#i love that he says her name and not “maria” even though that's her role

[the-prima-vista]

With those two flattened, there's no one to win the girl! How can the story possibly continue!?

[charliehoennam]

Jarhead

Chapter 1 - The Set Up

A/N: this is a little series based on Jake Gyllenhaal's character Anthony Swofford in the movie Jarhead. Jake is just too cute in the movie to ignore and I just wanna give him a happy ending with lots of angst on the way there. Shoutout to @juniebugg for the idea!

Pairing: Anthony Swofford x f!reader

Warnings: mentions of bad break-ups, flirtation, language, no smut....yet

Word count: 3,185

SHARING IS CARING, SO REBLOG!

You walked into the salon, greeting your lady co-workers as you strutted to your station. Doing hair was definitely not putting your degree in practice, but it got your bills paid. And you found it rather pleasing helping other regain their confidence. The salon belonged to your aunt and you had worked there since high school. It helped get you through high school and college, though it wasn’t quite enough to keep you from applying for student loans.

Despite not being in your area, you liked the salon. You liked the people you met, the elderly regulars that stopped by once a week for a perm or a manicure, the neighborhood gossip that they were always eager to share, the co-workers that always had your back.

One of them was Maria. She was a beautiful woman with long dark hair and tan skin that made even gold envious. She was admirable in so many ways. With her husband, Juan, away on deployment, she was quickly thrust into the role of a single parent to their 3-year-old son. She never complained about it. She might have complained about Juan and his habits, but never that he had to be away. In some ways, she was very thankful. The Marines had provided many benefits for them to compensate for his absence like providing stable housing, health-care and education for their family. Granted there were flaws in the system and his absence was at times unbearable, she understood and supported his decision to enlist. Aside from being a great wife and mother, she was also your great friend.

“Buenos, chica” she smiled hugging you. “How was your date last night?”

“Total dud. Just didn’t really click, you know?”

“Yeah, I know why too. You still hung up on that fool.”

“I’m not hung up on anyone.”

“Yes, you are. That puto lost the best thing that ever happened to him, but you know what? Good for you. You’re better without him and you deserve better than his broke ass.”

“Can we please not talk about him?” You sighed, eager to leave your ex in the past.

“As you wish, chica. Besides, I got someone I want you to meet.” She smirked widely prepping her hair brushes and combs to make sure they’re clean for a new day.

“He cute?”

“Don’t tell Juan, but he is fine, chica. I love my man, but I know fine when I see it” she laughed nudging you with her elbow. “His name is Tony, he’s gonna be at the barbeque we’re having for this weekend for Daniel’s birthday. You’re coming, right? Danny’s gonna be so sad if you don’t.”

“I’ll be there, don’t worry” you chuckled as you reassured her. “I already got his present and everything. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. You know how I adore that little man.”

And you really did. You often babysat him when Juan was on leave and needed some alone time with his wife.

“Good, because I already told Tony I’ll be introducing you to him.”

“Are you serious? You know how I feel about that, Mari.”

“Girl, don’t worry. I showed him a picture and he’s interested. I think you guys are a great match and Juan agrees.”

“Juan agrees with everything you say, he’s your husband” you laughed.

“Well, just come out and meet him. You don’t have to do anything and if you’re not interested, I’ll forget it. But trust me, you’re gonna wanna meet him” she chuckled with a smirk.

"Fine. I'll meet him, but I'm not promising anything."

From everything she described about Tony, you couldn't deny the butterflies forming in your stomach as the days went by. As the hours crept closer, they quickly began to swarm in your belly and you couldn't remember the last time you felt this way.

You decided to look extra nice that day. It was more than just a casual birthday party, but you also didn't want to go over the top. Settling on a new figure flattering skirt and cute top, you accessorized strategically with a cute necklace that hung just above your fairly modest cleavage. You weren't hoping to end up married by the end of the day, but Lord knows you needed some physical action.

The party was already in full swing by the time you arrived with your renowned dish of crispy and perfectly seasoned panko fried vegetables. Knowing they were a popular favorite among the adults, you'd made more than plenty in two large aluminum foil pans.

Walking into the backyard through the side gate, you immediately recognized the song playing from inside the house. Love Like This by Faith Evans was a personal favorite of Maria's and you had sung to that exactly CD mix in the car plenty of times driving home from your girls night out.

The kids were happily playing on the bounce house Juan had rented for the day. Some played in the pool, stopping only to find their parents for a drink of water. Most of the women were sat by the picnic table setting out the food, so you quickly made your way over to greet them. You knew everyone pretty well having been a family friend for years. Some were Maria's aunts and cousins. A few were your own co-workers and you greeted everyone, with a warm, bright smile and a gentle embrace.

Looking over at the grilling area that had been Juan's third pride and joy - second to the pool he had been finally able to afford and his very own family- you couldn't help but scan over the men gathered there. You couldn't make out what they were talking about, but you knew that Tony had to be one of them. Your heart raced at the thought.

Your eyes landed on a tall man stood beside Juan, helping him man the grill. His hair was short as if he'd been growing it out after a buzz cut. His features strongly resembled Maria's description. His smile stretched from ear to ear as he patted Juan on his shoulder, possibly complimenting him on something. You couldn't tell what he said; the distance and music didn't quite favor that. His long thick eyebrows intensified the bright blue orbs that shone even from a distance and sent goosebumps down your arms the second he caught you staring.

You blushed and quickly looked back down at your dish as you removed the aluminum foil to reveal the fried tasty side dish, secretly praying he hadn't noticed. But unknowingly to you, he had.

Just as you knew who he was, he knew exactly who you were as well. Juan told him all about you the day after he'd agreed with Maria to hook you two up. And Tony couldn't be more thankful. He was starstruck the minute he saw you arrived. Juan nodded at you with a smirk as he laid another steak on the grill.

"That's her, man. What do you think huh?"

"I think she's fucking beautiful, that's what I think" he chuckled excitedly as he patted his friend’s shoulder.  "What’s her name again?” he joked.

"Dude, I know your brain is small and can only process shit at a slow pace, but please don't fuck up her name" Juan joked.

"I got it covered, man. Relax. Y/N will be in good hands soon enough" Tony chuckles back at him.

After sharing a couple smiles and glances, you decided to make the first move and walked over to grilling area as the guys began served the perfectly charred meats.

"Think you fellas could spare me a steak?" You smirked glancing between them.

"You can have your pick, sweetheart" Tony smiled back. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Tony" he stated holding his hand out.

"Pleasure to meet you. If you're Tony, then I guess we hardly need an introduction. Maria's told me a bit about you already" you smirked shaking his hand.

"Has she?" You nodded with a smirk.

"Good things though. She said you're a real gentleman."

"I try to be, at least" he smiled.

Seeing him up close now, you couldn't help but take in all his details. His long brown eyelashes only embellished his blue doe eyes. Small brown freckles adorned his skin. His beard was grown out just enough to notice he had nice potential of beautifully growing it out to its full extent, but not long enough to hide the skin, dimples and freckles underneath it. He was a sight for sore eyes.

The attraction between you and Tony was undeniable. You invited him to sit with you at one of the fold-out tables to eat. The conversation flowed naturally as you savored your meal and watched the children play while the hours passed.  It might have been due to the fact that you had a bit in common like similar musical taste or interest in movies and books.

Not everything was in mutual interest and Tony liked that you were willing to debate and defend your beliefs. He admired that about you, that you stuck to your guns. He also liked that you didn't shy away from teasing and joking. It had felt like you'd known each other for years before. Like two old friends reunited after years apart, almost as if time had no effect. Tony had craved for that: the instant connection and not only attraction. He'd met plenty of girls before, but it had been a while since he felt a connection with someone. Due to the way his last relationship with his ex, Kristina, had ended, Tony hadn’t allowed himself to get too comfortable with girls. He had his flings and they stayed just that: flings with no emotional attachment. Until now. Until he met you. And his favorite thing about meeting you? How easily you made him forget about the world surrounding you both.

You two seemed to be inseparable the whole day until Daniel raced over to you, excitedly asking about the present you had promised. It was only then that you realized you forgot it in the car.

You made your way to the gate and left the backyard to walk out to your car. It had barely shut behind you when you heard it open back up. Turning around, you found Tony stepping out.

"Tony." You smiled curiously. "You forget something too?"

"Uh, no. Not exactly."

His lips curled into a smirk as he tenderly cradled the side of your neck. Guiding your lips to his, he pressed a sweet kiss. You could feel him smile into it as he relished the wet warmth of your lips slowly melting into his.

"I'm sorry. I probably should've asked first, but I've been dying to do that all day."

You could feel the blood rushing to your cheeks as you beamed up at him.

"N-no, don't apologize." You stuttered, still stunned at the very pleasant surprise. "I'm definitely not sorry about it at all."

"Neither am I really." He smirked and returned to the backyard with the widest grin on his face.

Juan was quick to notice the smile and seemed to read Tony’s mind when he walked back to continue his help, slicing and distributing the steaks, sausages and chicken wings.

“Oh, you went for it, didn’t you? Cabron! I knew you would. You’re a dog” Juan laughed, nudging his friend.

Soon after everyone had had a couple slices of the delicious chocolate cake, the party had come to its end and you offered to stay and help the small family clean up. Tony stuck around as well since you promised him a ride home, but he was more than quick to help out. So, you got ahold of a large garbage bag and went around the backyard, collecting the disposal plates, cups and forks that some guests had forgotten to throw out. Tony was further down the yard, helping Juan scrub the grill down.

Daniel sat up on the porch, opening his brand-new presents. You smiled as you watched his excited reaction to the new water gun you'd gotten him. It was more like a rifle and the size of it made the little boy even more eager to try it out. You were quick to offer to help him fill it up. Once it was full, his little legs quickly ran across the yard toward Tony and his father. His first victim was Juan. Tony was right after.

"Oh, no! Man down! Man down!" Tony exclaimed, holding the wet spot on his chest as he fell to one knee.

"Please, Danny. I thought we were friends. I let you have a cupcake before the cake." His voice was strained as if in pain.

You had to admit, Tony was a pretty good actor. The way he fell to his side when Daniel sprayed him again was pretty realistic. He played dead until Daniel was close enough. Suddenly shooting up, he grabbed the child careful enough to not hurt him and wrapped his arms around him. Daniel's laughs filled the air as he dropped the toy gun.

"Get his weapon, Cortez!"

Juan smirked and quickly picked it up to spray his son.

You chuckled as you watched the wholesome scene. Tony clearly had a way with kids due to his playful nature. It made you wonder if he would be the same with his own kids. It made you think about having your own kids and you wondered if that could happen with Tony, but it was far too early to even think about that.

"So, what do you think, chica?" Maria asked coming into the kitchen and snapping you out of your daze.

"Huh? Oh, sorry" you chuckled blushing. "About?"

"About Tony, duh!"

"He's uh definitely cuter than you described." You smirked, replying in the most modest way possible.

"I told you he was fine" she laughed. "You know he likes you too?"

"Does he?" You smiled thinking about the kiss.

"Yeah, but I think you knew that already."

Damn right, you did.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Maria handed you a couple of containers full of leftover food and cake. She'd always separate some for you to take home after get-togethers. It was her way of thanking you for all the help you gave them when they needed it.

“You sure you don’t mind that I’m kinda wet?” Tony asked slightly worried that he’d ruin your passenger seat as he fidgeted with the containers in his lap as you drove to his home.

“Don’t worry. This car has seen a lot worse” you chuckled. It wasn’t the fanciest car, but it served enough to get you from point A to point B.

“You got a pretty nice way with kids. You got any of your own?”

You wanted to be as subtle as possible about your curiosity in his past relationships and his opinion on having kids.

“I don’t, no. But who knows one day? I do have a sister though. Rini… She’s younger than me. Guess that’s how I got my way with ‘em.”

“Oh, that’s cool. I didn’t know you had a sister. She nice?”

“She’s great. Real sweetheart. I love her to death.”

“I take you’re very close?”

“Yeah. We try to be, at least. My folks aren’t exactly the Brady Bunch, so we try to be there for each other.”

The way he didn’t delve into too many details made you think it might have been a sensitive subject to touch on, at least for a first date. Despite being curious about his family history, you simply nodded and glanced at him with a smile.

“Family can be tough. Wouldn’t be family if they weren’t” you chuckled.

