#and i thought it would be funny to write the emails getting sent around a government trying its level best to be democratic

[notcatherinemorland]

i am like. 3 paragraphs away from the next chapter of my silly political comedy fic but it is giving me existential crisis like who let me have so much creative authority over my own fic. what do next.

[hischierswhore]

Your writings are so cute, and my favorite to read! I have a request but it’s like super long! Sorry in advance. Can I please request one with Mason, where he is newly dating the reader(actress), and i’m not sure if you have ever seen those youtube videos of the celebrities getting ready in their bathrooms for vogue but she’s recording one of those and Mason interrupts. He comes in asking her the question “who would win in a fight, a shark or a tiger” and she completely forgets she’s recording and they both go on a tangent about who would win, and then he says suddenly “waits where the fight at?” and their laughing and it just shows their relationship in the purest form. She finishes up the video and send it back to vogue however she sends the unedited one (she thought she sent the one where she took out the interaction with Mason because reader wants to keep the relationship more so on the private side but Mason wants to show off his girl and tell the world). Fast forward Vogue calls her and asks her if it’s okay if they keep that scene with Mason in the video because they found it so cute, and the reader finally breaks and decides she’s going to tell the world about them and agrees for Vogue to release the video. Mason watches it at training, surprised that she kept the portion he is in and is smiling ear to ear because she finally came around to the idea of them being public. SUPER FLUFFY. Thank you!!!

vogue beauty secrets

pairing: Mason Mount x Reader

TW: cursing

A/N: thank you, love! btw there's an insta AU at the end <3

"Hey guys, it's Y/n L/n, and I'm here with Vogue to show you my everyday makeup routine!" You started with your skincare routine, cleansing your face properly before applying moisturizer & sunscreen.

The application of products was explained, as well as how to blend them. As you began applying your concealer, your bathroom door opened to reveal your boyfriend, Mason.

"Love I have a very important question to ask you" He sat on top of your bathroom counter as he spoke.

"Who would win in a fight, a shark or a tiger?" You turned around at his odd question, completely forgetting you were filming a video for Vogue.

"A tiger obviously, Mase"

"Explain"

"It has claws & it just naturally has the instinct to hunt"

"Valid point, but a shark could gobble a tiger up instantly"

"Gobble? It's not a turkey" You laughed

"Wait wait wait. Where is the fight taking place? That's an extremely important factor" You looked at Mason and you both immediately burst into laughter.

"My stomach hurts, Mase!" You laughed as you clutched your stomach

"Well I'm sorry for being so naturally funny" He playfully rolled his eyes before you kissed him.

"Shit, I forgot I'm filming for Vogue. Let me finish this and I'll be out after"

"I forgot you were recording. Sorry, love" He gave you a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving the bathroom.

You continued your routine, leaving yourself a mental reminder to cut the clips of you & Mason out, as neither of you had confirmed your relationship yet. It was more your idea. You wanted to keep your relationship private, but Mason wanted to tell the whole world that you were his girl.

You finally finished recording, shutting off the camera and quickly editing it on your laptop before emailing it to Vogue. You added the video to the email and hit send, not realizing that you had accidentally sent the unedited version to them. The one with the interaction between you & Mason.

For the next week you had forgotten about the video entirely until you received a call from Jessica, an assistant at Vogue magazine, asking if they could keep the part with you & Mason in the video because it was so cute and wholesome.

At first you were confused as to how they got the clip, but then you double checked your email and realized that you had sent them the original by accident. You debated asking them to cut it out or to keep it in and tell the world about your relationship.

In the end, you decided to tell them to keep that clip in. You knew Mason wanted to be public already, so why not do it as a surprise? You didn't tell him that you let them keep that clip, that being the surprise. You figured he'd watch it anyways, as he always watched your interviews (in the least creepy way possible).

After another week, the video was released to the public. You were nervous for both your & his fans reactions, but also excited for Mason's.

Within the hour, the video became #1 on the YouTube trending list. Your newly-announced relationship was making headlines, becoming the only topic of conversation you could find on social media. You quickly posted several tweets confirming the news & announcing your relationship status.

Mason had called you only hours after the video had gone viral, as he was at training when the video was released. He smiled as he watched you speak, but his smile got even bigger when he saw that you kept the clip with him in.

"I see you changed your mind" He teased you over the phone.

"Yeah yeah"

"I can finally tell people you're my girlfriend!" He shouted thru the phone, causing you to pull the phone away from your ear.

"Yes, my love, you can. And I can finally tell people you're my boyfriend" You smiled at the feeling of a weight being lifted off your shoulders.

The reactions towards you & Mason were overwhelmingly positive, with your fans wishing they were him and his fans wishing they were you.

Both of you felt great, knowing that people accepted you both as partners.

To celebrate your relationship announcement, Mason took you out to a fancy dinner, in which you got bombarded by the paps that were trying to interview the pair of you on your relationship. You both raced to the car, laughing as you ran hand-in-hand.

You jumped into the passenger seat as Mason hopped into the drivers seat. You both sat in silence while catching your breath before he spoke up.

"Maybe we didn't think this through completely" You both laughed as he drove you back to his place.

- INSTA AU -

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masonmount my lover 😍

cmpulisic 💜💜

y/nfan1 i am so jealous of Mason rn😔

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yourusername don’t worry, babe. you’re still my #1

masonmount yourusername hello??

[darlingillustrations]

I feel like I should be panicking more. My rent is due in one week, my landlord isn't friendly, and I have no one to ask for help. And yet? I have an eerie sense of calm about it.

I know the calm that happens when you are not actually calm but panicking and your body is helping you survive. This isn't that kind of fake calm. I am sleeping at night. I'm not snaping at my kids. I am *at peace.*

(Read more for musings about the economy, my spiritual mindset in the midst of it all, and some Mary Oliver poetry.)

Five years ago? I would be panicking and staying up late working long hours and burning myself out. But now? These days I'm working full days, then stepping back and cooking meals or working on projects for my kids. It feels more stable this time. I feel like I've matured.

I got a report in my email yesterday which showed that retail sales in January plunged 0.8% from December, far worse than the consensus forecast for a decline of just 0.2%, and the largest monthly loss since March 2023. On the one hand, it made me feel better that it's not just me. On the other hand, it sucks that lots of other people are struggling, as well.

Still, I make the time to meditate every morning. Still, I pull out my poetry books and take my life advice from Mary Oliver. In the poem One or Two Things she wrote:

One or two things are all you need to travel over the blue pond, over the deep roughage of trees and through the stiff flowers of lightning--some deep memory of pleasure, some cutting knowledge of pain.

You don't need to have all the answers. You just need to put one step in front of the other.

Last year when I launched my wholesale business, I drummed up over 1000 leads. I'd pick a city and use google maps or yelp to search for gift shops, stationary stores, coffee shops... anywhere that I thought might want my work... and I took the time to write a personal note to each and every one of these businesses. This month I decided to check back in with them again, and so many of the businesses are now closed or their email addresses no longer work.

Having exhausted these leads, I sat at my computer yesterday with the knowledge that I needed to wait on people to get back to me, that the wholesale leads were out of my hands. And that I still did not have money to pay my landlord. Not once did I fear I would join the list of closed businesses. I did not despair.

Instead, I turned to my first joy. I went back to the sales history on my website and found my very first customers from back in 2016 when I launched my web shop. I emailed them, each of those first customers, sending personal emails. I did not ask them to buy anything. That wasn't what I needed. I asked how they were, what they have been up to, where their lives have taken them.

I was searching for that deep memory of pleasure, that cutting knowledge of pain. One or two things is all we need, after all.

And I got one email back.

This woman was the first person to ever buy an art print in my online shop--a honeybee boy painting--and it is still hanging in her stepson's room, nearly 8 years later. She shared pictures of her new baby, and I shared the pictures with my kids. This woman had sent me many emails over the years, asking for life advice or encouraging me on a hard day. She shared that she didn't realize her emails had made such an impact on me.

Funny how none of us truly sees how impactful we are to those around us. Funny how life keeps going on, whether we worry about it or not.

In One or Two Things, Mary Oliver also wrote:

For years and years I struggled just to love my life. And then the butterfly rose, weightless, in the wind. "Don't love your life too much," it said, and vanished into the world.

I want my character to be defined not by what I do when things are easy but by how I carry myself when things are hard. And I do believe things happen for a reason. Maybe the line between delusion and faith is very thin, but the universe has shown me time and again that it's had my back. I've been in worse scrapes and still came out ok.

If you've read this far and you want to help me get through the next week, you can buy something from my shop or support me on Patreon.

And if you've read this far but you are in a similar boat, don't fret. We will find our way through the fires. one. step. at. a. time.

[mebemilena]

I'm loving all your Maya Lopez stories. They are amazing!!

"I hope you know that this has nothing to do with you"

A/N/: This was gonna be smut but i decided to have it on a chapter of it's own, in case some of you who have followed this storyline dont read smut.

To the sweet anon that sent me a message, this is for you.

Friendly reminder: i write on the drafts of my email so i can edit anytime before posting.  It turns out sometimes i cant proof read it and some grammar and spelling mistakes go unnoticed. i'm trying to pay more attention and let the text rest for at least a few hours before reading it to corret. Might edit the past chapters soon.

Tittle from Big girls don Cry, by Fergie.

- - -

Though Maya had told you to leave by the morning without breakfast, you were adamant about cooking her something.

"Why are you so stuborn?", she signed while you fried some eggs and bacon, the smell of fresh coffee spreading through the small kitchen of her childhood house.

You looked at her all heart eyes, like she put the stars on the sky, and that was clearly bothering her. You filled her a plate and smiled lovingly.

"Stop looking at me like that.", she frowned at you.

You noticed Maya was in a very bad mood, which didnt make much sense to you. She had kissed you last night, cuddled you on your sleep and left a kiss to your neck before getting up this morning. Not even an hour later, here she is. Staring daggers at you. 

"What's wrong?", you asked but Maya just looked away. You walked closer, standing in front of her as she avvoided your eyes. 

You tapped her nose with your index finger, getting her attention and making her face you. "Look at me?", you asked.

Maya kept staring at you, waiting for you to say whatever you wanted to. "Look, if we play our cards right, everything will turn out well." , you tried to convince her.

