#anyways all of this to say: I like scooby doo it’s a comfort series maybe I can find some movies to watch and have fun or maybe I won’t who

[whimsyprinx]

tomorrows goals that may or may not be met: wash blankets and remake bed, watch scooby doo movies or something that will make me happy, try not to cry, try to actually finish or get far into a drawing, eat more

[nonclassyparty]

friday, 01:56 (j.wy)

title; now shut your dirty mouth, if I could burn this town, i wouldn't hesitate to smile while you suffocate and die

summary; wooyoung is your sworn enemy but hooking up with him becomes a habit you just can't seem to quit (gen v au)

notes; part one of a drabble series called 'rule of thumb' set in the gen v universe where y/n is a bigender superhero and wooyoung is a blood bender (yea it's jordan & marie inspired but hear me out because there's less gore and massacres and more fucking and fluff okay). all credits for the superpowers and world building go to gen v writers, i'm just here to give some cute wooyoung drabbles also there's no update schedule for this, i'll just be writing it whenever i feel like i want to write some wooyo stuff

playlist // my main masterlist // click to donate to palestine

you met jung wooyoung a year and some months ago and from the first second your eyes connected - you knew peace will never be an option with him.

"cool shirt, you steal it from a middle schooler? why'd you guys bring a freshman over, we aren't tutoring anyone during lunch." was the first thing jung wooyoung uttered towards you, skipping the introduction completely as he eyes your scooby-doo shirt with apparent distaste and he plops down in the seat next to seonghwa who nervously twitches as he watches for your reaction. maybe seonghwa expected you to jump over the table and wring jung wooyoung's pretty neck.

you have no idea where he got the idea you could ever do something like that.

anyways, was the scooby-doo shirt embarrassing and a little bit ugly? yes. did you have a right to wear it nonetheless without being judged for it? fuck yes.

so fuck jung wooyoung, it's not like he dressed any better no matter how good he looked in just about anything. he didn't have any fashion sense whatsoever, he was just handsome - there was a difference.

if it ended there with jung wooyoung, you would've gotten over the little fashion quip and maybe, dare you say, you could've been friends. you would've liked that even.

you hate to say this and you would never admit it to anyone but before you got to know jung wooyoung, before you even started your freshman year at godolkin university that, you were an admirer.

because jung wooyoung, just a year older than you, was somewhat of a legend already on the god u campus by the time you were a freshman. a star student at the school of crimefighting that cleared several homicide cases in his first year and was climbing the ranks at super speed and reaching the top ten by winter break of his first year.

he was smart, dedicated, driven but more importantly, he was insufferable about it. always teasing you, poking fun at you for just the pleasure of getting a rise out of you. it might not even be considered that bad if you didn't allow for him to piss you off with the most innocent of comments.

you don't know how you ended up in his circle in your first year at godolkin, you were a bit of a hermit that avoided socializing and spent the better half of your freshman year training and discovering just how far your powers went for the first time.

by the time you felt comfortable with shifting into your male form and started getting the hang of controlling the powers that came with that form, you caught the attention of hongjoong and seonghwa who decided to, what they call, adopt you into their equally unhinged yet somehow popular clique. occupying the first eight spots of the rankings with san being first and wooyoung a close second, they were the campus elite.

the guys were cool, maybe a bit shallow sometimes, but that was to be expected when you go to college under a huge spotlight like they do. it's all-consuming.

they were your friends. the only problem was jung wooyoung.

on paper, there isn't a reason you two shouldn't get along. you have the same friends and share so many interests that it's kind of laughable but something about wooyoung just grates your nerves. his ability to get under your skin is astounding and he can infuriate you with nothing more than a single know-it-all grin.

tonight is no different.

in the club, that you snuck off of campus for, yunho serves as a barrier between the two of you but it doesn't stop wooyoung's teasing comments and pokes even when you're on the dance floor.

what's worse is that you start indulging him and, you'll blame it on the alcohol and plethora of drugs although you've learnt a long time ago they barely have any effect on your body thanks to the concoction cursing through your bloodstream since you were a baby, your hands keep straying towards him, drawn like magnets. it's infuriating. how much you want him.

a couple of fleeting moments later where your fingers brush subtly enough for it to be deemed as accidental, one moment between another and yunho is suddenly gone and wooyoung's hands reach out to be placed on your hips, the pretenses are gone.

you're both chest to chest, breaths mingling and noses brushing but still, you can't do it. not here, under these awful lights with all these people watching.

you push him away with your hands on his chest and for a second wooyoung looks worried before it melts into an annoying smirk after you grab him by the hand and start dragging him towards the bathrooms.

you think it got a bit too real for you out there on the dance floor, because the moment you're alone in the semi-clean looking bathroom of the club, you decide to start an argument with him. if nothing but to bring a sense of normalcy back between the two of you.

"what the fuck is your problem with me?" you hiss, blood rushing to your cheeks as wooyoung's eyebrows jump in faint surprise before you see him suppress a smile.

"my problem with you?" he asks, head tilted to the side and looking at you as if he knows what's going on in your head, like he knows that you're only starting a fight to deflect from whatever the hell that was on the dance floor and why you dragged him in here. which he doesn't, mind reading isn't in his superpower description, you checked! he smiles and it's a pretty smile, pretty fucking annoying. "i don't have a problem with you."

you frown, "wooyoung, stop messing around with me. i'll kill you."

he has the balls to laugh at that and it's only then you realize why. you didn't even notice that you basically have him pressed up against the sink. so close to putting your hands on him again. wooyoung leans in;

"look at you. you wanna kiss me so bad it makes you look fucking stupid." he whispers, hooded eyes grazing over your face before the corners of his mouth perk up again and he licks his lower lip, tongue just barely brushing the devastating beauty mark residing there, "you’re probably saying you wanna kill me just so you can have an excuse to touch me."

you feel like you can breathe for the first time in too long when you kiss him, your hand wrapped around the nape of his neck to pull him closer. it's messy and rushed but it's exactly what you need to feel like your entire nervous system is set alight, as the tension between the two of you finally snaps.

the small moan that escapes him has the ability to drive you insane and you cradle his face with both hands, licking at his bottom lip until he lets out a whine before parting his mouth open and allowing your tongues to meet.

you hate this. hate the thrill of pleasure that shoots through you when wooyoung's fingers dig into the material of the jeans wrapped around your hips. hate that you have absolutely no excuse to be kissing him in a dingy bathroom of a nightclub. absolutely hate how much you further want him.

his soft gasp makes you part away from him as you look down at his face that's sporting wide eyes and parted glossy lips.

you're confused for only a moment until you notice the problem. you're looking down at him.

your eyes connect with your reflection in the mirror over wooyoung's shoulder and you blush in mortification when you come face to face with your male form that you unconsciously shifted to somewhere in the middle of the kiss.

with red cheeks, you look at wooyoung again as your hands immediately leave his cheeks and you turn to take a step back not wanting to make him further uncomfortable, "i'm sorry, i di-"

wooyoung doesn't even say a word, it's just a sound that leaves his throat aching to a whine as his fingers latch onto your shirt and pull you back into him, sealing his lips over yours into another messy kiss that makes your blood sing. you don't know if it has something to do with the fact that wooyoung is a blood bender or that he doesn't mind kissing you like this either.

it's exhilarating. too much and definitely not enough at the same time. you want to see jung wooyoung unravel in front of you. because he's been pissing you off all night and now, you just want him to shut him up and kiss the life out of him.

you clumsily fumble with the button on his jeans, slipping a hand inside to palm him over his underwear. wooyoung moans softly, forehead leaning against your own and his hand comes up to the back of your neck before he pulls you into another kiss.

"please." he rasps out, parted lips brushing over your cheek and that's all the confirmation you need before dropping to your knees.

wooyoung rushes to shove his clothes out of the way and if you weren't so turned on, you would've found it funny. you don't laugh because you're straining against your own jeans and you have a task to get to as you stare right into wooyoung's eyes and open your mouth, waiting.

so, you let jung wooyoung fuck your mouth. you let him grab you by the back of your head, fingers weaving through your short hair. you let him rub the tip against your lips, you let him tell you that he likes you a lot better when you're too busy sucking him off to run your mouth.

of course, you respond that it's not a smart idea to be an annoying piece of shit to someone while their teeth are so close to his dick. it shuts him up immediately.

but it's all worth it because wooyoung's honey skin looks flawless even under the shitty lights of the bathroom and his moans bouncing off the walls are ridiculously sweet just like you knew they would be. god, you must be some kind of masochist.

there is no other reason that would explain why you're here with jung fucking wooyoung of all people. it's bad enough that he's wooyoung, the most annoying person on planet earth that has spent the last year doing nothing but teasing you but it's still worse that he's straight.

you can defend yourself however you like but even you have to admit that no normal, well-adjusted person that has spent their teenage years agonizing over their gender identity and suppressing their own powers because the implications that they're also a boy and not just a girl felt awfully too big and something their parents could never be proud of, finally coming to terms with their powers and accepting themselves for what they are - only to go out and make their first hook-up post that revelation, a straight boy that made it a mission to piss them off daily.

"you're so sweet actually." wooyoung pants, thumb gliding under your eye to wipe the tears away.

you wish he'd stop talking.

you wish you weren't enjoying this so much.

wooyoung's head thuds against the mirror hanging above the sink he's currently leaning on and his hand tightens in your hair, so you know he's close. you double down on your efforts, swirling your tongue around the head and hollowing out your cheeks. your eyes fall shut as all you hear are wooyoung's soft grunts and the wet sounds of him fucking your mouth before he's coming with a low groan into your open mouth.

"fuck." wooyoung sighs, hands slipping from your hair and falling to grip the sink.

your knees ache as the hard tiled floor was unforgiving to them but you still stand up and quickly walk into one of the stalls to spit into the toilet and wipe at your eyes as subtly as you can, so you don't actually look like you just had your face fucked.

"yeah." you nod, voice hoarse as you tug on your oversized shirt. it's sort of crazy that you think you hate wooyoung a little less than you did twenty minutes ago. you hope it lasts long enough to get out of here without wanting to rip his head from his shoulders.

unfortunately, wooyoung is still....wooyoung and the five seconds you give him with your back turned towards him as you fix yourself up is enough for him to shatter any blissful fantasy of not feeling anything but hate and dislike towards him.

"i can still be straight even if i liked you sucking me off, right? since you're not...you know...." you're frozen and it feels like you're watching a car crash. you faintly wonder how can someone so brilliant, so smart, be so fucking stupid and insensitive at the same time.

you want to interrupt him but you're stuck in one place bound to watch the crash and burn. of course, after you stay quiet, wooyoung continues;

"you know, you're you."

"that's an astounding observation wooyoung, truly. i'm me."

"you know what i mean."

the tissue you used to wipe off the last bits of your make-up gets balled up in your hand and you refuse to look at him as you shift back to your female form so the boner in your pants wouldn't be visible.

"frankly, i don't give a fuck how you choose to label yourself but i think it's worth noting that you liked having someone who you know wasn't a girl suck your dick."

you don't look at him again, swearing that you were completely done with him after tonight as you push past him and head for the exit door.

the resolve lasts for almost as long as wooyoung did with his dick down your throat, which if you are being honest - wasn't very long.

[littlespacereader]

Hai Clara, I just saw this adorable Scooby Doo paci and I think little dean would go absolutely bonkers if he found it and cherish the hecc outa it when he got it!!

The paci was made by paci.pops on Instagram. It was a custom one and is sadly not for sale irl, but just imagine little dean seeing it and getting so excited, or Cas commissioning it and gifting it to him as a surprise. 😭

Just wanted to share this cute mental image (in the hopes it inspired you in some way hehe)

Anyway, love you - byee!! <3

First of all, that pacifier is adorable!! I would kill for one that looked just like it myself!🤩 But Dean woukd literally lose it to having something like that!! While the story mostly has Dean and Castiel in it, I made to sure to sprinkle some Sam and Crowley in the end:) I hope you enjoy as always @dino-boyo-agere ! Thank you so much again for another beautiful request to the Supernatural storyline!

For all the previous fics in this series click here, here, here and here.

The Surprise👀💚

Caregiver! Castiel & Little! Dean Winchester, with Caregiver! Crowley & Little! Sam Winchester (SFW!)

Tags- struggling to regress, hurt/comfort, surprises, pacifiers, diapers, stuffies, hugs and cuddles

Hunt after Hunt, Castiel could see that Dean was in desperate need of regression.

It wasn’t his fault. Sam and him thought they were going on a simple ghost case. But simple and Winchesters don’t go together. What should’ve been a week at most turned into a two week long hunt.

By the end of it, Sam and especially Dean were in some dire need of love and support from their respective Caregivers.

Castiel will be the first to admit…it was definitely an interesting change having a second Caregiver in the bunker with him. Crowley and him were polar opposites when it came to their Caregiving styles. So navigate around one another is…interesting to say the least.

Castiel kept pacing back and forth waiting for the sound of the Impala outside the bunker. Finally the boys were on their way home. And by the sound of it, he could tell Dean was struggling not to regress.

Castiel insisted he could just teleport Sam, the car and him right back him but Dean insisted on driving. He wanted to clear his head after the brutal case and before he regressed. And one the ways he knows how to do that is driving.

More than anything Castiel wanted to be there right as Dean walked into the bunker. So there he stood now, well…maybe not stood. Castiel paced and Crowley sat at a table nearby reading a newspaper with his feet up.

“Staring at the door isn’t going to get them here any faster Cassie.”

Castiel shot him a glare before going back to his pacing. Crowley rolls his eyes and puts the paper down.

“Alright, I’ll bite. What’s got you so worried about Dean?”

Castiel looked confused to the phrase but continued on. “You know when Sam calls you and tells you everything fine.”

“Un-huh.”

“But you can just tell that everything isn’t fine and that he’s barley hanging on to his adult self?”

Crowley sat back in his chair and sighed, “Yeah…I know what you’re talking about. So squirrel is barley hanging onto his adult mindset.”

“That’s what I suspect.”

“And you let him drive?”

Castiel turned to glare at Crowley again. “You try tell Sam not to do something when he’s fighting his regression.”

“Oh trust me I have Cassie.”

“And….”

“….And I was in the same position as you.” Crowley sighed, hating to admit.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the car doors closing. Sam and Dean walking into the bunker looking rough.

Sam immediately walked over to Crowley while Dean on the other hand, was about to walk past Cas and towards his room. But Castiel stopped him.

“There you are! I’ve been waiting for you.” Cas smiles with a warm and calm expression.

Dean’s expression was the complete opposite for the moment. He looked tired and stressed, “You were?” There was a slight hint of hope in his voice as he looked at Castiel, surprised he was waiting for him.

“Of course I was.” Cas smiled again, “I think it’s time for someone to take the night to relax and maybe even regress.”

Dean sighed before he pushed past Cas and walked towards his room. Castiel followed after him.

“Dean-.”

“Stop.” Dean said with no real heat behind it, “I don’t want to regress tonight. I-I can’t… not after that case.”

“By the look and sound of it, I think you should. You look stressed out beyond belief Dean.”

