#maybe this job is cool and people are cool and god we need to learn simple asl at least anyone have good recs

[simonstamenovic]

just remembered we got invited to spend the night too, i do hope we were not offputting in the worst way. did accidentally spill a drink but she was cool about it but its so deeply embarrassing to spill things like ohh look at me i dont know how liquids work

[thelostmagicians]

Booksmart | Steve Harrington

Summary: Steve Harrington’s head may be full of air, but his heart is full of love. [4.4k]

Fluff, comfort, slight angst, insecure Steve

♡

Steve Harrington isn’t a genius. He barely passed his classes in high school, couldn’t get into college, and can barely keep his minimum wage job. He’s been belittled by his parents too many times to care about their opinion and he knows compared to his friends he isn’t as clever or witty, but he’s okay with it - at least he thinks he is. It might sting when Robin and Eddie tease him for being too slow or when Dustin sighs in frustration because he can’t keep up, but the ache dissipates when they look at him in adoration. 

He blames his failing love life on his lack of intelligence. Although girls find his himbo-ness endearing, his relationships never last long.  Most of the dates he goes on end up as dirty hookups in the backseat of his car and on the off chance a girl stays longer than a month he can slowly see the irritation replace the endearment in her eyes. He was just something to do during the inbetween phase of graduation and moving out of Hawkins, a trophy to conquer - to finally have slept with the previously known King. He used to be okay with that at the beginning, he got his needs met while girls crossed him off their list, but over time he craved more. He saw how Nancy looked at Jonathan, how Joyce laughed with Hopper, and how Robin blushed around Vickie. He was desperate for that feeling of being wanted and loved. 

Even though he's surrounded by people who love and accept him as he is, he can't help but wonder if things would’ve been different if he was just a little smarter. 

_

“Robin I’m telling you she started speaking a different language halfway through dinner,” Steve grumbles as he’s shelving the horror section. 

Robin rolls her eyes at him, “Just because you don’t understand the words she’s using doesn’t mean she was speaking a different language, Steven. I don’t even think she knows anything but English. 

Steve sighs under his breath. 

He had gone on another date last night, but didn’t even make it past the appetizers before he made up an emergency and left. The night started off great, the Indiana summer evening had a cool breeze, he opened the door for her, and was rewarded with a kiss on his cheek when he presented her with  flowers. Valerie had been nice, beautiful, and smart - maybe a little too smart for Steve. Don’t get him wrong, Steve loves strong, smart, and capable women. He loved hearing Valerie speak about physics and graphing linear equations, he loved learning about what interested her, but as the night went on he could see the light in her eyes fading as he kept asking her questions. The final straw had been when he told her he hasn’t read a book since high school and she laughed lightly before saying “you really are only a pretty face.” 

“Maybe, I’m just destined to be alone, or like a back up plan for girls who come back to Hawkins after giving up on their big city dreams.”

Robin sighs and gives him a reassuring pat, “Steve, you’re a good man. You’ll find your one, trust me on this.”

Before he can say more the bell jingles as a gust of hot air is let in. Steve groans as he spots Dustin’s mop of curly hair and hears the chatter of 6 other teens. He holds the door open with his arm as he sees Lucas struggling with Max’s wheelchair. 

“You guys can’t keep coming in here, Robin and I actually have work to do you know.”

“We wanted to pick a movie for movie night,” Max says. 

He sighs softly as he meets her eyes. Steve’s always had a soft spot for Max ever since they’ve met and it’s only gotten softer since then, everyone knows this, but the kids tend to take advantage of this and use Max to get their way. 

“Alright two movies max and no rated r ones.”

As he hears the bell jingle again he starts his greeting in a monotone voice, “Welcome to Family Video, my name is St—” he chokes. 

“Oh my god, are you okay?” you ask softly. 

He’s still coughing and panting slightly as he tries to give you a reassuring nod. Robin makes her way to the front to hand Steve some water and finish introductions. 

“What he means to say is his name is Steve and I’m Robin. You can come get us if you have any questions.”

You nod politely, finally tearing your gaze away from Steve as you start browsing through the racks. Steve, however, can’t seem to stop looking at you. He’s seen a lot of beautiful women in his life, but none of them held a candle to you. Everything about you was just perfect to him and he didn’t even know you yet. His eyes repeatedly traced the slope of your nose, down to your plush lips, and back to your furrowed eyebrows as you read the back of a tape. 

You lift your head up and he blushes as you make eye contact. 

“Do you have any recommendations for sci-fi, I just moved to town and need something to keep me from getting bored?” you ask shyly. 

“Err- We have a sci-fi section over there” Steve points to the rack behind him where the kids are gathered and quietly arguing over which movie to pick. 

You speak as you make your way over, “Yeah, but do you have any recommendations for me? I feel like I’ve seen all the good ones already.”

Steve's face falls as he tries to come up with an answer. 

“Have you seen Star Wars?” Dustin speaks up

Max and El groan loudly as you shake your head. 

“I tend to stay away from franchises, but what’s it about?”

Before Dustin can answer, Mike beats him to it, “It’s about galactic adventures of these characters, it’s pretty cool.”

“We were planning on watching it tonight, we always have movie nights at Steve’s on Friday. You should join us!” Dustin exclaims as he tries to shoot Steve a sly wink. 

Your eyes grow wide at the sudden invitation as Steve rests his head in his hands too embarrassed to speak. 

“Is that alright with you, Steve?” You ask kindly. 

Steve’s breath hitches as he hears you say his name, he slowly meets your gaze as he gives you a slight nod trying to avoid choking on air again.

Robin smirks at Steve as she hands you a post-it, “Here’s Steve’s address. Movie starts at 7 and bring as many snacks as you’d like!”

You grab the post-it and shoot everyone a small wave “I’ll see you guys then!”

Steve feels like he can finally breathe after he hears the soft slam of the door behind you. 

_

“I can’t believe you would do that, just invite a stranger to my home like that,” Steve groans as he fixes his hair, again, in the hallway mirror. He glances down at his polo debating if he should change his shirt for the fourth time. 

“Steve, she agreed to come while seeing you in a Family Video vest, I don’t think your outfit is what you should be worried about,” Jonathan teases him as he passes him a coke. 

Steve shoots him a sarcastic smile before checking his watch. It’s 7:02, you should’ve shown up 2 minutes ago and he’s a nervous wreck. He sees your headlights before anyone else does and trips over Will’s backpack as he waits to open the door on the very first knock. 

“Sorry I’m late, the petit fours took longer than expected.” You smile at him holding out a large container filled with small cakes. 

He gives you a confused look too embarrassed to ask what petit fours are, so instead he takes the container and waves you in. 

“What brings you to Hawkins?” Eddie asks.

“I actually came here for work, Hawkins laboratory needed another scientist to look at all the crazy stuff that’s happened here.”

Everyone basks in the uncomfortable silence as you mention the lab before Nancy speaks up, “You work as a scientist? You seem pretty young.”

You hesitate slightly, folding your hands in your lap, “I am young, but I graduated college at 16 and recently got my PhD and my advisor recommended me for this job, so here I am.”

Steve’s heart falls to his stomach, you were a genius, a child prodigy of some sort and you’ve accomplished so much at such a young age. There was no way you would even be slightly interested in him, but part of him was willing to take that risk - be okay with whatever you spared him because it was better than not having you in his life at all. 

The movie is ignored as everyone pays more attention to you and your genius-ness. He hears voices all at once but all he can focus on is yours. The way your laugh ends in a higher pitch than it starts in, the way you softly reassure Nancy that college isn’t hard, but his favorite is when you say his name when you ask for his opinion on the theories the kids present to you. It makes him feel important like you care about what he has to say and you value his thoughts just as much as you would anyone else’s. 

Steve might’ve only met you today, but he was already enamored. You might’ve knowingly opened the door only to Family Video, but you also unknowingly opened the door to his heart and started to fill every corner of it with you. 

_

Steve doesn’t think he’s read this much in his entire existence as he has this month.

The first thing he did the morning after movie night was go to the library and check out as many books as he could about everything that sounded smart. He’s inhaled almost every book on poetry (specifically Shakespeare), astrophysics and European history. You’ve come to every movie night since the first one and you try your best to visit Family Video after work just to chat with Steve and Robin. He was slowly falling in love with you and he wasn’t going to let his dumb brain be the reason he lost you. He forcefully read every book from cover to cover, prying his eyes open with the memory of your impressed smile anytime he fell asleep. He’s made countless flashcards and pesters Robin to quiz them during their shift. 

After two months of revising and memorizing he thinks he finally finds the courage to ask you out. You’re the last one to leave tonight, helping Steve clean up after everyone either left or claimed a spare room. 

Steve’s hands are clammy as he ties the trash bag into a pretty bow, “I was wondering if… I mean you don’t have to… but umm, like if you wanted to go out. With me, I mean.”

Your eyes trace his face as you clench the empty red vines wrapper, “You mean like a date?”

Steve nods, unsure of your reaction. Part of him hopes you’ll say no and put him out of his misery, so he can finally stop learning, but a bigger part of him hopes you’ll give him a chance. 

Your lips upturn in a shy smile as you fiddle your thumbs, “Yeah, I’d like that a lot. What did you have in mind?”

“How about next Friday, we ditch the losers and have our movie night? I’ll pick you up at 7 and we can catch a movie?”

You respond with a quick kiss on his cheek as you grab your purse and head out. Steve rests his head on the back of the door as he pumps his fist in the air and tries his hardest to not  wake Robin and Eddie with his cheering. 

_

You’re nervous as you pace in front of your door. Steve makes you nervous, but you don’t hate the feeling. You’ve never felt this way about a boy before, boys always had a competition with you, a majority of your dates ended up with the two of you trying to up each other with accomplishments, but with Steve everything is different. Even though the facts he tells are wrong, it was still endearing to watch him try. 

You’re broken out of your thoughts with a knock on your door. You smooth down your dress and look in the mirror once more before swinging the door open. Steve stands there in all his glory, hair perfectly done, snug jeans, and a bouquet of flowers covering his stupidly handsome face. 

“These are for you,” he pushes the bouquet towards you with a surprise force that you have to step back to avoid them pressing into your nose. 

“Thanks Steve, they’re beautiful.” You set them down gently at the nearby table mentally making a note to find a vase after you come back home. 

He opens his car door for you, waiting until you’re settled in before jogging back to his side. “There’s a French movie playing tonight, I think it’s about Marie - Annette, you know the queen who liked cake?” 

You giggle quietly but opt to ignore his mistake because he just looked too fucking cute with furrowed eyebrows and a nervous smile. 

“And after the movie I was thinking we can stop by somewhere for a late night snack?”

You nod excitedly eager to finally spend time with him far away from the eyes of your prying friends, “I didn’t know you knew French?”

“Uh, yeah.”

The movie was… boring and bland. Steve didn’t understand anything happening so instead spent the entire time admiring you, the furrow of your eyebrows, the tilt of your head, and the gentle bite of your lip. He remembered you mentioning to Robin that you were fluent in French, so thought a foreign film would be a good idea for a first date, but now he regrets his choice especially since you spent the drive to the diner asking him questions about the movie. Questions he didn’t know the answer to. Steve has charmed his way through life, but he wasn’t sure how much longer his charm would last with you, he had an inkling that sooner or later you would be able to see through his facade and you would see him as a disappointment.

_

You had a hunch that Steve was lying about knowing French and your hunch was confirmed when his shoulders tensed as the ticket guy told him the movie didn’t have English subtitles. He played it off with a laugh and a wave of his hand, but you could tell it made him nervous. You thought the movie was alright, but your favorite part was feeling Steve’s eyes on you. You try to be mindful when asking him questions, keeping them vague and more about opinions rather than asking him questions that have a right or wrong answer. He responds as vaguely as possible, gauging your reaction to see if you’re pleased with his answer or if he needs to backtrack and fix his opinion. 

