#And i just kinda like all the kids and want the best out come for all of them

[erwinsvow]

omg can you do best friend rafe getting jealous of guys flirting with reader, so he pulls her aside and kisses her and just says “your mine” or sum like that

omg !! i did a lil hybrid of rafe's friend / sarahs bestie, but hope you love it ♡

you had bought a new dress for this party. the house parties on the kook blocks weren't something so special that they required a new outfit, but you felt different today.

nothing in your closet was screaming at you and you knew that you wanted to make an impression today—wanted to find a guy and get a date or at least a trip to one of the empty bedrooms upstairs.

so—a new dress. that was your solution—pretty and strapless, with a blue flowers and a matching ribbon tied up in the back. your plan had worked—a boy had offered to get you a drink the second you turned away from sarah and faced the crowded room.

smiling at him and twirling a piece of hair, you try to assess if this boy will do for now. he's nice enough, asking you questions without entirely making the conversation about himself. the drink he got you was a beer from the keg, but you can overlook that.

"so, you got a boyfriend?" he asks, shouting over the music. you look at him and wish he hadn't asked—officially you don't, but answering the question with a no makes your stomach turn. you look at nice brown eyes staring back at you, wondering why something about them feels wrong.

"yeah, she does." a voice comes from behind you—one you are entirely too familiar with, one that has no business approaching you now and claiming that you have a boyfriend. honestly, the nerve of him.

"no, i don't. ignore him, trust me. that's what i do."

"if you want all your teeth to stay in your mouth, get lost." your eyes roll back, turning around to confront rafe, but before you can even move, the boy shoots off in the other direction. angry now, you spin on your heels to face him.

"what is wrong with you? no, wait, don't answer that. otherwise we'll be here forever!" snappy, though you're mad the cute boy with the brown eyes that you still can't figure out why they bothered you is gone.

"why the hell are you runnin' around talkin' to some ass-"

"because i can, rafe. you're not my boyfriend. what kinda memory loss do you have that you keep forgetting that?"

maybe you went a little too far—rafe grabs your upper arm and pulls you away, out of the crowded living room and into an empty bedroom off the hallway. the music is a faint vibration from here, seemingly miles away as you try to shake off rafe's too-strong grip.

"i told you to quit talkin' to strangers. why can't y'just listen, huh?"

"i don't have to listen to you! you're still not my boyfriend-"

"i don't have to be your boyfriend, you're still mine, got that?"

though the confession makes your younger-self's heart race, your current self knows this is a bad idea. the girl who became sarah's friend and nursed a crush on her older brother for years smiles with satisfaction somewhere inside you.

"rafe, stop. this is a terrible idea, okay? let's just go back and pretend you didn't say any of that."

"what the hell d'you mean? s'great idea, kid-"

"no it's not!" you shout back, sounding more confused than angry. "you're my best friend's brother! you're my friend! this, this could end so horrible and messy. and-and you sell drugs! i don't even do any drugs!"

"huh?" rafe looks about as confused as you've ever seen him.

"and you're a player. and-and i'm not interested in that."

"are you done?"

"no!" you bark it back, but then realize that was all the excuses you had for why you can't date rafe. "yes."

"i said you're mine, and that's end of story. if i see you talkin' to some guy he's gonna turn up missing. so unless y'want that on your conscious-"

"rafe!"

"hey, my turn. m'not jokin' around. it's not gonna end, and i sell drugs, don't do them anymore. and i'm being serious about you. so shut up and c'mon, going back out there together."

stunned into silence, you blink stupidly back at rafe. he comes closer, gives you a kiss that makes your knees weak and head thud.

"new dress? i like it. let's go."

"thanks. okay." you look up at your new boyfriend, looking at his pretty blue eyes that happen to match your dress, and realizing this is why everyone else's eyes feel wrong—they're not rafe's.

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

Who Wants To Talk About Japanese Orthography In Manga???

Me, it's me, I do, and I have been chomping at the bit to get the chance to.

Orthography refers to the conventions of written language to represent sounds. That may bring to mind the idea of rigid grammar rules or spelling standardization, but in a linguistic sense, orthography simply describes observable trends across language use. This isn't about authority--I am not going to talk about what schools teach or say people should write one way or another. This is about examining how real people use written language creatively to convey different things in popular media.

This is a huge topic, so I'm only going to use examples from MHA to highlight Horikoshi's style.

First, let's get a run-down of the main parts of written Japanese and how they tend to be used.

We've got kanji and kana; kanji are logograms, while kana are syllabaries. Kana refers to both hiragana and katakana collectively, but we will delineate the two from here on.

The Wikipedia page for kanji, describing this more succinctly than I'm about to.

For clarity, I'm gonna color-code each one.

Let's take a quick look at all three in action.

Chapter 65

By virtue of being the syllabary that grammar particles are written in, hiragana can get away a lot that kanji and katakana can't.

You can write simple sentences in hiragana alone, like so:

The sentence is perfectly comprehensible like this, but it reads as casual or perhaps a bit immature, like the person is either leaving out kanji for speed or simplicity (like online) or they aren't confident using kanji. Although, the word hito (person) is extremely common and its kanji is simple, so this would probably look more natural:

But there are also kanji for the word kawaii, so you could also write it this way:

On the other hand, writing the whole thing in katakana looks weird as fuck:

bECAuSE iT kINDA reADS LIKE THis, or maybe L I K E T H I S

It seems almost alien, overemphasizing the phonetic sound of the words, implying there's something notable or unusual about them.

But what if you write it like this?

Both ways use katakana to put flavor on a specific word. The first puts it on person, which could be used in a situation where someone hasn't been named yet, but the speaker tonally emphasizes your knowledge of them--like "oh, you know who."

The second emphasizes cute, which could read as sexually suggestive, teasing/joking, or even a threatening tone, depending on the context. "Real cute, ain't they?"