He followed him into his room, closing the door behind them so they could talk privately. “Listen, I know you’re still feeling big but if you’d let me help you, I can help you age down a bit and finally relax.”

Dean struggled with this often. Coming back from a hunt that required him to be protective, brave and strong was a hard thing to change. For Dean sometimes it was a hard thing for him to regress. He almost gets stuck in that mindset, forgetting how to regress again.

Castiel always knew the signs of it, he had seen Dean do this time and time again. He fights the need to regress and then in turn becomes grumpy from not regressing.

Dean ignores Cas and heads towards the bathroom, “I’m gonna to take a shower.” He muttered before walking away.

He threw his clothes around the bathroom before stepping into the shower. The warm water was rather relaxing. It started to clear his mind on everything.

Everything is frustrating! He didn’t know how to just regress after everything! He had been an adult for two weeks and it was hard to switch that off. But being home with Cas made feel his head getting fuzzy with the feeling of regressing.

His regression felt as if it was on the tip of spilling over. Like a cup filled to the rim with only one drop that causes the whole thing to spill.

That drop of course, would be Castiel.

When Dean stepped out of the shower, all of his clothes thrown wildly on the floor were gone. Instead, on the countertop sat a soft fuzzy robe. Dean dried off before putting the robe on and heading back to his room. There, Castiel waited on the bed with Sharon and Ozzie next to him.

Dean, in a losing battle against his regression softly asked, “What’s this all about?”

“I just had the most interesting conversation with Ozzie and Sharon here.” Castiel started to say. He patted he bed next to him, urging Dean to sit with him.

The walls Dean desperately had up, start to come crumpling down brick by brick as he took a seat next to Castiel.

Cas takes his hand in his, “Now I was just in the middle of talking to Ozzie. He was telling me how brave and strong you were while you were away.”

“He was?” Dean asks so innocently. He starts slipping more than he realizes it.

“Yeah he was. He was going on and on about how he’s so proud of you.” Castiel squeezes his hand.

Tears start to sting at the corners of Dean’s eyes. He quickly wipes them away with a knuckles fist, “That’s really nice of him to say.”

“It is. But Sharon was just reminding him that even big brave boys need to relax sometimes too. And it doesn’t make them any less brave than before. Sometimes they need someone else to be brave for them, just for a little while. That way they can rest and be brave again when the time comes.”

Suddenly it all makes sense to Dean. Of course this is what Cas was trying to tell him but…but Sharon and Ozzie made more sense with it.

Castiel could see the gears turning in Dean’s head. “I think what you need tonight is for someone to be brave for you. Not only will you have me to be your guardian angel, but you’ll have Sharon and Ozzie to protect you too. Triple protection for my little bee.” He picked the stuffies up and handed them to Dean.

Dean quickly grabbed them and brought them close. Tears fell from his eyes as he looked up at Castiel. Gone was stubborn adult Dean fighting his regression, and in its place a little boy in need of some serious comfort.

“Dadee, missed you so much.”

That’s all Dean had to say before Cas leaned forward to bring his Little into a nice cozy hug. Dean rested his head on Castiel’s shoulder and just sighed. He missed this so much, he missed Cas so much.

“I miss you too love bug.” Castiel rubbed Dean back and gently rocked him back and forth.

Once they broke apart, Castiel took Dean’s hand in his once more. “Tonight is going to be a nice relaxing night for us. First we’re going to get you changed into some comfy pjs and then we’re going to watch some Scooby-Doo. But before we do I have a little surprise for you.”

Dean’s eyes lit up, “Surprise?!”

“Yeah a surprise! I was planning on saving it for someone’s birthday but tonight it’s needed more. But first pajamas.”

Castiel stood up and walked over to Dean’s closet while Dean whined and threw himself back onto the bed. “I don’t wanna wait.”

“It will only be a minute.” Cas replied back as he search for some pajamas.

“What is it?”

“Wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I told you?” Castiel smirked.

Dean huffed and sighed, and tried, tried to wait patiently for Cas to come back over. After what felt like years (in reality only two minutes) Castiel returned with some pjs and a diaper.

Dean lifted his head when Castiel returned, “Surprise?”

“Not yet sweet boy, just a minute. First we get you changed then…”

“Then surprise?”

“Then we get the surprise. That’s right smart boy. Now, let’s get you into some pajamas.”

The pajama change went by uneventful. Dean, though a little impatient, acted his best when changed into pajamas and a diaper. Once all settled Dean quickly sat up and looked at Castiel all excited.

“Okay baby bee, close your eyes.” Cas winked with a smirk.

Dean could barley hold his excitement. The once grumpy hunter had done a complete 180. He closed his eyes and held Sharon close as he patiently waited for his surprised.

Cas went into the closet and grabbed the small box. He carefully unwrapped the packaging before making his way back to Dean. When he did, he spotted the Little trying to look.

“Hey what did I say about those eyes?” Cas raised an eye brow. Dean quickly shut them once more. Cas couldn’t help but shake his head at his cheeky little one.

“Okay, hold out your hand and when I count to three open your eyes. Ready?”

With Dean’s hand out, Cas carefully placed the gift, “1….2…..3!! Open!!”

Dean quickly opened his eyes and gasped. There was a moment of pure bliss as Dean stared at the Scooby Doo themed paci. The paci has the works, gems, little paw print charms, zoniks written on the front and a little picture of Scooby himself.

He looked up from the gift to Cas, “Y-You got me a paci?”

“I did,” Cas took a seat next to him on the bed once more, “I’ve been noticing someone has developed a habit of sucking their thumb,” Castiel started to say causing Dean to blush.

“So I planned on getting you a pacifier but then I stumbled across this one online and I couldn’t resist to get it for Scooby Doo’s number one fan.”

With tears in his eyes he looked back up at Cas again, “I wuve it!!” Dean practically tackled Cas into a bear hug, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!! It’s so pretty and it has gems on it and even Scooby!!”

Cas laughed, hugging his boy back, “You are so welcome. I’m happy you like it.”

The two broke apart and Dean continued to stare at the paci.

“Dean?” Cas broke him out of his thoughts, “Why don’t you give it a try?”

What seemed so obvious made so much more sense. Wow, Caregivers really are the best! Thing is…he’s never had a pacifier before. What was it like? With a small moment of hesitation, Dean popped the pacifier into his mouth.

Then suddenly it was as if the whole world melted away. He closed his eyes and let the feeling wash over him. A pacifier was something he always wanted but before his regression was known to his family, he didn’t want to risk anyone finding it.

