#I can’t just work for movie theaters and fast food forever

[lesbianfakir]

If anyone’s wondering why I haven’t been posting on this blog I had a breakdown, dropped out of college for the time being, moved back home, and now I’m deeply addicted to stardew valley while I wait for one of the damn jobs I applied to to call me back

[aphrodites-law]

Clarke wakes up eight years in the future, where her college best friend happens to be her girlfriend. Part 5/? (Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4)

It was such a beautiful day that Clarke almost felt bad they’d sit in a dark movie theater for two hours. Lexa seemed happy to just hold her hand as they walked down the street, chatting about one of the business projects she was working on. 

Clarke knew questions about Lexa’s work were like flirting with danger. There was no way Other Clarke didn’t already know everything about her girlfriend's career, while she could barely hold the conversation. Parks and the environment had never made her feel so dumb. Luckily, Lexa didn’t seem to notice any gaps in her knowledge — or lack thereof. 

If Clarke was still on edge about the whole situation, at least it would’ve been nice to have some advantages. Her memory being so selective was a thorn in her side. It was like she was forced to walk this future with horse-blinders on because she might break it irreparably otherwise. It was all so… careful, tailored, that Clarke was starting to reconsider her stance on dorky sci-fi. Maybe Raven had cobbled together some kind of monstrous time machine and then stored it in Lincoln’s basement. 

“Do you want Milk Duds?”

Clarke tried to refocus. They’d arrived at the concession stand of the multiplex, where  a teenager was shoveling popcorn in a paper bag. Clarke didn’t remember this theater in particular, but the buttery-sweet smell put her at ease. Lexa and her went to the movies whenever they could, treating themselves to sweets. It was familiar territory for once — there was nothing to worry about. 

“No, you always hoard them,” Clarke replied mindlessly. 

“Do not,” Lexa protested. “You just take forever to eat them.”

“You have to suck the chocolate first.”

“Here we go.” 

“What kind of person just bites into them right away?!” 

“I don’t know you and I don’t hear you.”

Clarke grinned, finding it so much easier to fall into their banter than more serious exchanges. When the teen set their popcorn on the counter, she reached for her purse to pay but heard a snort and the smooth swipe of Lexa’s credit card.

“Yeah, right,” Lexa said. 

They made their way down the hall toward their screen. 

“So I can’t pay for my own food at 30?” Clarke teased. 

“Not the day of, grandma.” 

“Wow, look who’s talking now.” 

Lexa pinched her ass so fast that Clarke let out a startled gasp. 

—

It was a coming of age story on the raunchy side, with loud scenes and moody visuals in nightclubs and college dorms. Clarke felt completely disconnected from the story, knowing she would forget it soon. The more obvious reason was that they were done with the popcorn and now Lexa had her hand on her bare thigh. 

She wasn’t even… doing anything, but it was there, and Clarke didn’t care about any character or any damn plot point because her best friend’s fingers were touching her skin. She could admit that much. 

The real mistake had been comparing how Lexa and her usually acted at the movies. Sitting next to each other, sharing food or candy, but never… touching with purpose. Inevitably, Clarke wondered how she would’ve reacted if her Lexa had ever attempted this. If she’d held her hand and made no move to let go. Clarke wanted to believe she would’ve been effortlessly cool about it, but her current state showed otherwise. 

Breathing was a tall order and her hands felt clammy. There was no one behind them at least.

“Lexa…” she whispered, glancing at her. 

Lexa had a small smile but seemed otherwise focused on the movie. Her hand inched up higher, beneath her dress, and then stilled again. 

In the cover of darkness, Clarke realized her assumption she’d be safe from her own desires was a joke. The secluded but still public space made it worse – forbidden in the kind of way that made her ache. Now it made sense why Lexa had responded so positively to her movie suggestion. 

From the way her body was reacting, Other Clarke clearly had a fantasy for this type of situation, and Clarke had tapped right into it. Which was unfair, because how could she know she enjoyed this before she even knew it! 

“Fuck,” she cursed, her fingers digging into the armrest. With her free hand she reached for Lexa’s wrist, a weak attempt to stop her.

“Lexa,” she repeated quietly. “What are you doing?”

Lexa drew small circles on Clarke’s skin, like an apology. Only it wasn’t. “It’s okay, baby,” she murmured a few seconds later. “Sit back.”

There was… no way. Clarke couldn’t. She couldn’t. But her heart had started pounding and the heat in the pit of her stomach felt unbearable. She knew this feeling but never this intense. There was no scenario where she didn’t take care of this. And to Lexa, there was no scenario where she didn’t care of this. 

Which was exactly why Clarke needed to choose her next words carefully: “Not here,” she pleaded, and then: “I’ll be too loud.” 

It had the effect Clarke had hoped for. Lexa lost all semblance of control and looked at her, her mouth parted open and her expression unreadable. Yet in the dark room, Clarke could still see the change in her. Could feel how her hand’s soft touch turned into a possessive grip. Fingers pressing into flesh, then her thumb rubbing against the spot as if she worried she’d hurt her. 

Lexa was quiet for a beat, then cleared her throat and gathered their belongings. “Come on.”

She’d entwined their hands without Clarke even realizing it, or maybe it was her who’d reached out first. Clarke wasn’t sure she could tell left from right anymore, or if she could even walk to wherever it was Lexa was taking her. They left the room discreetly, but the lights in the hall did nothing to snap Clarke out of her mounting desire. 

It felt like the fight had been lost the moment she’d suggested they go slow. Slow had meant eventually, and with Lexa, eventually seemed to only take a few hours. 

—

The restroom was miraculously empty for now, but the toilet stall Lexa had dragged her in was a tighter space than expected. Clarke felt a thrill.

Lexa pressed her against the door with little restraint, hand cupping her cheek as she kissed her deeply.

Clarke pulled back and looked into her eyes, knowing she didn’t want to stop her. It wasn’t just how her body reacted to Lexa’s hands or mouth. Wherever they were, from the comfort of their apartment to the cramped confines of this stall, she felt home. Home with Lexa. Attuned to her touch, her smell and her taste. The most mind-bending, confusing event of her life was happening, yet she felt safe. Tethered to this new life as if it was her own. Or could be, at least. 

Lexa rubbed their noses together. “Breathe,” she whispered. 

Clarke tangled her fingers in her hair. “I’m okay. Just wondering… why the toilet is the romantic setup I get.”

“What do you mean?” Lexa replied with a smirk. “You love traditions.”

“Tradi-”

Lexa kissed her again, her full lips like warm velvet against hers. She kissed her until it almost felt silly that was all they were doing, and really, Clarke was sick of fighting this. She reached for Lexa’s hands and brought them to her breasts, where Lexa needed no further instruction to palm them. 

“Fuck, Clarke, I can’t do the whole slow thing anymore.”

“You can’t?” Clarke repeated pointlessly, too lost in the feeling of Lexa’s hands on her body. 

“It’s your birthday,” Lexa said against her neck, inhaling when Clarke tilted her head to the side. “And I have so many presents to give.”

Her hands went down to her waist, her ass, and then pushed her dress up. She never looked away from her, smile growing as Clarke’s eyes darkened. 

“Lexa…” 

It was all she could find to say. Just the name of the woman in all her thoughts. She felt so needy; a need to connect with Lexa in all the ways they never did in her time. She pulled her close and kissed her, chasing her tongue. When Lexa moaned, she was reminded of what she’d told her earlier – how her kisses felt different. Clarke thought, good, let them be different. Let Lexa be surprised too. It was only fair. 

Lexa’s hand was beneath lace in a matter of seconds, fingers finally pressing against her. 

“Oh, god,” Clarke breathed out, knees buckling. 

“I’ve got you,” Lexa promised, firmly holding her thigh up with her other hand. 

When she entered her, Clarke’s body felt so overcome with pleasure she briefly worried she’d come on the spot.

“So wet,” Lexa husked in her ear. “I wish I could get on my knees. But not yet.”

Fuck. Clarke closed her eyes, thankful for the small mercy. She wouldn’t have been able to stop Lexa from licking into her if she wanted. Not even for a second. She could only focus on her fingers filling her, harder and faster with every moan that slipped out of her. 

Lexa took her quickly, like she worried someone would rob them of this moment if she didn't. Or couldn't wait to see her fall apart. Her eyes never looked away and her skin had a slight shine under the harsh light. She’d never looked more confident; more beautiful. And Clarke felt attractive too, though… with her tits nearly out of her dress, her leg hooked around Lexa’s waist and her fingers buried deep inside her, she should’ve felt dirty. And well, she did, but not in a way where she’d later feel empty. Where she’d be reminded she was someone you had fun with, but that was all. Lexa made her feel like a fucking bombshell. Was showing her that they were on the same page in every facet of this relationship.

Clarke wanted to last longer but couldn’t, needing release like she needed air. It hit her hard, just as Lexa found a different spot and adjusted her angle, because of course she knew every inch of her body. She muffled her moans in Lexa’s top, though she doubted it helped.

Lexa pressed small, tender kisses on her neck while she rubbed her clit in tight circles, whispering I love yous between Clarke’s sighs. For a moment they simply came down the same euphoric wave together, not in a rush to find the world again. When she finally pulled out, Clarke whined in protest. She couldn’t get enough, now wanting nothing more than to make Lexa feel the same. 

She’d crossed the line, and there was no part of her that wanted to go back. 

[fortuositywritings]

I Said No (Wanda x R): Pt 5

Pt 1,  Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, House Map

Summary: Movie theater, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and the county fair

“We can come back to get the rest. I don’t understand why you’re doing that.”

Wanda watches you struggle trying to carry everything you brought from the store but two bags that Wanda herself is carrying. 

“Because, my young Padawanda, it is one of the most important rules of the Jedi Code. One must never make a second trip to the car lest he be a nerd.”

“Oh my gosh! Have you seen Star Wars?” You and Wanda turn your heads towards the porch where Sam and Peter reside. Peter runs down to you in excitement. “Which ones have you seen?”

“Only like all of them!” you answer, just as excited as Peter to have someone else here who likes the movies. Laura finds them boring, Clint thinks they’re too long, and Nat says she’s not a child. You tried watching them with Cooper and Lila but they fell asleep halfway through. So no one can blame you for getting excited. Unfortunately, the little bounce that accompanied your answer causes a few things to slip from your arms, but Peter, given his incredible reflexes, catches them all before they touch the ground. “The force is strong with this one,” you tell him.

“And a second trip is what makes you a nerd.” Sam mumbles under his breath on his way over to help by taking the bags from Wanda. “What’s on your neck?” He asks her. Her hand flies up to her neck only to find it sticky.

“It’s what happens when you mess with a Jedi,” you answer for her in a silly voice making Peter laugh. You also make Wanda blush as she recalls how it happened, but you don’t see this since you and Peter are already making your way to the house. Sam, however, does notice Wanda’s face and recognizes that look, leaving him stumped. Wanda only snaps out of her trance when the door closes behind you and Peter. 

“I don’t get it,” he says to Wanda. “What is it about her? Is it the confidently flirty but still kind of geeky thing that does it for you ladies?”

Wanda, embarrassed at being caught, heads to the house ignoring Sam’s questions. She can still hear him as he yells after, “Don’t walk away! I need to know if nerds are the thing now!”

Sam catches her in the kitchen along with you and Peter putting things you bought where they’re meant. Instead of asking Wanda anything, he turns his questions to you and Peter, who you all find out has a girlfriend now. Sam guesses his “nerds are in” theory correct based on that and soon he is agreeing to watch Star Wars with you, Peter, and Wanda. He threw Wanda a subtle wink when neither you nor Peter were looking as if to say ‘you’re welcome’ for including her in those plans. Clint, coming in from the side door, catches the ending of that conversation and groans. 

“No! Laura! Peter and Y/N found an interest they can both be annoying about,” he goes to complain to his wife. Later though, he as well as everyone else joins you to watch the movie. You and Peter thoroughly answer all of Sam and Pietro’s questions and hush everyone at your favorite parts, mouthing the lines along with the scene. Wanda ends up not watching the movie anymore but watching you and she begins to wonder if maybe Sam was right.

***

“How much longer?” you find yourself asking the next morning trying not to sound as out of breath as you are. You’ve been jogging for you don’t know how long now but it feels way longer than what Nat had promised it would be when she woke you up at six in the morning.

“Another mile,” she answers, no sign of struggle in her voice as if this is a cakewalk. You suppose it is for her since she’s had to slow down numerous times for you to catch up.

“Another mile?!”

“Hey, you said you would keep up today,” Nat reminds you.

“You know you can’t trust anything I say during my haven’t-had-caffeine-yet hours. Don’t I get points for trying?”

“Like your little green friend says, ‘Do or do not, there is no try’,” Nat retorts.

“I knew you were paying attention last night!” You increase your pace to jog beside her. “You can act too tough to like Star Wars all you want around everyone else, but I’ll always know the truth.” You can see her shake her head from the corner of your eye. You don’t say anything for a moment, but being one who cannot let the quiet linger too long, as Tanya would attest to, you speak up. “So, how’s your little green friend doing?”

You turn your head for a second to show Nat you were genuinely looking for an answer and in the next she’s practically running away from you. She went fast but not quick enough for you to miss the little redness creeping up on her cheeks. You have never in your years of knowing her seen her blush before. You have seen her sweat after a sparring match with Clint, get a bit of a sunburn, and get so angry she looked like she would pop a vein, but not one of those times were her cheeks turning a rosy color. Aww, Romanov’s in love. Once you’ve come to that conclusion, you go to tease her. Wait, where did she go?

“You asshole!” You yell at Nat who you finally find casually leaning on the car door watching you storm up to her. It took you an hour to find the car after losing the trail you were on trying to find Natasha. She doesn’t even flinch as she reaches over and pulls a twig out of your hair. “What happened to you?”

“You left me!” You huffed, walking around to the passenger side while Nat got in the driver seat unfazed. Truth be told, after 30 minutes without any sign of Nat, you thought she was putting you through some kind of test. You were getting paranoid, so it’s not surprising you took a tumble when you swiftly tried to avoid an attack from what turned out to be a squirrel running up a tree. But you’ll just keep that to yourself forever.

You head straight to the shower when you get to the house ignoring the morning greetings from those you pass on the way. “What’s up with her?” Sam asks Nat in the living room. “She hasn’t had her caffeine yet.”

You let the shower wash away your moodiness which, you can admit to yourself alone, stemmed for the most part from embarrassing yourself. Afterwards, you head to the kitchen ready to eat whatever everyone had for breakfast, but come up empty. You guess they’d finished all of it if the plates and pan left out to dry say anything. You open the fridge looking for something to eat. Maybe there is something in there you can heat up. Unlike Laura, Wanda, and self proclaimed chef Pietro, you cannot cook to save your life. 

“What’s cooking, good looking?” Speak of the devil. Maybe he can make you something? You know all it would take is some batting of the eyelashes and a compliment. No, Wanda said no. But there is nothing in the fridge to heat up and you were hungry. Wanda would surely understand it was for the greater good, right? Already breaking the first rule, I see.

Caught red handed, you look over Pietro’s shoulder to see Wanda walking into the kitchen to join you two. She’s raising her eyebrows at you waiting for an answer. 

“Okay, new rule,” you say. Pietro is confused at what he assumes is your response until he sees that you aren’t talking to him. “No more reading my mind,” you say sternly, pointing at Wanda. 

Pietro smirks. “Yeah, I don’t need you to hear what goes on Y/N’s mind when she is thinking about me,” he says to Wanda. Both you and Wanda roll your eyes. “Sam is asking for you outside,” is all she says to him and off he goes with a groan.You groan as well, the chance of getting someone to make you food leaving with him.

“You could have just asked me, you know?” Wanda says, leaning against the sink. 

“I thought I said no mind reading,” you remind her. She chuckles when you close the refrigerator door and hit your head against it in defeat.

“I wasn’t,” she defends. “I was serious when I said he can’t cook. I may have saved you from food poisoning.”

“Maybe, but I would have been full and happy for a moment. Since you chased away my shot at food, I think you should make it up to me by making me some breakfast,” you try, leaning against the fridge.

“Oh? I should, should I?” You nod confidently thinking it might just work, but she tears that thought away when she continues, “Cause I remember you still needing to make it up to me when you didn’t buy the ice creams.”

You frown, “I thought you’d forgotten about that.” She smiles, with nose scrunch and all, shaking her head. “Fine, you want to go to the fair? I’ll take you to the fair tomorrow!”

“A fair? I want to go!” you hear Cooper shout. He is coming in through the back door with Lila who looks just as excited and with Nat who does not. You ignore Nat’s face when you tell Cooper that you can all go to the fair. He and Lila run off in excitement to tell the others. Nat glares at you as she takes a seat at the kitchen table. 

“See,” you turn to Wanda. “Now I have to take you for sure. Make me some food now, please,” you beg her, drawing out the word please. She squints her eyes like she’s thinking about it and then, “Only because you asked so nicely.” 

“Thank you,” you throw her a huge smile at which Wanda rolls her eyes.

“But if you are going to be here,” she says pushing you away from the fridge, “you are going to help. You’ve got to learn how to cook for yourself.” And you do just that. You nod along intently listening to all her instructions, not wanting to miss a thing. Sometimes you’d interrupt to make a joke and when one is about her brother, she playfully punches you. You are so immersed in your little bubble, you forget Nat is not too far away watching your interaction with curiosity. She has you try the food first and you could almost moan. You notice a blush creeping up on Wanda’s face and suddenly she’s avoiding your eyes.The food is so good and you were so hungry that maybe you did let out a little noise of satisfaction. Before you could say anything, another voice interrupts, “What’s this I hear about a fair?”

You turn slowly recognizing the tone your cousin uses. It’s the who-made-these-plans-without-asking-me-first tone. You smile at Laura, mouth full of food. You see Nat point at you but Laura was already looking at you. “Yeah, I think she knows it was me, Natasha.”

***

A few uneventful hours go by and you are bored out of your mind. You have a sudden urge to go out seeing as the sun was still shining. You pull out your phone having an idea of what to do to kill some time. You scroll through your phone to see what movies are playing at the only movie theater in town. You see that the next showing is for a horror movie. 

“Do you like scary movies?” you turn to the group playing Uno in the living room. Pietro gets up in excitement when you mention going to the movie theater. Sam agrees to come as well and drags Peter out the door when Peter wants to stay claiming it’s to keep the kids company. You are about to head out with everyone but you notice Wanda still sitting on the couch. You wait for her to get up when Pietro says, “Yeah, good luck with that. She’s too chicken to watch scary movies.”

Wanda, offended, gets up quickly from the couch, “Am not. I just think they’re boring.”

“Sure,” Pietro chuckles as he heads out the door.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” you tell her. You think she is going to stay, but she starts heading out the door to the car. 

“You sure that’s not enough butter, Y/N?” Peter asks you when he sees how much butter he’s already put in the bucket at your insistence. He can feel some of it through the bucket already. 

“Fine, that’s good. You grab some napkins. I’ll hold the bucket,” you tell him after you see his eyebrows scrunch. You all go to the designated room and pick a row to sit in having pretty much any seat you want since it was practically empty. You sit down next to Peter and notice Pietro’s eyes falling to the empty seat on your other side. He aims to sit next to you but his sister who was sitting next to Peter before beats him to it. He throws her a confused look as he shuffles his way down to sit in her abandoned seat. “Real subtle there, Wanda,” you say, amused more than anything.

“I can see the screen better from here.” You let her bad excuse slide and turn to the screen as the movie begins to play. Between you, Peter, and Pietro, the popcorn is gone in record time. The jumpscares begin halfway through the movie. Peter holds the empty bucket as a safety blanket which you find adorable. You don’t even know if Wanda is watching the movie. She’s got her eyes somewhat hidden behind her fingers. You want to tease her, so you reach to take her fingers away from her face, but another jumpscare happens and she takes your hand in her free one. You feel her squeeze the life out of your hand in anticipation of another jumpscare. 

Your palm begins to sweat and you start to feel uncomfortable with all the butter on your fingers, so you slip your hand out from hers. She turns to you in question. “Sorry, my hand’s full of butter,” you whisper. She reaches over you to ask Peter something. Without a word, she leans back in her seat with napkins in her hand and cleans all the butter off your hand before taking it in hers once more, this time interlacing your fingers. She turns her focus back to the movie. You feel you should just do the same, so you follow her actions. You let her hold your hand for the rest of the movie until the lights come back up.

Wanda shouldn’t have watched that movie. It is much too dark in the bedroom. It is much too quiet. She can hear Nat’s soft breathing from beside her. The silhouettes of various items around the room are creeping her out. She doesn’t think she is going to be sleeping any time soon. Maybe some tea will help. She gets up quietly trying not to wake Nat, but when she’s at the door, Nat asks, “Where are you going?”

“The bathroom,” Wanda lies easily. She’d rather not let Nat know that she couldn’t sleep because of some scary movie. What kind of superhero would that make her? As she heads downstairs, she wonders if you were still awake. She turns down the hallway to peek into the living room and sure enough you were still awake watching television. She walks over to you behind the couch. “What are you watching?” she asks. You feel your soul leave your body not having heard her approach. She giggles as she walks around to sit next to you. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, just warn a girl next time.” She turns her attention to the show. “It’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It’s really good. I used to watch it with Laura when she would babysit while my mom was at work. Some of the jokes I wouldn’t even understand but I’d laugh ‘cause she was laughing,” you reminisce. 

“You and her are very close.”

“Yeah, well, she’s practically the only family I have. My mom passed not so long ago and seeing as there was never a dad in my family picture, my aunt and uncle took me in. I don’t have any siblings and neither does Laura so, she’s kind of it.” You add, “Well, apart from Clint, Nat, and the kids of course.”