"This is not a game. And I'm not a prize.", she told you, arching an eyebrown.  Was she talking about Fisk offering money to whoever found her?

You rolled your eyes. Who was being stubborn now?

"You're not a prize, Maya. You're..." you started but paused. You kept looking at her, deep in thought.

"What?", she asked.

"I forgot the sign for that.", you tried.

Maya huffed.

- - -

At noon, it started to rain. You made sure to close the windows before going up to Maya. She was standing against the back of the couch, watching the rain fall down on the outside of the house. 

"This is perfect.", you told her. The rain falling and the smell of wet grass embracing your nostrils made you a little clingy. 

Maya looked at you, a strange look adorning her bautiful face. She seemed sad. 

Right there and then, you were sure she was gonna simply tell you to forget about her, to move on and leave Tamaha. You thought she'd tell you that she didn't like you anymore, tell you to leave her alone and go back to New York. 

Then you'd go right away, walking in the pouring rain and crying your heart out. And it'd be like a sad romance movie.

But she did the oposite of that.

Maya tugged at the hem of your shirt, pulling you to be in front of her, and brought you closer, hiding her face on your neck. She inhaled your scent and you remembered why you hadn't change your perfume in such a long time. 

It was something you thought would work when you started flirting. Picking a smell that'd make her think of you whenever she smelled it. That's why you walk around with tangerine essential oil on your clothes and inside the necklace you're always wearing.

- - -

When you first met Maya she always kept a serious face. As you became close, she'd show you a softer side and you'd take the opportunity to actually learn more about her. 

You had met many versions of Maya and you loved all of them, though you'd seek a few of them more often than the others.

Fierce Maya was one of your favorites. She'd keep her chin up, lips sealed and a perfect eyebrown arched, looking into your eyes like she could make your soul bend to her own desire. 

Funny Maya was all sarcasm and light teasing. She'd smile wild watching you trying to understand a joke she just told. She'd playfully bump your shoulder with her own and she'd even wink at you while at work.

You loved all versions of her, but right now you'd love to have Sexual Maya. The one with wet kisses and a dirty mind, the one that'd make you scream filthy words in three different languages while making you go over the moon.

Maya was a sweet lover but she did have her moments of pure desire. "It's just sex, this is not a relationship", she had told you when you first started your thing. 

At that time you only understood the word "sex" and "relationship".

- - - 

" i missed you too.", she started. "But it wasn't fair to bring you into all of it. I wanted to keep you safe.", she explained. 

You heart grew ten times. Maya telling you she cared for you made you believe things could work out again. Screw Kingpin and New York, you could restart in Tamaha. You'd restart in a small iglu in Alaska,  dressed as a polar bear, if she'd have you. 

"I want you.', Maya signed, bringing you to reality, her eyes full of something you were yet to understand. "All of you.", she continued before claiming your lips with her own, taking your breath away.

-

Check out my redbubble shop:  https://www.redbubble.com/people/MilenaFernandes/shop?asc=u

toss a coin to your artist (me) at ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/mebemilena

[laffy-taffy-creations]

Hello I am having the depression and came here to get away from it. Can you write a hero x villain piece where Hero is sick and injured and Villain takes care of them??? If not that's okay!

Oh absolutely!!! I hope you don't mind that I made it into a College AU though, and the fact it was somewhat rushed :]

Caring Criminal

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well funny seeing you here."

Hero groaned and looked up from where they'd been resting their head against their arms. They knew the voice before they even saw the person.

"Villain."

The other smiled in response. "What's wrong buttercup? You look a little tired…" they said in mock concern.

The problem is that you call me buttercup…

"Not your damn business, go find someone else's day to ruin," Hero responded and dropped their head back onto the table. Why, oh why, did the gods hate them so much as to put them in 3 of the same classes as their literal nemesis? They weren't even in one of those classes now!

Villain knelt down to be eye level with them. "No can do sugar, I've already decided on you. And you're in my spot for the next class this professor is about to teach."

"Well then you better find a different spot unless you wanna get sick, cause this one's gonna have cold virus germs all over it."

There was a pause.

"You're sick?" Villain said with real concern this time.

Why did they have to go and say that…

Hero mentally beat themselves up for letting it slip. They sighed, "yes, and you're fucking annoying and making my headache worse, go away."

Villain moved around Hero to get the bag on the other side of them and began shoving all the stuff on the desk into it as Hero simply watched in horror.

Then they slung the bag over their shoulder and scooped up the currently frozen-by-shock Hero and started to carry them away.

It was only once they reached the dorms that everything fully processed through Hero's headache. "What are you doing?" they asked shyly. They blamed the redness of their face on the fever.

They heard the click of a lock and was dropped onto a bed while Villain got out their phone and sent a quick email to the professor. "Taking care of you since you won't do it yourself."

Hero opened their mouth to say something but was shut down almost instantly since Villain had all of the sudden disappeared. They reappeared from the bathroom with some medicine and practically forced it down Hero's throat.

"I'm gonna make some soup, you stay on that bed and I don't wanna see you out of it except for the bathroom. Remote to the TV is here, pick something to watch because you are not going to any of your classes until you're better."

Hero just silently nodded and took the remote, bundling up in the blankets around them. Was this Villain's bed? What if they had to stay the night? Where would Villain sleep?

They were dragged from their thoughts by the sound of humming in a different room. They guessed they'd have to just watch TV for now.

Putting on a favourite show, wrapped up in a soft blanket, maybe there were worse things than being cared for by the cute criminal singing in the kitchen.

[lovesickry]

- the devil is in the details.

┈⋆⭒ daniel ricciardo x fem!reader [1.9k] ┈⋆⭒ part 7 !

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⎯ find all parts here!! .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⎯ contents: toxic behaviour, nothing kinda. .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⎯ a/n: yes I apologise that Theo is slightly two dimensional but hey. this is a Danny story so can you blame me? also toxic behaviour that I do not condone but also.....

(1) new message from “theo”

see you today at the race!

it’s the first thing you see when you wake up and you’re embarassed to admit you’d slightly forgotten about him and his attendance, but you pin it up to the fact you’d been busy and not to anything else. yeah you should definitely check that he doesn’t want anything serious. christ. anyway.

you respond.

yeah, we can catch up after my last meeting, should be 5ish.

also, the paddock pass should be in your emails 😉

the wink is sarcastic (god you hope he knows that).

you hop in and have a quick shower before getting ready for work and grabbing your keys, seeing another message.

(5) new messages “lucy mercedes”

what’s your coffee order?

i’m getting you coffee

no arguing

also my address is ________

ok THANK YOUUUUU

you smile at the string of text messages before writing back

an oat cappucino

please.

you’re amazing

she writes back almost immediately

large?

she knows you well apparently.

please?

you turn your phone off after that hopping in the car, it was only 3kms away but in the centre of melbourne who knows, it takes you 15 minutes and she’s sitting out the front holding two coffees. oh you want to hug her. your coffee machine had broken convinetly a week ago and you hadn’t got around to purcahsing a new one yet. she walks towards the car and you smile at her as she hands you your coffee.

“oh you’re a lifesaver, thank you” gripping the cup and taking a sip. better than anything you could’ve used instant coffee for.

“oh don’t worry you’re driving me to work, least i could do”

“oh hush, it’s literally on the way”

the drive is pretty uneventful, although she does bring up daniel once. in a conversation that went somewhat like this.

“oh what’s the deal with you and the redbull driver, um number 3, daniel ricciardo.”

you fight any kind of pysichal response that people would think there’s a “deal” with you.

“i saw him running after you in the car park yesterday, sorry i don’t mean to be nosy you don’t have to answer i just thought it’d be something to talk about”

you felt oddly obligated to answer. she was nice. it was fine, you’d tell a simple white lie.

“oh we used to be friends, in perth, a long time ago. i think he just recognised me and came over to say hi” that was a very bright, fucking glowing, flashing red lie but she wouldn’t know hopefully.

“oh wait that’s so cool. he seems really nice. that’s so funny that now you guys work together” she was trying to be nice, keep it upbeat. you could see that, but god you wanted to move on, immediately.

“yeah he is, weird how i see him again after all these years. kinda random” you let out a short breathy laugh. and segue into something else.

you arrive at the track and unlike yesterday you know exactly where to go and lucy is a comfort, walking beside her, rather than all alone. you reach the garage and both go to your seperate sections. although taking any opportunities to say a few words here and there, throwing some jokes around. having a friend was definitely better than pretending to like listening to your own thoughts. qualifying started well, but ended with valtteri out in Q3 as he took too much kerb on the turn and ending up spinning and ending up in the middle of the track and debris everywhere. initially that would still mean he would qualify 10th, which you could defiently work with. but no, the car had been sent for you and the crew to look at it and the gearbox was harmed in the crash, more like crushed. we were handed a five grid penalty, not something you enjoy to hear. to have one car be number 1 and the other be 15 it wasn’t looking to great for their team or you specifically. the race was probably the most interesting to watch, but you couldn’t really watch it so much as watch what the car was doing and then tell other people and then record that and make sure it was all correct, but when you could watch you did. daniel was doing well, qualifying above valtteri and managing very well so far, it was his home grand prix it’d be expected he’d push, but watching him nearly wreck his front wing to try and edge past räikönnen was definitely an undesirable feeling of absolute dread. both HAAS were out by lap 24 and it looked like valtteri was okay, that the car was okay. the garage was in anguish watching hamilton and vettel battle for p1 and it was exhilarating, but vettel one and even though hamilton was still p2 there was a slight aggravation towards ferrari around the team. valtteri came back 8th gaining a very commendable 7 positions and daniel came 4th and achieved the fastest lap, you ought to congratulate him (as friends) and then remembered that grace would be here, god you’d been so rude you hadn’t thought of that. there was a debrief after, and then meetings after that. which personally you felt dragged on for far too long. inputting as little as you could for fear of sounding over it, you loved your job, you fought VERY hard for it, but no.

the meeting thankfully ended at around 4:30 and you’d agreed to meet theo at 5ish so you thought that you could quickly go say hi to grace and daniels family. she meant so much to you when your mum died and you hoped she’d know that. you made your way to where you thought they’d be , the family section of redbull, trying to ignore the looks you got as someone wearing mercedes kit in a redbull garage. you spot daniel and walk towards him.

