#that might not be the central thing that draws them to each other or a priority for either of them

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

saw that new article that was like "hacks is the greatest romcom on tv but in a totally platonic way because deborah makes fun of ava's hands being big all the time and would clearly never be dtf" and i was like "we are watching this show very differently"

[anneapocalypse]

I cannot help feeling like the tendency to see Inquisition!Leliana in stark contrast to Origins!Leliana has led to some people forgetting what... Leliana is actually like in Origins.

In fairness, as in all Dragon Age games some very revealing character moments happen in party banter which makes it easy to miss. But the gentle-hearted mystic who desires only to draw others unto the love of the Maker has never been all that Leliana is, and it's always been in direct conflict with the side of her that is not only adept at intrigue and yes, violence, but enjoys those things. This is the central conflict of her whole character, and it's not a trivial conflict, because there is not one simple answer to who Leliana truly is. She is both of these things. She is deeply religious and finds comfort in her faith, and thinks it should bring comfort to others as well. She's also prone to gossip and pettiness and all the qualities that helped her thrive as a bard.

There's this one particularly revealing piece of banter with Alistair if the Warden is in a romance with Morrigan:

Alistair: So have you heard? Morrigan and him are... you know. Leliana: Have you nothing better to do than to spread idle gossip? And besides, he can probably hear us both. You're not being very discreet. Alistair: No, look, he's not even paying attention. Leliana: Hmmm. maybe. You don't... think that he's serious about it, do you? The woman is a vile fiend. Alistair: Well, look here, now who's an idle gossip? Me-ow! Leliana: You're the one who started this, I might remind you. And I'm... well, I'm ending it!

I once had the especially entertaining experience of getting this banter, and minutes later hearing Leliana turn to Morrigan to give her the "It's so nice that you're together, isn't love wonderful?" line. But whether or not you have the pleasure of hearing them back to back, I think this dialogue make it pretty clear that while Leliana would like not to think of herself as a gossip, it takes very little prompting from Alistair to get her to slip back into that mean girl persona. And Alistair (who is more perceptive than he often gets credit for), calls her on it immediately, clearly embarrassing Leliana--who realizes that her mask has slipped.

I don't think it follows from this that Leliana necessarily hates Morrigan unilaterally. There's something much more complex going on between them, in my opinion, because they are such distinct opposites in upbringing and personality. Both Leliana's faith and her life of courtly intrigue are nonsense to Morrigan, who neither believes in the Maker nor has much patience for intricate social graces (at least, not yet). Meanwhile, I think Morrigan's outward self-possession and the sense of power she exudes is a source of both fascination and frustration for Leliana, who thinks she understands power, both social and divine--but finds in Morrigan a kind she cannot fully comprehend. (I also think you can definitely feel some sexual tension into their banter, especially the much-beloved banter about the velvet dress.) Ultimately, both of them are very concerned with power, but approach that concept very differently. And Leliana responds to this clash of ideals in a particular way because her own self-image is so conflicted.

As all great Dragon Age foils do, Leliana and Morrigan needle one another, push each other's buttons, challenge one another's sense of self, and in doing so reveal one another in their complexity and sometimes in their ugliness. It is perhaps easy to write this off as the tired trope of women being unable to get along with one another, or conversely to claim that they get along just fine and fandom has fabricated the tensions between them; I think to do either of those things diminishes a genuinely complex and sticky relationship that serves to reveal a lot about both characters.

[thesoftboiledegg]

"Unmortricken" was a lot. In fact, it might have been a little too much.

To start, I loved the glimpse of what exists outside the Central Finite Curve. The visuals were stunning and reminded me of M.C. Escher's drawings. The Jetson-like family was a nice touch--if anything can happen, who says they can't have different animation styles? All those colorful portals make me wonder what's lurking just out of sight.

It's also funny that the space outside the Curve is full of Rick's favorite thing: crystals. If he took a trip there, he'd come back with his pockets stuffed with gemstones.

Evil Morty's reappearance gave us a decent character study. Since he wasn't the antagonist, we saw him interact with the C-137s as a regular person. Morty's a little impressed, and Rick has a grudging respect for him. Others have called Evil Morty the Rickest Morty, and I agree: similar intelligence, similar technology and similar bloodthirst.

I was glad that he left in the end because that's what his character arc is about anyway. He doesn't want to be part of anyone else's story, not even another Morty's.

However, that's also part of the issue that I had with this episode. Seeing Evil Morty was great, but it was also a little...pointless? You could've had the same story without him. He's not working with Prime, and he has no ties to C-137 after "Rickmurai Jack," so it felt like the writers just said "Hey, you know what would be cool?"

I'm not against writers having fun and giving the audience what they want. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (yeah, groan at me, Marvel haters) is fan service in blockbuster form, and it was one of the best theater experiences I've ever had.

Still, if Evil Morty came back, I think he should've had a separate episode. The episode juggled C-137 Rick, Morty, Evil Morty and Prime Rick pretty well, giving them satisfying interactions with each other, but no Evil Morty would've meant more relationship development for the C-137s.

Evil Morty's backstory also didn't reveal much about him. I mean--yeah, we all figured that he had an abusive Rick and got fed up. The fact that he had a "regular" Rick instead of a deranged lunatic does make a point about the banality of abuse. Monsters aren't always raving maniacs who torture people in their basements. Ordinary people can wear you down with a slow drip of toxicity and neglect.

I enjoyed this episode, and Evil Morty's return was exciting, but cramming the series' two biggest antagonists and storylines into twenty minutes was a little overwhelming. New plot developments kept showing up, too: Rick found Prime! Prime's various lairs! Omega device! I would've preferred a two-parter.

I'll admit that if you told me that we'd see Evil Morty and Rick Prime in the same shot, I never would have believed you, but here we are.

On that note, Prime's characterization was perfect. No attempt at a cutesy, sad backstory; he's a laughing monster until the end. And is it really the end? He has regeneration abilities, but C-137 acts like he's dead and even gives up the search. This leaves us with a few options:

C-137 killed him.

Prime fooled C-137 into thinking that he's dead when he isn't.

C-137's keeping him alive for later use.

Hopefully, this is more complicated than it looks because I'll be disappointed if this is the end of Prime. He's a brilliant reflection of C-137: the Rick he'd be without his tiny shred of humanity.

And Prime's a maniac, but he tells C-137 the truth. Rick broke into Prime's house. He pretended he belonged with this group of strangers. He latched on to Prime's grandson because he never had his own. His brutal, violent streak never went away no matter how long he tried to play house.

Prime says "Admit it! You would have been me!" In season three and parts of season four, Rick was close. His love for his family--love that he pretended he didn't have--and desire for their approval just barely pulled him back. But what kept that spark alive? How close was he to becoming a cold, unfeeling shell?

In the end, C-137's not satisfied after he destroys Prime--and weirdly, I'm not satisfied, either. Beating Prime to an unrecognizable pulp doesn't bring Rick's original family back. It doesn't erase the atrocities that Rick's committed. It doesn't make his grief go away. It doesn't change the fact that Rick teetered on the edge of turning into the monster that he despised.

What's more satisfying is that Rick didn't turn out like Prime. His Morty doesn't give two shits about Prime, but he loves him. He hugs him in relief (come on, Rick, hug him back already!), cries out "Rick? Rick!" and shakes his body when he thinks he's dead, and talks excitedly as they return home.

Rick's going to therapy, which Prime would have mocked. He went from having nobody to living with FIVE kids if you count Morty and Summer. Even he and his Jerry are pretty tight.

Rick knows this, but he still feels empty all the time. Vengeance doesn't work, drinking doesn't work...wouldn't it be easier if he just switched off his humanity and laughed at everything, even his own death?

But now that he knows how it feels to be loved, especially by his hypothetical grandson, I think he'll always find himself at the Smiths' doorstep.

[u2fangirlie-blog]

Spock's World Inspired Holiday Card circa 1992

December 1992. Spock's World was among my favorite novels. I had just turned 19 years old that month. In keeping with the tradition of making holiday cards, that year I drew artwork inspired by a scene in Spock's World, the Star Trek novel by Diane Duane.

No computer. No printer. This was 1992. I drew it in pencil and darkened it with ink. The message was all hand lettered. My dad made copies of the artwork at his office. Each copy was colored by hand with colored pencils and crayons.

The image centers on the IDIC symbol, Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination, a concept central to Vulcan philosophy. Diane Duane wrote the most beautiful passage in Spock's World that simply explained the meaning of IDIC. I copied the passage for the message inside the card. The IDIC symbol was surrounded by animals, plants, and other organisms representing the biodiversity of Earth.

The passage from Spock's World was from a scene where Surak was in the desert and saw the giant sandworm-like creature, referred to as the Underlier (called A'kweth or Tcha'besheh). Both beings paused and beheld one another, the Underlier and the Vulcan, in the vast desert under the light of T'Khut (called The Watcher), Vulcan's sister planet.

"How delightful to be so different from something. No need to understand them, particularly; that might come with time and would be an added delight. But it was enough to accept their difference, to celebrate just that without anything added. Creation, in itself, was joy, the difference was joy, the celebration of it was joy."

Front of card. Star Trek inspired greeting card artwork. Based on the novel Spock's World. Image features the Vulcan IDIC symbol and cartoon drawings of animals representing diversity. Created in 1992.

Inside of card. Star Trek inspired greeting card artwork. Based on the novel Spock's World. Image features a quotation from the novel representing diversity and the IDIC philosophy. Created in 1992.

Front and back of card. Star Trek inspired greeting card artwork. Based on the novel Spock's World. Image features the Vulcan IDIC symbol and cartoon drawings of animals representing diversity. Created in 1992. (Copyright Myers Cards 1992.)

The passage in the novel continued:

"There was nothing that could stand against that joy: sooner or later it would triumph. All evil, all death, was a tiny, fretting, posturing thing that knew its own defeat was coming, and it might rage and destroy as it liked. It was doomed. Celebration would win, was winning, had won now. Everything was one moment, and the moment was nothing but triumph and joy."

This resonated with my 18/19 year old self. This still resonates with me today. Oh, my heart! I cry for joy! Such beautiful ideas and words to live by!

Regretfully, I didn't credit the author on the card at the time. I assumed friends and family wouldn't care. It was yet another weird, cheap, homemade holiday card from their weirdo sister / niece / daughter / student / friend.

I hope you enjoy the amateur artwork and Diane Duane's message. Enjoy the diversity and differences. Embrace and embody IDIC.

Thank you, @dduane.

Peace and long life,

Amy

[shadowboxmind]

Maybe a hot take, but I don't think the Traveler was being inconsistent or out of character in the last archon quest at all. People are getting upset at their reaction to Lyney and Lynette's behavior from the perspective of players, with meta knowledge of the story that the Traveler, the character, doesn't have.

