not that I'm recommending that.

If you know what stories remain to him, then be mindful of where he is and what he does as the last story ends. That may be him forevermore.

could Guilherme become the new carmine judge, if the story went right?

And now they were all together, all a bit stressed, but they were stressed together.  No sides, really.  Or far less. Had Estrella done that on purpose? Probably.

The Kennet Trio was paired with one on Alexander's side, two who went neutral from Bristow. Not sure about the class as a whole.

Avery almost did; she had a waterproof jacket with a hood that could be clipped on in her bag.  She held off, saw Fernanda huddled over, looking uncomfortable, and handed her the jacket instead.  Fernanda didn’t say no. “Wow,” Verona said, under her breath. “Smooth.”

agreeing with Verona, that's a good move. Very gallant. I think Avery's going to be very popular once she gets into a queer community (and a bit more self-confidence)

“You wear a mask,” the girl said, reaching out.

I'm worried about the symbolism of the Kennet Trio being dressed like these Fae children

“The thing about me,” Avery grunted.  “Is I’m probably the wrong person to drag into this situation.”

yeah, if I had to pick one of the girls to maybe get into a fight in the Warrens, it would be Avery. And I'm honestly kind of relieved that America's plan seems to just have been getting them onto her turf, rather than anything tied to Faerie

The Tightrope of Lights path had given her a minor boon of balance. The Zoomtown path had bestowed the ability to navigate a crowded way forward.

Nice to see Avery's path-finding coming into play

“I didn’t get to fight!” America shouted back.  Her voice didn’t ring off the wet mud walls, nor the ceiling that was so sloppy with mud it felt like it could cave in at any point.  “They- you took that power from me!  You took the right to have a say!”

... I think being captured, and being held for day not knowing what would happen, knowing they could hurt or kill her, and then not getting any closure about it, may have had an impact on her

He loves me but he doesn’t get me, so he goes and gets sent to jail sometimes and crap,

um. some questions there

“And this is it?” Avery asked.  “This is the way it goes?  Keeps getting worse because we have to hurt more than we’re hurt?”

going back to the theme of trying to build something better

“-They’re poor.  They’re struggling. The Fae! That’s what Estrella wanted to show us, I think. They’re not rich they’re not fancy they’re not super manipulative. They’re tired and life’s hard and they’re selling stuff but-”

oh interesting. The fact that they're called courts means we assume a certain level of prosperity, and most Fae who show up in stories and book are those who are powerful (and often who are ruthless enough to gain that power).

“They’re poor or they’re down on their luck or they’re not really fancy Faerie and to them seventy five bucks is a lot and you’re- we’re kind of ruining their day, causing this mess.  Sending goblins at them.  How is that an eye for an eye?  You’re making the lives of struggling people harder!  You’re not the victim, you’re the asshole!”

you're also beating up a thirteen year old because you're mad at society

Avery shook her head, angry at herself.  “I thought I could get through.  Shake her up a bit.”

I think you did! You convinced her to back off, and I think what you said will stick with her.

“Mr. Musser’s going to be the new headmaster.”

two steps forward, one step back :|

"Anyone else, including the other contender, Crowe, they’d dig. And this thing would be perpetuated endlessly.”

ah. ok. Guess they were pretty suspicious. But it looks like Raymond doesn't want to go after some kids over a friend who probably deserved it

[mickey-henry]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬? 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐚-𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬

pairing: bucky barnes x reader, sam wilson x reader

summary: the universe and the avengers are definitely out to get you

word count: 1.5K

author’s note: hello there! this silly fic is different from my usual work. it was inspired by a hilarious conversation I had with @ritesofreverie a few weeks ago, and it blossomed into this fic! reblogs and comments are cherished; I hope you enjoy this one!

You attract the Avengers everywhere you go. Not in a fun way, because have you seen how beautiful they all are? No, everywhere you turn, they’re fighting one of the “Big Three” and absolutely wrecking your stuff as they do so. Of course, you appreciate their valiance, but do they have to damage all of your belongings every time?

