#like even in a low stakes setting of playing a game with friends or family

[feelingtheaster99]

I CANNOT stop thinking about Fig’s conversation with her mom… specifically when Fig talked about how she didn’t like to be asked about herself or have attention focused on herself and that’s why she often becomes other people

[azzifudd]

i don't wanna see you with anyone but me

paige bueckers x azzi fudd

summary: Azzi gets nervous before games. She always has. No matter how low or high the stakes, whether it’s a regular season game against a team clearly a cut below her own or the state championships, the moment she sets foot on the court, her palms break out into a sweat and her stomach churns with nerves.

Today though, she’s not nervous at all. She’s pissed.

rated: teen

3.0k words

disclaimer: as always, this is fictional

[AO3 Link]

Azzi gets nervous before games. She always has. No matter how low or high the stakes, whether it’s a regular season game against a team clearly a cut below her own or the state championships, the moment she sets foot on the court, her palms break out into a sweat and her stomach churns with nerves.

Today though, she’s not nervous at all. She’s pissed. It’s already been a bad morning. Early morning games are always tough on the team, and they’d gotten to the hotel late last night because of an expected traffic jam, leading to even less sleep.

And now, instead of helping her warm up and hyping her up like she normally is, Paige is at the opposite end of the court giggling with some girl on the other team.

They only have a few weeks left together before Paige has to go home, and instead of being with Azzi, she’s off flirting with someone else.

Azzi takes another shot, grunting when it bounces off the rim. The ref finally blows his whistle, signaling the teams to line up for tip off. Paige starts to walk back toward their side of the court, but not before that girl says goodbye with a hand pressed to Paige’s arm.

Azzi’s petty enough that she pretends she doesn’t see Paige’s offered high five before she runs onto the court.

Azzi plays like a woman possessed. By the time the final buzzer sounds, they’re up 25 points after her efficient 33.

“Okay, killa!” When Paige bounds up to her, bumping into her with her chest and trying to wrap her arms around her, she shrugs her off.

“Why don’t you go comfort your new friend?” Azzi heads to the bench to take a much needed drink of water. Paige trails close behind her.

“What are you talking about?”

“Her.” Azzi flicks her head in the girl’s direction. Azzi has to admit she’s pretty; with dark skin, dark hair, and big brown eyes. She’d probably enjoyed it a little too much when her crossover had landed the girl on her ass, but like she’s said, she’s petty.

“Why would I do that? I don’t even know her.” Paige looks dumbfounded.

“You seemed to know her well enough that you spent all of pregame talking to her instead of helping me warm up.” She tries to keep her voice low, knowing that their voices would echo easily in the gym no matter how loud the other games were.

“She said she was a fan! I was just being nice!” Paige crowds into her space, voice defensive.

“Oh, I’m sure you were.”

“Azzi, come on, you’re being crazy.”

Azzi sees red, elbowing Paige in the stomach, pushing her lanky body out of the way easily. “Get away from me.”

“Fine!” Paige throws up her hands. “Come find me when you’re done being crazy.”

The rest of the day drags as they have to take the long drive home together in the car with Azzi’s family. Her parents clearly want nothing to do with their drama, ignoring the two ticking time bombs in the backseat.

When they finally make it back to the house, Azzi storms inside, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

“So… what happened, big dawg?” Tim asks Paige as she helps him unload their bags from the car.

“I didn’t even do anything!” Paige huffs, frustrated.

“I didn’t say you did.” He replies, patient.

Paige hesitates, suddenly feeling awkward about talking about this with her what are they? her girl? her Azzi’s dad, but he stops her before she has to.

“You don’t have to tell me the details, but give her some time to cool down, and then just talk to her. You know how she can be, I mean both of you are stubborn as hell, but when has she ever stayed mad at you for long?

That’s true. It’s one of the things that Paige likes the most about Azzi, that no matter how annoying Paige is being, Azzi still wants her around.

When they’re done unpacking, Paige goes to find Azzi. She stops in the kitchen to grab some reinforcements. When she gets to Azzi’s door, she hesitates. She’s never had to knock before. But before she even needs to, it opens.

She and Azzi stare at each other for a moment before they’re both blurting out, “I’m sorry.”

Then they’re both giggling and Azzi pulls Paige into her room, shutting the door behind her.

“I brought this, in case you were still mad at me.” Paige holds up a cartoon of ice cream and a spoon.

“Only one spoon?”

“In case you were still mad at me,” Paige repeats. Azzi laughs and tugs Paige over to sit on the bed, where they take turns eating bites of the ice cream.

“I’m sorry I called you crazy.” Paige says, wincing as she remembers it. “I shoulda seen how upset you were.”

“And I’m sorry that I overreacted when I saw you talking to someone else.” Azzi twists her fingers together. “I just got so mad when I saw you talking to her. And I know how popular you are, and you deserve every bit of it, but…”

Paige just waits because she knows Azzi needs to talk it out herself, and that she just needs Paige to listen.

“I know it’s selfish, but part of me just wants to keep you to myself. Because as soon as everyone finds out about you, they’re gonna want you.” Azzi glances at Paige then, almost certain she’ll see a cocky grin on her face, but Paige just listens.

Paige gets it. Sometimes someone can just look at Azzi for a second too long and it makes her want to just take Azzi and hide her away. But she can’t, so she just reaches out to hold Azzi’s hand.

There are so many things she wishes she could say to Azzi, things that she can barely stand to consider because they scare the shit out of her.

So she just settles for saying the one thing she knows to be true.

“I’m yours.”

Paige watches Azzi blush, stunned and speechless.

“Can I kiss you now? Lowkey it was so hot how jealous you got.” Paige laughs when Azzi pushes her with a hand to her face.

But then that same hand is gripping at her collar and pulling her on top of Azzi and then there’s no more talking.

//

It’s a Friday night, and Paige is sober.

It’s not the most uncommon occurrence, not anymore. After her ACL, she has learned to be a bit more responsible, a bit more grown up. So when the girls had decided to go out that night, she volunteered to be DD.

And if that gives her a chance to watch over Azzi a little more closely she will take it. The younger girl has been acting off in the past weeks. On the outside, she doubts that anyone else has noticed, but she almost knows Azzi better than she knows herself.

It becomes even clearer that something’s wrong when Azzi returns over and over to the bar, taking way more shots than she usually does.

And now, a few hours into their night, she has disappeared. It’s a small bar, in a small town, so Paige isn’t too worried, but Azzi has never been one to wander off, and especially not on her own.

Paige pokes her head through the door to the back patio which consists of a few picnic tables, lit up with fairy lights. She almost heads back inside when she hears a familiar laugh from the far end of the patio.

When her eyes adjust to the light, she sees Azzi sitting on a table, a tall form looming over her.

“Azzi!” She barks out, strides long as she rushes forward. The figure steps back from her friend, and Paige vaguely recognizes her as one of the members of the girls volleyball team.

“What?!” Azzi fires back, stopping Paige in her tracks.

“What are you doing? Who is this?”

“I’m talking to a friend.” Paige fights the familiar twist in her stomach at the sight of Azzi’s hand on the other girl’s arm. “Is that okay with you? Or are you the only one allowed to flirt with every woman who throws themselves at you?”

Paige feels like she’s been punched in the gut. She sees a hint of regret on Azzi’s face before she turns her head away.

The stranger looks like she would rather be anywhere else, and Paige would be more embarrassed if she wasn’t so focused on Azzi.

“I’ll see you in class, Azzi?” When Azzi gives a jerky nod in response, the girl takes her leave, giving Paige a cold look as she goes.

Azzi’s eyes are glassy, her cheeks obviously flushed even under the dim lights. She takes a heaving breath, face turned away while she clearly fights tears, and Paige hates that she is the reason for her best friend’s pain.

“Az-” Her hands reach up to find their usual place at Azzi’s waist, but she freezes when Azzi flinches away from her. Her fists clench as she drops them at her side.

“Am I not enough?”

“What?” Paige chokes out. The thought is inconceivable. She reaches out again, grasping at where Azzi has wrapped her arms around herself.

Azzi still isn’t looking her in the eye.

“Azzi, come on.” Paige sighs in relief when Azzi allows her touch, hands warm against the skin exposed by her crop top.

Azzi’s eyes brim with tears. “Can we just forget I said anything?”

That’s when Paige knows something really might be wrong. Azzi is always the one pulling her out of her shell when she’s upset, and she wasn’t usually one to hide her own feelings.

“It’s just us. Me and you.” Paige brings one hand up to cup her jaw and brings their gazes together. “Talk to me. We promised that we’d always talk to each other.”

Azzi takes a deep, steadying breath. And then another.

“I know that we agreed when you came here that we’d pull back and keep it more casual.”

You wanted that! Paige wants to say, but she can’t deny that she took advantage of it, loved it at times even. She can’t deny that sometimes it was nice to be able to talk to, flirt with, and kiss girls who didn’t hold the power to crush her with one word.

But none of those girls ever made her feel even half of how Azzi did, like she could conquer the world if only Azzi was at her side, holding her hand.

“And I know that we decided last year that it was best for the team and for everyone if we just.. didn’t complicate things.”

She keeps it unspoken that it was never that simple, and that it had tested their relationship more than ever having each other so close, but being unable to really be together the way they both hoped the other wanted. And then the season had ended with that devastating loss, and neither of them had had the emotional capacity to deal with all of it.

And then her ACL had happened, and just when Paige had thought that she couldn’t be forced any lower, there was Azzi. Azzi, who had just shown up to hold her, and let her yell and cry, and not be okay, for once.

It still sucks, and there are days where she’s so desperate to play that she cries, but she’s not alone in it. She’ll never be alone again, not as long as she has Azzi. And she knows now, sure as anything, that Azzi is all she’ll ever want.

“I thought something had changed between us this summer, and I’ve been waiting for you to be ready, to tell me you were ready.”

Paige feels like this is a conversation she has been waiting to have for a very long time.

“Do you know what my first thought was the first time I saw you? ”

Azzi huffs in frustration. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw you shoot a basketball for the first time, and thought, damn, I have to play with her, and then I did, and it was better than I even imagined it would be. Then I got to sit next to you on that plane, and got to really know you, and then I knew that I just wanted you in my life forever. So don’t ever think that you’re not enough. You’re all I’ve wanted since I was sixteen years old.”

Azzi’s eyes shimmer with tears, but the smile on her face is radiant. Paige tugs her even closer by the waist until Azzi hooks her arms around her shoulders.

“I wish I was as good with words as you are,” Azzi says, pressing their foreheads together. “I wish I could tell you what you mean to me.”

But Paige doesn’t need Azzi to say it. She can feel it in the way Azzi’s heart pounds against her chest where they are pressed together. She can see it in the way her lips tremble like they’re about to kiss for the first time.

And she can feel it in the way Azzi presses their lips together, like she never wants to stop, like breathing matters less than kissing her.

//

Paige is unzipping her luggage when her phone rings with a Facetime call from KK. She taps accept and as the screen fills with an image, she realizes it isn’t a normal call.

The angle is askew and the camera is out of focus showing a gym with a few figures in the distant background. Somehow KK must’ve accidentally called her. She hears KK’s voice loud and clear joking around with someone with an Australian accent. She smiles, happy that her little freshman is getting along with everyone at the Dawg Camp. She almost hangs up the call when the camera focuses itself and the figures in the background become clear.

They’re a bit far away, but Paige would recognize that form anywhere. Azzi stands at the opposite court putting up shots, though her feet stay planted on the ground. Her stroke is still smooth as butter though, and she’s so strong that the shots swish through the net even if she can’t get off the ground yet.

Someone’s under the net, someone tall with dirty blonde hair, rebounding for Azzi, and she says something, too quiet for Paige to hear from this far away, but she does hear Azzi’s responding laugh.

The sound, one of Paige’s favorite sounds, one that normally never fails to bring a smile to Paige’s face, instead sends an uncontrollable roll of unease through her gut.

She knows it’s irrational, to still get jealous when someone else makes Azzi smile. She’s never been more secure in their relationship than she is now, but apparently that jealous part of her is still alive as she squints down angrily at her phone, watching fucking Kate Martin?! standing way too close to her girl.

“What the hell?” She mutters, and then the phone is moving and KK’s face fills the screen.

“Oh, what the? P. Boogers! My bad, how long have you been on my phone?”

“Kamorea!”

KK jumps from the unexpected growl in Paige’s voice. “Damn what’s gotten up your butt? Say hi to Georgia.”

“Hi,” Paige says, brusquely. She swipes the FaceTime to the corner of the screen, tapping open Instagram and navigating to Azzi’s profile.

“Jeez, tough crowd.” She hears Georgia say as she taps on Azzi’s following, scoffing when she sees Azzi’s most recent follow.

“Dude, lemme talk to Azzi.”

“Y’all fightin’ or somethin’? She seemed all goofy after she talked to you last night.” KK thinks for a second. “Oh was it because you were cheesin’ at those dancers?”

