#how their relationship has grown and changed so so much throughout the series

[hoshigray]

𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐓 𝐌𝐄 [& 𝑭𝑼𝑪𝑲 𝑴𝑬] 𝐔𝐏!! | tōji fushiguro

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: It's bad enough you got a crush on your gym instructor, Toji; however, it gets worse when things become too close and personal for this relationship...But who says you shouldn't get a little praise for your hard work?

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: personal trainer! Toji x fem! reader - explicit contents; minors DNI - unrequited/crushing » mutual pining - sex in a public space (gym locker room + showers) - shower sex - thigh riding - oral (m! + f! receiving) - ball massaging - face + throat-fucking - breast fondling + nipple play - against a wall + upstanding citizen + standing 69 positions - praise - clitoral play (swiping and pinching) - cervix fucking - pet names (angel, baby, doll, dollface, good girl, princess, sweetie, sweet thing) - unprotected sex (doesn't shoot inside tho) - overstimulation - cameos: Haibara and Ino (gym manager and employee) - the reader accidentally walks into the men's locker room (they're a bit dumb, forgive them, lol) - mention of sweat spit and tears.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 8.4k (i'm about to lose my mind, bro.)

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: mannnnnn, the way this draft has been collecting dust, it was supposed to be released on Dec!! ofc my first fic back would be for toji lmao. anyways, i hope you enjoy, and tysm for 4.7k y'all are so sweet ;;w;; and thank yeww @ramonathinks for beta-reading, mwah mwah

“That one was weak; do another three.”

“Gahh– …You’re such an asshole, Fushiguro.”

“Heh, like that’s anythin’ new. C’mon, let’s go!”

We’re counting down to the last weeks of the year, and so many people have already promised affirmations for themselves in the upcoming year. In terms of this year, you can’t say much. You’ve done your work, hung out with the same people since last year, and probably learned to spoil yourself more. Maybe another thing you can be proud of is that you crossed some TV series off your “get-to-watch” list, so go you!

Although, besides those minimal things, there is one change in your life that you’ve committed yourself to. One thing that you didn’t expect to be so in tune with throughout the past half of the year. It started as a forced challenge because your friend Miwa needed someone to motivate her to maintain her gym membership. What was once something you’d thought a one-time thing gradually became something you enjoy — something you felt proud doing!

Not only has your knowledge of your body and how to keep it in good shape improved over half a year, but your love for the community has grown more and more. The gym you go to feels like a second home, with many people you’ve gotten to know and befriend along your journey. Even the manager, Haibara Yu, practically treats you like a sibling after seeing you every other day. The same goes for the front desk associate, Ino, who is the goofiest goofball you’ve ever met (not to mention the best drinking buddy). 

But – if you really had to pick – there is one person who has made this experience more enjoyable and worthwhile. “Hahhh!! There, I did them! Aren’t you supposed to be my spotter, not a shit-talker?”

“I’m doin’ my job, aren’t I?” Toji Fushiguro, your gym instructor for the past few months, has been a driving force in your physical journey. With his help, you’ve been disciplining yourself in and outside of the facility, maintaining a good diet, and keeping your body active in a balanced fashion. The gratitude you have for him supersedes all. But above all else, throughout the years, the two of you have gotten pretty close and know a good chunk about each other to call yourselves friends – at least, that’s what you’ve been doing. “Alright, that’s enough lifting for today; time for stretches.”

Aside from a friend, there is something else you refer to him as – something you’d rather die than admit out loud. Toji, your trainer, is your gym crush. Well, your crush in general. 

Can you really blame yourself, though? Look at the man! When you first look at him, his physique alone is enough to keep you staring at him for hours and hours on end. Strong, bulky arms that look like they could pick up five treadmills in one sitting and with veins that decorate up to his forearm can effortlessly grab the attention of the normal eye. He’s wearing his black fitted tee, so tight that it was as if it was vacuum sealed to perfectly showcase the outline of his abdomen, ribs, and pectorals. And it doesn’t help from the back view either; you can’t count how many times you fell into a short trance from admiring his gorgeous back, from his trapezius to his waist. Every time the man flexes his biceps and triceps, all you can do is internally thank the gods for sculpting such a man to be in front of you. And those beautiful thighs and calves shaped from his black leggings and shorts? Damn.

But the thing about him that has you squeak more than a mouse are his eyes. Forest green orbs that can shift into a stern concentration whenever he’s working on a machine or when he’s observing your form and finds whatever needs correcting. Then there are times when they are mellow and soft when you’re speaking with him or when he’s deep in thought about something until you catch his attention. Then he’d throw a small smile at you — your biggest weakness. The scar on his lip being lifted to a curl never fails to put your stomach into knots.

He’s such an attractive man from the first moment you ever laid your eyes on him. You were bound to fall in love with him one way or another. It just sucks that it’s under such a professional relationship that you have to keep this little unrequited love to yourself.

Which is getting harder and harder every day, especially now when the guy is so close to your face when he’s helping you stretch. Oh, dear lord. 

Every time you are done lifting weights, Toji will have you do stretches. He has you do them before and after a workout as they give your muscles time to warm up and straighten from the stress you put on them. So now, as you’re laying on your mat, Toji puts one hand on your right leg to keep it grounded on the floor and his other hand on the back of your left to push it up to your chest. The position has the two of you so close, him being situated between your legs and observing your breathing; it’s so wrong of you to dwell your mind into other things – other raunchier things.

And when he brings both your legs up to your chest, how the fuck are you supposed to calm your heart from exploding!?? You have to close your eyes during all this to not be pulled in by the examination of his gaze under his raven bangs. This is, without a doubt, the best worst part of the workouts. Thankfully, this is the last workout of the week, and the gym is about to close within an hour and a half. 

Toji breaks the suffering silence between you two. “Y’re still stiff; take deeper breaths f’r me.”

Oh, if only he knew how your dirty mind took that sentence. You chew on your lip with a gulp, “Maybe I still have a little energy in me that still wants to exercise.”

That made him chortle. “Is that so? Well, maybe after your stretches, you can get on the stairmaster for a few minutes.”

You gawk at him, only furthering the smirk on his face. “Are you serious!?? You promised we wouldn’t do any cardio until next week.”

“Well, next week is around the corner,” Toji moves your knees a bit to the left, bending them further down to your chest so his face could be a little closer to yours. Your brain almost short circuits at the movement, trying to distract yourself from the fact that his groin is mere inches away from your shorts. “So, since ya got the spirit, be a doll and do a few minutes on the machine, okay? Five minutes.”

Your breathing is so slow that you’re too scared to move. Your lips pressed to a thin line to conceal the quiver, and your eyes don’t dare venture down. You already know your body is going through its own internal turmoil, a throbbing sense occurring in your lower regions the more you keep looking at Toji, who lifts a brow from awaiting your response. Oh, this man is going to kill me.

“…Five minutes.” 

“Atta girl.” With a scoff, he finally straightens himself and places your legs on the mat. Toji then stands on his feet and grabs his bag. “Gonna head for the showers; finish up those stretches and head for the stepmaster. See ya later, Y/n.” And you watch him leave for the men’s locker room, finally having room to breathe. Before you can conclude your stretches with a cobra and child’s pose, you grumble to yourself in a whisper.

Why the hell did I have to fall in love with such a snarky, gruff, older guy like him…

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

You enter the locker room after completing the instructed exercise. Your mind is dizzy from walking on the step machine for about fifteen minutes, and your legs are mere minutes from turning into jelly. You curse Toji internally for the insufferable torture you’ve stressed on your poor limbs. 

No matter, though; you’re finally done for the evening and can head home to your soft bed. The gym will close soon, so perhaps you could use the locker room showers to freshen up. But then again, after the strain you’ve put on your body for almost two hours, all you want to do is be home and listen to your favorite music. I don’t feel like cooking today…  

Further into the room, you can hear the sound of someone using the showers, indicating you had picked the right idea to head home. You head for the locker side to grab your items to put in your bag before leaving, and it’s then that you hear the water stop running from where the showers are. Oh, shit,  make this quick, Y/n!

In front of you is the locker with the number you’re familiar with — where you always leave your things, like your own spot. You open it only to find….nothing is in the locker? Huh? Where are my leggings? And my phone??

Come to think of it, where’s your duffel bag that you usually leave on the bench against the lockers? You’ve never had a problem with people stealing from you in this place, so how does a bag full of your stuff magically disappear? There is a bag in here, but it’s definitely not yours. And now that you get a good look, you start to notice that the color of the lockers is of a different, darker shade than what you’re usually accustomed to. Wait a minute, am I in the wrong—

“Y/n?”

You go still at the familiar voice. Oh no, please, God, no. There’s no way. Your eyes teeter to the corner as you ever-so-slowly turn to the direction where that voice was coming from. And, of course, it was your personal trainer, who is—OH MY GOD!!!

Toji stands afar on the opposite side of you from the showers, without clothing, his body and hair completely drenched from water. The only thing that covers him is a white towel wrapped around his lower body. His body, which you’re used to seeing being snug tight by his gym clothes, is out for you to see as water trickled down from his clavicle, pecs, ribcage, and abs. For a split second, you take in as much of the image as you can, storing this as it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in your mind (maybe to fuel more of your erotic fantasies when you go home). But you avert your gaze when your eyes travel down his abs, counting each one until you reach below his belly button, where strays of dark hair become more prominent with a trail down his pelvis and—Okay, stop looking, stop looking!!

“M–Mr. Fushiguro!?” You croak, eyes wide with realization at what you’ve just done. Your dumbass just walked into the men’s locker room without checking first. And to add salt to the wound, your crush is the first person to catch you in the act, “O-Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to walk in here! I’ll get going—“

“No, no, Y/n, calm down,” Toji walks to where you’re standing; a mini-heart attack was about to be deployed until the older man turned to the side to grab for something in his bag. He pulls out a smaller towel. “Ya walked in here on accident, right?”

You gulp, seeing the steam from the shower still leave from Toji’s nude body. “Uhm, yeahhh, I don’t know where my head was at. Sorry…”

The gym instructor scoffs at your apology. “It happens; must’ve been a bit light-headed from the exercise and forgot where y’re at. Heh, guess those five minutes did more damage than I thought.”

“Ahaha, yeah, it was…pretty….dreadful……” Were you distracted? Yup. Because Toji used the towel he pulled from his bag to wipe off the water from his arms and face. You couldn’t help but survey the man’s movements, watching the small white towel brush on his triceps and glide down to his torso. You continue watching the small towel until your eyes drift to the happy trail on his pelvis. Your breathing goes uneven, thinking of more indecent things that connect with the trail of hair and the limb that’s shielded by the towel around Toji’s waist.

“…–ou there…Y/n?” Your name said to you snaps you back, realizing where you are and what you were doing. Your eyes crawl back to Toji’s face, who throws a small smile at you. “Eyes up here, sweetie.” Sweetie?!? If the floor could give way and swallow you, that would be appreciated. “Is there anythin’ else you need to tell me while y’re here?”

No, I’m in the men’s locker room, so I need to hurry and get the fuck out! “Uhmm, n-nope, nothing at all! So…I better get going now. See you later, Mr. Fushiguro!” You turn on the heel of your foot to head for the door, only able to take about five giant steps before Toji stops you again.

“How was it today?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake, what now!? You look over your shoulder. “Excuse me?”

“The workout. How was it?”

“It…It was, umm, alright, I guess. I feel like I could’ve done better on the weights.” 

“And why is that?”

Your body turns to have your front fully face him again. “Well, I mean, I was struggling at the last few reps…I’m sure you noticed, too, since you scolded me about it.”

He hums. “Ya know I correct you because, I know, you can do better, right, Y/n?” It was rhetoric, but you humor him with a slow nod. He brings the small towel to his head and dries his damp hair. “I’ve had many clients who come at me with everything they got or burned out before the first two months. But don’t worry, Y/n, I can tell you take pride in what we’re doing, and it’s good to know…” 

His words drown out from your ears. You didn’t mean for it to – you really didn’t. But while Toji was fixing his hair, you snuck more peeks at his body, enjoying his side profile. Admiring the way his arms move and flex, following the rocky silhouette of his abs that lead down to the towel again, you gasp at the dent of something that appears to be between Toji’s legs. Good lord, even with the cotton material covering him, you can still see it and—

“….Y/n.” Oh no, I did it again. You gulp with eyes venturing back to Toji’s face; the grin grew broader than before. “That's twice, sweet thing.” 

“S–Sorry, Mr. Fushiguro. It’s just that you have a...uhhh…” The heat in your ears makes it hard to concentrate on looking at the ground, anything to avoid your instructor’s gaze. “…..areallynicebody—“

“Hmm? I didn’t hear that, sweetie,” Sweetie? Sweetie!? Why'd he call me that? What you should be questioning is why that nickname made your stomach flip. But who are you kidding — if anyone had a crush on their instructor and were called a cute name like that, of course, they’d be as hot as a volcano. “Didn’t catch that, say it fr’ me again.”

“I–I said that,” Oh for fuck’s sake, this is so embarrassing! “You have a nice body…An attractive body, really…” The heat on your cheeks and ears is reaching heights that would have you combust at any moment. It’s what you’d hope for, honestly. It’s bad enough you’re stuck in the men’s locker room for not paying attention; now you’re here admitting to your instructor that you got the hots for him. God, please strike me here and now!

Toji says nothing after you say that, and it has your nerves at an all-time high, wondering if you should wait for his reply or just dash for the door and hope no one sees you leaving the men’s locker room. However, his voice breaks the silence, “I can say the same fr’ you.”

Oh, stop it. “Oh, please, no need to butter me up, Mr. Fushigu—“

“I’m serious.” He shuts down your argument down your argument before you can even finish. “C’mere.”

Why did you do what you were about to do? You could’ve just declined, exited the facility, and headed straight home to wallow away about this entire interaction, maybe find a different gym to form a membership with. But you didn’t. Instead, with downcast eyes, you slowly approached your instructor, who stood behind the locker bench. “Closer,” he says, noting how you’re about two arms length away from him, which you meekly decrease to one. “You don’t think ya got a nice body?” 

The adjacency between you two was too much for you, your face minutes from imploding. Too shy for words, you settle for a nod to give.

“How come?”

For God’s sake, this is not a conversation you want to have now with your crush instructor in the middle of the men’s locker room. “I…Well, Mr. Fushiguro—“

“Toji,” he cuts you off, discarding the small towel to the top of his bag. “Y’re over here tellin’ me I look good when you’re the one lookin’ like you could strike any guy that walks up in this place. Doncha think so?” 

Again, your eyes avoided his toweled figure, focusing on the tiled floor beneath your sneakers. “I guess, but…Toji, when compared to you, I—“

“Then that’s what ya shouldn’t be doin’, who told you to compare y'rself to others?” Toji brings a hand to your chin to make your avoidant peer placed on him, a move you were not mentally strapped in for. “I’m me, and y’re you, right?” 

“Right…”

“And that’s a good thing,” the hand on your chin slides down to the inside of your hoodie, his forefinger sneaking under the band of your sports bra. It makes your breathing stop. “But ya know what else I think?”

“What?” You sounded so low – so tiny – you didn’t know if he could hear you. He then brings his face close to your ear, and you could’ve sworn you almost felt your heart jump out of your throat. His free hand comes around your waist, pulling you even closer to him. The cotton of the towel now brushed your leg, and you could sink into a pool of embarrassment at the gasp you let out.

His voice was hoarse and low, the air from his nostrils grazing the skin of your ear. “…I think y’r body is the sexiest thing I’ve seen.” 

The sentence hit you like a truck, your heart almost giving in to a complete shutdown. “Huh–Ohhhh, wait,” Toji takes a nibble of your ear while his hand slithers your hoodie off of you, freeing your arms and covered chest where he creeps his hand inside next. You whimper at his fingers on your nipples that harden at his grinding touch. “Toji, wait, please wait…Do you really mean—“

“Mhmm, I do,” He coos, and a kiss to your neck nearly has you give way and lose balance; lucky for you, Toji was smart enough to have a leg between yours. “Now that I have you here, I’ll prove it.” 

“We’re—Ahhnnn…But we’re in the men’s locker room,” Toji brings his face up to look at you, your half-lidded eyes locked with his emerald orbs. “Someone could see us…”

Your worries are taken with a caress to your cheek. “Don’t worry about other people when y’re with me. I gotcha, baby.” 

“And I’m…Ohooo, really sweaty…”

“Nothin’ a shower can’t fix.”

And before you refute him again, Toji places his scarred lips onto yours, a shocked moan muffled as he kisses and sucks on your bottom lip. The hand in your bra now positions to the back of your neck, positioning you for him to deepen the kiss once you allow him access to your mouth. And once you kiss him back, all the reins of restraint have been discarded along with your hoodie to the floor.

The sounds of lips smacking get louder by the second, the passion in the kiss unraveling when you bring your hands to cup his cheek and have his face practically glued to yours. And Toji complies, shoving his tongue to tease and play with yours. The hand that was on your waist comes down to your ass for him to grope with the flesh, urging more of your sobs to be taken from him. Is it possible for your brain to turn into mush from a kiss? You’re finding that out now, breaking the kiss to gather whatever air you can before Toji claims your lips again.

The leg you’re riding on is nestled between your thighs, rubbing against the groin of your shorts. With every kiss and hump comes a grind on his leg, and it alleviates the growing ache that’s flourishing in your panties. Shivers travel up your spine and heighten your horniness, this elated feeling so dangerous that you could turn into putty at any second.

Toji lets go of your lips with a heavy pant, breathlessly snickering at his work; turning his cute client into a mess flipped a switch he’s been dying to indulge with. “Mmmm, y’re too fuckin’ cute, baby,” he wipes your mouth before letting you go; you hold back a whine when he removes his warm figure from you and steps back. It’s then that your instructor finally removes the towel that’s been shielding a now-discernible tent. The white towel meets the floor, and you follow his happy trail to meet with his erection, a sight that makes your jaw drop. The older man takes a seat on the bench behind him, and his legs spread out for his dick and balls to be ever-so-present and seen.

“Ya see how crazy you and y’r body make me?” He bites his lip, getting more turned on with you marveling at him and his length. “C’mere, angel, lemme see what you can do.” It takes a good mental slap to snap out of your frozen state and look at the thing you’ve been imagining all these months. Now, when the chance has finally been brought to you, how could you pass this up?  Following Toji’s command, you come close and go to your knees between his legs. 

The sheer size and girth of his length nearly put you in a trance, your eyes taking every detail of his erection before your eyes. Every dent and curve, the prominent veins from the underside, and the oddly pretty pink tip where bits of precum dare protrude from the urethra. Your raised hand has hesitance, yet Toji is quick to assuage your unease, taking your hand with his and wrapping it on his cock. The rough skin on your palm hitches your breath, “Hmmm, oh fuck. Yeah, just like that, princess.”

And there he goes again, egging you on with more cute pet names. Your hand slides up and down along his shaft from the tip to the base, and the sensation of its veins is so raunchy for your overwhelmed fingertips. Toji’s gruff hums to your touches stick to your ears the most, a sound you never in your wildest dreams thought you’d be lucky enough to hear. You want to keep hearing them, want them to be stored in your memory for as long as you can. And when you meekly tease his glans with a tiny lick, the hiss he expresses turns you on even more, so much so that you take the tip with patience and start to suck.

Toji throws his head back to the lockers behind him; the feeling of your tongue rolling around his girth as you inhale his cock is crazy. Fuck, it felt so good – he has to fight the urge to rut into your hollow cheeks and puffy lips. “Hahhh…Mmmm, damn….Ahahaha, ya know how to use that mouth of y’rs, Y/n. Keep suckin’ me off like that, and I’ll—Ohhh! Shit, shit, shiiiit,” he wasn’t prepared for you to take in his entire erection to the hilt. The tightness of your throat around him sends shivers, having to use the bench to grip onto.

You bob your head along his length, a hand accompanying the motions to further the exhilaration. Spit and come wet your palm, yet you’re too focused on the task to care, the haze of your brain increasing every time your lips meet the pubes of his pelvis. The jerk of his hips entails that you’re doing a good job, Toji bringing a hand to the back of your head when you kiss and lick on the head of his cock. You take note, assuming that it’s his weak spot, and continue to suck and tease the tip some more, massaging his testicles which almost had him choke. 

“—Hnnmph! Fuckin’ shit, I can’t…” Toji then has enough of this ribbing pleasure, unable to hold it anymore. With a careful hold on your skull, he stands from the bench and plows your face with his member. The harsh hit of his hips propelling his dick down to the deep crevices of your throat was sudden; the assault on your uvula results in your gag reflex; however, Toji was here to calm you down, “It’s alright, angel, breathe fr’ me.” He caters to you with a mediocre rhythm to the hips, the movement relieving the abrupt stress to your throat as you hum on his cock. You find purchase on his thighs to stabilize yourself while he plays with you orally, dialing up the pumps to your mouth until it reaches an erratic mood. Fuck, it has your head ringing, but the growing twinges and throbs between your legs practically excite you for more. Goddamn, it feels so good. So fucking good. “Jesus Christ—Y/n, I’m ‘bout to cum. Keep swirlin’ that tongue…Nnmmm, fuuck, right there, right there—Ahhhck!!”

His release comes with a few rough hits to your lips, his balls hitting your chin until they’re pressed against it. He pups his load into you, and you take it like a champ, letting the fluid venture down as the girth pulsates around your walls. His choked breathing eventually simmers down, giving it a few long seconds before he steadily removes himself from your warm cavity. The last remnants of his white substance paint your tongue, your saliva coating him. And with a voluntary swallow, you open your mouth again to showcase your clean change.

“Heh, didn’t even have to tell you,” Toji chortles, bringing a thumb to wipe your chin. “Good girl.”

KA-CHA! CREEEEK!!

Wide green eyes shoot wide along with yours, and the both of you go frozen rigid. That was most definitely the sound of a door opening. The door to the men’s locker room, where you are on your knees, in front of your personal instructor, with his dick out for the whole world to see. The blood in your body runs cold, and your stomach drops to the chilly floor. Oh, it’s over. It’s done. Your life is officially coming to an end. Welp, it’s time for me to think of a good suicide note when I get home and—

Pause on that. Because one moment you were thinking of your demise from this discomfiting situation, next you’re being dragged by Toji to the other part of the locker room, the showers. He swiftly opens a curtain and throws you both inside with a close, and the wet tiles soaked to your socks have you cringe, so you take them off.  

“Hello?” It’s a guy’s voice, of course — Ino’s. The young man is probably inspecting the male locker rooms before they close for the night like usual. You don’t dare speak so much as a letter when the footsteps draw closer to the showers, your heart rate spiking to a nervous high, and your breathing shallow. This is worse; now you’re in a confined space, face-to-face with Toji, who is utterly nude, towel left back on the bench. Your eyes locked with his, and your ears to the sounds of shoes entering the plane. “Anyone here? Saw some stuff at the front.”

