#all the kids have issues and of course people get mad over a girl being sarcastic.

[chessb0r3d]

i cracked the code.

[lowkeyremi]

HE'S TROUBLE ✧ Atsumu x fem!reader

Summary: Starting fresh is never that easy and here you are starting a new school year as a freshman in college. Frat boy Atsumu is determined to make your life all the harder, because why the hell not? Will you make it to the end of your first year without losing your shit?

Content: Implied black female reader but anyone can read (reader wears a scarf/bonnet to bed), swearing, the miya twins have a little sister. (divider)

WC: 2k words

ONE - MOVING IN (Chapter Masterlist)

Reality finally hit you when it turned July 29th. You’ve graduated high school and now you’re going to college. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the college on the top of your list but it was the third option, which in your opinion is still pretty good considering some people don’t even get into any of the colleges of their choosing.

Now your only issue is packing. You’ve been procrastinating all summer, hanging out with friends, playing video games, and doing other random little things you like to do. You have not packed a single box– or bought any boxes for that matter.

Your mother has been urging you to at least start on the little things so you can get something done. Of course you’d blow her off with the idea of ‘I can do it later’.

August is approaching fast and your dorm move in day is August 16th. That gives you two weeks and four days to get everything you want to take with you packed and into your dorm. After that, classes start on the 21st.

Are you nervous? Just a little of course. It'll be weird not seeing family everyday, having your phone taken away because of something stupid you'd done, or being asked to drive your cousins/siblings somewhere. As a college student you'll be expected to manage yourself and get up for classes and what not.

It sucks that seniors get the first pick for classes. Freshmen are last on the list meaning you get the scraps. It's okay though, at least you're taking the essential classes, right?

"[name]! Have you started packing anything yet? I bought you some containers and vacuum seal bags!" Your mother yells from the living room.

"Uhhh..." She's bound to be upset, it's obvious. She asked you to start packing like last week– or was it the week before that?

"I'm packing right now!" Why did you say that? Now she's going to come and check for herself. With haste you begin to spread things across your floor to make it look like you're packing stuff. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, decor, stationery, anything in your line of view is tossed on the floor- in a neat pile of course.

When you look up you meet your mother's eyes and her look is skeptical, doubtful even, she can tell you probably hadn't been packing.

"Mhm... have you looked at that list I sent you? The one with the essentials." Your eyes meet the stuff in her hands then her face once more.

"Will you be mad if I say no?" The sound of soft laughter fills your room. Your mom joins you on the floor, giving a good look to everything on your floor. "Oh what am I going to do with you? For years it was 'I can't wait to move out and go to college.' and now that the time has come you haven't even started packing yet."

"Yes I have! Do you not see the stuff I have out?"

"Girl bye, I am not stupid. I know you just threw this stuff on your floor before I came in here."

"Okayyyy you got me." You raise your hands in defense your mother starts to organize the stuff on your floor.

"It can be a little scary, but you'll get used to it. If you ever have any trouble.. call me. I fight kids." That statement lightens your anxiousness to pack a little bit. The fact that she's actually serious makes it all the more comforting.

"Okay.. I want at least, half your stuff packed by tonight. Your move in day is a little over two weeks from now. That time is gonna fly by and knowing you; you'll want to get some more goodbyes in before you leave." She's right of course, if there was a president of 'waiting until the last minute' it might've just been you.

"I'll get it done. I promise!"

"Is this everything?" Your mother asks looking at both her car and yours. They're packed to the brim with all your things: bedding, boxes of clothes, your small TV, decor, and other things that may not have a use as of right now. At this point it would have been better to rent a small moving truck.

"Uhh.. I'll go check one more time, but I think it is." In order to move things along faster your siblings (or cousins) decided to tag along to help with the moving process. There's a little space in both cars to fit them comfortably without being pulled over... you assume.

When you make it upstairs to check your room, you ultimately decide on not even walking in. Even though your bed, dresser, and some of your posters are hanging up the room feels empty, void of life. It's going to be a lot getting used to your new living conditions, but no one forced you to go to college. It was your own choice.

"Take care of my room for me, okay?" You'd ask no one in particular. Hesitation fills your body when closing the door to your old room, it'll only be a few months until you see it again, fall break. Your youngest sibling or cousin stampedes up the stairs, "Hurry up [name]!! we don't wanna be late!!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Let's get on the road."

Your first thought is that this school is huge, and well duh of course it is.. it's a college campus. It's nothing like the little high school you went too. Your second thought is that there are a lot of people too.

People of all kinds of backgrounds; you realize. People come from all over the world just to go to school here which seems a little crazy but in reality it's not in the grand scheme of things.

All you family members are helping you haul your stuff up to the second floor where your dorm is. Since you are a freshman you're getting a dorm in one of the older buildings while seniors can rent out school apartments and what not. It's only the beginning, you'll reach that level some day, but for now, this is your life.

Your RA is a young woman probably around 8-10 years older than you are. A kind lady with a welcoming face. She's a bit on the shorter side, but her face also gives you the impression that she is not one to mess with.

"Good morning! You must be a new resident. Can I please get a name and an ID?" A polite nod is sent her way while you search your bag for your school ID. The trip across campus to get your ID was certainly worth it, if you hadn't gotten it before hand you would have had to walk back and get it.

The woman walks you through everything, tells you where everything is and the policies of the dorms, even though you already knew them because they had you read them online and accept them. Minutes later a key was placed in your palm, excitement and nervousness welling up in your body.

"This is it, baby. Time to see your room!" Your mom sounds a little too excited to see your dorm and she says it's because you'll be out of her house but you know she'll miss you.

It was the moment of truth when you reached your door. With no haste at all you placed the key into the lock and slowly turned it in the way that unlocks it. You pushed the door open with your leg because there was a box in one of your arms. Once you could move the box from your face you got a nice look at your room.

Definitely small... it looks pretty bland. Well, at least your side of the room does. Your roommate, Emily, had already moved her stuff in a few days prior to you and she's not here at the moment.

"Cute little room." Your mom snickers your way. When she isn't looking you roll your eyes in fake annoyance. She's most definitely making fun of you. It's not like she has room to talk though, you'd seen her dorm in pictures that she took with her roommates.

The move in was smooth. Stuff was once again everywhere. It was hard making choices of what goes where. Your family spent a little bit of time with you before they were on the road again to go back home.

You can't even lie you started missing them the second they pulled out of the parking lot. It's different, very different. Emily bursts through the door pulling you out of your sorrowful thoughts. Upon seeing her for the first time you can kind of tell she's the 'life of the party'.

"HIIII ROOMIE!!! YOU ARE SO CUTE AHHHH!! I was scared I'd end up with an ugly or weird roommate. Thank God they put me with someone cool though." She's also a chatterbox.. which you are one too but not upon first meetings.

A giggle falls from your lips at her words, you like her already, "How can you tell I'm cool if you don't even know me?"

"Trust me, I know cool people when I meet them. Sooooo do you wanna go get dinner? I was hanging out with some people I met in order to give you some time to settle in." She also seems to be considerate. The two of you will get along just fine. All your worries start to fade away as Emily talks your ear off.

The first couple days of school were nothing like you thought they'd be. When classes were over you immediately crashed in bed when you got back to your dorm. Waking up and trying to actually get ready without your mom telling you to hurry up was hard.

You managed to arrive two minutes before your first lecture but the way those seats were packed made you feel like you were late. You ended up sitting all the way in the back with some girl who had chocolate colored eyes.

Ever since then she's decided to buddy up with you. She always saves you a seat because she somehow is pretty early. Her name is Emi, you learn. Emi Miya. When your professor starts to get boring Emi will tell you stories about her crazy older brothers. You've never met them but you've heard a lot about them. Specifically a lot about the older one, Atsumu.

Three weeks into school Emi invites you to eat lunch with her at this cute little brunch place she's been frequenting. Of course you said yes because honestly you had nothing better to do. Most days you would buy lunch and take it back to your building and eat it in your dorm or one of the common areas.

Emi is so easy to talk to, which you like about her. Sometimes you can be a 'I won't talk to you unless you talk to me' kind of person so you like people like Emi who make socializing easy.

As the two of you are walking to the brunch place Emi strikes up easy conversation, "Soooo do you have a boyfriend?" Her eyebrows wiggle, causing you to laugh a little bit at her silliness.

"Nah, I haven't really met someone I can connect with. All my crushes in high school were just guys I was physically attracted to." Her eyes widen at your statement and she quickly comes to a full stop.

"No way! I thought you would for sure have a boyfriend, but your reasoning is valid. I guess that kinda makes you like a forbidden fruit, huh?" A cheeky smile is painted across her face, she knows something you don't.

"What do you mean by 'forbidden fruit'?" Genuine curiosity courses through your body as you match her steps.

"Well this little group of guys came up to me before you got to the lecture yesterday and asked me if you were single." She's kidding.. she has to be. Well maybe not.. you're attractive of course, and those boys probably just want what you can give them rather than a genuine relationship.

"Yeah well... they probably just want sex, you know?" She nods in agreement, "Which is why I told those boys you have a boyfriend. Just looking out for you."

"Thank you, Emi." The restaurant is in view now so the two of you fall into a comfortable silence.

Well what do you know? Maybe this won't be as bad as you thought it would be. It's a lot to adjust to but you've got it figured out.... for right now at least.

note: second chapter will be more interesting. you meet tsumu for the first time!! I hope you guys enjoyed this little intro chapter. i'm excited to see where this story takes us :3

taglist: @luvly-writer @bugglesboop @vleathers67 let me know if you want to be tagged!!!

[itsclydebitches]

I think I sent an ask like this along time ago? IDK though.

The weird thing about Oz is that it feels like there was stuff they could have brought up if they wanted us to view him in a darker light that they just...dont

Like, that whole thing with Oz conquering the world with Salem and tricking people into worshipping them as gods. Yeah he eventually saw what he was doing was wrong, but that was after he and Salem had 4 kids. So for a long-ass time he was an imperialist god-king

Or the part where he nearly attacked Ruby once she asked Jinn the question.

It just...feels like those are totally things that should be discussed more. But instead they focus on a bunch of other things that are really weird to hold against Oz.

Like why focus on this you have way better things to hold against Oz right there.

That's very possible, anon! I don't know how many unanswered asks are sitting in this inbox now, but it's not a small number...

Totally agree. I think Oz gets criticized to an unfair degree by the canon and fandom alike (no one is shocked to hear this lol) but part of my issue is what he's criticized for, not just the extent. The show tends to take incredibly weird perspectives like, "How dare you give our uncle cool bird powers with no downside" and "How dare you save group members from a deadly airship crash." The fandom takes stances with larger political implications like, "How dare an abused man 'steal' his daughters away from the mother who wants to use them for a magical form of genocide" or issues that fundamentally break the core concept of the show: "How dare you let teenagers fight dangerous battles / How dare you reincarnate - something you have no control over - into a 14yo boy." The show does engage with some of Ozpin's morally complex choices with no easy answers like, "Is it okay to keep secrets if history has shown severe downsides to revealing that information?"... but then the answer the story decides on - "No it's not" - immediately doesn't apply to half the cast, with no examination of how that changes our perception of Ozpin's choice. And, as you say, the show simultaneously introduces HUGE mistakes - "You positioned yourself as a god! Then a king!!"- that the characters could absolutely mistrust him for... but they don't. Because they're too busy focusing on all of the above.

