#(and by extension steven and jake)

[celestialodysseys]

If I had a nickel every time Oscar Isaac played a former military man dealing with trauma, I would have...a surprising amount of nickels actually.

[gatorbites-imagines]

I love reading your work, could you do the Moonboys + Khonshu (if possible) with a touch starved s/o? 💜🩵💙

Moonboys and Khonshu x touch starved male reader

Headcanons

I miss the moonboys. I still hope they make another season,,,

I believe in softer Khonshu, I’m ignoring how hed really be in canon.

Marc Spector

I imagine Marc is just as touch starved as you are, he just doesn’t like to be open about it. He doesn’t like to be vulnerable like that, which in the end just makes him more touch starved.

So, when you start cuddling him more, holding his hand, always being near him and touching him in some way. Then he would tense in the beginning, but soon he would start melting into the touch.

It starts small, like him letting you grab his hand, and Marc intertwining your fingers. Or when you guys are sitting on the couch watching a movie and you lay your head on his shoulder, Marc would rest his head against yours.

Little by little he would start opening up, the more your relationship develops, and trust is built. I don’t think he would say it with words, but Marc would start to be more physically affectionate in different ways.

He never turns away any of your searches for touch, part of him melting little by little, until he feels all gummy and vulnerable on the inside, and Marc just finds himself curled up and holding you, feeling at peace.

Steven Grant

Like Marc, Steven would also be touch starved. Maybe not to the same extent as Marc, since Steven is aware of himself and his feelings to a deeper degree. He gets stimulation from other places, so its not that gut deep yearning the others have, but it’s still present.

So, when you start leaning on him, always touching him, or hanging onto him, Steven doesn’t mind. He especially loves it when you hug him from behind when he’s doing something, be it reading his books or when he’s puttering around the kitchen.

He almost melts if one of your touch searching behaviors is kissing him, be it his lips, his cheeks, his forehead or his hands, or pretty much anywhere. Steven just loves it so much it almost makes his heart burst.

Steven would also be the only one to go out of his way to verbally tell you he doesn’t mind you being touch starved, or how much you crave touch in some way. Just to make sure you are aware that he doesn’t mind, and you don’t need to hide it from him.

Jake Lockley

Do I even need to say it? touch starved. But hes the type of touch starved where he feels pain when you touch him, at least in the beginning. As the one that took most of the physical abuse for the system, Jake has a different relationship with touch.

So, in the beginning when he notices how touch starved you are and how you always want to be touching them in some way, he might go out of his way to switch with Marc or Steven.

As your relationship develops though, Jake slowly warms up, much slower than Marc. Its always small touches, like hooking your pinkies together when walking, or him brushing his hand through your hair.

He would be tense when you need hugs, but after some time Jake would allow it because he loves you. And by extension, Jake would start feeling better when it comes to human touch.

Hed never be as affectionate as Marc or Steven, at least for a very long time, but he goes out of his way to reassure you in the ways you need, to make sure you get your needs met and don’t feel neglected.

Khonshu

Unlike the moonboys I don’t think Khonshu is touch starved. As a god I don’t even think he really craves physical affection the same way we do. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t like it, but the craving isn’t as big for him.

When it comes to you being touch starved, I think Khonshu would just go along with it and let you cuddle into him, or lean on him, or whatever else you need to do.

He would love to run his hand through your hair though, his deep voice making a comment every now and then, comparing you to a cat or some other affectionate cute animal.

Khonshu wouldn’t go out of his way to tell you in words that he understands you are touch starved and that he doesn’t mind. He just shows you it doesn’t bother him, by holding you when you need it, or cuddling you to his chest when you have that yearning for touch.

And since very few people can see him, then he is always able to be near you and touching you. No one is gonna see the bird skulled giant following you around with his hand on your shoulder anyways, so why not.

[queerponcho]

Transfixed | part 3

previous part | part 4

collage made by me with pictures from pinterest

moonknight!system x female!reader

a/n: AHHH- Thank you all so much for reblogging, liking and commenting on my past chapters!!! I just reached 50 reblogs and it honestly means the world that people are embracing a newbie like me (✿◠‿◠)

Warnings: no use of Y/N, fluff, NOT beta read, gushing about the moonboys, flustered awkward dorks, plot-twists, Jake being a menace, (eventual smut, the chapters will be marked individually), inaccurate depictions of DID, egyptian mythology and religion (although I did extensive research I took liberty in changing some things to adhere to my plot...), if I missed anything or made any spelling mistakes pls don't hesitate to tell me!

Summary: Steven and Marc have a little...carfuffle when Jake finally lets them front again, after days of taking over. The date plans are set and both parties eager to meet soon but are we surprised when things don't go as planned..?

2,200 words

Steven at home

‘I can’t believe this- how does this even happen Steven?’

‘Mate, I don't know! You were there weren’t you? You know how it happened…’

‘So you’re tellin’ me that any pretty girl can just sit there and you will literally tell them all about our personal business???'

‘How else was I supposed to find out about Jake huh?? Say that he’s my identical twin brother and then have to explain myself-'

‘Steven you would never have had to explain anything! Because this was supposed to be ONE conversation over a non-committal coffee- not a damn first date.’ Marc replies sternly. He looks at Steven in the glass of the fishtank and notices him looking deflated and guilty. Great- now he feels guilty for making Steven feel guilty. ‘I-I am sorry man, I shouldn't've gotten this mad, you know how I am about…personal stuff.’ Marc says sincerely. He really has been trying to be better at communicating, it’s been a feat to get here but he would do anything to make Steven's life easier. ‘It’s alright Marc..you’re right I should call off the date’ Steven says while looking at his hands, remembering your touch on his shoulder. The way you made him trust you so easily, even though he barely knew you. How desperately he wanted to get to know you an- ‘Steven, you know we share a brain right?’ Marc says trying to stop Steven from swooning any further. ‘Look- clearly you like her and she seems to like you as well, so who says this won’t turn out well?’ ‘well- you know: “we share a brain”’ Steven says, mocking Marc's previous comment. ‘Okay okay I get it-  I messed up. I’m sorry. There, will you let me help you now?’ Marc looks at Steven expectantly.

Days passed since they had returned home after you left them in the cafe. Steven was pretty sure Jake had taken over after leaving the coffee-shop but he was finally fronting again after a few days. Steven squints his eyes at Marc but relents ‘alright fine, I don’t know what to text her…I think she might be waiting for me to initiate conversation…’ ‘You realise we wouldn't have this issue if I had fronted and you wouldn't have had the chance to fall in love like a desperate teen-boy’ ‘I thought you said you lay off with the mean comments! And i am NOT in love-’

‘yeahyeah, you’ve never had a girlfriend have you? You must be reeaaally nervous…’ he adds in a singsong voice. Marc won’t let up, he’s being dragged into this mess so he might as well have a bit of fun. ‘Okay now I know you’re just takin’ the piss- are you gonna help me or not?’ Steven says fully aware of his embarrassing situation. ‘Alright, you text and I tell ya how to start, alright?’

‘Oh bollocks- uum okok I-I can do this..’ Steven is fronting now sitting on the office-chair and stares at his phone screen, starting with a simple introduction.

steven is typing...

‘Hiya- it’s me Steven!’

He had written, deleted and rewritten the message about six times before finally sending it.

You answered very quickly, you’d been waiting for him to text since you got home a few days ago. Processing everything that happened between you and steven- and well, Jake.

‘hi:) glad to hear from you. I wanted to apologise for leaving so abruptly, but it was all a bit much to process and i was running super late for work haha…i hope you understand’

‘Of course luv. If you’ve got any questions you can always ask, I hope you know that.’

‘i do’

‘i was actually hoping to ask you some questions on that date you promised me;)’

You seemed a bit more forward over text and Steven did not mind it one bit, since it was just the push he needed.

‘Right! I thought we could meet friday? There's this great vegan restaurant, I'd love to take you there?’

‘sounds great! could you pass me the address of the place?’

‘No need luv- I’ll pick you up.’

‘oh!’

‘that works too’

You hadn’t realised the age gap until this moment. They were probably around 10 years older than you with you being in your mid-twenties. You did notice the wrinkles and silver strands when you first saw Jake but hadn’t really thought about the fact that he was about a decade older than you. Just now as he offered to pick you up did you realise the generational difference. You didn’t have an issue with it, you’ve always liked your partners to be a bit older so this definitely wasn’t a turnoff. If anything it only amplified your attraction.

‘I’d love your address’

‘Whenever you get the chance to send it:)’

‘right! sending it now…’

You send him your address. 

‘Thanks luv. Alright, I’ll see you Friday at 7pm then?’

‘yes! see you tomorrow steven<3’

He sat back, setting his phone on the sink. ‘Alright there's your date’

‘Thanks for taking over, Marc- couldn’t have done it alone’

‘Relax Steven- this was just texting. But you realise I can’t just take over during the date, right?’

‘Of course I know that…doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stand by just in case…’ 

‘So- wait, what are we gonna do with Jake's notebook?’

‘I uuhm couldn't find anything besides drawings and sketches of her…I mean at least we had those, otherwise we would’ve never found out about him loaning that book.’

‘By the way…we know Jake likes her as well, by getting to know her better, we have a chance of actually luring Jake out-’

‘That might be true but that's not our goal! I- I actually like her…she might become my first proper girlfriend, I don't wanna mess this up.’ Steven is adamant on getting to know you, very hopeful of the connection he feels towards you. An almost magnetic pull he felt between you, one he has never felt with anyone before.

Marc chuckles at the reminder but reassures Steven, ‘And we won't, I promise, you will do fine Steven’

Friday

It’s 4 am. You’ve been trying to sleep for the past four hours but the thought of getting to see Steven and possibly Jake later today was not letting you relax. If anything it was causing a very persistent tension…in places you really dont wanna delve into. In fact, you’re trying really hard not to think about that tension, which might be the exact reason as to why you can’t seem to find your way to a peaceful slumber. You try to distract yourself by thinking of how this all even started. The way Jake intrigued you since the beginning and had you speechless every time he appeared. And you think about steven- steven who's the polar opposite to jake and is this shy sweetheart that can’t seem to even look you in the eyes but somehow managed to bluntly ask you out on a date. You keep thinking about them and their differences and analyse them, not noticing your eyes slowly shutting closed and your thoughts slowly forming into vivid dreams based on your memories with the boys…you sit up in your bed abruptly remembering your texts with steven. Realising you had shared your private address with a fucking stranger…you hold your head in your hands and push your palms into your eye-sockets trying to calm down. You don't actually know shit about these men…you really should’ve told your friends about them cuz literally no one knows about these encounters. But truly it was all so bizarre and absurd that you really didn’t want your friends to spoil it for you by using anything close to logic or realism. To maybe argue that they could have anything untoward in mind with you. 

You lay back down and finally feel a wave of exhaustion hit you. You want to believe that they actually maybe even like you…of course there is a possibility that Steven only asked you out to find out more about Jake. oh and marc, was it? You wonder what he might be like and if he's anything like his alters. You turn from your clock having hit 5am and finally force yourself into sleep.

You wake up to your alarm blaring and prepare yourself for work. You start the day groggy and tired due to only sleeping four hours. But just the thought of your date tonight has you motivated enough to hurry up and catch the next bus.

Moonboys POV

Marc woke up around noonish since Steven took forever to finally fall asleep. Lately he’d been better but last night he was as jittery as a six year old the night before christmas. Currently standing in the kitchen brewing himself a cup of black coffee and prepping his mug with two brown sugars. ‘So loverboy, what are you planning for tonight?’ He says while wearing an amused smirk on his face.

‘Okay well first off, cool it with the nicknames yeah? And secondly you literally texted it for me yesterday. We are goin’ to my favourite restaurant.’ Steven replies proudly while also ashamed for not even having the balls to text you himself. ‘About that…I don’t think that place is open right now- in fact I think all the restaurants are closed today, no?’ Marc remarks and pours himself the long awaited bitter brew. ‘Wha-Whatareyousayin mate??’

‘Well’ He clears his throat ‘when I woke up I saw today's date and remembered that today is that weird holiday, the only thing open are convenience stores and the 24-hour Tesco’ he says, his voice laced in an amused tone and takes a slow sip of his sweetened coffee. ‘Bollocks- what am I gonna do?...I could cook?’ ‘Steven’ ‘No, I-i can't even make a- a salad! How the hell am i supposed to cook for her if I can't cook marc?!’ he says panicked ‘Steven’ marc sternly interrupts, carefully putting his half empty mug on the counter 

‘I can help you. I may not be amazing at it but I can remember a few things from- from what our dad taught us.’ Marc and Steven rarely talked about their past but recently they were kinda forced to deal with it. Just the fact that they, let alone Marc, can mention anything from that time so casually is kind of a huge step for them. 