“What?” Paige sputters. “I was just being polite!”

“Mm, sure.”

“Whatever, just let me talk to her, bro come on.” Paige nods, impatiently.

KK rolls her eyes, but still walks down the court. “Azzi,” she calls out. “Dumbass on the line for you.”

Paige watches Azzi’s face come into focus, first looking confused before a smile blooms on her face, dimple creasing her cheek.

“Babe, hey.”

Paige feels all the uncertainty and jealousy just fade away at the sight of that smile.

“Hey,” she replies, softly.

“Did something happen?” Azzi’s brow creases with worry, and she walks a bit away so they can speak in a more private spot.

“No,” Paige lies, suddenly embarrassed about how much she overreacted. “I just miss you.”

“Paige.” Azzi's smile grows even wider. “You called KK to tell her how much you missed me? You just saw me like two days ago.”

“Well, she pocket dialed me, and I saw you, so-” She cuts herself off. “Yeah.”

“I miss you too, dummy.”

Azzi’s smile is softer now, the sight of it fills Paige’s chest with warmth, so different from the mess of emotions she felt just minutes ago. Azzi has always been that for Paige, her safe place, her peace, her home.

Paige hears the noise in the background pick up and Azzi looks up, past the camera.

“You gotta go?”

“I’ll call you later?”

“You better.” Paige smirks and Azzi rolls her eyes fondly.

“Okay, I gotta go.”

“Wait,” Azzi pauses with a finger over the screen. “Is Martin still there?”

Azzi looks confused, but she still calls out, “Kate!”

Kate appears over Azzi’s shoulder, looking slightly puzzled at being summoned, but with a friendly smile anyways. “Hey, Paige.”

“Hey, how are ya?”

“Good, happy to be here, you know? Just taking it all in. Azzi’s been really nice about helping me actually. Since she’s been here before.” Kate smiles at Azzi, who returns it.

“Yeah, she’s pretty great, huh?” Paige winks and Azzi snorts softly. But then she says, voice serious, “Keep an eye on her for me, would ya? She doesn’t like to ask for help for herself sometimes.”

“You got it, Paige. Good to see you.” Kate jogs off to join the others in the now starting scrimmage.

When Paige looks back to Azzi, she almost blushes at the look in her eye.

“You’re always taking care of me.”

“Well, I kinda love you a little, so.” Paige scratches the bridge of her nose, feeling bashful all of a sudden.

“I kinda love you a little too.”

[absolutebl]

Best & Worst BLs of 2023

My Top 15 BLs of 2023 are (in order)

1 Our Dating Sim

Korea Viki

Nerds in love, deadlines, gaming, teasing, pining tiny idiots, casual affection, linguistic oops, ADORABLE. If you haven't watched this, it's a must. A perfect short form KBL, an office set reunion romance featuring geeks that really suits 8 eps with no fluff and no chaff. Just comforting and yummy.

I adored every aspect from the casting to the pristinely simple premise to the quietly smooth execution. Sure it’s low stakes, but that makes it high domesticity and extremely warm and gentle. This is a fuzzy blanket of a story - a cozy BL. It lives in my rewatch pile and you know what’s best about it? Every single episode is in that pile. There’s no skipping with this one, it might be good natured and calmly sweet but it’s tight and the pacing is excellent.

Also recieves my 2023 award for best giggle.

2 I Cannot Reach You

AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai

Japan Netflix

This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen.

Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way.

This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt almost honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

Also wins the best thirst award.

These were the 2 BLs that got 10/10 from me in 2023. The rest of these got 9/10 from me.

3 My School President

Thailand YouTube

GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that made this one Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? My favourite GMMTV BL offering to date. And yes, I've watched them ALL.

Received the Namgoong award for best wingman 2023.

4 I Feel You Linger in the Air

Thailand grey

IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework. Steeped in history and family drama this is an elegant and classy BL. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. It's a marker of how great it was that it's so high on my list despite the ending which was very much not what I wanted.

Additional accolade, sexiest moment of 2023 - (the oil scene).

You could try to fight me, but you'll have no grip.

5 Kiseki: Dear to Me

Taiwan Gaga & Viki

The plot is totally ridiculous and slightly unhinged. There’s a gum-ball machine of cameos, elder gay rep, great chemistry from all pairs (everyone is queer), and a KILLER side couple. It involves all the tropes under a very offhand framework of gay mafia gangs + food = love. As a result Kiseki is a poster child for Taiwanese BL, and I happen to love Taiwanese BL. Bonus? They also managed to END IT WELL, which we cannot expect from Taiwan.

Best side couple 2023!

(thank goodness Taiwan made this list!)

6 Jun and Jun

Korea Viki

A delightful office romance about an ex-idol who joins cubical life only to find his new boss is his first love. With a snappy (sometimes even raunchy) script, enjoyable sides, a pretty as peaches cast, and descent chemistry this show made up for in style what it lacked in substance. I like fluff. I loved this. I smiled every moment I was watching.

Best flirting 2023.

AKA "the tongue knows" award

7 The Eighth Sense

Korea Viki

This one is a bit chewy and sticky and less perfect than most KBLs. It’s got a bit of an age gap, country boy/city boy, stellar acting, complex characters, and leads with great chemistry and tension. This isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges and lots of triggers. For a BL the darkness of the content left me feeling unsettled (which is the only reason it didn't get a perfect score) but it has a glorious ending and that counts for a lot.

2023's most likely to appeal to non-BL watchers.

8 Unintentional Love Story

Korea iQIYI

The lead, Gongchan (maknae of B1A4) is a fucking GIFT, who carried this show. He was luminous with extraordinarily expressive eyes, which he used to carry a killer plot and challenging role. Forced into a totally understandable betrayal, falling in love despite himself, put into a corner he can't get out of, the AGONY, the eyes EMOTING at us in PAIN. Driven by external conflict, social tension and pressure this story seems simple but it's actually refined and quite complex. I loved this show.

Best story structure 2023.

9 My Personal Weatherman

AKA Taikan Yoho

Japan Gaga

This is classic yaoi of the kind that really only works from Japan. Basically: boys who fell in love in college end up living together but both are so repressed they actually don't realize they're in love. It's high heat is well done, but it leaned into the "why don't they just talk for fuck's sake?" which is exacerbated by the fact that they're already fucking. Sure is sexy tho.

Best use of props 2023 for the shower of sheets.

10 Our Dining Table

AKA Bokura no Shokutaku

Japan Gaga

Lonely salaryman and talented cook gets accidentally adopted by a college kid and his little brother. It’s a quiet & cozy little parable of found family alleviating loneliness. It's lovely & sweet with the romance beats used to build a family relationship, not just couple intimacy. Special.

First prize for domesticity.

11 Laws of Attraction

Thailand iQIYI

This is a great gay suspense thriller with several solid couples, fun plot, killer characters, queer rep, and a happy ending. It’s tons of fun and I had an absolute blast watching it.

Charn wins my favorite character of 2023.

12 La Pluie

Thailand Viki

This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL. With good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn high marks.

Most interesting concept 2023.

13 The New Employee

Korea Viki

So good, SO QUEER, so soft, a near pitch perfect office BL with conflict derived from that setting. Also found family and a lesbian bestie. This is what I wanted from this new crop of office set KBLs ALL ALONG. Rainbow rice cakes forever!

Best overall queer rep from Korea.

14 Step By Step

Thailand Gaga & YouTube & Viki

This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one. This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk which added tension to the narrative and character development.

Chot wins best queer character 2023.

15 Love Tractor

Korea iQIYI

Most of this country-set BL had me feral for the beautiful broken city boy and his hot young farmer. Hyung romance, puppy/cat pairing, open frankness meets jaded reserve, language play, water hose frolicking, only one bed = all my favorite silly tropes.

Biggest "he so pretty" gasp of the year award.

10 Worst BLs of 2023 (that I watched)

My Blessing

My Universe: Casanova Begins

Boyband the series

Cafe In Love

Chains of Heart

Hit Bite Love

Only Friends

Senior Love Me

The Luminous Solution

The Promise

Yes, you read that right. I know I'm against the flow but I really did not like Only Friends. Everyone's taste is different.

However I DNFed faster and more BL's this year than ever before, so that means my 10 worst probably aren't quite reflective...

10 Probably Actually Worst BLs (I dropped 'em)

My Story

The Day I Loved You

Beyond the Star

Crazy Handsome Rich

Dinosaur Love

House of Stars

Mr Cinderella 2

Love Bill

Stormy Honeymoon

The Star Always Follow You

Codicils in General

I only carefully track/watch Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Other countries are not fully represented.

My Numbers

So my spreadsheet chronicled 138 BLs that finish airing in 2023.

101 = watched & reviewed

2 = still in the docket (WDYEY2 & Love Syndrome III)

15 = CNF (could not find)

20 = DNF (which also accounts for how few very low scores I handed out in 2023 as opposed to previous years, I just stopped watching). Speaking of which...

Ratings spread

(# of stars. #of BLs given that rating)

0 (see the DNFs instead)

2 - IT'S DEPRESSING they killed the gay, save yourself

7 - I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM WATCHING AND NEITHER DOES IT

7 - FATALLY FLAWED but still basically BL, however… do we want to support this kind of behavior?

9 - WATCH IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO but don’t expect much, it’s a total hot mess

17 - WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED probably around the ending or in narrative structure/cohesion or censorship

14 - RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS i.e. isn’t quite BL, convoluted, not strictly HEA, too short/long, or chemistry issues

30 - RECOMMENDED some concerns around tropes (like dub con) or story structure but still satisfies as BL

13 - ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED probably a few pacing issues or one flaw

2 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED faithful to tropes, happy ending, good chemistry, few flaws, high rewatch potential

(source)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

am i the asshole for still wanting my plushes back?

the people involved in this story are me (currently 22m, he/him), and my sibling J (currently 23nb, they/them), and this story happened while we were children, couldn't be older than 7 or 8. i am also autistic, and have very strong attachments to objects, especially plushes, so keep that in mind.

so J and i are not blood related, they lived in an awful situation with their bio mom and grandma until they joined my family when we were about 3 and 4. i think of them as my real sibling, and we are pretty close now, so this is pretty low stakes overall.

because of the neglect and spoiling that their previous caretakers raised them with, the first few years J was settling into our family were difficult, to say the least. they were super fussy, materialistic, and downright mean and entitled. i know this is a cruel thing to say about a mistreated child, especially since they are not like this anymore and regret it now, but it was true at the time. i was a very social and cheerful kid, and i had an older sister too, so i knew better how to treat other kids. i was really gung ho about having a new sibling, and wanted to make friends with them right away, but they did not share that sentiment.

one game i really liked to play (that definitely sparked my love of escape rooms later in life) was a clue-trail scavenger hunt thing where you would follow the clues one after another and eventually find the prize at the end. my parents set up a few of those for us over my childhood, and i got fascinated with it and wanted to set up them up for myself.

i tried multiple times to get J to play my scavenger hunt with me, since i was proud of the hiding spots and the rhymes i wrote on the clues, but they were very icy to me and often refused any game i wanted to play.

so i got an idea, to entice them to play, by making some of my pokemon plushes the grand prizes at the end of the hunt.

now you have to keep in mind, this was the mid-2000s, these pokemon plushes are choice collectors items and they do not make them like this anymore. and after a generous birthday gift from my aunt when i was maybe 6, i had a bountiful selection of them, that i knew J was bitterly jealous of, and sometimes would try and steal.

so i knew this would work as a carrot to get them to play with me, and it did! but they were only playing so they could have the prize, so every time i wanted to play again, i would have to offer up another one of my plushes, and eventually i ran out of all the ones we agreed were good or interesting, and now as an adult, the few i have remaining from my massive childhood collection are the ugly ones, and it makes me really sad to see how gutted it is from its former glory.

over the years, we've gotten a lot closer and J's nasty childhood attitude has all but disappeared, and i feel safe saying we're besties and get along fantastically.

i asked a few times as we got older and i remembered this occurance if i could have the plushes back, though, and they've always responded with a vehement No. they say i gave it to them fair and square, and they consider them a gift from me. i've tried pointing out that i only did it cause it was the only way i could get them to play with me when we were kids, and i kinda regretted giving away such valuable things when i was too young to really think about it. J always got upset at that point and said they didnt like thinking about how they used to be and it wasn't fair that i brought that into the conversation.

i 100% see how i could be the asshole here, since i did technically give the plushes to them, but i still kinda think its not fair of J to not even consider giving some back, because i was a dumb kid who just wanted to connect with my mean sibling. i try not to bring up how they used to act anymore, though, because i can understand how it hurts them to think about, but it is relevant in this specific situation.

i haven't asked them for the plushes back in a long time, but i was thinking about it again. and this is pretty low stakes, it wont ruin our relationship or anything, so tumblr, aita for still thinking J should give them back?

What are these acronyms?

