#( which she does acknowledge and/or act it out sometimes ! )

[sifutoph]

need us to stop being a silly little guy for one second and acknowledge that t0ph is rude and it isn't some funny trait. it's a flaw. its a reaction, sure, because her whole life she'd needed to play the part of being the obedient little girl and her rudeness is a result of wanting to affirm her independence and probs as a legitimate way to exercise her confidence and/or to go about her establishing boundaries or things she didn't like, but it's still a huge flaw.

[opultea]

Babe, Look at Me!

Things the Genshin men do to try and impress you. ft. Alhaitham, Lyney, Morax (Zhongli), Itto

Fluff - Romantic - SFW - GN Reader (No Pronouns) - Headcanons

Word Count: 0.8k

Alhaitham

So here’s the thing

Alhaitham ain’t a man to show off

He literally doesn’t care about what anyone thinks of him

Expect for a special someone (¬‿¬)

(That’s you boo)

Alhaitham still doesn’t show off in the classic way. Definitely doesn’t go out of his way to make you view him doing certain things

But if the opportunity presents itself naturally… then why not take it?

I’m talking lifting up the hem off his shirt to wipe sweat off his brow when he’s working out with/near you, changing shirts just a little bit slower than he usually would if you’re around, putting a bit more effort in winning a debate he’s in with another scholar when you’re with him, flexing his bicep when you hold his arm

It’s the little things

But boy do they work

Sports a smug little smile when he sees you affected by him

If you get flustered and smack his chest to tell him to stop, he'll just give you a slight smile and tell you he has no idea what you're talking about

Lyney

As if this guy won't spend ages perfecting that trick where he pulls a bouquet from nowhere so he can gradually pull out bigger and bigger bouquets to give you

He already practices his tricks almost constantly, dead set on perfecting every little thing

But with you on his mind?

That spark to do his best grows into a fervent flame like no other

Lynette doesn't complain about his childish wish to impress you as long as it's improving his performance (and making him happier), but she definitely rolls her eyes at him when she overhears him practising his line delivery for when he gifts you the rainbow roses he bought earlier

He personally invites you to every one of his shows, and though he understands if you can't make it every time, he smiles so wide when you say yes that you're tempted to push aside all your other commitments anyway

After the show, he'll pull you aside and ask what you thought, all while trying to appear as if he isn't nervously awaiting your approval

Morax

I’ve specified Morax here because this is based in the universe of my Zhongli x Cloud God Reader head cannon (from my Where’s My Kiss? drabbles)

Look, he’s a young, proud, powerful god with his eye on the lovely cloud god that he sees roaming above sometimes, and he can’t help but try to do certain things hoping you’ll be watching from your domain

Morax in his dragon form taking more causal flights around Liyue than he used to, certainly not because he knows you can see his magnificent true form from your palace in the heavens when he flies past

Although he doesn’t often involve himself in battle unless necessary, he’s found himself allowing the yaksha to spar with him with the excuse that he believes it will test their limits (and definitely not because he wants you to see how powerful he is)

You agreed to help him train the yaksha, and as you stand at the side of the small battleground Morax locks eyes with you as he does his finishing move in a 'cool guys don't look at explosions' way

Definitely smirks a little when he sees how it affects you

Itto

Actually says the phrase 'Babe, look at me!' all the time

Literally will do anything and then turn to you to receive his head pat and praise

Loves to flex (both literally and figuratively)

Takes extra special care of his horns and hair the night before he's going to see you just to fish for extra compliments

If you don't immediately acknowledge the extra care he took and the extra shine on his horns, he'll clear his throat and place his hand on his head to make you look up at his horns

If you still don't compliment him or act impressed (which you've definitely done just to tease him) he'll get sooo pouty, poor baby :((

But of course, you always act so impressed in the end, often turning it up to eleven jokingly

Itto will take any and all compliments seriously though, no matter how dramatic you're acting with them

"Thanks babe, knew you'd notice."

He acts cool by sweeping back his flowing mane as if he wasn't hunched over pouting two seconds ago

"My horn's are just too cool sometimes, you know? Feels like I gotta reign in my own awesomeness sometimes, otherwise everyone will be all up on me and you'll get lost in the crowd of admirers! And we can't have that, huh? You're the numero uno cheerleader for this numero uno leader!"

[speedforce-zoomies]

I’ve seen a lot of posts about the Batfam wearing the others merch recently

So I would like to add for consideration- the ultimate act of acknowledgment from Tim is him adding a sticker of your hero identity on his skateboard (list based roughly in the order he would have met them)

Prior to becoming Robin his skateboard only had stickers of the Batman, Nightwing, Robin, & Batgirl symbols (either NW Dick + R Jason or both for Dick idk if he would but you can’t tell me Dick’s biggest fan wouldn’t have at least consider it lol)

Then he becomes Robin and he slowly starts adding on to it

Oracle & Huntress get stickers added on super quick after their introductions though at the time he might have needed to custom make Oracle’s- maybe Huntress’s as well?

Spoiler hit him in the face with a brick when they first meet so even though he forgave her pretty quick it still takes him a moment to make/add her sticker on. (How long do vigilantes need to be on the scene before people start making merch, do y’all think?)

Impluse gets added on pretty quickly after Tim meets him. Superboy gets added on a while after their meeting because the two annoyed the HECK out of each other when they first met and Tim’s petty like that.

Tim was a bit suspicious when he first met Cass but AS SOON AS he gets over it he’s adding on a sticker. Like immediately.

While he meet Secret before the rest of YJ I’m not sure those meetings would have led him to making a sticker for her but once she joins the team I think he would.

Wonder Girl, Arrowette, & Empress like Impluse, gets their stickers added on pretty soon on after he meets them.

He later makes a custom one for Slobo.

Ray gets one too but not as quickly as the others & both Ray & Slobo get one quicker than Superboy did, relatively. It makes Superboy fume a bit lol in a way he didn’t with the girls lol.

Every time Red Hood is close to get his sticker added he does something that pushes the time table back lol. Sometimes Jason tried adding his own sticker but the skateboard is never where he can find it when he tries.

He added one for Batwoman, BlueBird, & The Question (Reene) because he thinks they’re cool (+ without even realizing that he also felt a communal pull to do so)

It took a bit of time after the whole “I left Gotham in search of Bruce who was lost in the time-stream” thing for things with Damian to settle. Tim added his Robin randomly without any fanfare and Damian pretended he doesn’t care (but he does obnoxiously brag about it when annoyed by Jason to bother him in return)

Tim was MIA & considered dead when Duke became Signal (if I’m recalling correctly) but Dick tells him about The Skateboard and when Tim comes back Dukes already ready and hands him a Signal symbol sticker. Tim is amused and immediately puts it on. Jason is frustrated.

When he starts working with Sparrow he makes one for her.

Also every time Nightwing changes his suit, a new sticker gets added on which makes everyone complain and say they should get more than one sticker if they’ve had more than one suit/super identity.

Tim responds by adding more Nightwing stickers

[yourhighness6]

Is Katara "Motherly"? - The Discourse

The whole "is Katara motherly" discourse is a little annoying to me because for one thing its impossible to deny that in canon she acted motherly towards Aang, Sokka, and Toph, with Sokka even saying at one point when he thought of his mother Katara's was the face that came to mind.

But the other problem is that this fits into the shows themes so perfectly of children being thrust into adulthood and enormous amounts of responsibility too easily because of war and the subsequent (or end goals of) genocide, cultural genocide, and colonization. Katara's motherly characteristics are of the show's own making, they're right there in the text and their there for a reason, and although they weren't given enough attention as they should have been, there is no doubt that this is treated as, not exactly a tragedy, but as something bad and debilitating to Katara and her teenagerlike need to goof around with her friends.

But for whatever reason, the fandom seems to think that this characterization is fan made. Katara is supposedly forced into a motherly role by the fandom, particularly the zutara fandom, when in reality it is the show that does this to her. And the whole idea of momtara and dadko is that Katara doesn't have to be the mom anymore. She doesn't have to be the one solely responsible for the chores and the cooking and the emotional labor. She has a partner, and equal, who is willing to put forth the time and energy to assist her in what she feels obligated to do, and to tell her to go sit down sometimes before she burns herself out.

Could the other kids besides Zuko do this? Of course. But as we've already established, everyone in the gaang besides Suki shoves Katara into a motherlike role. Is this their fault? It's hard to say. Toph at least has a heart-to-heart with Katara about it, and Sokka's idea of her as a mother largely stems from trauma.

But my significant problem with Katara's motherly traits comes with the fact that there is no real closure to that arc in the "Runaway". Toph and Katara talk mostly about Toph's parents, and Toph tells Katara that she thinks she is capable of having fun. But other than that, there's nothing. The boys don't have to come to terms with the fact that Katara does not want to be seen (solely) as motherly or put in that position. Instead, the show gives us a few colorful explosions and subtlety implies that it is a little bit Katara's fault that she is seen that way. But again, that's not the fault of the zutara fandom or a reason the trope of momtara and dadko is problematic. It seeks to acknowledge these character traits in Katara, which a lot of kat@angers refuse to do, and give her a way to work past the trauma that caused them and help her adjust to a more healthy amount of stress and pressure on herself for a kid her age.

[dear-bunnyboo]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄: 3𝐑𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄’𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐌 || 𝐉𝐎𝐄 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖

important note: my face claim will be madison beer but you can imagine whoever you desire. also the songs mentioned are not all technically all madison’s i will be incorporating other songs from other artists.

all the pictures seen below are not mine, however they were edited by yours truly. credits to the owners.

the longest chapter I have written, hands down,, and I know you all have been waiting for this one 💕(let’s just all collectively ignore the elephant in the room) I also made this as fluffy as I can in preparation for the shit show that's about to happen in the next chapter ;)

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Joe Burrow x Singer!Reader / Brief Ex!Jack Hughes x Singer!Reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Sometimes, you get things right the first time. Others, the second. But the third time, they say, is the charm.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: cursing, paparazzi, media, fans, crowds, mentions of football injuries, tackling, mentions of ex, fluff, new relationship, tension, flirting, doubts, slight angst if you squint

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 || 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 || 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐜. 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 || 𝐍𝐇𝐋 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Tuesday

It was mocking you…

You stood face to face with a dilemma and all you could do was stare at the problem.

“Y/N! Stop glaring at your closet and put these on!” Y/BF/N yelled at you from your bedroom.

Removing yourself from the mess you created in front of you, you head over to your best friend who was holding up a black two piece number— the top was a black sleeveless button up vest, matching with black pants.

You asked Y/BF/N to quickly purchase some outfits with the help from your sales associate. Joe just asked you out to watch a UFC fight with him tonight and you just instantly panicked when you opened your closet— you had nothing appropriate to wear. You weren’t quite sure what ‘appropriate’ meant for a UFC fight but what you were sure about is that you had none of it, no matter how big ones closet is— it would simply not be enough.

You haven’t watched a single UFC fight to save your life— you aren’t a big fan of violence, you couldn’t even fathom watching a boxing match let alone MMA, but Joe is a huge fan so you couldn’t find yourself to say no. You and Joe have been spending more time together whenever you both can and you have been enjoying his company and that frightens you but you kept that worry out of your mind for the mean time— locked in a safe place in your head.

Your feelings for the blonde seems to grow even more now that you decided to acknowledge and act upon those feelings. You and Joe are not official, not yet at least but that doesn’t stop the both of you from acting like you were official— it seems to come naturally from the both of you, you just naturally gravitate towards each other.

Now wearing the outfit Y/BF/N brought, you looked at yourself at the huge mirror in your walk-in closet— the vest clinched your waist just perfectly while the pants offered a comfortable yet sophisticated look and feel to them, your eyes fell to your chest where a glimpse of your breast were seen.

Turning to your best friend who passed you a pair of black stilettos, you said, “Are you sure this is appropriate for a fight? Are the boobs too much?” adjusting your breast, making sure they won’t show too much.

“You look great! They don’t look too much at all, don’t be crazy.” Y/BF/N gave you a glance before giving you a matching black blazer in case it gets cold.

“Joe is gonna have to fight people off of you, Y/N!” She squeals as she dusted your outfit before helping you put your shoes on like she always does. It was as if you were Y/BF/N's personal Barbie doll she enjoys playing dress up with— you weren't complaining, not at all.

Joe texted you earlier saying that he will be picking you up 6 pm tonight, just an hour before the fight starts. Looking up at your wall clock you see that it’s currently 5:39 pm which means Joe will be arriving soon.

You circled your room, making sure that you didn’t leave anything behind and that everything you need was in your purse. Once you were satisfied with everything, you and Y/BF/N headed down to the living room to wait for Joe— you weren’t sure why you were so nervous, maybe it is because that tonight will be your first public appearance with Joe and you weren't quite sure how people are gonna react.

For the most part, both of your fans have been supportive about the idea. There were people who weren't so supportive— the naysayers who never really bothered you given your line of work, you were used to it by now; it goes in ear and out the other and as a professional athlete, Joe has gained thick skin— the hate just bounces off of him.

So, why were you nervous?

"We have been sitting here in silence for almost three minutes now." your best friend gave you a weird look as she tried to figure out what was going on inside your head. "Why are you so worked up? You've both hung out before." Y/BF/N throws her arm up in exaggeration.

You remained silent as you fiddled with the rings on your fingers. A heat rushes on your face, red hue filling the apples of your cheeks as you tried to avoid eye contact from Y/BF/N. To no avail, she spotted you hiding your face from her and just like that she instantly knew— having a best friend you have known your entire life has its perks which is biting you in the ass at the moment.

"You fucking like him, like him." She jumps up from her seat as she grabbed your arms to get a closer look at you. With a look of defeat on your face, the redness spreading even more that you were sure that you'd be hot to the touch.

Your silence was your answer causing your best friend to shake your shoulders in delight. "I am so proud of you!" squeezing your shoulders on last time before moving back to her seat.

"Y/BF/N, is it that serious?" you tried to brush it off as normal behavior from you.

"Don't be dumb. Its not like you fall for every man you meet— you're probably the only person I have met who's standards are excruciatingly high." she pointed at you like she was trying to lecture you— she probably was.

"Yet, look where that got me." you mumbled as you referred to your cheating ex boyfriend, Jack.

"A momentary lapse of judgement." Y/BF/N says tutting in disagreement.

You turned your body towards your best friend, a flood of thoughts rushing in your head, "And what if this another momentary lapse of my judgement?" you retorted back at her.

