#hi the date i had recently was really great but we are just platonic so my brain continues to focus on my last romantic relationship

[eldesperadont]

now that i know that a cis dude can see and be attracted to me as a man my brain decided to give these traits to my ex in my reoccurring dreams of him (i was never and im not out to the dude) im never free of that mf 💀

[moodriingz]

Waiting Room pt. 2 | Q. Hughes

Summary | part one it’s Quinn’s turn to pine over the reader while she tries to move on, but can she do that when she’s still in love with Quinn?

Pairing | Quinn Hughes x reader, Elias Peterson x platonic!reader, reader x oc

Warnings | Angst?, mutual (but blind) pinning, cursing maybe 

Author's Note | Thank you so much for all of your support for part one! I feel so bad that it took me forever to write part two, but this semester really kicked my ass. I hope this lives up to the hype. I honestly just wanted to get it done to move on if that makes sense? I’m hoping to continue writing so feel free to send requests! I’ve also recently gotten into F1 so you can send requests for that too!! xx

Masterlist

“You were so right, me and Evan got along so well. He’s great. We’re going on another date too.” 

Quinn felt sick to his stomach. Not only had your friendship dwindled out of nowhere, but now you’re with someone else. Worst of all there was no explanation to why you pulled away. Quinn racked his brain for any reason why you would stop hanging out with him. 

Now he had to watch you give your attention to someone else. He was so jealous of this random guy. Quinn wondered what made Evan better than him? All he knew was that the bright smile and light blush you seemed to always have was for some other guy now. 

A couple of weeks passed and Quinn barely spends time with the team outside of practice and chooses to spend his time going through old photos and videos of the two of you or watching anything you’ve ever suggested to him. He’s halfway through one of your favorite movies when there’s a knock on his door. His heart flutters hoping it's you, but is immediately let down when he realizes that it's Elias and Brock at his door.

“What do you want,” He asks begrudgingly, leaving the door open as he returns to his couch.

“We wanted to make sure that you’re alive,” Elias said.

“Well now you know bye,” Quinn quips at them.

“Dude something is up with you and we’re not leaving until we find out,” Brock said.

“Is this about Y/N?” Elias asked.

“Fine yeah it’s about Y/N. I just really miss her,” Quinn admits after taking a deep breath.

“We used to talk almost everyday and that all stopped on the last road trip and now she’s seeing that new guy. I was finally going to ask her out and she just shut down.”

“Wait you were? You told me you didn’t see her that way and she overheard,” Elias says confused.

“She heard me? Why didn’t you say anything?” Quinn asks as his heart shatters all over again. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt you.

“She was so upset and I didn’t think I could change your mind. She had been pinning after you for months and you never did anything, so I just believed you,” Elias said with a shrug.

“I didn’t think she felt the same way so I was just putting my feelings aside because I cared more about our friendship,” Quinn says, putting his head in his hands. “I think I royally fucked up.”

“Maybe not, Y/N and Evan don’t seem super serious yet. You might be able to wiggle your way back in with her,” Elias says sitting down with Quinn.

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“Maybe bring her coffee? Start there and see what happens,” Brock suggests and Quinn just nods making a game plan to get his girl back.

The next morning he gets up early for practice to go pick up your coffee from the cafe you always go to. He knew where to go because the cafe printed their logo on their cups and he had plenty of time to take note of it. As he walked in he immediately recognized your silhouette waiting in line.

“Looks like you beat me to it today,” Quinn says walking up to you in line.

“Beat me to what?” You ask confused why after not talking to each other for a month he decided to come to your cafe.

“I was going to bring you coffee today,” He says awkwardly with a small smile on his face.

“Oh well you can still pay if you want,” You suggest as a joke.

“Yeah I guess that’s true,” Quinn says, hoping a conversation would start on its own. After a minute of silence he gives in and asks, “So what’s new with you I feel like we haven’t really talked that much recently.”

“Nothing much, you know filming you guys all day,” You say wondering if you should mention Evan. It’s still so new and you don’t know if it's going to work out, but he makes you so happy.

“I actually just started seeing this guy. His name is Evan, I think you would like him actually, he's really nice,” You say, deciding to rip off the bandaid.

Quinn knew he wouldn’t like Evan because he was getting with the girl of his dreams.

“Yeah maybe you should bring him out with us after a game or something. I'd love to meet him,” Quinn says kicking himself because that’s the last thing he wants, but anything to get back in your good graces. 

You give him a smile at his comment thinking of what to say next. Luckily for you the barista calls for you two to order. And just like you suggested, Quinn paid. He offers you a ride to the arena before you even start walking back to the metro station to get to work.

You both sit in silence trying to think of anything to talk about. You finally start the conversation by mentioning that an author you had recommended to him a while ago put out a new book and how excited you were to pick it up. 

Just like that the two of you fell back into conversation like you hadn’t missed a beat. You arrive at the arena way quicker than you thought you would and almost don’t want to get out of the car and leave Quinn again. You walk inside and as you are about to separate, but Quinn stops you.

“Would you like to go stop at a bookstore after work today to pick up that book? I could take you home after so you don’t have to take the metro home,” He asks hoping you would say yes.

Yeah that would be really nice. I’ve really missed hanging out with you,” You say with a smile and leaving to go get your work started.

“What’s got you smiling like that? Evan?” Megan, your coworker, asks jokingly.

“Actually no I ran into Quinn this morning when I was getting my coffee and we just talked for a while. Now we’re hanging out after work,” you say, taking a sip of coffee. Hoping to hide your smile behind your cup.

“Wait, really I thought you two were going to avoid each other forever.”

“Well I guess not. He said he was going there to pick up my coffee which was really sweet of him.”

“Oh he’s so into you,” Megan says sitting back in her chair. 

“No he’s not, why would you say that?”

“Think about it, he stops talking to you right after you start seeing Evan and out of nowhere he’s doing all of these nice things for you?” 

You stop and think about it, but there’s no way he told Elias that he could never see you that way. You brush it off and get on with your day. You didn’t have to shoot any content today so you didn’t see any of the guys during their practice, but Quinn was waiting for you after work to take you to go find your book.

You try not to think about what Megan said to you today, pushing it to the back of your mind. Once the two of you get to the bookstore you feel like a kid in a candy store showing Quinn all of the books you had on your reading list but haven’t gotten yet. Without you paying attention he grabbed a basket and started throwing them in there to pay for them himself.

He finally leads you up to the counter and insists on paying for all of the books he grabbed for you. You try to convince him that he didn’t need to but you were cut off by the clerk.

“Girl just let your cute boyfriend pay for your books. That’s what I would do.” You try to deny the accusation from this random teenager, but before you could they were announcing the total and Quinn was inserting his card. He grabbed the bag and walked you back out to the car.

“Sorry if what they said was weird, but just think of it as a payback for all of those coffees you got me,” Quinn said, trying to make you feel better.

“No it’s fine I think it’s kinda funny actually.” You say finally realizing you were there for several hours and were too tired to make dinner.

“I think I’m just going to order take-out for dinner if you want to keep hanging out at my place,” You say with a blush creeping up your cheeks.

“Yeah that’d be great,” Quinn says as you start ordering. He stops at the restaurant while you run in to pick it up. He decides to text Elias and Brock an update and that he’ll tell them more later. 

The drive to your apartment was filled with playful banter about what you should watch and Quinn just watches you as the streetlights illuminate your face. The two of you finally arrive and settle on a new movie you just saw. It really didn’t take much convincing for him to give in; he just wanted to push your buttons a little bit.

Later, they are surrounded by take out tins and you’re starting to drift off. At some point during the movie your head ended up on Quinn’s shoulder and you started to doze off. Quinn wasn’t complaining, but felt like it was time for him to go as the credits started to roll.

“Hey Y/n/n wake up,” He says quietly as you groan and cuddle into him further. “Y/n/n you have to get up-the movie’s over.”

When there’s no sign of you moving he decides to just pick you up and bring you to your bed. Thinking you’re asleep he decides to give you a “friendly” kiss on your forehead and says goodnight. You feel the butterflies that you thought were now reserved for Evan coming back all over again. Quinn grabs the trash from the takeout and sees himself out, and can’t seem to wipe the smile off his face. On his way home he decides to call Elias.

“Elias I’m in so deep I don’t know what to do,” Quinn says concerned because he doesn’t want to break you and Evan up and ruin something else for you.

“Wait what happened?” Elias asked confused because all Quinn had told him was that they were heading back to her place.

“I kissed her-” Quinn said before Elias cut him off.

“You what? You move fast, man.”

“Well I kind of kissed her. She fell asleep on my shoulder and wouldn’t move so I carried her back to her room and then I kissed her forehead. Now I’m going home,” Quinn says still with a deep smile on his face. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“I guess act like nothing happened. She was asleep right? Just leave it be for now and still hang out with her. I can talk to her and see what’s going on with Evan and then you can go from there.”

“Yeah good point thanks Elias, I’ll see you later.”

The next day you walk into work reminiscing last night with Quinn hoping you could relive it again soon. Silly crush aside, you missed your best friend and wanted things to go back to normal. 

Elias practically corners you just to ask questions about Quinn.

“Quinn told me you two hung out last night, so you aren’t ignoring him anymore?”

“I was never ignoring him I just was busy,” You say trying to move around him to get to his office.

“Yeah alright. Anyways, how is it going with Ethan?” Elias asks, teasing you.

“Evan is great. I think I might invite him to a game or something soon,” You say, rolling your eyes.

“Oh wait, really?” Elias asks as you start to walk away. “For the record I think that would be a great idea. Maybe next week against Winnipeg?”

“Yeah I’ll have to ask him. Now if you will excuse me I have to go to my desk.” You say finally walking away. 

You set your things down and open your computer and Megan starts questioning you about your evening with Quinn.

“It really wasn’t anything crazy. We just went to the bookstore where he bought all of them for me and then we went back to my place and got dinner,” You tell her leaving out the fact that he brought you to your bed and kissed you goodnight.

“The fact that he bought all of your books is enough to tell me that he’s into you. I know you had a long list you were slowly buying for yourself.” Megan may have set you up with Evan but she wasn’t blind to how much Quinn was into you and vice versa. 

“I’m thinking of inviting Evan to a game. What do you think?” You ask to change the subject.

“I think it would be a good idea if you weren’t afraid of what your work husband would do,” Megan says, teasing you.

“I- what are you talking about,” You ask, hiding your blush.

“Y/N you can pretend to be oblivious, but Quinn really likes you and you should think about his reaction to having your new boyfriend at a game.”

“Who even knows if Evan would want to go,” You say before locking in on your work for the day.

You had already made plans to go out with Evan later that night so you figured it would be the best time to ask him then. You go home and get ready for your date thinking about what Megan said to you earlier in the day. 

Soon enough you leave to go meet Evan at some new restaurant you would never pick out because it was too fancy for your taste. He greets you with a kiss to your cheek asking you how your day was.

“It was good I just had to deal with Megan and Elias berating me all day,” You say, aiming to leave the questions about Quinn out.

“Why would they do that?”

“Oh I was just thinking about inviting you to a game soon and they were just making fun of me,” You say sheepishly.

“That would be so cool! Would you be able to hang out with me or would it be like a wag situation where I just watch you do your magic,” Evan says with a chuckle as you start to look over the menu.

“I could probably get the night off and sit with you. Do you think you’d be free for the game next Saturday against the Jets?”

“Yeah that would be great! I’m looking forward to it!” He says closing his menu to signal he’s ready to order.

You continue to hang out with both Quinn and Evan, but choose not to tell Quinn about your invite for Evan to come to the upcoming game.