“Yeah, I’m here,” your expression turns to sheer terror, wide orbs looking at the raven-haired man who spoke. No! Why would you say something!? 

“Hmm? Toji, that you?” Ino’s voice comes closer, in front of the shower curtain that shields you from his field of vision. Your heart is on the verge of dropping to your intestines. “You’re still here? Figured you’d be home by now.”

“Nah, I’m still here. Just about to finish up and head out.” Toji then turns on the faucet, cold peeps of water hitting your sweaty skin, panties, and sports bra. And, of course, it catches you off guard. OH FUUUUUU—  You don’t scream. You can’t. Instead, you shield your mouth and turn your back to Toji after giving him the most outstanding death glare of your life, which the older finds amusement in. You wipe your face from the water, cursing internally at this entire predicament. 

“Oh, okay, cool. I was just worried someone left their stuff on that bench over there. Carry on, and have a good night!” Ino dismisses himself and leaves the showers, and you exhale a silent sigh of relief. Oh, thank goodness…

Toji, on the other hand, sees your relieved state, and he can’t help but grin to himself with what he’s about to do. Moving closer to you, he brings his wet hands to your sports bra and immediately goes to fondling your breasts. A moan sneaks past you at the contact, prompting him to grope you even more. “T–Toji,” the water gradually gets warmer, juxtaposing with his cold fingers. “Stop, we have to leave, this is—Ohooo…” He tweaks your nipples with his forefinger and thumbs, and a leg sneaks in between yours.

“Relax, dollface, it’s just you and me here,” Oh, sweet Lord, you almost fell to your knees when he whispered to your ear and a teasing lick to your helix. “Got ya all to myself, now…” Toji kisses the crook of your neck, his wet hair brushing your cheek while he snakes his hand down into your panties. The way his fingers graze your clit again has you arch your back to him, another hushed shriek when he bullies his way between your folds. 

“Hey, Toji?” Ino’s voice again. Back to anxious stakes now that Toji’s toying with you. Goddamn it, Ino! What are you still doing here!? “I noticed you left your towel on the bench over there. But I also saw Y/n’s hoodie there.” Oh, fuck me!! Shit, shit, shit—"Ohhmph!!"

With quickness, you covered your mouth before your moan caught the ears of the front desk employee. And the reason for that is that Toji pulled down your soaked underwear and gave your chasm a sudden lick. If Ino weren’t back here, you’d give your personal trainer the nastiest kick to the throat you could ever do. But when he inserts a finger inside you, your aggression withered away in seconds. 

“Huh? Ohh, yeah, ‘bout that,” Toji stands back up and continues to finger you, chuckling at the sight of your trembling figure using the wall as leverage. “I saw ‘em before headin’ to the locker room. We talked for a while, but then they said they needed to change and told me to hold their hoodie for ‘em.” He says it so casually, all the while scraping your inner walls with the tip of his forefinger, summoning hushed cries that turn to silent screams when his free hand comes down to playfully pinch and press on your clitoris. God, this is too much torture for one night. 

Ino keeps questioning. “Really? I had someone check the other locker rooms, and she said she didn’t see anyone or anything except for a few personal items and leggings in one of the lockers. I’m guessing those would be Y/n’s, but where could they be?” Little did he know that you were just a curtain pull away from being found, chewing hard on your lip to quash your screams from the erratic swiping on your clit and the curving hits of his digits in your wetness.

“Mmmm, they probably are at another part of the gym or waitin’ for me at the front.” He lies effortlessly, yet his attention is still on you as he removes his fingers from you, the pleasure subsiding from the removal. Instead, he brings his erection in between your folds and humps you, and the feeling of his dick on your lips worsens the throbs in your awaiting cunt. With the heat coming from the shower and your uneven breaths, you’re bound to faint at any moment. 

“Ahh, makes sense. Alright, I’ll try and find them then,” you don’t say anything, just hesitant breaths when you feel the tip of Toji’s cock align and lightly push to your slick-coated entrance. Holy fuck, this is actually happening! Your lips quiver when Toji comes down to your ear to tell you to relax your body from tension, quietly maneuvering you by pulling your lower half to him. You do big inhales and exhales while the man pushes his cockhead to enter your cunt, wincing at the few seconds of pain that accompany each push. “See you later, Toji, and I put your towel on the hood next to your shower for when you’re done. Good night!”

“See ya.” And with Toji’s dismissal, Ino’s footsteps draw farther and farther from where you two are. And the moment you hear the locker room door slam close, Toji pushes the entire cockhead inside of you. Finally, you can squeal out to your heart’s content, balling your fists on the shower wall while your personal trainer wedges his length inside of you and stretches your walls. The girth was definitely something you knew would be an obstacle to accommodate, and it’s worse when your slit keeps clamping around the foreign limb invading inside. Tears begin to swell from the stinging touch, not that they would be distinguished by the shower water hitting behind you and Toji.

“Haahh, ahahhnn, mmmm,” Your wails seep out from your system right as the base of his cock kisses your lower region lips. And after a few seconds, he starts with a slow pace. Knowing that you can feel every dent and vein within you is insane to comprehend; the heat across your cheeks cranks up due to the euphoric sensations. “Ohhhh, my God, Tojiii. I’m so full…”

Toji pecks on your shoulder, “Yeah, sweet thing? I bet so. Just be a good girl and keep grippin’ on me like that, alright? Gonna start movin’ now…” His hips rut into your vagina, pulling his shaft slowly outward and rushing it back inward. Holy shit, it felt so dreamlike — having him actually move inside of you. But it was very much real; having his pelvis meeting the flesh of your ass was proof of such.

A hand snakes down to your clitoris, and a gasp leaves your lips at the brush of his thumb rubbing against it. Your legs tremble at the flick of his finger on your bud, and the pace of his thrusts crank up in speed, making it hard to concentrate on one thing. So many senses are being activated all at once; the shower water raining down on your back, the exhilarating combination of Toji’s dick grinding down on your insides, and the swipes and pinches on your precious clitoris. God, it was all too much. 

“Arch some more fr’ me, princess,” Toji gets up to push your back further down, the walls of your chasm clinging onto him as the more exposed opening gives room for you to be plowed. “Hnnmm, shit, feels so good…Hey, let’s try somethin’ different.”

By the time the last bit of his sentence could be registered, he already had you turned to face him, folding your arms around his neck. You didn’t know what for until he hoisted you up, and then you instinctively grabbed hold for dear life before your back hit the wall, your legs wrapped around him while he held you by the thighs. Toji brings his member back to your labia to insert it back inside, and you two moan at the contact again. Oh, this was different – never have you been lifted like this. And to be elevated by your gym crush, in this connotation, is enough to have you appalled.

But what made your breath hitch the most was Toji’s face being up close and personal. The bangs stuck to his forehead thanks to the shower water; his jet-black hair was wet and slicked. Trails flow down his face, drops of water plummeting from his nose and chin. And – oh, sweet Jesus – those green eyes of his, so striking as if they could pierce right through you. They were piercing through you. He took in your expression just as you were his, eyes filled with wanton desire, and it was all directed towards you – for you. He flashes a small smile, teeth peeking from beneath his scarred lips.

Oh, my God. You turn to the side to hide your face from his gaze; it definitely wasn’t the water that was making your cheeks and ears hot at that moment. But that didn’t fly with Toji. He sneaks into a rut that has you jump on his cock, the new position giving his dick an angle to hit your cervix. Because of that, the jab erupts a shriek you had no preparation for withholding. 

“Heh, aht, aht, don’t do that,” Oh, he knows he’s in control of this entire situation; you can hear it in his patronizing chortle. “Don’t hide that pretty face from me, doll,” he kisses your cheek and trails down to the crook of your neck. “Let me hear you—Aiishhh! Oh, fuuck…” 

Once Toji begins to jerk his hips to you, you dwell into a pleasure that you never knew existed. Toji’s length scrapes your inner walls like crazy, like a euphoric itch. The fact that you’re bouncing on the cock of your personal trainer is scary to comprehend. Having him see you like this, hearing you moan and wail for him, you never felt more exposed in your entire life. And also, him holding you like you weigh nothing and fucking you in the men’s locker room showers?! What the actual fuck!? This is actually so embarrassing – I could die! 

But why would you? The commotion between your legs feels way too good to bring this to a stop – you two are already joined in a union, so why stop? Every stroke to your slit sends a shiver up your spine, clamping onto him every time he brushes up on your sweet spots that make your nerves tingle. And the occasional jabs to your tender cervix? Damn, the stimulation was enough to have you faint with the heat growing tenfold.

“Mmmff, hoohhh, ohhhhh,” your cries are drowned out by the shower, only heard by Toji. Speaking of, this position gives you proximity to observe his expression. His eyebrows furrowed, eyes shut as if he’s in the zone. The huffs of breath he takes with every roll of his pelvis are so hot to the ear that you wouldn’t mind listening to them all day. Anytime the walls of your wetness clamp onto him, he moans and hushed curses at the feeling of you wanting him. He’s an attractive man, but, holy fuck, this was a sight you thought you’d never see in a million years. 

“—Khhhh! Hnmph, ahhhh,” Through the gruff pants, Toji opens his eyes half-lidded, catching you in the moment of staring right at him. You clench onto him; why does this man have to look so fucking sexy!? He smirks, “How we feelin’ now, baby?”

“Hahhh, I–I’m—Ohhh!! Fucking shiiiitt,” you cry out when he slams deep into you, making your toes curl, and your words come out in slurs. “It’s too muuchh, Tojiii, ughhh!! T–Tooo muuuuch…” 

“Ya gettin’ close?” Oh, yes, you were. You could feel it through the trembles climbing up your fibers. Your brows trench at the high, and Toji was mean enough to sneak a pinch to the clitoris without you noticing. Your legs tighten around his waist, and you shake your head hurriedly. He chuckles, releasing your clit from his rough fingers and putting his forehead to yours. “C’mon, angel, I won’t know what you want if ya don’t say it.”

Fuck, he’s such a meanie. You love it so fucking much. You mewl to him, “Pleaseee, Tojiii, I want it so bad!”

He lifts a brow. “Want what?” 

“—To cum!! Pleasepleaseee, I wanna cum on you, I want it—Ahaahhnn!!” Fuck, it’s coming. Almost there. 

That’s all he needed to hear, the grin on his face broadening at your response. “Cum on me, then. I’m right here to catch ya, princess.” His hand returns to your clitoris, pressing down on the delicate button to the point where all he can hear is your sweet screams of lust. His thrusts now get erratically fast, having you rebound to the hilt of his length, the smacks of skin slapping against each other fill the confined space of the shower. And the climb of your aroused high increases until it comes crashing down; you let out one last howl as the electric shocks course through your body, and your release is freed. Your walls squeeze hard onto Toji as you indulge in your climax; him pistoning his cock to your sensitive labia adds to the chilling sensitivity. Your cunt flutters around his cock while you experience your crescendo, your eyes screwed shut to enhance the experience, not aware of Toji watching you ride out your orgasm on him. 

The trembles calm down, the shocks subside, and your breathing descends into a steady rhythm. Throwing your head back, you rest your back against the wall while still in Toji’s hold, using this time to indulge yourself in this moment of clarity. 

Toji lets out a tiny laugh, bringing his face to your neck to suck on it. “That felt good, sweet thing?” You sigh out of breath, nodding to his question. “Hmmm, good. But ya know I’m not done, right?” Your blood ran cold, your body rigid still. Wait, huh? “I let you have your fun, so be a good girl, and lemme have mine.” 

The involuntary twitch of your slit should give you a clue as to how the news hit you, and you can't tell if it'll be him or the shower that will have you melting like a puddle by the time this is over...

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Haibara walks out to the front desk, where Ino hurriedly stuffs his phone back into his pocket, away from his superior’s eyes. Fortunately for the younger man, the older one didn’t see his device. “Hey, Ino, I got a question.”

“Yeah, what’s up?” The associate fidgets with his brown hair under his rolled-up ski mask.

“Have you seen Mr. Fushiguro and Y/n today? Toji told me he couldn’t make it for Monday night, but I haven’t seen Y/n that day or Wednesday.” The older brunette looks around to find any resembling cues, but his eyes see nothing that sparks familiarity. 

Ino blinks before answering. “No. And now that you mention it, I haven’t seen or heard from them since last week…”

Haibara leans on the desk and sighs. “Hope Y/n’s doing all right. Usually, they’d call or shoot a text telling me they couldn’t make it for their appointments with Fushiguro. But this is twice where neither of them show up.” 

“Hmm, can’t say I have an idea.” The other shrugs at his superior’s concerns. “I didn’t get a call or text from Y/n either, so maybe I’ll give ‘em one after my shift. Heh. Let’s hope they didn’t replace us with another gym.” 

With trenched brows, Haibara took offense to the younger brunette’s words. “Cut that out, man! I’d be pretty upset if they just suddenly stopped showing up here. Half a year of coming in and out and getting to know each other, only for them to just vanish like that…At the very least, they could give a call!” He passionately bangs on the front desk, giving Ino a startle.

RING-RING-RING!! RING-RING-RING!! 

The two froze at the sudden ring of the desk phone as if Haibara’s fist magically granted them a call. And by the exchanged glances they shared before Ino picked up the phone, they better hope it wasn’t the call they were expecting. “Hello, this is Golden Gate Gym. My name is Takuma Ino; what can I do for you?” 

“Hey, is that you, Ino?”

“Hey, Y/n!” Ino turns to Haibara, whose eyes share the same perplexity as his. “It’s good to hear from you; where’ve you been? You’ve been MIA for almost a week.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I had a little accident and sprained my ankle; I couldn’t come to the gym on Monday and Wednesday.”

“Oh, shit, for real?” Haibara watched the younger man’s tone change to concern, which didn’t help his nerves either. “Sorry to hear about that, but it’s a good call not coming here and taking care of yourself.”

“Yeah, thanks. Is Haibara there with you by any chance?”

“Uh, yeah. He’s right next to me, actually.” Ino takes the initiative to give the darker brunette the phone to speak with the one on the other side of the line. Haibara outstretches his arm to take the phone and put the receiving end to his ear. “Yo, Y/n!”

“Hey, Haihai. I meant to call you Wednesday, but I’m letting you know that Mr. Fushiguro and I are still doing our weekly appointments.”

Haibara sighs in relief internally, giving Ino a thumbs up. “Oh, thank God! You two had me worried there for a second. We didn’t see you guys here and thought you’d be a no-show again.”

“Yeah, sorry for the scare. Mr. Fushiguro found out about it and decided it would be….Haahhh….best for me to do my regimine at my apartment instead…”

“Well, that’s nice of him to look out for you with your ankle. I’m sure he’s doing what he can to—“

“Ahaahhnn!!”

A sudden yelp pops into the call out of nowhere and completely takes Haibara aback from the phone as if it was so out of place for the topic that was taking place. Ino notices it when the darker brunette gives him a brief perplexed look, which the younger shrugs at. “Uhh, Y/n? You busy right now?”

Oh, you were busy, all right. You’re at your apartment right now. Your ankle? Absolutely fine, nothing wrong about it in the slightest. The only change, however, is not being at the gym for this entire week and staying home instead. Why?

How about asking your personal trainer who has you propped upside down, standing up with his hands holding you by your ass, stuffing his face to your exposed cunt which he licks and sucks on. The feeling of his tongue digging through your labia has your hips jerking, but his strong arms exhibit unmoving effort in keeping your wetness in his mouth. His pants down to his knees, and his erect length in your hand and brushing your cheek. This is most definitely not the at-home exercise that Haibara is thinking of.

“…Hello?…Y/n, you there?”

Oh, shit! “Y–Yeah, I’m here! Sorry, my ankle is acting up on me—Ohhhh…Fushiguro’s looking at it for me…” Oh, please, he’s not checking shit; fucker indulging himself between your asscheecks, ravishing your folds like a sweet fruit to his tastebuds.

“Oh! So you two are exercising together right now?” Toji nibbles on your vagina and grazes with his teeth, having you gasp and twitch. His tongue surprising your clit prompts a choked whine. “That’s good to know then! Alright then, see you guys when you’re ready to return to the gym. And tell Toji not to put too much on you, ya hear?”

“—Khhhh, mhmm…I’ll give him an earful for you. See you later, Haibara…”

“Great, see ya. Happy Friday!” 

And with that farewell, you can finally toss the phone down and coo to your heart’s content, biting your lips at Toji stuffing his mouth on your bare chasm; his muffled groans vibrate your lower half like crazy. “Ohhooo!! Ohhhfuckkk, I’m gonna cumm,” your words slur with a suck to your clitoris, your hips bucking involuntarily. “Lemme cum, Tojiiii, I wanna—Ahaaaa!!”

He removes his face from your ass with an exhale as if he was dying for breath. But based on the grin plastered on his face, he wouldn’t mind being in this position for a little while. “Oh, I don’t think so, doll. I don’t think ya deserve to cum in my mouth.”

That was the last thing you wanted to hear right now. “Ahahnn!! You’re such an asshole, Toji…”

He chuckles crudely. “That’s where I’m gonna play with next if you don’t stuff my dick in that pretty mouth of y’rs already. Suck me good; then maybe I’ll let the princess cum all over me.”

Broad strokes from his pelvis rub his dick on your cheek, a reminder of your part of this endeavor that you must partake in. The smell of him overwhelms your nostrils into a pornographic trance, your head pounding just from looking at it. You gulp and take the tip into your mouth, sucking and licking the precum off while your hands glide up and down his shaft. “Good girl, good girl…” Toji goes back to smacking his lips on your folds, moving his tongue in whirlpool motions that have you moaning on his cock. God, it feels so good, so fucking good. You can see yourself becoming addicted to this, and that’s a bit scary seeing this professional relationship drift to something more touchy and personal…

…But then again, there’s nothing wrong with that, right?

© 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐲2024 – reblogs + comments are appreciated wholeheartedly ☆ header art by achumuchi + dividers by @/cafekitsune & @/animatedglittergraphics-n-more.

#𝑯𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊 ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔: 𝑭𝒊𝒄𝒔 #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #jjk smut #jujutsu kaisen smut #jjk x y/n #jjk x you #toji x reader #toji fushiguro x reader #toji smut #toji fushiguro smut #toji x you #toji x y/n #fushiguro toji x reader #fushiguro toji x you #toji fanfic #fushiguro toji smut #jujutsu kaisen x you #jujutsu kaisen fic #jjk imagines #jjk fic

[phoenix-fell]

Anti-Bumbleby criticisms answered with BB analysis - Big post

As expected, as Bumbleby gets more attention from the show, the anti-BB crowd have surfed in on their tidal wave of bitter lemons. So, I’d like to put my degree, job and training to use and compile my thoughts down in one place - a one-stop shop if you will - it’s long and will be largely unfiltered as I tackle the weirdest and most common criticisms and BB analysis. (I kinda miss Bumbleby analysis Megaposts, I might make one sometime to go alongside this as a point of reference as most I’ve seen end around Vol 6).

TIA for anyone who actually takes the time to read my ramblings and please feel free to give your thoughts/analysis and I’ll edit it in. FIRST EDIT - 8th Mar 2023 presenting labels and sexuality in Remnant - 4th from end.

Credentials: Double major 1st class grad in Literature and Creative Writing, specialising in fairy tales and WLW representation in media. Recipient of dissertation award exploring character psyche and the presentation of psychological themes. Literary critic, writer and content specialist. 

Let’s start off with a cracker from Reddit!

“Why couldn’t the BB scenes be more of a background thing? Why do they need to focus on them like they’re a main plot or something?”

Is... Is it stuffy under all that homophobia? I could easily rhyme off a string of sarcastic quips like ‘gee, I wonder why, it’s almost like it’s important to the development of two of the main characters or something.’ But it’s so lost on some people that I’mma spell it out:

We’ve seen Blake and Yang’s trauma painted across the screen from ‘Burning the Candle’ when Yang first confesses her abandonment issues, to the White Fang / Adam arcs that gave us a picture of the abuse Blake has endured - not just as a Faunus, but from her partner (“Adam used to get into my head, make me feel small.”), right through to their separation that dealt with their respective issues with running away/being abandoned and the shared trauma which has tied them both together indefinitely. They’ve been apart, they’ve repaired their relationship, they’ve grown together. In a current volume that’s so inherently focused on character’s individual development, seeing Blake and Yang together was almost inevitable as they’ve been so completely involved in one another’s development throughout the entire series. This is without going into their fairy tale allusions that tie them together which I’ll go into further down or the references to Yin/Yang and numerous romantic tropes that show how integral they are to one another’s characters. Contrary to belief, it’s not romance for the sake of romance - in this instance, the romance very much strengthens their development individually.

Asides from all of this, it was decided from the very beginning that Yang would lose her arm (foreshadowed in the Yellow trailer). The moment they decided that Yang would lose her arm protecting Blake, was the moment a decision was made to invariably tie these two narratives together on a very fundamental level.

But also, don’t clown yourself into thinking you’re not a homophobe if you think any LGBT content belongs in the background whilst also rejoicing any onscreen developments between straight ships.

“If BB was meant to be a thing then they wouldn’t have had Sun as a romantic interest.”

Is there a universe where love triangles and bisexuals are a foreign concept?

But in all seriousness, I think that certain corners of fanbases seem to struggle with any concepts that are non-linear; something I often see with anime. By ‘linear’, I mean: love interest introduced > build up > canon > together forever. As opposed to ‘non-linear’; a character that goes on their own journey of discovery and, through which, has more than one interest and path over time and has the ability to change their mind. The show was never a ‘romance’ as a primary theme; it’s an action/adventure which has some romantic subplots. But to honest, Blake changing her mind shouldn’t really be this much of a shock to the fanbase given that our FIRST ever interaction with Blake, in her TRAILER, is her changing her mind about her partner (and first romantic interest) and deciding to pursue a new journey. A scene which is actually referred back to in the Season 6 opener when Blake uncouples the train and sees what she believes to be a hallucination of a hooded Adam on the opposite carriage, foreshadowing the importance of that original decision later in the series (“you didn’t leave scars, you just left me, alone”). 

The arc that follows Blake thereafter is inherently tied to Adam (amongst other important themes), who is predominantly based off Gaston and the rose (or curse of the rose) from Beauty and the Beast. Blake and Yang are interchangeably alluded to as both Belle and the Beast throughout their character arcs from as early as the Red Trailer: “Black the beast descends from shadows / Yellow beauty burns gold.” and as recently as Blake describing Yang to the Hunter Mice in Vol. 9 Chapter 1. I can rhyme off these allusions until I’m blue, but again, I may save this for a master post.