Your conversation at the diner starts to get more personal as you ask each other about your likes and dislikes. You learn that Steve broke his arm learning to ride a bike, his favorite color is green, and he’s always wanted a dog. Everything you learn about Steve just makes you like him even more and the potential of falling in love with him makes you giddy with happiness. Your hands brush occasionally as you walk back to his car. He bites his lip hesitating to grab your hand as he peeks at you from the corner of his eye. You make the decision for the both of you and take a hold of his hand swinging both your arms as he blushes. 

“You’re really cute Steve Harrington,” you say as you force him to face you before gently pushing your lips to his. 

_

You spend every free time you have with Steve now. It’s been a month since your first date and since then you’ve gone out plenty of times and if you’re not physically together then you’re talking for hours on the phone. Steve’s able to open up to you more than he has to anyone else and it’s only been a few months of knowing you but he knows he’s in love, yet he can’t ask you to be his girlfriend. He does everything a boyfriend should do, calling you during breaks, kissing your bad days away, and hugging you just right when you’re on the verge of tears, but he still can’t find the courage to ask you to be his, officially. 

You express your concern to Nancy and Robin at an impromptu girls night, thrown together after a rough week for all of you. 

“I just don’t know why he won’t ask me, I always want to ask him myself before I see him, but then I lose my nerve. Maybe he doesn’t even like me like that and I’m just reading into things,” you whine as you smear a homemade face mask on Robin's face. 

“Trust me, Steve is a goner for you,” Nancy replies as she squints to make sure her brushes on the nail polish perfectly. 

“Nance is right, Steve is in love with you, but you just make him nervous.”

“I don’t understand why though, how do I make him nervous when he’s Steve Harrington,” you sigh dreamily. 

Nancy and Robin giggle as they see the childish frown on your face. You push your face into a pillow whining into it like a petulant child. 

Nancy rubs your back gently, “Look it’s not my place to say, but Steve isn’t the smartest tool academically. And you’re this child prodigy and that makes him nervous.”

Robin nods in agreement, “Yeah, you do know he spent months reading all sorts of books just to impress you right? He isn’t actually as smart as he pretends to be. He just memorizes a bunch of stuff the days leading up to your date.”

You huff in annoyance, “Yeah, I knew that on our first date when he took me to that French film. But I don’t love him because he can tell me facts about the mesozoic era. I love him because he’s him.”

Nancy and Robin share a knowing look.

“You love him?” Robin whispers.

“What?”

“You just said you love him,” Nancy clarifies.

You breathe in deeply before letting it out, the weight of what you said finally sinking in. “Yeah, I do. I really do.”

Both girls squeal as they pull you into a hug, face masks and nail polish quickly forgotten. 

You fall asleep that night knowing the next time you see Steve you’ll tell him. Tell him how much you love him and how he means to you.

_

Unfortunately for you and Steve, you aren’t able to spend any time alone lately. Work is crazy for the both of you and any time you have off it’s spent with the group. While you love spending time with your friends, you’re dying for a second alone with Steve. A second that only you both can cherish when you finally tell him how you feel. 

You’re hoping you can finally catch a moment alone with Steve at the summer bonfire by Lover’s Lake. Almost every young adult in Hawkins comes out of hiding for this annual bonfire, usually thrown by college kids as a final hurrah before summer break is officially over. You hung out with Nancy and Robin for a while and meet some new people, but you’re aren’t able to find the one person you want to see. You finally spot him parking his car and hurriedly shoving his family video vest in the trunk, but before you call out to him you’re blocked by a freckled boy wearing a smug smile. 

“Well if it isn’t the new genius of Hawkins,” the boy teases, voice filled with malice.

You smile politely, “I’m sorry you’re–”

“I’m Hagan. Tommy Hagan, surprised Steve hasn’t mentioned me considering we used to be the best of friends before he became a loser.”

You’ve heard about Tommy, mostly through passing from Nancy and Jonathan and based on Steve’s disgruntled face every time his name was mentioned, you decided Tommy Hagan wasn’t worth your time. 

“How can I help you?” You ask in a monotone voice to show how disinterested you are. 

Before Tommy can start you feel a pair of arms wrap around your waist and lips brush against the side of your head. You turn to see Steve’s grimace at Tommy before his eyes soften landing on you. 

“Hi hon,” he whispers gently, his left arm moving from caressing your hip to soothing the ache in your shoulder. 

“Hey baby.” For a second it’s just the two of you lost in each other’s eyes, you wonder if everyone else can see how lovesick you are for Steve. Before you can whisk him away for yourself Tommy interrupts again.

“Damn, Harrington. Didn’t think I’d see you go all soft again after what Wheeler did to you.”

You rolled your eyes at the mention of Nancy. It’s been years, both Steve and Nancy were over it, being happy for each other and supporting each other as friends. Yet everyone still brought it up because they had no other dirt on Steve. 

“Didn’t know you were home for the summer Tommy,” Steve replies ready to end the conversation with his former friend. 

At this point you see Jonathan and Eddie glancing from their spot near the fire. Both of them looking at Steve, silently asking him if he needed them. Steve shakes his head at them and squeezes your shoulder readying to lead you away. 

“Yeah, summer is the only time I have off now. Between college and my internship. It’s hard out there man, but you wouldn’t know that, would you?” Tommy smirks knowingly as he pushes Steve’s buttons. He knows college has always been a sore spot for Steve especially since he was still stuck working at Family Video. 

Steve grunts in response hoping his disinterest is enough to stray Tommy away from the both of you, but with Steve’s luck Tommy turns his attention to you. 

“Surprised he can keep up with a genius like you sweetheart.”

You wrinkled your nose in disgust, the term of endearment turning sour coming from a mouth other than Steve’s.

Tommy continues to go on, swaying from the few too many drinks he’s had. “Did he tell you he barely passed high school? His dad complained to mine about how much of a disappointment he turned out to be. Can’t even get a job at his dad’s firm with the brain he has.”

Steve loosens his grip around your shoulder, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. 

“You’re telling me your girl hasn’t caught on to the kind of screw up you are Harrington? You sure she’s a genius, or maybe you found someone that aligns with your IQ.”

At this point everyone is watching the words fly out of Tommy’s mouth, some snickering others shooting Steve looks of pity. Tommy Hagan is ripping him to shreds in front of everyone and yet all he can focus on is you. A look of disappointment mixed with frustration glazing over your otherwise sweet disposition. He sees his friends pushing their way through the crowd but before they could defend him he hears your honey like voice calling out for Tommy. 

“What university did you say you go to, Tommy?” you ask sweetly.

“Indiana University of Business,” he smirks behind his beer.

“And I’m assuming your daddy paid for it? Cause you sure as hell didn’t get into school by your merit, considering you spent most of high school with your head so far up people’s asses that you couldn’t get enough oxygen to your brain. Hence, why you and your stupid ass are still playing into high school politics at your grown ass age.”

The smugness on Tommy’s face disappears. 

“And what do you want to do with your future Tommy? Join daddy’s business? Turn out exactly like him? Cause last I heard he spends more time with his new family than he does with you. Maybe he finally got a child he actually loves.”

You knew it was a low blow, bringing up Tommy’s family issues, but you couldn’t care less. After everything he said to Steve, he had it coming and you only wish you were around in high school so you could’ve put him in his place earlier. 

You heard a low whistle from Eddie, “Well guess the shows over folks. And looks like we have a clear winner.”

People start clearing out going back to mind their own business and you grab Steve’s arm leading him far away from Tommy’s frozen stance. 

“Guess the secret’s out,” Steve mumbles.

“Huh?”

“Now you know I’m not really smart, so..” he trails off.

You smile, arms twisting around his waist pulling him close. “You know, I’ve met a lot of smart people in my life, but don't you dare, even for a second take Tommy’s words to heart. Because I know you, and I know that you’re the greatest person I’ve ever met.”

Steve pinches your chin, holding your gaze before whispering out a shy “yeah?” 

You hear the insecurity laced in his voice as you nod fervently. “I kinda figured you weren’t as smart as you let on from our first date, but I said yes because even though you aren’t a brainiac you have a heart of gold. I see the way you take care of the kids, how you take care of your friends. And I love how you take care of me. I love you and everything about you, Steve Harrington.”

Steve blushes, his cheeks turn a rosy hue as he grabs your waist pressing his lips to yours in a kiss so sweet you think you’ll get a toothache. 

“You really love me?”

“I really do.”

Steve presses another kiss before murmuring out an I love you against your lips.

Yeah, Steve Harrington is stupid. Stupidly in love with you. 

[deadsnothere]

Gunslinger Girl!

Synopsis - After getting a call from Garp, Alias made her way to the Baratie for a nice bite to eat and a long needed reunion.

Part 2

WARNINGS!! - READER HAS A NAME!!

Request - no, not taking them sorry.

Word count - 2.8k

Speak Ali! - Both parts together make 5,340 words, this Fic has literally taken up my brain.

Monkey D. Luffy.

Garp was a cheeky bastard.

I, Alias Foreman, Swore to be on Monkey D. Luffy's pirate crew when we both turned sixteen and fled to the sea together. I had a dream of becoming one of the most versatile people known to man. I want to learn as much as I can, to cook, to clean, to navigate boats and ships, anything you can teach me I will try my hardest to understand and learn. Now I'm not saying that I want to be the best at everything, there will always be people better. But I want to at least understand the basics of as much as possible. But for all of my life I've been known as a Gunslinger.

I'm ‘The Cheshire Cat’. Cool name with a stupid job. I hate being a Warlord of the Sea, it's the stupidest job on this side of the east blue, and they wouldn't even give me a proper crew. Just a few bumbling idiots who don't know what being a pirate really means.

Luffy always understood what being a pirate meant. I remember watching Garp train him day in and day out. Parts of me understand why Garp was so hard on him, I mean people say he takes after Gold Roger. Imagine your grandson taking after someone you helped execute. I don't think I'd be fond of it either. I’ve never thought Garp nor Luffy were wrong for what they want but, I think one knows what he's doing and the other doesn't.

-

It's always quite bothersome when halfway through my delicious dinner, I get interrupted by a soggy mean fishman running in here and trying to take my table for dinner. If he had waited a few minutes I would've gladly given it up, I just wanted to finish my meal. But the inpatient idiot just had to have it now.

“I'm afraid there are no more tables.” Arlong and two of his crew members were walking down the stairs of the Baratie. They’re bodies are still wet and leaving water as they walk, which is just plain disrespectful. “I see a bunch of tables.” I couldn't help but roll my eyes, to think I would have a peaceful dinner, just hopeful dreaming. People started to whisper and get up from their tables but I stayed in my seat, intending to finish the nice meal served to me. Plus it's not as if they got far, Arlong was yelling at them as soon as he got to the middle of the staircase. “Sit down!” he yelled in his degrading, chalkboard scratching voice. I continued to cut my steak in pieces to eat, they over cooked it a bit but a fine job was done anyways. Seasoned almost perfectly. A little too much oregano, but I'm just too picky with my food. Arlong went around as if he owned the place. “No one leaves.”

He looked at me with malice in his smile. “Except you.” His webbed hand went to grab the collar of my shirt but I stopped it with my own, barely even looking back. “I only have a bite or two left, I'll give it up when I'm done.” I took another drink from my wine and let go of his hand, continuing on with my meal. I could tell it pissed him off from the way he growled close to my ear. A stupid amount of spit landing on my dinner plate and shoulder. I shivered in disgust and stood up from my table. “You know what- take it.” I grabbed my plate and wine and stood up, leaving the small round table for the fishmen to sit at. I felt bad not eating the steak so I got a to-go box from the reservations desk and put it in there to give to someone later. Deciding that maybe i'll get a nice drink from the bar instead.