Saturday’s game finally rolls around and Quinn notices your absence during the warmups. You usually can be found on the bench shooting content but tonight it’s Megan in your place. 

“Hey Petey do you know where Y/N is tonight?” Quinn asks hoping Elias might have some insight.

“Yeah she’s in the crowd tonight with Evan,” Elias says pointing towards Y/N and Evan in their seats.

Quinn’s heart drops. You had mentioned that you were thinking about inviting Evan but didn’t think it would be so soon. He tries to forget that you brought your boyfriend to the game, but he can’t forget the fact that you’re wearing his jersey. He can’t help but feel a fire ignite when Evan leans in to say something to you. The sense of jealousy does not go away, but there is a sense of pride knowing his name is the one on your back.

You spot Quinn looking at the two of you and give a shy wave like you had been caught. Evan leaves to go grab some water and you are stuck worrying about what Quinn is thinking about you bringing Evan. 

Honestly since you started hanging out with Quinn again you just felt like your heart wasn’t in it with Evan anymore. You were planning on ending it but he kept talking about how excited he was for the game, so You decided to wait until after to end it with him.

There were no goals by either team after the first period, but something about Quinn seemed off. He was checking the other team left and right and was obviously agitated. The crowd is electric even though the Canucks are down 3-2 half way through the third, but it doesn’t seem to help his mood.

Quinn continues to instigate against the Jets and eventually gets himself into a fight against some player who was aggravating him all night. It doesn’t last long, but enough to get himself a penalty. He looks even more upset than before watching over the play.

Y/N was worried for Quinn. He never was this short tempered and she couldn’t figure what made him that upset. Evan can feel the nerves radiating off of her and rubs her shoulder to try and calm her, but he can’t help but feel like he is the last thing she needs right now.

“Hey Y/N I hate to do this here but I think we should probably end this,” Evan says and you finally take your eyes off Quinn. There is nothing you can do but sigh.

“Evan I’m so sorry I really wish I could’ve been better for you.”

“No it’s ok we had a great time and I’m happy being your friend I just think you have feelings for someone else,” Evan says with little to no hurt in his voice.

“Yeah I would love to still be your friend,” You say with a small smile as he gets up to leave.

Quinn sees Evan get up, but he just assumes that Evan is getting you something from the concessions. He realizes he needs to stop focusing on your date tonight and lock in for the rest of the game.

Unfortunately the Canucks lose 4-2 and Quinn looks like a kicked puppy, but luckily he isn’t assigned to interviews so he can just clean up and get ready to head home. He hopes he can just forget this night, especially seeing you with Evan. 

Little does he know that you’re already waiting for him in the hallway all but pacing the area hoping he’s not too upset to talk to you. Quinn keeps his head down not wanting to see all of the sweet reunions of the couples and families until he hears you call his name. 

He almost doesn’t want to stop worrying Evan would be with you, but you ran up to him to get his attention. Quinn turns around surprised to see you alone with a worried look on your face.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” He asks, his voice laced with annoyance. His comment leaves a sting in your chest.

“Um we actually ended it, but I just came to see how you were doing. I was really worried about you. I've never seen you so upset,” You say with worry lacing your voice.

“Well thanks for checking on me but - wait you ended it with Evan?” Quinn asks, lighting back up.

“Yeah we were better off as friends. I honestly wanted to end it a while ago because I kind of have feelings for someone else, but he was really looking forward to the game,” You say rubbing your arm hoping he might start catching on.

“Oh?” Quinn says with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, but still guarded in case it is someone else.

“Yeah he’s some goofball who was stupid and got himself a penalty tonight,” You say, stepping closer to Quinn.

“Well hopefully he can get that under control for the rest of the season, I’m sure you don’t want to be stuck with someone spending time in a box the whole game,” Quinn says with a smirk and leaning in.

You decided to close the gap and the kiss was all you had ever hoped for. There was a mix of fireworks and something that just felt like home as he grabbed your sides to pull you in closer. Neither of you wanted this feeling to end, but unfortunately you had to come back up for air. 

Quinn has the slightest pink tinge and smile on his face as he pulls back far enough to scan your face for any regrets.

“I’ve been waiting to do that for so long,” He says.

“Finally!” Elias says as he rounds the corner to see the two of you still wrapped up in each other's arms.

“I never thought he would make a move,” Elias adds as Quinn tries to hide in your neck.

“Well maybe we should get out of here and talk a little bit,” You suggest and Quinn excitedly nods, grabbing your hand to lead you out.

The two of you get into his car and you leave the arena stealing kisses from each other at stop lights and looking forward to your future together.

[kieranxvalentine]

Her Muse {Miguel O'hara}

༻♡༺✎ After posting a picture, everyone starts to wonder who is the one who makes your heart beat. Not knowing he was closer than they thought ༻♡༺✎ Miguel O'hara x Reader, Miles Morales x Reader (Platonic), Gwen Stacy x Reader (Platonic), Pavitr Prabhakar x Reader (platonic) ༻♡༺✎ PG rating (one suggestive comment) ༻♡༺✎ 1.1k words ༻♡༺✎ Author's Note: Welcome to my first post in this little Mini Series with Miguel x Idol!Spiderwoman!Reader. I have plenty more for this series! Hope you enjoy! (This hasn't been proof read yet!)

“You’re dating someone?!”

You chuckle softly at the surprised sound of your friends, Miles, Gwen and Pavitr all looking at you in shock.

You were a fellow spider variant, but not only were you a superhero, you also were a popstar, entertaining and saving the masses one day at a time. You were basically an interdimensional superstar, going to universe's and hosting concerts. (only modern ones though.)

You were really secretive about your life besides what you revealed to your fans, but after a recent picture that appeared on your Instagram had your friends and fans in an uproar.

“I could’ve sworn you told us you were going to be focused on your career! But what is this!!”

Miles, who you considered a little brother shoved his phone in your face.

You did make a big speech to them roughly like 7 months ago about how you were going to focus on your career and that you didn't have time for a relationship...

Well..clearly that was a lie..

It was a picture on your profile, it was clearly your waist, in an outfit from your most recent pop up performance, with a mans hands wrapped around your waist.

It was clear that the picture was cropped to obscure whoever you were with. You could only let a giggle slip from your lips as you took a drink from your water.

“Is he from your universe?” Gwen asked and you shook your head. This pulled a gasp from your friends and Pavitr was the one to ask the next question.

“Soooo…Is he a spider person?”

You went silent and avert your gaze playfully. Gwen stood up with her arms crossed a playful grin on her face. “That means yea! You’re dating a spider variant!’

“Yea but who? You know how many of us it is!” “Well, it has to be one of the older spiders, look at the size of that dude!” “Hmmm…”

You laughed again as you looked at the three of them. “You three are really trying to figure this out aren’t you?” That earned you three rapid nods and you only playfully rolled your eyes.

You hopped off the table, checking your dimensional watch seeing you missed a ping from Miguel O'Hara, the leader and head of the Spider Society.

“Oh sorry guys, I gotta go. I missed a ping from Miguel.”

Gwen nodded in understanding. “Oh yea, You might wanna go before you get in trouble, You know how he hates when people are late.”

Miles pointed a finger at you, “Don’t think that this is over Y/n! We will find out!!”

You rolled your eyes and gave them a wave as you head off to Miguel’s office.

When you first joined the Spider Society nearly 3 years ago, you couldn’t help but be intimidated by him. The way he carried himself with such authority and power, you remember after walking out his office you thought you were going to melt. He was just so perfect to you. He was strong, he was caring (although he struggled with sharing it), he was very, very, very attractive.

You couldn't help but make him your muse. Every great artist had one, and yours just happened to be your boss.

Most of your songs were about Miguel, nothing too explicit. Just cute puppy love songs, you were crushing since day one.

It wasn't hard to either, you would come up with lyrics after seeing him whenever you had to report an anomaly, or you'd bring your lyric book to meetings and use some of his own words in your songs.

Your fans loved it, trying to figure out who the mystery man was in your songs, but of course you couldn’t let them find out. Especially when some of the spider variants listened to your music as well! And it certainly didn’t help-

“Took you long enough.”

You gave a sheepish smile as you entered his office, seeing him up on his platform, looking over the various neon orange and red screens in front of him. You swung up to his platform, waiting as he turned around to face you.

He looked down at you for a bit before reaching to wrap his hands around your waist and pull you towards him, he places his face in the crook of your neck.

“I should’ve known you were going to post that picture of us..” He mumbled against your neck and you giggled as he nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck.

“I’m sorry Miggy, You looked really cute..! Besides, I cropped our faces out, they only saw the lower half.” You responded as you moved his face to kiss his cheek.

He only shook his head before pulling back a bit. “Oh really?” He gives you a small smirk as one hand went to your lower back. “You should post the full thing.”

You raised an eyebrow. Miguel was a very private person, hell, only two people knew you were dating Jess and Peter, and that was because they walked in to give Miguel updates on an anomaly they were chasing, they got an eyeful of the two of you kissing.

He was embarrassed and demanded that they didn’t tell a soul that the big scary boss of the spiders was dating the bubbly popstar.

So it was surprising to hear him want you to post it...

“Why? If you don’t mind me asking?..” You ask as you lean against him. He placed a hand under your chin, tilting your head up so that you could be looking at him. You felt your heart nearly leap out of your chest.

Damn this man and his eye contact, he surely knew how to make you nearly melt right into a puddle in his arms.

“That way people already know you're spoken for. Can’t have others trying to steal my wife away from me...can I?” He flashed another smirk at you, showing his fangs and you felt a blush spread across your cheeks.

He chuckled at your reaction, paying no mind to you nearly short circuiting at such an action... “Mi preciosa, You’re acting shy as if we haven’t done anything else already.”

“THAT”S DIFFERENT MIGUEL!”

"Is it? I mean, unless you start using my-"

"SHUT UP!"

He ends up laughing at your embarrassed face and leans to kiss you on your forehead.

“Here, theres an anomaly that just popped up. I can intrust my little idol to it can i?” You nod as he puts the universe coordinates in your Dimensional watch.

He gives you a hug and another kiss on the cheek, whispering the words. “Be safe. I love you.” before letting you swing down from his office.

You exited his office and blushed deeply, pulling up your phone, scrolling through your phone until you reach the picture in your camera roll.

It was a mirror selfie, Miguel’s hand wrapped around you waist with his chin on your shoulder. This was taken at his home after you came to visit him after a performance, which explained the attire you were wearing.

You go to your Instagram and take down the original, before reposting the full picture with the caption:

My Muse and My SuperHero <3

After you returned from your mission, you were met with a Laughing Jessica and a confused Peter.

“Hey guys! What’s going on?..” You asked as you walked up to them.

Jess stifled another laugh as she pointed to Miles, Gwen and Pavitr. “Seems like they saw your post.”

You looked over and locked eyes with Miles and You gave him a sheepish grin before taking off running, the young spider man following behind you.

“YOU’RE DATING OUR BOSS!? NO WONDER YOU DON’T GET IN TROUBLE!!” “I-it’s not like that Miles!!” “OH YEAH!? THEN WHY ARE YOU RUNNING!? GET BACK HERE AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF MISSY!” "I was going to tell you guys soon!!" "LIAR!! GET BACK HERE!"

©kieranxvaletine 2023 <3 Hope you all enjoyed!

[ladykailitha]

Do You Know What Shovels Dig? Graves Part 4

Well, @forgottenkanji​ was the only one that suggested a name, but it was really cool, so I decided why not?   Do you know what shovels dig? Graves

Welp, this part has reached over 3k so it’s getting split up. And maybe even an epilogue with that anon’s idea. I know I keep saying we’ll see. But this story has taken life of its own at this point and I’m just putting it out there as it comes.

