#it makes sense that she would forget though it's been 13 years

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

Oh man I just caught this! Im Sol's told that first and second impressions are important, and she thinks her impressions were terrible:

But those weren't her first impressions! She just forgot:

She had already made an impression.

(Also, where do I get one of these Kdrama Hats of Total DisguiseTM?)

[wrongplacerighttime]

agent!harry x agent!fmc

the one where grace meets someone, harry gets jealous (again), and something unexpected is confessed. // little bunny part 4

write this and i don’t really like it but it’s set up for the next part so WHATEVER IDC 😭🤣 if it doesn’t make sense just…ignore it please 😭 i know it’s almost midnight and that means this probably won’t get seen but it’s HERE NOW.

little bunny masterlist

wc: 3.4k

tw: jealous!harry (briefly), phone sex, masturbation. (think that’s all.)

halley’s comet

To Grace, her worst personality trait was that she’s always been afraid of love. In middle school, a boy she couldn’t even remember the name of confessed his crush on her as she sat alone in the lunch room with her nose in a book, and a spark of hope twinkled in her eyes and her 13-year-old mind going haywire as she watched the blonde haired boy smile at her. Then he turned his head to look back at his friends, her eyes followed his and they were laughing. She never forgot the feeling of the stain of embarrassment marking her cheeks, or the single tear that fell onto the page she was reading when he turned and walked away.

Then, in high school, she had her first “real” boyfriend, Jake. For some reason or other, he had been pining after her and she couldn’t make sense of why the captain of the boys basketball team wanted anything to do with the quiet and reserved girl who only took advanced classes and spent her free time with her nose in the pages of a good book. He followed her like a lost puppy after one tutoring session with her, driving her around in his truck on backroads through the little town in Tennessee where they resided. She gave him everything, in every sense, and after he got it he left her high and dry. She still remembers the way the stars shined in the sky that night. It was just a blip in Jake’s timeline, but felt like a goddamned gorge in hers. As a girl, you never forget your first time…and he played her up so nicely. Being gentle with her, brushing the strands of hair from her lips, the kisses he left just behind her ear when she turned her head to the side. She didn’t leave her bed for weeks. She swore off love after that. It was real to her, even if it wasn’t to him.

Then came Harry, and to her, he was just like the rest of them, and she refused to let him get to her…keeping him at arms length even though she was insanely drawn to him. Then one day, she didn’t look at him like the rest of them. She knew in the back of her mind that sleeping with him would fuck with her head. They didn’t get along unless they’re fucking, and that can’t be healthy. Was it because they really didn’t like each other, or some other reason? She’s too selfish to give him up though, even if he might not want her that way, a relationship might be too much commitment for him but they didn’t talk about it. She had a feeling they never would. She pulls her coat tighter around her, snowflakes falling around her and her breath clouds in front of her. Her mind spins and she doesn’t pay attention as she looks towards the ground, running right into someone walking out of the building she was heading into.

“Oh my gosh. I am so sorry.” She looks up to a man she’s never seen around before, his eyes an icy blue that contrasts the green she’s been seeing in her daydreams.

“Not a problem. I wasn’t paying attention…entirely my fault. Apologies.” He smiles at her softly, an expression she mirrors back to him.

“No…I wasn’t either, it’s okay.” She blows a breath, a cloud forming in the cold air between them, and his smile widens. “Sorry, I haven’t seen you around before…I’m Grace Weston. I work on the sixth floor.”

“James Seeley. I’m in organized crime.” He pauses and smirks. “If you’re on the sixth floor that must mean…” He trails off and Grace nods, already knowing what he was going to say.

“You caught me. I’m a profiler.” She holds her hands up, pretending to surrender and he smiles at her. He looks across the street, pausing for a moment and looking back at her

“Can I get your number?” He asks, and her eyes widen. “I’m sorry! Was that too forward? I just think it would be nice to have a contact in the BAU…you know, for any future cases.” He rubs the back of his neck, a sign of his nervousness, and she pulls her lips in to prevent a smile from breaking at his nervousness. “I also think you’re pretty, and I’d like to get to know you better.” He rambles, and she nods. Maybe this would be good for her? He hands her his phone and she types her number into the designated spot, adding her name to the contact and hands it back to him. He briefly looks down at his wrist to check his watch and his brows pull together in the center.

“Sorry to be rude, but I’ve to get to a meeting downtown…and you know how traffic can be.” He says, jutting a thumb towards the direction he’s heading and she nods quickly.

“Oh, gosh! No, yeah! Again, so sorry for bumping into you.” She looks at him for a beat before looking towards the ground.

“Nothing to be sorry about. Glad it happened. See you around?” He asks and she nods again, making her way around him into the foyer through the sliding glass doors.

The rest of the team had made their way onto the jet and to Florida in the early hours of the morning, before the sun rose. Grace had sent Aaron a message privately before and asked if he cared if she stayed behind for this one. She was willing to consult from her position here and that was enough for him. A shiver travels down her spine and she thinks about the warmth of the Floridian sun and almost regrets her decision. She needed time away from Harry, she had convinced herself that much. She told herself if she kept her distance the feelings would go away. She wouldn’t feel this way if she stayed away from him, right? Love never came easy for her, and she was sure he wouldn’t make it easier either. She feels silly, falling for a person who was very much “no strings attached”. She can’t get him out of her head, her dreams filled with him, of a life with him…

She makes her way to her desk, shrugging her coat off and getting to work.

———

The day drags slowly and Grace is on the phone consulting with the team when the sound of the glass doors of the office open and tear her attention away from the video call. She looks up and sees the man from earlier this morning, James, walking over to her desk carrying what looks to be a bag of take out food. She grins over to him and he mirrors it back to her. He had sent her a message earlier after his meeting and asked if she wanted him to drop off lunch to her and she didn’t hesitate to say yes. He walks behind her, into the view of the camera before disappearing again and he perches himself on the edge of her desk. She silently thanks him as to not interrupt whatever Aaron was saying and her eyes flick to Harry on the screen. She can barely see the way the pixels of the video call catch the shift in his posture and the tick of his jaw, but she decides to ignore it.

She mutes her microphone as she listens to Aaron’s monotone voice through the speakers. Occasionally Harry or Kelly will add their input but for the most part it’s just Aaron. He’s throwing out ideas left and right trying to figure out where to start with the case. Grace can see all the files spread out in the table, the same ones that Grace has open on her other screen, and she scrolls. A crime scene photo catches James’ eye and he puts his hand up to halt her. He leans closer, pointing to a small symbol etched into the tree above the body, it's barely visible, blending into the seams on the bark. She turns her mic back on.

“Hey…guys? Did you see the symbol in the picture of our latest victim?” Her eyebrows furrow and she leans in closer to the screen. “Could it be satanic? Was there anything similar at the other scenes?” She asks and Aaron flips through the pictures to look for what she’s seeing.

“It’s not Satanic.” Harry mutters in a tone of voice that makes her eyes narrow, holding the picture closer to his face. He types in quick succession on his laptop, performing a quick google search. “It’s Egyptian.” He screen-shares a symbol that looks almost similar, more intricate than the one haphazardly carved into the tree.

“We need to have this picture blown up, it’s hard to identify from this distance. Good catch, Grace.” Aaron praises, looking down at the picture still.

“Oh it wasn’t me, it was James. We met earlier, he works upstairs in OC, we were eating lunch together and he caught it.” Grace replies, redirecting the praise to James while turning her camera towards him. He puts his hand up in a small gesture and Aaron nods, walking out of view of the camera. The screen goes black, the video call ending abruptly. Maybe the connection was bad? She pulls out her phone to text Harry.

Grace: “keep me posted.”

Harry: “k.”

His short reply makes her roll her eyes, and she almost puts her phone away when another message pops up.

Harry: “wanna start a group chat with lover boy so he can give me all his opinions directly?”

Grace: “i’m not doing this. he’s just a friend. and you’re being annoying.”

Harry: “just a friend my ass. friends that just met don’t bring each other lunch. he’s got a hard on for you.”

Grace: “so what? we definitely aren’t exclusive so it’s none of your business anyway. drop it. move on.”

She drops her phone down on her desk, shaking her head and scoffing.

He doesn’t reply.

———

A few days pass with no word from Harry, the case causing a build up of stress to fall on Grace’s shoulders. The Egyptian symbol was present at every scene in some form or other, and it had them stumped. James had asked her out on a date and she declined, really just wanting to go home and go to bed. She regrets staying behind, she feels out of the loop and she feels guilty she’s not there helping catch their suspect. Long distance while being an FBI agent doesn’t work, especially when her specialty is geographical profiling. It’s hard to create a profile for an area she’s unfamiliar with.

She showers. A long, hot, shower. The muscles in her shoulders relax with the steam blurring her vision. She just stands under the heat, washing away her stress…and she thinks of Harry. His words…his hands on her body…his lips on her neck, her tits…his teeth pulling her clit between them…Her breath catches and her legs feel weak at the thought of him. The way her body reacts to him, knowing he has this sort of control over her, she could never be with anyone else. She quickly finishes her shower, wrapping her hair in a towel and moving to her bed, not bothering with clothes because she has only one thing on her mind. She needs to cum.

Her hand dips down past her navel, running a finger through her folds before bringing them back up to her clit, rubbing gentle circles while tweaking her nipple between her fingers with her other hand, pinching and pulling, trying to replicate the way he does it. She replays every time they’ve been together over in her brain, remembering the way his breath fanned over her neck as he grunted in her ear, whispering words into her ear, words no one else has ever said to her. Words she didn’t even know she liked to hear.

The shrill ring of her phone pulls her from her thoughts, a groan of aggravation escaping her throat, so close to her release and she sighs, looking at the caller ID. Harry.

“Finally deciding to talk to me?” Grace answers out of breath, frustrated she didn’t get to finish. She tries to slow down her heartbeat, her breath left heavy in her lungs.

“I’m sorry, okay? I was being childish. I let my anger get the best of me, and I’m sorry. I know I have no right to be that way towards you. You’re allowed to see other people, you’re right. We aren’t exclusive.” He pauses. “Happy now?” He grumbles. She sighs,

“Are you okay?” His voice drawls through the speaker and she gulps nervously.

“Just peachy.” She answers sarcastically, trying to sound like she wasn’t just trying to get herself off less than five minutes ago. She gnaws on the inside of her lip. “Did you need something, is something going on with the case?” She turns over onto her side, waiting. He hums, choosing to ignore her response before diving into an update about the case as he paces around his hotel room.

Grace drowns out his voice involuntarily with her daydreams. She goes back to what she thought about to make herself get worked up in the first place, and then she imagines it…really imagines it. And it wouldn’t be so bad right? She lets her mind wander to the image of him curled around her in bed every morning, his hands gripping her waist as she stands at the kitchen sink, or her swollen belly in the mirror as she gets dressed for work for the day. A life with him.

“Earth to Grace?” His voice through the speaker pulls her from her thoughts and she blinks once to clear her head.

“I’m sorry, Harry. What did you say?” She’s breathless, feeling the arousal pool at her aching, empty hole. A smirk plays on his lips, one she can’t see, and now he knows exactly what she was doing before he called her. He knows her, knows how she sounds when she’s fucked out…when she’s needy. He knows just how to push her to the edge.

“Don’t worry about it, bunny.” He purrs and she whimpers into the microphone before covering her mouth and her thighs squeeze together almost on their own volition. “S’the matter sweet girl?” He coos and the drop in octave in his voice makes her squirm.

“N-nothing.” She stutters, lying straight through her teeth, feeling the flame igniting in her belly once again and she can’t help that he just does this to her. Her body reacts to him on its own despite the way her brain fights the feeling every single time.

“See, I know when you’re lying. I don’t like when you lie to me, Grace.” His voice is gravelly and he clicks his tongue as she pulls her lip between her teeth. “Let me help you make it better.” He mumbles and she whimpers out an agreement.

“What were you thinking about to make you all riled up like this?” He asks in a sweet voice and she stays quiet. She hears his breathing on the other end of the phone, silent. “Hmm?”

“You. Was thinking about you.” She admits and her cheeks heat with a little bit of embarrassment, but mostly with desire.

“Is that right? Well don’t let me interrupt, go on then.” He can feel himself hardening beneath his sweats at her honesty, but he refrains from touching himself. For now. He doesn’t hear any rustling on her end of the phone and his brow furrows. “What’s wrong? Need me to tell you what to do?” He jokes and she mewls.

“Y-yes. Please.” She whines and the tone of her voice tells him all he needs to know.

“Mm, okay.” He pauses, thinking. “What were you thinking about? Tell me, bunny. I’m curious.”

“Thinking about the last time…in the supply room.” Her voice is breathless and he smiles at the memory.

“Want you to pull your bottoms down for me, sweet girl.” He instructs her and hears rustling on the other end, her eagerness making his heart lurch in his chest and he feels all the blood in his body rush southward. “Have ‘em off?” He asks and she confirms that she does. “Good girl. Want you to touch your thighs, just drag your fingers over your skin, like I would do.” She follows his direction, the light touch of her fingers creating goosebumps in their wake.

“Want you to touch yourself, too.” She mumbles into the phone and he groans on the other end, his eyes fluttering closed.

“Not yet.”

“Why?”

“Want you to tell me how wet you are first, are you dripping? Want you to put a finger in and tell me how soaked you are at the thought of me fucking you against that wall.” His words come through gritted teeth and he shifts his hips, pushing his sweats down and he leans against the wall, palming himself through his boxers and biting the inside of his lip. She trails a finger through her folds, her arousal pooling on her finger before she pushes into her aching hole, feels herself clench around her own finger as she moans at the intrusion.

“Harry—” His name falls from her lips in a breathless whisper.

“Tell me.” He demands, jaw clenched and hand squeezed into a fist and he can hear the way her finger is pumping in and out, the sound of her arousal evident through her end of the phone and he could almost cum right then, without even touching himself.