[sassysnowperson]

Hades 2 (occasionally) Toxic Yuri Shipping Tier List

Anyone who knows the Hades series knows it's for The Bisexuals, but anyone who has played Hades 2 knows it Loves Women. And considering that love, I think we should talk about the F/F shipping options for our protagonist, with the characters we've seen this far.

(spoilers Abound! And I've avoided blood family members [probably, it's greek myth so who knows really] partially due to personal preference, partially because I didn't want to type that much and it was an easy cut)

I know. I know! I have trash rarepair shipping opinions, but lets get into it:

Nope

Melinoë/Nemesis - I KNOW. The F/F relationship set up to be the canon romance! The Hot Stronk Lady with thighs that could crush you! Size Difference! I KNOW. But Nemesis is just. No. Someone described her as petulant and that felt right. She's sulky, she's got her own issues, she's taking it out on you. It wouldn't be enemies to lovers, it'd be fucking that person you're in a group project with who hates group projects and decides to go off and do their own thing while actively sabotaging you even though you have a shared fucking grade and DON'T MAKE YOUR ISSUES MY PROBLEM TO FIX, NEMESIS.

Not for me, but I see it (aka the kink bracket)

Melinoë/Circe: While Circe's outward persona is a little too syrupy for me, I fully admit that sex with someone who can make you bigger or smaller (or an animal, though as far as we know Melinoë hasn't ticked her off that much) has some FAB kink potential. *chefkiss*

Melinoë/Hecate: Melinoë wants praise, Hecate wants her to stop thinking of her like a mother. Let's have sex about it! Also. Abs. I mean come on ABS.

Melinoë/Scylla: Tentacles. And you can't tell me Scylla doesn't want to have sex with (someone she thinks is) a groupie.

Cute

Melinoë/Echo: Echo deserves hot rebound sex, Melinoë could use a break after the grimness of the mourning fields. I definitely see this one as a FWB situation, heavy on the mutual benefit. And having sex with someone made out of stone is. it has potential.

Melinoë/Arachne: She got fucked over by the gods, now she gets to fuck a god! I don't think I have the right kinks to really get into the sex here, but I'll just say bondage and leave it at that. But I'm fascinated by the chemistry between them. Arachne in the game is adorable, but she's also a character that really highlights injustice, and breaks through some of Melinoë's naivete about the supposed "good"-ness of her Olympian relatives. She strikes me as someone who is Very Angry but has also gone to a lot of therapy about it, and actually has a pretty good handle on her values and is carefully choosing her actions in line with that. There's something interesting there.

Melinoë/Selene: To be totally honest, this one almost went in nope, but I liked the comedy of having Nemesis hanging out there by herself too much. I just don't see a lot of chemistry. But, thinking about why, I realize that Selene is very kind and supportive, and helpful, and a little distant. So is Melinoë. They'd both need to put in a lot of work to connect emotionally, instead of believing the things they do for each other are enough. And I think there's a very interesting story in that. Well done, Selene, you've earned your place in the cute bracket.

Hot

Melinoë/Dora: Dora's the most low-stakes friend Melinoë's got. She doesn't care if Mel saves the world, she just wants to hang out and chill. Mel desperately needs that energy in her life. This is, genuinely, the F/F ship I think would be best for Melinoë's long-term mental health. She needs to let go of the idea that she's only useful for the things she does, and she needs to know how to have fun. Also, ghost sex could be very hot, you know?

Melinoë/Medea: Despite what I said about Dora, this is the HOT bracket, not the healthy or good for you bracket. And evil witch that's on your side with a taste for vengeance and a titty window is HOT. Do I think it's good? No! Do I think that Medea can effortlessly give Melinoë five orgasms in a row and leave Melinoë so mindblown that she forgets she's an anxious perfectionist mess for five seconds? Yes! And then Medea can curse her enemies and send Melinoë on her way. Melinoë is pretty sure she should have some emotions about this but is too fucked out to manage any.

Melinoë/Eris: The trash ship that got me to write this whole bracket in the first place. Eris. Brat who REGULARLY SHOOTS ME WITH THE GUN SHE STOLE FROM MY BROTHER ERIS. Whyyyy do I have so many feelings about Eris??? Well, maybe because here's the enemies to lovers that actually feels earned. Melinoë is an anxious do-gooder who has been raised by people that both love her tremendously and have (accidentally) trained her to view her value primarily in her utility. Eris is the scapegoat youngest child who has ADHD in the sort of way that comes with Fuck You demand avoidance and is out on her own for the first time, making mistakes and happy in them. I think they should have a fantastically toxic and doomed fling now (the immortal equivalent of undergrand college student age) and then come back together in the immortal equivilant of their late thirties once Eris learns that personal satisfaction can come in ways that don't harm other people and Melinoë learns that her own joy is a thing worth striving for along with her other goals. They admit that they learned a lot from each other, laugh about how stupid they were when they were young, brunch just to "catch up", and then eight hours and nine orgasms later they admit they never really got over each other and decide to give it another shot. Do you see my vision? Do you see it???

(thanks to it'snowonder's Hades 2 All Characters Tier List for the rankings image)

[twig-tea]

Rules: List 10 of your comfort shows, then tag 10 people

I was tagged by @sorry-bonebag and @bengiyo (thank you both!). It's funny to see so many folks talk about not having 10, when I had trouble narrowing it down 🤣 So, here are shows I've reached for for comfort recently, in no particular order:

Until We Meet Again. Listen, I get that it's depressing, but it also ends and mends the intergenerational trauma set up in the first 15 minutes, and in the Dean/Pharm storyline the show queues up typical drama problems just for everything to be fine, it is SO comforting. And if I need to cry, ep1 part 1 will get me there, guaranteed.

Azumanga Daioh. This show...is so weird lol. It's a 20-year-old anime at an all-girls high school. There is a 10-year-old prodigy, a weirdo transfer student, a butch beauty, a simp, a loud class clown...it's not exactly GL because the girl who has a massive crush on her classmate never does anything about it and that's not really the plot. There is no actual plot, it's extremely slice-of-life except when it ventures into absurdity. It's extremely quiet and chill for this reason. The stakes are so low!

Star Trek: The Original Series. Like Ben, I am a Star Trek fan forever. TOS is my favourite and I've rewatched... a lot. Rather than the stakes being low, they're high but everyone is exceptionally competent and can solve impossible situations. And I really, deeply love the problem-of-the-week style storytelling and found family vibes.

What Did You Eat Yesterday? Everyone already knows this one, it's so good. Their relationship is so wonderful and the food is delicious and inspiring. In this show, things aren't perfect and that's ok, and I get deep comfort out of that.

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line. I love a sports anime, and this hits the key notes: you have to have love for the game and play with integrity and with your team in mind, and never give up on your dream. And this installation was pretty short, so easy to binge.

Our Dating Sim. This is recent but I've already decided to go back and rewatch this rather than start something new at least twice, so I'm counting it. Something about how these two settle into the friends to lovers dynamic is just delightful their familiarity and ease transfers to me through the screen.

Ingredients the series. Everyone calls this our pandemic comfort commercial for a reason. I have rewatched it a LOT. It is incredibly domestic and very chill, and once again full of good food. It helps that the episodes are so short so again, it's an easy binge.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (series). Another one that lands on multiple people's lists. This show is incredible and has such good character arcs. I will never get over how perfect the change in Zuko was handled. This one is partially comforting because of how long it's been in my life and how many times I've watched it, but also the found family vibes and the problem of the week format once again is very comforting to me.

Love Sick. I know. But it is the first BL I saw, and it stuck with me. I usually skip around the BL cut when I go back to this (which I still do). Pun and Noh spend a lot of time together in silence or with the OSTs playing, and do a lot of talking in body language and eye contact. Even though they're young and awkward and things are unresolved for so long, when they're together just the two of them this show (and their relationship) is easy and comforting.

60s Batman. There are several sitcoms that I would watch an episode or two if it's on (Frasier, the Nanny, Third Rock from the Sun, Golden Girls, Schitt's Creek), but the Adam West Batman is just... incredible. It is so silly. It is so earnest. It was ahead of its time. And once again, that problem of the week storytelling with incredibly competent characters is deeply comforting to me.

[Also shout-out to sorry-bonebag's Taskmaster mention because i have definitely rewatched it a bunch too!]

Tagging @italianpersonwithashippersheart @callipigio @my-rose-tinted-glasses @chickenstrangers @justafriend-ql @belladonna-and-the-sweetpeas @visualtaehyun @solitarywandering @thewayofsubtext @respectthepetty no pressure as always!

[whimsy-of-the-stars]

whimsy-of-the-stars: a writeblr re-re-intro!

hey guys, it’s been a minute! I’m whimsy-of-the-stars, and since my main projects have kinda shifted around, I thought it would be a good time to update my intro! ngl it’s a pretty inopportune time to do a re-intro, since I’m close to the end of one draft and planning two more… it’s just overdue!

some info about me:

I’m gonna start college in the fall majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing! :D

learning languages is a passion of mine! I’m focusing on Spanish right now but I’ve dabbled in both Esperanto and Toki Pona (yeah I’m a nerd!)

I’m a video essay enjoyer and possibly maker, eventually

fiction podcasts and actual plays slap???

I have “I want to do too many things” disease and want to try making stories in many different mediums!

ttrpgs are really cool but I have yet to play them with other people! does that stop me from trying to make games… no

elements I like to write: Found family! Chosen ones (+ the subversion of)! Big Emotion™️! Organized crime (idk why it doesn’t leave me alone)! Gay people, of course!

genres I like to write (YA and middle grade): high fantasy, low fantasy, different -punk stuff, sci fi maybe, superheroes, fairy-tale esque, romance, coming of age

I also write poetry! You can find it in this tag: whimsy of the poetry

ALSO, I did DraftDash in January 2024, which was fun but I did end up petering out halfway thru. Follow my journey in the tag draftdash!

ok, now onto wips!

I am in a weird stage with a lot of my wips, but a re-intro was overdue so I decided to do it anyway!

wips I am currently writing:

apocalypse story!

status: first draft, 24k (almost done with part 1)

the basics: mg/ya apocalyptic + queer ?coming of age? story and its sequel, except they’re both short so they’re melded into one two-part book! it’s told thru diary entries with lots of extra ephemera glued in! part 1 of 2 is ALMOST done but I’m not inspired to finish it rn! ! I’m not gonna continue with part 2 right after, though, since I still need to plan it!

summary: stressed-out eighth/grader Allison goes to her old hideout in the forest to decompress, but one thing leads to another and she can’t find her way back home. the forest is seemingly ever-expanding, ever-changing, and even when she finds her friends who’ve come to rescue her, they still have to face the actual, real life botanical apocalypse that’s becoming more and more of an issue for the outside world. can they find their way home alive and well? and if they do get home, what will their home city even look like?

extras: fun fact I started this in April 2023 for camp nano and it has taken me this long to write the next 10k words! Also the main character is a bit of a self-insert, but of the person I was in lockdown in 2020!

um. That’s it for wips I’m currently writing rn lol

wips I am “revitalizing”:

(aka taking old drafts/concepts and turning them nice and new!)

Both of these have existed in different-ish iterations for years, however I am currently in the weird process of developing both of these into all-new things from an existing groundwork! Neither of them currently have “statuses” because it’s hard to explain where exactly I am right now!

heist story!

the basics: ya fantasy heist novel (maybe eventually a trilogy?) set in a faerie world that rapidly advanced not too long ago into a dieselpunk/decopunk society rife with corruption and crime!

summary: Logical and inquisitive teen Calliope is relatively normal. Her offbeat parents, however, have raised her in a house full of strange curios and old tomes of faery stories. But only when she starts to exhibit unwieldy shadow magic, and her parents invite a prim woman she’s never met before into their home do things really start to get strange. The woman whisks Calliope away through one of the aforementioned curios to a noir hubworld where ancient faerie bloodlines and newfangled magitech collide. Why? To take part in a high-stakes heist with a surprising trio of other teens who want nothing more than to take down the crime boss who runs their town.

extras: this one’s a weird one imo. it’s one of the oldest wips that I am still working on, tho this one had a break of about 3 years!!! also I originally wrote it in hot pink comic sans XD

new superhero story!