To diffuse the hidden discomfort, you reached out and turned on the radio. Skimming through the channels, he grinned when he caught the sound of one of his favorites, Hip Hop Hooray by Naughty By Nature.

“N-no, no, leave it there. This is a great song, one of my favorites.”

He quickly jumped into the middle of the first verse, rapping along to the song perfectly knowing every lyric by heart. You smiled widely listening to him before joining him in the chorus, waving a hand side to side to the beat of the song. He was surprised when you joined in on the second verse, proving you knew just as much as he did.

You sang along together the rest of the way. If there had been a worry in mind, neither of you could think about them now. It was a perfect ending the day you had. Neither of you wanted it to end just yet.

Pulling to the front of his humble townhouse, you parked and shut the car off.

“You know somethin’?” He started as he leaned back against the headrest, rolling his head over to gaze at you longingly. “I had a really great day, thanks to you. I was nervous when Juan said you’d be there today. I didn’t really know what to expect. But I’m really glad I met you.”

You smiled as you unconsciously mimicked his movement and leaned back into your seat.

“Don’t sweat it. I was nervous as shit too” you chuckled. “But I have no regrets. I had a great time too.”

“It doesn’t have to end if you don’t want it to.”

“You trying to say something, Tony?” you smirked.

“Maybe. I’m just saying” he shrugged with a sly smile. “Maybe you could come in and I dunno. Maybe have some wine with me.”

“I’m driving tonight though.”

“You could sleep it off at my place. Drive home in the morning.”

You wanted to say yes. You wanted nothing more than to mount him like a horse and ride him all night. You were eager to get laid at first. You hadn’t expected to really like Tony. The fear of coming off desperate must have been radiating off of you. You could’ve sworn he was reading your mind when he reached over to hold your hand as you began nervously picking at your nails.

“We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. I really mean that, sweetheart” he said with a soft comforting tone, looking down at your hands aa he thought about how perfectly they would fit together with his. “I just really like talking to you. And it’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to just talk, you know? You can crash on the couch if you want. I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

His concern for your sense of security was genuine. He wasn’t going to come onto you if you don’t want him to. It was everything you needed to hear to silence the doubt in your head.

“Yeah” you smiled from ear to ear. “I’d love some wine. And just you know, you don’t have to keep your hands to yourself.”

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 4 - Catholic Character Tournament

Propaganda below ⬇️

Knuckles

Knuckles is very heavily Christ-coded - walking on water, resurrection, prophecies, the whole nine yards. Not necessarily Catholic specifically, but I feel like there’s a comparison to be made between the Brotherhood and the Catholic Church as a structure. Also he’s made it to the semi finals of the Christ coded tournament if that means anything to you

God this whole thing was literally insane. Also pretty much completely forgotten as soon as p*nders was off the comic, which was probably for the best tbh.

Ken penders did a lot of wierd fucking bullshit, and made knuckles literally Jesus.

Nothing left to say except another fuck ken penders.

In the Archie comics, Knuckles inherits the role of being a spiritual leader to a lost tribe of Echnidnas, that have been wandering, searching for their prophesied homeland for centuries. Knuckles is the one to finally lead them there.

He also dies and comes back, and because of this is hailed as the prophesied “Avatar” by his people, the one who’s supposed to bring peace to their planet, Mobius. Cannot for the life of me remember where this went though.

It maybe isn’t allegorical as much as it is the writer thinking putting Judeo-Christian themes would make it cool or something. But the comparison to Jesus is at least intentional, whereas it probably isn’t with Shadow.

Shadow

In sonic destruction (the AI generated fan thing snapcube made a while ago) shadow was catholic or something which I think is reallyyyyyyy funny

Ok listen. I know this is a stretch but hear me out. He says “oh my God” in the Twitter takeovers so we know this is a possibility. I see him as a Christ-like figure because I saw his whole confrontation with Mephiles and was like “this is a thing that happened in the Bible??” and the pose Mephiles shows him in is literally like a crucifixion and Mephiles is meant to be a demon / false prophet reference. And also he’s called a demon in Shadow The Hedgehog 2005 then the guy who calls him that is like “I was wrong I’m sorry” and that also reminds me of a thing with Jesus in The Bible. But the biggest reason is his whole thing with Maria cause I think he’d come to earth and hear Ave Maria once and convert to Catholicism idk he’s like we’re comforted by a female familial figure named Mary sometimes called Maria?? And her color is blue????? Heck yeah I’m in because I Will Cry. Also feel free to share this as propaganda obv even if he doesn’t get in the bracket just. It’s funny.

I feel like he’d battle a lot with being seen or portrayed as a demon and how the aliens he’s related to very much look and act like demons idk lmao- and also I feel like confession would just be good for him I think he needs it for his mental health

There is a debate on the lovely website tunblr that Shadow T. Hedgehog is an allegory for Jesus Christ.

He is Jesus, idk what to tell you. He lived, he was sealed away, he was awakened again and deemed the ultimate lifeforms, he’s angry but not evil, does what he believes is best for people and the world at any given time. Total loser.

[regallibellbright]

I didn’t think of myself as a huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan growing up - we had the Advance games and played some of the Gamecube and DS ones, though Bro and I weren’t particularly good at any of them, and we watched Sonic X when it was on, but Sonic wasn’t a franchise I’d say I was particularly invested in until I got into the IDW comics (and to a lesser extent the Archie ones, since I haven’t actively read them yet but HAVE seen recaps) through Thanks Ken Penders back in 2020.

However, since I grew up in that post-Adventure era, even if I wasn’t ACTIVELY invested in Sonic and the lore, I did KNOW it. And so I’m always surprised to realize people DON’T know that the edgy black and red rival hedgehog who once had his own game where he had a gun has a canonical backstory in which he was the best friend/adoptive sibling to a terminally ill young girl (her age is never specified in the games but at oldest she’s in her midteens), the granddaughter of the scientist who created him (with the hope of somehow curing her We’re Not Calling It AIDS But It’s AIDS,) and also Dr. Eggman’s cousin. This ends when a thinly-veiled analog to the US military invades the space station he grew up on and murders everyone on it, including said terminally ill young girl, and Shadow only survives because Maria managed to put him in an escape pod where he’d stay in suspended animation for 50 years… after he sees her gunned down in front of him. Eggman and Maria’s grandfather/Shadow’s creator survives the initial massacre so the military unit can use his research, but he tampers with Shadow’s memory and builds a doomsday device in an attempt for revenge, and is ultimately executed. There’s a cutscene in SA2 where we see him just before this occurs. It’s EXACTLY as fucked up as you think. And yes, of course there are cutscenes where we see Maria’s death. Across multiple games, even. I have never played Sonic Adventure 2 but I have seen Maria gunned down plural times.

Which I admit, sounds wild when I put it that way. But because Shadow was a major recurring character and the games I played were in the “we brought him back now let’s give him a purpose” era, his backstory was always brought up and so I always just… consider this common knowledge. Like, yeah, of course one of the most popular characters in the franchise has a backstory involving the military executing all his family. This is in fact why he’s so popular. Everyone likes his edginess and also the genuine tragedy there, and his ultimate choice to be a hero so he can fulfill Maria’s dying wish that he protect the planet she always wanted to see.

So when the Sonic fanbase all LOST OUR COLLECTIVE SHIT at Shadow’s post-credits teaser in the second movie and realized all the pieces are in play for them to accurately adapt his backstory and Adventure 2, it was a genuine shocker to realize that tons of people just… aren’t familiar with the fact that what we’re pushing for, and why a lot of people thought they WOULDN’T go there, is Paramount signing off on a movie that is VEHEMENTLY anti-military and features a terminally ill child gunned down by them before our eyes. They’d better! Like, sorry Maria, I love AUs where you live and get to be more than the Sweet Saintly Dead Girl, but narratively you 1000% have to die. They’ve set things up for this. The Olive Garden guy shares a name and role with a character in the games who’s canonically a survivor of the same event. They have to go here.

Oh, and Sonic gets arrested in the opening sequence to cover for Shadow waking up and escaping their containment, because they can’t find Shadow so let’s blame a hedgehog we CAN find. This doesn’t work and results in one of the most beloved and iconic sequences in the franchise, to the point where I will genuinely think less of everyone involved’s competence if they DON’T in some way bring City Escape into the early marketing for Sonic 3. Like, it is that obvious a choice. Open your first trailer with the shot of him jumping off the helicopter with his makeshift snowboard and the guitar riff and you have guaranteed ticket sales. (Actually USE the song in the trailer and you’ve guaranteed more, the lack of Sonic music in the first two has been a glaring thing and Adventure 2 has two of the most iconic vocal numbers in the series.) I’ve never even played Adventure 2 and I know this. But the flip side of this is that if you DON’T allow this movie to actively criticize the military, you are therefore going to miss several of the most iconic moments of the game you are in some way adapting… and said game is one of the most beloved of the franchise, particularly on the story front. It’s great. I love that we’re here. I love that this apparently WASN’T common enough knowledge that Paramount could be lured into Shadow being staged in to the point that if they go back now, it’s CLEAR the writers and director wanted to go there and weren’t allowed to. And I am LOVING that people are finding this out NOW and then joining us in our “Do it Paramount, don’t be cowards” urging. Welcome to Sonic the Hedgehog! Our lore is weird but delightful.

[washipink]

Rain by Jocelyn Samara D Year 1: 2010-2011

erSo I recently found out that 1 year ago, a comic that was INCREDIBLY important to me as a trans middle schooler who went to catholic school had wrapped up. This year, I’ve decided I’m going to read through and review Rain by Jocelyn Samara, 1 year of the comic’s run at a time. First up: Year 1, which covers Chapter 1 (The New Girl) through Chapter 6 (Fallen Angel). I’ll be summarizing the story and characters for those unfamiliar, so feel free to follow along.

There’s a LONG-ASS post under that read more. If you have any experience with the comic or enjoy the post, please talk about it with me. It’ll be a good time.

Year 1 Summary

The star of the show is Rain, a transgender 17 year old girl who moved in with her Aunt Fara after her mother’s death. It starts on the first day of her senior year of high school, the first time she’s ever tried to pass as female in front of... anyone???

Based on some of the language used in the character bios, I should be very clear that this comic is from 2010 and written by a trans woman who is most likely older than most of my followers. There may be language used that you personally don’t agree with. I’m not a fan of being called transsexual myself, but there’s nothing wrong with saying it.

Anyway, the basic gist is that Rain passes EXCELLENTLY and attracts a lot of attention from her male classmates, much to her dismay.

But the men aren’t the only people with their eyes on Rain. Lesbian classmate, Maria and her fake boyfriend, Gavin make a bet of 5 United States Dollars out of who can talk to Rain first.

Here’s the rub: During Role, Gavin seems to recognize Rain’s last name. It’s the same as his childhood best friend, Ryan. Gavin and Maria then banter a little bit, jokingly saying “what if that IS Ryan? could ya believe that?”

Little do they know...

One thing about Rain is that its cast of characters is by no means infallible. Even characters that I came to love, like Maria, are kind of insensitive. Just about no one in this cast has ever MET a trans person in their lives prior to Rain. It’s very true to life in that way. You meet a lot of people that are ignorant or accidentally insensitive. And sometimes, they learn to stick up for you.

The realistic portrayal of how trans teens can be treated by other teens is one of my FAVORITE things about Rain.

Anyway, Gavin brings up Ryan Falherty to Rain, which causes her to panic and run away.

And Crash Directly into the fifth member of our main cast, RUDY!!!!

A rather gossipy gay boy that sees up Rain’s skirt and thinks she’s just a REALLY brave gay dude. He tells Gavin and Maria pretty much right away and Gavin does not take it well. The majority of Year 1 is spent on Gavin and Rain repairing their strained friendship after years apart from one another. That begins here, with Gavin confronting Rain about her identity.

Gavin’s super upset about the whole deal, but Maria and Rudy are some of Rain’s biggest shooters going forward. Even if they can ask a LOT of invasive questions.

If I’m being completely honest, there’s no MAJOR developments in Chapter 2. Fara gets a call from Rain’s older Sister about how their older Brother hasn’t talked to either of them in forever. This lays a few seeds for later events, but it is PRETTY unimportant for a while. There’s some really good emotional dialogue in it though.