“S-so wet. Wasn’t entirely from the sex, though.” She admits and he raises his eyebrow in an expression still unseen to her. “From what you said.” He combs through the memory, her pushed against the wall with his hand around her wrists, slamming into her again and again. He pries his mind and the memory of what he said to her comes flooding back. Gonna fill your pretty little pussy up, get you all full of my cum…bet you’d like if I got you pregnant too, huh? Wanna see that cute little belly swollen, let everyone know who you belong to.

“Little minx…likes being full of me, doesn’t she? Likes feeling me dripping out of her.” He can’t help himself now, the memory playing over and over in his head like his own personal porno. He pushes the rest of the barrier away and spits into his hand before wrapping it around the base of his hardened cock and pumping himself with a soft grunt falling from his lips.

“Yes, Harry.” She whines, feeling herself come closer to her release as she flicks her thumb over her clit and pulses her fingers in and out. “Want you to…need you to, Har. Just wanna feel you.”

“I know, sweet girl. Wanna have my babies in your cute little belly? Know you’re carrying around part of me and that I’ve claimed you?” He grits and she nods even though he can’t see her, his hand working himself at his own pace, his tip leaking and dripping onto his own hand as he grunts and groans at the frictions he’s creating. “Gonna fill you up, let your thighs be a sticky mess of me? Cum for me, bunny. Wanna hear you.” He encourages her and she squeezes her eyes shut and her toes curl, pleasure taking over every one of her senses. One flick of her thumb against her sensitive bundle of nerves again and she’s gone, moaning and crying out his name between them. He follows not long after her, his own release painting his hand and he leans against the wall to catch his breath, coming down from his high. Grace sighs into the phone, feeling a little hazy, not in the proper state of mind to continue a normal conversation with him.

“I love you.” She whispers, her eyes flutter closed, the pulses of pleasure still buzzing through her brain, clouding her better judgment. She doesn’t even realize the words have slipped past the barrier of her lips. He’s silent for a moment, mouth dropping open to speak but closing again.

“W-What?” He stutters, heartbeat quickening and nervous sweat forming on his brow. Her eyes fly open and her heart drops to the floor. Did she really just say that…out loud? “Grace…” He trails off, his vision blurring, his head feeling dizzy and he doesn’t know what to say.

The line goes dead, and he’s alone.

taglist: @indierockgirrl @hermionelove @storyschanging

if your tag is red it didn’t work :(

[theapangea]

Alcoholics Anonymous

Lip Gallagher x Reader

Summery: You and Lip meet at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Warnings: Alcohol abuse, talk of religion

It’s a part of you and always will be.

The addiction that still runs every little part of your life. Even if it’s been years, it will always be there, dormant in a small, dark part of your brain until it becomes awaken by some outside cause that sweeps you off your feet and ultimately fucks you over. The yearning for the taste will always live somewhere deep inside of you.

Alcohol is your addiction and you are an addict. 

And no matter the length of time that you spend at these meetings, week after week while you work on yourself, all you will ever be is an addict. Addicted to not only the alcohol but the repetitiveness of your life now after the drinking. 

The question is…when will you finally let it consume you?

The sound of clapping pulls you from your internal monologue. Realizing you haven’t been paying any attention to the other members talking about their road to recovery. It was all the same anyway - though you’d never say that outloud. 

Always some stupid, awful event that got them into heavy drinking and now they are trying to pick up all the little pieces. The sad part is that most of them are going to relapse sooner or later. 

Tapping your foot on the fake wood floor of the high school gym, shiny from the recent wax job. Scanning the familiar faces as you try to guess who is going to succumb to the madness first. Your guess is the cat lady that is sitting a couple of chairs away from you. She’s been taking an awful lot about one of her cars getting super sick, she’ll definitely need a drink if it dies.

“Thank you for sharing,” Reverend Mills' voice echoes through the gymnasium, sending a gracious smile at the older gentleman as they meet at the podium. Their hands meeting as the Reverend mumbles a prayer. Like God is going to help stop him from drinking, you can practically see the metal flask in his jacket pocket. Damn, these people are just getting stupider.

Tilting your head back, letting your hair fall behind the plastic seat, arms crossed over your chest as you wait for this hour to end. You like these meetings when the people actually take the system seriously. You are tired of all of the people who use this group as a revolving door.

“Would anyone else care to share,” His eyes wander along the long faces until they finally land on you, clearly not paying any attention. Your name falling from his mouth, not really asking but telling you that it was your turn.

A half-ass smile pulls across your mouth as you grudgingly stand up and make your way to the front of the group. It was inevitable for you to speak at every meeting. You are the one with the longest days sober and Reverend Mills likes your story, says it’s inspiring or whatever. 

Fingernails picking at the edges of the wooden podium as you take a deep breath before speaking.

“Hi everyone, I’m Y/N.” The fake smile and tone of voice is very apparent to everyone.

The group saying hello in unison back to you.

You begin, “I have been sober for almost 2 years… to be specific, 1 year, 10 months and,” counting on your fingers, “13 days as of today.” Pausing as the group claps at your accomplishment. 

Continuing, “I can’t believe how slow times go now that I’m sober. I used to feel like I lost days, weeks even to drinking. Waking up on a Sunday morning not remembering the past week, knowing that I’d probably forget the week after.” A laugh from a few of the members as you joke about an all too common side effect of drinking. “Looking back on these two ye-”

The sudden squeak of the entrance doors interrupts your speech. Rolling your eyes as you and the group watch the young man struggle to close the door without making more sound, unfortunately for him (and you), he couldn’t. The squeaking sound booming with every inch as he pulls it closed, finally a sense of relief washes over his body when it’s done.

Adjusting the backpack on his shoulder as he turns around to notice all the people staring at him in silence. Mouthing a quiet curse and apologizes as both of his hands shoot up in front of him before he hurries to one of the back seats. 

Ironically the plastic chair creaks when he finally sits down, a huff of annoyance escaping him.

You can’t help but just stare. Your mind is completely blank as you notice his messy hair and tight jeans. Only realizing you had been staring a bit too long when his eyes meet yours. The tiny spark makes you gulp as you quickly look away. 

“Please continue, Y/N.” The Reverend encourages you to continue your story.

“Sorry, yeah.” Shaking your head to gather your thoughts again as you struggle not to look in the direction of the man practically sitting in your frontal view, “Looking back on these two years of sobriety, I find it almost crazy that I was able to put myself first. That I was able to overcome my addiction. And it’s funny, the thing most people don’t tell you is that you never stop wanting alcohol. It’s always there, the little voice in the back of your mind saying it’s ok for you to have one, little, tiny sip. Won’t do any harm. But it will, to people like us, it will. It’s hard, not impossible. Thank you.”

A quick flash of a smile to the group before quickly moving back to your seat, a wave of applause follows after you. The Reverend starts to talk about sobriety and ends the meeting with a group prayer.

As everyone’s heads are lowered, you take the chance to look back over your shoulder at the boy sitting in the back, the one who interrupted your speech. Though semi-happy as you were able to cut it shorter than normal.

Peering over your left shoulder, head turning slowly as you try not to make it too obvious, finding that he was already staring at you. A cheeky smile engulfing his face instantly makes you blush as you immediately turn your head back around. Embarrassed beyond belief that he caught you sneaking another look at him. 

You groan silently to yourself as the Reverend ends the prayer and a unison ‘Amen’ circles the room. Crossing your arms as you lean deeper into the chair, eyes fixated on the floor as you watch the dozen or so shoes scramble to depart.

“Amazing speech, Y/N.” Reverend Mills compliments as he walks up to you. His shoes a black leather loafer, “Like always.”

Looking up at him to respond, “Well if you keep making me talk at every meeting, I’m going to run out of things to say.” 

His face is kind, soft features and years of wrinkles form into a warm smile. You aren’t trying to be mean by your statement, but tired of the never ending cycle of the program. 

“There’s always more to your stories, you just chose to skip over those parts.” The Reverend implies, as he knows more about you than you tell to the group. Confiding in him through the course of these couple of years. He has good intentions, you are just wary of everyone.

Pulling your attention, “There is someone I want you to meet.” Nodding his head, signaling for you to stand and follow him, “Lip!” Practically shouting over the group, waving for him to come over to the two of you.

You can’t tell right away who he is yelling for until the young man from before, the one who caught you staring, starts to walk over to the both of you. Two cookies wrapped in a napkin in one hand and a styrofoam cup in the other. 

You can practically feel the bleed leave your face, leaving you in a ghostly, shocked state. 

“Lip, this is the girl I was telling you about.” Reverend Mills says as he gestures towards you. “Lip, this is Y/N and Y/N this is Lip.”

Lip places the styrofoam cup in his mouth, with the edge with his teeth as his now free hand extends out in front of you. A couple of beats pass as you don’t move, your eyes locked onto him as he nods his head for you to shake his hand. His blue eyes are even more piercing up close. Gulping as you slowly reach for his hand, the firm shake completed by him as you still are unable to move. The touch is electrifying.

The Reverend lets out a light laugh when the hand shake is over, obviously picking up on the awkwardness between you and Lip. “So Y/N, I was wondering if you’d like to be his sponsor.”

The comment quickly pulls you into reality. A sponsor? You barely want to coach yourself everyday not to pick up the bottle and now you may have to make sure someone else stays on their path. “Oh, I don’t know…” You trail off, the uncertainty lingering long after your voice stops.

“I think that you two would be a great fit.” Mills insists as he places a hand on your shoulder,  “Lip needs help and I think you can relate to him.”

Well now you feel obligated to do it. Great.

You scan Lip up and down as you try to study who he is as a person. Cocky, annoying, smart. Huffing as you speak, “How long have you been sober.”

“Two-ish hours.” He mumbles before taking a bit of his cookie, following with a big gulp of his drink. 

“Reverend, really?” You plead. Knowing that this was absolutely ridiculous. 

“Just see if you can push him in the right direction.” The Reverend states before walking away, attending to the other members. Leaving you and Lip, standing in front of each other to figure this new situation out.

Breathing loud through your nose, clearly annoyed, unable to conceal any part of your disappointment from Lip.

“Look princess, I clearly don’t want to be here either but I’ve got this court thing-” Lip begins, mouth still full of chocolate chip cookie.

Cutting Lip off, “I get you don’t want to be here and I really don’t want to help you. But I’ll be your sponsor to help out Reverend Mills, that’s it.” You state firmly before walking away, only to back track to your original spot, “As for the drinking, it ends today. We’ll start next week.” Finally walking away for good.