I was a wine kind of gal so I got a nice glass of Merlot, it was tasty. Had lots of flavor, some of which I enjoyed and some I didn't. I was enjoying the peace. I always knew it wouldn't last long but god was i sad when it was over. “Which one of you is Arlong?” Oh shit. I knew his voice anywhere, the voice I was sent for by his grandfather, the voice of a new age. I got a refill on my wine, and bought the whole bottle while I was at it, due to the lingering feeling that this wasn't going to look pretty.

When I got back into the restaurant I decided to just rest a little under the staircase, hidden by the shadows hopefully. Seeing Luffy again made me nervous. Something about it..something about how he’d be even a little bit different. When I assessed the situation in front of me it confused me a bit. I could hear that Arlong was yelling from the bar but he's an idiot so I tuned it out and tried to enjoy the bit of ‘quiet’ I had. Arlong has an older gentleman by his shirt collar, while Luffy was halfway down the main staircase. He had two men behind him, one named Usopp the other Sanji. I heard about them both, one from a customer here and the other, from a bartender. “So this is the pirate I've heard so much about.” Arlong was starting to circle around some of the tables, pacing I guess. “You know, I was expecting someone… bigger.”

Sounds like my cue. I came out of the shady area setting the wine glass and bottle on the table and grabbing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from a pocket in my shorts, picking the lucky one and placing it in my mouth delicately. “Tell me about it..I've had someone in my ear all day. ‘Find that dumbass.’ I have a headache at this point.” I laughed and leant on the chair. Luffy looks away from Arlong for a millisecond, to look at me but I don't think it registered in his brain. He couldn't have forgotten me. Luffy spoke, in his normal, nonchalant, Luffy way. “So was I.” I was puffing from my cigarette as I laughed. The snicker making smoke pour out of my nose. That got Luffy's attention. His head snapped to look at me, his eyes didn’t leave me, it looked like he was inspecting every part of my body. Probably looking for the one sign it was me. The small skull shaped scar just above my left knee. I wore shorts today just so he would see it.

His eyes were as wide as the plates they were using to serve that delicious soup I had for an appetizer. “ALIAS?!-” internally I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Externally, all I could do was smile. Luffy had a bright smile on his cheeks and I couldn't help but smile back. It was a smile I yearned for, for so long. I knew with even a bit of it, I was going to be addicted again.

I could see how excited luffy was that I was here (which made me VERY happy), but Arlong being himself did not like that attention wasn't on him for those few seconds so he cleared his throat obnoxiously. “Do you know who I am, boy?” Luffy's attention went to him but came right back when I spoke up. “Arlong the Saw.” There was a moment of silence, I taped the ash away from my cigarette into an empty glass off the table of people in front of me, and took another drag from it. “And just who are you-” - “I’m The Cheshire Cat.” I undid two of the buttons on my button up shirt with one hand, letting my collar fall back to show off the cat like scratches that laid on my collar bone (If those cats were lions that scratched almost all the way down my torso and arm). I did a stupid little bow. A few people reacted but I enjoyed the way Luffy looked so wowed. Arlongs eyes widened but they just went right back to a dumb smug smile. “You, Arlong, go for 20 million berrys.” I took another drag, exhaling calmly. “Which is impressive for the east blue but..Not so much other places.” He laughed from his chest, his friends going along with it. “What does the sell out have to say about it?” I sighed softly.

A part of me wished I was a sell out, instead of a kidnapped child forced to do the government's dirty work. The other part knew I would never do that, knew I would never betray my own crew like that. “Oh nothing honestly, I don't care about you.” I looked over to Luffy who still had a smile on his face. When we made eye contact he started to beam. I've only visited him once since I became a warlord, it makes me happy to see him so full of joy just from a moment of eye contact with me. “I'm here for him.” Luffy's hands started to shake, it was something small he always did around me. Blurted it out one day, said when I was excited sometimes I gave him a look, a glint in my eye that made him so happy his entire body shook. It was the sweetest thing he’d ever said to me. Arlong growled once again, leaving spit in someone's food. Those poor people.

He was circling the tables to get to me, circling around me slowly as if I was fish bait he was waiting to snap on. “Well I was here first.” I thought about correcting him, telling him that I was in fact here first. But Luffy interrupted the thought anyway. “How’d you find me anyway?” Luffy sounded completely confident in himself, Arlong just let out another horrid chuckle and made his way back to where he originally stood. “Old friend helped me track you down.” At first Luffy looked over to me, but I was drinking a sip of wine, just listening to what was happening in front of me. Arlong clicked his tongue and one of the other fish men grabbed the clown pirate's head out of a bag. “Heya, Straw hat. Did you miss me?” Luffy looked extremely confused, Sanji looked exhausted and Usopp looked terrified. “Burpy?” The name he called him almost made me spit out my wine from laughter (Which made Luffy happy, I could tell because he glanced at me. Even just for a second.) “What are you doing here?”

The fact that there was only a clown head confused and disturbed me, but I looked past it. “Believe me, it wasn't my first choice either.” He looked a bit nervous as he spoke. “But these fine fishy folk persuaded me to point them in the right direction, which ain't easy when you don't have any hands!” The joke made me raise my eyebrows and laugh a bit, it was funny i'll give him that. But Luffy still looked confused. “How’d you even know where to find me?” Suddenly the clown had the most serious expression I've ever seen him in. “I told you, I've got eyes and ears everywhere.” I noticed an ear start to climb out of the red band of Luffys hat. It was quite strange. The ear went back to the clown and popped right back in place, laughing. Luffy took the hat off his head inspecting it, while the two men behind him shared a look. “Stereo!” Luffy looked shocked. “You were listening all along? You heard everything?” The clown was quite happy. “Everything! and that old quick. 'Cause you shi-diots have no idea what you're doing.” The mashup word made me giggle a bit, it sounded so stupid, but it was kinda funny. (But luffy frowned a bit when he saw I laughed so i stopped as quick as i started).

The clown's head jumped towards the fishman with the huge lips. “Hey lips? How about a scratch behind the old ear, huh?” That made me roll my eyes, he was stupid enough to ask his captors that? The fishmen put him back in the bag. Buggy complaining about how sandy and wet it was.

“Listen here. I want my map.” It was so stupid. Watching them fight over the map to the entrance to the grand line, I understand why Luffy wanted it, but Arlong has a giant crew of thieves who could easily take it from another marine base. “Along with half of whatever you plunder as tribute.” Tribute? for getting a map, does he want tribute for his own existence now? “And if you bow down to me, I might even let you serve in my kingdom.” Stupid men. All of them were the same. Well not all, but most were extremely similar. “I don't bow down to any man.” Luffy stood tall, his head held up high as usual. That's my boy. “I'm no man.” Luffy continued. “Or fish.” That made Arlong growl and made me laugh. “And you’re no king.” There was a certain feeling in the air, the aggression that at any moment, one or the other would attack. Everyone was on high alert, my wine made that hard. It was just so delicate. Hard to enjoy in this environment but perfect in others.

“I will be, when I get my grand line map.” Luffy just smiled, which was a little bit attractive. “Then” He placed his hat back on his head. “You’re gonna have to fight me for it.” I take the attractive comment back, he's stupid. “Then let the fighting begin.” A bullet bounced off the fishmans skin. My hands almost drew closer to my own guns but instead I decided to pour another glass of wine. The old man that cooked my food was standing with a gun in his hand, the trigger pulled in his fingers clutches.

The thing about fishmen (I had learned the hard way) is that regular bullets don't affect them. I have very special bullets, made from some weird unmeltable ice, something about them coming from a town inside the grand line called drum town, from the deepest parts of frozen lakes. They're so sharp they even pierce fishman skin but don't go as deep as I would like.

Arlong turned to the old man, one of his crew members kicking him away and down before punching him into a pillar. Sanji called out his name and ran over, jumping on the table and kicking the fishman in the face. Which just pissed him off more. He got a few good kicks to the face and arms, even the legs but Luffy distracted him. “Really good fighter.” By the time he went to do a quite nice spinning kick to the face again, he caught his foot in his arm. I reached for both guns in my holsters, Checking that they had the correct bullets and shot multiple rounds from Alice, all of them making a trail up his arm and letting Sanji get away. The fishman looked back at me, anger and confusion in his eyes. “These bullets are made of ice, so sharp they even pierce fishman skin. I got them specially made.” There was a delicate smile on my lips, blowing the smoke out of my mouth and away from my guns. Normally i wouldn't touch these but i had a feeling about bringing them today, i'm glad i did. they may be expensive but Luffy was worth it anyways.

Everything was happening so quickly, Luffy's gum gum pistol, Arlong grabbing and pulling him closer. “Uh-” I could tell there was panic in his voice, but I couldn't tell if helping would really be helping at all. He was thrown at a pillar, landing on the floor with a thud. “Get up!” Arlong yelled, if i was him i would've stayed on the floor in spite, but he got up regardless. He kept stretching his arms three punches, one to each shoulder and one to the face. “Not bad for a human.”

I lifted my pistol to shoot Arlong but luffy put his hand up, his middle and ring finger were intertwined and the other three fingers touched. That was our sign when we were kids to stay out of it. It was our secret signal, not even Ace or Sabo or Dadan knew what it meant. I lowered my pistol, spinning it and putting it back in its holster. I grabbed the wine bottle taking a nice big gulp. Glad i’d gotten the entire bottle because this in fact, was not going to be pretty.

Part 2!!

[pastel-peach-writes]

CAITVI X YOU IN A BAND PLEASE OH MY LORD !!?? BONUS IF UR SINGING EITHER A LOVE SONG OR A SPICY ONE N THEY R JUST LOOKING AT EACHOTHER N THEN U ?!!!

Comin' up!

Hot Rocker | CaitVi x Reader

╰┈➤ PLOT: Caitlyn and Vi have a partner in a band and holy crap, they can't get enough of them.

╰┈➤ WARNINGS: Suggestive Themes, Lowkey The Dirtiest Thing I've Written As A PG-13 Writer, Musician/Singer Reader(separately and together), Mentions Of Overly Touchy Groupies

⍣ ೋ Enjoy!⍣ ೋ

– First off, Caitlyn and Vi absolutely love that you're in a band.

– They can't keep their eyes off of you every time you perform.

– They love how the lights compliment your complexion, and how your hair/body moves as you play and/or sing. Not to mention the cool ass outfits

– Vi loves you with multiple rings, ripped pants, and wild hair. Maybe even an open button-down. Basically, she loves the rocker masc look on you. She says its badass

– Caitlyn loves that look too, obviously. But she mainly loves the look on your face rather than the outfits.

– Yes, she's into fashion and loves what you wear, but when your face softens as you play a romantic ballad or how your face scrunched as you concentrate on your instrument

– speaking of instruments, if you play any handheld string instrument or the piano, Vi will never stop asking you what those hands do.

– it made your face heat up the first few times, but the later times, vi received eye-rolls, smiles, and sometimes a wink.

– even if you play the fucking drums, Vi would always ask because you often twirl the sticks between your fingers.

– If you're not much of a player, but more of a singer, Vi would ask why aren't you that vocal when she goes down on you.

– WELP.

– vocal or not during spicy times, she would always comment on it and Caitlyn will always flick her ear.

– okay, before we get into you singing a spicy song on them or furthermore on how they act while you perform, let's talk about them and your groupies.