Marc and Steven spend the rest of the day planning, buying and preparing the food for the date. The time comes when Steven has to take over the body to get ready to pick you up. He finds a shirt in the back of his closet- same oversized cut as his others but a bit less casual and more sleek looking than the usual shirts he wears. His hair is as unruly and fluffy as usual despite Marc insisting on sleeking it back. He convinces him to use some curling cream he had found in the back of the bathroom drawer.

Steven applies it sceptically, coming to the conclusion that it does look pretty good. He makes his way to your address making sure to ring on the right door. Basically buzzing from anxiety, Marc is doing everything to keep him calm and rehearse with him what he was gonna do and say when you ringed him in and opened your door, knowing full well, that all the preparation would fly out the window when he actually met you…Jake is silently watching this all transpire and cant help but be amused at all this, not admitting that he was actually a bit nervous himself.

You came back from work tired BUT extremely excited to get ready. You had to stay a bit longer than anticipated and thus only had about one hour to get ready. Hopping in the shower as quickly as possible you try to calm down under the warm streams of water hitting your body, melting all the tension out of your back, shoulders and sore legs. Work had been exhausting and this shower was proving to get difficult to leave. But the alarm you had set to remind yourself of the time, successfully cut your relaxation short. You quickly exited your shower wrapping your body in a fluffy white towel. Wiping the steamy mirror to see your reflection more clearly, you start getting ready. Adding whatever products you use to your hair and applying sweet smelling lotion to your body, basically doing any- and everything to make you feel as confident and ready as possible for your date, who was supposed to arrive iiiin…twenty minutes?!

You hurried your makeup routine and rushed to your room quickly picking out an outfit you felt sexy in but also had a grounding and comfy vibe. You threw on a beige knitted sweater, which had an oversized fit with a mini-jean skirt. Paired with sheer brown tights, thigh-high beige cashmere socks and brown leather knee-high, high-heeled boots. Finishing off the look with your favourite jewellery and accessories, you look over at the clock. It's 6.50pm and you are just adding the last finishing touches to your look and making sure you've moved all the important things from your ‘work-bag’ to your ‘going out purse’ when the door rings. ‘He's here’ you mutter to yourself, running to the door making sure it's him and pushing the button to the intercom. ‘Yes, hello?’

a/n: hope yall liked this chapterrr- in the next chapter you'll be able to read all about the date and i am SO excited for yall to read about it *squeals* don't mean to toot my own horn but GURL it's so good i already wanna post it ♪(´▽｀)

The lovely people in my taglist: @lilladyblink14 @lemongirl5910

please notify me if you want to be added/ removed from the Taglist<3

[projectionistwrites]

FOR SCIENCE

In which the Moon Knight alter system presents a unique opportunity to settle the nature versus nurture debate, once and for all...

Steven Grant/Marc Spector/Jake Lockley x afab!psychologist!reader

RATING: EXPLICIT (18+, mdni) WARNINGS: SMUT (specific warnings in each chapter), questionable ethics/scientific practices, discussion of mental health, psychoanalysis, extensive descriptions of DID, fetishization of mental disorders (DID) NOTES: this fic is really, really morally ambiguous and ireally honestly don't feel great about it. in real life, the contents of this story would be considered extremely unethical, deceptive, manipulative, and there are some serious conflicts of interest. that being said, as someone who is passionate about psychology, i have been wanting to write this for quite some time. if this might be triggering to you, or you feel uncomfortable with the sort of scientific gray area this presents, please don't read it. DISCLAIMER: although i’m incredibly knowledgeable about psychology, i am NOT a professional. all psychoanalyses made throughout the course of this storyline are entirely my own, based on my own interpretations of the characters. in a similar vein, i am also not an expert on DID specifically (although i am well-read on mental disorders and diagnoses), so i apologize for any incorrect terminology or misrepresentation. don’t hesitate to call me out if i say something wrong!

→ the project proposal

→ case study: subject one

→ case study: subject two

→ case study: subject three

→ data analysis

[romanarose]

Addicted

Steven Grant x fem!reader

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Moon Knight Master List

Marc's part here : Jake's part here

Summary: After Marc fails to take you in, Jake makes his attempt. When that fails, it's up to Steven Grant to bring you into the Innead before Khonshu has his head.

A/N: I started this series before I started @romana-after-dark and I went back and forth on whether or not to put this fic there or here. I opted for here, despite the darkish contents, as this is where the first 2 parts were. However, I ask you HEAD THE WARNINGS! While this is not dub con or non con, there is blood and knife play. As always, I extensively tag my fics to a fault, so if you read something you dont like and I warned you, that's on you, not me. Of course, as always, If I miss something, please let me know!

A/N2: IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK LIKE 9 MONTHS TO WRITE LOLOLOLOLOL

WARNINGS: PIV sex, lots of oral (f receiving), squirting, bondage, knife play, blood kink, (it's established they like wild sex and they consent), lil degrading, that's it? I think?

***************

"I'm so addicted to all the things you do when you're going down on me in between the sheets

Oh every sound you make, with every breath you take, it's unlike anything when you're loving me"

A knock on a hotel room door only ever spelt trouble for you, but when you opened the door to see your handsome nemesis, you couldn’t help but smile, warmth gathering in anticipation. 

You open the door, leaning against the frame. “And you must be Steven Grant, pleased to finally meet you. Should I make a run for it before we fuck or shall we skip to the good part?” You tease him, but all he does is smile at you.

He’s got a soft look on his face, a gentle but knowing smile; almost a smirk, really. “Pleasure to meet you. And no, we wouldn’t need any of that nonsense this time, will we?”

“I don’t know, pretty boy, you tell me.”

Steven was standing with his hand stuffed in his pocket, a dusty blue button up with birds on it in a contrast to Marc and Jake’s clothes. Steven wasted no time walking in the hotel room like he owned the place, forcing you to back up until you were against the wall, his firm body pressed up against yours. “Now, shall we skip the pleasantries?”

“Strictly business, are we? Not even bothering with a spiel about taking me in, this time?”

Hands are on your body, gently sliding up and down the sides. “Oh, I will be taking you in, love.” His face was close, lips grazing over yours in shared breathes. “But first, I’m taking my time with you, and isn’t that better than a quick romp in the woods or the alley?”

He was cute, this one. You were certain Steven would fold much easier than Jake, certainly easier than Marc, the soft little man he was.

“Same rules as always?” You ask, taking a quick nip from his pouty lower lip to see what he’d do, but Steven just smiled.

“You want to stop, we’ll stop, but I’m bringing you in either way.”

“Yeah” You scoff at him, laughing a bit. That’s what the others said. “Okay, whatever, just ki-” You were cut off by Steven claiming your mouth, forcefully kissing you as his body pressed against yours. 

Reaching for his pants, you go to undo his belt but Steven’s hand catches you. He pulls away from the kiss, dragging your lip out between his teeth, an eyebrow cocked in your direction. “Now darling, you know you aren’t in control, right?”

His expression made you a little weak in the knees, but you were not deterred. It was a bit of a cat and mouse between you and Jake, so maybe you just needed a little power play. You would need to distract him, after all, if you were going to make another run for it. But first, an orgasm. They were quite good at that, if you remember correctly.

Keeping your wrist gripped in large hand, Steven kissed you as he undid his pants and stepped out of them, leaving his boxers on. “If my memory serves me, we’ve never been full naked in front of each other, is that right?”

You nod, trying your best to look submissive and innocent. “Yes sir”

He smiled at that. Got ‘em.

“That’s because Marc and Jake don’t know how to treat a lady, how to take their time…” Steven's eyes grazed up and down your body as he unbuttoned your pajama top, exposing your breasts which he brushed over with his hands with a soft murmur of ‘beautiful’. “They’ve never even tasted you, little dove, and isn’t that just a shame?” When you didn’t answer, Steven gripped your chin and forced you to make eye contact with him, tsking a few times. “I believe I asked you a question, darling. Marc and Jake never put their face between your legs, have they?”

“N-no sir” Yeah, that’s it. Fake submission… it still faking, right?

“That’s right, smart one, aren’t you? Now,” Relinquishing your face, Steven guided your hands to the hem of his shirt. “Would you like to do the honors?”

You give a small, quick nod and pull the shirt up and over his head… he was gorgeous. Their body was toned, strong, but soft at the belly, pecs looking juicing and ready to be sucked on.

“Can I touch you?” You ask, rolling your hips to feel his hard cock in his boxer briefs.

Once given permission, you put your hands on his body reverently. Slowly, you kiss him, then make your way down his jaw, sucking on his neck and down to his chest. You lick and suck and nibble a little bit before making your hair to the desired location. With Steven undressed and you only with your shirt unbuttoned, you could get Steven worked up enough, distracted enough…

“Good girl, good fucking girl” Steven groans out when you start sucking on his nipples, alternating between them. You feel him pull his dick out, throbbing in his hand as he starts to furiously masterbate. “Keep going like that, make daddy proud, little dove. F-fuck, you’re gonna make me cum, don’t worry darling, I’ll take care of you, just- god, god the mouth on you.” 

As his pumping grew more and more erratic, you can see he’s hanging his head back as Steven pleased himself to the feeling on you sucking on his nipples, ready to cum just from that. It was a shame honestly, you bet he’d look so so pretty cumming like this… but you weren’t getting taken in. When you reach for the bedroom drawer, trying to find your knife while he’s distracted, all movements from Steven stop and you find yourself being flung against the wall, face pressed into the plaster.

“F-fuck, you cheeky little thing. Thought you were going to distract me with orgasm, were you?” He was panting heavily, an irritated voice and hot breath in your ear as he restrained you against him, his cocked pressed into you.

“Yes daddy” You giggle; you were foiled, but wouldn’t be deterred. How’s that song go? You get knocked down, but you get up again, aint ever gonna keep you down. Isn’t that song about alcoholism? Whatever.

“Hm, guess since I can’t trust you on your own, we’ll have to tie you up.”

Oh no. Well, that couldn’t happen, how do you escape when you’re tied up? How do you stab him, shoot him, whateer the fuck you were going to be doing and playing with his blood after like the sick bitch you are with your hands tied. You can’t.

You try to make a break for it, turning to run for the door but with his fast reflexes, Steven grabs your hand and yanks your body until you are pulled flush against him. 

“No more flying away, little dove.” His mouth is on you again and you try to stay focused, try to kiss him so breathless that he lets go, try to distract him enough you can leave… but you find it’s you being swept away as he lays you down on the bed, his warm skin pressed to yours and wastes no time taking off your shirt just before your back hits the bed. With grace, he begins with his fingers at your bare sides, trailing up, up, over your side-boob, onto your arms. You move with him, wanting to encourage the gentle scratch so you raise your arms above your head, relaxing into his touch with your eyes closed. He was so soft, so sure of himself, so in control and tender you almost felt like you were in a lovers arms. With a big sign, you allow yourself to sink into the soft hotel bed, arms raised up so that they brushed the headboard.

The headboard that you now realized you were tied to.

“W-what? What the fuck?” You twist and turn trying to see what the fuck he tied you up in, and when you arch your back to look upside down, you realize you were tied with a strong gauzy material; it looked like what Marc’s suit was made out of. Oh god dammit.

“See love, isn’t this just better?” Steven ran his hands back down your naked top, pulling your shorts and underwear down as he began nestling down on the bed, preparing to lay on his stomach with his head between your legs. “Now just relax, and I’m gonna take care of you and your dripping wet little cunt.”

You tug at the bondage but it’s no use; you’re stuck.

“One more time, little dove.” Steven said as he began to massage your mound, eliciting a sharp gasp. “This what you want?”

Unable to fully response, you simply moan in agreement, until a crisp slap is delivered across your face. “Now, now, darling. Use your words.”

“Yes Daddy”

Steven’s mouth was on you in a second, fully enveloping your puffy, needy pussy that craved him so bad. You were addicted to them, you didn’t foresee this being the last time. It couldn’t be.

It seemed they were just as hungry for you.

Steven ate you out, and you mean ATE, strong arms wrapped around your shaking legs to pin them into place as he devoured the meal in front of him. If you could silence your own heavy breathing and moans enough, you could hear little whimpers escaping Steven’s mouth. Make no mistake, however, he was not submitting to you. Anytime you tried to tell him where to go or move you hips to guide him, you were reminded who was in control with sharp bites to your thighs and tummy.

“I know exactly what I’m doing love, I’m taking my time.”

And take his time he did. Steven sucked and licked and nibbled his way through you, building up the pleasure brick by brick before he ever even slid those fingers inside… and when he did… christ.

