#personally I recommend giving it a try to switch to their more comfortable language

[doberbutts]

If I had a nickel for every time I helped a Japanese client at my job, and in helping revealed that I speak [some, limited] Japanese, and in doing so their entire demeanor changed and they began to smile and gesture excitedly as we had a [relatively short] conversation in Japanese, I'd have two nickels.

Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.

#anyway if you recognize that the person you're speaking to does not speak English as a first language #and you know the language they do speak fluently #personally I recommend giving it a try to switch to their more comfortable language #it very visibly made their day to encounter someone who could speak Japanese with them #and I think it's nice to give someone the oppurtunity to not be at an inherent disadvantage in a conversation for once #both of these people told me no one here speaks Japanese with them #not even their family #and sometimes it makes them want to go back to Japan and never come back here #how miserable to be stuck somewhere that no one makes an effort to let you articulate in the way you're most comfortabke #but then I have a lifetime of watching that from my dad #who the only people who ever made the effort to communicate with him and his deafness on a level he's most comfortable #are his immediate family #no one else bothers even though they know he's deaf

[willowser]

pleased to meet you—

dabi x reader

wc: 7.8k+

warnings: mental instability, angst/hurt, implied drug/alcohol abuse, suicidal thoughts/ideation, implied past suicide attempt, mental breakdown, mental anguish, implied past abuse, explicit language, paranoia, body horror

—hope you guess my name

CHAPTER 2/? | HOME PAGE

"I'm so sorry," you scramble, "I don't know why I—I—I didn't mean to—"

The bookshelf teeters just enough when he shoves at it, and you step back to lean against the one behind you. "What the fuck do you want from me."

If you're gonna hold this over his head, you better do it right. If you're gonna use this to your advantage, this secret, about LUG and Needles and the konbini in the rain—you'd better cash it in before he snaps your fucking neck.

There's something off about you though, some kind of switch that flips or—no, not flips, just sticks in the middle, between terrified and fucking angry. "Why'd you do it? Why'd you protect me?"

Matsui says the women in his life mean more to him than he realizes. Matsui says help isn't transactional, that Touya doesn't owe anyone anything.

But Touya knows better.

"Funny. I had the same fucking question."

hello friends !

before we get to the rest of the chapter, i wanted to reinforce how important it is that you take heed of the tags ! this chapter became heavy pretty quickly, and there is talk of suicide (ideation and attempts) as well as some graphic violence and if that isn't something you're comfortable with, i recommend skipping the first section of this chapter. if you plan to do so — or are already here from ao3 — i created a summary of what happens, so that you are not in the dark !

the full chapter can be found HERE on ao3 !

"Touya is allowed one white lie a day." — this is a principle that Touya has created on his own and something he chooses to try and live by, since he's /better now/; it's something Matsui is aware of and — in Touya's mind — takes advantage of. In therapy, for the most part, Touya has considered himself compliant with Matsui — but it gets hairy when the new bruising on his face is brought up. "It’s ten in the morning. There’s a long way to go before the end of the day and Touya doesn’t want to waste his lie now."

Touya purposely redirects the conversation by mentioning his suicide plan — "If a client says something like this, the psychiatrist has to respond to it, he /has to/, just in case it gets wild and he's gotta call it in or some shit." There's an internal thought describing what happens when a person jumps off a building. Matsui asks if there is anything in particular Touya would like to talk about, in regards his plan, and there's a brief consideration to "throw it all up, just to get it out of all his crevices, give it to someone else to hold onto." Touya wonders if he should tell Matsui about the first life he ever took, how good it felt.

Touya starts to receive text messages from "the not-Giran fellow that he fucked over" and he insists there /is/ something he'd like to discuss: you, "a chick" he met "at this fancy restaurant (his) sister likes." Matsui claims that meeting someone new can be exciting, but also intimidating — Touya disagrees — and reminds him that it's important to focus on his own well-being, first and foremost. Then he asks if they've been chatting, him and his new /friend/ and Touya tells /two/ lies: yes, they've been chatting; he's gotten your phone number.

