#or did the writers really just. Get super dumb suddenly

[boypussydilf]

there’s a specific air of finality to simon & bettys ending that doesnt really. sit right with me? like, it makes sense for the conclusion to be Simon And Betty Must Go Their Separate Ways. but w her going some unknown place he cant follow (and. ppppppossibly reincarnating? which. it would be fucking insult to injury if betty was just dead now. i would be genuinely pissed.) and the general air of it it feels so much like they’re saying. Simon and Betty can’t ever see each other again. It is literally impossible from here on. and the whole way they talk about it…… like. yes, absolutely, simon and betty both put themselves in a tragic situation through their own imperfect choices. but it gets talked about like they’re simply. too far gone now and there just is no conceivable way it could ever work, or could ever have worked as it was. maybe im insane and maybe this wasnt the writers intention but the way they. siiiiiiggghhhhhhh. of course it’s true that their relationship would have been better if simon had noticed betty sacrificing so much for him, had focused on her own goals and wishes, had sacrificed back. but they act like. Welp! He should have just Known Better. He’s just stupid. they’re not interested in looking at why he never noticed how she was throwing away so much of her life for him, how he thought she was the most amazing wonderful confident badass person ever. or that their relationship had any problems in it other than this one specific thing!!!! it feels like theyre just. blaming simon for being ignorant and going Look!! Because of these choices you made you’re FUCKED! FOREVER! You and Betty were NEVER going to- CHRIST, NO, THAT REALLY IS LITERALLY WHAT THEY WERE FUCKING SAYING, DIRECTLY, WITH THE CASPER AND NOVA THING. That frames it so much like Simon, all on his own, DOOMED them to NEVER EVER BE ABLE TO BE HAPPY EVER, they would NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, because he was just oblivious to the unequal give-and-take in their relationship.

[moodcrab]

Fixing Delphine

This bitch.

I actually like that they made a character that is on your side but is somewhat unlikable, Delphine is Team Dragonborn, but she's not really one of the good guys. And that's cool, conflict means drama. So what's the problem? Well unfortunately, this drama is surface level and isn't used to drive the story, so It's kind of just annoying.

People oversimplify their hatred of Delphine into "She wants you to kill Paarthurnax," because unlike Delphine, people actually like Paarthurnax. Understandable, but barely scratches the surface. We'll get to The Paarthurnax Dilemma in time, but that quest is a symptom, not the illness itself.

If I could sum up Delphine in a word it would be "inconsistent." For example, she's a fugitive waging a one woman war on the Thalmor from the shadows, who's only survived this long from sheer paranoia - but she also uses her real name and leaves a note in Ustengrav for whoever happens to pick it up with directions and a pass word to her secret hide out.

She needs to go through her super secret contact Farengar to use the Jarl's resources to go into Bleak Falls Barrow, a tutorial level dungeon she can see from her house, and she's impressed that you did it - but she also goes personally to the other side of the country to delve alone into the massive Ustengrav to steal the Horn of Jurgan Windcaller, no issues, just a quick in and out twenty minute adventure.

She takes the fact that you found her Ustengrav note as proof you're the Greybeard's new guy and not some Thalmor plant even though she herself, a non Dragonborn, had also completed Ustengrav and taken the horn proving it's totally possible. She even points this out in her own dialogue then demands we prove who we are, even though that was the whole point of the Ustengrav note. It's also a pretty big assumption that just because I'm the guy the Greybeards call Dragonborn that I can't ALSO be with the Thalmor.

We are left with this awkward sense that the writers are flailing to make us think this woman is competent and objective, without actually having her do anything that clever. Just act like the dumb thing was smart and have her act like a cocky brat if questioned about it.

Inconsistency. It's her thing. Does she hate the Thalmor? That would make sense given what we know about her. But that gets dropped half way through the main story and suddenly she hates The Greybeards, for absolutely no reason at all. She gives a reason, but it's bullshit.

In her own words, "If the greybeards had their way, the dragonborn would sit on a mountain talking to the sky." But that's not true is it. We know The Greybeards, they encouraged us to fulfill our destiny. Even if you say you want to follow their Way of the Voice, they'll be glad to hear it but warn you not to let it get in the way of what needs to be done. Delphine even uses Tiber Septim as an example, which is even stupider because The Greybeards actively encouraged Tiber to conquer Tamriel. Have I read more in game books than the dialogue writers??

But that's not the end of it, when it becomes convenient for the plot this hatred is flipped once again from The Greybeards onto dragons. Not Alduin. All dragons. Despite the fact that, as a Blade, she should know about Nafaalilargus, a dragon ally of the Empire and the Blades for thousands of years, and the Blades don't just indiscriminately kill all dragons no matter the circumstances, and that Tiber Septim himself almost certainly met Paarthurnax at some point, she suddenly seems to be acting like she has a personal grudge against dragons. Which brings us to the Paarthurnax Dilemma...

See here's the thing, you could easily write off the frustration everyone feels towards this quest as Bethesda's crappy design, where there is no conclusion other than to kill Paarthurnax, or else leave an unfinished quest languishing in the menu. Bethesda apparently didn't consider the idea that anybody would actually prefer to turn on the Blades, even though the Blades have become a bit of a running joke among the fans, or that anyone would take umbrage with Delphine giving out orders and ultimatums.

But no, it's so much worse than that. Delphine being a surly unlikable c u n t from the day we met her is one thing, but the fact that she has been wrong about almost everything she's ever said in game, and still having the AUDACITY to treat us like her work bitch and us never, not once, getting the opportunity to put her in her place... That's not poor quest design, that's the game gaslighting us.

Let's do a quick list of every one of Delphine's theories, and how many were actually correct shall we:

You are not the Dragonborn ❌

The Greybeards shouldn't be trusted to identify a Dragonborn ❌

The dragons aren't just coming back, they're coming back to life ✅

The Thalmor have something to do with the dragons returning ❌

Esbern is dead ❌

The Greybeards just want the Dragonborn to sit on a mountain and meditate ❌

The Greybeards wanted Tiber Septim to just sit on a mountain and meditate ❌

Paarthurnax, having lived in exile for thousands of years, deserves corporal punishment ❌

As ACTING Grand Master of the Blades, she gets to boss around the Dragonborn ❌

She deserves a seat at the peace negotiations ❌

And these are just the things that are factually wrong, leaving aside opinions on her morality and shitty attitude. This is the woman the game presents to us as a shrewd strategist.

BUT I CAN FIX HER!

Like I said I like the idea of a character who is on your side but is somewhat unlikable. It actually won't take much to make Delphine endearing to the fans. We have to do a Boromir on her. A Lot of people dislike Boromir throughout the Fellowship of the Ring but weep at his death. We have to tweak three things to have the same thing happen to Delphine:

1. Make her actually competent and useful so that while we don't agree with her we can see why she does the things she does, and desire to keep her around.

2. Have her mistakes called out and have consequences.

3. Have her redeem her mistakes with a badass honourable death.

[cookisugarrdraws]

Okay this is kind of a vent but am I the only one who thought s4 of The Dragon Prince felt really,, off?

Like it was good and well executed and all of this could very well just be a consequence of COVID and Netflix messing with season four's production but something about this season felt really weird. And, truthfully, it's kind of the everything that feels off.

A lot of the characters felt very out of character. I'm sorry but Callum should've been rightfully VERY upset with Rayla. She abandons him on the day of his birthday after he nearly loses her to the moon lake, after she makes a promise to stay with him and get through all of their shit together, and she DOESN'T COME BACK FOR YEARS. And when she does come back, they're suddenly just really awkward but still in love??? HUH??? Did I miss something?? Why are they still in their "awkward, before they get together" phase??? Callum should rightfully be extremely upset with Rayla if not furious with her!! You could have kept them amicable when Rayla comes back! She could be a bit distant but still hopeful that Callum will forgive her easily but realizes Callum is angry and is trying to be kind to her even though he's clearly not happy! Let him tell her off! Why didn't he do that??? You could still have him be nice but there's a bittersweetness to it.

Speaking of Rayla, she felt off too. Idk she just,, wasn't distant enough. You'd think after being alone for years on end she'd be a bit less trusting of others, even the friends she knew. But people change! She shouldn't have been sure how much Callum would've changed. Also her lemur doesn't look right. She noticeably stands out amongst the other characters and creature designs. Bait, although he looks a bit like a plushy, works because he feels like a unique creature to this world. Rayla's lemur just straight up looks like a doll. She doesn't look right. Also she's just a lemur with extra limbs. That's it. And she's kind of purple. Why not get weirder with her and mash her up with another animal? Like a squirrel or maybe a hawk? Idk she just doesn't look right.

Claudia also feels,, very strange. Like yes she's funny and dorky but her antics felt really amped up this season. She feels dumber somehow. And Claudia isn't dumb. She's very smart actually but she can be oblivious sometimes. But I dunno she feels too comedic this season which creates such a whiplash for me. She's the villain and brought her father back from the dead. So why is she so,, dumbed down? Also her boyfriend,, he's fine I suppose? But why would Claudia be dating an elf? HE'S AN ELF. He also doesn't like dark magic?? Huh?? Wouldn't it be more of a novel concept for him to be an elf who also wants to do dark magic? Shouldn't he be in favor of that? Why was he against it? Terry never feels like a proper villain. And outside of dating Claudia, he has no motive to stay with her or her father! He doesn't like dark magic so why is he with Claudia? How did they meet? How did they become friends? What made her like him?? CAUSE HE SEEMS THOROUGHLY ALIGNED WITH THE ELVES in terms of worldviews on magic! Terry also feels out of place in terms of his comedy. The fart joke thing got old fairly quickly for me as well. I get it, it's a kid show, but I dunno it felt a little too much like writer's weird fetish in certain places.