The story that Blake is based on is a love triangle - she was never meant to have one set path from the beginning and romantic interests were always meant to play a huge part in Blake’s story/development; she was always going to have a romantic decision to make after conquering the curse / Gaston. Blake being haunted by her first romantic interest is foreshadowed in the ending of her trailer and first referenced in her conversation (with Yang) at Mountain Glen, and becomes an undeniable path of exploration once Yang loses her arm to Adam at the end of Volume 3. Let it be noted that Sun was present when Yang announced she was going to find Blake at the Battle of Beacon - a decision was made here for Yang to be the one to lose her arm protecting Blake, as was Adam’s poignant promise to take away everything Blake loves - “starting with [Yang]” or, otherwise, the solidifying of this romantic subplot. Which, again, is called back to with the infamous line: “What does she even see in you?” besides the obvious subtext, it’s setting the stage for these parallels between Adam and Yang, past and future, the previous love interest identifying something in Blake that used to be reserved for him, now directed towards Yang.

This season began with Blake declaring that Yang “seems scary, but isn’t”. Because, once Belle knows the Beast isn’t scary, she allows herself to fall in love (conveniently, this is said whilst walking through a fairy tale).

I could go into a big post about romantic foils and the ways in which Yang, Adam and Blake are all foils to each other but I might make a separate post instead for anyone new to the FNDM. Either way, I feel it’s worth mentioning as it’s Blake who directly compares Yang to a past love interest who was designed with semblances and characteristics that mirror each other. Point being, no one should be shocked that Blake has multiple interests given the character and fairy tale she’s based off and heavy allusions where Yang is concerned.

“Oh yeah, because Yang ‘literally purred at guys in their underwear’ Xiao Long and Blake ‘literally kissed a boy’ Belladonna are clearly bisexual because of [insert out of context reasons]” and “yes but Monty said...”

1. You mean... the one, and only one scene in 9 entire volumes where Yang shows any interest (albeit jokingly) in a guy, and the literal scene directly before she sees Blake from across the crowded room and proceeds to never express interest in men again? (Ignoring the very obvious implied trope here). And, in fact, only expresses interest in a woman from this point onwards? This is your frame of reference? Personally, I find it quite lovely that Yang’s perspective is never the same from the moment she sees Blake. Asides from this, while ‘bisexual’ is the label that these guys have gone with, Yang’s sexuality hasn’t been confirmed outside of being sapphic - it’s not outside the realm of possibility that she is, in all likelihood, lesbian. It’s important to note here that any young character expressing an interest in a man would not invalidate that same character being a lesbian. In fact, if we apply this to real life, it’s not uncommon for people not to realise that they’re queer immediately (I myself didn’t until I was 21). But in the opening episodes of the series especially, I’d very much chalk this up to writers exploring the characters.

2. As for Blake - there are, from what I remember, three kisses in the entire show so far. The one between Jaune and Pyrrha - on the lips after prolonged romantic allusions between the two (their romance is explicitly referenced by Nora - “practice what you preach, Pyrrha.” - almost fitting that it’s Nora to call out the Bees in Season 7 - A Night Off, no? Neat little parallel for y’all). The one between Ren and Nora after trying to work out the status of their romantic relationship - again, on the lips. And the one where Blake says goodbye (and thank you) to Sun by kissing him... On the cheek. (So hot, I know). Which is immediately followed up with Sun telling Neptune “it was never about that”. One of these is not like the other, can you guess which? I’ll wait.

As for referencing Monty - I could go on all day about this one, and the quote most notoriously used is ‘they’re a sisterhood’. Firstly, let me just say that I find it disturbing that anyone would use the show’s deceased creator as ammunition, whilst also disregarding his other comments on LGBT rep - specifically, ‘maybe there are LGBT characters there now / they’re just kids rn and figuring it out / it needs to be earned’. But also, it’s really disturbing and egotistical that anybody would pretend to know what Monty wanted better than the crew he handpicked, worked with, collaborated with and was friends with (special mention to the fact that his own brother is one of the cast). If you truly want to honour his legacy, then show respect to the people he put his trust in.

“I don’t have an issue with BB, but why does it always have to take away from Yang’s moments with Ruby?” / “All Yang’s feelings for her sister transferred to Blake.”

One from the hall of fame. The age old question of ‘can a girl have a romantic partner and still care about her family?’ I wish this wasn’t a serious question, but there are actual sides of the Fandom that seem to think that Yang’s forgotten about her sister that she raised because she has feelings for someone and that the sole purpose of Yang’s existence is to be her sister’s keeper.

I’mma address this on 3 fronts. 1 - Logistically, the episodes for RWBY, excluding the intros, are 15-20 mins long currently and typically oversee several different storylines particularly as the cast grows larger, leaving us with... What? About 5 minutes of team RWBY interactions? It’s not a lot of time to pack in character development, relationship development, plotline, strategy etc. so often if they’re wanting to develop more than one relationship, they will alternate between putting these themes in the background (such as the yellow in Blake’s sword, references from other characters etc.) and foreground, and some developments have to be shoulder-to-shoulder to fit them in. This isn’t an indicator of how much one character cares for one another and is more a demon created by people’s perception of how they ‘think’ a protective sister should act.

Additionally, it should be noted that Yang fawning over Ruby and not allowing her to develop other relationships outside of her sister, would actually offer us nothing from a development perspective for both Yang and Ruby’s characters and would, instead, steer these two strong female characters down a path of co-dependency. 

2 - It feels like a very easy excuse for Anti-BB folk to throw out there, conveniently forgetting how great of a sister Yang actually is (contrary to the number of RWDE videos I’ve seen arguing otherwise, as this is an essay I could write in itself). These very often take isolated incidents out of context and conveniently forget important information like Yang 1. Literally sacrificing herself twice to protect her sister 2. Sacrificing her entire childhood to raise her sister and 3. Importantly, the fact that Ruby is her (self-sufficient) Team Leader needs to be factored into their dynamic, as Yang gives her space to find herself as a leader and steps in when her sister actually needs her - not when the audience thinks she does. People hear ‘protectiveness’ and seem to think that this should mean that Yang should be overbearing. 

3 - Anyone who says this doesn’t have siblings. I have older and younger siblings and, having largely raised my younger sibling, I can safely say that I still love them even when I’m in a relationship. I also feel extremely secure in arguing/disagreeing with any of my siblings because I inherently know they will still be there at the end of the day - a sibling love goes deep (referencing ‘Fault’ from Volume 8). However, in a romantic relationship that is not established and very new... you will feel insecure, that’s normal, it doesn’t have the luxury of established stability that siblings do, and therefore you will overtly express more anxiety about this as a result. It’s a very strange concept that if you have a sibling, you need to give them all of your attention and ignore any love interests. Yang has gone through her own traumas, she has every right to care about others, heal herself, and have a life that isn’t defined by being a caretaker for her sister. ESPECIALLY as she already gave up her childhood to fulfil this role, unselfishly AND as the person she’s bonding with is best poised to understand Yang’s trauma. Yang as a character deserves to receive the love she constantly gives out. Again, this is a demon born from the fact that it either doesn’t reflect the relationship commentors have with their siblings, or the fact that they’re *imagining* how that relationship should be.

Bonus picture below: Yang putting aside her anguish for Summer Rose, who she considered to be her mother, to prioritise comforting her sister about that same loss.

“I hate BB shippers because they pass off BS interactions as platonic. BS made more sense, there was no build-up to BB until Vol 6 and they let the BS build-up go to waste to force BB.”

First off, there’s nothing wrong with BlackSun as a ship. Shipping shouldn’t be dictated by canonicity and people have the right to ship it and to their opinions. And while a few of these seem to have referenced BS, I don’t actually think that BS shippers are at fault for the hatred coming this way, but rather that the ship seems to get used as ammunition from the Anti-BB crowd - to summarise, Anti-BB and BS shippers are not synonymous. I personally don’t ship BS, but I do enjoy the debate and actually think that Sun is a very important part of Blake’s development and arc. There did seem to be some form of mutual attraction between Blake and Sun. Had they gone down that route, I wouldn’t have hated it, I just never felt excited by it, which seems to be a large consensus amongst BB fans. An appreciation whilst feeling there was a better alternative.

Believing all the development between Sun and Blake was ‘wasted’ is also very closed-minded given how much he helped Blake in the White Fang arc and also disregards the importance of their friendship. BS has the potential to be one of the best and most supportive friendships in the series, I stand by that.

That said, I don’t think it’s entirely wrong to acknowledge that a lot of (not all) interactions between BS were platonic from Blake’s pov while Sun’s feelings were more explicit. The only real hint I saw of Blake reciprocating was a blush at the Vytal festival. Maybe the dance at a stretch, but there’s hints at both BS and BB and I will fight you on it. Now, it might be a question of timing; Adam was still a prevalent threat during this time which will have been weighing on Blake given the resurgence of the White Fang, and is clear when Adam rocks up seeking vengeance in Volume 3. For this reason, I honestly think it would have been disingenuous to have explored Blake in a full relationship with anyone at this point given these loose ends, and Blake undergoes a lot of development over volumes 4-6 as a direct result of this.

Additionally, if BB didn’t begin until Volume 6 then that means that BS had 4-5 volumes to happen - 2 of which where they were in their own arc, separated from the main cast. It didn’t happen. What happens instead is Blake’s guilt over Yang weighs heavily on her while she deals with her arc and Sun helps her come to terms with this, ultimately redirecting her back to her team, and Yang, while Sun’s interactions with her become increasingly platonic from his side.

Lastly, the only way you don’t see build up for BB, is if you actively will yourself not to see build-up. If you replace Blake and Yang’s moments with Sun, I don’t feel there’d be any misunderstandings on how these moments are supposed to be interpreted. Take off the hetero goggles, and we’re cool. 

But on a sidenote and personal pet peeve of mine, the cries of ‘BB is forced while BS had build-up’ will forever irritate me - BB has a slow burn, a full arc, developed from a friendship and partnership as well as several tropes and allusions without going into too much detail. BS, firstly, never ended up happening, but it starts when Sun runs past, winks at Blake, magically knows she’s a faunus, then proceeds to follow around a girl he doesn’t know for two days who, at his own admission, didn’t speak that whole time. But... BB is forced? I’d say it’s subjective, but logic defies when this is the barometer for a natural introduction of a romantic pair.

“BB is ‘queerbait’”

Let’s address the ‘Goliath’ in the room, shall we? ‘Queerbaiting’ gets thrown around like a reflex at the moment by pseudo-fans who I don’t believe actually know the gravity of their statements or the meaning behind the word. I often see this slur paired with BB being strung out to keep the shippers watching. Now, there’s an essay in itself that could exist in this section, but are people really still clowning themselves that a show that’s explicitly shown that it wants to have queer representation in the cast and foreground is ‘queerbaiting’ it’s audience? Even weirder for me is the part of the FNDM saying that it’ll be baiting if they make BB canon. Please stop this nonsense and do some research.

Now, one thing I would like to tackle is that, sadly, some will still see pairings on the show through heteronormative glasses, so let me use that here. If the pair were a m/f couple and had several seasons of development and increasingly intimate moments, there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind that 1. It was heading in the direction of canon and 2. That it was a slow burn romance that’s building to its’ climax. Interestingly, the show actually does use the hetero goggles to frame BB on several occasions by paralleling this budding romance with several straight ships such as Arkos and Renora. Why? Because this is a narrative technique often used by writers to frame LGBT romances to separate them from ‘just friendships’ and, let’s face it, use an unconscious heteronormative bias to their advantage.

“BB is badly written, they barely interacted in volumes 1-3 then didn’t speak for two volumes.”

Tickle me pink. Volumes 1-3 are a very strange reference point for ‘in-depth’ development between characters. Crumbs, sure. The odd scene, absolutely. But let’s be real here - the show started as a low budget web series with an onus on cool fighting scenes and, most importantly, the episodes were around 5 minutes long whilst entertaining teams RWBY and JNPR, the White Fang, the Vytal tournament and several other plots. Nobody particularly interacted much but the writers did the best they could with what they had and the rest is left to us, the audience, to interpret that relationships are developing off-screen. Though from a critique POV in the interest of fairness, I would say the current season is a breath of fresh air by re-focusing the plot on the central characters as I think the show can sometimes be guilty of taking on too many plotlines.

As for volumes 4-5, while they’re in different continents, it’s obvious that they’re prevalent in each other’s arcs. Whether it’s Yang admitting she’s struggling with Blake’s abandonment - in the same episode the first lesbian character is revealed confessing their feelings to Blake (sidenote, all of team RWBY left Yang, and it’s Blake she’s mad at, this was always meant to be framed differently to her other teammates and IMO the struggle they go through is meant to frame the characters coming to terms with the depth of what they mean to each other), the parallels of them both getting onto the ship (named ‘Pride’ - wink wink), or Blake actively struggling to talk about Yang, yet referencing it when Sun is hurt (“Not again!”) showing it’s at the forefront of her mind. All of which culminates in their reunion in the Vol 5 finale.

Is it the best writing ever? No, nothing’s perfect. But they do explicitly use parallels throughout the series to drive the narrative forward as a foreshadowing tool to strengthen subplots.

“Blake being bisexual makes no sense - she was interested in Sun, it just seems so out of the blue, she and Yang just seemed like friends to me.”

Funny, because she and Sun seemed like friends to me too.

There are so many things I wanted to fire back at this, from the insinuation that if a woman first shows interest in a man then it’s out of the blue that she’s bisexual now that she’s showing interest in a woman... Like, how do you think it happens for bisexuals IRL?! Did you want her to burst onto the scene in Volume 1, announce she likes men and women, and then express explicit simultaneous interest in both of them? Start a harem? Proposition a throuple?

This particular take amuses me most of all as someone who is very openly bisexual. Yes, she and Yang seemed like friends. Great friends, in fact. That hold hands and blush and want to spend all their time together. And check each other out when the other isn’t looking. And make excuses for casual physical contact and flirt and giggle like a couple of giddy teenagers. Just like me and my ‘best friend’ did, before I realised I was bi. I’m sure that a lot of people thought it came out of the blue for me too. Blake being oblivious to being bisexual until it becomes too obvious to ignore is actually a very realistic scenario.

Bonus headline - just because you don’t understand/identify with something, doesn’t mean that it’s not good representation or realistic. I feel it’s also important to mention Blake’s VA, Arryn Zech, is bisexual and has spoken numerous times on the matter. The reason I bring this up is because it’s clear that the way in which the bisexuality of her character is presented on the show is actually something that’s incredibly important to Arryn - because good representation is significant. 

Presenting labels and sexuality on Remnant: A Theory and - “BB is a terrible representation of LGBT and your critique ignores the female and LGBT people that have spoken out against it.”

They say, to someone who is both female and LGBT. Credit to the Anon who charged into my inbox to accuse me of the above - hope you enjoy. Now, there’s a couple of things I’d like to cover before I go into how sexuality is perceived in-universe. The first is that if you use this argument against someone who is queer without seeing the belligerent hypocrisy of your statement, please check yourself as, clearly, you only care about LGBT voices on representation when it aligns with your own rhetoric and ready to dismiss any narrative to the contrary from that same community.

Secondly,  the queer/LGBT community is a vast and vibrant community of *individuals* with their own opinions and own voices. I didn’t nominate anyone to speak on my behalf, just as I don’t speak on the behalf of the rest of the community. Moreover, any art is open to interpretation. My opinion does not override theirs, nor does their opinion erase my own. And, believe it or not, it’s quite possible to have two or more differing opinions within one community without being at war with one another. I respect their opinion, just as I hope they respect mine.

We clear? Great. Onto the analysis! Huge shoutout to @crimsonxe​ for the brilliant discussion and assistance with the analysis in the comments that helped me construct this section! You’re awesome.

Let’s dive in with the headline - Homophobia doesn’t appear to be an issue on Remnant and labels don’t appear to exist, in the sense that it doesn’t appear anywhere in-universe. Now just to pre-emptively disclaimer: this may change, but in 9 volumes and however many supplementary materials, we’ve not heard any labels or had any representation of this type of discrimination. If that changes, I’ll happily remove this. 

So why is this important, you ask? Ultimately, when you take away the inherent ‘fear’ that a lot of the LGBT community face IRL along with prevalent ignorance towards the community and society’s insistence on labelling sexualities and gender identity, it creates a world divorced from our own and is, from a narrative point of view, a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it allows the characters to explore themselves in a non-discriminatory environment that is inherently more fluid and free, whilst the audience will inevitably want to compare that to their own experiences. But we can’t - not properly - due to the still very real stigma and discrimination that exists in our own world. Instead, what we see are characters who express an interest in other characters and find other ways to allude to their preferences or identity. A prime example of this would be May, canonically a trans character, who does not use this term in-world but instead says, “To the Marigolds that meant I wasn’t their son, and I made sure everyone knew I wasn’t their daughter.” This is a theme that is poignantly reflected in the accompanying media for the series - such as the books; for instance, Coco, canonically lesbian, referring to “breaking the hearts of many women.”

How does this tie into the relationship with Blake and Yang? Glad you asked. If you bear in mind that Remnant has a very fluid outlook on sexuality and more of a ‘love who you love’ ethos which is blind to gender norms, it immediately subverts the assumption that interactions between m/f are romantic while f/f are platonic. It’s an open field, if you will. BB is a steady build from partner/best friend (though I’d argue that at least Yang had an immediate attraction, with Blake figuring herself out) with interactions that become increasing more intimate. Eye rolls and jokes become winks and innuendo (“I love it when you’re feisty!”), nudges become intimate hugs (Burning the Candle), become hand-holding (it isn’t coincidence that these two have held hands more than any other pair in the series), becomes pining, blushing, forehead touches (BB and Renora - remember those parallels), which evolves into flirting and... More. And yes, some of their interactions will still resemble the friendship they built their foundations on. But in a world where labels don’t exist, that journey from friend-to-lover is much more subtle and embedded in a gentle upwards curve of increasing intimacy.

“BB is only happening because the horrible BB fans demanded it, the show caved and gave in to the toxic fanbase, it wasn’t planned from the beginning.”

I’ve seen this in so many places, like a broken record. I have no doubt that there are BB fans that are fanatical, and I’d never justify the behaviour of any so-called fan that resorts to death threats or violence in any way. I’m hoping this surely must be a minority that has, hopefully, shrunk over the years as the audience has matured. However, this also really isn’t how shows work... 

As many have pointed out in recent weeks, the show would be a very different landscape altogether if CRWBY were, in fact, that easily swayed by fans; namely, I’m thinking of Clover/Qrow, Pyrrha, Penny etc. While I don’t doubt that show-makers pay attention to the fanbase where needed and where it’ll be beneficial (seeing how fans react to developments, if allusions are clear etc.), sending death threats or whatever is actually much more counterproductive than anything else. But also... You’re not on the crew, you’re not part of those discussions. I feel confident that Miles, Kiersi and Kerry aren’t writing BB content with a gun to their head.

Lastly, the ‘it wasn’t planned from the beginning’ war cry is a tale as old as time. Like Beauty and the Beast. (See what I did there?) Asides from the fact that 1. Yang and Blake were actually the first created out of the team, and made with each other in mind, regardless of in what context (check out the original character designs/concepts) 2. Even if it wasn’t planned from the beginning, what difference does it make? There are tonnes of examples where the writers have felt the chemistry between two characters as the story’s gone on and decided to put them together (case-in-point from outside the anime world.. Chandler and Monica from Friends). In fact, while some writers like to plan every element of their plot from the beginning, there’s a great many writers who allow the characters to steer the plot as they grow - especially arcs with romantic undertones. The series was made predominantly for the action - it’s not a romantic series, so if they didn’t plan it from the beginning that wouldn’t be unusual, especially given that the episodes of the first few volumes are literally 5-10 minutes long. But regardless of whether the romance of the two was planned or not planned, it does not make it any less meaningful.

But let’s be real, the issue at heart isn’t that they weren’t sucking face in the first 3 seasons, it’s that they thought Blake would be with a guy, and she chose a girl. To which I say... Get over your bruised ego, and move on.

“BB fans deserve the hate they get because of x, y, z and cos it has toxic shippers.”

And you’re... Not... Toxic? If you’re an Anti-BB shipper and go out of your way to stalk and comment on BB tags/accounts just to harass shippers etc, then are you any better than the toxic fans you supposedly hate? To me, following BB tags and looking at BB content whilst being an Anti-BB shipper is so weird, why you trying to hurt your own feelings?

Also, saying that innocent shippers who are just living their best life should bear the burden of the toxic FNDM, is literally the definition of tarring everyone with the same brush. Some of us just want to eat our crumbs in peace, and from our POV, you’re the toxic ones being disrespectful. Bonus point: others being toxic does not give you licence to be hateful to anyone you come across that doesn’t agree with you.

“I’m no longer watching the show cos it’s trying too hard to be ‘woke’”

This ain’t an airport, you don’t need to announce your departure. But since you are, if your issue is the gay representation in the show then wake up and look around... We’re everywhere. The show is literally just reflecting the diversity you see day-to-day; but you keep sipping that haterade, my dude, we’re here to stay.

#anti rwde #rwby analysis #bumbleby #rwby

[get-hamilton-on-your-side]

I've been seeing posts like these going around lately, and I don't want to start Discourse™️, but I do think it's an interesting conversation to be had.

OP mentions that this is a sentiment occurring in younger viewers, and I think there are lots of reasons for this response. I'm in my early twenties, and growing up, romance was pretty much guaranteed for any book/movie/TV series with a YA audience, even if it wasn't specifically in the romance genre. There were largely popular romance series, of course, (Twilight, The Selection, etc.), but romance was also integral to several series NOT centered around romance. The Series Which Shall Not Be Named ends in a hetero utopia, where basically every member of the original crew grows up, marries each other, and all have kids. Almost every main character of Rick Riordan's series experiences a committed romantic relationship, with the exception of Reyna, (although she's mostly a side character throughout HoO) and Meg (who is a god, and an actual child). The Hunger Games has fewer romantic pairings, but the marketing for those movies were very dedicated to the "love triangle" narrative between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale.

The dedication to establishing romantic relationships does appear somewhat differently for male/masculine and female/feminine coded characters well. For example, I've seen multiple series have a sort of "7th wheel syndrome" where one member of a friend group is made fun of and/or left out in some way because they're the only one not in a relationship. Shows like The Big Bang Theory majorly have this problem, where every character's main goal in life is to fall in love and have a family. In TBBT, Raj has major dating troubles and actually ends up settling for an arranged marriage because his friends are all married and he doesn't want to end up alone. Riordan's HoO series, once again, paints Leo as a tragic figure for being the only single person on the Argo II, but his self worth is finally in tact by the end of the series when he saves the day and gets the girl. Fez in That 70s Show is regularly made fun of for his inability to get a girl. It's not lost on me that many of the male characters in these situations are POC.

While male characters are set up with a last-minute shoehorned romance, female characters (particularly white women) are often given a love interest planned from the beginning. I love Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles but I was kind of dumbfounded by the end because every one of the 8 major characters ends the series in a committed relationship. Every single Disney princess up until 2012 had a prince (although, this has since changed---the only princess post-2012 with a prince is Anna).

And then, of course, you have the plethora of sitcoms that end with every character (or at least every main character) happily in a relationship. New Girl, Parks and Rec, Friends, The Office, The Good Place, Ghosts (US). Even shows like Phineas and Ferb assure the audience that the couples stay together when they're grown up. Almost every Marvel and DC superhero has a love interest, and most action heroes have a girl to save.