Steven knew exactly where he was going when he did, curling them up until he found the spot that made your body jolt upwards. With one arms occupied deep inside you, he was only holding you down with the other and this allowed for more movement… but when you looked down at him, the look in his eyes as he gazed through those thick eyelashes told you that you needed to keep still. You didn’t want to cross him. 

When your orgasm approached, it felt different to say the least, but you assumed the build up and edging was leading to a mind-numbing orgasm. You try to tell him.

“Daddy, daddy I’m gonna- oh fuck- I’m-”

“In my mouth” He pants heavily only breaking away from you for a second. “Need it in my mouth” was all he got out before separating licking between your folds while the slick fingers previous inside you rubbed on your swollen clit.

This was more than a big orgasm, this was something different completely, something wet and filthy and sloppy and it gushed out of you and into Steven’s waiting mouth. He was LOUD, moaning as he drank you down the results of your squirting spilling out all over his mouth. When Steven’s wet face finally came out from between your legs, there was a slight smile on his face and a dark look in his eyes.

Steven was enraptured with you.

“Need to fuck you.” Was the string of words from his wet mouth, coming out so fast it was nearly all strewn in one. Steven scrambled his way up your body and thrust in between your legs so fast, all you could do was cry out for more, more more, until he silenced you with a kiss; mouth still wet from your cum. “Tight little thing” He was breathy, sweat beginning to gather at is skin and his breath hot against your neck. “No longer Marc and Jake risked it all to fuck you, but they didn’t make your squirt, did they?” Steven bit down hard where your neck and shoulder connected. “Did they, little dove?”

“N-no! Oh god, Steven, Steven, Steven- oooohhhh” You neared the edge again, the frantic, desperate way Steven was claiming you taking you to where you needed to be despite the ache and pull on your wrists above you. You tug again, hoping for them to loosen, hoping to find some sort of edge of him, a step ahead, something to get him the way you got Steven and Mark, and looked to the knife on the bed side table. You had to get it somehow.

But Steven noticed, and sat up on his knees, never stopping his movements on you. He followed your eyeline to where the knife lay, and couldn’t help but scoff. “You really think you get to use that on me, do you? Fucking brat!” His hips sped up pace, making you scream, until he got an idea. You did it to Marc, he could do it to you. Steven reaches for the knife. “Might have to teach you a lesson, little dove.”

You know exactly what he’s doing… but you can’t find it in yourself to protest. You want them to own you.

“F-f-fuck, Steven, shit, do it, please! Please Steven!” You beg for him, tears at the edge of your eyes threatening to spill over. 

With a sly grin, Steven traces the edge of the knife over your skin, testing the waters, but when you don’t protest and in fact make sounds of pleasure in time to his frantic thrusts, he presses the knife deeper into you. You can feel the warm blood slowly drip down, staining the sheets that will certainly scare some hotel worker, and the euphoria of the pain sends you barrelings towards the climax. As you near your collective precipice, Steven picks up speed and drops the knife on the bed. Perfect. Once he feels you cumming on his cock, walls pulsing around him, Steven pulls out and jerks himself onto you, painting up your skin.

The picture he paints is soon smeared, Steven slumping over your spent body and taking you in for softer, passionate kisses. As he does, Steven places his hands over your wrists and as soon as the strong gauze-like material releases you from your hold, you quickly attempt to reach for the knife, fully intending on stabbing Steven like you had done to Marc and making a break for it, but Steven and those Moon Knight reflexes caught you.

“Little dove’s wings just can’t be clipped, can they?” He says to you, voice soft and dolly empathetic. He knew what was coming if you didn’t succeed in taking power back.

You smirk up at him. “A girl’s gotta try?”

He smiles back. “I supposed you do. Here.”

Steven grabs your wrists and as the bandaging reappears you think you’re about to go for round 2, but then you feel it, the suit repairing your skin. When they leave for the final time, there is no scar, only left over blood.

Steven leaned over you, both hands pinning your wrists next to your head. “Now, my darling…” He says, cocking his head to the side. “What are we going to do about you?”

*************

WE'RE DOOOOOONNNNNEEE what do you think? Is Steven gonna take her in? it's for you to decide!

I had so much fun with this series! Again, if dark and smi dark interest you consider following my side blog. I ahve a yandere jake and a darkish jake, a D A R K joel series and few others, more coming out

Gotta say, ive been finishing up a lot of series lately that have been hanging around forever and it feels GOOD to get if off my chest.

likes are sweet, reblogs help spread my work and comments mean the entire world!

@my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @fieryglutenfreechickennoodles @luke-o-lophus @milkymoon2483 @kittyofalltrades @luciannadraven33 @the-fox-den @gingermous @jake-g-lockley @sofi786 @lunar-ghoulie @stealfromthedevil @pimosworld @stevengrcnt @80pairsofcrocs @kingtwhiddleston @marys2sblog @ahookedheroespureheart @drinkingwithkhonshu @fandxmslxt69 @k-ra @ivystoryweaver @whatthefishh @steven-grants-world @campingwiththecharmings @littlenosoul @mikaelak @runa-falls @lokisv7lkyrie

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Chapter 5

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now)

Rating: T

Word count: ~2000

Story Summary: Steven meets a beautiful woman in the Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum...

...Too bad she's his new boss.

Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship

A/N: ICYMI, I've been going through some personal stuff, but Steven has been a welcome distraction so I was able to get this next chapter written fairly quickly!

If you want to be tagged in this or any of my other writing, let me know!

Steven opened his desk drawer for the fifth time since he had arrived at work that morning and checked to make sure the gift he had bought Dr. Y/LN hadn't accidentally gotten damaged.

He took a deep breath. He had sent her a text message before he had left for work asking if he could briefly meet with her that morning and was awaiting her response.

He hurriedly unlocked his phone as it alerted him of a new message. I'm in my office now. Come on up whenever you're ready.

Steven grabbed the gift bag and headed to the elevator, his heart thrumming nervously.

Calm down, Marc said. It's just a gift. It's not like you're proposing to her.

Steven shook his head. What if she doesn't like it?

She will. I'm sure of it.

Steven got off of the elevator and made his way to Dr. Y/L/N’s office, noting that Helen hadn't yet made it in.

He checked his watch. Well, it's no wonder Helen isn't here yet. It's not even 8 am.

He paused in the open doorway. Dr. Y/L/N was standing by the window and looking outside, the early morning light giving her an ethereal glow. She's so beautiful.

He gently knocked on the door so as to not startle her. “Er, excuse me, ma'am.”

Dr. Y/L/N turned towards him. “Hi, come on in. You can close the door behind you.”

Steven nodded as he stepped inside and closed the door.

Dr. Y/L/N walked over to her desk and sat down. “How can I help you, Steven?”

“I'm sorry to bother you this morning, but I, er, I just wanted to say that you're a wonderful director and that I really enjoy working with you.” Steven set the gift bag down on her desk. “And I also wanted to give you this.”

Dr. Y/L/N’s brow wrinkled, an adorably confused look on her face. “You got me a gift?”

Steven nodded, fidgeting nervously as Dr. Y/L/N reached for the gift bag. “It's not much, but I just thought, well…” 

He paused as Dr. Y/L/N pulled the ‘World Pyramid Tea Collection' he had gotten for her out of the bag. “You had said that you wanted to try different varieties of tea, so when I saw this I thought you might like it.”

What he didn't say was that he had been planning on buying a varietal tea set to give to her since the day he had walked her home two weeks prior and that while doing a rather extensive search online for the perfect one had stumbled upon that particular set.

A smile spread across Dr. Y/L/N’s face. “This is so sweet of you. Thank you.”

Steven nodded slightly. “You're very welcome, ma'am.”

Dr. Y/L/N opened the box, her smile becoming even brighter. “Ohmygod, they're actually shaped like little pyramids. That is so cool!”

She looked up at Steven. “Is it okay if I give you a hug?”

Oh dear gods, yes. Steven nodded. “Yes, that would be quite alright.”

He sucked in a breath as Dr. Y/L/N walked around her desk and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace. 

“This is one of the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given me,” Dr. Y/L/N murmured into his ear. “Truly, thank you so much.”

Hug her back, dumbass, Marc chided.

Oh, right. Steven quickly returned her embrace, tucking his face into Dr. Y/L/N’s neck as she hugged him tighter. “I'm very happy that you like it.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded against him. “I love it.”

They stood there with their arms around each other for what couldn't have been more than a few moments, but felt to Steven like it lasted a lifetime.

Finally, Dr. Y/L/N gave him one last squeeze and stepped back. 

She gestured towards her box of tea. “Would you like to join me for a cup of tea? I'm excited to try out all of the different varieties.”

Steven nodded. “I would love to. Do you know which one you want to try first?”

“Probably the Earl Grey.” Dr. Y/L/N gave Steven a bashful smile. “It smelled so good when you had it the day you walked me home.”

“It is quite nice.” Steven gestured towards the door. “Shall we, then?”

Dr. Y/L/N took the Earl Grey pyramid out of the box. “Did you not want to try one of these?” 

“Oh, no, I keep a tin of tea in the staff kitchen,” Steven replied. “I don't want to take one of those in case it's a flavor you might like.”

“Oh, okay then.” Dr. Y/L/N picked up her coffee mug. “After you.”

They headed downstairs to the staff kitchen, which was blessedly empty.

Steven filled the museum's electric kettle with enough water for both of their cups of tea then turned it on before grabbing his own mug and tin of tea bags. 

He watched as Dr. Y/L/N carefully opened the box containing her tea bag.

She glanced over at him. “I'd like to preserve the pyramids, if I can.”

Steven grinned. “Spoken like a true archeologist.”

Dr. Y/L/N shrugged, a small smile on her face. “Or just a sentimental sap.”

Steven shook his head, touched by the thought of Dr. Y/L/N wanting to keep the box intact because it had been a gift. “Nothing wrong with that.”

Dr. Y/L/N took her tea bag out of its box and smelled it before dropping the bag into her coffee mug. “Mmm, that smells so nice.”

Steven nodded as he opened his tin of tea bags and set one into his own cup. “Oh, yeah, I agree. I love the smell of bergamot.”

He paused as the kettle clicked off. “Oh, there we are.” 

“How long do we let it steep for?” Dr. Y/L/N asked.

“Anywhere from 3-5 minutes,” Steven answered as he picked the kettle up off of its base. “Of course the longer you let it steep the stronger the flavor. May I?”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded and slid her mug towards him. “Thank you.”

Steven poured some hot water into her mug. “You're welcome.”

He poured some water into his own mug then emptied the kettle before setting it back on its base to dry. “Anything exciting on your agenda for today?”

Dr. Y/L/N shook her head. “Just the usual business stuff -- writing reports, meeting with I.T. about the PA system upgrade, and trying to update the gift shop offerings. Certain things are just not selling.”

She paused. “Actually… I know that's not your department anymore, but while you were in the gift shop, was there anything you wished we would've carried or something you felt was unnecessary?”

Steven nodded. “Actually, yeah. First of all, I don't know why we have so many themed sweets -- it's not like those even existed back in the time they're supposed to be representing. Also, maybe we could add some buildables to the shop?”

Dr. Y/L/N’s brow furrowed. “Buildables? You mean like Legos or something?”

“Sort of, but I was thinking more like wood kits and 3-D puzzles.” Steven pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up an example of what he was talking about. “The manufacturer has different kinds -- the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Parthenon, all the wonders of the world.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Okay, yeah, I like that. Anything else?”

“Possibly a larger variety of plushies. All we have is Taweret right now.” Just anyone but Ammit, he added silently.

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Okay, I'll see what I can find. Thanks for your input.”

“Of course. Happy to assist.”

Dr. Y/L/N bit her lip. “You know, I have to be honest with you, when I received your text this morning saying you wished to meet with me I thought you were coming to tender your resignation.”

“Oh, no.” Steven shook his head. “No, no, absolutely not. When I told you that I plan on staying right where I am, I meant it.”

As long as you're here, anyway, he added silently.

“I’m very glad to hear that.” Dr. Y/L/N’s lips quirked back up into a smile. “After all, who else would save me from chatty board members during the museum galas?”

Steven shrugged, a small smile forming on his own face. “I'm sure there would be plenty of others willing to come to your rescue.”

Dr. Y/L/N shook her head. “No one quite like you, though.”

There was something in her expression that Steven couldn't quite place, but before he could even try, Dr. Y/L/N had cleared her throat and glanced down at her tea. 

“You're definitely one of a kind,” she added as she dipped her tea bag into her cup a couple of times. “I mean, I doubt anyone else would also be willing to sneak away from a fancy party with me to go translate ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs on a sarcophagus.”