Now he had his own!! And it’s perfect!! It’s Scooby!! He loves Scooby!! It couldn’t get better than this.

~~~

You know what’s better than a Scooby Doo paci? Having a Scooby Doo paci in your mouth while watching Scooby Doo!!

Dean laid with his head in Cas’s lap as the two settled in the tv room for the night. Dean’s eyes were half lidded as he watched Scooby and the gang get chased around the castle by a ghost.

Cas had one arm wrapped around his little one and another playing with his hair. The night started to end off peacefully. Just a Caregiver and his little one.

Well…almost ending peacefully.

Crowley could be heard yelling in the background before Sam bursted into the tv room, towel around his waist and his hair soaking wet like a mop.

“Dean you’re never gonna believe what I-.” Sam stopped mid sentence seeing the paci.

There was a second, just a moment, where Dean worried his brother might tease him about his new paci. But what he found was the polar opposite.

“DEAN!!! THAT IS THE COOLEST PACIFIER EVER!! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?! ITS YOUR FAVORITE SHOW!! THAT’S SO AWESOME DUDE!!”

A smile spread across his face from behind the pacifier as Sam complimented it. Dean sat up and pointed to it, “Swooby!” He mumbled behind the paci.

“Yeah!! It looks so cool with that green gems and the Scooby charm…” Sam started to trail off. This pacifier gave him an idea. After all Dean’s birthday was coming up soon. Maybe he would like another one?

Crowley burst into the room half soaking wet himself, “You. Little. Troublemaker! Come here!”

And so the night ending in the Bunker with a real Scooby Doo chase. But instead of a ghost chases the Scooby gang, it was instead a soaking wet Demon chasing a very tall Hunter while another Hunter watched and giggled next to his Guardian Angel.

[goldendaydna]

Omg can I hear more about your Scooby Doo AU if you're comfortable sharing? I loved your tags on that post!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BRUH YES AND ALWAYS

Ok ok, so I'm bringing my friend @the-vegetarian-artist into this

So I guess the best place to start is the medium and rating.

It would be an animated series with a hmmmm, semi realistic style?

The rating would also be about maybe TV-14 with teens and young adults as the main "demographic" but we would like for it to be enjoyed by all, and I mean all kinds of families and friends. Vegg and I are not fans of teen sexualization so that is something we don't really want in there.

Plot wise we want an overarching mystery with a few stand-alone mysteries and some that surprisingly connect to the main one.

The mystery Inc gang will be the main characters obviously, but we also want to give side characters who have been previously used in the franchise some time to shine. Ya know, male the world really feel alive. This includes characters like Scrappy Doo, Red Herring, Googie, Flim Flam (Who will undergo a name change among other things), etc.

One of the decisions we made was to include magic in this world. We wanted to really play around with the mysteries and have different members of the gang play a role when it came to things of not only scientific but also magical origins. Part of this is from a desire to not have the bad guys be only bad people in costumes but for the monsters to be real. Plus we have this mutual headcanon of Shaggy being able to use magic since previous incarnations of the franchise. With Scooby Doo as his familiar.

This is sadly a controversial topic but this is our AU, and we are two people on the internet. Anyways we also changed the race and ethnicity of the characters. We want our story to speak to all kinds of people. So it was just natural for us to.

Fred is Vietnamese American

Shaggy is Native American (Lakota specifically)

Velma is Mexican American

Daphne is Irish American (PS she is per Vegg's brilliant mind at work, transfem using she/her pronouns)

Age wise they are around 16-17. There's still some stuff we need to work on

When it comes to their dynamic we wanted the gang to have known each other since elementary school, but they drifted apart, all with their own reasons. They all get together again but it's more gradual and not all at the same time.

At some point Daphne and Shaggy start to hang out again. All I will say is that these two have known each other since before elementary school, we have our reasons for this, we just don’t want to reveal too much.

Then there's Fred and Velma. The dynamic between these two when they start hanging out again is very interesting as well. Same as before we don’t want to reveal too much and we also have our reasons for this. We want to solidify why all these characters are friends and that means exploring dynamics that while they are touched on in previous iterations of the franchise, we think there needs to be more of, it’s also because of how our AU flows, we think it’s only natural and convincing for these characters to “meet” each other the way they do.

[dancingazaleas]

𖨆. 02 / all for us

summary: you’ve finally decided it was time to eat and bathe, but now that you aren’t worried about starving to death, you’re getting homesick. maybe a cup of tea and a movie is the best.

note: i, now, have a taglist for this series especially!! here’s the taglist form!! it will also be posted on the series masterlist!! much love <33

word count: +3.0k

warnings/notes: starvation, manipulation, abuse, slight panic attack, thoughts of suicide

IT'S been five days since you've had anything to eat.

your body is so weak from the lack of nutrients that you can't stand up on your own. your head is constantly aching from lack of food and you keep getting dizzy.

you feel like you're on the brink of death now, you can't even get out of bed to get yourself water out of your sink, shortening your life span if you keep this up. you feel yourself crying as you roll your body off of the bed and onto the floor.

hissing in pain, you dig your nails into the spruce hardwood floor.

"you are not weak for this. you're surviving," you whisper to yourself as you push yourself forwards with your arms.

it's so painful with the bruises. they rub up against your clothing, already irritating them a bit more than before, and now it's having pressure added onto it. your tears are blocking your sight, but you push on anyways. the door has never felt so far away.

you almost perk up when your nails scratch at the door. with weak fists, you bang at the door and call for one of the men that has captured you. your tears are dripping on the ground below you, forming a small puddle as they all bunch together.

"please," you croak, "please..."

the door is being unlocked and you feel as if all of your strength has been used at that moment. you lay still as your breath falters from your sobbing.

the door bumps against your head, shooting a sharp pain through your head. you can't find strength to care about it.

"so you're finally ready to listen. you look pathetic," you don't have to look up to tell it's levi speaking to you.

he calls out to erwin, telling him to fix you small and easy meal and to get you new clothes. he squats down and takes you into his arms bridal style.

if you weren't crying and letting out weak sobs, he would think your dead. you're so limp in his arms and your eyes are empty and droopy as they stare right through him. and it creeps him out.

he takes you into a bathroom with a tub, setting you gently on the toilet. he doesn't bother locking the door behind him, you're too weak to run away right now. levi's preparing you a bath, walking back and forth as he gets towels and soaps and checking the water.

you hiccup as you watch levi starting to remove that collar and chains around your neck, and you feel like a weight has been lifted off of your chest, literally. he's undressing you, obviously trying to avert his cold eyes away from your body. you're gently laid in the bath, head resting against the rim.

levi's quiet as he pours a warm cup of water over your hair and face, squatting down to reach your level.

"stupid," he scoffs as he lathers up shampoo in his hands. he washes your hair gently.

"this isn't mine and erwin's fault," he shakes his head while he pours water over your head, "it's your fault. you refused our care."

you don't argue back, too tired to even think of a comeback. you also don't feel like getting beat any more than you already are. your eyelids are getting heavy, immediately shutting them as soon as you feel the pressure on them.

levi stares, mouth slightly parted as you breathe in and out through your nose. your cheek was sprinkled in the color crimson, his own handiwork made him cringe. he just sighs, now brushing through your locks of hair with conditioner coated on his hands.

he rinses his hands off, letting the conditioner stay there just for a few seconds so it can soak in. his eyes trail down your body, stopping at your bruised breast. he didn't even realize he hit you there.

he shrugs it off and gathers water into the small cup in his hand, pouring it over your head. he expects you to jump up at the water over your head but all you do is mumble. he wants to wash your body, specifically your underarms, but with you half asleep and barely able to stand on your own without him holding onto you, he can't.

he clicks his tongue and pulls out the cover up blocking the drain. he grabs you by the arm, ignoring the whimper of pain that you let out, and pulls you up onto your wobbling feet. he helps you step out of the tub and wraps a fluffy pink towel around your shoulders, carefully sitting you onto the toilet again.

the bath water is a little murky and levi cringes at it because he knows it'll leave a ring around the tub. he'll clean it up later.

erwin's opening the door, a pile of clothes in his large hands.

"she's all tuckered out," he chuckles, handing off the clothes to levi.

"yeah. don't know how, she's barely done anything. must be the hunger or something," levi shrugs and watches the folded clothing come undone as he holds the hemline between his fingers.

"maybe we were too harsh on her."

"no, we weren't. we can't trust her. believe it or not, but forks can hurt whenever you put force into them when you stab someone. she could've hurt one of us or herself," he folds the clothes over his arm and holds out a hand.

erwin hands him underwear, "i suppose you're right."

"i'm always right," levi carefully puts on your underwear for you.

erwin rolls his eyes at levi's comment, "make sure to dry her hair."

"i know what i'm doing," he snaps, "go put her food in her room."

erwin complies, swinging the door shut behind him as he goes to fetch your food.

you've barely processed their conversation, too focused on levi's hands putting you in a satin light grey nightgown that ends just below your knees. the bishop sleeves keep your arms warm and cold at the same time, in fact, the whole material of the dress does as well. the neckline is a v-neck, not that you mind too much because of the risk you might get too hot.

"do i...," you manage to mumble, "do i have to wear this to sleep...?"

"yeah, unless you feel like sleeping in just underwear. i don't think you want that though," he scoffs as he towels off your damp hair.

you don't reply, far too tired to even say a 'whatever' to him. you let your forehead come into contact with his hip, taking in the cold temperature radiating off of his body. you want to nuzzle into his hip, but thankfully you have enough will to not do so. it reminds you of your friend, pieck, and her cat like tendencies. the memory has you letting out a pained laugh.

levi can feel his face getting warmer at every movement you make with your head, but he manages to play it off because of the towel blocking your view. he throws the towel into the basket by the tub, hand silently stroking at the back of your head in comfort.

it doesn't give you comfort. but you don't let it show.

levi's grabbing a hair brush, a clean and new one, and running it through your (hair type) locks. there are far too many tangles from the lack of care you've been giving your hair, but not enough to make a knot.

levi then pulls out a block of deodorant from the cabinet below the sink. it's unused and you can smell the scent of flowers on it as he brings it closer. his hands slide up your dress with caution, trying to avoid coming into contact with your bruised body.

he manages to put on the deodorant easily. he picks you back up with a grunt, eyebrows furrowing at your pained expression. he's placing you back onto your bed in just a matter of seconds, throwing the covers over your legs.

erwin's sitting at the edge of your bed, holding a fork with food already on it. your eyes are droopy while you look at erwin.

you don't eat a lot, they're in fear that you might throw everything up if fed too fast. you don't blame them, you haven't eaten in five miserable days. it's best to be cautious.

"scooby...," you manage to whisper out, eyes fluttering shut.

"she wants to watch scooby doo even though she's already asleep," levi huffs with the shaking of his head, grabbing the tray from erwin's hands.

erwin follows after levi, closing the door behind the both of them and locking it.

"she seems to be getting adjusted," erwin notes while standing behind levi and watching him wash the dishes.

"only because she was on the brink of death. let's just hope she learned from it," levi's aggressively scrubbing the plate with a sponge.

————

you lay in your bed a few days later, the feeling of homesickness is eating you up inside. did no one care? did anyone even notice you vanished? where was everyone? what were they doing?

you think of zeke. the man you were sort of dating, it's complicated. well, it was. now, it's just nonexistent.

zeke was out of the country for a bit, something to do with work. he left you with a kiss on the forehead and a hug. you wonder if he's texted you.

you think of pieck. oh my god, she's had to have noticed by now. she's your best friend, she lives with you. but the memory of the two of you fighting right before you were kidnapped comes flooding back, and you deflate. if you weren't in the house then pieck would probably think it was normal.

what about porco? reiner? your guys friends who act like guard dogs towards you. where were they? did they notice? surely they had to, you never not text them back.

bertholdt? your close friend that you also worked with him. he was a music prodigy and he texted you almost everyday. did he notice?

you're breathing erratically as you sit up and clutch your hands over your ringing ears. where were they? where even was your phone?

you're gonna get killed before you can tell any of them that you love them. the thought has you crying and tugging at your hair. you were so mean to pieck before you were kidnapped. you hadn't talked to zeke since the day of your kidnapping, who probably wasn't worried because he was busy with work.

when will you see them again? will you ever even get to see them again?

'maybe after death,' you think, eyes darting up to the mirror on your vanity.

you slap yourself upside the head, slapping away the thought. you struggle to get onto your feet, but when you do, you're banging at the door for levi and erwin again.

you have to know if they're okay, to know if they know you're gone. you step away from the door at the sound of keys jingling and their footsteps.

"what are you freaking out about now," levi's being followed by erwin.

"my friends... did.. did you tell them i was okay," with a boost of confidence, your gripping at levi's biceps.

"get your filthy hands off of me," he smacks them away.

"yes, we did tell them you were going away. we said you decided on a vacation," erwin speaks and watches your eyes dart back to the mirror.

"fuck," you whisper to yourself. everyone would believe you'd go on vacation, you had been stressed with your job for the past month.

"levi's gonna make you some tea and then we can all chat, we were about to do so anyways," erwin's hand rubs at your back as he pulls you close to him.

levi leaves the room, following the orders of erwin. erwin, on the other hand, is cooing at you.

"no one's going to miss you," he whispers in a sweet tone and it gives you goosebumps, "no one at all."

you know it's not true. it can't be true. zeke would miss you. reiner would miss you, pieck, porco, bertholdt. they'd all miss you.... right?

"we're the only ones who care, no one else cares," his grip tightens.

"want to know what that girl said," you hear the arrogance in his voice, and you can't do anything to stop it since he's buried your face in his chest.

"she said she was glad you were on vacation. she said that it was good that she didn't have to see you," yoy hiccup against his chest, pieck couldn't have said that, right?

he pulls away finally, satisfied at your expressionless face—if you overlook the tears. you can't give in, pieck would never say that. never in a million years would she say that, even if she hated your guts.

right?

levi comes back in, hands holding a tray that has teacups and a pot of tea on it. levi goes to the area with three chairs, setting the tray onto the coffee table and sitting himself down in one. erwin follows behind him, leaving the chair in between them open for you to sit.

they stare at you expectedly, it makes you uncomfortable so you decide to just deal with it and sit with them.

"what tea is this," erwin asks while levi pours everyone a cup.

"earl grey, what else do we have," levi hands a cup to erwin and then to you.

you hold it by the handle, silently admiring the cup's delicate and intricate design. you try to ignore the voice in the back of your head to break it on the ground and slash your neck open. you want to drink it too, it smells absolutely perfect, but if you hold it any longer you might just listen to that voice.

you set it back down, left hand immediately grabbing at your right wrist. you didn't trust yourself to make a move on your own, if you did you fear it might end up with a shard of glass at your throat.

erwin's ice eyes stare at your wrist and hand, taking in how your knuckles were white and the skin on your arm was reddening.

"just say if you want handcuffs," erwin sips at his tea and looks away.

"what," you flinch at his voice interrupting the quiet that was once there.

his comment has you looking at your hands, which you let go of at the sight of the irritation.

"sorry," you shrug and lean back in your chair.

"good. can't have you hurting your hands," levi comments, eyes staring outside of the bay window.

"speaking of that," you sigh, "why do you always leave my hands alone. you've shown no mercy to my arms, so why my hands?"

"when you're good enough, you'll be allowed to play the piano," erwin crosses a leg over the other, ankle resting on his knee.

"play? for who? there's no one in this empty house but us," you scoff and cross your arms.

"me. and there's more people here than you think," levi's giving you a small smirk, "you're just separated from them."

"it's hard to believe that you have friends, levi," you mumble loud enough for them to hear. your comment has erwin chuckling and levi rolling his eyes.

"i have friends, believe it or not. watch your attitude," he's putting his tea back onto the tray.

"i don't have an attitude," you sound like a child arguing with their parent.