Your interactions with the Avengers began with minor inconveniences. The first to cross your path was Wanda Maximoff. The one day you were running late to work, you got stuck behind her in line at your favorite coffee shop as she ordered drinks and bagels for all of her fellow Avengers. She apologized to the workers and those behind her, but it didn’t excuse the fact that she delayed the line by twenty minutes. You were fashionably late and felt awful.

If you had a nickel for every time an Avenger knocked food right out of your hand, you’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s strange that it’s happened twice.

Clint Barton’s arrow knocks your bagel right out of your hand and into the chest of some bad guy a few days after the Wanda Maximoff incident. This event was more confusing than infuriating; the bagel disappeared in the blink of an eye. Clint didn’t seem to notice; you received no apology or replacement bagel. What a waste of a delicious chocolate chip bagel—your favorite.

Later that same day, you were walking back to your apartment with a fresh, piping hot pizza in your hand. Of course, Spiderman chose your street to swing back and forth on. He miscalculated a turn and ended up kicking your pizza box across the street as he tried to avoid colliding with you. He profusely apologized before continuing to rush towards an active crime scene. You were starving and really looking forward to that pizza. Too bad you’d never get to eat it; a taxi ran right over it just as you were about to pick it up.

Freaking Ant-Man made an appearance not even an hour later. You stood in your bathroom, splashing cool water on your cheeks as you tried to swallow your annoyance towards your friendly neighborhood Spiderman. The next thing you knew, there was a grown-ass man in your sink. You yelped and smacked him right in the face out of instinct.

“Oww! This is my bad; wrong apartment!” he stammers before shrinking and disappearing from sight.

Later that evening, you’re out with friends at the local karaoke bar: your Friday night tradition. You’re still thinking about how you’ve crossed paths with four Avengers in the last twenty-four hours; this must be a world record. Scratch that—make it five Avengers. Thor Odinson steps up to the stage, inserting(?) himself into the karaoke competition—your passion. You always win, so why should tonight be any different? Clearly, the audience is biased towards the Adonis in front of them; Thor wins first place, and you place second for the first time ever. Stupid God of thunder stealing your thunder; how rude!

Natasha Romanoff makes her appearance on your drive to work the following morning. You’re stuck on a bridge in gridlock because yet another one of the “Big Three” was causing problems. Out of seemingly nowhere, Natasha lands feet first onto the dash of your car, startling the absolute shit out of you. She gives you an apologetic glance, along with a wink and smirk, before dashing off to save the day. Thanks to her surprise appearance, your hood now has enormous dents, and no matter how many times you explain to your insurance that it was a freaking Avenger, they refuse to cover the damages.

A few days later, yet another idiot thinks challenging the Avengers is a smart move. The battle is right near your office building, and you’re praying to any entity listening that they stay out of your way. Turns out the universe likes messing with you because not even a second after wishing to be left alone, Iron Man flies through your office window, scattering your reports all over the floor—six hours worth of them. “Are you freaking kidding me?” you yell, diving to the ground to save your work. Iron Man pays no attention as he flies right back out of your shattered window, clearly caring more about the fight than your work; this just adds to the ever-growing list of reasons you're looking for a new job.

At this point, you’re sure the cosmos are out to get you. That very night, you’re walking back to your apartment, eager to decompress after a long week of Avengers-related shenanigans. Right as you step off the elevator, Mr. Captain America rushes by you, knocking you onto your butt before sprinting straight through the hall into your apartment and breaking down the door with his shield. You’re stunned silent. Before you can even think to yell at him, you hear glass shattering and him thumping on the fire escape. Dear God, how are you going to explain this to your landlord?

Seemingly seconds later, Sam Wilson flies into your life, following Steve through your hallway. He trips over your scattered belongings—thanks, Steve—and falls right into you. He gives you a dorky grin as he rests in your arms like a cheesy rom-com role reversal.

“I’m so sorry, sugar. Normally, when I fall for a gal, it isn’t in such a literal sense.”