– It's not like they don't love them! They do and they're your fans.

– If you like them, they love them

– but some of the groupies don't understand boundaries and/or talk about you in a certain way they don't like.

– it's not gross. it's the normal, "omg they're so hot!" "did you see how they acted during the finale? ohhh my god, I'm on my knees" "they could run me over with a bus and not only will i apologize for getting in the way, I'd say thank you.

– Okay, that last line makes Vi chuckle as she overhears it. Caitlyn is more concerned, but you say similar lines to her and Vi, so it's not like it was foreign behavior to her.

– anyways!

– they don't like when your groupies get handsy or visibly make you uncomfortable when you're all backstage.

– some of your fans/groupies are so wrapped up in your stardom, they forget you're human.

– God, don't let your bodyguards fail at their job.

– Vi is the first one screaming that the show's over, the guards aren't doing their fucking job, and some of your fans need to learn some respect.

– Caitltyn immediately apologizes for Vi's profanity, but not for her actions of shutting things down. She glares at the guards and some of the problematic fans while ushering everyone out

– she also looks at the kind fans apologetically and hopes they get home safe.

– OKAY FINALLY. SHOWTIME (literally)

– you don't sing or play your spicy songs until near the end of the concert.

– the mood is calmer, the fans are fully engrossed in the music. and the lighting is a perfect purple/red.

– usually, the spicy songs are covers, but the moment you show up performing a BRAND NEW UNRELEASED song about the two of them? ohhh god

– first off, cait and vi are blushing. it's intense and they're so flustered but since they're in the front row and surrounded by people, they have to keep it cool.

– the moment you mention the contrast of calloused and soft hands, they glance at each other like "is this fucking play about us?!"

– yeah, babes. it is.

– if you're a singer, you look at them as you sing. you don't stare at them all the time. (you can't let the fans know this song is explicitly ab them even though they have a good hunch)

– you're holding onto the mic stand, swaying your hips to the music with your eyes closed. but then when you talk about their kisses and maybe even how they act during the act, you look at them with a little smirk

– vi smirks back, but its very faint. she's thinking, "oh this little fucker. you're not going to get away with this"

– meanwhile, Caitlyn is freaking.

– she's not really open w her "adult" life like that and even though the details are vague and you're not saying her name, she can't help but get embarrassed

– now people know her dirtiest and deepest fantasies! (aka pretty lingerie and whispers smh. you'll be okay cait)

– if you're not much of a singer, but a music player, you watch them the entire time you play.

– you added some lyrics to the song, so when the line you wrote about them comes up, you make eye contact. A sneaky smile spreads across your face and your tongue pokes at your cheek

– if the song is more upbeat, think Chase Atlantic, you headbang to some of the music.

– if the song is slower, lana del ray type shit, you sway your music and chew on your lip

– whatever you do, Caitlyn and Vi love it

– they're weak at the knees, resisting the urge to jump on stage and kiss you until your lips turn purple

– god, they think you're such a tease but they love it.

– after the show Vi walks up to you like, "well, that was some song"

– and you're "innocently" like "oh, what song? can you remind me?"

– even Caitlyn's a little smug with a tensed jaw and her tongue running along her upper teeth. she crosses her arms, Vi mimics the stance, and she tilts her head to the side. in a low, sultry whisper she goes "you know what song."

– WHEWWWWW

– butterflies, shivers, ETC. EVERYTHING YOU COULD FEEL YOU'RE FEELING

– later that night at the hotel is interesting, but I'll leave that to your imagination.

WC: 1,000

[stxrrynxghts]

Re-watching Mahabharat (6/?)

Not Karna being scandalized by Dury's adharmi talks

Yudhishthira's room is so pretty, but where is the bed? Where will he sleep? On the sofa?

Dhritarashtra is continuing the Kuruvanshi pratha of uncles manipulating their nephews

Sahadeva's sahadeva sense is working up again~~~~~

Sahadeva's wig is so fckin UGLY. Like my boy deserves better.

How to manipulate Yudi: just say "tum to dharm ke gyaata ho" and move on

I think Yudi knows that he is being manipulated.

"Jis ke putra jeevan kaal me hi mar jate hain uske jeevan me bhi nark aur mrityu ke pashchat bhi nark." YES. And Yudhishthira will be experiencing that feeling in some 20-30 years.

Oh God. Dhritarashtra is that one uncle who convinces you to name your share of property in his sons' name, because you are well settled and don't need it anymore.

Not Arjun and Sahadeva sneaking up on these two XD

Arjun pulling UNO reverse on Dhritarashtra heheheeeeee

I see. Arjun is doing Krishna's job before Krishna enters the picture. Then he will be a dumbass innocent lil sweetie for the rest of his life

Subhadra is such a dumb cutie

FINALLY. A room with a bed. I can die in peace now.

If only the makers had paid some attention to this couple T_T

Arjun has begun his dumb ways. This is the Arjun we know and love.

Arjun is an expert in household chores. EXCELLENT.

Arjun is a simpleton, hence proved. See what you have done. Poor Subhadra is in tears because of you.

Subhadra, you sneaky lil brat. I pity Balarama so much. He has to deal with two drama queen siblings daily.

Le Subhadra: a trip with Arjun? YAYYYYYYYYY PAWWRTYYYY

Ngl, this is one of my fav episodes in this show. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Krishna enters in this one.

No Kunti, there is no dharm in Dury's heart.

So....Kalyavan is a white male, going with the description?......

Arjun is having a laugh at Subhadra's expense, XD

oh GAWD. I am not prepared for this.

I can't believe that I will be simping over both Arjun and Krishna at the same time.

Arjun's earrings are so low quality. I swear I have seen so many like those for 50 Rs in Sarojini.

Arjun: tum swasth ho? Sweetie, I don't think she is fit or fine ATM.

Krishna has done a PhD in separating the water by putting his foot in it.

WHAT A GLORIOUS ENTRANCE. I am at a loss of words.

Not Krishna posing like a cool guy (as if he isn't jumping inside at the thought of meeting his mortal bestie for the first time.)

Arjun being awed by Krishna is their entire friendship summarized.

I didn't know that I needed to see Arjun with wet hair this badly.

That scene where baby Krishna collides with adult Krishna >>>>

Srsly, I feel so bad for him. Cons of being a God.

Honestly, Krishna's life has so many lessons to learn from. He knew how his loved ones would die, he had to abandon the people he loved, and yet he remained happy and loving through out all of this. He is seriously such a sweet and lovely God.

"Jagat me sabse sundar, Kaun Madhav?" "Mai Parth, aur kaun?" HAYYEEEEEEEEE

Arjun, that is THEEEE Rukmini's love letter you are laughing at :<<

Krishna broke the 4th wall, didn't he?

"Aur mai Madhav?" YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO BOI

Yo Brihannala is such a cute shawty-

It seems as if Mahodaya has some questions about Brihannala's identity.

Krishna: I warned you don't blame me !!!!

Krishna sneakily taking aashirwaad from Rukmi for the first and last time in his life hehehe

How come Rukmi has no questions about KRISHNA touching the prasad? Only the bride and groom can touch it, no?

Damn Rukmi. You are such a fool.

Rukmini is so pretty *Sobs*

Arjun is going through severe existential crisis haha

YAASSSS KRISHNA SHAVE RUKMI'S HEAD-

what a joyride.

[writingintheshadowsforever]

Namor Imagine Series Part 4

Your first day in Talokan could've went better. Namor revealed that you would be staying in the underwater cave. Where he initially kept Shuri and Riri prisoner, but the cave had been changed around to make it more homey. He wanted to ease into this new lifestyle and knew asking you to be in the underwater city capital would be too much. So for now you would call the cave system home which wasn't too bad.

It was when he was giving you a tour of the cave system showing you. Where his main space was located things took a turn for the worst. One of the generals walked into the room with a spear in hand. It was the woman you recognized as Namora. She took one look at you and spoke in their mother tongue to Namor.

He gestured for you to wait by the wall with the painting of his history on it. While he went off to the side to talk to his general. Without access to your kimoyo beads or Groi. There was no way for you to understand what their were saying. But the tones of their voices gave the topic of the conservation away. Namora sounded frustrated and would shoot you a menacing look every now and then. Namor sounded like he was doing his best to keep his cool, but you could see the muscles in his back tensing up. He was starting to lose his patience with her. The intense discussion went on for about five minutes before Namor finally snapped.

"She is your queen now you will give her the same respect. You give me" he roared angrily.

You flinched at the not only the volume of his voice, but the emotional intensity of his words as well. The only time you ever heard him sound so angry was when he invaded Wakanda, and while Namora was able to keep a straight face. You could see the hurt in her eyes. She felt betrayed.

Her beloved king who she has served for God knows how long just brought an outsider into her home. A man she trusted with her life just choose you. A woman of another nation that was just their enemy a few days ago over her. You made your way over to them placing a hand on Namor's shoulder.

"Namor can we talk for a quick second?" You asked him.

Namor didn't even bother to acknowledge you his eyes boring into his general's. As he waited for her to look away and back down. You could see Namora know had balled her hands into fists, and was doing her best not to tremble. This wasn't going to end well.

So you tried another tactic hoping it would work. You moved your body between them, and took his face in your hands with a firm grip. "My love I need to speak to you alone." It wasn't a request this time. Maybe it was the fact you used the same name of endearment that he used for you, or maybe it was the sharpness of your voice. Either way this time you got his attention as his eyes glanced down to meet yours. "Send her away please."

Namor gave her a quick command without hesitation. Namora turned and stalked out of the cave. The second she was gone you pulled away from him. "What was that?"

"I will not allow her or anyone else to disrespect you" Namor said. In his eyes did nothing wrong, but in yours he had done everything wrong.

"Namor you might be able to prance around Talokan with me on your hip, and declare that I'm the queen of your people. Without the civilians or the children putting up a fight or questioning things. But your army is a whole other story. There very job is to cautious of outsiders like me especially considering. They helped you lead an attack on my people just a few days ago. It's going to take time for me to win them over." You explained to him.

Namor took in every single one of your words, and gave you a nod. "Then what shall I do?

"Just let it happen naturally like this marriage remember. How you said we can learn to love each other."

"Yes."

"Well Namora and the others will learn to trust me you just have to give it time. I want this to work Namor and be as real as possible."

"I want the same thing" He said.

"Good so you're okay with holding off on the actual marriage part for now?" You asked with a raised eyebrow.

Namor frowned as the gears in his head started turning. "Are you trying to back out?" His voice got dangerously low.

You held eye contact with him not missing a beat when you answered. "No I wouldn't be here if I was going to do that. I will stay here and get to know you, your people, your way of life, and one day I will love Talokan as much as I love Wakanda. One day I will be willing to lay down my life for this place, and that will be the day we marry. I know you just wanted an alliance between our two nations, but you said it could be more. I want that Namor don't you."

Namor regarded you for a few seconds not giving away anything, and honestly he had you worried for a second. That he was going to laugh in your face and set the date of marriage for tomorrow. But then he let out a soft sigh. "It might take power to earn a throne, but the trust of your people is required to rule a nation."

"Is that your way of saying yes" You replied.

"Yes my queen I will give this time" He confirmed.

"Good thing I'm going to need you to do something for me then. While I'm down here earning the trust and love of your people."

His eyebrows furrowed in question as to what else you could want, but nevertheless Namor gestured for you to continue.

You knew he wasn't going to like what you were about to say, but you had to try at least. Your peace of mind depended on it.

"I need you to make peace with my mother."