The only thing I'd push back against here is anyone being mad at Ozpin for "nearly attacking" Ruby. I'd consider that a highly unfair criticism as well given that:

We don't know if he would have attacked. He just charges with his and out-stretched, so Ozpin could just as likely have been intending to snatch the Relic

All these characters have aura and train/hit for funsies on a regular basis. It feels like a stretch - one working to paint Ozpin in an unfair light - to act like Ruby taking a hit is suddenly some horrific event that's worthy getting up-in-arms about

In this same scene the girls pull their weapons on Qrow and Oscar - someone WITHOUT that training/fully unlocked aura - gets punched into a tree. Again, consistent morality. Why is Ozpin in the wrong for charging with an open hand (ambiguous) but the girls are justified in pulling their weapons (clear intent)? Why should Super Fighter Ruby be defended for taking a hit after forcibly stealing secrets from Ozpin, but we should shrug off the newbie farm kid taking a hit for the "sin" of being an unwitting, passive vessel?

Plus... as said above, "forcibly stealing secrets." I'm not saying Ozpin is 100% justified in attacking Ruby over this, but I think he's a HELL of a lot more justified compared to actions like threatening Qrow or attacking Oscar. Ruby ignored his requests to give the Relic back; she ignored how terrified he clearly was. She wasted a wish (which Ozpin knew would happen). She revealed his entire, traumatic history to the group PLUS a total stranger (Maria) which, again, Ozpin knew would happen. Of course he tried to stop her. We will never know what lengths he would have gone to, whether he would have truly fought Ruby or just made a last minute grab, but even if he had fought her... It think that's understandable. We can argue about whether it's right, but it's not the sort of thing the heroes should be holding against him once tempers have cooled, especially when he has stuff like playing God that they have hold as a long term grudge.

Out of everything Ozpin has done, maybe being willing to fight the prodigy fighter to keep her from making one of the stupidest decisions we've seen in the show to date is pretty low on the sin list.

[crushedsweets]

Hey! I love your artwork! I think it’s beautiful!!!

I just wanted to ask, what would Toby and Natalie’s relationship be like if they were able to start dating? I’m genuinely curious.

P.S. LONG LIVE TICCIWORK AND NINAKATE!!!!!

HIIII OK I LIKE THIS OMG i cant believe i hadnt thought about it before. ok i spoke a lot more than i thought i would...all under the cut LOL omg..

okay so, like i mentioned, they would probably have some random drunk kiss one night. maybe a christmas party and nina brings in mistle toe and its stupid. maybe new years party and the clock strikes 12 and they were like 'fuck it why not'.

natalie would have to initiate a lot of the starting conversations and touches. toby grew up with people thinking he was some gross virus roaming around, with boys pushing him around and girls sneering at him, so he's really hesitant. and natalie does get upset pretty easily if toby tries doing things without her permission, even if its something like doing her laundry - he has to ask. and he always does

it would start off pretty awkward too... neither of them know what to say, and both of them are so stubborn with egos the size of the moon - their pride knows no bounds. but at times, toby's ego can morph into something more cocky and he'll say stupid shit. 'you wanna kiss me so bad i know it' 'oh should i get nina to buy some mistle toe again' 'if you wanted to spend the night you couldve just asked'. at first clocky would get mad and pissy, and toby would laugh at her, and they'd move on. but eventually instead of moving on, one of them would say something like 'well.... do you actually want to' and they would. awkwardly, of course. a kiss, laying in bed together, brushing eachothers hair, etc.

their most intimate moments probably happen in the kitchen. that's always been quite the place of love for toby, so to lean against a counter and bring natalie close and give her a kiss in the warmest room of the house while something good is cooking in the oven ... probably means a lot to him

i think they'd love hikes. theres a waterfall in my au that they'd go to often, strip down to their underwear, and sit under. they'd wrestle and splash water and laugh and eat some fruit they packed and fall asleep under the sun after hours of just fucking around. kisses constantly swap between sudden acts of passion and excitement, to a quiet, lazy, quick kiss while throwing a towel over their shoulder.

but of course, they are still difficult. toby's reckless and natalie is picky, so theres a lot of arguments that spring up from nothing. this would be a constant thing until one of them eventually cries - something neither of them are used to. that would probably be a tipping point for them to start really looking into being a better person for eachother. but that is not easy by any means and neither of them are capable of being perfect. at fucking all

their biggest issue would be close to their canon shit.. toby wants to stay, clocky wants to leave. run away from all the bullshit she got trapped in. clocky is more likely to truly just fuck off and leave toby behind, and that scares the everliving shit out of toby every day - he'd swap between 'i have to be so good she'll never leave' and 'you fucking asshole just leave already its inevitable theres nothing i can do to change it'. but clocky just wants to live a normal normal normal life. she wants to grow old with kids and a career and a nice dog and to make dinner every night. she wants her biggest problem to be the dog tracking in mud.

eventually toby settles down, and while he cant just walk away from slenderman, they figure something out. a shared apartment, toby gets closer to the farm owners and he starts working more often. clocky gets into tattooing. toby is the first person she ever tattoos on. they both have to compromise a lot, but they can't imagine doing this for (or with) anybody else

[mooncakesofpan]

2,229 Miles

Billy Hargrove x Male!Reader

Summary: the Hargrove-Mayfield house hold maybe wasn't moving just to start over away from Max’s dad.

Warnings: Angst, strong language, Slurs, Reader gets manhandled (not by Billy), Neil's terrible and abusive parenting, Friends to lovers, He/Him pronouns, Violence, homophobia  

Word Count: 1.3K

Stranger things Masterlist | Main Masterlist 

DO NOT STEAL MY WORK

No one batted an eye at the close friendship that's been alive since 2nd grade when you decided you decided that a juice box and some cheese Tid Bit’s your mom packed for you. Of course, a lot of people had stopped being friends by the time 6th grade came around and Billy was beating the ass of anyone who looked at him the wrong way. Yet there you were being the friend having to reel him in. 

That day would always be fresh in your mind the first time Billy beat the shit out of a kid at school. Billy's fist had continued to pound into the face of Mike Campbell as everyone had tried to get Billy to stop punching the brunette on the floor who had commented on Billy’s mom leaving. No one could get him to stop while they were out on the school’s black top, except for you who with no fear tackles Billy off of Mike knowing he would be in more trouble if he had done any more damage than the black eye mike was sporting and the bloody nose that didn't seem to be broken. you could never forget the tears in Billy's eyes as he roughly wiped his eyes,

“He said, I'm probably the reason my mom left,” the 11-year-old said voice shaky,

“He shouldn't have said that to you,” your voice filled with sympathy.

Your family has been very close to Billy’s mom and your family offered her support when she needed it but she never told them where she was going but that she’d be back for Billy. that last part turned out to be a lie. Eventually, both of you were picked up Billy's dad was mad and yours was more confused about why they had to bring their son home even though he wasn't technically a part of the fight.

Billy acting out only ever got worse with the things going on at home, but you knew your friend was suffering and there wasn't much you could do for him, other than being there for you. When freshmen year hit, you and billy ended up in classes together still determined not to be split up. and for the most part, you didn't the only issue for you was you had fallen for Billy you fell back in 8th grade for your best friend, the boy who was in your life because of a cheese cracker. When the middle of freshmen year came and the truth came spilling out your mouth during a conversation about some of the girls in your class talking to Billy and throwing themselves at Him. You were jealous but you weren't gonna say anything till Billy asked why you were so quiet recently, while the two of you were in your room working changing your wheels on your skateboard.

“Because I'm fucking in love with you and constantly have these girls coming up to me all the time trying to be my friend to get close to you in hopes that you will fuck them,” you ramble.

 You were panicking about the fact you just confessed to your best friend not knowing how he would react. but before you knew could continue to ramble on with an apology Billy's lips were against yours. 

”Billy you know we can't tell anyone, especially your dad,” you said pulling away.

“I know it can be a secret,” he says leaning back in.

And that's what it was for a good few years then Neil married Susan and her and her daughter Max moved into the house, meaning much more sneaking around for the both of you. The first time you met Max you were leaving the house after you and Billy could have a bit of alone time again.

You walked down the stairs shrugging on the leather jacket you wore and almost ran into the young girl “uh hi,” she says surprised to see me in her house.

“hi I'm Y/n Billy’s friend,” you say shaking her hand.

“oh uh, I'm Max,”

“nice to meet you Max, Billy’s in his room if your curious,” and with that, you were out the door.

Max grew to like you the most out of Billy's you were nice, not as disturbing as the dirty blonde as you came around the house she realized how much you brought out the best in Billy and you tell him off for being mean to Max. and for the most part he would ease up on her.

Until Everything came crashing down.

you and Billy knew that you'd have to be careful and you two had been for a good 4 years but it was a spring day and you thought Neil and Susan were out and they weren't supposed to be home till later that night.

you and Billy were in his room in his bed his hand on your cheek and kissing you deeply the sounds of Metallica blasting in the background but you missed the sound of the door opening downstairs and Neil coming to Billy’s door the both of you two absorbed with each other to hear Neil pounding on the door suddenly slammed open, Leaving the both of you to jump apart.

 “I knew I couldn't trust you, and your little faggot ass,” Neil said grabbing you by the collar of your leather jacket 

”I Should have thrown you out of my house when the rumors first started should have kept you from my son” Neil kept yelling dragging you down the stairs you were struggling to fight against the Professional security guard.

He pulled you up so you were more standing at his front door “if I see you back here, I will kill you got it” you glared at him ”Got. it.” he repeated,

you got saliva collected in your mouth and with Neil being so close you spat in his face causing him to let you go

 “You. Little.- Get back here,” you were already running down the street your boots hitting the concrete. you and Billy spent more time in secret spots. Him saying he would hang out with his other friends and he would so they could give him an alibi but the day that broke you was the day Billy told you his dad decided they were moving almost immediately after Billy and You had been found in his room.

“Y/n we gotta talk,” Billy says

You were sitting on the beach it was the place you two would go during the summer to chill it was relatively peaceful.

You look at him eyes filled with fear maybe he was breaking up with you.

“My dads moving us to Indiana, something about a fresh start,” Billy said pushing around the sand. the sadness evident in your eyes you were the one person he felt like actually loved him.

“I'm sorry, this probably wouldn't have been happening if I had listened harder” ”don't blame yourself please,” Billy says running his hand there his hair. ” I plan to come back after I graduate, I can't expect you to wait for me but ill be back,” he said looking out to the water.

”that what 2000 and something miles,”

“2,229…” he said with a sigh.  ”Maybe I can visit we can do it in secret or- maybe we can, ” The words and ideas came spewing out your mouth in incoherence, as tears started down your face.

“hey it's okay ill write, call, even drive back down here and everything” of course you knew him driving wasn't gonna be an option Neil would have your head on a pike if billy drove down here. but the day before he left he showed up on your doorsteps. The knock on your door was rushed and the curly mullet pushed you back in your house slightly his lips quickly connecting with yours.

“we're gonna make it that 2229 miles alright, baby,” he said pretty blue eyes looking at you with adoration hands cupping your face. you nod tears rolling down your face.

[scented-morker]

Sypnosis. As the schools biggest thespian, you were rightfully pissed off when you found out Jungwon- the bane of your existence- was going to be trying out for the spring production. Even worse, he gets cast as your love interest!

Genre. High school au, drama club au, one sided enemies to lovers, purely fluff and humor there’s no speckle of angst in this at all. They’re performing Anastasia

Feat. Theatre kid yn x Jungwon, fem!reader, Bff Sunoo, mention of itzy Chaeryeong and wooah minseo

Warnings. Sunoo and yn are the Sharpay and Ryan of the school, I don’t think there’s any cursing or anything, there’s a few kisses (just pecks) yn drinks coffee that looks like milk, you might not like her in the beginning

wc. 4054

Spring was your favorite season- the birds chirping, the flowers blooming, and of course, the spring drama production.

