#i’m gonna guess he’s an english major or something

[starswguru]

❝ message in a bottle ; 마크이

𖥻 pairing: college!mark lee x female reader

𖥻 contains: college!au, fluff, slight angst, second chance romance

𖥻 warnings: swearing, marijuana & alcohol consumption / english is not my first language and this is my first work ever on tumblr so i am sorry if there are any grammar mistakes or misspellings

word count — 4.06k

synopsis — you and mark were in a situationship for a few months before things ended poorly when you got too scared of your feelings and he had to leave the country for an exchange program in london. now, six months later, you were at a party with your friends and discovered mark was back in town.

🎀

AND just like that, your whole world stopped spinning for a long and torturous minute. in the blink of an eye, you went from being over-the-moon excited — and slightly intoxicated — with the idea of partying with your friends during the first summer night before heading to your hometown in the next couple of days to being paralyzed, feeling all your blood get drained far away from where it should be in your body. in the blink of an eye, you went from being a happy girl with the arrival of the last member of your friend group to someone terrified with the sight of a ghost from the past. a quick glance, unintended by all means, in mark’s direction was all it took for the memories from that previous year to come flooding back to hit you like a lost train.

“hey, princess,” he said. his cheeks burning in a shade of shameful red, but something stronger than him was preventing his stare from going anywhere else other than your eyes. there was a blunt hanging between his teeth. “how you doing?”

“that’s it, guys; i’m done with this. i’m just gonna change my major or something like that! everything’s going terribly wrong, and i can’t keep torturing myself by studying this shit.”

you dropped your head and rested your forehead on your arm that lay on top of the desk in front of you right as the confession slipped from your lips like a dangerous poison that you should not have taken. it was the first time you’d ever said it out loud to someone else to hear — other than the mischievous voice inside your head — how you truly felt about the english major you were pursuing. the fear of judgment and of being too hasty about this decision was corroding every last bit of your emotional health, and because of it, you could sense that a storm was coming. what if you did change majors and ended up not adapting? how would you find a job, or better yet: how would you support living all by yourself if you couldn’t even pick an undergraduate academic path? time was running out, and the unbearable clock inside your mind wouldn’t give you a break. the tick-tacking of the goddamn thing was going to drive you to insanity at any point soon.

“hey, chill for once, okay? it’s normal to feel like that and to want something new. hell, i know i had to change my major twice before finding out what i actually wanted to do. jae did the same thing. you’re not alone.” jeno offered you a small yet reassuring smile or someone who didn’t quite know what to say but still wanted to see his friend more relaxed.

“exactly! take a deep breath and think things through with an easy heart. if you need help, we’re here to help you." swallowing the last bite of the sandwich he had bought earlier, renjun tapped the notebook in front of him. “how’s that linguistics project going?”

as you raised your head, you shook your head in a negative sign. “i mean, it’s good. too good, actually… and that’s sort of the problem. like, the dude i’m working with is super sweet and really fucking good at this class and so he’s kind of doing the whole thing by himself and dragging me along with it ever since we started. i feel terrible, even if he says it’s all good and stuff, but it is what it is, i guess.”

before either of the guys could express any opinion about what was just said, a guy with freshly cut black hair — it was even possible to see the drawing of a spiderweb on the left side of his undercut —, earphones in and a large yankees shirt approached the desk, more specifically you, and offered a genuine smile that wasn’t common to see between two colleagues who were only working on a school project together at you. the unknown man squatted so he could be at your height and unlocked his ipad’s screen to the word document the two of you were using to write notes together, or at least that was the initial idea because the reality was that mark was doing all of it alone, proudly.

“oh, hi, y/n, you good? just wanted to ask you a quick question… have you taken a look at this topic right here? i know we’re only supposed to work on it in two weeks but i was wondering if maybe you’ve come up with the same conclusion as me.”

feeling a thousand times more embarrassed than if a professor asked you to present a thirty-minute seminar alone in front of the whole class, you felt the tip of your fingers getting cold and a thin droplet of sweat rolling down your temple. “uhm, hey, mark. yeah, about that… look, i didn’t really have a chance to look at that yet, i’m sorry. i can barely manage this week’s assignments, let alone two weeks from now. i- i’ll text you when i read it, okay?”

you didn’t know it at the time — or if you did, you had an enviable ability of discretion — but every single time mark heard his name escape from your heavenly drawn lips, his heart would skip a beat or two and he felt like he was about to combust at any second. it was the first time in his whole life that he had ever felt that way about someone and dealing with feelings of that magnitude was both weird and extraordinary, which meant that the ravenette wasn’t completely aware of how to process them. mark’s solution for his overwhelming thoughts whenever you were around was to take charge of everything he could in that project, to make you feel relaxed about that one particular class. the canadian was terrible at linguistics, for his skills were much more reliable during literature classes: he could interpret and internalize poetry from the eighteenth century like it was nothing, and plays written in latin during the roman empire were of natural understanding for him; and yet, ever since the first day of that semester in which it was requested that both of you joined efforts to build the complicated assignment, it was impossible for mark to not pull all-nighters reading texts and more texts, watching one video class after another that broke down the subject of that class just so he could give his absolute best when the time came to work alongside you and you didn’t find him an idiot, as most people in that university usually did after meeting him for the first time.

mark just wanted to impress you and the last thing he could be worried about was doing all that alone, as long as it meant that he could still have the minimum interaction with you.

“yeah, sure, that’s cool. if you need anything let me know, alright?”

you were still in a state of complete shock. no words would come out of your mouth, making it impossible to answer properly the question directed at you by the boy that a year before was the reason for many sleepless nights and therapy sessions, through no fault of his, which was even worse, because mark was perfect and you hated yourself for how everything ended.

a cold breeze, too cold for a summer night, hit the both of you with enough strength to make you shiver and it was only then that you realized that none of your friends were around anymore. you were alone again with mark for what had felt like a lifetime since he left the country for an exchange program in london and with enough unspoken words to make the whole situation a million times more uncomfortable than it needed to be. what were you supposed to say right now? “oh, hi, mark, long time no see! listen, i’m really sorry for being horrible to you last year, i’ve spent the last six months torturing myself because i only woke up to the fact that i had let the perfect guy for me get away too late to try and fix everything”? you ran your fingers through your hair, knowing that there were no words of your knowledge that could make it easier, that could put together again the pieces of what had once been something magical that the two of them were building.

you couldn’t care less about all those times your therapist tried to be kinder to your heart than you had ever been, or how your friends always tried to distract your mind from the constant haunt of self-collection and, to be honest, didn’t really mind that yes, after all the effort and studying, you had managed to change your major to something you actually enjoyed if the price for it was to drop the perfect crystal piece that was mark’s precious heart. there were no words that could take that back, and going against every piece of advice that was given to you, you had imagined more times than you’d like to admit how this encounter would play out: what you would do, what you would say or not say, how it’d feel… but none of those scenarios inside your mind was anywhere near to the real sensation of being in front of him again.

mark looked taller — or maybe it was just the feeling of missing him crushing your soul and clouding your judgment —, the slim body now gave way to the body of a man who went to the gym and tried to truly take care of his health, his hair that previously used to be as dark as the t-shirts he used to enjoy wearing was now covered in a shade of red so bright that it reminded you of his favorite superhero’s suit. even still, the one thing that caught your attention the most were his eyes. before mark left, before the whole chaos, they were always big and full of life, like those of a curious cub and you could always feel a cozy warmth travel across your body when mark looked at you with such brightness; however, it seemed that ever since the canadian got back in town, they were opaque, closed off to the outer world as if his eyes were now carrying some kind of intense melancholy behind them. the familiar redness in his sclerae, months ago, used to always be accompanied by an excited and smiling version of mark lee, but that night the only thing apparent to you was that lee was holding on to weed like some kind of way to numb the break-up pain.

the redhead had lived a thousand different lives during his exchange: saw and learned things that he knew he would never have achieved if he hadn't accepted the opportunity to go to england and yet, his mind couldn’t recall any of those experiences with the genuine happiness he should’ve felt like any other normal and grateful person would if they were on his shoes; to mark, ever since you left him all alone, he had turned into nothing but an empty shell of what should’ve been the real mark lee. what were his experiences, his learnings, his funny stories if, at any moment, he was allowed to at least call the person he loved and share all of that with her?

“yeah, i guess i’m okay.” you answered, holding back a cry that was stuck in your throat before looking away. “you?”

a shiver went down the english student as he waited for his project partner to arrive at the coffee shop you two had agreed to meet at to finish for good the agonizing linguistics document. it didn’t even seem real that you were finally concluding the most stressful and endless project of your university career until that moment and despite the sweet taste of reaching the finish line, mark had on his lips a bitter one, because he knew that the very instant you pressed “send” on the body of that e-mail to your professor, all of his excuses to talk to you would come to an end. it was only the beginning of november, you should spend at least a few more weeks studying together if said professor were to follow a normal academic calendar like the rest of his fellow colleagues of the department.

mark would only have one last chance of making this work out and that chance was right there and then. anxiety and fear were destroying the boy with more strength than he himself was biting through his nails waiting for you to arrive.

“gosh, mark, i’m so sorry!” you said in a panting tone when you finally managed to get to the coffee shop and met the guy that, by that point, had already become your friend. “the bus took forever to get to the stop i needed and then the subway was also chaotic… anyways, i’m sorry that i’m late.”

the both of you stayed a long time in that coffee shop, not only finishing the assignment but also laughing together and watching a few episodes of modern family on his computer as a way to relax after all the constant flow of negative emotions the both of you were facing during that semester due to not only that particular class but also all the other ones with their enormous reading load. by the time you had indeed finished what you were supposed to do, you were feeling so comfortable in mark’s presence that you didn’t even notice when you heart started to race faster and faster before the mundane things the lee did: the way he smiled from ear to ear, or how kind he was to everyone around him. you were starting to fall in love with how mark explained all the different concepts he used to build his arguments across the paper like someone would explain the most basic things to a child, and you thought it was sweet the way he would say “dude” and “no way” every couple of sentences that fell from his lips. but, above all, unconsciously, the way mark seemed to glow every time he looked at you was ethereal to your eyes.

as soon as you sent the hated file, it started to rain on the outside of the coffee shop, but contrary to the ideal scenario, you couldn’t stay in there just waiting until the climate conditions became more favorable because the two of you had places to be at, on opposite directions. there would be no other alternative but to run to the nearest subway station, or in the brunette’s case, the bus stop.

mark immediately took off his hoodie to shield you as best as he could from the rain, in exchange for you protecting his backpack that contained his computer as if your life depended on it, the moment you two stepped outside the establishment and something of a thunderstorm was taking over the avenue. mark couldn’t help it and ended up laughing at the situation you two had found yourselves in, thinking about how he wished he was a little less broke and had a car to take the girl of his dreams back to her place without having to worry about the rain, or how he wished he was stronger to pick you up and carry you to the subway station and, with that, spare your shoes from coming in contact with the soaked surface of the sidewalk. before you could notice, you were right in front of the stairs that led to the station.