erwin butts in the conversation before levi can get mad, "anyways, we will allow you to play if we think you've been good enough. levi likes the piano, remember?"

you bite down on your tongue to stop the words 'no but i remember getting kidnapped!!' from coming out of your mouth.

"when can i leave this room, it's too stuffy in here?"

"did you not just listen to erwin? he said when we feel you've been good enough. you've got to start by loosing the attitude," levi snaps his fingers irritatedly.

"how am i supposed to act?!"

"obedient," erwin's now standing over your chair, hands gripping the arms as he leans over you.

"like a dog," you look to levi at the sound of his voice, you try to make yourself smaller.

"you have on a chain and collar for a reason, don't you," erwin smiles gently, hand taking ahold of the chains while he stands up straight.

you choke when erwin tugs the chains towards himself, head knocking right against his stomach while the chains swing in the air and curl around his arm. his other arm swiftly grabs at jaw and forces you to look up at him with your chin pressed to his body.

erwin feels himself harden at the sight, your eyes are widened and your mouth his agape and panting because of the sudden cut off of air.

"just like that," he strokes his thumb along your jaw while you wonder what's caused a sudden change in him these past few days; he used to be so gentle. oh right, kidnapping.

his words have you turning hot, embarrassment hugging you from behind. it wasn't like you easily complied, you were forced to do so. you're also embarrassed because you can feel his hard-on against your sternum, and while you haven't thought about it before, you realize that erwin is fucking hung. you hope that you're not too good for them.

you're saying prayers in your head whenever levi speaks up, "i thought we came in here to watch a movie or something."

erwin lets you go, chains dropping from his arm as he does so. you sigh in relief as erwin grabs the remote from your bed and turns the tv on. you huff while you flop onto your bed and crawl up under your covers, knowing that you'll probably just fall asleep as you watch the movie.

unfortunately, this gives off the impression that you would like to be cuddled. levi's sliding under the covers with you, chest pressing against your back with arms wrapped around your waist. erwin follows soon after, inserting himself in your arms as he scrolls through the different movies at his disposal on the television. you're slightly frustrated at all of the physical contact, but you know that if you reject their advances it'll end up bad for you.

"put on heather's, please," you ask, which erwin obliges to.

as the movie goes on, you hope that they get the message.

you'll be veronica, and they'll be jd.

[kae-karo]

fic writer interview!

i saw @prince-liest do this and thus i will take ur 'tagging anyone who wants to do this' seriously lmaoooo (also hi btw hope ur well!!! 💜💜)

How many works do you have on AO3?

ahaha,,,,,159 lmao

What's your total AO3 word count?

fdsjkkjlsfdklj as of today, 2,089,769

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

only three fsdjkldslfkj the phandom (dan&phil), bnha, and genshin!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

chosen (x) - zhongchi (genshin)

to love (and be loved in return) (x) - kaeluc (genshin)

little bird (x) - dabihawks (bnha)

feet don't touch the ground (x) - xiaoven (genshin)

i knew you were fire (x) - dabihawks (bnha)

honestly none of that surprises me except that little bird is still up there, although i think i owe that to sif (@the-final-sif) for sharing it around the time it got posted since it was partly inspired by her raptor stress grip post!!

the rest are all chaptered fics, which is mostly what i expected to be in the top 5 lmao

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

yes!!! always!!!! no matter what u comment, i will respond!!! and if i don't, it's probably cause ao3 didn't notify me properly or i didn't see it in my inbox or something

as for why, it's mostly to do with like...i know how hard it can be for some people to comment, even just a bunch of heart emojis or a 'i loved this!' or something short and simple? and it means a lot to me that ppl are going out of their way to say something nice, no matter how small, and it's really really important to me to acknowledge that

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

hmm,,,,,this is a hard one, cause for a very long time, my policy was that my fic would always have a happy ending? and for a long time, that was true!! but the dabihawks interaction (during the raid) broke me, and from an emotional standpoint, i think freeing icarus (x) is probably the one that has the angstiest ending of the two or so that i wrote in that time?

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

u know i really haven't written any crossovers? it's normally not my thing cause my brain typically focuses on a single thing and doesn't really have the capacity to think about more than that, so i end up writing just au-style or fusion-style (shoutout to that one bnha but it was scooby doo fic i wrote - x)

i don't think i'd be opposed to writing a crossover but i'd have to be SUPER inspired by the idea and both fandoms lmao

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

aha yes, i have. the only straight up hate i've received was on a kaeluc fic (surprisingly not because it was kaeluc, but bc i was 'mistreating' kaeya in the fic) - to be entirely fair, the commenter pointed out something that i hadn't realized myself, and it led to a second piece of the story that helped me tie up some loose ends, but...let's just say they weren't very kind about their feelings lmao

other than that, i had someone very upset because i didn't tag which character was bottoming in a fic (valid if that bugs u!) and they read through most of it before getting to the smut (and said that they enjoyed everything up to that point) then said they were 'disgusted' by it. i have opinions on that and a few other comments they made, but i will keep them to myself lmao

and beyond that, just a few ppl on my xiaoven fic saying that they were unhappy about the background kaeluc (which is tagged lmao) - really no hate whatsoever til genshin, honestly, which is...very hmmmm :) lmao

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

yep!!! mostly vanilla or vanilla-adjacent lmao i'm not super into heavy kink, although i know if epi reads this she's gonna call me out for being a monsterfucker bc of my dragon!zhongli smut :) lmaoooo but really i tend to write pretty vanilla smut! i also prefer to avoid any noncon/dubcon or hate sex or anything particularly angsty, just not my jam to write!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

hmm i don't think so? although i don't heavily monitor ao3 (or wattpad/ffn), so i can't really say that for sure lmao

Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes!!! i've had a few fics translated to russian (little bird is one of them!) which is very sweet and i hope that anyone who prefers to read in russian has been enjoying those fics!!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

alksdfjklsdf only once, and it's deadass how me and rose got together. we decided to co-write a podcast au fic for the phandom (x) and ended up flirting via google docs asldkfjkldsfj

What’s your all time favourite ship?

what a horrible question, making me choose between my children like this!!!! sdlfkjdskf tbh i'm not sure i have a real answer bc it changes as i go? and 'favorite' is so vague,,,,,favorite to read? to write about? to think about? asdklfjkjsdfk i really don't know if i have an answer, but i'll maybe say kaeluc for now lmao

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

well first and foremost, with only 2 exceptions, i never post a fic unless it's done. i tend to follow wherever my passion leads my brain, so i'm notorious for jumping around between stories and taking breaks from long fic and returning later on to finish them, and i know that i would not do well under the pressure of posting something unfinished and trying to finish it in a timely manner

that said, many wips sit in my google doc folder, but one is Well Known as the one that has followed me through both the phandom and bnha (rose keeps asking who i'm gonna switch the chars to in genshin, but i think it suits bakudeku too well to do that) - only the lonely survive. it sits at like 36k in my wip folder, and i adore the story dearly and i want very much to finish it, but it never makes it quite to the forefront of my motivation, and so it rarely if ever gets worked on...i hate the idea of 'never' finishing it, but it's unfortunately quite likely that i won't 😭😭😭

What are your writing strengths?

emotion!!! and immersion!!! it's my goal in a fic to make it as immersive as possible and saturated with emotion to help convey that feeling of being in the place of the pov character, and i think i do it pretty well. also just bc i feel a little obligated to say it - another strength is actually sitting down and putting words down. i know that's a struggle for a lot of writers and i often get,,,,lovingly bullied? i guess? lmao for being able to bash out a few k in a day most days

What are your writing weaknesses?

this isn't so much a weakness i guess but i am basically incapable of treating crack fic as crack. if i have a cracky idea, it will, without a doubt, end up turning into a Perfectly Serious fic somehow (notable 'crack treated so seriously that it's no longer crack' fics include: todoroki doing the freeze-the-ocean thing from frozen 2, 'shmigaraki', todo and denki get together bc of vine references, the league sells feet pics, shiggy and natsu own a nightclub/bakery, scooby doo but make it bnha, and dabi getting his ears pierced at claire's)

but in all seriousness, i think my main weakness is that i often get comfortable? and i'm not one to typically push myself forcefully out of my comfort zone when it comes to stories that i come up with on my own, which often means that ideas inspired by discussions with others are what prompt me to branch out and try new things?

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

i think, like anything, it has its place? there are certainly stories where it makes sense to do that and even adds depth to a story, although i personally am not exceptionally comfortable enough with other languages (except maybe asl) to do that in fic myself without the assistance of someone very comfortable with that language lmao

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

the phandom! not really my jam to write rpf anymore but it definitely got me started and i'm really grateful for my time writing there, as everyone was super supportive and kind, and it was really a perfect place for a beginner to get comfortable and practice

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

again, forcing me to choose between my children...i really don't know that i can pick one fic bc they all exist in such wildly different spaces? i poured my worldbuilding soul into the king of disaster series (mainly dabihawks - x), exile (dan and phil - x) was my first massively long fic, our hearts are heavy burdens we shouldn't have to bear alone (chayea - x) is probably my favorite character/character dynamic study, i'm exceptionally proud of the smut in chosen (zhongchi - x), the list goes on and on and on lmao like. i could probably list half my fics as favorites in some regard dsflkjdfsjkl

anyway, tyty bellamy for putting this on my dash so i could do it as well!!

tagging: literally anyone who wants to do this, i have so many writer friends slkdjfjklsdf but please please tag me if u do it so i can read urs!!! 💜💜💜

[buckysmischief]

running in the dark - 2

Bucky Barnes x reader

Alex Summers x reader

Word Count: 2,224

Warning(s): language, drinking & smoking

Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Playlist

“Good morning, gorgeous.” The smell of pancakes and syrup filled your senses, pulling you out of a deep sleep.

Without opening your eyes you eventually spoke up, “Pancakes and pet names won’t fix anything, Alex. How’d you get in anyway?”

“Wanda slammed the door in my face-”

“-as she should.”

“-so I climbed in through the window.” He confessed.”And I’m not sure there is a way to make up for my actions last night, but I overreacted and I’m sorry. There’s no excuse, I’m just a dumbass.”

In all the time you’ve known Alex, he’s hardly apologized, but in no way did that mean he was sincere. “Look you can say whatever you want but actions mean more to me. Be the boyfriend I deserve or just leave. I’m too tired to keep fighting for something you don’t seem to take seriously at all.”

He’s never been the best boyfriend, but he definitely wasn’t the worst - not that that’s saying much. If he wasn’t willing to put in the work, though, then you could live without him.

“I’ll be better, for us. I promise.” You could tell by the look on his face he meant it, or at least wanted to, even his tone was different than the other times.

“Okay, but you really gotta show me this time, and give me those pancakes before I accidentally push you off the bed.”

After you stuffed your face, you let him cuddle with you. It could have been your full stomach, or being wrapped up in your boyfriend, but eventually you fell back asleep.

This was the side of Alex that you wish everyone else could see, the side where he was soft, gentle, and caring. Of course you didn’t want everyone knowing first hand just how comfortable his embrace felt, that was just for you.

You had known him since high school but were never in the same circles, your paths never even crossed unless you were in detention at the same time. God forbid anyone tried to talk in there though, the teacher was a bitch and would add days just because she could. It wasn’t until a few years ago that you met him and started dating.

Well, you ran into each other at a club, talked for a few hours, and ended up half naked in his bed the next morning. Things were very casual in the beginning, well as casual as exclusive fuck buddies could be. About a year and a half ago you both decided to make things official. That’s when things started getting rocky.

He became more jealous, a lot worse than he was the night before, that was something he needed to work on again. A part of you really wanted this to work out, you’d definitely needed to convince your friends to give him another chance but that was for another day.

Much sooner than you would have liked, Alex was pulling you out of your sleep, “Hey princess, you gotta get up. Wanda’s been blowing up your phone.”

“Ugh, I must be late.” you groaned and rolled out of bed, throwing on a pair of leggings and an on band tee.

“For what? I thought you were off today?”

“You remember Leslie, Pietro’s girlfriend? She’s moving in today, and so is Bucky I guess. I told them I’d help unpack and stuff.” You were lowkey expecting him to freak out, but he looked absolutely calm.

“I know I’m probably not welcome, but I can help if y’all need it.” He knew if he was ever going to make it work with you, he needed to have a better relationship with your friends. He’s trying.

“As much as I’d love that,” you say, giving him a kiss, “I think it would be better to plan something ahead of time.”

“We can go to Topgolf, maybe a cookout on the beach?” A part of you was almost suspicious at how different he was acting, you made a mental note to talk to him about it later.

“A cookout would probably be best,” another ding came from your phone, Wanda was outside waiting. “Come on, you can come back over later if you want.”

He stopped you before reaching the front door, pulling you into a kiss with enough passion to leave you breathless and weak in the knees. “Text me when you get home, I love you.”

“I love you too, have a good day babe.”

You could feel Wanda’s eyes on you from the car, silently judging you. “I’m not going to tell you what I’m thinking.” She said, pulling out the driveway.

“Small blessings.” You laughed.

“BUT, that’s because I’ve said it 100 times and I don’t feel like wasting my breath anymore.” She was thinking you were an idiot who deserves better and blah blah blah, and she’s right, but you learned a long time ago that if you couldn’t get over this crush for Bucky then you’d spend the rest of your life settling for anyone who wasn’t him.

That didn’t mean your feelings for Alex were fake or anything - they’re real - they just didn’t compare to how Bucky had made you feel almost your whole life. It didn’t help that all of those feelings came back the second you saw him standing in your living room.

“So how long is Bucky staying with P?”

“Until he finds a place nearby,” she replied, not mentioning the subject change, “he didn’t really have much though so we're really just helping Leslie.”

“So what you’re saying is the boys are going to do all the heavy lifting while the three of us just organize it all?”

“Exactly.”

As Wanda parked next to the curb you could see the boys unloading the U-Haul while Leslie directed them safely in the house.

Her and Pietro have been together for awhile now, no one knows how long exactly because they’re assholes and won’t tell. They said they’ll reveal it on their wedding day, but everyone knows neither of them are the marrying type. You know what kind of people treat their friends and family that way? People that belong together apparently.

“Thank God you’re finally here!” Leslie shouted as she ran from the front patio to hug them both. “What held you up?”

“Someone had an early moring visitor.” Wanda’s voice didn’t show a hint of irritation, but her mean sideeye did.

“Someone’s just mad no one climbed through their window and brought them breakfast.” Truth be told, that comment was kind of mean. Sam, Wanda’s boyfriend, was currently stationed on the other side of the country and she didn’t get to see him a lot. And yes, if he was here she probably would have gotten an entire breakfast platter made for her. But just because you understand her dislike of Alex doesn’t that mean she has to remind you in subtle ways whenever she feels like it.

“Speaking of food,” Pietro interrupts, “is it almost lunchtime? I’m starving.”

“Who are you, Scooby-Doo? You just ate 30 minutes ago.” Leslie laughs.

“I’ll pickup some wings and pizza,” you offer, walking inside the house, “Where’s Bucky? He’s coming with me.”

“Is he?”

“He owes me eight years, he doesn’t have a choice.”

You eventually found him in the back yard, sitting in the sand. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“Never,” he smiled, “you can sit next to me you know. I don’t bite.”

“Eight year old me would beg to differ, but I’m good. About to pick up some food, wanna come with?”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Nope, come on.”

Wanda called in the order to the pizza place near the boardwalk, so by the time Bucky pulled up there shouldn’t be a long wait. You decided to walk to the ABC store across the street and grab a few bottles of rum and vodka. If they thought there wasn’t going to be some kind of special housewarming party, they were wrong.

Once you got back to the car, Bucky was walking out with three boxes of pizza and three boxes of wings, “I would have asked you if you needed help but I wanted to see if those muscles were just for show.”