"Y/N, you can't stay in that shell you created forever. If you don't take the risk you'll never know— if you continue to live in fear that you're gonna get your heart broken, then Jack won. You can't let him win." she gave you a pointed look before smiling at you softly after seeing your terrified face, it was a RBF but she knows better— she always does,

"Sadly, that's life. You can't keep a flower in the shade just because you think the sun will burn it and yet expect it to live— can you?"

"When did you become a poet?" you smiled at her— thankful for her empowering speech, making you feel much better than you did a few minutes ago.

"Bitch, I've always been the smartest out of the both of us." Y/BF/N flips her hair off of her shoulders dramatically before cackling in laughter, clearly finding herself amusing.

"Now that's a lie." you muttered under your breath a grin spreading on your face as you caught her face looking appalled after hearing what you said.

"Joe better get here before I beat your ass—" thankfully she was cut off by a car honking, stopping Y/BF/N from pouncing on you.

"Lucky bitch." She stuck her tongue at you like the child she was.

Before you could even tease her again, your doorbell rang— Joe was here. You gathered your things while Y/BF/N went ahead and opened the door for Joe.

You rummaged through your bag before heading towards the door, making sure that you had everything you needed with you— and as you reached the door you see Joe in all his glory; wearing simple black jeans and a black tee, a black bucket hat on his head while his Cartier sunglasses sat on the bridge of his nose. Joe had his hands in his pockets as he remained silent listening to your best friend who was lecturing him.

"Listen here, Joseph. If you don't get Y/N back home by 10 pm tonight— I'll have a search party looking for the both of you." Y/BF/N said with her hands on her waist, looking like a concerned yet overbearing mother.

"Don't listen to her she's crazy." you deadpanned as you gave your best friend the 'shut-the-fuck-up' look.

Joe only chuckled as he watched the both of you playfully glare at each other. "Well, we might be home later than that— I wanna take Y/N out to dinner." the blonde asks permission playing along with Y/BF/N. His request made you and your best friend instantly turn to him.

Joe didn't say anything about a dinner. You told everything Joe told you to your best friend the second you received the invitation— he must have forgotten to say.

"You didn't tell me about a dinner." you looked up at the quarterback but to your dismay, his beautiful baby blue eyes were covered by his shades— you didn't know if he read your mind or he simply read how disappointed you were from your facial cues but as he looked back down at you he offered you a grin before removing the Cartiers off his eyes.

"I was gonna tell you once we got in the car but your mother is scaring me." Joe turned to look at Y/BF/N who looked slightly offended by Joe's teasing.

"You both better start moving before I beat you both up." It was your best friend's turn to deadpan at the both of you. "You two are basically the same person. I fear for my sanity once you two actually start dating." she muttered the last part lowly under her breath which nonetheless was caught by both you and Joe.

"Okay!— we are leaving, I'll see you soon, Y/BF/N. Don't burn my house down!" you waved at your best friend who was now giving you one of her famous sneaky grin.

"Stay safe!" she teased even more, shouting for your whole neighborhood to hear. You looked at her from your shoulder, your eyes widening after catching her double entendre which made Joe chuckle silently as he leads you to his car.

Now finally inside Joe's car, you released a sigh of relief— Joe starts his car, the engine rumbling before it started moving. The drive to the arena was calm and comfortable, as Joe drove he answered your many questions regarding the fight. The blonde just kept answering your questions with no hesitation but enthusiasm— you also appreciated how he didn't shame you for your lack of knowledge on the matter.

Once the two of you arrived in front of the arena, you were greeted by a number of people who were already outside. Dressed in merchandises of the fighter they were supporting, the fans turned to look at Joe's car— the bodyguards and security surrounding Joe's door.

The paparazzi clearly took that as a sign that someone famous or important was inside cause in an instant, they were swarming Joe's car. Luckily his car windows were tinted that they failed to see you and Joe trying to figure out how to go on about the situation you found yourselves in.

"Are you sure you want them to see us together?" You turned to look at Joe who was as calm as ever, fixing his bucket hat.

"Yeah, It will be fine— you trust me?" Joe's stare could burn even behind those damn shades of his, staring at you— looking for any sign of discomfort.

"I trust you." you nodded and a couple beats later, Joe opens his door— the paparazzi immediately snapping shots of the NFL player who was circling his car to get to your side to open the door for you.

Here goes nothing

Once your head popped out of the door the camera flashes doubled along with the yells for your name.

"Y/N!"

"Y/N, darling over here!"

"Joe!"

"Joey B!"

"Miss, Y/L/N, are you and Joe dating?"

"Y/N! Look over here!"

“Are you two dating?”

Joe places his hand behind your back to gently guide you inside the stadium as he firmly places himself just behind you, to keep them from touching you.

"You okay?" Joe leans down to whisper in your ear as you both continued walking towards your seats.

"I'm fine. You?" you turned to look up at him as he gave your waist a quick squeeze to confirm that he was indeed fine.

The second you and Joe entered the arena— you were spotted in an instant. The fear and anxiety that was crawling up at you quickly disintegrated when you felt a large warm hand grab onto your small ones. Looking up, you found Joe with his head held up high as he guided you to your designated seats— and just like that, the phones were out, following both of your moves.

The blonde gently pulled you towards the center where your seats were found, it was right in front of the rink. You weren't quite sure if you'd be liking that anytime soon but you kept quiet. Once you reached your seats you spotted a woman who was seated behind you crying as she looked at you— once she caught you staring at her she started waving her hand wildly earning a giggle from you.

You quickly reached your vacant hand to wave back at her as she continued to film your interaction, earning another squeal from her. You decided to reach towards her and enter the frame of her video— you enjoyed doing fan service. Apart from performing, meeting your fans was always the fun part of your job.

"Oh my gosh! I love you so much!" she whispered in disbelief as she continued to stare at you as if you'd disappear from her sight. You gave her shoulder a quick squeeze with you vacant hand as you smiled at her. "You're the sweetest. I love you too."

Turning back around you found Joe and his friends watching you. Your hand still intertwined with Joe's, not budging during that entire interaction. The quarterback simply watched you in adoration as he waited patiently for you to finish so that he can introduce you to his friends.

"I'm sorry— Hi! I'm Y/N. Nice to meet you." you gave the people next to Joe a smile.

Joe smiles as he continued staring at you like an idiot, "This is Ja'Marr, Tee, and Sam. They're my teammates and good friends of mine" he directed to the men next to him.

"Nice to finally meet you." Tee stated giving you a nod in acknowledgement. "We keep asking Joe to introduce the Y/N Y/L/N to us" Ja'Marr chimes in as he nodded towards Joe who was watching the interaction.

Sam who was twice your size moved towards you to shake your hand, earning a grin from you— he is adorable. "I am a huge fan— I'm Sam."

"Nice to meet you, Sam" you chuckled before looking at Joe with a smile. His friends are great. You've watch them play during games but now officially meeting them was a new experience.

The light and fun atmosphere came to you as a surprise. You expected a UFC fight to have a tense and somewhat scary atmosphere which was proven wrong— up until the fight started. You were seated next to Joe, a drink in your hand as you watched the two fighters in front of you beat each other up. The sight of the bruises, cuts, and blood made you sink into Joe's side even more.

You don't mind the gore and the blood at all. What you did mind was the fact that people did this for a living, you respected that fact— you respected their partners and their families even more. Watching this is hard. Watching Joe get tackled during his games was hard enough— you could only imagine what its like watching him get beaten up.

"You're fine. You're alright." Joe whispers in your ear as he places a hand on your thigh to stop you from bouncing it up an down.

"They aren't though." You pointed at the fighters while you released a breath as they called for a break in between rounds.

You turned to Joe who was chugging his drink, "I don't understand how you enjoy this. I'm not judging— just confused." you gave him a tight lipped smile earning a laugh from him.

"If you ask Ja'Marr right now he'd tell you how I'd try MMA moves on him." He offered you a wink. You in turn furrowed your eyebrows in confusion before snickering, "I can already picture you two on the ground— wrestling."

Joe laughs while rubbing your thigh up and down, the announcer's voice booming across the stadium, "A lot of big names in the room tonight but not as big as that man right there!" turning your head up you were met with a close up of Joe who turned to the camera and smiled. The stadium erupting in cheers and hollers for the quarterback next to you.

The camera started panning towards you while you stared at the screen above, "With none other than, Y/N Y/L/N right next to him! Stars after stars!" more screams erupted as you simply gave a smile towards the camera which now moved on to the next celebrity.

The fight was eventful to say the least. An unexpected knock out got everyone around you, including Joe to jump up on their feet. You remained on your seat with your mouth wide open at what you just witnessed— Joe had his hands up his head, his eyes widen in shock as he dapped up his friends and everyone else for that matter.

Joe looked like a kid who got to watch his favorite cartoon. He wouldn't stop talking about it the entire ride to the restaurant he was taking you to. You continued to laugh at him as you admired his sudden burst in energy with the result of today's events. However, something must have clicked in Joe's head the moment you two sat on your reserved table.

As you ordered your meal, talking to the waiter— asking politely for about the different dishes they offer, Joe couldn't help but eye you. You were a ray of sunshine to him. You're polite and would always offer the people around you smiles no matter what the situation was. He found himself thinking the same thing when he was watching you interact with your fan at the arena not long ago.

You looked beautiful and he continued to remind you every time he could; when you both got in his car when he picked you up, when you finally sat in your seats before the fight started, during the break, on the way to the restaurant, before the waiter came over to ask for your orders— Joe told you every single time.

You were talking animatedly about a mishap that happened at your studio the other day, giggling after ever breath but as Joe listened to you all he could think about was how much more stories you could giggle to him about if you were officially his.

Joe was with you throughout your entire healing and moving on process. He watched you cry about a stupid boy, he watched you work your magic— writing music as a way to cope, he watched you heal. Some might say he helped you heal. You both know how you feel for each other, it was almost an unspoken understanding between the two of you. Joe is ready to move on to the next step in your relationship— he was willing to take the risk.

With a deep breath he grabbed your hands, enveloping yours into his. "Y/N, I want to ask you something." he started. Your attention now fully on him, a concerned look formed on your face as you watched Joe's expression. "Alright— is everything okay?" you squeezed his hands.

"Yeah. It's just— I think it is time for me to ask you if you'd be my—"

"You're food," the waiter walks towards your table with a tray of food held up above his head.

Your moment was completely ruined, Joe gave you a bitter smile as he thanked the waiter. "Wait, what were you saying, Joey?" your eyebrows furrowing at the interruption.

"Its nothing." Joe shook his head as he looked at the dish in front of him. You decided not to push him even further for answers after hearing a slight raise in his tone that the quarterback tried to hide with a smile.

Joe took that interruption as a sign.

Not as a sign of giving up— no, Joe Burrow does not give up. He took it as a sign from the universe to up his game. Asking someone to be your girlfriend in a restaurant was cliche and an outdated one at that— you were one in a million, Joe knows that which is why as you two ate in comfortable silence he thought of his next move.

Unbeknownst to you, Joe tried to ask you to be his girlfriend for the first time that night.

Sunday

It was Sunday and you just arrived back in Cincinnati after another successful show in Michigan. It's been four days since you last seen Joe during your UFC 'date'. You still message each other back and forth, FaceTiming each other here and there— so it didn't really feel like time has passed.

Joe invited you to watch his game against the Steelers which is why you and Y/BF/N were in Joe's suite, idlily chatting with each other— she has been complaining a great deal about Trevor more than usual recently and that in itself got you eyeing your best friend in interest. These past couple of days it has been 'Trevor this', 'Trevor that' and as much as you loved the hockey player, you were getting sick of hearing his name.

You continued eyeing your best friend teasingly— a lightbulb mentally lighting in your head upon the realization, "You like him, like him" you teased her, making sure to reference what she told you a few days ago. She instantly stops talking before glaring at you as you wore smug look on your face, "Shut up." she mumbles, not denying anything whatsoever— proving your point even further. Y/BF/N and Trevor have been dancing around each other for a couple of years now and hiding it all behind the facade that they find each other annoying but you know her as much as she knows you— the perks goes both ways.

"Y/N?" a woman calls from behind you making you and Y/BF/N stop your conversation, turning around you were met with a couple who looked exactly like Joe...

"Mr. and Mrs. Burrow! How lovely it is to finally meet you two!" you stood up immediately upon realization, Joe's mom reaching out to give you big hug.

"Call me Robin, dear" she gave you a squeeze before letting go of you. "And call me, Jim" Joe's dad pats you in the back as they turned to look at Y/BF/N who was standing behind you quietly.

"Oh, this is my best friend, Y/BF/N" you directed your hand towards your best friend who politely waved at Joe's parents who warmly smiled at her in return. "Nice to meet you as well— such beautiful girls." Robin squealed in excitement earning a laugh from you and Y/BF/N.

You and Y/BF/N conversed with Robin and Jim as you waited for the game to begin. Your place from the suite giving you a wide view of the field and the fans surrounding the stadium. You also spotted fans who have spotted you with Joe's parents— the cameras and phones coming out as they pointed and turned towards your direction.

A few minutes before kickoff Robin urged you to meet Joe by the sidelines, "Are you sure you two don't want to come with us?" you asked his parents as you motioned towards you and Y/BF/N who was accompanying you down the field.

"I'm sure, dear. We came here with Joe, from what I've heard you two haven't seen each other in a few days— go." Robin gave your hand a squeeze, motioning you and Y/BF/N to hurry before the game starts.

Which is why you and Y/BF/N found yourselves standing at the sidelines where a few of the staff were found. With your arms crossed you chatted with your best friend as you two waited for Joe to come out of the tunnel and once he did, you knew immediately because the fans who were facing towards you were not only yelling but also pointing at something behind you.

Turning around you found Joe with his entire gear on, the black Bengals jersey fitting his torso just right as he removed the helmet off his head to get a good look at you. "My parents tell you to come here?" he smiled down at you before nodding towards Y/BF/N in acknowledgement who was evidently hiding from the sun.

"Yeah. They are great by the way— you could have at least warned me that I was gonna meet your parents today." you looked up at him, lifting your hand up to cover the sun from your eyes— from that action alone, Joe took his 6 ft. 4 self and stood in the direction the sun was facing without taking his eyes off of you, his tall frame casting a shadow over you as you found shade in his body— that single action from the quarterback made you want to melt in a puddle. It's always the littlest things that got to you.

"They told me not to tell you. They said they didn't want you to feel pressure beforehand." Joe shrugs, placing his hand on the collar of his jersey keeping the gear he was wearing inside in place.

"The game starting soon. I'll see you later?" you asked.

"Wait for me at the suite, I'll come get you and I'll take you home." Joe instructed you before he proceeded to ready his helmet in his hand.

"Okay." you nodded before patting his chest in encouragement, "Good luck and win for me, 9" you grinned at him as you watch him take a couple step towards you to lean down and place a peck on your cheek.