Basically, the connecting grammar bits need to be in hiragana, but nouns, verbs, and adjectives can typically be written in any of the three systems. That introduces choice into the matter, and these choices may have some cultural connotations.

This is a subtlety in written Japanese that manga loves to take advantage of. Orthography contributes a lot to characterization and tone, so individual creators develop little quirks as part of their own writing style.

Now let's finally take a gander at some of Horikoshi's!

Kanji instead of hiragana for semantic emphasis

Chapter 48

Best Jeanist could have used only hiragana for the word "good" (いい, ii), which is a very common way to write it. But he's not just commenting that they are nice kids, he's talking about them as "goodie two-shoes" and even puts brackets around the idea. The kanji emphasizes the cultural idea of a Good Child™, a well-behaved, morally upright, obedient young person.

Kanji instead of hiragana denoting a serious or severe tone

Chapter 36

Katsuki's "you" pronoun omae being written with kanji comes across as markedly serious, especially compared to how his dialogue is normally written. This is actually the only time Katsuki says omae and it is written with kanji--all the rest are in hiragana, which tends to read as more casual.

Hiragana instead of kanji denoting a gentle tone or youthful/childlike language

Chapters 129 and 183

Katsuki and his omae show us how kanji use can be seen as more mature and serious; Eri's dialogue does the opposite of this by using hiragana when it could use kanji, emphasizing her youth and innocence.

Katakana instead of hiragana or kanji for emphasis or slang

Chapters 209, 207, and 2

As I detailed above, one of katakana's most common uses is similar to italics or all-caps.

But you also tend to see slang written with it, and depending on the slang, the word being in katakana can immediately clarify it from other, perhaps more standard meanings. In Jirou's case, her personal pronoun uchi can mean a couple other things, so it being written in katakana clarifies her usage. It could arguably also imply she is taking a bit of an argumentative tone--Katsuki's slang is typically written in katakana for both of these reasons!

Katakana denoting regional dialect/accent, nonstandard pronunciation/muddled speech, or confused articulation

Chapters 102, 208, 394, and 2

Ochako gets flustered and defaults to her regional Kansai dialect. Instead of "chigau wa" (Tokyo dialect), she says "chau wa" repeatedly.

Katsuki and Toga both drop the w- sound from a word. Katsuki says "ore a" instead of "ore wa," while Toga says the word "kawaiku" as "ka'aiku" and "kawaii" as "ka'aii." Notice how the katakana which represents the vocal omission/hiccup is actually smaller than the others? That's also a little stylistic detail for communicating this kind of nonstandard speech.

Izuku repeats All Might's words, chikara wo, in a confused daze because he isn't following All Might's point. By removing the kanji especially, this kind of katakana emphasizes him sounding the words out without recognizing the underlying meaning.

Basically, Japanese has some excellent ~vibes-based~ orthography because of how the language is structured!

Of course, you find this kind of thing in English as well--especially in the age of the internet, where people note that "how dare u" reads as tonally distinct from "how dare you." As you develop language fluency, you tend to pick up these things subconsciously more than anything, but it's one of my favorite things to analyze and compare.

These are just a few examples and my own interpretations of them. I'm sure there are many more uses and flavor-nuance I'm not picking up on. Since any given choice can be read a few different ways, context is very important. My examples aren't definitive proof of anything, but it can be fun to keep these kinds of details in mind while reading.

Shueisha and Shonen Jump surely have in-house standards for text, and mangaka must operate within that range. That said, I have indeed seen every one of these examples in other manga as well.

And on the independent side of things, doujinshi and online manga are basically the wild frickin' west--I have seen tons of totally crazy, highly creative ways to take advantage of the unique flexibility found in Japanese, but that's a post for another day.

I will probably write more about this kind of thing in the future when I can pinpoint some more observations, but I hope you all enjoyed the ride. <3

[samandcolbyownme]

Ngl I kinda wanna see how Zach is with a pregnant reader. Is he more laid back with the witty comments/jokes? Does he just make different comments/jokes?

P.s.

I love absolutely everything you do. ❤️

Warnings: Pregnancy talk, pregnant!reader, girl dad!Zach, some crying, major fluff

Enjoy!

꒷꒦꒷︶˚︶︶꒷꒦˚꒦꒷︶˚︶︶꒷꒦˚︶˚︶︶꒷꒦꒷

Zach would be shocked at first, literally almost like he didn’t know how it happened, he would even say that, too. But, he would be happy and reassure you in every way.

You stood staring down at the hotel’s bathroom sink. The test lighting up with a dark second line that, in all honesty, you weren’t ready to see. “Zach.” You call out, slowly turning towards the door and your nose is met with his chest. You look up at him and he leans against the door, “Need help with somethin’”

He smirks, and raises his brows and you laugh slightly, still in shock about what’s sitting on the other side of your makeup bag, “Um, I mean..” And that’s when it hit you. Tears are instantly blurring your eyes and Zach pulls you into him, “Hey, hey, hey.” He shushes you, rubbing your back, “What’s happening right now?”

He wipes the tears from your face and you motion towards the sink, gasping as you start to cry again. He maneuvers around you to your other side, keeping on hand on you as he looks down to reach for the test, “How the hell did that happen?” You can’t help but laugh, giving him a slight push, “You know how this happened.”

He fingers rub over your hip while he stares down at the test in his hand, “We got this.” He shrugs, looking over at you, “I mean, I can already guarantee you that you’re going be the best mom ever.” You start to cry, laying your head on his chest and he hugs you tight, “It’s okay. Do you want to call Tara?” You nod and he laughs slightly, “Okay, come on. We’ll call Tara.”

Zach would totally lay in bed with you, his head rested gently against your growing baby bump, and just tell jokes. He would have you laughing so hard sometimes, you get a few punches and kicked to the belly every so often and he’s amazed, and slightly freaked out each time.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Zach whispers and you look up, “Hmm.” He looks up at you, “Not you, the baby.” You raise your brows, “Okay. Sorry for interrupting.”