[pinkacademic]

Crunch Time Exam Prep

My girl @seliniteheart requested: “How to prepare for exams 3-4 weeks ahead while not going insane because they're the hardest exams in the entire major” and this seems time-sensitive, so I gotchu girly! I hope I got this to you in time!!

Scheduling

Break your time up effectively so that you can get as much information crammed into your brain as possible

Break it down also so thay you repeat the information on a good interval. Maybe, if there’s three weeks to go, repeat question x every monday and info y every tuesday, and do a practise paper every friday?

If applicable, figure out what’s most likely to be on the exam and focus on that

Focus also on your weak points. Don’t waste energy on the things you know and are good at, give them a go over but focus on the stuff you don’t like

Schedule productive breaks- if you’ve been elbows down on your desk for a bit and want to keep the study energy up but need a break, take a break for some kinaesthetic learning, for example.

Take 0% breaks- in other words, take some breaks to do absolutely nothing, where even thinking about the exam is BANNED. Life-Hack- inform other people of this strategy so that you don’t get your mum coming into your room like “how’s the studying going?” when you’re mid-meditation, or to be watching your comfort YouTuber when your bestie is like “girl, I’m so stressed for this exam on Monday!” This time is for 0 brain power, no stress.

Sorry to the girlies who also have to consider jobs and other priorities, but see if you can work with your employers, the aunt you babysit for etc to reduce your time, or if you can blend your studies. Eg maybe you’re studying for a maths exam, which means helping your little cousin with maths homework keeps you in the right mindset to study for an hour when you get home. Or maybe your retail job is cool and lets you study in the breakroom, or even take your textbook to the till when its quiet.

If your bosses aren’t cool, unfortunately, you just have to make the most of spare time, but as long as you’re maximising your study time to work for you, you can do this!

Breaks

As mentioned above, schedule in breaks that keep the vibes up, and breaks that turn your brain OFF completely. Set yourself school hours eg 9-3 or even 9-5. Doesn’t matter, just pick a time in the evening when that’s it OVER and no more studying.

Make sure to go for water regularly, and eat at regular times- and DO NOT take your notes with you!

Taking Care of Yourself

Make your study experience as painless as possible by giving yourself a good environment. If you like the library, sequester yourself into a cozy corner; if you like a café, same deal. If you’re at home, make sure to keep your space tidy and organised.

I’m gonna mention going to get water again. Go get some right now, actually. Where I live, the hottest days of the year are exam season and back-to-school season. Christmas exams are a whole separate nightmare but you’ll still sweat through your fifteen million layers! Go hydrate!

If you’re hunched over your desk, you need to stretch. Find YouTube video you like, especcially if you’re not that familir with stretching. And go for a walk at least once a day, weather permitting.

If you’re a kinaesthetic learner especially, do a proper cooldown after exercising! That’s true anyway, but especially if you’re adding your brain as a muscle to train.

Actually, maybe we should all be doing warm-ups and cool downs… go over your favourite aspects of your subject in a quick five minutes at the start and end of your sessions!

The Actual Studying

Aka, the hard bit. Its so much mor fun to just organise your space, gather all your pens, and set up your instagramable study session, avoiding the actual “study” bit- God knows that’s me. How you actually study is so different person to person and subject to subject, so I’m going to give tips that are hopefully applicable to a lot of people, but may not all work for everyone!

Cater to your own preferences: I sometimes listen to classical music when I study, I sometimes listen to numetal, so what makes sense to you.

If you need to, block out all distractions: do not disturb on your phone, even turn off your wifi if you can.

If you’re like me and need distractions eg adhd: try pacing to shed any excess energy, listen to loud music (lol like my numetal ha), if possible, listen to your notes aloud while doing something else (I used to play solitaire in class). I find that if you have something else that you can focus on such as a pretty menial/repetitive game like solitaire, or a song with lyrics, your brain gives more energy to that so that instead of a hundred million thoughts distracting you, its only one extra thing.

Read your notes aloud to yourself and walk around your room- hit all three learning styles at once

Write and re-write things, condense it down, do past papers, and just keep repeating the same information until you’re sleep-talk in just the quadratic formula and/or you’re even dreaming in French.

Ok, that’s it for now. I hope that helped selineiteheart, and I hope it was useful to anyone else who needs this! There are a tonne of resources out there, and I’m sure you’ll find what works for you- lmk what you want to see next! Also, I hope you do well in your exams! Good luck, I’m sure you’ve got this!!

[zabala0z]

I NEED TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR OPTIONS OF MUSICALS RN RN RN

IM GONNA ASSUME YOU MEANT OPINIONS SO LEMME LIST ALL MUSICALS IM AWARE OF AND MY OPINIONS.

Warning: rant ahead

Be More Chill: currently what I’m obsessed with at the moment. I get why people don’t like it but it’s just very charming to me okay 😭 I just think the characters are fun, the concept is interesting and the songs are just bangers. And maybe I slightly relate to it okay. The costumes are…questionable. But I think it’s super colorful which I love. My dream role is Christine. She is literally me.

Beetlejuice: this is what me and my oldest sister bonded over when she was always hiding in her room cause she was so introverted. We used to watch the animatics and we would sing “say my name”. So I only have good memories! We even planned to see it on Broadway except COVID happened abd it closed so :( but I love Beetlejuice and the songs!

Into The Woods: THIS IS WHAT GOT ME INTO MUSICALS. I remember I would rewatch the 2014 version constantly and sing the songs. Little red riding hood is my fav and always will be and “Your Fault” is just *chefs kiss* yes.

Sound of Music: I performed in this in 3rd grade at my older sisters high school. Now this was fun. I didn’t really get the concept of nazis so I was just like “why is Leisels boyfriend now evil :(“ so uh yeah- but really good musical!!

Hairspray: the songs are a bop and seaweed was my favorite.

Heathers: I’ve never watched the original movie but I have seen clips. Songs are great!! I always liked the costumes, even if they are stagnant throughout the whole show. My friend got into it so now I’m getting back into it. I remember I loved the animatics, even though I didn’t know what was going on half the time.

Dear Evan Hansen: ….okay. I remember I was super into the animatics. But then I learned the plot and was like: 😨 so

Hamilton: my oldest sister was super into it and I remember 6 year old me asked her “so what’s it about?” While we were driving to nyc and got a very long summary. I also used to watch many animatics and szinn was my fav. I do actually like it. I think it’s a bold concept that somehow worked and LMM did a great job at utilizing RAP and THE FOUNDING FATHERS.

Wicked: so I actually saw this on Broadway when I was 6 and I completely forgot everything. But I do remember when Glinda came down in those bubbles and I thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Theory Of Relativity: a modern musical that my school actually did a production of. Super fun! It’s a song cycle which I’m not super into but I liked the songs.

The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals: not Broadway but god DID I LOVE THIS. The characters are super interesting, I love the idea of a musical apocalypse. The fact every song was a “villain song” was so cool and the jokes killed me.

Nerdy Prudes Must Die: I love a good ol underdogs rise up story. Until the underdogs commit a felony <3 i feel like there would be no songs I would skip except “dirty girl” just cause…yeah. But I absolutely loved the characters! I thought Ruth and Richie deserved better. Grace is crazy but girl really was all, “It was an act of god!! 😇” NO IT WASNT.

Anyways. That’s everything. I love musicals. I think they’re very nice and I seriously wanna act in more

[raviposting]

Nate is really one of the most interesting characters to me, because his character begs the question: what happens when your life gets better but you’re still not happy? 

Because we see how Nate is in the beginning. We root for him and we love the attention that he gets and how he gets his time to shine. Ted’s methods clearly work for a lot of the characters, it has its merit, and Nate (at first) is no exception. He’s promoted to being a coach, he’s getting attention, the team is also improving so they’re being kinder and everything is better now, right? 

Except in season 2 (and 3!) we see the cracks - in Nate, but for all the coaches, really, because ironically the coaches who are mentoring the players and telling them to believe are also the ones we see struggling with that mentality the most. Beard’s one of Ted’s strongest supporters, his right-hand man, but we see in Beard’s episode how deep his depression and self-hatred run. Roy isn’t exactly screaming Ted’s methods from the rooftops, but we see how he slowly accepts it and appreciates it, and how it does help him - but he struggles with finding his purpose and feeling wanted and needed, and it shines in quitting things early and never getting proper closure in things he really loved, with him constantly wondering if he ever really made the best choice (his team, his job, his relationship with Keeley). Ted struggles to express these negative emotions and it spirals quickly, especially in season 2. 

And Nate? Nate watches as his life objectively gets better, but struggles because his anger and resentment don’t go away. He gets the attention from Ted but (even though it’s not the intention!) feels as if Ted drops him the second things improve. He gets a better job but his father will never say he’s proud. He tries to exude confidence but Jade (who’s most likely seen him for a while since it’s his favorite restaurant) immediately sees through through his persona and Doesn’t Care and Nate is so thrown off by it. He keeps looking for that validation through other people and we see that clear frustration because everything is better on paper so then why are the bad feelings still there? With every win, with every improvement, he gets angrier and more frustrated and then it spirals into him leaving for West Ham and Rupert. With Rupert, Nate leans in on hey, nobody loved me at my lowest and nobody loved me at my best, so maybe I’ll try being my worst. 

And god, I LOVE that even though fans thought he’d fail and that this would humble him into a redemption, he hasn’t. He tries to go with Rupert and get that validation from him and we see how much he struggles with that, because now he’s leaning in at what Rupert wants and we see how much he hates that, but Nate’s also at a point where Rupert’s attention is clearly conditional, he’s still not getting that fatherly validation, and he knows that and that’s where we see him finally start to come into his true self. Jade finally softens because she sees Nate holding strong to his opinion on Taste of Athens and admitting he’s putting on an act, he’s being honest and himself for the first time in those scenes. He tries to cultivate a relationship with the other employees and even if the Diamond Dogs ripoff didn’t work? They still invited him to drinks this episode! He sees Rupert for who he is and he goes back to Jade, and he wants so, so much to apologize to Ted for everything. 

Nate’s moved from a positive environment to this conditional one and the narrative could have easily went “Nate has crashed and burned and now realizes what he messed up” but instead it allowed Nate to figure out who he is and who he wants to be, by himself. He’s still growing and learning, of course, but he’s well on his way, and I think it’s just such a cool way to show that what’s helpful for some people can be incredibly detrimental for others if it doesn’t target what they need and that there’s so many avenues for a person to grow and improve themselves. 

[pancake-kat]

Ninjago(Dragons rising included) headcanons

•Lloyd has an intense fear of snakes, like he and Arin were gardening around the monastery once and Lloyd started screaming and freaking out over a random orange garden snake

•Sora and Nya love to spar

•Zane is normally ice cold to the touch, not just because of his elemental power but also because he needs to keep his system cool

•PIXAL watches anime, her favorite one is sailor moon.

•nya, pixal, And skylor have girls nights. After crystallized when harumi got redeemed she joined in.

•Jay seems like the guy to have multiple hatsune miku figurines in his room in the monastery. When Lloyd was still physically a kid, he would play with them like action figures(he still does it after the merge since there’s no Jay to stop him)

•Cole is an excellent baker, but if you try to get him cooking… he’s trying tho!

•Jay exclusively listens to frank Sinatra and vocaloid.

•Lloyds been bleaching his hair since he was 9(close to when we first meet him in the show) and now can’t stop since it’s part of his look. The monastery bathroom is very messy because of it.

•Arin and Zane cook together and have cook-offs, and Sora watches and judges which one prepared a meal the best.

•Kai rocks in his seat or standing when he was nothing to do or is waiting for something.

•Cole is afraid of thunderstorms, but not of Jay’s lightning.

•Nya is unsurprisingly buff

•(projecting, but-) Cole is part Arab from Lilly’s side, and Lilly is Egyptian, he knows the language to an extent.