Don't get me wrong, I think many of the romances in the media I've talked about so far are good, well-written, and well-established. But based on the previous track-record of shoehorned romances, that is a concern I have about shows like Stranger Things (I won't talk much about The Bear because I haven't seen that show). Stranger Things has highlighted friendship as a major theme in the show, but as the characters have grown older, they've explored various romantic relationships as well. Many people online have already discussed how they fear relationships will be shoehorned in at the end of Season 5, since it is the final season. Ships like stancy, where it's clear that they wouldn't really work well together. I agree with Maya Hawke's sentiment about delving deeper into her friendships. It has been established that she has a crush on Vickie, but we've barely seen them together, and in a show that has to balance SO many different characters, I'm not sure it would serve the show well to put Robin in a romantic relationship. (There is, of course, another conversation to be had about how minority characters are presented in romantic relationships in media. Lesbian relationships are less commonly found in media and they can be really important to some viewers. My agreeing with Hawke is just my 2 cents as an ace lesbian. Other users have also mentioned that when it comes to The Bear, it can be harmful to perpetuate that a Black woman character shouldn't be in a relationship with the main white guy. I haven't seen the show and I myself am not Black, so I won't weigh in on that aspect, but it is another thing to consider in this conversation).

With romance so prevalent in media, it makes sense that our generation is taking a steep turn in the other direction. We've been shown all our lives that romance and sex trumps friendship in importance, but that's not how many of us actually live. Younger people are having sex less. I'm 22 and I'd say half of my friends are not currently in a romantic relationship, and many of them aren't looking for one. I know plenty of adults as well who are happily single, not looking for any more romance in their lives. Even the way people are experiencing romantic and sexual relationships is vastly different from what is shown on TV as there are more openly queer individuals, queer platonic relationships, and polyamory is becoming more prevalent.

I'm not an expert by any means, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. This is all based on my own observation and there is still a lot of media out there that don't have romance as a focal point, media like The Lord of the Rings, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Letterkenny, Bob's Burgers, Reservation Dogs, What We Do in the Shadows, Derry Girls. Shows like Doctor Who have characters in romantic relationships, but the romance is never placed above friendship with the Doctor. The amount of romance in a piece of media also relies on the genre it's in. I've mainly been discussing comedies, science fiction, and action, but other media such as horror, for example, treats romance and sexuality differently.

Still, showing romance, sex, and innuendo in media isn't counterculture, as is suggested by that second Twitter post. It's almost everywhere you look (and lots of kid shows/movies even include those kinds of jokes, as is shown by the amount of videos I've seen titled "I Didn't Get This Joke as a Kid.") I know we're on the internet so people don't care if they hurt other people's feelings, but acting like people who want a little less romance are immature or stupid can be hurtful. There's room for all different types of relationships.

TL;DR, I think a lot of people are just tired of media treating romance and sex as the most important relationship you can have with a person. We're not saying no media should have romance or sexuality or innuendo in it. It's just that as media diversifies, I think it's important to diversify the types of relationships highlighted as well. There's room for romance, sex, and friendship in media, and I don't think people should judge others for wanting positive representation of friendship.

#romance #aromantic #asexual #i'm just tired of shoehorned romance #tv #media #books #movies #bringing this convo over from twitter because that site is a hellscape i don't have enough characters there and i hate making threads #also tumblr understands me better than twitter #let's keep this conversation respectful though #multiple things can be true at once

[vikilinda]

Like any with Georgie Farmer would be amazing, you could literally do anything I don’t really mind… living off scraps rn 🤧

Ofc if u have loads of requests or don’t want to thats fine dw!

DAYS OFF

pairing(s): Georgie farmer x fem!reader

Summary: You've had feelings for Georgie for a long time, but it wasn't until the kiss scene got closer that everything in your head started to mess things up more.

author's note:Hello, first of all I wanted to say thank you very much for this Request, I enjoyed writing another Georgie fic. I wanted to thank you for the enormous affection that the previous story has received, I really did not think I would like it so much, so thank you really. I hope you like this one too, if you have any requests about Georgie or any other actor or characters, you can leave them in the requests that I will gladly do. Merry semi-Christmas.

You were confused.

Georgie and you were good friends, their characters were a couple in the series so it made sense that the one they lived with the most was the British. Georgie and you were good friends, their characters were a couple in the series so it made sense that the one they lived with the most was the British. Thanks to the nature of the relationship between his characters, Tim, the director, did not take long to send them on several dates, neither of them was bothered by it, throughout the recordings both acted as a real couple so that in scenes they did not It seemed so forced, but they both knew it was just acting.

Or so you thought, you didn't know if it was because of the amount of time in which you hadn't dated or because of the festivities that had a certain effect on you, but something had changed. The complicit looks, the smiles, the little kisses, everything was starting to feel different.

You had to find out if something was really going on before they filmed their first romantic scene. But how?

"Yellow!"

They had had the night off and as in any space without work that you left them they had decided to play Uno. You had spent part of the night interned deciphering Farmer's signals but it seemed that all you would get was a headache.

"You are a cheater!"

Jenna's scream brings you back to reality, the game was over and Percy somehow, possibly dirty, had managed to win. Your gaze goes to Georgie, who argues with Jenna about all the cheating the Canadian was doing, your eyes scanning. Georgie wasn't ugly, of course that was something you knew, her hair, which had grown almost to match Percy's, was disheveled but not in a careless way but in a casual way, with a few strands falling casually in front of her. face.

But it wasn't until he turned his head and winked at you that you knew you were lost.

"I go for water"

While you could hear the others continue to fight with Percy, your mind kept swimming between your feelings. Maybe you needed a day off, or maybe two. Definitely a week, yes.

“Y/n! You are missing the show of the year, they are going to send Percy to the gallows.”

You are sitting at the kitchen table where you can see part of the great work that your friends have put together outside, of course your eyes are only on the British, the way his laughter is the only thing you hear, how your heart beats more quickly when his gaze catches yours and he smiles at you. You definitely need that day off.

"Or maybe you're seeing just what you need to see."

Joy smiles as she shakes her head. They both steal glances from two rooms, while lowering their heads with flushed cheeks, if only they realized what was quite obvious to the rest of the cast.

. . .

You had taken the day off.

Today you hadn't had to record scenes, so even though you loved all your companions, you had decided that you needed a day alone, your head had been spinning too much in recent days and it certainly wasn't going to stop if you didn't give yourself your space to clarify certain feelings.

Romania was a rather peculiar place, of course you had already realized that the first day you set foot in the country, but having taken today to enjoy yourself had been the best decision you had made.

"I'm sorry"

You had bumped into someone on your way out of the cafeteria, it was Georgie. He had made the same decision on his day off, Percy had offered to go with him but Georgie only planned to walk around the building for just a few minutes, but after having to lie to his friend about a non-existent stomach ache to Not to be upset for wanting to be alone, he understood that the five-minute walk would have to be extended.

“Y/n, I thought you would be with the others.”

Georgie gives herself a mental slap. He didn't want it to sound that way but the truth is that you were the reason why he needed some time alone, in a week they will have their first kiss scene and Georgie wasn't taking it well at all. He had been feeling a certain mix of emotions towards her friendship with you, thanks to her characters having quite a complicated start where they just fight their feelings hadn't interfered with his character, but now that that was going to change and their characters were going out Georgie didn't know How was I going to handle it?

“I…erm, I needed a day off”

Now it was you who wanted to hit a wall, of course you didn't want it to sound like you bothered hanging out with them, it was obvious you didn't, but seeing Georgie had completely thrown you off base, your brain didn't she could react beyond how cute he looked in his sweater and messy hair.

"I-I didn't mean it to sound like that, of course I like spending time with you it's just that…"

“Don't worry, I literally had to invent a Percy that my stomach hurt because he wanted to accompany me. I mean, I love the boy but the boy can't take hints."

Percy that my stomach hurt because he wanted to accompany me. I mean, I love the boy but the boy can't take hints.

"I was going back to the building, do you want to come?"

Georgie nods as he joins you. Along the way you had talked about everything that had happened on the set these three months, they had shared certain theories and they even bet who Merlina would stay with. You'd felt good, like all that weird tension between you disappeared, until it brushed up against you and you remembered why you were in that position in the first place.

“So next week is the big time”

Both of them had stopped on a bridge not far from where they lived and had been quietly appreciating the sunset. Of course, the silence would not last forever.

"At last huh, one more fight and I would swear Galatea would pluck Ajax's snakes one by one."

They both laugh.

"If it wasn't for Enid it might have taken them all season to confess what they felt."

"Let's be thankful that Enid locks them up"

They both remain in an awkward silence. Your characters had gone through almost the same situation as you and even so it was not obvious to you, or you want to pretend that it was not, the great tension between the two of you.

"Georgie"

"Y/n"

"You first"

Your words get stuck in your throat, you were ready to take off the bandage once and for all and confess to Georgie what you felt but your throat hadn't planned the same, when you were ready to pronounce the words it closed, Georgie must have noticed in that because he decided to speak.

“There's an ice cream parlor near here that they say is very good, I haven't been but Percy went with Jenna and they told me it's very good. Do you want to go?"

With a smile you nod, while both walk towards the place chatting at ease about Percy and his many cheats in the games, you feel how Georgie brushes her hand with yours so you take the initiative and then intertwine their fingers. They both smile and they didn't need more to understand what's going on between you.

While you continue to go to your appointment, your group of friends is spying on you from behind.

“I told you they ran away to be together. Pay"

Jenna holds out her hand as Percy holds out a monopoly ticket, causing the next big row that ends with both of them in the fountain.

#georgie farmer #Georgie farmer x reader #ajax petropolus x reader #fanfic #wensday

[taddymason]

What are your thoughts on each of the Ninja? I'm just curious

Ooooo okokok this is going to be so long, I'm going to explain my first impression of them when I was a child and how it has changed over time.

Cole: I really didn't care much about Cole when I saw the series for the first time, like, as I remember he was my least favorite character on the team and he seemed boring to me. Now? Easily my favorite ninja. It's funny because of the team it's easily the one I identify with the most in terms of personality. I LOVE how most of his arcs have to do with the potential of his elemental powers, probably one of the ninjas who has grown the most in terms of skills over the course of the series. I know I don't talk much about the way they develop him and how much he matures throughout the series, especially how he becomes more and more open with the team, but he is one of my favorite characters.

Zane: I always liked Zane and he always remained my second favorite ninja. One of the parts I like most about his development is how he becomes more confident and sassy, especially in the new seasons. What I do not like is how many other ninjas's jokes about him are limited to "Zane, we need to adjust your honest/sarcasm ciurcuits", etc. It gets pretty tiring and somewhat contradicts the whole point of his character to be reminded that he's a nindroid when the whole point is that he actually sometimes ends up being a lot more human than everyone else but that's it. (ALSO Why did the writers forget that he had a falcon?)

Lloyd: sooo Lloyd is a complicated one because I don't really have strong feelings about his character. I guess one thing that kept me away every time I rewatched the show was thinking that he's like they put every cliche of a protagonist in a blender and most of his arcs feel that "predictable" when you compare him to the others. BUT I like what they are doing with his character on DR and I think it is his best season so far, SO definitely in DR it is more entertaining to see his development and his relationship with the kids.

Kai: Kai is a character that for me... is fine, I don't love him too much like most of the fandom. Again I think that in DR they are doing justice to his character since he feels that in Wildbrainera he was quite forgettable as if the creators didn't know what to do with him (like, I'm not a fan of his arc in S11 because we have definitely seen that lesson a Lot of times). I really love the development of him anyway and his relationship with Nya & Lloyd is one of the best parts of the series.

Nya: I'm going to be honest, I only started to like Nya in S9, before that with the sexist way the writers wrote her in the first seasons when I first saw the series I found her annoying (and S3 and S6 didn't help) . I think her character definitely improved after the Oni trilogy onwards because the creators began to give her REAL CHARACTER FLAWS and take her more seriously because then I started to like her character more.

Jay: soo, when I saw the series for the first time Jay instantly became my favorite ninja. I liked that there was a balance between the sarcastic jokes and the fact that he would then do something surprising like being the first to do spinjitsu, being a genius on roller skates, him shooting in space, etc. It's those moments in which he proved to be the thinker outside the box of the team that were very entertaining along with his humor, his powers, the duality in which he could be a bastard, an idiot and a genius at the same time was what made him that was my favorite on the team

Now, I'm not a fan of Jay when it comes to the new seasons where they basically removed all the traits I'm listing and turned him into a man child who only makes pee jokes. They literally took away EVERYTHING that made him a useful member of the team, he is a completely different character that really the only thing he has is... he is just the "uwu guy on the team". Honestly, it could be a whole essay explaining how I hate Jay from S11 onwards but I'll just leave it at that I hope DR gives him real development (and for a change it doesn't have to do with Nya)

#ninjago #Ask #Ninjago Jay #ninjago zane #ninjago lloyd #Ninjago Cole #Ninjago Kai #Ninjago Nya

[romancemedia]

As much as I want for Shinchi to regain his body permanently, turning into a kid was actually a good thing for him in more ways in than one. Shinichi has grown and changed so much since he shrunk and his character development is very admirable.

One of my favourite prime examples was how Shinichi loved being in the spotlight and attention he received in the beginning of the series and because of that he was rather cocky and arrogant. However, since becoming Conan, he's become a lot more humble. He's seen what happens when the spotlight really goes to a person's head; Kogoro being the best example as he wastes no time with boasting about his celebrity status (even though he doesn't deserve it).

Another reason is that it allows Shinchi to really act and be like a kid again. Even back when he was a child, Shinichi acted cool and stuck up for his young age, but now as a kid, it allows him to get a second chance and get to experience things he missed out the first time. It's also showed him how to better develop friendships and relationships with others since his previous attitude often kept others at a distance, resulting in him only having a few close friends despite his popularity and celebrity status.

Shinichi's predicament of becoming a child again has been a curse, but it's also a blessing in disguise. It's allowed him to grow, change and mature on so many levels and he has become a character I truly love and admire. I'd say when the day comes when Shinichi finally does regain his body, he'll have truly become man after how much he's grown throughout the series.

Plus a bonus reason, because of his shrunk body, it's allowed him to escape into small spaces whenever he's in a major danger.

#Detective Conan #My Thoughts #Anime #Manga #Shinichi Kudo #Conan Edogawa

[licncourt]

begin again COOKED as a post-qotd fix-it (fave fic! <3) but i need to know your thoughts on prince lestat/how you would re-do it in the correct way. to this day i still think LESTAT becoming prince monarch of all the vampires is one of the craziest decisions made during the novels. to me lestat is a prince in the same way that jack skellington was king of halloween (that includes the running away to cause delusional hijinks that ultimately jeapordize everyone)

Aaahhh thank you!! That fic is my child that I birthed so I appreciate it more than you know! It's actually BA's one year finished-iversary next week, my baby's all grown up.

I've talked about that before actually in this post about how I would rewrite the whole series, but I can expand a little here!

Firstly, this could've been two books instead of three. There was nothing going on in there that required three entire novels

Things that have to go entirely: aliens, test tube clone baby Viktor, Atlantis. Sorry, not salvageable

I think rather than the Amel thing, it would have been cool if the sacred core had started corrupting Lestat and altering his behavior as host, maybe changing him gradually into a animalistic, violent folklore-like vampire, making him slowly lose his mind like Mekare, or erasing his sense of self to become a blank host. Then it's a race against the clock and vampire magical biology to save him. This could be the first PL book

Ideally, I think this book should be narrated by Louis and focus a lot on his growth as a character as he finishes his personal. It would bring some happy ending closure to the IWTV version of him without being a jarring change. I also think having his POV for the best of his and Lestat's relationship would be a nice full circle moment from seeing him describe their worst. The idea of Lestat losing himself to the core and them potentially coming together too late would add good drama as well. Maybe this is Louis' follow-up memoir describing how they fixed things

The Rhoshamandes conflict can stay for the second PL and final VC book, but I think it could've been less boring if the drama between him and Lestat had been better fleshed out. They have a lot of similarities that weren't used to their full advantage. It would really highlight Lestat's growth to have him defeat what he could've become

When Lestat reunites with Louis, they would actually have some long, hard conversations about their past, ones that continue throughout the PL trilogy

Hopefully an explanation for why Lestat has made this 180 is included, even if it's just the crushing realization of his own loneliness and longing reaching critical mass after twenty years of who the fuck knows what

The cast is pared down to the strongest written and most interesting characters so the story isn't spread so thin, probably Lestat, Louis, Armand, Gabrielle, Marius, Pandora, and maybe a small handful of new characters with significance in the story. I think Seth, Fareed, Sevraine had the most potential to be good additions to the primary roster if she wanted to add on

Cool characters from the original like trilogy like Maharet and Khayman are expanded on rather than killed offscreen to make room for more Anne Rice NPCs. If we're going to kill someone from the trilogy, please God let it be David Talbot

This goes without saying I think, especially from me, but Louis would be restored to his former glory as a true main character alongside Lestat instead of relegated to lobotomized housewife. There was so much potential for him in an active consort role. We also don't get to see how he got to such a peaceful place at the end of PL, so I would like to see him work through some stuff on the page

I would either cut the Rhoshamandes/Benedict storyline because of how redundant it is with how it mirrors the Marius/Armand dynamic or do something to differentiate it as its own relationship. At the very least, maybe the similarity could be highlighted to become a character beat for Armand

As far as Armand in general, I would make him a much more prominent player. I think he's a great fit for a court setting and could create a lot of intrigue as well as adding coolness factor. I'm always torn about whether I like the reveal of his romantic feelings for Lestat, but in the interest of keeping SOME things intact, I would just play it differently. Primarily, I think he becomes way too agreeable (similar to Louis) in how he submits to and idolizes Lestat, so I would love to see him come into more conflict with Lestat in spite of those feelings. Maybe we can see him make some peace with their history and let go of that intense emotion for something healthier

If we're going to keep the sex injections (IVs, whatever), I think we should do more with it than have Lestat prematurely ejaculate into a random woman. I think there's potential for a very interesting new dynamic with Louis and Lestat. It would be cathartic and maybe an interesting part of their healing process and of becoming a real couple for the first time

That's what I can think of for now, but I might update later!

#btw the lestat jack skellington comparison made me laugh you're so right #louis is so sally coded #answered #vc #the vampire chronicles #interview with the vampire #meta

[emmalovesfitzloved]

Last question, who are your fav downwolders and why?

Ahh… well it has to be….

The one….

The only….

💫Magnus Bane! 🥂

(Art credit: @cassandrajean )

Queue the music!

Now. Reasons reasons reasons. Where to begin.

I took my time thinking about this question bc there are quite a few downworlders I have an affinity to. But the showdown where it was REALLY hard to pick one or the other was the battle of the warlocks…

Tessa or Magnus.

On the one hand, I love Tessa So much (wrote a piece on why you can find here hehe) and I truly think she is a timeless character (well before she became literally timeless ie. immortal) and her influence throughout the shadowhunter world is iconic, relevant and enduring.

(Art credit: @giannyfili )

However… her choices and inner narrative became a bit clumsy dealt with and a bit inconsistent unlike Magnus’s, as the shadowhunter novels went on. Of course, characters are allowed to change, grow, develop at any age, but her character felt slightly manipulated in the writing? All for the sake of peddling the plot. Not to get TOO into the whole herongraystairs touchy topic but I do think as I’ve grown up and done over a handful of rereads I do spot the slight manipulation that started then, which kind of set a precedence in her character throughout. I adore Jem but he as well was felt a bit clumsily. Topic for another time.

Meanwhile Magnus, while through his own self discoveries and through his own immortalities feels more cleaner in plot. He’s necessary, vibrant, witty and is that character that you ALWAYS look forward to reading. He is That character that just lights up a room and you wait with baited breath on what he’s going to say next. His air of lightness that he brings into every interaction makes you be able to read and listen to him all day long. With long promises made of laughter, sage advice, experience, history and adventure.

“I've got a stele we can use. Who wants to do me?""A regrettable choice of words," muttered Magnus (City of Ashes).

And because of this, when he is being serious, his words strike you when you least expect it and leave you stunned.

“You endure what is unbearable, and you bear it. That is All” (Clockwork Princess).

His bisexuality was handled wonderfully, and was truly one of the first stories I think our generation read where the sexual identity wasn’t about coming out but already at the stage of acceptance and fun loving. He remains respectful and doesn’t want Alec to rush out of the closet but rather does the best thing- inspire Alec to be the best version of himself in life which is finite. That’s the best thing a partner can really do for you.

However he isn’t a Mary Sue bc in every series he stars in the reader sees his vulnerabilities in pure daylight. And also has a plot line that challenges his Yodha immortal dogmas. Will being one weakness of his in TID, Camille and how she mistreated him and being alone in a very sad world. I don’t think these topics were explored nearly as well with Tessa.

“You left me. You made a pet out of me, and then you left me. If love were food, I would have starved on the bones you gave me” (City of Fallen Angels).

And of course, his relationship and development with Alec is my top 3 relationships in all the shadowhunter world. It felt natural, wonderful, sizzling, exciting and steadfast. Didn’t feel too young or naive like I sometimes feel when reading Clace, but new enough to feel like the honeymoon will never end. And I think in part it’s because of Magnus bringing out the best in people, and how Alec chose him. Of all the people Magnus helps out, he actually doesn’t really ask much in return. But for once Alec did a double take on him and let Magnus take the reins of where their relationship will lead them. With great readership payoff 🥹💍

“You could give me the past,“ he said a little sadly. “But Alec is my future” (City of Fallen Angels).

(Art credit: kasirose)

In fact, he has SO much to offer we got standalones, his own mini series with his partner and constant features in further novellas stories. There is no other character in the Shadowhunter chronicles who has been that centre stage as him. And he deserves all of it.

Favourite Swiftie songs that r HIS:

• BEJEWELED

• Begin Again

• Welcome to New York

• You’re in Love

• Karma

• You’re Not Sorry

• Ours

• I Know Places

• You’re on Your Kid

• Castles Crumbling

• The Last Great American Dynasty

• The 1

• Hoax

So yeah the superlative for the best Downworlder has to go to the delightfully and wonderfully written…

Magnus Bane <3

(Art credit: kasirose)

So yeah! I hope the answer makes up for the wait @imabitchforjemcarstairs ILY! And thank you so much for the lovely ask!

P.s. if any artist doesnt want to be affiliated, kindly DM me and I’ll remove your lovely art and mention from the post :))

#bejeweled magnus #magnus bane #shadowhunters essay #TSC #TES #cassandra clare #TDA #TLH #Malec #TID #ask #iamabitchforjemcarstairs

[missmaywemeetagain]

Dear Miss Madisyn,

What makes Elementary superior to the Cumberbatch Sherlock for you?

a fellow television enthusiast...

norah

PS X-Files was my first grown up appointment TV show....