Leaving Lip, cookie and coffee in hand, as his body desperately craves a drink.

~~~

I'm seriously so happy with this story series idea. Let me know what you think!! Also let me know if you wanna be tagged in the next part!!

Thank you for reading and supporting me!! I LOVE YOU!!!

[significant-ace-nnoyance]

How do you feel about Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, and why should we throw Leah a huge parte for being the annie we always deserve but never got much of

HELL YEAH ARE YOU KIDDING ME LEAHBETH IS THE BEST THING THATS EVER HAPPENED TO ME THIS ENTIRE YEAR OH MY GODS AND GODDESSES im fully self aware that "i look like i would have been an annabeth kid" and its because i FOR SURE WAS WHY WOULDNT ANYONE BE she is The Character the MOMENt the ICON of the AGES and leah is adapting her energy to screen so ???? perfectly ?????? like did rick just shake the book and she fell out ??????? what sorcery is this?? ??????

no but in all seriousness leah is killing it as annabeth and its super clear that she did her research and understands the character (in interviews she talks about how she read annabeth povs in later books and did research on greek mythology and athena so she could understand the lightning thief not just from percys pov but from annabeth 🥺🥺 she so annabeth coded irl i adore her) and it genuinely shows like ive microanalyzed all her expressions because her facial acting has so much DEPTH and LAYERS and OH MY GODS leah deserves all the parties and we are so privileged to have her as our annabeth chase <3 imagine being that talented at like 13

im super excited to see what additions she makes to the character in this adaptation!!! already i think she's really highlighting annabeth's battle strategy smarts over just booksmarts which EVERYONE ALWAYS FORGETS ABOUT SHES NOT JUST A BOOK NERD SHES A FUCKING GENERAL HEAD OF THE ATHENA CABIN MOST FORMIDABLE DEMIGOD AT CAMP AS A 12 YEAR OLD the duality is giving me LIFE and i love how she gets to boss around percy and grover (leah also talked about loving to get to be in charge and competitive as annabeth which shes SO REAL FOR THAT shes such an annabeth type) BUT ALSO YOU ALREADY GET TO SEE HER VULNERABILITIES AND INSECURITIES AND THE WAY SHE CARRIES HERSELF THAT MAKES HER SIMULTANEOUSLY COOL BUT ALSO IS A REFLECTION OF TRAUMA AND POOR EMOTIONAL COPING yeah basically shes not just giving us annabeth shes giving us annabeth but MORE and its making me understand her character BETTER and in a NEW way (and if you have anything to say about her portrayal in the show i will genuinely pull up with a full ass powerpoint slideshow because IF YOU MEDIA COMPREHEND FOR TWO SECONDS AND KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER CHARACTER IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE AND ITS SO JUICY AND JALKDJFKBL)

i think about that shot of her looking at percy using medusas head through the screen porch ALL THE TIME. and her delivery of "grover can you tell your friend to pull himself together" LIKE THATS WHEN SHE TURNS TO HER PROTECTOR FOR HELP AND IT HAS A LITTLE BIT OF A SASSY IM-BETTER-THAN-YOU-PERCY VIBE TO IT BECAUSE SHES HIDING THE FACT THAT SHES SCARED AND UNCOMFORTABLE TO TALK ABOUT HER RELATIONSHIP WITH HER UNAVAILABLE MOM (and percy sees right through that just as she sees right through percy and oh my gods if i get started on percabeth ill never shut up)

anyways thanks for giving me an opportunity to go on a mini rant about leahbeth i could say so much more because when i say ive analyzed every frame my girl is in i am NOT joking

but ill just end by saying that anyone who is upset by show annabeth being black literally did not understand her as a character or the percy jackson books in general so they can stfu and get their little butthurt wrong opinions out the door bc they dont belong here anyway <3 rick and becky also talked about how they hired black sensitivity readers to help write annabeth's blackness more authentically into her character in the show so very much hoping that they do that well! and im overall just super excited to see what changes they make to adapt my favorite character to a new era, a new medium, and a new audience!

go treat yourself to some leah interviews because i actually adore her and will protect her and annabeth (though arguably theyre one and the same) with my life <3

[lanawinterscigarettes]

cleaning up bottles with you on new year's day (Thirteenth Doctor x reader)

Summary: you and The Doctor spend New Year's morning cleaning up after a long night of celebrating

Warnings: mentions of drinking/slight overconsumption of alcohol, established relationship between reader and 13, kissing while drunk (it's completely consensual as both reader and 13 are only slightly tipsy and know what they're doing), pretty sure that's it

A/N: cute and fluffy fic for the first of a very new year! this is based (loosely) on the taylor swift song new year's day off her album reputation. I hope you guys like it <33

You had decided to hold a party at your place for New Year's Eve, inviting everyone from the fam to come celebrate, including The Doctor, who was your girlfriend. The lot of you talked, laughed, and drank the night away until finally New Year's approached, everyone cheering and popping open another bottle of champagne once the clock hit midnight.

It wasn't until well past two that everyone decided to call it quits, stumbling outside along with them so you could give them all a proper goodbye. After calling a cab for the rest of the fam as a reassurance they'd all get home safe, you headed back inside, sighing when you realized just how much of a mess had been left behind for you to clean up.

Even though you were still a little tipsy from your earlier consumption of alcohol, you knew if you didn't get started now you'd regret it once you woke up. Grabbing a garbage bag from the kitchen, you started throwing away the empty bottles, trying to be careful so you wouldn't break any of them.

"Here, let me help you with that." The Doctor's soft voice came from behind you, carefully taking the bag from your hands. "I wouldn't want you to drop this and hurt yourself."

You nodded your head at her reasoning. It made perfect sense not to trust a partially drunk person with something as fragile as glass.

"What are you still doing here? I thought you left with the TARDIS." You handed her an empty bottle, looking confused.

She shook her head as she took it from you, carefully placing it inside the garbage bag. "I only went inside for a moment to make sure it was landed properly, so I could stay here for the night. Well, I suppose it's day now, isn't it?"

Laughing softly, you gave her another bottle to be thrown away. "Yup. Happy New Year's."

"And to you, too." The Doctor gave you a playful look as she put the last of the bottles in the bag.

You watched as she took it and set it by the door so neither one of you would forget to take it out later on. "Hey, I just thought of something," you said suddenly as you leaned up against a nearby wall.

"Oh? And what's that?" She asked curiously as she walked back over to where you were standing.

"I never got a kiss from you for New Year's," you said with a pout, crossing your arms.

She let out a laugh before leaning in, her face right next to yours. "Well, maybe I can fix that for you."

She kissed you, her hands reaching up to cup your face. You could taste the remainder of champagne and a bit of wine on her tongue when her lips met yours, not that it bothered you.

Once she pulled away, you let out a content sigh. "Happy New Year's, indeed."

She chuckled before brushing her lips against yours again. "Happy New Year's, love. Let's hope it's as good as the last."

"It will be-" you murmured, your hands resting on her shoulders as a way to both bring her in closer and steady yourself "-if I'm spending it with you."

Likes < reblogs | comments are greatly appreciated <3

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[meshlasolus]

What Once Was Mine

Chapter 13

Series Summary: Locked away in a house her entire life, she always dreamed of exploring the nearby kingdom for just a day, believing it could make the rest of her days in solitude bearable. What she was unaware of, was the real reason she’d been hidden away for so long. Change comes swift like a flying dagger when a thieving bounty hunter seeks solace in the old home.

Din Djarin Royalty!AU / Tangled!AU

Pairing: Din Djarin x Princess Kryze!Reader

A/n: LAST CHAPTER THANK YOU ALL FOR READING

Warnings: literally just fluff and nothing bad and a very happy ending to this somewhat horrific angstfest if the story. it took us long enough to get here we deserve it.

You awoke to the sun, just like most mornings. The golden rays touched your face and creeped over the dark blue duvet that covered your body. You reached out your arms in front of you, forgetting that there was a sleeping form resting close by. 

He stirred, his groan of morning struggle getting caught somewhere in his throat before he started to turn over. His eyes barely open, he smiled, closing them again and snuggling closer to your warmth. He’d never grow tired of lying by your side. It was both a comfort and a reminder to him, that he wasn’t alone anymore, and would never have to be again. 

For years he awoke next to sleeping women, leaving at the crack of dawn before they even knew he was up. They would sigh in a slight sadness, moving on to resume their lives. Never hearing from him again, or never even seeing him around after. He was a ghost in the shadows, many longed to catch him, in several different ways, but he was fleeting. A wanted man. 

Now he laid in serenity, the glow of the early morning around him as his truest love stirred in his arms. He didn’t have anywhere else to be but here, with you. Loving you. 

“G’morning,” you mumbled, face halfway in your pillow. The softness was too wonderful not to take advantage of. You remember days when your softest pillow was a struggle to keep from falling flat. 

“You sleep well?” he asked, smiling at the cuteness of your sleepy state. 

You knew that though it was against your wishes, you’d have to awaken at some point. There was a royal banquet being held in your honor on this day. Your King consort would also have to attend, to his detriment of never wanting to leave this bed. 

You were his wife. He wanted nothing more than to keep you away and to himself for at least the day, but there were duties to be upheld, and he understood that. You were worth it, he reminded himself every day. Even on the days he thought you’d cost him his life, he still chose you, wanted you. He loved you so deeply that not even the devil himself could make him draw away from your gentle touch, or your sweet words. Your innocence, the thing he first noticed about you from the moment he saw those beautiful eyes. They were full of curiosity and wonder, untouched by the darkness of the world. And even still, after witnessing the horrors and fighting your way through… that sparkle in your eyes remained. It was still present and still gleaming. 

“Better than I almost ever have.”

He smiled into your skin, breathing it into his senses and letting the scent take over his brain. 

“Let’s stay here. No party, no people. Just us.”

You sighed, the thought of ‘just us’ was wonderful, but couldn’t possibly be entertained on a day like today. Perhaps tomorrow, or the day after, or any other day for the rest of your life. Those were the perks of being married. You had him forever, now. 

“We can’t…”

“I know.”

But it was okay, because even in the presence of a thousand people, you would remain beside him.

-

The pleasantries were boring, as Din assumed they would be, but he tried to make it more entertaining for you. One at the time, the Dukes, and Duchesses, the Lords and Ladies, and even other Princes and Princesses were greeting and welcome for coming to celebrate this momentous occasion. 

There were some guests with their noses held high in the air, those who were not quite apt to the idea that someone who has not been raised in royalty would be taking over the crown. Likely they thought that Gideon was a righteous and good king, because to those on the outside, he seemed so. It was only when others traveled to the depths of the city, the hidden parts, where you could see all the poverty stricken and lesser folk, the ones who did so much just to get by. Under just a month of your rule, that had already changed, but you understood that the outsiders could not see the difference.

Din usually scoffed at them when they walked away, mumbling a small remark about ‘he shouldn’t be making comments on you when he made the decision to leave the house in those ridiculous shoes.’ 

You’d smile again, and be lifted in your spirits before greeting the next guest.

Some of them were wildly entertaining. Lady Fennec Shand of Tatooine, along with Lord Boba Fett from the same realm. They were seemingly astounded by the beauty of the kingdom, loving every minute of it in comparison to their own. Though they love their home, it can’t match Mandalore in beauty. You end up inviting them to stay along sometime, to take a holiday from their duties every once and a while and retreat in the wondrousness that is your kingdom. 

Another interesting and by far the most anticipated guest, is Duchess Tano, one of the high elves from the mountainlands. She is a mysterious and beautiful woman, her headdress was being talked about just as soon as she entered, bestowing a gift upon you and your new husband. 

“They are for goodluck,” she spoke, offering two stones that seemed to hold a green hue to them. Much like the damaged stone you once wore around your neck to contain your power. How naive you’d been back then. 

“Thank you, we will keep them always.”

She nodded, bowing shortly before turning and entering the grand hall where everyone else conversed brightly. Some of it was gossip, and some of it was genuine talk, but over all, it was for the most part, positive. The Lords and Ladies of Mandalore could see what good you’d done to the kingdom, and they knew that this new prince consort was good for you. He was a strong and honest man, though it took some time for him to receive that new reputation. 

As the receiving line dwindled down, the conversations became shorter, the greetings kept to a minimum for the fact that these guests just wanted the pleasantries to be over with so they could enter the party. It had been spoken about all week before it actually happened. You knew that Bo Katan had put hours and hours of work into this event, and for that everything was magnificent. 

The last man you saw arrived in a dark velvet cloak. His hood had covered his head until he reached you both, only flipping it up when he was before you. 

“Congratulations, I’m happy to hear that Mandalore is back under civil rule,” he held his hand out to you, and you offered your own freely, watching him gently bring your fingers to his lips in a quick and polite kiss. “I am King Skywalker of Ajan Kloss. I look forward to establishing a new and beneficial relationship with Mandalore.”

“Thank you, your Majesty. We would be quite happy to see how our Kingdoms may benefit from one another.”

He nodded, then walked off, his cloak mysteriously floating towards one of the many racks set up for the evening. Din didn’t catch it, he was feeling more suspicious about the man’s intentions with you, as his notions were all too charming. Perhaps he was just feeling jealousy. He was, after all, your husband. 

You swore that he was blessed with the same gifts as you, but you wouldn’t dwell on it too much for now. There was a party to attend, and you didn’t plan on missing out. You’d very much like to eat a piece of your own wedding cake.

-

The stringed instruments playing in the background was the greatest melody, but what was even better, is that while you were sitting, watching Grogu munch his way through a dollop of frosting, you heard a very specific song start to play, and it almost took you out of your seat. 

You searched the room for Din, but he’d sneaked up behind you, his hand on your shoulder as he slightly spooked you out of your seat. 

“I believe the agreement was I would dance with you until your feet gave out,” he offered his hand out to you, your smile becoming wider than the mountains themselves. You jumped to your feet, taking his hand and rushing to the dancefloor. 

It wasn’t long before the song restarted, and this time, there was a singer involved. 

He looked down at you sweetly, mouthing the lyrics that he’d come to know by heart. Your song of comfort was now his own, and he would never forget the melody or the words, the way you sang them to him on that first night, the one he realized his old life was over, and it was on with the new. 

Even before this life of royalty and fame and pleasure, he’d come to love you as some sweet and innocent peasant girl. The one who’d never seen another man in her life. It was unfair to think that any other man would measure up after that. Her eyes saw him in the most beautiful light. He was everything, and he would remain everything.

As he twirled her around the floor every now and then, her eyes brightened. She’d say she was lucky, but she knew that wasn’t true. She’d paid the price for a lot in her life, and this was the brilliant reward that had always been awaiting her at the finish line. Her prince, her small green ward, and this magnificent kingdom to watch over for all the days of her life.