In Chapter 3, Rudy’s meddling directly causes Rain and Gavin to reconcile. They have a discussion about how the reason she never told him was just that she was scared to lose her only friend.

MEANWHILE, in an attempt to make some actual friends, Fara reaches out to her neighbors and meets Ky(lie) and Heather Coven, a Gender Ambiguous Teen who goes to a different high school and her less approving older sister.

Kylie, also known as Ky, swaps gender presentations incredibly frequently, not really showing any bias for one or the other. So do not expect me to be consistent with their pronouns. Their gender is kinda messy. Almost like he’s some kind of... real person with a real life gender. Crazy.

Anyway, Fara invites them over and she and Heather get drunk, which means she can’t pick up Rain from the mall. Rain needs a place to sleep that night and Gavin invites her to stay with him.

This begins Chapter 4, in which Gavin and Rain realize that things may be different from when they were kids... but there’s a lot that hasn’t changed. Gavin remarks about how much more feminine Rain is than when she was a kid and how that’s WEIRD for him... but they end up playing a game from their childhood pretty much all night. It reminds them of all the good times and ignites within them the hope that they can have MORE good times going forward.

As an adult with friends I’ve had on-and-off relationships to, this speaks to me way more powerfully than ever before. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The next day, during her hangover, Fara sees Rain’s older brother on an ad for a dating website with his new fiance.

And on the way back to her apartment, Rain meets Ky for the first time. Neither one of them is aware that the other one has ANY kind of Gender going on and they won’t be for quite some time.

The chapter ends with Aunt Fara telling Rain about what happened with Aiken.

Chapter 5 is a simple one, Popular prep girl, Emily is giving out invitations to a Halloween party for her “perfect senior year”

Everyone but Rudy gets one, which causes Maria to give Emily a talking to. She assures Maria that he wasn’t intentionally excluded and it definitely wasn’t because he’s the only openly gay student in the whole school.

Oh, also a dude beats Rudy up for that exact reason, earning Maria’s fury later on. Rain invites Ky to come with the rest of them to the party.

Like I said, pretty simple chapter.

The last chapter of year 1 is Chapter 6: Fallen Angel.

Everyone is showing off their Halloween costumes before they leave for the party. Rudy’s reads as a bit insensitive to rain, as he goes as.... a high school girl.

We’ve all heard this one, right? young queer person that wants to toy with their gender expression uses a Halloween costume as an excuse? It can hit different watching your friend do this when you’re a stealth trans person and especially when you’re one as self-conscious as Rain.

When they reach the address for the party, they find out that Emily... has an older Boyfriend. Like, a WAY older boyfriend. Who lets all these literal teenaged children drink at a party in HIS HOUSE.

also he’s dressed as the devil in case you needed any more signals he was BAD NEWS.

This sounds like a good time for an aside: Fara is on a date with someone she met online. He works at a manga translator and offers to get Rain a meeting with her favorite mangaka.

Meanwhile, at the party, Chase seems to recognize Rain from somewhere. What could this mean?

Anyway, remember how I mentioned the underage drinking? Yeah, Rudy is HELLA drunk. And the results are not pretty.

The whole school sees this and is... BAFFLED. Because of course, Rudy is gay. how could he kiss a girl? Did he do it because he was dressed as a girl? Was it the alcohol? was RAIN Gay? Who knows?

The chapter ends on Rain riding home in tears.

Thus ends the first year of Rain.

Art

Ok, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. This art is... not too impressive. Every character looks like they jumped out of a How to Draw Manga book and Rain’s design is VERY 2010. Backgrounds are infrequent and many panels feature just 2 characters next to each other against a flat color.

But I think that’s okay. While the visual design of Rain is not immaculate, it’s certainly passable. Samara had a story to tell and she didn’t let her art hold her back. She just took pen to paper and let it go. As the comic goes along, you can tell she’s trying different things and experimenting with drawing a variety of poses. That said, the art style never really changes at all during the comic’s run.

Pure Unfiltered Story Opinions

Rain was one of the first real queer stories I’d gotten a chance to read. At the ripe, young age of 12, every word of it was unreal to me. A girl like me made REAL friends in spite of it all and got to be who she was. And now, reading it again, it really holds up.

Rain has a depiction of queer friendships that’s very true to a lot of peoples’ lived experience. Not everyone GETS each other, but they try. Sometimes, they ask a stupid-ass question. Sometimes, you get into fights. 

Also, sometimes people in your high school get prayed upon by creepy weirdos in their late 20s who think they can get easy tail from CHILDREN. (Trust, people. This gets addressed. This is NOT a fucking glorification and if anyone in the notes says it is, they’re blocked.)

I look forward to seeing where the comic goes from here and I hope you’re ready to take that journey with me.

[mzannthropy]

Sam Claflin + well developed female characters

I once posted a list of Sam's female-directed films [x], but as @jesstasticvoyage points out, it's also true that a lot of stuff he stars in features well developed female characters (I'm kinda tired of the "strong female character" phrase, so using this one instead). So, let's have a look at them.

The Hunger Games series (dir Francis Lawrence) - still the most obvious example for Sam as a role he's known for, and the purpose of this post. It's safe to say most people know Katniss Everdeen.

Their Finest (dir Lone Scherfig) - Gemma Arterton's character, Catrin, is an aspiring screenwriter hired to work on a script for a film about Dunkirk evacuation--this is a movie about a movie set during WW2. Sam is a fellow writer, in fact he is the one who discovered her. It's funny bc this takes place in 1940s and she gets the job of writing female characters, when even in our times we don't always have that. Worth noting is also Rachael Stirling's Phyl, a minor character but memorable and a lesbian--who doesn't die at the end. It's the straight relationship that gets treated like bury your gays trope this time!

The Nightingale (dir Jennifer Kent) - also known as the film in which Sam plays an absolute monster (you think Billy Dunne is bad, lol). The film centres on young convict Claire (Aisling Franciosi) seeking revenge for the indescribable harm done to her family. Basically, trigger warning for everything.

My Cousin Rachel (dir Roger Michell) - adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's novel. Sam plays Philip, the narrator, but Rachel is so intriguing, the whole story is named for her. She's played by her namesake, Rachel Weisz. There's also Louise (Holliday Granger), Philip's childhood friend. She's the relatable, girl next door type, but she is smart, in fact I think she is the one with the most braincells. (Also I have a theory about her, I think this version of Louise has a darker side!)

Enola Holmes (dir Harry Bradbeer) - title speaks for itself. Enola's mother is missing and the teenage heroine goes on a quest to find her and thus becomes a detective herself. Sam plays Mycroft, the eldest Holmes sibling, though he's far removed from the original Mycroft Holmes of Arthur Conan Doyle's books. Edith, who runs a teashop, is another notable female character.

Adrift (dir Baltasar Kormakur) - based on a true story of Tami Oldham, an amateur sailor, surviving 41 days adrift on the Pacific Ocean after a hurricane. Sam plays her bf Richard. Shailene Woodley has the role of Tami and is also the film's producer.

Riot Club (dir Lone Scherfig) - okay so what's this doing here, you ask, it's a film about an all-male elite club at Oxford. Yes but that's exactly the point, bc even though it is about an all male club, the female characters are surprisingly well developed. The play this is adapted from, Posh, was written by Laura Wade and the director is also a woman, so maybe it's not so surprising. We have Holliday Granger who plays the gf of one of the boys and Jessica Brown Findlay in the role of the pub landlord's daughter. Holliday's character certainly doesn't take any shit from the posh boys. Even Natalie Dormer in the role of a sex worker has enough self-respect to refuse their deranged requests, despite the amount of money it would earn her. Hence I include it on the list.

Charlie's Angels (dir Elizabeth Banks) - title speaking for itself, yet again. Sam's role is relatively minor.

Book of Love (dir Analeine Cal y Mayor) - a romcom. When Maria, played by Veronica Echegui, translates Henry's (Sam) unsuccessful book from English to Spanish, the book becomes a huge hit in Mexico. Turns out that while translating, she inserted some seriously hot steamy scenes. Sam travels to Mexico for promotion and the two of them now have to work together on the next book. So without Maria, the story would not exist and also, once Henry accepts the situation, he is happy to collaborate with her--and at the end, supports her in her own writing efforts. (If you can get round the premise, it is an enjoyable film.)

Daisy Jones and the Six - mini series based on a book of the same name. We have not one, not two, not three, but four amazing ladies to root for: Daisy, Camila, Karen and Simone. While Sam gives performance of a lifetime as the band's frontman Billy Dunne.

Other Notes:

Honourable mentions are Snow White (Kristen Stewart) in Snow White and the Huntsman, a film I have a definite soft spot for though there's many ways it could have been better. In The Corrupted Sam plays a convict who just got out of prison and reunites with his gf and son. The gf is played by Naomi Ackie. She's wary at first but does allow him back into her life and they get back together and raise their son. Unsure if another one of my faves, Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides apply. Sam's romance with the mermaid Syrena is my absolute favourite of his. She might seem helpless for majority of her screentime, bc she gets captured, turns human on dry land and is unable to walk as she's not used to having legs, Philip (Sam's character) has to carry her. But she was the one who saved him first. And POTC overall is not without good female characters.

[docholligay]

Two questions! Which of the three protag-villains is your favorite so far? And what did you think of the little interlude where you entered the mirror between doors?

Oh, I would say probably Maria? I support women's wrongs, obviously, and Maria's absolutely wild long-con game and her joy over playing both sides is just, a whole other thing, and I love it. She's horrible, and she holds a grudge, and we're completely here for it.

If we're talking about 'dudes the white haired girl ends up with' in this role, actually...Jacopo. I was going to say Yukimasa, but I thik I just find parts of his story really compelling in PART, more than I like him so much, if that makes sense. But Jacopo is a particularly interesting breed of tragedy to me, and I feel for him more than I do Mell or Yukimasa, even if I'm like, 'Congratulations! You've caused 90% of your own problems!" (Though admittedly that is all of them)

Thank you for reminding me! I have a whole page of notes on that scene but got so caught up in "It fucking was not 1869" that I forgot it completely:

PLEASE DON'T CONFIRM OR DENY OR SPOIL ANYTHING

So this guy is related to the White Haired Girl, almost certainly, and there's a part of the door where they say something about her name being female but the same as a guy's, so...is her name Michelle? Because Michel/Michelle is a real easy jump.

He says that the witch's name is Morgan, so we're definitely doing a Morgan le Fay thing here, but then he also says that the witch is me. So there's something complicated going on with identity there, and this must be why the White Haired Girl continually gets accused of being the witch. Is it about the idea of who the witch is, like, are he and her the witch in the eyes of the people, so what he's saying isn't wrong, but the HOUSE itself is Morgan, is the witch--in door two specifically I remember the house having a real malevolent nature that seemed separate from anything else. The house is the narrative, the house is the witch, the witch is the story, I don't know there's something in there but I can't quite get to it. Writers create stories, they create conflict within them, writers often bring back the same KINDS of characters with different names over and over again. I don't know if this is anything.

Giselle: i don't know who the fuck this bitch is. The maid, maybe?

I have a note about the landscape painting, but I can't go back far enough in my backlog to see the scene! It struck me for some reason enough to note it down though.

[the-widow-sisters]

Okay, so I just finished the Captain Marvel MPower episode...

I have literally so, so many thoughts about this and I am literally gushing, so just be ready when you move under the cut.

But before the cut...

THEY SAID CAPTAIN MARVEL WAS THE MOST POWERFULLLLL!!!!!!!

Okay, now that I’ve gotten it out of my system, please proceed under the cut for more Carol fangirling/obsessing.

Gosh, where do I even start....

The fact that Brie Larson was an absolute queen when training for this role? I mean, this girl was pushing cars, climbing mountains, flying in a real freaking jet?!!! And she kept a smile on her face the whole time, handling it like the true hero that she is 🥰🥰🥰

And then when it got time for them to talk about Maria and Carol..... 

My gosh, I literally was grinning like an idiot. Their relationship is not romantic. It’s friendship. It’s love that you have for another person without romance required. It’s one of the purest kinds of love you can have. It’s platonic and it’s beautiful. Brie said that the love of Carol’s life is her best friend, and she truly could not have phrased it more beautifully. 

And then there was that little extended cut where they were showing Carol and Maria’s hug after Carol had the flashbacks of who she was before, and Maria’s little “I got you” had my heart positively melting. 