 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

And here we get to the party apologizing and Eddie bitching out his friends.

*

Eddie had band practice after dinner so he kissed Steve on the cheek a little bit before half-time and left. Steve furrowed his brow a bit when he saw Eddie leave but didn’t say anything.

Eddie arrived at Gareth’s house and hopped out of his van. He was pleased to see that all of the other members of Corroded Coffin were already there. He walked up to them grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey, Eddie!” Gareth greeted. “You ready to start, man?”

Eddie just stood there with his hands on his hips, rocking back on his heels.

Jeff looked around Eddie in confusion. “Hey, dude, where’s your guitar?”

“Oh I didn’t bring it,” Eddie replied cheerfully.

The other three shared glances and the muttering began.

“You see I just recently learned that my best friends gave my boyfriend the shovel talk,” Eddie said brightly. “Best friends who really should have known better considering they know my past and that Steve is a hopeless romantic who is a serial monogamist.”

The muttering stopped and silence fell.

“So I’m just stopping by to let you know that because you and several others made my boyfriend so upset he had a breakdown,” Eddie continued in the same cheerful tone, “that if I hear even one word against Steve...” his voice dropped to the dark and wicked tone he used for his villains, “I will gleefully murder your characters in increasingly violent ways and then burn the character sheets. Mm’kay?”

They all nodded vigorously.

“Great!” Eddie said. “See you on Saturday!” And then turned on his heel and hopped back into his van. He drove off with a cheery wave.

Once he was gone they all looked at each other in shock.

“Wait, did Eddie say several other shovel talks?” Jeff asked after minutes of stunned silence.

“Did he say breakdown?” Gareth asked.

“Shit.”

*

Steve got into work the following morning only for Robin to throw her arms around his neck.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she whispered. “You just always appear so confident and cool when you’re actually dating that I forgot I know you better than that.”

Steve let out a shuddering breath. “It hurt Robs,” he murmured. “I thought I was your best friend and you were telling me not break his heart. I just don’t understand why.”

Robin sighed and let go of him. She hopped up onto the counter and crossed her ankles. “Being gay isn’t the same as being bisexual. You have other options if it goes to shit.” Steve’s face soured and she started waving her hands. “Not that I think it will. Of course I don’t! It’s just hard. Not harder. Because believe me I have heard some pretty nasty things people have said about bisexuals from both sides of the aisle. And I just got so wrapped up in the gay aspect of it all that I forgot you have it just as hard.”

He just shrugged and half turned away.

“Shit!” Robin said. “I’m supposed to apologizing and I’m making it worse. I am sorry. So sorry. I shouldn’t have been dismissive when you asked about Eddie breaking your heart. Because of course you’re concerned about that. Especially after Nancy. I just didn’t think it was possible, because Eddie loves you so much.”

Steve nodded.

She jumped off the counter and threw her arms around him again. “You’re my Platonic soulmate and I love you so much. You deserve people looking out for you, too. And I promise that will be me from now on.”

“I love you, too.” He put one hand on her arm as she held him. They stayed like that until a customer came in.

*

When Steve got home from work Will was sitting on his front steps.

“Hey, Will, you been waiting long?” Steve asked as he unlocked the front door.

Will stood up and dusted off his pants. “Nope. I knew when you got off and before you ask, Eddie told me.”

Steve raised an eyebrow but didn’t question it. It wasn’t uncommon for kids to just drop by. His was one of the few houses among their friends with air conditioning and the only one with a pool.

“Dustin mentioned he’d be stopping by to apologize,” Will said as he wandered through to the kitchen, “and me and El decided that since you are too nice, one of us will be here to make sure the actually apologize and not hand wave what they did away.”

Steve laughed. “If you say so.”

Sure enough about ten minutes later there was a knock on the door. Steve when to go answer it and Dustin, Mike, and Nancy stood there looking sheepish. Will came out and shook his head.

“That just won’t do,” his said. “Two of you will wait in the front room while one apologizes to Steve. I won’t let you cheat with one person apologizing and thinking it counts for all three of you.”

Steve grinned. “Yeah, Will’s my favorite.”

Dustin looked devastated. “I’ll go first.”

Will nodded and followed Steve and Dustin to the kitchen and Mike and Nancy went to wait in the front room.

Dustin sat on the bar stool at the counter and Steve got him a soda. Will leaned up against the sink and watched.

Dustin wrapped his hands around it and sighed. “I didn’t know anyone had given you a shovel talk because when we talked about you and Eddie I thought it was just a joke. And I thought, ‘hey I should tell Steve to go easy on Eddie after the bats because he was still healing’ you know. I didn’t realize that you had taken to me that I didn’t trust you with Eddie, honest!”

Steve’s shoulders sagged. “All right so maybe yours wasn’t a shovel talk, but you can see why I might think it was, right?”

Dustin nodded. “You’re a good friend, Steve. And I know we don’t tell you enough, but we really do love you.”

Steve pulled him into a hug and kissed the top of his head.

“I’m sorry, Steve,” Dustin cried. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

Steve looked over at Will who gave him the thumbs up. Dustin’s was a miscommunication on both their parts.

Dustin exited the kitchen and Nancy came in. She spotted Will standing at the sink and turned to Steve.

“I would rather he not be here for this,” she said, her tone clipped.

“And I would rather have not gotten several shovel talks that took an intervention from your boyfriend to get you people to realize you’d hurt me,” Steve replied. “But here we are.”

She pursed her lips and Will raised an eyebrow at her daring her to press the issue farther.

Nancy decided to take the high road and ignore Will instead. “It was wrong of me to threaten you with my gun collection. I realize that you and Eddie are adults that can make their own decisions.”

Steve and Will looked at each other in disbelief.

“What?” she asked.

“That wasn’t an apology,” Will said.

“I admitted to being wrong,” Nancy said with a frown. “That’s what I’m supposed to be doing, right?”

Steve sighed. And that right there was why they never would have worked. “You’re supposed to be sorry that you hurt my feelings, but I’m getting the impression that you aren’t.”

Nancy sighed. “Your feelings were only hurt because there were so many of them. If it was only me or me and a couple of others, you’d be fine.”

“What?!” Will squawked. “That’s not the point!”

“Nance,” Jonathan said from the doorway. They all turned and looked at him. He was leaning against the doorway, arms folded and legs crossed at the ankle. “This isn’t what we talked about and you know it.”

Nancy looked defeated. She turned back to Steve. “I’m sorry about how I treated you. For all of it. Not just the shovel talk thing. You’re a good person. You deserved better than me and when you got him, I was jealous. Of course I love Jonathan.” She turned to him. “I do!” She turned back to Steve. “But you and Eddie have something so special and...” she threw her arms in the air. “I don’t know.”

“So you gave me the shovel talk about not hurting Eddie,” Steve said, “because you were jealous that I was able to find someone better than you?”

“That makes me sound like a horrible person,” she whispered.

“It really does,” Will agreed.

Nancy crossed her arms and looked at the floor. “I just wanted you realize how special what you have with Eddie is. And instead of talking to you like an actual adult, I threatened you instead. That was wrong and I am sorry. You don’t deserve it.”

Steve pulled her in for a hug, too. “I think this is why we would have never worked out, Nance. I love you and I think I always will. But sometimes you get lost in your head and let it do all the talking. Which means the people around you get hurt.”

She nodded. “I just want people to hear me that I forget they have feelings, too.”

“Just remember that,” he murmured, “and we’re good, okay?”

“Okay...” she said softly.

Steve gave Nancy a squeeze and then let her go.

Jonathan turned to Will. “El’s here, too. Why don’t you go keep her from murdering Nancy and Dustin while I handle the next one?”

Will wavered and then nodded, following Nancy out to the front room.

Steve watched him go with a frown. “What was that about?”

And then Mike walked in and Steve’s eyes went wide and he mouthed, ‘Oh.’

Mike stood there between Jonathan and Steve looking at the ground and Steve was struck by how much alike the two Wheeler siblings were.

“This should be by far the most interesting of the apologies,” Steve said. “Whatcha got, Wheeler?”

Mike looked up at him a little stunned. “At the meeting...intervention? Fuck I don’t know what to call it. But Jonathan said something that stuck with me. That you haven’t been that stuck up prick in years.”

Steve raised an eyebrow at Jonathan who just shrugged.

“And it got me thinking,” Mike continued. “Why am I so hostile to you? Because you dated Nancy? But that doesn’t makes sense because I don’t treat Jonathan that way.”

“Did you find an answer?” Steve asked.

Mike shook his head. “And that’s when I realized that I was doing it out of habit.”

Steve huffed out a laugh. “Being a dick was a habit?”

“Being a dick to you was a habit,” Mike corrected. “And that’s not right. Holding a grudge for something you did so long ago and getting mad at you when you said it bothered you? That’s not fair.”

“Life rarely is,” Steve said softly.

Mike cocked his head. “True, but that doesn’t mean I have to actively make it worse.”

Steve nodded appreciatively. “Also true.”

Mike stood up straighter and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I’ve been a dick to you. But I also was only joking about Eddie. For me it wasn’t serious, but hearing that everyone had given you the shovel talk? Holy shit, man, that wasn’t right. The reason I thought it was a joke was because anyone who’s spent more than five minutes with Eddie knows he doesn’t take shit from anyone. If anyone was going to bury you for being a dick to him, it would be Eddie himself.”

Jonathan and Steve glanced at each other and nodded.

“But after I heard that everyone else had done it and meant it?” Mike continued. “Yeah, that was bullshit. So I’m sorry it got out of hand. I’m sorry if my joke added to your suffering. Because I never meant it hurt. Honest.”

Steve sighed. “Yeah. I see where you’re coming from and I accept your apology.”

Mike stood there awkwardly tugging at his shirt hem. “Can I get a hug, too?”

Steve smiled and stepped up to wrap his arms around Mike’s shoulders. Mike sighed and leaned into the hug. He didn’t return the hug, but just stood there enjoying the warmth.

After a few moments, he took a step back and cleared his throat. “Thanks.” He sniffled and then turned to Jonathan. “You won’t tell Nancy about this, will you?”

Jonathan shook his head. “Not if you don’t want me to.”

Steve nodded. “I’m not going to tell anyone shit, man.”

Mike relaxed. “Right. Thanks.”

And he shuffled back to the front room, still sniffling.

“That was certainly something,” Jonathan said after a moment.

Steve chuckled shaking his head. “Those Wheeler kids, whew.”

Jonathan laughed. “Happy to have dodged that bullet?”

“You have no idea, man,” Steve said. “You have no idea.”

***

Part Five  Part Six

Tag List: @justforthedead89 @zerokrox-blog @ihavekidneys @didntwant2come @thelittleclare @liorereshkigal @estrellami-1 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @telidina @stevesbipanic @paintsplatteredandimperfect @a-little-unsteddie @jonesn4coffee @resident-gay-bitch @obliosworld @croatoan-like-its-hot @evix-syne666 @emly03

[oh-surprise-its-me]

Roy/Jamie fic idea: Instead of hate, what if when Jamie first comes to Richmond it is love at first sight between him and Roy. Like Jamie's always loved Roy since he was a kid and is starstruck at finally meeting his fav while Roy has to battle to keep up his gruff and grouchiness when all he wants to do is gawk at the gorgeous new striker who walked through the door and immediately looked at him like he's hung the fucking moon. How differently would things have played out if Roy took Jamie under his wing, Jamie stopped being so much of a prick because he wanted to be a good teammate and please Roy too, and then when Ted Lasso himself arrives, Jaime and the boys soak up his positive ethos quicker and start winning?

AWWW I LOVE THIS

(Also are you a mind reader I was literally thinking about this last night)

Roy knows he needs to stop looking at Jamie.