My Darlin' Dearest Norah,

I want to preface this by saying I do like BBC Sherlock because I know there are some pretty intense camps out there on both sides and I don't want anyone coming for me lol. I definitely think there is room for both in the canon. I will also say it has been quite a while since I watched the BBC version, so make of that what you will...

However, I prefer Elementary for a few reasons:

One, while I think the highly stylistic "movie" sort of quality to the BBC version is interesting, it gives Sherlock this sort of superhero-esque quality that makes him so "other" it's hard to relate to him in any way. Like I think he's cool in an objective way, but I don't really like him much or find him very redeemable. And the attitude around him is kind of like, "Well, that's just Sherlock! He's just a brilliant asshole!" and it just...stays that way.

(Now don't get me wrong, I love all the actors in both versions for a multitude of different reasons! But the writing lends itself to highly different interpretations from an actor's perspective.)

I prefer the realism of Elementary more. I absolutely love the characterization of both Sherlock and Joan. They feel like dynamic, flawed but redeemable characters who are fleshed out in most every way. They learn and grow and change in crucial ways throughout the series. Sherlock's behavior and neurodivergency are explained but not used as cop-outs or excuses for his not-so-nice treatment of people. He faces very real consequences in his relationships because of it and because of his drug addiction, but the key difference is that he figures out he wants to do better, especially for the people he comes to care deeply for. He tries, in his weird Sherlock way, to connect, because he starts to realize that yes, he is brilliant, but his actions affect others, and that being totally alone is not all it's cracked up to be. And Joan is very much her own person who struggles with her own issues and relationships with people and with the direction she wants her life to go. She (unwillingly at first) learns these new things about how to look at the world and how to help people in a different way, and she doesn't take a backseat to Sherlock. After the first season, she becomes a true partner to him, not a sidekick, and I really appreciate that.

Part of it is there is just more time over 7 traditional seasons to explore character arc, versus the wonky "we put seasons out whenever it works for us" way of BBC. The nuances are much more developed over time in a more natural way for Elementary.

Not to mention that the gender-bending in Elementary is just *chef's kiss*. They did it so well, you'd hardly know it was any other way!

Back to character, I just think Johnny Lee Miller knocked that role completely out of the park. He was absolutely stunning in playing those subtle changes and emotional moments and showing Sherlock's growth over time. He was multi-dimensional and it made his growth heartbreaking and lovely. He should've won a million Emmy's for that performance. And honestly, as much as I like Benedict (and I do), I truly think Johnny is the better actor overall (side note--if you ever get a chance, watch both versions of the Frankenstein production that they did together for the National Theatre in London, where they switch roles, both playing the monster and Dr. F for different performances. It's brilliant! But I do think Johnny is much better as the monster. 😊) And Lucy Liu is just a badass and I love her, too, and the chemistry between them is just awesome. They play those comic moments so well, too.

And I'm not gonna lie, I'm 100% a Sherlock x Joan shipper, and the writing in Elementary was fantastic in this way, because it left it open enough for the audience to decide for themselves what kind of love we were dealing with there. But the shippy moments were soooo good, imo. You named a bee after me? We're just two people who love each other... Come ON. Beautiful. Fabulous. Fantastic. And the ending? I wept.

I also think Elementary dealt with the addiction piece much much much better. The realism of going to AA, dealing with the fallout of relationships, relapses, the ongoing challenge of always being an addict was just so much more poignant without being a crutch. Similar thoughts about how the neurodivergency and PTSD were handled.

Anyway, I could probably go on, but this is long enough already! TL;DR: I just think Elementary is better in all the ways: writing, acting, arcs, relationships...LOL

Thanks for the ask, my dearest!!

#might be time for a rewatch... #i love them so much #i really do #sherlock holmes #joan watson #joanlock #elementary cbs #not elvis related lol #ask #answered

[dekusfluffyhair]

[PERSONAL INTERPRETATION]: Symbolism of LIGHT; Deku saves All might in more ways than one

The most common theme in MHA is that “heroes are always risking their life and saving people”. However, I realised throughout the series that all might is particularly grateful and appreciative when deku saves him.

When the USJ accident occurred, All might was captured and deku was the only one who knows his condition and saves him. When deku was loathing himself for not being of help, All might says something along the lines of “that’s not true.. if you hadn’t bought me those couple of seconds I would have been dead. You saved me again.”, with a glimmer of bright light - a repeated symbolism that is presented throughout the series as shown below:

1. In the first picture, all might announces that deku can be a hero because he sees the heroic and compassionate nature in him. Deku’s actions inspired all might to see what led him to becoming a hero in the first place

2. In the second picture, all might says that spending every moment with deku has changed his view of life - he was initially ready to die and meet nighteye’s predictions, but deku inspired him to shift his views so that he can continue to nurture his son

Just putting a gif to show that toshi is so proud of his son hehe

In both the gif and the first image, I think Toshi really appreciates that deku saves him physically and it comes in a way that a) he’s extremely grateful and happy that deku cares about him so much that he saves him physically from harm and takes his medical conditions seriously and b) he’s proud of his son’s progress but doesn’t vocalise it to him.

Even though deku saves all might from physical harm, it is obvious that deku saves all might in more ways than one. Despite all might’s weakened form, deku still loves him for who he is anyway and cherished him. Deku has grown much closer to him as they spent more time together, eventually progressing from successor to father-and-son dynamic. All might loves him too despite deku’s weaknesses, and he found a new purpose in life than just saving people and being heavily involved with heroics. Deku changed him in a way where All might’s newfound purpose in life is to nurture and raise this child like his own, even though his methods may not be perfect all the time. Deku saved him physically and mentally to the point where toshi decides to live. The glimmer of light represents new positive changes, and their growing hopes and love for each other. I personally feel that even though both deku and all might May trip and fall when crawling their way through life, in the end, everything will come back to them. And even though they may get lost in their path, and the core of their relationship is tested, I think they will find their way and come back to each other in the end because of how strong and complimentary their bond is.

#dadmight deku mha bnha all might #deku #dadmight #izuku midoriya #toshinori yagi #mha midoriya #toshinori yagi has depression #mha #all might #mha headcanons #bnha meta #mha meta #yagi toshinori #dad might #bnha analysis

[mothgardens]

it is 2am and i am feeling so much sam winchester love rn so here is a list of taylor swift songs i think resonate with him:

1. Anti-Hero

I feel as tho all the lyrics work towards his character.

Mr. Samuel “It’s me, Hi, I’m the problem it’s me… everybody agrees,” Winchester

I should not be left to my own devices -> Dean constantly implies that Sam shouldn’t be left to figure things out on his own. He does this so much that Sam actually confronts him about it, multiple times.

I wake up screaming from dreaming -> Sam used to wake up from his visions freaked the hell out.

The second verse is also very fitting; he always felt like a freak or monster compared to everyone else.

2. Clean

DEMON BLOOD !!!!!!

I think it works really well for his addiction arc because the song is about toxic relationships (aka RUBY).

The drought being the worst -> Being locked in Bobby’s panic room.

The flowers that we grown together died of thirst -> The powers that grew and developed during his addiction and slowly disappeared when he was sobering.

I screamed so loud but no one heard a thing -> Sam was shouting and banging for hours down in the panic room and no one came to check on him until he was quiet.

Ten months older, I wont give in. Now that i’m clean, I’m never gonna risk it -> He never went back

3. Nothing New

Honestly, the whole reason this song is on the list is because of the lyric:

How can a person know everything at 18, but nothing at 22 -> Sam left for Stanford at 18. That was his first taste of freedom; it was his first time deciding something for himself. He was his own person. He had finally escaped. But, then at 22, Dean came and brought him back in. Jess dies. Everything feels lost again.

In general, I think Sam has lost of teenage girl vibes to him tho. This is probably self projection, but I think its true and this is MY analysis so <3.

4. My Tears Ricochet

This song is about Sam and John’s Stanford fight, and general dynamics that they share.

This one is going to get it’s own in depth, dedicated post <3 but some highlights are:

Even on my worst day, did i deserve, all the hell you gave me -> Sam was a child. No matter how arrogant or frustrating he could be, John should have never been so harsh on him. Telling your kid to never come back just because he wants to go to college is INSANE.

And I can go anywhere I want, just not home -> THIS LINE IS SO AHHHHHHH SAMMY.

Cursing my name, wishing i stayed -> John. John. John. Cursing Sam to never return, while simultaneously wishing he had never left.

Cause when I’d fight you used to tell me I was brave -> Parallel, John telling Sam he being brave on a hunt VS John condescendingly saying Sam was being brave for standing up to him.

You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same -> John realizing that Sam might have to die if nothing changes. John giving that responsibility to Dean by giving his life for Dean’s; selfless selfishness.

5. Mirrorball

Mr. Samuel “And when I break, it’s in a million pieces” Winchester

I’m still on that tightrope, I’m still trying everything to get you laughing at me -> Sam continuously tries to do his best under every circumstance. Even though most of the people around him have such little faith in him. He won’t stop trying.

And I’m still a believer, but I don’t know why -> His faith is God and the stereotypical Christian religion in general throughout the series fascinates me. He has very little reason to keep his faith, but he does. Even in later seasons, I think it was s11, when he prays and believes that Lucifer’s visions are actually messages from God.

I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try try try -> Sam doesn’t actually know what he is doing. He uses his training, but that only can get you so far in mental battles with Lucifer or physical battles with God. He does what he thinks is right. He just wants to help.

6. This Is Me Trying

This is also in the works of developing its own post. Highlights include:

I didn’t know if you’d care if i came back, i have a lot of regrets about that -> Sam never got to know if Dean wanted him back. All that time spent at Stanford he had to wonder if his father and brother actually missed him or not.

Could’ve followed my fears all the way down -> This just screams Lucifer trauma to me

THEY TOLD ME ALL MY CAGES WERE MENTAL, SO I GOT WASTED LIKE ALL MY POTENTIAL -> *violently screams and shakes* The visions, Demon blood, Hallucifer, literally anytime Sam is struggling it is brushed off as him being too worked up about it. Dean literally COMPLAINED to Bobby about how much work it was that Sam was mentally ill. LIKE DUDE.

AND MY WORDS SHOOT TO KILL WHEN IM MAD, I HAVE A LOT OF REGRETS ABOUT THAT -> Sam does say shit that is hurtful. He does shit that is bad. It’s usually out of frustration from someone else’s actions towards him. AKA it’s usually towards Dean, when Dean belittles him.

pouring out my heart to a stranger, BUT I DIDNT POUR THE WHISKEY -> Sam vs Dean (this is NOT me belittling Dean’s alcoholism bc i get he has an issue)

That this is me trying, AT LEAST IM TRYING -> Again, Sam is just doing his best.

And it’s hard to be at a party when I when i feel like an open wound -> Sam has to just behave and go through his life normally even when he is struggling with abandonment, addiction, 180 years of every abuse imaginable and unimaginable, guilt, and just so much suffering.

It ’s hard to be anywhere when all i want is you, you’re a flashback -> Sam’s feelings about Jess. I constantly think about that scene in the impala when he tells Dean that he still thinks about her. It had been like twelve or more years. Its so painful.

—

please excuse my typos

i am yet but just a girl

<3

#im so insane about sam #i lovelovelove his character #i don’t understand people who don’t #i am such a sam fan i cannot understand hating him #supernatural #sam winchester #spn #castiel #please talk to me about supernatural #dean winchester #sabriel #sastiel #chuck shurley #sammy #sam winchester to me is pspsps to cats #sam spn #sam antis are crazy <3 #sam and dean #taylor swift and supernatural #sam girl #sam posts #sam winchester hurts me #jared padalecki

[aboutzatanna]

Meet Zachary Zatara! Zatanna’s Cousin

  I’ve covered Zatanna’s mother, father and now to complete my series of posts on the pairing, lets look at Zachary Zatara.   

Zachary is a magician just like Zatanna, making her one of the few female heroes with a male side kick. He was also a member of the Teen Titans during Geoff Johns run which the YJ show draws heavily from. 

I’ve included a recommended reading guide for him at the very end of the post including some lesser known, obscure stories so do check that out if you’re interested in wanting to read more about him.   

The inspiration for Zachary goes back to writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross Kingdom Come OGN.  KC was seminal back in the day and had a huge influence on the DCU both positive and negative. 

A big part of KC were the children of various superheroes and super villains whom Superman, freshly out of retirement, recruits into his new super powered army in order to fix a world ravaged by out of control anti heroes like Magog. 

One of them was John Zatara, the son of Zatanna and Constantine (the latter of whom was walled off from the rest of the DCU at the time). It’s not known what happened to Zatanna and Constantine in the KC timeline, Zatara being their kid was only revealed in the back of the Absolute edition of Kingdom Come.  

Zatara barely had a speaking role in the OGN, here is a couple of scenes where he shows up in:  

He also showed up as a supporting character in ‘Kingdom Come: The Offspring’ one shot by Mark Waid and Frank Quietly which focused on Plastic Man’s son Earnie a.k..a ‘Offspring’ where it was mentioned that he was dating Avia, the daughter of Scott Free and Big Barda. 

Also note that all of his dialogue was written backwards throughout the whole comic even during normal every day conversations: 

He also appeared as a background character in The Kingdom Special  as one of the many heroes trying to protect Superman and Wonder Woman’s kid from Magog.  

Given these minor appearances it’s really hard to get a feel of Zatara’s personality here. One gets the impression that Avia is the assertive one in their relationship whilst Zatara is the passive one. And...this is just my speculation here, but I think KC Zatara might be autistic or at least, on the spectrum.    

After  KC’s monumental success, DC began incorporating elements from KC into it’s main universe, and just to give you an idea of how immense and influential KC is and continues to be:

(feel free to skip past these bullet points if you’re not interested in KC’s influence) 

- Maxine Hunkel, Magog, Jai and Iris West first appeared in KC then later in the main DCU.   

-The concept of a Blue Beetle who wore mecha armor ended up becoming Jaime Reyes. 

-It also popularized the idea of Bruce and Talia having a son. The idea originated from ‘Son of the Demon’ where we first see their infant child given up for adoption. Then in KC we see him grown up and named ‘Ibn Al Xuffasch’ and later incorporated into the comics in the form of Damian Wayne. Xuffasch also had a romance with Nightstar (Dick and Kory’s kid) much to Dick’s chagrin. 

-Alan Scott’s GL armor was introduced in KC that later appeared in the main universe. 

-WW’s golden eagle armor which has appeared in both the main universe and in WW84, her being the one Trinity member being willing to kill in the series which also directly paved the way for Rucka’s Sacrifice arc in which she killed Maxwell Lord. Granted she killed once during Perez’s run but the context of how it happened in Sacrifice directly pertains to KC. This lead to the false perception of Diana being a blood thirsty warrior and her thus her characterization in early Nu52 era.      

-KC Superman even showed  up in the main universe and even talking to Diana about how the main universe was turning similar to his.   

-The concept of Diana being exiled from Themyscira. In KC universe she was exiled because of her failure to change Man’s World. In JLU, 2017 Wonder Woman and Bloodlines DTV movie, her being exiled would be incorporated into her origin story instead (not for the better, if you ask me). In the Golden Age, Post Crisis and Rebirth versions, she left voluntarily with the blessings of her mother and sisters and was later able to reunite with them.    

-Even the core concept of the Infinite Crisis event of older heroes trying to impose a nostalgic outdated view of heroism on a world they deemed too dark and cynical was clearly inspired by KC.

-JLU’s Cadmus arc and the paranoia about Superman turning the JL into a super powered army, the fight with Captain Marvel on the show, things turning out for the worst despite Superman’s best intentions and Batman disproving of Superman sentencing criminals to the Phantom Zone felt like they were directly drawn from KC.   

-CW’s version of Crisis on Infinite Earths where Brandon Routh’s Superman had a costume similar to KC Superman and even has elements of his backstory like Lois, Perry and his co workers being killed by a gas attack from the Joker.  

-Even CBR exists because of KC since the site started off as a fansite for Kingdom Come before turning into a forum and later a comic book news site. So yeah, good and bad influences on the DCU all round.   

1/3 Zachary Meets Infinity Inc & Black Adam

Anyway, back to Zachary Zatara, he first debuted in Teen Titans  Vol 3 #34 and was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniels.   Although his first published appearance was in Teen Titans, his first chronological appearance would have been in 52; a weekly series which covered the gap year in which Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were inactive and other heroes were filling in for them.  

Zachary showed up in 52 #21 as part of the Teen Titans team investigating the new Infinity Inc (a group of kids given super powers by Luthor).  

Note that’s not Big Barda. That’s Little Barda. A New God who takes after Barda and clearly based off of Avia.

Zach gets off on the wrong foot with one of the Infinity Inc members:  

Later, in the issue,  one of the Infinity Inc members was killed in battle (thanks to Luthor’s machinations) and Zach and Little Barda are seen at the funeral: 

Note that Zach is associated with Raven.  

Later in 52 #32 Zachary is among the crowds of young heroes gathered to fight Black Adam (he’s right next to the Superboy statues palm):

Among them is also a young, costumed Eddie Bloomberg aka Kid Devil whom we will see will be an important character for Zachary:

In World War III #3  we get a small glimpse of Zachary fighting Black Adam as well as Raven reacting to him getting hurt (these two always had a connection):   

And finally in the 52 #50  we see Zachary working with Zatanna and several other mages attempting to stop the rampaging Black Adam with the help of Billy Batson:   

Zatanna and Zachary don’t share any dialogue with each other in the issue but it’s cool to see them working together as well as seeing Zatanna and Billy effectively leading the magical side of the DCU and I love that it’s Billy who figured out how to defeat Black Adam.     

2/3 Zachary & Eddie + The Teen Titans

Zachary would make single panel appearances in Teen Titans #34-38, they were from bits and pieces from Cyborg’s recordings from when he was in a coma. The ‘present’ day of these issues were set the year after the events of 52  Zach complains about Raven’s powers affecting him and we also get hints of his personality:  

So Raven has gone missing and in between fighting super villains, the Titans go on search for her which leads them to meet Zachary.   

Zachary finally gets the spotlight in Teen Titans #39 in which we are also introduced to his assistant, Bunny and he and the Titans don’t really get along:  

We also learn from Cyborg that his powers were only awakened recently after the events of Days of Vengeance (long story short; Spectre went crazy, Nabu died, magic died and was reborn):    

Zachary is kind of snobbish, arrogant and rude but they are also a way for him to hide his insecurities and fears. 

As you can see he also has history with Kid Devil/Eddie Bloomberg and we finally learn about their history and Zachary’s role in Eddie’s transformation from the kid in the suit you saw in 52 to the humanoid devil in present day in Teen Titans #42.   

So, Eddie is a huge of Blue Devil aka Dan Cassidy and idolizes him much to the latter’s chagrin , this leads to him wanting to get powers just like BD. One day he gets a strange mystical candle from a stranger which he takes to Zachary for consultation:

So despite Zach’s warning, Eddie goes through with the deal and to no one’s surprise, his trust in Blue Devil is in fact broken, when Eddie learns that Blue Devil was indirectly responsible for his Aunt’s death.  (Long story short: Neron promised him a way to return to being BD if Daniel blew up a power plant, the latter did but the feed back ended up killing Eddie’s aunt who was miles away. Dan Cassidy kept it a secret until Eddie confronted him about it).   

So yeah,  Eddie is pretty much damned now but Zach tries to console him the best way he can, in Teen Titans #56:

This era of Teen Titans was heavily dependent on making the Titans into a Junior Justice League. Along with Zachary, this run also introduced Miss Martian and reinvented Superboy/Connor from a fun loving Booster Gold style glory hound to the angsty black t-shirt wearing Superboy we know today and Cassie Sandsmark from the tomboyish fangirl to the cheerleader archetype. Instead of a stand alone squad the Titans were now tutored by older heroes, at least initially.   Suffice to say, this run had a huge influence on the Young Justice show.  

As for the run itself, I wasn’t a fan of how Robin, Wonder Girl and the Wonder Twins were written. Especially under Sean McKeever post Infinite Crisis (though tbf he faced a lot of editorial hurdles) but the Eddie/Zachary stuff was a highlight for me personally. 

Side note, Teen Titans #52 also gave us a peek at a possible future version of Zachary, you can tell he is evil because he has a goatee:

Zach also showed up in Tim Drake’s Robin series (Robin vol 2 #166)  to help him out with some bad guys: 

There are so many dark haired caucasian costumed guys around, especially in Gotham that even the villains get confused.

There are some interesting parallels between Zachary and Donna Troy. They’re both the side kicks of female heroes, both of them debuted in a title that didn’t star said female hero and they operated independently for a while before actually getting to interacting with their female mentor.   

Despite Zachary being a ‘part time’ Titan, he would show up in the 6 issue Terror Titans mini in which the Titans took on Clock King who was running a meta human fight ring.  Zachary and the Titans were captured and mind controlled to participate in the tournament and somehow Zach lost to Terra in a straight up fight:  

 (I call bull shit, maybe he threw the fight) 

Also Zach being emotional about Kid Devil is what got him caught in the first place: 

Meanwhile, in the main Teen Titans Eddie has managed to beat his curse and returned to normal human form.  

Then in the follow up in Teen Titans #69,  he harshly turned down Wonder Girl’s offer for Zach and other teens held prisoner by the Clock King to train with the Titans.    

His next appearance in the Titans would be part of a back up title called Coven of Three which ran from Teen Titans #84-87.  The series starred Zachary Zatara, Traci 13 and Black Alice in which the Demon’s Three trapped them in a world that brought their deepest desires to life. All of it as part of a gambit to escape their imprisonment and threaten the world again.  

The series begins by showing Zach in the least flattering light as possible: 

Then drops this reveal on us when Zach’s dream world is shown:  

Yes, he had a girlfriend with unborn twins who died untimely deaths. How old is this kid anyway? Was it a teen pregnancy? Does Zatanna know? This is one of the many plot threads that could have been addressed in the Zatanna ongoing were it not for it’s untimely cancellation and the 52 reboot.    

Traci 13′s dream is a world where she is worshiped as a Goddess and Black Alice’s dream was a world where her parents were alive and they had a normal family unit. Of the three, she was the most reluctant to give up her wish. It made things more complicated because undoing the spell required the consent of all three individuals.  Zachary and Traci have relatively normal, stable lives to return to, Alice doesn’t.    

We also got this interesting scene showing the difference between a book worm mage and someone who has natural abilities but never studied actual theory:  

Zach also brings up Eddie again and he gets a moment with Kate (his dead gf) before helping Traci undo the spell:

The three managed to undo the spell and even agree to become teammates:  

But there is a twist at the end where we learn that oops, even though they ‘won’, it was all still a ruse on the Demon’s parts as they’re still playing right into the demon’s hands:

The ending also flips our view of the character. Zachary, whom in the beginning was kind of a jerk, ends up with the most sympathetic motivation of wanting to use magic to bring back his dead girlfriend and unborn child. Black Alice ends up more or less at the same spot she started in. Meanwhile, it looks like Traci 13 is on the path of actually bringing her dreams of being a goddess to reality as she keeps one of the magical items used to trap the Demons Three for herself.     