Maria and her were so, so sweet, and it was so nice to hear validation of the understanding that I’ve always had regarding the nature of their relationship. They’re best friends, and sisters even and they have such a deep bond that completely moves past the idea of the romantic. It eclipses that and pulls them into a league all of their own. A relationship doesn’t have to be romantic for two people to be insanely close and hold each other in the highest esteem and as their number one.

And don’t even get me started on Akira Akbar’s portrayal of Monica and just her relationship with Brie. Granted, I only got one little shot, but you perfectly can see just how sweet Brie is with her and how that truly is her little Monica 🥺🥺🥺🥺

Monica is literally her baby, and I cannot wait for her to meet with her in their upcoming movie. They’ve got to fix this rift between them and I need to see some hugs, Marvel 😤

And then there’s that part of the movie where Carol says “My name is Carol” with the tear rolling down her cheek? Brie did that. She brought that side of Carol forward, showing her emotions and the beauty of combining ultimate power with ultimate vulnerability. It was truly an artful moment with so much depth that so many people seem to overlook in favor of calling Carol “too emotionless.” 

Carol had emotions. People try to claim that she’s too cocky or something, but to that, I say look at Tony. He’s the most arrogant of them all, and somehow a ton of people excuse it and love him. Steve was arrogant in his own way. He was closed-minded and unable to understand reality for the sake of his own idealism. I love both of these characters dearly, but you can’t make exceptions for these and condemn Carol when Carol wasn’t even as arrogant as them. 

Carol had a sense of cockiness to her, sure, but it was not overwhelming to the point that she walked around like she had the whole universe in the palm of her hand (like she definitely did). It was actually even cute in a way. Many people actually seem to confuse her lack of knowing how to work on a team as arrogance when she simply just did not have that much experience with working with others often.

Carol is so inspiring and Brie, too. She’s literally the perfect pers on to play this role, and she truly brings such a real and human quality to this character. She is this character. She has put her heart and soul into Carol and even though she says that she’s simply a conduit for a concept, she truly is Carol in so many ways. 

I mean... if she wasn’t that awesome, then why in the world did Airforce enrollment of women go up by 50% after the release of Captain Marvel? Like I said, she’s an inspiration and truly the best actress to play this role. Carol’s my favorite character, and I will be eternally grateful for Brie’s incredible ability to bring her to life in such a meaningful and powerful way.

Which brings me to another of my most favorite points of all.

Carol being confirmed as the most powerful character in the MCU was extremely gratifying for me. I’ve been saying this forever, and while so many people want to get upset about that and argue that Wanda or Thor or someone is most powerful, it comes down truly to seeing it for what it is. I love Natasha. She’s one of my most favorite characters, but I have the ability to see that Carol could mop the floor with her if she wanted to. Carol could mop the floor with pretty much any MCU character with the greatest of ease. She faced Thanos effortlessly and he had the full glove of Infinity stones. Of course she’s going to be the most powerful. She may be my favorite, but I can view it with enough objectivity to know that she is truly the most powerful character of all.

So many people are going to hate her even more now that it’s confirmed that she’s indisputably the winner in terms of power. But I love my strongest and most powerful Avenger 💫💫💫⭐⭐⭐⭐✨✨✨✨

[campercabeth]

Awesome! Thanks! Feel free to answer privately out publically, doesn't matter to me! So my nephew really struggles with knowing who or what is important and what's extra so he gets bogged down. Who are the main characters (and can I trouble you for a short summary of them, some spoilers are okay!)? Who are background/extra characters that can be given a very brief description (e.g. Mrs so-and-so: a boring teacher). What myths should I tell him about before he reads the book, and what ones are good enough to just read in the text?

Hello hello again! Buckle up! :)

Putting it under a read-more for those who don't want to scroll past a (potentially) long list. This does include major spoilers for the series as a whole. Feel free to describe these things or keep them to yourself for your own future reference down the road as y'all read!

I very well might forget things and add on to this after I post this. It's off the top of my head, but I'm writing out things and people that I can remember!

Main characters:

Percy Jackson: son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. Eventually the hero of the prophesy and boyfriend of Annabeth Chase.

Annabeth Chase: daughter of Athena and Fredrick Chase. Invaluable support to Perseus Jackson, and his best friend throughout the series (minus Grover), and eventual girlfriend.

Grover Underwood: satyr. Life's mission is to find Pan.

Secondary characters:

Luke Castellan: son of Hermes and May Castellan. Has own arc we follow as the books progress.

Thalia Grace: daughter of Zeus and Beryl Grace. Comes back to life in a later book. Will she/won't she be prophesy child? Who knows?

Nico di Angelo: son of Hades and Maria di Angelo. Brother of Bianca and baby boy who has done nothing wrong in his life ever. Jk. Except for the war crimes and lying (one of those is a lie). But we love him anyways!

Chiron: centaur/mentor for CHB as a whole. Tends to stay out of action for the most part.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare: mortal friend of Percy Jackson, has a larger role later on in the series. Namely books 4 and 5.

Sally Jackson: Percy Jackson's mother and lover of Poseidon. A good momma who tried her very very best to help her son as she was able growing up.

Gabe Ugliano: Bad. Mean. Ugly. No. We do not like him here in this household. Rat. Stinky man. Ew.

The gods:

Zeus: Percy's uncle, King of the Gods, heavens, Olympus, skies. Father of Thalia. Symbol of power is thunderbolt.

Poseidon: Percy's father. King of the Sea, earthshaker, father of monsters. Symbol of power is trident.

Hades: Percy's uncle, King of the Underworld. Father of Nico and Bianca di Angelo. Antagonistic but not bad character. Symbol of power is helm of darkness.

Hera: Meet in book 4. Helpful at first, but antagonistic. Wife (and sister) of Zeus.

Athena: Annabeth's mom, Goddess of war, arts and crafts, rivalry with Poseidon and to a lesser extent, Percy. Do not antagonize at ALL. You will not win.

Mr. D: Trapped at CHB as punishment, God of Wine, revelry, insanity. Doesn't like Percy for forever, but does soften up as the series goes on.

Hephaestus: don't see much of him. Helpful on book 4, God of metalwork, blacksmiths, etc.

Hermes: Messenger God. Son of Zeus, Father of Luke. Loves his son, cannot help him.

Demeter: don't see much of her. Goddess of agriculture and grain, harvest.

Apollo: Twin brother of Artemis, god of Archery and the Sun. Helpful, if annoying.

Artemis: Twin sister of Apollo, god of Archery and the hunt. Maiden Goddess.

Ares: Antagonistic and annoying. God of (bloody and violent) war. Wants to start chaos to laugh.

Aphrodite: Goddess of beauty and love. Though love plays a role in the series as a whole, she is barely seen in the series.

As for some of your other questions, I really just recommend letting him get into the story and decide if he wants to continue on reading the myths and such. I can't even begin to try and say that Rick did a great job at research, but he did try, kind of. You don't want to overwhelm your nephew with so much info that he decides it's too much of a hassle to try and enjoy these books as books, you know? The PJO series is one very near and dear to my heart, and I've been reading it since the OG series was coming out. It was my intro to Greek and Roman myths, and I think it's a pretty good one, all things considered. If he has any questions about where myths came from, I've heard that theoi is a good jumping off point, though parts of the myths might need to be toned down a LOT to explain to him. Greek myths as a whole are pretty messed up. Currently, I've been reading the Iliad and the Odyssey, both by Homer. There's also the Percy Jackson wiki, which has a lot of spoilers, but might be good for your own personal reference?

Basically I'd say try to sift through the myths by googling them, and decided on how you would like to relate that info to him, if that makes sense. A lot of the way that Rick presents things is... lacking, but as I said earlier, it's an okay jumping off point. Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions! :)

[justsomefangirlie]

Being the son of Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Headcanons)…

Inspired by @shenanigans-and-imagines & @moonlit-imagines headcanons….

Pre-CM:

. Obviously expecting you around the same time Maria was still pregnant with Monica.

. Already planning ahead with play dates to make sure those kids are as tight knit as they are.

. When she found out you’re going to be a boy, her prior excitement hadn’t changed, she didn’t care whether you’d be a boy or girl.

. Though a part of her was relieved you’d be a boy since she could share all of her interest with you a bit more easily.

. Let’s just the say the moment you were born and growing up there was no doubt you were Carol Danvers kid.

. You had her determination, her stubbornness, to be bigger and fondness for the outdoors (she took you camping quite often by the time you were only seven).

. You were, unsurprisingly, close with your mother. You thought she was one of the coolest people you knew, after aunt Maria of course.

. And of course, you were her world. She just adored you and Maria joked that he was becoming a momma’s boy from all her constant attention on him…

“Be careful, he might never want to leave your side,” Maria joked.

“So, let me enjoy while I can, before he gets embarrassed by me,” Carol said.

. You had no idea who your father was, and honestly you didn’t care that much with a mom like Carol she filled both roles just fine.

. You quickly got a love for flying and piloting from her and you even wanted to be a pilot when you grew up.

. Carol gave you the nickname ‘Maverick’ after one of her favorite movies, Top Gun. (Don’t know if it’s canon, but I feel like that’d be MCU Carol’s favorite movie).

. And she’d let you wear her navy jacket sometimes, and then she’d laugh at seeing how big it was on you.

“Don’t worry, bud. You’ll grow into it someday,” she said, trying to comfort you upon seeing your pout.

. Her and Maria’s plan for constant playdates worked, since you and Monica had basically become mini versions of them.

. Becoming best friends and almost like siblings.

. Just when you thought everything was fine, your Mom was suddenly reported missing.

Events of CM:

. It was the worst day of you life for you.

. You had no idea where she had gone to, all that you known was that her plane crashed but she wasn’t found.

. Maria, always being like a second mother to you, took you in.

. She looked after you and tried to make you feel more at home the best she could, but you were still a child with the fear that you’d never see your mom again.

. And you were big enough to admit that you cried a lot those first couple of days.

. Often in your new room, Maria’s guest room she cleaned out for you, she would be there to comfort you, while Monica, still being a child herself, tried to help too.

. She’d offer up some of her toys and games over to you, in hopes you’d feel better and help distract you, even for a little while.

. While you were still sad you eventually got accustomed to your new lifestyle with Aunt Maria.

. And just when you’d come to accept it a surprise happened…

. Your Mom had returned!

. Granted she was wearing a strange costume and a man was accompanying her (you’d later learn his name was nick fury).

. The moment you saw her you ran right up to her…

“Mom! Your back…” you cried running up to her and giving her a hug.

You knew something was off when she didn’t return the hug, you looked up and saw she was looking down at you with a confused look on her face.

“I’m sorry, you must be mistaking me for someone else…” she said.

. Not the reunion you had hoped for.

. Turns out she had apparently been kidnapped by people from outer space and had her memories wiped.

. You’d usually had been excited about learning that aliens existed, but your Mom couldn’t even remember you and that was what you were focused on.

. You briefly managed to to take her up to your new room and show her some pictures and belongings you had in hopes that maybe it’d help.

. It didn’t.

. And despite Carol not recalling you, she felt bad for not. You seemed to care a lot for the person she once was.

. Which made her all the more determined to figure out what was happening and get to the bottom of it…

.(one rescue mission with skrulls later)

. She eventually regained her memories, including you.

. And after she had defeated her former captors and saved the skrulls she returned back to you.

. A much happier reunion this time considering she actually remembered you now.

. Plus, you got to meet actual aliens. You and Monica got along well with the young Ga’ia.

. Soon Carol had to leave, return back to space to find the Skrulls a new home and protect the galaxy with her new found powers.

. You were sad that she was leaving again, but at least you know where she’d be this time. In space being a superhero.

. And Monica choose her suit colors but you inspired her name.

“Mom, your going to be really mar…marve-marvel, out there!” You struggled with the word.

“You mean marvelous?” She asked.

“Yes,” but she liked marvel more.

Post-cm(pre-wandavision):

. Growing up without her was a challenge at times.

. Especially since you were the only boy in the house.

. But you still had Maria and Monica for support.

. She sometimes make quick stops by earth to see you, but each visit would seemingly become shorter and shorter, since she’d be needed to protect another planet somewhere and then she’d be off again.

. You understood, but you still felt left behind every time she would leave.