“hey”

he’s pretty shocked, turning towards you.

“hey”

“what are you doing here? miss mercedes in the redbull garage?”

“yes whatever, where’s your mum, i haven’t even said hi to her i feel awful”

his shoulders slightly droop.

“god you’re a horrible person”

you just stare at him.

“yes okay she’s in that room over there” he points over to a double glass door, you turn to go but then look back to him.

“good job also, you drove really well.”

he’s almost shocked.

“don’t tell toto i said that”

“no promises”

you walk towards the glass doors, someone looks at you strangely wearing redbull kit and you explain what you’re doing and she nods you forward. you push the doors open and approach grace. she can visually tell that the race was stressful, her brows still drawn together.

“grace” you say. she turns around and briefly looks puzzled not immediately recognising you. she apribtly stands up and pulls you into a hug. once she pulls away she stands with her arms on your shoulders looking at you.

“dylan, sweetheart, i havent seen you in years”

“i know i’m so sorry, but i mean i guess we’ll be seeing more of eachother again” you gesture to your mercedes kit.

“oh my, of course, wow, always knew you were a smart girl, what are you doing?”

“i’m number 77’s performance engineer, i look at the cars performance and statistics and the boring stuff like that.”

joe perks out from the chair besides grace and stands up.

“bloody impressive is what it is”

you smile and hug him as well. they’d practically raised you, as much as your own mother had. the joint holidays you’d take, at the property for the summer holidays. because of the close friendship between your mother and grace and you and daniel were always something you remembered with warmth.

you catch up with them for a while, talking about what they’ve missed and insisting they’d be seeing more of you, before looking at the time. 4:56 and realising that maybe you should get going. you wave them both goodbye before making your way back to the paddock looking around for theo. by some kind of miracle you spot him and walk over to him.

“you look like a crazy person” you say to him, decked out in merch and signatures covering the once white shirt.

“i feel like a crazy person” he laughs.

“wait- shit- is that” he looks over your shoulder at somebody.

“what?” you look behind you but daniel is right next to you. what the fuck?

“daniel fucking ricciardo” theo says as he pulls daniel in for one those “man hugs”

“theoooooo” he drags out the O’s to an extreme amount and you feel stupid just standing there. what is daniel doing.

“i think you got every single driver, engineer and principles signature there” he looks at the shirt he’s holding.

“hah yeah pretty much”

oh god when will this end. why is dan still here.

you try and give him a look, which he heavily dismisses.

“you got a paddock pass?” he asks. oh god you know where this is going

“oh yeah, dylan gave it to me”

fuckkkkkkk me. he looks at you with a half smile and a slightly suggestive look.

“oh did she?” his eyes are boring into your skull at this point, christ can he not.

you look forward ignoring the comment, silently begging for theo to make a comment, he does.

“your drive was pretty epic today mate, thought that you had räikkönen for a minute there”

he finally looks away from you.

“yeah me too” it’s a much flatter tone now and you guess he gets bored because he makes a poor excuse and leaves.

“thank christ” you say out loud.

“yeah that was definitely uncomfortable”

“i’m literally so sorry”

“nah hes always been like that with you”

“what?”

“yeah, even back at school, any of us would try and talk to you and he’d say some weird shit like “she’s not ready to be in a relationship” or “don’t mess with her she just got out of a messy breakup” he’s a nice guy and all but he’d always be weird when it was about you”

your eyes widen. WHAT. HE SAID WHAT.

“what the actual fuck”

“jesus”

“so that’s why no guys talked to me in year 12”

“you didn’t go through a messy breakup?”

you laugh. “no, no i didn’t”

“oh”

“OH SHIT” it clicks

“that’s messed up”

“i thinks hes into you”

you look at him and slightly lift your eyebrows.

“no really i think he is”

you continue walking back to your car ignoring his comment. you take him back to yours where undoubtedly you fuck, where after you both explicitly state and label whatever it was a “situationship” considering he was going back in literally 4 days and you were going to bahrain, but there were no feelings involved and the sex was good and he was nice, you laughed about the whole situation and then fucked and laughed and fucked and it was fine. but why on earth did daniel do what he did, oh what the fuck you could debate him later.

[majaloveschris]

She really said that? I don't remember this. It's funny how she hates him and his fans, but of course when they provide "rumors" or "gossips," they come in handy so she can have more clicks./:

So I listened to her timeline last night and she is something else. First, her voice is irritating and grating, just no. I couldn’t listen to an entire hour of that.

But second: so she says she was fed information about Evans not dating someone in the business over the spring of 2021, but that’s when Baptista followed him back. She left that follow out. But she said she was getting emails from this woman’s friend talking her all about this “relationship” so that’s how she knew it was true. Not his side, the girls side.

So she went on saying once NYE 1.0 happened, she started to think okay, maybe. Even though no one saw the group split from the other group, she was told he was walking around with an unknown brunette in Vegas, but again, no pics.

Then she said the dust settles and we hear nothing, but she’s being sent all sorts of blinds about him and women in ATL, so she thinks they’re obviously fake, but maybe not, but that’s why she NEVER posted those blinds…🙄

Fast forward to the announcement dropping and the pap walk: LITERALLY the only reason she gives for believing this is real and that she’s now suddenly on team real relationship is the pap walk pictures. According to her, Evans is sooooooooo private. He would NEVEE hire a pap to take pictures of him.

So here’s the thing: we all thought she was getting paid to flip. No. She’s just an idiot who wanted clicks and interactions, and what better way to accomplish that than taking a very beloved actor who she’s admitted she’s never gotten any information from him or his side, and talk about their largest story to date. But also: if she’s being fed anything, it’s from Baptista’s side. She knew an awful lot about her, Justin, and Joana

Thanks for listening and writing it down; I couldn't get myself to do it.

So she basically received emails from that girl's friend, whom he was dating? I guess this was the East Coast girl, the one from Boston, or are we talking about three entirely different people, because this whole thing is confusing. In any case, I'm suspicious of the whole friend thing. I don't know if she actually received any evidence that this whole relationship is true or if she just basically believed a random somebody's email, because everybody can say their friend is dating him. I always found it surreal that she believes almost everything people say to her. She doesn't try to fact-check anything. It's not like people can only tell the truth, and somebody like her with more than a million followers, I think, should be more careful about the things she shares. I understand that she gets a lot of emails, anons, etc., but she should at least check those that are a little bit more serious.

It's so unbelievable that she, who doesn't really care if the things she shares are true or not or even if they don't make any sense, didn't want to share a story about Chris's love life, especially during the 2022 spring and summer, when a lot of people talked about him and Alba.

She knows that this isn't the first time Chris has done a pap walk, right? Or how does she imagine this? The pap was hiding in a random spot in New York, and they happened to walk past him. She is right that Chris would never hire one, because it's probably his team that calls the pap.

He is so private, which she's stated several times now, but somehow she still has information about his love life.

I don't know if she realizes how much bullshit she's been saying or if she simply thinks her followers are so stupid they don't realize that she contradicts herself all the time

[voyageofthenautilus]

Mod Blue's Thoughts

Finally able to write up my thoughts on the last few chapters of 20k Leagues. Both myself and Mod Pluto have been very busy with other things, so we may not getting around to reading/reblogging everyone's posts in a timely manner, but I personally have been enjoying following along with what everyone has to say!

The Red Sea

-I like Aronnax's knowing, "hint-hint" comment to Nemo at the end of this chapter: " It would be most unfortunate if such a secret were to die with its inventor!” And how Nemo just changes the subject immediately. Come to think of it, I love the way the dialogue in this story is structured. Lots of back and forth without too many descriptions of the way it's being spoken, or what the characters are doing/how they look when they say it, and yet the dialogue itself completely gets across the way they're saying it and how they look. Reminds me of a script, almost.

-I wonder if Nemo praising the French explorers (de Lesseps is not the first one he praised in the story) is Verne's attempt at misdirecting the readers into believing that he's a Frenchman. (That, and the scene where [SPOILERS].) That would be very ironic if he were, and Aronnax didn't recognize a fellow countryman... but we all know he isn't (and I believe that can be inferred even without reading The Mysterious Island). Funny, then, that Nemo should have so much respect for the French, and now here's a Frenchman who showed up on the Nautilus- maybe that's one reason why he's attracted to him, because he admires his country.

-"There can be no secrets between men who will never leave each other." DAMN.

Arabian Tunnel

-Ned's skepticism about the tunnel at the beginning of the chapter is so amusing to me. "Who ever heard of such malarkey?" LOL. And of course, he's proven wrong.

-Actually, Ned is amusing throughout this whole chapter. "We're old chums, whales and I, and I couldn't mistake their little ways." LOL again. And "I've never killed anything like that!" (I'm honestly starting to wonder why Ned was made Canadian and not American, as some of his traits seem very stereotypically American- but I also enjoy that he COMPLETELY subverts the "nice Canadian" stereotype! (which of course is probably a more modern thing...))

-It's adorable how Conseil genuinely believed the dugong was a mermaid for like, half a second. That, and the comment about a second Nautilus. Does nothing faze this man?

-...Something tells me that dugongs don't work the way Jules Verne thinks they work.

The Greek Islands

-So yeah, the "neutral like Switzerland" quote was an invocation of Twilight, and I am so pleased to know there are people out there for whom this phrase was NOT ruined (because they never read the books/saw the movies), because my brain is unable to divorce this phrase from Kristen Stewart's delivery of it in the movie Eclipse. Anyway: things are starting to come to a head here, and it's about time. Aronnax has been thoroughly dazzled and absorbed by the Nautilus, and Ned is not having it at all. He has a life that he wants to get back to. No amount of scientific research and wonders can obscure the fact that he's a prisoner. And he's not going to accept any vague "surely this voyage will end!" comments from Aronnax, because deep down (or not so deep down), Aronnax doesn't want to leave, and Ned knows that if one person stays, everyone else will stay. So he's ready to make a decision, which Aronnax is not ready to do in the least. Acckkk, this conflict gets so much harder to read as the story goes along...

-Also, poor Conseil really needs to stop living and dying by Aronnax's decisions, as I said at the beginning of the book. But I feel like he might choose to stay as well, which complicates things for Ned even further.