Steven chuckled. “For the record, I would happily sneak away from a fancy party with you anytime.”

Dr. Y/L/N looked back up at him, a grin spreading across her face. “In that case, maybe during the next gala we can go hide out in Ancient Greece and drink tea.”

Steven nodded with a grin of his own. “That definitely sounds like a good time.”

“Great.” Dr. Y/L/N looked down at her cup of tea again. “So, do you think this has steeped long enough?”

Steven picked up a couple of teaspoons off of a drying mat next to the sink then slid the sugar canister in between himself and Dr. Y/L/N. “Oh, er, yeah, probably.” 

He handed her one of the spoons. “It depends on how sweet you like your tea as to whether or not you want to add sugar and just how much, but I find about a teaspoon does the trick for flavored teas. Gives it a bit of sweetness without overpowering the flavor.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “I'll defer to your expertise, then. After you.”

Steven took his tea bag out of his cup and discarded it before spooning some sugar into his tea and watching as Dr. Y/L/N did the same.

He waited as she finished stirring her sugar in and rinsed off her spoon. “Moment of truth, eh?”

Dr. Y/L/N huffed out a laugh and raised her mug in a toast. “Bottoms up.”

She took a cautious sip, her eyebrows raising at the taste. “Oh, wow. Wow, this is really good.”

Steven smiled in relief as he rinsed his own spoon and set it next to hers. “Yeah?”

“Mmhmm.” Dr. Y/L/N took another sip. “I see what you mean about adding just a small amount of sugar -- I don't think I'd like it if it wasn't sweetened at all, but this is a nice balance between sweet and citrusy.”

Steven took a sip of his own perfectly-sweetened cup of tea. “It definitely took some trial and error to get the ratio just right.”

Dr. Y/L/N checked her watch. “I should get back upstairs so I can get ready for my meeting with I.T., but thank you again for my gift. It really does mean a lot to me.”

Steven nodded. “You're very welcome. And let me know how you like the other varieties.”

Dr. Y/L/N smiled with a slight nod of her own, then picked up the box for her tea bag. “I will. Have a good day, Steven.”

“You too, Dr. Y/L/N.”

Steven waited until Dr. Y/L/N had left the staff kitchen before putting his tea bags and the sugar away.

I told you she'd like it, Marc said in his head. You did good.

Steven picked up his cup and headed back downstairs to his desk, smiling to himself at the memory of Dr. Y/L/N’s arms around him as they had embraced. Yeah, I did, didn't I?

[nowritingonthewall]

Dear Nonnie, it’s been ten thousand years, and if you are ever going to read this, I hope that you’re having the loveliest day imaginable 🥰 Thank you once again for being so incredibly lovely 💜

!Content warning for pregnancy and parenthood!

Please be aware that I am not an expert on DID.

Mostly soft and fluffy because Jake deserves it.

I am sorry to say that I have no idea who first came up with the beautiful idea that Jake LOVES cats, but I would like to thank all the amazing artists for spreading the love for cat dad Jake in the fandom 💖

👶 Family headcanons with Jake Lockley (x female reader)

- One of the most important things that you need to understand about Jake Lockley is that he cares. He cares so fricking much. He cares about Marc. He cares about Steven. He cares about you. And he cares so much about your little son and your little daughter, he is always going to put them first, no matter what. His role as protector will always come before his own emotional needs and feelings.

- The first mission, which he goes on the minute that he learns that you are pregnant and that never really ends, is to make your flat as save for your son (and later your daughter) as possible. One day you come home and are briefly convinced that your flat has been burgled. Not only are all of Steven’s books stacked neatly on the shelves, but the floor has been completely cleared of every single tripping hazard as well. Of course, convincing Steven to tidy up his own personal library and doubly securing all the shelves was the easy part. For every potential danger eliminated, it seems like Jake finds five more potential death traps for your little ones. During one particularly extensive shopping trip to B&Q, the shop assistant briefly considers asking him what he would need 20 fire extinguishers and all those smoke detectors for, but immediately changes his mind upon one raising of the eyebrow™.

It is terribly hard for Jake to face the reality that he won’t be able to keep your little ones away from harm forever. And it certainly won’t stop him from trying.

- A few weeks into your pregnancy, you are woken by a soft voice talking to your baby bump:

“Don’t worry, mi bebito. No matter what happens, tío Jake is going to keep you and your mamá and your two papás safe.”  

“Aren’t you forgetting someone, mi cariño?”

“Oh, you mean Khonshu? Don’t worry, if that silly bird is going to try…”

“Jake, sweetie, I am talking about you! Our little one will have three papás!”  

It doesn’t happen often that you see Jake cry. In fact, this is the very first time that he allows you to actually see the tears filling his eyes, before he pulls you into a long and warm and heart-felt hug.

The second time is the birth of your son.

- Jake is the one who fronts for most of the time, from the moment you go into labour to the moment you are both holding your son in your arms for the first time. Even if he knows how much Marc and Steven would want to be there for you, he simply wouldn’t be able to deal with their feelings of helplessness and pain on top of everything that you have to go through. He doesn’t complain when you squeeze his hand so hard that he fears his bones might break, he calmly accepts all the swear words that you keep screaming at him, he doesn’t even flinch when you start to curse him and the day that you met him.

He wouldn’t have complained about you not realizing that it is actually Marc holding you a while later, as you bury your face into his shoulder, utterly exhausted and quietly sobbing that you didn’t hate him at all and how sorry you are for everything that you threw at him earlier. But Marc nudges him gently back to the front. And so Jake gets to hold you and whisper softly how he didn’t mind at all and how he is certain that you were actually a superhero. His beautiful and amazing superhero.

He is convinced that he’ll never get used to the wonder of being allowed to hold your son in his hands. His hands that are so used to violence and death. He simply can’t believe how -  amidst all the pain and destruction that played such a major part in his life - he helped to create something so perfect and beautiful.

- For a while, he actually contemplates giving up the business of protecting the travellers of the night. On the one hand, he can no longer put himself in danger without regard for possible consequences. On the other hand, his ability to heal from fatal wounds isn’t exactly something that he would like to give up, especially since he has a family to protect now.

So whenever he refuses to take on a mission now because it’s too dangerous, even for his liking, and Khonshu won’t budge, he’ll just send Steven to negotiate with the pigeon until Khonshu starts to cry.

- Your little ones love to fall asleep curled up on Jake’s chest. And somehow he manages to never ever fall asleep himself, knowing (and fearing) how dangerous that can be. Though he doesn’t mind at all watching over you, whenever you drift off with one of your children snuggles up against you. No matter where they fall asleep, somehow he always manages to move them to their crib without waking them up. Sometimes they can’t be persuaded to let go of his hand, though. Not having the heart to let go, he’ll hold their little hands for hours, as they lie in their crib right next to your bed and you gently spoon him, resting your head against his shoulder, whispering softly that you can’t believe how lucky you are.

- Jake is not the kind of father to become lost in his phone or other activities while his kids are yearning for his attention (though he tries not to judge other people for it). In fact, he gets so lost in looking after your kids, fully committing to taking part in whatever games they come up with, and making sure that they are safe on their daily adventures, that he has no trouble ignoring his notifications for hours. Unless he’s waiting for a message or a call from you.

- In those nights when your little ones refuse to go to sleep, and all your usual strategies won’t work, Jake will take them into his cab and drive them around the city for a while, as you watch over them. They are usually out within seconds. If the nights aren’t too chilly, he loves to take one of the routes that end up on Parliament Hill. Sometimes he surprises you with a beautifully prepared romantic picnic with the lights of the city sparkling around you. And sometimes you just love to cuddle together under the stars. He always keeps an extra set of snuggly blankets for you and your children in his cab. When you tease him about how he always forgets to bring one for himself, he’ll whisper that you provide him with all the warmth that he needs before pulling you in for a long and loving kiss. Snuggled up against Jake with your children peacefully snoring between you, you really don’t mind those nights when they refuse to go to sleep at all.  

- Driving around in the cab with their papá Jake never ceases to be an exciting past time for your kids. They are able to name different brands of cars before they are able to walk, quickly surpassing the knowledge of both you and the boys, regularly shocking your friends and strangers with their expertise. And, of course, Jake secretly hopes that getting them familiar with the city might reduce the chances of them ever getting lost.

He lets them wear The Cap™. No one else is allowed to touch The Cap™, not even mommy. (Actually, if you asked him, he most likely wouldn’t be able to say no to you, but you love for him to have something that he shares exclusively with your little ones.)

Once a week, he takes your kids to a restaurant that they are allowed to choose for some quality bonding time. He deeply savours those moments, even in those weeks when they just seem to end up at McDonalds over and over again.

- Your flat used to have a strict no-cat-policy. As much as Marc would have loved to fulfil Jake’s dream of a fluffy little flat mate, there were just too many possible nightmare scenarios involving a cat and the Gus Gang and the inevitable tears of Steven that would follow after. That is, until your kids bring home a little abandoned kitten from the street after searching for its mother in vain for hours. Jake stays up for three days and nights, carefully nursing it back to health. When you wake up on the third morning after having fallen asleep in his lap (with Jake’s sweater thoughtfully wrapped around you), you find the little kitten all trusty and content and snuggled up right next to you, as Jake keeps on gently petting and caressing you both.

In the end, the combined power of those puppy dog eyes of you and your kids and Jake are just too much for Marc to bear and so Little Mau is adopted into your family. Not without Jake and Marc spending nearly a day turning your fish tank into Fort Knox, of course. Your flat turns into something of a home for stray kitties soon after that. And you soon get used to coming home and finding Jake under a huge cuddle pile of your cats and kids.

(The fact that birds are afraid of cats doesn’t enter into Jake’s or your love for them at all, of course.)

- The first “nonpractical” item that Jake has ever owned was a fluffy little cat plushie, which Marc and Steven gave to him on their first Hanukkah spent together. Cuddling with Little Gato warms his heart so much, that it may have inspired him to shower your kids with a number of plushies that may be considered to be slightly above average. He loves to pick out those fluffy little friends with you (and Marc and Steven always let him front in those moments), and it is practically impossible for him to say no, whenever your children find one that they would like to take home. It almost feels a little like making up for all the things that he had missed out as a child himself. And he is going to fight everyone who claims that plushies aren’t appropriate for little (and not so little) boys. 

- One day Jake comes home to find your daughter crying in your arms, deeply upset because a gang of straight hair girls won’t stop making fun of the glorious curls she inherited from her father. His initial instinct to make them shut up in a very undiplomatic way is quickly shut down, of course. The other two boys aren’t exactly helpful in this department, either. Because even though Steven takes care of his curls, he pretty much lets them do their own thing, whereas Marc puts so much product into his hair that his strands would put even the most elitist soldiers to shame.

Feeling a little helpless, he begins to observe and mentally take note of all the steps that you do when taking care of your daughter’s hair. He spends days in front of the laptop, trying to learn everything there is to learn about the curly hair method. There is an uncharacteristical shyness in his voice when he asks whether he could help you during wash day. After a few slightly insecure attempts, he becomes so good at it that your daughter keeps asking whether Jake could help her to take care of her curls. And he never forgets to tell her how beautiful she and her curls are.

And somehow Jake’s interest and care and the time that he spends bonding with your daughter does make everything better in the end. It may not stop the girls’ hurtful remarks but it certainly makes them easier to deal with.

- Jake starts to give your children lessons in self-defense as soon as they are able to walk. Just because he won’t be able to protect them wherever they go doesn’t mean that he can’t at least try to help them learn how to protect themselves, right?

It’s not like he condones violence in general, no, for real, he doesn’t. Yet he can’t stop himself from being a little proud when his kids come home after successfully defending themselves against a gang of bullies for the first time. And after properly taking care of them, underneath all the worry there’s a little proud moment of “Those are my kids!” before he pulls them into a hug and kisses them gently on their forehead.  

- Jake is excellent at stone skipping. As a young boy, it was the ideal hobby since it didn’t require any props to hide away and after getting involved with Khonshu, it was a perfect activity to train his hand-eye coordination without raising suspicion by the people around him.

He has never considered it to be something special until he sees the pure glee in your son’s eyes when watching him for the first time. He can delight your kids and you for hours with his skills. Sitting in St. James’s Park, he teaches them how to skip stones as you teach him how to just let loose for a little while. Making up theories about the secret agents feeding the ducks in the park. Or reading stories into the clouds that are passing above your heads, as he lies in your lap, soaking up the soothing feeling of you playing with his hair with your kids cuddled up to him on both sides.