This was a constant in your life. Every year, during the first week of March, a sign up sheet would be posted. You’d sign your name in a pink glitter pen, right next to your best friend’s. The next week auditions would be held, and Friday morning the cast list would be posted, your and Sunoo’s names at the top claiming the leads.

But there’s a new name on the sign up this time, and you almost drop your glitter gel pen when you read it.

“Yang Jungwon.” You storm into class.

The said boy looks up from his desk where he was messing around with Riki.

“How can I help you today y/n?” He asks with a cocky grin.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe start with taking your name off my musical sign up,” you huff, and Jungwon and Riki share a look that you can’t exactly read.

Getting up from his seat, Jungwon approaches you.

“Now why would I do that?”

“Because I already have to deal with you enough, and now you’re invading my home on the stage.”

“Your home on the stage? Y/n honey, are you feeling threatened?”

“Jungwon you’ve never acted a day in your life. I’m not worried.”

“Then it shouldn’t be an issue, now should it?”

You glare at him, huffing out a “fine” and dropping into your seat, the one unfortunately right next to his.

It’s not like he would pass his audition anyway.

“You ready to claim the main lead?” Sunoo asked when you stepped into his car the morning cast sheets went up.

“Obviously, and ready to rub it in Jungwon’s face when he gets cut,” you smile evilly, and Sunoo looks at you strangely.

“I actually heard he did really well on his audition. Maybe you should give him a chance.”

You stare at your best friend like he had just proposed you dye your eyebrows pink.

“Sunoo you can’t be serious! It’s- he’s Jungwon!”

“Oh come on, it’s not like he would go through all this trouble if he didn’t actually want to be a part of it. I think he’d actually make a good cast member.”

“It’s not about that!”

“Then what’s it about?”

“That he’s Jungwon!!”

He looks over at you from where he’d stopped at a red light, one that says “you are crazy and your weird thing with Jungwon is too.”

You just roll your eyes, angling your knees away from him and staying quiet for the rest of the ride. Sunoo knew you weren’t mad at him, and a peek at your face showed you were deep in thought.

Why was being Jungwon a deal breaker? What had he done to make you so exasperated at even the thought of him?

‘He was annoying, and tried to steal your play,’ you think. That was it.

“Hello pretty girl,” Jungwon greets when you enter the building with Sunoo, “oh come on don’t ignore me.”

“Hello to you too Jungwon,” Sunoo grins at him, but upon the disappointed look on the younger boy's face he quickly exits the conversation. “No? Okay. Well, I’m gonna go check if the list is up. Have fun lovebirds!”

You try to chase him down, but he’s gone before you process what he said, and Jungwon is right next to you.

“Are you excited? Apparently people think you’re going to snag Anastasia.”

“I always get lead. Me and Sunoo. It’s something you would know if you knew anything about the theater program you were impulsively joining.”

“I knew, just not for that reason,” he mumbles.

He knew because he’d checked the cast list for your name every show. He knew because he was the one who’d left a pastry on your desk the one time Wonyoung had beat you out for Snow White.

“What?”

“I said ‘on your shoe, you dropped a raisin.’”

You look down at your shoe and then back at his face in pure confusion.

“Wha-”

He doesn’t let you question him, screeching to a halt so fast you run into his chest and drop your book.

“What is wrong with you?” You question him, but he just points to the wall.

“Cast list.”

You don’t respond, immediately running to the sheet and checking the top name.

Anastasia - Y/n L/n

“Hah! See Jungwon, as always, me and Sunoo!”

“You might want to check again actually.”

You hadn’t realized that Sunoo was standing next to you, also looking at the sheet.

“What?”

Turning back to look at the sheet again, you let out an audible gasp.

Dimitri - Yang Jungwon

Sunoo had been casted as the creepy villain, and while he didn’t seem to mind you were more than upset enough for both of you.

“But. No! You always get it Sunoo! They’re just gonna let some rando come in and take the lead? No way!”

Sunoo rolls his eyes at you.

“It’s not that deep babe.”

And with that he approaches Jungwon, telling him congratulations.

“For what?”

“You got the male lead.”

“What?!”

You’d never seen Jungwon look so terrified in his entire life.

You let out a giggle at it, quickly opening your phone and snapping a picture. Jungwon, mouth open and eyes the size of saucers stared back at you from the screen.

You laughed once more to yourself before turning away, ready to grab your dropped books and head to class.

This was the same time Jungwon chose to recover, you assume, because when you reach down to pick up your science textbook his hand is already there.

He quickly grabs it, holding it over his head while you try and steal it back.

“Jungwon, I swear!”

“Swear what?”

You jump up to try and reach, accidentally losing balance and falling into his chest.

You expect him to jump away from you, but he just drops one arm around your waist to steady you on your feet, sending you a smile you dare to call… fond?

“Is this your way of congratulating me?” His smile turns into more of a smirk, and you use his cockiness to your advantage, reaching up and grabbing your book from his hand and backing away from him quickly.

“Break a leg Wonnie,” you make your words extra sugary sweet, “I mean it.”

And with that you walk to your class, a proud smirk on your lips and an annoying blush on your cheeks.

Unbeknownst to you Jungwon was standing there looking similarly, shaking his head as you walked away, the tips of his ears bright red.

“I just can’t believe it Sunoo, you were perfect for Dimitri! Director Jin must have gone psycho!”

“I’m actually really excited to play the villain! Get some diversity in my resume you know? Colleges don’t want to see that I can just play the goody character, it’ll add some spice!”

You smile at your best friend, glad he’s taking the casting decision better than you were.

“Now I suggest you get over yourself because rehearsals start this week and you need to not murder our male lead.”

“If I did, would you get his part?”

“Yn,” he gives a warning tone.

“Kidding, I was totally kidding!”

However, the next day you’re questioning if you really were kidding, because practice hasn’t even started and Jungwon is already being Jungwon.

“Now are you going to give me your murder eyes onstage too? Because that might put a damper on the romance.”

“There is no romance.” You huff, creating more distance between the two of you.

“That’s not what the kiss scene at the end says,” he singsongs, moving closer to you and making a kissy face.

“Oh get out,” you cringe, putting your hand up in front of his lips.

He goes to say something else, but your director interrupts him, bringing a start to practice.

“Now Jungwon, we’re going to do a read through. Just try to get into character. Say it how you think Dimitri would,” he explains to the new cast mate, gesturing to you after receiving a nod. “Take it away yn.”

You’re pleasantly surprised at Jungwon’s read through, you found yourself getting lost in the characters and story, to the point that when practice was over you were able to talk to your new scene partner without slinging insults.

“That was actually pretty good, congrats on not being awful, at least not entirely.”

Okay so it wasn’t the nicest compliment, but it was a lot better than what you normally would say to Jungwon.

“What a nice compliment from the princess herself,” he says, and you assume the new nickname is due to your role as the last Romonav.

It still has you cursing the stupid butterflies in your stomach.

He watches you speed walk away as soon as he says it and for a minute he’s afraid he made you uncomfortable, but when you turn to say something to Sunoo he sees the tips of your ears red.

Did he do that? He questions himself, a proud smile spreading across his face.

Jungwon almost jumps backwards when Sunoo appears out of nowhere, giving him a raised eyebrow with a hand on his hip.

“What’s your deal?” He questions, and Jungwon doesn’t know how to respond.

“Can you be more specific?”

“I mean about the fact that you and yn are supposed to hate each other and you’re over here flirting with her.”

True.

“That is so not true! I hate yn! I don’t like yn! I’ve never once had a secret crush on her! The last three years I-”

Jungwon slaps his hand over his mouth, having no idea what he just said but knowing that Sunoo saw right through him.

“Shit I have to go,” then he looped back, “please don’t tell her.”

The next morning your friend is extra cheeky when you get in his front seat.

“Sunoo, do you think Jungwon has actually been a good actor this whole time?”

Truthfully, you were wondering why he hadn’t joined the drama club earlier. Even more truthfully, you were worried it was your fault.

“I think this role is just really good for him. He seems like a method actor.” Sunoo laughs to himself while you stare at him.

“I think you might be too, why do you sound so creepy right now?”

Your best friend smacks your shoulder, and the two of you bicker the rest of the way to school.

Jungwon is by the door when you enter, and he takes note of the way you jokingly bicker with Sunoo, not missing the way you immediately stop and avoid eye contact when you see him.

“Bro, did you tell her?” He interrogates Sunoo as soon as you walk away, to which the boy just looks at him in disgust.

“Okay first of all, never call me bro ever again, and no I didn’t. Even if I had, she's too blind to believe me.”

“Blind hatred,” Jungwon mutters, and Sunoo just sighs before walking away.

“Maybe she’s not the only one.”

Jungwon enters your class right before the bell rings, and you can’t help but feel disappointed that he doesn’t utter a word to you, not even a snarky comment about the milk colored coffee you were drinking.

Jungwon always made a joke about your pale coffee.

He doesn’t talk to you the whole day, even as practice starts later in the day.

“You should be happy” you think, you’ve been telling Jungwon to leave you alone the whole year.

So why does it feel so wrong?

You hold your script in your left hand, trying to ignore the fact that you’re supposed to hug Jungwon in a few seconds.

“ANYA” you hear him yell his line and you know he’s coming.

“Anya, Anya, wake up” he picks you up, telling you to wake up before pulling you into a hug after you say your line.

“Okay cut,” you stare off the stage at your director, disappointment in his eyes.

“I’m gonna be honest. That was bad.”

Neither one of you knows how to respond to that, so you just keep listening.

“Anastasia and Dimitri are one of the best animated couples in history. You two look like wooden dolls doing what the script says. We’re doing Anastasia, not Pinocchio. I need you to be real boys.”

He dismisses the two of you, with homework to “go on a date, hang out, punch each other in the face. I don't care, I just need emotion the next time you do a scene.”

“Sunoo, you’re up. Scene two.”

Sunoo is still laughing when he passes you to get to the stage, and you whack him in the back of the head as you exit.

“Go on a date,” he winks at the two of you, still cackling as he enters the stage.

“Excellent Sunoo this is the crazed maniac I like to see!”

You can’t help but roll your eyes as Jin praises your friend for his excellent portrayal of his character when he’s actually just laughing at your misfortune.

“So should we go do something?” Jungwon asks once you two finish packing your things.

“What?”

“Like go on a date to make our chemistry better?”

You stare at him in shock. The boy who’s been teasing you mercilessly for the last two years is asking to go on a date for the sake of a high school drama production.

He is quite the dedicated actor, you decide.

“Yeah sure, I’m hungry anyway. Do you want to go to that bakery around the block?”

“Sure!” If he tried to control his enthusiasm it didn’t work, and you hide the smile threatening to spill onto your lips at his excited answer.

He probably just really likes sweets.

You make small talk on the walk over, feeling more comfortable with Jungwon talking to you again. Neither one of you even sling one insult in the whole five minutes it took you to get there, which might be a record.

You can’t help but let out a laugh when he opens the door to the bakery and then tries to close it before you can walk in.

This is what it’s supposed to be like.

“Oh yn is ordering her milk,” he teases when you order your too light coffee to go with your cupcake.

“I was waiting for that one,” you smile as he places his order, “this morning you didn’t say anything. I thought maybe you just woke up with better taste.”

Jungwon pays for both of you, even though you tell him not to.

“Come on, it’s for the play! Dimitri would buy both his and Anya’s snacks.”

“Dimitri would probably steal the snacks rather than pay for either one of them,” you correct.