“When the moon comes up to the shine of a face

The birds are fast asleep

And the lanterns hang from every post

The fairies leave the keep

They join their hands and sing their songs

That nary a soul can hear,”

He leaned in close, kissing you deeply for everyone to see. It wasn’t proper, and it certainly wasn’t something of tradition, especially for the monarchy… but he would not waste his time to present a false appearance. He’d wanted to do that since you both arrived at this party. His kiss was sweeter than wine, and softer than a summer night. Everything he wants he now has, as long as he gets to remain here, on this dance floor, holding you tight.

“In the springtime when the earth is new

To the fairies they draw near

To the fairies they draw near….”

-

Tags:

@i-ameri-cant @littlemisspascal @fanfics-toread @icanbeyourjedi-writes @castleallherown @mysticalgalaxysalad @princess-prettyy @67impalagirl13 @agingerindenial @childrenofthewatch @insomniac-nerd-posts-things @marjoherbo @juletheghoul-main @tiredbuthappy @themand0lorian @janebby-blog @goldielocks2004 @yuiopiklmn ​ @oh-no-who-am-i ​ @appleejuicee0 ​ @luxmundee @belovedadam @seninjakitey ​@harriedandharassed @notsosecretspy @littleshadow17 @clear-your-mind-and-dream

[sirensskai]

My Ripp Grunt headcanons

It was about time I put them all in one place because as you can tell I’m obsessed with him and have a lot😭 Some of them might make no sense whatsoever or sound weird or are probably me just projecting but who cares lol. If I forget any or think of more I’ll add them later. Also it’s going to be really long…

Anyway… “So Kai, how much do you like Ripp???”

Me:

Birthday

I have come up with a birthday for Ripp. December 13, 1988. (Yes I know December 13 is the same date as Taylor Swift lol.) He is a Sagittarius (that’s canon but that’s why I picked that birthday). I see sims 2 Strangetown as starting in 2005 and he was age 16-17 back then. He’s a year and several months younger than Tank and 4 years older than Buck.

Height

Kind of short for a guy, about 5.5. Tank and Johnny are significantly taller and he hates it.

Identity

He is bisexual and transmasculine. Maybe non binary too, specifically a non binary man (like a demiboy or something.)

Ripp has always been attracted to all genders. He doesn’t really care about that (can fit pansexual too.) He is open to seeing multiple people at once so is polyamorous too. Which can be one way of explaining the romance aspiration. And yes, he has a crush on both Ophelia and Johnny.

He is transgender and knew something was up from an early age. Like a lot of transmasc people he went down the “tomboy” to trans pipeline. He didn’t fully realise what being trans meant and that that was what he was until he was about 14 though. Ripp chose his name himself, idc. He thought it was cool.

Johnny and Ophelia were very supportive of him being trans. He had them at school when the bullies found something new to pick on. As was his mum Lyla who he is very close to. Buck didn’t fully understand at first because of being really young but is still very supportive. (Also Buck ended up becoming Rebecca and is transfem herself but that’s another character headcanon lol) Lyla helped him start HRT.

General Buzz though… I don’t see General Buzz as entirely transphobic. I think he’s the kind of person to prefer having sons, but is still weird about Ripp being trans. He is kind of against it at first but gets used to it. He would also want Ripp to be a man in the “right” way (based on a Tumblr post I saw.) He messes up pronouns sometimes but at least tries. He still thinks Ripp is a fucking lazy ass disappointment overall though 😭 “yeah you are trans or bi, whatever, but you are still my worst son ever.” I think he would be more concerned if any guy Ripp dated was an alien over the fact they were a guy (oops, he already has a crush on Johnny Smith.) General Buzz’s conflicting views about Ripp with Lyla also contributed to those two’s strained relationship. He sees a lot of Lyla in Ripp, in both appearance and personality and he hates being reminded of her.

Tank was in a similar position of getting used to it over time. Didn’t mean he stopped wanting to beat his ass all the time though. He had some internalised stuff he had to deal with himself though (being his own person with his own wishes and also, gay.)

Ripp took Lyla disappearing very hard, especially since she was the one helping with his transition. He was on his own. Things got complicated because General Buzz was still kind of unsupportive. Ripp snuck out for several days to get top surgery by himself and General Buzz was very angry about that.

Personality

He’s a very sweet person overall. He’s friendly with almost everyone and hates conflict, but if he is confronted he loves taking the piss out of them. He’s very positive most of the time despite his terrible life. Very talkative and can go on and on. Tries to make a joke and lighten the mood with just about everything, including himself, even if he does go too far sometimes (which he instantly feels bad about if he makes someone sad.) Definitely swears a lot which his father hates, but he loves annoying his father.

Relationships

I don’t think he has a bad relationship with his father and Tank forever. They make up at one point and maybe they don’t become really close but they at least get along somewhat again (no horrible PSP ending in my sims game.)

He was very close with Lyla, probably the most out of all three of Lyla’s sons so he was devastated when she left, and even more so when he found out she died. One of the few supportive people in his life and she was gone.

Him and Buck (or Rebecca later) are very close due to them both having a strained relationship with General Buzz. Rebecca looks up to Ripp a lot. Also they end up both being transgender which they make a joke out of later. “I can’t believe we’re both Grunts and trans.)

He’s been friends with Ophelia and Johnny since middle school. He hangs out with them a lot and prefers being with them to being at home. He loves being an idiot with Johnny but is sweet with Ophelia. He fell in love with Ophelia first then Johnny.

He met Lilith after she also ran away from home. The two became close because of that. They love poking fun at each other. He’s afraid Lilith will make fun of him if he tells her he likes her (but Lilith likes him too.)

Self insert time, he’s really sweet around Lana. Ripp talks a lot and Lana barely talks at all due to their extreme shyness but he doesn’t mind. He cares for them a lot. He is the most calm and gentle to them and loves listening to them ramble about their interests. He might want to marry her.

Music Career

Ripp was always interested in music, mostly rock music but he is open to other genres as well. I see him as being very into Nirvana. He started playing guitar at school with Johnny Smith, covering their favourite songs. Lyla got him own guitar, and he also started writing his own songs, uploading them to MySpace or something.

At one point he runs away from home and gets a trailer for himself. Away from his father, he has a lot more freedom to do what he wants with his life. He’s still working at the gas station and going to a lot of music labels and he eventually gets signed to one. He has his first major song released through them.

Ripp is the lead singer and guitarist in a band as well as a soloist, with Johnny Smith, Lilith Pleasant and Mercutio Monty, the last two he meets and befriends at one point. (Idk what to name this band yet lol.) Johnny also plays guitar, Lilith is the bassist and Mercutio plays the drums.

His music style is very diverse. And I’m also going to base them off Lana Del Rey albums and songs because why not. His very early work is very acoustic. The first ep and debut album he releases has influences of grunge, surf rock and psychedelic rock. A lot of guitar sounds. And whatever sounds come out of AKA Lizzy Grant.

He goes through some tough things in life which is why he takes a break between his debut and his second album. The sound of this album is quite different. Still guitar heavy but also very slowed, dark and psychedelic. Probably some of his most depressing songs ever. Definitely has a song calling out General Buzz. His Ultraviolence era. It’s a little bit of a concept album too, there’s some sort of storyline throughout. He wears black eyeliner on stage.

The next album is experimental, a little bit of the style of his first album back with the guitar but also some trap beats in there. If I could describe it in a Lana Del Rey song it would be Freak Like Me Demo. Also the most horny album. Bisexual anthem in there though.

The latest album I’ve imagined for Ripp (idk why I’ve imagined all these albums for a sims 2 premade, please help) he explores pop. Lust for Life era (I’m still drawing that, I have a vision.) It’s a lot more uplifting than his previous work and it changes the world. Also somewhat of a horny album too. He dies the ends of his hair purple.

Ripp moves to Del Sol Valley at one point when he becomes a celebrity and gets a house in the pinnacles.

He is definitely very popular in terms of being attractive. There are people making thirst TikToks of him and writing self insert fanfiction and everything. (Couldn’t be me. /s) Some fans are really obsessed with him. To the point they would leak his unreleased music and post it everywhere which is unfortunate but some of them are so good (I’m writing a fic based on this.)

He also does campaigns and advertisements and things as part of being a celebrity, there’s a billboard or magazine cover somewhere where he’s modelling underwear 🙏 And he also hopes it annoys his dad if he sees it and recognises his face lol

His social medias would be hilarious and he would also own terrible people.

Other random hcs

I think Ripp was an unplanned child. Lyla was happy to have him but General Buzz not so much, he kind of hated Ripp from day 1.

He was a “problem child” at least in General Buzz’s eyes and also the schools he went to where he had behaviour issues and struggled to focus. His dad made him see a psychologist. He’s autistic (or aspergers back in the late 90s-early 2000s, also I don’t think General Buzz is the most up to date) and has ADHD. I don’t think this helped with General Buzz already seeing him as a disappointment. Ripp gets really fixated on music (both certain artists and creating it) or certain tv shows or very unconventional things that are kind of uncomfortable for some people. Like literally just the subject of woohoo interests him and he wants to know everything about it lol. I think he fixates on philosophical stuff too like death and the purpose of life (another thing that can lead to some uncomfortable conversations.) Very unlike the stereotype of autism because he’s really outgoing and social too, but it is a spectrum.

I think he shows a lot of affection through touch.

Really dark hc but… 😭 Although he pretends it doesn’t, I think the terrible relationship he has with General Buzz and Tank, as well as Lyla disappearing and dying did really affect him. Has depression and some self esteem and emotional issues and fears abandonment. He has considered *unaliving* before. Also a weird relationship with food. Although he has max interest in food, and he eats a lot of food (but mostly junk food) he grew up with the pressure to remain thin. The dark period of his life between his first two albums involved that and he may have abused substances too. I’m a terrible person, I’m sorry 😭. The romance sim part of him might have spawned from craving the love he didn’t get at home. He feels undeserving of a real relationship but deep down that’s what he actually wants.

I am sorry to him for giving him all these traumatising hcs but I can’t help myself. He was bullied in his school years 🥲 The psp secret of him being afraid of toilets from “one too many swirlies as a child” is to do with this. Tank was involved too maybe, but I don’t believe it was all down to him and he’s a terrible person. With the trans headcanon, I think he was picked on by both boys and girls. Girls didn’t like him for being “weird” and boys would go out of their way to hurt him for trying to fit in with them.

Due to General Buzz being in the millitary, he travelled to a lot of places and moved around a lot prior to going back to middle school in Strangetown. I think he would become interested in different cultures and pick up some words of different languages. He lived in Tomerang at one point.

Ripp is kind of feminine. He isn’t afraid to like “feminine” things and he loves jewellery and painting his nails.

He has a brow piercing and a septum.

He gets a sleeve tattoo.

Has rarely ever cut his hair in his life, he lets it grow really long and he doesn’t care. He would hate for all of his hair to just be chopped off (and that’s also what his father wants)

Smokes, both cigarettes and weed. Tries to stop smoking the cigarettes later on though. Him, Johnny and Ophelia get stoned together and sometimes Lana if she’s willing.

He’s quite arty (his canonical one true hobby is set to arts and crafts.) Spends a lot of his time drawing anything from animals to horny “anatomy” pictures because why not. He takes art when he attends college.

Ripp is a great father. Idc about that romance aspiration, just because he has that doesn’t mean he’s a deadbeat father 😭 Like I’ve said before, that sounds like Don Lothario but not Ripp. His nice points are too high for that. Also being like his own dad would be the last thing he wants to be. He really cares for any kids he has, and the people pregnant with the kids. He would be a really fun dad, maybe a little permissive. Basically the opposite of General Buzz (and also how I think Lyla was.) He also cares for people in general instead of just wanting woohoo out of them.

Ripp is left handed. Sims 4 actually set him up as left handed for me lol. Left handed guitars are unavailable to him to start with so he’s forced to learn right handed 😰 But later on he gets a left handed guitar and plays amazing.

He has a tooth gap.

Cat person. General Buzz, Tank and Rebecca are all drawn to dogs but Ripp is the only cat lover 😭 He gets a havana or a maine coon (or both.)

I think Ripp fits the pleasure aspiration more than the romance aspiration to be honest. An aspiration that involves some romance but also not being a total sleaze and wanting to relax and have fun sounds more like him. It fits Lyla too (another reason why they were so close is that they had very similar personalities.) Another aspiration that fits is popularity, he’s just a very friendly person who loves making friends.

Songs that remind me of Ripp:

[thewertsearch]

Ask Comp 13/4 - 2

Yup! The Alpha timeline offers a novel solution to the problem of Sylladex capacity. If the Captcha index only needs to be consistent in the Alpha timeline, then it doesn't have to worry about reserving index space for every possible item.

If this is how things work, then the Sylladex isn't predestined, per se - it's enforced. Everyone has a finite set of objects that they're allowed to captchalogue, and if you pick up anything else, your index is invalidated - and your timeline is pruned.

You could still call it predestination, if you were so inclined, but that's only partially accurate. It's more that you're coerced into 'choosing' one particular destination - or else.

I'm loving these voice headcanons. Scratch as Emperor Belos is inspired.

What the hell? That's amazing.

Based on my (admittedly limited) experience with web administration, it's not all that surprising, either. Hacks like this are shockingly common.

No worries! The vast majority of followers don't actually interact with these posts' notes, but I still assume they're reading them. Just a quirk of Tumblr's norms.

My best guess is that the drones would arrive when the troll is on the cusp of adulthood, shortly before they leave Alternia. That would give them as much time as possible to form potent relationships - which would, in turn, give the Empire the most potent wrigglers.

I still think it would motivate younger trolls, though. I mean, if all single people are executed at eighteen, you might feel a little pressure to enter the dating game early.

Never forget the Der-sayer incident.

Rereading it, Karkat scans as sad, angry, resigned, confused, lonely, and trying to bottle up an avalanche of "FRESH RAGE."

I think we're both half right, here - he's drowning in a tide of pretty much every negative emotion imaginable.

Thank you!! We triple-checked, and it seems like Tumblr ate the first half of this ask :(

Much appreciated, though!! I love that metaphor for coming up with scattershot theories.

Oh, that makes sense. Can't believe I missed a Hussie pun, but that one was a little harder to notice.

This makes it sound like the universe is tethering her to life, just as she tethers it. What is up with this lady?

That's true! I'm pretty sure it's both.

I'd always imagined Equius as being pretty tall. They're all the same height in sprite art though, so I think it's another case of sprite art being non-representative.