"I will." Joe placed his helmet back on place before jogging to position.

You watched him for a few more second before moving back to where Y/BF/N was standing, your best friend gave you a wink before linking your arms together walking back to the suite.

"I'll be the most beautiful maid of honor." Y/BF/N says after a few beats of just silence.

"Y/BF/N!"

The game was a close match which had you literally at the edge of your seat as you gripped both Y/BF/N and Robin's hands the entire time— Jim standing behind the three of you watching in concentration with his arms crossed, a stance that is very familiar to you considering your dad would look the exact same whenever he watches a game— you called it the 'retired-football-coach' stance, you just knew that both your dads will hit it off.

At the end the Bengals won 37-30. It was safe to say that Joe was in a good mood as he drove you home. You had to say goodbye to Robin and Jim who were staying at Joe's place for the night while Y/BF/N had to leave early to prepare a meeting with her assistant to prepare your outfits for the upcoming VMAs which you will be attending and performing in soon.

The ride home was quiet but not the comfortable kind. You could practically hear Joe thinking, you were surprised he could even drive— his thoughts looked like it was clouding his mind.

Joe was fine. He was. He just couldn't think of an appropriate way of asking you to be his girlfriend. He was so close to asking you before the game but he decided not to knowing how much that would distract him from the game— now here he was, struggling to form a sentence as the question laid at the tip of his tongue urging him to just spit it out.

Joe knows better and he will be better. He knows you deserved to be asked in a much more grand way— he just needs to find a way to execute it perfectly.

"Are you okay, Joey?" you placed a comforting arm on his shoulder which were very tense, softly massaging them as he continued to focus on not crashing the car.

"I'm fine, lovebug. Just wondering if you'd like to hang out again? Tomorrow maybe?" Joe tries his best to make conversation while he tried to think of a perfect way to ask you tomorrow.

"I can't. My cousin is getting married on Tuesday and I'll be flying to Wyoming tomorrow, I won't be back until Wednesday— I'm sorry." Joe nodded in understandment as he mentally rearranged his plans for another day, however, before he could do so, you gasped— your body turning towards the blonde.

"Do you want to be my plus one? I'm allowed a plus one and Y/BF/N said she was already bringing somebody. I know you have another home game next Sunday and you probably don't want to travel all the way to Wyoming for a few days but we will be back by Wednesday—" Joe cut you off by placing his hand on your upper thigh, squeezing them in response.

"I'll go. It will be fun— you met my parents, this will be a perfect moment for me to meet yours." Joe turned to you to give you a smile. "You think attending a wedding of someone you don't know will be fun?" you questioned the quarterback with your eyebrows raised shocked that he was willing to fly off with you just like that.

"I think a wedding with you will be fun."

You two stayed quiet as you two tried to unpack the statement Joe just blurted out. He was messing with you, cause there was absolutely no way he said that on purpose.

Joe did in fact say that in purpose and he enjoyed your reaction very much; the way your eyes widen for a second, how your chest rose up and down more faster and erratic, and how your cheeks blushed red. Joe's plan on asking you today might have not gone to plan just like the previous attempt but third time's the charm, right?

Unknownst to you, Joe tried asking you to be his girlfriend for the second time that day.

Monday

You and Joe drove to the airport early in the morning to head to Wyoming for your cousin’s wedding. You gripped Joe’s forearm as you tried to make sense of your surroundings early in the morning— you were barely awake.

Y/BF/N called you saying that she will meet you and Joe in the plane cause she will be driving with her plus one who you haven’t met yet. With your arm tucked in Joe’s arm, you two climbed the steps of your private plane— the flight crew greeting you two as you entered your lofty plane.

In an instant you threw yourself on your seat by the window and shut your eyes for a while. Rustling was heard next to you— taking a quick peak you see Joe arranging both of your things before placing himself on the seat next to you. All the uncertainty, doubts, and fears were thrown out the window with how sleepy you were— with no hesitation whatsoever, you moved the arm rest that separated you and Joe upwards, inching your way to his side where you tucked yourself. Your face on his shoulder as he circled his arm around you in response.

Before you could even shut your eyes to drift off to sleep, footsteps were heard climbing up the steps of the plane— Y/BF/N has finally arrived with her plus one in tow.

Trevor fucking Zegras.

This caused you to shoot up in excitement— now very much awake. Joe looked at you in concern as he eyed Trevor in confusion.

“No fucking way!” You emphasized every single word still not believing your eyes. Y/BF/N rolled her eyes at you in response placing herself in the seat behind you and Joe— clearly not wanting to see you two cuddle together or maybe she was planning on having her own cuddle fest with Trevor.

“Hey, popstar!” Trevor reached out to give you a hug which you accepted considering you haven’t seen the hockey player since your concert in LA. “No fucking way, Trevor!” You repeated still at shocked.

“What can I say? She can’t resist me.” Trevor joked before getting thrown a pillow on his face curtesy of Y/BF/N.

“Oh, wait!— Joe, this is my friend, Trevor. Trevor this is Joe.” You introduced the two who have not yet met personally. Joe offered Trevor one of his famous smiles as he shook his hand while the latter gawked at the man that is Joe Burrow.

“Nice to meet you, man! I’m a huge fan!” Trevor animatedly praised the quarterback earning a pat in the back from Joe. The two continued to converse, talking about football and hockey back and forth as the plane lifted up in the air. Y/BF/N is a terrible flyer so she remained seated the entire time watching her favorite shows to calm her down, Trevor later joining her.

You remained tucked in Joe’s side now fully asleep while he played with your hair as he watched a movie on his phone— you two were stuck together like two peas in a pod the entire flight, not moving away from each other even after your plane finally landed in Wyoming.

The four of you arrived at the resort where the your wedding will be held and where your family was waiting. Y/BF/N and Trevor has met your family a number of times already while this will be Joe’s first time and you knew that he had nothing to worry about.

Once you reached your parents, your father immediately darted towards you pulling you into a hug, “My girl, how have you been? Was the flight alright?” He pulled away to take a good look at you.

“I’m doing great, dad and the flight was smooth.” You smiled at him before squeezing your mother in a hug. “Hi, mommy!” You grinned. “My sweet girl.” She plays with your hair before halting after spotting Joe who was watching the interaction.

“Y/N, are you not gonna introduce us?” Your mom motioned towards Joe who your father was now eyeing as if he grew three heads.

“Oh, right— mom, dad, this is Joe. Joe these are my parents.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Y/L/N. I’m Joe.” The blonde stepped forward towards your parents. Your mom instantly hugged the quarterback like all mothers do and grinned up at him. “Nice to finally meet you, Joe! You’re such a handsome young man.” she raves on.

“Burrow— nice to meet you, son. I watched your game yesterday and you were throwing dimes. You’re great.” You’re dad praised Joe which in turn got you feeling so proud of Joe.

“Thank you so much. That means a lot— Y/N told me you used to coach football.” Joe asked completely intrigued with your father. You watched the two walk towards the garden as your father started talking about his career. Your mom simply turned to look at you and smirked, “He’s a cutie, Y/N.”

You couldn’t help but agree as you watched Joe and your father laugh about something.

The day consisted of you and your friends resting after your long flight. You spent time with your family as you prepared for the wedding celebrations tomorrow.

Tuesday

Weddings are such beautiful events. Every girl has at least dreamt about their perfect wedding; the perfect place, the perfect dress, the perfect song, the perfect man— and as you watched your cousin seal the deal with a kiss, you couldn’t help but get teary eyed as she finally fulfilled her dream— you could still remember the time you two would dress up as Princesses.

You wanted something like this in the future. You felt a slight pang in your chest as you get reminded of empty promises given to you. Joe caressed your bare back, as he eyes you carefully. You two were finally seated at the reception, you changed from your bridesmaid dress to a black backless dress for the reception.

Joe was wearing his black tux, silently listening to the speeches as his warm hand caressed your bare back— his touch shooting electricity through your body, the hairs on your arms standing up as the wind kissed your skin. The quarterback moved closer to you with his arm placed on the back of your chair, his hand now caressing your arm to keep you from getting cold.

As the speeches went on and on the more Joe craved you. He watched the curve of your nose crinkle every time you were mentioned in an embarrassing story during the speech, he watched as you eyes lit up thinking about a certain memory, and he watched you as you stared at the bride and groom as they take their first dance— you’re eyes glistening as you quietly hummed and swayed on your seat.

Once the dance floor was open for everyone, Joe, gently took your hand and lead you to the part of the dance floor away from the majority of the guests. You placed your arms around Joe’s neck as he placed his around your waist— the two of you slowly swaying to the soft music playing across the reception hall.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” Joe whispered as he leaned closer to you, his baby blues piercing through your soul. “I do. You tell me every chance you get, Joey.” You giggled.

“Do I? Does that seem excessive to you?” Joe pulled you towards him closer, your feet moving closer to his that you were sure that you were gonna accidentally pierce his foot with your stiletto heel.

“Not really” you shrugged. “I like hearing it from you.” your eyes seem to never leave his as if you two were your own little bubble.

“Yeah? You’d let me remind you how beautiful you are everyday then?” Joe couldn’t stop himself, he was thinking of something more special but he was down deep and he couldn’t find himself to wait anymore.

You nodded, “I don’t know how you plan on doing that every single day but–” yours eyes glistened as the lights hit them. Joe’s hand now cradling the back of your neck, his thumb caressing the soft flesh beneath it.

“Be my girlfriend.”

Joe blurted out. Your eyes widening at his response— you remained frozen in place as you eyed the blonde in front of you. The fear and worry that you locked in the back of your head, slowly creeping into the surface as you listed down the risk this could cause, the potential heartache you could experience again.

“What?” was all you could say as you tried to understand what was happening around you.

“Date me. Be my girlfriend and I’ll tell you every second of every day how beautiful you are. How beautiful you are both physically and as a human being. I’ll remind you how special and loved you are, how talented and smart you are— be mine, Y/N.”

Joe is a lot of things for you. He is a friend who came to your life when you needed the most, he is a man who patiently helped you heal throughout your darkest of days, he is a person you respect and trust, he is the kind of person you were willing to take the risk for— maybe it will all work out the way you want it to be, but maybe it won’t but seeing if it does will be one of the best adventures of your life— a risk you were willing to take.

Reaching up on your tiptoes, you grabbed Joe’s tie and pulled him towards you— your lips finally latching on to his as you two simultaneously sighed in relief as if you two were holding those breaths from the day you first met. Joe tilted your head back, a smile gracing your lips he smiled against yours before pulling you in for another kiss.

“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met.” Joe breathed out as he pulled away from your lips, his eyes memorizing every detail of your face that was smiling up at him.

“I could get use to that.” You giggled as Joe placed another peck on your lips.

Unbeknownst to you, Joe was mentally celebrating the ever so successful third attempt.

dividers: @cafekitsune

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[mejcinta]

Helaena's Displeasure and Forcefully Taking Attention (A Body Language Study).

Love, love, LOVE Phia's acting here. In the first picture, you can subtly see the confusion in Helaena's soft gaze the second she walks in ("Have you seen Dyana? She's supposed to dress the children..." *pauses*) and then the shock and outrage that dawns on her in the second picture, when she puts together what Aegon had done.

Her eyes are wider (notice you see more of the whites of her eyes in the second pic) and her lips are pressed into a tight, tense line as she freezes. She was displeased and shocked (the incident happened in their room!), but somewhat resigned. This is because she makes no drastic show with her body. Also, we never see her face when Alicent hugs her, although it is apparent that Aegon is staring at her while their mother comforts her.

Note that Helaena doesn't flinch from Alicent's touch this time, like she usually does. She actually *wants* the comfort this time. She must be pretty hurt.

Meanwhile, Aegon was just as stunned as Helaena when she walked in on him (his mouth fell agape, his fixed gaze on Alicent abruptly breaking to blink in surprise when Helaena appeared offscreen).

Notice how he stared back at her, fiddling (nervously) with the sheets covering his manhood out of embarrassment, when Alicent basically confirmed to Helaena what she feared had happened.

While Aegon was indifferent with Alicent and her justified lecture, he is clearly not happy with himself at what his actions has done to Helaena.

Because he cares? Who knows. But even being the mess of a husband he is, it seems that he acknowledges his wife is blameless, spotless and innocent in every way. She's done nothing but be the dutiful wife, the dutiful mother... yet he's caused her pain and continues to do so.

Aegon could be grappling here with why he never seems to get anything right. Why he never seems to please anyone. Why he only hurts and disappoints. Why he's insufficient.

Later at dinner, he gifts Helaena a beetle. A poor attempt at apologizing, yes, but it is all he knows, it seems, of Helaena's taste. And his characterisation so far (using ep 6 as reference for his bravado and boastfulness) is shown not to be conversant with the concept of admitting failure or defeat verbally.

Helaena plays with the beetle before dinner begins and even shows it off to Otto while they chat.

She inspects the gift in the background when Aegon teases Jace, glimpses at him and takes a swig of her wine, giggling subtly at Aegon's sex joke. Does she find this truly funny? Is the wine loosening her up? Or is this a sarcastic/knowing laugh given what happened earlier? Who knows.

The matter, however, seemed to have been turning in her mind. Because shortly after when she is seen thoughtfully stroking Aegon's beetle, she suddenly stands up to make the provoking toast:

"I would like to toast Baela and Rhaena. They'll be married soon. It isn't so bad...mostly he just ignores you. Except sometimes when he's drunk."

She must have been pondering the incident with Aegon and Alicent earlier and reliving the feelings she experienced. Her outrage, disappointment, discontent and hurt finally found an outlet in that toast.

The sigh she heaves out before sitting back down indicates that she had wanted to get things out of her chest and that speaking up had offered her some relief, even if it came at Aegon's expense lol (I think she was happy to embarrass him, personally. And she is justified).

Generally, my conclusion from this analysis of Helaena's body language is that:

1. She was pretty upset with Aegon's actions, 'ashamed' as Alicent implied earlier to Aegon.

2. Her spontaneous roast of him at the dinner, the sudden nature in which she jumped up, shows that she had in fact been brooding over the incident and was quite angry with him.

3. However, her laughter at Aegon's jokes imply that her sexual encounters with Aegon aren't forced like people want to believe. She isn't nervous beside him. In fact I'd argue Aegon is more wary of her than she could ever be of him.

4. Her understanding of sex is warped but it is clear she has her expectations and desires. That's why she jibes at Aegon's alcohol addiction. Perhaps she wishes they would bond sexually without alcohol being a necessity. Perhaps she wishes he didn't ignore her.