You’re so shocked that all you do is laugh as he rushes to follow Steve.

Not even twelve hours later, Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier/White Wolf (you don’t know what he goes by these days) crashes into your life. He knocks hot coffee all over your white blouse when running to stop a mugger. Of course, the one day you have a huge presentation and don’t have any backup clothes is the day this happens to you. Bucky catches the mugger quickly and returns the stolen purse to the little old lady who fell victim to the mugger’s crimes. To your surprise, he jogs to catch up to you, stopping in front of you to get your attention.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, but I have a huge presentation in an hour, and now I have to look like a mess in front of important clients,” you complain while staring at his shoes. You look up to see an unexpectedly handsome face grinning at you, an apologetic glint in his eyes.

“I can help with that,” he insists, tugging off his navy blue sweater, exposing a tight black short sleeve shirt. He hands his sweater to you before you can protest. “You need this more than me.”

His kindness shocks you; the other Avengers have barely paid any attention to you. You can barely muster your response. “Thank you, but how will I give this back to you?”

He gives you a wink alongside a smirk before answering, “keep it; it suits you.”

You fight the heat rushing to your cheeks as he walks away. With a tighter grip on your coffee cup, you make your way to the office.

At this point, you’ve met every single Avenger who makes public appearances. You’re absolutely done with the world’s mightiest heroes; you hope to never see any of them again. Well, Sam and Bucky wouldn’t be too bad to run into again, but hopefully not by knocking into you and ruining your day. You’re pleading to the heavens that you make it to your job interview on time without any Avengers-related predicaments.

“Hello! Thank you for meeting with me, especially on such short notice—” you begin, but you cut yourself off short once you look into the eyes of the men sitting at the table. “You’ve got to be shitting me!”

Lo and behold, it’s Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes. Great. This is just lovely. The men share a confused glance.

“You don’t remember me?”

They shake their heads.

“Seriously? All three of you, and your little friends, have found a way to mess up my day for the last two weeks, and I am SICK OF IT. You owe me insurance! Steve, Mr. America, whatever; you’re telling me you don’t remember breaking my door down and crashing through my window? Sam, The Falcon, you literally fell into my arms? We had an adorable meet-cute! And Bucky? I am wearing your sweater right now! You gave it to me after knocking coffee onto my blouse? We also had a sweet moment? How the hell do you guys not remember this?” you complain, crossing your arms and pouting your lips once you finish your speech.

“That’s where my lucky sweater turned up!” Bucky exclaims with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Ugh!” you groan, placing your head into your palms.

Bucky reaches out, gently placing his hand on your arm, “let me make it up to you, sweater stealer.”

You sit up and counter, “you offered me your sweater, mister!”

Sam rests his hand on yours, an adorable smile plastered on his face as he adds, “let me fall for you for real this time, sugar.”

What the hell is happening right now?

Steve is just as confused as you. “Hey, you guys? Did I miss something?”

“We’ll catch you up, bud,” Sam says as he winks at you.

Maybe crossing paths with the Avengers was a good thing after all?

taglist (and some mutuals I think would be interested): @multiplums @midnightf @starryevermore @mardema @belladonnabarnes @millennial-teenybopper @starlightcrystalline @amelia-song-pond @nahthanks @elijahs-wife @leyannrae @champagnebuckyyy @babycap @buckysbiota @kinanabinks @justreadingficsdontmindme @golden-bucky @writingsomewrongs @meetmeatyourworst @rebelemilu @winter-james @certainaesthetic @bloomingbucky @belowva @sableseb @bucksbestgirl @bvckysmoon @belouva @onceuponabarnes @gogolucky13 @amayatheowl @carps-peace @bubbly-moonwarrior @hallecarey1 @livstilinski @basicallylool @daydreamerinadazedworld @jxlystan @iwannabekilledtwice @strwbrrybucky @bucky-hues @comfortbucky @simpformarvelmenandwoman @rebelemilu @wicked-swann @syrenavenger @buckyblues @superhoeva @cupcakehinch @elizabeth228 @starlightcrystalline @exmachina187 @gray-reads