“Okay, maybe you’re right, but it’s too late now.” He shrugs, and you once again find yourself trying to remember why you hated him so much.

The two of you take a seat at one of the small tables once your order is called out, and Jungwon launches into a long monologue about how you were boring to not only get milk colored coffee but also a boring strawberry cupcake.

You smile as he finishes his rampage.

“Cute.”

“What?” He looks at you in pure confusion.

“The cupcake is cute.”

He rolls his eyes at your reasoning but lets it go anyway, and you’re glad he didn’t take too close of a look at your face when you said it.

You cut him off midway through another speech, this time about your home room teacher, blurting out the question you’ve been thinking about for the last few weeks.

“Why do we hate each other?”

He doesn’t even seem mad that you interrupted him, he just stops and contemplates the question.

“I know in middle school I always bugged you and your friends, so you probably already didn’t like me when we hit high school.”

“Oh I remember that!” you laugh. “You always weasled your way into out lunch table because you had a crush on Minseo.”

That makes the boy in front of you frown.

“What?”

“I had a crush on you.”

He states it so plainly that you can’t help but cough a little on your coffee.

“WHat? But- but you got her chocolates for Valentine’s day!”

“I got them for you but heard Sunoo telling one of the other guys that you don't like chocolate so I didn’t want to give it to you, and Minseo looked like she had a rough day so I gave them to her instead.”

You stare at him dumbfounded for a few minutes, blinking confusedly. You felt like everything you remembered was now shifted to the left two inches, and your brain was lagging to keep up.

“Wha-what?” you kept sputtering, and Jungwon couldn’t help but be confused. He thought you knew he had a crush on you. He was pretty sure everyone else did.

“Sorry to break your brain like that on our first date, I thought you knew.”

“I didn’t.”

“Maybe Sunoo was right,” he mutters to himself, and you’re still too out of it to ask him what he said.

Instead of figuring out something else to say, you do the only thing you can think of, which is shove the rest of your cupcake into your mouth in one bite.

Jungwon stares in bewilderment while you chew, mumbling things that don’t sound like words and giving him thumbs up.

He takes a bite of his own pastry, trying to figure out how he was going to explain to Sunoo why you were being returned to him glitching.

When you’ve finally finished your bite and washed it down with a sip of your coffee, you take a deep breath to calm yourself down, although it quickly catches in your throat when Jungwon cups your face with one of his hands, his thumb stroking over your lips while your face erupts in flames.

“Sorry, you had frosting on your mouth, I should have just-” but he stops apologizing when he sees how flustered you were by his actions.

There was no way you- You didn’t like him. You were never going to like him back.

So why were you staring at him like that?

“Um,” he wanted to tease you for your reaction, but he couldn’t think of anything. “Uh I don’t know why we hate each other.”

“I don’t.”

“What?”

“I don’t hate you.” You clarify, and the boy’s dimples make a full appearance.

“I don’t hate you either.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.”

Jin was happy with the progression of your chemistry, and told you to keep doing whatever it was that you did. And who were you to argue with the director?

So you and Jungwon kept hanging out at the bakery, and then at the arcade, and then at your house. Heck, he came over for family game night.

By the time opening night came around you were 100% sure that you did not hate Yang Jungwon.

Except you were also 100% sure that you may have a little tiny (read: giant, huge, massive) crush on Yang Jungwon.

“Sunoo, I’m screwed!” You complained while the crew did your makeup.

“True.”

You turned to glare at your best friend, letting out a yelp when you saw him in his creepy villain get up.

“Hot I know.”

Jungwon chooses this moment to join the two of you, and you can’t help but stare at the way they styled him, slightly long hair parted down the middle, strands flopping over his eyebrows when he moved. A part of you wanted to brush it out of the way, but getting that close to him was not something you were sure you could handle.

“I agree, Sunoo. Rasputin was definitely a lady killer.” He jokes, before turning to you. “Get it? Because he actually killed the princesses?”

“Very funny Wonnie.” you deadpan, and Sunoo fights the urge to gag.

“Yes Wonie,” he mocks “you’re a real comedian. Murder is hilarious.”

“Okay, uh, anyway.”

“Jungwon, I think y/n needs to practice the last scene again, do you mind helping her out with that while I go get my costume?”

“Yeah, of course!”

His attention is fully on you before Sunoo even finishes talking, and the older boy rolls his eyes at how obvious and yet oblivious both of you were.

“The last scene? So that’s the-” kissing scene “-boat scene.”

“Uh yeah.. It’s just a lot of emotion without that many words and I’m a little nervous about portraying it.”

You were actually nervous about acting out those romantic scenes with Jungwon, but had decided on avoiding all thought about it until the last possible moment, until Sunoo ruined it.

“Yeah I get that, thankfully we have a pretty easy ending. After Chaeryeong reads the letter, we just have to look happy and remember the dance.”

You laugh, remembering how at the last dress rehearsal you’d gotten so nervous being close to Jungwon that you’d stomped on his foot during the short eight count.

“Easy for you, I have to hope you don’t drop me at the end of that dance!”

He laughs, but there’s a hidden seriousness in his voice when he speaks again.

“I promise I’ll catch you okay? No matter what.”

“No matter what.”

“Places in fifteen,” Jin’s voice cuts in through the backstage conversation, and you respond with a “thank you fifteen” before Jungwon helps you out of your chair.

It was go time.

Being a main character was exhausting. This was something you already knew, but this time was especially hard. There were barely any scenes where you weren’t on stage, and you were relaxing with Jungwon during that last one when he kept tensing up.

Assuming it was because he was tiring out, you rubbed soothing circles on his back, reassuring him that he was almost done.

“We’ve only got like four more scenes left. And Sunoo is gonna be so dramatic in the fight scenes that you won’t even realize you’re tired.”

“And then we have the last scene.”

“Hey I thought I was the one nervous about the boat scene! You can’t be too.” You joke, trying to lighten the mood.

“The kissing scene.”

You inhale sharply. It was the thing you two had been dancing around and Jungwon said it bluntly.

“Yeah, we kiss in the scene, but there’s a whole bunch of other stuff too so it’s okay.”

He grabs your waist, pulling you towards him and looking into your eyes.

“Yn, I don’t want our first kiss to be fake.”

“Wha-”

“I also don’t want this stage kiss to be the last time I kiss you. Yn, I really like you. And I never said anything because I thought you hated me, but I thought if I joined the drama club we could get closer, and we did but I just- I don’t know. I really hope this doesn’t ruin our scenes if you don’t feel the same, but I thought maybe you did so-” he takes a deep breath, “Can I kiss you? Like for real?”

You listened patiently, letting him get all of his thoughts out before responding to anything. A smile bursted on your face, and you reached up to wrap your hands around his neck.

“Please do.”

Jungwon’s own smile makes an appearance, and you clash some teeth when you first lean in, because neither one of you can get them to go away.

“That didn’t go very well.”

“We can just keep trying,” you reassure, and Jungwon places another quick peck on your lips before your cue comes, the two of you separating and getting ready to enter.

“Let’s finish this, Princess.”

Bonus: when you do curtain call at the end of the show the two of you enter together since you’re the main characters, and while everyone claps at the end Jungwon dips you down and places a peck on your lips while all of his friends go nuts in the crowd because FINALLY

[mdhwrites]

I believe the villains in Owl House got screwed over because Dana disliked writing them. Belos was stripped of his complexity, ignoring his lore, Kikimora was reduced to a joke, and the Collector was transformed from a malicious, cruel person to an innocent kid who only wanted friends. It feels like Dana doesn’t enjoy writing villains.

So I don't think it's that Dana hates villains. I think it's that the TOH writers had no interest in writing an adventure series. Because of how much time is wasted, even in S2B, purely on romance and schoolkids being schoolkids (Them's the Breaks still has no point to exist after all) and how the villains are barely there outside of something to beat at the end of an episode, it kind of feels like the crew just wanted to do a magical school show which makes the supposed claim that Hexide was Disney mandated hilarious.

This actually also goes for the characters too though. A real adventure show would care about its power levels, its tricks and tools and actually showing the growth of our characters as fighters, not just as people. TOH... doesn't. Willow's big gimmick when she's first introduced is that she is incredibly powerful but can't control it. Then THREE EPISODES LATER, in the first episode that has Willow in it for more than a minute, it's resolved. Period. Until fucking S3. At that point, she is all powerful. Luz is all powerful by the beginning of S2, literally three episodes after she got her last glyph. Arguably, by Young Blood, Old Souls because she kicks the shit out of the entire Conformatorium in that one.

Even before then, most villains show up, cause a slight problem and then are quickly defeated after the character moment that the show setup with the conflict is resolved because their purpose is not as villains, it's just for the sake of it being an adventure show. Even the creatures of the Isles are for this purpose. That's also why most villains in TOH get like MAYBE three minutes of screen time at most. This would actually be okay if interesting things were being done with the characters but... Well, Luz goes through the same lesson multiple times in S1 about not taking cheats for magic and listening to Eda, almost ALL of King's plotlines in S1 are just repetitions of "Maybe don't see people as disposable pawns?" until S2 it's all "FAMILY!" until he's unrecognizable from his S1 counterpart. Then Gus has shades of self confidence issues in ALL of his episodes and never anything else. Then in S2 we have Hunter who is just mostly there in his episodes and learning constantly, "Maybe... Maybe friends are nice?" rather than actually challenging his world views and making him grow that way. That's also why I claim the show actively ships him with every girl his age.

It ironically makes the fact that TOH is so split in its identity feel like a necessity for the writers to have had more than at best two season's worth of material. With how much they recycle plot points, characters, etc. like that, of course it wastes time because it has no idea what to do with the amount of time it had.

Ignoring Belos' lore though is a different problem that has to do with his role as the big bad clashing with this, because he can't just be a slight obstacle to be overcome or else he looks like a joke like Kikimora or the coven heads came off as, but also that... Well, the show was ending.

So because they had nothing to do in S3 to keep audience interest because S2 had wrapped up too much, they leaned hard into saying "We have a complex villain, we swear," to keep people theorizing and invested in the show until the third special came out and the show went "JK LOL! We need to wrap this shit already. BYE!" Like they KNEW they didn't have the time, it's ENTIRELY on them to have focused so hard on Belos and then pulled the rug out from under everyone but...

But that's also just the normal trick of TOH. Here's the golden guard. No wait, he's a sad but mad boy, let's wrap this up. Here's a bully character who has deep ties to wanting the status quote to stay and should have a dozen anxieties about liking Luz. Never mind, none of that mattered, she's actually a good girl and has no issues getting into love besides the basic question of 'will she say yes?' Here is the ex-coven head for the EC who got betrayed and hurt by Belos while trying to just be a good sister fi- ISN'T HER TRAUMA HILARIOUS!?

If Dana disliked writing the villains, frankly, that means she disliked writing 90% of the show because most parts of the show aren't actually any better than the villains. They just got more screentime.

========

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[boltupbitches]

Lover - Nick Bosa - Part 1 (spin off of Sliding in the DMs)

Athena felt the tears drip down her cheeks as she was quickly deleting pictures of her and her now ex-fiance, Teddy, from Instagram. It was a hell of a day and the pain she was feeling in her heart felt like it would end her at any moment. 

Once satisfied, which included her unfollowing and blocking him, Athena tossed her phone to the side and curled into a ball on her couch. The only sounds in her apartment were those of her loud sobs from the heartbreak she was experiencing.