Her dull tone when she says "It isn't so bad mostly he just ignores you" shows that she's sad about that part of her marriage.

And when Jace gives Helaena attention in the form of asking for a dance she readily seizes the moment. Not because she likes him (this is Baela's betrothed and she clearly respects that), but because she desires to be showered with attention and if Aegon won't give it she'll take it from someone else while forcing Aegon to give HER attention.

Aegon struggles watching Jace dance with Helaena, and he clutches Helaena's beetle... mirroring her action of stroking it.

Again, Aegon is not the kind of man to admit defeat, so he seethes instead in silence as she dances.

In Tom Glynn Carney's words Aegon didn't want Jace to win by gaining a reaction from him.

So Helaena dances to her content, fanning Aegon's anger and jealousy while also gaining HIS attention and punishing him for how he wronged her earlier.

As Alicent well put it:

"Think of the shame on your wife..."

By accepting Jace's hand, Helaena consciously or unconsciously made Aegon experience the shame she went through earlier after his cowardly action.

In a way, this whole scene is a display of power play and the rift between man and wife. Much like Alicent requesting Rhaenyra take her infant up to her chambers was a challenge of power between rivals.

[f1byjessie]

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS ━━ LN4.

sometimes the right words are hard to come across, and sometimes everything you need to say can be captured in an image.

( lando norris x photographer!reader )

━━ part six.

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user AIN’T NO WAY HE FINALLY POSTED HER

user girlies i hate to say it, but maybe this one’s actually serious… 🫢

↳ user i refuse to believe it…

↳ user he’s literally never posted another girl before tho??

user king of aesthetics

user i can’t believe he’s actually dating her

user what does he actually see in her?? like gen what is it cuz i cannot see it from here 😒😒😒

user she’s just using you for your clout garrett DON’T FALL FOR IT 😫 SHE’S NOT THE ONE THERE ARE BETTER FISH IN THE SEA

↳ user she’s fr just using him for the money and fame it’s so sad

↳ user right?? like he’s posting her which means he’s probably serious but i doubt she is and it’s just gonna hurt him in the end 😔

↳ user this is why i hate when celebs or athletes get with ppl who aren’t in the same sphere as them, cuz like if she were another celeb then we would know she has money or if she were actually a football fan then we would know she’s invested in helping him get better but she’s neither 🤷‍♀️

↳ user it hurts to see such an innocent man get used

user wait she’s actually kind of pretty tho 👀👀

↳ user she lowkey is

user can’t wait to see you back on the field soon garrett!!

user mad style bro

user came over from y/n’s account to say that you fans are exhibiting behaviour that is genuinely so immature and disrespectful. it’s sickening. you claim to support this athlete but you don’t support his decision to enter an exclusive relationship with someone? you say it’s bc she doesn’t know football or that she’s controlling or that she’ll ruin his career, but you know nothing about her and i’d bet you all would say the same thing about anyone. she could be a professional footballer herself and you would still say she isn’t fit to be with him. get over yourselves and bffr. none of you had a chance with him to begin with, and you hating on an innocent girl so much that she had to turn her comments off so she wouldn’t keep getting death threats is actually crazy. you all are delusional.

↳ user THIS. i’m so tired of the hatred

↳ user i’m honestly surprised garrett hasn’t said anything to his fans about them leaving her alone yet…

↳ user he probably thought GROWN ADULTS would know it’s inappropriate to act like BABIES but i digress 🙄

↳ user whether he thought they were mature enough or not, the fact that he probably knew it was happening (she’s his gf, there’s no way she didn’t tell him or he didn’t see the comments himself before she turned them off) and still hasn’t said anything is a major red flag imo. he’s posted her/acknowledged that she exists on his acc now, but he STILL hasn’t addressed the hatred his “fans” have been sending her and continue to direct towards her in the comments of his own post.

↳ user i think it’s a out of sight out of mind type situation tbh. if neither of them acknowledge them, then the haters aren’t given the attention they want. they might just be waiting for it to die down.

↳ user i don’t think that’s a good enough reason tho?? if i was a celeb and my significant other was being harassed by jealous and delusional fans, i would absolutely say smth and try to get them to stop, partly bc my s/o doesn’t deserve to be spoken about like that just bc they’re in a relationship with me and partly bc i personally wouldn’t want to see that type of negativity directed towards the person i care about. it’s a matter of respect for your partner.

“I’ll be honest with you, Garrett━ I don’t like you very much.”

The restaurant table you’re both sitting at is tucked away in a corner and gives you enough privacy to feel comfortable having this conversation with Garrett out in public. The restaurant itself is exclusive in its own right, similarly to the first place Garrett took you. It’s not as high class in the sense that you feel underdressed with business casual, but it’s the type of locale that other celebrities or higher class individuals tend to frequent and it makes you feel secure in the fact that the staff are trained to be discreet about anything they might overhear.

“But,” you shrug, “I don’t think you need me to tell you that.”

Garrett takes a slow sip from his coffee and raises an eyebrow at you over the rim of his cup. While he does so, you appraise him. The only other time you’ve seen him in something other than his training attire or some equally comfortable athletic-adjacent wear was the first night you both went out, and you hadn’t really been paying much attention to him then━ too focused on trying not to scream your head off in frustration.

He looks good though, which you’re loath to admit. Garrett, at the very least, has fashion sense if nothing else. If he were even half decent his style might’ve been enough to make up for the rest of the decency he’s missing, but as it stands he’s so far below the bar that his ability to dress nice only serves to get him within jumping distance of your lowest standards.

He lowers his cup back down the table with a faint clink, and then steeples his fingers together on the table.

“Quite frankly, Y/N━” the way your name sounds on his lips makes you shiver, but not at all in the way it’s described in the romance novels you used to read back in school. It’s like the human equivalent of your hackles rising, sensing danger, knowing you need to make yourself bigger to appear like more of a threat, “━I don’t really care what you think of me. This is more of a business transaction than an actual relationship. You don’t need to like me, you just need to pretend you do.”

He ends it with what would be a charming smile on anyone else, but knowing who he is beneath his charismatic facade makes it look sleazy.

You scoff. “For a guy who’s so desperate to fix his reputation, you sure aren’t doing anything to actually try and fix who you are as a person.”

It’s his turn to scoff. “I don’t actually need to be a better person, I just need everyone to think I’m a better person.”

“Fair enough.” You can’t argue with that. “But if I’m going to be spending a prolonged amount of time with you, you’re gonna have to at least pretend to not be a total dick.” You take a sip of your coffee.

He watches you for a moment━ observes your face, your hands, the way you tap your fingers against the table once your cup has been lowered. And you watch him right back. His steepled fingers have intertwined together, and he’s resting his chin atop them in a show of nonchalance, but his eyebrows are furrowed tight and his shoulders are pulled tense.

“What do you even want out of this?” He finally asks after another few seconds of silence broken only by the quiet drone of other restaurant patrons in the background. “What’s so important to you that it matters more than whatever notoriety being with me could give you?”

The Manchester skyline outside the window draws your gaze as you ponder how to go about explaining your answer. The storm-darkened sky casts the city streets below in a heavy shadow, which mimics your own mood as of late. It’s the weekend now, but Lando’s call and the things he’d drunkenly said still looms over you. You’d spent the week in a bad mood that not even your newfound friendship with Jack was capable of easing, and each day with continued radio silence on Lando’s end━ the fact that he can’t even bother to apologize himself━ only sours things more and more.

It had soured even more when McLaren’s PR team manager had reached out to you with the knowledge that you could plan on being back at the Technology Centre in Woking by the end of the month, in just under two weeks. In and of itself this hadn’t been bad news, but it meant seeing Lando again and unless he reaches out first to extend an olive branch, you could almost guarantee you’d be in for an uncomfortably awkward reunion.

But none of that matters right now.

“I’ll admit, I’m taking a page out of your book and being a prick,” you say as you turn back to Garrett. “But, in my case, it’s entirely warranted because he was a prick first.”

“What’d this guy do?”

In an odd turn of events, it feels as though you’re gossiping with Garrett Ward of all people. Without the context of your relationship with him━ the real one, not the one you’re pretending to have━ you imagine you probably look like two friends talking shit, or pretty close to the couple you’re supposed to be. Despite being such a twat normally, Garrett really does just come across as being a normal guy.

You have to remind yourself just what he threatened to do. He’s not a normal guy━ he’s dangerous. But he’s also a crucial part of your plan, and there was certainly some truth when he’d called things between you a business transaction. You don’t have to like him, but you have to trust that he’s got his own best interest in mind and you can certainly capitalize off of that.

“He had some choice words about our ‘relationship,’” you start, fiddling with the handle of your cup. “And even though we aren’t actually together and I probably wouldn’t touch you even if we were the last two people on Earth, it’s the principle behind it all. He has no right to judge me so harshly for my relationship choices, so I’m going to flaunt that I don’t care what he thinks, he’s not my keeper, and I will date whoever I damn well please,” you finish with a huff.

Garrett blinks at you. You’re starting to think he just has a staring problem, but before you can call him out on it he rolls his eyes, crosses his arms, and leans back in his seat━ looking the part of the smug douche he actually is. “You like this guy, and you want to use me to make him jealous because you’re pissed that he hasn’t given any hint at being interested in you but still feels as though as if he can be possessive over you.”

You blink at him. “No. Absolutely not.”

He raises an infuriating eyebrow.

“Fuck you,” you mutter into your cup, taking a sip to avoid having to say anything more.

Garrett heaves a sigh. “I suppose I could help you with that. We’ll be doing the couple shit anyways, might as well kill two birds with one stone and solve your problem and mine.” The way he says it makes it seem as though he’s doing you a favor, and if you weren’t so sure that he’d rescind his willingness to help if you argued with him, you’d call him out on the fact that technically he’s the one who owes you after you agreed to help him with his dilemma in the first place.

“Why not just be honest with him?” He says after another moment.

You snap your eyes back to him. “What?”

“Why not just be honest?” He repeats with a shrug. “Aren’t you worried he’ll lose eventually lose interest if he thinks you’re off the market?”

You scoff, “I’m not off the market. I’m just not available to the public.” You’d sat awake at night not long after things with Garrett began and realized that it really was all just an act. Actors kiss in front of a camera all the time, but at the end of the day they go home to their real partners and that’s the only person that really matters. Things aren’t all that different between you and Garrett. You call yourselves a couple, but side from the agreement that you’ll act like one in public, there’s no obligation or commitment to put one another first. Garrett will always prioritize his career, reputation, and friendships over you, and you’re rather inclined to do the same.

He purses his lips.

“Oh please,” you roll your eyes. “As if you expect me to believe you aren’t still planning to pick up a few birdies at the pub and show them a fun time.”

“My situation is different than yours. I’m the one trying to convince the media I’ve changed, which means I need someone who can be discreet, and a birdie from the pub certainly isn’t that.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Not getting laid for a few months is just a sacrifice I have to make to keep my place at Man City.”

You don’t mention that no matter what he does to try and clean up his act, Manchester City won’t be keeping him around after his contract expires. He wouldn’t believe you anyway, but even if he did you doubt he’d be all that willing to continue with this facade.

“More fun for me then,” you say instead, returning the smug smirk he’d given you earlier.

He glares.

INSTAGRAM.

liked by user, user, and 487,462 others

footballfansofficial UPDATE: Manchester City Forward Garrett Ward once again seen out in public with girlfriend and Formula One photographer Y/N L/N! The couple were caught sharing a romantic evening for the first time on the 5th of January, and have once again been spotted Saturday, the 20th, following Ward and L/N’s public posts on social media platform, Instagram. Ward has reportedly been making progress with his injury recovery, and is speculated to be rejoining the team on the pitch in February if all continues to go well. As the 2024 Formula One season draws nearer, it’s also expected that L/N will be returning to her McLaren roots, after working with Manchester City to photograph their winter training, which leaves fans wondering how their relationship will fare. Check the link in our bio for the full article!

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user i’m starting to warm up to the idea of them as a couple… 👀👀👀

user I WAS SO CONVINCED SHE WAS WITH LANDO NORRIS??? WERE THEY NOT EVER TOGETHER??? 🤯

↳ user i don’t think they were which is super shocking bc she posts him all the time on insta

↳ user i mean?? that’s technically her job?? as a photographer for mclaren she takes and posts pictures of the mclaren drivers. if you scroll across her feed she also has a lot of oscar from 2023, and carlos and daniel from their years with the team. she’s been working with manchester city recently too and has been posting the players as well. it’s just that she’s worked with lando the longest consecutively so ofc her account is gonna have him posted more than the others

↳ user LET ME BE DELUSIONAL I ACTUALLY THOUGHT THEY WERE SO CUTE 😭😭

user i really wish garrett would actually focus on his career instead of dating women bro’s contract ends at the end of the season and he doesn’t even seem bothered

user MAN CITY RE-SIGN GARRETT WARD 2024 🩵🩵🩵

user i hope the long distance makes them break up

↳ user me toooooo that bitch needs to get away from my man

↳ user he’s too good for her

↳ user be so fucking fr, she’s never had a scandal in her entire career but garrett ward has had dozens in just the past few years. if anyone is too good, it’s her 🙄

user MCLAREN WCC 2024 🧡🏁 AND MAN CITY TREBLE WINNERS 2024 🩵⚽️

user don’t hate me but i totally thought garrett ward was gay

↳ user ah, yes, most notorious casanova, known for his many nightly escapades with women, that’s 100% proof that he’s gay

↳ user idk that was just the vibe i got

↳ user be so fucking fr 💀💀

user will city even want to re-sign him after the season is up?? he’s been on loan for the majority of his contract anyway, playing in the championship of all things, and now he’s back but he’s missed a majority of the season cuz of an injury. i personally don’t think garrett ward stands a chance against the current starting forwards, so even when he’s recovered who’s to say he’ll play in any matches?? just seems like a waste for city to keep him around if he isn’t even being used

user if ward is actually cleaning up his act then good for him

↳ user real. all these ppl acting like she's suddenly changing him into a whole new person against his will, but none of them have stopped to think that maybe he WANTS to change.

━━ tags: @maih23 @urfavnoirette @leclercsluv @f1luvur @formulaal @a-disturbing-self-reflection @starlightpierre @chezmardybum @marshmummy @405rry @sideboobrry11 @d3kstar @mcmuppet @happylittlereader @casperlikej @5starl1ght @bellezaycafe @whentheautumnleavesfall @mess-is-my-aesthetic @ssprayberrythings @landosgirlxoxo @lifelessfan @81ja

━━ a/n: i did it! got this part done so much faster AND i didn't wanna rage while i did it 😌 feeling pretty proud of myself for that. anyways! hope you all enjoy!