•on that note, Kai and Nya are spanish and can speak it very fluently, which they use to talk to eachother in secret.

•Jay sometimes shocks people by accident due to his element

•when Zane is angry, he’s angry. He will lash out and ice spikes will shoot out of the ground. Everything’s gonna get way more cold. He’s accidentally almost hurt more people than he’d like to admit.

•Kai is just…invincible to fire. He can and will just sit in fire.

•Kai also has an average temperature of like 112° Farenheit or 44° Celsius.

•I like the idea of one of the DR ninja checking on Kai when he has like a fever or something and are absolutely appalled when they see that this man has a fever temp of 128° F.

•Cole is very durable. he has been recorded breaking 3 pieces of wood by having them smacked on his head. No one is sure if its just the rocks in his elemental power letting him do this or just Cole being Cole.

•MiniPix7 loves circling around and playing with Riyu. She doesn’t have to Pixal to hang with or make big projects with after the merge, so she spends her time either keeping Lloyd company, tinkering with other minipixes, or playing with Riyu.

•Garmadon is somewhere in the world right now with Vinny going on adventures and having bonding experiences.

•Jay tried to learn Spanish so he could suprise Nya at their wedding reception by speaking it fluently. He now hears a lot of weird conversations between the two siblings.

•sometimes Kai fantasies about what it would’ve been like if his parents never got taken. Maybe he would’ve excelled in his Element with Ray’s help. Maybe he could’ve had mother-son bonding time with Maya. Maybe he wouldn’t have had to juggle 2 jobs and a 10 year old at the age of 12. It’s useless, he knows. You can’t take back what has already happened. but it helps him.

•when oni garmadon was taken back into the living world, his good dragon part stayed in the departed realm, so now there’s a random dragon running around the departed realm with half of god’s power and desperately trying to go back to the living world for his kid and to reconnect himself.

•Wu knew about this dragon counterpart before he died in the merge.

•Lloyd will never admit it, but he loves fnaf. Like an unhealthy amount.

[xo-lesserafim]

FALLING FOR YOUR SMILE AND EYES

EPISODE 5. TBH

authors note: Enjoy episode 5! And if you want reas my new oneshot/ fanific, “the eventful night.” Anyway enjoy!

Bold: Korean.

Italics: Over the phone.

Both: Korean and over the phone.

Back to masterlist.

Yesterday, I helped Kitty move in, but thank God she didn’t have a lot of stuff.

As I went to the bathroom to do my skincare, a someone had beat me there.

“Get out, I need to do my skincare.” I said.

“No, go to another bathroom puppy.” Min ho said.

“Um, yea, no thanks boo.”

“Whatever, anyway I finished.” He said.

“Bye boo.” I said.

On the way there I was talking and waking with Kitty and Q.

“Don’t worry, okay?” Q said.

“I’m sure you and Dae will figure out how to be cohabiting exes.”

“Or not.” Kitty said.

“But let just stop talking about Dae.”

“But kitty, weren’t you the one who brought him?” I said.

“Whatever.”

“But look.” Kitty says, shoeing something on her phone.

“It says, “We do not release information about private adoptions.”

“Which is at this point, the only thing I can read in Korean, but at least I got Andrea.”

“Ugh, can we stop this Alex thing.” Q said.

“Go back to talking about you and Dae.”

“It’s not an Alex thing.” Kitty said.

“I know in my gut that Alex is our brother.”

“Okay,” Q said.

“Or we think, at least.” I said.

“But maybe you should talk to your guys for-sure siblings about this.” Q said.

“Yea, we want to, but we can’t.” I said.

“Not yet, Alexa needs to know first,” Kitty said.

“Also, there’s chance that we are not right.” I said.

“Just ask him. Rip the band-aid off.” Q said.

“Most of the school will be gone for Chuseok, anyway so this is the perfect weekeend to corner him.” Q said.

“Sure, and say what exactly?” Kitty asked.

“You’ll figure it out. Q said.

“And, we’re late.”

“RUN!” I said.

“Chuseok is the Korean Celebration of the good harvest.” Principal Lim said.

“And as a time to thank our ancestors for bringing us prosperity,” She says as Kitty and I walk in.

“and to pay respect for those we have lost.”

“We do that, by going home. It is a very special holiday in our house, because family is the most precious thing in the world.”

And we don’t take it for granted.”

“Enjoy your break, everyone, have a great Chuseok.” She finishes.

“Thank you.” Everyone says.

“Kitty, it’s actually like Thanksgiving in America.” I said.

“Yea, minus the genocide.” Yuri says.

“You go home, eat your ass off, and argue with your relatives.”

“We don’t have any relatives here.” Kitty said.

“Maybe you guys should use the time to study.” Professor Lee said.

“We have been studying.” Kitty says.

“Really?” He asked, showing that Kitty got F and got an A.

“Your aggressive perkinesses may have charmed the American teachers into giving you good grades, but here, you’ll need to put in more work.” Professor alee says.

“And Andrea, nice job.”

“Uh, thank you?” I say.

“How did you even get an A?” Kitty asked as we go to our next class.”

“I dont know, hard work?” I say.

“Eyes on the road, Kitty and Andrea!” Professor alee says.

“Happy Chuseok! Chuseok?”

“Chuseok.” I say.

“Yea that, how’s it going.”

“Bad,” “Good,” We say at the same time.

“Bad, bad, and bad.” Kitty say.

“I failed my Lit test.”

“I have never gotten an A- in my entire life.”

“I’ve failed at many things in my life.” he says.

“I’ve failed my drivers test, i failed a philosophy test, i failed a drug test.”

“Just kidsing.”

“Failing is apart of learning.”

“You’re gonna be okay.”

“Thanks, do you have anyone plans for Chuseok?” Kitty asked.

“No, no family in Seoul.” He says.

“Yea, us too.” I say.

“We should have dinner!” I say.

“I mean, you should come to the dinner, that we are planning on campus.,” I say.

“For uhh, expats, yea expats.” Kitty says giving me a confused look.

“Like a Friendsgiving.” We say.

“Oh, sweet I’ll for sure be there.” A dude says.

“He’s gonna be there. Cool!” I say.

“Kitty you may have failed this, but you guys just aced being good people.” Professor Finnerty says.

“Thinking of others who have nowhere to go, cooking a massive feast..”

“Cooking.” Kitty says.

“Okay,” I said.

TIME SKIP : AFTER SCHOOL

As we went to the grocery store shopping, “Ugh there’s more than one type of soy sauce.” Kitty says.

“What’s a good brand Andrea, I mean you did the cooking.”

“I like this one, I say picking the most popular one I know.

“You’re seriously everywhere.” Min ho says.

“You guys like my every own sasaeng.”

“Uh, what’s a sasaeng?” Kitty asked.

“It means that we’re like his very own obsessed fan or fans I should say.” I told Kitty.

“What are even doing in a grocery store, Min ho?” I asked.

“Shouldn’t you been on a yacht being rich snd annoying?”

“Hm, my dad is doing that with wife #3 with her new fillers.” Min ho says.

“I have decided to stay here as a favor to all the women who want me piece of me for Chuseok.”

“So.. why are you here?”I ask.

“Whatever Puppy.”

“Strawberries and Chocolate? I’m going to be sick.” I say.

“I’m sure Lulu will appreciate this.” He says.

“Who’s Lulu? Another one of your Min-hoes?” I say.

“Cute. She’s only the fastest rising pop in the country.” He says showing us a picture of her.

“Huh?” We say.

“We’ve been flirting since her trainee days.” She’s on break from tour for the holidays.”

“Even K-pop stops for Chuseok.”

“Okay..” Kitty says.

“Do you even know what to do with this?” Min ho asks taking something out of the cart.

“Hey, I am admittedly entering a new territory, but with the help of TikTok, Andrea, and a positive attitude, I’ll manage just fine,” Kitty says.

“Plus, I’m doing most of the cooking.” I say.

“I got cooking lessons when I took Korean lessons, when I was younger .”

“Plus, if I don’t know what I’m doing, I’ve won awards for my mashed potatoes.” Kitty says as she moves the cart.

“No,no, no. As a Korean national, I cannot in good conscience let you guys desecrate my native cuisine like this.” Min ho says.

“Hey what?” Kitty and I say as Min ho takes the cart.

“Do you want to poison your classmates, or do you want my help?” He asked.

“Fine, but I’m making my kimchi.” I say.

“And I still making my mashed potatoes.” Kitty said.

“I have an entire system.” Kitty says as Min ho scoffs.

“Don’t mess it up!”

“Just follow me.” Min ho says.

I woke up early to start cooking, when I notice Min ho was already cooking.

“You’re are angelic in the morning.” He says.

“Thanks, I know I look good.” I say.

“Where’s Kitty?” He asked

“Still sleeping.” I say.

“Why are you up this early?”

“To finish my kimchi I made yesterday?” I said.

“Oh okay.” He said.

“Who’s this from?” I say looking at baskets of gifts.

“My mother, gifts are my love language.”

“Make sense.”

“Mm-hm.”

“No way, you have Peppero?” I say almost touching it.

“She sent it from Los Angelos since she couldn’t be here .” He said slapping my hand.

“We usually spend Chuseok together.”

“That sucks, does that mean she’ll be alone?” I ask as I started to finish my kimchi from yesterday.

“No, John Cho is having a thing.” He replied back.

“Oh,’Lulu about time.”

“Dont touch anything! Got a method.”

“Okay, boss baby.” I say.

“Y’know, you are the last person that I would have expect to know how to cook.” I say.

“Or do anything remotely helpful, y’know.”

“There are these teeny tiny microscopic moments like these why I can see why Dae is friends with you. There’s an actual person in here.” I say.

“Don’t try to get me on your good side, I’m famously anti- kitty and anti-Andrea.” Min ho said.

“Wah, I’m going to cry my head off .” I say sarcastically.

“And , no matter how hard Dae tries to sway me.”

“Well, have you heard from him today? Is he okay?” I ask.

“Chuseok, family, and ancestor stuff.”

“No, I haven’t. It’s definitely a difficult holiday for him.” Min ho said.

“Yeah,” I say.

“And, you?” He asked.

“Me, huh and what?” I say back.

“You must be thinking about your mom too. A lot thus week.” He says.

“Yeah, I am. But in a good way. I can feel her all around me, plus she was the reason I came here.”

“Thank you Min ho.” I said smiling

“You’re welcome.” He said back.

“Okay, I mean I feel bad for Kitty and all, but why does Dae matter? He is just a boy.” I say.

“Excuse me?” Min ho said.

“I just wished they could make up or something.”

“They could give each others gift, I mean also pass me the gochugaru.” He says.

As I finished making my kimchi, Min ho was texting his phone.

“ Confirmed, Lulu will be at the premises at 8 pm.” Min ho says.

“I’m sure she will greatly enjoy the chocolates” I say.

“The chocolates was actually for someone else.” He says.

“Hey, don’t judge.” He says. ���Not all people needed to be star-crossed lover to be compatible.”

“Like, hot people for example.”

“So not you?” I asked.

“Whatever.”

“But we can and want to play the field.” Minho said.

“That’s because you haven’t found your perfect match.” I say.

“I’ve found many, many matches.”

“I’m just saying, I’ve seen the magic when people find the one.” I say.

“Mm-hm.” He says.

“It’s true!” I say.

“My parents both thought they found the one. They were the “IT” couple. “Beautiful, young starlet. “Chaebol heir.”

“Their tabloids literally called them the perfect match.” Look at them know.”

“I’m sorry.” I say.

“Here, try. some of this, maybe it’ll make you feel better.”