She wanted so badly to call her sister, Arty, to pour her heart out to, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. She was embarrassed with how much she had defended Teddy so blindly, even when her sister pointed out how much of a piece of shit he was at times, and how she didn’t listen. Arty also had her own relationship issues going on with her elusive boyfriend, Joey. She didn’t want to add her drama into the midst. 

Teddy and her got into an argument just hours prior over her continued plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. He wanted her to be a housewife, someone who looked pretty, gave him kids, and was ready for sex whenever. When they first met, he was kind and playful, studying with her their first year together as undergrads and walking her back to her dorm late from the library. That Teddy? He was gone.. Buried by a man now reunited with his own toxic family (hers being no better) and molding into a version of his father, a cold and calculating man who cared about little but money, power, and his reputation. 

When Athena expressed her desire to work and wait to have kids until she was steady in her career, he had called her selfish and ridiculous. The strain of their relationship in recent months was becoming too much and Athena told him, “I don’t know who you are anymore. Something has changed and it isn’t me. It’s you. You’re so cold and heartless anymore. You only care about yourself!”

Teddy scoffed at that and replied sarcastically, “Says the girl who can barely answer her phone half the time or is too busy studying to stay over.. Yet, can follow NFL players and get them liking her photos and commenting on shit!” He threw back cruelly. “I must not be entertaining you enough if you have to go for a fucking dumb jock with 2 brain cells.”

Athena recoiled in confusion at the accusations.. Her brain trying to make sense of it. “What the fuck are you talking about? What NFL player? And I am fucking busy studying and working! I am a teaching assistant and oversee the grading of four undergraduate courses!” 

Teddy ignored the second part, focusing only on the first. “Get fucking real, Athena.. Nick Bosa? Name ring a bell? Always liking photos of yours, commenting stupid shit, and then you like and comment back. I’m not fucking stupid!”

Athena glared back at him, suddenly over it all. She was exhausted. Sick of the ridicule, sick of the snide remarks, sick of defending him, and sick of saying nothing. “You know what? You’re delusional and insecure, and I am fucking sick of defending you.” She yanks the ring off her ring finger and thrusts it into his chest, letting go of it and watching him scramble to catch the engagement ring. “Until you can be a man and stop acting this way, we are done. I fell in love with Teddy Radcliffe, the guy who walked me home at night from the library, not Ted Radcliffe, the man who wants to imitate his father. Good night, Ted, you can see yourself out.”

She didn’t give him a chance to retort and stormed off to her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

She heard the front door slam shut as she slid to the floor in tears.

As she kept replaying the argument and the events leading to this, she didn’t realize her phone was buzzing with notifications.

Finally, after what was probably the fifth notification, she checked her phone and saw she had a few DMs from Nick Bosa of all people.

She couldn’t be mad at him. He did nothing wrong. Sure, he was a bit flirty at times in his comments, but never inappropriate. She felt she was to blame for entertaining him because of her own relationship issues.

Opening the messages, she was surprised to see a series of messages from him. They had talked a few times prior in relation to their older siblings and stuff, so she felt comfortable talking with him. It never got to be too much or anything that Teddy assumed..

Nick Bosa

Hey wanted to slide in and say ‘hi’.

I saw you’ve been taking down pics of your fiance.

I know we don’t really know each other that well, except through Arty and Joey, but I just wanted to check in and see how you are doing. 

Breaks up can be fucking hard to deal with.

I’m here if you wanna talk sometime.

She smiled at that and bit her lip as she thought about how she could respond. 

Athena Thermopoli

Hey. Thanks for reaching out. I appreciate it.

It’s been pretty rough.. I broke off my engagement with my fiance. We just couldn’t see eye-to-eye on things and it wasn’t healthy anymore to be in that situation.

Nick Bosa

Glad you stood up for yourself. I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but with time it’ll get better. I got out of a relationship a few months ago and it was rough. I wish it had ended differently, but I had to learn to move on.

For what it’s worth, you seem like a sweet person and if he couldn’t respect you or treat you right, then he wasn’t the right guy.

Athena dried her tears and typed back.

Athena Thermopoli

Well he was so sure that you and I had something going on because he claimed that you like all of my photos (the ones without him in it) and we apparently ‘flirt’ too much in my comments section…

Nick Bosa

XD what a fucking idiot. No offense, you’re a beautiful woman, and absolutely a top 5 in my eyes, but I wouldn’t try to slide in your DMs while you’re in a committed relationship. That’s not my style. I don’t know the full story of your relationship, but it sounds like he’s a guy that only worries about himself and his needs more, and has some insecurity issues.

Athena Thermopoli

He for sure did. I couldn’t even go to get coffee with my graduate classmate who was a guy - a gay guy at that - without him being up in arms over it. It was exhausting. 

Nick Bosa

Sorry you dealt with that. That’s bullshit. 

Speaking of coffee, hopefully I’m not coming off as being too forward, did you want to meet sometime and get a cup with me? It doesn’t have to be a date - especially since you just got out of a long term relationship. Just two people, who have psychotic older siblings that are dating each other, getting to know one another?

Athena Thermopoli

OMG! XD the fucking drama between those two. They’re meant for one another - I swear! And yeah, absolutely. I’m actually up in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow to see my friend who just had her baby. Are you back in Florida still?

Nick Bosa

They are fucking crazy, aren’t they? 2. Congratulations to your friend! 3. Yep. I’m free all day. Whatever time works for you, works for me.

Athena bit her lip to contain her smile, feeling a surge of excitement rush through her over the fact that he not only invited her to get coffee but was equally as eager to meet up.

Confirming the details with him, she decided to clean up, get something to eat and head to bed early since it was an exhausting evening. Her heart was still aching and she had to fight the urge in the shower from crying again.

Heating up her leftover pasta from last night, she checked her phone again, seeing another DM from Nick, this one saying, “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. I hope you have a great night. Here’s the location of the place.” He added the address for her and she sent him a heart emoji back, telling him “Good night, Nick!”

Putting her phone down, she dug into her bolognese, mulling over what she was going to wear tomorrow. Who knew what talking to Nick might lead to. He was very attractive and unapologetically masculine in how he carried himself. When he requested to follow her a few months back, she had no idea who he was. She didn’t even know who Joey was really, and he was dating her sister! She couldn’t deny it, and maybe it was her being fresh out of a relationship that was making her feel this way, he was insanely attractive to her. Looking back at some of his pics on his Instagram, she felt a rush of excitement course through her at the thought of seeing him in-person tomorrow… and she had a gut feeling that it was going to lead to more than she was anticipating. 

Pushing that thought down and into the back of her mind, she thought to herself, ‘It’s just meeting a friend - not a date. You just got out of a relationship. This will be nothing more than just us becoming friends.’

What she didn’t know is that an impromptu trip to Napa in a few weeks time would be setting her up for an entirely different outcome with Nick Bosa.. neither of them knowing that just yet.

[fairyqueentitana]

Twilight has issues

Like every other girl, I watched the movies and read the books and now I shall rant.

Isabella Marie Swan is a romantic idiot - Now I get that vampires are supposed to suck in their prey and in a way tend to hypnotise humans so much so that common sense is not that common but seriously who follows a vampire into the woods ALONE. Even with a friend, she would not have a chance but who does that. She finds out that she is a blood singer and thinks oh we can have a wonderful relationship. Sis your blood is his drug of choice you are his literal special walking and talking blood bag. Who chooses the walking undead over their family and loved ones. Mind you ladies and gentlemen I say nothing about money cause we all need money these days can't blame nobody for looking for stability. However, Bella was not looking for stability she was looking for the sparkly disco stick connected to her equals sparkly disco ball of her boyfriend.

Renesme is totally going to hate her mum - So for those that don't know Ragamuffin is the biological demon spawn of Edward and Bella half vampire/half human. She was imprinted on by Jacob Black now what is so off-putting by this is that Jacob was infatuated with Bella throughout the whole series until of course, he made eye contact with Renesme. I should point out he really wanted her dead until the dreaded eye contact happened and the imprint bond formed. Now Reenesme is a bit self-conscious about the fact she does not sparkle and Bella tells her "You're the prettiest" Edward being the dad of the year straight up says "I have to disagree" (those two should not be parents) The kid is obviously going to grow with an inferiority complex towards her mum how will she feel when she finds out not even Her Jacob wanted her initially and that he was in love with her mother.

Imprints - I noted this before with Renesme however I wanted to address something people love to ignore. The bond could be that of a friend, protector,brother/sister or lover so why in the world is everyone letting Sam and Emily off. Yes, Emily is his imprint but he was ENGAGED to Leah her COUSIN and chose to pursue her romantically and no one but Leah is mad at him. Emily tells him no a bunch of times eventually her harsh words cause Sam to lose control and stuff but after that, she starts dating him, They could not have chosen to have a platonic or family relationship no lets eventually date and throw that in Leah's face both of them are in the wrong. Next, if they imprint on a child then that should be an automatic big brother/sister relationship nothing more nothing less.

The Cullens cover story is just awful it is ridiculous seriously Edward, Alice and Emmett could have played their kids and Rosalie and Jasper their significant others who live with them due to family issues or being listed as guardians when their parents died in a horrible crash three years ago. They just had to use the most outrageous cover story out there and it shows.

Bella did one thing right - Bella ensured herself a comfortable future I mean the Cullens are loaded she will never be wanting for anything ever, unfortunately, she will have to continuously attend school for the rest of her immortal life.

BLOODLUST IS AN EMOTION AND SO IS HUNGER - Y'all Jasper is an empath and he lives with a group of vampires to be clear he lives with Edward who is struggling not to drain his blood singer on a daily basis. The Cullens owe him a huge apology that was not his fault.

Esme is the only one with a fully developed brain- Esme is the oldest out of all the Cullens she was turned when she was 26 years old one year after the brain is said to fully develop. No wonder she seems to be the sanest person in that family.

Stuck in time - WHile they have lived for a very long time and adapted the Cullens still maintain many of their learned habits from their times and as they are frozen at that age I would have to assume that they maintain certain thoughts and opinions of their time. I'm slowly hinting at the fact that Jasper was a Confederate solider so he may be quite racist..........

[ladyloveandjustice]

Spring 2022 Anime Overview: GIRLS! edition

Watched three anime this season that had an all-female or 99% female cast, so why not review them together!

Birdie Wing: Golf Girls Story

So, in this anime, the main character, Eve, starts out as an underground golfer (yes in this show there is a seedy underground golfing operation) supporting her undocumented found family and thus gets deeply embroiled in the golf mafia. In the first episode she faces off against a lady in a clown mask and hits a golf ball through a moving train and calling it her rainbow bullet. In the fourth episode, she goes up against ‘Vipere the reaper’ in LITERALLY (not metaphorically) underground, ever shifting Yu-gi-oh style golf course to settle a mafia dispute.

Oh and someone dies! I mean recurring character wise. If we’re counting guys who appear only to be blown up by rocket launchers courtesy of the golf mafia, more people than that die.

Meanwhile throughout all that, Eve (who is from a fictional country that was apparently in Madlax?) and a Japanese golfer named Aoi become completely infatuated with each other and meet up for a VR golf date among other things. Then we switch to the golf high school, where Eve continues to seduce Aoi, and in the season finale (which doesn’t even bother to feel like a finale, but just cuts off like it’s going to continue next week, but we’re not getting more until 2023), offers to kiss her if she messes up in her golf game and this makes Aoi EXTEREMELY excited.

So yes, clearly this anime is amazing. I had to watch it week to week just to see what bizarre thing will happen next. Each ridiculous twist hits just right and so do the golf girlfriends, even if they end up backtracking on that (this isn’t my first rodeo).