I'm withholding judgement on the Meowrails until we get more interactions between them. Their early conversations were a little worrying, but it's possible that Hussie hadn't fully fleshed out the concept of Moirallegiance at the time. We'll see how they interact now that how their quadrant works has been expanded on.

[ Problem sleuth is still hosted there😁- C ]

It still seems to work for me!

Oh, fun! I guess John's birthday does sort of fall into a half-pattern with the others.

Still, it would have made more sense for him to be in a line with the other Players - his Chumhandle doesn't match theirs, either, so maybe John's just a weird case.

Thank you! I feel like this sort of analysis can only really be applied to fictional characters, though. Everything a character says or does is the result of a deliberate choice made by a writer, and I can use my knowledge of that fact to frame my analysis.

In real life, though, people just say shit - often for no reason, or for reasons they don't understand themselves. People are a lot more complicated than even the most well-written character, and understanding them requires a whole different skillset!

Someone also posted Hussie's author comment about this. It's been years since I watched the movie - and if I recall correctly, it was also pretty meta itself. Maybe I need to watch it again, as reading material for Homestuck.

ferretlady97 submitted: talking about the book commentary reminded me of something i was gonna send you when the troll black queen took off her ring but forgot "Note that when she takes the ring off six orbs are filled. Three players from the blue team have entered the session, and three from the red team. Aradia was the second of the blue team to enter. Nepeta was third. Aradia's entry is when the frog mutations took effect on the ring-wearer. And then an interval passed before Nepeta's entry. Which means the queen actually spent a decent amount of time looking like a frog, deliberating whether or not she could put up with this for an entire game session. Ultimately, she couldn't hang in there. But this does imply she at least tried." i just think it's funny thanks for your time

The language used here - the fact that she couldn't 'put up' with her transformation into a frog, and couldn't 'hang in there' - seems to imply that doing so harms her in some way.

All the frog symbolism is still a closed book to me. What exactly does Bilious Slick represent or symbolize that Derse hates so much?

[ you got another ask about LOLCAT but it has classpect spoilers so I'm saving it for later - C ]

I suppose that could work - but then again, it seems that 25% of all Lands have some association with water, so it can't always represent Life. I do want to come back to this later, though, when the Classes and Aspects are better defined.

Send away! It'll be a while until I use them, though.

I appreciate it! That's a minimum bound that I'd have to pick up the pace to reach, at this point.

Hey, what can I say? I'm here for a good time, and a long time. >:)

I keep forgetting that LOSS is a references to a fanfic. I associate it more with you, the LOSS Anon!

If she can't, she's definitely phrasing things in a misleading way, trying to imply that she can. The Tavros scene is arguable, but I really can't think of any other way to interpret how she talks about the Consorts, unless she's straight up lying - and she really doesn't do that much.

Vriska 100%s the game, but skips all the cutscenes?

...yeah, I can see it. Every side quest is another chance to win!!!!!!!! >::::)

[toaster-ay]

Alright folks. This is something I've wanted to talk about for a while now, but just now I decided to actually write it all down and hopefully make sense of myself.

Long ass ramble about BATIM and some lore from official books.

So far I've got my hands on two Bendy books, that is The Illusion of Living and Dreams come to life (I also have the Employee's Handbook but that one isn't lore important). I plan on getting the rest of the book in the future but let's look at these two for now.

The Illusion of Living is Joey Drew's memoir, written all by himself. In this book we get to know quite a lot about Joey, more or less his whole life.

We get to know that he comes from a family of shoe makers, that he lied about his age at 13 so he could join the war. Or that he likes to dress and look fancy long time before he actually is fancy, just because it makes him feel better and gives the illusion that he's someone important. We even get to know that he once joined a Detective when he was investigating murder. And that he can appreciate good art while also drawing slightly himself.

What I want to look deeper into though, is the way he and Henry met. Thanks to the game (and even fandom), most people assume they were best friends for a long time. That they would go to hell and back for each other. But that wasn't actually the case??

Joey and Henry met through a mutual friend, Abby Lambert, and he actually didn't like Henry at first. Joey didn't like the cartoon artstyle, which is what Henry mainly drew. So they didn't have anything in common.

That was until Joey got the idea for Joey Drew studios, and asked Abby for help to come up with the main character, since she could draw better than Joey. Well, Abby tried, but it didn't end up as they wanted. And then Abby took Henry for help and went to Joey together, and let me tell you, Joey actually wasn't really thrilled for Henry to come with her.

But, after a few tries, Henry was able to come up with the right design for Bendy. Joey and Henry decided to work together after that, but Henry left the studio not that long after. It's said that Abby started to work in the studio three years later, but it's also said that Abby and Henry never ended up working together. And Joey didn't really seem to care for Henry.

He acknowledges him, but isn't mad at him.

It's just so interesting, why is Joey so angry at Henry in game, if he didn't seem to actually care about him in the book? Could've been a mistake from the writer, or I don't know.

This is just something I've wanted to point out for a while, and I'm super open to starting a conversation with someone about this!

Now let's look at Dreams comes to life

This book is written from the point of view of Daniel Lewek, also known as 'Buddy', who is also the character that ends up being the Boris we all know and love in game.

I love how this book is written, since it's written after Buddy is corrupted by the ink, and he's slowly forgetting all of this, so he's writing it down so there's something left. So the truth is known.

Buddy is hired by Joey to be a delivery boy after a quick meeting when he's delivering him a new suit, but later gets promoted to an artist after Abby Lambert (who is now in the head of the Art Department) sees a drawing that Buddy's grampa actually did, but Buddy ends up lying, since being an animator is something he actually wants to do.

Buddy befriends Dot, who works in the Story telling Department, and she's a really noisy and sneaky character.

Now, something I think is interesting is that, Sammy Lawrence is probably the first character to get corrupted by the Ink machine. Buddy's first meeting with him actually traumatises him slightly, because Sammy jumps at him covered in ink after a pump bursts right above him. Throughout the book, Sammy is depicted to be really interested in ink, while also drinking some from the ink bottles.

Then Buddy has the luck to meet the Ink Demon himself, accidentally even letting him out from the room he was locked in.

And then, Sammy goes missing. That's when even Dot has the pleasure of meeting the Ink Demon, since she and Buddy went to the studio when it was shut down to see what other weird stuff they can find.

When we meet Sammy again, he's already The Prophet that we've seen in the game. And he even already made some sacrifices, Buddy and Dot (and Richie, Buddy's animation coworker) were meant to be part of them too but they were lucky enough to escape. But Buddy's coworker, Jacob, didn't. And when Buddy and Dot find him attached to the Ink machine cowered in ink (they are able to save him actually), they also find already dead bodies of Dave (another Buddy's coworker) and Norman Polk ("Of course no one would notice he was missing. Of everyone in the building. He watched everyone, but no one really saw him" – I'm sorry I had to add this, I absolutely love it)

Dot and Buddy end up having a small fight with the Ink Demon until they get rid of him. Or so they thought, because he ends up grabbing Buddy and pulling him into the ink with him.

When Buddy wakes up after, he's already in the body of Boris. Joey Drew standing above him, absolutely thrilled that they got a perfect cartoon after such a fail with Bendy.

Even if Dreams comes to life was mainly focused on Buddy, it feels like we've got so much lore for all the other characters. Joey shows how much of an asshole he can actually be. Norman shows up a few times, always unannounced and with some information no one else except him knows. Sammy and his grumpy ass that was slowly getting corrupted by ink. Hell, we even got Tom and Joey argument about the Ink machine (and Allison was with Tom!! Holding his hand!!).

These books are really worth reading, and I'm excited when I finally get my hands on the rest of the books.

Alas, that is the end of my ramble. If anyone read it all, here's a cookie for you 🍪

And I'm also super open to have a conversation with anyone about all of this!!

[kndrules]

Could u tell/show us more of ur hcs for Abby? She's always been one of my favs

YAH!! I really have to sit and think about this, because sometimes I have headcanons that I forget are Headcanons, you know what I mean?

(haha this turned out to be extremely long so I'm putting in a read more)

Okay- so I think her dad is originally Canadian and is half Cree. Since Cree is named after her voice actress, and her voice actress is named Cree because she is Cree, it makes perfect sense to me. Her dad was living in France for some kind of medical residency situation when he met her mom and they started their family. We know that Abby moved to the United States when she was a couple years old, like Nigel did. The only reason I can think that cree doesn't have a French accent would be that she tries really hard to fit in. But with one north American parent, she probably spent a decent amount of time in the states growing up too.

I think her family is a comfortable upper middle class. I haven't decided what I think her mom does for work. I have a very specific headcanon about her family having a nice finished basement that has gym equipment in it, cuz that's where Abby and wally work out together. Sector V will often have movie nights in Abby's basement too.

This is clear in canon, but she has a great relationship with her parents. Cree does too. Their family situation is complicated since the sisters have so much animosity towards each other but so much respect for their parents and their family in general

Abby IS fluent in French, the whole family is. They visit France to see family about once a year. Abby isn't close friends with Angeline, but because Angeline knows Creole French and has a girlfriend who lives in France, the two have kind of taught each other how to speak the others native dialect of French.

As an adult, Abby is going to start wearing glasses full time. This is a headcanon I forget to implement when I'm drawing her though 😅

In middle school and high school, Abby is an expert at floating around different social circles. She's tight with the popular kids but still has no issues being best friends with the nerds and weirdos (sector v, basically)

Her and Rachel end up becoming close, but in a way that still feels vaguely like a professional relationship. This is because they were both soopreme leaders at certain points and they both deal with a lot of social pressure. As adults, they have a new kind of professional relationship because they both become the core of Nigel's support system when he's in prison. Rachel becomes his lawyer as soon as she's able to and she works closely with Abby, since she's his best friend and a social worker (not HIS social worker, but she still brings her knowledge to his case)

After turning 13, Abby and Nigel become teen operatives. When Abby is soopreme leader, she abolishes decommissioning. In my adult AU, the divergence point is the teen-kid treaty from operation TREATY. Basically, the treaty goes well instead of...going horribly. As a result, the GKND doesn't target earth in the same way, and decommissioning becomes unnecessary. The hard line between kid and adult was a huge reason that "adulthood" was such a problem on earth. Wally, hoagie and Kuki stop being field operatives as teenagers (they still do some stuff for the knd, but to a lesser extent), whereas Abby and Nigel become a hardcore undercover duo.

Abby is very busy during her teen years. Shes in the top of her class and does a few extra curriculars. She also tutors Wally and is the biggest support he has in terms of school. She gets into a good college and pursues social work. I don't think she stays in that career forever though, because she needs to chill out at some point.

There's eventually a huge scandal regarding Father's business practices which culminates in his arrest. When this happens, the DCFDTL enter the foster care system and Abby takes on their case personally, feeling a sense of obligation to help them. As I've said before, I headcanon that the DCFDTL cannot age. At this point however, I haven't worked out the kinks yet, but they're able to start aging again. For reasons.

Abby has a tumultuous relationship with Henrietta in middle and high school that ends with a very messy break up. While I'm grad school, Abby and Hoagie become each others biggest support and hang out all the time, which is how their romantic relationship develops. They get married and have two kids, Naomi and Hogarth (Garth) the Third.

I HAVE MORE TO SAY BUT Y'KNOW WHAT...this is getting out of hand so I'm going to stop. If anyone has more specific questions about Abby feel free to ask!

[aotopmha]

i totally get your point of view and i too wish that we got more of historia, not only in the final episode, but throughout this final arc. but that doesn't bother me as much because in my mind historia's arc is complete. and while i do wish she did more in these final chapters, i'm happy with everything she did throughout the series and how she ended up in the end. i don't think she ended up in a bad place. sure, she could have been more on-screen, prominent etc. but i'm just happy to see her happy. i think all the characters got a good conclusion. some better than other, though, for sure.

I just really disagree with that.

The very specific idea behind her character to me was that she was no longer her passive persona Krista Lenz.

I, not for once, thought that was her actual "true self", but that's what I feel like she reverted to for the minimal amount of time she was on screen for the last arc.

She complied with her position as a baby machine and took all of Eren's bullshit while for some reason deciding to have a child to simply basically "save herself and stop the 13-year cycle".

We had chapters of character exploration of why she wouldn't doom another child to save herself.

Her father only wanted to use her for his gain and she denied it.

*SHE OPENED AN ORPHANAGE TO GIVE PURPOSE AND PLACE TO THOSE WHO DIDN'T HAVE ONE.*

I 100% think she would not doom another child like this no matter what, even if it ended up "okay" in the end. Even if it is "the only option" to save herself.

Ymir, who is the most important character to her for most of her journey, doesn't even get the tiniest of nods in relation to her at the ending.

Who even IS the Farmer Guy?

If you know anything about how gay-coded characters are treated in fiction, you know how common it is to pair them off with random straight partners without any work put in the character writing.

And okay, let's make the argument that Historia only had a strong friendship with Ymir, she's bisexual and all of the usually weak excuses people give when (even potentially) gay characters are denied a full on relationship by the writers pretty blatantly.

I don't know Farmer Guy. He doesn't even have a name.

As much as I don't care about the romantic aspect to Annie's and Armin's relationship, both also actually have talked to each other on screen. It was there for a long time.

For Farmer Guy, we just have a blurb of saying he used to be one of her bullies who wishes to make amends.

*SO MUCH TIME* went into building her character and this is the payoff?

Her end is "happy" and "complete" only in the most surface-level sense. She and her child are okay. It's not even that I want more, it's that I want something that isn't a bunch of nonsense.

But in reality she has basically zero characterisation in the last chunk of the story and most of what she does is only explained in a couple of lines – so much of the meaning of which is gleaned from other characters talking about her. And because her own words are so minimal, reading her motivations is based on a bunch of conjucture, too.

It's a vague mess.

You can *assume* she had the child because she was pushed into a corner by Eren and the threat of repeating the 13-year cycle. But we never get anything from her beyond this. It's a really massive reversion with very minimal explanation to me.