Another two scenes go by on the show before you ask, “Did you have a nightmare or could you not fall asleep?”

Wanda looks down embarrassed so you add, “I promise I’m not teasing. I’m just asking.”

“I couldn’t sleep. It was too quiet and dark and Natasha was already asleep, so I thought I would come down here,” she replies.

“Oh, so you thought I would definitely put you to sleep. Wow, I don’t see how this friendship is going to work if you think I bore you to sleep,” you tease. Upon seeing her tired smile, you take pity and pat your thighs and gesture for her to lie down. “Come here.”

When she lays her head on your lap, you begin running your fingers through her hair. You hear her yawn and a few minutes later you find her sound asleep. Careful not to wake her, you reach over to the blanket you were meant to use on you and throw it over her body instead. Another two episodes play before you fall asleep.

***

You wake up once again with a sore neck and you feel that your body might be as well, but when you remember the reason, you don’t find it in yourself to complain. You look around prepared to see Nat in gym clothes holding a coffee cup but you find the living room empty apart from you and Wanda. You look out the window and see the sun is barely about to rise. Surprised to have woken up before anyone else, you decide to make the most of it but you are quickly sidetracked getting distracted by Wanda’s sleeping form. “I can feel you staring,” she says, her voice husky which you try hard not to find attractive. She turns her head to look up at you with sleepy eyes. “Friends don’t do that.”

“I was not staring. I was admiring,” you respond. “And friends can admire their friends.”

“Well mine don’t the way you do.” 

“Ain’t that a shame.” You boop her nose with your finger making her scrunch her nose.

“They do, however, let me sleep,” she jokes. She turns her head back as if she was to go back to sleep and you decide this might be the best time to get up. You gently lift her head from your lap and swivel your body off the couch. “Where are you going?” she whines, when you place a pillow under her head.

“I am going to wake Nat up for once in my life,” you reply with determination. You stretch and shake your legs trying to get the feeling back in them.

“Good luck with that,” is the last thing Wanda says before closing her eyes and going back to sleep. You head to the kitchen to start the coffee pot and then make your way upstairs. Luckily, the door was left open so you don’t make any noise on your way in. You tiptoed your way to Natasha and bent down so your face was eye level to hers. You honestly can’t believe you’ve made it this far since she is the lightest sleeper. This is the spy they chose for the Avengers? You giggle to yourself imagining the face Nat is going to make when you scare her. Oh, if they could see her now…they would be satisfied with their choice, you think as you try to choke out, “Uncle. Uncle.” Nat somehow has you in a choke hold and you are tapping furiously on her arm. Once she realizes it’s you she lets go.

“Y/N, what the hell! I could have hurt you!” she yells at you as you’re coughing. You stare at her unbelievably, rubbing at your neck, and once you can speak again you say, “Then what was this to you? Some light foreplay?”

Once you both settle down, she realizes you were up before her. You take some exercise attire out for yourself from your luggage. You might not like to exercise but gym clothes are sure comfy to lie around in. “You gotta keep up, Natasha. You don’t want the boss man to catch you slacking. Oh, I’m also making coffee so don’t worry about that.”

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” she asks, her eyebrows furrowing. You smile in turn. “I don’t know what you mean. I’ll catch you downstairs.”

You leave her to change and head downstairs with your clothes. You go to the kitchen first and make two cups of coffee. Then you go to the restroom to change. After she finishes changing, Nat goes to the kitchen and sees you were not kidding. Natasha takes her cup of coffee to the living room as she always does and finds Wanda asleep on the couch. She sighs as things start adding up. She guesses this is the reason for the lack of a grumpy attitude from you so early in the morning. She wants to say something but Nat would rather take a motivated Y/N over Y/N complaining every five minutes on their hike. So, she doesn’t say anything for now.

You actually keep up with Nat this time and to top it off you don’t talk too much like you always do. Nat thinks it’s because you're in a good mood giving you motivation, but the reason for keeping her pace and keeping quiet is your fear she’ll leave you again if you say something to set her off and lose her like yesterday. Nat even goes as far as giving you a compliment at the end. Well, semi-compliment, but her “Not too bad, Y/N”s are few and far between so you return to the house feeling proud of yourself.

This time you’re the one saying good morning to everyone when you enter. You see a few of them still eating breakfast in the kitchen. You hope there will still be leftovers by the time you come back down after showering. Knowing how some of the guys eat, it is going to have to be a quick shower. Laura sees you eyeing the food and says, “Don’t worry, we saved you a plate.” And here you thought Wanda was the mind reader. “Wanda told us you were grumpy yesterday from not catching breakfast so we made sure to make more.” That explains it. You smile, happy someone kept you in mind. Now you can shower in peace. You thank her and head upstairs.

“You saw that, right?” Laura turns to Clint and Nat who walked in not too long before you left.

“She’s been like that all morning. Not one ‘Are we done yet?’ or ‘Why do you hate me, Natasha?’ on our hike,” Nat replies in a hushed tone as if it’s so unlike you to be agreeable in the morning. 

“Do you think it has anything to do with a certain somebody?” Laura felt the need to ask.

“Well she didn’t just find a love for exercise,” Nat sarcastically says.

Clint sighs, “Do you think we have to talk to her again?” 

Nat goes to respond, but Laura cuts off whatever Nat was going to say, “No, if anyone is going to talk to her, it’s me. And it’s not going to be some crappy ‘no dating’ rule type of conversation. You two are great when it comes to getting someone to talk with your intimidation, but save that for your job, which speaking of, Wanda is your coworker, so you may want to talk to her as well if you had to talk to Y/N because last I remember it takes two to tango.”

Nat and Clint stare at Laura in shock, embarrassment and guilt rightfully taking over their bodies. “Are we clear?” Laura asks them though it’s more of a statement leaving no room for argument. 

“Yes.” “Yeah.”

Upstairs, you make your way to the guest room to grab some clothes. Wanda is sitting on the bed reading her book. She is still dressed in her pyjamas, which makes you smile. The sound of her turning the page shakes you from your thoughts and saves you from staring a bit too long. Wanda smirks without bothering to look away from her book and you know she caught you.

“Morning, I’m just gonna get some clothes,” you explain as you move to where your bag is. Wanda speaks up while you zip your duffle closed, “I’m sorry for bothering you last night.”

“Come on, Wanda. You could never be a bother,” you say sincerely, giving her a smile that she shyly returns. “Alright, the shower is calling my name.”

“Yeah, I can hear it screaming,” she jokes and laughs when you take mock offense, “Hey!” She goes back to reading when she sees you heading out the door but you call her attention once more, “Oh! Thanks for telling them to save me a plate.”

“Of course,” she replies like it wasn’t even worth mentioning. You nod at her and then go to shower, closing the guest room door behind you.

A few seconds later, the door opens up again and Wanda amusedly says, her eyes never straying from the page she’s reading, “Did the shower call the wrong name?”

“No, it was definitely calling Y/N’s and mine too, I’m sure, but I wanted to talk to you first.”

Wanda’s head diverts to the door at Nat’s voice. 

“And you needed back up for it?” Wanda looks over to Clint who awkwardly stands behind Nat.

Clint clears his throat, “Well it was only fair if Y/N got both of us, you did too.”

Wanda straightens her posture as she places her book beside her. “Ah, so this is about Y/N. I had a feeling.”

Nat and Clint come into the room, Clint closing the door behind him. Nat goes to sit on the end of the bed and Clint stands behind her. “Look, we were wrong to tell Y/N what to do or rather not do. She is an adult and has the right to do whatever she wants, but you have to understand she’s someone who tends to get ahead of herself and we didn’t- we don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Nat starts.

“So you’re saying she is getting ahead of herself with me? That what? Come two weeks, she’ll realize she doesn’t want me?” Wanda starts to get visibly upset.

“No, that’s not what-” Clint tries to speak but Wanda is not done talking. “Even if that was the case, it would be her choice. It would be my choice.”

“Wanda, you are not going to be here in two weeks. You are not going to be here in a few days,” Natasha calmly says trying to reason. “Look, we love Y/N, okay? But she often finds herself making mistakes-”

“So I would just be another mistake? 

“No, you would be a dangerous one,” Nat says trying to get something through to Wanda.

“I would never hurt her.”

“No, maybe not intentionally,” Nat continues, and when Wanda looks like she is going to argue, Clint interrupts, “Wanda, just let her finish.” Wanda takes a breath to calm herself down and then nods for Natasha to carry on.

“Being in our lives more than she has to could get her hurt. Even this morning, I hurt her when she was probably just trying to play some stupid prank. Being around us is dangerous. Why do you think Clint kept all this a secret,” Nat motions around the room. “Why do you think I was so upset about her and Yelena? Why do you think we haven’t said anything to Y/N before? Those other girls aren’t you. Those other girls aren’t Yelena. I don’t even know where she is right now. We live different lives. Say things do work out with Y/N. Much like I don’t know where my sister is, there will be times she won’t have a clue where you are or if you’re okay. When Clint and I say we don’t want anyone to get hurt, it goes both ways.”

“Wan, have you seen my blue shirt with the buttons?” Pietro storms into the room like a man on a mission, not even bothering to acknowledge Nat and Clint are in the room as well. “I know I packed it.” Not until he reads the hurt in Wanda’s eyes does he read the room and like the protective sibling he is, he is quick to get defensive. “What’s happening here?”

Her brother’s interruption could not have come at a better time. Wanda didn’t know how to respond to Nat’s explanation. She was feeling herself choke up, Vision’s voice springing in her head again. She’s happy to have Pietro here so willing to jump in to defend her but she doesn’t want to drag him into it, so she clears her throat and says, “Nothing. We were just talking.” He still looks unsure, so she gets up from the bed and offers, “I’ll help you look for it.” Her eyes plead for him to let it go. Luckily, he does and heads out the door.  Clint and Nat watch Pietro leave and Wanda stop by the door. “You don’t have to worry. Y/N made it clear to me that we’re just friends,” she says in defeat, then turns to follow her brother.

“Well, that went well,” Clint says sarcastically. 

Wanda spends the next two hours helping Sam, Peter, and Pietro get ready. She helps Sam pick an outfit first seeing as he was the first to shower. She has to pry one of Peter’s t-shirts from his hands saying he’s twice Peter’s size and he cannot pull the nerdy look. She helps Peter next. It’s mostly just styling his hair he needs help with. At last she helps her brother after having knocked on the bathroom door four different times telling him to hurry up. 

“How does the one with superspeed take an hour in the shower?” Sam asks rhetorically. Sam, Wanda, and Peter are on the bed in Cooper’s room watching Pietro straighten out his shirt.

“Hey, it takes time to look this good,” Pietro says as he fixes his collar. All three of them nearly roll their eyes. “Do you think Y/N will like this shirt?”

“Yeah, if it was on Wanda, maybe,” Sam snorts. Peter holds back a chuckle while Wanda tries not to react. 

“You look nice,” Wanda says, not wanting to tear down her brother’s confidence. Everyone’s attention is drawn to the closed door when someone knocks. They hear you ask if you can come in. Pietro responds, “One second.” He goes to lean against Cooper’s desk casually and all three on the bed try really hard not to laugh. Peter has to shove his face in a pillow. “Okay, come in.”

You let yourself into the room, your eyes falling on Wanda immediately. “Not that you don’t look nice in them, but do you really plan on wearing your pjs to the fair?” you tease her. “I mean, you’ll for sure be turning heads, if that’s the plan.” 

She replies, “I was waiting on the shower. Someone was taking their time.” She points her head in Pietro’s direction who gives you a nod in acknowledgement and a “‘sup?” Sam’s mouth forms a line trying so hard not to laugh out loud. Peter’s face stays hidden behind the pillow but you can see from the side of his neck his face was getting red. You feel like you walked in at the wrong time given everyone’s behavior. You tell Wanda, “You might want to hurry. Clint says we’re leaving soon.” With that you turn to leave wondering what you had walked in on. 

When you shut the door, everyone in Cooper’s room excluding Pietro bursts out laughing.

“What the hell was that, man?” Sam asks between fits of laughter.

Peter gets up and leans against the desk to mimic Pietro, “‘Sup?” Everyone laughs again, Pietro leaning over to slap Peter in the back of the head.

***

They take the family car and Nat’s car to the fair. Sam and Peter ride with Nat while the rest of you ride with Clint driving. As you wait in line to buy tickets, you lean over Wanda’s shoulder, who is standing right in front of you with her back to you, and say “I meant to say this earlier but you look nice.”

She smiles and then turns around to face you as you take a step back. She jokes, “I thought I looked good in my pyjamas but someone implied it wasn’t appropriate for the fair.”

“Oh definitely not appropriate. It was way too sexy. We couldn’t have that around the children,” you reply making her giggle.

“You don’t look too bad either,” she returns the earlier compliment, taking in your outfit as you shuffle forward with the rest of the line. “Your outfit is very nice.”

“Oh, this. I just threw it together.” No, you didn’t. You took your time with it. “But thanks,” you wave her off. When you reach the ticket stand, you rush in front of Clint to pay for yours, Wanda’s, Laura’s, Nat’s, and the kids’ tickets. You explain to him when you are all walking together that you kind of owed Wanda for something and you were the one who promised to take the kids here much to Nat and Laura’s displeasure so you kind of owed them too. 

You make it inside the fairgrounds. A giant banner that reads “WESTVIEW COUNTY FAIR!” greets you overhead. Everyone gets excited upon seeing the banner and all the lights in the background. Well, everyone but Nat and Laura, Nat not ever a big fan of fairs and Laura not a fan of taking care of kids at a fair. Out of all the lights shining on the fairgrounds, your favorite is the one shining through Wanda’s eyes as she takes everything in with wonder. 

“So what do you want to do first?” you ask her.

She turns to you and almost looks embarrassed. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to a fair.”

“What?” you ask in shock. She shrugs not knowing what else she could say. “Well, it’s settled then. We are not leaving until you get the whole experience. Let’s go buy some wristbands for the rides. We are going on every single one.” Her eyes widen and the wonder in them from earlier shifts into nervousness. “It’ll be fun, come on,” you reassure as you drag her to another line, leaving everyone else behind. 

You and Wanda get on every ride but the ferris wheel telling her you have to leave that one for last. You even ride some twice, but you get hungry and ask Wanda if she wants to eat yet. She agrees that she could take a break for food. You try various things the fair offers wanting Wanda to try everything. “You Americans like to fry anything you can,” she comments as she takes another bite of her fried oreo. She hums as she finishes it off. “I understand why,” she says, making you laugh. 

You spot Laura and Nat sitting at a table near the stage where some band is playing music. You and Wanda head on over. Soon everyone regroups there, finishing off the food they bought and watching people dance. Clint pulls Laura to dance with him. You all sit at the table watching them with a smile when someone obstructs your view of them. You look up to see a tall guy in a black cowboy hat smiling down at Wanda beside you offering his hand out asking her to dance. She looks at you, unsure of what to say. You give her a smile that admittedly took you a second to form and nod encouragingly for her to accept. She smiles politely at him and takes his hand. You watch them dance, your eyes only ever straying when you see Wanda going to look at you. You watch when he leans down to tell her something in her ear and she laughs. You wonder what he told her that was so funny. Your eyes roam over him. He’s handsome, you’ll give him that. He has a nice face, good posture. You note he is also respectful with his hand placement when dancing, so you can appreciate that. It seems like Westview County has their own Steve Rodgers. The thought bugs you.

Someone blocks your view once again, only this time you are kind of thankful for it. You look up to see Pietro asking you to dance. “Why not?” you say, wanting to do anything rather than stare at Wanda dancing with some guy. He pulls you to the dance floor. You enjoy your time dancing with Pietro though you get dizzy from how quickly he spins you. You’re a little disappointed your dance is cut short when Lila taps your arm asking if she can dance with Pietro. You smile at her saying of course she can. With your distraction gone to dance with Lila, your eyes search for Wanda once more but you cannot seem to find her. You feel someone grab your hand and you are spun into that someone’s arms. Your eyes fall to familiar green ones and you smile, “Smooth moves, Maximoff.”

“Thank you,” she says with a smile as she starts to sway with you to the music. “You let me dance with a stranger.”

“You’re dancing with me now and we were strangers not so long ago,” you rebuttal. 

“But at least we know each other’s names.”

“Did you not get his name?” you ask.

“I never asked for it,” Wanda returns simply, shrugging. You find it hard to believe that his name never came up so you say, “That was a lot of talking for him to not have given you a name.”

“You saw us talking? I would not have guessed you were paying attention. Every time I looked at you, you turned to look away,” she teases you.

You swallow, choking on the embarrassment of getting caught. “Doesn’t matter. His name’s probably Brad or something. He looks like a Brad.”

She laughs then catching on to your tone she asks, “Y/N, are you jealous?” 

“What? Me, jealous?” you ask, astonished. She nods, smiling like she has her answer. “Wanda, I could never be jealous of some Brad. Dance with a Marcus and then maybe, but a Brad? Pfft. No.”

She just laughs and pulls you closer. You let yourself go and dance with her until whatever song the band is playing ends. “Let’s go play some games. I feel like shooting something,” you say, making her laugh loudly. 

Everyone decides to play with you as well so you all head over to the different stands. Nat wins the shooting game, Clint coming in close. He wins the popping the balloons with darts game. They give their prizes to Cooper and Lila. Peter and Sam spend some time with the hammer and bell game; Peter hitting the bell every time garners some attention especially from some girls which frustrates Sam. Pietro wins a fish when he plays ring toss. It seems like everyone but you has been winning something. Even Wanda won a stuffed panda she gave to Lila after playing a water shooting game. You were getting frustrated trying to knock some blocks off a stool. You’ve spent a good $20 on this game already. Wanda catching your frustration decides to help you out. When you are down to your last ball, you try your best to focus and throw the ball. Two of the three blocks fall down. The last one is teetering on the edge. You think you’ve lost but a second later it falls over. You shout with glee. You ask the attendant for the keychain that has the letter W on it.

Wanda watches you with a smile as you approach her. “Thank you for that,” you say, and when she tries to play naive, you continue, “I know you knocked the last block.”

She gives you a sheepish smile. You hold out the keychain to her. “I figure this only rightfully belongs to you. May it proudly hold your keys until you lose it.” She tries to say no but you take her wrist and place the keychain in the palm of her hand. “It has your initial. You have to keep it.”

“I’m pretty sure the W is for Westview County,” she counters.

“A happy coincidence.” You don’t take no for an answer and she finally smiles and thanks you, putting her new keychain away so she doesn’t lose it. You look around to see the others still distracted with the games but you also catch your cousin yawn. You know this means you’re leaving soon so you grab Wanda’s hand and head over to the line for the ferris wheel.

You thank the attendant when he checks you have your belt on and pulls the bar to your lap. The wheel starts turning and when you are midway to the top, it shakes a little as two people get on the final empty cart. The shaking makes Wanda nervous. She grabs your hand almost protectively as her posture turns into one that looks ready for a fight. You turn your palm over to interlace your fingers and rub your thumb on her hand to try to soothe her nerves. “Hey, it’s okay,” you say. She turns to you and you see her irises are red. “They always do this. We’re okay. Just don’t rock the cart and we’ll be good.”

She takes a breath willing herself to relax. The red in her irises fade back to her green. She sits back and the ferris wheel moves again, this time not stopping for people to get on. You keep holding her hand squeezing it from time to time in reassurance. You can see Clint and everyone from the ferris wheel and point them out to Wanda. The only ones to see you are the kids who wave to you. You wave back. 

“Do you come to the fair every year?” Wanda asks.

“Pretty much. There’s not much else to do,” you shrug. She ponders this for a moment and then, “So you’ve brought dates to the fair before, I’m guessing.”

“Yeah?” You say more like a question wondering where she was going with this.

“In the movies, people on dates always kiss on the ferris wheel. Did you kiss them?”

“Wanda,” you say her name but it comes out more like a warning.

“Sorry, I was just wondering,” she mutters, then turns to look back at the fairgrounds. 

“No, I didn’t.” You answer sincerely. She looks back at you. You explain, “The two other people I’ve taken to the fair on a date were too afraid to get on the ferris wheel.”

“You said ‘other’,” she says smiling at you.

You look at her confused. “What?”

“You said ‘the two other people’ meaning other than me. So is this date?” she raises an eyebrow, an amused expression on her face.

“A friendly date,” you say, making her frown. She huffs in defeat letting go of your hand and hold the lap bar instead. The night had been going so well, you didn’t want this one thing to ruin it, so without letting yourself think it over, you wait until you get to the top of the ferris wheel. You lean into her space and look her in the eye to show her you are serious when you say, “Don’t tell Nat or Clint.” She looks confused but the confusion quickly turns into a pleasant surprise when you gently grab her face and lean in to kiss her. It doesn’t last long enough to give her a chance to kiss you back. You pull back with a cheeky smile and say, “I did promise the whole experience.” 

The kiss may have ended too quickly for Wanda but it was long enough for a few people to catch it. One of them being your cousin whose kids were pointing to you and Wanda on the ferris wheel in excitement. She just shook her head in amusement when she saw you kiss Wanda. The other person to catch you was Wanda’s brother who, when seeing you kiss his sister, just whines, “No, Y/N.”

______________________________________________________________________

I'm sorry this took so long. I got sidetracked and then when I started I got stuck and in my true fashion, once I started writing, I couldn't stop and I couldn’t leave you without taking you to the fair. So, I hope the length of the chapter makes up for the wait. Oh, Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there doing their best to be good moms! I created a house map of how I picture the inside to look, you know without the fine details.