-Originally I had the Feb. 14 and 15 emails scheduled as one big entry, before I realized that the 15th can be sent as its own email, so the heading we got for Feb. 14 is more appropriate for Feb. 15... but Valentine's Day or not, I fully believe that infodumping to Aronnax IS Nemo's love language.

-Y'all are so much smarter than me. Even having read this book a few times, I was just as much in the dark as Aronnax was about what Nemo was up to with the gold ingots.

-Speaking of which... the scene with Nemo doing all of this in full view of Aronnax and then immediately brushing it off, BWAHAHAHAHA.

The Mediterranean In Forty-Eight Hours

-"It was obvious to me that this Mediterranean, pinned in the middle of those shores he wanted to avoid, gave Captain Nemo no pleasure. Its waves and breezes brought back too many memories, if not too many regrets. " Kind of an oddly specific assumption to make, there...

-Interesting to read the bit about how the Earth will die from losing its heat. If anything, it's seemed to me in modern times that the Earth will die from becoming TOO hot. And funny comment about the Moon, too- now that the theory that the Moon was once a chunk of Earth that broke off in some sort of collision and fell into the planet's orbit has become the most commonly accepted one when it comes to how the Moon was formed, I'm very amused by the thought of people thinking in Verne's time that it had simply "lost its vital heat" like they predicted the Earth would eventually. (If I'm wrong about anything I've said here, please correct me!)

-“Then we have ample time to finish our voyage,” Conseil replied, “if Ned Land doesn’t mess things up!” Lmao, burn. Someone's feeling a little testy when it comes to Mr. Land? (I feel like this definitely shows that Conseil would prefer to stay on board, regardless of his "master.")

-"...although his catalog is a little dry..." Speak for yourself, Aronnax!

The Bay of Vigo

-Wow, Aronnax has got it BAD for Nemo, secretly hoping that Ned's plan will fail and worrying about causing him distress by leaving. Oh, Aronnax.

-"Never was hospitality more wholehearted than his." You say about the dude who drugged you and locked you in your room to keep you from spying on him?

-There's the portraits of freedom fighters! Yes!! Nemo definitely places himself among them, as we are going to see later in the chapter.

-I said it already, but that one part in this chapter where Nemo bursts in and completely derails Aronnax's train of thought never fails to amuse me, and is one of my favorite Nemo moments in the whole book.

-I'm half-convinced that Nemo knew they were planning to escape that night (although how would he know that?), because it seems VERY convenient that he'd show Aronnax the treasure of the Bay of Vigo right when Aronnax was planning to leave, thus ensnaring him further. (That, and the physical impossibility of getting to the surface in time...)

-FUCK YEAH the ending of this chapter! Nemo is 100% right in this regard (in my opinion anyway). When Aronnax was talking about the company assigned to recover the lost treasure, I was thinking... "there's no way he seriously believes the wealth would ever be distributed to those who need it?" But then again, Aronnax has proven himself to be surprisingly naïve and idealistic when it comes to the government and corporations (and tbh, naïve when it comes to individuals as well, seeing how deeply he trusts in Nemo). If only his love for Nemo would radicalize him... but his privilege may stand in the way of that.

A Lost Continent

-Major eye-roll at Aronnax trying to convince Ned that Nemo's not all that bad, really. Ned is already 100% set in his opinion that they need to get the hell off this ship and nothing Aronnax can say will change that. In fact, Ned probably just hears (what sounds to him like) demented ravings when Aronnax is talking about Nemo and what he witnessed.

-As for the rest of the chapter: GORGEOUS. And what a romantic notion in general, of Atlantis being discovered and explored under the sea.

[marcholasmoth]

OSRR: 3160

physical therapy this morning was, in a word, tough.

since i shoulder was aching on tuesday and actively hurting yesterday, i knew i was gonna have a hard time. i was right. we switched up the order today, so i went from heat to exercises directly with the massage after, instead of heat-massage-exercises. i couldn't remember what my exercises were, for one, and i had a particularly difficult time getting to and past five reps. i usually try to focus on smooth motion, but it was so jerky today that it was obvious something was wrong. so i told my therapist, who was also the one who worked on my shoulder on monday, and she was really gentle as she massaged my shoulder. she told me to take it easy and to rest my shoulder for the next few days, and she said that the heaviest thing i should be lifting is a plate. so i've tried to keep this in mind today.

i stopped at starbucks before going to work, per usual. i went to work, and i spent an hour talking to one of the most interesting people i've ever met - he's an associate's degree student after having been both a master's student and a principal correspondent for a news outlet in iraq, and he's a published author who speaks four languages. i was like, "i should be asking YOU for writing help." the issue he's encountering is the specific language of US government and references to the constitution and stuff which is somewhat unique to the united states' government system. so i offered to look over his paper once he's all done with it. he walked away and i was in awe for a while.

i meet the most fascinating people at work.

after that first appointment, though, i went to take a sip of my cocoa. i get a (starbucks language) large hot cocoa made with soy milk and hazelnut. they got the soy milk and the hazelnut right.

there was no chocolate in it.

if i wanted a steamer, i would've said i wanted a steamer. i wanted hot chocolate. there was no chocolate. it's in the name, guys.

(not the only time reading comprehension and a wrong order put me out today.)

my second appointment was for chemistry with a student i've worked with a bunch before. he's quiet and soft-spoken with a knack for being pensive, but he also sometimes forgets formulas and ideas when put on the spot. so i do problems step by step and explain them quietly as i go, i label everything, and i give him the paper i've written on. we work on problems together, checking knowledge and understanding as we go, so i know he walks out with a better confidence than what he walked in with. he's a good kid.

he also showed me a couple pictures of some pieces of pottery he recently painted with his mom! they worked on a raccoon and a fox, but they swapped the color schemes so the fox is painted like a raccoon and the raccoon is painted like a fox. they didn't look wrong. they were really cute. he's working on something else now, and i asked him to take a picture of it when he was done so i could see it.

he also showed me an older photo of a pumpkin that he painted. it was bright red and had an angry face. it was really funny. i appreciated it. he showed them to me because he thought i "would get a kick out of it." he was right.

my third appointment was with my friend kendall, and i told her about my cocoa problem. she was shocked because the bedford one is where she goes all the time and they always get her order right. she took pictures and after opening her laptop and handing it to me, she left to get me a replacement cocoa 🥹

i was able to do a few things for her without having her in the way, like handling a few emails and a lab that wasn't coming across properly from her computer so i fixed it on mine and sent it to her professor directly.

i had my lunch in the meantime, and i looked at a few things while she was gone, and in the interim her laptop had logged out, so i just shut it down and relaxed for a little bit. she came back around 2:30 with my new hot chocolate and i gotta tell you i've never been so happy to have a hot cocoa at 2 in the afternoon. big happy warm smile from me, curled into my cocoa cup with both hands.

after kendall left, a coworker of mine showed up, and we spent like. two hours just talking. he's such a fun guy, and i'm happy he's my coworker and my friend. i learned about halal and kosher meat preparation, and we talked about polyamory and swinger parties and we talked about helping people because it's the right thing to do and the social contract and societies and we discussed food stuff near the end.

before he left, my last appointment showed up, the girl i've been working with lately and the reason i have so many hours at work lmao. we got all of a chapter worked on, and she's getting sets and venn diagrams much better than she did when she walked in. she's working really hard, and im challenging her to do math in her head and she's rising to the occasion and meets every challenge without fighting it. she's doing a really great job.

after work, i went back to joel's to collect my belongings so i can be home for tomorrow when we move stuff around the house because moving shit.

i grabbed my stuff and as i was leaving i called my mom. i called her three or four times. didn't pick up. i figured since it was thursday she was probably watching battlebots and not listening for her phone. i was calling to ask about dinner, but since i didn't get an answer i just decided to stop for mcnaldos on the way home. i made my order and they ended up making and giving me two hot fudge sundaes instead of just the one i ordered.

i got home and i opened up my burgers and there was cheese on them.

could t eat them. grumpy. thrown off because they were CLEARLY marked NO CHEESE. sad.

by that point i'd discovered my parents weren't home, my mom's phone was on her chair, and i couldn't eat my dinner that i'd gotten.

then my dad texted me: "dinner exploded so we're going to longhorn. do you want to join us?"

so i just called them and asked them about it, told them i'd be there in 15-20 minutes, finished my nuggies, put away the rest i hadn't eaten, put my shoes back on, and headed out.

i got there just in time to order, and when it came out i was surprised and delighted at the sheer amount of broccoli on my plate. i didn't want a salad, so i got double broccoli instead. it was awesome. the salmon was cooked enough, but it wasn't great. i don't think i'm gonna order salmon anymore. i've had it too much.

after dinner we made our way home and we watched battlebots, and after a few hours and some work games, i came upstairs, and now it's 1:05am and i am ready to pass the fuck out.

missing joel already. he cuddled me big time last night, and i was so happy to receive big joel hugs for extended times. he was almost like a cat, curling into my arms and staying there for as long as he pleased. it was really nice.

anyway, im so exhausted and my back and shoulders hurt. i need better sleep lmao.

[madaranuii]

I REMEMBER BEING UP WHEN BLEND+ DROPPED AND lMMEDIATELY MAKING A JOKE ABOUT HIM DOING THST TO THE FOOD &/OR THE DRINKS 😭 ... for when I sent it, it was either that or aphrodisiacs but the 2nd is sooo cliche I just thought hed pull an Oh are you not feeling well? I'll take care of you (＾＾) thing. The cinamonroll idea is so fuckedddd but cute...In a way........Thats so weird to say but its a sweet treat you know! But depraved because hes feedinf you that without you knowing. he has an attachment to you since you come so frequently to the heart aid cafe and he couldnt resist.. Gwaaahhh!!!! tsumu has so much degen potential from almost every angle its unreal!!!! Hes so versatile ♡

He literally would be one of those big fluffy dogs if he was an actual dog and as a dogboy I know his tail would be so fluffy and hed be such a needy loyal puppyy hes been shown to love to follow people around like a dog for their sake knowingly anyways...