(I am also revitalizing this one, but it’s in a way less put-together state! not much to say yet lol!) (also it’s not very new I just call it that)

it’s a ya superhero thing that features teenage (often queer) antiheroes trying to balance their heroic + civilian identities!

featuring: the shittiest entertainment/hero management company you’ve ever seen, shared trauma, gray morality, two different rock bands, and heroes that are at once government agents, influencers, and corporate concoctions!

considering making a “help me name my characters” post because i desperately have to name/rename like 3/4 of all of these characters!!!

more ideas I have bouncing around:

(lightning round!)

old ya romance wip i need to revitalize about two teens enter a competition to make a demo album and end up falling in love in the process (also they’re lesbians XD)

offbeat, ya supernatural + historical fantasy about a girl university student who is buried alive, and upon getting rescued, starts to transform into a strange underworld creature. also features a cute gravedigger :D

a musical about standardized testing (yeah lol) that’s goofy and queer and explores how seniors + juniors are so freaking stressed out all the time lol

that’s all folks! :D

[satbiym]

I posted 1,423 times in 2022

40 posts created (3%)

1,383 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sabraeal

@juliana677

@thejollyshiner

@satbiym

@rainbowravioli

I tagged 220 of my posts in 2022

#mypost - 47 posts

#about me - 45 posts

#mytags - 21 posts

#fav - 19 posts

#baid reference - 15 posts

#strange loops - 6 posts

#spyxfamily - 6 posts

#fic ideas - 6 posts

#truth is stranger than fiction - 5 posts

#svsss - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#i'm feeling feelings about the concept of without hesitation throwing away the status and public accolade of having a symbol of ur success

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

When Sasaki texted "it's all too much. I'm going home." to his friend and actually went home, all because Miyano had accidentally kabedon-ed him. It was simultaneously both King shit and Useless Gay shit. The duality. You're gonna fail your high school exams, Sasaki my bro, but still, mood.

57 notes - Posted May 19, 2022

#4

Spy x family whispering "Maybe family isn't supposed to be about sanding away the edges of your identity to cram yourself into a pre-set mould of parent-child-sibling. Maybe family is about finding the people whose rough edges align with your own and making your own normal. Maybe family isn't a destination you plan for, but a journey you can grow safely and securely through."

Like the series really went "yes this is a spy thriller. But, it's not About That Right Now."

Spyxfamily really looked at 3 different kinds of weapons (from the perspective of their handlers) - a spy, an assassin and a mind-reading test subject, all three viewed as nothing more than tools for the greater good of world peace, and said, "Just because they are strong why must that be all they can be?

Just because she's a mind reader, why can't she also be a child and have a safe childhood with a stable support system.

Yes. They can survive alone, but why can't they thrive together?"

93 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

#3

Shen Yuan, unironically: I was put on this airplane-forsaken world for the sole and most vital purpose of making Luo Binghe as happy and satisfied as anyone can be and I'll make that happen even over my dead body (no homo)

140 notes - Posted August 5, 2022

#2

Me, trying to put to words in as accurate and succinct a manner as possible, the importance of fashion in not just facilitating individuality and highlighting in-group membership in specific communities, but also acting as a kind of low stakes tool for subtextual communication - much like the use of metaphor in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet which allowed Romeo to communicate his romantic interest to Juliet in a non-threatening way giving Juliet the no pressure option to fake not understanding the open invitation and as a side bonus allowing Romeo to save face with the well-meaning pretense neither believed in, but if Juliet was interested giving her the option to continue the metaphor to further their correspondence, eating the cake and having it too in a way with no major losses (... in that scene at least :/ ) - so that people In The Know (due to being in the same community) can easily identify and choose whether they want to in turn unveil themselves and continue the secret code hidden in their body language with no one else outside the community the wiser. Fashion as a vehicle with which to exercise your own agency and facilitate another's ability to choose and engage risk-free and without pressure: I like your shoelaces.

166 notes - Posted May 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Spy x family thoughts that I cannot stop thinking about

- "papa is a liar" (affectionate)

- the expected "spy needs a fake family" trope being flipped on its head and subverting the dynamics of the inherent power imbalance by virtue of a different kind of information asymmetry. It's like everyone is trying to play 5d chess blindfolded in good faith, but what most of them don't yet know is that the youngest and seemingly the most vulnerable member of their game has actually taken off the blindfold and replaced the chess board with uno.

- the family consists of the only people in that universe who can keep up with each other naturally and without compromising their own sense of self. Power family ahhh

- spy x family is to the spy genre what addams family was to the family sitcom genre. Get in losers, it's time for a new normal

- the very epitome of "everyone in this family is an outlier" so every time a normal person interacts with them, by virtue of majority rules, the normie starts to look around and question "... wait, am I the problem??????? This is weird, right????!" But no one validates that sentiment. Bless

- "Anya williams. Anya levski. Anya roche. Anya klein."

- Anya Forger.

- E L E G A N T!!!!!!!!! 🦢 🎩

473 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[julesblackthorns]

idc how deep in your queue it is. for the tsc ask game 1 2 4 6 7 26!!!!!

girl i just had to SEARCH.

fave series? tda - my fave location, my fave set up (the blackthorns and emma in cohf u will always be famous), my fave couple, my fave main male and female characters, my fave family, my fave romantic conflict. not my fave execution in the end, but i cannot win them all. in a world where emma broke the parabati bonds i would never ever have stopped talking ab this series for a single second

least fave series? tlh - i really enjoyed books 1 and 2, but this series managed to have very low interpersonal stakes by virtue of most of the characters being friends from the get go (this is why alastair and grace and charles deserve knighthoods for their work), the romantic stakes in the first book were excellent - but even by the end of coi i was wondering how she was going to drag thomastair out further - but in the end i think it was a shame that james' feelings for grace weren't real and that she had never had any for him - it would have added some much needed grit to their dynamic in cot. also cot.

4. fave short story collection? i genuinely don't know. i like but don't love them all also just checked goodreads and apparently i only rated ghosts of the shadow market 😭 i think i'm going with tftsa tho because i have the strongest memories of those stories - also jace telling simon that he and alec have some bad blood between them and simon who has lost his memories BELIEVING HIM.... u will always be famous

6. fave main girl? was this even a question? EMMA!!!!!!!!!!!! *plays when emma falls in love*

7. top 3 overall?

julian blackthorn - he is my everything <3 no one is touching him ever i fear the most beloved covered in blood boy to ever be covered in blood

jem carstairs - before julian he was my baby forever and he still is. when he's dying like a victorian man should and still ripping tessa's dress off so they can fuck in a carriage that was iconic of him.

emma carstairs - my loveeeeeeeeee my coffee hating queen my sunshine moonbeam girlie who is so so so obsessed w revenge and killing and trying to become a better shadwhunter than a guy w literal angel blood in him and who can jump off buildings bc his adopted (using that term loosely) daddy experimented on him in the womb and she scares me

26. what useless item am i stealing from my neighbourhood shadowhunter? church.

[bouncehouse-247]

Bounce House Rentals Near Me | 19621 Knight Tale Ln Orlando

Making plans a party on your infant, family, network organization, or commercial enterprise? Planning an occasion for adults? Looking to spice up your next birthday bash by way of including a few fun and exhilaration to the festivities? Renting a bounce house is the best solution. Renting a jump house will provide you with a clean yet exciting activity for kids of all ages, even young adults! With so many colours, shapes, and sizes to pick from, selecting the ideal inflatable in your event must be amusing. Whether you need a big shape with lots of space inside or one that’s greater compact and fits in tight areas like interior or in slim outdoor regions, there are masses of options to be had.

If you don’t know of a local bounce house rental company in your area, a lot of the best ones have grown their businesses by word-of-mouth referrals, so one of the best places to look is in your local Facebook groups or by searching any browser Bounce House Rentals Near Me or via local publications in your area. If that’s not convincing enough, here are some of the most convincing reasons why you should rent a bounce house for your next event.

Bounce house rentals offer infinite hours of a laugh: You’ll be surprised how much fun an inflatable bounce house, water slide, obstacle course, and other inflatables can be! And if you haven’t tried it, you’ll wonder how you ever survived without one. They’re without difficulty set up in only some minutes and they usually don’t require any special gear outside of a blower fan, and the bounce residence (and some stakes to maintain it right down to the ground). Plus, inflatable leap houses offer plenty of leisure for hours on give up. You may bounce from one jump house to the subsequent, throwing balls inside the air or playing distinct video games.

Bounce house provides a laugh and healthy, low-value amusement: With an inflatable bounce house, however, you can enjoy games, bounce houses, food and other entertainment right on your own lawn with your family and friends. And also you’ll in all likelihood spend much less than half the value of and spend half of the time getting ready and coordinating as you will have had to do if you had been going to an actual occasion of some kind. It’s additionally usually a great deal more secure for kids in phrases of not being exposed to crowded venues – and fun is without a doubt in right business enterprise with protection. So when you have any issues approximately fitness, you may minimize publicity via hosting your personal activities and only inviting folks who you already know and are well-familiar with.

Bounce houses are weatherproof: Nothing is worse than planning an event that your kids are looking forward to, only to have it rained out! Any parent who has had that experience knows that is incredibly frustrating. With bounce houses, kids bounce on inflatables year-round regardless of whether it’s a beautiful sunny day or a rainy, muddy day. Bounce houses are almost always weatherproof, they are easy to clean and they dry off quickly. You can set up and take down an inflatable bounce house without having to worry about rain delays or other weather-related issues. So rain, or shine, bounce houses can offer a ton of entertainment time! Bonus points if you have a large enough indoor space like a barn, gym, or other large, covered space to use inflatable bounce houses!

Renting an inflatable soar house is much less be just right for you: In case you’re making plans an occasion, and you’re seeking to ensure that things like meals, liquids and preferred leisure are all looked after and planned out, you probable don’t want to have to be putting in place a leap house. And once the event is over, you virtually don’t want to ought to be the one to take it down, p. C. It up and positioned it away! Unless you’re some sort of superhuman with an outstanding amount of infinite energy… then pass for it.Keep in mind that there are many DIY bounce houses out there that require a few basic supplies and a little creativity, but most of the best ones are also ridiculously expensive. If you’re not planning on using the bounce house more than once or twice per year, you can save yourself time, and some cash, by renting one instead.

Conclusion: Bounce house rental companies make it easy to bring a load of fun small gatherings and large events alike. Their professionals will take care of set up and take down, giving you time to enjoy yourself at the party. To avoid high costs or lawsuits in the case of an accident, you’ll want to be sure to find a reputable vendor who carries bounce house insurance.

if you want more just look here: https://orlandoinflatables.com

Orlando Inflatable Rentals, LLC 19621 Knight Tale Ln Orlando, FL 32833 (407) 497-1840 orlandoinflatablesllc@gmail.com

[wrenhyperfixates]

Not a Trick

Pairing: Loki x con artist!reader Summary: Loki wins Thor’s money back after you swindle him in a street con. Warnings: none I believe A/N: Requested by @lemonbars-and-fingerguns. Hope you enjoy!

Permanent Tag List: @lucywrites02 @frostedgiant @lunarmoon8 @twhiddlestonsstuff @lokistan @lowkeyorlokificrecs @gaitwae @whatafuckingdumbass @castiels-majestic-wings @kozkaboi @cozy-the-overlord​ @birdgirl90 @myraiswack @mythicalgarlicknot @what-a-flammable-heart​ @marvelouslovely @laurenandloki @fallinallinmendes @sophlubbwriting​ @mooncat163​ 

Disclaimer: Gif not mine

“Loki!” Thor called in a whiny tone, drawing out the vowels.

“Yes, brother,” Loki sighed.

There was a reason he disliked going out with the God of Thunder. Ever since they’d both moved to Midgard, Loki’s older brother had decided to start acting like just that—a brother. He’d insisted they do practically everything together, making up for the last century or so when they’d both been forced into competition for the throne. Now he realized Loki was always supportive of him, and he wanted to be there for Loki.

On the one hand, Loki was overjoyed. On the other, he was beyond pissed. Thor was just a bit... overly friendly, to put it nicely. Or, as nicely as Loki could manage through his annoyance. Clingy as he was, Thor had good intentions, and Loki saw that, appreciated it, so he didn’t say anything. He sorely missed his alone time, though, which he now barely had.

“I’ve been robbed!”

Loki sighed once more, shaking his head. He was certain there was more to the story than that. No way the lumbering thunder god merely had his wallet picked off of him or something. “And how exactly did that happen?”

“See that table over there?” Loki nodded in affirmation. “Well, they have this game to play, keep your eye on the cards as they shuffle. I saw three people go before me and they all won! But I lost! Five times!”

Loki wasn’t sure what to make of that. Perhaps his brother was just being imbecilic, unobservant. Or maybe he actually was tricked. Honestly, Loki had a nose for those kinds of things, and he felt like perhaps that was the case here. He wanted to write it off, but admittedly, his interest had been piqued.

“Alright,” was all he said before walking in the direction Thor had pointed.

The blond god trailed behind him, perking up a bit now that his brother was on the case. He did always have a knack for these kinds of things, outsmarting others with his tricks and the like.

“Excuse me,” Loki said, clearing his throat after waiting his turn. It seemed you had been swindling people after all, he learned as he watched you work.

“Sorry, sweethearts,” you said with a honey voice, remembering Thor from moments ago. “No refunds.”

“And who said we were requesting one?” You eyed him distrust fully as he sat down. “My brother lost against you, but that is par for the course-”

“Hey!” Thor chimed in, but Loki put up a hand to silence him.

“-while I am not so easily confused. Now, I believe I am meant to set the stakes?”