[our-happygirl500-fan]

Okay we all know that Leo loves his brothers more than anything, he has literally tried to sacrifice himself for his brothers multiple times & we were all there for the ‘I’m nothing without them’ line

But I feel like we also should acknowledge the part of Leo’s relationship with his brothers that is just, Leo’s brother’s annoying him until he nearly gets a migraine. 

Everyone always places Leo as the annoying sibling but Rise Leo has to deal with his brothers raising his blood pressure just as much as any other Leo does.

Raph: Good thing we didn’t do Leo’s idea of being afraid of spiders! Ha!

Leo: I don’t know I still don’t trust her!

Raph: HA! In your face!

Raph: HA! In your face! And yours! And yours! And yours again!

Yes Raph loves his brothers very much, he takes care of them & looks out for them ect He also teases & makes fun of them relentlessly & Leo is his primary target for said teasing. In the traditional Raph VS Leo fashion Raph has made countless jokes at Leo’s expense & when he’s teasing his brothers in the episode Sidekick Ahoy! He literally rubs getting the Jupiter Jim sidekick position in Leo’s face twice.

Leo: Then give us ice for our horribly mangled bodies!

Donnie: ... It melted

Donnie: Sheldon needs time to recharge before firing his anti- turtle ray

Leo: Why is that a ray Donnie!?

Leo: You turned a cuddly animatronic bear into a psychotic robot bent on destroying us? No? Got April fired? Hmm? Nothing?

Donnie: That does not sound like me

I’m pretty sure that Leo is a vast majority of Donnie’s impulse control there are countless times when Donnie’s first instinct is over the top violence & Leo is the first one to pull him back but if that wasn’t enough to deal with Donnie has a tendency for trying to avoid admitting wrong doing as well just deciding he’s going to make Leo’s day a bit more difficult sometimes.

Leo: So when she kept growing that wasn’t a clue to stop screaming?

Mikey: Sorry, but hopefully Raph heard me

Leo: Astronauts heard you!

Leo: This is not a compatition!

Mikey: Says the guy with zero unicorns.

 Leo loves Mikey, he’s probably Mikey’s biggest supporter & Mikey loves & looks up to Leo so much but as emotionally mature as Mikey can be sometimes, Mikey is still the youngest of his brothers which means there are times where he acts immature & either doesn’t read the situation correctly & puts himself & his brothers in danger or he doesn’t take the situation seriously & makes things more difficult. Either way it gives Leo a lot of stress to deal with.

Leo: Come on! Come on! Come on! Help us fight these guys!

Mikey: No! I want a refill on my coconut!

Raph:  Take us back to Tahiti!

Donnie: More Tahiti!

Leo loves his brothers, he is literally willing to give his life for them on multiple occasions & they are the people he trusts & believes in most but in a true sibling fashion they are also a constant source of stress for Leo. Just because Leo isn’t the oldest in Rise does not mean that his brothers aren’t constantly raising his blood pressure. 

[sockatoo-rob]

after seeing a bunch of stuff in the fandom related to how touch-starved ragatha really is, i just had to go back and count every time she touches herself or looks like she wants to touch someone else in episode two. and guess. just guess.

i counted eleven different times on-screen that she's rubbing her own arm, fiddling with/ holding her own hands, hugging herself, etc. eleven times is way more than i was expecting (i was thinking five at first) but it's literally almost every time she's on screen. and i didn't count how eager she was to take princess loolilalu's hands in her own.

and i also felt obligated to overanalyze the way pomni acts, especially around gummigoo... this is more about ragatha though i think? idk either way this will be long so buckle up and grab some popcorn

ragatha is the kind of woman to need to be touched, with every fiber of her being, but never ask for it, because she doesn't want to bother anyone. she needs physical affection, and she would accept it from literally anyone, but she also needs people to like her. she needs people to rely on her. ragatha stays optimistic to a scarily unhealthy degree jist to make sure no one hates her. and somehow it works.

she doesn't ever cross anyone's boundaries, she doesn't dare even imply that she wants to, even though she needs it more than anything. she just projects her insecurity and self-loathing in the form of "cupcakes and sprinkles and petting kitty-cats" and "if you're feeling sad just do a little dance!!" like girl is suppressing so much... the mass of all her suppressed emotions has ti have become a singularity by now.

anyway, with pomni canonically just disliking being touched, ragatha only suffers more. she seems like she's attached herself to pomni, in a sense? she's desperate to try and make pomni feel extra comfortable, for some reason. and i think i know why.

all the other members of the circus already know her. she already knows what they think of her to an extent, and she already knows how much or little her happy-go-lucky demeanor does for them all. and no one there seems to really be a genuine friend to her other than kinger. and, y'know, he's... kinger.

so ragatha has no one to really confide in, and i assume no one else confides in her other than the occasional need for encouragement or reassurance. and as previously stated, she needs people to lean on her.

then pomni shows up! and she seems like a somewhat nice person. so ragatha tries her absolute hardest to get pomni to like her. because no one else in the circus seems to care.

this dynamic seems like such a good opportunity for gut-wrenching angst and tension. maybe even a horrible scene in which ragatha tries to make pomni feel better with her debilitatingly unhealthy and unrealistic optimism im a situation that absolutely does mot call for it-- and pomni just can't deal with it anymore. because she's smart enough to know that ragatha is only using it as a decoy and a tool to hide something deep, dark, terrible, within her... and snaps at her.

full-on yelling, pointing, walking towards her all in a blind, devastating rage, because pomni is smart enough to see that it's just a way to get her self-worth from somewhere other than herself, and that it's all a facade, and she hates that ragatha thinks that's the only reason people care about her... and ragatha is dumbfounded, because in her entire life, in and out of the circus, no one has ever been able to see through it. not a single soul.

this eventually leads to a heart-to-heart, and apologies, truths, lies, and everything in-between fall out of their mouths like waterfalls. and it all leads to the best friendship either of them have ever had.

pomni is no therapist, no professional. but she's been through some bad places before, as seen in ep 2 with her conversation with gummigoo. sometimes we just need to be realistic about things, and acknowledge that things aren't okay. and pomni seems like she can keep things real. which is something ragatha desperately needs.

and when pomni is about to explode from the insanity of the world, ragatha can be there as comfort and reassurance, because pomni's always drowning in the bad possibilities so much and being so skeptical of everything that it's debilitating. ragatha can see the bright side of things no matter what (even if it's unhealthy most times), and with pomni seeming like an overall more down-to-earth person, they can balance things out really well. ragatha's got the heart to keep everyone's spirits high, and pomni can stay real with everyone to make sure they're prepared for whatever might come barreling towards them. i think this is what makes them so perfect for each other.

and the connection, the deep emotional understanding of each other leads to something... more.... homosexual. yeah i'm a chronic jesterdoll shipper of course it would lead to this

---

all the funny ha-ha aside, this dynamic is so fun to brainstorm about. i'm in love with how deep this could get. some of this might be pretty far from cannon, as only episode two is out when i write this, but i'm trying to interpret their characters as accurately as possible from what little we have so far. i think i did pretty well for a random gay bird with internet access

i'm half-tempted to incorporate a scene like this into my au. like it's soooo juicy i love it i want to write it i need to see it realized

[partycatty]

dilf!johnny cage > to heal

how it goes when reader dates older johnny following the loss of sonya

warnings: grief, age gap, mentions of sex but no smut written

notes: i want to gnaw on dilf johnny until he is nothing but bones. it is for that reason that this post is LONG. yappasaurus rex over here.

masterlist <3

•first of all mk11 was so bad at covering the grief of a man losing the mother of his child

•then again that also implicates that johnny is really, really good at hiding his emotions, especially around the people he's meant to be stoic around. i wouldn't necessarily cry in front of a thunder god or cryomancer either. and i'd try to keep it together for my kid.

•regardless, johnny falls into a deep, DEEP depression that eats away at him. he should have been there on that mission. he should've canceled that ninja mime shooting and spent one more day with his family before it was completely wrecked. and he'll tell himself this every time he looks at cassie's empty eyes. he stays sober, for her, but god does he wish he could just feel nothing sometimes.

•johnny stays smiles and jokes, but as soon as he closes the door to his sleeping quarters, all he can do is blankly stare ahead. damn him and his acting skills. he wants people to check up on him, but it's just so... hard to express his pain.

•some time passes and he considers himself recovered, but every time he sees his daughter excel in training or lips smile in the way sonya's did... god.

•imagine his surprise when his own daughter asks him to get back into the dating scene. cassie says something along the lines of "you're a sad old fart that needs a woman to get him off of the couch."

•cassie's right, unfortunately. johnny let his stubble grow in and hair grow increasingly wild. he didn't carry himself as well as he once did, which was especially worrying to those who saw him as the confident, sharp, charismatic character.

•johnny declines to his daughter, finding the conversation kind of off-putting. but, on a late tuesday, he decides "fuck it" and sets up a bumble profile while sitting on the classic leather dad recliner in the living room. the one thing he forgot to do? set an age range.

•so he's a little taken aback when a 29 year old you is the third person he swiped to. instinctively, he thought to swipe left on you, but curiosity got the better of him. he read your profile and realized you sounded incredibly mature and had the same interests as him. covering his mouth and holding his phone with the other, he swipes... right, feeling an immediate intense guilt.

•he doubted you'd match with him, but as soon as he swipes, a big "IT'S A MATCH!" covers his phone screen and he lets out an audible gasp, tightening his grip on his face. he then gets a twinge of embarrassment for himself. was he seriously flipping his shit over his first match on a mobile dating app? yes.

•johnny spends a good long while staring at the screen, wondering if you'd even message him. after all, men couldn't message first on the app. what if she thinks he's too old? what if it was an accidental swipe? what if...

•NEW MESSAGE! "hiii :)" johnny swallows, afraid to open the message. what would he say? what should he say? does bumble have read receipts? would you notice he opened your message and stared for several minutes?

•he settles on "hello, how are you?" it's been a while since he's had to genuinely flirt with interest, so he opens cordially. johnny was a charmer for sure, but this time he was playing for keeps, not just for fun. he also, unlike his younger version he met some time ago, wants to take his time.

•you two chat back and forth, and while you acknowledge to him that he is indeed a celebrity (and how hilariously stupid it was that he was on a public dating site), you express no real concern over it. you mention to him that you want to see him as a man and not a character. the deeper conversation of dealing with the spotlight could come another time, as johnny didn't want to scare you away.

•you two text for a lot longer than most matches on bumble. johnny's honestly terrified of meeting up in person. he wants to be so incredibly sure that it's you he wants to meet up with. he forgot to keep swiping, even. he was so fixated on getting to know you. he felt weird talking to multiple women on the app, since he was so used to married life.

•he can't bring himself to ask you on a real date, so you two settle on a friendly coffee chat. he shaves, gets a trim, and for the first time in a long time, stresses about wearing the right things. he even calls cassie and asks if he should wear shirt A or shirt B, but was very keen on redacting your age from the conversation. that was something he was afraid to disclose to her.

•what was this man so afraid of?? you are a SWEETHEART. you're so incredibly mature, have more "vintage" interests and asked so many questions, leaning in to listen. johnny didn't feel the need to perform, in fact, he found himself... with butterflies. he death-gripped his coffee to hide the fact that his fingers were trembling.

•one coffee chat turns into two, and then three, four, and eventually, he feels okay enough to plan a real date. his heart was swelling with excitement, a new warmth in his chest. you were so effortlessly patient and kind with him, never asking for anything of him besides his time.

•he plans a dinner date, squeezing you two into a lavish restaurant that he wouldn't have been able to get into if he wasn't a celebrity. he didn't want to overwhelm you with his money and fame, but god did he want to do this right. even though the topic of money was something you never thought to consider with him, he still wanted to show off at least a little bit. it's just in his character!

•there, he starts to come out of his shell a bit more. he starts flirting back, and you two hold hands across the table, intense eye contact as you converse freely.

•johnny takes a sip of his drink, looking down. but when he looks back up, he notices you admiring him with your sweet young eyes. and it's here that he realizes just how much you've revitalized him. he springs out of bed with a smile. you're the last thought in his mind before he falls asleep. when he is with cassie, he can't stop thinking about how much you two would get along.

•which, by the way, johnny is so incredibly sure to remind you that he has a daughter that's your age. you pause and think, trying to articulate your thoughts on the awkward circumstance.

•"i understand that it may be a little uncomfortable for her and the last thing i want is to drive a wedge between you and your daughter. you speak highly of her and i deeply admire that. i perfectly understand that she comes before me."

•johnny stops himself from tearing up. you're... just so kind. you're perfect.

•after the ninth date, he decides that he's ready to go back to your place. it's a quaint apartment, and it's there that you both make the conscious decision to have sex.

•it's slow and sweet, he's murmuring praises into your bare skin as he takes his time exploring a new body. older johnny takes his time with sex unlike his younger days. he needs to appreciate your beauty, complimenting every feature on your body. you're so divine.

•"such a pretty girl..." he whisper-groans above you, strong hands holding your hips in place with a passionate firmness.

•over the next couple months, he's still working toward officially calling you his girlfriend. a new partner in his life scares him, even if you make all of that tension disappear when you're around. it's just a lot to ask of a man to take that new step again.

•biting the bullet, he asks you at your doorstep holding a cheesily large bouquet, having to glance over it to get a proper look at you. you smile sweetly, nodding and immediately accepting in that gentle voice. you knew how much this meant to him to make things official.

•cassie eventually gets the chance to meet you, as her father brings you along to a holiday party with the family. it's... it's a little weird, she won't lie. i mean, it's just weird in general to see your dad with someone that isn't your mom. that's something that naturally needs time to adjust to. and your age isn't something she can avoid discussing.

•she doesn't hate you. she actually finds you quite enjoyable to be around! she's just a little uneasy that you're her age. but, after a long, long talk full of tears and reassuring words, cassie realizes she can learn to accept you being with her dad. i mean, she sees what you do to him.

•that sparkle in his puppy-dog brown eyes is back, and he just can't stop being engulfed by your presence. a hand is always on the small of your back, a grin always plastered on his face, and eyes are always locked onto you when you're doing the most mundane of tasks. he's chirpier, and people even joke that he seems as active as he was in his younger years. you got the old man's rusty gears turnin'!

•he loves you. he didn't realize he could do that again.

[umeqii]

-⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀YOU'RE FUCKING CRAZY ⠀⠀⠀. . . ⠀⠀⠀but you're lowkey cool .

fandom ; class of 09

character ; nicole

gender ; female reader (lesbian nicole real)

creator ; umeqii

QUICK A/N - so like idk i'm a nicole kinnie and so like i might (i will) self project but yk ^_^ and uh idk i js wanted to post smth abt co09 bc like all i saw was mf jeffery ones and no one likes jeffery he's a fucking wierdo anyways!!