He hasn’t had a problem with keeping his eyes to himself for years. Why is this kid any different. But the way Jamie is practically bouncing in place with energy, his eyes, his ass. Roy normally hates when new players say they loved watching him growing up but Jamie? Jamie saying it made Roy feel special.

They are the only two in the locker room at the end of the day, Roy has been debating this for the last 15 minutes but fuck it. He taps Jamie’s shoulder, “wanna come over and eat? I’ll cook. Give you some advice.”

Jamie blinks at him for a second like he can’t believe Roy is real. “Uh yeah sure mate that would be incredible.”

Roy nods. He takes Jamie’s phone from his hand, he typed in his house number into Jamie’s map app. “Come over whenever, I’m going straight there.”

Jamie nods. “Yeah fab I’ll be there.”

—————

It’s been about six weeks of the them getting to know Lasso, Roy’s gotta say he’s impressed. Jamie works like magic under him, even dropped a bit of the prick attitude.

They still have dinner together almost every night. Roy every once and a while asks if Jamie has been on any dates. He selfishly hopes he hasn’t because that means he’ll be Roy’s more nights.

Jamie doesn’t really seem to date. Roy figures he’ll drop the fact he’s bisexual tonight just to see how Jamie reacts.

•

Jamie is sitting on Roy Kent’s kitchen counter. Fuck if 17 year old Jamie could see him now he’d be crying.

Okay lie.

He’d be asking to blow Roy under the dining room table they eat at some nights. But that doesn’t matter because Roy is straight and Jamie just needs to adjust his love for Roy to a more platonic intentions.

He’s swinging his legs when Roy drops the biggest bomb of all times. He’d asked Jamie if he’d dated recently. No. The answer is always no. Why date when he could be here with Roy. He returns the question to be kind, but prays to a god he doesn’t believe in that the answer is no.

“No no dates since a failed date with a guy two months ago.”

Jamie slams his foot into the cabinet. Shit.

“You’re gay??” Roy freezes. He spins and looks at Jamie, “no bisexual. Problem?”

Jamie can’t shake his head fast enough, “no god no I mean same, me too, I’m. Uh. Bi. First time I’ve actually said that out loud. To someone it actually could effect.”

Oh goddamn it Jamie you really fucked it. Your goddamn big mouth wouldn’t shut up.

Roy clicks off the stove, he sets down the whisk with such care that the whirl of emotions Jamie sees when he turns is shocking.

Roy steps over in between Jamie’s legs, shit.

He slowly places his hands on Jamie’s thighs, “tell me if I’m wrong but I think we both want to kiss each other.”

Jamie frantically nods, he reaches and holds Roy’s face.

They kiss.

Once Jamie needs to breathe again he pulls away, shit. He loves Roy. “Shit I might love you.”

Jamie goes bright red. Cool great fabulous this was nice. Time for him to go die of embarrassment.

“Think I might love you too Jamie.”

Scratch the dying he’s about to become a fucking God. “Seriously?” Roy kisses Jamie’s collarbone, “yeah. Guess love at first sight does happen.”

“Shit Roy you are literally never getting rid of me now.” Roy laughs, he leans in and kisses Jamie again. “Wouldn’t want to get rid of you anyways.”

(They move in together in two months) ((and are extremely but healthfully co dependent))

[gifti3]

Okay i wrote this in record time for me. i just got the urge and boom here it is. I wanted to get this out fast so I didn't forget about it.

I called it a CEO AU but honestly its just an AU where MC works as Lucifer's assistant and is ready to wrap up this part of their life and move on to different work.

All the brothers are mentioned in this. And this can be whatever you want honestly. Platonic not so platonic. Maybe MC is dating one of them, maybe not. I kept it pretty vague!

MC is gender neutral.

_________________________

_________________________

"What is this?"

You push the envelope forward. "My letter of resignation."

Maybe it was a bit much handing it to him in person like this, but emailing just felt too cold. And yea he was your boss, but you considered Lucy a friend too and wanted to leave on the best note possible.

"I know you're busy but I wanted to let you know asap so we can plan accordingly."

Surprising to you, Lucifer seems slightly caught off guard. "Did you find new work?"

You nod with a smile. "Yep! It’s pay and benefits aren't as good but it's practically my dream job."

Lucifer observes you. It was obvious that working as his assistant was a lot of stress on you. Asmodeus mentioned your frustrations to him several times. But you always pulled through in the end. 

Did he overestimate you? No, overwork you?

"When do you leave?"

"2 weeks!"

-------

"They're literally going to the other side of the world you guys!"

“They’re what!?” Mammon responds, bewildered.

"They're moving to the other side of the world! A completely different country--this sucks!" Asmodeus lays his head down in his arms.

Unease fills the meeting room. This was new information to the rest of the brothers, including Lucifer. MC had never mentioned anything about moving and now an unwanted change had become much more unpleasant.  

-------

"Hey MC! Why didn't ya mention ya were moving to the other side of the world?" Mammon approaches from the meeting room, wasting no time.

"Ohhh... right, I forgot to mention that part to everyone. But it wasn't really that important honestly."

“What do ya mean it’s not important. It’s kind of a big deal!”

"....Okay yeah you're right, but it honestly slipped my mind. By the way, not on the other side of the world. Asmo likes to exaggerate, I swear. Either that or his geography could use some polishing."

You continue dropping random items from inside your desk into a box. You still had a week and half left but you wanted to take all your personal non-work stuff home to avoid forgetting anything. You were honestly surprised by how much unnecessary crap had found its way into the desk. It was a stark difference compared to your first couple of months working here.

When you first started, it sucked honestly. If it wasn't for the amazing pay you would have quit fairly quick. 

The first several months were rough, but with time you started getting used to working for the overbearing perfectionist that was Lucifer. Things started to feel routine, you could access possible issues before they happened. And Lucifer’s brothers coming in and out of this building stopped being an annoyance and began to be something to look forward to. You made friends with each and every one of them. Then even Lucifer eventually came around. And before you knew it had been 4 years.

You always thought about moving on to new work but would forget about it and go back to the usual routine. But recently, you were starting to feel content--no resigned. Like "I guess I could stay here forever…" resigned. And it scared you! So you immediately started job searching more seriously and your months of work paid off.

But I'm still gonna miss this place.

Next, Asmo is out of the room. He walks straight for you and wraps you in a tight hug. "MC don't leave us please!"

"I must--AH you're squeezing me too hard!"

He loosens his hold. "Sorry."

You pat his arm.

“Aren't ya gonna miss me--us? Whatever new people ya meet couldn't measure up to the Great Mammom!”

"That’s definitely true, but I need to spread my wings and fly you guys. Hmm…that sounded better in my head."

You notice Leviathan standing off to the side listening so you give him a smile. 

"Levi, why are you standing over there?"

He jumps but makes his way over from your prompting.

"S-So you really found your dream job. It sucks you're leaving but maybe it's a good thing too…"

You nod. "It's new and a little scary, but just consider it me starting a new arc in life."

"And honestly if you guys really want to talk to me, then keep in touch. You literally all have my number."

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to help much for cheering up Levi or the other two.

Fortunately though, Satan appears before the silence becomes unbearable.

"So you're finally escaping Lucifer MC?”

"Ha! I guess you could put it that way..."

Asmo crosses his arms, his frown deepening. "Please don't let him overhear that."

Satan shows what he's hiding behind his back. "I'll miss your company but I'd like to send you off on the right foot so I brought you a couple of items."

He hands you the gift bag.

"If this isn't a book, I'll be shocked," you say.

You peep inside and realize there's multiple things.

A hardback book from a series you and Satan are currently reading (of course), a neck pillow, and a kitty eye mask.

"Oh wait there's something else."

You dig in and pull out a bracelet. But not just any bracelet. A very limited edition one. It was official merch for one of your favorite series, but you couldn't afford it at the time when it was released.

"What the heck, how'd you find this? This came out years ago!"

"Lots of online searching, and thanks to Levi and Asmo we found a somewhat reasonable price to all pitch in for."

You put the bracelet on. 

“And in such a short time too…Im.never taking this off!” 

You grin. “Well…now I gotta hug you all!”

Before he responds you're crushing Satan, managing to fluster him. You then pull (a blushing) Levi and then Asmo in for a hug, the latter eagerly returning it. 

“No way ya guys are making me look bad,” Mammon says.

"Get in on the collab next time!" Asmo quips.

“Don't worry Mammon, I'll give you a hug later.”

“What? I didn't say anything about a hug…”

“So you don't want one. Got it.”

“Hold on, wait a second…”

You smirk and shake your head. “Okay help me move my stuff you guys so we have a reason to keep talking.”

-------

"Is Belphie still ignoring me?"

Beel nods. "Sorry MC. I think he just needs more time to process."

The other day after leaving the meeting room the youngest made a beeline for the elevator. He didn't even look your way.

"Ah he wounds me..."

"I'll talk to him. Maybe eating out together would help clear the air?"

“Oo, you, me and Belphie. Let's do it!”

Beel smiles that way you love and you give him a sudden hug. It couldn’t be helped, you had a soft spot for the two youngest brothers.”

“Beel, I’m gonna miss you so much!”

He returns the hug. "Me too. I wish you didn’t have to leave, but what makes you happy is most important."

You pull back to look at his face. “I swear you're way more mature than some of your older brothers.”

-------

As your last day gets closer and closer, the brothers (6 out of 7 at least) accept your impending departure. And along with that came endless gifts. It was like Satan triggered a competition to see who could do better. And it looked like you'd have to spend extra money on moving all this extra stuff that had been dumped on you.

Especially after that shopping spree Asmo took you on.

Start your new life with a new wardrobe MC!

Even Belphie had gotten over his initial shock after your dinner with him and Beel and gifted you several items. 

Please make sure to answer mine and Beel’s messages right away.

Don't worry I won't miss any of you or your brother's texts!

Who's talking about those others?

You chuckle at the memory. Belphie was too much sometimes.

You shake your head and sniffle. 

….Oh god. 

You wouldn't see them in person like this anymore! These moments with them. They would be far and few between once you started your new job.

And for some reason while you're surrounded by half packed boxes in your home, it’s finally hitting you.

Your phone pings and you wipe your eyes.

A text from Lucifer.

That was the last person you expected. He hasn't really been talking to you much outside of work since you gave him your resignation, and even then it was purely professional. It made you feel bad. Like your relationship had regressed.

So you quickly respond.

L: Did you already schedule transportation to the airport?

M: of course 👍 don’t wanna wait last minute

L: Make sure you double check the dates too.

M: lucy are you gonna miss me? :3c

If you didn’t bring it up, he might not say it out right.

L: You're so troublesome.

L: But yes, I will miss you.

L: And I honestly don't understand why you're leaving.

You stare at the messages. How were you supposed to respond to that?

M: i have to. it's what i want to do with my life…

L: Okay. Make sure you're on time tomorrow.

That's it? 

You let out an annoyed sigh.

-----

You're in Lucifer's office first thing in the morning. He looks up with you with a raised eyebrow when you barge in.

You drag a seat directly in front of his desk so he’s forced to look at you. "We are handling this right now. I want to leave here with no loose ends"

"What is there to handle exactly? Youre leaving this job in 3 days to start your new one."

"Lucifer, you're obviously upset at me and I want you to be happy for me....like everyone else."

"I'm not like everyone else."

"Obviously, everyone is different. You're all different. That's not what I meant..."

You take a deep breath, lean forward and rest your arms on his desk. "Be vulnerable with me this one time. I know you're going to miss me but I feel like that's not enough for you to be so cold towards me like this..." 

He’s quiet.

"Please Lucy?"

"...I don't want you to leave. The idea that I won't get to see you easily bothers me."