On the YJ cartoon, I wasn’t a fan of Mary being the corrupted one for various reasons. But given Traci’s characterization here, I would have rather she had been the one corrupted by power.  

It’s a neat twist and I’m disappointed that there hasn’t been any follow up to it.  Especially the part about Zach’s dead girlfriend. Zatanna and Diana need to have a talk about their respective side kicks going through all sorts of trauma in stories without either of them getting involved.  

NGL, I still find weird that the Young Justice show, which draws heavily from Geoff Johns era of Titans decided to deage Zatanna and put her on Dick’s team instead of using Zachary, who was already associated with the Titans. Plus it’s rare for a female hero to have a male side kick. But then, if Zatanna was with the adults on YJ, we’ll probably see even less of her.     

2/3 Zachary & Superman: World of New Krypton Era 

Sometime after his first appearance in Teen Titans, Zachary later showed up  in Superman #680 in which Superman fought the mythological Atlas and was getting his ass beat.   Supes realized that he needed help so he went to a magic show Zatanna was meant to headline but instead met Zachary there and the two got off to a rough start: 

I’ve mentioned this story in another post but lets cut to the chase; Supes is a little abrasive here but lets cut him some slack, the Man of Steel was forced to leave his dog to fight his battles for him.

After getting a super charge from Zachary, Supes managed to beat Atlas but he wanted everyone to credit Krypto instead.

Zachary would have a minor role during the ‘World of New Krypton’ era of Superman comics. This was imo, the most interesting era of Superman comics which was kicked off when Superman rescued the shrunken bottled city of Kandor and restored it to full size on.......earth. So now the inhabitants on earth are neighbors with a thousands of Kryptonians and not all of them are as nice as Superman.

This event was like a tide for the Superman books and supporting cast, I can’t think of another era (besides maybe Death of Superman) that elevated supporting characters like Supergirl, Guardian, Dr Light/Kimiyo Hoshi, Captain Atom while also reviving Silver Age characters like Mon-El, Flamebird and Nightwing/Chris Kent (hey, remember him? he was the proto Jon Kent).    

Zachary and Zatanna appeared in Action Comics #873 along with the ‘Sentinel of Magic’ where they cast a spell to ward off a group of hostile Kryptonians and we also get a peek of Zatanna mentoring Zachary:   

The Zatara’s and the Marvel Family should team up more, imo. Plus it’s cool to see them doing combos and this is a great follow up from their appearance in 52. Their team work is better here and they’re doing combos now.   

In Superman #690, Zachary is meeting one of his stage hands who has something important to tell him when they are suddenly interrupted by Parasite:   

Mark Merlin is an old Golden Age character, the writer, James Robinson (who also wrote Starman) is a huge fan of Golden Age characters.   

I’m normally not a fan of jerkass protagonists but Zachary is a little different. His arrogance and aloofness serves as a mask to hide his insecurities and cowardiance. Plus you know Zee would whoop his ass if he really crossed the line.   

In a sudden twist though, we learn in Superman #692 that the man Zachary was talking to was not Mark Merlin, but Mirabai; a sorceress who agreed to become an ally for General Sam Lane in his anti-Kryptonian war in exchange for him loaning her a brainwashed Captain Atom so she can rule her realm (called the Sorcerers World) with an iron fist.   

Zachary appeared in the Captain Atom back up series in Action Comics that ran from Action Comics #879-889. Zachary appeared in #887-889 as an unwitting slave to MIrabai. He doesn’t really get to do much here, the story is centered on Captain Atom who has managed to break out of the Mirabai’s mind control and joined the rebels to help them over throw Mirabai.  

He succeeds only to find out that one of his ally’s was actually the wizard Mordru (I’ve mentioned him before in relation to Dr Fate) in disguise who quickly banished Zachary back to the mortal world:  

But he is friendly with Captain Atom, telling him that the latter could come back to his realm at any time.    

This issue also came with preview pages for Zatanna’s solo series by Paul Dini and Stephane Roux which is where we meet Zachary next:   

Side note: Mirabai would make a good foe for Zachary and by extension Zatanna (’nobody enslaves my cousin!’).   

3/3 Zachary & Zatanna

Finally, when Zatanna’s own ongoing was launched in 2010, we finally got to see what their relationship was like.

Zachary showed up in Zatanna #04-06 written by Paul Dini and we finally get a little backstory on them including this flashback showing a teenage Zatanna teaching a young Zachary:   

Zatanna promises to show up for Zachary’ next show but fails because an evil casino owner who made a deal with a literal demon hypnotizes her to marry him so he can sell her soul in exchange for immortality.    

Zachary is at first, pissed when Zatanna doesn’t show up...

  but ends up helping  her escape from the evil casino owner while also bickering like siblings:     

The issue walks a fine line between not rendering Zatanna a damsel in distress, giving her agency in saving herself while also allowing Zachary to contribute to the story. 

At the end, she finally does manage to make it to one of his performances:  

He showed up next in Zatanna #14  written by Adam Beechen which starts out with Zatanna chewing him out for screwing up a joint performance:   

Zach, predictably doesn’t listen and ends up getting into trouble which his cousin had to bail him out of:   

Part of what makes the Zatanna/Zachary dynamic so fun is that both Zatanna and her father are often portrayed as heroic and selfless (even if they have some morally gray moments at times) but Zach is more self absorbed and arrogant which forces Zatanna to be more up front in dealing with her side kick.  It also gives Zach a character arc; his hubris is a cover for his cowrdiance and insecruities thus his story arc is one about overcoming them to become a better person.   

They also worked together during the Reign In Hell event which is set sometime before Zatanna’s series, I’m posting this here because I found Zach’s impudence here to be hilarious: 

You know you done fucked up when even Jason Blood is horrified.   

Post Nu52, Zachary disappeared but he did show up in Raven: Daughter of Darkenss, a 12 issue limited series by Marv Wolfman as part of the Nightforce:   

I haven’t read it yet and it’s the kind of thing that deserves it’s own separate post anyway.  

Finally, in 2021, a Suicide Squad book was among the titles in DC’s Round Roubin (basically, vote for whichever title you want to read the most otherwise it won’t see the light of day) with Zachary on the roster. The title never made it past the rounds and was never published but we did get some preview pages, Zach screwed up royally and has to work with the Squad to make up for it:   

Thank god this was never published, all I can imagine is Zatanna downing a whole bottle of alcohol and screaming after hearing this.   

That’s about it for his major appearances to this date. Now for some FAQ’s before wrapping this up and also check out the Recommended Reading List at the very bottom: 

Who Are His Parents?  

Zachary’s parents have never appeared on panel and has never been mentioned.  Sure, in Earth-22 Kingdom Come universe, ‘John Zatara’ is the son of Zatanna and John Constantine but as you can see there are differences between ‘John Zatara’ and the ‘Zachary Zatara’ here.       

Zatanna having an adult son either in the Pre Nu52 universe or the Rebirth timeline doesn’t make much sense timeline wise unless you go down the path of convoluted retcons involving aged up magical babies and false memories ala Pre Crisis Dinah Laurel Lance. You also have to consider the flashbacks showing teen Zatanna training kid Zachary, how they interact like cousins/siblings instead of mother/son and they refer to each other as cousins even when they are by themselves. .

That said, there is no indication in Giovanni’s backstory of him having any siblings either but not enough to completely rule out the possibility either. It’s possible that he had an estranged brother or Giovanni himself became distant from his own family or he had an uncle and Zachary is his cousin first removed.

Also, this is just my opinion, but I can’t really see Zatanna as a mom. Even with characters like I like seeing her dating (whether it’s Blue Devil, Joshua, Batman, sometimes Dick Grayson).  I can see Wonder Woman, Mera, Big Barda and Catwoman being mothers but never got that vibe from Zee. Sure she’s great with kids but I never got the ‘mom’ vibe from her character. She always struck me as a Helen Mirren type who would remain childless but fulfilled even into her old age.   

I have a few guesses as to who his parents could be in the pre Nu52 timeline:  

-Fulcanelli. A minor character that appeared in Fate #10 (click here for more). Zatanna initially introduces him as a friend of her fathers. He’s an alchemist who is burdened with the cost of magic. At the climax of the issue, right before he is turned into a gold statue, Zatanna calls him uncle while in turn he calls her niece.  Whether it was just an affectionate term, like she thought of him as an uncle despite not being related or if they were actually blood related was never clarified. Plus Zatanna has referred to people she isn’t blood related to as uncles or aunts, like the time she called Rose Psychic her Aunt during Reign In Hell.  

But suppose Fulcanelli and Zatara’s were blood related, Zachary’s father being an alchemist could explain why his power doesn’t work on anything organic.   

-Giovanni himself. 

Which would make Zatanna and Zachary into siblings as well which also fits their banter in the comic books. My theory in this case is that they share the same father but different mothers.  Giovanni has been associated with multiple women, both romantically and non romantically; Madame Xanadu, Charity from Starman and Tigress. He was smitten by Madame Xanadu and outright said he wanted to make babies with her but the latter turned him down since she was aware of his future. Their relationship never moved beyond friends with benefits but it would be interesting if she ever did take up on his offer after Sindella’s first death. 

The other option would be Tigress; the classic enemy-to-lovers trope. Tigress was a thief and a normal human who was Zatara’s main nemesis and sometimes-ally during the Golden Age. There are no stories where their relationship turned romantic but imagine if it did at some point but for whatever reason it didn’t work out, they divorced and Tigress had custody of Zachary. The flashback of teen Zatanna training a young Zachary could have taken place during brief visitations. It also fits Zachary’s stated origin that his powers were only awakened after the events of Days of Vengeance, especially if one or both of his parents are human.  It also explains Zatanna telling Flash that she doesn’t have a family in JLA: Crisis of Conscience, technically she wasn’t lying as this scenario involves Tigress separating herself from the Zataras. But then Zach got his powers and started following in his father’s footsteps and the two started to bond again. It also contextualizes Zachary’s ego; he is trying to reject his mother’s villainous roots and trying to embrace his father’s heroic side. 

Still, this is just what my speculation.  

Who knows what Johns, Robinson and Dini had actually planned though.  Maybe they were intending for him to be Zatanna and Constantine’s son and had a convoluted explanation involving wizards and genies and time travel involved.   

Is Zachary Queer? 

Zach has never been confirmed to be queer but I noticed that he does have a queer fanbase and his close friendship with Kid Devil aka Eddie Bloomberg can be interpreted as such. They just have that vibe to them.  He also does have a relationship with Bunny, his stage assistant but that could just mean he is either bi sexual or polysexual.  Folks are free to interpret him however they like.  

I’m supportive of the head canon that Zachary is queer and him being in a relationship with Eddie totally works.   

I hope Zachary returns one day. He would be perfect for JLD and I love his dynamic with Zee and an appearance there is long over due.  

Litnu txen emit! 

Recommended Reading

-52:  #21, #50  (also World War III #3)

-Teen Titans Vol 3:   #34-38, #39, #42, #52, #69 (after Terror Titans) 

-Terror Titans #1-6

-Robin Vol 2 #166

-Teen Titans #83-87. Coven of Three back up with Zachary, Traci 13 and Black Alice.  

-Superman #680,  #683 (which is followed up in Action Comics #873), #687    

-Superman #690 followed by #692 and the rest of the story is picked up in  Action Comics #887-889 Captain Atom back up.   

-Zatanna #4-6 and #14.  

-Raven: Daughter of Darkness #1-12  

If there is anything you would like me to add or remove, let me know.

#zatanna zatara #zatanna #zachary zatara #kid devil #eddie bloomberg #blue devil #daniel cassidy #raven #rachel roth #raven dc #teen titans #young justice #robin #tim drake #kingdom come #avia #new gods #scott free #big barda #black adam #billy batson #neron #superman #clark kent

[brekker-by-brekkerr]

the folklore love triangle and the correlations to the tsitp triangle. book series/show spoilers ahead

before i get into who each person is, i have to note that august is 100% a bellyconrad song. in general, taylor songs are for bellyconrad and bellyconrad only and the words of august perfectly fit their relationship at the beginning of it’s not summer without you, with how belly waits around for conrad to call or to spontaneously show up like he does during the december scene, with how temporary that relationship felt (”you were never mine” fits them at that point in time because things with conrad were so fragile). “wanting was enough” just really fits where belly was in her relationship with him at the time, just living for those little moments with him until it all slips away. the way the first page of the book is all happy summer moments and then that’s ripped away and we see that it all slipped away and belly was just “lost in the memory.”

but as far as connections to the triangle go, belly is obviously james, conrad is betty, and jeremiah is augustine. 

starting with jere...

august so perfectly fits his relationship with belly. “whispers of are you sure” fits because in the first book, belly is clear about her lack of feelings for him, and jere has assumed it was always going to be conrad for her, so when their relationship starts in book 2, it has that hopeful, is this really happening??? feeling. also, the lyrics about wishing she would call fit because belly kind of ignores him for a bit. “remember when i pulled up and said ‘get in the car.’” literally him in book 2, pulling up for their little road trip adventure to go after conrad. their whole relationship is really jere “livin’ for the hope of it all” because he never expected them to happen. most especially the lyrics “so much for summer love and saying ‘us’ / 'cause you weren't mine to lose” fit, thinking about “saying us” as her saying yes to his proposal in book 3, and then in the end it’s all over and she was always going to go back to conrad (like james going back to betty). 

conrad is so cardigan and it hurts my heart

“when you are young they assume you know nothing” except conrad has had to grow up so much because he knows all of the crap actually going on and is having to carry that weight and everyone else doesn’t know/assumes he knows nothing. “i knew you, hand under my sweatshirt, baby kiss it better” just feels so bellyconrad circa book 1/their relationship in book 2?? (like belly literally kisses him at the end of book 1 in a moment of pain. not actually a fan of that writing decision and i prefer the way it’s handled in the show but the lyrics really do fit). the lyrics “and when i felt like i was an old cardigan under someone’s bed / you put me on and said i was your favorite” are so conrad. it’s the perfect summary of conrad’s self-deprecation and how much belly loves conrad, like he’s her favorite person. “to kiss in cars” and “you drew stars around my scars” it’s them it’s bellyconrad. the whole bridge like “i knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss / i knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs / the smell of smoke would hang around this long.” the smell of smoke and the whole connection that holds to the events of book 1 with belly trying to get conrad to quit. the way other relationships conrad tries to have, the what-ifs, are never the same. “i knew you’d come back to me,” and one day, after they’ve both changed and grown so much, she does. she comes back to him (don’t mind me sobbing). 

and finally, belly is james

considering james is at the center of the triangle and the one getting with august and betty, i think it’s clear why this would need to be belly lol considering the fact that siblings are involved here. 

but also james dreaming of betty all summer long is so belly throughout book 2 and 3. james missing betty standing in her cardigan + the way belly is obsessed with the idea of conrad in a sweater at the beginning of book 1 then gets to see that at the end?? her being “only 17″ like she was in book 2. though betty feels the least fitting of all the songs just because a lot of the blame in their relationship problems lies with conrad and the fact that he wasn’t in the place for a relationship and needed time to grow (like even though i’m team conrad, i’m glad they break up in book 2 because belly was right when she said she deserved better and i was so proud of her for realizing that, and even though my heart hurt for conrad and the way he selflessly stood back so jere and belly could be together because he wanted them to be happy, i’m also glad that conrad grows from there and doesn’t get back with belly until they’re both in a better place), while in the song betty the problem is really with james. still, lyrics like “when i passed your house it’s like i couldn’t breathe” are so so fitting. also just belly wondering if he would want her after all this time. 

anyways, both of these triangles have consumed too much of my brain space and i needed to word vomit this so enjoy :)

#the summer i turned pretty #tsitp #belly conklin #bellyconrad #belly x conrad #conrad x belly #conrad fisher #jeremiah fisher #taylor swift #folklore love triangle #august #jenny han

[disturbedbydesign]

Take Me Home - Part 10

PAIRING: Dennis Baker x Reader

SUMMARY: It’s been nearly a year since your ex-boyfriend dumped you and left you with a laundry list of insecurities, and you haven’t been able to really put yourself out there since. But when Dennis shows up at the adoption fair you’re running for your job at the animal shelter, there’s just something about him that makes you feel like you’re ready to try again.

WORD COUNT: 4.4K

WARNINGS (more to come): Body Issues (Dennis and Reader), References to Past Animal Abuse, Emotionally Abusive Exes (Dennis and Reader), Mention of Past Domestic Violence (Dennis’s Evil Ex), Dry Humping/Thigh Riding, Two Idiots In Love Making Out In A Car, Oral (M&F Receiving), Titjob, Cum Play, Fingering. 18+ only, no minors.

TAGLIST: @littlelioncub43, @whatinthestyles, @filthy-gorgeous, @justile, @valhalla-kristin, @elrw24, @janaev4ns, @ysmmsy, @ronearoundblindly, @in-umbra-gratia, @vayollie, @thornsnvultures

*Taglist is open to 18+ readers (no blank blogs) who comment, reblog, and/or chat with me via asks. If you just want to read lowkey, that’s cool and you do you, but the taglist is reserved for the lovely people who want to interact with me and my story :)

Series Masterlist

Part Ten

The drive back to your apartment is a quick one, but it feels eons long because Dennis is itching to get you in private. The kiss you gave him outside the restaurant was filled with promise and his body was already buzzing from the bit of PDA you’d engaged in during dinner. Dennis knows you want him and fuck does he want you, but the old insecurities are creeping back in the closer he gets to your door. He can’t help but wonder what exactly you’re expecting of him this night and while he knows what he wants to do, he still doesn’t know if he can.

He tries to hide it from you but the confidence he had throughout dinner has completely worn off by the time you unlock the door to your apartment and invite him inside. You walk in first so Badger sees you, and he gives Dennis a bit of side-eye from the couch where he was snoozing comfortably.

“I’m just gonna take him out real quick,” you say, slipping off your heels and sliding into a pair of flip-flops. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Dennis nods as he stands aside, allowing Badger some space as you put his harness and leash on. He’s so far from comfortable it’s almost laughable, though. He almost feels like he’s starting from scratch with you, and he doesn’t quite know why. Except that’s not entirely true; he does know why, but he doesn’t much care to think about it in detail. Seeing your ex was a reminder that there were men who came before him—men who could do things that he can’t do. Dennis tries to push away the thought of you being intimate with Brad but now that he’s seen him in the flesh, he’s got a mental picture playing in his head.

It’s not the fact that you’ve been with other people that bothers him—you’re a grown woman, of course you’ve slept with other people, and he doesn’t care how many there were or any of that shit. What’s really dragging Dennis down into that dark place again is that he’s terrified he won’t measure up. As much as he knows you despise Brad, he’s pretty sure that sex was never the problem in your relationship, and he feels like he’s entered a competition he can’t win. The last thing he wants is to disappoint you tonight, just after you’ve seen Brad, because maybe it will get you thinking your ex wasn’t so bad after all.

The whole time you’re out with Badger, Dennis is telling himself that he needs to talk to you about how he’s feeling but he doesn’t want to bring up your ex. He knows you probably just want to put him out of your mind and end the night on a good note, but he doesn’t know exactly what that means for you. When you come back with Badger you’ve got a sweet smile on your face, but your face changes when you see him.

“What’s wrong?” you ask, drawing your eyebrows together. “Did something happen?”

“No,” he replies. “It’s just… fuck… I’m sorry… I don’t…”

Dennis trails off and droops his head, rubbing the back of his neck in a pointless attempt at self-soothing.

“It’s ok,” you say. “Whatever it is, it’s ok. Let me just put Badger in Mal’s room so we can have some space to talk, alright?” You grab Badger’s water bowl and take it with you into the bedroom next to the kitchen. “Come on, Badge. TV Time.”

Dennis hears you put on the TV for Badger and talk to him for a moment, though he can’t make out your words. He tries to put himself back in that headspace where he felt like he could tell you anything but it’s not working because he’s got horrible thoughts floating around his head, thoughts like maybe all that in the restaurant—the little touches and kisses and flirty little smiles—was just you trying to make Brad jealous. Maybe none of it had a thing to do with you wanting him. Maybe he could have been anyone.

Dennis doesn’t look at you when he hears you come back into the living room. He doesn’t look at you when he feels you sit next to him on the couch. He just stares at the ground, gripping his knee to ground himself as he pinches the bridge of his nose to try and stave off the anxiety headache he feels coming on. He feels your hand cup his cheek as you pull his face in your direction.

“Look at me,” you say softly. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Your pretty eyes are filled with concern as they lock onto his and he wants to tell you every single thing he feels but his words are caught somewhere between his chest and his throat. His mouth is dry and his heart is beating so hard he feels it throbbing in his neck.

“Baby, please,” you beg. “You’re scaring me. Just talk to me.”

“I don’t want to scare you,” he croaks. “I’m just… I think I’m scaring myself.”

“Please tell me this isn’t about Brad,” you say.

“I don’t know. It is and it isn’t. I mean… it’s about me, really. It’s the same shit again, and I thought I was past it… that we were past it… but I guess not.”

He can see the confusion in your slight frown and he knows he needs to be more specific. He hears Dr. Porter’s voice in his head screaming “open, honest communication” but the words just won’t come tonight. But it’s like you know—somehow you always fucking know. You fold your legs under yourself on the couch next to him and wrap your arm around his waist and you start to ask the right questions.

“What are you afraid of, Dennis? I mean, what exactly happened tonight that has you feeling bad, because I thought… I don’t know… you seemed happy.”

“I was… I mean, I am happy. I’m just… I’m scared I can’t make you happy. I guess just seeing him…”

“He made me fucking miserable,” you say. “No one on earth has ever made me feel worse than he did. I thought you knew that.”

“I do. I do know that. It’s just… God, this is so fucking embarrassing and I really don’t want to make you talk about him. That’s the last thing you want, I’m sure. I just… I feel like I’m not gonna be good enough for you. You know… in that way… and now we’re here and we’re alone and I don’t know what you want, or maybe I do know what you want and I want the same thing but I just… can’t.”

Dennis lets his hand rest on your hip and closes his eyes as you play with the top button of his shirt.

“You said you don’t know what I want,” you say, “but you never asked me what I want.”

Dennis swallows the lump in his throat. “OK, what do you want?”

“I want you to feel safe with me and I want to feel safe with you. And maybe we’re not there yet, and that’s ok. I mean, I know I’m still holding stuff back. I don’t feel 100% confident either and that has absolutely nothing to do with you.”

It’s like a knife in Dennis’s heart to hear you say that because all he wants is to make you feel every bit of his love for you, but he understands where you’re coming from because he’s coming from the same place.

“It shouldn’t have to be this hard,” he says. “I just want…”

“What?” you ask. “Tell me what you want.”

I just want to tell you I love you and make love to you and be with you every single day for the rest of my life.

“I just want to be normal,” he says, and you scoff. 