. You didn’t want to be selfish, you knew being a hero meant she had a lot on her plate.

. But you just sometimes wished she would stop being the hero captain marvel around you, and be your mom Carol Danvers again, even for a little while.

. And Carol felt it too, whenever she found downtime to check in on you she’d be astonished at how much you’d grown since the last time she saw you, like since when were you already eighteen?

. Deep down she did feel like she missed out.

. Monica was you main support for you complicated feelings towards her.

. Although sometimes she wasn’t the best to talk to since she herself had conflicting feelings about Carol, especially seeing her leaving as full on abandoning you.

. Which you denied.

. You eventually grow up and graduated from school, until everything bad seemed to be happening at once.

. Maria was hospitalized and then the blip happened.

. Both you and Monica were some of the many victims of it.

. Until you both came back, and it had been five years later and Maria was gone.

. Monica’s feelings toward Carol soon turned to full blown resentment.

. You didn’t want to get into it, you just choose better to never talk about her around Monica.

. Being the only family you two had left you both accepted jobs at Maria’s agency S.W.O.R.D together.

. And your first case, westview.

Wandavision:

. At first you both were like everyone else, completely in the dark as to what caused this force field to come upon this small town out of nowhere.

. The group you and Monica got saddled with was an interesting pair to say the least.

. First their was Darcy Lewis, or Dr. Lewis. As she’d correct you to call her.

. You also learned her sense of humor of an, acquired taste.

. Joking whether or not you and Monica were dating…

“So are you like an item?”

“What?” Monica asked.

“You know a couple, dating, smooches and such,” she went on.

You both visibly looked grossed out.

“She’s like a sister to me,” you said.

“Oh,” Darcy said nonchalantly “so your single?”

. Then there was Jimmy woo, who was slightly more professional. Except for the fact that he seemed to be a hero fanboy and asked about Captain Marvel every chance he got.

“What’s she like, personally?” He asked.

“Y’know, normal. Like everybody else,” you looked at Jimmy knowing he wanted more details.

“Her favorite movie is top gun,” you said unsure if he’d like that.

“I knew it!”

. But the four still made a good team, especially when you found out that fellow avenger Wanda Maximoff was in said town.

. You tried to talk Monica out of going into the hex.

“Don’t do this, it’s crazy you release that right?” You said.

“Have I ever proven not to be, I’ll be careful I’m attached to the string you can pull me back out I’ll be fine,” she reassured you.

. She was not fine.

. She had gotten trapped and now part of this strange seemingly always changing eras sitcom world that westview had become.

. And she was finally launched back out she told you about her discovery that Wanda was the one behind it all.

. You went along with her plan to try and reason with her, but let’s say those attempted didn’t work.

. Soon the hex expanded, and while her and Jimmy got away you got caught in it while trying to help Darcy.

. The next thing you knew you had thought your whole life you’d been a circus performer.

. Soon, hex vision found the two of you and recognized you both. He released you both from the hex’s spell and the three of you were off to find Wanda and stop S.W.O.R.D’s attempts at apprehending her.

. You had managed to reach the town square in time to witness Monica nearly get shot by Haywood in an attempt to protect Wanda’s sons.

. But when the bully’s went right through her and her eyes glowed and she was completely unharmed you were just as confused as she was.

“Do you have powers?!” You asked frantically.

“I guess so,” she answered unsure herself.

. Soon the hex was lifted and Wanda had left you two knew there was a chance that you’d not be returning to duties anytime soon.

. Until you were given a call and told to meet up at an abandoned theater.

. The shield agent that meet up with you turned out to be a skrull in disguise saying that Nick Fury would like the two of you to work with him up in S.A.B.E.R headquarters with him.

. And with Monica’s newfound powers you both accepted the offer.

That brings an end to the headcanons for now, maybe I’ll do a follow up when the Marvels comes out finally! Since I’m now thinking about captain marvel since that movie’s first trailer. If anyone would like that.

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

[kiroonsmoon]

My brain physically will not allow me to make a pokemon trainer oc without giving their team personalities. So my Pokemon Rejvu OC Fate and her team and how she interacts with them (+some minor things with how Fate’s team interact with other Rejuv characters haha) cuz they’ve been on my brain. All under cut cuz OOF this came out a lot longer than I expected.

Her Incineroar and starter, Andie, is actually a very jolly kitty even if his species really doesn’t look like it lol. He adores pats and will headbutt you for them. Unlike his trainer though, Andie is MUCH smarter than Fate. Due to that he is often looking out for her and will stop her if Fate does something he considers ‘dangerous’ or ‘stupid’, which is a lot of things in his eyes. You know how mother cats carry their kittens? Yeah, that’s Andie with Fate, he just grabs her by her hood and carries her around. Andie’s full name is actually Anthony and whenever Fate is mad at him she’ll just shout “ANTHONY!” And Andie will instantly stop what he is doing. You know you’re in trouble when your full name is used.

Captain, her Flotzel, gets a lot of anxiety and wants to do the best for Fate he can. Being abandoned by your former trainer will do that to you, that trauma just doesn’t go away. Fate doesn’t really care about her Pokémon’s ‘strength’ though and is happy that Captain is apart of her team. Though she does understand that Captain’s got more anxiety and insecurities compared to her other pokemon and tries to give him praise/compliments and chances to shine when possible. Captain likes to give her small gifts in response, which Fate greatly appreciates. If possible, Fate weaves the gifts Captain gives her into a thing (which I haven’t thought about exactly what it is yet shhh) so she can keep the small gifts safe :).

Her Meowstic is named after Maria. Fate was pretty upset and worried for her after having to leave suddenly, not knowing if she was safe or not. She found comfort with the Espurr at the playground. So Fate named her Marianette when she decided to come with her. Marianette likes to play, but can get tired pretty quickly. She’ll either fall asleep on Fate’s shoulder or Fern’s back. She honestly likes to use any living thing she can see as a pillow. When she’s not sleeping she’s usually the one trying to get the others to train and other things. She’s always ready for a good battle!

Her decidueye Fern on the other hand is much like Fate. They’re both fucking dumbasses. Peas in a pod, birds of a feather, soulmates you could say. Fern’s just vibing, he doesn’t know what is going on or why he’s here. He followed Fate at first cuz she had shiny things and now he’s caught up In possibly saving the world. Fate likes to groom his feathers cuz he helps her calm down, as he’s one of the more quiet members of her team. Also Fern’s highly food motivated and has stolen multiple people’s food. Fate? Definitely. Melia? Stolen. Venam? You betcha. Erin? Got screamed at but yep. The only person he hasn’t stolen food from is Ren, because robots don’t need to eat but one day he will and that is a THREAT.

Carnation, being Nancy’s former Sylveon, has decided that he’ll watch over Fate for Nancy. A tall order given Fate’s everything. He usually always has a ribbon around Fate’s arm or leg. He likes to stay especially close to Fate as well. He also kind took over a ‘parent’ role for the rest of the team, especially Lucy. Carnation is honestly tired but he loves Fate all the same, knowing she’s trying her best. He also appreciates Andie’s help in watching over Fate. Tfw your own pokemon basically become your dad’s. Carnation also watches over Ren too in a similar way to Fate. He really appreciates Ren for saving him and taking care of him until he joined Fate’s team. So Ren has also joined his school of “kids who make me so tired but I love them so I will kill you if you hurt them”.

Fate always kinda wanted a Mimikyu since going through the Alternative Timeline with Melia. Fate was like “oh my god Mimikyu are so cool, Melia do you where to get one I want one too!!”. So finding Lucy was exciting for Fate but she also knew she couldn’t leave her behind cuz bro why are you locking pokemon in cages??? Lucy was pretty timid of everyone at first but she soon eventually became more comfortable around everyone. She’s always around someone wether it be Fate or one of her teammates. She likes to just tap people and stare at them for a few moments before gifting a shiny rock and walking away without giving them time to react. She’s pretty quiet, not saying much but she really appreciates everyone in her team. Similar to Captain, Fate keeps all the rocks she gets from Lucy in a small bag! Fate also uses her sewing skills to fix up Lucy’s cloth when it gets damaged in battle and in turn Lucy helps Fate with her projects.

[bewareofitalics]

The first bottom two pairs are Emotional Sandy, Baby Sandy, Second Chance Danny, and Boy Band Danny. I suspect Baby Sandy and Boy Band Danny get kicked off next - they're the ones I remember the least (the other two were featured heavily in the audition episodes).

Oh, the bottom four still get to perform? They don't do the sing-off until the end? I guess that's better than not letting the losers perform what they'd been rehearsing all week, but it does seem terribly inefficient.

It's musical theatre week! Max gets "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and Laura gets "Superstar." Wow, so Danny and Sandy. Then there's Wholesome Danny with "Footloose" and Ballerina Sandy with "Take That Look Off Your Face," which make more sense.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, I'm sure you did actually know this, seeing as it's your song, but "Take That Look Off Your Face" was not "made famous" by Denise Van Outen. What about Marti Webb? And Sarah Brightman? And Bernadette Peters? You can compliment Denise without erasing history!

Bellhop gets "Burning Love" and Rock Chick gets "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina." I'm noticing a pattern of Sandys singing ALW and Dannys singing songs that technically have been in musicals. (I mean, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" originated in a film musical, but Max did the pop version.)

...okay I guess I remembered wrong and Rock Chick wasn't complaining about there not being enough to act, just that she was having trouble "loving her song." So my reaction back then was probably, "But there's so much to act in it!!!!!!!!!" Also she pronounces "promise" like "prom-oss." It's annoying.

ALW jokes that he and David Ian should've called the Maria show "You're the Nun That I Want." Also, he would have liked the Dannys and Sandys to be "more diversified [...] in the type of performers," and yeah, the judges did pick a pretty samey bunch. Character type aside, Boy Band Danny is the only one who looks even a little "ethnic" (dunno what his background is, other than being Mormon, but apparently his last name is Basque?), and if I'm right about him not having lasted long in the competition, I suspect that's partly why. America! Though the voters were at least open-minded enough to pick a quirky Danny (who later came out as non-binary, even) and a brunette Sandy. And the Danny runner-up was blond, gasp!

Oo, group performance of "The Phantom of the Opera!" It's awkward. And ends with Kate Rockwell very abruptly doing the high note. Well, a high note, I don't think it's anywhere near as high as Christine gets. Which is fine, they're not auditioning for a soprano role!

Ambitious Danny sings "My Eyes Adored You" "from" Jersey Boys and Kate sings "Buenos Aires" (she does not have the low notes). The pattern holds. ALW did write songs for men, people! You made a Sandy sing one of them!

Hey, the pattern has broken! Hot Danny, the blond one, is singing... "Ease On Down the Road" from The Wiz. Yikes. And Spiritual Sandy gets "Memory."

WAIT WAIT WAIT they're doing the sing-off before any of the bottom four perform. The winners have to perform right after that, and the losers don't get to do their songs after all. Oh, that is mean. Also, they say who had the least amount of votes and it's Boy Band and Baby. I guess Second Chance and Emotional were helped by the power of the narrative, because their solo performances were not good. The sing-off song is "Tears on My Pillow," which Billy Bush says is from Grease. It was in the movie, but it's certainly not from there. The (main) judges decide who to save as a group, and David Ian delivers the verdict: Boy Band and Baby are staying.

Boy Band sings "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly, no mention of it even being in a musical, though it does appear in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. And Baby sings "I Don't Know How to Love Him."

Tonight's judges' choices: Hot Danny and Laura (David Ian), Wholesome Danny and Spiritual Sandy (Kathleen Marshall), Max and Laura (Jim Jacobs), Wholesome and Laura (ALW).

And then, at last, Second Chance Danny and Emotional Sandy say goodbye with "Sandy" and "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (reprise)." They do not have to give up any parts of their costumes or ride moons or anything.

[livecharliereaction]

manga ep2 big post part 2/?

this art style is kind of crazy ANYWAY. Ughhhhh. Somehow this too is about yasuda gender. Its so. Endless gender for the endless witch

Made jessica cry. Jessica im so sorry

completely forgot this is like A Rosa Episode lowkey ouhhhhh In the end. I love her too. But thats just because i can see...

COLOREEEED PRETTYYY oh shannon kanon counter but its just them and genji too

she said witch beatrice shes so fun i love her another fave-since-ep1 for sure

Keeping an eye on her and genji as well. Ugh. And nanjo too.