The players know, for example, that because they're playable characters, Lyney and Lynette are ultimately friendly and on "our" side, and we can also trust that what they told us about their backstory is true. The Traveler does not have that knowledge.

TO BE CLEAR this post is talking about my thoughts on the TRAVELER'S thought process. If we want to talk about how I personally would have reacted to the situation, I'm an overly trusting bleeding-heart who would absolutely get scammed and probably murdered by Fatui in this universe.

(Also characters, even main characters who you normally like, can do things you disagree with and that doesn't mean they're badly written. I mean, sometimes they are, but I don't think that's true in this particular case)

But think about it! Looking at the entire situation from an in-universe, in-character POV, it's a really bad look for Lyney and Lynette overall, because here are the facts as the Traveler is aware of them:

Lyney and Lynette are not only members of the Fatui, the primary antagonistic force in this story, but are specifically members of the House of the Hearth, which is known to specialize in espionage, subterfuge, and sabotage.

Both of them also work in a field that would further require them to be masters of misdirection, audience manipulation, and drama.

They "coincidentally" ran into the Traveler right as they arrived in Fontaine and immediately began to do them favors and be very friendly, including saving them from Furina, bringing them to meet their family, and gifting them VIP tickets to Lyney's show.

During the trial, the twins withheld key information, and not just about their identities (and listen, I get it, I fully empathize with why they did it, I get the reasoning, but it's still a bad look when it gets figured out) but also about what they were doing in the tunnel.

They admitted that the entire magic show was a ruse to do, guess what? espionage! To break into the room with the Oratrice's core and find out how it works. To, through subterfuge, obtain Fontaine's secrets about the nation's most important mechanism and central source of power.

The Traveler has known these people for like, a day total.

So what conclusions might the Traveler draw from these facts? When the evidence shows that Lyney and Lynette have a record of misdirection and obfuscation for their own ends? When the Traveler has no way of knowing if even their initial meeting was orchestrated for an ulterior purpose? How are they supposed to know if the tragic backstory is even true, or if that's just Lyney trying to win back some favor and sympathy? In my opinion, at that moment, they don't. Hence the coldness.

My interpretation of events is that the Traveler does like the twins, and wanted to keep liking them, but was struggling to reconcile their initial impression of two friendly magicians with the realization that these two friendly magicians were dishonest with them for most of the time they'd known each other, so they needed to have some space to figure that out.

And for those saying the Traveler is inconsistent, here's the thing: they still helped Lyney. They still acted as his attorney, investigated thoroughly, won the case, and cleared his name. They've done similar for other Fatui members in their acquaintance—they helped Childe with Teucer, they helped Scaramouche/Wanderer with getting his memories back, they helped that other member of the House of the Hearth fake her death and escape the organization—whether or not they fully trusted them, and generally they didn't.

As for the Traveler's supposed hypocrisy, my view of their relationship with Childe is that it's only improved because, despite Childe trying to nuke Liyue in the past, the Traveler knows that

a. They can handle him if it comes down to a fight again; b. He likes them, regardless of if the feeling is mutual or not, and is indeed aggressively friendly to the point where it's easier to just be civil; c. Childe is generally upfront and honest about his actions and will strike from the front, not stab them in the back; and d. He's worked together with them before when they had a common goal (for example, the labyrinth they went through with Xinyan).

They know how his mind works and what motivates him. Childe is a known quantity, the twins are not, and it took in-story time and shared experiences for the Traveler to get to even this point of neutrality; they were openly suspicious of him during his story quest.

As for holding his Vision for him, the Traveler didn't exactly volunteer for the job, Childe literally threw it at them with no warning and peaced out. What do you expect them to do, drop it in the sea? That would be inconsistent with their characterization.

Wanderer's whole situation is even weirder, since the Traveler was able to experience his actual memories and emotions and therefore has good reason to trust that he's had a genuine change of heart. Not to mention that they're not friends, I'd argue they're in that same nebulous "neutral" zone, and that only because Nahida usually functions as a buffer (and also because, again, the Traveler knows that they can handle Wanderer in a fight, and Wanderer also tends to be blunt and honest).

Also, in Lyney's story quest it seems like everyone got over their problems pretty fast and they're all chummy now, so you can all rest easy that the twins' feelings weren't too hurt about it.

Anyways if you disagree go ham, refute my points, whatever, just keep things civil.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Sometimes I remember how, after the s2 teaser and trailer dropped, I kept trying to keep my expectations in check.

I was worried they'd draw out the reunion, or take too long getting Ed and Stede back on the same page together. Even though that's not what I would've liked and I didn't think it would make sense for them, I tried to convince myself to accept it was a real possibility. I worried they might not kiss again, or do a tired will-they-won't-they bit, and I worried a bigger plot no one cared about might get in the way of the central romance we watch the show for. I remember seeing the shots of Ed and Stede fighting on a beach and trying to convince myself "they might not actually be fighting to get to each other, calm down!"

And literally every. single. one. of my biggest fears about how s2 might go were completely unfounded. You can tell in every inch of this show that the central romance between Ed and Stede is the heart of it, and everyone was on exactly the same page.

There is not a moment of the second season that doubts the romance. Fuck some stupid will-they-won't-they bit, they're in love, fuck you, watch the power of love help Ed gather the strength to choose to live. Of course they're not totally happy when they reunite, the point is they need to learn how to build an adult relationship now, watch them get to do that. Of course there's going to be a lot of wonderful Ed and Stede moments, that's what people watch the show for, duh! And of fucking course they're fighting their way across that beach to each other - what else could be so important?

Just...what a beautiful thing, for everyone involved in making your favorite show to love it as much as you do.

[ewingstan]

So one of Ward's main themes has been asking what's needed to change as a person. Its the whole setup for Breakthrough: People who've done horrible things trying to become better. There's been lots of sub-themes within that—accountability, punishment and repentance, separating yourself from your past. There's been a constant counter to it, with most of the foils or antagonistic forces expressing the idea that you can't get better and might as well let yourself get worse. Lisa does this through her pessimism about things getting better. A lot of the minor career villains have represented it through their willingness to "be more brutal" rather than stick to the old rules we're pretending anyone followed. Cradle represented it through how he blamed Rain for not letting him stay good, and before that the rest of the cluster represented it through blaming Rain for their own bloodthirstiness via bleedthrough. "This isn't my fault, the world is making me bad" has repeatedly been positioned as the obstacle to "Regardless of why I did wrong before, I can put in work to get better."

I do think that "others are too quick to judge agents for reacting to bad circumstances imperfectly" is a bigger problem then "people are too willing to blame their circumstances for their behavior." Mostly because those unfair judgements of moral character has been the justification for uncountable cruel punishments throughout history, lead to untold people being paralyzed by the fear of Hell, lead to children being treated like they needed evil beaten out of them and convicts being treated like they're being disrespectful for daring to continue drawing breath. It can be hard for me to overcome my gut reaction towards anything that seems to be arguing for moral responsibility, because I genuinely think our ethical systems would be better without that concept being included.

But, that's not quite what Ward is doing, at least not when its at its best. "You need to take responsibility" in the sense of recognizing that you could act differently in the future is, strictly speaking, different from "you need to be held responsible" in the sense I find harmful. So as far as central themes go, its not bad. I have resistances to finding it astounding, but it's not an inherently terrible angle or anything.

That said, Ward has framed the opposing theme in counterproductive ways. While "the world wouldn't let me change" can work as a good beat, its not something that people are consciously thinking and being motivated by. We can talk about "they thought I was a monster, so they stripped me of all means to live honestly, so I had to live as a monster" or even "they thought I was a monster, so none would speak with me except others they considered monsters, and we made each other our worst selves," but in neither of those cases is the character's actions driven by their own belief that people wont let them be good—its driven by the actual external circumstances of how people treat them and restrict opportunities. So the way Cradle suddenly starts behaving horribly, not because others are treating him in ways that affect his material circumstances, but because of his reaction to the cluster bleedthrough—it just feels mistaken to even invoke "you made me a monster" as a trope. It doesn't work as a critique of pushing the blame for your actions onto others, because Cradle's reasoning for pushing the blame onto others feels written as an afterthought.

My problem with how this is treated in Amy are related, but not identical. A few chapter's ago, Amy complained about the world not letting her change. I don't think it made much sense for her, not only because her becoming someone who externalizes her issues feels like an unsatisfying direction for her after Worm, but more directly because it doesn't make sense in the context she's in. And sure, she's someone who makes poorly thought-out excuses for herself, so I'm not gonna ding the writing for that. It just feels like it makes more sense as just a parroting of what some commenters have said about Victoria and Amy, rather than something that Amy would herself think.

The same thing seems true for the above passages. A lot of things that readers have said about Amy are now being said, by Amy. Amy is of course voicing the rhetorically worst possible version of those claims, but I think the interesting thing is that the context Amy's saying it is the main thing making it reprehensible. Because as much as Amy is repeating the thin substance of what some readers have argued, fans arguing with other fans that "you shouldn't hate this character because X," is just substantially different than a rapist telling her victim "you shouldn't hate me because of X." Even if the strict words spoken were the same, they aren't at all the same claim, because one is what the audience should feel and the other is how Victoria should feel.

You could argue against this by saying "if its right for Victoria to hate Amy, its right for the audience to hate Amy, because hate is right when it reflects an accurate judgement of someone's moral character." I won't pretend that conception of justified hate isn't somewhat widespread, but I don't think it stands up to scrutiny. Especially not applied to fictional characters.

[scrunklychemistry]

Last year, I had a radical idea that would change the way I think about chemistry forever.

What if molecules were a little bit fluffier?

It all started with me looking at the structural formulas in my schoolbooks. I was amused by how every element seemed to fill a different "role" in a molecule - carbon formed the skeleton, oxygen and nitrogen brought flavor, and hydrogen was there to fill all the bonds that weren't "used". They were almost like a bunch of tails attached to a central body.

But I felt that one thing was missing - and that was them being alive.

To describe how my system works, I have to outline the principles I follow.

The specific arrangement of the atoms is generally based on the molecule's 3D structure, though I sometimes make small changes from reality to make it resemble a character with human or animal traits.

One thing I'd like to ensure is the diversity of the molecules' appearances - I don't want their identities to be lost in B&W print or sketches. I also prefer avoiding symbols (chemical or alchemical), because I think they're overused and might also interfere with their facial expressions.

The faces and limbs serve exclusively to give them more character and expressive power - they don't define a molecule's composition or structure, though they may serve to help communicate a compound's "personality".

The reason behind the alternative representations of a molecule is to put emphasis on different aspects of it - e.g. if you want to look at water symmetrically as an oxygen with two hydrogens, it is better to use the representation on the left, but if you want to view it as a product of acid-base reactions, it is better to use the representation on the right.