“Mm.” He says.

“It must be weird having people know all about your family.” I say.

“They think they know, but don’t really.” That’s my point.”

“There’s really only one thing that matters at the end of the day.”

“And that is?” I say.

“The truth.” He replied.

“Yeah, you’re right.” I say.

“Finally some appreciation.” He says.

“Hey! Be grateful I’m like this right now.” I say.

“Good morning Andrea! And Min ho?” Kitty says.

“Omg! Peppero.”

“Kitty, don’t touch it. Min ho wouldn’t let anyone touch it.” I say.

TIME SKIP: CHINGUSEOK

After the toast and what not, I decided to get some fresh air.

“Kitty, I’m going to get fresh air.”

“All right stay safe.”

As I was outside, I was just walking around as I bumped into a lady.

“Oh my gosh I’m sorry.” I say.

“It’s fine dear. I’m Jenny Song. I’m looking for Andrea Song Covey. She my cousin. Her visual would be perfect for my modeling company!” Jenny said.

“My name is Andrea Song Covey.. and I’m willing to maybe join. I don’t know.” I say.

“ That fine, here.” She said giving me a card.

“Give me a call or text if you need anything.”

“Will do, thanks.”

As I was walking back , someone called for me.

“ANDREA!” Min ho said.

“What the hell did Kitty put in those potatoes ?” He asker.

“Uhh, a lot of lactose. Like Milk and cheese..”

“Awh, Poopy Baby, looks here cute here.” I said sarcastically.

“Shut up.” He said.

“That’s Lulu. You have to get rid of her. She can’t see me like this. If her fans find out. I’m done for. ”

“And what will I get in return?” I ask

“Just do it, you owe me remember Covey.”

“Whatever.” I said walking up to the car.

“Minny! I’m here!” Lulu said.

“Uhh, who are you?” I asked.

“Min ho’s date. Why?” She asked.

“Oh, your his date? Well, actually He was my date tho.”

“I mean we’ve been flirting since I was in highschool.”

“That jerk double-booked me.”

“Well, I mean you think you could keep him to yourself? hm?” I said.

“ He’s he hottest guy in school, and those abs and muscles are to die for.”

“I mean he is so sexy, and his voice just- never mind.”

“Let’s jusy say he’s ruined me. For others boys . and men.”

“That’s intriguing, right?”

“But I refuse to be sloppy- seconds.” Lulu said.

“You tell him, I’ll be back at 6:00 tomorrow night. He better clear the rest of his schedule.” She said.

“When he has a night with me, he wont be seeing anyone else after. Okay?”

“Bye Boo!” I yelled as she got into her car and drove away.

“And thats why you do it.” I told Min ho.

“ You’re a genius! I could hug you right now.” He said.

“Please dont. bye!” I said.

“Oh, and by the way. the chocolate was for you.” Min ho said.

“How nice of him.” I thought.

I just decided to go back to my dorm, since I was tired. Today was pretty good.

PREV EPISODE MASTERLIST NEXT EPISODE

TAGLIST: @chaewon-slays @cherrriesss

Copyrights © 2023 xo-lesserafim. All rights reserved. I do not own XO, Kitty , Netflix does. do not copy, translate, or repost anything without my permission.

[multific]

Something New

Marc Spector/Steven Grant/Jake Lockley x Reader

Summary: Meeting Steven and going on that date at the stake house even if he was days late was the best decision of your life.

Having powers certainly had its disadvantages, but it also had many advantages.

You being part of the Avengers, and fighting for what's right always gave you a feeling of belonging.

But after Thanos, and what happened with Tony, you needed a change.

You moved to London where one day, you met Steven Grant. The lovely gift shop worker took you off of your feet immediately. You thought you could finally have the quiet life you knew you needed, but of course, that wasn't the case.

Because why would it be?

Steven was a sweetheart. Who called you days after your date was supposed to take place. But you ended up going.

"Sorry! I'm stuck in traffic, I'll be there in about 20 minutes." and you were, you weren't able to dress up or anything but he didn't seem to mind, he even got you chocolate and flowers.

You soon learned the truth about Steven, Marc and Jake. You met an Ancient God, who was probably the sassiest God you have met in your life.

And they all made you realize, that a quiet life is not what you wanted, you wanted them.

One day, while you were at the boys' place, you were watching TV while Steven fed the fish. He let out a sigh.

"You know, Love, sometimes I do miss working at the museum." he said as he sat down next to you. "I do not miss Donna, but the people and the fact that I could do something producive was nice."

"Nicer than defeating Arthur?"

"Well, working there didn't feel as cool, but now all we do is sit here at home, Jake is making money from the cab but... I feel like I rely on you a lot."

"Of course you don't. I like helping you and it's not like the money is mine." you probably shouldn't have said that.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Oh, I-I mean... You know that I can control people? Make them say, do or believe things?" he nodded and you noticed in his eyes, all three of them were listening. "Once I made an extremely currupt polititan believe that he should send me at least 5 million per month. I donate most of that money and only use what I really need it for."

It took them a moment to fully realize what you just said.

"So-you?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"Yes. So, paying for things is no problem really. I also have some money when I worked for the Avengers."

"Okay, but we also want to provide for you, pay for dates, buy you nice things. Maybe even a nicer apartment where we can live together."

"I like this apartment but if you'd like a job I'm not going to stand in your way." you said. After that of course Steven had many questions about your powers and source of money.

But you had a plan. A plan so great, you jumped into it the next day.

You walked into the museum with confidence. Telling Marc you needed to be somewhere while he went to chase Khonshu.

"Good morning Miss, how may I help you?" asked the guy at the front, obviously implying if you wanted a ticket.

"I have a meeting with Mr. Jones this morning."

Mr Jones, the boss of them all, the manager of the museum.

The guy behind the desk didn't even ask anything. 

Your magic surely worked.

"Mr Jones, I came to talk to you about Steven Grant. I think you made a terrible mistake firing him. Especially since after you reviewed the footage, it is clear that his ex-suprvisor, Donna was behind the vandalism."

"Oh yes. I'd like to offer him his job back." he nodded, eyes cloudy from your magic. 

"His job? I'd assume you feel so bad for firing the wrong person, you'd instead offer him to be either a tour guide or the supervisor of the store, whichever he will take."

"Correct Ma'am."

You smiled, satisfied.

"Great, call him as soon as I leave."

And with that, you stood up and walked out of the museum.

---

Steven wasn't even sure if he should be there. He just got a call from the manager of the museum and called him in for a talk. 

Did they want him to pay for the damages he caused?

But as soon as he entered the office, the air felt different, it was light and inviting. 

He sat down in a chair with a cup of tea that was placed in his hand.

"Mr Grant, I'd like to apologize in the name of the entire museum. We made a terrible mistake." Mr Jones turned on the TV which showed the night when Steven was attacked, but the end was different, very different.

"We failed to recognize that Donna was the main culpit and she tried to frame you due to her jealousy."

Instead of Marc, the ending showed them walking away and then Donna sneaking back into the restroom.

Which never happened.

Steven put two and two together but Mr Jones spoke up.

"I would like to deeply apologize again and to correct this mistake I'd like to offer you a position. We are aware of your passion for Ancient Egypt and I'd like to offer you a job as a tour guide. We can never have enough and since summer is coming, we expect more groups."

"I-Oh-I-"

"Of course, I do not expect you to accept this offer right away. I do understand how insulting you must have felt when I fired you for the wrong reason, I'll give you time of course and you have my number in case you'd like to accept."

Steven took another look at the video then at Mr Jones before thanking him and he left.

"It was her. It had to be."

"Of course it was." said Marc in his head as he saw him in the reflection on the bus. 

"We need to tell her that this is not okay."

"Amigo, she literally went to your boss, got Donna fired because you mentioned that you miss work. I really don't think we should mention this as a bad thing so directly." 

As much as Steven didn't want to, he agreed with Jake, he knew this wasn't the right thing, but he also knew Donna had this coming.

Yet, they couldn't let this slide.

You were at his place, sitting at your usual spot. 

"Hi, Babe."

"Hi, Love. Can we-Can we talk?"

"Sure. Did you get a call?"

"I-I did but you really didn't have to." 

"When I went I originally just wanted to get your job back, but at the shop, there was a new guy, a new "Stevie" if you will, and she was just yelling at him, being rude, so she got what he deserved." you said as you watched Steven space out and Marc take over. 

"You really are amazing, your power is something else, and I know Donna's a bitch lets face it, but-"

"No buts. She deserved it, she abused her power, end of story, you should think about the job, are you going to accept?"

Marc didn't like how you avoided the question but he let out a long sigh and looked at the mirror then back at you.

"Maybe, it would be really good for Steven." 

"Then accept it. I'll miss you though, but it would be good for all of us." you said as you moved closer to him on the couch, he pulled you closer to himself.

---

A couple weeks later, you stood outside the museum, it was rather late in the afternoon. 

"Love!" you turned to see Steven walking down the stairs. 

"Hi." you said as you walked over and kissed him on the lips. "How was your first day?"

"Really good! They are obviously still training me, but I know the basics now. I still got a lot more to learn." 

You were happy to see him so excited about his new job and that you could help him.

All night he talked about it as you two sat down in a restaurant to have some dinner. He didn't even let the others front, he was so excited, he told you things like four times. But of course, you didn't mind. Seeing the shine in his eyes told you everything you needed to know, it proved you did something right. 

--

A/N: I actually live pretty close to the museum Moon Knight was filmed at, every day when I go to work I think about Steven. 🌙💖

Taglist: imreadinggoaway @fleursirvart​​ @v-2bucky ehsebastiancrunch-time-sports  @pxstelrainbow ablogbypeteparker liamssmilersmexylemony @greenarrowhead feelingsareharddd @thisismysecrethappyplace @sincerelyfan @theoneanna @aestheticsandmarvel @rororo06 @castellandiangelo @avengers-r-us @destynelseclipsa   @spilledinkindumpster celebsimagine @capsiclesdoll snoopy3000 @firstangeldragonranch @puknow @crazzyter  @alwayshave-faith @soleil-dor @alex12948 scream-kiwi79  @lxdyred  @imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl​ @liveforkarljacobs @anonymoussherlockandmarvelgeek​​ @paola-carter​​

~Masterlist~

ˇAO3ˇ

[senditcolton]

🏜️ 🐇 🍄 🐝

- @comphy-and-cozy

writer truth and dare ask game!!

🏜️: what's your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

any, haha! but in reality, i love when i get the "i don't even go here" comments because it means that my writing was enough to at least convince you to read a story about someone that you don't regularly seek out. it's pretty cool to me!

🐇: do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or a mix of both? 

i used to be reader insert only because i often get too caught up in world-building with OC fics that i don't actually write the plot. but i've really enjoyed OC's because there is just so much more that you can fit in so nowadays, it's both! [although i still occasionally get caught up in world building ]

🍄: share a head canon for one of your favorite ships or pairings

we'll go with Abigail and Matt for this ask (because I'm also very excited to get back to them come May). i love thinking that for their wedding, they have a little bit of an argument on what to do for their first dance. Matt would love to learn some choreography, maybe even a lift or something, because Abby's a dancer and that is such an important part of her that he wants to 'honor' it. however, Abigail doesn't want to do any choreography because she is a dancer. she already has to memorize multiple dances for her job so for their wedding, she would like to relax and not worry about steps. (they compromise on learning the waltz box step so they are doing more than swaying + an easy romantic dip for the ending pose)

🐝: tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them

oh there is so many of them!! and for that reason we'll stick this under a read more!