Hardest two in all of life <- i typed this sentence then looked away from the puter to talk to family for 2 secs and looked back and realised it doesnt make any fucking sense but i agree

Whys this art style making him look crazy cool well hes cool in ryukishi too but its like lame-cool this is like well i dont know

most normal girl ever

thank god for the love that i can see with because she is so evil. maybe its pretty privilege too Oh but rosas pretty and yet i hated her at one point. Idk something about eva is just. Ughhh

NOT sure about her btw im interpreting it as yasuda playing with her and marias fun and kanon here is kinda just hoping to get a perspective But also could be a lot of her doing play-pretend based on like A few interactions. I have to take a big look at mariage sorciere when its more relevant i mean itll be talked here but other eps too

BADDIE. Why i kinda like this style so much?!!!? Anyway easy to explain why rosa can see her (yasuda felt bad for little maria and dressing up. ill have to look but that might be the distinction between the two outfits)

Study door handle burned her hand i guess its because kinzo shouldnt be seen right now

SHES MENTIONING HOW KANON DOESNT HAVE TO BE FURNITURE ANYMORE I FORGOT ABOUT ALL OF THAT SHE KEPT PROMISING IT BUT I NEVER REALLY UNDERSTOOD. OH MAN

Exact same rank...

Lol gohda is so. Such an inoffensive character all in all? He does NOTHING for us. Or maybe i just dont have the love to see it. Like what his role is in the big picture. Hes just there. I dont think thats a bad thing though

Its so fucking good. Makes you wonder though. About genji kumasawa and even nanjos motivation to let her do her thing... Because kinzos supposedly already dead, are they really so loyal to give him his "redemption" despite that...

He says he never met her though and he doesnt think they had a child. Ugh.

maria keeps saying crazy things shes so funny light of the party

sayo. Ohmmmmm. I think the translation team changed cos the other one had her tell him her name is kiyo no? yeah i checked she definitely told him that. thats interesting

shes so funny i love her sense of humor its so great. Anyway one of the most iconic scenes in this ep commence

shes sleeping guys no shes meditating

girlslove

u crazy

I FORGOT ABOUT THIS BEING HERE OH MY GODDDDDD OK OK OK OK

i remember being a little confused when i first read on why tf they were focusing so much on the locked rooms but thats the thing now. and besides how else would u approach it well i dont know

its all about the closed rooms and the closed (cat)boxes etc

i need her . When her demeanor and appearance are partially specifically tailored for battler to like her Well call me battler cos it works. It does make u feel a bit bad though doesnt it

he doesnt like the rule though hes all zen zen dame da about it

shes got the gun and shit shes taking chargeeeeee.... queen

oh hell show UP ALRIGHT seriously one of my fav scenes to this day and this is like what ep 2

eughhhhhhh ughhhhh uhghhhhghghh well Yyeah To be fair with the truth and all im still not sure how it was done something something kumasawa or whatever its conceivable

they draw her so strange (good)

Omg its just like ep6

GIRLSLOVE

battler asked rosa how she can prove shes not a wolf Ohhhh girl. Hey maria. Im going to be the father that stepped up

[ofstarsandvibranium]

It's So Real With You

Fandom: Marvel (Celebrity AU)

Pairing: Chubby!Bucky x F!Reader

As requested by anonymous: Chubby bucky as an older Hollywood celebrity who falls in love with the new up and coming young actress he’s costarring in a movie with ? 🥺

You and THE James "Bucky" Barnes sat at your very first press junket for the new rom-com you two were starring in. This was your big breakout role, according to your agent. If this movie does well, then you'd be on your way to becoming a household name!

Your legs were bouncing. Your first ever interview and you were afraid you might mess up somehow. You didn't want to say the wrong thing or look stupid.

Bucky, who's become accustomed to your little mannerisms over the last year of working on this film with you, reached over and rested a hand on your leg.

You looked over to him and he smiled, "It'll be fine. You're gonna be great."

You shyly smiled back at the older star, feeling your cheeks heat up, "I know, but at the same time, I feel like I'm gonna say or do something stupid."

"We've all been there, sunshine. If you do embarrass yourself, I'll just do something even more embarrassing so you don't feel alone." he nudged you with his shoulder and you giggled, "Thanks, Buck."

Hearing your giggle made Bucky blush. He mentally scolded himself for getting all blushy and nervous around you, but he couldn't help it. You drew him in like a moth to a flame. You were so warm and bright, like the sun, hence the nickname he'd given you.

Over the course of the year of filming, Bucky's gotten to know you, become your friend. Being almost ten years older than you and a significant amount of films and shows under his belt, he helped guide you through your first big project. He promised himself that, even though you two were to play love interests on screen, he'd only remain friends with you. But you made it so easy to fall for you. The date scenes for the film felt so real, Bucky would sometimes forget that it was all fake. And once the director yelled cut, he was a little surprised and somewhat ashamed that the feelings he felt during filming continued to stay.

He hoped you might've felt the same way. You had to right? The way you looked at him was so much different to how you looked at everyone else. You loved spending time with him in between takes, napping with him in his trailer. It could all mean more, right?

"Y/N, Bucky, hi! Thanks for coming!" E! News Reporter, Maria Menounos, came into the room, shaking your hand and Bucky's.

You smiled politely, shaking her hand, "Hi! Maria, it's nice to meet you!"

"Nice to see you again, Maria," Bucky said with a nod.

Maria sat down in her respective chair and sighed, "So, let's get started. Y/N, is it okay if I ask you some questions first?"

You gulped and Bucky gave your hand a reassuring squeeze. You glanced his way and when he nodded, you looked back at Maria, "Sure. Let's do this."

Maria proceeded to ask you some basic questions about your background, how you felt about this movie being a big break, and then she asked how you felt working with Bucky.

You chuckled, "I'm a big fan of Bucky's. When my agent told me I got the role and Bucky would be my co-lead, I freaked out. I was excited and nervous, it felt so unreal. It still feels so unreal! Like," you turned to Bucky and pointed, "You're Bucky freaking Barnes!"

Bucky laughed and wrapped an arm around you, kissing your head, "Sunshine, you're too cute. You flatterin' this old man."

You snort, "Bucky, you're not old."

"I'm ten years older than you, sweetheart."

"STILL NOT OLD!"

Maria laughed with the two of you and then turned to Bucky, "So, Bucky, now I ask: how did you feel knowing you'd be working with someone fairly new to this industry."

He shrugged, "I didn't have any expectations, honestly. I just knew that whoever they'd pick, they saw best suited for the role. Honestly, I'm glad it was Miss Sunshine here. We've gotten real close this last year." he turns to you, his arm still around you and looking at you fondly.

Maria hummed, "So, I have to ask, onscreen, you two have great chemistry, is that translate to real life as well?"

Bucky nervously chuckled and stroked the stubble on his rounding cheeks, "Well, um, honestly, yeah, I think so. I, um, I gotta admit, I got a bit of a crush on her."

You look at him, completely shocked, "Wait, what?"

Bucky shrugged, removing his arm around you and nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "Yeah, sunshine. I mean, it's hard not to fall for you when you're so sweet, caring, funny, beautiful."

You look at Maria, who is equally shocked, and she says, "I'm speechless."

And you snort, "How do you think I feel, Maria?!"

"While we were filming, my friends were making fun of me 'cause they saw how smitten I was with her. I just-I dunno," he looks back at you, "she makes it so easy to fall for her."

You felt your heart soaring at Bucky's confession, "I've fallen for you too, Bucky."

"You have?"

"How could I not? You're handsome, kind, hilarious-"

"You're really strokin' my ego here, sunshine," Bucky says with a laugh.

"It's true!"

Maria let out a laugh of disbelief and looked at the camera, "Well, um, you've heard it here folks! Looks like love is brewing between our leads here!" and then she looks back at you two, "I wish you guys all the best!"

You and Bucky shook her hand and got up from your chairs after the producer announced that they're clear.

Bucky looked at you with regret, "I'm sorry."

You tilted your head to the side in confusion, "What for?"

"I shouldn't have unloaded all of that in the interview."

"Would you have said anything at all if she didn't ask?"

"I...I don't know."

"Well, I'm glad to know that we both know each other's feelings. Throughout filming, I was always wishing that the words and kisses we shared were real."

"Me too," Bucky murmured, he leaned in, resting his head against yours, "When we have some time, can I take you on a date?"

"Absolutely," you gave him a kiss on the nose that left him beaming.

[write-orflight]

Light the Lamp: Chapter 1

**Gif Not Mine**

Prev -  Next

Pairings: Bucky Barnes X Reader (Friends to Lovers, College/Hockey AU

Rating: M

Words: 2.2K

Warnings:  College kids being college kids, drinking, swearing, talk of sex(No smut yet but will be)

Request: OPEN/CLOSED

Summary:  Love and Hockey were kind of the same, everyone’s just rushing to score. So why couldn’t you?

A.N Summary bad but I literally couldn’t focus on writing anything else until I finished at least the first chapter of this. let me know what you think, Message/reply/inbox to be tagged.

  Chapter 1: 1st Quarter

Hockey wasn’t the sport Bucky wanted to play originally. He wanted to play baseball like his old man but when Steve decided he wanted to take ice skating lessons, he made Bucky tag along so he wouldn’t be the only boy in the class. Soon, they found themselves recruited in the junior rec hockey team and had been playing together ever since. It wasn’t a surprise that when recruitment came around that school’s were trying to pick up both of them. People knew better than to separate Cap from the Winter Soldier. Steve’s nickname was easy to figure out. He had a natural authoritative nature that made him the Captain of almost every team he played on. You never knew why they called Bucky the Winter Soldier until you played against him. Bucky was like an assassin on the ice. While everyone was focused on Steve in Center, Bucky was on left wing scoring the goal before you knew what hit you. So both of them getting recruited to play for the Avengers at Wilmington University wasn’t surprising. 

Meeting you was. 

At first, it was a sort of form of hazing. When they were starting their Freshman year so was the Coach’s daughter. He had asked senior members of the team to ‘keep an eye on her’ and make sure she didn’t get herself into any trouble. The seniors’ thinking that was lame, were more than happy to pass the task off to the two eager freshmen trying to make a name for themselves. So that’s how it started, The two boys walking you to classes and home from the library late at night, much to your demise. 

“I should’ve known my dad was going to do something like this.” You complained when you saw the two boys waiting outside your dorm the first week of classes. “Thanks for coming. But you can tell my dad that I’m not going to be the freak being escorted by hockey jocks everyday.” 

“No can do, Doll.” Bucky says. “We leave you, we’re doing drills the rest of practice.” 

“Doll? What’re you? A 40s newscaster?” You say, with an annoyed expression walking passed the boys who just followed suit behind you. “Ugh, this is such bullshit. He literally begged me to go to Wilmington and promised I’d be able to have a ‘normal college experience’. What about this is fucking normal?”  

“I know it’s less than ideal but hey, we can make the best out of this.” Steve smiles. “I’m Steve, by the way.” He says extending a hand. 

You shake it. You couldn’t blame them for your dad not trusting you. “Y/N. You?” You asked the other boy next to you. 

“Bucky.” He provides. 

“Bucky?” You question. 

“Well, it’s James but my friends call me Bucky.” 

“And that’s what we are? Friends?” You ask. 

“Might as well be, since we’ll be seeing each other a lot this semester.” 

And that’s how your semi-unconventional friendship started. Pretty soon, even though your dad had eased up on the 24-hour watch, per your mom's request, you still found yourself walking and getting coffee with the two in the mornings. Even, found yourself waiting in the rinks watching practices so you could hang out afterwards and that became your life for the next two years. Now the three of you we’re entering your Junior year of college. Steve was right back in his title role of Captain, Bucky was now first string Left Wing and you were… still watching from the bleachers. You didn’t mind though, you grew to love the sport due to it being your dad’s profession. Hell, you were on skates before you could even walk. But you never found yourself on the women’s team, Hockey wasn’t something you really wanted to do. You still supported the girls team though, which is why you found yourself watching their practices too. 

“Hey, Y/N!” Carol said, skating to the end of the rink where you were sitting next to her girlfriend, Maria. A position you often found yourself in, entertaining player’s girlfriends while they practiced. Maria was cool though, at least you knew about the sport. 