I wanted a more visible way represent ionic bonding - most models simply show the ions disconnected from each other, and I thought making them more obvious would be a good idea. At first, I tried drawing it as an electron (held by the anion) that produces a rope which the cation is tied to, and then I noticed that it looks like a dog on a leash, which I thought was funny enough to draw like that.

I'm not sure if I will be able to fill out the entire periodic table - I don't think it's really even necessary. Most elements rarely occur in organic chemistry, which is what this system primarily focuses on. In any case, this project continues to evolve as new ideas flow into my head. Feel free to ask me any questions about it!

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

Call Me Mrs. Rogers

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Word Count: 8.7k

Warnings: not many, very brief mentions of death and some minor violence- this story is mostly just sassy arguing tbh

Genre: fluff

Summary: You have never gotten along with one Steve Rogers, at this point the rest of the team considers it a win if you two don't speak to each other for an entire day, at least then you aren't fighting. So when a briefing meeting results in you getting paired on an extended mission with him you are less than thrilled. It won't be easy but you're determined to get through it and who knows what'll happen.

***

You check your watch as you walk down the halls of the Avengers tower heading towards the meeting room. When you push open the door everyone turns to look at you.

"Y/n. So nice of you to join us." Steve snarks at you from the front of the room.

"Oh I'm sorry were you waiting for me? I would've taken longer if I knew." You say lazily as you plop into a seat next to Wanda who has to hide her snicker at your words. Steve rolls his eyes at you but doesn't bother trying to retort. Your relationship with him always been somewhat contentious. You assume it's because he's a square.

"Now that everyone's here we can get started." Steve says passing out the briefing folders. You flip yours open and scan the words quickly as he begins talking.

"Alright, here's the situation; this is our target, Dusan Müller. Hydra scientist. Our sources say he's been hiding in a small town somewhere outside of central Italy." Steve explains.

"That's very nonspecific." You scoff.

"We've narrowed it down to one of five we simply need to check them out and find him and assuming he has help we need to do it without raising suspicion."

"So, espionage? Someone's going undercover?" Nat asks.

"That's the plan." He nods.

"Who's going and what's their cover?" Bucky asks.

"Based on some research we've done the most solid undercover would probably be a newlywed couple." Tony says.

"Wait what?" Wanda frowns.

"A few of the towns are travel hotspots for 'unconventional honeymoons'. A new couple touring Europe is least likely to raise questions. At the very least it'll take a while before anyone realizes the truth." He explains.

"Sooooo who are our newlyweds?" Nat prompts again.

"That's what we're going to figure out now." Steve says.

"You haven't decided yet?" You frown.

"There are a lot of factors. A discussion makes the most sense so we can account for as many as possible." He forces out through clenched teeth.

"Well y/n and I have tons of espionage experience." Nat says.

"We could always go together." You wink at her.

"And Steve's one of the strongest fighters." Wanda says.

"He's a lanky scientist will we need brute strength really?" You ask.

"Again we don't know who is helping so if he's not isolateable we might." Tony says.

"Well if we're listing them off Bucky's a pretty strong choice for top fighters too." You point out.

"Anyone helping a Hydra scientist would for sure notice me though, plus with the metal arm I might- draw more attention, because jackets in the middle of summer on a honeymood would be weird." Bucky explains shaking his head.

"I'd go but the whole billionaire playboy thing I wouldn't wanna risk being recognized." Tony shrugs.

"Where are Bruce and Clint? Are they not available for this mission?" Wanda asks suddenly.

"They are not. Other tasks are occupying their time." Tony tells her. "If you ask me I suggest Rogers and y/n go." He adds.

"Fuck off Stark." You roll your eyes.

"Actually based on my calculations the most favorable pairing for this mission is Captain Steve Rogers and Miss Y/n Y/l/n." Vision says. It's the first thing he's said the whole meeting, you'd almost forgotten he was in the room.

"What?" You scoff.

"No." Steve says at the same time.

"Vis, you might want to recalculate that one because the only thing we are most favorable for is driving each other crazy." You cross your arms.

"Miss Romanova is the only other member of the team as skilled in this area as you y/n, however, the chances of her being recognized are higher as you fight with a mask and she does not. Similarly, as Mr. Barnes has explained, his reputation as the Winter Soldier proceeds him, and it is an unnecessary risk to send him. Mr. Stark also has quite the reputation and I am a synthezoid that would also draw attention, leaving Captain Rogers the least conspicuous partner for you."

"And Wanda or Sam?" You ask.

"It is my understanding that Sam will be indisposed during part of the proposed timeframe and Wanda lacks proficiency in the skillset needed to successfully pull this off. It would be nothing short of foolish to test her undercover capabilities with such a high-stakes mission." Vision says.

"Fine." You relent. "I'll go undercover with Rogers if you insist it is the most advantageous option." You grumble.

"I can't believe this is happening." Steve shakes his head.

"When do we leave?" You ask.

"Tomorrow at noon."

"Feels a little short noticed for an extended mission don't you think?" You frown.

"I'm sorry will that be an inconvenience to your schedule?" The question is dripping with sarcasm.

"It's got fuck all to do with my schedule and everything to do with the protocol that this doesn't follow."

"What do you know about protocol?" Steve scoffs. You stand up sharply.

"First of all I've been going on missions for longer than you've been active in the 21st century secondly I've been on this team long enough to know there are protocols we follow for these things."

"Extenuating circumstances required us  to work around protocol because we can't waste time."

"And that's all you had to say but instead you wanted to be petty and make me seem like a spoiled brat because I asked a valid question! Maybe nobody else will bother because it's not their mission but since I have to leave I sure as hell will question things as necessary."

"Or don't. You have your directives. You could try just following them."

"You would do well to remember, Captain, I am not one of your little soldiers. Around here we don't just blindly follow orders. I've watched that shit get people killed too many times."

"Alright let's all just calm-"

"I will see you on the launch pad tomorrow at noon. If you need me before then, don't." You cut off whatever Sam was going to say. You grab your briefing folder and storm out of the room angrily. It's not long after that Wanda and Natasha come into your room where you're shoving clothes into your duffle bag angrily.

"So, how do you plan to play husband and wife with someone that makes you want to commit a crime every time he speaks?"

"I'm gonna act. As if my life depends on it. Because it kinda does." You sigh. "Look I'm going to do my job and I will do it well, personal feelings aside. What do you even pack for a fake honeymoon in Europe?"

"Lingerie."

"Natasha!" You glare at her.

"Not for use, but if somebody ends up in your bags you want it to look like you're on honeymoon with a man you love, so a couple pairs of cute underwear couldn't hurt." She explains with a shrug.

"Honestly I think you should try to make a connection with him on some level. Find common ground to make this mission easier on you both. It would be good for the team in the future as well." Wanda says.

"No thank you." You shake your head.

"Wanda you're a genius I'm texting Sam." Natasha says.

"No. Why would you do that?" You frown.

"He's friends with Steve, maybe he'll have some insight on how to keep you from killing each other before you return." Natasha says.

"Dude I'm just trying to pack!" You huff.

"And we're trying to make sure any injuries sustained on this mission are not a result of infighting." She shrugs.

"I would never jeopardize a mission that way and you know that Nat." You point at her. Your door swings open again and Sam comes strolling in with Bucky in tow.

"Alright what're the girls gettin up to?" He asks.

"That took you a concerningly short amount of time to get here." You mutter.

"I brought Bucky too." Sam says.

"Why?"

"Well I figured this was gonna have to do with Steve and since he's the certified record-holding pal of our captain- couldn't hurt to have his input." Sam shrugs.

"I am just trying to pack and these two are in here chatting away. So join the party I guess." You mutter tossing more things on your bed.

"How long do you think you two will be gone?" Wanda asks.

"Hopefully no more than a week, but I'll pack enough for a couple days longer than that. Plus I know how to wash my clothes." You shrug.

"Anyway! Guys, we think y/n could benefit from finding some common ground with Steve and who better to ask than his boys!" Natasha explains to them.

"'We' being her and Wanda I have no interest in any of this actually." You clarify.

"Steve is- not a complex man." Bucky shrugs.

"No not complex just exasperating." You roll your eyes.

"Is there- a particular reason why you hate him so much?" Sam asks with a smirk.

"I don't hate him-"

"EURIKA!" He gasps and you shoot a confused look at him.

"You don't hate him?" Bucky hums.

"If I hated him nothing Vision said in that meeting room would convince me to do this mission. I don't even know if I'd be on the team with him if I felt that strongly about him." You explain. "Rogers is just such a stiff. He sees the world in a specific way and expects most things to adhere to that worldview. When they don't he gets naggy. It's aggravating."

"So, just to clarify; you do not hate him." Sam says.

"No. I don't. He's just boring and we don't get along because I don't like boring people and the way he talks to me is fucking rude. As if it's my fault that he's insipid." You scoff.

"Honestly that- feels like a start." Bucky nods.

"A start for what, exactly? I'm not the problem. We can't find common ground if he's not willing to lighten up."

"I mean if you're together for an entire week he can't be stuffy the entire time, right?" Sam shrugs.

"I don't care if he's stuffy the whole time. It's not a vacation. We don't need to have fun being a fake couple." You say.

"Honestly I think this mission will be good for your relationship with Steve. We're all on a team it's not good for you to fight with him all the time." Wanda says.

"This is feeling oddly intervention-like. Save it y'all, I just want to do my job and bring in this hydra creep." You say.

"It's not meant to be interventional, we just want to make this easier for you." She sighs.

"I don't really need it to be easier but I appreciate the attempt. Sammy, Bucky go about your business please and thank you." You sigh folding the last of your clothes and shoving them in your large travel duffle.

"Good luck this week lady." Bucky nudges you before tugging Sam out of your room.

"Are you kicking us out too?" Natasha smirks.

"At this point I should, but you don't listen anyway." You roll your eyes. You toss your travel toiletries bag into the duffle and couple of other travel essentials, a book, your mission suit, and some extra combat equipment, things of that nature and by the time you're done packing you, Wanda, and Nat have made plans for dinner later in the evening.

~*~*~

When you wake up the next morning you put on a sundress, chosen by Wanda who insisted if you were going to convince anyone you're on a honeymoon you need to look like you would on a date. After a nice breakfast, you grab your duffle from your room and stroll out to the helipad where Steve is already waiting with his arms crossed.

"You're late." Steve grunts as you approach.

"No I'm not. You said we leave at noon. It's noon now."

"We leave at noon means get here before."

"I told you I'd meet you here at noon. You can complain about the semantics of my arrival all you want but you're wasting the time you're so upset about me not adhering to." You say walking past him to get into the quinjet taking you into Europe. Steve stomps onto the jet behind you joining you at the front of the jet. You try not to laugh at the deep frown on his face as he prepares you for takeoff.