[catxsnow]

DAMIAN WAYNE FLUFF ALPHABET

A/N: It was pointed out that this got deleted so here it is again! Damian is 18+

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

Damian doesn't focus on the physical attributes of you, so he finds your personality the most attractive. If you can keep up with his wit then he knows that you're a keeper. However, he does find himself getting lost in your eyes quite often so he would have to say that he loves those the most.  B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

I'm gonna have to say no. Damian loves you and he doesn't believe that he needs kids to keep loving you. Maybe when the two of you are way older, but he doesn't see having kids for a very long time. He would be open to adoption when you guys are too old for having your own kids. C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

Damian hated cuddling with you at first. He ran warm enough as it was and to have another body under the blankets? He was sweating. Once he got used to it, Damian liked when you laid on his chest and he could wrap his arms around you.  D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

Either ridiculously mundane or over the top extravagant there is no in between.

One time Damian took you across the world just to go hike and buy local delicacy. Another time he considered the grilled cheese sandwich Alfred made for you both a date. It really depends on what kind of occasion it is.  E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world...))

Damian says 'habibi, ya nour el ein' which means 'you're the light of my eye' in Arabic. F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

It took Damian a long time to realize that he was in love. It's not easy for him to love someone after the way he was raised to opening up to you was a side that he didn't know he had.

He realized it one night when you were tending to his wounds as being Robin. You worked silently as you always did. Damian realized that if there was anyone he wished to stitch him up day in day out it was you. He broke that silence with an 'I love you' and you had nearly fucked up his wound even more with shock. G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

Damian is gentle but he gets violent when he had nightmares. He never means to hurt you and you know that, but he always feels terrible when he sees that he left you with a bruise because of his rash actions while in his sleep. You never blame him for his nightmares, he's gone through so much as it is. H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

Damian doesn't like to hold hands, especially in public. The only time that he will willing grab onto you hand is if he can tell that you're nervous about something. Otherwise, just standing next to you is enough. I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

He didn't like you. Then again, he never liked anyone at first. J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

Damian gets jealous for reason you never expect. He gets jealous of his brothers and when you spend time with any of them. He gets when Alfred the cat sits on you rather than him. He only got jealous at another man once and it didn't end well at all. He was all over the papers and Bruce nearly had a fit when he tried to fix what happened. K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

You did. He was being an asshole and wouldn't shut up about something so you decided to make him quit talking in a different kind of way. Damian didn't complain about it though. L = Love (Who says 'I love you' first?)

He did. You felt it first, but you never said anything until he felt comfortable enough to realize that he loved you too. M = Memory (What's their favourite memory together?)

His favorite memory was when he was trying to teach you to draw. Damian held the utmost patience for you and he genuinely enjoyed spending that time with you. You spent the whole day practicing and looking for his approval. He loved everything you drew simply because it came from you. He still has your drawings hanging up. N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

Yes. Without question he'll buy you everything that you could ever dream of. Being the heir to the throne of the League of Assassins and son of Bruce Wayne he got a lot of items that he didn't even need. He loves to spoil you with things. O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

Red. As calm and as patient as you were, you had a fiery side when it came to Damian being a brat. When he saw anything red, he always thought about the times that you called him out. P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

Beloved (as every Damian fanfic has ever had) Habibti/Habibi (my love), Ameli (my hope) Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

Damian is surrounded by tech all day. So when he takes to the time to read a good book, he's in his happy place. He's read all the great historic literature and has tried more modern books but didn't like them as much. R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

Damian likes to draw on rainy days. He's got a great talent for it and doesn't get enough time to practice it. You'll be laying on his bed while he draws and the rain patters against the window. When you get lonely, you'll stare until he notices and then pout until he joins you in his bed. The half a drawing left no longer matter, he just wishes to hold you. S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

Damian cheers himself up by training. He'll spend hours working out and training like he did back in the League. When he's finally wore himself out, he'll find you and pass out in your arms. That's all he needs.