“Yeah, you should be.” He tries not to laugh as he looks back at your belly, pointing lazily towards you, “get a load of this heckler back here, huh.”

You shake your head, laughing quietly as he continues, “Alright, kid. Riddle me this.. why didn’t the chicken cross the road?” He pauses, both of your eyes are on your belly, “To get the other side.”

Zach laughs and gently pats your belly, which finally gets baby girl to kick and he cheers, saying, “That’s right, funny like your daddy.”

Zach would definitely [playfully] pick on you about your midnight/early morning cravings and everyone would defend you.

“Yeah, all because these two-“ he points to you and your baby belly, a smile fighting to appear on his lips as he reminds dramatic, “-had me up at four am to go get breakfast.”

Tara leans over, laying her hand on your belly, “Oh shut up, zach.” She laughs, “You did this to her, so you need to oblige to every request y/n has.” You look over at Zach and he rolls his eyes, “We need to give that baby a clock or something.”

“I don’t think..” Jared sighs with a laugh as he shakes his head, “How do you plan on-“ Jared goes to ask but Zach cuts him off, “Do you really want the answer to that? Because it’s the same way the baby got in there.”

“You do realize that you can say no, right? I mean.. I wouldn’t like saying no to a pregnant lady, but you do you man.” Alyssa laughs. You laugh, looking over at Zach and he slowly shakes his head before nodding, “I love you.”

Zach would definitely stack stuff on your stomach and get sad when baby would kick, knocking his tower over and he would pout.

You glance down, lifting your sunhat a little to see Zach, stacking seashells on your growing baby bump, “Baby. What are you do-“

You gasp when you feel a hard kick from inside your stomach and the small tower Zach was building, falls. He lets out a small scoff, “You’re supposed to be on daddy’s side, sweetheart.”

He sits up and you look at him, “Where are you going?” He stands up and looks down at you, “To find more shells. This isn’t over, yet.”

When you’re nearing the end of your pregnancy and just overall done with it all, Zach is always your safe space, even though he’ll crack a joke or two, you know he can’t help it. It’s just in his nature.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Zach greets you as you walk out of the bedroom. You look over at him, the look of over being pregnant clear on your face. You whine as you walk over to Zach, ““Why won’t she just get out already?”

He welcomes you with open arms, “Come here my babies.” He gives your shoulder a little squeeze before he places a hand on your belly, leaning down close, “Now you listen here little miss.”

You can’t help but smile and lay a hand on his back, “Your mama..” he stifles back a laugh, trying to keep his mood a pretend serious, “..Already has me to deal with, alright? She doesn’t need you having her stubbornness either.”

You look up at him and he presses a quick kiss to your lips, “shhh you didn’t hear that right now.” As much as your hormones want to cry because he called you stubborn, Zach calmed you more than anything else could ever.

꒷꒦꒷︶˚︶︶꒷꒦˚꒦꒷︶˚︶︶꒷꒦˚︶˚︶︶꒷꒦꒷

Thank you so much for reading. As always, let me know what you think! I love you all! 🖤

Likes and reblogs are majorly appreciated!

[megumi-fm]

.

[kakapim]

Playing devils advocate here.

I still think that Toichi being alive is ... a not very good idea, but... now that the shock has passed and I'm chill about it now, and have been rereading stuff... there Might Be Something Here.

My favorite theory about Toichi that saves his ass from being a completely shitty father is that the assassination attempt did not kill him, but DID leave him disabled somehow. Kinda of what happened to Kudo, except he wasn't shrunk.

That would explain:

1- Why he had to disappear for 8 years. I don't think Chikage could explain to a child that his father "had an attempt on his life and is now hiding" that would be hard to explain, and kids aren't the best at secret keeping.

2- Why Toichi left stuff behind for Kaito. Since he cannot perform magic tricks and parkour anymore, he let Kaito decide if he wanted to carry the mantle of being KID.

3-Why he still hasn't showed up. Remember that Kaito Corbeau was Chikage dressed as him, and in movie 27 is flashback from Yuusaku (as I've heard, I have not watched the movie). And he was dressed as Corbeau, so I guess we don't fully know how he's doing modern-day. Him being in Japan would be too much of a liability.

This stuff also explains why Kaitos room was timed. His door was going specifically open after 8 years, being 17, which is old enough to know the truth and not spill.

Interestingly enough, it seems this decision of making Kaito the Kid was not something Toichi and Chikage agreed on, judging by the fact she asked Kaito to stop being KID and move to Vegas (and the whole Corbeau fiasco) and seemed somewhat upset in the first manga chapter when she realizes Kaito had found out the secret room.

But despite all of this, it doesn't explain why Toichi couldn't have simply just... called him? Like once the door hit the timer, he could've just called the boy. Tell him "Hey son I am alive although not well. Yes, I was the thief KID. I dont know what you will do with this info but have fun I guess". Cmon. Unless the disability in question was amnesia or something.

The only thing that breaks this theory is the fact that apparently Corbeau has been making the rounds in Las Vegas... but as I said before, Chikage asked Kaito to come with her and get there. Which is curious... does she want Kaito to meet the real Corbeau? To know something that's been a secret? Def something to ponder about.

So yeah... Gosho might have burned the rice but he might be able to clutch this. What I'm saying is, while hating on Toichi is funny, perhaps we should be a little more patient to see what happens.