"We'll land in Italy where a truck is loaded up for us to take the rest of the way to our first town, and we'll be using the truck to get from town to town." Steve tells you.

"Yeah sure." You mutter grabbing your briefing file to read over again. You always read the information more than once to find anything valuable.

"Did you not- read the whole file yet?" He glances in your direction.

"Of course I did. I'm rereading. We've got like six hours to kill on this jet." You roll your eyes. You feel his gaze on you as you read but you ignore it and eventually he turns his attention back to the controls of the jet. It's in autopilot now but you're sure he'll spend the entire flight glaring at the instruments to make sure nothing goes wrong.

Once you land, you shove the folder into the bottom of your duffle and sling the bag over your shoulder beating Steve to the three agents meeting you at the landing site.

"Hello miss y/l/n." One of them nods to you.

"Hi y'all." You smile at her.

"This will be your transportation for the duration of your trip. There are supplies and gear tucked under the backseat and a radio to contact us if necessary in the center console and your passports are in the glove box." The same agent details to you, pointing to a silver fiat pickup truck. When Steve joins you one of the other agents tosses him the keys.

"We're good to go?" Steve asks the first agent.

"All set, like I was telling miss y/l/n there's emergency supplies and a radio stashed in the vehicle and your destinations are programmed into the GPS system." She nods.

"Is that such a good idea?" You ask with a frown.

"The truck is Stark tech it only says fiat to blend in because they're common in Italy but, nobody's gonna be able to track you with it, or even plot your route. It's biometrically activated." She explains.

"That's better." You nod. You throw your bag into the back of the truck and climb into the passenger seat. You grab your passport out of the glovebox the name on it says Alissa Rogers and Steve's says Grant.

"We'll be in touch." Steve nods one last time before loading his stuff in and settling into the driver's side. He pulls off quickly and you watch as the scenery changes the further you drive towards the small town you'll be staying in.

"Hope you brushed up on your Italian. You're less likely to find English speakers in the countryside like this." You say opening a snack you'd brought along in case you got hungry before you could get food.

"Tony assured me the place he booked was tourist friendly." Steve mumbles.

"I mean sure but what if you have to talk to the locals? Or will that be up to me?"

"As if you speak Italian." He scoffs.

"I speak several languages actually. Side effect of being trained to be an international spy." You shrug and Steve doesn't have a rebuttal for that so he focuses on driving and you munch away on your snacks. A short while later you make it to the small inn you'll be staying at. It's cozy looking, exactly what you'd expect for the town you drove into. It looks like the kind of place where most of the people know each other. With your bag tossed across your back, you follow Steve into the inn where he grabs the attention of the woman at the desk.

"Excuse me, hi we're looking to check in. We have a reservation. Should be under Rogers, first name Grant." Steve says smoothly with a charming smile.

"Oh yes you booked a honeymoon package!" The woman gushes happily as she types away at her keyboard. You have to refrain from reacting when she says that. Looks like it's showtime.

"Yeah we just got married, we're traveling through Europe for our honeymoon." You tell her with a fake dreamy look on your face. You even wrap your hands around Steve's arm affectionately.

"Oooo traveling through Europe! Sounds so exciting and romantic." The woman beams.

"It has been so far! We're still very early into our plans but, so far it's been everything I've dreamed of and more." You sigh softly. The woman lets out a barely there squeal about how cute you are and how lovely newlyweds tend to be before sliding your room keys onto the desk.

"Here are your keys cara mia! Try to rest if he allows." She winks at you and you laugh although the innuendo in her statement makes Steve stiffen beside you.

"Grazie! Oh! Do you have any food suggestions, we've been driving for a while to get here." You ask her.

"Ah most people cook around here but there's Nino's! It's the best place nearby. I'll give you the address." She quickly scribbles the address onto some spare paper she has at the desk and hands it to you.

"Thanks so much, ma'am. Have a good night." Steve finally finds his voice to bid the kind nonna farewell before leading you off with a hand at your back.

"Oh what a sweet old lady." You smile as you walk up the stairs to find your room.

"You settled into the lovestruck newlywed thing very quick." Steve observes.

"Well yeah, this isn't my first rodeo and honestly hopelessly in love is not even close to the hardest part I've had to play on a mission." You scoff.

"Clearly, you're very good at this."

"Yeah that's probably why Vision thought I'd be best for the job." You shrug unlocking your room and tossing your bag to the side.

"There's- only one bed." Steve points out with wide eyes.

"Of course there is. We're supposed to be a newlywed couple on our honeymoon, why would we have a room with two beds?"

"Well I can call down for extra blankets and set up on the floor or-"

"Don't be ridiculous. If you want to sleep in the bed it's king sized, I'm sure we can manage to share." You scoff.

"I just figured it'd be easier if we-"

"It's not a big deal to me Rogers, the main thing is if someone like came to the door and saw pillows and blankets set up on the floor it would hurt the hopelessly devoted story we're trying to sell."

"Hopelessly devoted?" He frowns.

"It's a song from Grease, an old 70s movie. Don't worry about it. Point is, it'll be odd if anyone sees you set up on the floor. Unless you prefer sleeping on straight wood." You shrug.

"I don't." He frowns.

"So don't make it a thing. Which by the way, you kept Rogers for this mission?"

"Yeah, Tony figured it was common enough that it wouldn't matter. Grant's my middle name."

"Hm, interesting. Well, I'm Alissa, apparently. Should we check out that restaurant the nonna suggested?"

"You feel like going to dinner?"

"I mean she said most folks around here cook so tomorrow I'll hit some of the street stands and you can try asking around subtly for any information on our target."

"Shouldn't you do the asking around? I mean what happens when I end up talking to someone that doesn't speak English?"

"You can introduce them to your gorgeous Italian speaking wife, or hope they have nothing important to say." You shrug. "I think you can handle it. You coming with me to get something to eat or not dude?"

"Uh yeah I guess."

The two of you have a semi awkward dinner playing the happy in love couple for anyone that walks pass while not really talking to each other. When you return to your room you take turns showering and getting ready for bed without saying a word to each other.

"Do you care what side you sleep on?" Steve eventually asks.

"Not particularly."

"Then I will take the side by the door. If that's okay?" Steve suggests. 

"If that's what you want. Sure." You shrug tossing the comforter back and getting under it on your designated side. Why he's acting so awkward about the whole thing makes no sense to you but honestly most of his actions make no sense to you. Curled up on one side of the bed you quickly fall asleep, all the travel has certainly tired you out.

Light peaking through the curtain slowly pulls you from sleep in the morning. As you gain consciousness you get more aware of a weight across your body. A weight that doesn't move even as you shift in bed. It's an arm, attached to a body, that's apparently close enough that you can feel the heat radiating from it and the realization makes you scramble out of bed so suddenly you wake Steve too.

"You don't strike me as a cuddly sleeper Rogers." You clip. You can see in his eyes that he's struggling for a response but you grab your duffle and rush into the bathroom before he can find one. You get yourself together and leave pretty quickly with a comment to Steve about making sure he does what you agreed on when he gets on with his day.

With a tote in hand, you scan the different stands in town stopping to buy various produce and things. By the time you'd settled in yesterday and doubled back out for dinner most of the town had gone quiet, it's nice to see everyone out now and survey things. When you're looking at some bracelets at one shop, you overhear a conversation between the woman behind the counter and someone sitting off to the side near her. They're speaking in Italian but you clearly catch one of them gushing about the increase in handsome foreigners in their small town. You giggle a bit, loud enough for them to notice.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to interject." You smile apologetically, speaking to them in Italian. "I just caught the last bit of your conversation and well, I take it you've met my husband is all."

"The American is your husband?" One of them gasps.

"Yes he is. Was he here?" You ask her.

"Briefly, he said he was looking for 'trinkets' for friends." The one behind the counter says to you. She says trinkets in English with a confused scrunch of her nose.

"Sounds like him. Do you see a lot of Americans here?" You ask.

"No not Americans often. There was a really handsome German here a couple of days ago." She shakes her head.

"German? Really?" You blink.

"Oh yeah, I remember him. He was tall and thin with a beard and big round glasses and his eyes were bright, almost yellow." The seated woman says.

"Yeah! He didn't talk much but he was much friendlier by the time he left and he spoke with a heavy accent." The lady behind the register adds.

"Was he here long?"

"Probably around 3 weeks." The woman at the register says.

"Did he say where he was going?"

"Well he asked me where the next town to us was, even had me point it out on a map." She tells you.

"Interesting. Must be nice to see new faces sometimes. I'll take these two bracelets." You say placing two items on the counter. With all that chatting you definitely need to buy something before leaving, plus they're so cute you're sure Wanda will love them. The woman checks you out and after a bit more looking around, you head back to your hotel. There's a kitchen on the main floor that you can use to prepare food since that's the norm, plus with this information you'll probably be on your way in the morning. When you return to your room, Steve isn't there, which is fine, you take advantage of the empty suite to take a long hot shower. Eventually you step out and put on lotion before stepping out into the room to grab your clothes.

"You take incredibly long showers." Steve's voice makes you jump as you notice him at the desk in the corner.

"Holy fucking hell." You hiss clutching your chest.

"Forgot you shared this room?"

"No, you weren't here when I got back, hence the long shower, and I didn't realize you were back." You huff, using your towel as a cover you pull on your underwear and shorts. Steve's head is focused on whatever he's reading over at the desk so you let the towel drop to put on your sleep shirt with your back to him.

"You should really pay better attention to your surroundings." Steve mutters.

"Fuck off." You scoff.

"I'm just saying you should totally have noticed I was in here before I spoke."

"Who cares man? Did you find anything interesting out today?"

"Not much, I talked to some guys about visitors but none of them had a lot to say, just that sometimes they come."

"Well I heard a German man was here for around three weeks before asking for directions to the next town over."

"Really? Where did you hear that?"

"Some women in a jewelry store."

"And you think this is legit?"

"I mean it's just street gossip so I don't have a way to verify really but it's definitely a promising lead."

"You're sure it's the right man? I mean 'a German' doesn't exactly scream Müller was here."

"Well I couldn't slap a photo in front of them and ask for clarification but they described him as tall and thin with a beard and big round glasses and bright 'almost yellow' eyes. I dunno I'd say that's a pretty close match if you ask me."

"You found information pretty quickly."

"There are very few things that transcend language, borders, gender et cetera, one of them is that people like to gossip. You find the right people and ask the right questions they will tell you any and everything."

"Then we need to move."

"In the morning."

"Why would we not move now? We have a lead we shouldn't let it go cold."

"If the women from the shop were telling the truth chances are he'll be there a couple weeks before we have to worry about him moving. I think we can afford to start fresh in the morning. Plus we don't have a plan. If we move now it's impulsive and foolish."

"We have a plan, find this guy and apprehend him."