Next chapter bring your bug spray, you’re going camping.

Taglist: @madamevirgo @marvels-writings @gayarchnemissis @myperfectlovepoem @purplemeetsblue @magicallymaximoff @b0mbdotc0m @helloalycia @ironscarletwidowsoilder @cantcontroltheirfear @trikruismybitch @your-my-mission 

[novelconcepts]

Hi there could you please do #25 for dani and jamie ❤

playfully biting someone

The best part of a new relationship, Jamie reflects, is in all the little details. The strange quirks of a person you might never see until you begin dating them, until the hours spent in their company twist from nine to five to all bets are off. Getting to know someone’s body is grand; getting to know them, the heart of them, the truth of their day-to-day, is better.

She maybe hadn’t realized that, until Dani--but Dani is teaching her with every passing day just how much is waiting beneath the surface. There is, it seems, an endless supply of bizarre details to file away, each wreathing Dani in more charm than the last.

Dani, she’s learned, doesn’t like to drive--she’s tried exactly once, and spent the entire thirty-minute stretch drawn tight as a bowstring--but loves rolling down her window and letting a hand dangle in the breeze. She is great with a map, almost pathological at remembering radio stations, but frequently gets distracted by conversation and forgets to point out a necessary exit ramp. She is untrustworthy when left on snack duty in gas stations, constantly inclined to pick up a coffee or a bottled orange juice over water, but always seems to find the best chocolate in any given state.

Food, in general, proves particularly interesting. Dani thrills at the opportunity to introduce her to terrible fast food (”We have this,” Jamie says pointedly, as they pull into their first McDonald’s; “Not even close,” Dani says gleefully, and proceeds to order her a Happy Meal for the sheer joy of it). She is perhaps too invested in what sort of pizza Jamie considers the right kind (”Dunno,” Jamie says in a helpless tone, unaware that there are options. “The kind with, uh, sauce?”). There is, it appears, a right and wrong answer to crust width, cheese ratio, and toppings; the first time she orders pineapple, Jamie almost can’t bring herself to take a bite, she’s laughing too hard at the intense expression on Dani’s face. 

(“You are,” she proclaims, “ridiculous.”

“It’s good,” Dani insists, and there is no sign of a beast about her smile as she watches Jamie try the pinapple-and-bacon monstrosity and, grudgingly, admit defeat.)

She learns that Dani prefers movies at home to the theater, but makes an exception whenever a new action film comes out. Dani likes dancing, but doesn’t love strangers being able to see her do it; she’s self-conscious about her questionable rhythm, at least until Jamie leans close and murmurs that rhythm hasn’t been a problem yet, from where she’s standing. Dani likes old bookstores, new flea markets, ice cream parlors run by elderly couples who compliment her earrings. Dani likes America, as it turns out, with all its many oddities, and Jamie finds that affection infectious. She is rapidly coming to like America, too--at least, the America she’s offered through Dani’s eyes.

Dani is effervescent by daylight, chatting with strangers, eagerly returning stray footballs that land near her in the park to laughing children. She turns thoughtful when the rain rolls in, always at her moodiest when the sky grows pregnant with clouds that refuse to break open. She feels weird, she says, when the moon is nearly full, and she misses constellations whenever they pull up to a city, and there’s something about Midwestern manners she can’t seem to shake whether they’re in Miami or Detroit. 

She’s fascinating, and she’s complicated, and the good days hold just as many facets as the bad. Jamie is growing to love them all--the way Dani shrieks with laughter when tickled, and the way she grows somber at particular Paul Simon songs for no reason Jamie can understand. She loves the way Dani slips a hand beneath the hem of her shirt and holds on for dear life on long drives, her fingers skimming the edge of Jamie’s jeans. Loves how Dani can’t shower with the door closed, can’t sleep with it open, can never figure out the window latch in any given hotel room.

And she loves how Dani behaves with her alone. Not the sex--though that’s only getting better, Dani finding more confidence each time they come together; Jamie’s started to find herself pressed up against doors with unexpected strength, pushed down onto beds with her head spinning and Dani already getting to work--so much as the intimacy. They’re different, she’s learning. Different tiers of the same cake, maybe. Can’t have one without the other, not if it’s good, not if it’s with Dani. 

Sex comes easily, though it’s taken a little while for Dani to open back up again. When she does, the transition is absolute--no fear, no hesitation, her hands and lips and voice winding together to explain, If it’s just today, if I only have now, I need to be here. She doesn’t want to miss a moment, she says. Doesn’t want to let anything slip by. She wants to experience every inch of Jamie, and every inch of this country they’re exploring, and every inch of time won back from an unfair universe.

The intimacy--the way her hand always seems to find Jamie’s pocket, the way her forehead leans against Jamie’s back, the way she lets her foot press against the side of Jamie’s boot under a restaurant table--comes from the same place. That need to remember. That need to be here. If only for today, if only a little at a time, she can’t resist. 

Which brings her to the part of Dani Jamie thinks she likes best:

Dani’s absolutely unexpected need for attention. 

“Did you just--” She hesitates, wondering if she’s hallucinated. It’s such an odd little thing for Dani to have done, sprawled beside her on a motel bed. Such an odd thing, both of them with books open against bent knees and no conversation between them for half an hour. 

And still, she’s almost certain. More so, when Dani gives a guilty grin. 

“You bit me,” Jamie says, wonder in her voice. “Really?”

Dani doesn’t look particularly apologetic. “Missed you.”

“I’m right here,” Jamie says, unable to restrain the laughter in her voice. “You could, ah, initiate whenever you like.”

“Wasn’t about that.” Dani shrugs, small and clean in a post-shower sleep shirt and very little else. Jamie lays a finger between the pages of her book, closing the cover. 

“Was it a food thing, because I have never seen someone put away a burger that size, but I could always order--”

Dani laughs. “No, I just--wanted to.” She shakes her head, looking as though she’s surprised herself as much as Jamie with the simple act of leaning over and sinking her teeth gently into the curve of Jamie’s shoulder. “Didn’t even think about it. Just...felt like getting your attention.”

“You have it.” She always does, even when Jamie’s reading, or starting to doze off, or thinking about tomorrow’s leg of the journey. Somewhere underneath it all, the reliable heartbeat powering her day, she’s always thinking of Dani. That should frighten her. That should worry her very much--and yet, somehow, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. 

“I won’t do it again,” Dani says, “if you didn’t like it. It was weird, wasn’t it? Weird thing to do.”

“Very weird,” Jamie agrees. “You’re a bit of a weirdo, Dani Clayton. Dunno if I’ve pointed that out.”

Dani jostles her, shoulder to shoulder, and Jamie drops her book onto the nightstand. In truth, she loves that Dani is starting to do weird little things just to see what response she’ll get--loves that Dani doesn’t twist herself into knots, questioning an act, choosing instead to just go for it. It feels like the Dani she held in a hallway, hours before their lives had changed forever. 

“What are you doing?” Dani is giggling already, as Jamie curls against her side, nuzzling into her neck. 

“Returning the favor.”

“That--” Dani draws a sharp breath as Jamie finds a particularly sensitive spot and draws the skin between her teeth. “Um. That’s--not what I--”

She’s melting into the pillows, one hand cupped behind Jamie’s head. Her pulse is quickening, though she’s starting to laugh as Jamie rains tiny bites down the side of her throat, along the slope of one shoulder. The cotton of her t-shirt pulled between even teeth, Jamie leans back slightly, meeting her eyes. 

“Wanted my attention,” she says, the words garbled around shirt. “What d’you want me to do with it?”

“This,” Dani laughs, her eyes fluttering when Jamie releases the shirt and returns her mouth to the soft column of her neck. “This is, um. Working nicely.”

“Figured,” Jamie murmurs, letting one hand toy along the curve of Dani’s thigh. “I like it, you know.”

“This?” Dani’s head is casting back, offering more room to explore; her fingers wrap around Jamie’s, guiding her toward an end to this conversation, the beginning of a different kind of discussion altogether. Jamie smiles. 

“You. Doing weird shit just because. Biting my arm, or singing to me in the shower, or just...bein’ here. I like it. Like you.”

More than, she thinks. More than just like. It’s been true for weeks and weeks, maybe since the morning she’d tried to hold firm against pleading blue eyes in a greenhouse. Maybe. She’s more than liked the way Dani catches her gaze, brushes up against her, seeks out her attention for longer than she even knows what to do with. 

Too early to say so. Too early to scare Dani away. She’s getting brighter, getting more hopeful every day, but she still flinches from words like Christmas, like next year, like in a while. She wouldn’t cope well with Jamie telling her the truth just yet. 

Better to just do this. To learn the little details--the tiny stamp of intimacy on every step of this journey. To accept the just try it of pineapple on pizza, of dancing on moonlit beaches, of Dani’s teeth sinking into her shoulder for no reason at all. It’s better. It’s the best thing she’s ever done. 

There are so many details, with Dani. So many stories to learn, so many quirks to memorize. And there is always, at the end of the day, this: just Dani, in her bed. Just Dani, drawing shallow breaths, pulling her down into a hungry kiss as she urges Jamie to explore with eager hands. Just Dani, who wants her attention merely because it’s Jamie offering it up. 

Bit of a weirdo, she thinks, and thank fuck for that. 

[after-witch]

Birthday Gift Part 2 (Yandere Overhaul x Reader)

Title: Birthday Gift (Part 2) (Yandere Overhaul x Reader)

Synopsis: You finally get up the nerve to ask your captor for a special gift--a birthday gift. Continuation of Birthday Gift Part 1.

Word Count: 3053

Notes: Yandere, emotional manipulation

“Kai, there’s…” You struggle to find the words. You hadn’t exactly felt confident about your request before, but faced with his deceptively impassive gaze, it is difficult to muster the courage to even ask.

He raises his eyebrows, and waits for you to collect yourself.  

You take a deep breath and fold your hands neatly in your lap. You start to feel prim, good–deserving, even, of what you’re about to ask for.

“I wanted to ask about my birthday…”

His expression brightens--well, you think it does. You like to think that you’ve gotten good at reading his face over the past few months, and it’s helped you navigate your more… difficult moments. Emboldened, you continue.

“I want to see my mom.”

The words come out fast and unsteady. You wish your tone had been stronger, but maybe he’ll like that you don’t seem too demanding.

“Just for a visit, I mean,” you continue, looking to the side. You’re afraid to see his response. “Not forever or anything.” You scrape the bottom of your lip with your teeth, a quick and nervous gesture. “I just want her to know I’m okay?”

You glance back at his face and see that he looks… contemplative. Not angry, which is a plus.

Then, he sighs--in resignation, you think. And the thought is enough to make your heart feel like it’s jumping as you practically chirp at him from across the table. “Oh, thank you thank you! I promise it won’t be for very long, and, and maybe we could--I mean you could meet her, you know? If you want to?” You trip and stumble over your words, because you hadn’t had time to rehearse any farther than your initial request. You never imagined you’d get his approval and--

“Absolutely not.”

Your face falls and a knot develops instantly in your stomach. “Oh.” Your teeth gnaw on your lip again. “I don’t understand?”

You feel your cheeks heat up in humiliation and disappointment and suppressed anger as you watch his face go from impassive to--and you’re sure of it, this time--disappointment.

“I thought you had gotten past this, (Y/N). I really did.”

You swallow, thick and scratchy. “Past what?”

His eyes aren’t cold, but stern. The look he usually gets when he wants to lecture you. You don’t know if you can handle a lecture right now. “Past this silly desire to leave.”

The accusation stings, somehow. You didn’t say you wanted to leave. “That’s not--” you sit up straighter in your chair and force yourself to look him in the eyes. You want to be taken seriously, you want him to take you seriously. “I don’t want to leave.” (But you do, you DO.) “I just--I want to visit my mom.”

Your eyes flick around his face, searching for a sign of something. Compassion, pity even. But he keeps his look as paternalistic as before. Like you’re some silly girl who doesn’t know what she wants or what she needs, like you should know that asking for something like wanting to leave your captor’s fortress and visit your mom who thinks you’re missing or dead already rotting somewhere so she can stop worrying is ridiculous. You feel your carefully suppressed anger bubbling and you clench your fists until your neatly trimmed nails are pinching your skin.

“It’s out of the question,” he says. His voice turns softer. “It’s not safe for you out there. You know that.”

Your breath hitches. “But if you come with me, I’ll be safe, right?”

He smiles. But you know it doesn’t mean anything. “You’re always safe with me, angel. But I can’t risk losing you.”

You smile back, desperate, raising your shoulders up and leaning in across the table. “But you won’t lose me! You’ll be in the car--or in the same room or, or whatever you want! I’ll, I’ll--” your eyes flick to the table, trying to think of things that might appease him, might appeal to him. “I’ll stay by your side the whole time!”

Kai’s smile quirks slightly. It’s a mixture of pity and condescension now. Silly, silly (Y/N), it seems to say.

“(Y/N)… I gave you my answer. Please don’t drag this out any further.” You move to reply, and he cuts you off. “You can have something else for your birthday. New books. Some decorations. Something to start a new hobby, perhaps?”

You swallow again, but the look on his face and his tone tells you what you need to know: he won’t be moved, he won’t change his mind. You really are a silly, silly (Y/N), you think.

The tears that you didn’t know had built up spill over your reddened cheeks, hot and bitter.

“I want my mom,” you say, softly, bitterly. “I want to see my mom on my birthday. That’s what I want for my birthday.”

You wipe away fat tears and stare at him to see his reaction. He doesn’t answer you. He merely watches you, watches your breath hitching, watches the tears spill, silently. His mouth takes on a thin line, a look that says the discussion is over and that you’re being dramatic and ridiculous and childish and--it’s so damn domineering and hurtful that you want to scream.

Then he folds his hands together and rests his chin on them, like he’s waiting for you to stop having a tantrum.

That’s the tipping point. You can’t take it. You stand up, suddenly, and press your nails harder into your palm.

“I fucking hate this,” you spit. You search around blindly, looking for something, anything to release your pent-up anger onto. You settle for your chair, which you push onto the ground. It’s a feeble, ridiculous gesture, and you know this. The realization of how stupid you look makes your cheeks burn in embarrassment and you cover your face with both hands.

“I want my mom,” you force out. Your voice is tight and thin and scratchy. “I want to go--go get a pizza and watch a shitty horror movie in a shitty movie theater, I want to go to work and come home and do the dishes.” You sob into your hands as your knees buckle under you, and you collapse on the ground. “I want to leave.”

You sob uncontrollably until you feel a firm hand on your shoulder. The sudden touch flinches you out of your sobbing fit, and your hands jerk down, only to see Kai crouched in front of you. His gloved hand is on your shoulder, firm and grounding. You immediately begin to tremble as you realize what you just did. You had a fit and you swore and god, worst of all, you admitted that you wanted to leave. You knew what he would do--send you into solitary confinement. You’ll be all alone without books or baths and the fear makes you cry harder.

He shushes you, soft but commanding, and wipes away your tears methodically, until your cheeks are wet and empty.

“I know it hurts, angel. I know. But we don’t always get what we want, do we?”

You quietly tremble until your realize that he wants an answer.

“No,” you whisper.

His hand gently strokes your cheek. You can barely make eye contact.

“I take care of you. I make sure you’re healthy, don’t I?”

You don’t want to say it. But his questions leave no room to argue.

“... Yes, you do.” You can’t manage to bring your voice above a whisper.

“I give you plenty of things to do, ways to occupy yourself, keep you entertained?”

“Yes,” you force out. You want to shut your eyes.

“I’ve never hurt you, have I?”

You look away. The pause is uncomfortable. He hasn’t hit you, no, he hasn’t done the things you saw him do that night in the alleyway. But there’s more than one kind of hurt.

“No,” you finally whisper. You have no energy to argue. And you can’t go back in that room, you just can’t.

His finger lifts your chin until you look at him.

“Then you need to understand that I only do what’s best for you. That’s why you can’t have a visit for your birthday. You understand that, don’t you?”

You’re about to answer when his phone goes off. He swears under his breath and releases your chin before checking the screen. He sighs, clearly annoyed, and you wonder if the sender of the text message will end up in pieces.

“I have to leave, (Y/N). We’ll talk more before your bath tonight. Please finish your meal.” He picks up your chair and sets it upright. Then he holds out his hand, offering to help you up. You stare for a moment before taking it, and he easily hoists you to your feet. He gives your hand a gentle squeeze before letting go, and swiftly walking through the door to his office. You hear the lock click behind him.

You sit down in the now-upright chair and stare down at your plate. You hate it. You hate that he calculates your nutrition out as perfectly as possible. You hate that he sometimes gives you a tiny paper cup with less than a dozen M&Ms as a reward for being on your best behavior. You hate the frustrating realization that you do feel healthier, physically, now that you’re not constantly eating junk and have free access to fresh, healthy food.

You shovel the food in your mouth, barely tasting it. Your silent tears mingle with most of the bites, anyway. After finishing every bite, a wave of exhaustion crashes over you. You’re not supposed to take naps after a certain time, but arguing and hopelessness is too tiring to resist; you curl up on your bed and drift into unconsciousness quickly after.

You gasp as you jerk out of a cloudy dream that slips from your mind in seconds. It’s dim in your room, and you quickly realize that someone (Kai, of course, only Kai ever comes in) has turned off your overhead room light. You blink away your sleep and confusion. The bathroom light gives you enough brightness to see something sitting on your desk--an unassuming cream colored envelope.

You slide your legs over the edge of the bed and sit, staring at the note in the low light. In addition to your mind feeling hazy from an unplanned nap that likely went on for too long, you feel confused for another reason: Kai didn’t wake you up to get you ready for your bath. Or for bed. You glance at the clock kept securely high on the wall. It’s after bedtime. Yet instead of freshly cleaned and clothed in whatever nightgown he’d picked out for you, you’re in your day clothes and, you realize, slightly damp from sweat. The break in your routine is surprisingly disorienting.

As you waken up more fully, the dull ache of pain from his rejection of your request resurfaces. You push down thoughts of your mom and home and stand up. You might as well open the note. It’s for you, after all, and it’s something to do--something else new, in addition to the unusual change in routine. Something to distract you.

As you sit at the table, you wonder if you should just go back to bed. You don’t want to read the note, but that doesn’t stop you from carefully opening the little envelope--no spit-seal, of course, Kai would never--and unfold the note inside.

“(Y/N). I know it is difficult to adjust. You are doing so well. You may take your birthday trip next year, if you continue to behave so beautifully. You can do your own bedtime routine tonight. I will see you in the morning.”

You can feel your stomach curdling, the dinner you’d had earlier threatening to make its acidic way back up. Next year… another year here… with him. The realization that he doesn’t even consider that you could escape between now and then scares you. The realization that might continue “behaving so beautifully” scares you even more. You shakily set the note down, and rest your cheek against the cool desk.

You can feel sweat trickle down your back. Stress must have made your warm. You want a bath. He said you could do your own routine tonight, after all. But the idea comes with complications, the number one issue being the water has to be turned on by Kai--so you’ll have to ask him to turn it on when you’re ready. Maybe you could write a note and slip it under the door? But he might not see it, which means you’ll have to knock on the door anyway. The idea of taking your own bath, a bath of your own design, briefly animates you.

You quietly knock on the door to his office. It takes a moment to hear a response, and you briefly wonder if you should be doing this at all. Maybe he’s gone to sleep in his own room. Maybe he decided you were being insufferable and that’s why he didn’t want to do your routine tonight. Maybe he--

The door opens slowly, and you crane your head to get a quicker look at Kai as he comes into view. His mask is back on, and his eyes widen, just a touch. He seems… surprised?

“(Y/N)?” He asks, and you can tell by his tone that he didn’t expect to see you until the next morning.

“I was just wondering if you…” You fidget a little. You can feel your cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “I wanted a bath.”

“Ah,” he says. “And you need the water turned on?”

You nod, and bite the inside of your cheek. “And the um, the stuff from the cabinets, too.”

“Of course.”

You hear him walk back into his office and retrieve the keys, which jingle slightly as he comes back to the door. You step out of his way and tentatively follow him as he walks in your bathroom, briefly glancing at the note he’d left on the way. There’s a strange anxious tension in the air that’s making you feel nervous, and you can’t shake the odd feeling that you’re being punished somehow, that Kai is annoyed or mad with you.

Even though he’s said nothing to that effect. He simply inserts the keys into the customized water panel and turns the water on for you. He then crouches down and unlocks the cabinet, taking out the basket of supplies--shampoos and soaps and little balls of bath bombs--and setting them on the countertop.

“You can use the hot or cold taps freely. Let me know when you’re finished and I’ll clean up.”

“Kai--” you say, without realizing it. It feels instinctive.

He looks straight at you, eyes impassive as ever. “Yes?”

His gaze makes you stare at the ground. You fiddle with your shirt sleeve. You don’t know why you say it. But it comes out quickly, softly--helplessly.

“Would you… would you set up my bath, like normal? And pick out my clothes?” You look up at him with what you hope are pleading eyes.

He raises his eyebrows.

“Please?” you say, barely above a whisper. “If you’re not busy?”

He waits another moment before answering you from behind his mask. “You want your normal routine?”

You nod, again chewing your lip. You feel childish, ridiculous, but… the routine has become comforting, and you want to be comforted. You want the dull ache in your heart to go away, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

The sight of Kai reaching up to take off his mask makes you want to cry. As he slips it off, you see he’s wearing a small, but approving, smile.

“Of course, angel. Now you just sit on your bed while I set everything just how you like it.”

You can’t help the weak, relieved smile on your face as you sigh and leave the bathroom, ready to sit on your bed and--as he wrote in his note, behave so beautifully. He wasn’t mad at you, he wasn’t annoyed, and things would slip back into normalcy any minute now.