The wonderful feeling of just being. No mission, no duty, no sense, just being and enjoying life for a while. And most of all, the endless love of his beautiful little family.

[witchofthewaist]

@rumoka Asked me to talk about home, so here's a very autistic intro to my Custom DR 🥰

We scripted a Cul-de-sac. That was basically it. Billy and My house, my friend and her S/O, and the Moon Knight trio (who all have their own bodies) because of a messy breakup for them with an ex-friend.

Billy and I live on the beach in a very large house with our 4 kids (my 2 biological ones, and my youngest 2 siblings from me CR) I will add pictures at the end for this. Our house is in the middle of the others street-wise.

To the right from our doorway is my Best friend's @6-gallons-of-sparkles and her BF's house. To the left is where Marc, Jake, and Steven live.

In the center of our cul-de-sac is what we call "the complex". It's a building containing the gym, public pool, dance studios, cafeteria, etc. Next to the complex is the school for the kiddos, a few places to eat, a tattoo shop, a hair salon, a spa, the (massive) Library and Observatory (dedicated to Prince Stolas), and the Gardens.

We found out though, that there isn't only *one* town in our planet. There are several others, and to be completely transparent, I don't know how extensive it really is. But I know that the rest of our deities have houses of their own, my other friend essentially has a town for them and their support people, and there are other towns for our ancestors and guides.

Other things that we have are the Hangar, which is about a 10 minute walk from the back of my friend's place, the campgrounds and (magical) forest which is about 20 minutes drive north of the Complex, back roads for joy drives, The Caves which is under part of the cul-de-sac and forest, multiple museums, and more urban business area spread all over.

Here's some pictures of my place if ya made it this far!

[heyhelloitsmilo]

Mirror, Mirror.

=========

moon system x gnc/gender neutral reader

word count: 1225 words

=========

‼️ this is based on my own experiences being trans/nb, i don't have bottom dysphoria so like, i don't... i don't reference it in this.

❗️ my spanish isn't very good, i'm still learning so a bit of google translate was used! masculine terms used (1)

✨ might be a little ooc its been a hot minute since i've written a fic! i'm also very sad!

⚠️ warnings: dysphoria, self-misgendering, feminine terms used in reference to reader, reference to scars (via top surgery), pre-transition/pre-hrt, show accurate depiction of DID, petnames used (lovingly)

💛 pairings: marc spector x reader, steven grant x reader, jake lockley x reader, moon system x reader (sorry steven isnt as relevant in this one i promise to make it up later heres an IOU)

💫 summary: dysphoria hits you really hard one evening after your shower and the boys get concerned, remembering your coming out (fluff, comfort)

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You gripped the bathroom counter, water dripping from your skull down your skin, glistening in the fluorescent lights, dropping from your wet hair strands. Your eyes were trained on your chest, almost willing the world and the universe to make them stop existing. The subtle whirring of the bathroom fan only made it easier for you to zone out, staring at your body as it slowly dried, imagining a flat chest and scars in place of the things that made you a woman to everyone else.

You didn't even notice the soft knocks on the bathroom door or the quiet, "You a'right in there?" from Steven outside. You just stood there, the bath mat soaked, mind filled with thoughts about how feminine and womanly your body was, skincare routine and hygiene forgotten.

"Hey, if you're not gonna come out, I'm gonna come in there." Marc's words jolted you out of your trance, face whipping to the door, hands grabbing for a towel to cover yourself.

"Wait, wait wait hold on-!"

"Too late." Marc opened the door, looking at you, halfway through covering your body. His eyes darted across your frame, the rest of the bathroom, landing on your eyes. "Good. You're okay. We were getting worried." His voice was gruff, his words revealing how relieved he was. "...Dysphoria get to you?"

You nodded silently, looking away from the man in front of you, fully wrapping yourself in the towel. You felt... ashamed. Ashamed of your body, that is.

Marc and Steven (and by extension, Jake) had known you pre social transition, loved you and dated you before now. And they stayed after the fact, with Jake finally meeting you after then.

You remember when Steven had stayed up all night, researching and reading on transitioning, practicing and mumbling to himself (and the system) to not misgender you. His efforts hadn't been in vain, with all three of them only slipping up a handful of times. And you appreciated them for it.

You remember the day you came out like it was yesterday.

You'd spent the last few weeks in a crisis, researching, hyperfixating about the things you were experiencing, taking 'Are You Gay?' tests online.

---

A knock on the desk jolted you out of your hyperfixation, pulling your attention.

"Hey, baby. About time." Marc pulled up a stool, sitting beside you, taking a quick glance at your laptop. "What's that all about?" He did a vague gesture at your laptop, spying the 'Am I Trans?' quiz open.

"O-oh, nothing, don't worry about it." You quickly closed your tabs, swallowing your saliva. You grimaced at the unconvinced look on Marc's face. "Okay, maybe not nothing."

"Is there something you'd like us to know?"

Marc's words echoed in your ears as you seriously considered his question. You weren't entirely sure how he (let alone Steven) would handle that. But based on his current reaction, he didn't seem all that... surprised? You mean, you'd been a very adamant ally of LGBTQ+ rights, and you'd expressed yourself to potentially be queer, even if you hadn't done any real introspection at that point. But... what if you were faking it? Faking being trans? What if this was all just a phase like so many parents had suggested?

"I mean... maybe. I've been looking into um... potentially being trans." You said softly, the warm light from the lamp gracing yours and Marc's faces. You looked up at Marc, eyes tracing his expression. It didn't look... angry. Or happy. Neutral? Indifferent? Maybe a little confused? His eyes flickered to the window, presumably listening to Steven.

"We love you regardless." Marc spoke finally, leaning in towards you, eye level with you. "We always will." He extended a hand towards you, offering to hold yours. When you put your hand in his, his thumb gently ran across your knuckles, massaging your hand in his. "If you discover that being a man, or being neither a woman or a man, is you, then we'll be right here for you." Marc's voice had a very slight British accent, it seemed Steven was co-conscious, wanting to speak as well.

"I..." You were in a bit of shock. You hadn't really expected anything, but this was simply so warm and comforting that your eyes got misty. "...You really mean that?" You squeezed Marc's (Steven's?) hand gently, tears slowly beginning to well in your eyes.

Marc blinked, his demeanor changing in a split second, nodding quickly. Steven's eyes were soft, his lips curved in a smile. "Really. We always will." His hands held yours so delicately, so lovingly.

"...I think I wanna try using they/them."

"Okay. We can do that for you."

---

Marc walked over, putting his hands on your shoulders, straightening your posture. "Stand up straight. Hold your chin up." You complied, keeping the towel loosely wrapped around your form, looking up at Marc. A soft smile played on Marc's lips, his eyes as he looked at you. "There's my darling. C'mon. Come to bed."

You nodded and hung your towel, walking out of the bathroom with him and into your shared bedroom, getting dressed. Wordlessly, you pulled on a sports bra and a pair of your boxers, as well as one of Marc's shirts (which he scoffed playfully at before gesturing to the bed). You shuffled under the covers, trying to forget about the stretch of elastic cloth around your chest, burying your way into the duvet cover.

"Comfy, cariño?" Jake's voice cut through the silence, getting in bed as well and leaning against the headboard. You nodded, looking up at him from your spot in the blankets, extending your hand towards him, taking his hand in yours. "Bueno." His voice was always softer with you, and though you two usually teased and joked around with each other, he knew better in this moment.

The two of you laid there in bed, Jake stroking your hair as you laid your head in his lap, calloused hands massaging your scalp.

"...Te encuentras mejor?" (Are you feeling better?) Jake asked softly and slowly to allow your mind to process the Spanish, hand twirling your hair between his fingers mindlessly.

You nodded, fiddling with the seams on Jake's pants to keep your hands occupied. "Yeah. Thanks guys." The soft fabric of Jake's sweatpants definitely weren't clothes he would typically wear, but there really wasn't time for an outfit change, not when cuddles were involved. You certainly weren't complaining.

"Hey, amor, lean up a minute so I can lie down." You complied, scooting your body off Jake's lap, watching him shuffle down, lying next to you. The two of you looked into each other's eyes, not speaking, before Jake suddenly scooped your body toward's him, wrapping his arms around your waist. "Gotcha." He fluttered soft kisses to your neck and jawline, chuckling as you giggled and squirmed. The kiss-tickle torment ended after a few long moments, Jake just trying to keep the dysphoria off your mind, Marc and Steven watching the both of you.

You wrapped an arm around Jake's waist, not bothering to finagle your other arm under him to properly hold him. You just relaxed in his arms, his hands against the small of your back, rubbing small circles into you. "This is nice." You sighed softly, nestling your face into Jake's chest.

"It really is, amor."

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masterlist/intro

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lets say i mightve been projecting a little

hope you enjoyed!

- milo 💛

[howaboutcastiel]

Lunar Therapy: Losing Your Hair

Going to be honest… this lunar therapy session is entirely selfish because my hair is falling out and I’m freaking out. I just pulled handfuls of hair out of my scalp in the shower as I was washing it… and I don’t know how to cope with that. So I’m gonna write fanfiction. Masterlist. I think that:

Steven Grant

- would hold you and just let you cry. You come out of the bathroom after a shower or emerge from the bedroom after brushing your hair and… he just takes you in his arms and lets you sob through it.

- he’s very gentle and sweet-talking, right? He tells you that it’s gonna be okay and that you’re still beautiful and always beautiful to him. He strokes your face and rubs your back and just makes you feel loved.

- Steven will research hairstyles to hide the patches in your hair. He will learn how to braid, how to plate, how fucking knit your hair together if he thinks it will help. And he’ll sit you down in the living room and put on your favorite show while he sits above you and practices all of the styles.

- he will buy you whatever you want to cover your head: scarves, hats, wigs, whatever. He won’t let you spend a penny of your own money on it either. He gets you a whole wardrobe of things to choose from.

- and when you’re not wearing those, he makes sure to love on you just as much. He still holds you the same, he still kisses your forehead and ravages your neck and massages circles into your back. He still falls asleep in the crook of your neck.

Marc Spector:

- will love you harder. That’s all that he knows how to do. When you start showing insecurity, when you start refusing to go out without a hat on or your hair up in a bun, he showers you with so much love you could drown in it.

- he’ll shave his head with you, if it comes to that. He’s used to the buzz cut from the marines anyway, and knows that the gesture means more than his appearance anyway.

- He helps you with the practical parts of it all. When your scalp hurts too much for you to brush your hair, he’ll finger-comb it down, whispering sweet nothings and making sure that he’s not hurting you. He’ll plant kisses on your neck and back while you finish getting ready, telling you how beautiful you are and how he just can’t keep his hands off.

- When you cry, he’ll cry with you. He can’t help himself. But you can’t help but feel loved and wanted no matter how much it seems unlikely, because Marc loves you so deeply that he’s almost an extension of you. Everything you feel, he feels. He never wants you to feel unwanted. Ever.

Jake Lockey

- never, for one second, makes you feel any less beautiful. He doesn’t just shower you with affection, he lusts over you like a bitch in heat. Constantly, publicly, aggressively. If you aren’t blushing, he knows he’s got work to do.

- He will be the one to shave your head, when that time comes. He will pause several times through the process, to either hold you or kiss you, or just to take a breath and cry with you. When you’re finished, he’ll stand at the mirror with you and tell you how stunning you are. Forever and always.

- Somehow, he will make you laugh about it. He’ll make the air so light that you forget how to cry. The humor isn’t just a way to cope, it’s a way to heal. Jake makes you laugh not to mask your fear or grief, but to build something joyful in and of itself.

Listen… there’s a lot going on. I don’t think I’m going to have to shave my head or anything, I just needed to do this. It’s one of those things that you don’t mourn about publicly, I don’t know. It’s not something my friends or family really care about right now. It’s just scary to me. And my head hurts.

[usaigi]

Headcanon list for MCU Diatrice

I think it would be cute if mk system and Layla had their own Diatrice(Diya) like in the comics

Her name is Diyaa Bellatrix Spector

Layla picked "Diyaa" since it means light, star, brilliant

UPDATE: Google lied to me, Diyaa in Arabic is usually a male's name. However, Google says Diya in Hindi and Tamil is a girls name that also means light and lamp Diya is named after Layla's best friend from college who was Indian

Layla's family initially opposed it because "it's a boys name" but Layla wanted to honor her friend and likes the idea of a girl with a traditional "masculine" name

Bonus meaning, sounds like the word "Day" (Dia) in Spanish, opposite of Layla (night)

Marc picked Bellatrix, like the star "not like the Harry Potter character."