He put down the same amount of money Thor had lost and then some. Your eyes widened in disbelief. There was a bit of a crowd now, both your shills and people you’d already tricked. There was no way you could turn this man down. You felt like he had some tricks of his own up his sleeve, but how could you resist?

“Right. So you know the rules then? If I win, I keep your bet; if you win, I double it.”

“Yes. So, shall we begin?”

You frowned at his grin. “Ok. Keep your eye on the ace of spades.”

You began to shuffle the cards quickly and sometimes all three at once. Still, he caught the exact moment you switched the card with the one in your sleeve. To the inexperienced eye, he could see how it would go unnoticed. Unfortunately for you, the god had magic on his side. Loki smirked as you told him it was time to pick the card.

“Darling, you could have at least made it hard,” he tsked, pointing at the leftmost option. “This one.”

“Sorry, but-”

You abruptly cut off when you flipped the card to find it was, in fact, the ace of spades. Frowning, you furrowed your brow.

“May I have my winnings now or shall we play again,” he smiled.

“You cheated,” you accused, voice low and leaning across the table towards him.

“So did you,” he shot back, matching your pitch.

The two of you engaged in a mini staring contest, a battle of your wills. “Fine. Take it,” you begrudged, tossing his money towards him.

“Yes!” Thor boomed. “Do not mess with the Avengers! Especially not when it is the Odinson brothers.”

Your eyes widened. “Y-you two are avengers?” you asked in disbelief and worry.

“We are. And I am not too sure this ‘business’ you have here is legitimate.”

“Brother,” Loki cautioned while reimbursing the others gathered who had lost their money. Noticeably, your friends had run off. At least his time with Thor had expanded his vocabulary, though. “You got your money back, did you not?”

“Yes, but tell me this is not a scam. How many others can we allow them to- Wait. Where did they go?”

Loki looked to see you running down the sidewalk. “Leave it.”

“But-”

“Leave it,” Loki snapped a bit harsher. “They are not doing any real harm. You do not know their situation.”

“Fine. But we at least deserve some celebratory ice cream.”

Loki sighed once more, staring off after you. “Lead the way.”

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

You set a brisk pace as you went home that evening. The rest of the day had been fairly unprofitable, as you had to lie low after a couple of pesky avengers messed with your business. It wasn’t like being a con-artist was your first choice in careers, but that was always how your dad provided for your family growing up. One thing led to another, and there you were, jobless and without any profitable skill besides what your father had taught you. Still, you’d probably gotten too big for your britches when you scammed Thor. You had your reasons, though.

Locking the door of your tiny apartment, you were surprised to see a certain raven haired man standing there. “You,” you glared, tossing your keys into the dish on your table.

“Yes, me,” he replied, pulling you by your belt loops into a kiss. “Hello, darling.”

“Hi, sweetheart. I’m still mad at you.”

“I am truly sorry, but you did trick my brother,” he said, giving you as much space as possible on the old, small couch. “It was funny, I admit, but he is trying for me, so it only seems fair I try for him. I hope you know I would never have let him actually do anything to or report you.”

“Yeah, I know.” You scooted closer, the anger already dissipating. Loki helped you out more than you cared to admit; he was the reason you even met rent these past few months. Of course you wanted to pay him back, but he insisted there was no need. Still, that didn’t mean you wouldnt’t try.

He pulled you onto his lap, giving your temple a kiss. “Good. You are even better at acting than I thought, my darling, pretending you did not even recognize us and all,” he chuckled. “Though I am still wondering why you picked my brother as your target.”

“Well, how else was I supposed to get your attention,” you pouted, hating to admit it. “You haven’t come around all week.”

“I am sorry. I suppose Thor deserved it then; he is the one who has been keeping me busy. Though, I did have an idea about that.”

You wiggled around his arms, so you could face him. You usually liked his ideas, particularly when it was his trickster side talking. “Oh? Do tell.”

“Come work in the Tower. I think we could use someone with your skills on the team. Plus, we would have more time with each other.”

You blinked in surprise at the suggestion. It wasn’t an entirely bad one, but you were on the fence. “Well... Maybe. I’ll have to think about it.”

“Take your time, darling. I will always be here for you, regardless,” he said, gazing into your eyes and beginning to lean in for another kiss. “And that is not a trick.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

[out-of-jams]

Across the Board || i || kth

(banner done by the great @kimtaehyunq )

↠ Across the Board ↞ You’d hit a low point in life. With bills piling up and your bank account empty, you were starting to get desperate. So when you got the invite to your oldest friend’s birthday party being hosted at the most popular underground casino in town, what did you possibly have to lose? You took what little you had left in your savings, put your card skills to use, and entered a private blackjack game.

And you’d won. And went back for more, and more, and more.

Until you lost.

And now you’re indebted to the city’s most dangerous mob boss, forced to pay your dues in blood one way or another. With a gun pushed into your hands and your life at stake; once you’re in, you’re in. You’ll never get out.

Word Count: 4k

Warnings/Genre: Set in the Roaring 20s! Gambling. Mature themes. Mafia!au. Mafia Don!Taehyung. Violence. Law breaking. Alcohol use. Death of minor characters. Explicit language. Enemies to lovers. Short series. 18+

                              || Next | Masterlist | |

Danger.

It was a word right up there alongside the definition for the term “stupidity.” While not next to each other in the dictionary, they were close enough that your brain was unable to pick out the subtle differences. Perhaps you’d just always had a habit for screwing your life up, or maybe it was just genetics. Who knew?

You should have listened to the warnings, should have stopped yourself before you got in too deep. Hell, you should have done a lot of things. But you had no one to blame for your current situation except for yourself. However, if you’d learned anything throughout your twenty-two short years of life, it was that life lessons didn’t mean jack if you didn’t get yourself into messes into the first place.

Though staring down the barrel of a revolver sure was a funny way of going about it.

The air in the dimly lit back corner room was tense enough to hear the sound of a casino chip fall to the ground somewhere beyond the shut door. None of the six men sitting around the round, green felted table spoke a word. Their attention — and yours, consequently — was fixed on the single man in the room who barely even batted an eye at the clear panic evident on your face.

He sat on the opposite side of you; the scowl pulling down his bow shaped lips and the narrowing of his fierce gaze had fear chilling your veins. That man was much like an exotic animal; beautiful beyond belief, but dangerous right beneath the surface. A carnivore staring down his prey. The single light above the table threw his shadow against the wall as he casually aimed his pistol right between your eyes.

“You were saying, dollface?”

His neatly parted, straight black hair fell across his face when he leaned forward as if the next words out of your mouth would seal your fate. Not that the thought of having to have your blood cleaned from the expensive carpet beneath his expensive shoes seemed to bother him in the slightest. In fact, he’d look almost bored if it weren’t for the dangerous gleam behind his espresso irises.

“I—” You cut yourself off, swallowing roughly and glancing back down at the table. A depleted deck of cards sat in the center, two hands laid out on the surface. One was yours — a ten of diamonds and a ten of clubs — and the other his. A red ace of spades and a black jack of hearts.

You were out of money.

Having bet more than you possessed, you were also out of chances.

“It’s simple. You owe me money as promised,” his deep, baritone voice spoke up casually over the noise of your heart beating through your chest. “Either hand it over, or you won’t be leaving this room alive. Your choice.”

You closed your eyes for a moment too long to be called a blink, and cursed yourself for ever getting into this situation.

                           One Month Ago

Final Notice of Payment

Ms. L/n,

This is a reminder that you have a balance of $20.54 that is past due. Please make a one time payment no later than—

“Oh, please.” The bill enclosed envelope hit the top of the small, circular dining room table. Or was it the kitchen table? It was hard to tell, seeing as how they were one and the same.

A sigh escaped your lips as you leaned back against the creaky wooden chair, fingers massaging your temples. That was the third bill you’d come across that morning and every single one of them was the final notice of payment. The last warning they’d give before sending someone to collect what was owed.

It hadn’t always been like that. You hadn’t always been in such an insurmountable amount of debt, not until recently. Two months ago your mother, the last bit of family you had left, died. Passed away clinging to the sheets of the hospital bed she’d been laid up in for the past half a year. Cancer, the doctors had said. From all of the cigarettes she’d burned through in the past decade or so.

Irrecoverable, they’d said.

No amount of “sorry’s” or meaningless condolences could fix the massive amount of money that the hospital billed you. Or the debt that your mother left behind, along with her slim-boned corpse that you’d had to bury in the corner of the city cemetery. Perhaps if you’d known who your father was, you could’ve laid her to rest in the space next to his own, but you didn’t. Weren’t fortunate enough to.

Bills had piled up. Rent for the tiny studio apartment the two of you had shared was demanded by the pigeon-toed old woman who owned the rundown, overpriced building. Her husband had passed away two years ago and ever since then, she’d been relentless. She pounded on your door at approximately eight in the morning everyday, shouting through the thin wood that you had until the week was up to pay what was owed. Otherwise you’d be tossed out onto the street with only the clothes on your back.

Combined with the utility bill and the fact that you still had to come up with the dough to feed yourself, you were trapped. The meagre pennies you got from your waitressing job at the diner three blocks away weren’t nearly enough. Nothing would be enough. Not unless you wanted to sell your body on the street corners in the late of night.

Which you didn’t. And you wouldn’t. You’d be more likely to end up dead in a ditch somewhere with your throat cut than out of debt. The city wasn’t safe for women, less so by those men who saw prostitutes as no more than an object to relieve stress onto. And you refused to become another headline in the paper.

Tossing the opened envelope across the table, you paused when familiar handwriting caught your eye on top of the rest of the mail pile. Addressed to you in a curling script that only ever came from someone who could afford a private tutor. You sighed, carefully sliding a knife along the top to slice it open. A waft of sweet, cherry scented perfume filled your tiny kitchen and you almost rolled your eyes at the unnecessary addition.

Jennie, your oldest friend since high school, always had an inclination for the unnecessary. Born with a silver spoon in her mouth and a gold digger for a mother, she’d had nothing else to waste her time on. How you’d even gotten on as friends with such a gap between tax brackets was still a mystery to you. Maybe it was because she’d always used her wealth and status to get the two of you out of trouble. Whether it was from breaking into the school late at night to get wasted in the halls with the rest of her friends, or to get away with slipping things from the corner store into your dress pockets.

She’d always been a rule breaker.

Which was exactly why when you read the contents of the letter, a laugh tumbled from your mouth. It was an invitation to celebrate her upcoming twenty-third birthday in three day’s time. That wouldn’t have been anything out of the ordinary, however, if it weren’t for the location. There wasn’t an exact address, there never was. Just a thin piece of cardboard the size of your hand that fell from the envelope. A playing card — a red ace. One that looked normal except for the center that had the name of a restaurant in the heart of the most rich part of downtown printed on it.

It was a ticket to the most popular underground casino in the whole city. No one knew how to get one, how to get your name onto the list that only catered to the rich and powerful. Located beneath a restaurant, it had grown to be infamous almost overnight since gambling and alcohol was outlawed. Even the coppers knew well enough to leave the establishment alone.

The only way to gain entrance was by flashing a ticket to one of the restaurant staff. That was what you’d heard, at least. You had no idea how May had managed to secure one, let alone enough to cover what you knew would be a large party of her closest friends.

Flicking the corner of the card, you couldn’t believe your luck.

Your mother hadn’t taught you very many things, had been too busy gossiping with her friends over a carton of cigarettes to bother. What she had passed down, however, was her ability to draw cards. To play blackjack with the best of them. That’d been the only thing she’d ever bothered to teach you; when she’d had too many sips of wine and her eyes had glazed over with memories of the life she used to live. 

She’d sit you down and make you memorize the names and faces of the cards until you could count them forward and backwards. Could predict what card would be drawn and when. Where she’d learned it, she’d never told you. But that didn’t matter now. Couldn’t, seeing as she was dead and all.

Grinning, you flopped back into your chair.

Maybe you’d be able to pay off your debts after all.

And you had. Paid off your debt, that is.

After clearing out your savings account of the last fifteen dollars you had left to your name, you’d dolled yourself up and gone with Jennie and her friends. Had left the group of flappers tittering and groaning drunk at the line of slot machines at the back of the casino. Calls of bets being placed, dough exchanging for chips, and illegal cocktails pouring into glasses played as a soundtrack.

None of the card tables scattered across the underground establishment held what you’d been looking for. Neither roulette, nor craps, nor slots. The bartender had been the one to tell you where the real games were, where the cash was. A door down a tiny back hallway led to a room where private games were held. If you managed to win at one, he’d told you, then you’d win not only the pot, but an invitation to come back and play again.

Which had been an opportunity that you just couldn’t pass up. No matter the risk.

You’d won.

And now you were addicted.

To the money, the lifestyle, the adrenaline that shot through your veins like a particularly harsh sip of gin. Which was exactly why you’d gone back. Again, and again, and again, every single week for the past month. It wasn’t your fault that it was so easy. So simple to swindle your way into getting your name permanently written down on the entry list.