He looks away

"And I feel like I'm the reason you're leaving."

Oh.

“I'm so sorry, I know sometimes I joke around with your brothers but Lucifer it's not actually you. Work like this has always been stressful for me. It's always been. And I just happened to find where my limit was in this particular job.”

“I love you and all your brothers but my final goal was to always aim for work that would be easier on me mentally in a place where it was enough to sustain me. I just got too used to being here.”

"You handle every situation so calmly though. You're always on top of everything

"Heh my acting skills are just that good! But you're starting to understand I hope?"  

He crosses his arms. “I can’t be happy about you leaving MC.”

Your brows furrow.

“But I suppose I can support you going for what you really want.”

“You know what…I’ll take it!” You rest your head on your arms.

He smirks. “Now get out, I'm busy. We can talk more afterwards.”

[rosetheocto]

Hey! If you'd be open to it, I was interested in hearing your thoughts on any Failtopia pairings that you particularly enjoy and the reasons you do? Whether they be platonic or romantic-

YESSSS I HAVE AN EXCUSE TO YAP ABOUT CHARACTER INTERACTIONS YWUAJSJEJJEJR!!! OKAY!! So idk how put together this is since there is a mix of my typing when I’m super tired + typing when I just woke up so I’m praying that what I’m saying makes sense LMAO. TLDR: I really like failtopia’s characters

So starting off with what is probably the most popular dynamic in this series: Bo and Erica!! To say they’ve both Gone Through It is an understatement, and them both finding comfort and safety in each other is amazing to me!! Like. Erica’s had so many people die on her and the reaction to finding out that was nearly impossible to lose Bo was just. Flawless. Can’t believe Dan improvised that. And Bo was sent to just kill Mar and work for Screamith but Erica was pretty much the start to her letting her true self shine and developing an actual attachment to The Incident!! It’s so awesome how Dan has wrote them. we love our gay level 6 “friendship” girlbosses ‼️‼️

Mar and Orion have also gone through a handful of things before the series begins, and the relationship they develop as the series progresses is pretty dang interesting! as much as the fandom focus on EriBo as a romantic thing, more people need to talk about how Mar has explicitly shown he has a crush on Orion. MULTIPLE TIMES. The idea of Orion opening up to Mar after he lost his wife and Mar opening up to Orion after his time as the Dark Curse and AGGHH I love these two so much and the way they interact every time they’re on screen is amazing. old man yaoi

I imagine C!Failboat and Erica as exes. like they dated for like a week and were both mutually like “that was awful let’s just stay friends”, They had a bunch of small interactions together (especially in S1) and I like them being friendly towards each other, Erica finding a friend in C!Fail was a pretty good step for her arc! I also think the idea of C!Fail and Erica being childhood friends in non-Miitopia AUs very intriguing!! Any content of those two interacting (that isn’t romantic) is always a nice thing to see!

Taking a break from the more popular relationships/friendships in this series, we have Deko and Joker!! For two characters that barely interact in canon there’s a lot you can do with them! They’re just two anime boys trying to survive in this weird party. I have a lot of thoughts on them but I just can’t form it aghahajsjjs but the main one is that they aren’t alone in what they’re going through, and no matter what backstory you use for Joker it still has a lot of potential!! I’m sure people can explain this one better than I can I just really like this rarepair!! while on the topic of Joker, shoutouts to his friendship with Lanc!! You can’t convince me Joker didn’t have a crush on them. Just watch their interactions in Karkaton and you’ll probably get what I mean lmaoo

I just need to mention the sisters!! even if they aren’t sisters by blood, Chi and Erica both have the energy! Chi being the thing that really gets Erica out of her “I hate everything” phase in both seasons needs to be talked about more. They bring out the best in each other I swear,, again I promise I can talk about them more my brain just isn’t giving me the words rn, but I think Gnome explains it best!

While on sibling dynamics, Bill and Shrimp is so great to me. Like. Bill helping Shrimp out not only because he likes her music, but also out of the genuine kindness of his heart is so sweet to me!! They’re so nice every time they’re on screen together and it’s fun to see them battling by each other’s sides!! plus the matching outfits in the finale was also a great touch :]

I’ve mentioned these two before, but Bill and Chi are criminally underrated imo. Like. They’re the only members of the Incident who have just recently turned 18, Chi’s literally Bill’s mentor after he changed jobs, and their dynamic is just so fun to work with!! Bill’s more mature and ‘normal’ while Chi is Chi and will set things on fire For Science and I think scenarios where they’re together are really fun to come up with!! Same with Shrimp and Chi!! The sister dynamic they have is also super underrated, like they’re a Fire and Water duo!! I think there’s a lot of things you can do there :0

look I am more than aware these two have never interacted but that’s cuz Dan is a COWARD and knows that Bo and Lanc being in the same room would lead to so much mayhem lmaoo. Out of everyone in The Incident (apart from Chi obviously) I see Lanc getting along with Bo the best! a lot of stuff I have for them is pretty based on fanon but you can’t tell me they wouldn’t gossip about the lastest drama with the party and the outside world. I swear they’re besties, they relate to each other, just hear me out. I also think Rose and Bo can be great friends and they really have a LOT in common!! Princess who faked their whole identity gang ‼️‼️

I love Erica and Rose just being each other’s biggest hater, it’s my favorite thing ever. it’s canon that Rose only shows off for Erica to prove to her that she’s better than her and that’s amazing to me. They’re both just so done with each other lmaoo (also the headcanon of them each other’s gay awakenings is perfect)

I think Friend and Mar interactions could be cool!! Like for starters they had some pretty huge connections to Hank they could bond over. also I find Mar being canonically a demon mixed with the headcanon of Friend being an angel very fun!! I also think Friend and Erica could be fun to see, especially with Erica’s past as a Cleric!! shared jobs and trauma!!

Mar and literally any FailFleet member can be funny I think, like we already have the Neksdor Three obviously, but I think an ACTUAL Bob and Mar reunion will lead to someone getting beat up lol, everyone in the S1 Squad would all have very different view points on if Mar deserves to be forgiven or not, or if he’s a good leader, etc. and I think that there should be more done with that!!

Orion’s friendship with the rest of The Incident is also a very important part of why the party is the way it is!! There’s absolutely characters with awful relationships to their dads, fathers that are barely around, or just never had a parental figure at all. I LOVE that Orion was able to fill that void for those party members, and he does a damn good job at it too!! And of course the parallels he has with Erica is great, both are stubborn warriors with a lot of baggage, but also have a lot of differences, like their views on stuff like becoming a healer!! Orion being like a mentor to Erica is great. also shoutouts to Slapo, we love her. I think her interacting with other members of The Incident is also something that’s needed more!!

Speaking of fathers, scenes with Chat and C!Fail are downright hilarious! Chat’s insanity mixed with C!Fail’s attitude always leads to some crazy thing going down! Chat with anyone really is always a treat, since they’re way more than too much to handle most of the time, and seeing how everyone reacts to their shenanigans is always gonna be fun!!

Smuk, Rose, and Bob’s relationship is just perfection. Bob obviously crushing on Rose is so great to see when they have scenes together and Smuk basically proposing to Rose (but not really) with that ring is also cool!! And of course we gotta mention Smuk and Bob’s bromance in Greenhorne, those two were inseparable a lot of the time I swear, I love them a lot, I’m praying if we get S3 we have those three come back (along with Petunyawn)

Deko’s friendship with both Chi and Lanc is vital to his arc!! Similar to Erica, he had gone through quite a lot before S1 and traveling with them got him to warm up to them and helped him get better control of his powers!! Lanc and Chi being absolute goofsters while Deko has no energy is VERY amusing!! also Deko, someone who was experimented on, being paired up with two soon-to-be scientists is vile lmaoo, why do you do this Dan /pos

SPEAKING OF THOSE SCIENTISTS!! If you thought I wasn’t gonna bring up Lanchi at all then you’re wrong. These two. These two are my everything. They’re undoubtedly my OTP!! There is quite a handful of canon evidence (in both seasons!) that point to Something going on between them!! I’d list them all out rn, but imma save that for another time, so I’ll just stick to saying everything I like about them!! The way Lanc and Chi just bounce off each other is insane. I swear they can read each other’s minds sometimes, they actually just share a braincell!! Lanc being all nervous in the Finale and Chi comforting them,, and ofc Chi being inspired by Lanc to switch jobs in S2 is just GAHAJJJJW I LOVE THEM!! They’ve been living rent free in my head since 2021 and I can’t get them out even if I tried!! EVERY SINGLE INTERACTION they have can be read as romantic. I refuse to believe they’re just friends lmaoo

[blackbird-brewster]

hiiii!! i'm sorry to hear you're not doing well right now, but you're definitely an appreciated face on my home page

1) i haven't watched much of the criminal minds reboot. i think i watched the first two episodes? but i don't like it. i think the reboot lays into the things i don't like about the show (gory deaths, really unhinged murderers, poor representations of people with mental health issues) while ignoring things i do like about the show (steady character development and family time, morgan, hotch, and reid being there >:( and an interesting analysis into what makes normal people do bad things, not what makes people run multi-level marketing murder schemes[???]). but i also have not seen enough of it to justify any stronger opinion than "i don't like reboots and this will not be an exception"

2) not really a headcanon, as much as an analysis of the show that my friend and i were talking about. but we both genuinely think that garcia and morgan would have ended up together if garcia was skinny...which is garbage because i absolutely LOVE their relationship, and i feel like it did not get any solidity or closure. also reid is bisexual and prentiss is a lesbian and jj is "good luck, babe" chappell roan-coded

3) a femme penelope garcia icon would be...kinda awesome 👉👈🥺

4) again, prentiss + jj = good luck, babe. idk what else to tell you

5) reid x morgan college au rivals to lovers shenanigans would make a great fic

6) comet and koshi (two of my five cats)

7) read any good books recently? i'm reading who's afriad of gender? by judith butler right now, and i'm really enjoying it

hope all of this keeps you busy and makes you happy! feel better soon <3

Let me start by saying this was such a great message to read when I was very sick and very sad. THANK YOU!!! I finally have recovered enough to have half a brain cell so I can reply. <3

1) Tell me what you think of the reboot

I am RIGHT THERE with you friend. I think the reboot has really destroyed a lot of the characters (namely Garcia who is unrecognizable in terms of characterisation in CME) and especially in regards to this season, they made an unsub a main cast member?! So we have SOOOOO much of Elias Voit and so LITTLE of the characters we're here to see. I would trade all of his screentime for one look into what Luke and Emily do outside of the office tbrh (yes, the promo for this week has Emily at home for the first time in the whole reboot, but that's beside the point). I'm def not a fan of CME and I wish the show would have just ended in 2020 and that was that. But since it didn't and because my soul is eternally bound to this fandom, here we are. Thank god for fanfic.

2) Tell me your CM headcanons

"we both genuinely think that garcia and morgan would have ended up together if garcia was skinny…which is garbage because i absolutely LOVE their relationship"

YOU ARE SO RIGHT! They had so much potential and I'll forever ship Morcia and I agree the fact they would be an interracial couple with a fat babe involved was probably part of the reason they never dated. -- That being said, I DO appreciate that they never dated. Because I think it's quite rare to see loving, supportive, flirty, PLATONIC friendships between men and women on TV. Not every m/f duo needs to end up together, I think we definitely need more representation of m/f best friends.

"also reid is bisexual and prentiss is a lesbian and jj is "good luck, babe" chappell roan-coded"

100% correct on all accounts. The way I HOWLED with laughter at "JJ is good luck babe coded" lmaaaaaaaaaooooooooo

3) Request pride icons

When you say 'femme Garcia' which flag are you meaning? Happy to make the icon just wanna get the pride flag right (bc I know there's tons of different flags!).