"That's not a plan that's an objective. How do we find him Rogers? And how do we move when we do find him? Are you implying we just tackle him in the middle of town if that's where we see him? I mean even a half-baked skeleton of an idea is better than absolutely nothing." You roll your eyes.

"Do you have a plan you'd like to propose?" He glares at you.

"No, that's why I'm saying we wait til morning. So we have time to come up with one. He's probably going to be there for a couple weeks, we have 8 hours to spare."

"You don't know that."

"Obviously I don't, but he doesn't know we're looking for him he has no reason to rush out of there. If he was here for 3 weeks why would he leave there in 2 days?"

"Fine! We will leave tomorrow morning. Bright and early. 8am."

"Yes sir, drill sergeant." You say with a mock salute. "I'm going to make food downstairs, would you like some?"

"Trying to poison me?"

"If I were, you wouldn't know until it was too late." You smile.

"In that case, I'll pass."

"Suit yourself. If you wanna make yourself something, there are more groceries." You shrug grabbing a few things you need before leaving the room. You make yourself dinner and sit in the lobby to eat, chatting with the woman at the desk, it's the same nonna who checked you in so you offer her some food while you talk. Eventually, you head back up to your room where Steve is still hunched over the desk.

"Okay. So when we get there tomorrow we need to focus on finding him while keeping a low profile so we can figure out the most effective way to apprehend him." Steve says.

"Do we have an extraction plan?"

"I mean I've thought of a couple ways to go about it, if he's in a lodging situation, like this one, we should try for stealth. Moving at night would be the safest choice, to minimize the likelihood of civilian endangerment. If he's staying somewhere alone, apprehension isn't super important, if he's staying somewhere with someone I'd say again stealth is-"

"That's fine I guess but not at all what I meant. Do we have a plan for getting us and him back to the US? Because this was expected to take at least a week and at this rate, we'll be ready to move in like half that time."

"I... will contact the team when we're on the road in the morning and we'll plan our apprehending around how quickly they can mobilize." Steve says.

"Good." You say crawling into bed with a book. You put on music and read quietly while Steve does, who knows what at the desk. He eventually gets up and shuffles into the bathroom. You hear the shower running for a while before he comes out in shorts, using a towel to dry his hair. You barely glance up from your novel as he pads around the room. You don't speak with Steve for the rest of the night. You read, and he does whatever he does until you both eventually turn in at different times.

The next morning you wake to the sound of shuffling around you and when you open your eyes Steve is darting around the room.

"Good. You're awake. Get up and get ready so we can leave." Steve says curtly.

"What's the matter Stevie? Not much of a morning person?" You snark back without getting out of bed.

"I looked it up, the drive we're in for is almost four hours. The sooner we get on the road the better so we can actually get this done. Which means I need you to get up so we can get out of here."

"Sounds to me like you need a Snickers." You snort.

"Excuse me?" His head snaps to you with narrowed eyes.

"A snickers, you know, the candy bar- their slogan is 'you're not you when you're hungry' I'm making a joke about you being cranky- I cannot believe I just had to explain that to you. You really are a grumpy old man, you'd give Scrooge a run for his money sheesh." You scoff, finally pushing yourself out of bed.

"Are you just going to make silly pop culture references all day?" He rolls his eyes.

"Who knew you'd be such a Grinch so early."

"So that's a yes? The Grinch is a Christmas movie."

"So is Scrooge but they're grumpy all year round it's just worse around the holidays. Which begs the question, is the attitude just for little ol me, or does the Italian countryside always make you this prickly?" You smirk.

"Just. Get. Dressed." He says through clenched teeth. You roll your eyes at his grumbly attitude and grab your clothes to change in the bathroom.

"There's some fruit amongst the groceries by the way. I suggest you have one, might put some pep in your step." You taunt before shutting your bathroom door.

"It won't be so bad! Maybe you'll find a way to connect with him! Steve's not a complex man." You mock all your friends in the mirror as you put yourself together. "Complex?! God, I wish! He's about as complex as a cardboard box with half the personality. Honestly if only he were complex that'd be so much easier." You rant to yourself. "Thank the stars the universe practically dropped this guy's location in our lap because there is no way I'd survive a week with this guy." You grumble. You change your clothes and brush your teeth letting out one more deep breath before leaving the bathroom.

"Alright. Ready to go when you are." You say tossing your things into your bag and zipping it up.

"Good. Let's go." Steve grabs his bag and practically storms out of your hotel room without a second thought. You pick up your duffle and what's left of the produce you brought and trot down to the lobby where Steve's already checking you out.

"Hello!" You smile at the woman behind the desk.

"Hello darling! So sad to see you go so soon!" She smiles at you.

"We'd love to stay longer but there's so much to see and not nearly enough hours of our trip." You say wrapping your arm around Steve's and resting your head on his shoulder dreamily "Isn't that right Grant?" You sigh.

"Yeah! We've got so many plans! But the stay here has been lovely." Steve says smiling at you with kindness that even you almost believe is sincere. It makes you want to put ten feet between you and you have to force yourself not to react outwardly. With one last goodbye to the woman at the counter, you and Steve leave the hotel and load your things into your truck. As soon as Steve starts driving he uses the communication system to contact Tony.

"Rogers. Status report?"

"We have a lead that we're following and need to know how quickly we can be extracted from Italy if we've successfully located the target." Steve tells him.

"Have you located the target?" Tony asks.

"I spoke to a woman that says she gave our target directions to another town over so we suspect he'll be there." You interject.

"What if he's moved?" Tony asks.

"Well based on what the woman said, he was around for a few weeks before he left so I think it's safe to say he's likely still there." You say.

"We can extract you as quickly as tonight if you're able to apprehend the target."

"That would be-"

"Too soon. Can you plan for an extraction tomorrow morning?" You cut Steve off and he shoots you a glare momentarily.

"Tomorrow morning?" Tony clarifies.

"Yes. Assuming our lead is correct we'll be ready to go early in the morning." You say.

"Yeah sure. We'll get you a jet and leave it in a holding pattern. Say, 6am?" Tony asks.

"That should give us enough time. If something changes we'll let you know." You say. Tony mumbles an affirmative before disconnecting and you put your headphones on for the remainder of the drive with your head in your book. When the four hour drive ends and Steve pulls up to where you'll be staying you push open the door and hop out of the truck. Steve sorts out your room with the owner of the small hotel you're staying in and practically slams the door when you're in your room.

"Why would you tell Tony to set us up for tomorrow and not tonight? If they could be ready tonight we should take tonight!"

"I thought we were on the same mission but it appears that you are somewhere else because we don't even know where this man is. We just got here and even if we walked outside and saw him right now we can't exactly snatch him in the middle of the day. What happened to that spiel about 'stealth to minimize the likelihood of endangering civilians'? If they plan to extract us tonight that is not a reasonable timeframe and I'm sure you know that. You're just picking fights for no reason." You roll your eyes. Not to mention he waited hours to bring it back up- who stews this long over a departure time?

"Eight hours seems like a pretty reasonable timeframe for me. My fault for overestimating your capabilities."

"If you think I couldn't do this shit in eight hours you're smoking. On my own, I'd have no problem with an eight hour timeline but we are not the team that can be rushing into a mission like this when we don't know what the details are. Honestly Rogers whatever your fucking problem is table it. We have someone to find and we're pretty far from the landing pad so we need to be done and on our way in like twelve hours. I am going to start tracking down our target so we can actually arrest this guy. Skulk in here if you want." You grab your sunglasses and (mostly prop) tote bag and leave Steve in your room. You can't fathom why Steve is annoyed that you asked for a few extra hours to make sure you can actually complete this mission but that's his problem. The sun feels nice on your skin as you walk around surveying people from behind your big sunglasses. When you walk into a small cafe after some time and scan the few customers you almost miss the face you've memorized from your briefing file. He's sitting in a corner eating with a newspaper. You order something small to not raise suspicion and eat it quickly before exiting the shop. There are lots of places to give you a vantage point of the cafe's entrance so you pick one and wait out of sight for Müller to come out. Eventually, he strolls out of the cafe and turns left so carefully, using buildings as cover, you follow Müller for some time. He doesn't stop anywhere until he comes to a small house at basically the edge of town. You watch the house for a while hoping that he'll leave for you to check it out a bit closer. When it starts to pass a half hour you ruffle through your tote for one of the random prototype gadets Tony's always giving you to test out. One of the things is a little box holding a buglike device. You remember him explaining this one, it's supposed to do surveillance. You open the box and turn it on, feeling your phone vibrate in your pocket indicating it's connected. You locate an open window and release the camera bug towards Müller's house, making sure it gets inside before heading back to your hotel to make a plan.

"What have you been doing for the last two hours?" Steve asks as soon as you walk back into your room.

"Tracking Müller. Like I said I would. Did you just sit and sulk?"

"No." Steve glares. "Did you find him?"

"Yes I did. It looks like he's staying alone too." You say passing your phone to Steve for him to see the footage from the bug camera.

"Wait you planted a camera?"

"I saw him in town and followed him til he ended up at this house. Then I used one Tony's little doodads. It's a camera the size of a bug that can fly like one too."

"So you know where this is?"

"Yes I do. It's practically at the edge of town. We should have no problem getting to him later."

"Okay." He nods. "Alright so here's what we'll do. We'll track him with this camera til nightfall and then we'll go get him. It should be quick, sneak in knock him out and get him loaded into the truck."

"Yeah okay." You nod, taking your phone back from Steve. Periodically you check the camera bug that follows Müller around his temporary home over the next several hours. Just before the sun goes down, you notice something odd when you're checking the footage. Müller's moving frantically about, it looks like- he's packing.

"Müller's on the move." You say grabbing the keys to the truck and rushing out of your hotel. Steve runs out behind you.

"Y-Alissa wait!" Steve calls as you start the truck and he almost doesn't get in quick enough as you pull away. "Geez y/n where's the fire?" He asks.

"It looks very much like Müller is about to get the hell outta dodge. We need to move now." You say.

"Wait a second this is very much not what we were planning to-"

"Yeah well that's gonna have to change the man is packing his bags as we speak."

"Are you sure that's what you saw I mean-"

"Rogers argue with me later." You grumble out. Driving, the trip to Müller's is much shorter and you're there in only a few minutes. You hop out immediately even as Steve calls for you to give it a minute. No way are you letting him get away when he's right here. You burst into the small home, that's really just one room and shock the man inside so hard he almost trips. He's quick to get his barings though and lunges at you, grabbing a kitchen knife on his way towards you. You dodge him pretty easily even though he weilds the knife much better than you'd expect of a labcoat. He manages a couple scratches before disarm him and take him down with a plate to the head.

"Dammit y/n. I told you to wait." Steve grits out angrily as you drag Müller towards the truck that's still running.