When Steven finally met her, he proposes "Diatrice" as a nickname, a combination of her two names Marc: "Diatrice isn't a real name you can't call her that" Steven: "Diatrice sounds like Beatrice and that's a real name. She's likes it and she's my daughter too, I can call her Diatrice if I want."

Jake has a variety of Spanish nicknames for her: "mi luz, mi reina, mi amorsito, etc."

Her hair is the same as Layla so it was a learning curve for the guys.

Steven is the best at it, he's gentle and massages her head and likes to add cute little bows and accessories

Her favorite way is to wear it in two little buns because they look like bear ears

Jake just puts cat hears and little tiaras on her, depending on the vibe

Marc tries but he's so bad at doing different hairstyles. There are always flyaways

Diya really wanted pink hair. Cried to Layla about it so much

There's no way in hell Layla is bleaching her baby's hair. But she can't resist her puppy hears so she compromises and gets her some pink clip-in extensions

Trying to raise her trilingual (one parent one language). Most fluent in Arabic and English but understands a lot of Spanish

Once Jake starts to front around the house more, she gets more exposure and starts to pick up better

likes Katy Perry and Olivia Rodrigo. Sings it at the top of her lungs when they're driving

On weekend mornings, likes to sneak into her parent's bed for cuddles

Marc loves this, especially after nightmares/bad sleep

Steven always reads her a bedtime story (He does the best voices)

one time (several times) she bit a kid at the playground

Steven had to scold her for that but Jake snapped at the other parents for yelling at his daughter

Diya mirrors a lot of Layla's behaviors/habits, mainly constantly reminding her dad of different things. "Papi, did you remember to beep beep? (lock the car)" "Papi, did you remember to feed the kitty?"

Just like both of her parents, she's very stubborn and bossy. Marc, Jake and Layla have to resort to bribing her with mini marshmallows.

Steven doesn't like this, worried they're giving her too much sugar. Although he's not above bribery, he just uses berries instead

Doesn't really know/understand her dad's DID. She just knows that some bad stuff happened to dad growing up and it's still scary for him sometimes

But no matter who's fronting, it's still her dad and he'll protect her so it's ok

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

You have had character analysis for the show versions of Marc, Jake and Steven, will you ever analyze the comic versions?

Hey there Anon!

Well… I sort of already have! But not formatted like I did with the MCU, or in as much straightforward detail. 

I recommend that you check out THIS, which covers creating the characters as broken down by Moench himself and I get a bit into it there. 

It’s hard to break down the characters individually in these comics because each writer is going to treat them differently and build on what they took away from the original source or intent. Moench himself spent his OG run developing and taking them in different directions. 

I’ve tried to break down each character as they appear in that comic, but that’s a lot of info and it really does vary issue to issue to writer to writer. 

For instance, in Moench, Marc is beyond self hating, angry, violent, quick to seek out revenge, and disliked by just about everyone in the comics. In the 90s, the writers are quick to ditch Steven and Jake and focus on Marc. 

The 90s were all about ACTION and COOL GUYS. And Who was cooler than a Mercenary with a gun and an attitude? Marc Spector became the action man with a dark past and guilty conscious. 

Then they killed Marc (Twice) and Jake took over. Because Jake was cool and hip. He was the dirty cab driver who got things done and knew the way to get information. He also got a little gritty in the late 90s and early 2000s. 

Steven got left behind for a long….long time. 

It was around this time that Khonshu also took up a life of his own. Khonshu became an actual character. I’ll be doing a piece on that eventually so look forward to that one! 

Marc came back and things get….complicated…. The characterization starts to swing WILDLY as everyone took a shot at trying to make sense of where Moon Knight and the characters needed to be to be brought into the current modern era and still make him have that connection that originally made him popular. 

It was a wild ride. And we don’t see things settle until Lemire picked things up, dusted them off, and said “This is who these characters are.” 

And with two exceptions (BEMIS. AARON), MacKay has not stepped in and attempted to fix things again and provide a place to build on for Jake and Steven to come home again. 

But one thing is for sure…. Marc has ALWAYS been broody, self destructive, self hating, and quick to overt violence that makes him regret things later. 

Steven often bounces between vain and prissy to weak and wimpy to cold and standoffish. 

Jake …Oh boy Jake… My poor boy. From loving kind cabbie to violent unhinged psycho to uncaring cool guy to loving uncle Jake again. 

If we really want to get to the heart of who these guys are… You almost have to read between the comics. 

Even with Moench. You don’t properly see Marc Spector until you get the little after comic shorts “Adventures with Marc Spector” and so on. When you see him being goofy, having terrible luck, and making the most of his bad situations. 

With Jake, you see him asking Gena how the kids are every time he sees her. He buys Crawley a new hat and does his best to support Gena in her hard times. He’s friends with the homeless and druggies. He buys a guy a cup of coffee and chews the fat with people in the streets. 

Steven is charming with Marlene. He takes care of the body with the other two only beat it up. He puts all his wealth into charity events and things that he feels make a difference. 

They all care about their friends and take it personally when their friends are hurt. Or when their friends hurt them. Gena talks about leaving and you see Jake feel like he failed her. Marc’s oldest friend from his time working CIA is killed and he goes on a serious bender of revenge. Even Steven, someone threatens his home and he pays extensively to make sure it is fortified and can keep everyone in it safe. No one hurts his Butler or maid or threatens Marlene. 

It’s the things they can all agree on and these things that I think helps bring them together. 

Where at first none of them can understand Marc and want him gone. But the more you see them coming together to protect what they care about the most, the more you start to see them agree on things and start to work as a unit. 

At the end of the OG run, you see Steven accept Marc and his past after his father’s death. 

It’s these things that I look for in the comics. The moments when you can see who they originally were and what keeps them together. 

Marc’s need for stability and people he can trust. Steven’s need to feel useful and keep his people safe. Jake’s need to be around people that love him and his ability to keep them close and safe. 

While I am NOT going to review every single comics like I did the Moench run... I am going to find time to re-read all of the 90s comics that came right after and might do a few breakdowns of those. ...But they are often a chore to get through. Just saying. They go hard on Marc and I miss my boys. I miss seeing the love that was so obvious in the original comics and the theme of friendship that held them all together.

[romanarose]

Steven with a Reader with OCD

Steven Grant x GN!Reader with OCD

You are struggling with obsessive thoughts late at night, and worry how Steven will react.

Warnings: OCD, compulsions, bleeding, aggressive nail clipping ig?

AN: I've been doing a lot better with my OCD lately, I always do better when I feel in control of my life, and I'm always more in control when Im in a stable living environment. Living with my parents was never stable, living with my last roommate was not either, but living in this dorm has been such a sanctuary. Still, there are some things I struggle with, compulsions that have been a part of my life for so long, I don't know if there's a way to go back, I don't remember a time when I had normal nails. Just wanted to write this for a little comfort.

********************

When Steven woke up and saw you weren't in the bed, he assumed you were in the bathroom, but when you didn't come back to him, Steven was worried so he came outside the bedroom for you. Steven saw you sitting on the couch, legs crossed, the finger tape you had been trying all unraveled on the coffee table.

You saw him, immediately closing your eyes in defeat before going back to work, trying to make your nails 'right' "Sorry" You mumble.

"What are you sorry for?" Steven asked, sincerely.

You tried to stop from crying, angry at yourself. "For failing. I really wanted to break this, but... laying in bed I just could feel everything, and it was wrong, and it was bad and-" You wipe your eyes with your sleeve, and angle the nail clipper far in, proceeding to take off most of the nail on your toe, not that there was much.

Steven saw your low cut, abused nails and fingers, the sensitive skin that wanted to be covered and protected by callouses but now open to infection, the little bits of blood on your feet.

"It's okay, my darling, I know you're trying"

"Not hard enough, apparently"

"Hey" Steven tilted your chin up to him. "You've done really, really, well with others things, love. This is just something that's been around a long time, it's hard to break"

You pull away from him, embarrassed, but unable to stop. "I wouldn't do this if I didn't feel like I had too."

"Yeah, it doesn't seem like something you'd do for fun" Steven offered sympathetically, earning a small smile. Steven was familiar with strange quirks. Steven's bedtime routine before he met Marc was extensive, and Marc was intense about cleaning, so when you began dating, he didn't think too much of your strange eating habits. As things progressed, and you met and fell in love with Jake and Marc, you opened up about your obsessive-compulsive disorder, Steven tried his best to support you, reading all the books and articles possible, and holding your hand when there was nothing to be done.

"It's fucking humiliating" but you don't stop, you can't stop, you're trying so hard to get a nail that was in the skin, digging in at the calloused layers of your body trying to protect you. "Ow!" You missed your goal, clipping the skin and causing blood.

Within a flash, Steven stole the clippers from your hands.

"Steven!" You shout in a panic, never mind it's 3 AM

He stands up, trying to play keep-away but he's not tall enough for that. "You just cut yourself open!"

"Give it to me!" You're in a panic, you need to take care of it, need to make it right even though you know it will never be right.

"I draw the line at you hurting yourself."

"Fuck you." You storm into the kitchen, dropping blood on the carpet as you put on your slides and grab your keys.

"Bloody hell" He sighs exasperated, following you. "Where are you going!"

"To the fucking store to get another fucking nail clipper!"

"You're not driving when you're this upset."

"You don't get to tell me what to do" You clutch the keys to your chest and press your body against the door as he fights to take the keys back, but the pressure of it was all too much. Steven was mad at you, he thought you were weird, and your nails still weren't right and it was bad and things were bad and you had to fix it but he won't let you fix it and can't he see you needed to fix it?

When Steven heard you crying, he stopped, backing away immediately and giving you the clippers. His heart hurting for you, he watched as you, still crying, sink to the floor and start going back to work at your poor toes so fast, like it was the most important thing in the world. "I can't stop" You say through tears.

Steven sighed. "I know." He kissed the top of your head before stepping away. "Do what you need to do, then come to the bathroom when you're ready."

You only barely register what he said, and you certainly don't register the water running in the bathroom, your only though being fix it, fix it, fix it.

When you finally satisfy that ache enough, everything hurts, and you know damn well it's going to hurt more in the morning, multiple infections on your hands and feet, then more as they nails grow in again. Tired and ready for sleep, you pad over to the bathroom with bleary eyes, finding Steven sitting on the tub, looking up at you worriedly.

"Hey. You feeling better?"

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm like this."

"No" Steven stands up, taking you in his arms. "I'm sorry you're going through this, I know it's a lot. Here."

You look at the tub, realizing now theirs steaming water in it, only a few inches high.

"Is that for me?" You ask, curious.

"Yeah, it's really hot, so be carful. I just, I know they usually hurt, I thought we could try and prevent infection?"

You felt like you could cry again. "That would be great. Thank you"

The water was very very hot, Steven first put your fingers in the hot water and washed them with gentle soap, cleaning out all the blood, then after patting them dry, Steven put triple antibiotic gel on your fingers, bandaging the worst one. He then repeated the action on your toes, very careful but thorough on the toe that had been clipped.

As he laid you down on the bed again, tucking you in, he asked. "How are you feeling? Any racing thoughts?"

"No" you shook your head. "Just shit hurting" Before you or him could say more, you broke down crying again. "Im sorry"

"Oh love," Steven quickly embraced you. "You have nothing to be sorry for"

"I'm so fucking weird and gross" You sob.

"No." His voice was firm as he guided you to look at him. "You are not weird, and you are not gross. You are suffering, and it just hurts me to see you like this. I promise whatever I can do to ease your pain, I will. I'm sorry you're hurting, but you're doing so well, and I'm so proud of you."

Steven held you tight that night, the way that always comforted you, relaxed your mind, and although you swore you could feel your pulse in your thumb, and you still felt embarrassed, you felt safe knowing that Steven, Marc and Jake would always love you

**********************

IDK who would even like this but @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @howaboutcastiel and @welcometostayingawake bc ur my buddies and you support my weirdly specific shit

[marcfrenchie]

DO YOU WANT TO READ MOON KNIGHT?

are you a show fan who's learned about how terrible the MCU did moon knight and you want to check out the comics? did you see him in a teamup book and want to know more about him? are you just looking for more comic recs? are you just interested in the character? then you're in the right place!

okay, to begin, i want to say that this is a character that has had a... varying history. there are no moon knight comics you can enjoy without extensive criticism. critisizing the things that you enjoy is good and gives you a better understanding of the work. please do not idolize any of these comics and please work to be kind to the many minorities (jewish people and systems, primarily, but classism, racism, xenophobia, and homophobia are all explored throughout MK's publishing history) that these comics represent. anyway.