TW - like it's co09, so mentions of pedophilia, drugs, dark humor, sh, suicide jokes, things like that :P

─── WHAT IT'S LIKE DATING NICOLE !!

okay so it's quite clear that nicole is a sociopath, and she's aware of it and she payed VERY little attention to you at first

i guess you were just like, that one girl who just sits in class n minds her business and overhears alot of weirdass drama like that one blonde bitch kelly being inlove with her cousin or something

but you had a new student, and you gotta admit, she was really pretty ≥∇≤ !!

her personality; not so much (real though)

anyways, you grew up to read people really easily from the way you were raised n shit so when you first spoke to nicole in class, you realised she was faking to smile; or just faking to be nice in general

so you kept that in mind, but didn't say anything because you were loekwy afraid :P

one time, you guys had science together n this kid jeffery kept tryna talk to nicole and it's not like you were mad at her for tryna make new friends, it was jeffery you were mad at

he didn't even acknowledge you one bit ☠️☠️

so you just end up standing next to them saying nothing and looking like a random stranger

when nicole sat in her seat, with jeffery rambling about anime girls or something, you saw how she looked REAALLLYYY pissed so you were gonna sit in your seat (which was opposite hers) and ask her

UNTIL THAT BITCH JEFFERY LIKE SAT IN IT ☠️☠️😭😭

you just ended up staring at him with a slightly open mouth when he ignored your soft askings of "can you please move?"

that's when our favourite toxic lesbian said something!! (i'm delusional)

" oh my FUCKING god, next time i hear anything about your stupidass anime cat girls, i will actually hang myself from this light. like who the fuck even asked?? i know damn fuckin' well i didn't. and get your greasy and filthy ass out of y/n's seat, you bitch. "

😨

that was jeffery's face (and lowkey yours' too)

he got out of your seat and mumbled an apology to you and sat somewhere else leaving you and an annoyed nicole sitting in silence

" oh uh...are you? "

" do you have any meth. "

" ah fuck sorry, i don't do.. uh yeah "

" you look like you do, you seem fucking crazy "

" oh. "

so like after that, and you, being the sapphic you are, ended up falling inlove with nicole !!

she was lowkey a bitch and you won't lie, toxic as fuck but she was your only friend and she stuck up for you so that's good??

she treats everyone with no respect at all, but for you, you can see the SLIGHT change in attitude

like you see her with jeffery, then people like jecka and emily, and you!!

she would always say things about you guys making out or having sex in the bathrooms and you couldn't tell if they were jokes or not

but like i lowkey cba to say how ym got together so all ik is that yu asked her out, she made out with yu and yh

so like now HEADCANONS time

nicole is an insecure girl deep, deep down so that's why she acts the way she does.

but yeah, those insecurities make her REALLY jealous 😭😭

it's sometimes concerning .

like one time you were approached by emily and she was asking you if you wanted some drugs or something, which you declined, and you ended up complimenting her hair and saying how it brings out her eyes and she ended up hugging you

then nicole stormed over and started going fucking crazy mode at emily saying how " don't you have like a 30 year old boyfriend you can give head right now? so fuck off and let me give this bitch head instead, you cokewhore!! "

something along the lines of that

like i guess showing affection makes her pretty vulnerable, so when ym are in public she's a bitch

she's really controlling or whatever the word is (toxic)

"y/n, you know how much of a fucking pathetic loser you are? just think how fucked up you would be without me, then. like no offense babe, but you're really fucking deranged in the head but i guess that's something that makes you hot."

okay that's all i can think of but yeah i also hate parental controls like why are only 5 of my apps unlocked like let me go on discord ://

you guys should add me on discord, my user is umeqii yiu bitches /affectionately /nf

[halfagone]

Let Gotham Be Terrifying

I've seen many different takes and versions of Gotham, but I would love to play into the fact that Gotham is the second most crime-ridden city in America. That's right- Gotham, for all its horrible cruelty, still does not compare to Blüdhaven. But that doesn't make it any less terrifying, especially to newcomers.

I know a lot of people say that Amity Parkers would be desensitized to the Rogue attacks, because of the ghosts that constantly haunt the streets. But I think they would actually be more horrified of Gotham because of the ghosts.

Because here's the thing about Danny's Rogues Gallery. For all intents and purposes, they don't actually want to hurt people. The ghosts might not be harmless, but neither are they expressly malicious.

The Box Ghost? Give him some of your leftover cardboard from when you were moving apartments, he'll appreciate them and leave you alone for a while as a thank you. If you catch him at the right time, he might even be willing to lend a helping hand. With the promise of the boxes afterwards, he doesn't do work for free after all.

Lunch Lady? You'll see her at the soup kitchens or the food banks lending a helping hand; sometimes she even gets invited to the soccer games to act as hostess and she makes the best main dishes. And her dessert? People have made remarks that they're to die for, which is more than a little insensitive but hey, still true.

Ember McLain? Phantom's made a deal with her: so long as she keeps her mind control out of her music, she can play however much she wants. They hold weekly concerts in the park, you just gotta make sure everyone scatters by the time the Fentons arrive, and don't say shit to the GIW when they come around asking, and everyone comes out of this happy.

Kitty and Johnny? Sure, their arguments always cause a ruckus, and it can be more than a little awkward to watch a couple scream at each other in public. But if you're willing to lend a kind ear to Kitty when she's upset, she's far less likely to lash out and hurt people as a result. As for Johnny, let him do a couple laps around town and he'll get his head on straight. If the Red Huntress doesn't do it for him, of course. And when they're on good terms, you'll sometimes see them walking about town, holding hands and just having fun. Sometimes they'll buy some ice cream or other treats from stores. No one really knows where they got the money, but it's legit and no one feels the need to turn them away, if they're respectful about private property.

Youngblood? He's a bit brash and immature, but sometimes you'll catch him hanging out with Phantom playing astronauts. Sometimes you'll even see him hanging out with that girl Phantom playing cowboys. He likes to play at the parks and playgrounds with the other kids his age. And yeah, sometimes he hogs the toys a little too long, but he's the best storyteller the kids on the yard have ever seen. He's a great playmate once you get the hang of it.

As for Skulker... eh, he and Phantom have their fights but honestly, it's the collateral damage that causes more problems than the ghosts themselves. The morning commute should not take this long.

Spectra got ran out of town forever ago and at this point, people can recognize her on sight. If your mental health has taken a startling downturn, contact one of the helplines and if worse comes to worst, reach out to Phantom to make sure she's not sticking her nose where no one wants her.

Desiree- watch your mouth and stop saying the word 'wish' and you're set for life. She can be petty sometimes, but again, that's why you watch your mouth.

For 7 out of the 9 cases here, the ghosts don't actually mean much harm. Other, more powerful ghosts like Vortex or Nocturn don't come around often. They might think Phantom is a little bitch, but they respect his territory. They would do the same if they were in his place. Predator acknowledging predator, as I like to say.

But that's the distinct difference. The ghosts can be bargained with, reasoned with. If you give them some other outlet, more often than not they're willing to take it and don't bother anyone first.

The Gotham Rogues on the other hand? There is no indulging the Joker or Black Mask or Scarecrow. In some cases, even when Mr. Freeze's wife is cured or he's finally let her go, he still keeps to his life of crime. What about Harvey Dent? Zsasz? Manbat? A lot of these Rogues cannot be reasoned with.

And this isn't even including the drug dealers and the muggers and the traffickers. This isn't even including the corrupt police and the even more corrupt local government. This isn't even including the likes of the Court of Owls and the rich and elite that run the show. This isn't even including the League of Assassins, who've always had a vested interest in the city.

And isn't that sad? Doesn't that say something when the living are crueler than the dead?

So give me a Danny or a Jazz or a Tucker or a Sam- any Amity Park citizen you want- that is disturbed by the thoughtless destruction and murders. Give me a Jazz that takes one look at the Arkham Asylum patients and is unnerved by their incapability to change. Give me a Danny that visits Gotham one time to lend a hand, and by the end of it, he turns to Batman and he says, "I don't know how you do it."

Because this is a family of vigilantes, who all besides one, do not have powers. They have to cover a city filled with millions of people, watch over them every night, and try to stop any possible terrible atrocities. Because even if every single member of Batman's Rogues Gallery suddenly dropped dead, Gotham has far deeper issues than just them. That is why Batman's crusade is endless. That's why it's not as simple as flicking a switch.

Gotham is terrifying. And what does it say when the Batman can put the fear of god into a city like that?

Batman is terrifying, and I think sometimes that can be a reminder to us all.

[shaunamilfman]

new years day

Summary: "You've shared a New Year's kiss with your best friend Lottie Matthews every year since you were eight years old– it's practically tradition at this point– but something feels different about this one. As much time as you spend agonizing over the state of your friendship there's still no place you'd rather be than helping her clean up the morning after her party, but does she have to keep looking at you like that?"

A/N: did someone say childhood best friends to lovers?

You were five years old the first time you met Lottie. You were pretty nervous starting kindergarten and had cried the entire way in, but you'd quieted right up when you saw her. Your eyes caught from across the room and you couldn't resist the urge to walk over to her and join whatever game she was playing. The two of you have always gravitated around each other, even then. You'd never met before, but you slot together like you'd always known each other. 

You were eight the first time Lottie Matthews kissed you at midnight, the very first time you were allowed to stay up late enough to see it. It was only on the cheek, mind you, but you still counted it as your first kiss. You weren't quite sure what she was on about and immediately tried to wipe it off your cheek, but she didn't seem to care. You'd find out later that she'd misunderstood a conversation she overheard from one of her parent's friends, but the tradition stuck nonetheless. 

“After all,” She'd claimed when you were 14, ”There's no relationship in my life more important than you. Why would I want to waste good luck on a stupid boy?”

Which brings you to today: New Year's Eve and the 10th anniversary of your initial kiss. 

…

You hum in acknowledgment as she continues to speak, her words flowing in one ear and out the other. You weren’t quite sure what she was saying, you’d lost that particular plot a long time ago. Her voice was pleasant enough you suppose, but you weren’t sure what her name was. You remember her telling you it, but you hadn’t considered it important enough to remember at the time. You hope it doesn’t come up, that would be pretty fucking awkward. You laugh at the thought, making her grin widely at you. Oh, did she just make a joke? You wonder idly. She seems mighty pleased with herself regardless.

You make a surprised noise at the sudden weight in your lap, wrapping your arm around Lottie’s legs to shift her into a more comfortable position. Lottie grins happily down at you as she throws her arm around your shoulder and leans her head against it, bringing her face far too close for comfort. You look over to continue your conversation but find yourself talking to thin air. The girl you were talking to seems to have left at some point since Lottie came over. Weird, You think with a shrug. You wrap your arm around Lottie’s waist as you relax back against the chair, closing your eyes as you rest your head back.

You can almost feel Lottie’s eyes burning into you despite not being able to see her. You hum in question but she doesn’t seem to feel the need to answer it, continuing to stare all the while. You open your eyes to look at her but she makes a noise in protest as you try to turn your head away so you decide just to sit there. She can look if she wants to, you suppose. It’s not like she hasn’t seen you looking much worse many a time. You grin at the thought, remembering the time she’d watched you slip and fall into a puddle. It had seemed so humiliating at the time, but you still remember the way her body shook as she tried and failed not to laugh at your expense.

“What’s so funny?” Lottie murmurs, poking you in the cheek with just the tip of her nail. Your grin widens at the act, biting at her finger playfully when she tries again. Lottie gasps as she draws her hand to her chest feigning injury. You roll your eyes fondly, she could be such a baby sometimes. You tell her what you just remembered as she laughs softly.

“Wasn’t so funny when you hugged me,” Lottie complains teasingly.

“What’s a little mud between friends?”

“Between best friends.” Lottie corrects, oddly serious for the joking conversation you’ve been having. You hum in acknowledgment. Obviously.

“Say it?” Lottie asks quietly. You give her a curious look but agree easily enough.

“Between best friends.” You say quietly, looking up at her seriously. Lottie just smiles, breaking the tension between you as she leans away from you to sit up higher in your lap. She peers over your head, patting your shoulder excitedly as she catches sight of the time.

“Almost midnight,” She explains as she climbs out of your lap and tugs you with her. You stumble into her, almost taking the both of you down, at the sudden movement but Lottie manages to catch herself on the edge of the table. You hear the faint sounds of her laughter as she drags you through the party to the rest of your friends situated lazily around the TV waiting for the ball to drop.

You see Jackie and Shauna sitting oddly close to each other with Jeff nowhere in sight. You vaguely remember him storming past you at some point during the night but didn’t give it much attention. You can’t help but notice the nervous glances they keep exchanging. You nudge Lottie excitedly as you nod your head in their direction. You wondered if they were ever going to realize what everyone else already saw. Lottie rolls her eyes fondly as she squeezes your hand tighter. Some people were just so oblivious.

You eyed Lottie a little nervously as the countdown began, always a little afraid that she’d find someone else she wanted to kiss more at midnight. She's been your New Year's kiss as long as you can remember, but you've been waiting for the year she finally decides it's too childish and wants a real kiss. You certainly weren't going to be the one to make that choice. As pathetic as it sounds you'd willingly take her in whatever form she was willing to give you.  

Lottie looks a little amused at the uncertainty on your face, pulling you closer to her as the seconds slowly ticked by. She rests her hand on your hip as she leans in, your faces are just inches apart and you almost shudder at the feeling of her breath. As everyone starts screaming and cheering in the new year you quickly cross the distance, meeting Lottie in a gentle kiss. She pulls away all too soon, but she has such a gentle and loving expression on her face that you don't mourn it too much. 

You can faintly hear the rest of the party cheering in the background in their own states of reverie, but you're focused fully on Lottie at this moment. How could you not be when she’s looking at you like this, the way she does in only your most secret dreams? Lottie’s been your best friend since you’ve known what a friend was and she knows everything about you; Everything but this, your most hidden secret that you dare not speak aloud even to yourself. You don’t remember when you fell in love with her the first time, sometimes you think you must always have been.

Lottie smiles softly at you, sliding her hand up your back to pull you in for a quick hug. She pulls away to hug your other friends, cheering along as the new year begins. You just barely manage to tear your eyes away from her as you start celebrating with an amused-looking Nat. Nat had a tendency of looking at you weirdly as if she knew something you didn’t, but even she was too caught up in the reverie for her typical knowing glance.