“bye, i think.” you said, giggling along with him while you tried to fix your hair that, despite mark’s hoodie’s protection, still got wet from the rain.

the lee was going to answer you like a decent and proper person, he really was, but in that very moment, a raindrop fell from the marquee above you and somehow managed to hit you right on the forehead, which made you close your eyes, but mark kept his wide open. with an automatic reaction of his body, almost like an involuntary movement that he was incapable of controlling — such as the beats of his accelerated heart — his left hand traveled to your neck while his right thumb was busy drying the solitary raindrop slowly, to give his mind time to analyze every little inch of your face so close to his. mark tried to respond with words to your farewell, but his impulse to kiss you was far stronger than any cohesive phrase that his brain could formulate in that moment.

the literature student, now in his final semester, nodded as he bit his lower lip and those opaque eyes fell to the floor beneath his feet after stepping on the remaining of his blunt. mark didn’t even know why he started that conversation in the first place, it was obvious that it was impossible for him to stand close to you without it affecting some part of him — whether for good or for bad — and even still, there he was, not managing to say a single word to you, nor being able to get closer, just feeding that giant gray and terrifying cloud that grew over both of your heads due to the impasse of what this was and what it should have been.

unlike his mind, that was only able to repeat tirelessly the day he finally built the confidence to kiss you, yours was in a hurricane of terrible memories that involved the brief, yet intense, relationship you two shared — or whatever the hell one could call it. how was it even possible that something that lasted only four months could leave such deep scars?

if mark was trying to hold back a smile remembering how it felt to have your lips on top of his, you were only torturing yourself with the replayed image of mark being crushed in front of you, by no fault other than your own. it was your fault that fear was allowed to consume every single good thing that the lee had ever given you; it was your fault that you’d thought that whole thing was a sick and sadistic joke from the universe and that, in reality, there was no way someone like him could've ever fallen in love with you. in the deepest, darkest, cruelest part of your soul, you were convinced that everything was your fault and not your mind trying to destroy you before something so pure and happy.

you were a sinking ship, navigating towards a port with not a single sight of a lighthouse’s spark to help you, not knowing how to reach the treasure that awaited your arrival because other people had already destroyed the lighthouse. the ability to grope around, trying to find yourself in the darkness you’d placed yourself, was stripped away from you the second you gave in to the bruises that were caused by third parties, and mark knew it wasn't your fault, although it was still difficult to try and be the guide to someone that wouldn't allow them to have access to the heat and light from the fire he tried to offer.

without even realizing it, the silenced cry stuck in your throat for months on end started to escape, not giving you any power to control it. you felt anger, sadness, frustration and you were missing mark… all at the very same time, in an endless swirl triggered by the mere vision of having mark back into your reality.

just like the first time you kissed, the unconscious answer of mark lee’s body to the sound of you crying after such a long time being away from you was to wrap his arms around your body without allowing himself to give too much thought to the action that just took place. if it was even possible, noticing you needing him in any way, shape or form was a true calling for him and it didn't matter how much time could've gone by, the lee couldn't ignore it. to love you and protect you was just as natural as breathing.

between the supplications for your tears to stop and hair strokes, mark then began to feel something that he thought was dead coming back to life inside the hollow box that was his chest. for months now, the redhead just knew that his heart was no longer there. instead, it must've been put inside a bottle and thrown away into the ocean that separated his emotions from his rational mind, as if he wasn't even the owner of his own feelings.

“please, princess, don't cry. i’m begging you.”

the cruelty of your mind wouldn't give you a break for not even a single second ever since the last time you've heart mark’s melodious voice so close to your ear, and the fact that it carried the same heavy tone of request didn't help with your genuine desire to stop your sobbings as your face was pressed against his chest. in that moment, the last thing on your mind were the looks that other people could be directing at the two of you; you could only see the desperation all over the face of the only man you've ever truly loved. he was in such pain that day — the day you told him you didn't want to see him anymore. soon, though, that image was replaced with the memory of the gut-wrenching feeling of chronic emptiness that filled your chest the following week and you came to your senses that you had make a mistake, but that it was also too late: mark was in another country, it was far too late to ask for forgiveness.

“i know you probably hate me right now. i shouldn't have done that, i shouldn't have said that, i was such an idiot, stupid… i'm sorry, mark, i don't know what was going on in my mind to treat like that, i-”

that sobbing wouldn't allow you to form coherent sentences properly and the way you were crying so helplessly was becoming melancholic instead of just sad to the man holding you. if only mark could get into your merciless head just how he would never be able to hate you, not in a million years, not when there was so much love, desire and adoration intrinsic to the image he had of you, then maybe that big gray cloud would disappear forever and the two of you could just live like he hoped for. all mark wanted was to have the privilege of loving you again.

“y/n, look at me” mark held the red and tear wet face of his beloved girl with kindness while his tone of voice was filled with all the firmness the moment could ask for. “for christ’s sake, y/n, i love you. i could never hate you. dude, really, for once just keep your head out of this and focus on what i’m telling you right now. i love you and this whole time i was thinking of you. only you.”

even if he knew you wouldn't answer anything for a few seconds, or maybe even minutes, mark just allowed a sweet smile to appear on his lips while he delighted himself with the feeling of being allowed to hold your face once again, to stroke your cheeks and to place small, delicate kisses all over your beautiful face — which he knew would force your breathing to slow down, giving you the chance to calm down again. the canadian was smelling like the combination of weed and beer, but somehow, your body knew how to identify the familiar and characteristic smell of his cologne; the same smell your searched for and ached for during the coldest nights, when missing him was too overwhelming it almost felt like a hole was being digged up in your chest. that familiarity was the reason for the shy smile that took over your lips, that opened a breach for light and happiness after all those tears while mark traced your lips with his thumb, admiring you like you were some kind of artwork created just for him.

“i was made to stay just like this with you, princess. and i’m not leaving this time.”

#— ⟡ 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐥𝐞𝐞 ! #— ⟡ 𝐤𝐩𝐨𝐩 ! #— ⟡ 𝐧𝐜𝐭 ! #mark lee #mark lee x reader #mark lee x y/n #mark lee x you #mark lee angst #mark lee fluff #mark lee sfw #nct 127 #nct u #nct dream #nct #nct dream drabbles #mark lee drabbles

[diorysuss]

dio’s big list of murder drone theories

so hi. it’s me dio. i’ve been cookin a bunch of theories i think you guys will like so I’m gonna masterlist em here. these range from “serious” to “crack” so be warned (nothing extreme dw)

Nori will be french (Semi-Serious)

Evidence gathered -

1. In episode 2, Khan holds up a manual that has 3 languages; Russian, English, and French. These can be linked to Yeva, Alice, and by proxy, Nori.

2. The colors of the French flag, red, blue and white, make what? Purple.

3. As seen in the 7&8 teasers, there is a secret underground cathedral. Cathedrals are French architecture. Perfect to experiment on a FRENCH drone, don’t you think?

4. The French love pissing off the English. Like how Nori pissed off Alice. Coincidence? I think not.

5. Russia, France and the USA happen to be world superpowers. Hm.. powers.. like the solver.

Foreign Accent Syndrome & The Solver (Not expecting it to be canon)

Evidence gathered/Reasoning -

Alice could suffer from foreign accent syndrome (shortened to FAS) , a condition where it makes the afflicted person speak in a completely different accent in their native language. Linked to brain damage and strokes, the disease is thought to sever connects to the part of the brain that controls your lip movements, thus giving you a different accent.

67% percent of people who suffer from FAS are women, like a majority of the solver users, and we know the solver is notorious for messing with people’s brain. A lot of Russian viewers have pointed out Doll’s bad accent (which I’m well aware is just the VA not natively speaking Russian, but hear me out!) Doll has an American accent due to FAS and the solver messing with her brain.

Thad being the solver’s “spy” (Semi-Serious)

Evidence gathered/Reasoning

1. Consistent purple headlights in episode 4

2. Lack of vocal interactions

3. Eldritch J afflicting him (cannot be good)

With Doll and Uzi down deep under the surface, the solver has no one of the surface in order to do.. whatever. Not sure yet, but it seems like it choose Thad, possibly due to a closeness with N and Uzi. Whatever he has, it cannot result in him being normal in any way whatsoever. I just refuse to believe it. Interestingly, he also happens to be named after a disciple of Jesus who warns of heretics and is literally the patron symbol of hope.

The cross (Serious)

Evidence gathered/Reasoning-

The cross in the episode 7 teaser everyone is going crazy for, I know! But it being upside down will not necessarily represent an evil. Instead-

- A cross upside down is representative of St. Peter, who requested to be crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy of dying the same way as Jesus.

- An upside down crucifix, however does actually represent the devil, and would represent the solver in this case. The key difference is that a crucifix has Jesus’s body on the cross.

Uzi is clearly holding a cross due to the lack of Jesus. This makes me believe that she herself doesn’t feel worthy of something; my top pick is she doesn’t feel worthy of sacrificing herself for the better of Copper-9 and the universe, and gives into the solver as a result.

JCJenson is cover-up business for a cult (Serious)

Evidence gathered/reasoning -

1. Humans are not too concerned with events surrounding the solver- in fact, they seem content being around it. Tessa seems to be the only one to care.

2. JCJenson products and products of Cyn/Solver share a lot of characteristics

3. A very cult like area sitting under JCJenson labs is very suspicious

My best guess here is that JCJenson summoned the solver for money/power in exchange for giving the solver test subjects and sacrifices such as Nori and Yeva so that they can grow. However, the cult slowly began to corrupt the company until they became just a cover up- quickly switching to space travel to help spread the solver while still advancing their robotics. The Elliot’s were possibly a family who disliked this idea and made special leaps to make sure the solver didn’t infect their house; which failed, just look at episode 5.

Final Destination & an actual true important death (Serious)

Evidence Gather/Reasoning -

Final destination is a movie trilogy that is notoriously famous for having gruesome deaths and how attempt to escape death is futile. Since other episodes have been based off other horror flicks/tropes (I.E, episode 2 was based off Alien, episode 3 Carrie, episode 4 any slasher flick ever, etc) I believe someone important will “die” this episode and in a gruesome manner. J? Doll? Uzi? N? Fucking Khan? Who knows!

Teacher affiliated with the solver (Crack)

1. Orange eyes, like Alice had, suggests he was affected by the solver at one point

2. Wayy different from other worker drones, who are at most optimistic about death and at their worst having a panic attack. He simply does not care. About anything.

3. Knew something was up with Uzi before her solver was even revealed

4. Only worker drone who’s seen on screen drinking. Even if it’s just an alcoholic drink, we know drones can’t drink anything other than oil and batteries, so what’s in there?

5. No where to be seen during episode 4, considering he would have been an easy target for Uzi

Completely crack, I just like this theory cause it seems so out of place and different. I reviewed some cursive on the clipboard and apparently, his name might be Lu/Lou or some variant, maybe even Liam? Who knows it’s fucking funny lol

fish khan

fish fish/ fish

fish khan fish fish khan khan fish fish khan fish fish fishhhhhhhh fish fish fish fish figshhhhhh fish fish

#murder drones #murder drones theory #dio speaks #i wrote this at like 1 am #in a crazed panic #tell me if you have anything to add !! #i would love to hear your thoughts #:3 #if you think I’m tagging every character you’re insane

[twisted-turtels]

Crossed Paths (Pt.2)

Farleigh Start x black!fem!oc

Author’s note: I’m on a role tonight. This is gonna be a friends-to-lover kind of story. I guess Farleigh's personality is kind of a head cannon, but we know he is a dick head and he still is, but not to Jordan. Just cute, playful banter. I can't wait to keep writing more. 

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

1133 words

Crossed Paths

Does the fit give rich, posh English major whose school is paid for by daddy’s money? Jordan thinks to herself as she’s admiring herself in the mirror. She woke up extra early today to make sure everything looked good. Jordan took the time to do her makeup and even set out an outfit the night before. The weather will be pretty chilly, but “A hoe never gets cold,” as her mother would say, so Jordan decided to wear a skirt today. She looks down at her watch. Only 8:30. I still have time to grab something quick to eat and drink. She grabs her school bag and keys and exits the door.

Jordan comes across a quaint cafe and decides to go inside. She notices there’s a line, so she decides to wait. As she takes a look at the menu, she feels a presence standing behind her. She turns around to see Farleigh standing in line as well.

“Look who’s trying to fit into the Oxford aesthetic,” Farleigh remarks with a sly grin. 

Jordan looks down at her outfit, “I- Well,” Farleigh laughs, “I’m just messing with you. Your outfit is cute,” he turns to look at the menu, “What are you getting?”

Jordan laughs, “I think it’s only customary to try the tea that the British lose their minds over. And a scone as well.”

The line continues to move until she and Farleigh are at the counter. 

“Hi, can I get-” Jordan starts, “Can we get two teas with milk and a vanilla scone?” Farleigh continues. Jordan stares at Fareligh in disbelief, “So you’re paying?” She asks. “Of course, it’s the gentlemanly thing to do,” he responds.

Oh, so he got money?

“I suppose so.” Jordan smiles.

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Farleigh and Jordan walk out of the cafe towards campus. 

“How does it taste, Jordy?”

“Oh, so it’s Jordy now,” Jordan laughs softly, “and it tastes fine, nothing like sweet tea, though, which is ten times better. The scone is delicious, though.”