MOON KNIGHT 1980 -

tws - doylist racism (racist villainous charactictures, mostly. a lot of this), ableism (outdated terminology for systemhood, occasional slurs), and sexism. extensive discussion of anti-semitism, specifically neo-nazism, in issues 37 and 38.

what happens - moon knight 1980 is a 38 issue comic book centering on the ex-mercenary and now hero moon knight. almost entirely episodic but there are occasionally multi-issue stories.

moon knight, in the day, is the millionare socialite steven grant, and, at night, the hero moon knight- moon knight also "uses" jake lockley as an informant. marc spector was the mercenary moon knight ran away from. doug moench was NOT intending to write a system at this point- steven and marcs relationship is meant to represent one mans struggle with guilt- but its really really easy to gel this with their current situation of being alters in a system and also some of the specifics of their whole thing make me fucking insane. jake is also there and i love him even if he isnt really a major part of the moral conflict

please dont read all 38 issues- attatched is a list of my personal ratings. everything later calls back to this so its best practice to read it first but its very much a slog if you arent already attatched to this character so make your own choice

nothing from 1980 to 2014 is particularly good (you can read it if you want but i havent) but knowing what happened is pretty important to understanding the later modern runs so a runthrough. throughout the 90s mk continued in the 80s status quo but in 2006 he 1. cut off bushmans (remember that guy from 1980?) face 2. was given a tendency for violence and and 3. became significantly more tense with marlene and frenchie. by 2014 they had completely fallen out. thats all we can continue with the recs now

[Image ID: A list of Moon Knight 1980 issues colored based on their quality. Issues 4, 7-11, 15, 17-20, and 28 are marked as "not good." Issue 27 is marked as "not good makes me insane though." Issues 3, 5, 6, 13, 16, 21, 34, and 35 are marked as "fun." Issues 2, 12, 14, 22 to 26, and 29 to 33, are marked as "good writing." 37 and 38 are marked as "genuinely essential." 1 and 36 are not marked. 29 is denoted as "slightly weird about his DID" and issues 6, 21, and 22, are denoted as "racist." End ID.]

WHAT HAPPENS IN BETWEEN -

MOON KNIGHT 2014 -

tws - graphic violence. do not buy the book new, warren ellis is an awful person. brief (doylist) ableism.

what happens in it - the first six issues are the warren ellis/declan shalvey run, which is what im reccomending. read the rest if you want, its mediocre but i like it

moon knight 2014 is 6 episodic issues centering on a now alone marc spector. steven and jake only show up twice, both lineless appearances in the back of panels. most of the issues are significantly more violent, dark, callbacks to old 1980 issues. most of the run is silent violence from marc but all of the stories are really good and the art is breathtaking.

MOON KNIGHT 2016 -

tws - unreality. mental hospitals. both doylist and watsonian ableism.

what happens - i am reccomending the lemire/smallwood + co run, the 15 issues before the numbers shoot up. i have not read the bemis run.

moon knight 2016 is 15 issues situated in a hallucinatory version of NYC, following moon knight as he struggles against khonshu's attempts to possess him. the thing is a lot of things in 2016 piss me off so i cant exactly sing its praises but its super important to modern moon knight so just. slog through it. highly reccomend reading after 1980 because it refrences A Lot.

MOON KNIGHT 2021 -

tws - violence, discussion of anti-semitism in issue 5.

what happens - i am reccomending the first 16 issues. the annual sort of triggered a falling off for the series and so i have not read after #16. read the later issues at your own risk

moon knight 2021 follows moon knight as he opens the midnight mission, gains multiple new side characters, and reckons with the consequences of the age of khonshu (an event in jason aarons avengers which is explained fine in 2021 so you dont have to read it). most of the series is typical action juxtaposed with MK's SHEILD-ordered therapy sessions. issues 14 and 15 are possibly the first time jake and steven have been written well since 1980. unfortunately, the annual is deeply xenophobic (villianizing the only romanian hero in marvel) and i have stopped reading the series due to this. the first 16 issues are really good though

MOON KNIGHT BLACK WHITE AND BLOOD -

tws - violence.

what happens - mkbwb is 4 issues consisting of 12 noncanon moon knight stories, as is typical for bwb series. most of them are pretty good and fun and also really pretty.

OTHER MOON KNIGHT STUFF -

- ms. marvel and moon knight

- devils reign: moon knight - tw violence, prisons

- west coast avengers 1985, issues 25-41

- hulk 1978 issues 11-20 (not #16), b stories.

- moon knight 2006 issue 3 - for frenchies coming out scene, which is good. not anything else

- heroes for hire 2011 - hes only in a few issues but im not saying which ones because i want you to read the whole thing. because its good

- defenders 1972 issues 47-51 - its Very 70s but its cute and i like it :)

- werewolf by night 32 and 33 - his first appearance!

ENDING THOUGHTS - please god listen to and make a point to be kind to systems and jewish people when you talk about MK.

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Chapter 2

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now)

Rating: T

Word count: ~2800

Story Summary: Steven meets a beautiful woman in the Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum...

...Too bad she's his new boss.

Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship

A/N: Here we are with chapter 2!

If you'd like to be added to the taglist for this (or any of my other writing), please let me know!

Title from the song of the same name by The Police.

“...Also, leave room for questions in between exhibits instead of just powering on through -- oh, who am I bloody kidding,” Steven said to himself as he went over his notes in the men’s room before his meetings with Dr. Y/L/N on Friday morning. “I can't do this. I can't. I never should have accepted this position. Is it too late to tell Dr. Y/L/N that I've changed my mind?”

“Hey, no, none of that,” Marc replied in his head. “You're gonna be great.”

Steven caught Marc’s reflection in the mirror. “You really think so?”

Marc nodded. “Your ideas are good. Besides, Dr. Y/L/N wouldn't have given you the job had she not believed you could do it.”

Steven took a deep breath. “Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Clearly she saw something in me, right?”

“Exactly. Now, go get ‘em.”

Steven squared his shoulders. “Okay, off I go.”

He exited the restroom and headed upstairs to the meeting room, knocking lightly on the door before entering.

He froze as he saw Dr. Y/L/N and the entire Curatorial team already seated. Oh, bollocks. Way to make a first impression. “Sorry, am I late?”

Dr. Y/L/N looked up at him and smiled. “Ah, Steven! No, you're not late at all. Have a seat, I'm glad you could join us.”

Steven sat in an empty seat across from her.

Dr. Y/L/N shuffled some papers in front of her. “Okay, let's get started. First, I'd like to thank you all for making me feel so welcome during my first week as museum director. I know I have some big shoes to fill, but I truly think we have a wonderful team here and I'm looking forward to working with all of you to make the museum's collection the best it possibly can be.

“Second, I'm assuming you all know Steven Grant, who is currently one of our gift shop employees but as of this coming Monday will be our Visitor Engagement Specialist.”

Steven gave a small wave as six pairs of eyes turned towards him. “Er, hello.”

“Steven’s first task as our new VES will be to update the guided tours,” Dr. Y/L/N explained, “so I asked him to sit in on today's meeting so he can include our new artifacts in his planning. Christina, why don't you go ahead and tell us about them.”

Christina, the head of the Curatorial department, cleared her throat. “Yes, well, the Cairo Museum has very generously loaned us the coffin of Akhenaten as well as a rather extensive collection of funerary masks from various ancient Egyptian kings and queens. Steven, I can email the list of who they were made for to you this afternoon.”

Steven nodded. “That sounds brilliant, thanks.”

“We'll have to pull a couple of display cases from the basement to house the masks, but we should be able to fit everything with the rest of the Ancient Egyptian artifacts on the 3rd floor without having to take anything out or move too much around, so that area should only be closed for a few days while we get the new display set up.”

“Excellent.” Dr. Y/L/N made a few notes. “Is there anything else that we would want to add or rearrange in any of the other areas while we're at it, to sort of refresh the rest of the collection?”

“Actually, a member just donated their private collection of first-edition classic British novels,” James, another member of the Curatorial staff, said. “There’s several Dickens, a couple of Austens, and even copies of Dracula and Wuthering Heights .”

Dr. Y/L/N’s eyebrows raised. “Have they been authenticated?”

James shook his head. “Not all of them. We're working on getting that done now.”

“Please let me know as soon as you do. I'd like to have those out on display as soon as possible as well. Anything else?”

Steven cleared his throat. “Er, actually, if I may…”

Dr. Y/L/N turned to him. “Yes, Steven?”

“If I remember correctly, a few years ago there was a lovely collection of Grecian pottery on display, but it was removed and I believe put in storage in order to make room for a statue of Zeus.”

“Oh, I think I know which collection you mean,” Christina replied. “The one that included a scene of Hercules fighting the Nemean lion?”

Steven nodded. “Yeah, that's the one. Do we still have that?”

Christina nodded as well. “Yeah, we still have them.”

“Perhaps we could put those back out?” Steven faltered when there was no immediate response. “Or not, I just thought…”

Christina shook her head. “No… no, you're right. We have the space for them, so there's no point in leaving them in storage.”

“Wonderful idea, Steven,” Dr. Y/L/N added. “Thank you. Any others?”

When no one else offered up any other ideas, she nodded. “Okay then, thank you everyone. I know sometimes things come to people after the fact or they don't feel comfortable sharing in a group setting, so if anyone has any other questions or ideas for sprucing up the displays my door is always open -- unless I'm in a meeting, of course, but in that case feel free to email me.”

As everyone began to stand and file out of the room, she looked over at Steven. “And speaking of meetings, instead of taking up the meeting room with just the two of us, how about you and I meet in my office instead, in say, 5 minutes or so? I need to stop off for some coffee first.”

Steven nodded, starting to get nervous again. Maybe I should brew myself a cup of tea while I'm at it. “Yes, ma’am.”

He headed downstairs to the staff kitchen, where Donna was sitting at a table eating a sandwich.

She glowered at him, but said nothing.

Steven caught Marc's reflection in the microwave. She doesn't look too pleased, Marc said with a smirk.

Steven bit back a smile as he filled the electric kettle with water then turned it on. Yeah, she's barely said two words to me ever since she had to apologize to me on Monday.

God, I wish I had been a fly on the wall for that meeting.

Steven grabbed a to-go cup and chose a tea bag before opening it and setting it in the cup. Me too, actually. It'd have been nice to see Donna get put in her place for once.

I just wish I'd have seen the look on her face when she found out that you were getting promoted to Visitor Engagement Specialist. I'm surprised she didn't quit in protest, especially since it meant she'd actually have to do inventory herself next week instead of pawning it off on you like she always did.

Steven shrugged slightly. I actually didn't really mind doing inventory. The stockroom was always quiet and it made the time pass by.

Once the kettle started boiling Steven poured the water for his tea into his cup and popped a lid on it. Alright, here I go.

He headed back upstairs to Dr. Y/L/N’s office and knocked on the open door. “Dr. Y/L/N?”

Dr. Y/L/N looked up from her computer screen and smiled. “Hi. Come on in.”

She stood and walked behind Steven as he entered, shutting the door behind him. “Have a seat.”

Steven sat in the same chair he had sat in on Monday when Dr. Y/L/N had offered him the VES position.

Dr. Y/L/N sat across from him and reached for a folder. “Alright, before we get started, I have the HR paperwork officially instating you into your new position ready for you to sign.”

She slid it over to him. “You can wait until Monday, of course, but I figured if you signed it today that'd be one less thing you'll have to worry about.”

“Oh, erm…” Steven opened the folder and quickly scanned the documents, still marveling at the massive (to him, anyway) raise that he would be receiving. “I can sign it today. That's not a problem.”

“Fantastic. Here you go then.” Dr. Y/L/N grabbed a pen and handed it to him. “By the way, I've scheduled a meeting with the rest of the Programming staff for first thing Monday morning to formally introduce you as the Visitor Engagement Specialist and to let them know that we'll be modifying the tours.”

Steven nodded and set his cup of tea down before signing the paperwork. “Oh, brilliant. Thanks.” 

“By the way, it was really a great idea to add that pottery collection back to the Ancient Greece display. Your clear knowledge and enthusiasm for history and your attention to details like that is why I know I made the right decision in offering you the Visitor Engagement Specialist position.”

Steven flushed at the praise. “I, er, I took a bit of a wander through each area while I was making notes for our meeting and since I always liked that collection I thought it might bring some fun and excitement to the tours to be able to kind of tell the story depicted on each piece.”

He bit his lip. “I hope I didn't step on any toes by suggesting that though. I know that I was mostly just there to observe.”

Dr. Y/L/N shook her head. “No, I want to see collaboration between departments, especially between Programming and Curatorial. We're all part of the same team and are working together towards the same goal, so don't ever be afraid to make a suggestion.”

She took a sip of her coffee. “Now, what else do you have in mind to improve the tours?”