[starboybutler]

Lights up (Ch.2)

summary: gale goes on a coffee date with that sophomore boy.

word count: 4504

warnings: mentions of past abuse, alcoholism, kind of harassment from john, blowjobs (again)

notes: chapter two is here! kinda surprised with myself that i got it done so fast. dunno if i'll always be able to get a new chapter this quickly but i'll try! enjoy the chapter!

chaapter one | ao3 link

for as long as gale could remember, he was by his lonesome. at home, in class, in nature. he always found comfort in solitude– the way the silence would give him time to think about everything he had going on at the time. whether it was after a particularly hard day at school, or after his dad had yelled at him and called him words he would try not to repeat in his head. 

he grew up on a farm in wyoming, vast and beautiful. they had plenty of animals as he grew up– horses, cows, chickens, goats– and gale would spend countless hours caring for them like they were human children. he remembered him momma telling him when he was younger to not get too attached to them, but he would never listen. he named, groomed, fed, and loved every animal that he could before his father inevitably sold or killed them. 

it was like therapy for him. when it came to people, he was no good at communicating or getting along with them. he found making friends difficult compared to animals. people were complicated. they did things with no rhyme or reason and were needlessly cruel to fuel their own need to feel superior to others.gale was bullied- not too harshly, thankfully- but enough that he would sometimes tell his mom that he didn’t want to go to school that day. his mom, angel that she is, would let him stay at home, with the animals he loved so dearly.

his father was a brash man, to put it politely. he drank heavily and gambled more. ever since he was old enough to walk on his own, gale remembered seeing his dad stumble in through their front door, alcohol permeating the air around him as he exhaled heavily, angry at all the money he lost that night. his angry eyes would land on gale, burning holes into the boy as he clutched an empty beer bottle in his large fist, gritting his teeth and spitting out an intelligible swear. 

sometimes he'd go to bed. other times, gale wouldn't be so lucky.

he would constantly belittle and chastise gale for hiding in his room at home instead off telling the kids who were teasing him off- but gale wasn’t that type of person. he always avoided conflict, out of a deep-rooted fear of becoming like his father someday.

as he got older, gale discovered certain things about himself that his father didn't particularly like. he began isolating gale– becoming harsher and more physical than before towards him whenever he would try to be himself. his poor mother did her best to support him, but she could only do so much. one night after gale’s father had beaten him down both physically and emotionally– she had come into his room and begged him to try and be who his father wanted him to- at least until he could move away for college. 

his heart clenched that his own mother begged him for such a thing, but he knew it was the safest option. he didn't know if he could take many more beatings before his father decided to do something drastic.

he did what his mother said- became quiet and docile until his father was satisfied with what he saw. 

gale never really let go of the act. he kept quiet and timid– hiding himself- and he never really knew why. maybe it was out of a lingering fear that he would turn a corner and see his father standing there, just waiting to lay his hands on him. 

he sat in his math class, anxiously tap-tap-tapping his pen against the edge of the desk as the professor went over everything they spoke about for the day. he was filled with a nervous energy- and the fact that he could feel the reason for his nerves staring at the back of his head wasn't helping.

just why gale had agreed to go out to lunch with this random man in his class was beyond him– maybe it was because he reminded him of someone–, but there was no backing down now. it's not like he didn't want to– he was a handsome guy and all, but he would have liked to at least talk a bit more first. he knew nothing about him– other than his name. gale tried to soothe himself by saying they'd get to learn more about one another at their lunch ‘date’, but it didn't help much. 

class was dismissed and gale began to pack up, biting at his bottom lip. he felt on edge, like any little thing could send him running out that door.

“heya, gale,”

a large hand on his shoulder, calloused thumb brushing against his sensitive neck ever so gently– like a faint breeze. he jumped, instinctively backing away from the foreign touch clumsily- almost tripping over his own feet.

there stood john, the hand that was just touching gale’s shoulder held up in mock surrender as he looked at the blonde with wide eyes.

“whoa there, should i have given ya more of a warning?” he jokes, stepping forward to close the gap gale had put between them. “didn't know you were so easily startled.”

gale laughed uneasily, taking another micro-step backwards to put just a bit more space between the two of them. did he always have to be so close? “i’m not. just…i dunno. nervous.”

“aw, nervous for our date, gale?” he laughed, slinging an arm around his shoulder, leaning into him with his body weight and almost making gale stumble over with the suddenness of it. “that’s cute.”

he smelled like cheap cologne, smoke, and beer. the scents on him were all too familiar to his father stumbling into the living room after a night at the casino. 

“haha, yeah,” he mumbled, standing up and adjusting the strap on his shoulder, hiking his satchel back up to where it needed to be. “you ready to go?”

gale felt that unease in his stomach spreading out to the rest of his limbs like horrible black tendrils of smoke. john’s large hand was now grabbing at his slim waist as they walked out of the classroom, the other man babbling on and on about some party he went to last week, and how he drank some poor freshman under the table like it was nothing. 

then, like a ton of bricks, it hit him. why he was so nervous. why he was so compelled to say yes to this date– why he felt like he couldn���t say no to john. it wasn't just because he was handsome and somewhat charming. his stomach was sinking as he dug his teeth into the skin of his cheek almost painfully. 

john reminded him of his father. 

—---------------------

they arrived at a small, student-run cafe on campus that gale liked to visit often. he stopped by when he could, buying a coffee and a little snack and taking a window seat to finish up some schoolwork. 

they walked in, john still hanging off of him like a koala as they walked up to the counter, gale’s face pink, eyes affixed to the counter as he placed his usual order. he could feel different pairs of eyes on him as he stood there, the quiet blonde that only spoke to order his coffee suddenly with a loud-mouthed frat boy hanging off of him. he felt shame creeping up his spine like boiling water about to spill over the edge of a pot.

“what'dya recommend, gale?” john asked him, snapping him out of his spiraling thoughts. 

“ah, i usually get something with a lot of caffeine,” gale blurts out, nervous energy beginning to show in little fits and starts. “keeps me awake so i can study at night.”

“You’re pretty big on school, huh?” john comments passively, making gale flush in a mix of hot embarrassment and shame. The comment hit a little too close to home after growing up and hearing the same thing from countless assholes in school growing up. “i’ll just get whatever he got. make it easy on ya,”

he gave the barista a wink, and he smiled back at john softly. 

“alrighty then, that’ll be $10.59.”

gale pulled his wallet out of his pocket, handing it to the barista and glancing at john with a little anxious smile. god, he was really bad at trying to keep it together.