Papa mugi... he calls himself soras papa AND hiyoris papa AND leo makes a joke about him being a father, too!? Theres no way it isnt real. And its not like he doesnt know it isnt bad his moral compass is just so skewed!!!! He doesnt gaf!!!!!! Its a display of love after all...? He didnt get enough of it as a child anyways so its not like his idea of it wouldnt be a bit messed up. Theres just something about, even not in this case just in general, tsumu not being able to help himself and giving into urges. People may think hes a sub but hes so obvis a switch (pun intended)

Bless I hardly get to talk about this kind of stuff... ゜・(ノД`)・゜but lets all love mugi. His remorselessness makes him so interesting people act like its a reason not to like him and he has been learning but I like when hes a weird freak too and at his core hes still messed up

HELPP WE BOTH HAVE THE SAME IDEAZ 4 BLEND+ MUGI, I WAS THINKIN EITHER CUM ON FOOD OR APHRODISIACZ!!! LMFAO HE'D HAVE 0 SHAME AT ALL FOR LITERALLY CUMMIN INSIDE OF A CUSTOMER'Z FOOD.... OMFGG IMAGINE IF LIKE HE DOES THE THING WHERE LIKE AT CAFÉZ U SOMETIMEZ GIVE UR EMAIL ++ ADDRESS SO THEY SEND U COUPONZ + HE USES THAT 2 HIS ADVANTAGE ++ SO BLATANTLY STALKZ U.... (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

ORORORRRR if like ur a new customer 2 the heart aid cafe, + get stood up on a date ++ he takes the heart aid part so literally + triez 2 get with u acting so like!! KYAAAA > < big titty silly guy!! like he usually does LMFAOOO but secretly he'z likee plottin so much deprived shit!!!! (⁠＾⁠▽⁠＾⁠)

HE DOESSS HIM ++ RINNE R LIKE THE MOST DEPRIVED I S2GGGG IT'S SO FUN 2 WRITE ABT THEM BOTH BECAUSE U CAN PUT THEM IN2 ANY FUCKED UP SCENARIO + THEY CLICK PERFECTLY IN2 PLACE HEHE!!!

YESSS HE REMINDZ ME SM OF AN OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOG FSR??? LIKE THEYRE SO FUCKIN FLUFFY THEIR HAIR COVERZ THEIR EYES THEY'RE SO SILLY.... ++ DOGBOY MUGI WOULD BE SOOOOO NEEDY .... You'd sit down and next thing you know he's between ur legs, tail hitting the floor as he restz his hairs on ur thighs, just beggin 4 attention ++ probably sniffin away between ur thighz!!! ++ if he could, he'd follow u EVERYWHEREEE no escape from ur clingy puppy who adorez u above anythin else !!!!

++ LMFAO MUGI DILF CODED YET HE DRESSES SO MILF CORE IN THOSE CARDIGANZ + STUFF... get a man who can do both, HE REALLY IS A SWITCH (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧ HEHEZ It'd be so funny if he like came in2 ES w his innocent daughter who he had groomed in2 normalisin everything (like DILF Rinne) ++ Like so blatantly kissez her not fuckin caring if ppl r like. JAW DROP!!!! wtf MUGI!!! THATZ INCEST!! he'z just like teehee oopz > <!!!! then do it again LMFAO

I LUV HIM BECAUSE OF HIS FUCKED UP MORALZ TBH... he'z such a sadist (or is it machocist??? I confuse them both smz LMFAO) like w what happened w eichi, anyone would just stop being friendz w eichi after he so blatantly used them, but as far as I know???? Mugi is still close 2 him? might b wrong I haven't read many ! era storiez just have a loose grasp weepzweepz!!! But also w natsume 2... he must fuckin adorez being fucked w/???? LMFAO he's such a critter... I wanna put him under a microscope++ analyse himmm :333!!!

[chaotic-plotter]

@dreamerinsilico <3 sent me a lot of emojis and i'm going to answer them all. from this ask meme

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

is it cheating to say "any of them"? 😂

i haven't written all that many so there's not a lot to choose from. we'll go with "a lighthouse five hundred yards down". at the time, i never planned on writing it, but the idea hit me like a damn anvil one really stupid humid day in summer 2021 and i was haunted until i finally wrote it.

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

the kind where people either tell me why something struck them or where they dive into language/images/etc. mostly because that's what i like to do when i read something (dive into language, images, etc) and also because, even though it's a super limited dataset, fic is the only place i can get random reader feedback (not writer feedback, i have critique partners). i come from throwing myself against (....and sliding on down) the glass hill of trad pub and had never actually gotten any kind of feedback/response from people who didn't know me or my writing before and it was really useful to see what people responded to, if they liked my style, etc.

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

funny enough.....yes? and also funny enough, i sort of get to? in a sense?

i started my long post-fall fic right after my first rewatch back in 2021 and i planned out the whole thing (yes it's still taking me 800 years to finish it, i apologize). but in reality, i sort of have a different outlook on will and hannibal post-s3 than i did at the time. and i'm really going to be rethinking the back half of that fic as i work towards finishing it.

so, essentially, yes, i wish i could rework those first 6 chapters (especially the first 2, wrt to writing style and tone especially!) to better fit whatever pivot i'm going to do in the last 4. i wouldn't change any of will's internal arc, i'm still happy with that, but there's plot stuff that i would.

🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

not one that anyone can read, but i tried, thinking it would be darkly funny and maybe a good time (why i thought this is a mystery) to write about will post sex with margot. but writing about it in a "will has had sex that was Not Enjoyable but hey it was Sex With a Real Human Person and is reminded of his profound loneliness and has a little cry in the bathtub about it" way.

.......yeah i legitimately made myself upset with that one and had to stop. maybe i'll circle back around to it when i'm not so profoundly lonely.

🪄what is your post-writing/sharing aftercare? How do you take care of yourself or celebrate yourself when you've finished a fic?

i don't have any writing aftercare 😛 i probably should though

mostly i just take a couple of days off from writing after i finish something. idk, does checking your email hoping someone comments count as aftercare? i'm afraid i'm a terrible obsessive and putting things down is not my greatest skill, even if i am exhausted and glad to be done with actively working on them.

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

hmmmmmm. well.

the next wip i actually have on the docket is a s1 nudist will au. i'm excited to jump back into hannibal's headspace after being outside of it for so long. he's absolutely insufferable and i can't wait to go full goose menace on everyone in the story (until it turns back on me and he never shuts up 😛)

and then, well, i've got another one-shot challenge after that, which is all about stretching muscles i rarely stretch 😏. i'm still deciding if i want to run a poll about it or if it should be a complete surprise

send me more asks if you like! i love these emoji meme post things

[ljf613]

I posted 3,049 times in 2022

186 posts created (6%)

2,863 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@the-word-huntress

@lady-tortilla-chip

@raayllum

@vantrisha

@bananzer

I tagged 3,040 of my posts in 2022

#all queued up - 2,940 posts

#fanart - 1,830 posts

#avatar the last airbender - 527 posts

#thoughts - 443 posts

#fairy tail - 292 posts

#fullmetal alchemist - 279 posts

#my hero academia - 232 posts

#boku no hero academia - 232 posts

#furuba - 170 posts

#fruits basket - 170 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and everything to do with what being around people who are overly concerned with their own personal physical appearance does to your psyche

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

See the full post

110 notes - Posted February 3, 2022

#4

What really sold me on Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs was the part of the movie where Snow can't get the shoes off (because deep down she's no longer so sure that she wants to be who she is without them).

It's one of the most realistically accurate scenes I have ever seen in an animated kids' movie.

126 notes - Posted July 11, 2022

#3

Konekomaru: Hey exwires, here's a pro tip: do not write an email to your cram school teacher while you're seriously sick. Signed, a person who somehow came up with "dear hello, I am sick and not sure if I'll be alive to come tomorrow and I'm sorry, best slutantions, Miwa".

Shiemi: I mean, if someone wrote that to me, I'd probably believe they were sick.

Renzo: "Slutantions" has me crying laughing

Rin: i once emailed Shura with a migraine. a mistake. "I amsick will not to training because i have a heache. i Hope its very and i am so sorry love, blue" the subject line was "OW"

Izumo: THE SUBJECT LINE IS THE BEST PART JSJFISJDJS JUST IMAGINE GETTING AN EMAIL WITH NO CONTEXT OTHER THAN "OW"

Mephisto: As someone who runs a cram school, please send those emails because 1) We WILL believe that; no one would write that on purpose and 2) we need a laugh sometimes.

Ryuji: On the other side of this, once after getting taken to the ER by ambulance, I got an email from Sideburns, and the message had no text, just the subject line "you good?"

Yukio: Claritin makes me weird, but I have allergies so there’s about a month and a half block of time where I’m taking Claritin and am just weird most of the time. Anyway, last year, I got the flu or something and was also taking Mucinex. I told Shiro I couldn’t work one day by email except I couldnt think of what to say, so my medicated self decided to make a Fry meme. I think it said something like “Not sure if I can go perform an exorcism with a head the size of Gehenna, bottom text.” I didn’t think until the next day that it probably wasn’t socially-acceptable to tell the Paladin you weren’t coming on a job via Tumblr style memes. When i woke up, i found that he’d printed it out and taped it to the fridge.

Yukio: Oof you guys i turned on my laptop that I used to use back then. IT WAS ON THE DESKTOP. THIS IS WHAT I SENT. It’s even worse than i remember it

For @swearingintengwar

145 notes - Posted February 1, 2022

#2

Adorable commission of Kacchan and Fuyumi-neesan from @wintertundra-art! I absolutely love how this one came out, thank you so so much!

145 notes - Posted March 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Apparently my best friend has never seen any of the How to Train Your Dragon movies, and I'm due for a rewatch, so we're watching them together.

We're about halfway through the first and there's two things that really stand out to me this time around:

Hiccup is funny. Like, really funny. (Sure, he's funny in the later movies, too, but there's something uniquely amusing about the self-deprecating humor of an awkward and lonely fifteen year old with absolutely no filter. It's great.)

All things considered, Stoick is actually.... a pretty decent parent. I mean, I've been reading a lot of HTTYD fics lately, and many of them portray him as this awful, domineering guy who doesn't care about his son AT ALL until he becomes "useful" or whatever. And watching the OG movie, especially from a more grown-up perspective on things, he's really not all that bad. Sure, he's not exactly getting any 'parent of the year' awards. He's a human, and he makes mistakes, but, considering the circumstances, he really is trying his best.