“You got the essentials so I’ll let it pass.” He wouldn’t have made you carry anything anyways, not because he was that nice, he just knew you’d drop at least two boxes.

“Oh, the essentials? Those are getting dropped off later.”

“You’re a mess.” He knew exactly what you were referring to and left it alone at that.

When you both got back to Pietro’s, more of Leslie’s things were inside and ready to be put away, but that could wait until after lunch… and maybe a few drinks.

As the day went on, the five of you successfully got everything organized and as a reward to yourselves, you were going to have a bonfire on the beach. A part of you wanted to invite Alex, but you’d see him later. Right now was about hanging out with your friends - and catching up with Bucky.

Pietro brought out two sheets to sit on while Bucky got the fire started, Wanda and Leslie got the drinks and you grabbed some snacks.

And the weed.

“I bought enough to share!” You shook the jar, letting everyone know if they wanted it then they could take it.

Wanda laughed out, “You know Pietro will.”

“That’s because he’s the only one with good taste.” You winked to Leslie.

It immediately - and rightfully - went to her head, “Isn’t that the truth.”

When the sheets were laid out, Wanda, Leslie and Pietro sat on the bigger one with you and Bucky on the slightly smaller one.

At one point in the evening, you tuned the others out and gave your full attention to Bucky. He was filling you in on all the things he didn’t know you already knew thanks to Pietro not knowing how to keep his mouth shut. The only thing you didn’t know was why exactly he pushed you away, just that it had something to do with his ex. Why not find out now?

“So, why didn’t Natasha like me?” It was better to just come right out and ask, no point in holding back now.

Bucky knew he couldn’t tell you the whole truth, but he wasn’t going to lie either. “Nat was - is, definitely still is crazy. I think it was your third break up with Beck, you called in the middle of the night crying and she freaked out after. Said you were “disrespecting” her and a bunch of other ridiculous things.”

“If you knew they were ridiculous then why did it work?” You asked softly, not wanting the others to overhear.

He wanted to tell you that it worked because it seemed like his only escape from you, that maybe a clean break from you was what he needed to really get over you for good. But here he was, all these years later and still hopelessly in love with you.

Again, he chose to tell you half of the truth. “She told me she was pregnant, but I found out she was lying four months later. First thing I wanted to do was call you and apologize, maybe cry a bit, but I was too embarrassed that I did what I did to you..”

“Buck..”

“No, please don’t. I shouldn’t have just cut you out, you didn’t deserve that.”

There wasn’t really anything to say to that, there wasn’t anything you wanted to say to that. Knowing didn’t make you feel better like you thought it would, truth be told it made you feel worse for reasons you couldn’t even admit to yourself. Instead you hit the blunt and silently offered it to him, slightly shocked when he took it.

On the other side of the fire, the twins were wrapped up in their own conversation while Leslie was silently watching you and Bucky through the flames.

“Hey guys,” she whispered to the twins, “did Yn and Bucky ever date?”

“Ew, gross.”

“No, why?”

If a stranger were to walk past and see the way you two were looking at each other, they would probably think you are dating. “Are you both blind? Actually, that’s offensive to the  blind, even they would know what I’m talking about.”

Pietro looked over to see you both laughing and other than you sitting a little close to Bucky, he didn’t see what his girlfriend was talking about, but Wanda did.

Around nine you texted Alex for a ride since everyone was too drunk to drive, Wanda chose to just sleep on her brother's couch instead. Once you were in his car he put your seatbelt on for you, “Someone’s in a good mood.”

“I just missed you.”

“Can I spend the night? I missed you too.” You said, trying to get as close to him as you could.

“Anything you want baby.” He was keeping his eyes on the road, but you didn’t miss the smile on his face.

“Then can we go to Cookout? I’d kill for a milkshake.”

“Already headed in that direction.” It wasn’t a guarantee he was going to change in the long run, but right now he was putting in effort and that’s all that mattered.

perm tags (46/50): @stuckonjbbarnes​ @valkyriesryde​ @hopesbarnes​ @superavengerpotterstar​ @estillion14​ @sleepingspacedragon​ @geeksareunique​ @imsoft-barnes​ @murdermornings​ @distractedgemini​ @screaming-fridge​ @readeity​ @whatinthyworld​ @my-drowning-in-time​ @buggy-blogs​ @hey-its-grey​ @pinknerdpanda​ @brokenthelovely​ @theannoyingnightmarecollector​ @death-unbecomes-you​ @rhymesmenagerie​ @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog​ @https-bucky​ @also-fangirlinsweden​ @goalexis123​ @missmeganrachel​ @sunflowersandcherry​ @miraclesoflove​ @matsumama​ @reann-loves-sebstan​ @thinkoutsidethebex​ @thefridgeismybestie​ @niall2017​ @maddope​ @imagine-all-the-imagines​ @thummbelina​ @m3ga1nsp1r3d​ @romaniansweetheart​ @thebadassbitchqueen​ @king-sebb​ @nerdy-bookworm-1998​ @bonkyboinkybucky​ @slaytherinthoughts​ @kingkassam​ @anti-the-glitch-bitch​ @poppunkdork​

series tags (2/25): @rebekahdawkins​ @writerwrites​

[recurring-polynya]

Bleach Sword Beasts Arc Recap: Episode 260

Yuppp, it’s time for the Kazeshini Befriends a Baby episode.

Friends, I know someone’s gonna yell at me for this, but honestly, I remembered this one being better. I mean, obviously, the idea seems like comedy gold, but as I was watching it, I felt like they had this concept and then just... failed to ride with it. Like “It’s Kazeshini.... and a baby! It’s hilarious!” without actually being hilarious. Regardless, I know people would be disappointed if I didn’t cover this one, because it is beloved, so I will do my best.

Ep opens with Hisagi Naruto-running through the woods while Kazeshini cackles, so I guess that counts as a strong start, but it’s literally just footage they re-used from the episode where they fought back during the Muramasa rebellion. I gotta say, if I went to shinigami school and trained with the blade, etc, and then found out my sword spirit was a crazy murderer who hated me and would absolutely not help me in any situation, I would take some night courses and become a shinigami bartender. I would not “deal with” some stupid death pinwheels that scared me. I would simply pursue another line of employment. I would also not get the sex number tattooed on my face, so these are just a few of the ways I am different from Hisagi Shuuhei.

I guess that was supposed to be an actual flashback, because then it cuts to Ikkaku, Iba, Izuru, and Shuuhei running through the woods. What a friggin’ dream team. Ikkaku and Iba are on exposition duty, and thus we learn that they are off to Rukongai to fight some sword beasts who are starting shit, as is their wont. They get attacked by Kazeshini and Hisagi sighs and tells everyone else to go on ahead with exactly the same inflection as an absentee dad in an 80′s film who just remembered he can’t go to the game because he has to pick up his son from soccer practice. It’s now Kira’s turn to provide some exposition, and he explains to Iba and Ikkaku that Hisagi’s zanpakutou is, as they say, a huge bitch. He voiceovers his own flashback to the time he totally beat Kazeshini and looked super cool. Iba and Ikkaku agree: Wow. Kazeshini sure is a huge bitch.

Shuuhei and Kazeshini fight for a while, but Shuuhei is so, so tired, and finally he’s like “Dude, I am at work, can we do this later?” and Kazeshini gets mad and pouty.

I really like the next part where Hisagi runs up to some Kira and Iba who are standing around in Rukongai, which is smoking, and says “Sorry I’m late.” Ikkaku is nowhere to be seen draw your own conclusions. It is no wonder the Rukongai dwellers hate Soul Reapers, I would definitely be printing up anti-shinigami propaganda if I lived in the Rukon.

I am sorry, I can’t stop taking screenshots of these goons, I love them. Ikakku shows up and says they were all too late, it was like this when we got here. Whatever you say, man.

Cut to a cliff where Kazeshini is gazing over the smoking town, and Haineko, Hozukimaru and Wabisuke roll in to give him some life advice. Look, the best thing about this arc is the great care and attention they give to pointedly ignoring that no one ever made up zanpakutou for some of the shinigami. Maybe you won’t notice, they say, that we never show Iba’s zanpakutou. He surely has one and it definitely has a name, look, here’s a catgirl! God, I would give my liver to get the backstory on Iba’s zanpakutou. I hope it’s just Ray Smuckles from Achewood.

It turns out this is an intervention, the other zanpakutou are as sick of Kazeshini’s shit as Hisagi is. They are literally just like “what is wrong with you man?” and then say he can’t come to the cool parties down in the zanpakutou cave anymore if he can’t get his shit together. (Do you think Byakuya is still invited to those? I mean, I am sure he doesn’t go). Kazeshini yells “You’re not MY DAD!” and jumps off a cliff.

Kazeshini attacks Hisagi again while Hisagi is in the middle of a fight with an actual sword beast. Hisagi is really fed up by this time, he’s busy and this is getting pretty tiresome (to us, the audience as well). He throws Kazeshini through a wall, yells “I don’t have time for this” and gets back to business. Kazeshini is upset because no one is paying attention to him and goes looking for Hisagi. What he finds instead is a sword beast murdering a dude. The sword beast calls Kazeshini a dog of the Soul Reapers so Kazeshini stabs him in the friggin’ face, the first time this episode we have seen Kazeshini’s commitment to murderin’ dudes. Of course, the sword beast was in the middle of his own murder at the time, and the poor dude bleeding out on the floor begs Kazeshini to take care of his infant son.

I am presuming it’s his son. He could have been stolen that baby. Maybe they were just roommates. I don’t know how babies work in Soul Society and every time I think about it, it gives me a headache. Anyway, the baby has appeared.

To be perfectly honest, the dad didn’t even look that hurt and Kazeshini doesn’t know how much blood people are suppose to have in them, I bet he was just faking to get rid of this baby.

Kazeshini deadass looks this baby in the eyes and in a gravelly Clint Eastwood voice says “Look, kid, the only thing I am interested in is reaping lives” and I laughed my ass off, this is the actual funniest thing that happens in this episode.

The baby starts crying because Kazeshini won’t let him touch his death pinwheels, and the Soul Reapers hear it and start to run over. Kazeshini yells “I guess I have no choice!” grabs the baby and scrams. He had... no choice. He is very committed to murders, but he had no choice but to leave the baby sitting on the ground for 30 seconds before some authority figures ran up and found it. No. Choice.

GOD, I would give anything to see Iba, Ikkaku, Kira and Hisagi try to take care of a baby. Iba would try to get the Shinigami Women’s Association to take it and they would refuse. He would put the baby in sunglasses and one of those chest wraps. Ikkaku would try to teach the baby to fight, while Kira shouted “You can’t teach a baby to fight!” Hisagi would try to read a book on childhood development and get some Bad Ideas. Eventually, Ukitake would show up and take the baby away from them. I would give you all the money in my pocket for this, Bleach writers, but NO.

Kazeshini tries to talk the baby into going off and getting a job or something, but that doesn’t work. He tries to abandon it and... fails, I guess. He goes back to the cliff where the other zanpakutou show up to laugh at him and refuse to help, as well they should.

The baby cries because Kazeshini won’t let him touch his scythe thingies, so Kazeshini let’s him touch them. a) of all, this is not how parenting works, Kazeshini, and b) why does Kubo/whoever wrote this episode think babies love sharp objects, because this is exactly how the scene where Zaraki meets Yachiru goes. I have had babies. Do not get me wrong, babies love things they can hurt themselves with, mine particularly loved power cables, but I do not think they are generally interested in weaponry, but then again, this is Bleach, so it’s probably just a sign that this kid is going to grow up and be a Soul Reaper. I think this is the part of the episode where I started speculating where the baby would get his ‘69′ tattoo, because clearly, the cycle continues, and my husband made me shut up because he didn’t want to think about it, but search your heart, you know it’s truuuuuuuuue. If they ever do a Bleach Next Generation series, this kid better show up and he better have that tatt.

The baby pees on Kazeshini.

There’s a montage of the baby further harshing Kazeshini’s Hisagi-bothering lifestyle.

Then, Kira tells Hisagi that “there’s a rumor going around the zanpakutou about yours.” Why are the zanpakutou telling Kira their rumors. Do Kira and Wabisuke hang out? I mean, all of these takes place within, like, 2 hours, I think? While everyone’s on a mission? I don’t care, now I’m just mad that we got robbed of a Kira & Wabisuke episode where they listened to a bunch of The Cure together and made a poetry chapbook.

Kazeshini really, really wants to fight Hisagi at this point, but the baby has fallen asleep. He tries to leave it on a roof, but the baby rolls off the roof. Maybe it’s because I have kids, I dunno, but none of these antics are really funny to me, they’re just dumb. Literally, why doesn’t he just leave it on the ground?? All of these jokes revolve around him being an idiot and not caring about the baby, but he could have not just taken it in the first place. (there’s one point where he does try to hook it on a tree branch and that was funny, because we always talked about putting hooks on the wall that we could hang the babies on, just, like, for a minute, they would have loved it). Anyway, he spots a shed on the edge of town and decides that would be the perfect spot to abandon a baby while he murders his master.

Fight time! God, I love a Scooby Doo sequence where you have different characters running up and down streets and in and out of doorways, and there is a delightful one of Iba, Ikkaku, Kira and Hisagi fighting sword beasts. I cannot believe I am more delighted by the lieutenant parts of this episode than the Kazeshini parts, but that’s just who I am now.

We actually get to see some competent Hisagi fighting. Kazeshini is about to jump in and mess him up again, but the baby starts crying back in the shed. (it’s so far away??? How does he even hear it???)  I guess he cares now, so he runs back to go get his kid. In the meantime, a nice lady has found the baby and is attempting to comfort it, except that the moment Kazeshini slides into the doorway she... drops the baby? The baby is comforted by hugging Kazeshini’s pointy shoe, and Kazeshini realizes that perhaps this woman will be an incompetent enough parent to take over in his stead.

Oh no a sword beast attacks him from behind! I guess it’s the one I thought he killed earlier, because it says “Oh, it’s you, the Soul Reaper’s dog!” Kazeshini isn’t even good at murdering, wtf? This episode is dumb.

Anyway, Kazeshini stabs the sword beast, and it definitely dies this time. He has an intense moment of realization that saving people is almost as cool as murdering people, and tells the lady to take the baby and run. The baby cries while a very intense guitar chord plays.

Kazeshini finds Hisagi, who is killing the last of the sword beasts, and is like “Okay, I promise not to attack you from behind can we fight now?” The episode then goes full-bore D R A M A, where they say “Reap--!” at the same time and there’s a smash cut to T H E  S K Y  and a woman singing a lullaby with some haunting reverb and then it intersperses imagery of the woman comforting the crying baby in a field full of floating dandelion seeds and Kazeshini and Hisagi fighting. At this point, if the episode doesn’t end with them each dying on the ground, I am going to be deeply disappointed. (Spoiler: I am deeply disappointed).

There’s a pretty good death pinwheel-on-death pinwheel fight, although it’s short. Hisagi stans gotta take what they can get, I guess. Anyway, at least Kazeshini ends up lying in a pool of his own blood, where he mumbles “When I turn back into a regular zanpakutou... what will we fight for?” and Hisagi replies “We will fight to protect people” and Kazeshini makes this face:

This was the second funniest part of this episode.

He turns back into swords and that’s the end.

In canon, the bit about Hisagi fearing his own blades is an interesting bit of character building, that fits in nicely with his admiration of Tousen, and the fact that he’s a bit of an artsy, writer type. It builds up the idea that Soul Reapers are not just bloodthirsty warriors, but people with morals and concerns, that they fight to protect, just like Ichigo does.

This episode in no way contributes to that idea. It’s more like the writers say, “Hey, people love Grimmjow! Let’s make a yell-y guy who likes to kill people!” Why does Kazeshini want to murder so badly? Who hurt him? He’s part of Hisagi’s psyche, but why? Why are either of them like this? In my head, prior to this, I could think of Kazeshini as a disembodied voice encouraging the escalation of violence. Hisagi was weak and powerless as a child, and then, in one of his first command positions, had a group of underclassmen in his care brutally attacked and a friend killed. I can see him having urges to go to extremes-- to get revenge, to kill monsters before they can kill innocents, but he fears these urges within himself, he fears becoming a monster.

The way this filler arc portrays Kazeshini doesn’t fit. It doesn’t work. Kazeshini is just a dirtbag who wants to kill and attack from behind and then they give him a baby and they don’t even have anything interesting to say about any of this. It’s honestly just disappointing. That’s right. I’m disappointed in you, Bleach Filler Episode about Kazeshini Toting a Baby Around. C-. It’s not quite the level of disappointment I had over the one where Renji blew up Urahara’s van, but Hisagi fans really don’t get thrown a lot of bones, and they deserve better than this.

Oh, and then in the next episode voiceover, Wabisuke theorizes that the baby was Kazeshini’s lovechild. We definitely do not have time unpack all that, so let’s end it here.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: The Elephant in the Room ch.3 (baon)

Summary: Jeff has started working at the Embassy. He’s got a new job, a new car, and a new place to live. Now if only the rest of his life could fall into order, that’d be great. Any time now…any time at all…

Tags: Spicyhoney, Kustard, Established Relationships, Prejudice Against Monsters, Angst,  Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Past Suicidal Thoughts,  Mental Health Issues, Friendship

Notes: Red, you little cryptid, why can’t you ever let anything be easy? Then again, if Jeff was hoping for things to be straightforward, he picked the wrong brother. 

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