“I never asked, but what are you studying?” Farleigh asks. “I’m actually studying English,” Jordan responds. “No way! Me too. What's your first class today?” Farleigh persists. “I’m gonna be honest. I only know the professor and room number. It’s Professor Ware, if I’m not mistaken-” 

“I have Professor Ware, too,” Farleigh continues

“In room 220?” Jordan questions.

“Yeah,” Farleigh confirms. “Oh, thank god. I thought I was gonna be alone,” Jordan says. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “You’re never gonna be alone. You got me, Felix, and Venetia,” Farleigh checks his watch, “Oh shit, we’re gonna be late. We gotta walk faster.” He teasingly walks ahead of Jordan. 

“Wait for me. I got short legs!” Jordan rushes after him, laughing. As they pick up the pace, the laughter continues. Maybe Oxford won’t be so bad. 

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They finally make it to the room. Is this the professor’s office? Before Jordan even had a chance to question it, Farleigh grabbed her wrist and rushed them into the room. Jordan hurriedly sits in one of the chairs while Farleigh throws himself on an armchair. 

“I’m so sorry. Sorry, I’m late. Sorry, I’m late. We got completely lost.” Farleigh hurriedly explains.

“Yes, so sorry, Professor.” Jordan apologies as well. 

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Fareligh says to the other boy in the room. I did not notice him at all. Farleigh turns back to Professor Ware, “I’m sorry.”

“You’re Farleigh Start and Jordan Williams, I take it?” The professor asks, “Nice of you to join us, finally.” The professor focuses on Farleigh, “You’re not a relation of Frederica Start by any chance?”

Farleigh nods, “Yeah, she’s my mother.” The professor breaks out into a grin, almost like he’s reminiscing. 

“I knew her when I was your age. We were both here! When she was still Frederica Catton. Before she went to America. Farleigh, in a mocking tone, exclaims, “No way! Oh, my god. I’ll tell her. She’s going to be thrilled I’m being tutored by one of her friends!”

Ware shrinks down, “Oh no, Not really friends. More of an admirer…from afar. We didn’t even speak. No need to mention me.”

Jordan snorts and quickly tries to hide it. Farleigh smiles charmingly and looks at the professor, “Shall we start?”

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Jordan is staring absently out the window as the boy she now knows is Oliver is reading his essay. He said  ‘thus’ like 8 times already. 

“And thus the shape of the verse can be said, like Browing’s ‘Last Duchess,’ to look as it were alive.” 

Finally, he’s done.

There’s an uncomfortable silence as they wait for the professor to respond. Ware finally shifts his gaze to the group, “ Okay, yeah. That was very good. A lot of food for thought there. Intriguing.” 

Farleigh chuckles, “Thus.” Jordan quickly glances at him. So he noticed it, too.

Oliver sharply asks, “Hmm?”

“Sorry, just ‘thus’. It’s just a funny word.” The air feels thicker in the room.

“Why,” Oliver asks.

“I don't know. I don't think we really use it that much in real life, do we? It’s kind of verbose,” Farleigh looks Oliver in the eyes mischievously, “don't you think?”

“No. Not really,” Oliver quips

Jordan interrupts bluntly, “You used it eight times.”

Oliver visibly reddens, “No, I didn’t.”

Farleigh and Oliver continue to debate while Jordan’s mind continues to wander. In the next session, I’ll have to bring my own essay. She finally comes to when she hears Oliver sarcastically remark, “Look forward to hearing your essay!”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“I didn’t know that we had to bring our own essay. This is so embarrassing,” Jordan complains as she and Farleigh walk back to her apartment. “It’s not a big deal; the professor said it was fine anyway, seeing as you’re an exchange student. Just bring it next time.” Farleig explains calmly.

“I guess you’re right,” Jordan pauses, “That Oliver guy is kind of odd, yeah?”

“Yeah, and annoying as shit,” Farleigh confirms while rolling his eyes. “Anyways, are you doing anything later, at like 5 o’clock?” Farleigh asks.

“No, I’m not actually. Why, you just can’t get enough of me?” Jordan quips.

Farleigh raises an eyebrow, smirking slightly, “Um, don't get ahead of yourself, but Felix and Venetia wanted to know if you wanted to join us at the bar.” 

“Don’t act like you don’t like me, and yes, I do want to join y’all at the bar. Come get me at 5, okay?” Jordan replies as they stop in front of her door, “Thanks for walking back with me, I’ll see you in three hours?” Jordan walks in and turns around to wave at Farleigh. He waits until he can’t see her anymore before walking away, letting out an audible groan. She’s got me. 

#farleigh x reader #farleigh start #saltburn #saltburn imagine #felix catton #oliver quick #venetia catton #farleigh imagine

[eternally-smitten]

JanAUary - Fake Dating

pairing: Natalie x Roman Roy

summary: Natalie does Roman a huge favor by pretending to be his girlfriend for a party but it doesn't help her self esteem much

content warnings: suggestive language, angst

word count: ~1.5k

author's note: i think i went a little nuts on this one not gonna lie but hey baby's first fake dating fic LOL

“Ugh, you are such a dick.” Natalie sneered, cradling her drink in her hand, “Why did you even need me to play girlfriend for you? You could’ve gotten the same shit from a cheap hooker.”

Roman groaned and rolled his eyes, “You were free, that’s why.”

“You’re just proving my point.” She huffed and shifted uncomfortably.

“Why did you even agree to this if you’re going to complain the whole time?” He asked, his eyes scanning over the crowd to see if anyone noticed how she was acting.

Natalie shrugged, “I have low self esteem and I’m masochistic, I guess.”

Today was the day she did Roman one of the biggest and stupidest favors of all time: pretend to be his girlfriend for a party. It felt juvenile and truly, it was. This was the sort of thing that reminded her of high school. Natalie was shocked she even went through with it but in her defense, he was very insistent. He said something along the lines of how it was just for looks and how it would make the both of them appear good. He asked her, no, he begged her to play along just for the night. She was resistant at first but with his ceaseless pleading and puppy dog eyes, Natalie eventually caved. Not without a price, though. Before finally agreeing, she gave him a cold, hard look and spat out, “You owe me. Big time.”

Roman rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly realizing how much of a jerk he was being, “Can I, um, get you a drink? Or something?”

She glanced at the drink she had in her hand, “No, thanks. I’m good…” She watched a group of people pass them, “...Darling.”

“Do you have to say it with such contempt? Can’t you make it sort of believable?” His lip curled, “Jeez, I’m starting to regret asking you to do this.”

“What a coincidence! I’m starting to regret agreeing to it. So, at least you’re not alone.” Natalie sighed, “Whatever. We’re here now and you’re going to make it up to me later. Might as well make the best of it.”

“What on earth do you want me to do to pay you back, anyway? The suspense is killing me.” Roman said nervously, covering it up with a small laugh.

She shrugged, “I dunno yet. It’ll come to me, don’t worry. I’m not gonna forget.”

“Seriously? I ask you for one favor and suddenly, I owe you restitution?”

“Retribution.” Natalie corrected him.

“What?”

A small, frustarted sigh escaped her lips, “Nevermind.”

Roman gave her an annoyed glare, “Okay, little miss English major. My point is, are you seriously going to hold this over my head?”

“Yes, actually. Having me as your play pretend girlfriend for your stupid, fancy party is asshole behavior and I think I deserve a little prize for taking a blow to my self confidence.” She growled, not being able to hide her vitriol anymore.

He suddenly got quiet and softened his gaze, “...I just wanted to look good to Dad, I guess.”

She clicked her tongue, “Glad to know I was your perfect fake option.”

He wanted to reply to her and give her some sort of reassurance but a group of people, including his family, were heading over to where the fake couple stood. Roman cleared his throat and straightened his posture, beckoning Natalie to follow his lead. She groaned quietly before doing the same, jumping a little when he hesitantly put one of his hands on the small of her back.

“Hi, hello, hiya,” He greeted, “Nice get together, huh?”

“So, Rome,” Shiv ignored his question, “Who is this? Now, I know you of all people couldn’t land a girl for longer than three days without making her turn tail and run.”

He awkwardly laughed at her comment, “Uh, no, she’s stayed for four days so, take that.”

“I’m Natalie,” She introduced herself, extending her hand outward.

Shiv shook it, giving her a smirk, “Hmm, I feel like you’re too normal for him. Too pretty, too.”

“Now, don’t inflate my ego.” Natalie giggled, “I’ll let it get to my head much like the alcohol.”

“So, why Rome?” She asked genuinely with the rest of the group behind her agreeing.

Roman’s breath hitched. He hated these types of questions. Especially now, knowing exactly how Natalie felt about him in this particular moment. Not only that, but he was used to being the butt of every joke ever told in his family, so he expected her to be no different.

Instead, she laid her free hand on his chest and grinned, “What’s not to love? I mean, look at him! Taking me to such a fancy event to show me off! Isn’t that just sweet?”

Shiv snorted, “More like expected of us.”

“Well, still.” Natalie shook her head, “Not to embarrass him but gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever met a man as handsome as him before. I just love his eyes.”

Roman felt like he was glued to the floor. She was saying kind things? About him? After he was being so unkind about this whole situation? He couldn’t believe it. He was convinced her hand was burning a hole in his suit with the way his chest felt warm under her touch. It felt kind of…nice?

“I’m awfully lucky to have landed such a guy, you know?” She continued praising him, “He’s such a darling.”

Darling.

That word again.

Only this time, she didn’t say it with disgust in her voice. He knew she was pretending because that’s what he asked her to do but the way she said it so sweetly had him fooled for a minute. It actually felt like he was adored by her. His entire world stood still for a few moments while strange thoughts flooded his head. If this is how loving she was when she was acting, how far off would her genuine affection be?

“Earth to Roman?” Shiv snapped her fingers in his face, “I’ve been trying to talk to you.”

He shook his head, becoming embarrassed that he was obviously spacing out, “Sorry, you talk so much I almost fell asleep there. What were you saying? Something, something, politics, something, right?”

She laughed at him, “Well, what I was saying was that she seems good for you. You guys look nice together. I just hope you don’t find some way to self destruct and fuck it all up.”

“Too late.” He thought to himself but instead, said, “Yeah, yeah, as if I want marriage advice from someone who cucks her own husband.”

“Be nice!” Natalie playfully shoved him, “But I think I should get going. I’m getting a bit tired. I loved meeting you all!”

Everyone waved and said their goodbyes before heading their separate ways. Once his family was out of sight, they let go of each other and went back to an embarrassed silence.

“You’re welcome, by the way.” Natalie spoke first, having a hard time making direct eye contact with him.

“Yeah, uh, thanks.” Roman looked at his feet, “You did good.”

She scoffed, “Maybe I should’ve gone to school for acting instead of English, huh?”

He halfheartedly laughed at her joke, “You could’ve gotten an Emmy with that performance you did.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Hey, uh,” He started to ask as she started to put on her coat, “Did you mean all that stuff back there? Like, the nice stuff?”

She gave him a weird look, “I mean, I do think you have nice eyes if that’s what you mean.”

His cheeks felt a little warm at that, “That’s kinda what I mean. I’m talking about the other stuff, too.”

“Well, it’s not like we’re actually dating, so I kinda tacked on all that 'He's such a lovely boyfriend' crap.” She admitted, “Sorry if that was too much or anything. I figured you’d want that since you asked me to do this.”

“No, no, you did fine, trust me.” Roman waved those words away, “I guess I just want to know if you actually meant what you said. That I’m darling and stuff.”

Natalie paused, not quite sure how to answer. Truth be told, she thought he was an ass. But at the same time, he was awfully endearing. When he wanted to be, that is. She cleared her throat and put her coat on, “Yeah, I think you’re very darling. I think anyone that ended up with you would be very, very lucky. Have a good night, Rome. Remember that you owe me one.”

“Y-Yeah, you too. Don’t worry, I won’t.” He said as she walked out the door.