“Well…” Steven pulled his notebook and a map of the museum out of his messenger bag. “First off, I think we're going about the tours themselves the wrong way.”

He pointed at the map. “Currently, we're starting on the ground floor and working our way up to the fifth, which means when visitors make their way back down after the tour is over they mostly tend to just leave rather than stopping by the gift shop or the bookstore.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “So what do you think we should do?”

Steven moved his finger to the group entrance. “What I suggest is that we have tours meet on level 1 at the group entrance and head up to level 5 whilst whoever is leading the tour gives a general overview of the museum, then we work our way through the collection back down to level 0 and end our tour there with a gentle reminder to check out our gift shop and bookstore.”

Dr. Y/L/N hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Steven was encouraged by Dr. Y/L/N’s positive reception. “Also, I believe we're spending too much time on certain exhibits and not enough time on others. There needs to be a better balance so we're not rushing through the last few exhibits trying to squeeze everything in because we've spent 20 minutes lecturing on the Siege of Lachish.”

Dr. Y/L/N huffed out a laugh. “I agree. I noticed that as well.”

She made a few notes. “Anything else?”

“Just that I also think we should allow time for a few questions about the collection while we're in each area rather than wait until the end of the tour. Again, we frequently run out of time so there's usually not even a chance for visitors to ask questions anyway, or if there is time we've thrown so much information at them that they've likely forgotten what it is they wanted to ask.”

Dr. Y/L/N made another note. “Absolutely. These are all really great ideas, Steven. Think you can implement them into a sample tour for me?”

Steven nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I can have  something put together by Monday if you'd like. It won't include the new exhibits, of course, but it'll at least give you an idea of the direction I want to take the tours and give me a chance to retool them if necessary.”

“That would be wonderful.” Dr. Y/L/N reached for her coffee and took a sip. “By the way, how are things downstairs? Donna isn't still speaking disrespectfully to you, is she?”

Steven shook his head. “No, ma'am. Actually, she hasn't said much of anything at all to me since Monday.”

Dr. Y/L/N sighed. “Okay. I'll talk to her again.”

“No!” Steven cleared his throat. “Er, no. No, that's quite alright. I’d actually prefer it that way. Besides, it's not like I'll have to deal with her on a daily basis after today anyway, innit?”

Dr. Y/L/N took a sip of her coffee. “Regardless, I really am sorry that you’ve had to endure such treatment, especially for so long. No one should ever be spoken to with such blatant disrespect, especially by their supervisor.” 

Steven nodded. “I appreciate that.”

“If Donna does ever speak to you like that again, please let me know.”

“I will.” Steven bit his lip. “If there's nothing else, I er, I should probably get back to the gift shop. Technically I'm still a clerk until Sunday.”

Dr. Y/L/N looked chagrined. “Oh my goodness, you're absolutely right. I’m sorry, I probably shouldn't have asked you to do anything pertaining to your new position just yet since you haven't officially started.”

Oh, bollocks, Steven thought. She thinks I'm complaining. “It's nothing like that, ma'am, it's just that I'm sure you're busy and I don't want to bother you by hovering, that's all.”

“Oh.” Dr. Y/L/N shook her head with a smile. “No, you're not bothering me at all. Most of what I've been doing all week is reading over museum policies and procedures and meeting with the board of trustees and various benefactors, so it's actually been nice to get a little break from that and talk to someone who actually works here.”

Ask her how she likes being here so far, Marc said in Steven's head.

Steven cleared his throat. “How has your first week as Director been otherwise?”

“It's been good. A lot to jump into, of course, but you and the rest of the staff have been incredibly kind and welcoming.” Dr. Y/L/N paused. “I wasn't quite sure how the staff would react to me, especially with me not being British.”

Steven shrugged. “Well, it's like you said, we're a team, right? That includes our team leader, no matter where you're from. Your qualifications speak for themselves.”

Dr. Y/L/N shot him a small smile. “I really appreciate that, thank you.”

Her office phone rang. “Sorry, one second.”

Steven waited as she pressed a button on the phone. “Yes?”

“Dr. Y/L/N, the Chairman from the Board of Trustees is on hold for you,” Helen, Dr. Y/L/N’s executive assistant, said through the speaker.

“Okay, one minute. I'm wrapping up a meeting.” Dr. Y/L/N sighed and picked up the receiver before covering the mouthpiece with her hand. “I'm sorry, Steven, I have to take this. If you happen to think of anything else you want to add to the tours or if you have any other questions or concerns, please let me know.”

“I will.” Steven put his notebook and map of the museum back in his messenger bag and stood. 

He picked up his cup of tea. “Want me to close your door on my way out?”

Dr. Y/L/N shook her head. “No, you can leave it open. Thank you.”

Steven stood and started to walk towards the door.

“Oh, Steven?” Dr. Y/L/N called out. “One more thing.”

Steven stopped and turned back around. “Yes, ma'am?”

“If I don't see you again before you leave today… have a nice weekend.”

Steven smiled. “You too, ma'am. See you on Monday.”

I told you she'd like your ideas, Marc said as Steven headed out of Dr. Y/L/N’s office. 

I really think I'm going to enjoy working with her, Steven replied. She seems really open to collaboration. 

Yeah, she seems great. 

Steven arrived at the elevator and pressed the button to go down. Maybe we can come back on Sunday when I'm off and do a trial run of the tour so I can double-check the timing. I want to be as prepared as I possibly can be.

I'm sure you'll impress the hell out of her.  

Steven waited for the elevator to arrive, then stepped on and pressed the button for level 0 . He had to admit that he not only wanted to impress Dr. Y/L/N professionally, but he also wanted to impress her personally as well. I certainly hope so.

[sinceileftyoublog]

GBV 40

Photo by Allison Ryder

BY JORDAN MAINZER

It's a popular wink-wink-nod-nod joke among the diehard Guided By Voices fanbase that dedicated GBV fandom is #notacult (but kind of a cult). You'd think that Robert Pollard and company were in on the joke, considering they decided to celebrate 40 years of the band's existence at a venue built by a 14-group Masonic Temple Association, which is a true story and not the name of the band's new single. As a full disclosure converted GBV head who has in the past attended Heedfest, the band's long-running fan weekend chock full of cover sets and Miller Lites, this first weekend in September absolutely felt like an extension of it, a full-on celebration of all things Guided By Voices. Celebrity superfan Paddy Considine came from overseas with his son Joe, playing a covers set at the Yellow Cab Tavern in Dayton's Oregon District. During the encore of GBV's first night at the Dayton Masonic Center, Scott Marshall (of Chavez fame), Matador Records Director of Digital, A&R Jake Whitener, and GBV manager David Newgarden presented Pollard with a "Most Valuable Lead Singer" trophy. Even Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis, normally reserved, gave the crowd a half-hearted "G! B! V!" chant during the band's opening set. Miller Lites at the venue (along with most other beer) cost a measly $6 per can, a bargain in 2023. During the second night, Pollard took a moment to thank the alcohol distributor, who may or may not have been stocking his personal cooler full of beer bottles and the once-again passed around Jose Cuervo. What's for sure is those bottles were fueling Pollard's high-kicks, 2022 busted knee be damned. Always different, always the same: It was The Fall. Is it now Guided By Voices?

Photo by Allison Ryder

Yes, the same spirit pervades GBV: In a recent beginner's guide to the band, Uproxx critic Steven Hyden described them as having "one foot in the bowling alley, and another foot in the art gallery," whether that's the band's early R.E.M.-indebted material, lo-fi golden era, Aughts arena rock attempts, or the current, arguably most prolific late-career lineup. The quartet of guitarists Doug Gillard and Bobby Bare Jr., bassist Mark Shue, and drummer Kevin March is certainly the most formidable group of instrumentalists to ever back Pollard, and his songwriting on this lineup's albums has notably embraced the proggier, more epic side of his forebears. During the band's anniversary concerts, they paid curatorial attention to these newfound favorites just as much as the "Motor Away" and "Tractor Rape Chain"s: the tempo-changing "Alex Bell", bopping "Dance of Gurus", and even absurdist poem "Razor Bug", delivered a capella by Pollard and Shue. Pollard also admitted how the band tackles the old imperfections, joking that March made sure to play all the original studio version "fuck-ups" from "My Impression Now".

But GBV also had work to do. This year so far, they've released two albums, La La Land and live-to-tape gem Welshpool Frillies, and purportedly (shocker) have two more in the can. Only this band could garner this much crowd enthusiasm by opening a four-decade celebration with the first three songs from their latest album, but when they're as good as the jagged "Meet the Star", cascading "Cruisers' Cross", and Cheap Trick-meets-Crazy Horse ripper "Romeo Surgeon", it doesn't really matter, does it? The sets in general were treated like a normal GBV marathon, featuring but not overwhelmingly dominated by their most recent output. Gillard's trademark guitars chimed through the sludgy "Seedling", while La La Land's "Queen of Spaces" offered a necessarily languid breather between "Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking)" and "Motor Away". To my pleasure, on night two, the band played La La Land closer "Pockets", a song about exactly what you think, that nonetheless exemplifies Pollard's ethos: As long as you have a sense of wonder and a penchant for songwriting, you can maintain constant creativity. Songwriting can be a daily exercise.

Built to Spill

Throughout the celebration, Pollard expressed thanks for past and present incarnations of GBV (joking that the current youngins help him up the stairs) as well as the other bands joining the celebration. The inspired lineup was a mix of 90's contemporaries (Dinosaur Jr,, Built to Spill), Dayton connections (the birthplace of Heartless Bastards' Erika Wennerstrom and Dino J.'s Lou Barlow), and new indie rock royalty (Kiwi Jr., Wednesday). Dinosaur Jr., Marshalls stacked upon Marshalls, treated the crowd to eternity-long fuzz jams heavy on their earliest albums, from "Gargoyle" and their faithful "Just Like Heaven" cover to "The Lung" and "Freak Scene". The next night, Built to Spill also offered a set with plenty of guitar solos and extended intros and codas, respectively bookending the set on the slow-burning "Stop The Show" and eternal "Carry The Zero". As for their (sort-of) cover, they chose The Halo Benders' "Virginia Reel Around the Fountain" and not Heartless Bastards' "The Mountain" since, well, the real thing had played right before them.

Heartless Bastards

Heartless Bastards are not a band you'd normally associate with 90's indie rock, though I wouldn't have expected Built to Spill bassist Melanie Radford to sing Wennerstrom's part so convincingly last time I saw BTS. Wennestrom and Martsch came out with Heartless Bastards on night two for "The Mountain", but I saw where the Texas-via-Ohio rockers fit in with the band lineup even more on other songs. Yes, their brand of blues-rock is unique, not quite punchy, certainly eschewing raw psychedelia for grooves or high and lonesome country. But while Wennerstrom's throaty singing led the hazy "Photograph", the song's instrumental outro with gorgeous guitar work snuggled beside Wednesday and Built to Spill. And the chugging back catalog highlight "Gray" came across almost like a GBV ripper with keyboards.

Kiwi Jr.

Wednesday

And then there were the up and comers. Toronto's Kiwi Jr. combined the instrumental concision of GBV with the storytelling of a band like Wednesday. They took from their three very good records, concentrating on their Sub Pop albums Cooler Returns and Chopper in their brief set, contextualizing "Maid Marian's Toast" and "The Sound of Music" (about insurance fraud and Christopher Plummer), easing the crowd into a night of clatter. Wednesday, meanwhile, was the unabashed non-GBV highlight of the entire festival, the band that converted the unfamiliar and justified those of us who have hyped them up. Their quintessential country-gaze was on full display from the moment they queued up the buzz saws of "Hot Rotten Grass Smell". "Chosen to Deserve" was the bonafide ne'er-do-well anthem, the song of the summer for the bad kids, Xandy Chelmis absolutely slaying on pedal steel. Of course, lead vocalist Karly Hartzman's drawl-cum-yodel was the perfect medium to communicate stories of people dying in Planet Fitness parking lots, getting electrocuted by your own house, and toothless men on oxygen tanks smoking cigarettes. But it was "Bull Believer" that absolutely brought the house down, tears in the eyes of people who had never heard the song before. In a rare move on a normally apolitical GBV stage, Hartzman decried the nadirs of the nation, from the return of student loan payments to the policing of Black and Brown and LGBTQ+ bodies. She invited the crowd to scream along in anger as she beckoned "Finish him!" Perhaps that's what even implored Pollard to, out of nowhere between "Twilight Campfire" and "To Keep An Area", declare, "We live in a shitty country...Everything is crooked as fuck!" It was a small moment, perhaps inconsequential, but one that really hammered down for me that after all these years, Pollard's done what he's always done: change.