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Read it here!

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It was worth the long sit-down in the kid’s office, twiddling his thumbs in the dark as Red waited for the door to open. Worth it for that one moment to see Andy have to bite back a scream when he saw Red at his desk. Give the kid credit though, he didn’t piss himself, which had been known to happen. That was always funny as shit, but kinda annoying, because then Red had to wait around for whoever to change their pants. He was busy, for fuck’s sake, and there were plenty of other places he needed to lurk. Tell the truth, he’d been a little surprised to hear the kid was looking for him. Surprised and frankly intrigued. Andy’d only been working at the Embassy for a week, how much trouble could he have stumbled across already? And it was definitely trouble, no two shakes about it. No one came looking for Red because they wanted to share a kit kat, such a fucking pity. Jeff was still standing in the doorway, doorknob in hand, staring at Red like maybe he was expecting a pit to hell to open up beneath him and swallow him back down. Could happen someday, Red supposed, but today was not that day and he was gettin’ bored of waiting. “you can come in,” Red said magnanimously, gesturing him inside. “whatever diseases i got don’t transfer.” His grin widened as Jeff sat in the visitor’s chair rather than drop-kicking him out of the desk like his bro would’ve. Nervously little twerp, wasn’t he. But Red wasn’t much fooled by that; he’d seen Andy boy step up for the people he cared about, more than once. Kid had a soft soul, for sure, but a good one. Like Papyrus. Like Blue. This world could use a coupla those and it was up to souls like Red’s to keep the world from fucking them over. One more dinky scar on his was nothin’, but if Red had his way, Jeff’s was never gonna need so much as a band-aid.

Fucking liabilities. “Hi, um, it’s just,” Jeff stammered a bit and Red only looked at him, let him wriggle a little longer on the hook. He kept his approval under wraps when Jeff took a few breaths, calming himself, and said, “Earlier today, Stretch and I were downtown.” “uh huh,” Red slouched back in the chair, let his eye lights roll back. Looked like he was reading a teleprompter off the ceiling, but the truth was, Red kept all his info in the safest place Above or Below ground, all filed away neat and tidy in his own skull. “classic books, owned by thomas meyer, immigrated in 1965 with his folks. his pop owned the bookstore and thomas took it over a while back. does okay, the rare book gig helps keep him afloat. did even better when monsters popped up, they love books and ain’t so tied to amazon.” “What?” Jeff blinked at him in a mixture of surprise and awe, “I didn’t know any of that.” He looked a little too damn impressed by a little googling and a lot of patience, and fuck if this kid didn’t pick some bad role models. Shit on a shingle, if Red had a windowless van, Jeff would probably be climbing on in it hoping for some free damn ice cream, no self-preservation at all. His bro sure knew how to pick a liability, this kid was something else. “i know plenty,” Red tapped his gold tooth with one sharp-tipped finger. “so what about it? gimmie some news i can’t get from the paper.” “Well, it’s just that Thomas hired someone to replace me and he’s very…uncomfortable around Monsters.” Jeff was leaning forward, bracing his hands on the desk and probably didn’t even realize it. He looked like the lead detective in an eighties movie as he asked, “Why would someone who doesn’t like Monsters want to work somewhere that is friendly to them? Thomas even has one of those ‘Monsters Welcome’ stickers on his front door.” Wellie well well, now this was interesting. Course, Red already knew what the kid was talking about. Steven Baker, recent graduate of Ebott University. Garden-variety xenophobe, didn’t have any special plans scuttled away on his laptop or some raggedy notebook plastered with MAG stickers. He just needed a job and chose poorly, was all. Some people didn't adjust to Monsters too well and that was fine; Red pretty much didn't want those fuckers around anyway and so long as they stuck to the other side of town, wasn’t much his concern. But the ‘book haus’ reject, eh, that was all dull shit; Red had a lockdown on that info three days ago before that little fucker ever stepped behind the register. What was interestin’ him now was Andy. Here the kid was, bubbling with suspicions like a junior detective, and who did he Scooby Doo to? Not Edge, not Stretch, not even his boytoy. No, he brought that info right to Red, didn’t he, like a cat with a dead bird, eager to show off his prize. Yeah, Red was liking this. Aloud, Red said, “i know all about steve, did a background check when tommy boy hired him. we monitor all the businesses that have the official stickers.” “Oh,” Jeff slumped back into his chair and Red couldn’t help but be amused. Kid looked like he’d unmasked the bad guy and found that it was Old Man Jenkins again. He didn’t stay down though, sat up straight again and asked, “You monitor all the businesses? Why?” Curiosity, good, and even if Andy ain’t exactly ready to share friendship bracelets with Red, he wasn’t letting his nervousness keep him from asking. Red grudgingly pulled his estimation of the kid up another notch. “two reasons.” Red held up two bony fingers then folded one down. “one, to make sure they aren’t getting harassed and feel they need to take it down. monster-friendly business won’t stay that way if they’re afraid to go to their cars at night.” He folded down the second finger. “and two, to make sure they mean it. ‘bout the last thing i ever want to happen is some monster and their kiddies heading into a place expecting a warm welcome and instead leaving in a paper bag.” Jeff nodded slowly, cringing a little at the Red’s description. “Makes sense. I should’ve known you were already on it, guess I was being paranoid.” “no such thing,” Red countered. And wasn’t that a swig of sugar-syrup, the kid had faith in him. "you were right, it is off. that’s good instincts, kid. we’ll be keeping tabs on stevie, don’t you worry, make sure he stays on the right side of the line. you, now, you come tell me anytime you see something or someone who seems off, yeah? anytime. thinking you’re overreacting is how people get hurt, and some people in our company can’t take much of a hit, you get me?” “Yeah, I do,” Jeff said determinedly. Andy had some spine to him in there beneath all the meat. That was the fella who’d decked a stranger on the bus for harassing a Monster, yep. The door opening made him tense, but it was only Antwan, peering in through the crack. He pushed the door open further and stepped inside, “Hey, security said you were here.” Watching the kid light up when he caught sight of Antwan was gag-worthy, but Red managed to choke it down. Being around his bro, the honey bun, and their fucking PDA had helped him build up a tolerance. “Hi, yeah,” Jeff said, “Red and I were talking.” “yep," Red agreed. He wagged his foot lazily where it was propped on the desk. "we’re about done now. thanks for stopping by, sweetheart. see you around.” “Okay,” Jeff said easily, like this wasn’t his office, heh. Kid was a little too easy-going, but that could be fixed with a judicious amount of assholery. Or maybe he was still too distracted by his boytoy, to care because he was all hopeful eyes and sweet-talk when he asked Antwan, “See you tonight?” “Yeah, I’ll meet you at Blue’s,” Antwan said, distractedly. He was pretty busy trying to glare a hole into Red, not an uncommon reaction but not one he was used to from Antwan. His drinking buddy about had steam coming out of his ears and didn’t notice that Jeff’s smile faltered, fading out as he mumbled an agreement and left. Curiouser and curiouser, as some brat once said. “What the fuck are you up to?” Antwan asked bluntly, the second the door swung shut. “dunno what you mean,” Red went through his mental list of annoying vocal tones and went with breezy on this one, but truth was, he really didn’t. And he didn’t like that, not one fucking bit, he liked a clear idear of what was going on around him at all times, and if Antwan had a bug up his ass, Red wanted to know why it crawled up there and what kinda nest it was making. From Antwan’s glare, that bug was pretty far up there. “I mean, why are you calling my boyfriend pet names?” To have that piece of puzzle snap in so easily, Red almost busted out laughing. That was what had Antwan’s panties in a wad? “eh, i do that with everyone,” Red said lazily. He licked his teeth deliberately, running his tongue over each and every point as he enjoyed the rising fury in Antwan’s eyes. “aww, honey, what makes you think i’m interested in your personal meat bag?” “The knowledge that you fucked your way through Europe the last time you went traveling with the diplomats?” Antwan snapped. “I heard plenty about that!" “maybe i had some fun,” Red allowed, and gave him a wolfish grin. Unless Antwan was chatting it up with Sans, he hadn’t even heard the half of it. “dunno, i don’t see your name on andy boy. not a ring or maybe a pretty little collar. gotta say, that might be a good look for him—“ “Stop,” Antwan said, through gritted teeth. Pretty impressive the way wrenched himself back, all that hot anger dropping down the thermometer to icy calm. “Your brother is my best friend, he wouldn’t like it if we killed each other.” Red snorted. This was fun and all, but a slap upside the head with a little realism was probably due. “cute that you think there is any ‘other’ about it. dunno, doesn’t sound like you trust your boy.” “What?” Antwan looked pretty taken aback by that, which was a fine, fine thing. Cause if there was a chance this entertaining lil’ tantrum was about Antwan thinking Jeff was trying to get a late afternoon bone-on, he and Antwan were about to talk real close up, make no mistake about that. Jeff wasn't a cheat, Red had a little file tucked away in the back of his head with plenty of data proving that.

Antwan didn't seem to notice, he only snapped out, "This isn’t about him, it’s about you. I know you too damn well. Leave him alone.” Well, this a slice of something different. He’d never much had anyone worried he was gonna seduce their honey away. Refreshing change, that. Sans was gonna laugh his ass off. “not much of a threat there.” Antwan’s smile was coldly humorless, whew, bet that went over real well in court, probably had a more’n few defendants pissing themselves. “No threats. I know better than to give you advance warning.” “better," Red let his grin widen, licked his teeth again deliberately, "could always make it a threesome.” Now that was a hell of a look. That was fifty shades of no, such a shame. Antwan only sputtered out, “I…what? No!” "pity," Red sighed. He kicked off of the desk and stood, groaning as he stretched with bone-popping force. "cool your jets, i ain’t trying anything with your boy, he had a security issue was all. ask him, he’ll tell ya. now that we've established that i’m not trying to poach, hit bricks.” Antwan only stared at him, visibly fuming, oh, yeah, he was plenty pissed, looked like he was trying to chew off his damn tongue. But Red was done playing nicey-nice for the day and it looked like Antwan was keeping cosplay as the fool aside for Andy. He turned on his heel, ready to storm back out the way he came and it was probably gonna lose him his drinking buddy, at least for a while, but Red couldn't help adding, sing-song sweet, "not trying yet, anyway." The door slamming told Red everything he needed to know about that. Red shook his head, started to pull out a cigar. He'd wait to light it when he got outside, no reason to stink up the kid's office, especially without his bro here to bitch and moan about it. Oh yeah, those two were meant to be. Just like the boss and Stretch, it was almost like a fucking aura around 'em, and Red didn't do Judgements anymore, but he'd never given up Seeing. He was never one to let a gift go to waste and he'd known fucking ages before his bro that he was meant to be with the honey bun. And just like those idiots, these two might need a little nudge in the right direction. That was fine. Red was pretty good when push came to shove.

~~*~~

tbc

[rowanthestrange]

I think the intended theme of Kerblam was hugely overshadowed by the fact that the episode didn't address that Kerblam didn't even try to keep their workers safe. The main issue I found was that the scene at the end implied the murders couldn't have been prevented without the doctor's expertise. A responsible employer would have supended work until the power drains were fixed (I'm assuming that's why any security systems were down allowing charlie to escape notice)

*hides face in hands*

You’re right. You are - my expression is not…oh it’s not for you.

I mean I’m not sure there was a set intended theme, it was bothsided to hell, but yeah, definitely…there was definitely an issue there with it not actually addressing anything.

*leans back*

The power drains were - in my understanding - because of both Terrorist Boy messing around with the system, but far more importantly, was because the system itself was trying to channel a lot of energy into one place. The power-drain that occurs when the bot tries to kill him for example.

It isn’t clear. How much of it is under the system’s control is not explored.

Leading neatly to your next point - the system needs the Doctor’s expertise.

Why?

It would have succeeded in killing Terrorist Boy had it been smarter about it. Not done it around people. Sure maybe it’s trying to basically scream ‘He’s the bad guy!’ but that’s not obvious, nor apparently necessary, because kill him and there’s no backup, no deadman’s handle, you’re done. Statistically the guy has been alone at some point, and there were no ‘we cannot murder’ rules implied, so off you go chums.

Maybe the robots didn’t want to murder him - a good theme that would have tied perfectly into both the terrorism and the themes being built in this series, and does work with them knowing the Doctor would stop it.

But that didn’t happen. I just made that up. None of this stuff was explained, nothing addressed. The roots for this episode are so good and go nowhere.

Explain why they don’t care about power outages in a 90% automated factory. Use it for character development with the woman - she doesn’t care and is lighthearted about it because she’s in people, while the rest of the company is having kittens - because that is a big deal and everyone would have noticed.

And this place clearly can’t just shut down for a month, are you joking?! Unless you’re playing a Bad Wolf Satellite Whatever with this, the consequences would be absolutely huge. Space Amazon shuts down, only gives its workers half that time off as paid leave, and it’s clearly the backbone of the Kandokan economy, that’s on last legs enough that Kira’s never got a goddamn Amazon delivery in her life, but also where six year olds print metal pendants for their Daddies.

And if you still want to do all this, then make it a goddamn point that THIS IS WHY YOU NEED PEOPLE. Not in meaningless goddamn packing, but that if you had PEOPLE paying close attention, they would have been more likely to catch the flaws in the system, or notice it being abused and be able to act on it. Slade was clearly useless - cut that character, he’s only a red herring anyway, and use all that time and energy to give us context with the robots.

Warning From The Future: This fix-it got long

But if I’m allowed to make changes, just off the top of my head, I axe Kira too. Don’t kill off Lee Mack (no I’m not gonna learn the character’s name) so quickly, and then you already have a ‘human’ element in the plot and he fits it well. Kira only exists for man-pain and to humanise Terrorist Boy - which you’re already doing with Graham (Their scenes should have been much the same, but highlighting some extremist tendencies - particularly his odd choice of referring to the system as He - and clearly indicating that no-one talks to this kid enough to see them). Also fewer humans would help sell this idea of the 90-10% thing. Swap team positions - the Doctor goes down and meets Mack (because she’s already sympathetic to the robots so needs to become less so, and this leads to lots of little opportunities to dig at Amazon, capitalism, workers rights etc), and Yaz and Ryan are on packing. It gives Ryan a chance to be good at something in front of Yaz for a change, lets Yaz do some competent police work that actually goes somewhere (seriously McTighe), and Ryan we’ve seen be sceptical but sweet before with the baby situation, so therefore he takes notice of the robots (because he needs to be more sympathetic to them and is a better audience avatar). The combination of him being emotionally intelligent, and Yaz cognitively intelligent, means they work out the origin of the ‘Help Me’ which also fits the fact that Yaz was the only one to notice the message at all. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Mack are facing robot villains. Hmm that’s weird. They run to find each other, Yaz and Thirteen probably doing the grabbing each others forearms thing, and say at the same time “The robots are trying to kill us” “The robots are asking for help”, look at each other in confusion, and that’s when Graham and Terrorist Boy (foreshadowing) show up with the maps. Woman (don’t remember if she had a name, sorry) can show up again, having done some digging and phoning around (she uses a large phone, not a large tablet), and has found the people never made it back home. She’s panicking, the Doctor still gets her ‘If you are lying to me’ moment, etc. etc. things progress, plot as before, but instead of losing Kira, we lose Mack - pendant left behind. In trying to find him, the tracker lures Yaz and Ryan away from the others (Terrorist Boy’s intent was to get everyone, but that’s this Scooby-Doo team for you with the splitting up). Ryan is the one that nearly gets blown to bits by the bubble-wrap because of course he does, his defining character trait is to effing touch everything. Terrorist Boy gives himself away by legging it as Ryan moves to grab it, and Yaz saves him, cus she has good instincts and reflexes. Maybe a robot then says “Would you like me to dispose of this an an environmentally conscious way” - subtext layers, and at a safe distance, pops it - the system showing what damage it can do. This also acts as a set-up for the scene with the robots exploding it later, and makes it look less like the Doctor committing mass robo-murder (and prevents the robots from having to be deliberate murderers themselves). Doctor having got Twirly etc. hijacks a bot teleporter, and with the Woman and Graham finds the soup, etc. etc. same as before. That Terrorist Boy pegged it before, makes sense as to why Yaz didn’t catch him and restrain him, and everyone meets up again. This time though, we have some space. Have the Doctor excitedly (almost obscenely) working things out, while Graham explains the soup - clearly ruffled, and Yaz gets the Woman to bring up the details of Lee Mack’s family. If there’s thirty seconds to spend on how she’s had to call in a lot of dead bodies but never explain it to people’s families, do it now, leave her staring at the phone. Doctor comes to her excited conclusion, and the Terrorist Boy suddenly shows up threatening people with a detonator. Yaz stands (she looks extra shaken), but she’s behind, clearly looks to the Doctor who takes charge (characterisation, shows where she sees herself and her trust in the Doctor, and explains why she isn’t more active yet). Scene, scene, etc, etc, all the bullshit about millennials = bad obviously removed, Graham actually gets most of the attempted calming lines, and it nearly works. But as it fails, the Doctor gets in with him “Killing the people he was supposed to be trying to save”, that to him the people are no more real than the robots - oh no? Prove it. Grabs the phone from Yaz’s hand, which is still on, turns the volume up, and forces him to listen to the six year old asking for her Daddy and telling him to stop being silly. It’s almost on the edge of cruelty, and we see that glimmer in her eyes again. It doesn’t work. It’s his plan, his vision, he’s going to be the one to take control, he he he. But it’s not funny. It’s all about him and his power fantasy, and that becomes increasingly clear the longer you let him talk. (Him stomping on the device is more explicitly visually framed as a mirror for the Doctor doing the same for the neo-neo-nazi’s Vortex Manipulator, but it isn’t explained, just complex forshadowing for the Doctor’s monster breakdown later). Yaz never grabs for him and fails, we just go straight to him running into the bots - maybe standing on the balcony railing first to get a proper little-hitler shot above his tin soldiers, then jumping down to hide among them. But as before, the Doctor doesn’t stop him getting blown to pieces. At the end, the need for more humans to manage the system and particularly to work with each other is noticed, and that’s what the human positions should be for - what humans are good at, noticing patterns and each other. There’s no ‘lol Graham what are you like’ moment in the TARDIS, it’s just Yaz’s feeling of failure as a Police Officer shining unspoken in her eyes, and her request to go see the daughter personally being honoured, while Graham is drinking a cup of tea and watching Ryan intently (clearly been hammered by events, but taking comfort in his own odd-but-blessedly-harmless boy), while Ryan pokes and prods at Twirly, whom apparently they never actually gave back. And it ends with the Doctor once again being rebuffed as company, Yaz leaving the TARDIS, kid’s necklace in hand, and walking into a room across the camera - the Kerblam! poster with Mack’s face on the wall behind her.