Oh, and the men.

It was a different group every week, but they weren’t all that dissimilar from one another. They’d sit there and smoke their cigars and drink their whiskey, all while silently mocking you with their eyes. Like they thought they were better than you just because they had a dick between their legs.

You were addicted to that too.

To watching the way their faces would fall in disbelief every single time you cleared the pot and took their money. And how their voices would raise in pitch with their countless complaints about how some lowly broad conned them out of their pocket change. Because that’s all that money was to people like them.

Change.

They were rich. You could tell by the custom suits they wore, the cologne they bathed in, the way they carried themselves. The money they gambled with always had a cap, a max amount that they were willing to bet. And the games never got too crazy, didn’t escalate once they lost to you. Which was a shame really, because you wanted more. Craved more. More of what, you weren’t too sure, but the high that playing brought only lasted so long until you came crashing back down.

Which was exactly when fate decided to change the routine.

“Here to play again, miss?” Felix, the same teenage boy who always manned the door to the gambling room, asked with a slight tilt of his head. His light brunette hair was tucked beneath a bowler hat, different from the usual fedora. Back to the door, he was standing up straight instead of his normal slouch. And the way his mouth was taught around the edges was out of the ordinary as well.

The boy didn’t have a cigarette clenched between his teeth, which should have been enough to set off the bells in your head. But it didn’t. Because you were too bullheaded, had gotten too cocky in the terms of things.

“You know me too well, Felix.” You reached out a hand to pat the lanky boy on his suit clad arm lightly, a smile pulling up at your red painted lips. “Is the usual table ready?”

The volume in the casino wasn’t as loud either, nor were there quite as many patrons. But you’d just chalked that up to the heavy rain pounding a path into the concrete outside. Though the lack of customers did nothing to eliminate the permanent smell of cigarette smoke that lingered, hidden in the walls beneath the fancy looking wallpaper.

“I don’t know if you want to play today, miss.” Felix glanced away from you with his bottom lip caught between his teeth. You blamed the flickering light in the corner of the hall for the way his freckles stood out amongst his slowly paling cheeks.

You raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

He didn’t answer. Not at first. Silence lingered in the hall, drowning in the soft jazz music coming from the band on the stage near the back of the joint. It took the raising of your other brow for the underaged boy to finally answer.

“It’s just not a good day for gambling.”

Now that had you leaning forward until you could finally catch his flighty gaze, voice hushed in a playful whisper. “Oh really, how so? Is there a stool-pigeon running about somewhere? Should we be expecting the coppers to come kicking down the door any minute?”

“No. I—”

“Then why can’t I play, Felix?” You were starting to get irritated. The week had been long and you were ready to forget about it all for the next few hours. Buried beneath the weight of a handful of cards and glass full of gin.

Either Felix could see your growing impatience, or there really was something he was hiding, because he stepped even further in front of the door. “You don’t want to play with this group, miss. They aren’t as welcoming as the others are. It’d be best if you just went home.”

“You ca—”

“And what’s going on back here?” That wasn’t Felix’s voice and neither was it yours. You whipped around, surprised at the new addition.

The man behind you had honey brown hair parted and styled carefully until it was brushed back away from his heart-shaped face. Though some of it still hung in front of a single, dark eye. His other was uncovered, a scar running through his eyebrow and cutting it in half. Everything about him was angular, sharp. From his jawline to the slope of his nose and the corners of his full lips.

One look and you already pegged him for a cake-eater, a ladies man, if you’d ever seen one. Hell, he even dressed like he came right off the front cover of one of those Time magazines that littered the newspaper stands on every street corner. With a navy blue suit and perfect, unscuffed shoes.

“No, sir,” Felix attempted to pull the man’s attention from you unsuccessfully. “The missus here was just leaving.”

The Stranger hummed, tilting his head to study you with those sharp eyes of his. “Were you, bunny? Just leaving?”

You couldn’t help the twitch of your nose at the unfavorable nickname, squaring your shoulders and crossing your arms with a scoff. “No, I wasn’t. I want to play a few rounds, you see, but he won’t let me.”

Perhaps you should have felt bad for ratting out the kid, but you didn’t. Especially not when the Stranger huffed a laugh, a distinct ha-ha-ha! in amusement. Though there was something else in his eyes that you couldn’t name. Didn’t want to acknowledge. “You want to play a hand of blackjack, is that right?”

“Ab-so-lute-ly.” You raised an eyebrow at the man and waved a hand through the air. “I can play.”

“Oh,” He asked, taking a step closer until you had to crane your neck back to meet his imploring gaze. “Playing isn’t cheap.”

You shrugged nonchalantly. “I can pay too.”

He must have been waiting for that answer if the smirk that pulled at his lips was any indication. And he finally, finally broke eye contact to wave aside the boy behind you. “Well, did the dame make herself clear or not? She wants to play.”

You happened to turn just in time to catch the alarm that flickered across Felix’s face as he stepped to the side to reveal the door behind him. Felix reached out with a ringed hand to twist the brass knob of the door. It swung open without a sound and he gave you a quick, wide-eyed stare filled with a warning you couldn’t interpret, before looking away.

“Well?” The Stranger questioned from over your shoulder. You could smell his cologne now; husky with a hint of sweet orange.

His words were an invitation if you’d ever heard one. And you didn’t want to look like a bluenose, a prude, so you stepped inside without hesitation. Though perhaps you should have taken Felix’s unspoken warning, for you had no idea just what it was that you were walking into.

Inside the cramped room was filled with a haze of cigar smoke, which wasn’t unusual at all. What was, however, was the group of six men sitting at the circular table as you rounded the corner with the Stranger at your back. They were beautiful, all of them. A huge contrast to the usual rabble that came to play. Hell, even underneath the dim light you couldn't spot a single flaw on them.

No one noticed your entrance at first.  

Well, at least not until the Stranger cleared his throat. “Gentleman.”

His greeting sounded like it toed somewhere on the line between amusement and respect.

All movement in the room came to a halt as six men looked up from where they’d been bent over the blackjack table. If you’d been a little less prideful and a lot more careful, then perhaps the overbearing confidence that bled from their pores would have given you pause. But as it was, you stood standing, back straight and head held high. Even while their eyes roamed your figure like tigers behind a cage at the zoo right before feeding time.

A pause hovered in the air, lingering with a tension that crawled onto your skin. What seemed like hours passed merely in seconds before it was broken.

“And who’s this?” The question came from the fella who sat in the chair closest to where you stood. He was turned around with his arm propped up on the back of it, head tilted to the side in curiosity. His hair was styled similar to the Stranger’s, though his was darker and the gel pushed through the strands made it gleam silver beneath the dim lamp that hung above the table.

High cheekbones and skin the same color as molten honey, his jaw worked around a piece of gum stuck between his teeth. A smirk pulled up at the corner of his mouth, dark eyes glittering with a touch of interest. With a black and white suit that complimented the shade of his hair, the man was nothing if not a billboard: flashy. Handsome.

“I found bunny here outside arguing with Felix. Something about wanting to play a few rounds of blackjack. Isn’t that right?” The Stranger placed a heavy palm between your shoulder blades. What might have been intended to come off as comforting, only succeeded in making you feel the opposite. Like you were being put on display.

You didn’t let it show on your face. “That’s right.”

“Oh?” Gum Chewer’s smirk grew broader at that, but he said nothing else. Just leaned back in his chair.

“What do you say, should we let her play?” Blond hair, pink kissable lips and dangerous, dangerous eyes. The slim man sitting next to Gum Chewer was attractive in a pretty way that made you envious of his easy-on-the-eyes looks.

While the question may have been asked to the whole room, none of them answered it. Instead they looked towards one of the men sitting in the middle who had yet to speak. If you’d thought the rest of them were a sight for sore eyes, well, they had nothing on him. How your attention hadn’t been drawn to him the moment you walked through the door, you didn’t know.

He wasn’t even looking at you and you already felt tongue-tied. Busying himself with shuffling the cards in his hands against the green felt table, the expensive looking rings adorning his slender fingers caught your eye. He was what your mother would’ve called a timeless beauty. The type of handsome that meant he could walk the streets of the city in nothing but a sack and he’d have women throwing themselves at his feet.

Hair the same shade as a moonless sky made him look intimidating, like he belonged to the shadows themselves. A straight nose, cupid bow lips and long eyelashes that would make any broad jealous; he gave off the type of power that could make even the bravest of men cower at his feet. The longer he took to respond, the more the room grew still. As if your fate was in the hands of a man who’s name you didn’t even know.

Though perhaps it was.

A muffled thud echoed throughout the room as he tapped the deck of cards against the table once, twice, before sliding them over to the fella to his left. Plucking up the glass of scotch in front of him, he finally looked up. And graced you with the prettiest chocolate brown eyes you’d ever seen.

“What’s your name, dollface?”

tagged: @bewitch-me​  @jxngkooksthxghs​   @kaitswrld​  @clarissalance​  @namurkive​ @ifntelyinspirit​  @kotaevln​  @red--aren  @ggukkieland​  @moonlitmyg​  @i-like-puppy-mg​  @aianloveseven​  @drumsofheaven​  @figurativehoe00​ @wonhoandonly​ @wacdon​ @hear-me-growl​ @milaridez7 @1088x1088​ @alana-ba​ @vlntaeg​

[dontcallmecarrie]

can we get a little taste of what would happen if someone tried to get justin assassinated and very nearly (as in he needed hospital close) succeed? like justin's reaction at how close that was 👀 family/friends reaction 👀 what would happen to the person who hired someone to hire someone to get rid off justin so they wouldn't be traced back to the incident except the people in justin's sphere of influence are all smarter than that ok? even if somehow this attempt went over everyone's head in such a way that no one noticed until it the deed was done. imagine if it was justin's DAD. OH. THE DRAMA. OH THE TRAUMA maybe. 👀

...I get the feeling that you really want to see these characters in a very different genre than what No Hero is turning out to be.

Mainly because the above situation is something I'm not sure I have the energy to tackle, and I applaud your imagination because I wouldn't have even thought of it in the first place.

See, early on is when Justin's probably most at risk in this AU; while his charisma never wanes, his network is something that grows as time goes on. Early on, before he's made his alliances and started really building his network is when Justin's at his most vulnerable— but even then I don't really picture him as getting in nearly as many sticky situations as Tony would've?

Bear in mind that Justin's reputation as a responsible, hardworking dependable guy started very, very early in this AU. Since his boarding school days, even, and some of those kids [...other than Victor, because of obvious reasons] probably later on went to invest in his company as shareholders, etc.

But.

Beyond that, remember that at the end of the day, Justin Hammer is the only son and heir of one of the biggest names in the defense industry.

...suffice it is to say that it takes a very special sort of stupid to want to piss off the guy selling you your guns.

Especially when his main competition has ridiculously high standards for anyone who's not the U.S. military.

So all in all, it's in nobody's best interests to hurt Justin; not when they've got a good thing going on, with a very reasonable businessman who knows how to play the game, and when to look the other way.

This is all a long way for me to say that even before Victor von Doom showed up again, Justin already had people willing to do him favors. Tit for tat, and all that. Victor's different in that any favor would be of a different sort of stake, with a different price; after all, he's no longer in need of weapons. Not anymore, at least.

So if someone was foolish enough to put a hit out on him... I'd think that there would be enough groups who prefer the status quo the way it is to give him a heads up, and look into taking out the threat themselves. Oh, and of course, expect a few very nice discounts afterwards. That's how I'd see something like this going.

Before Cabal was a thing, anyway; after that... woe betide whoever wanted to mess with him, because Justin has friends in very, very high places and I'll just leave it at that.

.

As for if Justin's father would try to pull something like this...

Hmm. You know, I honestly don't know anymore. Hammer Senior's the type of guy who's very big on appearances, and while he might not have liked being essentially ousted as the CEO of Hammer Industries, part of him was honestly pretty impressed at how his son handled the who fiasco— to the point that he wasn't even mad when he left.

Bear in mind that Justin's father is a piece of work: he's incredibly sexist, of the "dear god why hasn't he been fired ye— oh he's the owner, oh, okay, fuck this I quit then" variety, cheated on his wife for what was probably the entirety of their marriage and is just generally the embodiment of that one stereotype about trust fund brats because he's old money but that doesn't mean he knows what he's doing.

Part of why Justin caught everyone's attention at first was because he was, well, basically the exact opposite of his father: responsible, level-headed, hardworking, and competent. To be honest, there were probably some people who side-eyed him and his father and went "who the fuck knows where he gets it from, because it sure as hell ain't his old man" because of it— because other than genetics, there wasn't much else the two had in common.

It's why Justin had such an easy time becoming a CEO despite doing everything he did to get there— all he had to do was prove he was a better candidate than his father, and since his father set the bar so low, well... you get the idea.