…

Your very favorite part of her New Year's party was always getting to tell everyone to get the fuck out the second Lottie looked the slightest bit tired. Lottie would always be silently appreciative, hovering behind you until everyone left and she could drag you upstairs to go to bed. You and Lottie had fallen into bed with each other like usual, never able to resist the urge to be apart for too long at a time. She holds you so tightly against her like always, every inch of your bodies pressed against each other as if she’s afraid you’d disappear if she didn’t.

The first time you wake up it’s to the all too familiar feeling of coldness; You sigh as you start feeling for the edge of the blanket, knowing that Lottie has once again stolen it from you. You gently pry the edges of it out of her fingers, careful not to wake her up. You’re not quite sure how she manages to hold you so tightly against her and hog the blanket at the same time, but you’ve always found it a little impressive nonetheless. Lottie’s arm tightens around you reflexively in her sleep at the movement, but you're more than willing to let it happen now that you’ve recovered your blanket.

You rest your hand on top of hers, gently lacing your fingers together. You know Lottie would happily let you hold it while she was awake, her being the one to grab for your hand more often than not, but you still felt slightly guilty holding her like this. You wonder if Lottie would be upset if she knew how much time you spent imagining that your relationship was just a little different. You love being Lottie’s best friend, you really do, but you spend a suspicious amount of time imagining what it would be like to kiss her for real one day. You’ve started dreaming about it recently, never safe from your burning desire to be with Lottie. You shut your eyes as you let the feeling of Lottie’s breath against your neck soothe you back to sleep

The second time you wake up it’s to Lottie Matthews shaking you awake, her face hovering close to yours as she grins down at you. You groan as you gently push her face away and bring the blanket up to cover your eyes against the light. “Go back to sleep, Charlie” You complain sleepily, her childhood nickname slipping through in your exhaustion. You silently curse her need to always get up at the crack of dawn as you hear the soft sounds of her laughter, muffled though they may be. Your hands tighten around the edge of the blanket in a slight panic as Lottie starts tugging it away from you. You fight valiantly but Lottie’s got the advantage of standing over you as she finally pulls them off of you. You sigh as you look blearily up at her. “Hope you're happy now.” You mutter, holding your hand out as you let her pull you into a sitting position.

“I made us breakfast,” Lottie says with an unfamiliar expression on her face. You fake a grin as you try to hide your wince. Yay. Lottie waits impatiently on her bed as you get ready, dragging you down the stairs to the breakfast of champions: runny eggs and burnt toast. You turn your head to hide the way you gag at the texture, honestly counting yourself lucky she didn’t burn the house down with you in it during the process. You once watched her burn spaghetti, you’ll take progress wherever you can find it.

As you choke the rest of your breakfast down you watch Lottie as she moves around the kitchen, already starting to clean the mess everyone has left in her house. She always wanted to clean up after her parties before the staff came back because she felt guilty about making them clean it up for her. There was always the worry about them telling her father about it if they had to clean it, but both you and Lottie doubted Mr. Matthews would care enough about something Lottie did to come home and tell her off about it. Lottie would always assure you that she doesn’t need your help cleaning up, but it wasn’t like you were going to leave your best friend cleaning the whole house by herself, especially after New Year's as it had a history of getting more trashed than usual in the process.

You can’t help but notice her excess of nervous energy, and you wonder what that's about considering it was just the two of you: you can’t fathom a reason you’d ever make Lottie nervous. She looks over at you and quickly looks away when she sees you staring back at her seeming oddly shy. You shrug it off, deciding you’d let her come to you about it in her own time even if it was noticeably weird.

…

You grumble in frustration as you take a rag to the kitchen island for the third time, cursing under your breath as you try once again to scrub the stickiness off. You weren’t sure who spilled something all over the table and just fucking left it to dry, but you would be having words with them when you found out. You were positive Misty would know, and the thought of finding out was the only thing keeping you calm as you scrubbed and scrubbed at the island. As pathetic as it sounds you nearly cry out in joy when you finally get the island clean: your arm was really starting to sting from the repetitive motion. 

You look up from the island for the first time in a while to find Lottie leaning up against the kitchen counter staring intently at you, the corners of her lips quirking up. You scoff as you see her, gesturing down at the island you just cleaned. “You weren’t going to help me? How long have you been here?” You ask, a little miffed.

“You seem like you had it handled,” Lottie says, shrugging her shoulders lazily. She watches you carefully, eyes never leaving you despite her laid-back demeanor. 

“Did I?” You roll your eyes, tossing the now dirty rag at Lottie's face as you walk back into the living room. You laugh softly to yourself as you hear her squeal in surprise as the rag smacks her. You start working on picking up the cups littered across the floor to the beautiful sounds of Lottie’s outrage as she stalks in after you. She gives you her best imitation of a glare as you smile innocently up at her. Lottie sighs as she looks away. Lottie was a girl of many talents, but staying upset with you was never one of them.

You can’t help but smile as the two of you make quick work of the living room, working around each other like a well-oiled machine. One of the many things you like about being with Lottie was how she always seemed to anticipate your needs, tossing you a new trash bag before you even realized yours was full being a prime example. The two of you move fluently around each other, so used to the other that you truly think you could see her without looking. 

You sigh in relief as you finish picking up the living room, the bulk of the cleaning nearly done. Lottie had cleaned up outside while you were working on the kitchen which left you with the sweeping. You’d checked the other rooms downstairs, always fearing stragglers wandering off, but thankfully no one had gotten into them this year. You shudder in disgust as you remember having to clean up one of the downstairs bedrooms last year, truly a low point in your life. The things you do for love.

You listen absentmindedly while you sweep up as Lottie trails behind you and talks about all the things you missed at the party last night. You didn’t find a lot of it of any particular interest, who’s cheating on who seems to be the vast majority of it. You weren’t quite sure how Lottie came by some of her gossip, but it always seemed weirdly accurate regardless so you’ve learned over the years that it’s better not to question it. You visibly perk up at the sound of your friend's name, eagerly listening as Lottie talks about Jackie’s apparent breakup with Jeff just in time to kiss Shauna at midnight.

“Guess that’s why he stormed off.” You comment wryly, shaking your head in amusement. Lottie grins, tilting her head in acknowledgment as she pries the broom from your hands to finish sweeping the floor. She shoes you away when you try to grab back for it, choosing to instead regale you in the rest of the drama she’d witnessed at the party. You were almost in awe, honestly. She always seems to make so much more time out of the same couple hours you were at the party than you did: you’d think she was there for days as much recon as she seems to have gathered. I’d sure hate to be on her bad side, You think as you listen intently.

Lottie’s always been the prettiest girl you’ve ever met, but there was something especially captivating about her in little moments like these shared just between the two of you. Lottie was practically glowing as she spoke a language that only the two of you could understand, so full of inside jokes and references that you often left your other friends confused about what you were even talking about. Lottie has a way of making you feel like the only other person on Earth when she talks to you, the only one that could ever possibly mean something to her. It was a heady feeling, one that you think you’ll never get used to. You consider kissing her for a long moment as the two of you make eye contact, and for a split second you think she might want the same thing as her eyes glance toward your lips, but you glance away as you find something to busy yourself with instead.

…

You wrinkle your nose in disgust as you drag the trash cans out to the curb, trying your best not to breathe through your nose. You make a hasty retreat the second you're able to, walking back into the house in the hopes of finally getting to collapse on the couch. You groan at the sight that greets you: Lottie Matthews' long limbs sprawled across the only comfortable couch the Matthews own. You eye the other couch in resignation, knowing from experience how stiff and uncomfortable it is. Lottie slowly turns her head to meet you, and judging from the slight smirk on Lottie’s face you know she’s done this to you on purpose.

She holds her hand up towards you, wiggling her fingers in a mocking wave. Your eyes narrow at the sight, turning Lottie’s smirk into a wide grin as you cross the room. Lottie’s fingers flex against the couch as she grips it firmly in expectation of you pulling her off life you usually would, but you find yourself far too tired to fight over it today. Instead you simply just climb on top of her and lay down, resting your head on her chest. Lottie makes a shocked noise, tensing slightly in surprise.

It wasn’t that the position was unusual for either of you, but you knew that Lottie was just expecting more of a fight. Lottie looks down at the top of your head in suspicion but seems to accept it as she wraps her arms around you without protest. The two of you lay together in comfortable silence, legs intertwined as you melted into each other. You smile against Lottie’s chest at the slightly anxious movements of her fingertips against you before she finally gives up the fight, never able to resist keeping her hands away from your hair when it’s close enough to touch.

The feeling of her fingertips massaging your scalp lulls you into mindless bliss, so the sudden sound of her voice makes you jerk slightly in surprise. “Y/N?” Lottie asks quietly. You hum in acknowledgment, eyes sleepily blinking open. “You were looking at me earlier.” You laugh in your confusion. Looking at her?

“I look at you all the time, Lottie.” You say, not understanding what she’s getting at.

“It was different, this time,” Lottie admits slowly, as if seriously considering every word she says. “It’s been a different kind of look for a while, hasn’t it?”

You stiffen, your heart practically beating out of your chest. Your mouth feels strangely dry all of a sudden, and it takes you a few tries to say “Different?” Your voice cracks halfway through as an expression of your unease, making your face burn in embarrassment.

“You looked at me like you were thinking about kissing me,” Lottie says softly, pulling her hands off of you to lay them limply on the couch next to her as she speaks. “It would be okay if you did. Want to kiss me, that is.” She says with a tinge of anxiety, rushing the words out as quickly as she can.

She lays her head back against the couch, eyes facing the ceiling to avoid your gaze as you shift up onto your knees to look at her. You rest your weight on one hand as you grab at her chin with the other, wanting to see how serious she looks. Lottie’s face was flushed, looking up at you unsurely as she let you move her around. “I do,” You admit. “Want to kiss you.” Lottie grins widely in that special way you’ve only ever seen directed at you. Lottie slides her hands up your arms to rest against your shoulders as she tugs you down toward her, meeting you halfway as she eagerly reciprocates your kiss.

After a long moment, Lottie pulls back to lean against the couch, laughing breathlessly as she pulls you back down on top of her. The two of you stay on that couch for a long while as you enjoy exploratory touches to the background noise of gentle sighs and quiet laughs. You don’t think you’ve ever been as happy as you are at this moment, fingers tracing the edge of Lottie’s skirt as you tentatively nip at Lottie’s neck. Lottie curls her fingers in your hair, making you moan against her neck at the accompanying sting as you allow yourself to get fully lost in the moment.

You sigh contentedly as Lottie gently rubs her fingertips across your shoulder in a gentle caress, tightening her arm around you as she tries to pull you even closer. You laugh quietly, getting louder at the predictable pout on Lottie’s face. The two of you had retreated to her bedroom after a while, even that couch was only comfortable for so long after all. You’d flopped down on your back the second you’d reached her bed and Lottie had predictably wrapped herself around you, but it didn’t seem like it was close enough for her still. 

Selfishly you enjoy how desperate she always seems to be closer to you, always eager to let her consume you completely. Lottie finally just climbs on top of you, covering you completely as her weight presses you down into the bed. The world’s most comfortable weighted blanket. Lottie hums happily as she intertwines your legs and rests her head under your chin. You wonder idly if her legs are dangling off the end of the bed, but you figure that that’s her problem anyway. You close your eyes as you wrap your arms around her, curious about what you could possibly dream of now that it’s become your reality.

…

You always dreaded the first day of class in January more than almost any other day, but you found that you didn’t mind all that much today. You and Lottie lean heavily against each other in the cafeteria like usual, the giggling and flirty glances the only thing marking a change in your usual dynamic. Your other friends seem over it already, but none of them seem all that surprised about it. The only negative reaction you’d gotten was caught out of the corner of your eye as you watched a grumpy-looking Van hand a smug-looking Nat money. Your eyes narrow slightly at the sight, but you decide to confront them about it later. You're far too busy being disgusting with your girlfriend to care too much about it now.

[tumblingxelian]

Chloe Bourgeois - Not a Typical Mean Girl

No, I am not going to sit here and talks about Chloe's family, or issues, or one writers seeming obsession with her. No!

I am here to discuss what I think is a very common misunderstanding about Chloe's character and the show in fandom that often crops up in discussion regarding her.

Namely that the thing Chloe needs most is to be chastised, rejected & punished for her mean behavior, that will sort her out!

As though that wasn't already a thing that happens?

Bear with me and I'll explain that claim first:

The school does not like punishing any students. The only reason Alya was punished for coordinating an effort to break into Chloe's locker is because Chloe threatened the principle. The only reason Marinette was almost expelled was because Lila framed her for cheating, theft & assault all in one day & she still needed to make a scene of the whole affair. There's one teacher that punishes students, but she does so unfairly, cruelly and haphazardly and in season 1, Chloe was not shown getting any special treatment from her. Special treatment from the faculty was not a thing unless we are counting later retcons.

So now that the faculty is out of the way, wat I mean is that Chloe is not a typical mean girl because she is not popular.

In stuff like Mean Girls, Heathers and so on, the usual standard is that the mean girls are mean, but they are also revered, beloved, popular in one way or another despite their horrible behavior.

This is not the case with Chloe.

Even in Season 1 where only Marinette & Nino seems to start the season disliking Chloe. (Her presence unpleasant but hardly traumatic given the Origins level bickering) Chloe was still not widely well liked by the class or school.

She had one friend in Sabrina and a second oh so briefly in Adrien, which did let her absorb some of his celebrity by proximity. But within 48 hours of having him she lost him; with Adrien becoming more distant to divorce himself from her behavior.

That's it and while one can say her haughty attitude and ego are the reason we know from season 2 she is aware everyone hates her & it upsets her.

S1-Chloe did get invited to some class events, but even then her presence was not largely welcomed with most far less prone to be patient with her than they were with others even if they exhibited similar behavior. Such as Kim bullying Ivan, or Nino expressing blatant frustration with Mylene, ETC.

By late season 2 she was pretty much entirely segregated from her peers, barring Sabrina, and her presence welcomed with shades of disinterest, disdain or outright hostility. Sometimes evoked on her part or just in general.

This is a big difference from the usual Mean Girls = Popular Girls trend but I often don't see it acknowledged in fandom discourse.

This especially feels to be the case given so often I see people arguing Chloe "needs" to be rejected, or told her behavior is bad, or that no one likes her... But she is, all the time, she is entirely aware people don't like her and unhappy about it.

The issue is not that her bad behavior is being rewarded in school. The issue is that bad behavior is what she was taught at home and what is encouraged there and what is shown to work for her parents. But it doesn't work for her and she doesn't know why, because no one really bothers to teach her why. hey just get angry and snap at her or ignore her.