“you can go find a table for us. i’ll grab our drinks and meet you there.”

“you got it doll.” he crooned, giving him a wink and that million-dollar smile that made something bloom in gale’s stomach. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure if it was a good thing, yet, but he felt it, every time he saw those eyes crinkle up. 

he turned to the barista quickly, leaning in a bit to whisper in case john was still in earshot. “is crosby here?”

“right here, gale,” a familiar voice sounded, turning to face him with two obnoxiously large iced coffees in his hands. “what’s up?

“i’m on a date,” gale blurted out, putting his head in his hands and running long fingers through blonde locks. “I hardly know the guy, but he gave me my glasses after i left ‘em behind in class, and–”

“okay, okay-” croz said, hastily handing off the coffees to the two concerned-looking students beside him. “so did he– did he force you on this date? do you want me to tell him off?” he asked, tone suddenly very serious.

gale hesitated. he wasn’t forced on this date, not in the slightest, but he just couldn’t shake the sinking feeling he had about being here. john reminded him so much of his father– he just felt like his intentions were less than pure with each passing second. 

“no, don’t say anything,” he mumbled, rubbing at his temples. “jus’... keep an eye on us if you can? i just feel nervous about this whole thing. i’m not sure if i’m overthinking or if it’s actually the way he’s acting.” 

“alright.” crosby says, patting gale on the shoulder firmly. “you just let me know. i’ll hop over this counter and kick ass.”

“we both know i can handle myself,” gale hums with a smile. “besides, those eyebags tell me that if you made any sudden moves you’d probably pass out.”

“yeah, well.” he stutters for a second, before his coworker comes to his rescue and hands him two identical coffee cups. “here’s your coffee. i’ll keep an eye on your date for you.”

“stop pulling all-nighters, croz,” gale scolds as he takes the cups in his hands, walking into the open part of the lobby and scanning the cafe for the brown-haired boy he came with.

he spotted john near a table in the corner by a window, staring at the passer-bys as he waited for gale to bring their drinks. for a brief moment, gale’s worries were gone as he took in how pretty john really was. curly brown locks, a strong jaw, straight nose, blue eyes and long eyelashes. he felt that strange warmness in his stomach again as he approached, tensing a bit as john’s eyes landed on him as he sat down.”

“that was pretty quick,” he hummed, taking the cup gale handed to him and smiling crookedly. “i see why you like this place,”

“yeah, i’ve never had to wait too long for a drink here,” gale laughs softly, his nerves creeping back up as he scooted his chair forward. “i mean, most drinks on the menu are pretty simple, so…”

“you know a lot about coffee?” john asks, taking a tentative sip from his scalding hot cup, hissing as it goes down. “wanna be a barista someday?”

gale actually chuckles a little at that. “ah, no, just… have a friend that knows a bit about it. shares menu secrets so that i can make ‘em back at my dorm if i want. i’m more into math….animals…stuff like that.”

“never understood people that actually like math, y’know.” john laughs, thumbing at the small opening of the lid of his cup. “was always my worst subject. i mean- i was never much of a school kid, but math really did me in.”

“ah, well math was always kinda fun for me.” gale began, feeling a little more at ease with the casual conversation john was making. “it was hard, yes, but that's what made it fun, you know? it's like– when you finally solve that equation that's been bothering you, you feel so good. like you could conquer anything. it's why i took up physics– much harder, made you really use your brain.”

“issat what your major is?”

“yep. i’m well on my way to getting a degree in physics– minor in education.” gale explains, fingers tracing along the sleeve that hugged his warm coffee cup. “i’d love to be a teacher one day. i know a lot of kids are apprehensive about math and other hard subjects like physics, but i wanna be the teacher that makes them enjoy subjects like that. an enthusiastic teacher can change everything for a kid.”

“mhm. all my teachers were assholes. didn't like me. ‘s why i skipped class all the time.”

“don't say that,” gale laughed, leaning in to take a sip from his coffee, which was hot enough to fog up his glasses. “i’m sure they liked you. it’s just hard being a teacher, sometimes. kids are a handful, y’know. which is why i’ll probably teach an older grade.”

“...so like….what is physics?” john asks suddenly, leaning back in his chair, strong arms crossed over his chest. “i mean i know what it is but like…what's it the study of?”

“it's basically the study of the nature and properties of matter and energy. a lot to do with the mathematics of movement, different types of energy, that type of thing.” he explains, leaning forward in his chair. “like, we’ll study how atoms and soundwaves work, do the math for force and inertia, focus on the mathematics of atoms– its all really nerdy stuff, but i find it fascinating. dunno why– maybe it's the fact that someone out there figured all of this out and shared his teachings, only for them to get built upon to the point we are today… i just love things like that.”

midway through his spiel, he noticed that john wasn’t exactly looking him in the eyes, which was fine. gale had trouble with eye contact sometimes– it wasn’t something he was too concerned about. then he realized john’s eyes were scanning him, up and down like a predator ready to pounce on a helpless little animal it spotted in the swaying grass.

His gaze would go from his eyes, to his lips, then to his hands, which were beginning to grip his coffee cup so tightly that he thought it would explode, and then to his chest, which prompted gale to cross his arms over his upper body protectively.

“enough about that– i’m sure you don’t wanna hear about the math behind force and motion,” he laughed, clearing his throat. “what are you majoring in?” 

john blinked at him, eyes a little wide as a big hand scratched at the back of his neck. “well, shit. I guess i’m just majorin’ in general studies. i’m gonna be one hundred percent honest with you gale, i applied to college when i was high with my friend curt.”

gale paused. “really? and you got in?”

a soft laugh left bucky’s lips, eyes crinkling up as he took another small sip of his coffee. “yep. i was just as surprised as you. told my momma i’d apply just for the hell of it, not thinking i’d get in, but whaddya know?” a strand of hair fell into his face as he set his cup back onto the table, pink tongue darting out to lick at stray droplets of coffee that clung to his lips. gale felt his throat tighten, oddly.