Ezran feels fine though in terms of writing. He still feels in character and like he's evolved. He's wiser and has been ruling as king for a while now. And I like that they kept the friendship with him and Zym the same, that was nice! I just wish Zym could talk now that's he's older. Also, shouldn't he be a bit bigger? Tbh I always thought dragons grew super quickly as adolescents. Ah well, not issues with them. Also Soren. He is still the loml and I can't ever hate him. I do wish he could've bonded with and kept a wyvern though. That would've been cool as hell.

Now for the animation. It was too smooth for me. I love the choppy uneven Spiderverse inspired look of the second and third season so much! But in s4, I could barely find spots where the animation wasn't super smooth. The colors of this season are also way off. We spend a majority of the time in (what I am assuming is) Earthblood elf territory but the colors don't look right. They don't gel together very well. This is especially noticeable in the cave scene towards the end of the season. All of those crystals were so deeply saturated and NONE of those colors looked nice together. Especially on gray speckled rock. It was hard for me to see what I was supposed to be looking at! Emphasis and focus were two aspects which this show really seemed to struggle with this season in terms of visuals. The updated character designs look nice though, I don't have any qualms there (aside from the lemur).

Except for the Earthblood elves. WHY DID YOU TAKE AWAY THEIR COOL TREE BRANCH HORNS CONCEPT ART. They had moss and leaves on their shoulders and bodies. And cool swirly carvings. Why did they take that away :(

This season also feels like it's missing a LOT of setup for a LOT of lore and plot points. Especially the plot point with Callum being possessed by Aaravos. WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?? HOW CAN AARAVOS DO THIS?? THIS BEGS THE QUESTION WHY AARAVOS DIDN'T FORCE VIREN SO CUT HIS HAND AND DO THE CATERPILLAR THING WILLINGLY. AARAVOS SHOULDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO AFFECT THE OUTSIDE WORLD RIGHT?? AM I GOING INSANE?? AND WHY DOES AARAVOS EVEN WANT TO POSSESS CALLUM?? BECAUSE HE CAN DO MAGIC?? HE ONLY KNOWS SKY MAGIC AS OF S4. I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING INSANE.

Idk maybe all of my issues with this season will be remedied by s5 which I still need to watch. Just needed to vent this out. I still like this show and I'll keep watching it but man, it's gained some problems for me I can't really seem to ignore. Especially since the first 3 seasons were so well paced.

[scrapyardboyfriends]

So I haven't watch the show for like the last three weeks but I just sort of watched today's episode (fast forwarded through a lot of it) and was reminded why I haven't been watching.

It's such garbage. It's barely even watchable.

That whole night out thing was super painful to watch. What even was that? And then of course they have to go and throw gay bashing in at the end. Just so Ethan can have a new darker storyline?

Also, Suni repeatedly praising Nicky's stalking skills as if he didn't literally walk in the moment he was taking the selfie? Did he teleport there after he saw it? Or was Suni taking selfies on the way there? It's so silly. Also...I like Suni well enough but he and Nicky really have no chemistry. I mean...Lewis Cope just isn't that great of an actor to begin with. They're so awkward.

Also have Suni and Ethan ever interacted before?? Of course he doesn't follow you, Suni, you two have like never had a conversation.

I could only handle so much of the David exit stuff. The whole story is just lazy and idiotic.

And really, I think I'm just too ace for the current state of the show when it comes to relationships. I mean the writer in me is pained about the absolute lack of effort put into creating these pairings. But also, I just can't remotely get invested in this Tracy and Caleb affair because where did it come from???? Were she and Nate having problems? I mean their relationship makes no sense to me either since it has no development and they reunited off screen. But weren't they supposedly happy? Maybe? And then she's just storming into the Mill to yell at him about getting Nate involved in a fight and then suddenly Caleb is kissing her? And now they're having an affair????

I know in theory people can just be into the sex but like...I need more to go on here. I don't get it. What do they see in each other? What are they getting out of this? What is Tracy not getting from Nate that she's somehow getting from Caleb??? I know the reality is that the producers haven't thought any of this through and just wanted a new "sexy affair" but....

And all of their dialogue is so dumb and also very reminiscent of the Nate and Moira terrible affair. All "you know you want me, are you sure about that blah blah blah" there's absolutely ZERO substance to any of this. It's ridiculous.

Ditto for Jacob and Vic. And really Suni and Nicky too.

They are just spectacularly bad at building a relationship these days. They don't even try. Why don't they try? Why are they so incapable of being like "let's find a reason beyond plot needs for these people to want to be together"?? It's not that fucking hard!!!

Okay...rant over.

[whatyourusherthinks]

Harold And The Purple Crayon Review

I think I had higher hopes for this movie than most. Not because I was particularly attached to the property, I mean I remember reading it when I was at the age to do so, but growing up I was more of a Wolves in the Walls and Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All kid. (Yeah that's right. My parents got me hipster picture books when I was three and were totally cooler than your parents.) But the teaser was kinda cool. I begrudgingly like Zachary Levi, pretty much just because he plays Shazam. Sure, the actual trailer was dumb, but the second trailer always sucks.

What's The Movie About?

Harold and his friends Moose and Porcupine travel to the real world to find out what happened to their world's narrator.

What I Like.

The opening animation with baby Harold was very cute, and I like that his world gets more detailed as he grows up. I like the characters I guess. The villain was kinda cringe-worthy but the fact he was a hack fantasy writer was pretty funny. I like Terry. She seemed like a character that would get super upset at every inconvenience, but I felt like she reacted like a real tired single parent. I dunno, I really related to her. There was some fun ideas for set pieces, and the music was nice. I like the scene where Porcupine was running from the police set to fast piano music. The movie was pretty fast paced in general.

What I Didn't Like.

But maybe it's a little too fast paced sometimes. Like the inciting incident seemed like the characters were just jumping to conclusions, and it feels like characters make decisions or change their minds just because the plot needs them to. Harold loses faith in his abilities and everything he drew with the crayon starts to disappear, but it's not because he found out he's a fictional character, like I expected. It's because his creator died, which I totally don't get why he'd get disillusioned from that. The plot is sloppy as a whole. They separate all the main characters right away, and most of the movie is rapidly switching between the characters trying to meet back up. It also seems to drop or forget plot points at random. Harold meets a kid who he gives half of his magic crayon to in the beginning, and after that scene it only really comes back up at the end of the movie. The movie also feels really cheap. I normally wouldn't complain, since movies can be good no matter how much money they spent on it, but when the premise is the main character is a Green Lantern but purple (so a Star Sapphire fnar fnar fnar) then you should probably get the money for decent effects. This movie has some tonal whiplash as well. There's only like two serious moments, but they suddenly come out of nowhere and jarringly resolve. Also, sometimes the jokes go on for a few beats longer then they should.

Final Summation.

Harold and the Purple Crayon feels like someone wanted to make a deep and impactful kids movie but someone else was holding them back. Either that or someone just wanted to slap together a kid flick and noticed the highest praised ones have a deeper messages and tried to fake it. True, a lot of what I complained about I might be able to forgive for a kids movie, so here's the real test: Did the annoying kids that were sitting a couple rows behind me in the theater ever get captivated enough to stop screaming at all during the movie? No. No they did not. So I guess it's not a good movie.

[fandomsoda]

Alright SU progress report 1 (spoilers ahead)

Got through episodes 1-29

Overall experience?: I’m having fun, it’s alright, I like it. It’s keeping my attention enough for me to be able to solidly binge it.

Favorite character so far?: Uuuuuhhhh Idk probably Amethyst.

Ships?: No strong opinions yet

Thoughts on lore/overall show atmosphere?: The show’s gorgeous (at least the environments are) and the lore seems neat even though you’re very… thrown right into it. I don’t think it does a good job establishing the world, episode 1 just kinda happens and you get no context, no explanation, no one’s gonna tell you anything unless you’re watching with someone, and I do not think that is good writing. Pacing seems a bit too fast, I know the show has a shorter individual episode run time but it felt like things really weren’t built up enough. Things often just kinda happen and very few scenes are given the proper weight I think they deserve.

Individual character opinions:

Steven?: He is… something. He becomes way less unbearable, but early on he’s very difficult to watch. I never really hated him as I know he’s a young, inexperienced character and he’s supposed to be a tad annoying, but god the second-hand embarrassment! I also feel like he is dumbed-down way too fucking hard. Like it often feels like the writers have a vendetta against him with how shockingly oblivious and idiotic they make him at times, it is so frustrating. He’s way more likable later on, in exchange for feeling unnoteworthy. He’s the titular character, the generic starry-eyed protagonist, and I don’t really care that much. He bounces off of everyone well, but doesn’t have a lot going for himself individually.

Pearl?: I like Pearl, she’s fun, responsible, and resourceful. A mom friend if I’ve ever seen one and often pretty endearing, if overbearing at times. It’s a very basic archetype but it works.

Amethyst?: I like her a lot. Her attitude is fun, she is VERY pretty, and she’s often funny and interesting. However often she can come across as an asshole and her antics can wind up not fun so- yeah.

Garnet?: Garnet definitely has her moments but I do not like how robotic she acts. She feels like she should talk more and express more, and her only super expressive moment being her lashing out and being cruel to someone/thing who could not hurt her does not sweeten the deal.

Greg?: Massive shrug, has his moments but can also suck.

Lars?: Fun to watch, easy to emphasize with, kind of an asshole though.

Sadie?: (just gonna sum this up in the advice I’d like to give her) Girl I understand your pain and you deserve better so LEAVE HIS ASS.

Connie?: She’s neat. Her getting her eyesight cured did leave a bad taste in my mouth, though. Not her fault, however.

Lapis?: I like her a lot and I wish she stuck around for longer. I feel like enough time wasn’t spent on her story, and the scene of her gem getting healed went by too quickly and happened too suddenly.