399 notes - Posted November 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[ugly-anastasia]

I posted 451 times in 2022

That's 186 more posts than 2021!

83 posts created (18%)

368 posts reblogged (82%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@prince--thomas

@toby-determined

@kouros-herc

@oh-heartlessman

@maryxoliver

I tagged 451 of my posts in 2022

#tom - 58 posts

#toby - 56 posts

#inspo - 49 posts

#thomas - 46 posts

#herc - 42 posts

#hercules - 22 posts

#howl - 21 posts

#ken - 18 posts

#elinor - 16 posts

#swynsta - 16 posts

Longest Tag: 133 characters

#this is like definitely not what the reading would be this week but i legit could not find any source telling me what it should be so

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Off The Record | Anatoby

When Toby told Annie that the final edits were done and the story would run the next morning, Annie had felt euphoric. Her first real story! Not that she didn’t think her columns were real writing, of course. They took work and effort and research. But this was different. This was special. This was the culmination of a lot of research, and an entire stakeout, and, well.. Annie had actually had a lot of fun with it. It had gotten her through a really rough time this summer, this project and doing it with Toby.

So she had suggested getting drinks the following evening to celebrate. Their first story together. Maybe there would be more in the future, even.

But by the following evening, everything was different.

Annie had expected Dian and Elena to be upset, of course. But not the entirety of Swynlake (or so it seemed). Didn’t people like celebrity gossip? Since when was everyone rushing to the Princess of Avalor’s side to defend her against some reporters exposing a romantic scandal? Maybe they just didn’t like Annie... That was the thought that did kind of hurt...

Still, she kept her promise to meet up with Toby at Tiana’s Place. Honestly, she could kind of use the company of someone who, like, kind of understood. She put on a nice dress and did her makeup, but everything looked just a little bit off— evidence of a day spent furiously replying to DMs and fending off Twitter callouts.

“Toby!” Annie said, smiling with relief when she saw him. “Thank god. How’re you holding up?”

[outfit]

@toby-determined

26 notes - Posted September 7, 2022

#4

Work Bestie | Anatoby

Annie didn’t have to come into the office all that often, because she was a freelancer who only put out one piece a week (and that piece was usually pretty easily edited). But her editor wanted to talk more in-depth with her about the editorial schedule for the spring, and Annie wanted to make a good impression, so of course she came in. 

She did, however, feel a bit awkward about it, because she didn’t know most of the other staff. So when her meeting ended and lunch rolled around, Annie hovered uncertainly in the hallway. She hated feeling out-of-place. But she didn’t want to just leave without being seen either. But then she saw the perfect answer-- that funny little man, Toby Determined.

“Hey, friend!” Annie said, sidling up to his desk. “Had to come in for a meeting today. Wanna get lunch? Catch up? It’s been too long!”

[fit check]

@toby-determined​

26 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

#3

Candid Camera | Andrakina

For once, Annie felt relatively accomplished. She had fired off the email to the neighborhood that morning before taking Jaxson and Harlynne to school and daycare, and now she planned to have a productive morning working on her column and maybe doing a bit more research for her project with Toby. So it wasn’t until she pulled into her driveway and saw two figures at her door that Annie’s mood shifted.

At first, she was panicked. She considered calling the police right then and there, because it seemed the Order had sent more henchpeople to come stake out her house! But then she looked closer. And she realized-- oh. It was just her deranged neighbors. 

“Can I help you!” Annie announced loudly, crossing her arms and smiling, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She supposed she had told her neighbors they were free to reach out to her with any questions. So she should at least put on an appearance of friendliness. Even if it was... Sarina and Drakken.

[outfit]

@dr-drckken​ @accendimi​

27 notes - Posted June 21, 2022

#2

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood | Kourmaine

After her conversation with Sheriff Clayton, Annie was feeling more ready than ever to give South Swynlake Homeowners and Renters Together (working title) her full attention. Well, all of her attention that wasn’t already focused on chasing around two young children, keeping up with the increasingly frequent prenatal appointments, and getting her column in on time every week. But she kept it in the back of her mind, and so when she was outside supervising Harlynne and Jaxson’s very adorable snowball fight and saw her (very handsome) neighbor out shoveling snow, Annie just had to say something.

“Hercules Kouros?” Annie said, flipping up her sunglasses over her fuzzy headband. She remembered him from secondary school-- talk about a glow up!-- and she didn’t know how he felt about her now, but that wasn’t going to stop her. “Funny running into you out here! I didn’t know you lived in this neighborhood!”

[outfit]

@kouros-herc​

29 notes - Posted January 31, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Annie On The Street | Open

Annie’s only job at the Squire right now was still her column. And she didn’t really need interviews for that— usually, she just wrote from the heart, as she told her editor. But ever since that exposé had been published, Annie had been itching to expand her reach. Maybe she could get some real stories, stories of her own, if she proved that she could do it! And since Annie believed very strongly in working with what she already had, she was going to beef up her column with some interviews.

Election season was the perfect opportunity for that!

“Excuse me!” Annie said, approaching someone passing by. “Annie Tremaine, Swynlake Squire. I’d love to chat with you about the issues that matter to you in this election!” No, she was not going to ask if they had a minute. If you wanted something, you had to demand it.

[outfit]

38 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[subtletruamadumping]

We're Family

______________________________________________________________

I am still struggling with accepting that certain family members will never treat me with respect. No matter how many times they claim they love me, they will always act the opposite. I'm still holding out hope, even if it's foolish.

TW: Homophobia, Religious Imagery

Date Written: January 16, 2022

______________________________________________________________

I still had hope for my sister. She hadn’t said anything when mom and I were having our big fight. Sure, she hadn’t jumped in to defend me, but she also hadn’t taken mom’s side to damn me to hell the instant the words were out of my mouth. The part of my heart that still likes to see the best in people believed that her silence might be her mulling things over, noticing how awfully and hurtfully mom had reacted. Sure, she hadn’t texted me in a few months, but we hadn’t texted very often before the fight. I was delighted to receive an email from her. She loves to write poetry and she’s always asking me to read them over. That’s what I thought the document she had attached to the email she had sent to me and her college friends was going to be. As my phone loaded in her words typed in her latest favorite curly font, my heart sank. “Why Does God Allow Suffering if He’s Good?” the title read. I scrolled further to find her explanation in the first paragraph.

She had decided to change her major from music theory, the thing she had been working towards since 4th grade, to Theology. My fears of mom’s influence completely taking over had finally come true. She didn’t want me to read over her poetry; she wanted me to read her practice of Catholic Apologetics. She wanted me to help her get better at converting people to the same religion that mom used as an excuse to throw her terrible words at me. I read further into her author’s note. It was clear to me she assumed I’d agree with her point of view, that she’d have a friend on her side defending her deranged beliefs. Another Catholic forcing their way into people’s minds to shame them into joining the cult.

That wasn’t going to be me. I texted her privately, not in the group chat that my mom likes to continuously harass me though. I explained to her I was not going to be on her side for these kinds of conversations. I was no longer brainwashed into believing Sky Daddy only ever did good things and everyone suffering had done it to themselves. I told her I’d be willing to have these discussions with her, but that I would be arguing against her, not with her. She seemed quite taken aback by this. I’m not sure why it came as a shock. Why would I continue to believe that God is good when I’ve seen what he does to people? I told her I didn’t want the reason we stopped talking to be her religious views. I was still doing my best to see the best in her. She said she agreed and I was ecstatic. She removed my name from her emailing list so I wouldn’t get these documents in the future and I thought things had ended well.

She hasn’t spoken to me sense. It’s funny how “we’re family” only applies when you're trying to change my beliefs. The minute I question yours, you disappear. Around the same time, mom begins to blow up my phone. Text after text, day after day. I work the night shift. I have for years, yet she always sends her cryptic texts at noon, or one, or two. Always when I’m dead asleep. They’re pointless.

“Hello?”

“Are you alive?”

“Call me.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I am your mother.”

“We’re family.”

I finally have a day off and reply back, explaining that I was asleep when she was texting me. She goes off on me for ignoring her, saying how awful of a daughter I am. She demands to know why I won’t call her, why I have no desire to talk to her. I blink at the words on my phone screen. How could she not know? Surely, she was trying to get a rise out of me. I still take the bait. After all these years, I haven’t learned my lesson. I remind her of the fight, of how she'd rather me die alone or be in a miserable marriage than be able to actually be with someone I loved. I don’t even get the chance to bring up how many times she belittled, bullied, and berated me. She cuts me off, doubling down. She tells me the minute she can vote for someone who will repeal gay marraige, she will. She tells me I shouldn’t have rights because I’m dirty and that I deserve to burn in hell. Somehow, she still expects me to want to talk to her, to call her up out of the blue. She expects me to wreck my sleeping schedule, bend over backwards, and listen to her shout awful things at me through the phone. Just like my coming out, this conversation did not end well. I received an angry text when I didn’t wish her a happy birthday. That was the last time she spoke to me.

I’m not sure which one, but someone snitched on me to my grandma. In a similar vein to mom, she started sending me text after text. After I ignored them all, I received a letter in the mail. She clearly outlined in this letter how stupid I was. How I was such a dimwitted, hateful, sheep that was only doing what the crowd told me to do. It was clear to her I needed to go back to church, clearly the only brainwashing she approves of. She demanded I call her, expressly telling me that she was going to debate me on my sexuality. As if she knew better than I did who I get horny for. She demanded why I would do such a selfish thing by choosing such a sinful lifestyle. She wanted to know how I could possibly put my own feelings before those of the rest of the families.

I never answered her letter or called her like she wanted. Despite what my family thinks, I am strong enough in my sexuality that I don’t feel the need to debate them on it. I know my mother and grandmother will not change their minds and will only use any contact they have as an excuse to continue their beratement of me. My grandma continues to text me daily, demanding I pray for her, sending me pictures of prayers she takes with her shitty phone camera. She demands I pay attention to her, listen to her judging and condemning me. She sends me old pictures of when I was anorexic, begging to know why I had changed.