"What's the big deal? We got our guy." You shrug, folding Müller into the backseat awkwardly."

"Maybe you were too busy charging like a bull to notice that we've drawn attention." He hisses.

"So let's hit the fucking road." You roll your eyes and climb into the passenger seat of the car. Steve lets out an angry huff but gets in the driver side and begins your trip back to the launch pad in central Italy. It'll take you most of the night to get there but you let Tony know to expedite the jet since you'll definitely be there before 6am. At some point, you have to sedate Müller when he starts to groan in the back seat. By the time you make it to the launch pad, agents are waiting with the jet.

"Agent y/l/n, Captain Rogers. Welcome back." One of the agents nods at you both when you exit the truth.

"Hey Jackson. Müller's in the backseat- mind grabbing him for me?" You smile as you tug your duffle out of the car.

"Of course." He nods opening the back door and hauling Müller's still unconscious body from the truck to the jet with ease.

"I could've handled that." Steve says to you.

"Who cares? I probably could've handled it too but we have bags to grab and the fewer trips the better." You roll your eyes.

"The jet's fueled and prepped for takeoff and our reports indicate clear weather so it should be smooth travels." Agent Jackson says to you, although Steve is likely going to monopolize flying.

"Thanks. Then I guess we'll be off." You say heading onto the jet. You toss your bag down and take a moment to secure Müller to the seat he's in at the back of the jet while Steve talks to the agents for a few minutes before following you into the aircraft.

"Make sure he's secure." Steve tosses at you as he passes.

"No shit Sherlock." You roll your eyes, getting into your seat up front next to him and strapping yourself in as he prepares to fly.

"If he wakes midair we don't wanna worry about him ambushing us."

"First of all what're the chances that guy would even be able to take us both? Secondly, I'm not an idiot, he's chained to that seat. Even if he wakes up he's not going anywhere." You scoff.

"To your question; better safe than sorry."

"Yeah whatever." You mutter.

"Not whatever, in fact, speaking of, you were extremely reckless last night." Steve says sternly.

"I was instinctive."

"Oh please. You rushed over there without a plan, ignored my instructions, and charged in carelessly. What if he was armed? Not to mention the fact that people noticed that something was going on. You could've gotten somebody hurt."

"First of all he was armed technically and as you can see, not a scratch on me so can it. You saw just as well as I did that he was packing his things Rogers, the man was about ready to flee and we could not lose him."

"We had a plan-"

"Plans change Rogers its not the end of the world."

"It is when you put people at risk dang it. If you had just followed-"

"If I didn't move when I did we could've missed our chance entirely. He wouldn't be here if I followed 'the plan' that didn't account for a frantic relocation of our target. I made sure the mission got done and the only person at risk was myself which would be the case regardless because that comes with the territory."

"You-"

"God are you two married or something?" Müller's voice shocks you even as you and Steve respond immediately.

"NO!" You shout together.

"You argue like a couple." Müller muses.

"You are so very wrong about that assumption." You scoff.

"Well I was only pointing out-"

"Don't. As a matter of fact if you speak again Müller you'll spend the remainder of this flight strapped to the outside of the jet like a cannoe."

"Can you even do that?"

"Do you really wanna find out?" You glare at him. That effectively shuts him up and cuts your argument with Steve short so the rest of your flight is flown in silence. When you land, it's you who unchains Müller from his seat and puts him cuffs to drag him out of the jet.

"Thank God that's over, the tension between you and the obstinate man was getting unbearable." Müller says.

"Whatever you were sensing was not tension. We barely get along." You roll your eyes.

"Does he know that?"

"Excuse me?"

"When you aren't paying attention he looks at you as if you're responsible for the stars in the sky."

"Those glasses of yours must be the wrong prescription." You scoff.

"You may think me many things but a fool should never be one. You might not agree but some things are easier to observe as an outsider."

"When it comes to people I'd take advice from a Nazi scientist is absolutely not on the list so please save it." You say.

"Y/n! We'll take him from here." An agent grabs your attention as you make it to the building. The walk from the helipad has never felt so long.

"Consider what I said." Müller says as he's dragged off.

"What he said?" Steve frowns from behind you.

"Just- mindless blathering." You grumble walking off to your room. You are not about to let some idiot you just met with no idea who you are get in your head about something he absolutely does not understand.

"Y/N! YOU'RE BACK!" Wanda bursts into your room just after you've closed he door.

"You are- always the first to find me." You chuckle as she throws her arms around you.

"I missed you so much! I almost called you like five times."

"Wanda I was only gone for like four days." You laugh.

"And the HBIC has returned." Natasha strolls in and sits on your bed.

"Hello to you too Nat." You chuckle.

"So? How was it?" Wanda asks.

"Well I didn't shove a dagger between his shoulderblades." You shrug and Natasha laughs.

"Oh come on, that can't be all you've got to say." Wanda scoffs.

"Honestly Wanda not stabbing him in the spine is a pretty raving review for a mission where I had to pretend to be his honeymooning wife."

"Did you even have to play the loving couple?" Natasha asks.

"Well when we got to the first place the woman checking us in was a lovely old Italian woman who was very interested in the fact that we were honeymooning so around her we did have to do the hand holding and dreamy sighing for her sake." You shrug.

"You made it back pretty quickly." Natasha points out.

"I'm efficient." You shrug.

"What does that mean?" Wanda asks.

"It means I tracked down Müller with the help of some gossiping women in town and good old fashion espionage then I made sure he didn't get away once we found him by apprehending him when I realized he was definitely about to vacate. Much to Steve's dismay apparently."

"His dismay?" Wanda frown.

"He lectured me twice because we had a plan and I had to make a change last minute when I saw the guy frantically packing his bags on our little surveillance bug."

"Wait so what was his problem?" Natasha frowned.

"We had a plan and I couldn't follow it. If I'd listened to him we totally would've lost Müller all together. He just hates when he's not the one calling the shots. It's like any decision I make that's not his idea is wrong. I know I said I don't hate him but man does he make it hard to believe that."

"The way you butt heads- I can't believe you made it home and in four days no less." Nat shakes her head.

"Like I said I'm efficient. And personal feelings will never stop me from completing a mission. You can say lots of things about me but you'd be lying if you said I don't do my job well." You shrug. A knock on your doorframe grabs your attention to find Steve standing in the still open doorway of your bedroom.

"Hi Nat, Wanda." He nods to them.

"Welcome back Steve!" Wanda waves.

"Hey Rogers." Natasha nods.

"Y/n, we need to talk." Steve says looking at you.

"If you're going to complain again about me not sticking to your plan save your breath. I have better things to do and if you have that much free time I suggest you follow my example and find a better way to spend it." You roll your eyes.

"It's not that."

"Then what do you want?"

"Alone, please." Steve glances at Natasha and Wanda who look at you.

"Go. I'll talk to you later girls." You tell them and they quickly slip out of your room. "Make it quick Rogers I just spent 4 days with you and I think that is plenty for us for a while."

"What Müller was saying-"

"On the jet? He's an idiot, who cares? As if anyone with sense would assume we're married the way we argue." You scoff.

"Not on the jet. After we landed. His, 'mindless blathering' as you put it."

"Are you expecting a play by play of that conversation because it was so inconsequential I've already forgotten most of it-"

"I heard him. My hearing is- better than average so, I know what he said."

"So did you just ask for funsies earlier?" You frown.

"Well no I just wondered what you'd say about it."

"He doesn't know either of us so I have nothing to say about it. The ramblings of some criminal are the last thing on my mind so if you've come here to tell me not to pay him attention I already wasn't-"

"You are so frustrating." Steve huffs out.

"Excuse me? What is your problem?!" You blink at him.

"My problem is you! You are my sole source of torment!"

"The fact that you are a boring bitch is not my fault! How am I the source of your torment you walking piece of styrofoam!?"

"Oh where do I begin with you?! Your smile makes my heart ache!"

"Yeah well you- wait, what?" Your eyes widen as you process his words, retort dying when you realize he didn't actually insult you.

"You walk into a room and it immediately lights up. Your laugh is better than symphonies. You are so effortlessly so amazing that you've enthralled me without trying. It's incredibly annoying." He rattles off.

"I- I'm really confused." You frown.

"Damn it y/n I'm in love with you!" He forces out. Plot twist. You totally did not see that coming.

"You're in love with me?"

"Somehow yes and everything you do makes it worse. It's infuriating to know my life is no longer mine and that is in in fact yours."

"This is the most paradoxical love confession I've ever gotten. Do you want, an apology or a date?" You ask.

"Wait- what?" Now it's his turn to give you a wide eyed stare.

"Well, you're in love with me but you seem to be very... inconvenienced by it so- should I be saying sorry or telling you to plan a date for Friday night?"

"Wait y-you'd go on a date with me?" His brow furrows.

"If you'd ask me on one."

"I thought you hated me?"

"You're critical of everything I do. So I intentionally get on your nerves. If I had known it was because you had a crush on me I might've been nicer to you. We aren't in kindergarten though Steve being mean to someone you like doesn't get you anywhere." You cross your arms.

"So- will you go on a date with me?"

"Yes I'll go on a date with you. Does Friday night work for you?"

"Friday's Perfect. I'll- let you know the details once I sort them out."

"Alright. I'm going to finish unpacking. I'll see you around." You smile.

"Kay." Steve's cheeks tinge slightly pink as he smiles at you in that shy 'you make me nervous way'.

"Anything else?" You ask when he doesn't move.

"Oh! N-no. I- I'm gonna go." He tells you.

"Okay. See ya." You chuckle as he scrambles out of your room. You can't believe you have a date with Steve Rogers. He may not be a complex man but he sure is a confusing one. To think all those times he was picking fights with you was because he had a crush- you almost hate the way it makes you giddy to think about it. But honestly who could stand a chance against a love confession like that? His life is yours?! You've never even heard him speak so dramatically before. When he came in here you said four days was more than enough time for you to spend to gehter and now well, let's just say you can't wait for Friday.

***

[ckret2]

“He'd memorized the constellations outside of his plain when his starblind species didn't even have a word for ‘constellations.’” This is such a good line. (I think you meant to write “plane,” though.)

Did Bill’s dimension have a word for “star,” as in the shape? And did he connect it to the ones up-but-not-north before he left?

aprofessionallurker asked: Ah, never mind about the typo, I just saw the other ask about it. Innnnnteresting…….

Yeah lol. But I do appreciate that I've had two different people point out the plain/plane thing! Like sincerely—I'm always worried that my ADHD and I are missing a TON of typos and that everyone is too polite to point them out, but I want folks to point them out so I can fix them! This specific one happened to not be a typo, but the fact that y'all have pointed it out means you'd probably point out other typos too, which I'm always grateful for.