Additional tidbits, giggles, and jokes:

wound up calling who Lapis was going to be given me already associating that gemstone with water

After observing how even the normal human world feels like it’s on something in this show and everyone seems like they’ve got something wild going on, I coined the term/saying “on some Beach City shit”, something to refer to when something/someone has the certain brand of weirdness Beach City does.

that’s all for now, having fun but not blindly loving the show, please don’t kill me.

people who wanted to be tagged directly: @dinosaurzzz @everydaygremlin

[viscountessevie]

Do you think JQ cares at all at how her characters (and to an extent the actors too with the promo and stuff) are treated or does she only care about the money? I mean they already did huge changes and they will probably do more going forward. As an artist myself I would find it disheartening how something I created would be taken apart so much that it barely resembles my own work. And also how does she feel about all her fans response to the season 2 disaster? There was a lot of complaining on her insta posts about what they did to Kate and Edwina (especially on her video post about the sister soulmate stuff). Okay yes she signed off all rights, if one should do that is another debate (i wouldn’t ) but do you think she regrets it? Because it doesn’t feel that way. Makes me resent her a bit tbh.

Ask Dated: 31st July 2022

I can't quite remember what may have prompted this ask but probably them feeling the same way I felt about S2.

While yes Simone and Jonny's chemistry and some acting choices/scene and tone changes saved the season, I still felt robbed of my favourite lines and scenes from the book not being adapted. And of course how they massacred my favourite book family, The Sheffields/Sharmas. We really could have seen a healthy and loving Indian family of women instead we got the same toxic shit I grew up in.

Anyway, to answer your main question anon, I have a feeling the Netflix/Shondaland check was big enough for JQ to sell her soul and writer's integrity. If she did care, she hasn't shown it one bit. Or alternatively her lack of enthusiasm for Kate, The Sharmas and Kathony now that Kate is an Indian woman, can be a sign of expressing her disappointment in the colour blind cast. I mean before the show was announced (and old time Bton fans feel free to correct me), Kathony (and TVWLM) and Polin (and RMB) were her favourite couples and books to hype up. Ever since Simone was announced as Kate, she did the bare minimum talking about her and has ignored Kate in favour of her fave and only white tv couple (so far). So take what you will from that.

There are a few articles out here where JQ kind of does mental gymnastics to justify all the big changes to S2 which I thought were cop out answers. [Note: it is almost 4am as I am writing this and I am a little tired to find for her exact quotes but if I come across them I'll link at a later time but for now Google is your bestie!]

I did find that she stipulating that *only* the Pall Mall scene could not be changed at all, really dumb in hindsight. Because the way they shot and edited that scene was super lame (there was barely any tension visually - Jimone was carrying the tension and rivalry of the scene and match) and there was SO MANY MORE important scenes and characterisations that made TVWLM so popular and beloved and nothing else mattered to her???

I will admit; while I LOVE the OG Bee Scene, I liked the new one too. I just wish they had gotten married earlier. Also of course the new accident scene is superior. But it still does not make up for how badly they fumbled the Sharmas, cutting out their backstories and then giving away an whole useless hour to the Featherflops. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE TWO WEDDINGS THAT WEREN'T EVEN KATE'S!!!

I really wanna know how much she was paid to just go along with everything because even Rick Riordan was able to express his disdain with the Percy Jackson movies!! I think at this point, its safe to say its enough money to make her turn a blind eye to all the horrid changes and not regret anything. It even is enough to make her eat her words about not being able to write characters of colour (will expand more in the next ask) but now suddenly after all these years, she can write a romance novel centred on a Black heroine. I guess characters of colour are only worth writing if she can profit off them. It makes me resent her too anon. 

[snowddeong]

im sorry if that came out wrong im not fluent in english so things might come of wrong. but idk why you guys suddenly started being rude to me. i like your plots and concepts i just dont see yeji g!p and wanted to know if u ever would write ryjin g!p. there was never meant anything bad by it. i guess i got my answer and thats fine but there was no need to be suddenly rude

Again, I'm taking this in good faith so I will respond but hopefully this'll be the last of this discussion.

If you meant no harm then no hard feelings, thank you for the apology.

As for me and my fellow writer buddies "being rude" I don't think readers understand how frustrating it can be as a writer to see people send stuff that basically amounts to "fuck this thing that you like to write you should probably write this thing that I like". A lot of readers will never actually engage in our works beyond demanding for more and the intention might be flattery but it comes off as entitlement when you phrase it in a certain way. A lot of work goes into writing lmao it may seem like a simple thing but it's not. When you put a lot of work into something and see someone say they'd rather you write something else in what seems to be a super passive aggressive way ofc it'd be annoying. I think writers are allowed to be annoyed when we do so much only to be reduced to content machines and I don't regret being pissed nor will I hide my irritation if this kinda thing happens again.

You've said that wasn’t your intention and I'll believe you on that but you used the same sort of language that those people do and that's why me and my friends reacted the way we did. I don't think I have to apologise for feeling frustrated about your comments and sharing that frustration with my friends so I won't give you an ingenuine apology or say some dumb shit like "sorry you feel this way" but I will say we're cool. It's all water under the bridge for me and if you think I'm an asshole that's also fine I probably am lmao but I hope that at least you get why it pissed me and other writers tf off.

Idk if you'd like some advice but as a general psa you don't have to tell a writer you don’t like something they write a lot. There's a difference between criticisms and taste and considering this is a taste sorta deal there was no need to include that bit about not enjoying Yeji gp. Going "hey your writing is cool got any ryujin gp stories" would have sufficed. Heck there's ways to disagree with someone and not sound rude, I know I have a reader that doesn’t really vibe with Yeji gp but their ask never had any implication that I should be writing something different. It was a nice little interaction with someone who sees things different from me but still appreciates my work.

Sorry this is so long lmao I wanted to try to be as clear with my thoughts and give as much grace as possible because I'll be honest seeing someone call me and my friends rude for sharing frustration over something that we go through way too often has pissed me tf off. That wasn't your intention so you don’t deserve my ire but like I said I'm not going to hide my feelings about this sort of thing.

[dmclemblems]

Honestly golden wildfire would have fucked like hell with the negative character development story direction if it was in character. But they squandered a cool idea by replacing Claude with a slitger body double copying off el-chan

Yeah, it's sad that they had plenty to work with and didn't use it. If they used parts of his character that already existed and just made it more extreme as the story went on and we got a Claude a bit similar to early AM Dimitri, depending on how they went about it I could get behind that. If he had a downward spiral for some reason, it would've been more interesting than the random excuses and actions.

What would've been nice for me would be if he had a part of the story where he lost all trust and thought he had to keep going for his dream only to realize he'd done it all wrong and had to make up for it. With how GW does it, everyone just accepts how he goes about everything once the Randolph situation is over with. Suddenly nobody forces him to look at his actions and retrace his steps.

Hell, they even could've used Claude's manipulation to have him pretend to be on board with Edelgard and manipulate her into a battle that he knew would get her killed. Basically form that alliance with her, gain enough of her trust and then give her "useful leads" that end up putting her in jeopardy. Even in Houses he takes advantage of people, but I'd actually like seeing him do it to an enemy with bad intentions. She's threatening his goal, and if he really thinks it's a selfless dream (like he considers it in Houses), wouldn't someone threatening it be "bad" to him since he thinks of his goals as peaceful and life changing?

Personally I'm super not against a "darker" Claude, but like you said, I'd want it to be in character. I don't want it to be there for nothing but shock value where we're only made to question him. For example, even though Dimitri was a lot more cruel in the first part of AM, typically I found myself agreeing with him because he was still logical. He wasn't just brainless and stupid. The things he said still made sense and he still killed out of anger from things like people stealing from innocents.

When you defeat Randolph, he makes a completely sound argument about why he won't let Randolph go. When he confronts Byleth about revenge, he reminds them that they also sought out their enemies who had killed Jeralt and it was no different. With Claude we get half assed excuses for him doing... dumb things. Like, invading Faerghus doesn't give him a darker story. It's just meaningless and wasn't like him. His reasons for killing Rhea were all based on maybes and nothing concrete, so simply because he didn't like that Fodlan respected her, she had to die (and because if they killed her, Edelgard might stop fighting Leicester, so he basically sacrifices someone else who did him no harm and never wronged him to save himself and others, which again, isn't like him).

Overall it just feels like a wasted story to me? They had so many things they could do and plenty of ways to make Claude questionable without throwing all sense out the window. The fact that even Dimitri in the first part of AM, at his absolute worst still has completely sound logic, but Claude in a state where he's fine if not doing pretty well is completely lacking in logic despite being one of the smartest characters imo says a lot about how the writers treated GW. Dimitri was cruel, but he was logical. Claude was cruel but he made no sense.

[blu3jae]

I feel like I’m gonna take up too much space if I keep posting new posts, so I’m just gonna put all of my thoughts into one big post with different fonts.

My favorite social medias are the medias where you don’t actually have to be ✨social✨.

I regret not having watched Cowboy bebop sooner, it’s really good. I’m also suddenly understanding the references to a LOT of music people have been using as end credits now.

Starbucks was named “Starbucks” for such a fucking dumb reason.

(It literally reads like a dude using a business version of astrology to figure out what to name his new coffee Business. -10/10, I’ve met authors, I’ve seen some shady reasons to name characters different things, but that one was just dumb.)

A canary is just… the wrong color yellow.

The movie and theater production of “if I were a rich man” is so much better than Britney spear’s “If I were a rich girl”, however, whenever I think of the song in my head, I automatically think of the Spears’ version, so kudos I guess.

On the subject of Mrs. Spears, did you know that the song “hit me baby one more time” was a misunderstanding from one of the song writers, who didn’t realize that the phrase he was trying to say was “Hit me up, baby, one more time”? It’s also still a classic tho.