Roman stared at the door she walked out of, almost hoping she’d come back to talk to him some more. He knew better, though, and eventually returned to the event. Although, he wasn’t present for it mentally. Shiv’s words kept running through his mind. Maybe he did what he does best and hit self destruct on one of the truest friendships he’s ever had. Maybe he also destroyed whatever chances he had with her romantically now, too. Only he could decide if he wanted to fix that or not.

tag list: @blood-moon-ships @bobmckenzie @kylars-princess @gideongrovel @felixrichtershubby @fates-theysband @nonesenseships @bioexorcizm @weirdgirlgf please lmk if you want to be added/removed! :)

#my stuff ♡ #⸝⸝⊂➜ corporate flirt ⊃⸝⸝ #self ship fanfiction #janauary2024 #ok to rb!

[boxturtle4eva]

A (salty) Defense of Rise!Leo’s Leadership Skills

Disclaimer: English isn’t my first language - this is my opinion - I love the turtles and their family dynamic, and think the movie is rad aka I’m not here to hate

Lately, I’ve noticed the majority of the fan base dunking on Leo’s leadership skills, and even the writers of the movie portray him as someone who is severely lacking in this regard. But is this really justified?

Is Leo a bad leader?

Short answer: No. Long answer: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

As early as season 1 Leo is shown to be - despite his flamboyant demeanor - a much more cautious turtle than his brothers when it comes to the safety of his family.

While Donnie suggests taking down the ‘Spine Breaking Bandit’ or the ‘Long Island Mangler’ for their first mission in ‘Origami Tsunami’ it's Leo who vetoes the idea and redirects his brother’s attention to something much more suited to their current level of expertise aka ‘Paper Thieves’. In ‘Bug Busters’ he almost immediately realizes that Big Mama is a threat. And in ‘Mutant Menace’ he voices his concerns about them leaving the lair during the anti-mutant panic.

Note that Leo only interferes in his brother's fun when he thinks that they are in real danger and gets annoyed when they won't listen to him directly - which I imagine is the reason he rather likes to manipulate or use figures with more authority to push his plans instead of direct communication. It seems more effective (he is great at it anyway), and less damaging to his ego when he gets shut down.

I believe he has been backseat-driving those bozos for years.

Furthermore, Leo is smart, adaptable, perceptive, and a brilliant strategist (and he knows it!).

He also has a very good idea of what his brothers are capable of and is unafraid to use their skills to his advantage. This is evident when he advocates for Mikey to go on his first solo mission to receive Hot Soup - The Game. But most noticeable in ‘Many Unhappy Returns’. There, he predicts not only the villain's (Big Mama, Shredder) actions but also his family's and their ability to handle the situation, while putting together a great scheme to stop feral!Shredder. Leo has the ability to look at the angles and easily sees the bigger picture.

When Leo said ‘You guys got this!’ he meant it 100%. He is shown to trust his family and is not afraid to rely on them. This might be due to his identity issues hinted at in 'Portal Jacked!'. He may feel insecure about his own self, but he knows his brothers in and out and how awesome each one of them is. Yet not in a starry-eyed unrealistic way. Leo is well aware of their weaknesses and limitations.

In ‘Many Unhappy Returns’ Raph questions if Leo is serious, and guess what, he was, cause they won thanks to Leo's plan. Here we also see glimpses of Leo as the Mad Dogz official leader with Raph affirming that he trusts him.

In the movie, Raph also asks Leo: ‘What’s it gonna take for you to be serious, Leo?’ And the answer is obvious - his family being in danger. Nothing more, nothing less. Leo gets serious as soon as Casey explains what happened in his timeline and why they need to retrieve the key and stop the end of the world (around minute 20).

I always found it particularly mean-spirited for Raph to assume Leo isn't serious given the knowledge that this is how Leo copes with high-stress situations (see 'Mystic Mayhem') and his otherwise competitive nature (see 'Air Turtle'). Leo would never lose on purpose. Raph copes by snapping and Leo by joking and that is a recipe for disaster. And while it's understandable in the Shredder situation I feel it isn't really justified in the movie.

Unlike Donnie or Raph who are over-preparers, Leo has also no issues to go with the flow, which leads to a seemingly more laid-back attitude and clashes with Raph's tendency to be a mother hen. But he kinda does not need that much time in the first place...

In the end, I think Leo has all it takes to be a great leader from the get-go. Of course, he is far from perfect. There is something deeply wrong with our poor boy's communication skills, and between his general laziness, his unfortunate coping mechanism, cocky cool-guy persona, competitiveness, and general deceptiveness it is hard for the team to tell what's going on and get a good read on him or his intentions. But hey, Leo is like what, 16 years old? And the good thing is, he has his bros who've known him for his entire life and know how to take him. They all got his back. (Or not?)

So what changed? What’s up with Leo’s leadership skills in the movie? Nothing! Leo’s character is exactly the same. He is as sharp as ever. It is Raph who changed.

Cause here comes the kicker, the thing the authors of the movie so eloquently sweep under the rug, the question nobody seems to ask:

Is Raph a good second-in-command?

Stay tuned for part 2!

Short answer: No. Long answer: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

But seriously just think about it. In my mind, Leo never truly stood a chance.

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt leo #rottmnt raph #rottmnt movie #character analysis #a salty defense

[staceymcgillicuddy]

Day 13: Christmas Card

@hellcheerxmas

December 13, 1992 Chicago, Illinois

Chrissy is always a certifiable freak, but pregnancy has turned her into an emotional terrorist. Eddie digs it in the way he digs everything about her, but it’s fascinating how the pod-person that is their little nugget can send her mood vacillating between joy and sorrow in five-millisecond intervals.

Like, okay, last week they’d gone Christmas tree shopping, and a toddler fell on his butt. The falling wasn’t funny, but hearing a two-year-old scream, “ass!” in front of God and Santa Claus and the scandalized woman manning the check-out stand was, objectively, hilarious. Eddie and Chrissy had gotten the giggles, hiding them behind their gloved palms as they stood in line with their modest pine. 

But then, on the train, while Eddie was trying to balance the tree and keep Chrissy upright because God forbid any cretin in this city give up his seat for a pregnant woman, she starts sobbing. Like, out of nowhere. Crying about how their baby’s gonna fall down one day, and what if she thinks that’s funny, and it scars the kid for life?

“Well, but it might be funny?” he had offered, which only made her cry harder. 

So, yeah. All that to say that it’s slightly disconcerting to come home from work and find Chrissy curled up in their bedroom closet, weeping, but not all that unusual. 

“Hi,” he says after following the sound of her sobs. “How we doing?” 

“That bitch,” she says. It comes out a honk, which makes her laugh. 

There’s something crumpled in her fist. He crouches and pries her white-tipped fingers from what he quickly identifies as a Christmas card. 

A Christmas card with a photo and a letter tucked inside. The picture is of Phillip, Laura, and Clark Cunningham, posed stiffly in some Sears studio. Clark is wearing a University of Chicago sweatshirt, and Eddie bets it grinds Laura’s gears that the kid is moving closer to his sister next year. 

“What a bitch,” he agrees. “Didn’t even call you for the photoshoot.”

Chrissy lets out another half-giggling sob.

“No, the letter!” 

Eddie unfolds the paper. Scans the bullshit about Laura’s church groups and Phillip’s promotion. He takes longer with Clark and discovers that Laura wants their friends and relations to believe he’s studying engineering, though Eddie knows he wants to be an English major. 

Below all of that, though, is the reason Chrissy’s laugh-crying in a closet. 

Our daughter, Christine, has spent the majority of 1992 volunteering with charitable organizations in the inner city.

He can’t help it. He cackles. “Guess I’m charitably organized, huh?” 

“Like I don’t have a job! Like we didn’t get married! Like I’m not… like she doesn’t know I’m pregnant!” 

“Chris,” he says, and he helps her up as he talks. “She doesn’t know you’re pregnant.” 

“But that’s… well. She knows we’re married.” 

“Sure, and I’m pretty sure she called the county clerk to try to get it annulled.” 

Chrissy fixes him with a scowl as he sits her down on the bed, then settles next to her, palm pressing against the scant bump that’s gonna be their daughter. Or son. He goes back and forth. (Before her first ultrasound, he told her he hoped it was twins, and she threatened to castrate him.)

“She’s just a jerk,” she says again, softening when Eddie touches her stomach. “She sent this to be spiteful.” 

“She’s a spiteful person. We already knew that.” 

“Yeah.” Chrissy gets quiet, her hand coming to rest on top of his. “It’s… I mean. Okay. So what if we just…” 

“Spit it out, pal.” 

“Well, like mother, like daughter, right?” 

So, they make a card of their own. A special one, just for Laura, containing a Polaroid of the two of them. They each have one hand on Chrissy’s belly, with the other lofted, flipping her the bird.

Volunteer This, Chrissy scrawls inside the card before she slaps on a stamp, and Eddie takes it to the mailbox.

#hellcheer #eddie x chrissy #chrissy x eddie #edissy #chrissy cunningham #eddie munson #fanfic #hellcheerxmas #hellcheercountdown

[melrosing]

What were your thoughts on jaime when you first started the series? I know for a lot of people, me included, he comes off as a major asshole in agot. And then that all changes in asos. I watched the show first and I still didn’t like the book version of him until his cat chapters in acok and then his in asos.

Well I was a show watcher first (I caught up just before S4 started airing) and in the show I can’t lie he didn’t make a huge impression for me lol. I think he just lacked much gravity onscreen, and D&D low-key spoiled the whole Kingslayer reveal by having Jaime reveal to Robert halfway through S1 that Aerys died crying ‘burn them all’. So by that point you already know what Jaime’s big secret is and that he’ll basically tell anyone who’ll listen lmao, and then there’s the random cousin killing and blah blah blah idk he didn’t seem that grey, just a villain who’d at one point done the only reasonable thing left to do (murder Aerys). By the time I got to the Jaime & Brienne roadtrip I was intrigued, like ok did I miss something is there more to this guy?? but then season 4 wheels around and all momentum is quickly lost in Jaime’s arc.

Then when S4 was over I read the books…. and I remember enjoying all the extra detail but if I’m honest I was studying for my English lit degree at the time and I was constantly having to switch to the dozens of course texts and in the end I think it took me my full three years to read asoiaf lmao and I was so distracted by student life that most of it went over my head lol and I was barely engaging w any kind of fandom at the time so. I just forgot about em

Then. Jaime finally leaves KL in the show and something awakened in me like ‘wait hang on is this arc finally moving again?’ I’d seen around S3 that his story COULD go somewhere interesting but ultimately I’d zoned out because for years the show had sapped all the promise from it. But stupidly I was now thinking hang on they’re finally gonna do something w this character, the promising arc they cut off years ago was moving again!! And suddenly I was excited about Jaime Lannister!!!

Aaaaand then show Jaime falls flat on his fucking face and I thought okay where the fuck did I get the feeling this story was going somewhere bc in hindsight the show has failed him at every turn. Then I reread the books and realised OH I remember THIS is Jaime. and now here I am I guess but basically yeah no I don’t recall any particular first impressions just a… series of impressions

#ask

[mikkel-nielsen]

So I was bored yesterday morning and wrote a snippet of a Rhonda centric fanfic I’m writing.

A few things to know: I’m playing loose with canon since we don’t know who has been dead the longest (Janet? Mr. Martin? Rhonda?).

Initially the plot would be Rhonda meeting all the ghosts (that we know the name of) and how she is dealing being stuck there for over 50 years, I might add the rest later tho.

Rhonda is alone.

Or so she thinks, she’s in Mr. M’s councilor’s office and right beneath her is what’s left of… her, she can hear the sirens coming from down the street and she can see her teachers and her principal standing in the room, holding Mr. M’s in case he escapes.

She can’t be here anymore, the scene in front of her is suddenly too much for her to take and so she leaves, she walks down the door and into a corridor, not the one that has a light in the end for her to follow, she would never be this lucky.

She settles on being alone in the school newspaper room, call it cliche or nostalgia for her- she can’t bring herself to say it. “Life”, she had so much to look for, finally getting out of this place, working on her English degree and, hopefully, getting published. All of this is gone now because some man she thought she could trust got too… jealous? insecure? of her leaving.

“You’re new!” Standing at the door frame is a girl she has only seen in pictures around the school.

Her name is Julia or Janice or something, she can’t remember, but she knows this girl is dead and has been dead for a time now.

“… you can see me?”