“as for hobbies…i dunno. i drink, i party. typical frat boy stuff. i find just about any party on campus, head on in, drink until i can hardly recognize anyone– gets crazy. usually ends up at my dorm.”

gale flushes at the implications and grabs at his coffee cup as john continues.

“you ever been to a frat party?”

“no.” gale says simply, pressing his lips to the rim of his cup and worrying the plastic of the lid with his teeth. “never been much of a party person. i like when things are quiet.”

“i dunno, i feel like if you were at a party with someone you liked you’d really enjoy yourself. i know you said you don’t drink, but have you tried it at all?”

gale shifted in his seat, eyes affixed to the ground as that familiar, dark sinking feeling returned to the pit of his stomach. he didn’t like where this conversation was going at all. 

“i…. i have, once. didn’t like it.” he says against the plastic lid. “said i’d never drink again.”

john’s thumb is brushing against his lower lip, now, eyes lidded and affixed to the way gale’s anxiously mouthing at his coffee cup. predatory, gale thinks, trying to avoid john’s gaze as he begins to speak again.

“knew a guy like that a few months ago,” he starts, eyes flashing with something dangerous. “straight edge, hated beer. took him out to a party and man- i’ve never seen someone drink so much. got real loose. we ended up in a room together and the rest was a total fuckin’ blur. still comes to my room to drink every once and a while. or… just to hang out, you know.” 

their eyes met, blue-on-blue, dark and lustful on doe-ish and scared. gale suddenly very much wanted to be anywhere else but here, in this cafe. He should have went with his gut, trusted that little voice in his head telling him that this living embodiment of 2000s grunge was just trying to get into his pants. almost like he couldn’t stop himself, he shot up out of his seat, coffee in one hand and bag in the other, trying to hide the discomfort painted across his face.

he wasn't a prude– that's not what this was– he's just never positively thought about sex. mainly because he'd get weird compliments and looks as soon as he hit sixteen, which had kind of soured his whole idea of sex. he had always declined hookups and booty calls, leading to nasty words and nastier threats, but he did it for his safety. it was just the way it had to be.

he remembered his father’s words to him. no one wants to sleep with a goddamn–

“sorry, i have to go.” gale said firmly, tongue darting out to wet his dry lips. “i just remembered i have a test for another class tomorrow– you get it. we can reschedule.” 

he’s backing out towards the door as he rambles out excuses, back hitting the door roughly. “i had fun, really. sorry.”

before john could even try to chase after him, he turned on his heel and walked briskly out of the cafe, hissing as the sun's rays hit his eyes. he felt like the world was blending together- a mix of all kinds of sickening colors that passed his watery eyes in a blur as he bulldozed his way to his dorm. he felt bile rising in his throat, burning and bitter- making the tears in his eyes well up more. he found shelter in a small alleyway nestled between buildings, dark and quiet. he felt his breathing slow a little bit.

no, no. don’t you dare fucking cry, gale. not over this– over him. he scolded himself, lips parted as he let out little puffs of air, trying to regulate his frantic breaths. his eyes scrunched shut, trying to fight back tears like he was a little kid again, standing before his father with his head hung low, fists clenched.

“c’mon, damn it. hit me back! i didn’t raise a bitch!” 

and poor gale, he’d raise his fists again, not left with a choice, trembling like a leaf on an unsteady branch as he looked at his dad with tears running down his face. that same cheap beer smell was everywhere. 

“oh, you wanna cry, huh? i’ll give you somethin’ to fuckin’ cry about!”

gale hasn’t shed a tear since that night. a deep, deep-rooted fear that if he did, everyone around him would dig into him and eat him alive was instilled in him after that night. he hasn’t cried since then, and he won’t cry now, not over some dickhead in a slipknot shirt. 

he inhaled deeply, lungs expanding as he opened his eyes, hand running through his hair gently. his coffee had completely spilled onto the ground, puddling around his feet in a murky, dark brown pond. 

what a waste of five dollars.

—---------------------

john didn’t come to class the following day, much to gale’s relief. he was able to focus and get some good notes taken without feeling his gaze on the back of his skull. it was rainy outside today, the clouds completely overcast the sun and drizzling rain drops over the fresh earth outside. gale felt hypnotized watching the way the water dripped down the windows, amplifying his calm. 

his eyes remained affixed to the rain outside as he exited class, hands shoved into the pockets of his leather pants. he loved the rain. the smell, the clouds, the way it looked. 

“hey.”

he froze in his steps, eyes slowly moving to gaze at the man in front of him. gale really thought he wouldn’t have to deal with him today. maybe he was actually worried about him? god, who fucking knows.

“john,” gale said evenly, straightening his back. “you weren’t in class today. wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“had to come check up on you after yesterday,” he shrugged, leaning against the wall. “left me hangin’. what happened?”

gale set his jaw, taking deep, even breaths. keep it together. “had a test to study for, like i said. sorry if i seemed shaken up or anything, but it was a big test.”

“big test…” john repeated, tongue running across his lips. “yeah, i get it.” he shrugged, smiling crookedly. “must be tired from all that studying. you free tonight at all? you could come back to my dorm, hang out for a bit.”

gale flushed, partly out of anger, and partly because he was flustered. jesus, this guy just didn’t know when to fucking quit, huh?

“nah, i’ve got plans tonight, actually.” gale mutters, averting his gaze. “work.”

“you work on campus?”

“off campus, actually,” he said curtly, checking his watch. “actually gotta get going soon, or i’ll be late. maybe another time.”

he didn’t even wait for a response, because it would probably just be john asking when he was off, or if he was free tomorrow– and he didn’t feel like dealing with it. all of his anxieties towards him were starting to turn into annoyance. he still felt uneasy around him, but seeing as he hasn’t actually tried to harm and/or force himself onto gale, he felt like he had a bit more wiggle room to talk back. And if he did try something, then…

whatever. he didn’t need to think about him right now.