TikTok has made my habit of songs getting stuck in my head exponentially WORSE because now not only is:

The songs usually something fun, but absurd out of context, like the whole “I wanna be your friend forever- I wanna be a Modern! Dancer!… what a super weird thing to say that 🎶 came out of no-where🎶”, but ALSO-

PEOPLE KNOW WHAT SONGS IM SINGING. THEY KNOW WHERE I GOT THE SONGS FROM. THEY KNOW WHATS ON MY FYP. ITS TRAUMATIZING TO BE AT WORK AND TO BE CALLED OUT BECAUSE I WAS HUMMING THE SUBWAY SURFERS SONG UNDER MY BREATH.

Not cool, internet.

My mom got me a Bob Ross bauble head, for my early birthday, and it is my new favorite thing.

I put it on my shrine of things next to all my other things. I am v happy. She also sent me a book to hold my coins in so I can display all of the coins I’ve collected. I’ve got all 50 states (last one was Indiana!) but now I’m working on the national parks. None of them are really worth any monitary value, but it is fun to collect them.

My favorite thing is the fact that my coworkers realized that I like coins, so anytime anyone pays with any cool or interesting coins, they save them for me to look at.

I only started being interested in coins recently, cuz they started having MAYA FREAKING ANGELOU on the quarters, and I thought that was just the coolest thing. It spiraled from there. The whole recent quarter series on women tho is just the best.

Lol also, like, don’t ask, but maybe one time when I was reading a… fun comic strip (one that really put the word “Strip” into a comic, lol) I got 110% wholly distracted from said comic strip because there was an ad on the side for rare quarters. I don’t think I’ve ever quite hit peak nerd as I did right there, and I think the only other time I came close to it was either when I was watching deep lore videos for skyrim or legitimately filling several pages of a notebook with algebra to be able to maximize food output in a mobile videogame.

Anyways, this is getting long, so I’ll go ahead and just post it.

[knowlesian]

Hey! I really enjoy your meta and was wondering if you could share your thoughts on why Ed says "never left" in episode 8. Because that infuriated me! He did leave and wasn't planning on coming back before the English reveal. But I also am aware that I relate deeply to Stede in episode 8 (the way they had him wear the same outfit as when he was bullied as a child killed me) so I'm sure my view is skewed. But it read to me like let's just pretend that didn't happen which I understand could be a call back to the bathtub scene but it just rubs me wrong.

So can I have your thoughts about why Ed/the writers went with the iconic "never left" + wink reply?

i CAN, and buckle up because this one is something i have so many thoughts about but somehow have only briefly tackled.

so: ed is a really socially aware guy. he's good with reading people, he can do sarcasm just fine, but he doesn't know the rules of the social road in stede's world which means when stede does the 'my body language and whole vibe SCREAMS i don't like this, my words say yeah cool do it more, even! i'm fine with this' thing because he's used to that as a way to make life "easier" for everybody by just entirely avoiding open confrontation ever, ed is like ...okay, i am either supposed to call you a liar here or carry on? because in my world, when you want something to fuckin stop you say FUCKIN STOP and when you're being a real jerk on purpose, you want people to know it's because you hope they have a shitty day.

(i know ed the adult man not knowing the terms retirement and passive aggressive exist or what they mean has led to some real world logic application all, ed is dumb/doesn't know basic words and the like, but those are Theme Moments because this is a big gay play running on rule of cool. the text is saying: ed wants to stop but doesn't even know it's an option unless you die, and ed says what he means/expects everyone else to do the same.)

so in ed's world, what stede does as a mode of politeness/defense is just called lying. ed's not grounded in the world of books and social games; he's not looking for hidden purposeful meanings in the corners of everybody's words, which contributes to how he misses jack. (sidenote: i think stede is extra snippy because his spidey-sense for passive aggressive fuckery is going off endlessly and telling him something is not RIGHT here, and he needs to be on alert by the same token, but that's not super related. just wanted to say it!!! etc)

also, ed’s been introduced to the idea of passive aggression as a weapon; he hasn't been introduced to the niceties side. so when he leaves, it's with this funky vibe in the air where he feels like jack just came out to have a good time, stede's giving off the kind of mixed signals that are potentially scary, and it culminates in stede unfortunately framing his (very legit) annoyances as an issue with ed/his behavior vs issues with jack, and that only drives the wedge in deeper.

so when ed leaves, it's not because he wants to: it's this rolling avalanche of shitty things that all culminate in ed being like, if jack who represents my past and is just here to have a good time pisses stede off this much and makes him say he doesn't like me around jack, what happens when he decides i'm too much like jack to be borne a second longer and kicks me out, too?

theeeeen he finds out jack was there to fuck shit up on PURPOSE, and what stede had an issue with gets internally reframed. suddenly, stede is not judging ed by proxy, he's judging jack who is a lying dick and trying to cause trouble and drive them apart on purpose. this means even if stede's own issues were a large part of his reaction, stede actually read the room far better than ed. (just like he did at the party.)

the spin now emotionally is: stede tried to protect me. if i had listened and not trusted jack over stede's instincts, maybe none of this is happening. i have to go back and protect him.

which leads me into the actual line!!! stede's face is super key here, to set the stage. he's so, so fucking happy. like: incandescent. when he says 'you came back', he's so fucking relieved. they're about to get boarded by the fucking royal navy and stede looks happier than ever.

which tells ed: you never actually wanted me to leave. you are unconditionally glad to see me back, even though i fucked up and i should have listened to you. you're just glad i'm here, no matter what's going on.

and ed... ed so much wants anybody at all to see him for who he actually is, as he wants to be seen, and then be happy he's in the room.

so 'never left' is the moment he speaks stede's language for the first time, i think. the language of: what i am saying here is a cover for the deeper truth of what i mean. ed says never left, but he doesn't mean it like literally i was never gone or never intended to stay that way.

he means: i didn't want to go. and maybe, even better— emotionally, i was always still with you. my body left, the legend of blackbeard left, but ed was always right here. right where he wants to be.

and they're so thrilled to be together again, yes, but i think that's the crux of this scene and why their gazes stay tender and locked even as everything goes shit around them. why ed needs to reach out, and stede needs to lean back into that touch.

ed knows stede is just glad he's around; stede knows ed didn't ever want to leave him.

(and, after an episode of talking past each other, they are finally starting to work out the language to meet each other on even ground, where ed will give some and stede will give some and they will meet in the middle, neither of them having to exist entirely in the other's world or use the other's words to communicate.)

[silversatoru]

i made this instead of doing my stacks of homework ^

step bro!itadori yuuji x f!reader

synopsis: i don’t think i even have to say this but you get stuck in a dryer and your step-brother yuuji fucks the shit out of you

t/w: 18+!!!, aged-up yuuji, stepcest, noncon/dubcon, manipulation, filming without consent, mild impact play, creampie, mild overstimulation, mild dumbification (but also reader is just dumb), mention of masturbation

w/c: 2.3k

a/n: hey!!! i joined this super fun collab hosted by my new gf @suna-reversed​ (thank u for letting me be a part of it!!) so if you enjoy this i highly recommend checking out the rest of the talented writers in this collab :) the jujutsuhub masterlist is here !! also,, biggest thank u my lovely friend @brandmeyelena for helping me to plan and perfect this fic throughout the entire process <333

you were a good daughter, certainty not the sharpest or the most intelligent, but you were helpful and compliant and you always did your chores. and you truly didn’t mind helping out around the house either; sweeping the floors and doing the dishes was easy enough, but there was one task that plagued you a bit more than the rest — doing the laundry. the buttons were just so confusing, and there were so many of them! and on top of that, your short stature made it nearly impossible to empty the fresh clothing out of your top-loaded dryer. 

you were struggling with that exact issue right now, pushing onto your tip-toes as you tried to reach that last pesky sock stuck at the bottom of the dryer. your finger tips brushed over the warm fabric, just an inch short of being able to snatch it into your hand.

you wiggled your hips a little further, your feet lifting off the floor and your weight shifting so you fell deeper into the dryer. you were finally able to grasp the sock, but you were unable to push yourself back out, feet swinging wildly as you tried to squirm your way out of the machine.

“hey, what are you doing?”

your face flushed at the sound of your step-brother’s voice coming from behind you, your senses becoming suddenly aware of how far your dress was riding up your thighs. a pitiful whimper of embarrassment slid past your lips as you realized you couldn’t even pull your dress down — you needed both hands to hold you up and prevent you from falling into the dryer. 

“ah! yuuji! ...i got stuck,” you pouted shamefully, thankful that you couldn’t see his face right now.

“again? isn’t this like... the third time?” he asked it like a genuine question, but you still felt stupid for getting stuck in the same predicament multiple times.

“mhm, can you help? please?” you whined at him, still wiggling your hips in a poor attempt to free yourself.

this only made your dress slide higher, the underside of your ass cheeks becoming prominently visible against the edge of the fabric. yuuji couldn’t help himself, gabbing his phone and snapping a few secret pictures of your exposed back-side. he planned to save those for later, maybe jack off to them if he was bored, but then a different idea flooded his head — you were no position to stop him from doing whatever he wanted right now.

he propped his phone up on top of one of the various laundry baskets, starting a video recording without your knowledge. then he waltzed back over, sliding a single finger under the fabric of your dress and tracing his finger around your round ass cheek. the sensation of touch made you flinch, your mouth gaping open as you fumbled over your next word.

“y-yuuji?” you stammered, trying to move away which only caused your ass to jiggle and shake more than it already was.

“shh, i’m helping,” he murmured, stroking his finger all the way down to your thigh.

he moved his other hand over your pretty cunt, the fabric of your panties hugging perfectly against your folds. he brushed two of his fingers up your clothed slit, causing you to yelp and continue to wriggle around.

“step-brother? what are you doing?” you continued to question him, your voice light and laced with confusion.

“i’ll help you get unstuck, but you have to repay me somehow, little sister,” he clicked his tongue at you, an evil grin that you couldn’t see stretching his lips.

he continued to poke and prod at your soft, clothed pussy, his mouth salivating as he imagined the things he could do to you in this position. every brush of his fingers coaxed gasps and whimpers from your lips, your worries and protests falling on deaf ears.