Aside from the base thematic issue of her taking away the freedom of another child, I think Historia, just like Eren, would be able to be immune to the "influence" of King Fritz (which is actually all OG Ymir herself). I think she would stand against the Rumbling in a way that doesn't involve being a passive pawn because she found her meaning in giving meaning to others.

She wouldn't just forget what she wanted with a snap of a finger and I do not think she was so bound to Ymir emotionally her death removed all of the actual fight from her.

I'm sorry, but I just deeply do not like this take. To me a good character ending isn't the most surface-level happy or sad ending, it is payoff to all of the work the story has done with its characters and themes.

And regarding Historia, I deeply disagree with how she was written in the final arc.

Thank you for the ask!

[captainsimagines]

pretty woman, this is me trying || thirteen

Summary: Bucky Barnes does not like to be touched. He’s completely ready to live a distant life and give up when the time is right. Until Stark hires him his own personal pretty woman. Over time, Bucky Barnes begins to learn how to touch again. How to feel again. How to love himself again.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female SexWorker!Reader

Trope(s): Holiday Fanfic ; Slow-Burn ; Friends to Lovers

Based on the Song(s): sweet nothing by Taylor Swift and Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls

(13/14)

Mini-Series

Warnings: guilt; overthinking; loneliness; reference to past SA

Word Count: 1,750+

~

     It’s cruel to be introduced to companionship after you’ve been lonely for so long. What is a person to do when it’s suddenly ripped from their grasp? There is no possibility of acting normal, of forgetting it. You end up feeling even lonelier than you did before. Like what you felt before wasn’t loneliness at all.

Even your coffee didn’t taste good as you watched the morning news.

Christmas news.

The notification from your bank didn’t help either. You were going to murder Tony Stark.

You had spent Christmas alone for two years now, this being the third. But you had scheduled it that way. Your dates were on Christmas Eve, and Christmas was meant for you. This year, however, you had hoped to spend it with a friend. With someone you loved.

Routine came naturally: Make the bed, make the coffee, check your phone, turn on the television. Your plan for the rest of the day was to binge watch a new series or read a book. Dinner was to be simple and snacks had been stocked since last week. There was a bottle of wine chilling in the fridge. But there were two glasses set out for tonight. Lainey’s and yours.

It would have been the first time using Lainey’s glass since she died. You would have poured Bucky’s drink in it.

Oh, God. You told Bucky you loved him and he didn’t even seem to catch it. Was your luck that shit? Or was this a consequence of your actions? You avoided looking at the Christmas tree in the corner of your living room, avoided looking at the small gift for Bucky underneath.

A knock at your front door had your heart bursting through your cardigan, anticipation for one person in particular overwhelming your senses. Though, as you inched closer to the closed door, you highly doubted Bucky would stop by at all. He had been adamant about stopping you yesterday, but you closed the conversation with such a hurtful message. Both to him and about you.

You had expected Natasha.

It was a surprise seeing Steve Rogers outside your apartment door.

“Have you come to throw me off my fire escape?”

Steve pushed past you, entering your apartment without permission. The man was nothing like Bucky Barnes except in regards to build and strength.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why did I need to tell you? Besides, I highly doubt you would have treated me better knowing I was a hooker.”

“I would never judge you for that.”

“No, but you judged me for simply being Bucky’s friend.”

He exhaled roughly, caught in the trap. He was realizing just how misdirected and needless his suspicion was.

“Did you two…?” he started, but stopped when your expression turned sour. “Sorry, sorry.”

You rolled your eyes, moving to sit on the couch. You crossed your arms over your chest, refusing to be on guard in your own home. “Not at first. I was hired to attend the Ball with him. We decided he would be more comfortable if we got to know each other. Then things escalated.”

“But what you said last night… Bucky didn’t want you?”

It sounded worse when repeated from someone else’s lips. “Stark found me online. Bucky just never told me he was basically coerced into it.”

“I’m going to kill Tony.”

You chuckled softly. Men and their first reactions of violence.

“I understand he didn’t want me in the beginning, and that he wants me now. But am I just supposed to pretend that I didn’t start this relationship with money as the end goal?”

“Were you going to drop Bucky? Take the money and run?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t see the problem.”

You huffed, “You already didn’t like me. If you don’t like me, how am I supposed to get on everyone else’s good side?”

Steve brushed a hand down his face, dropping down onto the couch beside you. “My opinion isn’t that powerful.”

“When you say that, do you realize how daft you sound?”

He glared, but there was no longer anger attached. “I didn’t mean to push you into the wall.”

“Did you mean to push me into the street?”

He grumbled and said more to himself, “You sound just like him.”

“Is he okay?”

“He hasn’t left his bed since he plopped his ass into it last night. But I should be asking that question, too. Is he okay?”

Steve Rogers was a man dying to know if his best friend was healing. Steve Rogers was a man who had forgone a rescue mission for Bucky after he fell from the Alps because he hadn’t known Bucky had the serum. Steve Rogers was a man who found out his best friend was alive, but was tortured because he hadn’t looked for Bucky’s body himself. Steve Rogers was a man who had his best friend back, but could not touch him.

“Our pact was this,” you started, lifting your legs onto the couch so you could tuck them underneath yourself. “Step by step, we tried different things to get him used to regular touch again. Pinky promises, passing each other objects, having me braid his hair. Then he got comfortable holding my hand. Comfortable with me standing behind him. Comfortable with hugs and kissing. Then, more adult things.”

Amazement clouded in Steve’s eyes as he heard you speak.

“Once he was comfortable with me, then he would know if he’d be comfortable with someone else. He proved that after he rescued Natasha. Even if he could only hold her for a few minutes, he still did it. It wouldn’t have been possible if he didn’t trust me—If he didn’t want to get better.”

Steve licked his lips, looking down at his lap. “He never told me that.”

“What did he say?”

Steve scrunched his nose, fighting his thoughts. “That you were nice and that you were just friends.”

“Steve…”

“They hurt him really bad, didn’t they?”

Your eyes burned as you watched the moment Steve Rogers realized his friend hadn’t just lost his mind to the enemy. That he had lost so much more.

“It’s not my story to tell.”

“But it’s exactly what I’m thinking right?”

Your lips pulled thin, and Steve broke down right there on your couch, on Christmas morning. You scooted the short distance between the two of you, and threw your arms around his broad shoulders.

Steve didn’t hesitate. He held onto you for dear life.  

~

    Empty.

His chest, his stomach, his head. He couldn’t exactly tell what felt more bare. He often pondered what it would have felt like if you did decide to leave him after your part of this deal. He assumed he’d be hurt, but that he would get over it in a day or two.

It hasn’t even been twelve hours since he last saw you and Bucky feels like he’s been sawn in two.

Axel snoozed by his feet, exhausted after having calmed Bucky down when he first entered his apartment. It was a silent eater, this pain. He had thought he’d throw some things, maybe punch a wall. But the self-rage and embarrassment were flooded behind his sternum, crashing against his ribcage.

So Bucky had curled into his blankets, into Axel’s fur, and suffered in silence.

You loved him.

And in this silence, he loved you too.

A knock sounded on his bedroom door. Bucky groaned in response, pushing the covers down so his head was exposed. Steve squeezed his way through the small space he provided himself, standing by the edge of Bucky’s bed.

“She’s okay, if you’re wondering.”

Bucky closed his eyes, sighing, “You saw her?”

“Mmm,” Steve answered. A yes in his own language, Bucky assumed. “She gave me some cookies to go, too.”

It was then that Bucky noticed the small container of carefully packaged cookies. “That means she likes you.”

Steve offered him a gentle smile, though it didn’t quite meet his eyes. Neither of them spoke for a full minute, awkwardness absent as dreadful tension took its place instead. Bucky knew what Steve was going to say before he even said it.

It was about damn time. He often wondered why Steve never asked to see the tapes, trusting Bucky’s words of They didn’t hurt me too bad, instead. Or maybe it wasn’t a trust in that Bucky told the truth, but a trust that whenever Bucky was truly ready to speak about it, Steve would listen.

“Buck, do you still want to keep it a secret?”

Bucky sat up so his back leaned against the headboard. He fumbled with his fingers as he debated an appropriate response. “The less people who know, the less real it is.”

Steve took a step closer, allowing Bucky time to refuse it. Then he stepped again and again, until he was seated on the bed itself. “Buck, it’s me.”

Bucky scanned Steve’s face and only found sincerity, a welcome to rant and cry and scream. The face of his best friend eighty years ago when Bucky had lied about what the content of his draft letter said. The face of his best friend when Bucky had omitted the fact Hydra had shot him up with some second-grade serum.

Bucky sucked in a breath, swallowing hard. “I told them no.”

Steve crumbled instantly, his eyes filling with tears. “Buck—”

“I begged them not to every single time. I said no."

Steve reached a hand across the sheets, palm up. An invitation and a question wrapped in one. Bucky laid his flesh hand over Steve’s, realizing just how touch-deprived Steve was, too. Steve remained still, frightened that one wrong movement would snap Bucky away.

“I lost count after twenty years.”

Steve dipped his head, pressing his lips together. “And she was helping you all this time.”

“She thinks everyone is going to hate her. She doesn’t know that I have the same fear… Of everyone knowing.”

“I told her this,” Steve began, his tone fierce. “That we have assassins, murderers, witches, and thieves on our team. No one is going to judge her. I promise you, Bucky. No one is going to judge her, and no one will judge you if you ever decide to tell them.”

With a small smile, Bucky admitted, “I’m still going to overthink it, Rogers.”

Steve took a chance and bent his fingers. Bucky moved slightly, giving Steve more opportunity to strengthen his grip if he wanted.

“You might,” Steve chuckled, sniffing and rubbing his nose against the fabric on his shoulder. “But promise me that you will come talk to me, or her, whenever you feel hopeless.”

Bucky sniffed away his tears, too. Sprinkling some light into their conversation, Bucky told him, “Thank you for killing those bastards for me.”

“Anytime, Buck.”

~

[verbforverb]

Eurovision ranking, part two! The set of entries I have stronger opinions about. You will note this post is uh somewhat more verbose than the last.

AGAIN, PLEASE DO NOT REBLOG

Cat2: Your choices are not my choices, but I respect them

Croatia: My initial note on this was "I appreciate that they are trying to make a point which I’m sure will be clearer when I can look up the translation but also this is, sort of, 4 different songs in one, and not in a good way." And I still stand by all of that. Love the energy! Love the mood! Parts of it are even catchy! Unfortunately, do not actually enjoy the experience of listening to this song.

Finland: This has grown on me more than I expected. I still wouldn't say I like it, but I don't mind it as much as I thought I did, the live performance is extremely compelling, and I do at least respect its choices. While I wouldn't seek it out, but it's definitely not forgettable, and I could see myself liking it eventually, maybe. But whichever way it definitely brings a certain something to Eurovision.

Ukraine: I am so close to liking this song. It's got that Bond energy, momentum, lyrically I've certainly heard worse. But the synth is just a bit grating to me still. There are also several parts where I swear it sounds like a Wilhelm scream, extremely distracting.

Israel: On first listen, the hysteria set in somewhere around the first "power of the UNICORN" and did not let up at any subsequent point. What IS the power of the unicorn? The first thing that comes to mind is the power of being an attractive young bi woman who is happy to be a no-strings third in an otherwise straight relationship. For all I know that IS what she means, it certainly adds another element to the song if so. I loathe the attempt to make "femininal" happen like few other things in this competition and resent this song for making me hear it multiple times. Musically it's all over the place, it feels like at least two and maybe three different songs trying to be one thing. And yet. AND YET. It is catchy! Noa Kirel blows the performance out the goddamn water! I guarantee I will not forget about any element of it, not for want of trying! Makes no goddamn sense. Compels me though.

Spain: So I do get the appeal. The layering of the sounds, the repeated lines, the almost sampled-sounding chanting which is a cool effect. Maybe this just needs longer to grow on me. For whatever reason, probably a large part underexposure to the style, I find this hard to listen to. Which is a shame, because it's the most interesting thing Spain has entered in years.

Serbia: I want to like this so bad. I love the aesthetics, the energy, the ridiculous 90s video game synth intro, and I can get behind what it's going for, thematically. Unfortunately I cannot deny the experience of my ears, and I do not like listening to this song. But I very much appreciate its existence!

And finally, Cat1: songs I feel positively about! With an actual ranking!

15 Cyprus: This would have faded into the mush of broadly-forgettable Eurovision ballads for me if it had not been extremely, inescapably reminiscent of Britney Spears' If You Seek Amy. But, like, a lounge version intended for background listening in a fancy restaurant. Once heard, this cannot be unheard, and that definitely gives the whole experience a certain indescribable something, the only reason I've ranked it so high.

14 Romania: Unfortunately there was no way to divorce this song from what I watched in the national final. This is a real shame, because I like this song! It's a jazzy waltz, we never get those, it has drama and range, and the guy can pull it off, vocally! In another universe I could see this making my top 10. Unfortunately, this is the world that we live in, and it contains... that whole situation.

13 Czechia: This was so close to being in the "I don't like it, but I do respect it" category, but you know what? I do sort of like it! The spoken word / chanting is just about on the right side of annoying for me, and you can't deny it is memorable. And you have to have a deranged song about feminism and/or national solidarity from central europe, it's the rule.

12 Poland: LOOK. I am not immune to a thirst trap bop. Is this song and its background as an entry ridiculous in all ways? Yes, absolutely. It's still stuck in my head now and forever. Plus I find the "VISIT POLAND. WE HAVE SWIMMING POOLS AND HOT GIRLS AND... FRUIT" music video extremely funny.

11 Slovenia: I'm not saying this is good. But I am saying a solid chunk of the foundations for my music taste were 00s pop rock, and this is a pitch perfect example. In Slovenian. It's upbeat! It's catchy! It's got a drop! If the lyrics are bad I can't tell! Just a fun time all round.

10 Moldova: Aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you just want to go apeshit? God I love a good flute/whistle line. Sometimes you are creeping through the woods towards a giant bonfire circled by sillhouetted dancing shapes, human? more than human, or perhaps just somewhere off to the side? you are unseen yet all-seeing, and you crave the perfect soundtrack to that moment, and you know what? Moldova have you covered.

9 Belgium: This is great fun, it's got those synthy disco vibes, and it's lyrically touching as well. A bit of a dark horse in that it's crept up my rankings every time I've listened to it. It's just a little too one-note - not a unique problem for Eurovision songs, but to me it kinda feels like listening to the same song two or three times in a row.

8 Norway: Sometimes, a song can just be a good bass drop and a fun hook. It's not clever, but it is absolutely a good time. Similar to Belgium, it just doesn't do quite enough to climb higher - feels a bit repetitive - but what it has is very pleasing.