The sound of the running bath, the promise of the gentle heat and rose-scented shampoo that awaits, covers up the pain in your chest. It makes it all the easier to rebury the awful realization that you’re well and truly trapped in this little world he’s created for you.

[hatterstan-shameblog]

Nobody asked for this but I'm gonna do it anyways...

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Fluff Alphabet: Takeru/Aguni Edition

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

A = Attractive what do they find attractive about the other?

Takeru: only reason he let Aguni wear regular clothes and not swimwear is because he saw ARM in that tank top and was like "oh damn okay 😳." So, y'know, that. (And he'll never admit it but he kinda likes how Aguni is a little bit taller than he is....) Also likes that Aguni has a really dry, deadpan sense of humor—he ways finds a way to make Takeru laugh, even when he's not really trying.

Aguni: I think the physical aspect of things wasn't really a make-or-break for him at first—like, yeah, Takeru's a good-looking guy, but that's secondary. He liked how Takeru is such a live-wire, very loud and colorful and seemingly fearless, no matter what kind of trouble they got into. (But also...he likes the hair. That's a thing for him.)

B = Baby do they want a family? why/why not?

Takeru: If they end up with one somehow, then, sure. But, like. He's not going out of his was to make it a thing. (But also, he has his cat, Ziggy, who he calls his baby, so...)

Aguni: Would secretly love to be a dad but is too worried he might mess the kid up or something. Is more than happy to be 'unofficial parent' to the neighborhood kids, though. Handing out ice pops to the kids that show up at the shop, keeping an eye out and telling them to get home before dark, maybe even showing one or two of them how to throw a better curveball...you know. Real Hallmark channel shit. (And yes, for those who were wondering: Ziggy the cat loves him and often curls up on his lap while he watches TV)

C = Cuddle how do they cuddle?

They don't really "cuddle" outside of bed. Just kinda sit next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, no big deal. But in bed, Aguni lies on his back with his arm sorta outstretched while Takeru...well, my man is worm on a string but OFF the string, he just flops all sorts of ways and a lot of them don't look comfortable but he falls asleep in minutes so whatever.

D = Dates what are dates with them like?

I don't think they do "dates"—they've got a long-term thing going on, so they often end up on the couch eating takeout and watching movies. I think they'd go to the movie theater sometimes (and talk shit for the entire film lol) and every once in a while grab dinner somewhere nice...but, usually because they have some cool limited-time-only dessert item that Takeru insists they try. (And Aguni pretends to be upset about having to get dressed up and go out, but is actually rather pleased to have a little romance...and get something to satisfy his sweet tooth.)

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

Aguni: Emergency Medical Contact

Takeru: Co-Signer On The Apartment Lease

F = Feelings when did they know they were falling in love?

Takeru: About a week after Aguni (drunkenly) confessed his crush. Literally spent a whole week like, "Wow, it's a shame I don't love him back. He's so kind and handsome and smart and funny...too bad, I guess..." until one night he sat up straight in bed and said "Hold up." He then immediately called Aguni and began demanding why Aguni didn't tell him he was in love with him this whole time.

Aguni: They had been friends since they were kids, so it's hard to say when his feelings went from "you're my best friend" to something different. But, once he figured it out, he swore never to mention it because that could complicate their friendship.

G = Gentle are they gentle? If so, how?

Takeru: Yes and no. He's got a bad case of "grabby hands" and often yanks Aguni to and fro to look at something or whatever. Just zero respect for the man's personal space. But otherwise...I imagine he's not particularly rough or gentle, just kind of normal. EXCEPT when it comes to the emotional stuff—like, the real heavy things. I think he's very gentle with that, not asking too many questions and just sort of taking care of him where he can.

Aguni: Generally gentle—physically, emotionally, whatever. But I do think that he's confrontational, like when there's an issue, he comes straight out and asks Takeru what's going on. Even corners him, sometimes. He seems like a "no bullshit" guy, and since Takeru is "Mr. 99% Bullshit" he's gotta deal with it as best he can.

H = Hand/Hold how do they like to hold hands?

The only time they "hold hands" is when Takeru is grabbing Aguni's wrist to drag him somewhere (or run away lol) and when Aguni is pulling Takeru's hand back to stop him from touching something...

I = Impression first impression/s

I headcanon that they met very young, like grade school age. After school, in the park, where Takeru was chilling in a tree and Aguni walked by and he was like "Hey, there's a spider up here, wanna see?" and Aguni is like "Not really, I don't like bugs..." Now, Takeru, being "weird bug kid extraordinaire" can't believe his strange little ears and hops down from the tree and starts explaining why bugs are so cool and that Aguni is wrong...and Aguni listens as this funky, tiny firecracker just talks his damn ear off. Aguni liked how excited Takeru got about things, and Takeru liked how Aguni actually listened to him. And they were fast friends after that!

J = Joker are they into pulling pranks?

Takeru fucks around all the time...and doesn't often find out, because Aguni tolerates all his antics. (To a certain point, but still.) Every once in a while, Aguni will tell some harmless little lie just to watch Takeru freak out—he told him once that Lady Gaga was leaving the music scene forever, and Takeru screamed so loud the neighbors filed a noise complaint.

K = Kisses how do they kiss?

I think they most often do quick pecks—at the breakfast table, when they get home from work. You know. Domestic stuff. But when it's not like that...I think 9/10 times it's Takeru initiating, and Aguni reciprocates by wrapping his arms around him in a big hug (because he likes it but also to keep that skinny little weirdo from wiggling so damn much, he's always moving, he can't just be still—)

L = Love who says I love you first?

Neither! I don't think they really say it at all! Why say something that doesn't need to be said? (At least, that's how they see it...)

M = Memory their favorite moment together

Aguni: It's not really a memory, but...just how they have breakfast together some mornings. Sipping coffee, discussing whatever's going on in the world, the general "togetherness" that comes with it is one of his favorite feelings.

Takeru: The time they spent a full 24 hours in a karaoke booth singing 80's hits and knocking back tequila shots and ordering way too much food.

N = Nickel do they spoil? do they buy the person they love everything?

Takeru: Absolutely buys stuff for Aguni all the time. Mostly random snacks, or little knick-knacks that catch his eye. And also clothes, but...Aguni doesn't always approve.

Aguni: Doesn't buy Takeru stuff BUT leaves vases of flowers he grew on the table for Takeru to find.

O = Orange what color reminds them of their other half

Anything bright and obnoxious reminds Aguni of Takeru—red in particular, which also happens to be Takeru's favorite. And Takeru thinks Aguni has calm and soothing blue-green vibes. Like the ocean, beautiful and serene, but also dark and capable of incredible destruction.

P = Petnames what pet names do they use?

Takeru: All of them. Darling, babe, sweetheart (but he calls everyone those lol). Aguni-specific ones are always over-the-top and ridiculous like "brightest star in all of the heavens..." and he always gets an eye-roll for his efforts.

Aguni: Absolutely does not use pet names. Just says "hey you" or something. Once called Takeru "babe" and Takeru had to stop washing dishes and sit down because he was laughing so hard.

Q = Quaint what is their favorite non-modern thing?

Takeru: I feel like he would collect a ton of vintage stuff—clothes, records, just random little bits and bobs he comes across. But his favorite is definitely his record player—it belonged to his dad, and he keeps it in a place of honor in the hat shop.

Aguni: A set of very old and well-cared-for gardening tools. Takeru got them for him for his birthday, and he legit treasures them.

R = Rainy Day what do they like to do on a rainy day?

Lay on the couch and do literally nothing. Takeru gets the left end, Aguni takes the right, and they binge trash TV shows all day. (And also they make box-mix brownies and eat them straight out of the pan. It's "their thing.")

S = Sad how do they cheer themselves/each other up

Takeru: Aside from all his self-destrictive behaviors (binge-drinking, dangerous situations, etc.) he just really needs a good laugh. And Aguni somehow always manages to make him laugh with an unexpected, deadpan comment. Also, he makes Takeru actually talk through his problems instead of ignoring them...

Aguni: if he's in a bad mood, you just need to let him work through it on his own. He hates being "talked down to" and feels that most attempts at cheering up are cheap, so most people don't attempt. Buf...Takeru is not "most people" and breaks out his most ridiculous jokes to try to get Aguni to crack a smile.

T = Talking what do they love to talk about?

Other people! You know Takeru is the "XOXO Gossip Girl" of the neighborhood, but Aguni...he's like a little old church lady and ADORES hearing all the latest drama.

U = Unencumbered What helps them relax?

Both of them have the same method of relaxation and it's...bubble baths! Aguni does a basic, skin soothing soak and just hangs out in the warm water with a book or maybe just his thoughts to keep him company. But Takeru? He's got some fancy bath soaps, and he takes in a glass of wine and lights a few candles and does a face mask and it's a whole EVENT.

V - Very thoughts about each other

Takeru: Thinks Aguni needs to loosen up and take more risks...but also just loves the guy to pieces.

Aguni: Kinda wishes Takeru would calm tf down sometimes...but also knows that it's just how the guy is and wouldn't dare change him.

W = Wedding when, how, where do they propose?

They're not really the marrying type! They just have a mutual understanding of commitment and that's that.

(But if they did have a wedding... I think it would be a relatively small affair with all their closest friends and family. Like a dinner party, but somewhere extra nice and with lots of good food and alcohol. Intimate and meaningful, with just enough "extra" to satisfy Takeru.)

X = Xylophone What’s their song?

"Total Eclipse of the Heart" because they hid out in a karaoke booth (different from the 24-hour event that Takeru cherishes so much) to es ape the Yakuza and Takeru sang it over and over to pass the time.

Y = You the ___ to my ___ (e.g the cookies to my milk, the macaroni to my cheese)

"Breaking" to my "Entering." The "Assault" to my "Battery." (They both hate this sort of thing and try to come up with the worst answers possible lol)

Z = Zebra if they wanted a pet, what pet would they get?

They already have the cat, Ziggy, who is their perfect little angel.

[novasintheroom]

Hey its ray-jaykub! I saw that you did requests and i was wondering if i could get head-cannons on the turtles and what they like to do with their respective s/os

OMG I love you!!! Okay I gotta calm down hooo

Leo

·         Love love loves to carry you over rooftops and sit on high points to look over the city with you. This is one of his ways to calm down and think about things without his brothers’ around to stress him out, and having you there some nights, looking at the glitter of the lights – poetry for his heart

·         Speaking of poetry – you guys will have contests for who can make the worst poems. Just something to pass off to each other between visits, something you find in your bag or in his bed sheets. Cheesy, unrhythmic, stupid, whatever. You guys have cried laughing before b/c of this. However, every once in a while he’ll slap you with a real intimate and loving poem that just makes you melt.

·         You’ve started trying to sneak up on him. It doesn’t work. He still lets you do it, just so he can turn around and grab you at the last second. Sometimes he throws you on the nearest soft surface, sometimes he gives you a big kiss, sometimes he just starts carrying you around like a sack of potatoes – depends on his mood honestly. Your determination to spook him is cute.

·         Watching or listening to True Crime stuff becomes a quick couple’s hobby for you guys. Usually it’s playing in the background as you each do chores or work on some project, but you’ll each talk about the case throughout. You’ve hit him more than once for giving away what happened or who killed who. He’s too good at figuring this kind of stuff out!

·         He loves when you sit with him when he meditates. Even if you aren’t the meditating type, if you just sit quietly by him or read, he already feels much calmer. If he’s practicing balancing moves, he’ll sometimes grab you to hoist you up in the air, “to practice strength” at the same time. You’ve learned it’s a very bad idea to squirm when he’s got you planking above his head; he will start tickling you if you don’t keep still.

Raph

·         Once he gets a good enough disguise, he loves to ride around on his newly built motorcycle with you on the city streets. It’s fun to zip through cars and people and drive out to the sparser points of the city to watch ships come in and out of the bay or go to a park outside the city to watch the lights as they all turn on at dusk.

·         Loooovvess having movie nights with you. Seriously asks for it every week. You two get comfy on the couch with like 3 blankets thrown over your laps and watch something like Jurassic Park or Mad Max and gorge on buttery popcorn and chocolate. Sometimes you’ll slip in a chick flick like Pride and Prejudice. He acts like he doesn’t like it, but you’ve caught a goofy, happy smile on him more than once at the end of the movie, and then he starts lifting your hand like Mr. Darcy and adopting more “romantic” actions and it’s just *chef’s kiss*

·         You guys will spar together. It’s kinda required once you date him; he wants you to be able to kick butt if he can’t get to you fast enough. But these sessions usually end up with you and him wrestling/tickling each other and him holding you down with a foot while he lifts weights. Get comfy princess, he ain’t moving that foot ‘til he get 100 reps.

·         He has a really good eye for fashion and makeup. He’s actually the one that sews together all of his family’s clothes, as much as possible with the scraps they find around. It’s calming to make something instead of the stigma he has of destroying stuff. He’s the first person you SnapChat with an outfit just to make sure it looks good, and he sends back honest feedback, like “why do you still have that scarf, you know it doesn’t match anything in your closet,” or “try the red sweater with that long gold necklace you have.” Everyone compliments your outfits so much because of his input

·         Likes to go swimming with you. There’s a few clear, clean pools in the sewers (Donnie approved) where you guys go just to have a good swim. There’s usually some candles lit and music playing. More often than not, you’ll end up laying on his chest while he floats on the surface and just enjoy each other’s company. At least until he gets the idea to dunk you.

Donnie

·         Sneaking into the rafters of Broadway is a regular event for you guys. He manages to disable any security they have up around your “spot,” and you get a free show with your favorite person. He’ll be quoting his favorite lines for days after, all the while talking about the next show to see. He’d so be a theater kid if he had the chance.

·         One of the main things that got you guys together in the first place was you helping him put together tech he’s working on. It still continues now, since you have a steady hand and a willing ear to listen to his theories and ideas. You’ve even inspired him a few times with your comments! It’s a casual bonding activity for you both, and he values your thoughts.

·         Spontaneous dances are a must. Sometimes he’ll grab you and dance around the room – especially if an experiment of his goes well – sometimes it’ll be goofy dances to see how badly you two can embarrass anyone looking, and other times, you guys will just slow dance before you leave, just as a way to be close before having to part.

·         You guys form your own little potted plant collection in the lair. It’s both a hobby, and a way for you to check on how he’s doing. If he’s doing well, the plants are watered and taken care of. If he’s getting sucked into things and forgetting to care for himself, the plants suffer. He tries to get an auto-watering system for them, but you shut that down quick. It’s good to do some things yourself rather than rely on technology!

·         Cupcake Saturdays are a thing. He’ll take you to a bakery, where you’ll go in and get a box of cupcakes (extra frosting). You guys will then just chow down on them on the rooftop, often with him licking a lot of the frosting off the cupcakes before eating the actual “cake” part.

Mikey

·         Such a fan of trying every new restaurant you can find in NYC. It’s become a date-night tradition every Thursday to either order or pick up some hole-in-the-wall place’s food, meet up somewhere, and Gordon Ramsay the crap out of the food. He does a mean Ramsay impression, and you’ve snorted more than one ramen noodle out of your nose from laughing so hard.

·         If you aren’t a fan of video games, you will be once you date this guy. It’s not even just watching or playing video games with him, he’s just funny when he plays! He’ll make the most stupid comments about something going on in the storyline, or mess around, even glitch out a game. He’s managed to get out of the maps of Among Us more than once. You’re convinced if he started his own YouTube gaming channel, he’d be a quick star.

·         Game nights are a must for you guys. It usually turns into a family game night with you, the turtles, Splinter, April and Casey, which Mikey just adores because he gets to see everyone he loves having fun. You two will usually team up against the others, or turn on each other to stab the other in the back. Uno and Cover Your Assets have made you guys question your loyalty to each other more than once. That Uno Reverse card, man…

·         Arts and crafts are his favorite. Anytime a holiday is coming up, Mikey gets hyped ‘cause he knows you guys are gonna start making decorations for it. You guys will usually make decorations for each other. Mikey loves this, just because he feels like a normal person by having actual Halloween decorations around the lair instead of stuff he and his bros scraped together off the streets.

·         Loves to stargaze with you in the summer time. He’ll convince Donnie to let him drive the truck out of the city to the countryside of New York, bring you with him, and set up on the roof of the truck in the middle of a field (that he totally didn’t crash through a wood fence to get to). Fireflies will fly over your faces, and he’ll joke that they’re shooting stars and make a thousand and one wishes on each of them. He won’t tell you that all of those wishes are for you and him to be together forever, but it’s not hard to guess with how mushy he gets after each one.

[hecallsmehischild]

Recent Media Consumed

Books

The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell. First, I actually appreciated the foreward to the “Left Book Club” copy, even though it says that anyone who is not a member should disregard it. It gave an interesting rebuttal to parts of the book. That aside, I’m not totally sure what to make of the book. On the level of descriptive writing, I rarely find something this richly penned. But it’s loaded with concepts and lingo and even a monetary system I’m unfamiliar with, and that hampers my understanding of the points. I get the general gist, but all the finer points are very lost on me, simply because I’m an American millennial.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson. I’ve seen the “F*ck” series titles floating around here and there, and I’m intrigued by a couple of them. The idea of this one is that people give way too many f*cks about everything, and that you really need to pick where you give your f*cks in life and never give a f*ck about anything that doesn’t line up with your values (in a nutshell). It’s an easy and interesting read. It’s interesting to me that, in the wake of what I hear was many years of positive-mood and high self-esteem type self help books (most of which I’ve only heard of and never read, were they before my time?), we’re getting a backlash of “Yes, life sucks. Yes, life has pain. Dealing with pain and failure appropriately is a part of life. Accept that, or lose yourself to complete entitlement” type self-help books. I’m curious what this trend produces in people over time. I’d also like to highlight that this book has the best discussion of dividing “fault” and “responsibility” that I’ve ever read.

Shows

Loki. WHAT EVEN. WHAT EVEN. WHAT. WHAT THE. WHAT THE. FRESH… THE FRICK FRACK PADDYWHACK???!!!

Mushi-shi. So, turns out the first time I watched this I somehow started on Season 2, and my source cut out before the season end… no wonder I was pretty confused. So I started re-watching this and… I remember how incredibly unsettling this anime is. It’s equal parts gentle wonder and soft horror, a blend that is very difficult to describe unless you’ve seen it. Much like Mushi themselves, eh? I think I’ll balance this out by ending each watch session with an episode of Log Horizon rewatch. That’ll keep the emotional balance intact.

Claymore. I ended up dropping this one halfway through. It has an interesting concept, but the “things that bug me” points mounted pretty fast. In the early episodes, everything is so dark that it’s hard to see what’s going on. There’s a huge amount of monologuing and info-dumping IN monologue, and this goes on even mid-fight, and even CALMLY mid-fight. Yes, this isn’t the only anime that does this, but it decreases my enjoyment. It’s difficult to take the story seriously when the big bad yells, “Why can’t I defeat you?” to the weakest-but-somehow-also-the-strongest member of a team, and then have a colleague of the team member calmly explain to the big bad exactly why he’s unable to land a blow, then they take off his head together. This show has a lot of that sort of thing. I’ll read up on how the series ended, not interested in slogging through the other half.

Elfen Lied. This is a re-re-rewatch for me. I stumbled on this anime when I was newly inducted into anime-watching and, well... given that Princess Tutu was my very first anime, this one was a real shock to my system at first. By all accounts I should have dropped it and run screaming at the time, but I couldn’t. There was something about the sheer tragedy of the story that called to me. Plus it was VERY short. So I returned to it from time to time. Now that I’ve developed more of a feel for what I do and don’t like in a story, how does this hold up? The relationships are terrible, imo, and the whole thing about diclonius is never explained enough (and I still don't understand the ending) but it's STILL hard not to be pulled in by the sheer tragedy of the series.

Movies

300. I haven’t seen this movie since college. Is it weird how much I enjoyed it as a romp? Yes, there’s death and tragedy, but the dry humor and utter gung-ho-edness of it is infectious. It’s a good flick, I’m really glad I went back to see it. And I also finally understand Leonidas telling the traitor, “May you live forever.” Damn, man. No wonder he flinched.

Weathering With You. GORGEOUS. I need to see more by this animator… LIGHT. WATER. FOOD. I hear they’re calling this person the new Miyazaki? I CONCUR. And the story is sweet and beautiful and just yes. Yes. Oh, look, he made something else before this movie…

Your Name. Okay so I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, fantastic story and, once again, gorgeous animation that all makes me want to track with this creator in the future. And the twist definitely socked me in the gut, I didn’t see it coming. On the other hand, I feel like this movie hits an extreme of “show, don’t tell” in a way that comes awfully close to a negative. I didn’t think that was possible, but this movie switches timelines, POV, points in time, etc, so rapidly that it becomes difficult to keep track of what’s going on, properly. I could not imagine watching this movie in theaters, it has to be watched with a remote in hand to pause, rewind, rewatch, discuss what the heck just happened. It’s like watching Mystery Skulls videos, with that level of rapid fire little details that are incredibly important to the plot, but for a feature length film. Also, after some discussion, I came to see (and agree) that there’s a foundational issue in the main relationship that doesn’t bode well for the future, as much as I rooted for them to be together. Still, it’s an incredible movie and I can see why it was the highest grossing movie for Japan a few years back.