Granted,  the “golf high school” sections of it have been considerably tamer, they are still spiced up by Eve still treating everything like her life is on the line, dressing ridiculously, declaring “I’ll kill you in golf” to her opponents, who have all kinds of ridiculous over-the-top golfing strategies,  being really gay, and a lot of soap opera machinations going on in the background. And we can only hope the gold mafia will return next season.

Birdie Wing is A+ camp, and makes up for its low budget (expect a lot of reused footage) with absolute commitment to its bit. Golf has become incredible and ridiculous in a way only anime can manage.

There are caveats- it can go from campy to trashy, and a lot of the issues would have been mitigated if they’d allowed these characters to be adults. One of the weird reoccurring things in the first arc is at least one line of often frankly unnecessary sexual menace per episode, made worse by the fact Eve is 15, which pretty much everyone watching was bowled over by, because she does not remotely come off as that young. Despite this, we’ll have the mafia people threatening to make Eve sell her body to fans, or an adult woman making a bet with her that she’ll “get her body” if she loses this game (Eve responds this will never happen and that she’s only got one girl in her heart which, wow, gay), and then later backstory that implies through dialogue some of the characters were forced into sex work as kids?

The reason this is mostly tolerable for me personally is because the show doesn’t revel in anyone’s discomfort or victimization for the sake of ‘fanservice’. Eve never seems particularly threatened or uncomfortable. We always feel a reassurance she’s not in any real danger, and she’s utterly unflappable and confident in the face of creeps. Vipere, who admittedly falls into every predatory bisexual stereotype, is so over the top with her wiggly tongue and vampire fangs I cannot even be mad about her, especially since after her first appearance, she no longer creeps on Eve and becomes a weird campy ally instead. But! It will be way too much for some people, and personally, I do think a lot of those lines aren’t necessary (and the implied backstory was especially ‘why’).

The golf high school portion of the anime drops the sexual menace bits entirely for typical gay high school shenanigans (unfortunately we find Aoi’s caddy is homophobic, but THAT WILL NOT STOP EVE FROM SEDUCING EVERY GIRL), but I can’t promise it won’t return. But still, I have to watch and enjoy it because this show is an experience that I cannot miss out on. Eve is a great main character, a bullheaded delinquent who treats golf like a shonen fight scene every time, and I love her. She has great chemistry with Aoi. I am braced for them to be revealed to be secret half sisters or something (the show has been dropping a lot of hints about Eve’s mysterious background) but maybe the show will surprise me and not pull such a pedestrian twist. It has definitely surprised me before.

Birdie Wing is a ridiculous show that runs on ridiculous rules, and seems like such a throwback to earlier campy anime. I can’t miss out.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life

You want more weird gay shit? Well, we’ve got more of that in the fantasy action drama yuri that is The Executioner and Her Way of Life. The anime distinguished itself by making every single isekai-loving fanboy mad when it threw the typical self-insert boy aside to focus on a morally imperiled, self-loathing assassin girl, because yes, apparently these fans are so fragile they cannot handle a dark twist preempting their power fantasy!

They’re very normal about it!

But by side-stepping that fantasy, this anime presents an actual interesting world that’s not another video game retread- one where teenagers who stumble upon a new land and become OP aren’t instantly the master of said land, but instead are easily exploited by factions who want to use their powers and only see them as easily discarded pawns, while simultaneously glorifying them to the public. To prevent this, assassins dedicate themselves to killing isekai kids the second they arrive, before they can be used to do real damage. Our main character, Menou, is one of these “executioners”, and she is fully aware how monstrous what she’s doing is and clearly regrets it but knows no other way.

So of course, she meets Akari ,a girl from another world who she can’t kill and it all goes sideways.

It’s a great premise, fraught with moral quandaries and deliciously dark worldbuilding, and it starts with a bang. At first though, it doesn’t seem to follow up on its promise very well- the first arc is entertaining, but drags a bit and settles into a fairly expected plot while giving its antagonist the most generic motivation possible- however, that arc is then saved by an equally predictable but incredibly fun plot twist that means lots of additional complexity for the characters to deal with. It was the plot twist I was rooting for, and from there, the hints of this world’s weird backstory only became more fascinating.

But aside from its premise, the other main draw of the series is the cast is entirely powerful and various-degrees-of-morally-compromised-and-absolutely-brutal women getting in cool fights and forming weird bonds. I like seeing unhinged women do murder, okay.

Even Momo, who at first seemed like she’d be a boring yandere character obsessed with Menou, grew on me. Not because she ISN’T actually obsessed with Menou- she is, but mostly she was allowed to form a very fun contentious relationship with a battle-hungry-meathead princess that could clearly function well as a beta ship and we got to see her strut her bloodthirsty stuff against dragons. Also, unlike most “incorrigibly horny lesbian” characters, the show doesn’t rely on constant groping gags (the part where she loves on Menous leg in the first ep is the worst she ever does, her other physical shows of affection are much milder and Menou seems pretty okay with them ) and Menou isn’t ever disgusted by her crush/antics, at most gently chiding her to focus while still valuing her. Menou also very actively DOESN’T want to take advantage of how Momo will do anything for her. It’s better than Kuroko in A Certain Scientific Railgun basically- a low bar to clear, but still.

Which isn’t to say this is a flawless, high quality series. It’s fun, but not without it’s jarring schlock. While the girls are all drawn surprisingly well to offset their ridiculous outfits (and some are actually less ridic compared to the light novel, believe it or not), there are some occasional scenes of schlocky fanservice, whether it’s Akari making orgasm noises when she connects to Menou in a dire moment and ruining the tension of that scene, or, probably the most hilarious case, some footage where she wiggles her ass at the camera that gets blatantly reused twice to save animation in an episode. I should also mention that there’s a very suddenly upscale in the gore and body horror for the season finale, involving a childlike figure, where the villain responsible literally says she’s indulging in her love of B-movies. This moment feels less like the usual “ha now that I’ve acknowledged the cliche it’s ok to do it” and more the writing level team saying they know this isn’t anything deep and shocking and inviting you along for the fun. (Apparently even this bit is toned down from the original light novel, which was always gory).

The yuri aspect is as slow burn as you would expect from a several volume ongoing light novel series- it’s clear that girls have it bad for Menou and they talk of their love for her, but Menou is unclear about whether she’ll reciprocate, so we get a lot of “she’s my friend!” talk. There an utterly unforgettable kiss in the OP though.

Overall, it’s not going to change the landscape of anime other than hilariously traumatizing a few bros, but I would love to see more of it. It does something different with the isekai formula, it’s a solid, occasionally mildly trashy show that boasts interesting world full of potential and lots of women doing cool magic fighting shit while yearning for each other in tantalizingly unhealthy ways. And I’m the one who’s trash for that stuff. If you’re like me, you might also enjoy this!

Healer Girl

Healer Girl was a very cute series following three girls in training to become “Healers”- people who can literally speed along the healing process with the power of song. As in, they can close up small cuts, cut asthma attacks short or even make the surgery process go a little quicker. It’s sweet, it’s cheesy, and it’s definitely magical girl adjacent. I liked the silly friendship vibe between the main three girls, and especially their relationship to their teacher. Ria’s an adult woman who mentors them and also lives with another woman who likes to dress in suits when they go out. (The series sadly doesn’t canonize them as wives, but they definitely had wife vibes and their chill partnership contrasting the tumultuous relationship between the three girls was nice.) We often don’t really have much focus on a grown woman in a mentorship position in magical girl OR idol series, so that’s what stood out to me. Unfortunately, the show didn’t do as much with that angle as I wanted. Ria was there and she was great, and had a nice connection to all the girls, but it felt like the show was hinting the whole time that her backstory would be something complex and interesting and then it just…wasn’t.

I did enjoy that one of the women she went to college with ended up being a surgical doctor and that they regularly worked together though, and that it was shown ‘healing song’ hadn’t displaced surgery, but was an aid to it. That was a neat aspect.

The series was as a whole unfocused and didn’t have a real plot to speak of- the girls all got to grow a bit as characters and as healers and they were fun to hang around with, but it was a bit disappointing that entire episodes would forget about the “Healer” part of its premise and do a school festival arc where the girls played in a band as catgirl maids like this was a regular idol show. The ending was especially pretty rushed- the girls are separated and one goes to another country but we basically see none of it.

But despite pacing issues, it was a fun, chill, cute time. It’s also a musical (the girls break into song even when it isn’t required for healing or band performances), so that gave it an enjoyable novelty as well!

[shion-yu]

Day 22 - Punishment

“Would it make you feel better if you hit me?” Whumptober 2023! I’m using the @ailesswhumptober's prompt list. This story is about my OC Cliff - here’s his profile if you’re so inclined: https://toyhou.se/23741453.cliff 

CW: Vague mention of child abuse

Elliot was pissed. He knew it wasn’t truly a big deal - Cliff hadn’t meant to leave an open half gallon of milk in their dorm room over the weekend on purpose. It was just a bad smell that would go away. But it was so hot being the very end of the summer that the horrid scent just lingered, sticking to everything insistently. Elliot had to spend his entire laundry budget for the month washing everything, although Cliff had paid him back. They had scrubbed everything down with disinfectant twice and yet, still, Elliot felt like he could still sense it ever so slightly.

Cliff claimed he didn’t smell it anymore, which just made Elliot more annoyed. “Just because you have the observational skills of a teenage boy doesn’t mean I should have to suffer,” Elliot had snapped at him.

“Aren’t we both teenage boys still, technically?” Cliff asked. They were in the second semester of freshman year of college and had been rooming together since after Christmas break. They were dating, Cliff had issues with his college football roommate bringing girls back to the dorms, and Elliot’s roommate had decided to study abroad for the second semester... It made sense to room together at the time, even though a lot of people said maybe being dorm roommates and dating wasn’t the best idea in the world. Now Elliot saw their point.

He liked living with Cliff most of the time. But Cliff could be insufferable at times and when he was, there was no escape - just their tiny little room with two twin beds and nothing more than six feet of space separating them at maximum. One of them would have to physically leave their living space if they wanted some air and it could get tense really fast. 

“Cliff, I don’t know what to tell you. Just don’t do it again,” Elliot sighed. 

“Would it make you feel better if you hit me?” Cliff said like it was a perfectly natural thing to say.

“I - what?” Elliot stared at him in confusion, then horror. “Of course not! I would never hit you, are you crazy?” He looked hurt, too. “Do you really think I would want that?”

Cliff shook his head. “No, I just wanted to ask. It’s not that weird.”

“It is weird, it’s really weird,” Elliot muttered. “Don’t tell me you have a kink for that or something... Do you?”

“No!” Cliff exclaimed defensively. “I just... that’s what I’m used to.”

Elliot blinked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your parents never hit you?” Cliff asked genuinely.

“No.”

“Oh.”

There was an awkward silence. Neither of them seemed to know what to say next. Elliot sighed, this new information weighing heavily on his heart. “Cliff, I don’t know if it was just discipline or... worse, but whatever it was, my family definitely never hit me. They don’t believe in that,” Elliot said. “I would never want to hit you, and I’d never want you to hit me. Would you?”

“No,” Cliff said. Elliot wasn’t sure how he managed to look so horrified when he was the one who had brought up corporal punishment in the first place. “I don’t want to hit you.”

“Okay. Good. No hitting,” Elliot said. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be mad at you.”

Cliff was quiet as if he needed to consider this new way of life seriously. If Elliot didn’t hit him, how would he know he was excused? Might as well ask... “So how do I know when you’re not mad at me anymore?”

Elliot sighed in exasperation. Cliff really had grown up so differently from him that it was hard to reconcile at times. “I’ll tell you, how about that?”