As for Hammer Senior, in all this: let's be honest, the man stood to benefit either way. Because part of the deal for his publicly "gracefully stepping down" meant he got a very nice paycheck, and an early retirement to do whatever the hell he wanted. And, since Justin had masterfully orchestrated everything to make their family come out of it smelling like roses, it wasn't like he had any hard feelings about how he got there.

After all, that's how he raised his son.

.

...now, if anyone actually met Justin's father, that'd be another mess entirely. Their family in general, for that matter, but emphasis on their father because again, the man is a piece of work who cared more about appearances than anything else, and the older Justin got, the less and less they respected him.

It doesn't help that both of their parents are homophobic, and Justin's sexuality [...not to mention the gender thing, which is a whole other kettle of fish] is something these two are still unhappy about but forced to live with— though at this point, Justin's father has convinced himself that his son is just being a good, celibate Christian [Justin: ...that's hilarious on a number of levels], while his mother has just taken to pretending it's not an issue in the first place.

At this point, it's just something they have to live with, because Justin is the only child they're willing to acknowledge that acknowledges them back. So it's not like they've got many options with how to pressure him, not that they're able to at this point.

Not when he's an adult and an ironclad reputation that, in turn, makes them look good as well, because obviously they did a good job at raising him, didn't they, if he turned out so well?

So this is the stalemate they're at right now: a tension no healthy family would have but is the only thing they know, and the bitter knowledge that there's nothing they can do about it, not when Justin holds all the cards these days.

[troubatrain]

sober - m.barzal (pt. four)

a/n: hello this is the last repost until the new part!!

Three - Five

Mat Barzal was completely and utterly fucked. There was no way around it, you had him in the palm of your hand and you didn’t even care. Sure, the first time was an accident, and Mat definitely didn’t regret it but he wasn’t sure if he had your number he would have called you again. But, when he saw you running through the halls at Madison Square Garden - Mat was focused on you and you only. The marks he left on her that were uncovering themselves while you power walked past him. In a pencil skirt that was living rent free in his dirtiest dreams. Even then, the second time he tried to get you, it was because he had just lost a rivalry game for the team you work for and your friends were barely twenty feet away. He wanted to be the best, and there wasn’t much that could stop him when he set his mind to it.

After that, things felt different. Mat liked a chase, he was competitive as hell and if you were a prize he was going to win it. He’d never let you know that, especially because if you knew he referred to you as a prize - Mat would be a dead man. You were the poison Mat was dying to drink, and you were intoxicating. You were all the things Mat loved to hate, wrapped up in a bow addressed just for him.

“Let me take you out,” Mat mutters, his lips pressing kisses into your back, still inside you while you both let yourselves relax for just a moment, basking in the glow of a sunny Sunday afternoon. You’d both landed late the night before, Mat from Arizona and you from Toronto, making a Sunday afternoon in bed tearing eachother apart a necessity.

“I will pay you to never ask me that again,” You sigh, internally gathering the strength to push Mat off you so you could leave. A nap and a second round sounded like a dream, but staying too long would mean something - and that wasn’t allowed.

“What if there’s some stakes?” Mat tries again, pinning your arms above your head, much like he’d done when he was balls deep in you ten minutes ago. You hummed in response, waiting for whatever dumb idea Mat had up his sleeve, “We can play a game.”

“I’m listening,” You muse, letting yourself enjoy the feeling of Mat’s lips ghosting over your skin while he spoke.

“We go out, whoever gets the most numbers at the end of the night wins,” Mat suggests, “I’ll go down on you if you win and you’ll give me head if I win.”

“What if I meet someone I want to go home with more than you?” You ask, turning around and giving Mat a smirk.

“You won’t,” Mat smiles confidently, as if he was so positive he really was the best.

“What if you meet someone you want to take home more than me?” You counter, turning around in his arms, “What if you meet someone I want to take home more than you?”

“That big brain of yours works way too hard,” Mat chuckles, his laugh bouncing off the walls of his bedroom.

“Someone’s gotta think around here Mat.”

**

You were going to win, you were sure of it. It didn’t matter if Mat had years of playing an extremely competitive sport under his designer belt, he’d never met you. You were competitive by nature, maybe it had something to do with your family. Maybe it was because you’re one of three women in your department with the Rangers, and there were only a handful of others. Maybe it was because Mat was smug and you wanted him to just shut his mouth for once. Either way, you were in the zone. Your heels were high, and your head was held higher while you strutted down the street to a bar that was only a few blocks away from your apartment.

“I would have had my Uber swing by you,” Mat suggests, giving a once over while you walked over to him, “I don’t know if we would have made it here though.”

“Like I’ve said before, you’re not going near my building-” You start to remind him, a condensing tone to your voice that was hushed by his hand waving you off.

“I know, I know. Damn,” Mat cuts you off, his voice lowering while he grabbed your hand, “You’re really trying to win, am I that good in bed?”

“You’re one to talk,” You scoff, internally trying to stop the heat you could feel rushing to your cheeks when the words slipped from your mouth. Mat looked good, a pair of jeans that were showing off his incredibly toned thighs, reminding you of the filthy dream you had about riding them. A button down that was missing a few buttons on purpose, a shiny silver chain hanging down that you’d yet to see.

“Was that a compliment? Do you think I’m hot?” Mat laughs, a wide smile on his face that he finally caught you.

“Objectively, yes, I think you’re hot,” You roll your eyes, crossing your arms as if it were your armor from letting any other nice things about Mat that you did enjoy to slip out.

“Wow,” Mat says, pulling you into his chest, “You’re pretty cute when you’re nice.”

“And what about when I’m not nice?” You ask, your cheek pressed against Mat’s chest. 

“You’re hot as fuck,” Mat whispers, “You going to lose tonight.”

“You’re on Barz,” You say, wagging your finger at him while you disappeared into the crowd to find your first victim.

By the time a few hours had passed by, you had almost fifteen new numbers in your phone, five drinks you didn’t pay for, and a confidence that you were winning this stupid game. You look around the bar, the man in front of you droning on about whatever basketball game was on TV, and you spotted Mat. Mat who had a girl practically hanging off him, but his attention had been directed at you.

“Hey, I’ve got to run,” You excuse yourself, ignoring anything the guy in front of you was saying and walking back over to Mat.

“Oh hey look it’s my girlfriend,” Mat announces, like he’d been surprised to see you. The girl next to him was giving you daggers, as if you were the one who stopped her from her chance with Mat, who’s eyes were begging you to just go along with it, “Babe, we should head out?”

“Yeah we should,” You agree, letting Mat grab your hand and lead you outside.

The moment the cool winter air of Manhattan hit you both, you turned to each other and smiled. Mat’s laugh came first, the laugh that echoed even outside because it was so loud, followed by yours while you both doubled over in laughter. Mat finally stops, catching his breath and staring at you intently for a moment, like he was thinking for the first time in his life, “I think you won.”

“How do you know?” You ask, wondering how long his eyes had been on you.

“Because I got two numbers and then I couldn’t stop watching you,” Mat admits, “It was impressive.”

“I know,” You say simply, it was your turn to be the smug one, “You going to hold up your end of the deal or what?”

The ride back to Mat’s apartment was quiet, at least on your end. Mat spent the entire ride talking about the Isles to your Uber driver, who was over the moon to have Mat Barzal himself in their car. You drowned out the noise, scrolling through your phone until a text came through from Chris.

Are you going to meet us out or are you still with your secret boyfriend?

It was supposed to be playful, not the guilt tripping text it was. Mat wasn’t your boyfriend, not by any means, but he was a secret you were hiding with a lock and key. Chris was probably the only one smart enough to realize something was off, especially when you’d come into work with some awful story about a date to remind Chris just how bad dating was. You sigh, leaving it on read and just ignoring the icky feeling that was in your stomach.

“Something’s wrong,” The words fell out of Mat’s mouth the second you stepped into the elevator to his apartment.

“Nothing’s wrong,” You deny it, but it was clear that text had soured your mood. You’d usually revel in the fact that you beat Mat, and there would be no way you wouldn’t have been a little bit of a sore winner. 

Mat sighs, leaning his head against the elevator. His hands were in his pockets while he bit his lip, thinking for a minute, “Okay.”

“Okay?” You ask, because there was no way that Mat, who in the small time that you’d known him, hasn’t just accepted anything you said.

“Okay,” Mat shrugs, opening the door to his place and letting you in, “Listen, you don’t owe me anything, and that’s cool. Besides you’d die before you told me what’s bothering you, so how about you come into my room. I’ll make you cum, and whatever’s bothering you won’t matter until tomorrow.”

Mat was right. Ew, don’t ever think that again. But he was right in the sense that he didn’t mean anything. Mat was a distraction, and you could put anyones head on that beautiful body of his and it would still mean the same thing - nothing.

“I did win tonight,” You say, dragging out your words.

“Anything you want in particular winner?” Mat says, dropping onto his bed and pulling his shirt from behind his head.

You bite your lip, a small fantasy that always lived in your head was pushing its way through your brain. Mat smirks, as if he could read your mind, “There’s one thing, it’s dumb, you know what nevermind let’s just fuck so I can go home and-”

Mat’s eyebrows furrow, “I don’t want to be your fuck buddy Y/N, I want to be your fuck soulmate.”

“Barz, I’m really going to stop coming over if you keep saying weird shit like that,” You threaten, given it wasn’t the first time since your little fling started that you’d said that. Mat told you the weirdest things, and you never knew if it was on purpose and meant anything or if Mat was just a little dumb.

“I mean it, I want to know all the kinky shit Y/N,” Mat says gently, knowing he probably crossed some weird unspoken rule by mentioning the word soulmate to someone he was just fucking on the low.

“I want to sit on, uh, you know,” You say, any bedroom confidence you’d gained over the years went right out the windows in Mat’s apartment. 

“You want to sit on my face don’t you?” Mat smirks, crossing his toned arms across his chest.

“Yes, I told you it’s dumb-” You rush out, a blush creeping up your cheeks while you tried to find some invisible shell in crawl into and never have to look Mat in the eyes again.

“Get over here,” Mat chuckles, “I told you, fuck soulmates Y/N.”

And so you did, Mat had somehow managed to take a term that should have disgusted you to your core and made it mean something that was weirdly intimate. Mat was your secret, and that secret was finding new ways to break down the walls you spent so much building around you. You slipped out of Mat’s bed like you did every night, turning around to give him one more look before you headed back to your place. A part of

you screamed to just stay, tuck your head into that broad chest and play with the chain hanging from his neck. The other part, your logical side, was telling you to run away and never come back - but something told you that you weren’t going to do that either. You woke up the next morning with a guilty feeling in your stomach and a text from Mat staring back at you.

You looked so good on top of me babe, couldn’t keep my eyes off you.

You were screwed.

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

Halloween prompt: Alfred is getting increasingly annoyed at whoever is eating the halloween candy. No one will confess. (Bruce is sitting in a corner somewhere with a bag of... [insert Batfamily appropriate candy here])

Three Musketeers

Rating: G 1,844 words Gen AO3

Bristol was technically in Gotham City limits. Though the gilted mansions and private woods with pastures and stables seemed like a whole other world in comparison. The residents liked to think so too, especially because – despite Gotham’s robust public transportation system – it was almost impossible to reach the rich suburb from the city proper. It was because they lived in this separate world that Bristol’s wealthy residents often fought to receive special treatment or even secede from the city all together.

Except when it came to Halloween.

The residents of Bristol were more than happy to hold their trick-or-treat night during the same time as the rest of Gotham. Mostly, because it discouraged the city’s poorer residents from coming out to ask for literal handouts from them. The time it would take to sit in train stations and bus stops to get there ate up a large chunk of trick-or-treat’s two-hour window. And the walk from the last stop and between the houses took up the rest.

Despite all this, many made the trek out to Wayne Manor and its residents always made it well worth the work.

It was known that the Manor didn’t simply give out full-sized candy bars, no, they gave a whole bag of king’s sized bars. And from the entrance way to the ballroom off to the side were decked out and fitted to be a haunted house with games and entertainment and even more snacks. There was no reason to go anywhere else when you went to Wayne Manor.

Except, this year the seemingly endless supply of candy was mysteriously missing in the week leading up to the big night. Which was ironic considering the Manor was populated by detectives.

Alfred was suspicious. And annoyed. But mostly suspicious. He had raised the world’s greatest detective and then helped raise the current world’s greatest detective. In addition to the other seven vigilantes he’d actively cared for over the years. And countless others who hadn’t lived under his roof. Which meant that he was extremely hard to pull something over on. Extremely.

Yet, his stockpile of trick-or-treat candy was gone. Completely. And his list of suspects was long and skilled.

First, was Barbara because he loved the young woman dearly but she was a bit of a chocolate fiend. Also, if he could rule her out then he could enlist her assistance. It was easy enough to make her coffee just the way she liked and message her to come to the kitchen when she was working in the Cave one evening. She was happy enough to come up, thinking it was just for a chat but knowing something was up when Alfred passed her the mug.