Games

Diablo II. I’m really happy. I live in a house with my husband and his best friend, and in the past year or so we’ve begun playing games together. This is the sort of game I would never have gone to on my own because I actually need someone in the room who I can ask, “Hey, how do you assign attacks again?” or “Hey, is this piece of gear better than the piece I’m wearing?” I don’t like playing the number game on gear so much, but I let the two of them dress my character up and then I back them up in a fight and enjoy myself. Looting and exploring for treasure is probably my favorite aspect (says the person who plays Breath of the Wild just to forage for mushroom and herbs), although as a level 20 Amazon I’m now shooting out waves of 8 arrows at a time, and that’s pretty epic too. It’s a special kind of joy to find out you actually like a type of gaming as long as there’s people there who can explain things along the way and who don’t get annoyed at re-asked questions. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m having a blast playing Diablo II in a group. And as for the other game we play together as a group…

WoW Classic. I covered this before, but back then I was a lowly level 17 Dwarf Hunter. Now I’m a lowly level 36 Dwarf Hunter. With a mount! I have epic skills like explosion traps, poisonous shots, and multi-shot. My wolf has gained a ton more skills, too, and is (or so I’m told) a pretty effective off-tank. I have been told I am an effective DPS person, which makes me very happy. I really enjoy this kind of gaming, but specifically when I’m in the same room as the people I’m gaming with. Communication is a lot easier and we work really well as a team that way.

[quicksilversquared]

The Substitute Ladybug: Chapter 10

After Lila takes things too far and Marinette ends up with a broken leg, Paris is going to have to deal with a different superhero arrangement for a bit. Having to share her superhero identity with her parents before Hawkmoth can be defeated isn’t something that Marinette had planned on doing, but- well, it might end up being a bit of a blessing in disguise.

links in the reblog

It seemed like the final week was stretching on forever. She was so close to getting her cast off, and yet each day inched by, time slowing down as if to prolong her time before the cast could come off.

The two mid-week akuma attacks helped break up the trudge down the final stretch, as did her friends' efforts. They had taken note of her flagging mood and tried to help, sending her funny pictures and popping in for visits and now, they had arranged a trip to the movie theater to try to distract her.

"Don't worry, we chose a fun movie," Alya told Marinette as they headed towards the theater. She and Nino were walking slowly so that Marinette could keep up without struggling, but they were going almost too slowly. Marinette tried not to sigh.

They meant well, that was all that mattered.

"Yeah, no horror movies," Nino agreed. He glanced over at Alya. "Though there is one with pretty good reviews running right now. Maybe for our date this weekend...?"

Alya nodded, grinning. "Yeah! That would be cool. I might not be able to stay on for, like, lunch or dinner afterwards because of the twins, since Nora took over my babysitting today, but we could at least get out for a movie."

Marinette shuddered at the thought. Horror movies on a date? No thank you. She dealt with enough monsters and scary situations in real life, thank-you-very-much. There was no need for her to go watch scary movies and kick-start her overimagination into worrying about less magical threats like serial killers, too.

Or supernatural threats that (probably) wouldn't exist outside of an akuma setting, like evil ghosts and zombies and skeletons and- anyway.

It wasn't her idea of a good time, and she hoped that when she went on dates- in the future, after Hawkmoth was no longer an issue and she wouldn't be interrupted all of the time- that any visits to the movie theater would be for fun movies, not creepy ones. Alya always said that the jump-scares and creepy scenes were a fantastic excuse to cuddle close to a boyfriend, but was that really worth the nightmares? Couldn't the air-conditioned chill of the movie theater be enough of an excuse for a cuddle?

"Anyway, it's a very family-friendly movie, sure to be 100% Marinette-approved," Alya added after another minute of date-planning with Nino, clearly realizing that- well, it wasn't exactly pleasant to turn Marinette into the third wheel. She nodded down the block, to where the movie theater had just come into view. "And, well, I think the company is going to be Marinette-approved, too."

Marinette blinked, confused, and then she followed Alya's gaze. There, in front of the theater, stood Adrien's bodyguard. And in front of the bodyguard stood Adrien, looking very relaxed and at ease. He lit up when he saw them coming, waving cheerfully as they approached. He looked a bit tired, but Marinette couldn't blame him. Adrien had missed the entire afternoon of classes for an extended photoshoot, and from what she had heard, those kinds of shoots were absolutely exhausting.

Not as exhausting as they had been when Lila was there and constantly gumming up the works, maybe, but still exhausting.

"Dude, I'm glad you made it!" Nino told him, reaching over for a fist bump. After a second, he fist-bumped Adrien's bodyguard, too. "I thought you were going to text if you got permission to come!"

"I was just about to, honestly," Adrien told him with a laugh. "Just in case I missed you and you had already gone in. And then I saw you coming and- well, it wouldn't have made sense to text then, right?" He grinned, then nodded towards the theater. "Should we go in now? Then we can try to get good seats."

They went, and the Gorilla followed them in. Marinette almost asked about that, but it didn't take a genius to figure out why he had come along instead of just dropping Adrien off. The last time they were in a movie theater, Adrien had practically gotten mobbed by fans. Maybe that had been because he had just been featured in a perfume ad- one that had been heavily featured across Paris, not that it made much of a difference once people actually started trying the fragrance and found it rather lacking (and once people found out that no, Adrien: the Fragrance wasn't actually what Adrien the model (and occasional voice actor) actually wore)- but it was better safe than sorry. Hopefully the presence of the Gorilla would keep the pictures and mobbing to a minimum.

Inside, a line had already formed in front of the ticket counter. Not a long line- it was the middle of the week, after all- but they were hardly the only students who had just gotten out of school. Alya grumbled for a moment, but a nudge and a quiet murmur from Nino got her to settle down while they waited. It wasn't a bad wait, really, and then they were headed through the lobby.

"Snack time!" Nino cheered, veering off towards concessions. "Anyone else getting stuff?"

Marinette and Adrien both shook their heads, though Adrien's had been after a pause, after he looked to his bodyguard first. Marinette wouldn't be surprised if he just simply wasn't allowed to have junk food, which- well, most of the time she would say that was a pity, but movie theater junk food was just terrible in general. He really wasn't missing out on anything.

Alya groaned. "Nino, the snacks here are terrible. Their popcorn- I don't know what they do to it, but it just tastes awful."

"I was thinking of getting something chocolate, but- yeah, I guess if no one else is gonna get anything, I'll pass." With one more glance towards the concessions stand, Nino hurried back to join them. "Okay, so which room are we in? The fourth screen, right?"

"Yeah, that's what the ticket says," Alya confirmed. She started making a beeline towards the right door, only to come to a screeching halt a couple meters away when she realized that Marinette wouldn't be able to keep up. "Oh, sorry! I went too fast-"

"You could go ahead and scope out seats for us," Marinette suggested. She nodded towards her foot. "Just remember that it'll be easier for me to get to a seat on the end of a row instead of in the middle."

"Ah, good idea!" Alya grinned at her, then snagged Nino's hand and pulled him after her towards the usher waiting at the screen's door, only pausing to glance back and wink at her. Marinette rolled her eyes back, knowing full well what Alya was trying to do.

But did Alya seriously think that Marinette was going to ask Adrien out when his bodyguard was right there?

"I'm glad I was able to come," Adrien commented as he stepped up next to Marinette, letting her set the pace as they headed after Alya and Nino. "I've gotten so used to photoshoots running overtime and then I can't make it to outings, but this one ended on time- early, even! It was a nice change."

Marinette frowned. "I would have thought that your father would run a tight enough ship that going over wouldn't be an option unless something went really wrong."

"Yeah, it- well, that's the way it usually is, admittedly," Adrien told her. "It was really just when Lila was there that things always took longer than they should have. Unless there was something that she really wanted to be at, that is."

Marinette wasn't even a small bit surprised.

"And then the last few shoots, I guess part of the problem was that we had to re-do shots from earlier shoots, where Lila was modeling," Adrien told her. "I think originally Father was just hoping to get away with using those pictures and then just not use Lila as a model going forward- not that he could, since she's not even in Paris anymore- since not that many people would know what she had done. But then Alya posted that article on the Ladyblog about how much of a fraud and a bully Lila is, and people were starting to put two and two together. So all of her photos got scrapped."

Marinette cringed. "Even now that she's gone, she's still causing problems."

"I think you're feeling the effects for the longest." Adrien fell quiet for a few seconds, then nodded towards her leg. "But at least the cast is coming off pretty soon, right?"

"Two more days," Marinette told him, unable to keep from smiling at the thought. She was sure that those two days would drag out endlessly because of the anticipation, but there wasn't much she could do about that. It was getting increasingly hard to not just jump the gun and ditch the crutches- she could probably walk on her leg by now, considering Tikki's (and Sass's) healing boosts and how close she was to getting the cast off, but she didn't want to risk anything before the doctor could look at it again. "I can't wait."

"Yeah, I remember the feeling from when I broke my leg. I swear time slows down when cast-off date gets close." Adrien handed his ticket over to the usher, then passed Marinette's over as well. "You're doing better than I did, honestly. I tried to ditch the crutches as soon as it had been a couple of weeks and my leg wasn't really hurting, and it took the doctor threatening to leave the cast on for even longer to get me to stop." He laughed. "For some reason, I had been convinced that if it didn't really hurt anymore, it must be fine. And maybe I had weeks left in the cast, but I just must be a super-healer!"

Marinette giggled. "You practically read my mind. I was just thinking about how it's been getting harder and harder to remember to grab my crutches when I want to hop up and grab something or just walk a short distance. Part of me wants to think that there's no possible way that I could re-damage something at this point, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"That's smart," Adrien agreed. He dropped back behind Marinette as they approached the wide steps leading up to where Alya and Nino waited, ready to steady her if she had trouble going up. "And, uh, did they tell you that you might still need crutches even after the cast comes off? Because they dropped that particular bomb on me when they were in the middle of taking the cast off."

Marinette groaned. "No."

"Maybe you'll be lucky and not need it, since you've been following directions and taking care of your leg better than I did." Adrien's hand rested against her back, pressing a little more firmly as soon as she wobbled and retreating after she steadied herself. "And you didn't have a terrible break in the first place, right? That should help, too."

That, and she had the power of tiny gods on her side helping her heal, but Marinette wasn't about to tell anyone else that. "I hope it does. I'm so tired of crutches."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, then."

Marinette smiled as she stood back to let Adrien slip into the row next to Nino before she took the aisle seat. "Thanks."

The movie itself positively flew by, and before she knew it, it was over and they were waiting for the majority of the audience to leave so that there wouldn't be as much risk of Marinette getting knocked into.

"This was fun," Adrien commented once the crowds had thinned out and they had gotten out of their seats, making their way down towards the door. "We should do it again sometime."

"We do it all the time, dude, you just gotta get your father to agree to it more," Nino told him. Adrien just shrugged helplessly.

"He can't always spare the Gorilla to come out with me. And honestly, it's not necessary most of the time, but he's paranoid." A shadow crossed Adrien's face for a moment, and then he shook it off and perked up. "So, have you heard that Marinette's cast is coming off in two days? I think we should go out for ice cream or something to celebrate afterwards!"

"It'll be late when I get back from the doctor," Marinette warned him, carefully navigating the last low step before making her way towards the door. "Since we wanted to wait until after school and my parents didn't want to close the bakery too early if they could avoid it. And that might not be a problem for me or Alya or Nino to come out, but..."

Adrien grimaced. "Yeah, Father might have a problem with that. Uh, the next day, maybe?"

"Sounds good!" Nino agreed. "Or whatever works with our schedules. We gotta keep it flexible. But a celebration would be great! Andre's?"

Adrien shook his head. "His moving around could make things difficult. And Marinette probably shouldn't be running all over the city after an ice cream cart right after her cast comes off."

Marinette hid a giggle. Running all over the city had actually been in her plan after getting the cast off, as long as the doctor cleared her for walking on her leg again. But running around with a Miraculous and running around without on were two very different things. Especially since Marinette could always ask Tikki to add a bit of extra support for that leg, just in case.

"Besides, sometimes Andre has some really odd flavor combos," Adrien added, his eyebrows furrowing. "And I get that it's because of the love thing, but then sometimes he starts mixing it up and talking in riddles and- anyway, sometimes I just want a plain old cookies and cream cone, you know?"

"And Andre's double- and triple-scoops are sometimes a bit much for a snack," Marinette added. She appreciated the thought behind Andre's ice-cream cones, but sometimes she was a bit over ice cream by the time she got partway through the last scoop. "And my favorite is raspberry chocolate chip, but I never get that there. He doesn't take requests."

Alya groaned. "The point of Andre's isn't the ice cream flavor, it's the experience! But I suppose we could mix it up and go somewhere else. There's a place near Marinette's house that has a pretty good selection. My little sisters love it."

"We'll plan on that, then," Nino decided. "And figure out a day and time later, once you talk to Nathalie. And if they don't let you come out then, maybe we can try to sneak a trip in over lunch on Monday. We'll make it work."

Adrien nodded, a grin lighting up his face. "Yeah! Yeah, that sounds good."

Marinette smiled, watching Adrien's face. His smile was real, unrestrained and completely happy. She wouldn't be surprised if he had been bracing himself for his father refusing to let him come out and not being able to come to the outing that he had come up with in the first place. It would be nice, of course, if they could go over the weekend- they could take more time to talk and linger instead of rushing- but if waiting until Monday meant that Adrien could come along with them instead of video-calling them while nibbling his way through a scoop of ice cream from his chef at home, then it was completely worth it.

  As much as she hated to admit it, as Cast-Off Day approached and then finally arrived, Marinette had found her excitement competing with more than a little apprehension about her return to superheroing. She wasn't worried about being rusty on strategy- after all, that was what she had been getting a ton of practice with- but she knew that she was going to be out of shape. It was inevitable. She had even lost muscle tone in her good leg, she could tell, and that one had been used on a regular basis to hop along with her crutches. Sure, the supersuit provided bonus power- a lot of bonus power, considering the jumps that she and Chat Noir made on a regular basis- but being in shape as a civilian certainly didn't hurt.

Marinette could only hope that six weeks hadn't dulled her fighting instincts too much. She had worked hard for those instincts, thank-you-very-much, and getting set back would just plain suck.

There were other concerns, too. Akuma attacks would most likely be returning to their regular lengths once she returned as the Ladybug holder, and she didn't know how that would be received. And- her most recent concern- was about how the month and a half of a different routine would affect her partner.

Chat Noir had been following her directions during fights for every single akuma battle since- well, since the first week after her leg got broken. Maybe there had been some fights where he hadn't really needed much direction- some where he ended up holding off Hawkmoth or Mayura while Coccinelle dealt with the akuma, so as long as he didn't get overpowered or hurt, Vipera had just let him be- but for the most part he had been, as he said, her puppet. How that- and how having the safety net that was Vipera there to erase his mistakes and gambles that didn't quite pan out- affected his ability to function in normal battles remained to be seen.

It had only been five weeks, really. Hopefully- hopefully- Ladybug's break and their different approach wouldn't throw their teamwork and ability to fight into unexpected shambles. Maybe if they took that into account when Ladybug came back instead of assuming that everything would slide into place easily, then they could account for some of the places where they might be weaker.

She could talk to Chat Noir about it, and maybe her mom could step into the Snake position for the first couple of fights just in case. She wouldn't direct the fight like Vipera had, but if she could tap into that sixth sense that Vipera had used for the first few fights to know when to activate Second Chance, then that could help cover the worst of their slips. If there were slips.

Hopefully there wouldn't be. Hopefully it would be easier than Marinette thought to re-adjust.

"I can hear you worrying from here," Mrs. Cheng told Marinette as she steered the van through traffic. She spared a quick glance to the side. "You know that Tikki said that you were healing well. The doctor is hardly going to look at the x-ray and immediately turn around and slap the cast back on your leg."

"It's not getting the cast off that I'm worried about, really." She was really looking forward to that bit, to getting to wash off her leg for the first time since the cast came off and hopefully, hopefully, getting the all-clear to actually walk on her leg again. "It's re-adjusting to things again. It'll be easy to return to normal on the civilian side, but I've been worrying about how re-adjusting to battles will go."

"Well, if a fight isn't going well, you can always pull back and trade with me," Mrs. Cheng told her. "We might need to figure out who will need to hold on to what Miraculous so that we can do that quickly and safely, but considering that Hawkmoth just attacked earlier and- well, and what happened during the attack- I think we'll have a few days to iron out plans before he sends out another akuma. And if he sends one out sooner, before we have a plan in place..." She glanced over at Marinette before returning her eyes to the road. "I know you're eager to get back out there, but I can always handle another fight or two if needed."

Marinette knew that, and maybe it would be a good idea to wait for a fight or two to further throw off her recovery timeline in the public eye, but- ugh, it was easier said than done. She was just eager to get back in shape and to get a better read on what they needed to do to re-adjust (if anything), sooner rather than later so that she wouldn't be catastrophizing unnecessarily. And then there was also the whole matter of- well, Paris was getting increasingly impatient and unsettled as they got closer to a week with no Ladybug after the press conference.

Clearly the public weren't thinking along the same lines of what might have happened as her classmates had. They weren't reading between the lines like Alix about when the injury might have happened, and therefore not considering injuries like Marinette's as a possible clue to Ladybug's identity. That was a good thing, but it was really only a matter of time before more people started thinking the same way as her classmates.

Alya had shown the good sense to not put up the class's theories about the timeline of Ladybug's vacation versus the injury on the Ladyblog- well, after both Marinette and Alix had pointed out that there was no reason to undo any of the work that the superheroes had done with obscuring potentially identifying details. But Marinette had still heard some speculation starting up, and while her teammates were really good at countering the questions that were flung at them, it would probably be better if Ladybug just showed up herself.

Her mom's favorite tactic in response to the pestering was asking why people wanted Ladybug to put herself at risk by rushing back. It's not a good idea for pro athletes, Coccinelle always pointed out, so why would it be any different for superheroes? And if people really cared about their superheroes as people, then why did they not seem to care about their health- or their safety, considering that the general public seemed to want the superheroes to give up potentially identifying information?

People shut up pretty quickly after they got asked that, particularly if they had been trying to interview the superheroes live.

Thankfully, though, Marinette suspected that her mom was right and that she would have a couple days to get her bearings before another akuma popped up. The akuma that had attacked only that morning- well, it hadn't been alone. So Marinette's dad had gone out with the Turtle again (and Chat Noir with the bee) and then spent most of the battle cheerfully giving Hawkmoth a very through beatdown. In fact, there had only really been a little bit of actual fighting at the start, and then Hawkmoth spent the rest of the time cowering under heavy, repeated blows from the turtle shell until Mayura rescued him and they dashed off.

At the very least, Hawkmoth probably wouldn't be coming out for a few battles. He was nothing if not a coward, and coming probably his closest to defeat should make him rethink not hiding entirely behind his akumas.

"Don't let the public pressure you if you decide that you need more recovery," Mrs. Cheng added after a long pause. "Your safety is more important, always. And remember that it's not just your safety, but Chat Noir's as well."

Marinette had to laugh. "You really do know exactly how to get through to me, don't you? Okay, I'll do my best to be realistic about what I can handle."

Mrs. Cheng looked pleased.

It didn't take long for them to get to the doctor's office and get sent through to do her check-up. Marinette got an x-ray taken first, and when the doctor comes back in with it, he looked impressed.

"Well, good news, you are a very quick healer," he told her, settling down in his chair. "Possibly one of the fastest I've ever seen. Your leg has moved past the stage we would normally expect at this point and with the type of injury you got. I'll tell your physical therapist that we can go a bit more intensive on your therapy. You'll be able to handle it no problem. And while you'll want to ease your way into more intense activities, you can start working your way back."

Marinette grinned, nodding. This was definitely the news she wanted to get.

"And you won't need to keep using your crutches," he added. "But you'll want to keep them around, just in case your leg starts feeling sore. If you're going to be doing a lot of walking, I would definitely recommend that, at least until you've built up your endurance again."

"That's fantastic," Mrs. Cheng said, beaming at Marinette. "Do you have any exercises we can maybe start doing at home?"

"Yes, I'll print off some along with the care instructions later." He smiled, then pulled out what could only be the cast saw. "Now, let's take that cast off!"

As soon as her leg was in position, the saw whirred to life and started cutting into her cast. Marinette had to look away as her doctor worked, doing her best not to accidentally twitch or anything.

She was sure that he had loads of experience and was very good at his job and there were safety measures with the saw and all, but sharp blades near her leg was just a big load of no thank you in her book. When he finally put away the saw and picked up a pair of scissors to finish the job off, Marinette couldn't stop her sigh of relief.

"And all done!" her doctor announced, finally pulling the cast away from her leg. "That went nice and smoothly. You can hop down now, if you'd like."

Marinette nodded, glancing down at her leg and immediately having to do a double-take.

She had known that her leg was going to look odd after being in a cast for a month and a half, every single site that she had looked at had said so. But reading it and seeing it were two very different things.

Her skin looked weird. The hair on her leg looked weird. The muscle- it had shrunk even more than the muscle on her other leg, which was maybe to be expected but still made Marinette wonder how long it would take for her to get it back to something resembling normal. And now that the cast was off...

Well, she would be washing her leg tonight, that was for sure. Marinette didn't want her sheets to smell like that. Besides, the skin just looked- and felt- gross.

Taking a deep breath, Marinette slid down off of the table, taking the entire impact of the landing with her good leg. Then she took her first normal step in a month and a half.

It didn't hurt at all. Thank you, Tikki.

"I'd like to go out into the hallways now and have you walk up and down it. I want to see how even your steps are," her doctor requested. "Then I can send that to the therapist and she'll be able to tailor your plan to what you can do."

Marinette nodded at once, following him towards the door and trying not to over-analyze how her steps felt. Overthinking might just end up in her walking weird when she didn't have to, and- well, that wouldn't help anything at all.