& sure you can say its not her peers job to explain morality o empathy to someone who was explicitly taught by their father how to cheat at & win elections by intimidation. But the fact is no one at home is going to do so because they are modelling, encouraging & teaching the opposite up until it impacts 'them' personally.

Not sure if there's a greater point to this, but...

I often find people acting like the thing Chloe needs is for her bad behavior not to be 'rewarded' or 'indulged' by her class and to instead be 'rejected' and for her to face 'consequences'.

But she does! That's basically all she does; & When she doesn't usually an Akuma tries to murder her anyway!

So yeah, Chloe isn't a typical mean girl.

She's actually deeply unpopular among classmates and the school has a discipline issue all over, it didn't come from her.

More negativity is not going to magically make her "better".

[picturejasper20]

Looking back the ending of Gravity Falls while thinking about endings of other series like Amphibia and The Ghost and Molly Mcgee, Weirdmageddon has a message that is underwhelming when it comes to Dipper and Mabel's relationship and Mabel's potrayal in the show.

This isn't about Mabel getting tricked by Bill. She is a 12-13 years old that in that context she was feeling really bad and not thinking well what she was doing. That isn't relevant to the topic at hand and honestly it isn't a problem she did that, it does makes sense in the episode it happened.

What i have an issue is how the narrative makes Dipper feel bad about considering staying studying with Stanford. This is something that Dipper was interested in and he was very fascinated by anything that was paranormal related. Stanford himself told Dipper he had a lot of potential and the kid was digging into it.

Mabel lashing out and not liking the idea of Dipper staying with Stanford is understandable in the episode Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future. She doesn't seem to have much friends back in her home and her parents are implied to not be the best. She gets scared of Dipper leaving, that's a reasonable fear for a kid to have.

However, as i mentioned before, Dipper is made feel bad about considering choosing something he wants to do. It isn't Mabel who has to learn that things change and sometimes this brings things we don't like. She doesn't exactly consider what Dipper wants for himself, she mainly cares about how ¨she is going to be alone¨ and making her brother feel selfish for choosing his own path or do something that could make him happy.

Yes, she learns that things can't stay the same forever and they are growing up, that itself is a pretty good development for her and overall a good message to teach.

Yet her being codependent on Dipper doesn't get brought up nor addressed, in fact the series seems to praise this behavior of hers. In how Dipper has to do what she wants if not he is a bad brother. Mabel's clinginess and controlling behaviour to an extent isn't called out, which that itself is a problem.

Small edit: I want to add an extra point here that Mabel does have a short scene near the end of the episode that she tells Dipper that she won't get in his way if he wants to stay with Stanford and she was ¨acting nuts¨ in the dream bubble. This is good for her but it does still feel in part that her issues weren't fully acknowledged and it doesn't help she didn't say this until after Dipper told her that he was going to stay with her and not be with Stanford, which is rather questionable in my opinion. It would have been more appropiate in the episode to have this brought up and getting adressed better than for her to wait for Dipper to do what she wanted.

In contrast in Amphibia, Marcy Wu has a similar arc about change. The series explores how she can take her escapism too far and how she can be very selfish in plenty of ways, something that is potrayed as an aspect she has to learn from and realize that it isn't healthy.

Her being too codependent on Anne and Sasha and their overall friendship is potrayed as toxic and the series explores this relationship a lot, having the girls grow over time and think about different aspects they have to work on.

In ¨True Colors¨ it is revealed that Marcy Wu learned about the Calamity Box the same day she got told by her parents that they were moving away. Very afraid of having to leave her friends behind and having to be alone in a new city, she found the Calamity Box and told Sasha and Anne about it. Worth of mentioning she didn't know if it would work but it was a desperate act of her just to not having to move away from her friends yet.

When Sasha and Anne find out about this they are, not surprisingly, very pissed and push from Marcy away for a moment, making Marcy realize her mistake and eventually apologizes for what she did.

In ¨All In¨ Marcy finally comes to terms with how she can't force Anne and Sasha to be the way she wants them to be and that her codependency on them isn't a good thing. She realizes that has to move away to her new home at some point, that things change but that doesn't mean the three of them have to stop being friends.

As you can see, there is a clear difference between how Mabel Pines and Marcy Wu’s characters and flaws are potrayed in the narrative. While Gravity Falls makes Mabel’s codependency and controlling behaviour to be something acceptable and that Dipper should conform to, Amphibia does the complete opposite and presents Marcy Wu’s actions as flaws she has and that can hurt other people, including her friends. She is the one that has to make a change and understand she has to work on herself if she wants to have new friends and keep these relationships as times moves on.

Since we are on topic, one thing that really bothered me is how Mabel created a version of Dipper that is ¨cool¨ and says yes and goes along with everything she wants to do. (Weirdmageddon Part 2)

This has… interesting implications of how Mabel believes that relationships should work, or at least with her brother twin Dipper. A lot has to do with how she and Dipper have very different personalities and she maybe wishes that he was more like her, but expecting someone else to say ¨yes¨ to everything you want is a toxic mentality to have. And the episode itself doesn’t address this enough, it doesn’t bring up to Mabel she can’t expect people to work like this and she should try thinking more about what others wants.

Lets talk about The Ghost and Molly Mcgee. In this series Molly Mcgee often has episodes where she has to learn certain lessons. One of them she learns over time is that often she has to give up control and let what others want to do instead.

A good example of this is ¨Ready, Set, Snow!¨ in which she is constanly trying to make Libby and Scratch to go and play outside in the snow with her without considering they would rather stay inside and sit near the fire for the moment. She spends most of the episode trying to find ways to make them go outside until she gets angry and goes out on her own. She has… quite of a mental breakdown in a sequence song. Scratch goes to check on her but he tells to her that she can’t do always what she wants and what it is important is for her to be spending time with her friends. Molly realizes she was wrong, goes back to the house and she apologizes for how she acted.

Molly has quite a lot of episodes like this, and all this becomes important in the series finale ¨The End¨ when she sees that Scratch has to go back to be Todd even if that means forgetting the memories he got as a ghost, her included. She tells Scratch that she is going to miss him a lot but she knows that forcing Scratch to stay wouldn’t be right. She encourages Scratch to go and ¨live his life¨ because she cares about Scratch being happy.

Similar to Marcy Wu, Molly learns that she can’t force people to do what she wants and she has to let them choose for themselves. She knows that encouraging Scratch to do what he always wanted to do as human is the right thing to do, even if it means saying goodbye to him.

I do understand the idea that Gravity Falls was doing at with something among the lines of ¨Dipper and Mabel not repeating the same mistakes that their uncles did¨ but that doesn’t mean Dipper has to give up his dreams at expense of what Mabel wants. As Dipper said in VS The Future episode: he can still visit and they can still talk to each other. They don’t have to fall apart the same way Standford and Stan did. Just like in Amphibia, if Marcy still was able to remain friends with Anne and Sasha over the years, the same can be applied to Dipper and Mabel as siblings.

If not, it could be rewritten in a way that makes Dipper reconsider that he would like to wait a few years before joining Stanford in his adventures. That he is still a kid and wants to spend a while longer figuring himself out and be with Mabel before making a decision. That way it feels more like a decision he wants to do for himself and goes along with his character arc that he doesn’t have to rush to grow up.

As for Mabel, she has a lot of growing up to do. She has to learn overtime that Dipper is his own person and he can take is own path. That if she wants to have friends or have in general healthy relationships with others, she can’t make it always about herself and people have their own needs as well. She would have to work on her codependency and clinginess she has on others, specially her own brother. This would help her with being a more mature capable individual when she grows up.

This post on itself isn’t me hating on Mabel’s character since she has moments she can be good and i feel a lot of her behaviour comes from not being taught properly and being a teenager. The problem is that the series doesn’t address this behaviour enough and, as result, it comes off as the series giving an unintentional underwhelming message of potraying Mabel’s issues as something that should be acceptable and not her having a dynamic with Dipper that comes off as toxic. It is important to understand to learn to support others and not always make things about ourselves. That sometimes relationships change and we can’t force people to be in a specific way.

[pullhisteeth]

in which Eddie's love languages are quality time and acts of service - and you're a commitmentphobe

something small that came to mind the other day (I definitely do not do the annoying thing of never doing the things I commit to, no, definitely not). it's a lil bit christmassy so sorry about that lol. college!au, gn!reader, etc etc. fluff. 1.4k.

-

so you do this thing which you are convinced pisses all your friends off, where you declare that you're going to do something - wash the dishes, finally fold your laundry, finish a book, braid your hair, go to the gym, bake something - and then never do it. it happens far too often and you are so sure it drives them mad, Nance and Robin surely rolling their eyes at one another when you once again flop down on the couch and resolve that today will be the day that you repot the plants in your dorm room.

and it does. they're your friends, but friends can be irritating despite how much we love them regardless, and it's maybe one of your bigger flaws.

they groan about it between themselves sometimes, the same way you do with Robin when Nancy ditches girls night to finish another piece for your college newspaper, or the way you do with Steve when you catch Robin in another conversation with the cute girl behind the counter at the campus café who she still hasn't asked out. every single time, she joins the two of you with that look on her face that says, not this time, folks, sorry.

they often brush off your declarations of intent, humming without paying much interest, and you know it, of course. you also know they're your friends, so it's their job to put up with this.

but then there's Eddie. Eddie is a new friend, as of the months before summer break, though his presence at nights out or evenings in with the whole gang is so concrete he may as well have been here the whole time.

Eddie is also incredibly pretty. he throws you off guard often with his throwaway compliments ("you look great tonight, sugar") and those hands he fails to keep to himself. they land on the small of your back sometimes when you're leaving the bar. other times his knee nudges yours when you're sat beside each other during movie night. and, worst of all, sometimes his fingers brush yours as you walk, and it takes everything in you not to grab hold and never let go.

one evening, you've come home from class and changed into pyjamas and you're padding sullenly through the apartment you share with Nancy and Robin. like clockwork, you throw yourself onto the empty couch and say: "tomorrow I'm gonna go on a long walk."

"right," you hear Robin mutter from where she's sat on the other couch, her eyes trained on the complicated looking crochet project in her lap. Nancy's out but Steve and Eddie are sat at your dinner table - they may as well live here, you sometimes think - working on assignments.

"I'll come with you," Eddie says.

it surprises you; normally the only acknowledgement of these whims you ever get are the uninterested noises from Robin or Nancy.

"you will?" you return, turning your head to look away from the ceiling and over at Eddie.

"sure," he says, still looking at the assignment on the table in front of him. he's holding his forehead, pinching it in concentration. he looks pretty in the ebbing sunlight, as usual.

"sweet," you mutter back.

and he does. he sticks to his word, turning up sometime mid-morning the next day with a thick coat on and two coffees in takeaway cups. you wander with him around the park near campus and try your hardest to keep your expectations low.

he's a friend. it's not a date.

the following week you're back on the couch, watching a rerun of Golden Girls, and you let your eyes wander around the room, paying little attention to the television. you stare up at the plants hanging from the top of the cabinet by the door, and the ones on the windowsill.

"I'm gonna do it," you say. "I'm gonna repot them."

"mm-hmm."

Nancy's at the dinner table, scribbling away on various pieces of paper. she gives you the usual hum of okay, sure, yeah without looking up at you.

"need a hand?" Eddie asks. he's on the other couch, halfway through a joint.

you turn over onto your side to look at him.

"yeah, okay. wanna go to the garden centre?"

"only if we can look at the fish."

"obviously."

this cycle continues. every few days, your dramatic commitment to a new thing will go unnoticed by your seasoned friends, but Eddie won't let whatever it is go. when you tell them you're going to go to the beach, for some fresh air, he offers to drive you there. when you declare that you're going to bake them some bread, and finally learn how to kneed, he brings you bread flour and promises he'll bake weed brownies with you one day. and when you decide that today is the day that you'll take your resumé to the cafe round the corner, he looks it over with you and walks you over. I could do with a coffee, he tells you.

you get the job, starting a week later. you're working 3 shifts a week between classes and sometimes closings shifts roll into the evenings, when you'd usually be doing nothing in your little living room with your friends. on these nights, when it's dark before you finish, Eddie is always stood beside the back door as you leave. the first time it happened he said he'd been on his way home from class and had spotted you cleaning up inside so thought he'd wait for you, but then it happened two days later, when you know he doesn't have any afternoon classes. and so after every late shift you emerge from the back door to find him smudging out a cigarette with his shoe, and he looks up at you and smiles, and you walk with him two blocks back to your apartment.

after a month or two, you're on another close. it's December and you're on your last shift before you hitch a ride back to Hawkins.

"he's out there again," your boss mutters as he comes in from emptying the trash.

"hmm?"

"your boyfriend. does he have to smoke out there?"

you feel yourself warm, the bloom of embarrassment and something more under your skin.

"he's not my boyfriend. I'll ask him to stop smoking, though."

"some friend you got then, walkin' you home every night."

you don't respond, bottom lip between your teeth to hide your smile. you speed through everything else on the list and grab your jacket and bag when your boss waves you off with a half-hearted happy holidays, and skip a little too quick out the fire door behind the kitchen.

sure enough, here he is, though tonight feels different. you quickly spot him smudging the cigarette out, but as your eyes drift back up they land on something colourful in his hand.

he looks up when he hears the door but he doesn't smile like usual; instead it's small, laced with apprehension. but it blossoms when you grin at him, so wide your eyes nearly close.

"good shift?" he asks.

"hm, it was okay. what've you got?"

you step closer and look down to see that it's a pretty bunch of flowers.

"uh, I... if I don't do this now, I owe Steve fifty bucks."

you look up at him, confused. "what?"

"wanna go get dinner?"

the bliss that swells inside your chest feels like enough to lift you off your feet. you grin again, and he smiles back.

"Eddie Munson, are you taking me on a date?"

he looks down at his feet, bashfully kicking the stub of his cigarette with one shoe.

"I mean, I thought the walks home and everythin' were obvious enough, but..."

you giggle at him, thinking about all the evenings he'd drop you home without more than a hug goodbye, leaving you kicking yourself for thinking this could be anything more than good friends.

"my fault," you say. "wanted to say something, but I'm not good at committing to stuff."

"nah," he says, looking up at you again. "you just needed a hand gettin' it done."

lifting the flowers, he holds them out for you to take. as you do, he takes your bag and, before you can protest, slings it over his own shoulder. they're pretty, deep reds and purples.

"these are beautiful, Eddie."

he smiles back at you and brings his hand to the small of your back, as always, as you leave.

walking down the street, past closed-up shops in the cold, your hands brush his as he gets closer and closer. you seize the opportunity, finally committing to something, and wind your fingers between his.