“y-you’re my brother, yuuji! w-we can’t do this!” you continued to argue, but his gentle fingers were starting to feel really good — small streams of fluid flowing out of your cunt and seeping into your panties.

“it seems like you want me to,” he observed, poking his finger at the small wet spot that was forming now, “and mom and dad won’t be home until later. no one will find out”.

you felt his strong hands weave their way underneath the straps of your undergarments, swiftly pulling them down your thighs and letting them dangle from your ankles. you sucked in a sharp breath at the feeling of your wet cunt being exposed to the cool air, shifting your hips and filling yuuji’s head with more sinful ideas.

you couldn’t see anything (with your head still being stuck in the dryer) but you heard your brother’s own pants fall to the floor, a loud clank of his belt buckle against the tiles confirming your suspicions. everything about this felt so wrong, but at the same time, you’d always been shamefully attracted to yuuji — eyes lingering on his chiseled chest for a little too long when he walked around the house shirtless.

your head was swirling with thoughts like: would it really be that wrong if the two of you indulged in each other while no one was around? it’s not like you were actually blood related or anything.

on the other hand, yuuji had a one-track mind, and he wasn’t having any of the doubts that you were — he had a tendency to listen to his dick instead of his brain. and right now your round, plump ass was staring him in the face and begging to get fucked. how could he not take advantage of this opportunity?

he lifted his hand and gave a firm slap to your right ass check, earning a gasped yelp from you which made his dick twitch and strain. he mumbled under his breath, something along the lines of ‘i’ve always wanted to do that’ but it was kind of hard to hear from the depths of the dryer.

he’d used a reasonable amount of force, a puffy handprint forming on the surface on your skin. he decided that the other cheek should match, delivering another firm strike to the other side and watching you squirm and whimper at the impact.

he grabbed his phone and pulled it over for a few close ups, showing off the swollen skin to the camera. he then placed a finger at the front of your entrance, the puffy, slick walls sucking it in as he delivered a few warm-up strokes with his hand. the camera picked up on all the grotesque squelching noises made by his finger in your cunt, as well as the embarrassed yelps and moans leaving your lips.

now that you had two matching, swollen hand prints, and your pussy had been properly prepped, he decided he was ready for the main course. yuuji returned his phone to its spot on the laundry basket before grabbing a low stool from the corner of the room and setting it in front of the dryer so he could stand on it for easier access. his cock was red and veiny, begging for entrance into your tight cunt as he wrapped one hand around it to position himself.

you’d always imagined your step-brother’s dick to be lengthy, and your assumptions were proven correct when your felt a tight pressure in your core. his girthy size pushed and stretched at your walls, pained mewls leaking from between your teeth as you clawed at the bottom of the dryer.

yuuji let out a groan that was almost animalistic, throwing his head back and placing a firm grip on either side of your hips. the way your pitiful form was positioned on the dryer gave him excellent access, the curve of his dick allowing him to stretch you deep, reaching all the way to the spongy patch of tissue that made you feel so good.

a jumble of grotesque noises filled the room, a chorus your sloppy moans, yuuji’s pleasured grunts, and the steady slap of his hips on your ass. he’d imagined what this would be like more times than he could count — fucking himself into his fleshlight and mumbling your name while he did so. but no matter how many times he’d dreamed of this moment, he never expected your walls to be so tight — so perfectly snug around his cock.

“yuuji!” you repeated his name a few times, head so dazed from the overwhelming bliss that you’d forgotten all about the initial guilt you’d felt.

“see, i knew you’d like this, little sister. your big brother would never steer you wrong, would he?” he knew his words were manipulative, but god, you were much too dumb to understand or grasp the concept of manipulation — you’d just agree with him like you always do.

“no! he would never!” you whined, letting your head dip lower into the dryer so he could fuck you at an even better angle.

your messy cunt squelched and squeezed a small stream of juices down your thigh as he picked up a deeper, faster pace, your moans becoming higher and more unsteady in response. he could feel your sloppy walls fluttering and constricting against him, his fingertips digging deeper into your hips as he let out a few breathy moans.

the tip of his cock slammed into your pleasure spot with every stroke, voiding your brain of any cohesive thoughts you might have had hiding in there. you moaned and whimpered over and over, whining yuuji’s name like a mantra as drool spilled from your lips.

yuuji could almost imagine your perfectly fucked-out face — your eyes rolling into your head and your mouth hanging open lazily. he grunted at the thought, deciding that the next time he fucked you it was gonna be somewhere that he could watch your face and really enjoy the show — because there was definitely going to be a next time.

there was a tight coil forming in your stomach, building up more and more the longer that your step-brother railed himself into you from behind. you hardly even noticed how sore your hips were getting or how numb and tingly your legs were from being bent over the dryer, yuuji’s dick filling you up so well that those things became an afterthought.

after a few more pounds to your oozing cunt that hit deep enough to graze your cervix, you felt a heightened wave of pleasure begin to crash over your body. surges of the most blissful sensation you’d ever felt racked through your systems, your whines becoming borderline screams as yuuji fucked you through your orgasm.

the way your warm, messy walls fluctuated and gripped around his cock pushed him close to his own climax, but he wasn’t quite ready to be done with you yet. he continued to provide heavy, forceful thrusts, abusing your now sensitive cunt and moaning loudly as your juices squelched out around the edges of your entrance. the disgusting sounds of your fluids squeezing out around his cock nearly sent him over the edge again, but he was determined to ride this out for as long as he could.

“it’s too much!” you wailed between heavy breaths, every stroke sending jolts of overstimulation through your clit.

you wiggled and whined, legs clenching together in defense and causing your pussy to wrap even tighter around yuuji’s dick. the added pressure and increased pleasure was something he could no longer surpass, succumbing to his own orgasm just moments later.

“fuck, feels- too- fucking- good- shit,” he grunted a long string of mostly profanity, emptying his hot release into your caverns as you continued to cry out and whimper underneath him.

yuuji had fucked you even stupider than you already were, your head way too dazed for you to even realize he was filling your insides with warm, sticky semen. he milked his orgasm all the way through and then some, his cock aching and twitching by the time he finally pulled it out of your white-stuffed cunt.

he wrapped his toned arms around your waist, finally pulling you out of the dryer and attempting to stand you up. but between the lack of blood flow to your legs from being stuck, and the good fuck yuuji had just given you, your lower extremities were in no shape to hold you up. you sunk right to the floor, your messy pussy spilling everywhere and leaving puddles of fluid and semen.

“thanks for helping me get un-stuck, big brother,” you looked up at him with admiration, blissfully unaware of how he was using your utter stupidity to his advantage.

“of course, you want me to carry you to bed?” he gave you a sympathetic look, squatting down with his back to you.

you hummed happily, wrapping your arms around his neck and climbing onto his muscular back. he carried you down the hall and into your room, laying you down and handing you an old towel for you to clean yourself up with. you were a pitiful site, hazy eyes and an ignorant smile resting on your face as yuuji admired your damaged little cunt for a few more moments before returning to the laundry room.

he grabbed his phone and ended the video, thankful that you were much to oblivious to notice that it was recording the entire time. he was definitely going to hold onto the recording for safe keeping and later use — and shit, maybe he’d even upload it to pornhub and make a quick buck too.

[jennrypan]

Chameleon doesnt deserve as much salt as it gets. Yes im back on this again.

Was it a silly dumbass episode? Yes, very much so. But so was that dumbass Party Crashers (?) Episode where Marinette dresses a dude to be nosy??. A lot of dumb shit happens with no real continuity to it.

Like was the class majorly dumbed down? Yeah, but the only REALLY stupid scene was the napkin scene, everything was normal ML dumbassery.

Lila doesnt deserve the amount of hate she gets, shes not evil, shes just an annoying brat with petty lying issues.

Adrien isnt a spineless coward for giving ONE sentence of advice cuz he didnt have all the facts, cuz Marinette decided to not tell him Lila threatened her, and considering Lilas good at gaslighting it makes sense not to publicly call her out, cuz she can flip the script like she did with Marinette.

Alya isnt Lilas damn attack dog. Yall have no idea how PISSED it makes me that yall saw the main black girl and decided to make her some aggressive ass bully. Fuck yall, fuck everyone of yall idc. That shits so aggravating. She said ONE thing, and in the next she actively stopped up for Marinette with the test answers ???

But nvm that ig, cuz Marinettes clearly soo sad about her friends "abandoning" her, shes gonna become an asshole in return?? And move to gotham?? Or new york to meet the avengers?? Or call up allll the celebrities she knows cuz obviously everyone loves her and if they dont drop everything for her theyre evil.

And another thing. Marinette doesnt do EVERYTHING for her classmates, she what makes them a few goodies out of the kindness of her heart and suddenly they owe her everything ? She makes them stuff she could obviously say no to?? Marinettes a kind person! So ofc she'd agree to help her friends but she doesnt do everything for them, theyre competent teenagers

Like yall make Marinette some super cool do no wrong chick and she becomes exactly like lila but its cool cuz its Marinette, you take her flaws and her overall personality until shes not even marinette its just an oc.

Also. I loove Chloe redemption, its my favorite thing but not at the expense of Alya, Chloe shouldnt replace Alya as Marinettez bestfriend.

Wheres the fics where Chloes redemption isnt focused on Marinette? Like if shes changing it wont be for Marinette. Itll be for either Sabrina or Adrien her actual friends?? And possibly Zoe ? (Also notice how zoe kinda faded into the background after like..two or one episode, like..wha)

Anyways.

Salt is so..dramatic and its usually salting over ONE instance and blowing it out of proportion. Chameleon was an okay episode.