When it comes to cheering you up, Damian became a great listener. He refrains from making snooty comments about the people that you are ranting about and tried to give a level headed solution to your problem. However, he's always ready to go petrify anyone that has made you upset. T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

Damian's got a well-rounded knowledge about everything. He could talk to you about every war that's ever happened or how the earth works. When he's in a talkative mood, he loves to spill facts about everything that he knows. It's not a way of him being cocky, he's just genuinely excited to tell you things. U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

Damian doesn't relax. But when he does, its when he's injured or forced to stay home. You'll baby him for the night and even though he seems mad about it, he enjoys it (only when it's from you, not anyone else). He'll get Alfred to bake you guys cookies and settle in for a movie of his picking. V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

Damian's proud of everything he does. He's a show off particularly with his athleticism. He doesn't have one specific thing that he likes to show off, except maybe his art. W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

Damian doesn't. X = Xylophone (What's their song?)

Bloodflood by alt-j Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

Nope. Damian doesn't see the need for you two to get married. He doesn't want some fancy wedding just to show off your love. As long as you know how much he loves you, then that's all that he cares about. If he were to get married, it would be something extremely lowkey. Your immediate family and his, that's its. No supers, no teams, nothing. Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

Damian was ready to adopt a whole herd of cows do you really think that he's going to settle on just one more pet? No, he's gonna get every single helpless animal that he can.

[farmnap]

Fluff Alphabet-Sapnap

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?) 

He likes your humor. He likes your beauty. He loves everything about you. Mostly, though, he loves your kindness. You are just so nice to him. You hold him, whisper sweet things to him, and make him feel like its all alright.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?) 

He definitely wants a family, obviously not anytime soon though. He believes that he’d be a good father and that you’d be a good parent as well. He doesn’t tell you this, but sometimes he dreams about having a child, their little hands and feet. He goes through baby fever like every two months. 

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?) 

He prefers to hold you most of the time, it makes him feel like he’s protecting you. He will spoon you most nights or hold your head to his chest and wrap his other arm around your body. Sometimes tho he lets you lay on top of him and just sleep. He likes your weight on him, thin or not. 

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

i assume they'd be chill or more just hangouts. Like going to an arcade or an escape room. If it was a special occasion, birthday or anniversary, he’d take you to a fancy restaurant. He’d hate getting dressed up and eating food that isn’t worth the money, but he’d do it forever if it meant he got to see you happy. 

E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world…))

My lifeline. You make his world turn and his heart keep beating. Everything he does is for you (In a non weird obsession way) he just wants you to be happy

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?) 

He knew he was in love when you showed up at his house to hold him after he sounded upset on a call. that's it, no questions asked, you were just there.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?) 

He’s so gentle it’s almost infuriating to you because sometimes he wont even touch you. Like when y’all first started dating, he wouldn't hold your hand because he didn’t want to squeeze to much. He wouldn’t cuddle you because he didn’t want to suffocate you. He treats you like a doll

H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

after he got over the hand holding fear stated previously, he holds your hand tightly, almost afraid to let go. He holds your hand whenever he can: in the store, in bed, on walks, in the car, on dates. He always has his hand in yours.

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

His first impression of you was probably about your appearance. He’s only a 20 okay so he probably looked at your butt or chest first. Obviously when he actually talked to you, he would realize you were funny and nice. But yeah, purely physical at first.

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

omfg yes. He gets so jealous. Sapnap’s not the kind of bf to get like toxic or rude when jealous tho. He just gets insecure and sad. 

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

You kissed him first, he was way too nervous to make the first move. He kisses you softly and with his hands on your cheeks. He loves holding you when you kiss, holding you close. Once Y’all are more comfortable with each other he may even put his hand on your neck while kissing you. It makes him all giddy.

L = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

He would say it first, on accident. probably after being intimate and having you on his chest. Too lost in his mind, it just comes out.

“I love you”

“What?”

It scared both of you at first but then you smile and cuddled closer. It didn’t matter to him if you said it back right then or not, he knew you cared for him.

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?)