4) Tell me songs that remind you of your ships

"again, prentiss + jj = good luck, babe. idk what else to tell you"

They are so many songs on that album. Jemily is also very 'Casual' and 'Coffee' too.

5) Give me fic prompts

"reid x morgan college au rivals to lovers shenanigans would make a great fic"

Fun fact, while Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) focuses mainly on JJ/Tara/Emily -- Derek and Reid are important side characters. And they were college acquaintances (established in Part 2)! And they both have dated the same guy (Luke) anddddd they are navigating polyamory together in Part 3. So you may enjoy that series.

6) Tell me about your pets

I love your cats!! I had 5 cats at one point. That's the dream! Tell them all they're so good and fluffy and I love them.

7) Ask personal questions

"read any good books recently? i'm reading who's afriad of gender? by judith butler right now, and i'm really enjoying it"

I've been reading my book copies of Fooled Around! I'm on the final book (I split the series into 4 books) and I'm trying to make it last as long as possible. I only have a couple of chapters left but having physical copies of something I wrote is SO cool. It's brought me a lot of joy and has helped me take pride in what I write!

[gettothestabbing]

Friendship is so underrated

I’ve been having such a great time hanging out with my new friends from work. It took me a long time to learn how to be a good friend, and to find people who were willing to be good friends back. The two people I’ve been getting to know are a girl from Kenya and a boy from Brazil. It’s also just nice to hang out with coworkers close to my age, since many people I work with are in their forties or older.

I mentioned in my last read-more post that I have a crush on my coworker, the Brazilian guy I just mentioned. He knows that I am dating someone from EHarmony (as in, we’ve had two dates and scheduled a third). Yesterday, he came to me and said, “I really want to go to this restaurant with you, since it would be awkward to go alone. But I don’t want to get in the middle of your relationship.”

See, he just got divorced, and his ex-wife was at least emotionally cheating with someone from work, if not actually cheating. So he’s very aware of the need for proper boundaries. I immediately told him, “It’s fine! I already told him about you and he is okay with us hanging out.” I started dating EH-guy around the same time that I started hanging out more with Brazil-guy.

I wish I could just transfer my crush on Brazil-guy to EH-guy. Because EH-guy is very nice! And cute. But we just don’t know each other that well yet. 

At the moment, I’m just trying to ignore the crush and never act on it. We keep boundaries up; we rarely touch each other, and if we do it’s in safe/platonic ways. But it’s harder to ignore just how much better suited Brazil-guy and I are to each other than this EH-guy is. We share the same religion, we have similar though not identical political views, we’re avid non-fiction readers, we’re passionate about our shared profession and what in it needs to change, and we’ve both lost our same-gender parent and been recently dumped. We have so much to talk about that it’s hard to find a stopping point, but silence is also comfortable. Even though English is his third language, I find it easy to understand him, and he’s a wonderful listener.

If he weren’t going through so much right now, and didn’t seem to need a friend so much, I would be trying harder to distance myself from him. I know this extra time with him will only prolong my feelings. But I am being very strict with myself about it. No daydreaming, no touching, and any thought that tends to romance I sharply cut off.

I kind of wish he would indicate an absolute disinterest in me. It might make that strictness easier. I feel that I’ve gotten prettier due to body recomp, better habits, etc. But that doesn’t mean he is or ever will be attracted to me. That’s not how attraction works. I can quietly hope for it, but I would also be so concerned if he wanted to date anyone right now. Like they JUST filed the paperwork. He’s struggling with the idea of being single again. At least he still has the cat and his work friends. We will help him move to a new place for a fresh start next month. Sadly, he’s also transferring roles at work, so we won’t be able to chat there. But maybe this will mean we can hang out more outside of work?

The thing is, I love this friendship. I have never had many friends at one time. It took me some time to make friends since moving here a few years ago. And even though he’s almost everything I’ve been looking for in a husband, I refuse to jeopardize this friendship or make him uncomfortable. I’m trying to live in the moment and focus on non-romantic goals. It’s possible that in a few months or a year, my friend will be interested in dating again, and he might consider me as an option. But I can’t bet on it, nor should I treat our friendship as a waiting stage for that not-so-likely future. 

All I can do is keep working to be good and glorify God. It’s important to bring my desires to God, so that He can purify them and remove those that do not accord to His will. That which it is not right for us to receive, God does not grant. “Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds.” (S&H p. 1:11)

[infinite-orangepeel]

steve chatting with a co-worker on his lunch break at work (a fruity four apartment blurb)

steve: oh i love living in the city, other than the fact that it’s so expensive. if it weren’t for my three roommates, i’d never be able to afford the rent.

co-worker: that makes sense. i’ve been looking for a new place recently, so i’ve been asking around to see if anyone has a spot they need filled. do you know anyone ?

steve: we actually have a spare room at our place, if you’re interested in checking it out !

co-worker: sure, that sounds great. i’d love to come by some time. who did you say you live with again ? people you met from one of those facebook roommate search pages, right ?

steve: no, no—I know them from my hometown. the first one is my boyfriend, who i had a weird homoerotic rivalry with until we made out and decided to just date instead. the second one is my ex-girlfriend, who was technically my first love and i’m sure you’d assume that would be awkward, but it’s really not. she’s great and now, she and my boyfriend are like best friends. oh! and the third one is my—well, we call each other “platonic soulmates.” so yeah, she’s my platonic soulmate and she’s also dating my ex-girlfriend—the one that lives with us. they’re all really cool, i promise !

co-worker: ……i—um—that’s certainly unique

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

I am recently going through all your Ficino posts with great joy (I need a new historical rabbit hole!). Do you have any preferred sources to recommend if I want to start reding or listening in for more grounding on his life, weirdness, philosophy, and all the other funky queer Florentine folk surrounding him?

yessss come down the rabbit hole with me! He is such a delightful weirdo <3 Get ready to learn so much about Saturn and Saturn's Malice (which is not in the room with us, calm down Ficino).

He's a hard one because, in English, there aren't really any biographies on him. (Italian, obviously, is a different story.)

A lot of the grounding works - good essay collections, academic texts etc. - are prohibitively expensive. They can range from $100cad to over $400cad, depending on the work. This is because most are purely that: academic texts. Meaning the print run was like 100 copies and all were bought by university libraries lol

He is also not a well known figure outside of those who study quattrocento Italy or those who study Platonism and other philosophical movements. Some of those who operate in the occult world are familiar with him due to his writings on astrology and natural magic.

Florence also had a huge flood that tragically decked a lot of their older archives and that has also sadly impacted many historians' work in the early modern field.

Now, all this said, I'm going to give you my current piecemeal recommendations:

Eight Philosophers of the Italian Renaissance - Paul Kristeller - a classic survey work based on a lecture series he gave in like the 60s, I want to say. It's very much "what it says on the tin" and provides a healthy overview of eight philosophers of the Renaissance. Ficino is one of them and it's a good place to start on who/what/where/when/why.

Others are those like Bruno, Pico Della Mirandola, Valla, Petrarch etc. All worth knowing something about because they either knew Ficino or influenced him or were influenced by him.

Kristeller wrote a lot on Ficino and is one of the "founders" I would say of the 20th century revival in the interest in Ficino. So, noodle around his works as there is always something interesting in them. They are dated, he was writing in the 60s - 90s, but it's broadly good stuff.

---

Volume 1 of Ficino's Letters, 2nd edition (make sure it's the second edition). This has great front material that goes into him and his life, positions him in the period and those who he knew and was corresponding with.

I will say, they do write in the introduction: "He [Ficino] was apparently the least active of men. It is probable that in his sixty-six years he never set foot outside the territory of Florence and the record of his life is little more than a chronicle of his books."

Which I take umbridge over as his life was very interesting, people just haven't dug into it to the degree they should.** Like, what was going on in the 1480s with all those land disputes over his father's will between him and his brothers? We need details! We need the family gossip! Alas, we don't have it as it may not exist, anymore, or the related legal papers are in an archive and it's not been made available to the public.

--

**Note: Paul Kristeller, and others, make occasional references to someone who was working on an English biography of Ficino. But this would have been in the 80s and 90s and nothing appears to have come of it. So I presume that project is languishing in someone's desk drawer.

There was talk of Arthur Farndell publishing a biography but I haven't seen any signs of it - last I heard mention would have been in the early 00s. Farndell's done most of the modern translations of Ficino's works, so he's quite prolific and you'll see his name a lot.

--

Ficino's Letter Collection (the remaining volumes) - there are 12 volumes of letters that Ficino began pulling together in the 1470s, but he regularly added to, edited, and tweaked the collection over the course of his life.

Letter collections of this sort were a genre of writing at this time and would have been understood to be a vehicle for expounding on philosophical or political issues rather than literal transcriptions of letters written to people.

Which is to say, Ficino did write some iteration of the letters included to the recipients identified. But what was printed, the manuscript editions we have, are highly edited for the purpose of public edification. This does make it super interesting to see what personal details he chooses to leave in.

For example, November 10, 1476 Ficino writes to Cavalcanti about some theological works he was putting together. Ficino also notes that he is returning to Florence soon, he had been at his father's country farm/house/thing, and he intreats Cavalcanti to also return to Florence so "we may at least be close companions in the city, even if we have not been close companions in the country this summer."

Now, as an addendum after the farewell Ficino includes this gem:

"But why do I write nothing about the recent birth of your third daughter? Because you did not write a word to me. Do you wish me to tell the truth? I will not write a word about this before I hear whether I am to congratulate or to console you. But rejoice in the gifts of the Great King, whatever they may be, for nothing from the great is mean or worthy of scorn."

What an interesting bit of personal correspondence to keep in a letter set meant to bring people closer to Platonic ideals of love, civic duty, and their relationship with the divine.

But all of Ficino's letters to Cavalcanti are odd like that. They're half personal correspondence ("I'm sad and bored, please write me!!!" or "I have Luigi Pulci. So much. Have I told you that recently? Hate him. I love everyone in the entire world with every fibre of my soul except Gigi. Fuck Gigi." etc.) and half actual philosophical musings.

Anyway, the letter collections are worth reading. Each volume also includes relevant historical details on what was happening in his life or the broader world at that time. So, for example, the back matter for Vol 4 dives into the Pazzi conspiracy since that is relevant to the letters of that volume (and Vol. 5 to be fair).

---

De Vita (Three Books of Life) - Carol Kaske and John Clark - This is Ficino's "medical" text plus the third book which is where Ficino is like "and this is how you use magical properties of certain stones, sigils, planets, and daemons to heal yourself" and other normal things like that. (He broadly fits into the mode of natural healing magic that was very common for the time - magic/medicine/science all being tangled together in the medieval and early modern period - however he does go a bit further than some. This is the book that got him into hot water with the Church.) Ficino was the son of a doctor and studied and practiced medicine so it makes sense he added medical texts to his repertoire.

I have version put out by The Renaissance Society of America: Renaissance Text Series with critical notes and introduction by Carol Kaske and John Clark.

High recommend, if only for the front notes and introduction. They do a great job positioning Ficino in the broader intellectual landscape of the time. They do a bit of attempting to track his education which wasn't as formal as one might think (he attended the University of Florence but I don't think he ever graduated. He was self-taught in many respects). They also get into what his thoughts on magic were and how they fit, or didn't fit, with the broader framework of faith and magical practices of Ficino's contemporaries.

In addition, they get into how his medical and magical thinking differs from others, where he was innovative, where he leaned on existing traditions, and the repercussions of having published this text.