If youre mad be mad at the writers who wrote that damn napkin scene cuz lord. That was a mess

[blush-and-books]

College AU, Fluff, Meeting, Screenplay

after spending 20 minutes panicking about the fact that you sent me a request. i watched some modern family. and then buckled up to write a little college au for you. yes they are at usc lmao. julie is in the john wells screenwriting program and luke doesn’t specify in this but in my head he’s a business major. enjoy and thank you so much for making me briefly lose my mind

Julie didn’t realize that she had stayed past her reserved time. 

Not a single part of her had been keeping track -- she was much too enthralled in finishing her draft of the pilot episode of her television drama. It was a portion of one of the many portfolio pieces that she would accumulate over her time here, and she was determined to make it a strong “first episode;” seeing as how not only was the Pitch Fair coming up, but her professor also recently found an in with David E. Kelley and was teasing an opportunity at an internship. 

She was putting an inhumane amount of pressure on herself to write this, and make it beautiful. Unfortunately, it was hard for her to focus when she had two other roommates with raging social lives and coffee shops were only distracting towards her creative flow. 

That was how she found herself -- running off of three coffees and three Bangs (and a seventh concoction that was part-coffee, part-Bang, that she never wants to think about again), four hours of sleep, and pure adrenaline -- staying way past her time in the private studying room in the library. 

An insistent knock on her door is what tipped her off. 

“Hello?” There was an exasperated, deep voice on the other side of the door. “You almost done in there? Your time’s up!”

The flow of her creative juices was suddenly interrupted, and when she looked, panicked, at her computer clock, her terror was confirmed. “Shit.”

The first thing she does is rush to unlock the door, and open it up to let the other party in. She doesn’t even stop to look at them before whirling around back to her computer and bag to pack up her garbage and other belongings; wanting to rush out of there as soon as possible. 

“I am so sorry,” she gushes, still unaware of who was actually in the room with her. “I just had this big script to write and I am seriously out of it because I have been consuming dangerous amounts of caffeine on no sleep, so I am so sorry if you lose study time because of me-”

Zipping up her bag and slinging it clumsily over her shoulder, Julie allows herself to meet the eyes of the stranger whose education she has just hindered -- and is met with the sight of warm green. 

The stranger (the extraordinarily attractive stranger who is wearing a sleeveless shirt that shows off unfairly toned biceps), is smiling down at her with what she could only describe as concerned amusement. He doesn’t even have any kind of backpack with him, she notices; just a leather-bound journal in one hand, and a jean-chain being jingled in his other hand. 

“Actually,” he chuckles a little. God, Julie would kill to not look like the walking dead right now. The universe has decided to be so, completely unfair to her in every way. This guy is probably terrified of her. “It sounds like you need this place more than I do. You stay.”

But he doesn’t make any actual move to leave -- he just lingers on her, on her face. 

Probably on the dark circles shading under her eyes, and the oil that’s probably dotting her nose and chin. He probably thinks she’s disgusting -- but he’s doing a hell of a job hiding it. If she were an idiot, she would think he was looking at her in awe. 

The two of them just stand on each side of the desk, eyeing each other in an inexplicable way. 

(It feels magnetic. But Julie thinks she’s also just tired.)

“No, really, take the room. I am so sorry I stayed into your time.”

The hot stranger (God, why?) bites his lip with a smile, and shakes his head. “No, I mean- It’s probably more beneficial if you stay. I wasn’t going to study.”

“... Then what was your plan?”

He wiggles his hand from side to side, gesturing to the journal grasped between his fingers. Julie tries to focus her eyes on the book instead of his arms, but wow, his arms. 

“Some writing of my own. I’m in a band, and I write all of our songs.”

Wow. Another writer. And he’s in a band -- and Julie looks like a fool. 

What did she do in her past life that deserved this?

“Oh, that’s really cool,” she tries to tell him, and she really means it, but she’s also kind of miserable in her current situation so it comes out a little less than enthusiastic. 

Hot Stranger takes notice. “Wow, yeah, you sound super interested.”

Julie literally buries her head in her hands, and rubs them over her face a couple times for good measure. Maybe this is a dream, and she’ll wake up with the sweet memory of caring green eyes and floppy brown hair on a guy that is too perfect for her to exist in real life. 

“I’m sorry. I’m just a little frustrated at my current situation.”

“Understandably so. Lots of caffeine, no sleep, and high expectations for yourself can do that to a person.”

“And add a cute writer guy on top of that, while I feel like shit, is a recipe for disaster.”

Yes, she just said that out loud. 

Does she even care at this point? Not really. She’ll wake up from her caffeine crash tomorrow morning and probably manage to convince herself that it was all a dream.

But right now, unfortunately, she is still in reality. “You think I’m cute?”

Writer Guy bounces on the balls of his feet, like a physical response to the compliment. She can’t help but find it endearing -- if also a little bit like a little kid who just got told that he was going to get ice cream. Her heart kicks in her chest, because she should seriously just leave before anything else dumb comes out of her mouth. 

But he’s so cute, and he’s grinning at her as if they’ve been friends for years. And the thought of leaving is unsavory. 

“That sounds like my cue to leave,” Julie responds instead, tightly gripping the strap of her bag. “Thank you for the sympathy, it was nice to meet you, and good luck with your band thing. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Wait!” 

He doesn’t have to tell her twice. In fact, it’s probably pathetic how quickly she comes to a stop and spins around to meet his eyes once again. 

“Really, you should stay. This room is big enough for the both of us. And if you’re writing a script, that means you’re in John Wells, and that’s-” He scratches the back of his neck. “That’s big. It’s really cool. If you don’t mind me scribbling in my songbook, then I would really like it if you would stay.”

Julie is so floored by his request, and the way he looks surprisingly nervous while making it, that she completely forgets to actually respond. He continues to fill the silent space with anxious talking.

“I- I’m Luke, by the way.” His hand is suddenly in front of her, and he is only about two feet away from her instead of eight feet, and he almost takes her breath away up close. 

She has enough brain cells in her to take it. Do the calluses on his hand almost make her audibly gasp? Yes. But the important thing is that she doesn’t. 

“I’m Julie,” she finds herself saying to him -- Luke -- with a small smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Luke doesn’t drop her hand. She doesn’t pull it away. “It’s nice to meet you too, Julie.”

God, Julie must be about to fall asleep standing up at any moment, because she obscenely feels like she has never heard her name sound so beautiful. It carries new meaning coming out of a literal stranger’s mouth, and it’s just like that that she realizes she should probably take her hand out of his so that it doesn’t get clammy and he isn’t immediately disgusted. 

“So… You wanna stay? We can write together?”

She’s going to need another coffee for this, but yes -- she really, really wants to stay.

And so she does. 

[deadpcnned]

the gamble of the heart | chapter 3 (r.l.)

chapter three: hangovers and cowards

series masterlist

previous chapter

pairing: remus lupin x potter!reader

chapter summary: remus and y/n attempt to talk about their failed relationship 

warnings: swearing, hangover?? 

wordcount: 1.4k

a/n: super short chapter but the next chapter is already done and will be up soon

REMUS WAS met with a dimly lit room as he opened his eyes. He could tell it was daytime by the bits of light peeking in from behind the curtains, but the thick drapes were thankfully blocking most of the light. He was clutching an empty bottle of alcohol against his chest and there was drool sticking to the corner of his mouth. Remus wrapped himself further into his duvet, trying to ignore the nausea adding to his previous misery. He’d have to use some charms to cure the steady ache in his head and drink a shitload of water. 

Balancing himself as he stood, Remus was met with an empty room. He was sure he had slept through the boys trying to wake him up, as he had a habit of doing. Even if they hadn’t he really didn’t care. He just needed some food. Trudging down the stairs, Remus hoped that Sirius and James hadn’t planned anything tremendous today. He didn’t have the mind or the heart to deal with their antics, no matter how much he enjoyed them most days.

To his disillusionment, instead of a clear path to breakfast, he ran into a rather gorgeous obstacle. His anger wasn’t enough to blind him from how beautiful Y/N looked, perched up on the sofa reading from a textbook. With a shake of his head, Remus started to head towards the door again.

“We need to talk, Remus,” Y/N’s voice was a mix of stern and concerned and Remus sighed knowing nothing good was going to come of this conversation. Turning around, he walked back towards the couches and took a seat as far away as possible from Y/N. 

“Not here,” she motioned to the crowd behind her and began to go back up the stairs. Remus didn’t want to climb up the stairs. Not just because of his massive headache, but because he didn’t want to just listen to her. He had wasted enough of his time doing that.

But people always told him old habits die hard. 

Entering Y/N’s dorm, Remus took a seat at what appeared to be Lily’s desk. The tops of ten dead flowers that were carefully taped to the table - that he knew James had given her and she had reluctantly taken - were proof of that. He wondered if Lily would ever hurt James the way he had been hurt. Well, after she finally stopped pretending she didn’t care for the boy. He hoped not. No one deserved this pain, but especially not James. 

“What was yesterday about?” Remus slowly brought his head up to look at the Y/N. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, nervously clutching her blanket. He couldn’t count the number of times he had held her on that bed. Or the one night he had snuck into her dorm after a particularly gruesome full moon. He had wanted to remember the details of that night forever when he had left in the morning, but now he wanted anything but that. 

Y/N had mumbled an incantation under her breath and suddenly Remus’ head felt a lot lighter. 

“You know perfectly well what last night was about,” Remus said simply. There was no point in either of them playing dumb, especially her. 

“No, Remus. I don’t. It’s not like you to make a scene like that.” Remus scoffed at the expectations she held for him. 

“Yah? Well, it’s not like you to make out with some random in the middle of a crowded room.” Y/N looked at him incredulously, her mouth agape.  

“So, what? Are you jealous of Mason?” Was she fucking insane? 

“Am I jealous of Mason?” Remus was seething as he spat his words at her. “Of course I’m fucking jealous, Y/N. Stop acting so innocent.” 