@texanstarslove one of the first people i followed thinking "oh my god they are so much cooler than me" but now someone i consider a great friend!! best person to scream about Tyler Seguin with - for both fluff and smut reasons.

@fallinallincurls a winter fic exchange connected us and i couldn't be more thankful!! always reblogs my writing and adds the sweetest comments!! so superbly supportive!

@comphy-and-cozy C, you know you're in here! best person to send depraved thoughts to because you'll hit me with even more depravity (and we all need someone like that). also, just amazingly gifted at creating worlds and universes that i get completely entranced in!

@smileysvech insanely talented human who has been responsible for planting the coolest fic ideas in my head with her moodboards. Prince Andrei would probably not exist without you!

@wyattjohnston backbone of hockeyblr, i swear! amazing writer, amazing person, and the person that brings so many people together and encourages so much content making & sharing with her fic exchanges!

@laurenairay umm, sunshine incarnate!! one of the most active people in messages and askboxes for no other reason than to spread cheer and well wishes! sweetest bean in the bunch!!

i'm sure i'm missing some amazing peeps but that doesn't mean that i love them any less! there's is an abundance of love to share here at senditcolton!! 🤍🤍🤍

[beevean]

((this is a spoiler to CoD but I really wanna say this))

One of the things I hated the most in NFCV is how they literally reduced a Devil Forgemaster's power to only necromancy... When they're SO much more powerful than that. They can LITERALLY MAKE WEAPONS just from the RAW ELEMENTS ALONE. And the fact that Hector could fight Death and Dracula! He literally REDUCED Drac's curse in the end!! ((Also his sassy response to Drac is "I'm the Devil Forgemaster. I can make your curse into a harmless thing." Alhdkahsja I love him so much)). I HATE how they make them so... Useless??? I don't understand they're so much cooler than the show made them out to be

(CoD will turn 18 this November, don't worry about spoilers lmao)

So, I'm a bit torn on this because I actually don't mind the change in NFCV... in theory.

Do I think Devil Forging in canon is absolutely fucking cool and badass and underrated and ripe with potential? Yes. There is a reason I made the crest my icon :P I love that Hector calls it blasphemous in PtR, I love the idea that they're literally spitting in God's face by creating cursed life!

Devil Forgemaster

A blasphemer who can manipulate magic and life

^ tell me that isn't the rawest way to describe Devil Forgemasters, PtR doesn't shy away from the religious symbolism and it does so in a much more tasteful way than NFCV

I love that it's Dracula's magic itself that they're manipulating, which explains how Hector and only him could nullify the Curse! (and this is also why I believe Isaac was really spreading it, and it wasn't just Death's lie)

Human beings embued with dark magic directly from the Dark Lord himself. Tell me it isn't the coolest thing in the Vaniaverse.

And yes, they are absolute beasts that can forge their own weapons with alchemy and fight with all sorts of weapons. Normal swords? Rapiers? Zweihanders? Axes? Spears? Electric guitar? Hector has it covered. I wholeheartedly believe that both of them were the terror of Wallachia when they worked together: how do you defend yourself against multi-disciplined, super strong, super tough knights that can literally sic dragons on you?

also yes Hector vs. Dracula is so fucking raw, Hector is the ultimate gigachad and I will die on this hill. He literally asks "Have you forgotten that I'm a Devil Forgemaster?" with the smuggest tone in his voice <3

Catch me I'm swooning <3 Hector literally turning Dracula's hard work against him <3 oh ho ho I bet he regretted having a protégé <3

I also personally love Isaac's "Do not equate a Devil Forgemaster's power with that of an ordinary sorcerer!" dude's so mad that trevor dared to underestimate him and his ex. i love him too <3

However. I recognize that, without the gameplay element, they would have been a little too OP. I am perfectly fine with the nerfing of Devil Forging in the show: not only limiting them by tying their powers to a weapon would have been an interesting obstacle to overcome, but the promotional posters of S2 gave them a very low Strength stat.

Basically, the idea, I suppose, was to make them squishy wizards: they're not proficient at all in physical fights, but they don't need to be, when they can control a whole army of demons. And as for the necromancy aspect, well, it would have emphasized even more the dark, cursed nature of their power. It's a facsimile of life, nothing more.

The problem is that, of course, nothing was done with this. Isaac can simply... stibby stab people in a row, and with no effort at all they become night creatures. Yeeting him into the Sahara would have been a great opportunity to make him lose his knife, and force him to live as a vulnerable human, and maybe learn about the value of human life that way, but nooooo can't make the darling babyboy of the narrative suffer even a little! He has Deep Speeches about How Much Humans Suck to make! 🙄 And we barely see Hector actually do his job, only for Carmilla's sake, which will never stop make me wonder, why did Dracula and Carmilla want him so much to the point of resorting to manipulation? Nothing in the story shows me that he has any usefulness! He's not smart, he's not physically strong, he's easy to manipulate, we have little idea of how good of a Forgemaster he is... some General he is! Isaac could have easily run the whole castle by himself, for how badass and invincible they made him!

In retrospect, giving Isaac a lower Strength stat than Hector was a bold lie. By all means, Hector should have been the more talented of the two even in this version: he was the child prodigy who was resurrecting dogs as a child, while Isaac had to study hard to catch up. But no. Hector was relegated to torture porn. Okay.

Oh, and never forget that the plot forgot about the "dark, cursed" part of their power when Carmilla needed a priest to bless the water :^) because what's consistency when we have to favor our babyboys and girlbosses :^)

(also eh i guess being too op didn't stop sypha from literally steamrolling her way through the show, so yeah, the point's moot anyway)

[alicepao13]

What, no complaining? No, of course not. Let me preface this by saying that whoever thought of this episode order needs to be fired for real. I'm always ready to point fingers at CityTV.

I knew there was a Charah scene somewhere! But what the fuck, he's going to meet her entire family? Yeah, I'd bolt too lol. Also, yay, S4 Charlie is still in there somewhere and if you don't think that's a good thing, I must point out: continuity.

This is the whitest cake I've ever seen in my life. It should be a crime to give such a white cake to anyone you claim not to hate. And I don't even like chocolate much especially in cakes, but jeez.

Very, very action packed first twenty minutes. Like, good job. I have zero notes. Also, the camera work was good. Hell, maybe even the editing.

Every time Rex goes through a window like that, I lose the next ten seconds going back to Kommissar Rex.

And look at that, we have competent Charlie this season.

Charlie's communication shorthand with Rex is so Rex/Brandtner that it's killing me. Like, thank you for killing me.

They finally gave the rest of them some work to do. And beyond that, gave the actors some work to do. It's a crime to have expressive actors in your cast and just have them talk about evidence.

Incels, that fucking plague. I feel for the mother though. And she was so sweet. But honestly, while I think the actor playing the shooter also did a good job (watching the promo, I though he was so bad but thank god it was just another terribly cut promo, CityTV please contact me, I'll do it for free!) I can't help feeling like he was a bit too old to be given the justification that he could not think for himself. Although, I've seen way too many people not thinking for themselves ever since the internet got on everyone's phone. Realistic. Still, I wouldn't empathize with someone in his situation either in fiction or in real life. Like, he almost murdered a bunch of innocent people because he couldn't get laid or he got laid off? Cry me a river.

Terrible timing with the mass shooting in Maine, by the way. Not the show's fault, obviously, but still.

Jesse, that was such a cool move. Also, fistbump that didn't look awkward!

Can they even use "Neural Net" on the show? When Neural Network is a thing? Really curious about this, although I don't think it's a registered trademark. Also, are we going to spend our entire season mentioning AI and deep learning? It's like the new cryptocurrency (someone fucking loves new technologies on that show).

Sweet Charah scene at the end too. Kiss or no kiss. I can still see the new showrunner's direction all over this, but it's less noticeable, and they're not trying to pull their relationship back, instead they're trying to move them forward, even with less screentime. And while I don't think most of our reactions weren't warranted as fandom, I think we did overreact a bit. But hey, fandom privilege. Unless we go really crazy in which case someone should call it out.

I really don't understand why this wasn't the season premiere. Like, I've tried to come up with conspiracy theories even. None make sense. Did the new showrunner (names, I want names, damnit) felt the need to appease whoever is in charge of Newfoundland's public relations so much that they had to make a 45 minute "Visit Newfoundland" spot?

PS: Is it me, or is Charlie's house suddenly unavailable? I mean, as of this episode, we have two Charah scenes (finally) and one Charlie's house scene. Although, how many scenes were the out-of-work scenes, really? Very few in this season.

[csolarstorm]

Thoughts on Loki, Episode 2-5: Science/Fiction

Can these characters just cool it with the dying metaphors for one second? First we get pruning, which sends people to the end of time, which is basically purgatory. Mobius gets pruned, Loki gets pruned. Sylvie feels left out so she prunes herself.

Now that pruning is old, spaghetti-fying takes its spot this season as the new way to not really die at least not permanently. Not only does p-p-poor Mr. Victor Timely "die" heroically, we can assume everyone else got spaghetti-fied in the explosion of the Temporal Loom. And then when Loki gets the gang back together in Ep. 5, they get noodle-d all over again! Not to mention the poor record store guy, whose first reaction to the incomprensible failure of spactime was to warn and/or protect Sylvie. Aw, what a guy.

I have to confess I still don't understand the Temporal Loom. It's taking raw time and weaving it into timelines, and without it...time falls apart? Without it, time is "raw" and organized time doesn't exist? Okay, then how did the universe work BEFORE the Temporal Loom? Does every universe have a TVA and a Temporal Loom literally creating their timeline? Why does the fabric of spacetime literally depend on Kang? That doesn't seem right.

It would make more sense if "raw" time is still something people can live in, and the Loom was just organizing "raw" time for He Who Remains' timeline. But after Episode 5, it's pretty clear that the literal fate of the multiverse depends on the Temporal Loom working, and I find that a bit ridiculous. Hopefully I'm missing something.

I have a theory about Loki's time jumping. We see him meeting himself at different points in time several times in the show. He really seems fractured, scattered throughout time. What if this is what it's like to be spaghetti? Maybe each of these Lokis are a single noodle of the Loki scattered through time, and each noodles looks like a snapshot of Loki, until they glitch and twist and collapse on themselves, snapping to other times like a noodle attached to another end.

Does this theory affect anything? Absolutely not.

In the next episode, Loki, the fledgling God of Stories, will attempt to rewrite the Temporal Loom explosion so they can save the TVA and all time, always, because apparently the multiverse needs the TVA to function. As he keeps trying, we are sure to see more explosions and more spaghetti before he figures it out. And that leads me to my point:

Dying and being reborn with new knowledge is such an integral theme to Loki. This new Loki is a symbolic reincarnation of the Loki that that Thanos killed. He made friends, learned humility, fell in love, seriously considered questions about the greater good, and then acknowledged his power and responsibility as a voice in the reform of the TVA.

Whenever he experiences metaphorical "death", he learns information that changes his entire paradigm. When he's pruned in the first season, he goes through his own little Divine Comedy. He learns perspective about himself from spending time with his variants. He learns about Alioth, a pivotal piece of the multiversal war. And he meets He Who Remains, who changes his entire perspective on existence.

In Season 2, Loki's rebirth after the explosion of the Temporal Loom shows him his friends and their backstories, what gives them joy and why he wants to save the TVA so badly. With this new understanding of what he really wants, he is able to control his time jumping, as if he's been reborn onto a higher plane.

The fall streaming schedule this year has been a gold mine. There was Gen V, Loki, Rick and Morty (ironically the spaghetti episode is coming up...or is it on purpose...) and now even the return of Invincible. Loki has come really close to the quality of last season, and it does a good job of doing something really different and yet thematically the same to keep a coherent and gripping show.