When you guys stayed in on your 6 month anniversary. The plan was to go out and eat at this super fancy place but you guys missed the reservation. Instead of being sad, you guys stayed home and watched a bunch if princess movies and cuddled. It was sweet and the first time y’all actually just hung out.

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

He doesn’t spoil you too much actually. He knows you can buy your own stuff and doesn’t try to take over if you don't ask him too. BUT on special occasions you are getting everything you even look at. he once dropped about 2,000 dollars on jewelry as a gift on your birthday.

O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

Pastel yellow. Its a color of friendship and trust, which is what your relationship is built on. 

P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

He uses the usual babe a lot, i cant see him using darling im sorry. He also 100% uses baby and sweetheart. Honey is also used. But mostly he would use variations of your name. 

Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

He likes castles and royalty. Obviously there is still queens and stuff but he loves the whole castle fantasy. He thinks about being a knight in shining armor to save you.

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

He uses this as an excuse to stay in bed and cuddle. Like that’s all he would want to do. No food, no responsibilities, just snuggling.

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

When he was single he would just sleep or eat. We’ve all been there and there's nothing wrong with it. But now that he has you he would rant to you or cry. If you were upset he would listen to any and all problems you had without comment. He would just be there for what ever you needed.

T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

he talks about school, his family, his friends, and a shit ton of random Minecraft. Even if you got sick of it, you stick around bc he’s cute when passionate.

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

in the most respectful way, he likes to have sex. it makes him happy and calms him down. Obviously if you weren’t feeling it, he wouldn’t make you and would go for just kisses and cuddles, also watching Moana bc he loves that movie. 

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

he shows off his set up and shoes. He splurges on those things and will be damned if the whole world doesn't know. 

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

He wouldn't propose for a while and surely not until y’all are both out of college and stuff but when he does its a whole thing. He takes you to a beach saying something like, “I heard the boardwalk food is amazing” or something like that. He would probably invite dream along to record and also being there for the biggest moment of his life. Obviously, you say yes and its so cute.

X = Xylophone (What’s their song?)

(I’m sorry about this one I’m not a big music person)

"I'm Gonna Love You Through It" by Martina McBride is what i picked bc he would always be there no matter what, he just loves so much

Y = Yikes (Do they ever mess up in the relationship?)

Sapnap has made many many mistakes. He can be rude sometimes without even realizing it, he can spend more time with George than you, he can ignore you for a week for something petty. Thankfully, he comes to his senses after a while and talks to you about it. He tries to be as good as he can and communicate to you but he’s not perfect.

Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

oml he would beg you for a dog everyday! he just wants a German Shepard named Bently is that too much to ask?

[monstrouspegasister]

Here are my current guesses for this year's Homestarloween!

Strong Mad- Initially, I thought he was 1970's Augustus Gloop, but the has a side part, not a middle part. So I guess he's not dressing as the German kid. :[

The Cheat- I wanna say Wander from Wander over Yonder, but last I checked, Wander's hat isn't that tall. Also, only the concept art had him with a cane. That would still be pretty cool, though. (God I gotta watch that show again sometime.)

Strong Bad- Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Film

Coach Z- Lots of people are saying Scatman Jon, and at first I thought it was Sir Mix-a-Lot. But you know who would be REALLY cool? Sunny Bridges from Class of 3000! If I had a nickel for every time Coach Z dressed as Andre 3000, I'd have one nickel. (Well, technically I'd have six, considering he had six Andre 3000 costumes back in 2015.) Let's hope I get a second one!

Bubs- After some input from various Twitter users, I think it's the Post-It Note guy from the Office Space poster. So it's basically the same thing with the two nickels joke, but for Office Space characters, since Marzipan dressed as Joanna back in 2017. The only problem with that guess is Bubs is holding the briefcase in the wrong hand. Is he left-handed? I never ally payed attention. 🤷‍♀️

Homestar Runner- Remember that Monty Python joke I made with Strong Bad? Well, some people think he's the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail! I can't believe Homestar didn't dress up as him sooner! So yeah, that's my final answer.