“Of course I can, silly, and you can see me which means you’re dead, so how was it? No wait, let me guess… judging by your clothes I can rule out anything that is sport related. Did you fall from someplace high? Got stuck in a room without water or food? Or maybe! Did you-“

“Jesus, are you always this hyperactive? I was strangled by my councilor” there is a pause, the girl looks like she’s wanting more and so Rhonda caves “I got my acceptance letter today, dad had already left for work and mom was too busy tending to the garden to pay attention to what I was saying, so I came here earlier than usual. You know, I was actually excited to tell him I had been accepted? If it wasn’t for him I’m not even sure I’d be going to college, I mean, he was the one that helped me choose a possible major, the best colleges that could help me while still being somewhat within my budget. I don’t know, I thought that he would be excited for me, thought that he would be happy to learn that all of the work paid off and that HE was the one to help me do it? The worst part is that I didn’t even notice him… I thought he was gonna give me a hug or congratulate me, it wasn’t until I felt his hands wrap around my neck that I realized.”

“I’m so sorry this happened to you, if there is anything I can do for you… let me know, okay? I’m Janet and as long as we are here you will always be cared for” the other girl pulls her in for a hug and Rhonda can’t lie, it feels good to be help and comforted.

#school spirits #rhonda school spirits #rhonda #they need to give my blorbo a last name asap #my writing

[stargazer-sims]

Wants and Fears

Eden: Uh… Kolya?

Nikolai: What is it?

Eden: Not to be weird or anything, but what happened to your hair? And like, are you… are you wearing makeup?

Nikolai: Yes, I’m wearing makeup. Is that weird?

Eden: No. I just didn’t think you were into that. It looks good, honestly. Really natural and subtle. Did you do it yourself?

Nikolai: I did. I haven’t tried in a long time, so I’m glad I didn’t forget how. I usually only did it for competitions.

Eden: I guess you know what the next question’s going to be.

Nikolai: Why did I put on makeup and wrangle my hair into something that doesn’t look like a tumbleweed?

Eden: Yeah.

Nikolai: I wanted to practice.

Eden: For what?

Nikolai: I have a date.

Eden: I didn’t know Anya was already back.

Nikolai: It’s not Anya. It’s somebody else.

Eden: Woman or man?

Nikolai: Woman. Been a while since I dated a man, actually.

Eden: I remember the last one. That giant guy with the muscles, who never said much. The hockey player. Mishka? I liked him.

Nikolai: Mikhail Petrovich. He wouldn’t have let you call him Mishka. He didn’t say much around most people because he was self-conscious about his English, but he certainly talked a lot with me.

Eden: In Russian?

Nikolai: Obviously.

Eden: So, anyway, who’s the new person? Is she gonna treat you right, and is she hot? Anybody I might know?

Nikolai: I think she’s going to treat me right. Yes she is hot, and yes, you know who she is.

Eden: Ooh… who is it?

Nikolai: Ginger Holmes.

Eden: Ginger, as in Sebastian Fujikawa’s coach?

Nikolai: That’s her. We’ve known each other for a long time, and—

Eden: Hang on. I think we need to talk about this. You can’t date the competition. Isn’t it like, a conflict of interest or something? And what about me and Sebastian? What if you get so involved with each other that you don’t pay enough attention to us?

Nikolai: That’s not going to happen. We’re very invested in you and Sebastian.

Eden: You say that now.

Nikolai: I’m not going to ignore you. You’re going to have just as much of my attention as always. I have no intention of changing anything when it comes to my relationship with you or when it comes to your training.

Eden: Are you sure?

Nikolai: Eden, what’s this about? You’ve never worried about this sort of thing with anybody else I’ve dated.

Eden: You’ve never dated the competition before.

Nikolai: This isn’t about you or Sebastian. It’s about Ginger and me. We spend the majority of our time with you and Sebastian, and we basically live for our work. Yeah, we both enjoy it, and Ginger loves Sebastian just as much as I love you, but we need a chance to not think about skating and our students. We’re not going to be discussing work.

Eden: Okay, but…

Nikolai: It’ll be all right. Let us have our night out.

Eden: Okay. I don’t like it, but… okay.

Nikolai: I’ll tell you what. If you’re really worried about it, maybe you and I and Ginger and Sebastian can all get together later to talk. Sebastian might be worried as well, and I’m sure Ginger doesn’t want that any more than I do. Would that work for you?

Eden: Any chance we can talk you out of it?

Nikolai: I’m afraid not, but you can tell us how you feel and ask us whatever’s on your mind, and we’ll do our best to answer everything. I want you to be comfortable with this, or at least as comfortable as possible.

#ts4 #sims 4 #sugar valentine #nikolai pavlenko #eden seong #wearesugarvalentine #stargazersims

[yazzsketches]

15 questions and 15 mutuals (idk how to make the title bigger?? i’m not exactly used to using this app yet tbh)

tagged by @cherriesxinthespring !! thank you this was fun <3

were you named after anyone?

i was! i was named after my aunt (my dad’s sister). my mom jokes and says he chose her name because she’s his favorite sister

when was the last time you cried?

uhm a few nights ago i think

do you have any kids?

nope. i don’t know if i want kids tbh, we’ll see

do you use sarcasm a lot?

yes, too much!!! i love sarcasm and sarcastic people!!!! if you’re sarcastic ily!!

what's the first thing you notice about people?

i’m gonna have to say hair tbh

what's your eye color?

dark brown :)

scary movies or happy endings?

can i choose both?? this is hard for me. if i absolutely have to choose, i would say happy endings. i just love cheesy comedy movies with happy endings lol

any special talents?

hmm.. i play 3 instruments. guess what they are?

where were you born?

in the midwestern region of the united states… aka the most boring region of the u.s. i’m not gonna specify what state. sorry

what are your hobbies?

drawing/making art (of course), skateboarding, going to the gym, reading, baking, gaming (i’m replaying tomb raider and tlou2 rn. call me crazy, but i don’t always finish games before starting new ones)

have any pets?

no :( one of my roommates used to have a dog living with us, though. i miss him!!

what sports do you play/have played?

i used to run track and field. didn’t like it much and only did it for a year haha

how tall are you?

5'5 and a half..

favorite subject in school?

art and english

dream job?

honestly, i’ve always wanted to be a concept artist or animator. i was close to going to an art college but decided against it and majored in something non-art related at a non-art focused college instead. i might minor in art, though!

no pressure!! @total-dxmure @scarstarlet @castasplla @abbyspistol @hrrormves @limnatid @bellselss @starologist @castasplla

[ashboy-3]

Weird meet Weird

Written for Dannymay day 10 Prompt: Bones Fandom: Danny Phantom Characters: Danny and OC Words: 719 Summary: Danny and Parker accidentally meet up for lunch in between classes and Danny ends up meeting a new friend

“Hey Danny,” said person looking up from his laptop to see his blonde roommate with another person, one he doesn’t know.

“Hey man,” Danny greeted, gesturing to the extra chairs

“This is my friend Bones,” Parker pointed to the other person who had mohawks dyed a multitude of colors, wearing a black jean jacket filled with patches, and jeans. The shirt seemed to be a random pun shirt that Danny smiled at. Looking down Danny saw that his shoelaces had little beads with letters on them, spelling a message.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Danny!” Danny smiled.

“Oh cool! I met Parker in our English 1010 class. I’m a psychology major. What about you?” Parker asked.

“Oh, I’m an astrophysics major. I’ve always been a big fan of NASA and space in general,” Danny ate one of his fries.

“Oh, nice! I don’t really understand science that much, but I love the zodiac, tarot, crystals things like that.”

“Man only known each other for five seconds and I’m already being replaced” Parker faked being offended as Bones just smirked, giving Danny a pat on the back.

“What can I say, Parker? Weird attracts weird.”

“Oh, then you’ll definitely get along. Danny over here is the weirdest person that I know,” Parker rolled their eyes.

“Hey, I’m not that weird!” Danny laughed.

“Sure you’re just unusually a secretive person who won’t even tell me where you’re from.”

“I told you I’m from Illinois,” Danny pointed out.

“No hometown?” Bones asked, eating his own food.

“It’s just better if I don’t say. My hometown never got the best publicity,” Danny shrugged awkwardly.

“Hey, man I understand. I’m from NYC. WE have as much good publicity as bad,” Bones assured him.

“Nah. Maybe one day, but not today,” Danny shook his head as Parker groaned.

“That’s the answer he gives every time!”

“So the name Bones?” Danny asked carefully, not wanting to offend his new friend.

“Oh came out a while ago, but I couldn’t find a name that fit me. My parents and brother kept suggesting names for me to take, but I couldn’t find one then I’m studying in high school one day and it hits me. Bones! It was perfect! Went home and told my mom that I want to go by Bones. She was confused at first, but after a few months of insisting she realized that this was permanent,” Bones shrugged, not at all afraid to share his story.

“Oh, that’s nice that your family is so accepting!” Danny smiled, remembering having that same fear for so long.

“You’ve had the experience I’m guessing?” Bones asked as an awkward air filled the three because Parker had never thought to ask Danny about his home life.

“It’s not the same. There was something about me that my parents had always voiced a certain distaste for. I was going to tell them instantly, but let’s just say my life got a little crazy and I just couldn’t. So I didn’t tell them anything for three years. I eventually told them about my junior year of high school. My older sister was right next to me as were my two best friends. Believe it or not, we all planned an escape plan in case anything went wrong or they didn’t accept me, but I told them. My mom did broke down crying and my dad went silent for a whole day, but I wasn’t told to leave. The next day my mom hugs me tighter than she ever had before. She was still crying but she was stressing how much she loved me and how proud she was of me. I can relate a little,” Danny shrugged.

“Shit man. I didn’t know,” Parker looked down.

“Hey don’t feel bad. It’s like you said I’m too private of a person. I’m trying to get better, but it’s not nearly a big deal as it was in high school,” Danny laughed to himself as he looked down at his watch.

“Shit! I’m gonna be late!” Danny instantly hurried up and packed his stuff.

“Hey, Parker is gonna send me your number and vice versa! We should meet up again!” Bones suggested as Danny was already walking out!

“For sure!” Danny gave his two friends a wave-bye, rushing off to his next class.

#danny fenton #danny phantom #dannymay2023 #danny may #original character #college au #danny fenton is in college

[lokiandracoon]

Pairing ; Loki & fem!reader

Summary ; You sinked his boat, and you may sink his heart, but until then he’ll follow your lead through the seven seas.

Content Note ; Pirate AU, pirate!reader, prince!loki, angst, fluff

Sorry for grammar/spelling mistakes or misused words, English isn’t my first language (｡>﹏<｡)

AO3 link || Loki masterlist || join taglists || series masterlist

Next chapter; II. Sapphire

˗ˏˋ A SMOOTH SEA NEVER MADE A SKILFUL SAILOR — CHAPTER I ; RUNAWAY PRINCE

You watched with a blank expression as the water engulfed the lavish ship, next to it a small boat carrying its crew did the same as you.

You didn’t hurt a single one of them (well, maybe you did hit a couple in the head, but it wasn’t anything major), they weren’t your main goal. The ship also didn’t matter anymore, they could build more.

You wanted the gold, the riches they carried. Yet, you got a big surprise when you realised that they carried very much less than what you expected.

It just didn’t make sense to you. The ship was supposed to be of royal property, but even if it was fancier than many others, it didn’t seem as expensive as the ones the royal family usually traveled in.

They were making a trip to a neighbouring kingdom, to visit you guessed. Normally, they would carry exceeding amounts of goods to gift; yet, this vessel seemed to carry way to little. Only 3 middle-sized chests of jewellery, 5 of fabrics, and some furniture. And also a prince.

You just hoped your last minute plan would work.

A frown adorned your face as you turned around from the scene. On your own boat your crew was running around, preparing to follow another route.

Natasha, your right hand, approached you until she was standing next to you, watching over the people working.

“The prisoner wants to talk with you” you scoffed and turned your gaze to her, “Well then tell him to keep his pretty mouth shut, ‘cause I don’t want to talk with him” Natasha rolled her eyes and continued, “I can’t” she shrugged.

You frowned in confusion, “What do you mean you can’t?” “He asked for a parlay”.