“Hey, Marvel.” You called her by her nickname. Thing about Hockey is everyone was called by their nicknames. 

“You going to the Sigma Pi party later?” She asks. 

“Uh, no one told me about it.” You say, awkwardly. 

“I’m telling you now.” Carol says like it's obvious. “You never go out anymore and I refuse to let you become a cat lady before you turn 25. Come over ours at 7, we’ll pregame and head over at 9. What do you say?” 

“Fine, I’ll come.” You say. 

“Great!” Carol says, pumping a fist before signalling her girlfriend to come closer to the rink. You look away as they kiss. Couples made you uneasy, especially hockey couples. You wanted that more than anything, for your guy to skate up to the gate just to sneak a kiss from you. Not that dating anyone from the team was even an option with you dad coaching. The team saw you as a little sister and if anyone was caught even looking at you in any way, their ass was grass by either your dad or Bucky, who’d become protective of you over the years. 

“Marvel, stop flirting with your girlfriend and GET BACK ON THE ICE!” You heard your dad scream. 

“Sorry, Couch!” She called. “Sorry, baby i’ve gotta jet. Y/N, don’t forget. 7 o’clock!” She says before skating off. 

“I won’t!” You call after her. 

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

You can’t help but look at yourself in the mirror awkwardly at the tight Satin dress your roommate, Wanda practically forced you in. You were just going to wear a sweater and jeans, your regular wardrobe but Wanda insisted everyone had seen you in that and what they haven’t seen is you in a dress. Especially, with your new body, you had gotten over the summer working at a sports camp. Who knew running after kids would be such a great form of exercise? 

Wanda also did your makeup, something you didn’t typically wear, giving you a natural glow eye, a layer of mascara, and sticky gloss that made your look ‘dewy’ as Wanda described it. You tried to keep your hair in the bun but Wanda insisted you keep your hair down. Saying it made you look hotter, you shrugged knowing you’d have to take her word for it. 

The two of you made your way to Carol and Maria’s apartment. Carol swung the door open and looked at you in surprise. “Woah, Ice Baby, you clean up nice.” 

“Don’t start, Marvel. And you know how I feel about being called that.” You hated the nickname but since you were the coach’s daughter and you stuck around the rink any chance you got, The seniors had started calling you Ice Baby your freshman year and the nickname unfortunately stuck long after they had gone. 

“Right, sorry, I always forget.” Carol said moving out the way for the two of you to come in. 

The four of you drink and play games until it’s time to head to the party. You’ve got a pretty strong buzz going as you enter the party and you regret the strappy heels Maria made you borrow before leaving. You’re sitting in the corner when someone comes to sit way too close to you. You look up to see Brock Rumlow, or Rum as the team liked to call him. 

“I almost didn’t recognize you, Ice Baby. You look good.” 

“My name is Y/N but thank you.” You say, annoyed. 

He holds his hands up in mock surrender “I forgot you hate that nickname. Let me bring you a drink to make up for it. What you want.” 

“Rum and coke, please.” 

“Oh, so you like Rum?” He says, obvious double entendre hanging off his tongue. 

“The drink? Yes.” 

“You’ll like the man soon enough.” He winks, smirking at the flush that spreads across your cheeks. 

The two of you spend the night like that. He brings you drinks and shamelessly flirts with you as you get drunker and drunker. The two of you even dance for a bit in the sea of grinding bodies. Soon you’re telling him a story and a hand drifts to your leg. You turn and he’s much closer to your face than you thought he was. 

“Wanna get out of here?” He asks. You nod but before you can even stand, Bucky is there towering over Brock.

“You can leave, Brock. But I’m taking Y/N home.” He says. 

Brock rolls his eyes. “Forgot you had a Winter Soldier guard dog. No worries, dude. I’m leaving anyway.” He says, before turning to you. “You’ve got my number, call me if you wanna hang this week.” He says, nodding to Bucky before walking away. 

“Ugh, Bucky. What was that for?” You whine, drunkenly. 

“You’re drunk. I’m taking you home.” Bucky says. “Come on, stand up.” 

You shakingly get up and Buck is there immediately under your arm, his arm around your waist helping you walk out. 

The cold breeze hits you as soon as you step foot out the party and take the long trek home. 

“I think I drank too much.” You point out. 

“You think, kid?” Bucky says. “You’re lucky, I was here meeting Sharon otherwise you would’ve been shit out of luck.” 

“Brock would’ve taken me home.” 

“Brock’s a lowlife. Don’t worry about him, I’ve got you.” 

You sigh. “Sorry for ruining your night with your girlfriend.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll call her when I make sure you get home so if you could pick up the pace.” 

“My feet hurt.” You complain. 

“Yea, I bet. God, when did you start wearing heels, Doll?” 

“I wanted to look good tonight.” You sigh. 

“You always look good.” 

“Fine, I wanted to look hot.” You provide. “For once, I wanted to be the one guys paid attention to at parties.” 

“You can be yourself for that, Y/N.” Bucky says. “You’re a catch.” 

“If I was, someone would’ve fucked me by now.” You drunkenly admit. That makes Bucky double-take. “I mean, think about it? 3 years into my college career, I turn 21 in a couple months and still it's where no man’s gone before down there.” 

“Y/N, are you saying you’re--” 

“A virgin? Yea, Bucky catch up.” You groan at the pain in your feet. Bucky looks and takes sympathy on you. 

“Here take off your shoes.” He says, toeing his off as well and sliding them over to you. 

“You’re just going to walk barefoot?” You ask, putting on the shoes, holding your heels in your hand. 

“Better than you walking barefoot.” He shrugs. 

“Anyway, I decided over the summer that maybe I was putting too much thought into it. I mean almost everyone loses their virginity in high school and it's never good, no one ever says their first time was good. I just thought maybe I should just, you know, get it over with.” You slur. “Which is what I was trying to do until you chased my date away. God, you always do that, Bucky.” 

“I’m not fighting with you while you’re drunk.” Bucky says, trying to get you to drop the subject but you persist. 

“Every time I try to talk to a guy, you butt in--” 

“Maybe I wouldn’t butt in if you picked the right guys for you.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with the guys I pick! You’re just a cockblock.” 

“That’s not true.” 

“Yea what about Charles? He asked me on a date freshman year and took it back not even an hour later. I had to beg Steve to tell me why and it turned out that you threatened him if he even thought about going out with me.” 

“Y/N, you had just turned 18 and X was a 24 year old senior! I didn’t trust how he was just waiting. So yea, I told him to fuck off. And Rum is an asshole who can’t get a girl to sleep with him unless they’re shitfaced. So yea, I told him to fuck off.” Bucky exclaims as the two of you make it up the stairs to your apartment. “Y/N, you’ll find someone right for you and that right person will make your first time special. I just want you to find someone who’ll make you happy.” 

“And I just want you to remember for next time that if you want to tell a girl who she can and can’t fuck, you have Sharon for that. Not me.” You said, taking off the shoes as you arrived at your front door. 

“Y/N, wait--” You hear him say but you don’t care, you slam the door in his face regardless. 

Who did Bucky think he was? Sure, he was your best friend but so was Steve and he’s not nearly as protective as Bucky was. You honestly couldn’t tell who was worse at this point, your dad or Bucky. You loved both of them but they had the fatal flaw of forgetting you weren’t a kid. You were a woman, a woman with needs. And one particular need you needed to get rid of.   

So you picked up your phone and called Brock. Bucky couldn’t be right about everything.

Taglist: @buckybarneshairpullingkink @riverofcrestmont @babymango-writes @astralsaf @gabi-socio @hereforalongtime512​

[soulmate-game]

I was feeling angsty. Read at your own risk, there is very little comfort in this and a whole shit ton of hurt. Probably a bunch of emotional triggers, so seriously be careful guys.

—*—*—*—*—*

Liquid pain ran down her arm like poison, the slash in it burning hot and spreading it’s agony like an invisible waterfall inside her flesh. But she did not grip her bicep where the wound had been inflicted, her gaze blank as she forced herself to hide her turmoil behind glass eyes. Her brother’s snarling face was only inches in front of her own, his katana moving from her arm to her throat.

“Useless! To think we share any blood relation is humiliating!” He growled at her. She did not move, did not emote. Her blades fans, the weapon she was loved most, lay half-opened on the ground beside her. Abandoned. But she knew Damian’s sword would not kill her. Blood family was a bond that was not to be severed by murder unless ordered by Ra’s or justified by the murdered family member in question betraying the League. She had done nothing to betray the Shadows, and Ra’s would not waste time and energy, or the breath it would require, to order her death. Just as he would not waste the precious waters of the Pit to bring her back again. She would not die today, and she knew it.

Sure enough, it was only a few more insults in various languages before Damian Al-Ghul stepped back and scowled down at the blood on his blade. Her blood. “If you don’t even have the stomach for real combat, you do not belong here,” he spat.

“That is where we agree, Grandson,” Ra’s sharp voice echoed through the room, his beady eyes never once bothering to glance at his granddaughter. “Maria, you are hereby stripped of the name Al-Ghul. Banishment from the League is the only mercy you shall be granted for your dishonor on our blood. Be useful and use whatever is left of your mistake of a life to stay out of the League’s way. Shall I, Damian, or your mother ever see your face again, your burial will follow shortly after. Am I understood?”

“Yes Gr— yes, Ra’s Al-Ghul.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Maria Al-Ghul was seven years old when she was disowned and sent away from the League of Shadows without so much as a penny to her name. She was only allowed to take the change of clothes she carried, and one small backpack’s worth of items. Her mother— Talia— had watched vigilantly as she packed those items, assuring that Maria did not take anything of worth.

The girl traveled by foot, too small to get away with driving a vehicle. Unless she could manage to steal a motorbike— she knew how to adjust the seats and pedals on most models to accommodate her size. But she was far too far away from civilization for that.

She knew that most of the League expected her to die in the jungles that surrounded the temple. After all, there were ninjas scattered throughout it with strict orders to kill anyone who was not one of them. And Maria now fit that description.

But if there was one thing Maria knew better than anything else, it was how to hide. How to hide feelings, intentions, involuntary movements, or her whole body in almost any setting. She covered herself in mud, matted her hair with dirt and took off her shoes. Barefoot was always quieter, and her feet would be more sensitive to any change in terrain. She would have to move more slowly and be on the lookout for traps, ground litter that could harm her, or dangerous wildlife, but she would be much harder to track.

It took her a month, but she made it to her first Tibetan city alive and decently healthy. She begged for food for a day before snatching a child’s outfit off of some hanging laundry lines and stealing the first decent vehicle she found. It was an old moped, but it beat walking and was already built small. She made it work.

That was how she spent the majority of the next year. She traveled from town to town, stealing what she needed until she could earn money normally. She used that money to buy herself a fake identity, even if she had to use the skills she had hoped to never need again in order to afford it.

Marinette Shiwang was born when she was already eight years old.

It was only a year after her new identity was created when she bumped into a woman in a street market. That was nothing new, those places could get crowded. But when Marinette looked up and saw valuable bracelets and necklaces of gold and jade, she knew she needed at least one. The money she would get for it would have her living comfortably for a short while. So Marinette’s theft-experienced fingers darted out and unclasped one bracelet in a fluid movement. It took less than a second. She barely had the piece of jewelry in her hand before she started to take off, hoping to lose herself in the crowd.

But a small hand clamped around her shoulder, a sturdy thumb pressing against a very vulnerable spot right at the back of Marinette’s neck, at the base of her skull. A clear threat from somebody with experience.

The sweet voice that followed didn’t match the gesture at all.

“Oh, I need that back dear. It was a gift from my husband, you understand.”

Marinette did. She cared about survival more. The small girl twisted, knocking the hand away from her before it could do damage and darting down a side street. The woman followed. It took three hours, but Marinette decided she had finally lost her pursuer before slumping down in the tiny, closet-sized bedroom of her cheap apartment. Her eyes closed for only a second before the window opened, and the smell of newly-baked sesame buns filtered through.

It was the woman and a much taller, much more masculine man. He was practically a giant, reminding Marinette of a certain member of the League that she used to know. They were both smiling.

“My wife figured you would be more open to an exchange than just giving up the bracelet for free,” the man’s voice was deep and inviting. “You can eat as many buns as your stomach can handle, if you give it back.”