"Okay, you're looking good," the doctor called to Marinette as she headed up the hallway. She felt a little off-kilter, but the doctor seemed pleased. "There's a bit of weakness in the one leg, but that's to be expected. With exercises and use, that should even up soon enough."

Marinette bit down the urge to ask how soon. She didn't want to seem impatient, especially since she was doing so well with her recovery already. Besides, her physical therapist would probably be able to tell her more after she actually started doing her exercises.

"I'll print off a care packet and some exercises for you to add to your routine, and then you'll be good to go," he told Marinette as she returned. He grinned. "Good job on the healing. Now, please- do at least try to not overexert yourself."

  Dinner that evening was takeout, a rare occurrence in the Dupain-Cheng household, but they wanted something special to celebrate Marinette's cast coming off and something fast so that they wouldn't spend a large chunk of the evening cooking and cleaning up.

"Your dad and I can move things back up to your room tonight," Mrs. Cheng told Marinette as she finished up the last of her meal. She smiled at Marinette. "I'm assuming that you're eager to move back up there, since you're walking well. And while we do that, well..." She reached up, pulling the Ladybug earrings off and handing them to Marinette. "Chat Noir is expecting to have someone join him for patrol tonight, as usual. I didn't tell him that you would be the one coming, just in case you weren't feeling up to it, but I suspect that you might want to go out."

"Yes!" Marinette pulled out her placeholder earrings- she hadn't want anyone to notice that her ever-present earrings had vanished while she was on crutches, so she had found a lookalike to wear instead- and popped in the Ladybug Miraculous. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling since she had been wearing them most nights, but knowing that they were going in to stay there now was great. Then she paused. "...but then people will see us and that might give away my recovery timeline, since Coccinelle was seen earlier today."

"You can always temporarily modify your costume to look like Coccinelle's outfit!" Tikki suggested. "Then from a distance, people probably won't notice that you've switched off. And since it's dark, that should help, too."

Marinette nodded, her grin inching back onto her face. "Okay. I'd definitely love to do that, then! As long as you and Dad don't want help moving things, that is."

"We'll take care of the moving," Mr. Dupain assured her, reappearing at the table with a large cake. He deposited it in front of Marinette and pulled out a knife to start cutting pieces. "Partially so that you can go out and have fun with your friend, yes, but also because we'd really rather not have you trip over a blanket while carrying it upstairs and have you sent back to square one."

Marinette opened her mouth to protest that, considered it, and then closed her mouth again. As much as she hated to admit it, her dad... had a point. "Okay. Thank you so much!"

"Anytime, darling." Mr. Dupain paused, considered that, then tried again. "I mean, I'd rather it not be necessary again, but if you need any help, we're here for you. And if you want to have us come out on patrol ever, or come out on fights with you..."

She had to laugh. "You've gotten over your fear of running over rooftops, then?"

"It's growing on me. Slowly." Mr. Dupain served up three generous slices of cake, passing them around before sitting back down. "And I can't say that beating Hawkmoth up wasn't entirely satisfying. I'm definitely more than willing to do that again."

Marinette nodded, making a mental note of that. Her dad couldn't really come out often, probably, since the bakery needed to keep running, but if he could join them at random sometimes...

It was something to keep in mind.

"I wish I could have watched," Mrs. Cheng commented, scooping up a forkful of her cake. "And no one got any footage of it, either! Such a pity."

Marinette had to laugh. "It was quite satisfying. Honestly-" she made a few fast mental calculations, a list of pros and cons, and then came to a quick decision. "You could probably keep the Turtle on you, and just come out if we're struggling or something and you have some time to spare. It would be easier than me having to come back and get the Miraculous out for you."

Her dad looked vaguely offended. "If you're struggling and if I have the time? Marinette, if you and Chat Noir are struggling, I will make the time. And if I have the time, if there's an attack when the bakery isn't open or I'm not needed, I'll be there. I'd love to beat up Hawkmoth again."

"If you start vanishing too much during akuma attacks, your employees are going to notice," Marinette pointed out. "And it's going to be for more than a few minutes most of the time. Not like what it's been for the fights you've gone out for before."

Her dad looked a little stumped. "Hmm."

"If I have access to the Horse, I could drop him off and collect him," Mrs. Cheng pointed out. "That cuts out travel time there and back. And it could be an element of surprise, too- if Tom is transformed and knows exactly where I'm going to Portal him to, he could ambush the akuma or the sentimonster or the supervillains with almost no warning."

Marinette opened her mouth, about to say something about how it probably wasn't a good idea to have too many Miraculous out and active in one household, then shut it again. That- actually, why wouldn't it be a good idea? If, heaven forbid, Hawkmoth and Mayura found out who any of them were, then they could all jump in and defend themselves right away. Maybe Master Fu wouldn't have approved, but Master Fu wasn't the Guardian anymore, was he? She had to do what worked best for her. "Actually, I like that idea. And if I need any of the other Miraculous for backup, I could text you and you could just Portal it right to me, no need for me to come back here."

That was a really good idea. The fewer trips she made to the bakery as Ladybug, the better. And it would be faster, too.

Why hadn't Master Fu thought of that? It would have made so much more sense than her having to disengage herself from the fight for at least fifteen minutes to go to Master Fu's house, with the potential of having supervillains spotting her and figuring out where she was going. There would still be a pause while she found the holder she wanted for that particular Miraculous, but that really couldn't be avoided.

"You know what I would love to see?" Mrs. Cheng told Mr. Dupain after a minute of quiet eating. "Your mom with a Miraculous. I'm not sure how effective of a fighter she would be, but can you picture her scolding Hawkmoth?"

Mr. Dupain laughed. "I think you underestimate her. She's taken more than a few self-defense classes over the years. Partially because she tends to travel alone or in groups of people she's not super familiar with, and partially because it's part of experiencing different cultures. Or that's been the excuse that she's given me, at least."

"D'you think, if she transformed while on her motorcycle, that would get magic powers, too?" Marinette asked, the picture of a Superhero Nonna Gina zipping around and running over Hawkmoth with a superpowered flying motorcycle already floating through her mind. "Because that would be super cool."

Tikki giggled. "Probably not. Unless...?" She tilted her head, considering. "I don't know, actually. You'd have to try it. I don't know if anything like that has been attempted before!"

...she was a responsible Guardian, and she will not find an excuse to give Nonna Gina a Miraculous the next time she's in Paris and try to get her to attempt to transform with the motorcycle. She will not, she will not, she will not.

"Oh, that's a picture," Mrs. Cheng chuckled. She scooped up another bite of cake. "We might be able to test that with one of us and a regular bike, maybe on one of our days off. Just for curiosity's sake, you know."

"Research," Mr. Dupain agreed cheerfully. "Very important, you know."

Marinette had to laugh at that.

They finished up, and then her parents shooed her off as they started the work of carrying things back up to her room. Marinette still snuck in a couple trips with some smaller things, and then she hauled herself up to her balcony. She exchanged an excited look with Tikki, taking a deep breath to steady herself.

This was actually happening. After weeks of longing to be back out on the rooftops, running and swinging around, she was finally returning.

"Tikki, transform me!"

In a flash of pink light, Ladybug replaced Marinette on the balcony. She took a moment to make sure that her outfit looked more like Coccinelle's than her own regular outfit, and then she was off. The yo-yo went out, Ladybug jumped, and she was flying through the air again.

It. Felt. Amazing.

Ladybug grinned, resisting the urge to whoop with joy. She had to keep her return low-key for now, which meant that she wasn't quite free to do whatever she wanted yet, but that was fine.

She was back, and that was what was important. The whoops and cheers and fancy swings down low over the street could wait until she had made her official return.

It didn't take long at all to reach the place where Mrs. Cheng had told her that she and Chat Noir would be meeting up for patrol. Ladybug landed- carefully, her good leg first and the healed leg second, though it didn't hurt at all- behind her partner and bounded forward, unable to keep the grin off of her face. Chat Noir had perked up as soon as he heard her land and he almost tripped over his own feet in his hurry to turn around. He stumbled, catching himself almost right away, and his eyes landed on Ladybug. His expression turned puzzled for a moment when he caught sight of her outfit, but the confusion was wiped away and replaced by straight-up excitement as soon as he caught sight of her face.

"Bugaboo!" Chat Noir exclaimed, pouncing on her at once and nearly bowling her straight over in his excitement. "You're back! Is it- is it for good? The cast is off, you're clear to come back?"

Ladybug grinned, nodding. "Yeah! I just got it off today. And I couldn't wait to come out, but I didn't want to give all of Paris a timeline for me being back if they spotted me, so-"

"Thus Coccinelle's outfit," Chat Noir finished for her. He straightened, pulling Ladybug to her feet. He grinned at her. "That threw me off, I'll admit, but it's not a bad look on you at all."

Ladybug grinned, doing a little spin just because she could. "Thanks! I- oh!" She tripped over her own feet and stumbled. Chat Noir caught her at once, putting her back on her feet.

"Careful! You only just got back out!"

"Oh, gosh, not a good start," Ladybug said with a small giggle. Thankfully her stumble hadn't been because of her leg acting up, just one of her normal stumble. "If that happens during battles, maybe you'll end up wanting Coccinelle back! I don't think me stumbling around will help make the battles any shorter."

"Don't say that." Abruptly, Chat Noir was serious, grasping her hands in his own. Ladybug blinked, taken aback. She had just been joking around, but her partner clearly wasn't, and the intensity in his eyes had taken her off-guard. "Don't worry about the time fights take, Ladybug. Seriously. Having you back and fighting at my side? That's more than worth it."

Ladybug smiled. "Thanks, Kitty."

"Of course." Chat Noir beamed at her, bright and happy and excited. A few moments passed, and then he nodded across the rooftops, grinning. "So. Are you ready for patrol?"

"Are you kidding? Let's go!"

[kuramirocket]

Whenever I visit Olvera Street, as I did a couple of weeks ago, my walk through the historic corridor is always the same.

Start at the plaza. Pass the stand where out-of-towners and politicians have donned sombreros and serapes for photos ever since the city turned this area into a tourist trap in 1930.

Look at the vendor stalls. Wonder if I need a new guayabera. Gobble up two beef taquitos bathed in avocado salsa at Cielito Lindo. Then return to my car and go home.

I’ve done this walk as a kid, and as an adult. For food crawls and quick lunches. With grad students on field trips, and with the late Anthony Bourdain for an episode of his “Parts Unknown.”

This last visit was different, though: I had my own camera crew with me.

My last chance at Hollywood fame was going to live or die on Olvera Street.

I was shooting a sizzle reel — footage that a producer will turn into a clip for television executives to determine whether I’m worthy of a show. In this case, I want to turn my 2012 book “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America” into the next “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.” Or “Somebody Feed Phil.” Or an Alton Brown ripoff. Or a TikTok series.

Anything at this point, really.

For more than a decade, I’ve tried to break into Hollywood with some success — but the experience has left me cynical. Personal experience and the historical record have taught me that studios and streamers still want Mexicans to stay in the same cinematic lane that American film has paved for more than a century. We’re forever labeled… something. Exotic. Dangerous. Weighed down with problems. Never fully developed, autonomous humans. Always “Mexican.”

Even if we’re natives of Southern California. Especially if we’re natives of Southern California.

I hope my sizzle reel will lead to something different. I doubt it will because the issue is systemic. Industry executives, producers, directors and scriptwriters can only portray the Mexicans they know — and in a perverse, self-fulfilling prophecy, they mostly only know the Mexicans their industry depicts even in a region where Latinos make up nearly half the population.

The vicious cycle even infects creators like me.

As the film crew and I left for our next location, I stopped and looked around. We were right where I began, except I now looked south on Main Street. The plaza was to my left. City Hall loomed on the horizon. The vista was the same as the opening scene of “Bordertown,” a 1935 Warner Bros. film I had seen the night before. It was the first Hollywood movie to address modern-day Mexican Americans in Los Angeles.

What I saw was more than déjà vu. It was a reminder that 86 years later, Hollywood’s Mexican problem hasn’t really progressed at all.

Birth of a stereotype

Screen misrepresentation of Mexicans isn’t just a longstanding wrong; it’s an original sin. And it has an unsurprising Adam: D.W. Griffith.

He’s most infamous for reawakening the Ku Klux Klan with his 1915 epic “The Birth of a Nation.” Far less examined is how Griffith’s earliest works also helped give American filmmakers a language with which to typecast Mexicans.

Two of his first six films were so-called “greaser” movies, one-reelers where Mexican Americans were racialized as inherently criminal and played by white people. His 1908 effort “The Greaser’s Gauntlet” is the earliest film to use the slur in its title. Griffith filmed at least eight greaser movies on the East Coast before heading to Southern California in early 1910 for better weather.

The new setting allowed Griffith to double down on his Mexican obsession. He used the San Gabriel and San Juan Capistrano missions as backdrops for melodramas embossed with the Spanish Fantasy Heritage, the white California myth that romanticized the state’s Mexican past even as it discriminated against the Mexicans of the present.

In films such as his 1910 shorts “The Thread of Destiny,” “In Old California” (the first movie shot in what would become Hollywood) and “The Two Brothers,” Griffith codified cinematic Mexican characters and themes that persist. The reprobate father. The saintly mother. The wayward son. The idea that Mexicans are forever doomed because they’re, well, Mexicans.

Griffith based his plots not on how modern-day Mexicans actually lived, but rather on how white people thought they did. 

A riot nearly broke out as Latinos felt the scene mocked them. It was perhaps the earliest Latino protest against negative depictions of them on the big screen.

But the threat of angry Mexicans didn’t kill greaser movies. Griffith showed the box-office potential of the genre, and many American cinematic pioneers dabbled in them. Thomas Edison’s company shot some, as did its biggest rival, Vitagraph Studios. So did Mutual Film, an early home for Charlie Chaplin. Horror legend Lon Chaney played a greaser. The first western star, Broncho Billy Anderson, made a career out of besting them.

These films were so noxious that the Mexican government in 1922 banned studios that produced them from the country until they “retired... denigrating films from worldwide circulation,” according to a letter that Mexican President Álvaro Obregón wrote to his Secretariat of External Relations. The gambit worked: the greaser films ended. Screenwriters instead reimagined Mexicans as Latin lovers, Mexican spitfires, buffoons, peons, mere bandits and other negative stereotypes.

That’s why “Bordertown” surprised me when I finally saw it. The Warner Bros. movie, starring Paul Muni as an Eastside lawyer named Johnny Ramirez and Bette Davis as the temptress whom he spurns, was popular when released. Today, it’s almost impossible to see outside of a hard-to-find DVD and an occasional Muni marathon on Turner Classic Movies.

Based on a novel of the same name; Muni was a non-Mexican playing a Mexican. Johnny Ramirez had a fiery temper, a bad accent and repeatedly called his mother (played by Spanish actress Soledad Jiminez ) “mamacita,” who in turn calls him “Juanito.” The infamous, incredulous ending has Ramirez suddenly realizing the vacuity of his fast, fun life and returning to the Eastside “back where I belong ... with my own people.” And the film’s poster features a bug-eyed, sombrero-wearing Muni pawing a fetching Davis, even though Ramirez never made a move on Davis’ character or wore a sombrero.

These and other faux pas (like Ramirez’s friends singing “La Cucaracha” at a party) distract from a movie that didn’t try to mask the discrimination Mexicans faced in 1930s Los Angeles. Ramirez can’t find justice for his neighbor, who lost his produce truck after a drunk socialite on her way back from dinner at Las Golondrinas on Olvera Street smashed into it. That very socialite, whom Ramirez goes on to date (don’t ask), repeatedly calls him “Savage” as a term of endearment. When Ramirez tires of American bigotry and announces he’s moving south of the border to run a casino, a priest in brownface asks him to remain.

“For what?” Ramirez replies. “So those white little mugs who call themselves gentlemen and aristocrats can make a fool out of me?”

“Bordertown” sprung up from Warner Bros.’ Depression-era roster of social-problem films that served as a rough-edged alternative to the escapism offered by MGM, Disney and Paramount. But its makers committed the same error Griffith did: They fell back on tropes instead of talking to Mexicans right in front of them who might offer a better tale.

Just take the first shot of “Bordertown,” the one I inadvertently recreated on my television shoot.

Under a title that reads “Los Angeles … the Mexican Quarter,” viewers see Olvera Street’s plaza emptier than it should be. That’s because just four years earlier, immigration officials rounded up hundreds of individuals at that very spot. The move was part of a repatriation effort by the American government that saw them boot about a million Mexicans — citizens and not — from the United States during the 1930s.

Following that opening shot is a brief glimpse of a theater marquee that advertises a Mexican music trio called Los Madrugadores (“The Early Risers”). They were the most popular Spanish-language group in Southern California at the time, singing traditional corridos but also ballads about the struggles Mexicans faced in the United States. Lead singer Pedro J. González hosted a popular AM radio morning show heard as far away as Texas that mixed music and denunciations against racism.

By the time “Bordertown” was released in 1935, Gonzalez was in San Quentin, jailed by a false accusation of statutory rape pursued by an L.A. district attorney’s office happy to lock up a critic. He was freed in 1940 after the alleged victim recanted her confession, then summarily deported to Tijuana, where Gonzalez continued his career before returning to California in the 1970s.

Doesn’t Gonzalez and his times make a better movie than “Bordertown”? Warner Bros. could have offered a bold corrective to the image of Mexican Americans if they had just paid attention to their own footage! Instead, Gonzalez’s saga wouldn’t be told on film until a 1984 documentary and 1988 drama.

Both were shot in San Diego. Both received only limited screenings at theaters across the American Southwest and an airing on PBS before going on video. No streamer carries it.

How Hollywood imagines Mexicans versus how we really are turned real for me in 2013, when I became a consulting producer for a Fox cartoon about life on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The title? “Bordertown.”

It aired in 2015 and lasted one season. I enjoyed the end product. I even got to write an episode, which just so happened to be the series finale.

The gig was a dream long deferred. My bachelor’s degree from Chapman University was in film. I had visions of becoming the brown Tarantino or a Mexican Truffaut before journalism got in the way. Over the years, there was Hollywood interest in articles or columns I wrote but never anything that required I do more than a couple of meetings — or scripts by white screenwriters that went nowhere.

But “Bordertown” opened up more doors for me and inspired me to give Hollywood a go.

While I worked on the cartoon, I got another consulting producer credit on a Fusion special for comedian Al Madrigal and sold a script to ABC that same year about gentrification in Boyle Heights through the eyes of a restaurant years before the subject became a trend. Pitch meetings piled up with so much frequency that my childhood friends coined a nickname for me: Hollywood Gus.

My run wouldn’t last long. The microagressions became too annoying.

The veteran writers on “Bordertown” rolled their eyes any time I said that one of their jokes was clichéd, like the one about how eating beans gave our characters flatulent superpowers or the one about a donkey show in Tijuana. Or when they initially rejected a joke about menudo, saying no one knew what the soup was, and they weren’t happy when another Latino writer and I pointed out that you’re pretty clueless if you’ve lived in Southern California for a while and don’t know what menudo is.

The writers were so petty, in fact, that they snuck a line into the animated “Bordertown” where the main character said, “There’s nothing worse than a Mexican with glasses” — which is now my public email to forever remind me of how clueless Hollywood is.

The insults didn’t bother me so much as the insight I gained from those interactions: The only Latinos most Hollywood types know are the janitors and security guards at the studio, and nannies and gardeners at their homes. The few Latinos in the industry I met had assimilated into this worldview as well.

Could I blame them for their ignorance when it came to capturing Mexican American stories, especially those in Southern California? Of course I can.

What ended any aspirations for a full-time Hollywood career was a meeting with a television executive shortly after ABC passed on my Boyle Heights script (characters weren’t believable, per the rejection). They repeatedly asked that I think about doing a show about my father’s life, which didn’t interest me. Comedies about immigrant parents are clichéd at this point. So one day I blurted that I was more interested in telling my stories.

I never heard from the executive again.

A pair of boots

Five years later, and that Hollywood dream just won’t leave me.

I’m not leaving journalism. But at this point, I just want to prove to myself that I can help exorcise D.W. Griffith’s anti-Mexican demons from Hollywood once and for all. That I can show the Netflix honcho they were wrong for passing on a “Taco USA” series with the excuse that the topic of Mexican food in the United States was too “limited.” And the Food Network people who said they just couldn’t see a show about the subject as being as “fun” as it was. Or the bigtime Latino actor’s production company who wanted the rights to my "¡Ask a Mexican!” book, then ghosted me after I said I didn’t hold them but I did own the rights to my brain.

When this food-show sizzle reel gets cut, and I start my Hollywood jarabe anew, I’ll keep in mind a line in “Bordertown” that Johnny Ramirez said: “An American man can lift himself up by his bootstraps. All he needs is strength and a pair of boots.”

Mexicans have had the strength since forever in this town. But can Hollywood finally give us the botas?

[lovemesomesurveys]

Do you have any tan lines? Nope. Have you ever wished you could stop time? Yes. I’ve also wished I could speed it up. Is there any pictures on the wall you're in? Yeah, there’s several. Who was the last person who called you? My mom. Did you make any money today? No.

Have you ever fallen and twisted your ankle? No. What was the highest place you've ever jumped from? I haven’t jumped from anywhere. Have you ever gone swimming in a river? No. Ever been so unfortunate to slip on wet rocks? Nope. When was the last time you got completely soaked by rain? It’s been a long time. One of the times that comes to mind is when my mom, aunt, a former friend, and I were at an outdoor festival and we got caught in an unexpected rain storm. It just started pouring down hard and we were not prepared at all. We had to run back to our car, which was parked a good distance away and yeah we were absolutely soaked. 