You laughed at that, “And what else does our precious prince want?” you asked sarcastically, throwing your hands in the air. Natasha smirked as she lightly shook her head, “Just go and talk with him, he seemed like he knew something”

“Yeah, well I hope he knows that I’m gonna throw him to the sharks if he wastes my time” you sighed as you made your way down to the only occupied cell in the ship.

You walked until you were in front of the cell, carefully eyeing the prince you had kidnapped.

“Well, parlay then” you stated which made him get up from his uncomfortable seat and walk to the bars.

You had expected he would be yelling in indignation, demanding for you to let him go. Yet he was calm, he almost seemed peaceful.

You had heard stories about him, he wasn’t the best fighter although he was pretty skilled with knives. But he didn’t look like he wanted to fight; he hadn’t even resisted much when he was dragged out of the cabin of his royal boat and into the cell of yours.

“You’re committing a mistake” his statement made you want to laugh, he really just wanted to waste your time “Well, what’s new, right? If that is all, I’m going to leave” you started walking away when he called again.

“Captain, you’ll get nothing from the king” you turned to look at him the best that the metal bars let you, you could see his green eyes devoid of any emotion— did he not understand the situation he was in? “And then what? He’ll let you stay imprisoned by the dirty pirates he so much loathes? Or will he let me kill you?”

You didn’t let him answer as you made your way up to the deck.

You had given a message and a chest to the crew of the royal ship once they were settled in their small boat, and you hoped they would deliver them before you lost your patience and made the emerald prince walk the plank.

“Tell his majesty king Odin” you made a bow as you named him, which made Natasha chuckle slightly as she took her place next to you, “That I have his prince” with a devilish smirk you pointed to the raven haired man next to you, held by two of you swordsmen, “And I want that chest filled with those shiny golden coins of your king, or else I’ll make dinner for sharks and the main course will be his son” some of the men on the small boat shivered slightly at the tone of your voice, “I’ll be arriving on Bone Island in seven days and I expect my gold by then, you better not bring a fleet or anything like that. I’ll give him to you unharmed unless I have to pull out my sword; because then I’ll hand him to you in pieces” you gestured for everyone to move, ignoring the protests from the men below.

You didn’t want it to come to that, it really wasn’t in your agenda to kidnap a prince. But you had gotten desperate. You had spent weeks waiting to raid that vessel, expecting to find vast amounts of goods; yet you found almost nothing.

You slammed shut the door of your cabin as you entered, walking directly to the bed. Letting yourself fall into the sheets as you sighed.

This was a disaster. If it ends bad, you’ll be putting everyone in unnecessary danger.

It was a spontaneous decision; you saw the raven haired man and quickly recognised him as Prince Loki, you saw an opportunity and you took it. But if the king decides to arrive ready for battle, regardless of your condition, you may have little chances of getting out alive.

On the other hand, if this ends well; you’ll be getting a great sum of gold, the chest that you gave them was quite big.

“Captain” Natasha barged through the door, you sighed in annoyance and supported yourself in your elbows to look at her, “What?” you questioned irritated, “What did you get out of the prisoner?” you rolled your eyes and let yourself fall back on the bed.

“Nothing, he just wasted my time” you replied putting your arm over your eyes, then you realised the room was actually dark. It was nighttime already.

Natasha seemed to notice too as she moved to light the various candles around the cabin, “Did you actually talk with him or did you just make him shut up and then left?”

“Natasha, just let me be please” you whispered as you turned on your side to face away from the redhead, she sighed heavily, “Y/n, please, go talk to him” “Why do you want me to talk with him so badly?” you once again turned to look at your right hand, irritated by her pressing.

Natasha and you had been friends for a long time, bonding over your passion for the deep waters and the gushing wind. If there was someone who could read you, it was her. She knew you were worried of the outcome of your decision, and she wanted to help.

The redhead walked until she sat next to you on the sheets, “When you were talking with the people in his boat, he almost looked amused” she started, pulling your arm away from your face with her hands, “And then you started giving orders around, he seemed curious” you arched an eyebrow in question, “Where are you going with all of this?” you asked and she took a moment to look to the side and then back at you.

“He looks calm regarding the whole situation, it’s like he didn’t want to be there” you frowned in confusion. You hadn’t had time to carefully asses your prisoner in the moment, you hadn’t noticed any of what she said; yet again, maybe you wouldn’t have anyways, Natasha had always been the more observant to details.

You moved to sit next to her on the edge, “So you’re implying he wants to be here?” you asked and Natasha nodded, “Maybe he wants something, we could come to a deal” her answer got you thinking.

What could Loki want that pirates could get? Did he have a treasure he wanted to look for? Why was he on the ship and if he didn’t want to be there? Looking back you did notice he had put little to no resistance when being dragged to your boat. He hadn’t yelled, thrashed or fought, even though he was capable of doing so.

You got up from the bed and walked to the desk where a map was displayed, you leaned on the edge and crossed your arms. Natasha raised an eyebrow, waiting for your answer, “Is dinner ready?” you asked which made the redhead frown, nevertheless she nodded, “Last time I checked Wanda was about to finish” you hummed, “Maybe we should give our prince a welcoming dinner”

ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮

Loki moved his head when he heard the jingling of keys approach. He got up from the uncomfortable wooden plank he was laying in when the redhead came into view.

He observed her carefully as she opened the door of the cell with the key in her right hand, “You’re having dinner with the captain” she stated leaving the door open for the prince to move out, “Why?” Loki ventured to ask.

He knew he shouldn’t. He had read enough about life at sea to know he shouldn’t oppose a direct order from the captain, especially now that he’s a prisoner. Natasha raised her eyebrow and looked at him sternly, “Because the captain said so, now move” she demanded harshly.

He inferred the redhead was your right hand from how she gave orders after you had retired somewhere else when you had raided his ship, so he shouldn’t oppose her either.

Loki walked until he was out of the cell and next to Natasha, she threw him a final stern look before closing the cell and grabbing him by the arm.

As they walked out to the main deck, Loki scanned his surroundings. Everyone they passed was immersed on their own work, whether it was cleaning the wooden floor or polishing weapons.

He noticed how the majority of your crew was made out of men, he had barely seen any other women apart from you and Natasha. Loki thought it was peculiar, female pirates weren’t unheard of but there weren’t many.

Natasha guided him through the deck and towards your cabin. The candles could be seen lighting the room through the blurry glass of the small windows. The redhead opened the door for Loki and shoved him inside. He turned to her, not having appreciated the push but she had already closed the door on his face.

“You can take a seat” your calm voice spoke from behind him. Loki turned to look at your sitting form behind the table where dinner was set, he scanned the various plates of meats and vegetables and moved to take a seat opposite of you.

He watched intently as you poured what seemed to be wine in a golden goblet and extended it for him to grab. He moved his eyes between the goblet and your face, pondering if he should take it, but a raise from your eyebrow had him quickly reaching out for it.

As Loki took the goblet closer to his lips you reached to grab some grapes from the fruit platter to then sit more comfortably on the chair; looking back at the prince, you noticed he wasn’t eating anything, “Go on, you can eat” your soft encouragement had him reaching to put small portions of food in his plate and start eating, even if he didn’t really have the appetite.

“You know, I had eyes on your ship for some time before it sailed” you started making him raise his eyes from his plate to you, “One would think a royal ship is full of riches, but yours wasn’t” you paused to put a grape in your mouth, you didn’t move your gaze from the prince as you chewed and swallowed the small fruit, “Why” you didn’t ask him, you demanded an answer, and that was clear to Loki in the stern tone of your voice.

Your presence was imposing since the moment he entered the cabin. Loki didn’t forget how your aura was threatening and authoritarian when you raided his ship, you carried yourself with a confidence that overpowered everyone’s bravery, and that sheer action made it seem impossible to fight you and come out victorious. You were calm in front of him, no matter how trained he was, you had the control.

Now the stories about you made sense to the prince. You didn’t need a whole fleet to dominate the waters, just your presence was enough to make everyone succumb to your rule.

You were just what he needed in the moment.

“My father, the king, didn’t deem it necessary to carry so many things” he answered and you nodded lightly, “Why the furniture” your question made him frown, “I beg your pardon?” you shrugged, “The furniture, why where you carrying furniture” you explained, “As gift to the neighbouring kingdom” he replied and you tilted your head for a moment.

“That’s not true” he scoffed, “Are you calling me a liar” you smiled innocently, “Not necessarily, but you’re in my ship, you should know better than to lie to the captain” he rolled his eyes and dropped the silver fork in his hand, “I don’t know about pirate etiquette”

You rose from your seat with a dark look, grabbing the silver knife set next to your own plate, “I’m sure we could fix that” you replied walking around the table and closer to the prince.

Loki felt the danger in each step you took closer to him. But he masked it and refused to move his eyes from yours as you approached him. Once next to him, you harshly grabbed his jaw with a hand and planted the knife against his throat with the other. Loki couldn’t help but hiss at the contact of the cold metal with his skin.

You looked directly into his eyes with a somber expression, “Listen well your highness. I don’t like playing games, I have no issue cutting your throat right now, it wouldn’t be the first time a kill a member of high society” you whispered dangerously as you leaned in to talk closer to his ear, “So don’t lie to me again or I will give you a final you may not really like”

The tension only increased as you gripped his jaw tighter, which in return made Loki harden his hold on the chair he was sitting on. He could feel your breath in his neck and he found himself unconsciously wishing for you to plant your lips there.

Even in the situation that you were, even if you could cut his throat any second. He wasn’t going to deny your beauty, you were a gem of the sea and no one could oppose that fact, but he definitely could try to deny the attraction he felt when he first put his eyes on you.

On the other hand, you found yourself enjoying the moment. You always liked playing with men like this, it was amusing to you when they lost the control they so much liked. It had been a long time since you involved yourself romantically with anyone, and the pale skin of the prince seemed to call for your touch, your brain demanding of you to respond. He was extremely good looking, he was a prince at the end of the day; but you held back.

“Have I made my self clear?” you asked in a whisper maybe a little more closer to his earlobe than you should have, Loki nodded slowly and you pulled away.

You gave his eyes a last look before turning back and going to your seat. You noticed his pupils, darker than before, but you said nothing because you guessed yours were the same.

“Then talk, why the furniture” you said after making yourself comfortable once again in your chair, Loki coughed lightly which had you smirking, “For my stay” his answer made you raise an eyebrow in question, “Why would you need furniture for your stay?” you asked curiously, “Because I wasn’t going to come back” this just confused you even more, “Explain yourself”

Loki sighed and looked back at you, “I’m supposed to get married to the princess of the neighbouring kingdom” you nodded slowly in reply, that explained the furniture, “But you don’t want to” you replied, “It’s a marriage of convenience, it’s common” “Doesn’t mean that you want it”

He looked aside. It’s true, he didn’t want to get married, but Odin was aching to get rid of him so he didn’t have a chance at protest. He didn’t hold resentment against the princess, she was everything anyone would want; intelligent and beautiful, but he didn’t find it in his heart to love her more than just a friend.

He desperately found himself wishing for a sea storm to drown the ship and him in it, no longer being able to put up with his father’s mistreatment. If he died would Odin even hold a funeral for him?

You sighed when he averted his eyes from you. Now you felt bad for him, having to marry an unknown person that he may not even love just because his title said so, you couldn’t even imagine how depressing of a live that would be.

“I could offer you a deal” your words made him perk up to listen attentively, he nodded for you to continue “Raiding your ship and finding nothing in it cost me a lot” you started and he listened carefully, “You know the royal ships that carry the most expensive goods always take hidden routes” Loki nodded at this information.

It was to make sure they wouldn’t get raided. Not only did they take unusual and different routes every time, they were also camouflaged, swapped for cheap-looking boats to avoid suspicions.

“I want to know the routes and the ships” you said. Loki knew of a few vessels set to sail during the next few months but he wasn’t going to disclose that information now.

He had to prove himself useful to you, if he had just given you everything he knew you would have no problem throwing him off the deck and into the shark infested waters, “What will I get in return” he leaned in placing his elbows in the table to prop his chin in his intertwined hands, you smirked, “Going back to your very loving father” Loki cringed at his mention making you chuckle, “Well what could you want?” you asked.