“I don’t even know what ‘normal’ is anymore, Dennis. I’m pretty sure I’m not normal. I can’t even be naked in front of my fucking boyfriend without having half a panic attack… you wanna talk about embarrassing. Christ.”

You hide your face in the crook of his arm and sigh as you hug him tighter, and Dennis is at a complete loss for words because he didn’t know it was that bad. He knew you were hesitant, sure, but he didn’t know that you felt that level of fear being with him. He hates that Brad did this to you—that you’re holding yourself back from him because of things that asshole made you believe about yourself. He wishes you could see yourself through his eyes, and all he wants is to make you feel as beautiful as you are.

He runs his hand across your hair gently and says, “Listen, I don’t know what he said to you and I don’t ever need to know because what I already know is that you are absolutely perfect to me, inside and out, and I will do everything I can possibly do to prove it to you. I never want you to feel afraid around me. I mean… sweetheart, I think about seeing you naked like 90% of the day every day.”

You giggle into his chest and look up at him. “Do you really?” you ask.

“It’s probably more like 95%,” he replies.

“Perv.” You swat at his chest and he leans down and kisses your forehead, inhaling the spicy vanilla scent of your hair as you sigh. “I want to be normal, too, Dennis. I really do.”

“Is there anything I can do?” he asks. “I don’t want to pressure you or anything but, I mean, there’s not much I wouldn’t do to get you naked.”

“Just kiss me,” you say, and Dennis happily obliges.

“Just kissing” quickly turns to you straddling Dennis with your dress hiked up to your waist, his big hands roaming up and down your thighs as you unbutton his dress shirt and pull it free from his pants.

“Your skin is so soft,” he murmurs into your neck, which he peppers with soft, open-mouthed kisses, and when he finds that spot that drives you crazy, he drags his teeth across it gently and you moan his name.

You slide his shirt over his shoulders and dig your nails into the meat of them, drawing a hiss from him that you feel in your core.

“Too much?” you ask, concerned that you’ve hurt him, but he just chuckles.

“Not at all,” he replies. “Not even close.”

You can feel his cock straining in the confines of his pants as you roll your hips on top of him and fuck you want him inside of you. You feel so empty as you clench around nothing, positioning yourself to get the friction you need to ease the aching absence of him.

“I want you so bad, baby,” you say, looking into his lust-blown blue eyes. “I need you.”

He closes his eyes and lets his head fall back against the couch cushion, his long lashes fluttering against his cheeks as he grips the flesh of your thighs. “Need you, too, sweetheart,” he says, and when he opens his eyes again it feels like he’s staring straight into your soul. “Need to taste you. Please let me taste you.”

You dig your teeth into your bottom lip as you lean forward and press your forehead to his, taking a deep, calming breath before you whisper, “OK.”

Before you even know what’s happening, Dennis has you up off the couch, your legs wrapped around his waist and his hands cradling your ass as he carries you into your bedroom. He sets you gently down on your bed and leans over you, cradling your face as he moves in for a deep, slow kiss that steals the breath from your lungs. He finally pulls away and stands up at the edge of your bed, and you’re gasping for air as you look up at him—shirtless and barefoot with a tent in his pants that’s testing the strength of the seams. You want him in your mouth, down your throat; you want him everywhere, but when you sit up and grab his belt buckle he stills your hands.

“Not me,” he says. “You.” He wraps his big hands around your forearms and pulls you to your feet. “Turn around.”

You do as he says, and the slightly commanding tone of his voice has you feeling almost dizzy as he slowly pulls the zipper of your dress down. The heat of his breath against the nape of your neck has you clenching your thighs together as he slides the straps off your shoulders, your dress pooling at your feet as he reaches around to cup your bare breasts. You hear the soft thunk of his knees hitting the rug and you shiver as kisses his way down your back, one of your hands finding the back of his head and sliding through his hair as his lips reach the small of your back. He places his hands on your hips gently and turns you around, and the sight of him on his knees for you, looking up at you through his glasses with an almost reverent desire, is the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen in your life. 

“You’re gorgeous,” he says. “So fucking perfect.”

He kisses his way across your stomach, just above the waistband of your panties. The small lace garment is the only scrap of clothing left on you—the only place left to hide. He moves his hands from your hips to your ass and pulls you into him, his nose poking at your covered mound as he takes a deep breath of you. 

His voice is muffled as he speaks against the lace, “You smell so goddamn good,” and when he starts to kiss your mound over the fabric, you let out a whimper and have to grab his shoulders to keep your balance. He looks up at you, and you think for a moment he’s going to laugh or smirk or something, but his face holds nothing but tenderness.

“Lay down on the bed, sweetheart. Spread your legs for me.”

“O- OK,” you stammer.

You can hear the hesitance in your own voice because somehow, even knowing how desperately this man wants to be with you, you’re still afraid. But fuck do you want to feel his mouth on your bare skin. Just that little tease through the fabric of your panties felt like absolute heaven and you know that, if you can just get over this one hurdle, it’ll be absolutely incredible.

Dennis rises up off the floor and walks you backwards until you hit the edge of the bed and take a seat. You slide up the bed and get yourself into position and he watches your every move, his broad chest heaving with each hungry breath he takes. When you plant your feet and spread open for him, he moans as he drinks in the sight of you.

“So pretty, baby,” he says, and he starts to move toward you.

“Wait,” you say, and the worry creases his brow for a moment before you tell him what you want. “Take your pants off.”

Dennis smiles his relief as he unbuckles and shoves his pants down his long legs, kicking them off to the side. You lick your lips as he stands before you in a pair of gray boxer-briefs that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. You smile up at him, your eyes darting from his bulge to his eyes and back again.

“Just let me see it. Please?” you beg him as sweetly as you can but he just shakes his head, and when you whine out his name, he chuckles.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he says, getting on the bed and crawling up towards you. You feel the weight of his cock on your thigh as he cages you in underneath him, taking off his glasses and placing them on your nightstand. “You give me what I want and I’ll give you what you want.”

“What do you want?” you ask, your lips ghosting his.

“I want to see all of you, sweetheart. I want to worship every inch of your beautiful body and I want to make you cum on my tongue. You gonna let me do that?”

You take a beat before you answer. “Yes.”

“Thank you,” he says, and then he kisses you deep, dragging his tongue across the roof of your mouth slowly, giving you a preview of what he’s about to do to you.

Dennis takes his time with you, kissing all across your face and down your neck and across each of your clavicles. When he reaches your breasts, he makes sure to tell you how much he loves them as his kisses get sloppier and wetter. Your nipples get special attention from him and he moans as he suckles and laps at you, even using his teeth a little when you start to writhe underneath him. His body is so broad and heavy that you’ve got nowhere to go but you like it—the feeling that you couldn’t get away from him even if you wanted to, that he’s totally in control and you still feel completely safe. You don’t want to get away from him, though. Not even a little bit. You just want more and you cry out to him asking for it.

You could have cum just from the careful attention he paid to your tits but you don’t. Instead, the pulsing ache between your legs is getting almost painful as he kisses across your tummy. You don’t even know if he notices the stretch marks around your hips as he licks them because he’s just devouring every inch of you with the same enthusiasm. He tells you over and over again how incredible you are, how beautiful, how sweet, and you almost almost believe him.

When he’s done with your abdomen, he sits up on his knees and you gasp when he pulls your legs up. One ankle rests on his shoulder as he kisses the other, working his way up your calf and stopping at the knee to give the other leg the same treatment. He lowers your legs and settles between your thighs, the backs of your knees propped up on his broad shoulders as he plants hot, open-mouthed kisses on your inner thighs. He makes his way from the knee all the way up to the edge of your panties, skipping the place you need him most to do the same on the other side, and you start to lose it. He’s fucking teasing you now and you whine as you feel his hot breath against your skin and his teeth graze the softest, fleshiest part of your thigh. You think he must be able to see your pussy throbbing through the thin lace fabric its hiding behind and you beg him, “Please, Dennis,” because the ache is becoming unbearable.

“Tell me what you want, sweetheart.”

“Take them off.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

You hear a growl come loose from somewhere down deep in his chest as he pulls your pussy against his face and inhales through your soaked panties. “So fucking wet for me,” he says before kissing you over the fabric. It’s already enough to have you clutching the sheets and you beg him again to strip you bare. He pulls away, getting back on his knees as he hooks his fingers around the strings at your hips. When he peels the fabric from your flesh slowly and discards your last line of defense, you close your eyes, take a deep breath, and hold it.

“Oh fuck,” he groans, holding your legs wide open at the knee. “Open your eyes. Look at me, sweetheart.”

You do as he asks, and when you see the way he’s looking at you, you let out the breath you’d been holding.

“You’re fucking perfect,” he says, and then he drops to his stomach and wraps his arms around your thighs.

The first swipe of his tongue up your bare pussy has you boath moaning loud—too loud, you realize, because the sounds he’s about to draw out of you are bound to disturb Badger in the other room.

“Fuck. Hold on,” you say, grabbing the TV remote from your nightstand and turning it on and all the way up.

“Badger?” he asks, and you nod. 

Before you have a chance to apologize for the interruption, he’s got his tongue all the way out and pressed flat against your flesh and he’s moving his head up and down slowly. His tongue is so fucking wide and long that you feel it everywhere, hot and wet against every part of you. He keeps his pace steady, looking up at you every now and again for reassurance, and you give it to him, telling him how fucking good he feels, when to speed up, when to apply more pressure. He listens to every instruction, but you don’t really need to tell him all that much because you’re almost braindead already from the way he’s working you with his tongue.

You’ve got your hands buried in his hair, gripping it tight but not too tight as you rock your hips against his face, and when he wraps his lips around your clit and starts to suck it into his mouth, your back arches off the bed and you feel yourself starting to lose control.

“Oh, fuck, Dennis. That’s perfect. Just like that. Don’t stop. Oh, fuck, please, baby. Don’t stop.”

Your praises have him moaning around your bud as he pulls your hood back, and when he does that you pull harder on his hair than you mean to. It doesn’t bother him, though; he doesn’t miss a beat. He just moans louder and you can feel the bed start to rock as he ruts into it, his moans keeping time with the thrust of his hips and Oh fuck is he gonna cum just from eating you out?

He pulls away for a moment and you let go of his head. He’s panting as his face and beard glisten with you, and he asks, “Do you want me to use my fingers?”

“Fuck yes,” you say. “Please.”

He pops his middle and forefinger in his mouth and runs them up and down your entrance, gathering the slick leaking from you before slowly pushing them inside and latching on to your clit again. When he crooks his fingers and finds your G-spot, you know you’re only moments away. You grab your breasts and play with your nipples, wishing Dennis had a few more hands so he could do it for you, the way he knows you like.

“Oh God, oh fuck. I’m gonna cum, Dennis. Don’t stop. You’re so fucking good, baby.”

He pops off you just long enough to tell you, “That’s it, sweetheart. Cum all over my face. You can do it,” and his words of encouragement are enough to send you over the edge.

Your toes curl into the bedspread and your back arches as you cum hard and quivering into his mouth. You know you shouldn’t yell but you can’t help it, and as you cry out your pleasure, you pray that the TV is loud enough that Badger won’t hear you and mistake your cries of ecstasy for those of pain. The sex gods must be watching over you tonight, though, because you don’t hear a peep from him. All you hear is the sound of your heartbeat thumping in your ears and your ragged breaths as you try to recover from what this man has just done to you. You look down at Dennis, still trying to catch your breath and unable to speak yet, and you give him a lazy smile.

“You’re so fucking sexy when you cum, sweetheart” His eyes roll back a bit and you can see he’s still humping your bed for release. “Oh, fuck.”

“Are you gonna cum, baby?” you ask, and all he can do is nod furiously with his eyes pinched shut.

“Give it to me,” you tell him. “I want it.”

Dennis scrambles up the bed and you sit up and yank down his boxer briefs, finally getting an eyefull of his glorious cock. He’s soaked with his own precum and you moan as you wrap your lips around his tip and the taste of him hits your tongue. He’s already so close you don’t have to do much of anything—a few twists of your wrist and bobs of your head are enough to have him falling forward and catching himself on the headboard behind you as he cums hard down your throat.

You would have sucked the soul out of him for hours after the way he’s just made you feel, but it couldn’t have been more than a minute before he had you wrapped up in his arms and pressed to his chest, kissing you softly with the taste of each other on your lips. He presses a gentle kiss to your forehead and you can tell you’re beaming as he tells you things you’ve been dying to hear.

“I think I’m addicted to your pussy,” he says. “It’s so fucking pretty and perfect. I already want more.”

You giggle and swat his shoulder. “I can’t do that again,” you say. “I’m spent. But that was amazing.”

“Really?” he asks, and he’s got that tone in his voice that tells you that even though you came screaming on his face, he’s still somehow unsure of himself.

“Yes, really,” you reply. “How did you… I mean… you said you didn’t know what you were doing but… um… you definitely knew what you were doing.”

Dennis buries his face in the crook of your neck and sighs, his words muffled against your skin. “I, uh, might have done some research. You know… read some articles and watched some… videos.”

You grab his hair gently and tilt his head back up so you can look at him. “You studied? For me?”

“I wanted to be good for you.”

“You were. You were so good for me, baby. The best ever.”

“Now I know you’re lying,” he says, and you grab his face between your thumb and forefinger,

“I’m not lying,” you say, dead serious. “I would never lie to you. I promise you that.”

Dennis lets out a relieved sigh and a half smile plays at the corner of his mouth. “The best ever?”

“The best ever.”

PART ELEVEN >>>

#dennis baker fanfiction #dennis baker x reader #dennis baker x you #dennis baker #chris evans #chris evans characters #take me home series

[olsenmyolsen]

Olsen II

Part 16 of On The Inside With Elizabeth Olsen

Word Count: ~6.5K

masterlist

 ⚠️ SPOILERS FOR MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS ⚠️

Y/N POV

I grumble myself awake and shut off my 5am alarm.

I haven't woken up this early in years but today, Monday, is special. It's Liz's last week in London! So I wanted to send her a special text this morning.

Yes, it's now been three weeks since Liz and I made our relationship official! Yes, I know we immediately became girlfriends after saying we'd take things slow. Oh well.

The only people that know are Max, James, Sam, Robbie, Ash, and MK. I probably would've told my mom by now if our relationship had been in a better place.

Less than a week ago, I finally called her back after dodging her calls, and the call went exactly how I predicted.

It started with the usual catching up on life kind of bullshit, and that was great before it devolved into a series of "why aren't you going back to school?" "Do you honestly think you can be happy and successful without a degree?" "You're way too pretty and smart. I'd hate to see you waste the opportunities I gave you." Then, money this and money that.

So it's a safe bet I won't be making calls home soon. Don't get me wrong. I love my mom. I do! But it's just... I wish we had the relationship we used to have. Yes, she did a great job as a mom throughout my life but after what my dad did to the two of us... you know it's not the same as it was.

Anyways, the rest of the world has yet to know about Liz and I, of course, but that hasn't changed anything. The media has slowed down on the articles about MK and her secret lover. I keep getting photographed but less and less. Not that it was a lot, to begin with, but I'm thankful not to have random people take pictures of me.

I know this will change once Liz and I are out. But for now, I'm enjoying it.

Liz and I have been FaceTiming or attempting to FaceTime every night after 5pm my time. We tried 4pm for a while, but that left me virtually no time to get home after work. We still have some days where Liz can't call, but we still text!

Our calls tend to mostly be about my days, my friends, plans for what to do when Liz gets back, and more. I ask Liz about her day, but she doesn't spill much. Nothing cagey, just in a same old same old kind of way.

She gives me the vaguest details about the movie. A part of me wants to know what's going to happen in the film so bad, but Liz tells me it'll spoil the MCU, and she's right because, of course, she's right. Plus, she warns me that Kevin Feige has eyes and ears everywhere. You would think this guy is a mob boss or something.

We also talk about her sisters. Liz has started trying to talk to them on a weekly basis, although, accordingly to Liz, MK has been more MIA lately.

I know why.

A couple of days after MK left my place, I told Liz how MK got Naomi to sign the papers. To say Liz was displeased would be an understatement.

I don't know how I did it, but I got Liz not to hulk out at her sister and to let me handle the situation. But the truth behind that is... MK technically hasn't spoken to me since that day.

That's not to say I haven't tried. I texted MK the night she left.

I told her that I've grown fond of the person she is. She's caring, kind, and nothing but supportive. I apologized for getting mad at her. I told her that I support her and genuinely want what is best for her. I let her know that I will be here for her no matter what because I know she will be here for me.

Or at least, I hope.

I also texted her that I love her as well. I love the person she is.

That does not mean I love her as more than a friend.

She read all those texts but hasn't responded to me personally. She texts in the group chat with Ash and myself, but it's never directly to me.

Since returning to LA, Ash has seemed to notice that something is off. We've briefly talked a couple of times, but I can't bring myself to tell anyone the true reason. I feel like Ash knows but is letting it be.

In other news, James, Max's brother, finally left after another week of mooching off his sister. Just kidding but for real, he up and left for California. I know Max has some family out there, but I'm not sure if James went to them or not. But for the next two days after he landed, every single picture he posted included #JamesGoesWest.

I knew he was teasing because of Liz's and mines relationship. Speaking more on that! I went back and finished Wind River. I legit had to skip through that one scene. But overall, I loved the movie! Men are gross, and Liz played her role perfectly. The chemistry she had with Jeremy Renner was incredible. I'd like to see them do more together.

But if we're talking natural chemistry, all I can say is... I never wanted to be Aubrey Plaza more in my life than during the press tour of Ingrid Goes West. Yes, I've seen the YouTube videos, interviews, and photo shoots. I now know I was never Liz's "first." I mean, yes, I knew that already from the night Liz and I had at her place, but now I'm full-on convinced her and Aubrey were more than friends at some point.

Liz knows I watched those two movie and will be watching all of her MCU movies, but she's begged me not to watch a film she did called Oldboy. I looked up the synopsis, and it seems interesting, but Liz is adamant about me not seeing it.

Speaking of the MCU and their movies, this week is finally Avengers week! Out of everything I watched, Captain America and Iron Man 2 are my favorites. Captain America because I loved the story and Bucky so much. And Iron Man 2 for... Natasha. I'm sorry, but I never wanted to be a heavy-set white man more than when she took down Happy.

Lizard knows of my newfound obsession with Scarlett Johansson, and let's just say we starting banning a few words. The first time I mentioned how sexy I thought Natasha looked, I could instantly tell something had shifted. Liz didn't say anything at first. She just sat quietly on the other side of the phone, watching me like I was her prey. She had her jaw clenched so tight I thought teeth were going to break, and then out of the blue, Liz was tired and had to get to bed.

The call ended shortly after that leaving me confused until my dumb brain realized why. I called her back and made it up to her in a memorable way.

A few words that aren't banned are "Mommy." "Yes." & "Please." Liz and I have done a fantastic job trading those off.

Sam is good! Max and I have gone out with her and her friends a couple of times, nothing too crazy, thankfully. Max and I have also started exercising together again. Not daily, but we've been trying for three times a week. It's usually before work, but other times it's once Liz and I finish FaceTiming.

Work is still good. Alec is good. All in all, everything is going well. Liz wraps filming this Friday, so I can't wait to have her in my arms!

Speaking of which, I have to text her.

Liz POV

It's now been three weeks since Y/N and I made our relationship official! Yes, I know we immediately became girlfriends after saying we'd take things slow. Oh well.

I love Y/N so fucking much, but FaceTiming every night gets tiring. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing her cute freckled face, but there are times when I'm just so exhausted from shooting that I can't bring myself to answer a FaceTime call. But luckily for me, I have an understanding and supportive girlfriend.

Girlfriend. That's a word I don't think I will get tired of saying.

Speaking on that, I told my girlfriend that filming wraps on Friday. It doesn't. It wraps today. I plan on flying out first thing tomorrow morning to surprise her! Max already knows and plans on picking me up from the airport. I got her number from MK. I know, ooh, sneaky, but it's the things you do for love.

I'm incredibly excited to see how the world reacts to this movie. I acted my heart out, and I know when I walk on set today, I'm going to cry. I've always finished these movies not knowing what was next for Wanda, but when Sam yells "cut" for the final time, I know it will feel like the last time.

I've been talking to my sisters about the motions I've been going through, and Ash has been kind enough to try and speak to me about it. Meanwhile, MK can barely get a sentence together. I'm not mad at her for what she did with Naomi. I mean, yes, I was. But not anymore, so I don't know why she's being weird about us.

In addition to my sisters, I have also been texting someone else. Someone that knows about Y/N. But someone that Y/N doesn't know about herself.

Wanda's other half. Actor for the Vision. Mr. Paul Bettany.

I missed him. I missed being on set with him. I missed hearing him laugh at the stupid things I'd say. I missed hearing him talk about his wife non-stop. He's truly a lifelong friend that I'm so thankful to have met at such a crucial moment in my life.

That's a feeling that I have for Y/N. She came to me at just the right moment. I know that I won't let her go.

Over the course of filming, Paul and I would send check-in texts here and there, but our conversations didn't become something quite serious until the articles about me leaving the Doctor Strange set came out. That's when Paul said he knew something was wrong. Since I'm never one to "create drama" or "be a total bitch."

Paul texted me that Easter Sunday. A day before, I met Y/N. Paul was actually the first one to know the news about Robbie and I. He loves Robbie, so for him to hear everything broke him a little, but Paul helped me as much as he could. Or as much as I was willing to let him. He promised that everything we discussed would stay between us because we all know. Snitches end up in ditches!

Paul was also the one to tell me to get my shit together and to send coffee and treats to the NY Marvel team if I wanted to keep people happy.

I guess I have Paul to thank for Y/N. Oh God, I can't let that get to his head.

Speaking of Paul and Vision. My Coffee Girl has been continuing her journey of watching the MCU. I think tonight is Avengers night. I think she has some hope I'm going to show up in this one, but sadly I don't. I'm sure Y/N won't really mind since she has Scarlett and her Black Widow ass to look at all movie.

I know that's not nice and unfair to Scarlett, but I don't like Y/N having her eyes on someone else.

I made that very clear the other night.

Over the last couple of weeks, in addition to filming, FaceTiming, and keeping me and my girlfriend satisfied, I started emptying out the Richmond house. Like I did with my trailer, I started small but quickly moved on to bigger things.

I sent Robbie back a lot of the things he left behind. I donated some of my stuff but kept the tiniest of things that remind me of the good times I had while here. After today the house will no longer be ours. That is if I actually did remember to grab everything?

Uh, speaking of Robbie. He's doing so well, and I'm so proud of him. He's been doing AA meetings once a week. Every week I send him a text just letting him know that he's in my thoughts, and I wish him luck. He sends me a text back, basically saying the same thing.

Thankfully the media isn't dragging Robbie through the mud just because he's trying to better his life. I think back to how they treated my sisters, and it makes me sick. If I could have the opposite for Robbie, I'll do it.