I’ve only watched the episode once, and I don’t have a transcript to refer to yet, so might be missing some pieces, but broadly speaking.

And I appreciate that the Kira scene and the ‘You had a plan, but you weren’t expecting to fall in love’ is almost certainly meant to be a Direct Mirror for a future scene with The Doctor and Yaz, but without Chibnall over my shoulder and saying that has to be in there, the transition to the concept of general filial/agape love works for me.

Apologies. Bit longer than I expected. I just started writing and it kept flowing. Apparently I did have some concrete ideas about how to fix it. Sorry, wow.

[sparda3g]

Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma Chapter 280 (No Longer Short) Review

It’s time like this that made me think it’s going to be sad when the fun time ends, and the darkness time begins. Then again, it does involve with Erina, so no way we can skip this. Anyway, it’s the final day of the exam and Elite Ten is doomed to fail. That’s what they would like you to think. After two days of fixing a dump, it’s time to get cooking and earn $27,000. Will they succeed? In this fun chapter, you can bet on it.

Elite Ten’s shop still looks mediocre. Even the effect surrounds it with haunted aura. That other guy from last chapter was all cocky, believing Elite Ten has no chance in hell to bounce back. That’s cool and all (not really), but what about him and his crew? Even if Elite Ten fails, that won’t mean much if he does fail as well. Fear not; this chapter just answer that question.

His shop is serving top-class restaurant meal such as Lobster Teppan Grill. It’s been ages since I last had lobster, but this looks good. I find it funny how they’re actually charging it for $40. It’s not because it cost a lot, trust me I know they are expensive; it’s because I last suggested Soma and others to charge that much to bounce back. How the hell that guy can afford this amount of quality supplies? He technically can’t.

His name is Dakekanba Ken; might as well name him while he last. The only reason he can afford them is because he uses his father’s name to cut down the price. Someone is hell bent to win. If he gets caught, well, it was nice knowing him for a short period of time. Polar Star Dorm is doing better with Ibusaki around; those Shokugeki challenges pay off well. Even so, their business won’t affect Ken’s shop that much, which still leaves Elite Ten in peril. Ken is really pushing the thought of them failing. This would have been cancellation written all over it if they lose right now. Of course, that’s not the case, but I do appreciate how it leads to the “surprise.”

Ken was full of himself until he realizes his customers have vanished into thin air. Every single one of them. In other words, Ken and his friends are among the half remaining life forms on Earth. Cooking manga goes deep! Actually, they only went to another place to dine. Where? The one and only Elite Ten’s shop and everyone is going there like someone has screamed, “Free ice cream!” Ah, so that’s where the fan service aspect of beach comes in. Alice is advertising the diner in her swimsuit…

I’m going to allow this.

Ahem. It’s been so long since the series focus on the attraction of a shop, so this is a nice callback. Despite the building looking average, the environment is exploded with amusements. There’s plenty of seats with Megumi’s hospitality. Alice advertises in a very convincing manner (not counting the pose). Soma entertains the customers by presenting the cooking procedure. It’s all around fun. Even for those who have no idea about Elite Ten, but who cares!

The selling point is Deluxe Yakisoba; something I haven’t gotten in a while. Ken is just drooling for one; looks like he’s about to pass out before getting a taste. I should grab one later. Even I do grab one, there’s something special about this particular yakisoba. The image is just mocking me. It doesn’t help when the girls are having a sensation of its flavors. Funny how descriptive they can get when it comes to food. Judging by the ingredients, it sounds tasty, though common. That’s where Soma unleashes his special ingredient.

Yakisoba looks nice and all, but what stands out? It’s the egg yolk in the center, but it’s still common. That’s where Soma takes out a syringe and injects it into the yolk. That’s right; it’s steroid. Actually, it’s the special Hayama’s red oil. Once you open it, it unlocks a drooling sensation. Hell, seeing how detailed it opened up looks tasty. The smell is what attracts the customers and the more there are, the more it spreads to others. It’s a clever plan. It happened to me a couple of times.

Ken acts like Detective Conan or one of Scooby-Doo gang when he points Hayama to be the mastermind. He still acts like the big shot and feel certain that Elite Ten has no chance to make $27,000 on time. Well, when you have top-class members and the protagonist, nothing is impossible. I like how casually they look in first view, but then the double page spread says otherwise; looking like chefs from hell. Well, Ryo is “normal,” but still. It reminds me of that false advertised anime that I thought charming and sweet, only to be…quite something else. It’s funny to say the least.

I like how Hayama is like, “My bad, Mr. Neighbor. Didn’t mean to steal your customers.” I always like that moment where he handed Soma the folk (or spoon) and told him, “Careful. It’s hot,” in a cocky way; though Soma’s comeback was awesome. Anyway, Hayama gives a free plate to Ken for stealing his customers; yep, that character is still there alright. Ken’s foodgasm is funny to me, especially it did connect with the premise of money. My favorite part out of this is Hayama trying to use Soma’s catchphrase and well, he tried. He said it like a question, but it will do, because it feels good saying it.

My favorite part overall is the idea of how they bounce back and make the use of their characteristics. Soma, Ryo, and Takumi cook the food since they like to work hard to the boiling point. Megumi presents hospitality, which is necessary for comfortability. Alice advertises since she is about “presentation,” hence her food always appears “rich.” Not only that, but her method is also used for the yolk with a syringe. Hayama with his special scent helps to create a craving meal to try, but most importantly, the delighting scent spreads out to others to be interested. All of them did their part and they not only reached their goal, but doubled it. It wasn’t much, indeed.

This was a fun chapter. I like the teamwork they came up with, which is funny because I thought the triangle of three cook tops is the only selling point, but they all have their small shares as well. I know it was given that they were going to pass, but I thought it was handled fast and simple. Maybe if this went on another chapter, it wouldn’t be as good, so thankfully, it was paced well. Besides, knowing what’s next, it might be for a while to have another relaxation like this, but who knows? The exam is over; time to break the news.

[tailsbeth-writes]

The Serpent Or Me - Part 4 (Bughead/Serpent!Jughead x Serpent!Reader)

Jughead has never cared about fitting in, as long as he has Betty and the gang he knows he has his place in Riverdale. However, Southside High has brought him an odd comfort and new friends very easily. The serpents have taken him under their wing, one in particular y/n has started to show him how things work in the gang. Jughead starts to grow a fondness for y/n that feels uneasy, he’s stuck between two worlds. Where or who should he choose?

Part 1    Part 2     Part 3

Characters/Pairings: Jughead, Serpent!Reader, (Mentioned) Betty.

Warnings: None.

Word Count: 1599

Notes: So this has a lot of reflection rather than action, I hope it’s not too repetitive. This was more to get the story in the right direction more than anything. Lots of drama in the next 2 parts! Expect a new part every Friday from now on, so part 5 will be up on 7/7/17.

Masterlist.     Read on Ao3

Jughead’s POV

Betty: Hey Juggie, miss you as always. Kev is here and we’re watching 80s movies, I’m sure you’d approve. So I was wondering if I could maybe meet some of your new friends, like y/n or whoever. I feel like a gf should surely know who her bf’s friends are, haha :) xxx

I read Betty’s text over a few times. It felt off, she’d done nothing but protest my new life and now she wanted to be involved. If it was a genuine attempt at accepting Southside was a part of my life now, I couldn’t really refuse her.

I was waiting for y/n to pick me up, we were on watch for the Serpents again. We’d got in to the habit of meeting a little earlier so we could hang out before the job. I decided I’d ask her about meeting Betty, it was worth a shot. Y/n pulled up in an orange truck, I quickly shuffled in and she set off again.

‘How’s Jug tonight?’ She enquired.

‘Erm, a little confused frankly.’

‘Oh, what’s up?’ She turned to me briefly with an empathetic expression.

‘Well Betty just text me saying she wants to meet my new friends, she even named you specifically.’

‘Wow, I can see why you’re confused.’

‘Would you want to, I mean, meet Betty?’ I edged in, I was weirdly nervous. Not only as to why Betty wanted to meet my friends now but also because of what I now had with y/n. Whenever we hung out we just drove around and talked, I felt like I could open up to her about anything without judgement. Plus she’d introduced me to some other people at school, I didn’t feel like the loner kid anymore and I actually liked it.

‘Sure, if you’re cool with that of course.’ She stuttered a little.

‘Yeah, I just want Betty to see that Southside isn’t so bad, that I belong there just as much as Riverdale. You’re definitely a big part of that, y/n.’ I admitted.

‘Aw, look at Jug being all sappy.’ I rolled my eyes as y/n turned to stick her tongue out at me. We pulled into a parking lot that the Serpents were looking to take on, we’d be here a few times this week already and this was our final night. We knew the coast was pretty much clear by now.

‘Seriously though, I’ll meet Betty. She sounds great from everything you’ve told me anyway. I just hope she doesn’t judge me for being a serpent.’ Y/n bit her lip nervously.

‘She won’t. Maybe don’t mention it too much at first. I think easing her in slowly is the best way to bring her round.’

‘I’ll ditch the jacket then.’ We chuckled a little at her comment.

‘Good idea.’

After being at Southside High for a month, I had grasped the daily routines and marked the differences between it and Riverdale High. While the lessons weren’t particularly different, everything else was.

Instead of the parking lot being occupied by hand me down trucks, it was mostly motorbikes. Instead of heading straight to the school lounge, Southside made you go through a security check. It didn’t matter if you were one or not, it made you feel like a criminal.

While at Riverdale, I had my small Scooby doo gang to rely on and otherwise I spent my time on my own. I’d escape the rest of the student population by putting on my headphones or diving into a good book. I thought I just wasn’t a big people person but since coming to Southside High, I’ve realised they just weren’t my people at Riverdale. Here I don’t need to hide away, I can walk down a hallway and actually greet people. Y/n introduced me to pretty much everyone she knows, my dad’s reputation proceeding me definitely helped. At lunch, I actually looked forward to the conversation as well as the food.

Before it was torn down, I worked at the Drive in. I did miss that job, I essentially got paid to watch movies and as a film buff that was perfect. The Projection shack came in handy when I needed a place to crash too, it made a good home for me. It was certainly comfier than the janitor’s closet that I had to move on to. The word ‘employment’ wouldn’t be quite right for what I considered my job now; being a serpent. Instead of working in exchange for a real pay cheque, it was for protection and family. The Serpents were this rag tag family that I naturally felt I belonged to, I had never managed to get that feeling in Riverdale despite being in my own version of the Breakfast Club.

My extra-curricular activities differed plenty too. Back at Riverdale, I wrote for the Blue and Gold. I couldn’t say no to Betty, she drew me in and now I’m so glad she did. From that moment on, we were inseparable. While we spent time writing and investigating Jason Blossom’s murder, something naturally grew there. It was inevitable.

Southside High barely offered an extra-curricular activities on the other hand. I mostly spent my spare time with y/n, she’d taken me under her wing pretty quickly. I found myself comfortable around her. We shared the same sarcastic sense of humour, it was our way of dealing with the crappy hand we’d been dealt in life. While I felt I had to cover up my situation with Betty, it was all out on the table with y/n.

As I laid in bed, waiting for y/n for a late night drive, all these thoughts intertwined in my head. I thought of y/n’s laugh, how it was soft and infectious. Just remembering it, brought a smile to my face. She could sense when I was upset, she’d simply let me know she was there by placing her hand on me. Y/n knew when words were too difficult to say, she knew when silence was necessary. I weirdly found myself comparing her to Betty. She sometimes overstepped, not letting me tell her my story in my own time. It was her natural curiosity, which I loved, ironically.

I could hear a car horn honk from out front, y/n had arrived. I put my jacket on and shouted to my guardians that I was heading out, they’d gotten used to my usual routine by now. The closer I got to the door, a warmth grew in my stomach. I felt guilty when I remembered the last time I had this feeling. It was when Betty and I had our first ‘moment’. I pushed it down as much I could but as soon as I saw y/n’s face, my stomach was doing somersaults. My feelings had caught up with me. I couldn’t deny it anymore. I liked y/n as more than a friend.

‘Earth to Jughead. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’ I finally concentrated on y/n talking to me. I barely even noticed I’d got in the car. I couldn’t help but stare at her face, even with an agitated expression, she looked beautiful.

‘Sorry, I’m just tired. Can you just drive?’ I lied.

‘Can do.’ She chirped and we were off. As much as I tried to look forward, my eyes grabbed occasional glances at y/n. The last of the day’s sun illuminated her, giving her a stunning glow.

‘So when do I get to meet your girlfriend? I’m free Saturday if that works. We could go to that diner you love so much, I want to try one of these amazing burgers you go on about.’ I had almost forgotten about Betty’s request.

‘Oh yeah. Um. Saturday should be fine. I’ll text her now actually.’ I realised I hadn’t even replied and it was Tuesday. We’d gone from texting and phone calls every day to only when we wanted to meet up.

Me: I thought I’d replied already, I’m so sorry. Are you free on Saturday? Y/n wants to go to Pop’s, she’s never been x x

‘Done.’

‘Great, I’m actually looking forward to meeting her. I’ll try not to embarrass you.’ She turned to give me a grin and lightly punched my arm. My eyes widened at her touch, I tried to keep my heart from beating out my chest. I chuckled to cover my nerves but I wasn’t even convinced.

‘You sure you’re alright Jug?

‘Yeah, yup.’

‘Are you nervous about me meeting Betty, is that why you’re acting weird?’ Her voice waivered a little. I had to get it together, pretending that was what was wrong was probably for the best. I glanced out the window and realised we were heading towards the edge of town.

‘A little. I just want you two to get along. I mean she’s my girlfriend and you’re one of my best friends.’ She pulled up to a forest, one of our frequent spots. Y/n turned to me and gave me a graceful smile.

‘Thanks Jug. It’s going to go okay, I promise.’ I could feel my emotions coming up again. I gave her a little smile back. I got out the truck and took a deep breath before getting into the back. Y/n joined me, she pulled a blanket over us. We sat there in silence, watching the sun go down. I took another glance at her. Her y/e/c eyes were focused on the sky, taking in every detail. There was a beautiful act of nature happening in front of me and all I could focus on was y/n. This was bad.

Read Part 5 here.

Series Tag List: @andywicked @crazyrabbitslaughing @pufflethehuff @letsstarsfalling

Riverdale Tag List: @jaib2-blog @bitemeorfightme

[kae-karo]

2020 fic roundup

howdy pardners 🤠🤠 in order to procrastinate more writing here’s my list of all the fics i posted this year (sorted predominantly by ship and mostly in order of posting) - ft a lot of dabihawks and a surprising amount of todobaku lmao. oh and my personal faves are **starred