7 Sweden: I do fully enjoy most things about this song. The tune is good, love the synth, Loreen is a fantastic performer and I'm here for any staging which can be described as "surprise! you lift up a paving stone and discover a eurovision performance". There's just one problem, which is that it occasionally falls back on the most godawful rhyming, and then hits it as hard as possible complete with musical emphasis and pauses. Like, first listen, "It will come a - day, when we will find our ..." "don't say way" "WAY". And then by some combination of singing style or mixing choice those rhymes were all I could make out at first, like "mumblemumble PAIN mumblemumble RAIN mumble YOUUU mumble TATTOOO", and, just, infuriating. It's a real shame because I really do like everything else about the song but those bits are so incredibly distracting. The only other note I have is that the repeated "all I care about is love" just makes me think of the song from Chicago, which is a VERY different vibe.

6 Portugal: Love the energy, love the high-tempo cabaret feel, catchy as hell, and god, what a performance! I don't know whether to be impressed, terrified or both. The only place it falls down for me is that it just doesn't lend itself, really, to humming or singing along, because it is SO high energy and high range in every sense. Instead I'm just sort of watching open-mouthed, so the song itself doesn't stick with me the way some of the more conventional entries do. But without doubt a great entry.

5 Australia: First things first: it is incredibly weird to me that I managed to straight up forget these guys existed after listening to their music quite a bit some 8 years ago. I do like them! And this! They have this crisp progmetal sound that really works for me, and you always have to love a keytar. Add to that, I think these guys can pull off a performance, god knows they've been hyping up crowds for long enough. My only complaint aside from the harsh vocals (see also germany - why?? you can do metal without them! they won't take away your hardcore card!!) is that repeatedly asking "have you ever done anything like this before?" completely out of context - and not given more context that I noticed - is one of the most baffling ways they could have chosen to open the song, and mostly makes me want to yell "like WHAT, voyager? anything like WHAT?" But that's a detail.

4 UK: To anyone accusing me of pro-UK bias, I would say that this year and the previous year are the only times in the past decade, or maybe more, I would have ranked us above the bottom 5. I would not go so far as to say this year's entry was worth the wait, or worth having had to know that Teenage Life exists, but I do love it a lot. It's a bop! A minor key bop! It's catchy! It has deranged energy! It's got an inexplicably London spoken word bit that I even think adds to the song! Ranked only on craft, it wouldn't make the top 10, but on sheer enjoyment I have to have it up here.

3 Austria: When we first listened to this, I was making noises about how it was just kind of a meme, while my wife was fully into it, proving that ultimately she is right about all things. This has grown on me so, so much to the point where I love it both as a song and a meme, and we do just occasionally say to each other in the worst attempt at an american accent imaginable, "who the hell is EDGAR?". It's catchy, funny, it has a great synth line and it's about creative control and reward in the music industry! What more could you want? No idea how this will play on stage, but I'm officially a fan.

2 France: Ough. The moment I saw this I said "that's @docholligay bait" and you know what, I don't even care because it's fantastic. The confidence? The voice? The BASS? It's simple, elegant, and it could not possibly be more French if she was holding a baguette and smoking four cigarettes simultaneously. Even the fact that she's Canadian adds to this, because there's somehow something even more French about leaning into it all so hard despite not actually being from France.

1: Germany: You knew it was coming. Germany has hosted the biggest metal festival in the world for over 30 years, and is just now thinking "hmmm, we could send some metal to Eurovision." It was worth waiting for. This is maybe the only time I've ever been pleased Germany will auto qualify, because I do NOT think this will play well with the general public, but I love it.

Brief interlude while I'm a nerd: extremely Nightwish-esque instrumentals - to the extent that I spent the first two listens just trying to figure out which song the instrumental line reminded me of, maybe Bye Bye Beautiful or Storytime? - with the crisp vocals. I don't love the harsh vocal parts, but they're a minor enough part of it that I can deal. Lyrically excellent, love a song about the duality of humanity and the ways people choose who to be and how to act from the same set of parts. There are exactly two songs this year where I still find myself mulling over the words and the other one is a criticism of the music industry through the medium of spiritual possession, so. I didn't even think until @keyofjetwolf put it in her comments that the piano / rhythm playoff mirrors the lyrics, but I like it even more now if possible. One of my first comments was "never thought we'd get metal in eurovision, the guitar solo would take up most of the 3 minutes" and then Lord of the Lost released an extended version with an extra minute-long guitar outro, so I feel especially vindicated. To conclude: hell yes.

[atwooozi]

Almost Perfect (Sebastian x Fem!Farmer) Chapter 15: Solarion Chronicles: The Game

Warnings: Slow burn, personal struggles, anxiety, depression, eventual smut

Summary: Angeline prepares for a game night at Sebastian's place, where they are joined by Sam.

A/N:

I know what I said about posting on Thursdays and while I like having that as a set day to post I also get very impatient. Soooooooo, in the nicest way possible please deal with my impatience.

Anyway, writing this chapter before I even started writing this story stressed me out. High fantasy has such a highly intricate style that I don't think I'm capable of, so please go easy on me if you think it blows. I tried my best and I think the the next chapter will make up for it, I promise!

READ ON AO3

Chapter 15: Solarion Chronicals: The Game

Summer 13

Angeline was scrambling to get ready for game night at Sebastian’s. She had only found out recently that the governor was coming to the Luau and that she needed to bring an ingredient for the community soup. Thinking of the whole situation only made her more confused. Why was the governor coming? Why were they eating soup in the middle of summer? What the fuck was a community soup? 

She groaned and picked some of her more decent peppers and set them aside for the party. Hopefully they weren’t too spicy. She only hoped that everyone else in the village brought things that would make sense for the get together. However, she couldn’t be too sure since even Jas and Vincent were permitted to bring things to put in the stew. It was a cute gesture, but one that caused Angeline to fear for her life. Eight year-old Angeline would have put in gummy worms if she was given that much power as a child. She couldn’t even imagine what either of the village’s children would put in. 

Angeline ran into her house and changed rather quickly. She was running out of time fast. She really didn’t want to be late. Especially after Sebastian went out of his way to invite her. She quickly threw on some biker shorts and a big navy hoodie. The outfit wasn’t anything special. She was sure if Haley saw her she would insist that she change immediately. ‘You can’t show up to your crush’s place with messy hair and a hoodie that makes you look like a box’. Luckily, Haley wasn’t here, though. 

Angeline took out her contacts and put on her glasses. She looked in the mirror a bit unsure. She looked comfortable. That was good, right? Maybe she should listen to the Haley in her head. She didn’t look bad , but she did look on the verge of  being too relaxed. She checked the time on her phone, 5:30. She cursed under her breath. She was already going to be late. 

~*~

“Maybe she forgot?” Sam asked as he started to set up the pieces for their game. 

Sebastian stopped pacing and ran a hand nervously through his hair. Maybe she did forget? Or maybe she just pretended to forget and didn’t want to come at all. He patted his pockets, he needed to smoke. This was a bad idea. The whole thing was just putting him on edge. 

“Dude, will you chill?” Sam asked as he looked up at Sebastian. “You’re making me nervous.” 

Sebastian frowned at Sam. He probably looked insane. If he was nervous enough to be affecting Sam he must’ve been worse off than he thought. “Yeah…sorry.” He grumbled and sat at the game table. 

“Let’s wait like a few more minutes.” Sam said as he patted Sebastian on the back. “She’s a busy lady, so for all we know she’s just late.” 

Sebastian hoped that Sam was right. It wasn’t like Angeline to just blow someone off. She had to just be busy. Sebastian busied himself, grabbing his dice bag and his DM screen. That would keep him from freaking out. 

Perhaps the spirits were being kind to Sebastian today because just as he started to lose hope he heard his mother’s voice carry from upstairs. “Angeline! The boys are downstairs. Can you take this down with you? I made snacks for you all.” 

Sebastian groaned internally as Sam cheered beside him at the mention of snacks. He was thankful, but it made him feel like a little kid. 

He got up from his seat next to Sam and opened the door for Angeline as she made her way down the stairs. She was carrying a tray of maki rolls, and a few maple bars that he figured were for Sam. 

“Hey, sorry I’m late!” Angeline said with an apologetic smile. “I lost track of time.” 

Sebastian smiled back and shook his head. “It’s no problem.” He took the tray of food from her. “Thanks for coming.” 

“Ange!” Sam bounced up from his chair almost causing the table to topple over. “Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?” 

Angeline giggled as she followed Sebastian into his room. “I think so.” 

“Good enough.” Sam said as he took a maple bar off the plate that Sebastian had just set down. 

Angeline smiled and sat across from Sam. She adjusted her large round glasses and tucked her hair behind her ear. Angrline was always cute, but something about her looking a little more undone stirred something in Sebastian. Her looking so relaxed put him at ease for whatever reason. It brought a smile to Sebastian’s face as he sat down in between his two friends. All the tension he was feeling just moments before had started to subside. 

“So have you played before?” Sebastian asked as he glanced Angeline’s way. 

Angeline shook her head and covered her mouth as she opened her mouth to speak. She had just popped a maki roll into her mouth. “No, but I always wanted to.” She crossed her legs, getting comfortable. “I could never get a game going because no one wanted to DM.” 

“Sebastian is really good.” Sam interjected. “Sometimes we play with Victor and Abby and he’ll go all out.” 

Sebastian flushed as Sam continued talking. “He even, like, will get music and make maps for the campaigns.” 

Angeline smiled brightly and looked over at Sebastian. “That’s really cool.” She rested her hand on her palm as she stared up at him in admiration. It made his heart race. “I didn’t take you for such a nerd, Sebastian.” 

Sebastian wanted to protest at the comment. It only caused Sam to laugh and pat Sebastian on the back. “Hey, being a nerd is cool,” Sam said with a grin. “And Sebastian here is the king of all nerds. But in a good way.” 

Sebastian rolled his eyes at the two. “Thanks, Sam. I wear my nerd crown proudly.” 

Angeline laughed, a warm and melodic sound that made Sebastian’s anxieties ebb even more. “Well, I think it’s cool.” She smiled, her dimples showing. “I’ve been curious about this type of thing for forever.” 

Sebastian nodded eagerly, feeling a surge of excitement now that Angeline was genuinely interested. “Yeah, it is.” He started to fiddle with the pieces, getting everything into place. “Trust me, once you get into it, you’ll be hooked.” 

As they settled in around the table, Sebastian and Sam began to explain the basics of the game to Angeline. Her eyes lit up with curiosity and interest. Sebastian felt his chest grow warm as Angeline was getting into something that he cared about. 

The three of them quickly fell into an easy rhythm, the worries and tension of earlier fading away. 

“Ready?” Sebastian asked. 

Angeline nodded and smiled at him, brimming with excitement. 

Sebastian coughed and cleared his throat as he settled into his chair.

~*~

In a world teetering on the brink of darkness, three unlikely heroes stood against the encroaching shadows: a wise wizard, a devoted cleric, and a fierce warrior. Their quest was daunting yet clear– to vanquish the malevolent wizard whose dark magic threatened to consume everything in its path. 

As the towering silhouette of the malevolent wizard's stronghold loomed before them, the party steeled their resolve. With spells at the ready, swords gleaming in the dim light, and faith guiding their steps, they marched through the imposing front doors. 

~*~

“Holy shit you guys I really have to pee.” Sam interrupted. Sebastian sighed and face palmed.

Angeline giggled. “We just started, it's okay.” 

Sam got up with Angeline's permission and quickly made his way to the bathroom. Leaving Angeline and Sebastian alone. 

Sebastian looked down at his hands. He felt the nerves fluttering back up again. 

“This is a lot of fun.” Angeline said with a smile. “I was a little bit nervous at first.”

Sebastian glanced up at her and smiled. “I'm glad you're having fun.” 

Angeline opened her mouth to speak but Sam came barreling down the stairs. “Did you guys miss me!” 

“So much…” Sebastian said dryly. “Now sit down.” 

“Yessir.” Sam saluted and took his seat. 

“Does anyone have to use the bathroom, get something to drink, or anything else?” Sebastian said as he glanced between the two. 

Sam shook his head and so did Angeline. 

“Good.” Sebastian said and cleared his throat. “As I was saying…” 

~*~

Their first challenge emerged in the form of a skeletal guardian, it's bones rattling with dark energy. With a fierce battle cry, the warrior charged, the cleric invoked divine protection, and the wizard wove intricate spells of destruction. Together, they shattered the undead creature into a pile of lifeless bones with ease. 

Standing amid the remnants of their victory, they faced a fork in the path ahead. Two corridors stretched out before them, each beckoning with its own ominous allure…

“What do I do?” Angeline had her hand in her hair as she agonized over the choice. 

Sam stood up from his chair excitedly. “Obviously down the path the green light!” 

Sebastian looked between the two amused. “Well?” He asked. 

Angeline bit her lip as she thought about it. “Sam’s right, let’s go down the left path.” 

Sebastian nodded and continued. 

~*~

… After a moment of deliberation, they chose the left path, its eerie green glow casting an unsettling pallidness over the scene before the adventurers. 

They ventured deeper into the heart of the tower. They had stumbled upon a chamber filled with rows and rows of capsules. Peering inside, they beheld the tragic fate of countless mercenaries who had dared to challenge the evil wizard before them. Mercenaries, once full of bravado and hope, now lay trapped within the cold embrace of undeath, their vacant forms twisted unnaturally. 

A heavy silence descended upon the party as they gazed upon the tragic scene. The warrior clenched his fist in anger, and the wizard's jaw tightened with resolve. 

“We can’t leave them like this.” Angeline, the cleric said, her voice soft yet resolute.

With a solemn nod from the others, they set to work, breaking each cursed capsule that stood before them. One by one, the mercenaries were freed from their torment, their spirits finally able to find peace. 

The party pressed onward, climbing even higher towards their final confrontation. At the pinnacle of the tower, amid crackling energies and swirling shadows, they found the malevolent wizard awaiting them, his eyes filled with malice. 

A fierce battle ensued, the clash of spells and swords echoing through the chamber. Yet, despite their determination, the malevolent wizard proved a formidable foe. With a wicked grin, he unleashed a devastating magical blast, sending the wizard and warrior crashing to the ground.   

~*~

 “Wait!” Angeline stood up from her chair, causing Sebastian and Sam to jump slightly at her outburst. “I can’t take him down by myself.” 

Angeline looked genuinely afraid. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides. She looked in between the two guys sitting before her looking for answers. “What do I do?” 

Sebastian blinked at her, he was surprised with how into the game she was. “...Whatever you want.” 

Sam shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, it’s your choice, Ange.” 