—---------------------

“he’s bein’ so fucking difficult, curt.” john huffs, pacing between their beds like a caged animal. “he’s got mood swings like a goddamn chick– i don’t know what the fuck i’m doing wrong!”

john kicks a stray can of beer across the room, before flopping onto curt’s bed like a kid having a tantrum. “he makes me feel like a goddamn creep. like– whenever i get close, he steps back- or when i touch him he looks for an excuse to get away from me.”

“maybe he jus’ doesn’t like being touched,” curt shrugs, laying down by john’s head and playing with a few strands of his loose hair. “you literally told me that you might have to play it slow with him- why’re you gettin’ all impatient?”

“what was it you said? you wanna devour him? that’s why.” he sighs. “thought i’d be able to control myself to play it slow, but goddamn, curt, he’s gorgeous. absolutely beautiful. i jus’ don’t get why he has to be so uptight and shit.”

“damn, maybe you are a creep.” the shorter man teases, making john groan and press his palms to his eyes. “i’m just jokin’, bucky, jesus!” he sighs, fingers tangling in his hair.

“i’m jus’ over it at this point, curtie. why can’t i just get my dick wet with a cute blonde? and what do i do? back off? come on stronger? why’s it so hard to get laid nowadays?”

amid his self-pitying rant, curt had sunk to his knees between john’s legs, small hands on large thighs as he laid his cheek against the warm skin.

“i know. life is soooo hard for such a pretty boy like you, isn’t it,” he teases, hand tracing upwards until it meets with the semi-hardness of bucky’s cock. “why don’t i help you feel better, hm?”

john hissed at the touch, hips rising into the warmth of curt’s palm as his other free hand pulled him from the confines of his shorts. “fuck. you always know how to cheer me up.”

curt just smiled, full of dimples, before taking john in his mouth with practiced ease. he knew bucky and his cock all too well– so it wasn’t hard to get him going. he ran his tongue along the bottom, savoring the salty-musky taste of precum on his tongue as he swallowed him down with eagerness. it wasn’t long before john’s loud grunts picked up in volume, becoming breathier as he reached his peak, spilling down curt’s throat for the second time that week.

curt pulled off, giving him one last cruel lick before standing and smoothing out the wrinkles of his shirt. “okay, now get up. we’ve got a party to go to.”

“goddamn, gimmie a minute to catch my breath,” john huffed, sitting up and tucking himself back into his shorts. “you just sucked my soul out. can’t we just stay in?”

“as much as i’d love to give you your post-blowjob cuddles, this party is literally in the next building over and has this dude from history there that i’ve got my eye on. get your ass up.”

bucky sighed deeply, standing on wobbly legs and placing a large hand in curt’s already messy hair. “you’re a pain in my ass. you’re soooo lucky i love you.”

john swears he sees curt go a little pink at that- but he ignores it as the shorter man leads them out of the door.”

“yeah, i know.”

taglist: @mooodyblue @lauvmyself @kaiistheguy @slowsweetlove

[blue-devil-of-the-lord]

Current request/ stuff I'm working on

[(Doing this so I won't get any stuff double. As much as I love your ideas, sometimes it's very similar, so I try to avoid it with this :) Also it allows me to show you that I recieved your request. This is not the rank in which the stuff will be updated]

Nightcrawler:

Opposites Attract: (97!Kurt x gn!reader), requested by anonymous I was wondering if you could write 97 Kurt with a gn reader who has a very obvious crush on him, but they're quiet and basically the opposite of him? I'm kinda a timid and awkward person so I think he'd basically be the extrovert to adopt my introverted self

Fleeting Glances, Lingering Smiles: (Kurt x fem!reader), requested by anonymous Can I please have Kurt Wagner x Fem!Reader who is a telepath and an empath? Oh, she is also the daughter of Charles Xavier. Also, the reader is a very sweet, kind and understanding girl who dotes on the guy

Beneath the Summer Sky: (Alan!Kurt x gen!reader), requested by @pompeii-for-elephants Would you be up to writing a gender neutral reader and Kurt fic where they are not together yet but both adore each other. Reader makes no secret of their affection, always showering Kurt with compliments and gifts, and all around spoiling him. Kurt is also a flirt, as always, but neither have made that move to bluntly state their intent. But it comes to a head at a summer pool party where tensions boil over. Feel free to add or change details wherever you want

Paper Hearts: (Kurt x fem!reader), requested by anonymous Oooh~ can I request a Kurt Wagner x fem!reader fic of Kurt writing anonymous love letters to reader? (Kurt is such a romantic at heart and I feel like he'd write the most heartfelt letters). His heart yearns for her, dude spends 50% of his time pining after her and the other 50% trying to work up the courage to confess, but he's just too shy to say anything about it yet. She soon figures out that Kurt is the one sending the letters and confesses that she's had a crush on him for months.

Belonging in my arms: (97!Kurt x fem!reader), requested by @cenittynadir Can you please make a one-shot about Nightcrawler (Xmen 97) getting jealous about an old malefriend of femreader? Maybe Kurt just wanting her attention aferter a long mission but she is spending too much time with this friend without noticing

A Dance with Divinity: (Kurt x reader), requested by anonymous "I don't know how to become one with you. If you're heaven, then tell me - I will kneel to every god. If you're hell, then tell me - I will fill the earth with sin" I need need NEED you to write Kurt with quote in mind. Idc if you use the quote itself or just the general vibe of it, I NEED THIS TYPE OF ROMANCE FROM HIM

But when the curtain falls... :(Kurt x reader), requested by anonymous Could you possibly write a scenario where the reader and nightcrawler have a crush on each other but they both think they have no chance? Kurt sees his "demonic" appearance and thinks the reader would never want him, while the reader sees Kurt as beautiful and confident and flirtatious and is sure that he'd want someone else