“Didn’t you look so much better when you were a good Catholic girl?”

“Why can’t I get this version of you back?”

“Six years ago was such a different time.”

“Don’t you miss this? I do.”

“Don’t shut us out of your life just because you’re mad at your mom.”

“You’re being immature.”

“All kids fight with their mom.”

“You’ll regret turning your back on God.”

“And us.”

“We’re family, after all.”

[bacchicly]

A friend texted me this morning.

How are you?

My thought bubble:

My cat vomited - but bright side she didn't poo in the front hall as is her new habbit.

My car needs to be serviced and is thumping and I can't figure out how to do that. And I am thinking we should just buy a new one...but do we have the money? And which type ?

I still have to submit my taxes.

At last count I still have 200+ emails in my inbox to sort through.

There is an election today that I have not researched nearly as much as I usually do.

I need to get my husband his gift for graduating. (My kid and I designed t-shirts I need to get printed)

I can't find any clean underwear.

I have giant zits and one exploded last night (blood everywhere) even though I am in my 40s and was promised this whole shannanigan would just last my teen years (myth).

I am so anxious about my silly fanfiction hobby that it is ridiculous. I get likes but very few folks say much about it (totally understandable and I write things that are both completely inane and kinda edgy ...sometimes at the same time... And I do not know if I am doing good or harm with each random instalment and.....ahhhh)

My dad is having demoralising legal trouble.

The theatre community I used to be a part of and now am just on the fringes of is having a giant debate and revolt around accessibility.

I owe my boss a response to the accomodation letter process thing we are doing.

My house is still a mess.

I feel like a lousy friend to all 3 of my friends (I've said dumb things to two of the 3 in that last 2 weeks).

I haven't answered texts from my in-laws.

My email notifications on my phone have just stopped working.

I haven't set up the cell phone work sent me months ago.

My kid needs a learning plan because she is showing signs of having inherited my ADHD.

And I dreamed about a 3 headed tarantula last night running up my leg. And two nights ago about being yelled at by my husband's old boss.

I am half lousy / half amazing at my job and I have no idea when one or the other is going to happen.

I need to book a hotel for June.

And I am not really sure what is going on with my brother.

I almost cried last night at the checkout counter buying groceries because the self serve was closed and the only cashier that was open had a giant line and for some insane reason...I even if you go through a line with a nice person...you have to bag your own stuff and I am so slow and anxious it is not even funny.

Oh and I spilled my coffee this morning.

But I am so lucky and so many awesome things are in my life and I live in the most beautiful city... So I don't want to complain...plus what good will that do and I am trying to be nice to myself but does that make me more self involved...And... Ahhhh.

What I say:

I'm great! Busy! How are you? Voting today?

[eloquent-vowel]

I have had a few bucky x read fic ideas bouncing around in my head and i cant write! So here is one,

Sam find a person who stairs and doesnt talk a whole lot because they uses ✨telepathy ✨. So Sam think they would be a good fit for Bucky, but he doesn’t know they have that power he just thinks they are mute. Then there is a thing where the reader is telling Buck how it works and they if they have something to connect them together like an object *reader motions to dog tags* they can have an unbreakable mind link. Then they fall in love or something. This is dumb, thank you for coming to my TedTalk

Hey! Thank you so much for this request, it wasn't dumb at all. I really enjoyed writing this. I may have gotten a bit carried away, this may sit close to 4000 words but we vibe. I hope this is what you had in mind! Please enjoy! <3

Click here for my masterlist of other fics and check in my bio for requests if anyone wishes to ask!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bucky had been enjoying a moments peace, he loved working with Sam but sometimes all he wanted was to put his feet up, put on some vinyl and enjoy a good cup of coffee all while reading a brilliant book. He had been trying to get into Game of Thrones lately, on Sam’s insistence, and he had been enjoying it. With the crackles of Glenn Miller from the turntable he missed the clunky footsteps coming up the stairs.

The sight that greeted Sam needed to be photographed. Bucky was lounging back on his ‘old man armchair’ feet up, hair in a towel, in a bathrobe, coffee in hand and facemask on, this was definitely one for the family album.

At the sound of the phone shutter Bucky practically launched himself out of the chair.

“Oh, you are never gonna live this one down old boy, it’s going to haunt you.” Sam almost cackled evilly as he began to email the photo to himself- he had learnt the hard way that Bucky was very proficient at breaking phones.

“You better not upload that photo anywhere, Wilson, I have a reputation to uphold.”

“Pfft, reputation, that’s funny.”

Bucky scoffed as he stood up, placing his book carefully on the side table, “Big scary super soldier, people hardly run-in fear from a guy in a bathrobe.”

“I disagree, a man in a bathrobe is definitely something you should run from. AH NOPE!” Sam jumped backwards, on top of a nearby chair, as Bucky lunged for the phone, towel turban falling off in the process. “You are not breaking this phone as well.”

“Fine. But you gotta promise not to post that anywhere.” Bucky huffed.

“I won’t.”

“Good.”

“As long as- “

“Oh no, I’m not doing anything for you.”

“Think of it as payment for the last phone you broke and insurance for this picture.”

There was silence for a moment as the two friends eyed each other up. Sam raised his eyebrows, Bucky’s eyes narrowed. It was an intense staring match between a guy in a bathrobe and a precariously balanced man. A clock ticked.

“Fine.” Bucky conceded. “What do you want?”

“For you to come to a meeting.”

“The families of Veterans ones?”

“Yeah.” Sam slowly started climbing down from the chair. “And before you get your old man pants in a twist, I’m not trying to force you to talk or anything, kinda.”

“Kinda?” Suspicion laced through Bucky’s voice.

“You know sign language, right?”

“Which kind?”

“American? I think?”

“Yeah, I know ASL, might be a bit rusty but I’m sure it still holds up. Why do you ask?”

Sam shifted slightly on his feet, “There’s this person, they come in every week and listen. I tried to talk to them, but they communicate through sign language, and I don’t have anyone there to talk with them.” He cast his eyes to the floor, “I feel bad. They were brave enough to come to the group only to basically be ignored ‘because we didn’t plan well enough.”

Bucky smiled, face mask crinkling around his smile lines, “You could have just asked me to Sam. You didn’t have to blackmail me into this, of course I’ll help. When’s the next meeting?”

“This evening. You gonna be ready or do you need some more ‘me’ time.”

Bucky simply chuckled at Sam’s teasing tone, patted his shoulder making sure to squeeze just a bit too hard before retreating to his room.

“I’ll be there, Wilson, and I will look so much younger than you!”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was frustrating to you, going along to these meetings and not being able to communicate. You could always speak into someone’s mind but all that usually accomplished was a very paranoid person. But just listening to other’s stories really helped the grief from losing someone so close to you. You related to most of the people there and even though they didn’t understand you a lot of the time, you were always made to feel welcome- with friendly pats on the back and the odd tissue thrown your way.

You bustled into the familiar building with a new sense of excitement as Sam had promised to bring a translator for you this week. It was finally time to say your thanks to some of the people there and finally let the group know about your brother, so that it wasn’t only you that remembered him.

You all but ran through the hallways until you caught sight of a familiar smiling man. Sam was facing you, talking animatedly to another man, the strangers back was to you. He was tall, broad shouldered and dressed in a vintage looking leather jacket and rather well fitted trousers. Now the debate was: does the tailoring make the ass, or does the ass make the tailoring. You were halfway through the arguments on either side when Sam shouting your name disrupted the intense debating in your mind. You blushed at being caught, then blushed some more when you caught sight of the stranger’s face. Twinkling blue eyes under a deep-set brow should have made him intimidating, but he was smiling, and his face was dazzling. There was an immediate fluttering in your stomach.

“Hey, I’m Bucky.” Dear lord even his voice was nice, what made you smile even more was the fact that he signed as he spoke. Well, Sam certainly knew how to pick them well. “Sam introduced me; said you wanted an interpreter.”

You nodded as you signed back, “Nice to meet you, thank you for helping out.”

“No problem, Sam has told me a bit about you.”

“Good things I hope.”

“Okay I recognise my own name, you two better not be conspiring against me.” Sam piped up, to be honest you had forgotten about him for a moment.

Bucky laughed, and it sent a little thrill down you, he really was adorable.

“No worries, Wilson, just letting them know all your dirty little secrets.”

“Right, you two get in there, before you make me sleep with one eye open.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

You and Bucky caught each other’s eye, his eyes were twinkling with mischief, and you couldn’t help the smile that overtook you. You had a feeling that the two of you would get on just fine.

The meeting passed easily. Bucky translated your signs and you finally felt like you could actually take part in these meetings. Everyone listened intently when you spoke of your brother and when you had thanked the whole group for being so open to you a couple of people shed a tear. By the end of the meeting though you were tired and very accepting of Bucky’s offer to walk you home.

It was a lot of side glances and hidden smiles and you walked side by side. Drawn to each other under the moonlit sky, it was nice to just be in the presence of someone who had such a kind aura. You spent the walk trying to work up the confidence to sign something, anything but nothing came to mind and Bucky seemed quite content to just walk in comfortable silence.

You soon reached your home, you turned to Bucky with a smile on your face and signed,

“Thanks for today, Bucky. You were really helpful.”

“No problem.” He signed back,

You hesitated slightly before signing, “Would you be happy to have a coffee with me, tomorrow?”

Bucky went a little red in the face, and chuckled, “I would love to, I know a nice place, real cosy. I’ll text you the details.”

“You know how to text?”

“Hey! I get enough stick from Sam, don’t need you getting on my case too. I’ll have you know that I am very adaptable.”

“Sure, Sure.” You smiled at his flustered tone. “I’ll wait for your text then, have a good evening.”

“You too.”

The two of you stared slightly awkwardly at each other, neither wanting to be the first to turn around. You shuffled your feet away slowing, smiling awkwardly once more at Bucky before turning. You heard his footsteps start to fade away as you walked towards your home. You were but three steps to the door when a large figure in a hoodie slammed into you, you raised your arms instinctively to block them when you noticed your shoulder was lighter. The bastard had stolen your bag.