“I’m not acting - Remus, I-” In two swift motions, Remus was standing right in front of Y/N.

“No, you are. You know damn well you’ve let me down. So, at least be brave enough to own it.” Slowly Y/N rose up from her spot, protectively crossing her arms in front of her. 

“So that outfit you wore yesterday… At the game. It was what? To get my attention,” Y/N’s accusation invoked a rosey color to inhabit Remus’ cheeks. He had felt embarrassed enough when he had made the decision the day before, but now he was mortified. All he could do was nod. 

“You looked utterly stupid.” Remus let out a mirthless chuckle and pursed his lip as he watched her. 

“That’s my fucking problem, Y/N. I am so goddamn stupid. I am so stupid that I can’t let go of this notion that you still care about me. That you still have all the feelings we talked about. But I’m even stupider because I would still do anything for you,” Remus’ words were bullets, but every shot aimed at Y/N seemed to be hitting him instead. 

“Moony,” He grimaced at the way his nickname left her lips. She looked distraught and he resisted the urge to smooth out the lines on her forehead. “I don’t know what you want me to say.” 

“Alright,” Remus took a breath, trying to keep his temper cool. “Start by explaining why? Why’d you start dating Tomlinson?” Y/N’s face flushed as she looked at Remus with an unreadable expression.

“I like him, Remus. That’s why.” Maybe if Remus had really been listening, the words would have broken straight through his bones. Instead, he was ready to ask her the next question on his mind. 

“What happened to us?”

It was a simple question. If Y/N had a new boyfriend she should have no problem giving him an answer. So, why was she tearing up? Why did she get to be the one hurting right now? 

“Remus, Mason, he just… I don’t know, Remus. I can’t explain it,” Remus was getting sick of her feigning guiltlessness. He was the one that was left alone and empty, she probably had Mason filling her up every night. 

“Did you lie in your letter?” He studied her reaction carefully as he spoke his next words. “You said you loved me, what the fuck does that mean?” When Remus had received the letter from Y/N, he had assumed it was going to be just another mundane update since the last time they had talked. Which would have been more than enough for Remus. However, within the last lines of the letter she had casually told Remus she loved him. He wasn’t sure if it had been a mistake, but that day he decided as soon as they were back at Hogwarts he would tell her how he felt. He would make what they had real. 

“That I loved you?” Y/N visibly retracted and closed her eyes as she replied. 

“Is that what it meant? Because if you fucking loved me, then how the fuck did you find someone new after three weeks?” Remus tasted a salty liquid on his lips and instantly wiped away the tears that were slipping down his face. What made him more angry was that Y/N was just staring, wide eyed. “ANSWER ME, Y/N!”

“Remus, I don’t know. I wish I knew what happened, but I just met Mason and it was like something instant.” 

“You’re a liar. There must be a reason that you fell… fell o-out of love with me,” Remus took a harsh breath in, willing his tears away. 

“I’m not lying. It had nothing to do with you,” Remus chuckled, choking on his tears. How cliche, he thought. Running his hand through his hair, he spun away from Y/N. It was as if the moon had come two weeks early, because he was unable to control the anger coursing through him. He pounded his fist against Marlene’s bed frame, but made sure to stay as far away from Y/N as possible. No matter what, he couldn’t scare her. 

“Remus!” Y/N yelled, running over to inspect his hands. Her hands were cold but she electrified every inch of skin she touched. Sighing, she looked up at him. “Look, Remus. I have no idea how to explain to you what I’m feeling, but you’re just going to have to accept I’m with Mason now. Or - or we can’t be friends.” 

“Okay,” Remus nodded his head calmly, carefully moving his hand away from hers and brought them to his side.

“Okay? Thank you, Remus -”

“I guess we just aren’t friends anymore,” Turning around, Remus didn’t bother listening to what bullshit Y/N was spewing. But before he walked out of the room he left her with one last thought, “Coward.”

Remus didn’t react until he was safely in his locked dorm room. And then he broke. Did Y/N have a charm to use for the pain growing in his heart? Because he really needed it.

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[idga-buck]

Some and Others, 4/?

Bucky learns some things about his relationship and tries to clean up the mess he made.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 3,300

Content: swearing, discussion of pregnancy, awkwardness, light allusion to dubcon?(No sexual content, but I’m including in case- if you have concerns about this, feel free to message me) also a fanfiction writer’s attempt to fill in the blanks regarding how the avengers make money and avoid plot holes. They’re a nonprofit now. Lawl.

Bucky stared dumbly at your apartment door, the sound of it slamming in his face still echoed in his mind. His lips flapped under the force of his exhale as he swallowed his pride and knocked again. To his surprise, you opened it quickly. Must have stayed by the door after closing.

“Can I try again?” He asked, leaning to the left and looking at your frown under the chain latch that kept him from seeing anything else.

“Is it mine?” You repeated back to him in a voice much lower than his own. If he wasn’t being mocked and you weren’t looking at him like the worst human on earth, he probably would have laughed.

Bucky lifted his hands and your eyes dropped to the four plastic packages in his fingers, then widened. He was a little proud of himself for remembering your excitement over the artisanal popsicle guy that pushed his little orange cart around the park by your apartment. Once the air shifted in springtime and the sun was out most days, you wouldn’t shut up about it. He didn’t really get it and half the flavors on the menu were fruits he’d never heard of let alone could imagine being paired up, but you loved them. Before the break up, you’d dragged him out to join you for one and playfully teased him for ordering a peach lemonade instead of something more exciting. He’d been more interested in getting out of the sun and using your sweet tongues and cold breaths for something more fun and less surrounded by people. Between the heat and his sorriest look, he hoped that the popsicles would help him get his foot in the door.

“What flavor?” You asked, eyes narrowed and on him again.

“One of everything,” Bucky assured you. He held them out as if allowing you to take one before pulling it back again, just as your hand rose to reach for one. “Please?”

The door closed in his face a second time. Becky’s jaw shifted forward in frustration, his bottom teeth tickling his upper lip, probably looking more like a bulldog than an Avenger as he chewed on nothing. His mouth slipped open at the sound of the chain sliding open and the door opened again. Third time’s the charm.

Your arm reached out to take one of the popsicles and walked away, leaving the door open behind you. “You can put the rest in the freezer,” you called back over the crinkling of your wrapper as you tore into it. It was a better invitation than Bucky had expected, so he took it. He closed and locked the door behind him before making his way into the kitchenette. Just before closing the tiny freezer door, he grabbed a bright magenta popsicle for himself. DragonPassionParty, the wooden stick read, and Bucky decided that he could use a bravery boost. Trying new fruits was a good first step before talking to you about the elephant in the room. Or rather in your belly.

“Hey!” You whined, noticing that he’d kept one for himself instead of saving all three for you.

“I’ll buy you more,” he answered automatically before shoving the top of the treat into his mouth and shrugged. DragonPassionParty was good.

Bucky joined you on your sofa, something that had been so normal just a few weeks ago was weird now. Both of you silently slurped on your popsicles, waiting for the other to say something first and break through the invisible barrier between you. Just like before, Bucky knew he should say something and failed to do so. His mother would be so disappointed. His sisters would smack him. If they could see him now, sitting on a sofa, tongue coated in sugar and dyed hot pink, while he stared at a wall to avoid speaking to the mother of his child… actually, even he’d smack any of his old buddies if they’d been that dumb.

“I wasn’t with anyone else,” you finally broke the silence. The braver person in the room showed themselves and Bucky wasn’t exactly surprised that it ended up being you.

“I didn’t think you had,” he admitted.

You scoffed at that, clearly unsatisfied with his response. “Then why ask? Why storm out and leave me alone for a life changing moment? Why show up FOUR DAYS later just to ask something so stupid?” Just when he thought your little outburst was done, you thought of another question. “Why bother showing up at all?”

Bucky winced and bit down on the wooden stick, pulling it between his teeth and clearing the rest of his dessert in one swipe. The ice melted on his tongue and he sucked it down slowly, watching you shake your head. You’d spun on the sofa, leaving half a cushion between your crossed legs and his spread thighs. “I didn’t think it was possible.”

“Well-“ you laughed, but not because the situation was funny.

“You said you were on something, so-“

“Hey,” you said sternly and Bucky’s eyes finally left the cushion between you to meet you head on. You pointed one finger and shoved it against your own sternum. “Woman with a uterus and birth control,” then your fist fell forward, finger now pointing directly at him, “Super soldier with super soldier spunk.” Your arms crossed after that. “Now we know which one is stronger. Shocker.”

“So…” Bucky debated asking, but it was a thought that came back to him over and over during the last few days. He already thought that you’d used him once… what was stopping him from thinking you’d do it again? Nothing. “You didn’t do this on purpose?” Your eyes widened comically, but your brows met in the middle of your face. Equal parts shocked and angered by what he was insinuating. In a moment of stupidity, he decided to lay it out plainly, thinking you’d respect him more for just coming clean about what had been bothering him. “Were you trying to get pregnant... to, you know... trap me?” Bucky frowned as it said it. It sounded even worse outloud. “Is it an Avenger thing? A money thing? I don’t have any…” he rambled on, watching your face fall open in disbelief. “I just need to know.”

“Fuck you.” Or not.

Your voice was different. Maybe because you were mad, but Bucky thought it was more than that. In months of being your boyfriend, he’d never experienced this side of you. You’d always been sweet to him, albeit a little pushy when it came to going out rather than hiding under the covers, but you were mostly a gentle presence. Something he’d kind of needed at the time. Now… you weren’t holding back and every time your eyes cut through his, his gut turned over.

“I should have come to see you sooner,” he admitted and by the look on your face, you were completely unimpressed by him. That was new too. “I had a lot to think about.”

Your hands fell down to your sides and you pushed yourself off the sofa before Bucky could finish his sentence. “Well, I have a lot to think about too.”