Lines crossed: (Kurt x reader) requested by anonymous I had this stupid idea of Magneto taking on an apprentice/mentee like Professor X and Cyclops. I need Magneto pulling the protective self-appointed dad moment when he sees his kid getting a little too close to Kurt for his liking. Headcanons or one shot, your work, you decide what works best

Social System Error: (97!Kurt x reader), requested by anonymous If possible, I need an introverted reader with barely any social skills who starts to malfunction whenever a certain blue is around. When confronted, reader is basically 'you're too pretty' and almost dies of embarrassment

Mending Broken Wings: (97!Kurt x reader), requested by anonymous I NEED someone to offer our favorite blue elf some comfort. Kurt is always there to support other, but who is there for him

An Unexpected Visitor: (Kurt x reader), requested by anonymous If you’re still taking asks, can you write something about Kurt being all cheeky and visiting reader at work?

From 'Maybe Someday' to 'Always': (Kurt x reader), requested by @elizabethnightingale4 Kurt/Reader announce their engagement after years of “will they won’t they”?

Sweetening the Deal (Kurt x gn!reader), requested by @promulticlasser Kurt reminding a gn s/o with anemia to make sure they're taking their iron. They don't really like taking the pills because of the taste so maybe he could find a fun way to make it taste better.

Bound by Reality (97!Kurt x fem!reader), requested by @weebwholovesuchihasasuke Kurt Wagner x reality warper reader who is Magneto's adopted daughter.

Cyclops (no requests open):

I'm not his wife!: (Scott x fem!reader) 5 times they've been called "work husband and wife" and 1 time they leave out the "work"

[cherrynflowergarden]

stranger? yes. danger? no. || shubman gill

summary; yn sturniolo is in italy and so is shubman gill.

@love-belle pookie wookie cookie this is for you🎀💋🫀‼️

an; hiiiiiii soooooo sorry for disappearing just like that my results for this very important exams were declared few days ago and i'm so disappointed w it :( anyways i'm back pls pls pls someone tell me how to login on tumblr web 🙏🙏🙏 picture quality in the app is horrible idk if you'll be able to read it properly 😓

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tagged: mattew.sturniolo

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twitter

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tagged: shubmannotfound, chrislovepepsi

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urbffswife italy pt 2 (heh)

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yourusername via instagram stories

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♫ mitski • my love mine all mine

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yourusername cause my love is mine all mine💌

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username not yn fighting for her man and also thirsting over him all together in the comments

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[dangerous-advantage]

(Image description below 'read more' line.)

[Image ID: A four-by-four alignment chart on a white background with text descriptions to the left and to the top of the squares.

The top left description reads, "seems like they'd be good at parenting." The top right description reads, "seems like they'd be bad at parenting."

Then, from the top down, to the left of the squares, the other set of descriptions reads: "excellent child rearing instincts," and "never trust them with a child in your life."

Each of the four squares contains an image of a different character. At the top left is an image of Lan Wangji of the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua. He sits between the descriptors "seems like they'd be good at parenting," and "excellent child rearing instincts."

In the top right square sits an image of Wei Wuxian, also of the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua. He sits between the junction of "seems like they'd be bad at parenting" and "excellent child rearing instincts."

In the bottom left square is an image of Xie Lian from the Tian Guan Ci Fu manhua. He occupies the square with the captions, "seems like they'd be good at parenting" and "never trust them with a child in your life."

Finally, in the bottom left square, sits an image of Hua Cheng from the Tian Guan Ci Fu manhua. He occupies the junction between "seems like they'd be bad at parenting" and "never trust them with a child in your life". /End ID]

[marsbotz]

i had a dream i had a beautiful loving friendship with gus fring to match the one where i was besties with mike. im so broken take me BACK!!!!!

[pumpking64]

.

[stinkrascal]

even though it was buried in the tags of my last text post, that text post was the first time ive ever admitted to any of my ocs having The Diagnosis which is also My Diagnosis which means ive just somewhat admitting to having The Diagnosis which is My Diagnosis and wow that was extremely nerve wracking but it also felt nice to get it out there. this is my coming out post i guess

[portokali]

there is. definitely a lot to be said about the merits of having the ability to turn off Shipper Brain Mode and enjoy a story without ever demanding a ship be canon or even shipping any of the characters. however there is something about a hint or a promise of romance in works that aren’t explicitly romantic that makes them somehow more tantalizing and interesting. anyway this post is about james and erin derrygirls where i had 0 expectations of their feelings ever being confirmed and simply entertained the idea of them as a what-if-james-likes-erin-lol on a completely different tab that was left open in my brain but when it Was confirmed in s3 and the way it was left unfulfilled but all the same promised absolutely has done numbers to my brain chemistry like the small and tender crushes of two kids living ordinary lives under extraordinary circumstances. something about that yeah.

[indigodawns]

.

[atrium-hq]

dakota cole birthday episode approaching rapidly i fear….

[this-doesnt-endd]

why is everybody taking mike saying his life began when he found el to mean that he just straight up hates will like? its like all im seeing but like idk i just dont think thats what he meant like he was trying to get el to fight also this like whole thing were people are like mike is the fucking worst person alive he just shoulda died cause his character is gone like idk i feel like this is mike and the way him and will are these days doesnt seem that like abnormal to me like they have been best friends since they were young and theres never a time where theyre like we arent friends anymore, idk mike just has never seemed the person to pour his heart out, also like theyre in the worst growing pains of friendship. highschool, one has a girlfriend, one is figuring out who they are, one moved away, like i dont think mike doesnt care about will, will cares more outwardly cause thats just how he's been, also like personally i feel like its setting up for season 5 like this all started with will and i think in some sense its gonna end with will and theyre gonna be able to bridge them back together to be as close as they were in season one, like theres always been this thread of friendship and love being what save them and i feel like theyre working towards that and are gonna bring it full circle in the end