Marinette accepted. Mostly because of her fear for people who could track her to her home so easily, when she had been certain she had not been followed. The League has tuned her senses well, there was no way the couple had been close enough to see her when she made it to her apartment. Yet they were still there somehow. Then, it also had to do with the promise of food, and the heavenly smell of the food itself. And then, lastly, Marinette was tired. She didn’t like stealing, it was just a necessity. She would not hurt these people over a mere bracelet that she wished she didn’t have to take in the first place.

Useless, she thought. So much of a bleeding heart that she just gave up what could have paid for two months rent. Too soft to even protect herself. The Al-Ghuls has been right. She was a waste of space and time.

Marinette was ten years old when she became a Dupain-Cheng. Somehow, that strange, dangerous couple had become her new family. Not even she knew how. But she was grateful— they took her back to Paris with them and she didn’t have to worry about rent, or food, or money anymore.

She vowed, that day that she received her spacious attic bedroom, that she would repay them. She would make herself useful, for the first time in her life. She would stay out of their way, be the perfect most unobtrusive daughter ever. She would help in the bakery, keep a smile on her face so that they never doubted that they were doing a good job. So that they never wasted time worrying about her. She smiled, and laughed, and became successful for them. Competent and reliable even though her memories would sink into her dreams every day and make it near impossible to drag herself out of bed in the mornings.

And then, when Marinette Dupain-Cheng was thirteen, she was given a pair of magical earrings and a tiny fairy-god. And Tikki was thorough, at least. Diligent in her explanation. Marinette listened to every word, dread seeping in as she doubted her ability to carry out such an important task. Save a city? Defeat someone much more experienced and magically powerful than her?

Useless little Maria could never. Slightly less useless Marinette could never.

She was only ever meant to play a support role. Stay on the background and make everyone else shine, without ever succeeding in anything worth noting. That was who she was.

But then Tikki gave her the Warning. The catch that came with the Ladybug abilities, and Marinette felt the long-rusted determination in her begin to fire up again. Maybe she could be Ladybug. Maybe she could be useful, at least this once. At least for just this one scenario. She could fight and win the war against Hawkmoth, and that achievement alone could make her happy. Let her die knowing she did something worthwhile.

—*—*—*—*—*

Damian Wayne was seventeen when he and his family found out about the Paris Situation, and immediately went over to offer help. Damian Wayne was seventeen when he watched Ladybug stumble at the sight of him, and immediately run away. But the two of them were twins, and though twin telepathy might be a myth they always did have a certain instinct when it came to one another.

Damian Wayne was Seventeen when he said, aloud on the top of a random Parisian building and surrounded by his family—

“My sister is Ladybug.”

Damian didn’t wait for their reactions, having entirely forgotten about the existence of his father and brothers, before taking off after his spotted sibling.

—*—*—*—*—*

“I knew you were alive.”

In hindsight, those probably weren’t the best words for him to say when Maria clearly thought he was still an assassin.

Damian watched as Marinette spun to face him, her face so much more expressive than he remembered. He could actually see the resignation in the slump in her shoulders, he could feel the fear in her bluebell eyes. The eyes she was lucky enough to get from their father while he was cursed with their mother’s green irises. He used to envy that about her, especially after joining the BatClan. But now he only felt comfort when he looked into her eyes. Comfort that she was different than him, and always had been. In the best of ways.

He watched as his sister was enveloped by a bright flash of pink light, detransforming right in front of him. And without the mask, it was impossible to ignore the relation between them. She had their father’s eyes and nose where he had their mother’s, but other than that they were almost carbon copies of one another. Her blue-black hair was pulled back into twin braids though, something he noted distantly as oddly fitting. They suited her, he thought.

But all those thoughts instantly turned to dust as she dropped to her knees in front of him, head bowed in complete submission.

“Tom and Sabine are innocent,” she told him. “They adopted me out of nothing but goodwill, and they have been nothing but good to me. I never told them a single word about my origin, I swear it on our blood. They think I am just an orphan that was abandoned in Hong Kong—“

“Maria—“

“—so please, don’t harm them. I’m begging you. And there is no need for you to waste energy killing me. You are welcome to stay in Paris as long as no harm comes to Tom and Sabine, but just wait and watch. I know who Hawkmoth is, and our final plan is almost ready. I’ll have him taken down by next week. Just— wait until then, please. My death will take care of itself afterwards, but Paris deserves to be free, and killing me now will set this entire war against Hawkmoth back by at least a year. And I also need that time to pick my successor—“

“Maria! I am not here to kill you!” Damian had to yell to get her to stop babbling and begging. She froze, but didn’t dare to sit up or even raise her head. So Damian took the initiative and sat down on the ground with her, though he kept his distance so that he didn’t scare her too badly. He couldn’t blame her for her reaction, it had been ten years since they had seen one another and their parting hadn’t exactly been pleasant.

But he had changed a lot since then, matured a lot.

“I am completely disconnected from the League,” he admitted. Of the blurry memories he had of her, he did remember that being blunt was the best way to handle information with her. Beating around the bush had always done nothing but make her exceptionally nervous and jittery. Sure enough, his admission was enough to make her look up at him with disbelieving eyes. He risked a small grin. “I didn’t come in my old uniform, did I?” He gestured to himself in the bright Robin colors. Sure enough, Marinette’s rapid blinking proved his theory that she hadn’t even registered his clothing at all to be true. She had run as soon as she recognized his face.

But Marinette did not speak. She sat up a little, still eyeing him cautiously. But her silence helped him finally realize where they were— where she had led him.

The sounds of traffic and other big city noises were all muted, as if muffled by several layers of cloth. Shadows fell over them abundantly, and they were surrounded by dilapidated concrete walls.

She had brought him to an abandoned area far from any activity, where a body would take ages to find. She had then disarmed herself of her only weapon, her magic suit, and had gotten on the ground in total submission.

She had purposely given him the perfect setting to kill her, where there would be no witnesses and plenty of time before her body would be found for him to escape. That realization hit Damian square the chest, leaving him breathless for a moment.

“I am not here to kill anybody,” he reiterated, his voice noticeably much gentler than before. “Not you, not you adoptive parents, nobody. I left the league when I was eleven. Mother—“ he took a breath, but Maria deserved to know. “— she cloned me. Her clone killed me. He no longer exists, but that is of no consequence. She killed me, she and Grandfather disowned me when I made it clear I was not returning. Father— our father,” he was insistent as he leaned forward, not continuing until she met his gaze. “You remember who our father is, right? Bruce Wayne? Mother had dropped me off to be raised with him when I was ten, but of course it was all just one of her plots. It was her miscalculation though, because I ended up growing close to them. To Father and his adopted children. You would get along with Gra— with Dick, the best I think. Although T— Jason would also be a prime contender as your favorite brother, I think. He shares your love of motor bikes, if that hasn’t changed?” She just stared at him, clearly confused and experiencing a lot of feelings at once. He stayed silent for a moment to allow her to sort through them a little.

“I’m Robin now,” he made his voice quieter, but still easy for her to hear. “I’m a member of the Bats. I’m sure they would all welcome you, if you chose to meet them. Though be warned, they can be quite in—“

“Why are you doing this?” Marinette’s voice was barely above a whisper, Damian almost didn’t hear her. But he did, and fell silent. He watched as his sister licked her lips and tried to find the right words to say. “If what you say is true… you have a perfectly good family. Brothers, Father, a comfortable life. Why follow me then? Why offer me… any of that?”

Damian frowned. He didn’t remember Maria being so gloomy, but then again she had been raised to never show her emotions. Maybe, after years away from the temple like him, her true feelings were just easier for him to see now. Closer to the surface.

“I want to get to know you— to get to know my sister, again,” he told her. “Don’t tell them, but Father and the others have taught me to appreciate family. The way I treated you when we were children was not right, and though it was heavily influenced by Mother and Grandfather, I want to make up for it nonetheless. Maybe we can get to know the new us, together?”

Marinette’s eyes went wide with disbelief, but then she clenched her jaw and shook her head.

“We can’t.”

“... right, I understand if you do not forgive me. I didn’t even consider—“

“It isn’t that,” Marinette was quick to correct him. “When I said that my death will handle itself, I mean it, Damian. The Ladybug… the earrings that give me my powers, come with a price,” she absently ran her fingertips over the unassuming black studs in her ears. “If a Ladybug uses the miraculous for more than three years, the powers of Creation will demand to be balanced. Already, the Miraculous is powering itself on nothing but my life force now. Once I defeat Hawkmoth, there will be no need for Ladybug anymore. The moment I take the earrings off, they will cease keeping me alive.”

Damian’s face fell. No— no, that wasn’t right. He was finally able to find her, finally able to apologize and try to fix his past mistakes. This couldn’t be how the reunion went. This couldn’t—

“Not even the Lazarus Pits can bring me back from a Miraculous death,” Marinette went on. “So you and your family should go. You don’t need to be here when I—“ Marinette paused, gasping. “Damian, why are you crying?! Stop that!” Her voice became desperate, Marinette crawling over to him as quickly as she could and wiping away his tears as if they were something terrifying. Damian wasn’t sobbing or making any noise, it was just a silent stream of tears running down both cheeks as he stared at her wordlessly.

“I…” he finally managed to choke out. “I wanted to make up for everything. I wanted for us to be twins again, together.”

Marinette paused, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “I know a magic user who can erase your memories of me,” she offered. “But you don’t have to feel guilty for anything. You never said anything that wasn’t true.”

Damian’s green eyes widened. He had said nothing but cruel things to her, that last year they spent together as children. Did she really believe all of that? Did he and their childhood really affect her self worth this severely and irreversibly?

“Maria—“

“My name is Marinette, actually,” she corrected him with a small smile. “I’m not Maria Al-Ghul anymore. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is actually useful, Damian. I can actually do things right— I’m doing something right right now. Beating Hawkmoth will be the first worthwhile thing I’ve ever done, don’t you see? Once it’s all over, I will have brought honor back to our blood. I’ll have proved to you that I really am your twin, that I wasn’t a mistake. That I was born for a reason,” Marinette’s eyes got dreamy even as Damian just felt like he was impaled again, this time by a spike of ice rather than a sword. “And I’ll be able to die before I ruin it. It’s a perfect scenario.”

“A perfect scenario implies that nothing important is going to be lost,” Damian breathed. Marinette just blinked.

“Yeah, I know. That’s the plan. Defeat Hawkmoth, save Paris, and nobody dies.”

“But you’re going to die!” He growled. Marinette leaned back, bewildered by his violent reaction.

“Yeah, but it’s not like I actually matter. Nobody needs me. Tom and Sabine might be hurt for a while, but they will recover just fine. And it’s not like I have friends or any—“

“Stop worrying about other people, damnit!” Damian surged forward, grabbing her shoulders hard enough to bruise and shaking her a little. “Even back then! Even when we were seven, you threw down your blades because you were more worried about hurting me than you were about how Grandfather would react, even though you knew he would be tempted to kill you for what he thought was cowardice! You never put yourself first, and it’s finally starting to piss me off!”

“Damian—“

“No, listen to me!” He shook her again, his tear stained cheeks only making his glare all the more potent as he stared right into her eyes. “You are alive, and your life matters! You were never worthless or useless, you just didn’t fit what our abusive situation wanted of you. They wanted a cold hearted killer, a tool they could use, and you were always too warm hearted and clever to fit either of those goals. But I did, I was the killer they were looking for and the pawn they wanted. If anything, that makes you better than I ever was! I was too young and naive to see it back then, but I’m trying to make up for it now. You are my sister, whether you go by Maria or Marinette, Al-Ghul or Wayne or Dupain-Cheng, I don’t give a damn! And so help me, even if I have to surgically attach those earrings to your skin, I am not letting you die before you gain at least a modicum of respect for yourself. Do you understand me?”

A wet sniffle met his ears, and he pulled Marinette in for a hug. She returned it weakly, sniveling and sobbing into his cape.

“D-d-Damian?”

“Yes, Shaqiqa?”

Another sniffle.

“I-is it really o-okay for me to stay with you?”

“Of course.”

“I-is… is it really oka-ay for… for me to live?”

Damian’s arms tightened around her. “Always. Always, always.”

Marinette buried her face into his shoulder, taking a deep shuddering breath.

“Th-then… I wanna try.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Not sorry. Ha 😎