You immediately took chase, chasing around the corner you just walked down but they were fast, faster then you at least. As you rounded the corner you caught sight of Bucky walking ahead. The thief wouldn’t stand a change against him. Without a second thought you cast your thoughts towards Bucky,

“Bucky! Thief! My Bag! Behind you!”

You saw Bucky flinch slightly then turn bewildered, his eyes widening when he saw you hurting towards him, chasing the hooded figure. He caught on and launched after the thief as well, with barely any effort he knocked the thief to the ground, grabbed your bag and whipped out his phone to call the cops.

Well, that was hot.

You took your bag back, immediately checking that you brother’s lucky coin was in the zippy pocket, to your relief it was still there. You looked up to see Bucky staring at you with a very puzzled look on his face. You sighed before casting your thoughts to his head once more,

“I’ll explain later.”

Bucky let out a strange, decompressed noise of shock, it made you giggle. The two of you waited in silence until the police came and took the thief away. The police car had barely driven away when he turned to you.

“Did you just, talk in my head? Or did my conscious just suddenly get really loud.”

“I did. Hi. Sorry about that.”

He waved his hands dismissively. “Believe it or not, not the weirdest thing I’ve encountered.”

“Well, that’s reassuring.”

There was an awkward silence.

“So,” You started, resorting back to sign language, it felt less invasive, “Still down for coffee?”

Bucky smiled, “One hundred percent. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Bye Bucky. Thanks for getting my bag back.”

“No problem, see ya.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The coffee shop that Bucky invited you to, was tucked away, it was the kind of place that you would stumble over on accident. With a simple door and a big window out the front, that lead soft orange light filter out onto the alley. There was the faint sound of jazz leaking out of the building, you smirked. It was such an old fashioned place, of course this was where Bucky frequented.

The bell tinkled slightly as you entered the café, where you were greeted with the smell of fresh coffee and baked goods. You caught sight of Bucky’s broad shoulders sitting in the corner, and you made your way over to him, smiling at the barista as you passed.

As if sensing you, Bucky turned to smile and wave. He was dressed in casual clothes like last time, but this time his hair was loose around his shoulders. You smiled back before settling into the seat opposite him.

His hands moved hesitantly as he signed, “What would you like? I can recommend their hot chocolate, its very warming/”

“Hot chocolate it is.”

You could tell he wanted to ask you a million questions but to his credit he walked slowly to get the drinks, he even took his time carefully carrying the tray of drinks back to your table. He placed a delicious looking hot chocolate in front of you. You watched as he took a sip.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1-

“So,” Here we go, “What is it you can do, you can speak in peoples’ heads, can you,” He lowered his voice and leaned in, “Can you read people’s minds?”

You giggled slightly, his eyes were basically sparkling, he was definitely nerding out about this.

You set the hot chocolate down before casting your thoughts to his head, “I can speak in peoples heads relatively easily, it’s how I talk most of the time to people I know. I guess you could call it Telepathy.”

Bucky’s eyes were as wide as saucers, “So you can’t read thoughts, only… speak them?”

“I like to call it casting, makes me feel like a sorcerer. I can read thoughts, but it takes a lot of energy. I used to be able to talk with my brother from across the house. That usually requires some kind of connection.”

“Oh, so like a blood or family connection? Do you have to know the person very well?”

“That certainly helps but it’s not always necessary. If I have a personal object that belongs to that person, something I can hold and connect to them it isn’t hard to make a two-way connection. Especially if that person is willing to open their mind.”

Bucky seemed to be caught in thought for a second. “So, if I were to give you something of mine, we could both talk in our… heads?”

“Well yes, but Bucky we have only just met. Letting me into your head is a lot. I try not to pry but sometimes I’ve found that thoughts just burst through. Let’s get to know each other a before that happens.”

Bucky smiled at you before speaking and signing, “You’re right. Let’s get to know one another. I find you fascinating.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It happened on the fifth date. Bucky was just walking you home after a lovely dinner at a small Italian that he claimed he went to back in the 40s. Just outside your door, under the glow of a lamppost he turned to you and took a deep breath before speaking.

“I know this may be a lot, but I wanted to give you these.” He reached around his neck and pulled off something silver. You gasped slightly as he held out his dog tags, immaculately preserved after all these years.

“Are you sure, Bucky? This is a lot.”

“I know and if you aren’t comfortable with it then just let me know but I want to give them to you.”

“You know what this means Bucky?”

“Yeah, I know, I just figured that you’re already in my head all the time anyways, just can’t seem to get you out of it.”

“You cheeseball.” You smirked at him before taking the dog tags and placing them around your neck. You gripped the cold metal for a moment, concentrating on the man in front of you. Taking everything, you knew about him and stretching out a connection, like a hand reaching out to clasp another.

“Testing, Testing, Testing, one two, one two, can my Telepathic partner hear me?”

You laughed, “Yes I can Bucky, you big dork.”

Bucky whooped out loud before sweeping you up in a big hug. The two of you laughing under the lamp light. His joy was infectious, and you couldn’t fight the smile off your face.

“Oh, we are going to have so much fun messing with Sam.”

“You’re evil.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of course, the two of you made a pact not to tell Sam until he worked it out, which wouldn’t be anytime soon according to Bucky. It led to some very memorable moments and Sam refusing to play any form of card or board game with either of you because you always managed to win, somehow. Not to mention all the times you had spoken in eery unison around him.

“I swear, its like you two can read each other’s minds sometimes.” Sam threw his hands up in frustration at another lost game of charades.

You smirked at Bucky across the room, “Should you tell him, or shall I?”

“I think he’s been through enough, I got it.”

Bucky cleared his throat, “We can.”

Sam whipped around to face Bucky, a look of sheer disbelief on his face, “Seriously Bucky-boy, if you think I believe that after all-

“Hello Sam.” You cast your thoughts to him, in the creepiest old lady voice you could muster.

Sam yelped, before turning accusingly at you, “You better be joking around with me right now, I am not dealing with any kind of ghosts in this house.”

“Sorry! Surprise I’m telepathic!”

“You’re serious.”

You nodded.

Sam put his head in his hands and sighed, “Not the weirdest thing ever. Wait, does this mean you have been cheating this entire time.”

You both looked guiltily at one another.

“You owe me. That poker night, void.”

You both laughed, “We’ll have a fair rematch this time Sam.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been close to a year since you had made it official with Bucky and you were now much more comfortable around one another. He no longer just dropped you off at the lamppost but cam inside with you. You had spent many lovely mornings together sharing glances over steaming cups of coffee. Fighting each other for who got to spread their legs out on the couch, there wasn’t really a loser though as it usually ended up in sofa cuddles for both of you, while watching a film.

Life was pretty great, you thought, as you smiled down at the sleeping Bucky beside you. Finally reaching over to turn off the lamp and put your book down, you were finally reading the hobbit at Bucky’s insistence. As you clicked off the light beside you and settled down you noticed the faster than usual breathing coming from beside you.

“Bucky?”

You reached out, thinking he was awake but instead as you opened up your connection you caught flashes of night terrors. You were falling indefinitely, snow all around you, and in the distance, there were cries of pain, people pleading for their lives, there was gunfire and explosions. You gasped and took off the dog tags. You only gave yourself a moment to breathe before trying to shake Bucky awake. When it became clear that he wasn’t stirring you steadied yourself and settled your hands on his temples. You didn’t care you tired this would make you, you just wanted Bucky to stop suffering. You focused, offering out that hand of connection again, this time picturing it in the shape of a fist and, although it wasn’t subtle, you tried to shake Bucky’s brain awake. You forced your way into his dreams, punching through the dark fog that clouded his thoughts and almost screamed at him.

“Bucky! Bucky wake up! You’re dreaming my dear!”

Bucky woke up with a start. Tears flowing down his face, he stared at you blue eyes shining. No one spoke as he pulled you into his arms. You just breathed together for a moment, counting the breaths and the spaces in between. When he finally pulled back, you saw his eyes flicker with concern before lifting a hand to gently wipe under your nose, it came back red with blood.

“You, okay?”

You smiled sadly, reaching out to put the dog tags back on.

“I should be asking you that.”

“But you’re bleeding.”

“Occupational hazard.” You tried to subtly get rid of any of the extra blood. “That was pretty intense. Wanna talk?”

Bucky looked down to the sheets and shook his head. You smiled at him, tilting his head to yours.

“That’s fine, want me to go? Or would you like to cuddle for a bit?”

Bucky didn’t talk again, just pulled you gently down to the bed once more. Snuggling himself under your chin, resting his head on your chest. You felt his arms draw tightly against your waist. You pressed your lips into his hair.

“May I help you go to sleep? Keep the bad thoughts at bay for at least one night.”

You felt Bucky nod and let out a little sleepy hum of agreement. You closed your eyes, focused on your connection setting up a golden wall against the dark fog at the corners of his mind and settled into a deep sleep.

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You woke to the smell of fresh coffee and the clinking of cups.

“Morning.” You opened your eyes at Bucky’s voice and took the offered cup greedily. Your mind still felt hazy from the energy you used last night.

You felt the bed dip beside you as Bucky sat and sipped at his cup as well, hair a bit of a mess from bed. He had evidently only just woken up as well.

He took a breath, “I had some pretty interesting dreams, sweetheart.”

You stiffened, “Good ones I hope.”

“Don’t worry, they were good. If a little strange.”

“Strange?”

“I was watching myself most of the time.”

You snorted into the coffee, “Sounds creepy”

There was a slight chuckle, “Nah, I was watching myself build a home, a family- “

“Oh God Bucky.” You snapped your eyes to his, you knew what had happened. “I am so sorry my dreams must have stuck in your head.”

“Those were your dreams?”

“Yeah, its only happened once before but when the connection between two people is very strong, it can happen- I call it bleeding. Perhaps we should- “

“If the next words out of your mouth are take a break, I will spill your coffee.” You clutched your cup closer to your chest, “Truthfully, those were some of the beset dreams I have every had. I really loved them.”

You looked back up at him, hesitantly “You did?”

“And I love you.”

“Huh

There was silence as you stared at him in shock. His face as nothing but adoration as the sunlight filtered over his face.

“I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you too.”

Coffee cups were cast aside as you both collided. Giggling and joking, radiating happiness as the two of you shared the sweetest kiss. Your feelings merging together, amplifying one another until they shone brighter than the sun.