Star the shape as in ⭐️ the five-pointed one? They probably have a word for it, but since they can't see it from the top, the visual effect of the shape wouldn't have the same significance to them.

The word probably means something different depending on if they consider a star "five points like a pentagon, but with lines connecting each point to an opposite point instead of a neighboring point," or "ten points like a decagon, but half the points go in instead of out":

(they wouldn't be able to accurately draw the shape on a paper like we can, since their papers look like a line; but, to be fair, WE can't accurately draw a cube, since our papers look like a flat surface. And yet somehow we can make drawings we understand to be cubes so I'm sure they can make drawings they understand to be stars.)

If they're going by definition one, whatever word would translate into English as "star [as in the shape]" probably has a definition to them like "simple spirolateral pentagon." If they're going by definition two, it would probably translate like "isotoxal concave decagon." After all there's nothing innately celestial about a pointy five-pointed shape, it's just a geometric figure.

They also had a word for "stars" as in the celestial body: even though they couldn't see the third dimension, theoretical physicists measuring the effect of light on their world recognized the possibility that light emanated from a specific point outside of the visible world, in another dimension; and also the possibility that there were a multitude of diffuse weaker light sources that contributed minutely to the light they experienced.

They came up with words for "the primary singular source of most light" and "the multitudinous weak sources of the rest of light" that would be translated into English as "sun" and "stars," but in their own language they were considered terms for abstract unproven concepts. Like the way we use "graviton" and "dark matter" to describe thing physicists think might exist but haven't observed or proven.

Their words for "star [as in the shape]" and "star [as in the weak light source]" are completely unrelated. Bill did correctly figure out that the things he saw in the third dimension were the sun and the (light) stars, but he didn't associate the (shape) star with the celestial bodies.

Bill thinks it's kind of cute that humans named simple spirolateral pentagons after the distant light sources they see at night, even though the celestial stars don't look anything like that—either from the humans' perspective OR in actual fact. But he doubts they're gonna rename spheres "stars" now that their astronomy has advanced enough to know how stars really look. Still, the symbol they've named "star" is sorta romantic—gives the sense of something radiating out from a central point, like light from a star—kinda like how their "heart" symbol doesn't look like the organ but does look like two halves squishing together to form one whole. Visually poetic. Humans are good at that sort of stuff.

[historicity-was-already-taken]

hi! hope you're doing okay—I've got a holocaust-history-in-media question for you. I was talking to my brother the other day, and he mentioned how his 10-year-old son tried out "Anne Frank mode" on the meta VR headset. I was kind of horrified, because that sounds deeply exploitative and disrespectful—but he went on to say it's just a VR version of the Anne Frank house, and that it let my nephew explore history in a new way. He was able to touch things and move them around in a way he wouldn't be able to IRL, not to mention the accessibility of not having to travel.

My nephew's kind of an unusual kid, and he chose this "game" while at a friend's house. All the other kids got bored and left pretty much immediately, but he stayed to learn, and my brother says that at the end his takeaway was, "It's so sad. It's so sad and awful what human beings do to each other."

Part of me is just like "No, absolutely not, that is not for VR companies to profit off of in any way, this feels inherently exploitative." But idk. If it increases accessibility and education in a meaningful way, then perhaps that disquiet is simply reactionary.

Then I remembered I have access to an actual Holocaust historian, someone who even specializes in women's narratives and the media portrayals of same.

So, no worries if you're busy/don't have time to respond to this, but I thought it might be an interesting question for you. Do you think the VR Anne Frank house is a good thing?

Ooooooh this is an interesting one. It's also a question that I think I would have answered differently a few years ago. I mean, I've posted here about my issues with central role Anne Frank has been accorded within Holocaust memory, I've posted about the politics of people playing Pokemon Go at sites of atrocities and disasters...

But. Technology changes SO quickly. I read this fantastic article probably 10+ years ago now about how the millennial generation began to express collective nostalgia SO quickly and so young, because technology and the norms it introduces change so quickly. I'm 34 and while that's hardly ancient, the technological world inhabited by children and adolescents is effectively alien to me because of this massive, rapid, ongoing change.

Moreover, I think the pandemic gave us all an...unwanted but helpful bootcamp in what works wrt education over the phone/computer, and what doesn't. In my personal and professional life, I've met and spoken with STEM companies/individuals who specialize in working with museums, historical societies, etc. And they're not just in it to make a buck--they're there to work with museums etc in increasing access and keeping up with educational trends because they know it's important and smart people value STEAM education.

So, despite my acknowledged concerns issued in the first paragraph, and the kneejerk negative reaction I think you and I share, I think my conclusion is that this is a good thing. Like, as a Holocaust historian, pubic historian, educator, and now a Hebrew School teacher of 7-11 year olds, I think whatever gets kids interested and engaged is Good; whatever draws them and gets them thinking about it is Good; even if the tech and infrastructure involved is something that I previously took (philosophical) issue with.

This doesn't mean I don't still have concerns about the centrality of Anne Frank, but let's be real: I lost that battle a long time ago. I've said my piece, and if Anne Frank is going to be kids' gateway into learning about the Holocaust, I'm glad to see that it's being done responsibly, well, and in keeping with how kids engage with education and tech in 2024.

There are, obviously, many theoretical conversations to be had about the implications of this kind of thing, and I hope a grad student applies like, Walter Benjamin to it for a first year paper, but this is my answer purely in terms of access and education.

[meirimerens]

i'm genuinely curious, is there a reason you draw most of your characters as cisgender?

confounded by this question because i don't draw a lot of "my" characters. my OCs tag is giving abandoned mall. if you mean characters i draw in general: how/why do you assume them cis? a character being depicted as amab¹ + masculine or afab¹ + feminine (& that's pushing it. i barely draw feminine characters in general lol) does not make them cis. i don't write about gender (characters' or mine frankly) much because i have Way More Other Things That I Consider Vastly More Interesting to spend my time writing about quite frankly, but you cannae know that. this is an assumption you are making. whatever this assumption internally comes from... not my business i don't live inside of your skull. what i'm doing is #mythang in ways i think makes sense for the themes, the motifs, their backstories, for the way i think they interact between each other, with the sort of baggage i read/can read into a narrative. in medias that have interpretations/perspectives as a central theme, people are bound to draw/interpret characters differently. fandoms are wider than you think they are, and there are as many people who draw characters as trans(-in-a-specific-way) as they are who draw them as cis (or trans-in-a-diiferent-way). you might live in a bubble where everyone draws a character as trans(-in-a-specific-way) (and chances are if we share a fandom i am in this bubble too!), which is not a bad thing, but it might not be my experience. or anyone else's. above it all. i'm doing my thang. and you do yours. 💯☮️🕊️

¹ i'm very much aware this is not The Ideal terminology to use but for the sake of simplicity & because i'm assuming this is what you are basing yourself on visually this is the most easily-understood way i can phrase it

[artyasumi]

SLOT 1: FULL

SLOT 2: FULL

SLOT 3: OPEN

Hello followers and others who might be seeing this! I'd ideally like to have a little extra money by august for the convention I'm going to so guess what?? I'm opening up 3 commission slots for now! Canadian customers can do payment via etransfer or paypal/kofi and international customers can do payment via paypal/kofi!

Things i can do (All of these are EXAMPLES and the final product of actual paid commissions will of course be properly cleaned up, no stray lines or bleeding colours, etc)

Icons(custom size, default 500px x 500px: they look a lil like this!

Body pillow designs

$20 for 1 sided, $50 for double.

These can be as tame or as suggestive/nsfw (the latter for 18+ customers of course, more examples on the acc linked at the bottom of this post) as you'd like and they will obviously be more cleaned up than the examples. If you're planning to actually order a case with the commissioned design on it (or a daki keychain) , you can tell me the dimensions you need beforehand!

[Character] in maid outfit! 15 dollars for halfbody, 20 for full

That's right! I will draw any character in a maid outfit! It's kind of my thing actually! My best work is with characters I'm already familiar with, but I'll do my best! OCs welcome! Take a look at some examples! I really try to get fun with it and incorporate the sort of thing each respective character might like or have associated with them as you'll see below! If you are an adult asking for an adult character, these can be as suggestive as you'd like. More examples of THAT on the account ill link at the bottom of this post (18+ ONLY) but here are various examples of ones ive done!

Regular ol' commissions

You can find the prices for these here! Some of it is a bit dated so if you have ANY questions feel free to reach out. Prices are all the same,though! And I'm flexible! Here are some past comms ive done more recently with more info below each image

@betterdonutgalaxy 's sona Donut , fullbody lineart with solid colour

Multi character commission , lineart with single colour for @teenyweenyeenymeeny/ @femboy-central

halfbody fully coloured sketch for @kenopsia-ksp

I also do custom discord emojis, so if you're curious about that, tell me what you're looking for and I'll see if i can do it! (These range from 1-5 dollars)

Again If you have ANY questions please don't hesitate to ask! There is no question I won't answer!

All payments are in CAD. Please reblog if you like my art!

More suggestive examples on @capt-spacebussy

[kaeyapilled]

I’m pretty new to kaeya ships and I want to know how Kaebedo appeals to you!! /This isn't a sarcastic question I promise 😭

So far, the only ship I get is Rosakae because haha bi couple/girl that says bruhh x guy that says hiii

Do you have any recommended kaebedo fanfics? Thank you <33

i think the biggest appeal of kaebedo to me is the parallels between them. both are from khaenri'ah and were abandoned by a parent figure with an unclear mission on their shoulders and ended up finding a home in a place they fear they will have to betray one day. even without a romantic lens there is SO much potential here!!! they must know of each other's secret to some degree, there's no way they don't. they could form such a deep connection based on these shared origins. let them bond hoyoverse!!!!

its insane to me that kaeya and albedo have never exchanged more than five words in game when theres so much material to work with here.. especially because they DO know each other! the game tells us that! kaeya has an "about albedo" voiceline (Albedo, eh? Calm, collected, and incredibly talented. He's the type everybody likes, some even more so than others. What, you into him as well?), albedo doesnt have an "about kaeya" voiceline but he does mention him in one of his "more about albedo" ones (The time required to sketch portraits closely correlates with one's mood. I could spend half a day sketching Huffman, while I might only need three strokes of the pencil to sketch Kaeya — one for the face, one for the eyepatch string... and one for the eyepatch.) and, actually, pairing that with this

from a past event i think we can say it's implied that albedo draws kaeya fairly often. kaeya seems to babysit klee frequently, which is all the more chance for them to get to know each other more..... they live in the same region and have so many themes in common LET THEM TALK! LET THEM TALK!! kaebedo as a ship is kind of built from the ground up with just minimal canon content and our wild imaginations but hey. the potential is right there. also i think they look cute together. anyway, fanfic recs, you say? i have some<3