---

The Bookseller of Florence - Ross King - this is a great, vey accessible book. It uses Vespasiano's life, a contemporary of Ficino, as a lens through which to explore the manifold changes in manuscript/book creation and distribution that were happening over the course of the fifteenth century.

The book also weaves in the shifting intellectual, religious, and political movements and the big, and small, players that participated and influenced these changes. Naturally, Ficino makes appearances throughout and he is described delightfully.

But I highly recommend it as a means to get a backdrop of the intellectual and political world Ficino was born into and operated within. Also, there's fun gossip about people in it and that's always a plus.

An example of some humourous bits:

"Ficino was scholarly and pious, [Luigi] Pulci (known as Gigi) boisterously scandalous, famous for his insults, invective, and sarcastic humour; he also had an unblushing fondness for taverns, brothels, and black magic. He lived up to his surname (Pulci means "fleas")--a maddenly irritating parasite. As one Florentine frantically complained in a letter to Lorenzo [de' Medici], "Gigi is annoying, Gigi has a bad tongue, Gigi is crazy, Gigi is arrogant, Gigi spreads scandal, Gigi has a thousand faults." Ficino triumphed when Gigi wrote a series of sonnets scorning pilgrims, miracles, preachers, and the doctrine of the immortal soul--and, in doing so, Ficino declared, made himself "odious to God" [...]"

Phenomenal. None of them should ever change. Also just the mental image of this pissed off Florentine frantically writing to Lorenzo "Get this man OUT of our City or so help me God!!"

---

Friend to Mankind: Marsilio Ficino - editor Michael Shepherd - ok so this is an essay collection that is really hit and miss. More misses than hits, now that I'm looking at it. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way for it, but if you see it in like a bargain bin or something it's worth picking up.

That said, there are a few essays in it that are worth finding, if you can:

"Fellow Philosophers," Linda Proud (this one is Great if you want the hilarious hot gossip of Pico Della Mirandola, Poliziano, and Ficino squabbling over Plato's concepts of Love. Well, Pico and Ficino cat-fight over it, if in a loving fashion. Poliziano eats popcorn and laughs.)

"In Praise of the One - Marsilio Ficino and Advaita," Arthur Farndell

"Ficino and Astrology," Geoffrey Pearce

"Ficino on the Nature of Love and the Beautiful," Joseph Milne

---

On the Nature of Love: Ficino on Plato's Symposium - translation by Arthur Farndell

It is 100% worth reading Ficino's commentaries on Plato's Symposium if only because I am convinced he wrote the entire thing as a love letter to Giovanni Cavalcanti.

---

Marsilio Ficino and His World - Sophia Howlett - if you can find this at the local library or used somewhere and it's not $150 I recommend it. This is the overview book that I think you're after that doesn't really exist in English, aside from here.

---

Marsilio Ficino: His Theology, His Philosophy, His Legacy - editors Michael Allen and Valery Rees - This is another expensive one, sitting around $250/$300 - but I've read excerpts from it and all that I have read is amazing.

It's an essay collection covering his thoughts on Hermeticism, Plotinus, the soul and primacy of will, musical therapy (Ficino was very keen on musical therapy), Jewish concepts of the prisca theologia, the 15th c. Plato-Aristotle controversy among other philosophical items. There are also essays exploring his influence on art, thinkers, and writers both in his own lifetime as well as throughout history.

---

Plato's Persona: Marsilio Ficino, Renaissance Humanism, and Platonic Traditions - Denis Robichaud - I just spent too much money and bought this book. Will report back as I read it - however, based on the excerpts I read online, I'm super stoked.

Robichoud seems to be exploring how Ficino wrote and created his sense of self through interpretation of Platonic writings and thought. There's lots of stuff about how Ficino interacts with Plato and interprets and understands himself as, like, Plato's "spokesperson" if not a full extension of Plato himself.

---

I hope this helps! Ficino's such a weird little man and I love him. I hope you enjoy going down the rabbit hole as much as I have - and I'm always here to talk Ficino, or anything early modern Italy really. <3 <3

[imaginesofstardewvalley]

could you do a really fluffy piece between a male farmer and Alex, where the latter finally comes to terms with and confesses his feelings for the former. any location or general scenario would be cool :3 (also it'd be great if the feelings were reciprocated, so not one sided pls) x

Feelings (Alex X Male!Farmer)

The sunset in the distance shined brilliantly over my farm, my recent hard work and nearly blinding me. A sudden voice rung out, tearing my gaze away from the natural sight, Alex walked over towards me while waving, I waved back “hey! Come sit next to me” I patted on the porch of my house, he obliged and sat crossed legged by my side. He grinned “thanks for inviting me” I picked up a can of a drink from the cooler next to me, earlier in the day when I had a break I picked up a bunch of stuff I knew he liked, he told me about the drink once and it’s stuck in my mind ever since. I told him “it’s no problem” I paused as I held out the drink to him “here” if it could be possible, the giddy smile on his face became bigger. I noticed a faint blush on his cheeks as he accepted the drink “this is my favourite!” he opened the can and took a sip as I told him “yeah, you told me so I thought I’d get some” he didn’t meet my gaze as he seemed to look anywhere else “wow I can’t believe you remembered” to tease him I joked “I’m not a goldfish, you know”

I looked back over to the farm and his gaze followed, the beautiful blues and oranges blended together creating a lovely scene. Alex spoke up “so how was your day?” I replied quickly “busy. Since the season changed today I had to get the crops, plant em and then water them. While also doing my other chores” without missing a beat he asked “did you take a break?” I shrugged and drunk some of the drink “yeah, that's when I got these snacks” I gestured to the cooler next to my thigh I looked over to him but he was already looking at me with a dejected face “man, you spent your break buying stuff for me? You should relax more often” I shook my head and turned away from him “Alex. I promise you I’m fine I know when I’m too exhausted” I paused for a second, he's not aware how much I wanted to do this. I then added “plus what am I doing now?” He tried to hide his smile by turning away from me but I saw it, I laughed and put my hand on his shoulder “I’m perfectly fine, ok?” He looked at my hand that rested on his firm shoulder, he seemed at a loss for words as he continued to stare. Worried I took my hand back and he finally spoke “yeah I know...just want to make sure. You’re always working hard” I smiled, knowing he cares for me is wonderful, he's always checking up on me and making sure I'm ok, which makes me feel really loved but I'm sure on his side it's completely a platonic thing.

"Have you ever been in love with a man?"

Well I've had similar conversations with straight men before but they've usually never phrased it that way. Genuinely shocked by the sudden question I struggle to find the words before I bluntly spit out "yes" he doesn't say anything, his facial expression remains the same, I get the hint that he's waiting for me to explain further "when I still lived in the city I had a couple of boyfriends, one was serious the other not so much" he nodded and looked to the sunset and asked me "were they out?" he turned back and I nodded. He gulped and he started pulling on each of his individual fingers, is he nervous? "I can't think of anyway to ask this subtley so I'm just gonna be straight" we both laughed under our breath at the irony of the subject mattter and that comment, he sighed before coming out with "would you date someone who isn't out?" I took a sip of my drink and thought about it, relationships where one person is out and the other isn't can get messy, quickly. On the other hand, if there was something potentially there? Why ignore it? I put the can down "if I really liked the person and I thought it could go somewhere, then yes. I think so" the implication if what he was asking me hit me all at once

Why is he asking this?

Does he think he's gay?

Is there someone in town he wants to date is out? Who is that?

Is it me?

I finally met his eyes after having an internal debate with myself, if theres a chance he likes me back, I need to know. "Alex, why are you asking this?" he resumed to playing with his hands "because I think I like you, and I mean like like you" once he started talking, he didn't stop "like the way you're on my mind constantly and the way I think you look handsome isn't the way I think about my friends. It's different, I've never felt this way about a woman before and I have tried but it didn't work because obviously you can't force yourself to like someone you don't like" I'm scared he isn't breathing with how fast he's talking "but I don't want to admit I like you because I'm not sure and I don't want to somehow lead you on but I'm also not out and I'm scared to be out-" I interuppted him "Alex I think you just admitted it" he took a breath in "but I really like you and I'm sorry if you don't like me back and I have made things awkward between us" I shook my head "you haven't, not at all" I placed my hand on his, in hopes to calm him down "in fact, I like you back and I was trying to ignore that" I laughed and gestured to the cooler of his favourite snacks "clearly not doing a good job of it. But I thought I was being silly for liking a straight guy" he smiled softly "so we both like each other then?" I giggled "that's what I gathered" he sighed softly and his gaze stayed focused on my face, his eyes darting to each of my features, lingering as if he is trying to memorise them. Almost instinctively we both inched closer together, is this what I think it is?

"Alex?"

"Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"Yes"

I placed my hand on his knee and moved my head closer to his, tilting as our lips tocuhed. They were soft, the kiss moved slowly as I felt his hand touch my cheek then as quickly as it happened it ended. He spoke under his breath "I've been waiting for this moment" so have I so I didn't hesitate, I went back in and the kiss was harder as his lips parted, making the kiss more passionate than before.

"MOO"

I tore away from him to see a cow standing outside my house "oh god I didn't close the gate" he laughed "come, I'll help you" we both stood up and made our way to the barn.

[aspecpplarebeautiful]

hi! first of all, thank you for your blog! i'm a questioning aroace but i don't know much about it. i used to consider myself ace when i was 16, then i thought i was too little to know and now, when i'm almost 21, i found out more about aroace experiences and it just... feels right? i've dated twice. never kissed though. first time my girlfriend used to complain we were "just friends" and not "real" partners but i would always tell her i truly love her and that i see real love as best friendship. my second girfriend just accepted my way of love but a new problem occured. when we were friends and i was crushing on her, i could be affectionate and e.g. hug her, but when we got into a relationship i freaked out and was no longer touchy or flirty. she was fine with it though, but i broke up with her about a year later because this whole dating thing didn't feel right. i haven't been in a relationship for what seems like ages and i want one so bad!! but recently i've realized that many people don't see love the way i do. the first time i thought i might be aro was a year ago when i wrote a fanfic and showed it to my best friend. she texted me "it's nice and all but you described friendship. it's not love". and i was like???? but that's how i feel love? and she started sending me some charts about how passion is an important part of "real" love and that my description wasn't right. it made me want to cry. i thought... was there something wrong with me? around that time i tried to find out more about aro community but it was a bit scary. i thought these people were heartless because how can you NOT love someone romantically? then, when i had another crush, i told about it to that best friend i've already mentioned. she asked me to describe my feelings and when i explained them she said "it's not love, you wanna be friends". but i don't feel that way towards friends! i know it was a different feeling. still, i came to a realization that i might be aroace after all. although, a bit later i met an aroace guy online. we weren't that close, just chatted in a gc, but i messaged him asking for advice. and when i shared i might be aroace and told him about my way of seeing it he said "you're not aroace, you just don't like lovey dovey stuff". and now i'm so confused... but your blog really comforts me. i want to find myself in this world. and i think i really am aroace. but i have no one to talk to about it... i'm too scared i won't "fit in" again. so thank you for reading my message!!!! have a nice day!

Do you think it's possible you might be experiencing a type of tertiary attraction, Anon? Tertiary attraction is any type of attraction that isn't romantic or sexual, some common types are

Platonic attraction/squishes: This can feel very similar to romantic attraction and have a lot of the same symptoms, but doesn't feel romantic at all. Instead you want to be close to the other person, or be important them.

Alterous attraction: This can have romantic or platonic elements, but won't be fully either. If you think of platonic and romantic as being binaries, this would be a non-binary option. Very useful for people who feel like neither platonic nor romantic feels quite right when describing their attraction.

Aesthetic attraction: Basically being drawn to someone on an aesthetic level, and strong desire to look at or study the other person. Sometimes this attraction is described as being similar to a particularly moving piece of art or looking at something particularly beautiful.