dabihawks (x)

a lesson in romantics (x) - 66k across 4 fics - the collection of standalone memory loss fics! canon divergent and centered around either dabi or hawks losing their memories thanks to the wonderful commission :) some solid angst and getting back together content, always happy endings!!

haven’t had enough (x) - 5.7k - silly little quirkless au where dabi goes to claire’s to get his ears pierced. multiple times. bc hawks is hot

last of the real ones (x) - 2.6k - less silly, just as little, set in canon-divergence bc i couldn’t get the idea out of my head of dabi getting red wings tattooed on him before ever meeting hawks

**dancing after death (x) - 25k - one of my faves from this year, a canon divergent sort of getting together story involving nightmares, some bad burns, and a bit of dancing

if you fall (hold my hand) (x) - 7.4k - canon divergence (bc apparently i’m a slut for that) and some hurt/comfort, ft a bit of makeout-level spice

no shame (x) - 16k - ah, and here we really dive into the ‘crack treated too seriously’ category, where the league sells feet/hand/misc kink pics to fund their activities and dabi has some photography skills and a wing kink (or maybe just a hawks kink)

broken parts (x) - 23.9k - i stole my own idea for a vigilante!hawks from my tiktok, then twisted it into a severely angsty (with a happy ending) hurt/comfort fic intended to break my own heart and piece it back together. it worked

freeing icarus (x) - 1.8k - the first fic without a happy ending i think i ever wrote, because the canon dabihawks fight actually broke me. some dabi introspection

**to the stars that burn (x) - 3.9k - the second fic without a happy ending, based more around childhood friends dabihawks working at the commission together. bittersweet but without much sweet

**king of disaster (x) - 119k+ - i poured my entire soul into this series, a fantasy au where dabi accidentally binds himself to hawks (an absolute stranger) and shenanigans ensue - this has also evolved to include todobaku, shinkami, and kirideku

enemy of my enemy (x) - 2.6k - a quirkswap space pirate au that truly tested my ability to write action scenes, part of the random prompt collection i did during october 2020

without a fight (x) - 2.2k - a rival band au ft singer!hawks and a grumpy dabi, another of the random october prompts

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todobaku (x)

like i’m bakugou (x) - 2.1k - it was supposed to be a MEME based on a TIKTOK but i made it kinda serious....and here we are. todobaku on a froyo date

take a bite of my heart tonight (x) - 5k - VAMPIRES lmao. honestly it was a blast to write tho lmao

**if we go down, then we go down together (x) - 9.3k - tdbk get stranded on a deserted island bc tropes are fun lmao. also todo tries to freeze the ocean like elsa which i think is where my writing skill peaked

cold rebellion (x) - 4k - quirkless au where its HALLOWEEN and theyre in a CORN MAZE and they don’t LIKE EACH OTHER BAKA (part of the october prompt fic collection)

make it spicy (x) - 5k+ - predominantly todobaku with a healthy dose of dabihawks and some shiggynatsu as well, a bakery and nightclub au (yes u heard me)

**stitch me up (x) - 35k - todo gets split into both halves of his quirks, sort of, and baku has to deal with it (and i love this au so much i had a blast working on it)

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bakudeku

rescue me (x) - 11.4k - basically the concept of ‘what if baku and deku were actually childhood friends tho? aka some good wholesome content

**into the dark (x) - 3.3k - afterlife au and originally part of the random prompts, baku didn’t survive the sludge villain incident and deku’s been carrying that weight for a while. and then he doesn’t survive a villain encounter...keep an eye on this one cause i’m working on a part 2 lmao

are you with me (x) - 2.1k - future fic where baku and deku are both heroes and, appropriately, the wonder duo. lil angsty but ofc a happy ending, part of the random oct prompts collection

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todobakudeku (x)

**kintsugi (x) - 117k - future fic where they’re all UA teachers, with some established todobaku + todobakudeku getting together, a lil sprinkle of erasercloudmic, a nice dose of shinkami and some great shiggy redemption arc + eri attending UA content

reunion (x) - 1.8k - another future fic lmao with some getting-back-together content. part of the random october prompts collection

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kiribaku (x)

rewrite the stars (x) - 2.8k - also a mina&kiri friendship fic, a soulmate au where kiri doesn’t get the soulmate he was hoping for (part of the oct prompts collection)

the mystery gang (x) - 4.1k - tell me how i wrote this much about a scooby doo-styled fic concept lmao. anyway, part of the oct prompts, includes some bakusquad shenanigans

wasteland, baby (x) - 4.5k - bakusquad bodyswap post-apocalyptic au and yes it’s just as chaotic as it sounds lmao. part of the oct prompts collection

like the sun (x) - 2.8k - the beach episode + baku&mei friendship (which i learned is called kat and the hat???? adorable) fluffy content, part of the oct prompts collection!

something sweet (x) - 1.2k - the actual kiribaku prompt i got lmao. coffee shop meets scavenger hunt, we adore a grumpy barista baku lmao. part of the oct prompts collection

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todokami/todo&kami

oh, worm? (x) - 16.5k - it was supposed to be a joke but oh my god i love the idea of both todo and denki being memelords and falling in love with each other over it

secret tunnel (x) - 3.6k - conspiracy theorist todo meets conspiracy theorist denki in college au format and it’s really just top tier content imo - part of the oct prompt collection

all i want for christmas (x) - 3.5k - it was supposed to be a crack concept but as per usual it became less cracky the longer i thought about it. todokami fake dating babeyyyy - part of the oct prompt collection

**hydrangea (x) - 2.9k - soft todo introspection about his lil dragon hoard of things that make him think of his friends, which he decides to share with denki

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shiggynatsu (x)

**death of summer (x) - 28k - the first fic i ever wrote for them and the most chaotic meeting i could come up with within the realm of canon divergence lmao. todofam hosting...shmigaraki

terrible people (x) - 960 - a lil babie established shiggynatsu fic about shiggy’s bday, basically just soft and wholesome - part of the oct prompt collection

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shinkami (x)

don’t want to say goodnight (x) - 3.2k - kyouka pov on a shinkami getting together lil thing that lived in my brain rent free for a long time

don’t want to say goodnight (x) - 1k - yes i’m aware i see what i’ve done lmao i see the mistake i made. anyway this one is villain!shinsou and villain!denki so it’s like,,,,,the slightly spicier version. part of the oct prompt collection

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other

**twelve over, seven up (x) - 4.5k - a bit of aizawa introspection after oboro’s death, bittersweet but mostly wholesome

a danger and a wonder (x) - 2.4k - mina&tokoyami friendship and bonding over mina’s kid and hawks’ kid (who tokoyami is babysitting) - part of the oct prompt collection

fish and feathers (x) - 4.1k - my chance to flex my remaining runescape knowledge to have jirou and denki friendship via the interwebs content

a name freely given (x) - 4.2k - shigadabi fake dating royalty au where shiggy’s fae? sure why not lmaoooo. part of the oct prompt collection

kabloom flower shop (x) - 2.8k - a wrong-number tattoo shop/flower shop kirikami au that was lowkey hilariously fun to write. part of the oct prompt collection

awake me from my nightmare (x) - 2.3k - the only fic i’ve ever tagged with mcd, an among us au of all things. baku&uraraka friendship and betrayal, part of the oct prompt collection

**for the record (x) - 2.1k - shiggy&dabi...allianceship? sort of? lmao they’re angel and demon, spies, and part of like a rebellion thing. and they don’t like each other which is always fun! part of the oct prompt collection

a different kind of hero (x) - 1.1k - established tododeku future fic where todo just got his quirk stolen (and deku already lost his in an afo fight), mostly bitter with just a tiny spark of hopefulness. part of the oct prompt collection

forget me not (x) - 2.1k - kiri&uraraka friendship, amnesia and artist au like i really went off here but it was so sweet and wholesome and i had a great time. part of the oct prompt collection

**lightning in a bottle (x) - 4.5k - chaotic kamibaku getting together but they’re WITCHES it’s a MAGIC AU and BEDSHARING IS A THING. part of the oct prompt collection

passing notes (x) - 1.6k - shiggy&eri friendship which is a thing that would be hilarious if it happened in canon tbh. part of the oct prompt collection

no turning back (x) - 6.5k - shiggy&deku friendship but make it royalty au and a 5/1 trope just for kicks lmao. part of the oct prompt collection

worthy adversary (x) - 1k - baku&shinsou friendship/childhood friends au that deserved more than 1k lmao. part of the oct prompt collection

together (x) - 3.2k - denki&mina friendship but they’re allied with vampires to fight some werewolves bc why not right? also lil taste of shinkami just like tiny bit for the flavor™. i should really do a bit more with this au huh? part of the oct prompt collection

a good thing (x) - 1.2k - shinsou&aizawa friendship? fathership? sonship? u know how it is lmao. a little sprinkle of shinkami for the flavor. part of the oct prompt collection

brighter than the sun (x) - 730 - can u tell i don’t usually write miritama lmao. some soft parallels bc they are soft. part of the oct prompt collection

try again (x) - 1.4k - dabi&shouto siblingship but dabi can time travel bc i said so (actually bc the prompts said so but whatever lmao) part of the oct prompt collection

that’s it lovelies!! nearly 600k this year and some of my favorite fics i’ve ever written, and i cannot begin to thank you all enough for your incredible support, i adore you all so much 🥺🥺🥺🥺

[fashiontrendin-blog]

Trixie Mattel Sounds Off On Shocking 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' Win

http://fashion-trendin.com/trixie-mattel-sounds-off-on-shocking-rupauls-drag-race-all-stars-win/

Trixie Mattel Sounds Off On Shocking 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' Win

Trixie Mattel already snatched hearts and wigs as the lovable underdog turned internet sensation, and now she’s snatched the trophy, becoming the third queen to be crowned on “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” on Thursday night. 

The reality competition series has produced a roster of megawatt stars since it premiered nearly a decade ago, but with her blend of self-deprecation and life-sized doll aesthetics, Mattel is also one of the most successful: She’s now topping iTunes charts with her folk music album “One Stone” and stars on Vice’s weekly “The Trixie and Katya Show.”

The 28-year-old performer might have the best post-“Drag Race” track record around, but her journey on “All Stars” Season 3 hasn’t been without its ups and downs.

After front-runner BenDeLaCreme removed herself from the race mere episodes shy from the finale, the crown was anyone’s for the taking. When a jury of the eliminated queens decided the fates of the final two, unexpectedly striking out the fan favorite Shangela and first season queen Bebe Zahara Benet, Mattel went on to best fellow Season 7 queen Kennedy Davenport in a powerhouse final lip-sync to Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball.” 

Both Mattel and Davenport struggled at points during the competition, unlike the previous season’s winner, Alaska Thunderfuck, who was pegged to slay the game before the first episode even aired. Mattel’s win arrives at a time when the “Drag Race” plates are shifting, as its legion of fans are questioning if the twists-for-twists-sake format is robbing some of the most talented queens of a victory. She’s also the third white drag queen ― Mattel is half Native American but refers to herself as a “boring white dude” ― to enter into the hall of fame, causing an uproar after the episode aired on social media. 

We caught up with Mattel after her win and, oh, honey, did she spill about everything, including her post-“All Stars” plans, the reception to the finale and what she plans to do with the prize money. 

Your journey on “Drag Race” has been tumultuous in the best way, and it feels long overdue for you to go out on a high note. Did you ever expect to be an all star, and what’s your headspace like after the finale? 

I’ve always played the game in my career as if this will never happen. I’m happy it happened, but I definitely didn’t ever count on it or bank on it. Both times previously I lost on “Drag Race,” so I’ve only been a winner for like 12 hours. I think if you’re a real all star, you go out and you’re an all star whether or not you never do “Drag Race” again. I envision myself quitting drag some day and being able to say I won the Olympics of drag. That’s cool, but you can be a really strong athlete and not necessarily win the Olympics. I hate to say I feel almost the same, but I just feel really lucky. Shangela, Bebe and Kennedy were so good, and it literally could’ve been any of us. 

“The Trixie & Katya Show” is already a success, and your album is topping the charts. What’s next for you? 

Well, I’m currently nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award, a major culinary arts award, which is hilarious, so I would like to win this major food award. My album came out yesterday, and I hope people hear it and love it. I’m doing 40-plus cities of a United States tour of my show “Moving Parts,” so people will be able to come see me play my guitar and tell jokes in real life. I’ll be writing a new show this summer. The wheels keep turning. “Drag Race” is really cool, but I’ve always got the next 10 monopoly moves ready. 

Do you feel like you need to defend your success in the competition given that some of the top competitors were knocked out of the race before the final lip-sync? 

The people who should have to defend that are the people who pulled the lipsticks, you know what I mean? You saw me in the interview. I really thought Shangela and I were going to be lip-syncing, so I was as shocked as anybody else. I have huge respect for her, and I think she’s such a superstar given her track record. I’m an optimistic realist. I kind of expect the worst but prepare for the best.

There have been conversations about the rules of “Drag Race” and how the endless twists are negatively impacting the show. As a competitor but also a major fan, do you think the show should return to the strict merit-based elimination criteria? 

I don’t think so. As much as people might not always agree with the choices made, it’s fun to watch. On a normal season, when people are in the bottom and there’s a lip-sync for your life, people also often disagree about who wins the lip-sync. When they announced that the people choosing were going to be judges, in a certain light maybe that’s more fair because these people were in the workroom and behind the scenes at all times. Who better to make the call than people who were in the Snatch Game with you or learning the choreography next to you? They know how hard everything was, and they know who struggled. In a weird way, they have a lot of insight the judges can’t offer. 

You turned a corner about halfway through the competition. What was that like to embrace your creativity after being in the bottom and go for broke the rest of the season? 

Once I was in the bottom and Shangela had basically psychologically cat-and-moused me emotionally and spiritually, I had already accepted that I was going home. When I didn’t, it was kind of like when they pull the mask off the killer. I was like, “Oh, this isn’t a ghost. This is ‘Scooby Doo,’ and this is a janitor.” I kind of realized if I lose it doesn’t make me a bad drag queen, and that’s something I’ve always believed anyway.

The fear of losing and the fear of disappointing kind of completely left. I just made bold choices, and that’s it. I was only in the bottom really for Snatch Game, so it was just really one day when I had a bad trip-up. The only other time I was in the bottom was when if you weren’t in the top you were in the bottom. The narrative a little bit was like you haven’t been here or where’s your brain, but I did great in every challenge, and I just fucked up today. But I don’t even think the TV did it justice. I literally probably did the worst Snatch Game in the universe. 

You are one of the most active queens on social media and engage with  conversations about “Drag Race,” which I think have tapped into some very key elements of the show’s legacy. Did you see hashtags like #AllStarsSoWhite, and what’s your reaction to the frustration about a third white queen being crowned an all star? 

I didn’t even see it. I’ve been avoiding [social media]. I’ll post pictures and videos of myself playing guitar in my room, but I don’t interact or weigh in on topics. As you can see when Shangela confronted me about that note, I can’t really handle confrontation or drama well because I’m never in it, so I don’t really know how to handle it when it comes.

I’ve known this day was coming and I’ve known who was in the Top 2. I watched Shangela in the competition, so I knew that it was going to be a surprise. I was watching yesterday, and her heartbreak was obviously upsetting. Watching Bebe have to walk to the back of the stage was upsetting. The Top 4 was three people of color and I’m only, like, half white. Me and Kennedy were the two people in the room that had the least power. We didn’t pull lipsticks. All we did was lip-sync to a beautiful song by Miley Cyrus. 

What’s the first thing you bought with the prize money? 

I’m white trash garbage who came from nothing and afraid of living in a car eating cat food at any moment, so I’m just going to save all the money. I know it’s not exciting. I might buy a Nintendo Switch. I live in reality and I know at any moment I could stop getting the phone calls and nobody wants to hear me sing or tell jokes anymore. I just save it all so that one day if I quit drag I have a beautiful nest egg to show for it. 

Has Katya reached out to you after your win? What was her reaction to her co-host being an official all star?  

I haven’t talked to her yet. I’m sure she’s happy. I’m not sure she’s really watching the show right now. I think her journey of health and wellness probably doesn’t leave her a lot of time to watch “Drag Race.” I’m sure whenever she sees it she’ll live. That was my comfort. I was, like, if I lose we are just a couple of losers like the “Wayne’s World” of “Drag Race.” But now I won, so I can look down on her forever. That’s fun. 

Season 10 starts next week. What advice do you have for the incoming queens?

I would say the real race is after “Drag Race.” People like Shangela and I are living proof that you don’t need to have that crown to go be America’s Next Drag Superstar. If they don’t live for your fantasy, you can just go live for your own fantasy. 

This interview was been edited and condensed for clarity.