Loki pondered. He didn’t want to go back to Odin, he would only send him again to marry. Leaving him somewhere along the way wasn’t an option either, they would be looking for him. After some minutes of thinking he finally opened his mouth to answer.

“I want to stay here in your ship, I want a place in your crew”

ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮

Loki woke up as someone abruptly entered the room he was assigned, “Come on! Get up, the sun’s about to rise!” an unknown female voice screamed next to his bed.

Loki turned to see a redhead woman looking extremely pissed. It wasn’t Natasha, no, he hadn’t seen this one yesterday.

“Move! What are you looking at?!” she yelled when Loki made no movement to get out of bed.

“Sorry” he said getting up finally, she scoffed, “There’s a lot to do, follow me”

As they both walked through the vessel, Loki reminisced on the night before. You had agreed to him staying in your boat, and called Natasha to assign him a spare room.

“You… want to stay here?” you asked incredulously as you looked at him with narrowed eyes. Loki almost felt embarrassed at his request. But it was what he wanted, and he wasn’t going to back down now.

“Yes” he replied and you laughed, Loki frowned at your response, “Oh my! Our gracious prince wants to be a pirate!” You giggled and mocked him a little more, you really enjoyed yourself, “Fine, but do you even know anything about life at sea?” you asked seeming like you were back at mocking him, but Loki could see something genuine in your eyes.

“I haven’t spent much time at sea. I know the basics but I am quick to learn” you nodded at his response, no more giggles or smiles.

You got up from your chair and made your way to him. Loki thought you would put another knife to his throat and for a moment he almost flinched, but he was surprised to feel a soft touch in his cheek instead. You had put your hand on the side of his face and gently guided him to look up at you, “You’re not made for this life, but you could try and we’ll see how much you last”

As your hand dropped from his cheek and you made your way to the door Loki could only turn slightly to look at you, “You can finish dinner, I’ll talk with Natasha about settling you”

Loki observed the horizon through the small window of the kitchen, the sun was just rising.

He was too caught up in his haze when he felt something impact with the back of his head, turning he was a potato in the floor and the redheaded woman fuming behind him, “I’ve called you three times!” she seethed at him and Loki looked down apologetically.

She sighed heavily and gestured for him to take a seat in front of her. Loki took a seat in the small stool as the woman handed him a knife and gestured to the barrel full of potatoes next to him, “Get to it” she said, “Throw the peels in this bucket then clean the potatoes in the water and throw them in that plate”

Not wanting to piss her off more, Loki grabbed one of the vegetables and started peeling it. It couldn’t be that difficult, he had peeled apples before, this should be the same.

“You’re doing it wrong” her voice made him stop suddenly and look at her confused. The redhead sighed and took the potato and the knife from him, “You’re peeling it but your taking too much of the potato in the process, you have to do it like this to not waste the food” she proceeded to peel it rapidly, showing him how the peel was thin and didn’t have too much traces of the vegetable on it.

Loki nodded, “Okay” he then proceeded to grab another potato and do the same she showed him, this time she didn’t stop him and he took it as a cue to continue, “My name is Wanda” she finally said making Loki look up at her, “I’m Loki” he answered and she nodded with a soft smile, “Keep peeling those” she got up from the chair and made her way out of the kitchen, leaving him alone.

Were all the women in this ship scary like this? As Loki peeled the potatoes he couldn’t help but recall his time in the castle, he used to play around the kitchen with his brother when he was young, yet never did he think he’ll end up working in one. It was an oddly calm activity, even if his hands were numbing because of the cold water.

Wanda came back into the kitchen and got to peel potatoes in front of Loki, “Can I ask where the ship is headed?” Loki asked while still peeling, Wanda raised her gaze to him and then returned it to the vegetable in her hand, “We’re going back to Sapphire” she replied softly, “Sapphire? Where’s that?” he was a curious person by nature, now he needed to know, “Hidden, so nobody goes there. It’s an island” “Your home?” Wanda nodded with a smile, “Yes, our home, It’s a beautiful place, you’ll love it” the twinkle in her eyes as she moved her gaze to the prince told him that she wasn’t lying, she seemed so happy to go back.

“Well, if it isn’t our local prince cutting potatoes” your voice sounded through the room as you leaned on the door frame, “Is it like a new royal activity?” the smirk on your face made it clear you were just joking, “Don’t listen to her, she’s like that” Wanda muttered to Loki who smiled back at her, “Oh wow! My own crew against me!” you feigned offence bringing a hand to your chest, Wanda rolled her eyes, “Could I have my tea please?” you asked taking a seat in a nearby chair, “Right now” Wanda got up making her way around the kitchen to prepare your tea.

“So, are you having fun?” you asked, this time genuinely so Wanda didn’t scold you, “It’s fine” Loki answered and you nodded.

Suddenly the image from yesterday flashed through your mind and had you averting your eyes to the side. Today he wasn’t wearing the full prince attire, opting for removing the heavy stuff. You could see the skin of his neck thanks to the unbuttoned shirt and you couldn’t help but remember how you wanted to kiss it the night before.

“There, done” Wanda handed you a cup of tea, making you snap out of your daze. “Thanks” you answered grabbing it and making your way to the deck.

It was early morning, the sun in the process of lighting the way. You walked the stairs of the quarterdeck and took your place behind the helm. You observed the waters in front of you as you reached in your pocket for your compass. You were headed the right way.

You sipped your tea as you took control of the wheel in front of you. This is the time of day that you loved most, when the sun just woke up and is slowly lighting up the world, it gave the water a mystical look. You basked in the peaceful silence as everyone was yet to come up and carry on their work on the main deck.

But your silence was quickly interrupted by your right hand as she walked the stairs and moved to stand neat to you, “How’s the prince doing?” she asked and you shrugged, “He’s cutting potatoes with Wanda” Natasha stifled a laugh, “Well that must have been a sight to see” “Yeah” you giggled with her.

“He’s handsome, isn’t he” she questioned moving to lean on the wooden handrail in front of you, “What?” you asked incredulously. Natasha only smirked, “I mean he is, isn’t he?” her pressing made your eye twitch slightly, something that always happened when you got annoyed.

“What are you talking about?” you asked, “Oh come on! Haven’t you though of… you know, with him” she gestured towards the side with her face, and you’re eye twitched again, “Like you and Steve do in every corner of my ship?”

Your question had Natasha’s face heating up, you laughed at her reaction as she came closer to slap you in the shoulder, “We don’t!” she was quick to deny but you only hummed mockingly, “No need to lie Tasha, I heard you. In fact, everyone on the boat probably heard too” you giggled and she turned redder than she already was.

“It’s a great way to blow off some steam, you should try” she said once she had regained her composure, you scoffed, “Yeah? With who? Sam? Bruce?” you asked sarcastically and Natasha rolled her eyes, “Loki’s pretty decent” “He’s a prince” “So what?” “He’s also my prisoner” “Not anymore” “Well, now he’s my worker” “And which rule says you can’t have sex with your worker who used to be your prisoner and also happens to be a runaway prince?”

You looked at her stoically, “Tasha, no” she sighed heavily, “Come on, I know you like him” she whispered coming coming to stand in front of you with the wheel separating both of you “I don’t” you were quick to deny, “You do” she finished with a smile and you rolled your eyes, there was no arguing with her.

“You can just do it to blow off some steam, cause you need a lot of that” she said making her way to the stairs slowly, “Someday I might just throw Steve off the deck and see how you manage yourself without your daily steam blower” the redhead grinned looking back, “You wouldn’t because then I would be insufferable and you have little to no patience” you nodded with a smirk, “See Tasha, this is why you’re my right hand and not one of those brainless idiots” Natasha laughed at that and made her way down just as Clint was walking up.

“Who’s a brainless idiot?” He asked and you shrugged, “Probably you” he rolled his eyes at your answer.

ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮ ྀ⏝ ི⋮

The sun was setting as you moved down to the larder in search of some much needed rum. Your day was boring, just like the majority of times that you made your way back to Sapphire, the crossing wasn’t very eventful to say the least.

You grabbed the glass bottle and turned to make your way out when you noticed an unknown moving thing from the corner of your eye. You moved closer to the wooden boxes and behind them you saw something moving, or more like someone.

“Loki?” you asked softly, watching how the emerald prince assembled vegetables in a big plate.

He turned to look at you, “Hello Captain, it’s for dinner” he said pointing to the vegetables, you hummed, “Really, what are you making?” he got up from his crouching position and placed the plate on top of a pile of crates, “Wanda said she was making soup” he answered and you nodded, he seemed to adapt well.

You noticed how his hair sticked to his forehead from the sweat, you guessed it was probably very uncomfortable. So you reached in your pocket and pulled up a cloth you used to use to tie your hair, “Let me help you with that” you gestured for him to get closer and he did, confusion written in his face.

You reached putting your hands softly in his cheeks and pulled his head down slightly. You started arranging the cloth so it held back his hair to stop it from getting in his face. You felt his eyes on your form as you carried on, but you didn’t dare look back at him. Since yesterday you had this desire to kiss him and if you looked at him in this position you risked giving in.

Finally you got a step closer to tie it behind his neck, close enough that if you tilted his face slightly you could place your lips on his. Once done you pulled your hands back although they seemed to linger a little longer than they should.

“There you go” you whispered and he hummed, “Now you look like a real pirate” you said with smirk that made him give you another one in return.

“Loki!” you heard Wanda’s voice echo from upstairs, yet you didn’t cut eye contact with the prince, “You should go before she comes down” the whisper that escaped your lips had Loki’s gaze moving rapidly to them, before he snapped back to your eyes, “Yeah” his gaze lingered for a couple more seconds before he grabbed the plate and left.

Loki walked back to the kitchen where Wanda was getting ready to preparer dinner, “You can wash them over there” she pointed to a bucket with clean water and Loki didn’t waste time to carry on his task.

As he washed the vegetables Loki replayed your encounter. He was already wishing for your touch after the dinner on the first night, and this occurrence only made him desire it more. He liked how your hands felt on him, he liked the way you looked at him. He really liked everything about you.

The whole time you were fixing his hair he found himself wanting to pull you closer. He had to put all his strength into holding his hands back, which itched to grab you by the waist and slam you to him.

“You done?” Wanda asked from behind him, “Huh? Oh, yeah I am” he got up with the plate and made his way to plant it next to Wanda.

“Is that the captain’s?” she asked gesturing to his head, Loki found himself running his hand softly over the cloth you had assembled in his head, “Uh—yeah, she gave it to me” he answered.

Wanda smiled knowingly, she hummed and turned to cut the vegetables, “What?” Loki asked puzzled, “Nothing, nothing” the redhead continued her task, “What do I do now?” Wanda looked around for a moment and then back at Loki, “There’s not much to do, you can take a small break until dinner” Loki nodded with a smile and made his way to sit on the spare chair you had used that morning.

The prince drowned in his thoughts while waiting for the redhead to give him instructions.

He was still pondering if this was the right decision to make. At least Odin wouldn’t find him for a while, so that was a good thing. And the fact that the ship was in constant moving would help him easily dodge anyone who was looking for him.

But was it the life he wanted? He just sold himself to work with pirates. You were right to some extent, he wasn’t made for this life. Although he liked the feeling of the swaying ship over the tides, the smell of the saltiness of the sea, and the fresh air.

And he liked you. But was it enough?

“Dinner time!” the new masculine voice got Loki out of his head, he hadn’t realised when the crew entered the room for dinner.

“Come eat Loki” Wanda encouraged, patting a seat next to her and a tall blonde man. Loki nodded and moved to sit next to the redhead as she passed him a bowl of soup.

That night he got to meet your crew closely. He was entertained by their charisma. To be fearsome pirates they still emanated a familiar warmth. They treated each other like family.

He listened closely to Tony and Bruce as they talked about how they needed to fix some planks, and Steve when he pointed out that they needed more gunpowder, and Clint as he recalled how he couldn’t wait to be back on Sapphire and see his wife and kids.