Sensual attraction: a desire to connect in a tactile way with other people. Especially in a way that feels sensual like touching, cuddling, smelling, etc.

There's other types of tertiary but these are some of the more common ones (if you want to explore attraction in more detail, the LGBTIA Wiki has a great page on it.)

But yeah, it definitely sounds from this ask like you are experiencing some kind of attraction, so looking into attraction and different types of attraction may be helpful. One of the most helpful tricks for telling attraction apart is asking yourself what is the attraction making you want? Or what kind of pull are you feeling? Imagine different scenarios and see which one holds the most appeal to you.

Romance in general is tricky because it's not very well defined and it's very often described as 'you know it when you feel it'. Unlike sex where, while there may be some gray areas, people generally do agree on what sex is or isn't, there aren't really an actions that are always romance. Holding hands, giving people flowers, etc can all be romantic actions, but also can be platonic depending on the scenario.

So how do you know if your feelings are romantic or not? Romantic feelings feel romantic (which is so useless, right?). But there is an actual romantic feeling that makes people want to be in a relationship labeled as romantic or do actions or be in scenarios they view as romantic. Romantic people will often have scenarios that just feel romantic to them too that they'll want to play out with the people they're attracted to.

So if the idea of something feeling romantic, or having romantic scenarios in your head feels foreign to you, that could be a sign what you're experiencing isn't romantic. Similarly if you're attracted to someone, but would be happy in a relationship not defined as romantic, that could be another strong sign.

It's not always clear cut what is romantic feelings or not either, there are gray areas. Since you mention a few times that romance and friendship feel the same to you internally, I'd also suggest looking into these two labels:

Idemromantic: Someone who categorizes relationships as romantic or platonic but experiences no internal differences.

Platoniromantic: When someone experiences no difference between romantic and platonic attraction.

One last thing, based on how you describe relationships, have you looked into or heard about QPRs, Anon? QPR stands for queerplatonic relationship (sometimes also called quasiplatonic relationships or quirklyplatonic relationships). And that just means a realtionship that isn't easily categorized by romance or friendship. And they can be tailored to the people in the relationship and include the things they want but not what they don't want. If you really want a relationship but romantic relationships aren't working out for you or feeling right, this may be worth looking into. And you can have committed long term relationships in QPRs too.

So this is a lot of information, and it may take you a bit of time to go through it and process it. You don't have to figure everything out right away. But hopefully it gives you some direction to go in and some things to look into.

I wouldn't put too much stock in what other people have told you up until now, other people can't interpret your internal feelings, only you can do that. And both the aromantic and romantic spectrum are quite broad, and people can experience both in a lot of different ways.

Try and trust your own internal feelings and interpretations and go with what makes sense to you or what way of looking at things is useful for you. And frankly sometimes these things are a bit subjective anyways.

If you have more questions or want anything clarified, feel free to send in another ask.

All the best, Anon! Good luck!

[greentrickster]

Hi!! Just dropping by to say I love your Saturation fic! It’s probably the only AA fic I repeatedly read myself, since I think your writing for the characters is so strong and in-character, and you change details that make sense/fix problematic issues (such as the Trucy panties thing) also it just has the right tone of the AA series. Usually in fanfic people it’s their own writing style, the tone of the media they’re right for can get lost, so I like how you actively try to keep AA’s wacky funny tone while also being heartwarming. It’s just. Great. Makes it really fit you know?

Also!! I find it very cool you made Phoenix and Edgeworth get together during the disbarred era, I haven’t read a large amount of AA fanfic so i don’t know if it’s common for those two to already be in a relationship in other fics, but I think it’s really interesting you made that decision! Not just with AA, in pairing fics you don’t usually have the characters get together until the end since that’s the “goal.” I see very few of fics that actually explore how the relationship changes/morphs when they actually are together. That’s usually just a thing for most couples getting together in media now that I think about it.. You have any thoughts on that?

First off, thank-you so much, I'm both honoured and flattered, thank-you! ^U^ ^///^ Hearing that I've really captured the tone of a setting and its characters always feels wonderful! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I've never seen them get together/be together in the disbarment era during a fic in quite the way I'm doing it - that's honestly a big part of why I am doing it as I am. Like... if AO3's a potluck, then I tend to devour all the yummy stuff everyone else has made, then try and cook any dishes I'm craving but no one else has made myself.

Except in this case I thought I was making a nice spaghetti dinner and discovered too late that I was, in fact, making an entire banquet and also desert.

Such is life.

In regards to Phoenix and Miles getting together and it not being the end of the fic... it could just be me being an aromantic (which I am), but I generally don't find 'they get together and then the story ends' stories very satisfying for long-form stories. Like... I can enjoy it in movies, but once we start getting past the hour and a half mark the snail in my ear shouting "NOW KISS" gets progressively louder.

Also, I just like seeing the post get-together relationship grow and develop! I've been cheering for these characters to become a couple, I want to see them actually get to be a couple, you know? It's more fun that way, a much more satisfying pay-off! And it's fun getting to follow them on their path, see how they relate to each other, how this shifts things in other aspects of their lives - it's really great! One of my favorite manga is called Otomen, it's eighteen volumes long, and the main couple get together for realsies in volume two. It's a series with its flaws, they all are, but dang is it a satisfying read in regards to their relationship and getting to watch these two grow up and grow closer together as they learn more about themselves and each other! This is my jam, I absolutely in no way want to ever date or be in a queer platonic relationship with anyone else (though I do have a BFF whom I love dearly), but I adore reading about other people being in love and enjoying being in love; makes me happy to see happy couples in real life, too!

As to why I personally think mainstream media doesn't tend to do this, honestly? Cowardice. Not because they're afraid to try new things (we've had some awesome shows recently that some fantastic creators have worked so hard to bring us), but because 'will they won't they' story lines historically sell, and sell well, and it's an easy way to get people tuning in week after week. I think a lot of people who call the shots and do the marketing research for shows believe that, if given the satisfaction of seeing their ship get together (or get together and be happy), then they'll stop watching or tuning in, because they've gotten what they wanted and don't need to watch anymore. They're afraid that giving the viewers any lasting satisfaction will cause them to lose interest in a show. I could be wrong, I'm in no ways an expert on this stuff, but this is the general vibe I've gotten over the years.

Anyways, thank-you again, I'm really happy to hear that you're enjoying my fic so much! ^_^ <3

[mymoodwriting]

Hiya this isn't rly a request or anything just a little random ask you can ignore if you want

Idk if you've heard about the new skz record with han and lee know because minsung shippers are going absolutely crazy saying it's a conformation on minsung. While most stays are saying their just friends and platonic soulmates the shippers are going bat shit crazy saying how those stays are jealous and lying to themselves.

I've been seeing a lot of stays who agree han and minho are dating. And I mean a surprising lot.

So yea I just wanted to know ur own opinion on this and dw you can ignore this if you want I don't mind. So yea I hope your having a lovely and ty if you did reply to my ask.

Oh this is great, I've always wanted to engage more with my readers on my stories and things kinda just going on in the kpop world. I do follow many artists although I'm shy and not super engaged within the big fandom of things. Although it's interesting to me you bring up the minsung shippers and the new song.

To me I think it's a typical song about love, either romantic or platonic since it can go either way. I'm sure 3racha made this song with a specific meaning in mind, but as it goes with art, once it's out into the world it is open to interpretation. We can still ask the creator what meaning they put into it without detracting from the meaning others found in it.

Now, obviously the choice of having minsung sing this song will get shippers excited, but I think the duo choice comes from a different reason. It seems that as of late, to me at least, Lee Know hasn't been getting much love or attention from Stays, or the company. And I know Han hasn't had it easy either. I could be wrong but it seems like Lee Know specifically has been very quiet and distant, and not getting lines or being center despite his amazing talent. These SKZ-Record songs to me come off as means to give the boys a spot light and a chance to show their talents on their own terms instead of doing as the company wants them to do.

A lot of these songs don't end up on official albums, and some baby Stays or casual Stays might not even know they exist. Only recently with the SKZ-Replay compilation album did a lot of these songs come to the forefront, but physical copies were only limited to being a goodie for the SKZ 3rd membership kit. Meaning the compilation album and songs on it weren't really promoted. I don't even think those songs get played at concerts.

Anyway, I'm sorry I rambled. Back to your main point. I don't necessarily think this song is minsung confessing their feelings to each other and confirming they're dating, cause honestly there is no way for us to know for certain unless they straight up say it. We can speculate all we want and hope for it, but unless they say it we are left in limbo. Truth is the industry is not there yet in accepting idols who are openly queer. It's homophobia but also kinda goes against the current foundations of the kpop industry. Most idols are not allowed to date cause they are advertised to us as our boyfriends/girlfriends. We all know the kind of backlash idols get for being caught dating, or just hearing rumors about it. Not to mention it's just as bad if a rumor floats around about a certain idol being queer.

So honestly, if they are dating, good for them, I support them and love them all the same. If they're just really great friends and platonic soulmates and super comfortable with each other I'm happy they have each other as support. We can really only speculate if this song is a confession/confirmation, but as long as Stays aren't being toxic and shitty to one another and SKZ over it I see no harm in believing they are a real couple. Clearly though there does seem to be a problem with it, so I kinda hope this doesn't get blown up to the point SKZ and minsung and the company have to make a statement refuting all this, and possibly limiting the interactions between minsung going forward, which can greatly mess with their own dynamic and irl friendship. These kinda of things have happened before within the kpop world and I don't wanna see that happen here. Overall, it's a wonderful song, and their vocals go well together, and it's awesome they gave us something so beautiful.

TLDR; I'm not certain the new minsung single is a confession/confirmation on their relationship status, but I think it's more of a song meant to give Lee Know a chance to show off, and perhaps practice, his vocals outside of the group. And Han is there as his support, and also working on his own vocals, and the song also gives them both a great chance to hang out and make some music together.

Thanks for the ask though, I loved it, and I hope you're having a wonderful day too!

[tbh-entp]

in the final season of this love story with INFJ... 

See below the link if you want my musings.

I think I’ve come to terms with love is not all you need in a relationship! At least for me, there is an aspect of choice and what you’ll accept from someone... which it seems like I’ve always known but hadn’t put it to words until very recently.

INFJ and I went out quite a lot in the past couple of months but it was very ‘situationship’ given that I knew he was coming out of a relationship and wanted to leave the country for a short time. I helped him with his application letters and read thru his letters of rec and when this man finally asked me if we should try again. I was like sir, u tryna leave the country right?

It’s just amazing to me that I really feel that I love him and want to help him but at the same time, I’ve said no to him maybe three or four times since 2020--not including deflecting certain advances. So maybe I wasn’t letting my emotional conscious deal with the fact that my rational conscious did not want him. Also, we hooked up a month or two ago and I was lying there thinking oh wait... I didn’t feel anything? Or maybe it felt like an end. 

So ya! I think I was extrapolating romantic feelings that I had in the beginning of our relationship that had turned platonic. Also I very much know, and knew in 2020, that other than some sexy dramatics, he doesn’t offer me what I want. I think he wants me because he’s lonely. I also don’t really think that he knows what he wants and is chasing something. Meanwhile, I want a best friend and a partner. I also want some kids :). 

I recently met someone kind of great, an ENFJ, who I think was written by a woman (I’ll post abt this fabulous man later maybe idk but this helps me think?), and we’ve been dating for the past month. I broke the news to INFJ, who took it a little hard, and who apparently thought something was going to happen even though he’s moving to East Asia (bruh). I’m very pleased for the progress in any case <3, I’m very happy where I am these days, and I hope INFJ finds what he’s looking for!