They studied each other from across the long wooden table that took up the far side of the kitchen. Alfred sipped his tea from the good china that after the last family debacle was his alone to use. Barbara narrowed her eyes as her glasses slipped down her nose. They were playing a high stakes game of chicken and they both knew it.

Barbara broke first. “Is there something you wanted to talk about, Alfred?” she asked sweetly, setting her coffee down and pushing her glasses back up in the same movement.

“Now that you mention it, yes. I was wondering if you happened to know where my trick-or-treat supply is disappearing to?” Alfred’s lips turned up in kindness, but his eyes were hard and steady as he held her gaze.

An adult, a seasoned crimefighter, an honest to god superhero and yet Barbara wanted to wriggle in her chair, knot her fingers in the hem of her t-shirt, under that look. Pure willpower was the only thing that stopped her. Though it didn’t extend to her mouth. “No, I’ve been out of town most of the week.”

This was true, Alfred knew, but not necessarily an airtight alibi.

“Besides,” Barbara continued, “I have a Costco card. The Birds and I split it. If I wanted to eat a whole bag of candy, I’d just buy my own.”

Alfred nodded, lifting his tea to take another sip. He accepted that answer, she knew better than to lie to him. “In that case, might I enlist your skills to uncover the real culprit?”

This was what Alfred had truly wanted to ask, they both knew, and Barbara smiled in delight at the prospect. “I’d love to.”

The next suspect was Tim. He knew exactly how to cover his tracks and misdirect their attention. Tim was sly, smart, and still technically a teenaged boy so sugar was irresistible. Barbara set the trap, crashing the Batcomputer one afternoon when everyone else was out. This forced Tim up, out of the Cave and to Alfred lying in wait in the kitchen.

Tim had climbed up onto a kitchen chair to get at the stash of poptarts on the top shelf of the cabinet above the stove. Proving that he had means, motive, and a record.

“Master Timothy,” Alfred drawled as he stepped out of the shadows. Bruce had to learn the skill from somewhere.

Startling, Tim whirled around and nearly fell from the chair. Dropping the silver packet in the process. It landed on the tile with a crunch. “Look I need the brain power to get the computer back up,” he said hastily, glancing guiltily between Alfred and the fallen junk food.

“I am not here to reprimand you about the poptarts,” Alfred said and Tim immediately relaxed, shooting him a relieved little grin. “But I may have to reprimand you for sneaking something else,” Alfred continued, causing Tim’s face to fall.

“I swear, I only had the one Monster the other week. And I split it with Kon ‘cause we were trying to keep Bart from drinking it. Me and him on an energy drink bouncing round the Tower is way better than a speedster on an energy drink.” Tim’s eyes were wide and the blood that had drained from his face made the boy almost impossibly paler.

Alfred lifted an eyebrow at the confession. Not what he was looking for but good to know all the same. “And what of the candy for trick-or-treat?”

Tim’s brows drew together in confusion. “Uh, I don’t know? I suggested we get milkyways but if you got snickers again then I’m not going to complain.”

“So, you did not eat the supply?” Alfred confirmed, though the fact that Tim was already feeling guilty and hesitant to lie on top of the fact that he had no idea Alfred had purchased boxes of three musketeers cleared him of the crime.

“No?” Tim shook his head as he shrugged.

Satisfied, Alfred nodded. “Enjoy your poptarts, Master Timothy. I shall be moving them shortly.”

“It wasn’t Jason,” Barbara said over the phone. “I have a couple different angles of him being in Paraguay all last week.”

“I never suspected him to begin with,” Alfred admitted as he pushed the shopping cart, restocking for the big night tomorrow. “He never liked three musketeers. Dark chocolate kit-kats are a separate story.” He smiled at the memory of a young Jason carrying a huge box of the candy bars to drop in the cart during his first Halloween with them.

“Cass and Dick are out too,” she continued. “Cass laughed at me when I even suggested it and then confirmed Dick was telling the truth when I questioned him.”

Alfred hummed. Richard had been his next guess, though he was more likely to take them to hand out while on patrol or pass on to his friends’ children than to eat himself. “Master Damian is innocent as well. He scoffed at the implication he would, quote, ‘stoop so low as to steal candy from children.’ He also vouched for Master Duke and neither were anywhere near the spare pantry recently to begin with.”

“Security cameras confirm that.”

“That leaves Miss Stephanie,” Alfred frowned. Stephanie tended to decline any offers of assistance from the Manor’s residents that weren’t directly related to masked vigilantism. Though she recently had allowed Alfred to slip her gas money when she visited during daylight hours. The thought of her taking the Halloween candy just did not sit right with him. It was almost as impossible to imagine as Damian taking it. Cassandra was more likely to be playing a trick on them all, having hidden it for some soon to be revealed reason. “Are you positive Miss Cassandra is not the culprit?”

Barbara chuckled. “I mean, not really. But at the same time why would she? Though why would Steph either? I don’t think it was either of them but I can vouch for Steph. She hasn’t been anywhere near the Cave or the Manor since last month. What with school she’s been staying close.”

“Which leaves us back to the beginning,” Alfred sighed and got in line. “We could create a sting operation though I’d loathe to lose this supply as well. There’s nearly no candy left in the entire state.”

“That I believe. Alright, I’ve got the feed from the events kitchen running on one of my screens. I’ll keep an eye on it for the rest of the night, see if anyone stupid enough to try it again.”

“Thank you, Miss Barbara. I really appreciate your assistance in this matter,” Alfred told her before exchanging their goodbyes. He had plans for a little stakeout of his own.

Placing the boxes in the spare pantry, Alfred settled himself on a stool next to the industrial fridge in the dark. He typed out a careful message in the family’s groupchat informing them all that the missing candy had been replaced and politely asking that it not disappear again before the next night. They would all be getting ready to go out for the night so there is no doubt they would see it. And he would have plenty of time to wait for them to strike.

Hours later, the family was returning and Alfred was still lying in wait. A creak echoed in from the ballroom where decorations were mostly in place. The light padding of rubber soles on the marble tile came closer and closer. Alfred leant further back into the shadows as the door swung open. He held his breath, waiting as the guilty party walked into the kitchen proper, headed directly towards the pantry. Alfred slipped from his hiding spot, keeping low as he crept around the island to come up behind the culprit.

Alfred contained his gasp of shock and annoyance as he flipped on the light. Forcing the candy thief to whirl on him. “Master Bruce!” Alfred scolded. He hadn’t thought his first charge would do such a thing and hadn’t even considered him as a suspect.

Having the good sense to look ashamed and like a ten-year-old boy again, Bruce offered a wavering grin in apology. “You bought three musketeers,” he said as his only defense.

Alfred frowned as he crossed his arms. “And your penance will be handing them out tomorrow night.”

[iturbide]

If you don't mind multiples can I please ask for Brady and Phoenix Wright? And if I recall you have not played much Binding Blade, but if you feel comfortable enough with the character to answer, Idunn please?

Of course I don’t mind multiples also excellent choices

How do I feel about this character? 

BABY BOY.  I love Brady so much with his scary face and intimidating scar as the rough exterior over an incredibly soft heart and boundless compassion.  I love how gentle and kindhearted he is, I love how he talks like an absolute gangster but wants to use the violin to express how he really feels, and I love that he gets teary over the small miracles in the world like flowers growing in difficult places.  He’s a delight and deserves to be popular with the ladies.

Who do I ship this character with romantically? 

Nobody, really!  I don’t have any real romantic ships for the second gen Awakening characters -- usually I joke that I ship them with happiness, because it’s what they deserve after everything they’ve suffered through.  Just so long as he’s in good company with people who appreciate him for who he is, I’m happy for him.

Who is my brOTP for this character? 

OWAIN.  But honestly Owain is my answer for any and all second gen brOTPs because Owain is great.  The fact that he appreciates Brady as he ought is just icing on the cake.  I also really love him and Yarne, especially for him actually helping the scaredy bun to toughen up (and undoubtedly offering healing support so that Yarne doesn’t go extinct).

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character? 

Brady is underappreciated and it’s a crime.  He’s so good but he’s one of those characters that gets passed over for kids like Inigo (who has predatory tendencies and is also a huge jerk in multiple supports) and Severa (who is manipulative bordering on abusive and also a huge jerk in most of her supports).  I legitimately do not understand why people don’t appreciated the soft-hearted gangster so I will instead love him that much more because they won’t (which is why I got him to +10 in Heroes).

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon? 

I really, really wish that he’d gotten a chance to play his violin for his mother in their support chain.  I know that in his chain with his father she tricks him into playing it, but I really think it would have been incredibly poignant if Brady had traded all those attempts at learning Maribelle’s hoity-toity speech and just played from the heart, something so profoundly touching that she came to realize it’s not the words that are important.  Yes, their supports are funny, but...I really would have liked something more heartwarming for them.

How do I feel about this character?

I love Phoenix Wright so much.  I love his snark, I love his improv, I love how he literally rolls with everything no matter how ridiculous even if he does kick himself mentally when he does.  The man interrogated a parrot on the stand, literally what is there not to love about him.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

Miles Edgeworth.  That’s honestly it.  I do see him as bi and I do think that he loved Iris while she was pretending to be Dahlia, but that was a long time ago and they’ve both grown as people to the point where they can (and I think should) remain friends, just not romantic partners.  I have a major soft spot for him and Edgeworth though, it’s my hands-down favorite ship in the entire franchise (even though I put them through the wringer in fic).

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Does Maya count?  Because I absolutely see him and Maya being like siblings, with Phoenix as the long-suffering older brother and Maya as the occasionally obnoxious younger sister.  I can’t see their love for each other as anything other than familial, so them as a brOTP just makes sense to me.  Iris, too, if we want to get technical: their romance ended, but I like the idea of them being able to maintain a friendship.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

He’s more of a realist than people give him credit for.  Fandom loves to joke about Phoenix being dumb or unobservant, but while he certainly can (and does) leap before he looks, he’s smart and his incredibly wry internal monologue heavily implies to me that he’s most often rolling with the punches rather than blundering blindly into them and reeling into success through luck alone.  He’s pretty savvy in my view, and it irritates me that fandom likes to play him as the eternal butt of the joke (since they also like to forget Larry exists -- apparently Phoenix is the one they substitute in for him).

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

To be honest...I kind of wish the events leading into AA4 had never happened.  That timeline legitimately breaks my heart because I love Phoenix, and seeing him so broken -- even if it is in part an act to trick the one who set it all in motion -- is more than I can bear.  I really wish we could have just gone forward with Phoenix staying a defense attorney and succeeding, bringing Apollo on as a successor and teaching him in much the same way he learned from Mia, rather than piling yet more trauma onto a man who has never deserved it and who has already lived through too much of it after three games.  

And while it’s true that I haven’t played Binding Blade, I do still love Idunn in Heroes, so:

How do I feel about this character?

This sweet child did not deserve this and I am going to protect her at all costs.  Similar to Grima in how she suffered at the hands of others, only her abuse came from dragonkind first before humans sealed her and Zephiel turned her into a weapon to achieve his own ambitions -- only heartbreakingly they stripped her of her very soul, making her a shell of her true self.  So I love her, I want her to be safe and cherished, and I want to see her recover from all she’s gone through.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

boy I’ve said this a lot tonight but no ships!  Idunn...well, first off she’s still trying to recover her personal autonomy, and second of all she got sealed very young and so has a lot of growing to do mentally once she does.  She’s not really a character I’m comfortable shipping at all until she’s gone through a significant amount of therapy, and since that needs to come first and foremost rather than setting some romance as an end goal (which would be creepy), I’m just not even thinking about it.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

FAE-FAE.  BEST TINY BABY SISTER A DRAGON COULD ASK FOR.  Fae seems like the perfect dragon sibling and I love the idea of them having a sweet sibling bond where "big” sister Fae is taking the lead while "little” sister Idunn follows her lead and learns from her.  Also the Grimas, as both guardian figures and fellow victims of heavy-handed cruelty; having their grounding influence for stability, especially when she slips in her recovery, would be very important, and the more of herself she gets back the more I think she would appreciate that unspoken concern.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

are there any popular opinions about Idunn out there?  I don’t see her too much sadly but I’ll just go out on a limb and say that she enjoys flowers and all things colorful and still struggles with doing things on her own unless someone asks her to directly; deep down, she also really likes being taken care of, told stories, and taught new things like making simple crafts and flower crowns, because none of it is a real responsibility falling to her that she has to see through.  It’s just a quiet kind of relief that comes with such low-stakes activities.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

Probably the big thing is I wish canon would have given us more of a resolution for her.  You only have a chance to save her in what amounts to a secret ending in Binding Blade, and her fate remains pretty heavily in question from what I understand?  I wish canon had given us more.  Tell us if she recovered, and what she was like if she did.  Tell us what she ended up doing, whether she stayed with Fae in her village or left it at some point, or if they eventually left to travel the world together when Idunn started doing better.  Basically tell me that my dragon daughter ended up happy.

Give Me a Character