“That’s why I’m here, doll-“

“No thanks,” you stated simply. Bucky turned toward the back of the sofa, watching you move toward the door. He frowned when you stood next to it, looking rather expectant. When he didn’t move from his seat, you opened it for him. “I need you to leave, Bucky.”

He stood from his seat but not without arguing his case. He needed a few days to wrap his mind around the idea of a baby. The idea of YOU and a baby. The idea of HIM freshly fucked up and still trying to survive in a new world… having a baby. It was a lot and it was a lot to shoulder alone. Bucky avoided any conversations that turned toward himself. Steve didn't push it. Sam had definitely noticed, but also had a gift for filling silences without making him feel defective. Almost everyone else in the compound was so used to Bucky avoiding them anyways that it hadn’t been all that surprising when he suddenly closed up again.

Standing in your apartment, in the process of being kicked out, Bucky only just realized that you were in it too. He wasn’t technically alone, not if he didn’t want to be. You didn’t have to be alone either. That was the thought that should have put his ass on his bike and sent him here sooner.

He tried explaining himself, but you were over it, eyes flirting back and forth between his and the floor. The second he took a breath, you jumped in, seizing the moment for yourself.

“You can’t be here, Bucky. I have a lot going on and I need to figure out what I’m going to do.”

“That’s why I’m here, I can-“

“Whatever you think you can do, you can’t-“ you said sharply and fell back against the wall next to the door. With your head back, face turned up, you spoke to the ceiling instead of to him. “I told you, Bucky. I can’t say no to you.” He remembered you saying that before. It didn’t mean anything at the time. It was flirty, that’s all. But clearly, he’d missed what you were really saying. “You’re… I dunno. You’re larger than life and it’s my fault for getting caught up in it, but what was I supposed to do? Turn down the fucking Avenger in my bed?” Your voice sounded so small, so embarrassed as you spoke. It made Bucky want to throw up. Were you with him because you didn’t think you’d had a choice? Once he’d gotten it in his head that you were using him, he didn’t stop to question why he kept coming back. Why he’d come to you at all. Good sleep. Comfort. Escape. Some piece of his life that wasn’t under a microscope. Did he have it all backwards? Was he the one using you? “This isn’t-“ Bucky's eyes were drawn down to your hand, coming up to hold onto your stomach. It looked no different than it ever had. But it was. Everything was different. “I feel like everything is falling apart right now and I just… I can’t think about you, Bucky. If I think about you, I won’t think about anything else.”

“I didn’t-“

“It’s fine,” you sighed, pushing off from the wall and dropping your hand back to your side. Bucky’s eyes were still on your stomach as he fought the urge to replace your hand with his own. “I just need to figure out what comes next for me. I don’t know what to do about work or if I can stay in this apartment or how I’m going to tell my mother… oh my god, my mother…” you groaned.

“What’s happening with your job?” Bucky asked suddenly and he could see he’d caught you off guard, your mouth still open and your eyes deeply confused by his interest.

You blinked twice and he tipped his chin up, encouraging you along. “I was at work when those… things attacked,” you explained. “Our building was evacuated, which is where you, you know, showed up to save the day.”

Right. Bucky nodded, but he didn’t bother speaking this time. Just letting you fill in the details.

“My director was one of…” you paused and shook your head. “Well you saw what happened to her.”

The people that died. The people that died in front of you. Shit shit shit shi-

“Then some asshole with a bomb strapped to his back flew through the windows of the floor below our offices, or so they say. Everything caved in, it’s all lost. The video is all over the news, but I could only watch it once. He just soars right into it… it’s… fuck what’s wrong with people?”

You were getting choked up and Bucky stood there frozen, remembering the weight of the man’s body as he kicked it clear into a building across the way. Yours. Apparently.

Seeing that Bucky wasn’t really listening, you wiped your eyes and cleared your throat. “Some people are being transferred to new branches, I haven’t heard from anyone yet and Margo’s funeral is tomorrow and-”

“I’ll go,” Bucky interrupted and your mouth closed immediately. He watched your lips curl in over your teeth to bite them and your eyes drop back to the floor. He was going to say something else. Sorry, maybe. But when he reached up to touch your face, you flinched. His stomach dropped again. It was subtle, but clear as day to him.

So Bucky’s gentle outstretched hand curled into a fist and he left. Whatever help he thought he’d be able to offer was empty. You were pregnant. Potentially out of a job. You might be moving away all together and somehow all of that was his fault. He tried not to dwell on the possibility of never seeing you again, but when his mind did wander that direction, Bucky told himself that the idea of never knowing the only child he’d likely get was what soured his stomach. He ignored the way his disapproval started in his gut, but managed to flutter until into his chest, beating wings beneath his rib cage. It wasn’t like he’d miss you. He couldn’t. He’d only recently gotten away from you. That had been his choice and now, suddenly, he wasn’t so sure about it. Maybe because it was his choice. It was good practice to set his own boundaries and decide what parts of his life included other people. From what he remembered of the sparse therapy sessions, those things were important and the break up let him do that. This time, however, if you left it wouldn’t have been his choice and that didn’t sit well with him. You weren’t interested in his input at all and that scared him a bit. He hadn’t felt this useless in- well ever. Bucky vaguely wondered what his therapist would have said about that.

…

The Stark’s were in charge everywhere they went. It wasn’t really a competition. Tony still perceived a power struggle that didn’t exist between himself and Steve, but Bucky knew better than to say what he actually thought about that. He’d come between them too much as it was, so whenever the two were together, Bucky steered clear. He’d perfected his aboutface back in ‘43 and 80 years later, he found more use for it than ever.

Bucky heard their voices echoing down the hall and needed no serum’s aid for it. The recent attack was the only thing anyone could talk about. It was stressing out Wanda to no end and if Bucky could tell that, he wondered why the hell everyone insisted on continuing on about it. Any civilian casualties set the witch on edge. Being so close to home made these particular losses that much harder. The android, Vision, tried to explain Lagos. Bucky felt like he barely had a grasp on reality as it was and conversing with a metal man who could float through walls wasn’t good for his mental health, so that was a brief conversation. Bucky saw Wanda in one of the sitting rooms, android sitting next to her on a modular sofa as both listened to the other Stark. The blonde one that managed to keep Tony in check when no one else could. She tenderly touched Wanda’s knee before rising from her own seat and making her way toward the hall, where Bucky realized he’d been standing like a creep and watching them for too long.

“Sergeant Barnes,” she greeted him with a warm smile, shifting a leather bag from her hand to her hip.

“Ma’am,” he nodded. She told him to call her Pepper, but he still preferred ‘ma’am’. “Everything okay?”

Pepper looked back at Wanda and Vision, leaning into each other on the sofa like the opening scene of a sitcom, but with somber looks on their faces. “I suppose it is weird to see me around the compound,” she mused before leaning in as if sharing a secret. “Stark tower is more my speed.” Bucky offered a tight smile and when his eyes drifted back into the sitting around, where the couple still hadn’t moved, Pepper spoke up again. “She’ll be fine, wants to make amends. I’d let someone help usually, but since the attack was in the city…” she must have noticed that Bucky’s expression changed. He stared hard, through her not really at her, and Pepper moved her head a bit trying to catch his eyes again.

Amends. Wanda wanted to make things right somehow. As far as he knew she couldn’t bring anyone back from the dead, hell maybe she could, Bucky didn’t know the extent of her powers, but still she wanted to help the ones who lived start to heal. Whatever that looked like. Pepper would help with that and maybe she could help him now that inspiration had struck.

“Do you have a minute?” he asked, suddenly, but hopefully. Pepper looked over his shoulder, then down to her phone. It was obvious she wanted to say no and Bucky was shocked when she didn’t. The Starks were very different people and he was glad to be talking with this one. Bucky escorted her down the halls and toward the hangar, so that she could leave whenever she needed to, sharing a bit of his needs all the way.

“I think I need a space… not here you know? A house or apartment, I don’t know. The compound is great, really, more than I expected honestly, but sometimes I just… I can’t breathe and I don’t have any money, but maybe-”

Pepper stopped walking and held up a hand. Bucky shut up and was glad to, feeling like he was going nowhere with his awkward request. Her smile really was kind and it prompted him to take a breath. “Stark has some real estate holdings, investment properties, I’ll set you up with one of the property managers.” She made it sound so easy. It made Bucky nervous.

“I’ll need a job or something to pay for it, can-”

Pepper stopped him again. “Tony was supposed to talk to you about this.”

Bucky sensed that blaming her husband wasn’t his wisest option, so he smiled meekly. “I might not have been listening.”

She hummed, frowning a bit as if she knew he wasn’t telling the truth, but continued on, seemingly unbothered. “You are not a Stark employee, Sergeant Barnes-”

“Bucky,” he corrected reflexively, but quietly.

Pepper smiled, her shoulders lifting quickly in silent amusement. “Bucky…” she started again. “It’s a conflict of interest. After the mess over the accords, it was decided that no entity should have, for lack of a better word, control over the Avengers.” Bucky couldn’t agree more. “What used to be an initiative of S.H.I.E.L.D. is now a 501(c)3, accepting benevolent donations, but no strings. We use a fiscal intermediary, yearly audits…” Pepper rolled her eyes off to the side. “You don’t care about all that, I’m sure, so I’ll keep it simple. You have money, Ser-” she stopped herself. “Bucky. Many people believe that you put more good into the world than bad and they want to support that.” Bucky swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure about all that…

“Is there… is there anyway we could keep this between us?” Pepper frowned at his request and Bucky coughed. “The whole point of a place is privacy… no offense, but if your husband knows…”

Pepper smiled, but checked her phone one more time. “I understand. He can find out lots, but I won’t give him any reasons to go looking. How about that?” Bucky thanked her and didn’t follow when she started walking again. “I’ll be in touch,” she promised and he waved awkwardly as she pushed her way through tall glass doors, leaving him and the compound behind.

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