“Okay,” Cliff said. “Does it help if I say I’m sorry again?”

“I know you’re sorry. You don’t have to keep saying it,” Elliot told him. Sometimes it was like teaching a kid with Cliff, he swore. “I’m going to take a walk, and when I come back it’s all okay, alright?”

“Alright,” Cliff said. “I’ll wait here.” He looked like a hopeless puppy. Elliot couldn’t help but smile a little to himself. Cliff really did have the best intentions most of the time, even if he was misguided and confused for half of it. Sometimes teaching him how to be a normal person was exhausting, but it could also be endearing. Elliot decided he could be patient for him; it was worth it.

[bohemian-nights]

My favorite romantic relationship for Daemon was his relationship with Laena. They seemed to have built a healthy and loving relationship and family. Another thing I like was the fact that she was an adult. Both by their standards and by our standards. And how she died was really heartbreaking. That being said the show f*cked them up in every which way. And then they f*cked his relationship with his daughters that while not much is given for in the book you can still make a claim that he loved and cared for them. In conclusion this show is sh*t and if Netty (who unfortunately is Daemons only saving grace) isn’t included this season I will be finding a new fandom to either join/re-join. Maybe my childhood favorite(s) ATLA or Percy Jackson since they both are getting new shows. The Hunger Game franchise just came out with a new movie that is slowly but surely getting me back on the wagon. H*ll I might even trade out one toxic fandom for another, I just can’t decide if it’ll be Bridgerton (though they’re only toxic when it comes to certain characters), Star Wars (I haven’t been apart of this one in a while but if my memory serves me it was just shipping wars) and if I’m really feeling it I’ll go back to Harry Potter (which is low-key worse than HOTD cause the writer is problematic as well as some of the actors/actresses and the stans are crazy and the shipping wars alone can make you leave the fandom ). But yeah I have low hopes for this next season.

Dettles has a special place in my heart, and I believe Nettles was Daemon's person, I will admit that Daemon and Laena is his least problematic ship. Instead of the showrunners giving us a relatively normal healthy loving marriage they gave us dog sh*t and I will forever be pissed off about that🫠

I’m gone too if Nettles is cut.

However, honestly, after this whole situation, I refuse to get involved with another fandom again.

Granted HOTD is probably one of the worst fandoms out there(I feel like it’s worse than GOT fandom), but there are a lot more sh*tty fandoms than there are good ones and I wouldn't want to trade one sh*tty fandom for another.

Star Wars is the same fandom that bullied Jar Jar Binks actor to the point where the poor man was suicidal and they bullied the kid who played Anakin to the point where he quit acting. Not to mention how fans treated John Boyega, Kelly Marien Tran, and Moses Ingram. Those people are just as mentally deranged as HOTD stans. In fact, a lot of Dumbnyra stans ship Reylo💀That’s really the last fandom I’d join. They are one of the OG crazy fandoms.

Never got into the Hunger Games, but I know they had their issues(Rue). Percy Jackson same issue. People’s grievances with JK Rowling aside, the Harry Potter fandom has calmed down, but I imagine the crazy antics will pick up again with the new series. At their height though they were probably running neck and neck with HOTD(I wouldn’t say it’s worse).

I love Avatar. Never got into the fandom(and even if I do decide to write something for Zutara because of this new show that will be my extent of fandom interaction).

Speaking as someone who is in the Bridgerton fandom, while it has its kooky fans they are relatively harmless by fandom standards. (Though I did have some Kathony fans getting mad at me over a non-issue and saying I should stick to watching the incest show🤣 even though I've been watching Bridgerton since the beginning ).

I feel like the type of show it is makes it difficult for really crazy fandom drama to form(which seems to revolve around shipping).

Everyone has their favorite couple of course(Benophie aka the best ship, Kathony, Polin, Saphne, Francheal, Grucy, or hey ship them all), but there is no infighting like Zutara vs Katang or Dramione vs Romione.

There is one ship per guy and girl and you ship them. That’s it. It’s simple. It’s easy. Everyone loves it. Of course, you can fight with another couple, but everyone’s couple is a couple. You can’t deny it’s not canon, that it won’t happen, or that they don’t love each other(well Eloise and her man are iffy, but they are a couple).

I may be biased though considering it’s my favorite show, but even with some kooky stans it’s great.

[redrobin-detective]

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRuV3Khq/

Wayne Girls AU, that was Bruce with Rachel and Janis. Especially Rachel.

Grown man had to hype himself up when it was time to lay down the law. Couldn’t stand to have any of them be upset with him. Alfred had to stand guard to make sure he didn’t go back on any of his groundings.

Diana getting a crash course in Girl Dad™️ when Batman had to lecture Robin. The man was close to sobbing into his hands after Robin ran out of the room crying “You’re breaking my heart, Daddy.”

Diana: You’re the parent, is it not normal to discipline one’s child?

Bruce: You don’t understand, she’s mad at me. She won’t want to talk to me now.

Diana: I see, so men are the weaker parent.

Bruce taking Cosmetology classes when he first gets Rachel to make sure that he’s able to do her hair. Brucie Wayne might be a ditzy himbo but his little girls are gonna be rocking the cutest hairstyle anytime they leave the house. Braids, updos, ponytails, bows, clips and ribbons he has it all mastered.

Bruce buying those child alarms that are popular in Japan for all of his girls when they first start as Robin as a precaution. They all get a case of bedazzled pepper spray for a gift at least once.

Bruce having a slight fear of when the girls decide to band together for a common goal that’s not for the greater good. Either he’s gonna get played, someone will have their self esteem destroyed, half a city will be on fire, someone will get robbed, and/or all of the above.

Bruce joking that Carter is his favorite cause he finally has a bro to talk to in the house. But really it’s cause Carter won’t roast him as maniacally when he does or wears something corny.

While all the Robins are quick witted and can talk smack, Janis was the most vicious one. She never lets anyone get the first or final word, any kind of fight she made sure to win, always making sure no one saw any weakness. She was a literature/theater nerd she had a talent with prose and word play.

Though it was never directed at anyone she viewed as defenseless or vulnerable. She tried to be the symbol of strength and protection that Robin was to her.

Tabitha being the best liar of the whole family, cause that’s just how kids with strict parents grow up to be. Can and has gotten away with lying to Superman. Could probably get away with murder but won’t cause then she’ll let Rachel down. Struggles with living up to the image of being a “Good Girl” and her actual thoughts, wants, and needs. Janis jokes that Beth’s anxiety and people pleasing issues are the only things keeping her from taking over the world.

Rachel having conflicted feelings of being settling down and having a family. Not wanting to be tied down so soon but being worried she’ll miss her window. Unsure if she’ll be willing for perform any more emotional labor for more people especially since some days it seems like her sibling will always need her on speed dial. Flip flopping between adopting or wanting to experience pregnancy.

Dami growing up with love advice that basically sums up to “Communication is key” and “Dump him” but each sister was a different interpretation for each situation that she might as well just flip a coin. Janis, a true Jane Austen die hard, maintaining that romantic outlook for her Mister Darcy but is sadly less self reflective than Lizzie.

Alfred being worried that none of the girls will have a traditional wedding but still having a dream wedding journal for each one if the time ever came. He’d be a terrifying drill master to make sure the day went perfectly but it’s all with good intentions.

Bruce having no conscious desire for grandkids cause his babies should stay his babies. But once he gets that first grand baby it’s like he fell in love all over again. All his grandkids are his best friends and he’s their “Grand B/Paw Paw/Grandaddy.”

Sorry I've had this saved in my ask forever bc I keep rereading it because it's always so much Fun when someone engages with your dumb, indulgent AU.

Bruce is, at the same time, both a stricter but also more permissive parent with the girls. You're So Right that he hates when they're mad at him and dotes a bit more on them than he did with the boys. But at the same time he is bound and determined not to make a big deal of the fact that he has daughters, that they're just as capable as sons. He stood up so much for Rachel when she first started as Robin, justifying her skills and making sure no one thought less of her. For all the fights and struggles the kids have with B over the years, they never forget that he supports them 100% and never treats them as less.

I also love exploring the relationship each of the Robins has with their femininity. Rachel came to the Manor way more girly, she was used to parading around the circus in dresses and with pretty accessories. Growing up the adopted daughter of a wealthy billionaire, not to mention becoming the first young sidekick, not to mention female sidekick, made her dial back to be take seriously. Plus as she grew into a beauty it soon became uncomfortable at times to express herself that way. Janis was a Tomboy and saw it as a weakness which is just another point of contention when Beth comes in as (seemingly) a sweet princess. Beth was raised to be a pretty, thoughtless thing so her combining her rougher, more practical side with the fun frivolities of being feminine is about her claiming herself and not what others want to make of her. By the time Dami comes along, there's a whole spectrum and femininity around and she's able to decide what amount works for her.

Tabitha is the first to marry but Janis is the first to have (ie adopt) kids and Bruce, who was so stoic with his kids, just melts for his grandkids. He loves his daughters so much, respects them but also fears them bc of how capable they are a) as vigilantes and b) at manipulating the hell out of him. Beth will turn on her big sad eyes, Rachel will shyly twirl her hair, Dami will bite her lower lip and he will do Anything. The JLA makes fun of him but they're not much better when the Bats use their evil powers on them.

[carousel-of-souls]

Metropolis Atlanta Backstory: Jon + Martha Kent

Titling this Metropolis even though it takes place in Smallville which in this AU is in Mississippi, tagging things is hard.

Warnings: Child Abuse, referenced racism and bullying, ableism, mental health issues, systemic injustice, PTSD, mouth injury, sexual harassment, referenced homophobia and antisemitism

Jon’s father was in the military and definitely brought it home with him. When Jon got in trouble he was made to walk laps around the yard in the cold without getting dinner or do push ups or plow the field and tend to the animals all by himself. He generally got punished with exercise or manual labour, a lot of the time losing dinner “privileges” as well.

The house was constantly tense because Jon’s father’s anger was an unstoppable force and Jon’s will was an immovable object. Jon’s mother was quiet and never stepped in because she felt, or rather was taught to feel, that it wasn’t her place.

Jon started getting into trouble on purpose, getting arrested in public because everyone knew who his father was and it mad his father livid to be embarrassed like that, everyone knowing that he couldn’t control his son, everyone knowing he was unable to break a child.

Martha’s family was split up by social services when she was four. She had an older brother and a younger sister who she was never able to track down again. They were taken away because their mom’s job didn’t pay enough and she couldn’t feed them properly, she wasn’t abusive at all, she was just poor. Being in the foster care system and enduring the trauma of being separated in the first place caused Martha to develop a lot of “behavioural problems” which were really PTSD and anxiety.

Jon and Martha ended up at the same military school when they were 13 and 12. It was a few months before they even met. Jon during this time was occasionally flirting around with two other boys in his dorms. He’s under the impression that every man has at least a little attraction to other men and neither Clark or Martha has corrected him on this. Jon not being quite straight definitely made things easier when Clark came out.

Jon was prone to getting into fights and he got into one over Martha. Being a dark skinned Black girl made bullying bad enough but she also has vitiligo in her hands which earned some addition teasing. Jon was taking on a guy that pulled on Martha’s hair a lot, they weren’t particularly close then but he had a habit of finding excuses to punch someone, Jon won but he got one of his molars knocked out in the process. Jon gave it to Martha and she thought it was gross so she snuck it into his room, he thought that was rude so he snuck it back into her pocket and they kept sneaking it to eachother until they graduated.