Robbie doesn't ask about Y/N; instead, he asks me, "are you happy?" The answer has always been "yes." Robbie's response is always the same "then I'm happy."

I got lucky with an ex like him, huh?

It's almost 10am, and I finally have the finishing touches to my look for today's scene. 838 Wanda comforting Darkhold Scarlet Witch. How fitting that my last day is me letting myself know that it's going to be okay. That our boys will be okay.

Oh, I'm getting depressed just thinking about it.

"Lizzie, you ready?" A member of the makeup team looks me over and waits for my response. I nod and go to get up before my phone stops me. I take a quick glance. Is that really who I think it is?

"Just give me a minute." I turn to the crew they nod, heading out of my trailer.

Y/N POV

Annnnddd sent! I smile down at my phone. The text wasn't anything too crazy special. Let's not forget I just woke up.

The text was just myself reminding Liz that I'm lucky to have her. That I'm so thankful to have someone caring and loving chose me to be the person that they love. That someone with her wits and beauty makes me smile and feel the support that I feel. And I can't wait to be able to hold her and to kiss that gorgeous face. To be able to physically look into her eyes. The eyes that make me smile. The eyes that make me feel safe. The eyes that are the literal definition of: If looks could kill.

I could've gone on and on with my text, but I have to save something for when she's here at the end of the week. I close my phone out, knowing she'll probably read it when she gets back from filming, meaning I can go back to sleep before getting up for my shift later today.

I turn over and close my eyes. Letting tiredness take me over once ag-

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

I peek one of my eyes open as I grab my phone. It can't be Liz. She should be- Oh! It is Liz! She's calling me! I clear my throat and answer the phone.

"Hello?"

Liz POV

"Just who do you think you are, Ms. Y/N Y/L/N! Sending a cute ass text like that. You're supposed to be sleeping!"

Y/N: "You're supposed to be filming!"

She fires back in that voice that's just so sexy in the early morning.

"I was about to step out of my trailer when my girlfriend decided to send me the most simp-filled text ever."

I can practically hear her eyes rolling.

"Why aren't you asleep right now."

Y: "I set an alarm to text you. Since I know it's your last week of filming, I just wanted to try and make it extra special for you."

My heart.

I move around the trailer like a teenager on the phone with their first crush.

Y: "I mean, if you don't like it-"

"Stop! You know I love it!" There's a pause. "Are you going to do this for every film I do?" Y/N's laugh fills my ears.

Y: "Hell yeah. I'd give you the world if I could."

"You already did that."

I hear Y/N yawn before asking, "what do you mean?"

"Because you're my world!"

Y/N POV

This fucking cheese ball, I swear. I roll my eyes again.

"I think I hear Mr. Raimi calling you to set Olsen. I wouldn't want to get in trouble or anything."

Liz lets out a small laugh.

Liz: "Oh, weird, I don't hear him?"

Y: "Hmm, that's so weird. What's happening? Hearing loss at your age already, Liz?"

I know her jaw dropped.

L: "Okay, wow fuck you, Y/L/N."

"You wish, Liz!"

L: "You know wh- one sec."

I hear Liz pulls her phone away from her ear as a series of knocks are happening nearby her. They must need her on set.

I don't know who she's talking to, but she assures them she'll be right out.

L: "Hey babe, I gotta go."

"I figured. Have a great day today! Can I call you on my break? Oh, and I can't wait to see you at the end of this week!"

L: "Of course, and I can't either!" I can practically picture her biting her thumbnail as she says this: "I love you, Y/N."

"I love you too, Lizard! Now go be a movie star!"

Liz giggles as she ends the call. Leaving me awake, alone, and horny?

No? Yes? I don't know.

I flip over onto my stomach and groan into my pillow. I really don't want to be up already. After a minute of feeling my body wake up, I decide to fuck it.

I throw my comforter off my body and go into my bathroom. I flick on the light and look at myself in the mirror. I think about when I did this not so long ago. I stared at myself before my date with Liz. It was the first time I looked at my own face with love instead of disgust. I do the same thing now. I smile at the person looking back at me.

I reach down and pull my toothbrush from its holder. Put a small glob of toothpaste, rinse and get to the brushing. Morning breath is one of my least favorite things. Or at least it quickly has been. Okay, I don't want breath to ever smell in the presence of Liz, okay? I'd die.

After my morning routine, I slip off my underwear and oversized t-shirt in favor of a classic workout outfit. Nothing crazy this morning, just a morning jog. It's now approaching 5:30, so it should still be quiet outside.

I reach my front door and drop down to tie on my old sneakers. They're a pair that I've had for years. I don't even remember how I got them or who gave them to me, but they probably know more about me than I do about myself.

Okay, now I sound crazy—time to run. I put my AirPods in, queue up whatever playlist Spotify curated for me and leave my place.

Liz POV

I did it! "That's a wrap on Elizabeth Olsen!" Sam Raimi yells into a bullhorn earning applause from the cast and crew that surround us.

I clap along, stopping whenever I feel a tear start to escape my eyes. Cumberbatch wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into a side hug before whispering into the top of my head, earning a smile and a laugh from me.

Sam walks up to me, and I instantly find myself wrapped up into a hug. I almost feel my eyes betray me, but I stop the dam from breaking. Sam leans into me and asks, "do you want to say a few words?"

This is something I haven't really ever done. Usually, I'm in such a considerable ensemble of a movie that who cares what the 9th billed person has to say, but this is my movie. So why not?

I nod at Sam and grab the bullhorn.

"First off, I'd just like to say thank you to everyone here. All of you truly have made this experience so beautiful and lovely." I bite my lower lip before continuing.

"When we were about to go back to finishing WandaVision, I was pitched the actual story of the Doctor Strange sequel, and I was shocked!" I throw my arms out in a charismatic manner. "No one told me that their plan for me was to be the villain!" This earns a few laughs from the crew and myself. "You know? But it's like yeah! Why does Wanda have to settle for being good when all that she wants is something that seems so small and simple, which is for her to be with her kids."

I look over at Sam, smiling. He's a real Wanda stan this man. He and I had so much fun bouncing ideas off one another and relishing in the character of Wanda.

"But you know I love Wanda Maximoff, and I feel honored to have played her for the last 7 to 8 years and to collaborate with such kind and caring people. I truly do." I feel a tear slip out and run down my cheek. "And if this is the end for her, then I'm glad that... that I gave it my all." I want to say more, but I can feel my throat choking back tears. Plus, when I look up, it's all of these people watching me. "So thank you. Thank you all!" I frown to hold back my emotions as Sam wraps me into another hug. He gently takes the bullhorn from me and announces, "give it up for our witch, everybody!" Earning another wave of claps.

Y/N POV

It's now just past 9am for me as I enter our coffee shop. Busy. It's finally starting to heat up around here, which means it's time for all the cool kids and soccer moms to start ordering frozen drinks. My least favorite. It's not hard to make. It's just annoying.

I smile once I see the two people I'm going to work with. Sam and Alec. Sam greets me as I put my stuff into the back. "I promise you it was not this busy until like 20 minutes ago." I shrug. "Happens." Sam noticed. "You good?" We make our way back to the front employee area so I can clock in. "Yeah, just tired. I woke up super early and decided to get a run in." "Ew." "Trust me, I know." I scoot past Alec and clock in. I say hi to him, but he awkwardly avoids me. Okay weird.

"Excuse me?" A customer knocks me from my own brain. Male. He has to be in his late thirties with tattoos down his arms. "Hello, sir. What can we get started for you?" The man looks at the boards stationed above and behind me. "What kind of frozen drinks do you have?" Yep, it's going to be a long day. I must've made a face because I can hear Sam laugh in my direction.

Liz POV

I sigh after getting my suitcase settled into my hotel room for the night. After leaving the sound stages today, I made my way to Richmond to do one last look-over of the house. Go figure; nothing was left for me to take or do. So mark another one for overthinking and having anxiety. But eh, oh well.

It's now just after 6pm for me. If she hasn't had her break, my Coffee Girl will have one soon - speak of the Devil! As if it's her superpower, she is now FaceTiming me.

I throw my back onto the bed and answer my phone.

She's walking to the back room of the shop. She sits in the same place every time we talk on her break. I think it's adorable. I think she's really cute. And by cute, I mean hot.

Okay, dial it back, Lizzie.

She has the camera below her right now, so I'm looking up to her neck. It looks like she has a coffee ground stained onto her neck. How she did that, I have no idea. I smile as I look at it. Imagine how long it's been there. My eyes move down her throat, and I stop at every tiny freckle and mole I see.

"Whatcha doing, love?" Oh shit, just because I can't see her doesn't mean she can't see me.

"Looking at my love!" "Oh yeah?" She moves the camera up, so I can see her beautiful face as she sits down. My girlfriend smiles back at me before her face becomes horrified. "Oh my God!" The alarms in my brain start going off. "What? What's wrong!" She begins wiping at her neck. "Why did you not tell me that was there!" Oh my gosh. Really Y/N? "I just saw that! Besides, I thought it was cute." I flare my eyebrows up, causing her to do it back.

"So, how was today?" She starts. The gears start moving. I really want to tell Y/N all about the end of the shoot, but that'll ruin my surprise. Okay, quick, Liz think.

"It was good! Really good! But I'm not giving you anything, and you know this!" She rolls her eyes. "I know. I just can't wait."

"Isn't Avengers tonight?" I ask, slightly changing the topic. "Tomorrow night. Max is busy tonight. I think it's with Flirty, but I'm not sure. She's been being a little cagey lately." Y/N shrugs and looks up to something. Maybe one of her co-workers. "What will you do tonight?" I ask with a slight frown. "Probably watch one of your movies." She states matter of factly and looks down, grinning before taking a sip of her tea. Wait tea? She never drinks tea.

"Tea?!" She looks at me wide-eyed and embarrassed. "Yeah..." "Since when are you a tea drinker?" "Since I watched a YouTube video about how Elizabeth Olsen loves tea and how she has a whole cabinet dedicated to tea packets." I blush. I love and hate that she watches videos of me because it's the cutest thing ever, but I'm afraid she'll find a video of me doing something dumb and judge me. I know she wouldn't, but a girl can stress, can't she?

"Liz." She pulls me out of my small spiral. "Hmm?" "You know I'm only doing it because I love you. And I want to love the things you love." I smile. "I know." I scrunch my nose up at her. Now she blushes and shakes her head. "What you thinking about?" "Just how lucky I am." She makes sure her eyes are on me. "I meant my text this morning. Every word." "I know, baby."

Now I'm the one watching her, getting lost in thought. We sit admiring each other. Eyes filled with admiration. "My turn, Lizard. Whatcha thinking about?" I use to hate the nickname Lizard, but when she says it, it makes me feel safe. "Tomorrow." "Tomorrow? What's tomorrow?" My body tenses up. Oh shit. I didn't mean to say that! What's tomorrow? Uhhh...

Before I can even come up with a horrible lie, Y/N unknowingly saves me. "Let me guess, secret marvel stuff?" I nod. "You got it, Y/L/N." "Ugh, boorrinnggg." She dramatically sings out. "You'll just have it wait and see." "Yeah yeah." She smiles at me before looking up at her phone. I know she's checking the time. Before she frowns, I do. I know what this means.

"Liz, come on." What?" "I see you pouting." Well, duh, I want you off the clock, Y/N. "Can't you just quit?" Y/N raises an eyebrow to me. "After the phone call, I just had with my mom?"

I'm not asking her to quit, but yes leaving her job would almost certainly make her mom explode. Yeah, Y/N told me everything that happened. That was a rough night for her.

"You're right." "Always am." I scoff. "Not true. You know it goes me, Max, and then you." She puts a hand over her heart and gasps. "Betrayed."

"Y/N, you almost don- oh, sorry." Y/N looks up to the person talking to her. Sounds like Sam? I've only ever overheard Sam, never met her. Y/N said she knows about us and has kept her lifelong mission to protect our secret. She must've noticed Y/N was on the phone still. "Just one second."

Y/N looks back down at me. "I know. I know." I exhale out, not wanting her to go. "Don't worry, love. I'll text you when I get home, okay?" "Okay" "Just a couple more days, and then I finally have you in my arms again," I smirk. "You have no idea."

"Later, Liz!"

"See you soon, Y/N!"

She blows me a kiss before hanging up. I hold my hand with the caught kiss still in it.

"I love you, Coffee Girl."

Y/N POV

"Was that who I think it was?" Sam asks me as I come back to the bare-bones shop. I look at her. "Always is." "Wow." I can see her getting lost in thought, and she looks at me before she's completely gone. "Sorry." "With you? I'm used to it."

We both start to clean behind the bar while Alec takes care of the dining area. "When do you think you'll go public?" Sam asks, just quiet enough for only us to hear it. "Not for a while," I answer in the same manner. "Why are tabloids looking for a scoop?" I raise my eyebrow at her just to watch the panic in her eyes.

"Oh my god Y/N! No, I was just genuinely asking! I'm sorry for making you thin-" "Sam. Sam! I'm just kidding. I'm sorry." I start laughing. I know I shouldn't, but she makes it fun and easy. Sam catches her breath. "I should leak it after that." She grumbles. I walk over to her and pull her into a side hug. "I'm sorry, blueberry." "I still hate that name." "No, you don't," I say, letting go of her. I don't think she meant for me to hear it, but she mumbles, "No, I don't."

_

I text Liz letting her know that I should be home within the hour. I'm literally right outside my building, but I'm giving myself enough time to take a shower and get dressed comfy cozy before I round up whatever I can for dinner. Liz promised me to take me grocery shopping and to cook for me, so I'm honestly holding out for that.

I enter my apartment and smile at the state of it. Over the course of the weeks, I've gotten in a couple of movie posters and art from Etsy of things that I forgot I loved. Plus, I got some journals to start writing in again. It's looking more like home. All that's missing is some finishing touches.

I skip through my place and peel off todays clothes, tossing them into my dirty hamper. I grab a set of sweats to wear after my shower and charge into the bathroom. As I let the hot water get the bathroom just right, I play on my phone, watching TikTok. After two minutes, I close the app out and load some music to blast while I get myself clean.

_

As soon as I wrap my large green towel around me, I check my phone after I heard it go off in the shower. I smile at the sight of Liz but frown as I read her text.

"Yay! Glad, you made it home, love. So I'm not going to beat around the bush, Y/N. I just got informed that I have to go extra early tomorrow. Since it's the last week, I want to do it and get this done, so is it okay if we don't call tonight? I'm probably going to be going to bed soon, but I won't sleep until I get a text from you. I'm sorry, my love. 💛"

It's just a couple of more days, Y/N. You got this. Be a supportive girlfriend.

I text Liz back, saying that it's okay and that I love her so much and for her to please call me in the morning so I can hear her angelic voice.

_

I huff at how skim my fridge is looking. I decide to snack on a bowl of grapes before finding myself in front of my tv. I open my notes app and look at a list I made recently. Called: 🎥 My little star 💫

It's a list of all of Liz's movies, excluding the MCU. Not knowing what to watch, I text Max knowing she'll know what's good to watch.

Mad ❤️‍🔥 Max Today 4:31 PM

Godzilla or  Silent House?

I close out our texts and open an app called JustWatch. It's an app where you can search for any movie you want and see what platform it's on. It's great for someone like me who is catching up on a lot of movies. It looks like Godzilla is on Netflix, while the other movie I'd have to rent. This makes my choice a little easier.

I text Max back, letting her know I decided, and she sends me a thumbs up. Yeah, she's busy. She only uses emojis when her hands are occupied.

I open Netflix on my tv, and after a quick search, I see him, that giant Lizard. Hey Lizard! My lizard's in a lizard movie! I chuckle to myself and go to play the movie before my phone buzzes.

I look down expecting Liz again, but to my shock, it's Mary-Kate. The breath that I took sent a green grape flying to the back of my throat, causing me to stand up, gasping for air as I managed to swallow the whole ass grape. "Jesus fucking Christ!" I yell out, gripping my neck.

After collecting myself, I bring myself back to my phone to open and look at the text that nearly killed me.

"Hey. Can we talk?"

Vague. Of course.

I let the message sit there as I think about the last couple of weeks.

I text her.

"Yes. Of course. My place?"

She agrees and tells me she'll be around in the next half hour. Someone's eager! Okay, sorry, not the time.

I should text Liz, but she has an early start tomorrow, and I don't want to stress her out. Plus. I want to hear what MK has to say before I do anything. I put my phone down and continue the movie. I need a distraction.

_

Okay, what the fuck? Where's my girl? I saw her once so far, and that's it?

A knock comes to my door just in time. I let out a frustrated sigh and pause the movie. I hop up, suspecting who it is, and open the door. Yep, it's MK.

"Hey," I told myself, I'd treat her like a friend and like nothing happened. I usher for her to come in, and she follows me. I close the door behind us. I catch her eyes and take a look at my tv.

I see a smile creep onto her face. "What's that look for?" I ask in a teasing tone. "Just... you're a simp now." She points to the tv, causing us to both laugh, breaking the tension around us. "Yeah, I am." I agree.

"Do you need a drink or anything? Water? Tea?" "Tea? You don't drink tea." "It's new." I simply state as I walk into the kitchen to fill up a cup of water. "Maybe next time." Oh, so there is going to be a next time!? So friends, maybe?

I come back and place the water in front of her. She reaches over and takes a sip as I sit on the other end of the couch. I can see how nervous she is just in her hands. She keeps fidgeting and wiping them off. I don't know if I should do this, but...

I scoot myself closer to her and take her hands into my own. "It's okay." MK shakes her head at me. "No, it's not. I almost ruined everything." "MK, no, you didn't." "Y/N, I went behind your back and-" "And you did something great for Liz and me. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. I just hate the thought of anyone I know ever contacting her. I just didn't want anything to happen to you." MK goes quiet as I continue running my thumbs over her knuckles.

"Thank you," I whisper out to her. "I missed you," I add on. I watch MK's eyes look up before she darts them away, looking around the room. She's trying. "You added some things." I look around with her. "Yeah. It was missing some things."

I feel her eyes back on me, so I turn my head to face her. "I missed you too." I smile to her, and she returns one back. "Can I hug you?" She asks me. "Come here." I open my arms up to her, and she rushes in. She squeezes me tight, and I know it's all her worries, and apologizes leaving her body. "Thank you." She says into my neck.

"You're always welcome."

We pull apart from one another and just sit hand in hand. "Do you have plans tonight?" I ask, not knowing what to do now. "I thought this conversation was going to go on a lot longer, so no, I don't." She laughs. "Take out?" I suggest.

MK bites her lip and nods. "I'd like that." I go to get up, but she stops me. "Friends?" She asks. I give her a look because I thought the answer was obvious. "Friends." I give her a quick hug. "How about you pick the food tonight since we're at my place," I suggest. "Whatever I want?" "As long as it's not poisoned." "Damn it," She giggles as I get up and make myself tea.

As I finish up my tea, a series of knocks interrupts the calm silence MK, and I had going.

"Am I crazy, or is that the food?" "Not me." MK looks at me with a worried look. That's a little concerning.

I walk up to the door. "Hello?"

I get a muffled "hello, Y/N!" back.

Fuck I know that voice.

MK must have noticed my dejected face and body language. "Who's that?" "You'll see." I watch her give me a confused look before holding my hand up, telling her it'll be okay. I hope.

I open the door, and in the most monotone voice I can manage, I speak up. "Hello, mother."

Part 17

#mom? #mommy? #y/n #mary kate #elizabeth olsen #fanfic #lizzie olsen #elizabeth olsen x reader #otiweo #elizabeth chase olsen #wanda maximoff #food #hungry #MK #drama #unneeded drama #total drama #mothers #mom #elizabeth olsen x y/n #elizabeth olsen x you #elizabeth olsen imagine #lizzie x y/n #lizzie olsen flirting #multiverse of madness #dsmom #scarlet witch #wandavision

[thatgirl4815]

Brightness in Ep8

I’ve been thinking about analysis for Ep8, and while I don’t think this episode reaps nearly as much analysis as past episodes have (especially after I felt like I was writing novel-length metas on the ending of Ep7 👀), there are some standouts as far as the aesthetics of the episode. Rather than any one interaction, I think the episode as a whole utilizes color and mood. 

Nature & Light: Ep6/Ep8

Yes, Kinn and Porsche are solidly in the honeymoon phase, and it feels--in a way--like a return to Ep6. This goes back to my analysis of Natural Settings in this post, as I feel like Ep8 emphasizes bright natural light over the neon, techno lights we’re used to in Yok’s bar and in other locations. Not to say that these lights are entirely absent from the episode, but Kinn and Porsche are, for the most part, in natural settings. I think this all coincides with their mood, as they themselves admit how happy they are; it only makes sense for the bright natural lighting to highlight this true happiness--Kinn is wearing no facade this episode, like in Ep6, and it’s what allows him to be the smiley, happy mess we all love him to be. 

One of the deeper conversations that Kinn and Porsche have is when they’re outside at night following their date. I think it’s worth noting how the background is mostly dark (it is night, after all), which--again--could coincide with Porsche’s growing doubts. But it’s worth noting how, upon returning home, we get the golden aesthetic shot by the waterfall fountain (is that what you call it?) followed by that glorious Skam-esque underwater kiss: 

I mentioned in this post how I think that the color gold, while associated with the mafia, has changed meaning throughout the series. Now, its connotations are much more positive for Kinn and Porsche’s relationship. The settings are natural, romantic, and removed from the industrialized nature of the mafia setting that we’ve grown used to. I think it’s especially noticeable when watching Ep7 and Ep8 back-to-back. The mood change is stark, and while it initially jarred me, I think it’s all meant to highlight this episode as the calm before the storm. The first part of this season has been about bringing Kinn and Porsche together, this episode is about them being together, and next episode (and the ones that follow) will be about testing their relationship. 

(Might be an innocuous detail, but the fact that blue is so prominent in this shot, and blue is Porsche’s color, doesn’t seem like a coincidence to me.)

Just from the preview for Ep9, we can see that the settings appear much darker and more aligned with what we’ve seen in previous episodes. I believe this is because Kinn and Porsche’s bliss at being together--largely as a result of them removing themselves from other people--will be stripped away. We, as an audience, know that Kinn and Porsche are compatible and happy when they are alone together, but it is the outside world that brings conflict. That is why they’ve seemed so determined to separate themselves from the others in this episode, particularly Kinn. We know how strongly Kinn feels the burden of his position, so it makes sense that he’d want to get away from it and once-again embrace his alone time with Porsche. They’ve created a bright little bubble that can be popped fairly easily. 

All of this to say that I think this episode does a great job of mastering aesthetics. It will surely make the contrast even starker next episode when we return to the real world. 

For more KP metas, visit this post! :)

#kinnporsche #kinnporsche the series #kinn porsche #kinn x porsche #kinnporsche meta #This episode was so precious #Honestly felt like a different show #but in a necessary way? #Also in a scary way #Because it means bad stuff is certainly coming #kinn anakinn #porsche pachara #kinn theerapanyakul #porsche kittisawasd