Angeline’s shoulders slumped and she sat down back in her seat. She frowned as she looked at the map in front of them. “I…I am going to cast a protective aura around the wizard.” 

Sebastian nodded. “Thanks Angeline.” Sam pouted slightly but nodded to her, letting her know that he approved of her decision. 

~*~

With a whispered prayer, she called upon the healing powers bestowed upon her by the divine. Light and warmth enveloped the wizard, a shield of light surrounding him. 

With a grateful nod, the wizard rose shakily to his feet, his eyes blazing with determination. Grasping his staff tightly, he faced the malevolent wizard once more, channeling all of his magical prowess into a single, searing spell. 

The chamber erupted in blinding light as the wizard’s spell collided with the malevolent wizard’s dark magic. For a moment, the world held its breath, the very air crackling with power. 

Then, with a deafening roar, the malevolent wizard was vanquished, his form dissolving into wisps of dark smoke. 

As the echoes of battle faded, the party stood amid the ruins of the tower, their bodies weary but their spirits triumphant. The world was saved from the clutches of darkness.

~*~

 “We did it?” Angeline asked as she looked between Sam and Sebastian. “We won?” 

“WE WON!” Sam cheered as he bounced up from his seat. 

Angeline squealed with excitement and she jumped from her seat, matching Sam’s excitement. “We won!” 

Sebastian smiled as he looked at the two before him. “That was pretty good, it took me a while before I could finish my first scenario.” 

Angeline sat back down in her seat and smiled gratefully at Sebastian. “You saved us all.” 

Sebastian couldn’t help but grin. “We couldn’t have done it without each other.” 

“Yeah, I helped a lot too.” Sam said. “I wanna be told I did good.” 

“You were great, Sam.” Angeline giggled. 

She stretched and checked her phone, it was now 10. “We were playing for four hours?” 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, that’s pretty typical.” He yawned. “I need to get outta here. I’ve got work tomorrow.” He gave a quick wave and made his way up the stairs.

Angeline gathered her things to leave and Sebastian couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment that the night was over. He was getting ready to say his goodbyes, but Angeline turned to him with a bright smile and sparkling eyes. 

“Thanks for inviting me, Sebastian,” she said, her voice warm and sincere. “I had an great time. I’d love to play again.” 

Sebastian felt a rush of happiness flood through him. “I’ll, uh, let you know when we have another game.” 

Angeline nodded enthusiastically. “Um, h-here…” she said as she presented him with her phone. 

Sebastian took Angeline’s phone and plugged in his contact information. “Text me whenever.” He said, trying to come off nonchalant. Although he was pretty sure he could hear his heart banging against his chest. 

Angeline nodded and pocketed her phone. “I should get going.” She said as she made her way to the door. 

“...Do you want me to walk you home?” Sebastian asked as he rubbed the back of his neck. He felt a bit silly, the girl could obviously handle herself, but he just didn’t want her to go yet. 

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.” Angeline shook her head. “Thanks, though.” 

“At least to the door.” Sebastian offered and Angeline nodded. 

“I guess the door is okay.” 

Sebastian chuckled and followed Angeline up the stairs. He really did enjoy her company. She was so easy going and happy. It warmed his heart in a way that he didn’t even know was possible. As he walked Angeline to the door, bidding her a goodnight he felt like his smile might not ever fade. Not while she was around.

[2n2n]

Don’t you think Tsunene kiss is a bit early? Like Nene-chan barely KNOWS Tsukasa at this moment, she never questionned what happened in the Red House… I think I’d like to have seen it in volume 22 or later, when she was "more interested" in him. Nonetheless it’s freaking interesting because she knows he’s a Yorishiro, so maybe he will try to convince her to destroy him……: so many possibilities

Why does Nene-chan need to know much about Tsukasa in order to be kissed by him? He's a social reject undead 13 year old ... While I understand if it is outside of your taste, it makes typical sense for a pairing in this manga, specifically. I'm not sure how much you think Hanako knows about Nene-chan, early manga, when he begins flirting with her… ? Doesn't our manga OPEN with Hanako doing some quite out of pocket things, drawing Nene-chan into being confused & questioning of his intentions towards her? She questions his sincerity all the way up to the Far Shore ... the Yugi man... you're asking too much for any twin to do things in the right order at the right time.........

Hanako, day 1 meeting Nene-chan, asserts them as a 'couple',

and QUICKLY sets into AGGRESSIVELY flirting with her! He admits to not caring about her life at this point-- this is purely physical ... (the sincerity comes later.)...

Amane wastes no time "getting to know" or "becoming interested in" Nene-chan, he does not give her much time or opportunity to "get interested in" or "get to know" him.

Hanako, meanwhile, he is quite immediately captivated by Nene-chan at first sight…

and binds her to him quickly. And that is a beautiful/romantic thing for our fated lovers.

Not long into their friendship (which can only exist in the brief hours between and after classes, give or take some spare moments), Hanako is kissing her …

How much does Nene-chan know about Amane, here, in volume 2? Any more than she knows about Tsukasa, right now? Arguably less???

Amane at age 8 is flirting with Nene-chan and asserting she is his type in, oh surely only an hour at best, of knowing her… he's a kid, his feelings are simple…

This isn't bad writing or something, it's just AidaIro's preference for romance; quite instant. Sumire did not know anything about Hakubo, when meeting him, but he was a handsome guy, she childishly and immediately is in love, and is in love for good! Who is to say a quickly-and-stupid-onset-romance can't become something earthshattering and beautiful? Who is to say a childish, impulsive start, ignorant of each other, is sloppy or 'too quick'? That's just an odd criticism to me, as a fan of all the pairings in this manga. I think KouMitsu is THE slowest individuals out here, and legitimately it's so slow for me it's unromantic fkldsfjslgg.glkjkljl.... meeting someone, forgetting about them,, keep forgetting about them,, have other crush, is like, ough its a struggle for me. Not how MY romance worked LOL!

While it took a long time for HanaNene to kiss on the lips, that has a LOT more to do with AMANE's specific hang-ups about vulnerability, fear of being attached, avoidance to take things seriously… his concept of 'having no future' and etc !! THINGS TSUKASA DOES NOT HAVE… as Tsukasa is not repressed, like Amane! I think if Amane was true to his heart, he'd have kissed Nene-chan full-on much sooner, but he's naturally avoidant of confession and earnestness!!! Amane would wait for the other party to confess, rather than confess himself! Amane is defensive and rude!!! Tsukasa is simply the type to not hide anything he's feeling. So a mouth kiss is easier for him to, do.

By comparison to Amane, in some respects, Tsukasa has been quite slow and observant… lol. I would argue Tsukasa has offered her more information & background on both himself and Amane in his forays with her, leading her to the bookstacks, to nowhere, meeting her at the Red House... though he has had less two-sided conversation, less time. These are interesting differences. I don't see how one is worse or more rapidfire. Amane hides his truth & lies a lot. If not for Tsukasa, Nene-chan would not know enough about Amane to fall so hard for him, perhaps. Through Amane's romance with her, Tsukasa gets to see quite a lot of Nene's personality. HanaNene in this way fuels TsuNene, and vice versa.

I think Tsukasa has observed Nene-chan quite a lot, is childish, and has precious little social connections at all; I think Nene-chan stands out A LOT! We know Tsukasa observes a lot of what goes on, truly at an unknown frequency. I think he could know as much about Nene-chan as Amane does, though as mostly an observer ... though, we don't know what sort of development they could have when Tsukasa is 12 (: Tsukasa's timeline is funky ! Disordered !!! He can't act normal, haha.

Tsukasa is childish… for Tsukasa, I think the kiss makes sense. I'm only shocked that little guy can really just up and kiss a girl ... I feel like it's taken him quite a long time .... she made her first impression when he was 4 ... much to daydream about, that mysterious girl.

Nene-chan had been lost & confused the entire early portion of Amane's pursuing of her... I'm afraid these Yugi twins both have poor romantic candor. They're quite insistent, aren't they? You have no idea if they like you or not, you get harassed, you get grabbed and pulled around and kissed willy-nilly with no explanation at all, you get suddenly claimed as property and made to follow commands … ! I'm afraid both Yugi are like that to Nene-chan, so I do not see why Tsukasa is unbelievable or too fast with it…!

Criticizing the trajectory and then immediately thinking of the destruction... I'm not with you anon, as much as I think Tsukasa being open to Nene-chan destroying him is in and of itself huge and romantic of him, a beautiful display of trust, placing her into the same position he would place Amane in.... I would like them to finally talk, alone, especially given time is frozen, and Tsukasa has longer than the duration of a school day ... I hope he can take her someplace the frozen clock can't effect... she has so much to process hahahaha ... she just starts accepting one Yugi twin likes her, and here comes the other one kissing her without a proper explanation ....

[sabineelectricheart]

Protection by Fire, Excessively So

Summary: Sebastian is excessively protective of the last friend he has left, to the point it feels creepy.

Rating: T - Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.

Words: 1300

Notes: Who has Dengue fever? Me! Who wants to die? Me!

He can make fire dance.

Magic seems to have favoured him, being channelled through his wand with little resistance and, between Confringo and Bombarda, creating flames that burned with unwavering heat. It dances and sings and destroys all around him, its flames and smoke not once marring his clean robes.

He is untouched, unperturbed by the heat he ceaselessly dresses the air with, the scent of sandalwood and ash sewn into his being. His hair is the same colour as death, Rosalie likes to think, as the darkness of the great unknown takes over one’s vision.

It is only when his back is turned that she feels safe. As if death has not come to claim her yet. As if death is the one thing keeping her alive. It scares her more than anything else.

His wand whips to his side, sending a final spell to the side and splaying droplets of Ashwinder blood on everything but him. She is far away enough, where the dirtiness of battle does not reach, and she is watching the gore scenario with unease and awe.

The scene from before, a group of unseemly Ashwinders descending upon the Hogsmeade approaches, seems like a long-distant memory, a harmless nightmare more than anything else. Sebastian had wasted no time leaping into battle before her own wand was even drawn, leaving her to watch the battle end within seconds of it starting at all.

The Ashwinders had not stood a chance.

Embers disperse around him as he scans the area one last time, daring another wave to appear from thin air. There comes nothing, just as it should be.

Rosalie looks around at the stark absence of enemies on the open grounds between the forest and the northern approaches to the villages, to which the gentleman pays her no mind quite yet. She knows that he would listen if she spoke, though, as he always does, and she decides that now is as good a time as ever to broach the topic that has been on her mind for days now.

“Sebastian...” She pipes up, her throat as dry as the heated air. “Thank you for the help. I am grateful that you are watching out for me, but you do not have to protect me. I had that wave under control.”

It takes more of Rosalie than she cares to admit for her to muster this pitiful phrase. Her voice betrays her with how small it came out. She hardly sounds convincing, and that is precisely what she does not need right now.

“I'm fine on my own, really.” She adds that last bit for good measure, afraid he will take it the wrong way otherwise.

Intoxicating. The way he looks at her right then is as intoxicating as wine, and the words feel heavy on her lips. Within moments, a sense of shame washes from her head to her toes like a tidal wave, because the twitch that ghosts over his face is not natural.

Despite the cue, she is not able to distinguish what sort of emotion brings about such hard look to his face, nor what he considers in his intimacy. It is hard to tell what he is thinking because despite the confusion and turmoil in his stomach, it never shows on his face.

What had happened, exactly, to make him forget how to feel so thoroughly, to have shed so much of his humanity, she wonders. Anne? Solomon? His parents? Ominis? Or is it more of a conjunction of circumstances? She might as well be the only person left in his life, as his foray into the Dark Arts cost him every other meaningful connection. He does not use those curses any longer, but they seemed to have left a mark on him and his magic.

It was then that Rosalie realizes, she does not know the answer. She does not know what made him forget how to feel. She does not know anything about him anymore, if she ever did.

Sebastian puts his wand away on his sleeve holster, finally turning his attention toward her. He does a quick scan of her body to assure himself that last fight had left her unscathed, which, naturally, it did. When his gaze settles on her face, his expression is thick like smog.

The pit in her stomach expands. He exhales through his nose, and Rosalie tries to ignore the guilty pang in her stomach.

“Although I appreciate the gesture, there is no need for gratitude. That being said…” His countenance lightens ever so slightly, mindlessly adjusting his collar when he picks up on her discomfort. “I suppose I have never explained myself satisfactorily. It is only natural that you are apprehensive.”

His eyes flicker to the slight tremble of her legs, a result of having spoken her mind after weeks of staying quiet.

His heart twists. He has always been aware that she is not keen on his overprotective behaviour, but he would keep telling himself that she requires his care and oversight, even if, clearly, it is not the case. He would keep telling himself that she needs him in her life, by her side, and the pretty world he would craft in his head will start to fracture.

As it currently stands, she has hardly had a chance to properly defend herself in battle, as he always finds a means to step in and ‘help’ her. Which always results in her standing back and him handling the rest. He realizes he has stripped her of her ability to make decisions for herself.

Sebastian is keenly aware of the scent of fire that still dances through the air, a reminder that he has overstepped his bounds yet again. A reminder that he has grown attached, yet again. A reminder that with love comes hurt, yet again.

He should not have helped.

“You are due an explanation, but I am not sure if I...” He trails off, the words not quite reaching his lips.

Because he is not sure about what? He is well-aware of the fact that, having absorbed the foul magic of Isidora’s, she has far surpassed any reasonable expectations in terms of both offense and defence, certainly being much, much stronger than he himself. She has no trouble holding her own against those pitiful Ashwinder stragglers, having been making them buckle to their knees back when they were much more powerful and well-organized.

In all regards, Rosalie is perfectly capable of fending for herself, and yet his stomach flips the moment he sees her under attack. There is clearly no need for worry, considering she is quick to dispatch of any foe that stumbles her way, and yet.... And yet...

“I am unable to tell you. Not right now.” He concludes, weary. “Not right now, but soon. You have my word.”

Sebastian exhales through his nose, dissatisfied with his own answer. She is several feet away, always careful to keep an appropriate distance, and he still feels her muscles tense at the lacklustre response.

“I...” She stutters. “I see. I suppose that is fine...”

Her apprehension drops, for now, but she is still wary of him. That expression of uncertainty is enough to form a pit in his very core, but he does not let his mask slip, having already overstepped his boundaries enough.

He will have to take measures to rectify his reputation in her eyes, a job he takes as seriously as anything else on his plate. Considering she saw him cast Avada Kedavra, that should not be too easy, but it is still of paramount importance to him. He has already lost many people dear to him, so please, he has to fix this.

Please, by all the gods, Sebastian cannot stand to lose Rosalie too.

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Hogwarts Legacy Masterlist