Jon wrapped the old tooth in wire and made a ring out of it, he didn’t expect Martha to actually wear it, it was more about the thought. He proposed when they were 19 and 18. They eloped and moved to Jackson Mississippi for a while, which is only a few hours from Smallville but in comparison it felt like another world. Jon meant to get a real ring eventually but nothing would ever be as special as that tooth so he never got around to it and Martha doesn’t mind.

Martha is a very talented singer, especially at yodeling. She was pursuing a country music career for a while. She did make a record with about a dozen copies that are still on people’s shelves or now around thrift shops in Smallville, and of course Clark has one.

Jon was still getting in a lot of fights around this time, being bruised and tasting blood was just familiar at this point, almost comforting. He’d adopted an attitude that you had to hit others before they hit you, that was the only way he knew how to solve problems with anyone who wasn’t Martha. He didn’t want children for that reason because he didn’t want that anger around a kid. His parents died around this time and he inherited the house but he didn’t go back to Smallville.

Martha had nightmares about having kids and them being taken away, those stopped after Jon got a vasectomy. Martha was going to get her tubes tied but Jon insisted that she was busy with her singing and he had more time to recover from surgery than she did, though he worked a factory job at this time and definitely did not have more free time than Martha. Both of them liked kids and did in a way want them. During the “traditional” time where couples have children they both felt they were not mentally in a place where they could give a child what they needed so they made peace with it and moved on.

Martha was meeting with the representative of a record label and he got handsy with her. She decided she didn’t want to pursue music anymore in that moment. After she told Jon about it he went to the guy’s house and beat him into a coma that lasted for a few days. Martha told him, though she appreciated how he always wanted to defend her, she couldn’t stay around if he kept going like he was because he was either going to end up dead or in jail for killing someone else. They moved back to Smallville after that and Jon started thinking about his feelings instead of hitting things about them.

Jon mostly made money selling stuff he grew on the farm, or animals/animal products like milk and wool, or stuff he made since he’s good at woodworking. Martha still sings at county fairs and such, she sews Halloween costumes for a lot of the neighbourhood kids. Despite not having a child enrolled for many years she did a lot of costuming for the school plays. They were happier than either of them expected to be, especially since they got a lot of flack when they were young about not having kids, they didn’t regret their choices despite people’s warnings.

Around their 50s they found Clark and things got happier but complicated. Martha’s nightmares about having a child ripped away from her started again. Especially when Clark’s powers started manifesting. She was afraid the state would use the difficulties it caused at school as a way to take him from her.

When Clark went off to be Superman Martha lost days of sleep as now the nightmares weren’t just about him getting taken away but being killed. She obviously couldn’t tell everything but she started going to therapy about the intense anxiety she had and that helped a bit. She never told Clark how much him leaving affected her.

Jon had never been able to look up to or even get along with anyone that was stronger than him until Clark. He found it very ironic having to tell his son he couldn’t fight back when he got hit at school. There were quite a few days where Clark would come home dirty and with his clothes ripped but of course not a bruise on him. He got taken out for ice cream a lot and got extra presents at special occasions during these years to at least try and make up for it.

There was a rough patch in Clark’s relationship with Jon and Martha after he was told where he came from. He was very secretive when weird things started happening to him because Martha and Jon always talked about how good he was so he felt like he shouldn’t have any problems, especially problems like seeing people’s insides and hearing conversations from down the street.

If it was any other people they probably wouldn’t have held together but things settled eventually.

Both Jon and Martha believe there’s some kind of god but they don’t really follow any specific Christianity, especially after finding Clark and their understanding of the universe being flipped upside down. They went to church sometimes, more when Clark was younger, mostly because there’s people there they’ve known for years and years. They went less and less when some of the people there were passive aggressive about Clark dating Bruce. They stopped going completely after Martha shared she was learning how to make kosher meals for when Bruce visited and got some looks that made her feel she didn’t want to be around those people anymore.

They’re in their 70s now and still happy but definitely feel a lot of worry for Clark and Bruce and Lois. Martha calls Lois pretty often cause she knows Lois will tell on Clark if he isn’t taking care of himself.

Though Jon can come off stoic and antisocial, those close to him know he’s very much a “class clown” and he can be quite funny.

[luveline]

Thank you so much! Okay so I've been working there for just shy 4 years and have been a manager for 1 year. The store has gone through a lot of GMs in my time there, but he's the only one that I've actually had an issue with. From the second that he started he has done nothing but run the store into the ground. Within his first 2 months our entire night crew quit because of him harassing them about call outs and taking time off, but they were kids okay? They were about to graduate and had a lot of things to do? It wasn't like he was never told in advance. He is always scheduling people outside of their availability and gets mad when they don't show up at their scheduled time. I've always worked opens, but just recently he decided to put me on closes without consulting me about it. There is no communication from him ever. If you try to ask him about something, he will either say I don't know or just flat out ignore you. There was one morning that I went in and the store was actively flooding. I called him and my supervisor multiple times with no response. Eventually I texted him to come get his store because it was flooding. He texted me back an hour later and his response? "What?" He didn't call me back, didn't try to find out if it was under control or if we were open on time and then actually showed up 20 minutes late. It was dumb luck that someone from Maintenace had shown up to look at something and helped me shut the water off. He hired this one guy who started sexually harassing all of the girls, including myself. He was in his 30s and most of these girls were barely legal and not even out of high school yet. He refused to ever actually do anything about it and eventually the guy got fired for not showing up. AND THEN HE HIRED HIM BACK. He's so rude and passive aggressive all the time and it makes everyone so uncomfortable. He's always making mistakes and then blames it on everyone else. We've been having problems with money going missing from the safe, drawers being short, and he always goes to me about it even though he knows it don't happen on my shift. Doesn't matter if I worked that day or not, he jumps down my throat about it. I've never been confrontational, normally I would just stay quiet and let these things happen because I don't want to upset anyone, but this has been really taking a toll on my already fragile mental state. I don't really want to leave, my team has been my second family and I don't want to abandon them, but I feel like it's something I really need to do. It's not really acceptable here for people to go over their boss' head to upper management, but I don't know what would be appropriate. What makes it harder to do is that my current supervisor is very new to the company and I would rather speak to someone more familiar with myself and my boss because I feel like they would have a better understanding of the issues, but I don't want to in turn go over her head either and make her feel like I don't trust her. It's common practice for our franchise to rotate GMs, but it's always done at random and we never know when it's gonna happen. I'm looking for another job now, but I'm unsure if I should just stick it out here and wait for him to be replaced, or if I should just jump ship and move on.

Absolutely I think you should jump ship! I've only had one job and it wasn't a career so please take anything I say with a huge pinch of salt. I really wouldn't know what the best course of action is for you BUT but but I really think what's most important is your well being and it feels like this guys is just throwing you into mental and actual danger. I'm so sorry to hear about the sexual harassment you've been experiencing, and it sounds to me that your boss is really mistreating you and it is not okay, you deserve the best and I don't think anything is worth such a huge sacrifice of your happiness. But of course its never as easy as just quitting. I really am so sorry, I hope that whatever you do you'll feel happier!

[stingslikeabee]

❛ 26 . a kiss on the stomach . ( from Yeehaw Daigo <3 )

the overwhelming desire to kiss . accepting

It was easy to pretend that time stood still whenever Daigo was around - and being the owner of that place definitely helped not being interrupted and having girls knocking at her door until the lawman left. However - maintaining that illusion tended to be a bit more complicated these days...

...Particularly when she felt nauseous every morning, could no longer stand the smell of certain types of fruit or even looked at the mirror in certain angles. That both of them managed to keep it a secret thus far was nothing short of a miracle - one undoubtedly supported by the fact Melissa had no clients of an intimate nature and that she could manage to keep up appearances by loosening just a bit of her corset.

"Do you think us mad, Daigo?" she asked at some point, but the madame was not looking at him; Melissa's honeyed hues were focused on the ceiling of her room, glued to a particular corner where the wallpaper was peeling off as if it was the most interesting thing of all world - and not the unborn child inside her body or the way that the Japanese man moved against her, laying by the brunette's side and placing a kiss on her cheek.

"I'm afraid I can't say I have a good track record with reasonable decisions," he murmured, but Daigo's voice was fond. His touch on her face was like a balm to soothe anxieties and worries that had multiplied since their... Accident happened. There were ways to try and resolve it, of course - but doctors would say these were not risk-free; and at Melissa's age, neighboring a third decade so soon, it made everything more complicated.

"I just don't want him to be shunned. It's not fair - he didn't ask for it," Melissa sighed deeply, "With me as his mother... It will haunt him. We would need to move or maybe he should speak no English. Maybe it would be good if he didn't know people are being mean to him."

"It shouldn't be a curse - I will see it doesn't turn into one," Daigo said with a certain determination in his voice, and raised his body enough to look at the woman at his side, propping an elbow over the mattress to ensure his angle wouldn't tire him out so easily - their conversation merited that seriousness, "Why should he be ashamed of having a mother that will do everything for him? That raised his aunts beautifully? He will be lucky to have you as the girls here do - but I cannot vouch for the father," the lawman quipped with a small grin, but he was successful in making Melissa laugh - as if he was the greatest problem in that equation.

Well - it wasn't without reason; Daigo's ancestry did bring problems more often than not even if he was no longer the token foreigner as the city grew and changed, but people could be horribly biased every now and then. The difference is that he had guns and an imposing stature - and the protection he offered now extended to Melissa, and arguably to their kid.

"Melissa - you keep saying 'he'; are you sure it's a boy?" the lawman raised an eyebrow at her, but his lover just nodded without a second of hesitation. As Daigo's hand trailed towards her stomach, so did one of the madame's - and they linked fingers there, together, as if hoping to transfer some sense of hope towards the child that was ignorant of the issues and complications likely waiting for him.

"I am - I even have... A name in mind," the brunette bit her lip next, ambar-colored irises meeting the intensely emotional, black ones above. Daigo seemed surprised - they had never discussed it before - but eager to learn more, shifting again over his body to redistribute his weight and nodding at the madame. "I thought about naming him Kazuya."

"Kazuya?" Daigo blinked, surprised; the name sounded different for someone who spoke Japanese as his first language, but Melissa's pronunciation had been good enough for him to get it. At the look of confusion, the brunette reached out to his face with a free hand, digits trailing his familiar visage with undeniable affection and watching how he, even after all these years, still leaned into her touch as if it was the first time.

Melissa would never have anyone else, really.

"I spoke to Shun. I asked for help with names that had... A hopeful meaning. He suggested a few, but 'Kazuya' sounds nice. It's not that hard to say for us and... I thought it would be nice. Some peace and harmony for our lives, if we can ask for it. Something tells me he will take after you - I thought a Japanese name would go nicely with him."

A moment passed - and then Daigo grinned again, but in a way that offered a glimpse of his teeth and poured all his soul into it. Melissa's breath was temporarily stolen - whenever he acted like that, it was impossible for her to even understand why most of the city feared him so much. Within the privacy of her room, he had always been the most brilliant and charming ray of hope; it was only fitting that their son carried that legacy.

"Kazuya," he repeated, nodding before moving again - he let go of his lover's hand, but only because Daigo crawled towards the end of the bed, finding a way to settle in-between Melissa's legs and kissing her stomach fondly, eyes peering up at the brunette before a second kiss followed and his hands gently held her in place.

"Hello, son," he chuckled, "I hope you're doing okay - but you should know we both want to meet you, Kazuya. It's scary out here... But you'll have the best mother. And your father will try his best, ok?" the coarse thumbs of Daigo's hands moved over Melissa's skin, adding to the gentle encouragement of his words, "We love you, Kazuya."