Calcium, Carbonate, and Other Things That Run Bone-Deep by Princeliest

Albedo comes knocking at Kaeya's office door, and asks Kaeya to kill him. All in all, it's the worst falling-in-love experience that Kaeya has ever had. (Albedo fears a lot of things. He's never reached out for help with any of them, but he's also never had anyone see him and reach out first.)

this is genuinely one of the best fics ive ever read in my life it's SO good. i kept rotating it inside my mind for days afterwards. and the kaebedo dynamic here is one of my favorite renditions of it too!!!!! like they cannot live through a normal love story it has to be weird when they are both involved. and this fic executes the brand of weirdness i expect from kaebedo perfectly. the characterization for both of them was really good. warning for some body horror but if you're okay with that it's part of the charm in this fic i really enjoyed reading those parts

this wordless dance, in the night by untunedviola

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Kaeya mutters into Albedo’s chest. Albedo pulls him closer. Gentle fingers thread through his hair. “You don’t have to.” He sighs. “I know.” Kaeya’s relationship with his mother tongue, his family, and Albedo develops in fits in starts.

i just reread this while searching through recs on my bookmarks and!!!!!!!!! this is THE kaebedo relationship study EVER. it's so good. its more focused on kaeya since it's from his point of view but albedo is a central crucial part of it. it explores their connection to khaenri'ah and the connection they could have with each other because of it SO well it's really amazing! the angst is delightful i love this one.

and you should check out this author's other works!! seriously the way they write kaebedo is like the best ever. i havent read all of them but the ones i have read were immediate favorites. untunedviola if youre out there

The Curious Investigation on the Investigation Captain by evesbeve

“This is not an invitation to spoil me,” Albedo says through a bite, a hand over his mouth. “As you have with Klee.” “I have no idea what you are talking about," Kaeya laughs. “Although… would it really be that bad, if I wanted to take care of you?” (Or: When Sucrose mentions that she's been worried about Albedo and his constant cases of zoning out, Kaeya takes it upon himself to investigate the situation.)

a lighter, fluffier work to make up for the angst of the previous recs. so sweet youll get cavities honestly. works to read while giggling about how much you love these silly little characters. bonus ragbros and other mond characters. really nice read!!!!

i wish i had more recs but i really dont. i need to read more about them honestly.

im deeply sorry for taking like three months to answer!! many such cases im afraid. i hope my kaebedo propaganda has worked on you or anyone else reading this

[wordsarelife]

DAY 8: UNDERNEATH THE TREE

pairing: tasm!peter parker x gn!reader

summary: you and peter both struggle to find the perfect gift and end up proving why you belong together

warnings: reader is risking her health and safety

notes: this is a bit ridiculous, but it's christmas time, so whatever huh?

"what about a cd?" gwen pointed at the stand to your right. the shop was filled with multiple things you could gift someone, just not peter. you wanted your gift to be meaningful and you just couldn't get it right.

"no" you shook your head "he probably owns every cd in the world already"

"what about a sweater?" gwen asked. you knew she wouldn't just give up like that. she had made it her mission to get the perfect gift for you. she thought if she would just name various things she knew peter liked, it would make eventually click.

you shook your head once again and gwen sighed. "you know he isn't the president, right?" she raised her brows at you "he will certainly like anything you get for him"

"i know" you said "but i don't just want him to like it, i want to make him speechless at how perfect it is"

"i don't think such a gift exists" gwen noted "why don't you just draw something or make your own mixtape?" she suggested

"peter is far better at drawing than i am" you shrugged "and i cannot deal with computers, you know that"

"okay" gwen nodded "then think about something that connects the both of you. perhaps something only you guys even know about?"

"ugh" you threw your head back, trying to think of anything "there is nothing, my mind is literally just blank"

"okay" gwen took you by your arm and walked you out of the shop "we're not getting anywhere with this"

"where are we going?"

"central park" she answered simply "where you guys met, maybe that'll help you"

"sure" you shrugged your shoulder "might be worth a try"

the way was shorter than you had anticipated and a few minutes later you were standing at the exact spot you and peter had run into each other.

"and..?" gwen wondered

"give me a minute" you turned around yourself, looking at everything like you had done that day.

there were memories quickly flashing through your mind, a boy with a skateboard, a book flying in the air, a wheel falling off a board.

"the wheels" you exclaimed suddenly

"huh" gwen looked up from her fingernails with raised brows "the what?"

"the wheels" you repeated even more excited "when peter and i ran into each other, meaning literally ran into each other, one of the wheels of his skateboard losened and fell off. we didn't find it, so i bought him a new one"

"so what's the plan?" gwen asked crossing her arms, looking at you suspiciously after she saw your face light up. "no" she shook her head

"come on!" you pleaded "that would be the most romantic gift ever!"

"you really think that wheel would still be here a year later?"

"maybe" you shrugged in a sing song. "where's the romantic in you, gwen?"

"i am romantic" gwen exclaimed offended "just not hopeless, like you are"

"you go look there, i'll search here" you directed and gwen gave in with an eye roll.

it took you about three hours to give up. there wasn't anything close to a wheel laying around in that park.

"what did i tell you?" gwen asked when you guys had sat down on a bench "it's gone"

"well" you pushed your hair out of your face "there is still one place we haven't checked" your eyes darted to the little pond next to you

"no, y/n" gwen said "it's december!"

you took off your scarf and mittens, putting them down on the bench "it's romance!" you argued.

gwen watched in horror as you got out of your jacket. "no, this is madness! you're going to freeze to death"

"i don't care" you got rid of your sweater too. the last piece of clothing you were willing to remove in public. "your apartment isn't too far from here, i'll be fine"

"y/n" gwen shook her head once again "please don't make me tell peter that you died"

"i won't" you assured, before you slowly walked into the water. "ooh!" you bellowed "yeah, this is cold"

"i told you!"

"too late now, anyway" you muttered and with one last look in gwen's direction, you quickly immersed into the water, diving through it and searching for a hint of the lost wheel. you had almost shrieked from happiness, when you really did make it out, right beneath you.

you jumped up from the surface, the treasure right in your hand "i got it!" you called and gwen looked up in surprise as you climbed out of the water.

the adrenaline rush was gone as quickly as it had come and you were shivering. "it's so cold" you stuttered.

gwen quickly pulled the jacket over your shaking form, while she was holding her phone to her ear. "she is shaking, so much. i don't know what to do" she spoked into it.

"who are you talking to?" you asked, while you felt like icicles were growing on your whole body

gwen didn't answer you. she just watched you worriedly, while she gently made you sit on the bench. then she took off her jacket and put it over yours.

"what are you doing?" you once again went unanswered.

"when are you going to be here?" gwen asked into the phone.

"now" a voice behind you said, which prompted both you and gwen to turn around.

"peter" you exclaimed in surprise.

"y/n" peter was by your side in a second "what were you thinking?" he seemed to be more asumed than angry, which was a relief to you.

"i wanted to surprise you"

"well, you did just that" he pointed to his backpack "i brought fresh clothes and the suit, come on" he took your hand. "are you getting home?" he asked gwen, who nodded and waved you both goodbye.

peter walked you to a toilet nearby so you could change, when you came out, spiderman was already waiting for you. he swung you both through new york, until you arrived at his place.

after you had showered and changed into your pyjamas, peter was ready for you to explain what had been going on earlier.

"i'm sorry you had to come and get me" you apologized "i was stupid"

"it's no problem" peter assured "by why the hell did you decide to go swimming at the end of december?"

"because of you" you smiled. you could almost see the question marks popping up beside peter's head, so you opened your bag, taking out the wheel and holding it in his direction.

"a skateboard wheel?"

"the skateboard wheel you lost when we ran into each other"

"it was still there?"

"yup" you smiled "just at the bottom of the pond"

"you're an idiot" peter shook his head "you risked your own health to get me this?"

"of course" you shrugged "you would've done the same for me"

peter smiled and got up from the bed. the next second he was holding a book in your direction.

"the book-"

"- i ruined when we met, yeah" peter nodded "it's even signed, i got it off ebay"

you laughed "this is so much better than my stupid idea"

"well" peter said shrugging "i might not have nearly died while getting this, but i'd say your gift is pretty amazing too. thank you, even if you are an idiot"

you laughed "luckily you came and saved me"

"i'd always save you"

taglist: @twistedhistory @bakingintheshire @mqstermindswift @taygrls @athenalikethegoddess

[oc-poll-tournament]

So, I'll Try To Make This A Thing!

There is enough interest from the poll on my other blog that I want to try and see if this will work! I don't have tons of time because of school, but I already go on Tumblr anyway, so might as well have something to host while I'm at it, lol. So, I'll try and host this thing.

Rules: Whoever is interested, please submit 1-2 original characters (from fanfic or original writing) for the tournament (if you want to group them together, please let me know, if not, I'll just have them be separate), either by messaging this blog, submitting to this blog, sending an ask to this blog, or reblogging this post and putting the information there! I will ask that you also submit your introduction to the character that you want on the poll post at the same time, and that once the poll is live, you can submit propaganda via ask or submission that I'll publish.

Since I do have school, I ask that everyone be patient. I might not be able to respond right away to everything, but I'll try to be as on time as possible! You'll have a week to submit, so submissions close January 16 at 12 pm Central time! I'll try to have a preliminary post with the characters in their brackets (if I use brackets) by sometime the next day. Also, please, if you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know! I have never done this before, lol. Would you rather have the polls last one day or one week?

I'll try to update this post with links and extra things I think about, and this post will be pinned so it'll be easy to find! Also, I am planning on having a character in this as well, so I hope that's ok!

Here are links to the active polls:

Final Poll: (Chess vs. Crislie Crimsworth vs. Nat Finch)

Answers to questions I have gotten:

Characters can be from anything you've worked on: fanfic, WIP, or finished/published work, as long as they are an original character of yours!

Submissions should include some information about your character, preferably name, pronouns, any unique features, and backstory, but it can be as long or short as you'd like! I'll put that information on the poll post for voters to see! And if you have a picture (picrew, drawing, etc.), please send that along with your submission so I can put it on the poll post as well!

Propaganda will be allowed to submit for your character when the poll is active, but bribes will not be allowed.

So far, I am thinking of having the polls be random, where I put the characters in a random wheel spin and put them in polls against each other based on that. So, probably no brackets. I just like the idea that it'll be completely random!

For a prize, @somealienquill graciously offered to draw a portrait sketch of the winner!

Blogs who showed interest on the poll post are tagged below the cut:

@albatris, @maple-writes, @pen-of-roses, @waltzshouldbewriting, @lux-scriptum, @ibuprofen-exe, @your-absent-father, @abalonetea, @grailfish, @jfictitional, @drabbleitout, @izzyspussy, @flannelandsarcasm, @gailynovelry, @inscrutable-shadow, @sevenscreaminglizards