Marzipan- Fred from Scooby Doo

Strong Sad- Arnold from the Magic School Bus

King of Town- Everybody's saying the Quaker Oats guy, but I'm REALLY hoping the KoT is Franken-Berry, cuz again, I'm surprised he didn't dress up as him sooner.

The Poopsmith- Since there's no noticeable difference with the silhouette, I'm just gonna say Dr. Manhattan.

Homsar- Jack Frost from Santa Clause 3

Pom Pom- Time for Timer, and I only know who that is (ironically enough) from TikTok. Just Google it.

[spcllbounded]

// Phew! It’s been a long time since I wrote an actual post outside of my silly teasing! Let’s stop beating around the bush.

 Hey all! It’s ya Joy! I think I owe yall an explanation on what I’m planning and doing and what yall can expect hopefully in the near future! (I can’t make any promises due to a couple of reasons, but I’ll get to that!) So! This is gonna be long. Where do I start?

- First off, I wanna apologize for making empty promises on coming back and not. Actually coming back. If I had a nickel for every time I did that, I think I could pay off my last semester at college. There’s a lot of small reasons why coming back to rping has been tricky for me. 

1. Health problems (especially some nasty, chronic ones and mental ones) are rearing their ugly heads, making me feel nasty in times I don’t expect it. 

2. Making icons, promos and overall updating this here blog stresses me out. I’m in that awkward spot of REALLY wanting to update this outdated blog, but also being incredibly intimidated by all the things I need to make and update. 

3. Being gone for some time makes me feel stupidly guilty for. Being gone. I hate coming back after vanishing off the face of the Earth for a hot second. Curse you anxiety.

4. College is a bitch, especially the senior year. Not just assignments, but adjusting to a new life and new people. It takes so much out of me.

There’s so much I wish I could say and explain, but at the same time, I don’t wanna make up excuses. All in all, things haven’t been the easiest. but I DO really wanna come back and rp with yall. I miss you guys so so much!! I can’t make any promises, but I can sure make attempts to come back!

- Muse page has changed quite a bit since the last time I shared it. Unfortunately, a lot have been yeeted off the list at least for the time being. It’s mostly for the sake of trying to ease my stress and getting around to working on muses I feel pretty solid about writing. I do have the missing muses’ bios and such saved in documents though, so they’re not gone for good! If I feel good about the progress I can make on this blog, then I’ll slowly add more!

- Speaking of muses, one of these misses muses is my round bandana boy. But he’s not in the muse void! He’s back on his home blog. For the time being, I’m reviving @dreamybandee! In the end, I thought it would be easier to leave the dee with what he has instead of trying to start over. Plus, only being one muse I hold so dearly, he’s really easy to go back to if I’m stressed! If things do get too hard to manage on multiple blogs, I’ll go back to plan B and add him on multi. But for the time being, he’s sticking around on his own!

- I hate doing this, but icons are going to be a little inconsistent. I simply don’t have the time to go back and remake them all to make them consistent. So in the meantime, I gotta stick with a mess of different icons. I hope you understand!

- Promos, tag reworks, and other graphics are still being worked on! I’ve got a pretty solid start in adding a new theme and plan to keep going from there! I’m gonna slowly chip away at things here and when I eventually get around to slapping a promo or some related post on here, that’s essentially gonna be me saying “Hey! I’m ready! Throw your muses at me!” so stay tuned!

- Wow Joy. Owning two blogs and that many muses? You must be exhausted. Well rest assured. I’m definitely NOT gonna make another blog with other muses.

Is what I would be saying if I was a good liar. Which I’m not.

All you mutuals that dabble in the Sonic community, keep a sharp eye out for another blog drop. These three got a hold of me and there’s no going back. :’)

Anyways! That’s the gist of what I wanted to get off my chest! I’m so sorry I made a great wall of text here! There was no easy way to say all of this and this has been long overdue I feel. Sorry I couldn’t say or do anything sooner!

I love yall and I hope to see you soon! Have a good one!