Later at night, with a full stomach and warmth in his heart, Loki laid in the not-so-comfortable bed and strangely felt at home. Maybe he wasn’t made for the life, but he could adapt to it.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it <3

Taglist (click here to be added) ; @moonlightreader649 @misswimberly

#loki fanfic #loki laufesyon x reader #loki x reader #loki x y/n #loki fluff #loki smut #pirates #pirate au #pirate reader #AU #loki x you #mcu imagine #loki imagine #A SMOOTH SEA NEVER MADE A SKILFUL SAILOR — lar #loki x female reader #loki series #loki au

[runningfrom2am]

wip 3: bookstore (drew)

Now I know I've done headcanons for this, but I have a diff plot idea for this book lover!reader trope. So like drew goes to a book store and the reader is having a moment; they are sitting on the floor and sobbing while reading a book

I SAW THIS VIDEO in which a girl was sitting on the floor in a book store and just sobbing while reading and the caption of the video was "she's the main character" so I got inspo from that

YUPP AND THAT SHE IS. YOURE GONNA EAT THIS UPPPP YOU WRITE DREW SO WELLLLL

(side note and fun story ab my life i guess?)

when i was 15 i went to a book store in a big city away from home and this guy came up to me while i was looking at something and was making THE moves like major book worm rizz. problem? this guy is like 25-30 and i’m just nodding trying to be polite so i slip in a “yeah we read that in english last year” and i watched the blood DRAIN from his face like fr he turned into a ghost in front of my very eyes. then he’s like “uh, yeah, so… how old are you, anyway?” and i told him and he was like “i am so sorry to bother you, nice to meet you, i have to go” and i was so relieved he was very respectful hahah

so basically i met the real life version of the drew you’re gonna write about but i was a minor so opportunities were lost :(( he was fine asf and could read?? what a gem honestly

[storyteller-aprendiz]

Interviews for the Phaetheon Prize. Part #2

VINCENT AURELIUS LIN

MS. REPORTER: I never knew your middle name was Aurelius.

VINCENT: Vincent Aurelius Lin. Quincy helped choose it.

MS. REPORTER. Of course they did. I’ll betaking some notes as you speak, if that’s alright and --

VINCENT: Go for it.

MS. REPORTER: And in a couple of days I’ll send you a draft for the article to take a look at it before it goes to print. Pronouns, major, any potential minors?

VINCENT: Well, stranger, my pronouns are he/they, and my major is Biology.

MS. REPORTER: How’d you choose biology?

VINCENT: I guess I was deciding between Bio and Visual Art, and my parents wanted me to do bio. I think it’s... the dissections in high school.

You know I always found it cool how... neatly packed everything is. Like you cut something open, right, and there’s just this... crazy stack array of things inside. Little shiny, rubbery structures that grow into perfect existence.

Identically in every body. And if you look at the cells and organelles-

MS. REPORTER: Come on Lin, give me something to work with here. I can’t exactly tell all the freshmen to dissect someone if they want to win the Phaeton.

Why do you think you were nominated for the prize?

VINCENT: Probably to fill some quota. Maybe I’m just the funkiest international student they got.

MS. REPORTER: I don’t think that’s how it works.

VINCENT: Alright, fine. I think maybe they think I’m smart because I have Quincy, and Quincy is smart enough for two people.

BEATRIX VALERIA CAMPBELL

MS. REPORTER: Hi, hi. I’m Portia Harper.

BEATRIX: Let’s get on with this! I have places to be lady!

MS. REPORTER: Sorry!

BEATRIX: No, you’re...you’re fine. Just...they’ll be impatient but is your job to keep them on track. Keep going.

MS. REPORTER: Okay. Name, pronouns, major? If you don’t mind sharing.

BEATRIX: Beatrix, she/they, English major with a minor in World Relations.

MS. REPORTER: Okay, and- what do you plan on doing or studying for the Phaeton?

BEATRIX: I guess I’d want to look into writing- journalism- can shape a community’s collective consciousness. Like, if enough people think a thing, does it just... become the truth? Is there any truth out there to become? 

MS. REPORTER: Ooh, that’s...creepy. And cool!

BEATRIX: You can’t say that! Usually they’ll say the most out-there things you ever heard like- “I’m gonna shoot lasers at the moon” or “I’m going to bring people back from the death”.

Just try and keep your face neutral and nod along.

MS. REPORTER: Right, right. That’s very... interesting. Uh, Beatrix Campbell. Uh, what makes you a Phaeton prize winning student?

BEATRIX: I’ve always pushed myself. I mean, I only get the same twenty-four hours in a day as everyone else in this school, but is ten times harder for me to prove my worth.

Apply to scholarships, raise money for college, and even after that... the work’s never done. My abuelita tells me that I’m working when I should be eating or sleeping and that I should just accept that there are people who’ll stop me from progressing as fast as everyone else. But I’m living on my own now. No one to mandate a bed time and tell me to settle.

So I will give my all to this prize.

MS. REPORTER: You know, if the nominees where based on interview-ee-wing, I think you’d have been nominated for sure.

BEATRIX: Thanks. Now try ask a follow-up question.

MS. REPORTER: Okay, uh... Why do you have all those strings tied around your fingers? If you untied them would they fall of Green Ribbon-style?

BEATRIX: Ha, ha. I tie them to remember things that are too important, or too sensitive, to write down. Roswell makes notches under her desk, Harrison has an elaborate pen code in his front pocket. If you stay on the Daily you’ll find something too.

MS. REPORTER: Okay, another question. Uh... are you single?

BEATRIX: Uh, um...How did you came up with that one!

MS. REPORTER: I didn’t realized the questions have to be related; sorry!

BEATRIX: No, no you’re fine-- just. I’ve never had time for a romantic relationship at Ardess.I guess I’m married to my work? God, that’s depressing.

MS. REPORTER: No, no, that’s cool! I wish I could focus on something like that. I always end up... chasing after the first interesting person I see.

BEATRIX: My abuelita would like you. She’d say you have your priorities straight.

MS. REPORTER: Oh, thank you!

#adamandi #adamandi musical #portia harper #beatrix campbell #vincent lin #vincent aurelius lin #beatrix valeria campbell #meta?

[peninkwrites]

“‘Mhm,’ Punz has the audacity to sound bored.” of course he does the mf’ing ….

“‘I f-fucking hate you–‘ Tommy hates that his voice is shaky, like a frustrated child trying not to cry, which isn’t inaccurate.” tommyyyyy :((((((((( [also me, too, regarding his line of dialogue here]

“Tommy almost smirks.  ‘You’ve caught on, have you?  Stopped asking questions?’ Punz bristles.  ‘I don’t need to,’ he says coldly. ‘Right, right,’ Tommy placates him.  ‘Still, you can see it now, can’t you?’ ‘What?’ Tommy grins, mocking and belittling.  ‘The leash.’ YESSSSSSSSSSSS GET HIS ASS

‘Yeah, I guess,’ Dream shrugs, adjusting his hold on Wilbur’s corpse.  Tommy is doing his best not to look at him now, at either of them.  ‘Okay, so, I’m gonna take this,’ he nods to Wilbur’s body, ‘back down to the base and then I’ll stasis you two back, how about that?’ dream’s consistent dehumanization of wilbur continues to get me every time. bristling with righteous fury

ohhhhhhh wilbur’s monologue in limbo…… him wanting so desperately to be able to do something and taking that inability to do so out on himself……

YESSSS WILBUR ACTUALLY GOT AN ATTACK IN. KING SHIT

“Wilbur stares at him, nausea intermingling with rage.  He feels like this hatred is a physical thing, projecting fury like it can somehow burn, but even this loathing isn’t enough to actually save anyone.” uh oh — what’s this? genre change time! the immense amount of stress has awakened latent psychic powers in wilbur and now he can kill dream with his mind! go on a tetsuo-from-akira rampage! *not copium* (i know i’ve mentioned that movie before and i know this is a bad end story but still. the number of times i’ve wished crimeboys could be untouchably powerful and beat the everloving shit out of dream (and punz xoxo) like that is insane. i think it’s a very human kind of response, though.)

“Wilbur is no longer looking at him, staring at the ground, wishing he could self destruct and kill Dream with him.” seems like wilbur has the same kind of wishes as the ones i just mentioned :(((((((((

“Wilbur being here, despite the pains, is still horribly, undeniably worth it to Tommy.  Despite all of his worries, at least he’s no longer alone, at least there’s one person in this fucked up place who he can always trust to be on his side.” not for long….. i’m going to fucking break when it happens

very good scene of dream and punz being terse with each other. but also “‘First, you’re gonna blow up L’Manberg.’” NOOOOOOOO NOT AGAINNNNN

“Tubbo doesn’t know the difference between excitement and rage anymore.” man. that’s him right there, summarized in a line

WOOOOOOOOO TUBBO WITH THE KNEE SHOT AND NIKI WITH THE CROSSBOW LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO

i’m absolutely loving this fight scene. very tense. also “‘Maybe because you didn’t stop him,’ Punz snaps.” OOOOOOOHHHH SHIT. also ‘heartbreaking. the (second-)worst person you know just made a great point’

yesssss punz keep living in fear forever and ever <3. sapnap, vessel of my rage, ily

“Pick one day a week to keep looking for me, because I know you’ll never give up, but I want you to keep living.  And hey, not saying I’d mind you finding me, but still.  And I give you my permission to stop.  However many years down the line it takes for you to stop mourning me and be ready to live properly again, I give you my blessing.  Fill in that grave, pretend I’m still there.  Move in with Ranboo.  Take care of each other.  See, you have to do what I say because I’m the one dying here, got it?” FUCK, man. they’re just kids and yet they have to deal with all this and be alone and it’s not fair. this had me actually tearing up (not an easy feat). this is such a good paragraph of writing it’s INSANE. many thoughts head full about this rn - might post something more coherent in the discord later. this is definitely a huge english major moment for you in my opinion /extremely pos :)

aaa thank you!! :D I was very proud of this chapter. "Sapnap, vessel of my rage, ily" is such a rad line and such a mood.

Writing Tommy's letter broke me as well ngl. It was rough :(

As always your thoughts are a delight to read <3

#asks #nonotablechange #tddd #wake up.

[youngblood-182]

hii, could i have a naruto match up if it’s possible??

i study english philology in uni, currently on second course. i prefer winter over the summer, so i adore i WORHSIP cozyness (if it’s even a thing)

when u first meet me i’m a bit shy but when we get close WE GET CLOSE. but as for falling in love i have some issues. i either prefer my interest to be my enemy or my bff first, so ya know, he can know me at my worst ig. even if he kills someone to prove his love for me (jkjk unless?) i’ll still have thoughts that he doesn’t love me, or he’ll get tired of me and will leave (abandonment issues arise)

i’m an major overthinker, sometimes a bit emotional and sometimes just purely numb. so i’m not really sure what i expect from my s/o. i just want him to just be there, so i can know that after shitty day i can get back in his arms, i can get back to my home. also i love cats (i have 4).

as for appearance, i’m 5’3 chubby maybe, (TW) i also have some notreallypleasanttolookat lines on my body, so yeah. i have brown hair, greenish blue eyes, i wear round glasses and currently have curtain bangs, I’m Leo, INFP

i don’t know what else am i supposed to write hehe. id be honored if u accept my request. thank you in advance for the update^^<3

Hi love!!

I ship you with Naruto!! 💓

-he’s a little ball of sunshine 🥹 pure little baby, will do anything in the world to make you happy 💖

-I feel like in a modern setting you two were high school best friends, childhood friends even. Naruto first realized his feelings for you when you were in middle school and he saw you going through unimaginable things 🥺 he realized he wanted to be there for you every day!!

-you’re sad? Guess who’s not gonna let you feel alone at all. Naruto! He’ll call off work, skip school if he finds out you’re having a rough day. Man’s would dip from anywhere at the thought that you were going through something alone.

-he’ll bring over your favorite food, cuddle you, and do things you enjoy until you feel better. Seeing your smile makes his heart flutter a lot.

-he’s such a sweet guy 🥹 he’s a little ball of sunshine, give him lots of love 🥰

SONGS (you didn’t provide any deets on music so I’m using songs that remind me of Naruto)

we fell in love in October - girl in red

Bad Habit- Steve Lacy

I Would Do Anything For You - Foster the People

Pretty Young Girl - Logic

Sweet Talk - Saint Motel

#naruto matchup #skys ship event #naruto uzumaki x reader #lil precious baby #wanna hug him