Is there something you really want to buy at the moment? I’d love to be able to book a beach vacation getaway. Would you ever consider culinary school? No. I’m not a cook and have no interest in trying to become one. Do you ever watch the clouds, to see if they look like objects/animals etc? I did when I was a kid sometimes. When was the last time you didn't want to get out of bed? That’s me everyday. It’s a real struggle. Are you excited for anything coming up in the near future? No. My foreseeable future consists of more doctors and appointments and struggles and spending most of my time in bed. Speaking of dancing, do you know any real dance moves? I know them, but I can’t do them. Do you save cards from your birthday/x-mas, etc? Yes. What was the last souvenir someone got you? A shirt. Do you have a favorite remix of a song? One of my favorite covers is Adele’s cover of George Michael’s “Fast Love” that she preformed at an award show in honor of him after he died. I can only describe it as hauntingly beautiful. I really wish she would have released a studio version of it. When was the last time you printed something off? I don’t recall; it’s been awhile. Are you one of those people who can learn music/songs by ear? No, I wish. There was a guy in my piano class I took my senior year in high school that could do that. It was really cool. Has the power gone out recently? No, but I have a feeling it will happen soon. It always does when we have a lot of triple digit degree weather, which is what this week has consisted of. Do you like driving at night? I don’t drive, but I like nighttime drives. Like, whenever I travel I love leaving really early when it’s still dark out. It’s a different experience. Does seeing roadkill make you sad, or just grossed out? Both. Does wearing heels make you feel sexier? I don’t wear heels. What do you think is the most saddest sounding instrument? The piano can sound that way. What day do you go back to school (if you're in school)? I’m forever done with school. When was the last time you've gone shopping with a friend? It’s been a few years. Do you ever go out to dinner with your Mom? We haven’t physically gone out to eat for dinner in quite a long time.  What is your favorite kind of salad dressing? Ranch. Have you ever bought fireworks? Not me personlly, but my dad and brother do every 4th of July. Do you really pay attention to the ratings on movies? Sometimes, but I ultimately decide if I want to see it or not. Have you ever snuck in to a theater/dance/bar etc? No. If given the chance, would you go to Ireland? Sure. Who was the last person/website to send you an email? I don’t feel like checking. Has your phone ever rang and scared you? Yeah. I’m such a jumpy person anyway. If you have a cat, does it ever "converse" with you? I don’t have a cat. If given the chance, would you ever fly in a fighter plane like the F-16? No. Are you afraid of standing on the edge of hills/skyscrapers/cliffs etc? Uh, YES. Do you have a favorite species of wild cat (tiger/lion/cougar etc)? No. Do you support the funds designed to protect endangered animals? (Like WWF). I haven’t done much myself to support them, but I’m glad they exist. What type of a drunk are you? (Obnoxious, calm, emotional, violent, etc) I was a chatty drunk. I feel like I was annoying, ha. I was also the sad drunk. Do you have an absolute favorite name (boy or girl)? I love the name Alexander. Are you good at pronouncing foreign words? Uhh, depends. If you're not already, when do you plan on getting married? I don’t want to get married. Can you tolerate the smell of cigarette smoke? Nooo. It honestly makes me sick, like I get lightheaded and dizzy, I get nauseous, and I get a really bad headache. When listening to music, do you usually tap your foot etc to the beat? I sometimes tap my fingers and hands. Have you ever literally cried on a friend's shoulder? No. Was there something that "made your day" today? It literally just turned midnight, so today is just now starting. Do you have a favorite kind of chocolate bar? White chocolate. Are you happy that it's summer? Ugh, no. It’s hot and miserable. Is there anything that you should be doing right now? I’m about to make my nightly bowl of ramen.  Has anyone had expectations that you just couldn't live up to? (finishing this a couple hours later...) That’s how I’ve been feeling. Are you currently in a relationship? If so, how long have you been dating? Nope. Would you ever consider being a DJ at a party if you were paid? Nah. Have you ever tried those electric toothbrushes? Wow, this question makes it seem like they’re so futuristic and rare lol. Yes, I use electric toothbrushes. Are you or anyone you know devoted to "being green"? Not overly so, no. When it comes election time, do you vote (if you're old enough)? Yes. What was the last movie you watched that was on TV? I watched Fear 1994 on Netflix recently if that counts. How long have you had an account on bzoink? I don’t have an account on bzoink. Do strapless bras work for you? I don’t like them. I only wear them if I have to, like with a dress. Do you have a favorite hair elastic that you use almost always? No. Has anyone told you that they wanted to marry you/ were planning on it/etc? No. When you were younger, did you have a yoyo? I did. I couldn’t do any tricks, though. What was the last video game you played, if any? Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Has anyone ever called you nerdy? Yeah. Have you ever had to call 911? Yes. Has there ever been a tornado near where you live? No, fortunately. Are you a rollercoaster addict? Noo. I’m a big scardy cat. Do you feel comfortable enough to wear short shorts? No. I’m very self-conscious about my legs. About my body in general, really. If you have iTunes, do you find the Genius recommendations helpful? I don’t even recall what that is; I haven’t used iTunes in almost 10 years. Are you quick at looking up numbers in phonebooks/ words in dictionaries? Phonebooks, wow.  I haven’t used a phonebook or actual dictionary in yearsssss thanks to the Internet/Google.  Have a favorite actor/actress from Old Hollywood? (Marilyn Munroe, etc) Lucille Ball. Out of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, which are you the best at? None of those. Is there a friend you can always talk to about anything? I don’t have any friends. Can you stand spicy foods? Not anymore. :( It’s gotta have like barely anything like McDonald’s or Taco Bell mild hot sauce type of stuff. It’s wild because I used to be obSESSED with spicy food. I put hot sauce on everything and had a high spicy tolerance. Then a few years ago I developed a sensitivity and I can’t even have red pepper flakes now. It sucks. What's your opinion on people who stretch their ears? Hey, do what you want. I’ll admit the really stretched out lobes freak me out, though. Do you think tattoos are expressive art or unattractive? To me they can be either one, it just depends. What is your school mascot? -- Do you find black and white photos to be pretty? Yeah. Food you make doesn't taste as good as food made by others, true? Sometimes. Especially foods like sandwiches for some reason. I think they’re way better when my mom or a deli makes them.  Is there a certain color that doesn't look good on you? I don’t think I look good in anything, so. Have you ever heard anything interesting about Nova Scotia, Canada? Not that I can recall. Have you ever seen a bear in the wild? No, thankfully. Do you know when you will get to see your significant other next? I’m single. What's the book you're currently reading? ”Such a Good Girl” by Willow Rose. Is your room currently a disaster? No. If going to a concert, do you prefer it to be outside or in a stadium? Definitely in a stadium.

Do you have a case for your camera? I use the camera on my phone, which I do have a case for. Can your cellphone take a beating? I’ve dropped it a few times and so far so good. Is there a month you prefer over others? October and December. Do you ever buy lottery tickets? Just a couple of times. Can you recall the most disturbing movie you've ever seen? A Clockwork Orange is one. Are you more of a tape or a glue person? Tape. Of course, it does depend on what I’m doing. In some cases, glue is the better option.  Has anyone you know gotten mono? Not that I know of. What is/or was your graduating year? I graduated UC in 2015. Have you had a weird dream lately? All my dreams are weird. Have you ever gotten an autograph from someone famous? Yes. Do you own a pair of slippers? No. Do you ever watch VHS movies anymore? No. I don’t even recall the last time. Has your computer ever decided to completely erase itself? No, but I’ve lost stuff because of viruses back in the day. :(

Only when the power goes out do we realize how much we rely on it, true? It definitely becomes quite apparent quite quickly. Have you ever picked an apple off the tree and eaten it? No. Can you say yes / no in different languages? ”Si” and “No”, ha. Are you good at styling your own hair? No. Especially not anymore since I just don’t have the motivation or energy to do anything with my hair, which is why it was always up in a bun. I finally just cut it really short and have been wearing a cute wig if I go somewhere cause that’s all I can to do right now. I am sad, though. It was so long.   Out of the traditional superheroes, which one is your favorite? The Scarlett Witch and Iron Man. What color is the shirt you're wearing right now? Black. Have you ever been lost? Physically and figuratively, yes.

[purplesurveys]

1166

survey by ecpjll

What year were you born? 1998.

Are you female or male or don't classify yourself as either? Appreciate this question. Am female.

Do you have a pet? If so, what is it? Yes, I have two dogs.

Are you closer to your mom or dad? I would say I am closer to my dad, but our relationship is still very casual. Like I’ve said in other surveys, my parents aren’t people I would confide with or even hug. We just weren’t able to build such a relationship.

Do you have any siblings? Yup, I also have two.

What continent do you live on? Asia.

What country do you call home? It is barely a home at this point so to speak, but the Philippines. I rarely say it proudly though lol.

Have you finished your education yet? Yes.

Have you ever been to a school dance? I’ve been to my own school prom and have been invited to a dance of another school as well. Not my favorite event, but I did enjoy the food for both hahaha.

Do you have an account on YouTube? I do have a channel, but I never comment or post videos of my own. I just use it to be able to tailor my homepage to my interests, to like videos, and subscribe.

Do you like to read? I do, but as I grew older I’ve since gravitated to mostly non-fiction. I like reading essays and memoirs, and will take forever (assuming I do progress) with fictional works.

Are you any good at Math? To an extent. I’m fairly comfortable with advanced algebra, statistics, and geometry; but I draw the line at trig and calc lol.

Do you enjoy watching cartoon Disney movies? Some, not all of them.

Do you think Johnny Depp is talented? I haven’t watched much of his filmography since his reportoire admittedly doesn’t fall under my taste in movies, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think he is talented. If anything, his wide range of roles over the last few decades speaks for itself.

Have you ever tried beer? Yeah. It’s not my favorite and I am already saying that nicely; but I will still drink it in a social setting. I’ve never gotten over the burps that you can get out of it though. Absolutely nasty.

On a scale of 1-10, how attractive do u think you are? Like 8 on a good day, 5 if I’m feeling blah.

Have you ever tried a new food, and threw it up right away? What was it? I have never done that with any dish. The most I would do is wince if I really don’t like it, then work my way through chewing until I can swallow it and just choose not to take a second bite.

Did you ever fall off the top of a slide as a kid? I don’t think so. I never had any nasty bumps or falls as a kid, and most of my wounds and cuts were gotten from me running and tripping.

How about falling off monkey bars? No. I was actually scared of monkey bars so I rarely flocked to them.

Fallen off a swing? Never happened.

Were you ever beaten up when you were younger than 10 years old? No. My eldest cousin and I liked getting into horseplay as kids, but he always stopped once I asked him to. I was never beaten up in school either but that is also because that’s not the culture here, at least in all-girls schools.

Are your grandparents still alive? I have three grandparents still alive and fortunately still very much healthy.

Do you know how to skip (jump rope)? Yes, I jump roped a lot as a kid and the skill didn’t get lost over the years.

Did you play outside A LOT as a kid? Yes, nearly every afternoon. My neighbors were kids of the same age so we always got together. I wonder where they are now...

Did you like where you grew up? Yes, I found it to be a quiet and peaceful place for a kid to grow up in. But since I’ve lived in residential villages all my life, it’s also about time I spread my wings a little bit so I can’t wait to be able to move to a big city.

Did you have friends in your neighborhood to play with? Yes, I just mentioned that.

Did any of your friends have a pool you swam in? Just one of them, Raegan; but she was also filthy rich, so. Hahahaha. Her house also had a huge garden, a bar, and a theater. I’m also pretty sure we weren’t even shown the entire house.

Is it called "junior high" where you live? (before high school) Now they do. During my time as a student, Grade 1 to Grade 7 was just called grade school, then it was followed by high school. Now that we’ve adjusted our school curriculum to be more similar to Western standards, we’ve also started to adopt junior high as a term.

Or is called "middle school"? No one calls it middle school here.

Can you NOT start your day without a cup of coffee? I would preferably start it with coffee because it helps me feel energized to do my tasks in the morning; but I have days where I go without it. I can go both ways.

You love: men or women? (sexually) Eh, mostly ace here.

Have you ever read an Archie comic? A few.

Did you grow up in the 1990s? I was barely conscious during the 90s, so I really don’t think I get to say yes.

Did you have a cup of tea with breakfast growing up? No, I had my breakfasts with Milo instead.

Was your family ever on social assistance/welfare? Nope.

Was anyone in your family ever physically abusive? I wouldn’t say so, because that implies it’s a habit. I can think of family members who had the occasional tendency to resort to violence when drunk, though.

How about verbally or emotionally abusive? I can definitely think of one from my immediate family alone.

Can you run as fast as you can for more than 5 minutes at a time? No.

Do you have a favorite singer or a fave band? I have one for both.

Was it different when you were a kid? (your taste in music) I didn’t have much of a taste as a kid, tbh. The ones that have lasted with me to this day are Paramore and Beyoncé, but I was already 10/11 when I got into them.

Your 1st crush was...on who? How old were you? I would say it was Andi. I was around 12 when I started feeling all fuzzy around her, but not long after she migrated to New Zealand so I was never able to do anything about it.

Are you currently working/have a job? Yes.

Are you trying to lose weight? Nope. If anything I’m trying to gain some; I’m too light.

Whose side of the family you prefer? Mom's or dad's? Mom’s. I don’t know most of my dad’s side outside of his immediate family, and I remember our family reunion three years ago barely feeling like one because I couldn’t recognize a lot of the people there.

Do you consider yourself a good kisser? Sure.

[stevesharrlngtons]

120 steve

he’s pampering me, let him be 

not a shot for shot scene (bc u know im not a fan), but may hold slight spoilers for those who haven’t finished st3 yet. but it’s kinda an au? idk, but i hope you enjoy lmao

you were getting sick and fucking tired of coming so close to your death. you were far too young to have seen what you had, experience the trauma that had been dished your way, and have to live forever with the knowledge of interdimensional creatures out for blood.  

and as you sat now in the starcount food court, with blood caked skin, a throbbing headache and the knowledge of possessions, russian spies and more upside down bullshit, you longed deeply for a time when wondering if steve would like your new lip color was your biggest problem. that’s what mattered, not hoping that you would evade monsters and live to see the next day.  

everything just kept happening so fast. in ‘83 it felt like days. in ‘84, weeks. now, you swore you, robin, steve, dustin and erica had been fighting for months, years even. you had to remind yourself continually that it was only friday, and not months in the future. two days ago steve had planned a date for the two of you. nothing fancy, just a movie and burgers at the drive in, but you had been looking forward to it. you had been looking forward to a night off. you were supposed to be swapping spit with your boyfriend in the back of a movie theater, not listening to chief hopper and dustin play rapid catch up on the newest threats.  

you gnawed at your thumb nail, letting your mind go blank and take a rest. you weren’t sure when you’d be privy to another calm moment like this. it needed all the time it could get.

you stayed in your blissfully unaware bubble until you felt a tap on your shoulder. thumb still resting on your lips, you glanced up to see one of the men who had come in with hopper looming over you.

when he saw he caught your attention, he shook his hand at you gently. he held a damp handkerchief and was montioning to your blood covered knees.

“oh, um thank you.” you offered a sweet smile as you gingerly took the handkerchief from the man, who grinned when you took it.

he then turned to the other tag along, muttered in words you could now recognized as russian and looked back to you, smile still intact.

“he says to tell him if you need anything else.” the man informed you.

“uh, alright. tell him thank you?” you breathed an uncomfortable laugh as your eyes darted between the two strange men.

“она говорит спасибо.”

she says thank you.

his grin only widened.

“i don’t think i caught your name, either of you.” you looked between both of them again.

“murray bauman,” he extended his hand which you took, ���and this is alexei.”

“(y/n) (y/l/n), it’s a pleasure. though, i wish it weren’t under less threatening circumstances.” you said with a charismatic lit to your voice.

murray relied your words in russian as you shook alexei’s hand, who placed his free hand on the back of your hand clasped in his.

“удовольствие все мое.”

the pleasure is mine.

with him still holding you hand, you glanced over to murray, your smile staying put as to not tip alexei off on your slight discomfort.

“he says the pleasure is all his.”  

“quite the charmer.” you demurely dipped your head.

“она сказала, что ты очаровательный.”

she says you’re charming.

“она очаровательная.” alexei replied almost instantly, a slight blush dusting his cheeks.

murray chuckled, “he says you’re the charming one.”

“did he flirt with joyce this much?” you prompted, turning back to rid the blood from your knees.

“that was jim’s prerogative.” murray scoffed, and you laughed.

“well, it is nice to know that i am the least bit alluring in this state. i feel like i’ve been hit by a truck.”

alexei’s eyes were ping ponging between you and murray as you spoke out of his native tongue.

“так?“

so?

“она польщена твоим флиртом.”

she is flattered by your flirting.

alexei didn’t reply, but his bashful look said it all.

while you cleaned, alexei flirted and murray translated, steve stood watching it all from a far. his eyes narrowed as he watched you laugh and reply back to whatever murray had just said. the russian asshole he was with was giving you some looks steve didn’t approve of. this green feeling wasn’t unfamiliar territory for steve, but he didn’t think he’d be experiencing it here and now, of all times.

you were naturally appealing and attractive to others, you exuded it. people were drawn to you, adored and worshipped you when your orbit caught them. you couldn’t turn it off, couldn’t push people away, no matter the situation. but right now, steve wished you could.

“aye, what do you think they’re talkin’ about?” steve elbowed robin and tipped his chin over to where you sat.

robin observed the scene for a moment before speaking.

“if i had to guess? russian doctor dude is trying to butter up your girl. i can tell from here he’s flirting hard core.”

steve didn’t need any more encouragement than that to stalk across the food court toward to three of you. when he arrived, steve joined in on the laughter, his obviously forced and angry.

“wow, what’s so funny over here? didn’t think the end of the world would be a laughing matter.” steve practically berated.

“well, we were actually just making light of this situation. we’ve done this before, baby. y’know if we get to in our heads, we crumble.” you reached up to take steve’s hand in yours hoping it would calm him, but his resolve only hardened.

“yeah, yeah, yeah, cool, cool, cool. so, shitbag soviet over here ain’t bothering you?” steve glared daggers into a very confused alexei.

“oh, goodey. another man in this group incapable of expressing their insecurities in a constructive way.” murray chimed in sarcastically.

“the fuck you just say?” steve took a step forward and puffed out his chest at murray’s comment. sadly, only proving murray’s point further.

you quickly turned around to the two men behind you and kept a death grip on your boyfriend’s hand.  

“murray, darling. alexei,” he perked up at the mention of his name, “can you both go grab me a cup of ice and something to eat? i’m starved.”

“она попросила лед и еду.” murray relayed.

she asked for ice and food.

“женский мальчик ее разозлил?” alexei asked, worried.

did the feminine boy make her angry?

“нет, что-то говорит мне, что она много занимается этим.” murray snorted a laugh before leading alexei off to find what you requested.

no, i have a feeling she deals with this a lot.

“what? what did they say about me?” steve craned his neck to watch them leave.

“sorry, i didn’t become fluent in russian since the last time i saw you.” you replied.

“well, i know it was about me. commie assholes.” he cursed.

you slapped his leg, “hey! what the hell?”

“those commie assholes are helping us figure this shit out. don’t be an a dick.”

“you’re only saying that because he’s kissing your ass.” steve muttered as he flexed his jaw.

“can’t get mad at him for something you love to do too, harrington.” you shot him a smile.

he looked at you and rolled his eyes, why did your smile have to be so cute? could you stop being so cute for five fucking seconds?

“whatever, it’s still annoying. even robin could tell how thick he was laying it on with you.” steve grimaced, coming to sit next to you.

“he’s pamering me, let him be.” you sighed and rested your temple against his shoulder. as you did, steve slung his arm around you.

“i should be pampering you. not that fuckin’ babushka.” steve brought you closer to him, reveling in your closeness and satiating his protective instinct.

somehow after a day of running from russians, being tortured and sweating from pure fear, you still smelled amazing. god, he hated how perfect you were sometimes.

“let him. let’s me conserve my energy for when i pamper you after this is all over.” you lifted your head briefly to press a kiss to his cheek.

“if we get out of this.”

“we will. this is all gonna work out.”

steve wasn’t so sure. there was still so much that could go wrong. the obstacles were rising and viable plans were dwindling. billy was out there with his army of flayed, ready and waiting to kill them all, and their one weapon was weak and acting faulty. but, steve wasn’t going to let himself be cynical. like you said, you had done this before, side by side and won. so what was a third time? what was the saying? third time’s the charm? he could only hope that applied now.

but in case it didn’t, steve memorized this moment with you. curled to his chest, smelling like fresh air and wild flowers.

feedback is greatly appreciated!!

requests are closed 

[dcnnafms]

*  taps  the  mic  * testing , testing , 1 , 2 , 3 .... hello ? *  clears  throat  * hi guys & gals & non binary pals  !!  i’m  taylor  weighing  in  at  the  solid  age  of 20  years  old  aka  a  glorified  teenager  because  really  what  can  i  do  that  a  19  year  old  can’t  lmao ?  i’m  from  the  est  & couldn’t  be  more  excited  to  have  found  this  beautiful  gem  of  a  roleplay  !  honestly i haven’t been this excited about a group in ... forever  !  so i cannot wait to start roleplaying with you all  !   but for now i’m going to leave you with this intro because i’m going to the pats game tonight  ?!  and need to run & get ready because my friends are on the way  !  without further ado though , i think it’s time for me to introduce you to my lil baby donna who i haven’t played in like 7 months so please bare with me here while i find my footing with her again !  if you’d like to plot just give this a like or shoot me an im & i promise i’ll get back to you when i get home later tonight !

note : here career is here in this post btw !

╰   stats .  ◞,

click here for the statistics page  .

╰   pinterest .  ◞,

click here for the pinterest page  .

╰   playlist .  ◞,

1. let you go by machine gun kelly , 2. bmo by ari lennox  ,  3. death by trippie redd ft. dababy  ,  4. agree to disagree by sleeping with siren  ,  5.  night shift by dave east ft. lil baby  , 6. violent crimes by kanye west  ,  7. runaway by aurora  ,  8. love song by lana del rey  ,  9. all the good girls go to hell by billie eilish  ,  10.  i think im okay by machine gun kelly ft. yungblood  ,  11. envy me by calboy  ,  12. cash s**t by megan thee stallion ft. dababy  ,  13. yellow hearts by ant sanders  ,  14. what to do? by jackboys ft. don toliver  ,  15. the git up by blanco brown  ,  16. erase your social by lil uzi vert  ,  17. everything i wanted by billie eilish  ,  18.  bandit by juice wrld ft youngboy never broke again  ,  19. bop by dababy  ,  20. candy by machine gun kelly ft. trippie redd  . 

╰   biography  .  ◞,

an only child born to a secretary for a mother & an often unemployed father in athens , ohio in late 1996 . life for young donna was nothing out of any film you would enjoy watching . a childhood full of neglect & growing up much too fast for your own good . her father , matthew , had fallen into heavy addiction just a year before donna’s birth & her mother , denise , had learned to bury her sorrows with a bottle of alcohol . well below the poverty index there were many nights she knew she wouldn’t come home to food on the table but instead a slew of addicts getting their high in the middle of the living room , keeping the young girl up at all times of the night with their rowdy antics . 

by the time she reached third grade she’d learned that her day at school would go over much more smoothly if she made sure she had her backpack, coat & on the one off chance that there was enough food in the house pack her lunch , because if she waited for one of her parents to do it for her she’d never make it to school on time . her mom often had to rush to work in a hungover state & her father didn’t wake up until after she was already due for school , so donna had relied on the bus to get to & from school each day . 

at twelve she’d realized that she was much happier the less time she spent at home & so she did all she could to stay out with her friends . she became one of those kids you passed wondering where their parents were at that time of night as them & their friends wreaked havoc in the streets of athens . picking up smoking weed at the ripe age of thirteen , she quickly learned nothing was a better fix for how much she’d hated her life than a quick blunt . she’d fallen into a dark place at a very young age & from her perspective there was really no way out of the downward spiral she had fallen into . she blamed her parents for messing her up so badly & often when she was home it turned into blows between herself & her parents the end result always landed her at one of her friends houses for the night. 

it wasn’t until she was fifteen that she befriended a new girl whose parents took a liking to donna & really took her in . it was something like a safe haven spot for her , somewhere she always knew she could go & they’d want to hear about her day or feed her . they’re the ones who learned of donna’s wanting to join the school theater club & urged her to do so . they attended her first performance & her second, third , fourth , etc . 

one of her performances at the school garnered the attention of a screenwriter who felt she was a perfect fit for a character they were in the process of creating . this was when her first hollywood deal came , initially turning it down as she had no means to so much as leave the city of athens forget travel to an entirely different state . the screenwriter offered to take care of her completely & before she knew it she was working on the first installment of the hunger games . 

when she got back to athens after spending a few months in los angeles she’d realized just how much potential there was out in the world . at this point she decided to take things within her life a bit more seriously . there was a life outside of athens , ohio & donna was craving for it now . making the conscious decision to focus on her schooling with the hopes that she’d be able to get into a decent university . college had never been so much as thought for donna before she’d left the city but after filming a movie , she realized almost anything was possible even for someone like her . 

during this same year , her parents split up & her father got back together with his highschool sweetheart , this prompted her father to admit to donna that she had a brother who was three years older than her , who was actually in college . the two got to know one another fairly well when he’d come back home from school during breaks & the two found themselves loving the idea of having a sibling . mutually upset that they’d spent so much of their time not knowing each other so much as existed . donna lived with her father & step-mother amanda in athens & the change in her father was more than visible .  she was more than happy that her father had gotten on the straight & narrow , no matter what had to take place for it to happen & who he needed in his life for it to take place . in this time her mother moved to cincinnati & the separation actually made the relationship between donna & her mother stronger . 

in 2014 , she graduated from highschool & had committed to attending ohio state university as a theater major . during her time in columbus , ohio she & her new found friends took a liking to the downtown area where they found a hidden gem bar that often held open mic nights . this is where donna was really able to cultivate her love for stand up , despite dabbling in it a few times back in high school & whenever she was out in los angeles . she took to college well & somehow managed to juggle her education , career & social life fairly well . if you ask her how she did it , she’ll always give all the credit to her brother brody & maybe some residual credit to weed . 

in her sophomore year she’d fallen in love for the very first time , with one of the quarterbacks at her university . they dated for two years before he’d decided to transfer to lousiana state university . she understood why he did it , he had a career in football he was chasing & she couldn’t be mad at him about that . despite the long distance & at times very hectic schedules between the two of them she worked on being the most supportive girlfriend she could to him & made it out to any & every game she possibly could of his . 

after graduating from ohio state she moved down to lousiana in hopes to be with him more but her career kind of kept going & so she was nearly in louisiana just as often as she had been before moving down there. they made it work for a good amount of time , but the distance just started to become a little too much . donna is someone who craves affection after a childhood of not much affection to be sparred . she caught herself at times during the relationship on the verge of cheating , but she is a staunch believer that if you truly love someone you could never do something of that magnitude to them . it was a mutual break up , that came in the early months of 2019 . 

she’s now been living in calabasas since she moved out of louisiana & is learning to get back onto her feet without someone there to uplift her  . 

╰   scandal  .  ◞,

on december 23rd of 2019 a sex tape with donna’s name plastered all over it had been released online . it was a sex tape of her & her ex who by this time has cemented himself as the likely first round pick in the nfl draft . the sex tape took off & it seemed as though every time her team managed to get it down , it popped up somewhere else . both donna & her ex knew neither one was to blame for the leaking of the sex tape & so they worked together to figure out who was behind it , today their getting closer & closer to finding the person who did it . despite this , the tape is still able to be viewed on the internet it you dig hard enough . although not many have to do that as it had gone vial upon it’s initial release back in december . 

[nancywheelxr]

What do you think a rom com with Ritchie and Eddie would look like?

Oh my goodness, okay, I actually have two ideas?

The first is a teen rom-com set in modern times because I don’t wanna deal with period-typical homophobia of the 80s and the Losers are all friends like in canon and Ben and Bev are probably a subplot happening in the background. It’s a typical very cliché friends-to-lovers plot, where Richie and Eddie have been friends since forever, but it’s Senior Year and while Richie isn’t out yet, it feels like he’s missing his last chance to say anything to Eddie.

Bev is the only one who knows because she guessed it in Junior Year, and she keeps telling him to just go for it, and ask Eddie to prom. The movie would be mostly following the Losers as they all pile up in Eddie’s mom’s minivan to check out some nearby colleges and Richie and Eddie just,,,, pining. So much mutual pining during the whole trip. Someone, maybe Mike, insists on either photographing everything or recording everything for posteriority. 

There are lots of misadventures in the minivan, they probably run out of gas at some point, or can’t find a cheap hotel to stay the night, get kicked out of diners and one time probably a club. 

When prom comes around, Richie hasn’t worked up the nerve to ask Eddie out yet, but Bev gives him the standard bff pep talk and points out it’s Senior goddamn Year, it’s the perfect time of taking chances, and she shows him Mike’s recordings of the trip and it’s just,,,, it’s so clear Eddie is as much in love with Richie. So cue in Richie running to find Eddie because his a dramatic bitch and they bicker about something stupid before Richie finally blurts out a confession.

Again, cue in the cheesy kissing scene in the middle of prom.

*

In the second one, they would be adults. Eddie is recently divorced and in LA for some job conference or training or something like that and Richie is a stand-up comedian doing pretty well, actually, but while they used to be friends as kids, they haven’t talked in years.

They run into each other in a coffee shop, totally by accident, and Richie invites Eddie to his show that night. At first, Eddie has no intention on actually going, too awkward to revisit his past like that and he doesn’t even know Richie anymore, for gods sake, it’s been almost ten years, and there’s no point, since he’s going back to New York in a week. Then, it cuts back to Eddie in his hotel room, alone, looking at the ticket, at Richie’s name, and we have a flashback to them as kids, goofing around with the rest of the Losers, maybe ending with the hammock scene but through Eddie’s eyes, and the light just frames Richie ina dream-like vibe, letting us know Eddie had been very much crushing on his best friend at the time.

So, obviously, Eddie does the first impulsive thing in years and goes to the show. Richie sees him in the audience and actually gives him a shout out not to leave before they could talk, and Eddie blushes and scowls at the attention, but stays until Richie is done. And it’s actually funnier than Eddie thought it would be? He tells Richie as much and they bicker and just like that they’re back-- it’s like no time has passed. They both changed so much since high school, but it feels like they, Eddie-and-Richie, haven’t changed.

They go out that night and the idea is to go to a bar and get absolutely wasted but Richie is hungry and Eddie is not touching some street food with a ten-foot-pole so they end up in an empty McDonalds after midnight at the other side of town because Richie is banned from both Wendy’s and the McDonalds near the  theater and Eddie got them kicked out of the Burger King nearby. 

And they just. Talk. They catch up and laugh and talk about nothing at all before Richie offers to take Eddie back to his hotel since it’s like four in the morning and Eddie has a work thing in the morning.

The movie goes on to show them relearning everything about each other, but Eddie hasn’t mentioned yet he’s going back to New York soon, and he actually doesn’t want to go back, wants to stay here in stupid insanitary LA with stupid Richie Tozier like he’s thirteen and stupidly in love again.

Richie invites him to a party, maybe at some famous comedian so we would get a cameo like Keanu Reeves in Always Be My Maybe, and Eddie goes, and Richie is super nervous because hello??? This could actually be his big break??? it’s his opportunity to make connections and shit????? Cue in Eddie fixing his tie for him because he keeps messing it up and Richie is freaking out, so Eddie like, has this big speech about how much Richie can do this, he’s talented, he’s funny, and even though he’s annoying as fuck and drives Eddie crazy, he’s got this.

So, of course, Richie kisses him mid-sentence.

But, of course, Eddie has to go back to New York, so once he sees Richie’s doing his thing and schmoozing and just fine, he leaves the party early, goes to pack his stuff. His flight is like, the next morning or something for added angst. He leaves Richie a voicemail saying goodbye from the airport and we have yet another flashback scene but it’s of the night before Eddie is leaving for college and Richie’s pissed they’re gonna be states away, but he throws rocks at Eddie’s window until Eddie lets him in and they don’t talk about it, Eddie just makes space for him on the bed. Richie’s gone in the morning.

Fast forward three months later and Eddie hasn’t heard back from Richie, so he tries to move on, again, goddamn it, he can’t believe this is the second time he’s trying to get over Richie.

Eddie is waiting for his coffee, and there is a line, so he’s checking his watch and watching traffic out the window, when someone taps him on the shoulder. He whirls around ready to glare them to hell but it’s not just anyone. It’s Richie.

Richie is there, in New York, grinning at Eddie and Eddie is like what the fuck what when uh what when

Turns out, the party went more than fine, Richie scored an audition on SNL, and while he was absolutely pissed at Eddie for leaving like that, he’s also too in love to hold a grudge. He hadn’t wanted to say anything in case the whole SNL thing fell through, but it’s official now, Richie’s got a place here already, he’s staying in New York.

And, you know, they live happily ever after.

*

Anyway, anon, I’m sorry for going overboard but I love romcoms and I also love talking movies hypothetical movie scripts, and you don’t understand, five more minutes and I’m gonna have the soundtrack for the second one.

[lunawings]

King of Prism SSS Episode 6 commentary (Minato)

The final episode of Part 2!

This was originally my favorite of the three episodes we are shown in the theatrical “Part 2″. But it was also the one I was most awake for at the time haha. Nowadays I think Joji’s is probably my favorite of the Part 2 episodes, but this one still has a very, very special place in my heart......... AS BIG AS THE OCEAN.......... 

And right off the bat we’re referencing the hidden curry subplot in Pride the Hero. Well, maybe it was obvious to some people, but I definitely wouldn’t have fully known about this subplot without reading about it. Basically early on in Pride the Hero there is a scene where Hiro casually refuses to eat Minato’s curry. Minato can be seen working on his recipe during the movie, but in the end it’s Kouji’s honey/apple curry recipe which gets Hiro back on his feet. Minato sees this as a failure on his part. 

If there is ever a scene where anyone is crying (there will be a few more examples of this before the end of SSS) take a look at Leo. If anyone else is crying, it’s basically guaranteed that Leo is also crying too. He doesn’t even know why Minato is crying here!!! LeoooooOOO..............

Everyone always cheers for Taiga here! Good job.

Okay, according to the Part 2 pamphlet, from left to right...

Misaki, Nagisa, Gen, Kou, Shiho. 

They all have sort of marine-related names. (cape, shore, broadside of a ship, sailing, saltwater...)

And these two we already met in Young of Prism. 

(Ushio means tide, Tsubasa means wing....)

I really love the voice work on Shiho here. She really sounds so natural. So cute. Favorite Minato sibling.

I know I said Yukinojo’s grandpa was best King of Prism old man, but I’m not sure anymore. Minato’s grandpa is also in the running ahah. I love his intense drama and yet down to typical old man-ness at the same time. HAVE A FISH.

OVER RAIN

Okay this one is forgivable because he says their abbreviated name “O-Ba-Re” which I always struggle to translate. Usually I just spell it all out or put OtR.

It was established in this episode that Minato can taste when something has been made with love. 

This means that Yamada-san’s ramen noodles were clearly MADE WITH LOVE at least.

I think at one point I posted a shitty out of context spoiler about the DARK HISTORY of Edel Rose. Here you go ahah. 

The cheering audience loves Yukinojo’s reaction here. Everyone be like.... nu nu nu nu nu nu..............

This is the only time I know Taiga has been associated with soba except for when they just kind of decided to make it his food item on Prism Rush........ (because I guess pudding a la mode wasn’t a thing back then..............) 

Minato’s reaction is notably a bit more low key than the other boys during Kakeru’s turn.

Kakeru’s catering WASNT MADE WITH LOVE 

Every time I see this I think to myself that I have got to figure out where this is and go there. But I haven’t yet. 

Shizuoka isn’t that far from me and I go there every few months or so for Love Live stuff or to visit Shizuoka Prism Stone, etc. A few days before Part 2 premiered I was actually in Shizuoka and actually spent a good amount of time thinking of things I might see from Shizuoka in Minato’s episode. I was at a tourist attraction (Izu-Mito Sea Paradise) where I went to the snack bar and noticed they had Mishima croquettes. It was the first time I had heard of them. But I decided on something else instead. 

So every time I see this, I think......... should have got the croquette....... 

(and now I must live with the regret.............. forever......................) 

I talk a lot about how this or that is art in SSS. 

But Minato meeting Kouji REALLY IS ART 

In the stream someone called this a “prismgasm” and now I can’t get that out of my head thanks.................................

I love how Minato is not the first, but SECOND Edel Rose boy just entered into Edel Rose against his will by a family member ahaah. (After Taiga by his sister.) 

Okay so, let’s pause for a minute. 

As you can see here this is a senior high school application. So this means Minato was never in the junior high division of Kakyouin Academy and went straight to senior high. 

If we rewind back to Kakeru’s episode, you’ll remember that there was a flashback where Yukinojo met Kakeru back in the heyday of Edel Rose, and they were both wearing junior high uniforms. So this means that a.) The first member of the seven to enter Edel Rose was probably Yukinojo and b.) Kakeru and Yukinojo are the two who have known each other the longest. 

I don’t think you can make an exact timeline of who joined when, but it’s possible to piece together a rough estimate of the order everyone joined by the end of SSS.

So this actually destroys my headcanon that the reason Minato calls Kakeru “Kazuo” is because they have known each other the longest and he knew him before he was Kakeru. So now I don’t know what to think about that anymore ahah. 

Anyway Minato why are you taking the Shinkansen to Tokyo. It’s only like 3 hours from Shizuoka!!! That is insanely close (...... from my perspective...............) what a waste of money haha. 

Favorite Minato face of all time by far. 

Oh gosh this scene. This scene. Where do I even begin. I love, LOVED seeing this side of Minato. He’s always everyone’s rock (excuse me harbor) so it’s really mindblowing to actually see him all nervous and flustered and just oh gosh it made me love him so much more. 

And not to mention Kouji just dragging a boy he’s known for three seconds to eat a children’s lunch......

Everyone goes nuts for this at cheering and agrees they still want to eat this kind of lunch as an adult. I guess I don’t quite understand because I was never a child in Japan haha. But this was the only moment at the mostly quiet 8am showing (when I saw it for the first time) where I could hear people laughing/freaking out.

I have mentioned this already but I just have to say I really love this line. This moment. This whole concept. Minato can taste love. 

I didn’t think it was noticeable from Young of Prism, but when we actually met all of Minato’s siblings and saw that Tsubasa is basically the only one who doesn’t have a marine color scheme or a directly marine-related name.... Even before this scene in the back of my head I was like..... hm...... 

The least they could have done was given her a marine-themed name geez

I had to go back and slightly change some wording in my Young of Prism translation because of this reveal.

I WAS REALLY EXCITED WHEN I SAW THIS, AND THEN ACTUALLY DISAPPOINTED WHEN KOUJI CAME

I WANTED TO SEE SHIN’S COOKING

SHIN BABY WHAT WERE YOU GONNA COOK

Also his face

It’s not “a” new dorm, he’s probably talking about the new dorm that the new boys still live in (but our seven moved back here by choice in episode 1 remember........)

This is another scene where I’m kinda wondering if this plot thread seems sudden or out of place to people who don’t know the side materials. 

Minato’s confidence issues have come up on Prism Rush several times before, and I was actually waiting the entire episode for it to come up here. 

This episode in particular really requires a lot of extracurricular homework doesn’t it....

I believe this is mistranslated. He used ~すら which I think should be “All I could do is watch......” JLPT N1 textbook grammar Minato why......

The least they could do would be to leave a note that says “Minato” means “harbor” but that’s TOO MUCH TIME I GUESS GOTTA GET THOSE EPISODES OUT IN AN HOUR CHOP CHOP

I really like this speech. It’s shockingly down to earth and refreshing. Especially compared to Kakeru and Yukinojo’s episodes. 

Like the other members of the old dudes club, Minato’s family has a tradition too. But Minato is not particularly expected to carry on that tradition since his family realizes it’s no longer viable 

Instead they encourage Minato to enjoy his youth, find himself, and if he doesn’t become a star that’s OK.... of course he can come home anytime. 

Nrrrgggghhaaaaaa such good supportive parents ahhhhhhh

Been waiting a couple months to read this. In the theater all I can ever catch is Shin’s message. (But still the point comes across.) 

“Well that was fast” - the cheering audience (about the sunrise, ruining this beautiful scene lol)

THIS.... SHOW.........

So, a while back I casually mentioned that Kakeru and Taiga’s prism shows were in my top three. Nobody ever asked what the third one was. But. It was this one. I LOVE this show.

From the very moment Minato looks up at the camera here I just get goosebumps from head to toe, and it just stays throughout the entire show. No other prism show has ever made me feel quite this way. 

So towards the end of the Prism Rush Main Story, there is a chapter where the boys are talking about what they want to accomplish in the Prism King Cup. (This is before they know who will be in it.) Minato has a line where he talks about wanting to perform a show like warm soup or something, and as soon as I saw this show I just immediately remembered that line and thought THATS IT. 

THAT’S IT

ITS SOUP 

Even though there are so many cool colors, somehow, it just makes me feel so.... warm. 

Although it didn’t stay for as aggressively long as Joji’s did, this was the first song from Part 2 which got stuck in my head and it’s just... it’s so nice........

Also, even though I have complained about Minato always getting stuck in chef uniforms for his performance outfits I do kinda like this one. It’s the floating jellyfish scarf thing at the back that makes it I think. (I have no idea how else to describe that.) 

I hope he gets a sailor suit next time though eheh. (I like how Minato has a marine theme now too, not just food. Well, he probably always did but it’s more prominent now.)

So Minato technically lost to Joji, but the individual match-ups mean nothing in the long run. (Except for you know..... the last one...... when it’s down to the wire and each side has put up their strongest member...............if you remember who that match-up is--)

It may not be obvious at first, but Minato’s prism show was pretty low leveled compared to the other boys. 

(He did start doing prism shows later than most of them after all... Um Shin being a special case.) 

He only did two jumps and they weren’t even connected. So that being considered, this score is pretty amazing for him. It makes me think the Shuffle members must only be doing like one jump per show to be scoring in the 7000s geez. 

And thus the curry plot goes full circle. Minato, good for you. 

Thus ends what I know as the Part 2 episodes, and also the halfway mark of the series. (There are 12 episodes in all.) Ready or not, on to Part 3.

I really like and have been looking forward to the Part 3 episodes. I think they are a little better than Part 2, but maybe not quite as good as Part 1. I also think Part 3 is possibly the most heart-wrenching collection.... Leo’s episode in particular, which is coming up next week, I have a very strong and personal reaction to. That combined with feeling the need to point out all the PriPara references may mean my post for next week may take some extra time and be frighteningly long ahah..... ha.......