#dabi x female reader #dabi x reader #ao3 dabi #dabi x y/n #dabi #touya x reader #touya todoroki #touya x you #touya x y/n #dabi x you #dabi x self insert #bnha x reader #[ ☆ multi chap: dabi/touya ] #✿ willow writes #✿ pleased to meet you: dabi

[forever-rogue]

Baby Steps (A Good Man)

A/N: Hello my sunshines! I’m back with another little installment of the AGM ‘verse with our favorite Javi and Dulzura! I love them so much and I’m glad y’all do too! I hope you guys enjoy!  As always, comments and feedback are welcome, and if you’d like to be tagged let me know! Xx

*can be read as a standalone or part of the ‘verse as a whole*

Pairing: Professor! Javi x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 5.8k

Warnings: language, pregnant!reader

A GOOD MAN ‘VERSE MASTERLIST

MASTERLIST

JAVIER MASTERLIST

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Mrs. Peña?” the sound of your name still surprised you, despite the fact that the students had been calling you for several months now. A grin worked its way onto your face as you looked at the young boy who was watching you with wide, eager eyes. Putting your pen down, you motioned for him to continue, “will you come outside and play with us?”

“You want me to hang out with you guys?” you almost laughed at the idea that any kid deemed you worthy of spending time with them, “I thought teachers were lame, Mikey?”

“Some of them, but not all of them! You’re pretty cool,” he smiled and displayed his toothy grin. How were you supposed to say no to him? You nodded and stood up, taking the hand he was holding out to you, “besides we’re playing kickball and we need one more person!!”

“I should have known you were just using me for my exceptional skills,” you pretended to be hurt as he pulled out of the building and into the playground, where the sun was shining brightly. 

Normally, you’d have turned him down, opting to get some work done during the lunch period, but decided you might as well indulge him and yourself. You really enjoyed the kids you had this year, and it was a gorgeous early spring day. 

»»————-　♡　————-««

Turns out, kickball with a bunch of seven and eight year olds was not as simple as it seemed. They seemed to come up with all sorts of nonsense rules, and on top of it all, they happened to be extremely competitive. And yet...you were thoroughly enjoying yourself - and glad you had opted to wear jeans today instead of a skirt or dress. Javi had been particularly fond of the tight, high-waisted jeans that hugged you in all the right places, getting very handsy before you both had to leave for work. Typical Javier; not that you minded of course. 

“Come on, give us a good one, Mrs. P!” Mikey yelled at the top of his small lungs as you proceeded to kick the ball that was rolled at you. You offered up a firm kick, but not one you would have used if you’d been playing with only adults. Taking unfair advantage was something you definitely didn’t want to do.

As soon as your foot made contact with the red rubber ball, you watched it whistle through the air before running to the first base. But...it was over before it started as you ran and then immediately proceeded to trip over your slightly untied shoelaces. You made contact with the hard earth before you knew and rolled your ankle in the process. 

You landed with a mixture of an annoyed sigh and a loud oof as you chided yourself. You should have made sure they were properly tied before doing anything. The kids clambered around you, faces anxious as they tried to make sure you were okay. Physically you were sure you’d be just fine, but mentally your pride was wounded. Oh, to make a fool of yourself in front of a bunch of children. 

“I’m alright,” you promised as you slowly rose to your feet; an instant tinge of pain shot through your ankle and leg as you almost lost your balance again. Maybe you were hurt… “it’s alright - you guys go back to playing and I’m going to go back to the classroom and sit for a moment. I might have twisted my ankle.”

They nodded, but gave you wary looks as you hobbled back inside the building. You should have remained the umpire and refused to play; you were obviously not coordinated enough for any of this. Slumping back in your chair, you rolled up your pant leg and hissed at the sight of the already swollen ankle. Shit.

“You’d better get that checked out,” Anna, one of the teachers from across the hall looked at you with a pained expression, “looks painful.”

“Nothing some rest and elevation won’t fix,” you insisted as you slumped against the back of the chair, “I’m too old for this! When did I become an adult?"

“Hey, at least they think you’re cool,” she huffed playfully, “they never ask me to play! But seriously, that looks pretty bad. And it happened at work, you know how they get about stuff like that.”

“Fineeee,” you groaned, “I’ll go to the school nurse.”

“I would recommend an actual urgent care or ER visit,” she raised an eyebrow, “besides, you know how Javi gets - he'll flay us all if he thought we weren’t looking out for you.”

“He’s...something else.”

“He’s amazing,” she reminded as you nodded in agreement. For how much of a worrywart he could be, you knew it was all out of love, “now go and get it checked out. I’ll handle getting the sub in and telling everyone. You have enough to worry about. Can you make it okay, or will you need a ride? Should I call Javi?”

“I can drive myself,” you promised, thankful it happened to your left foot and not the right, “I’m not going to bother my darling, overprotective husband just yet. Not until I can confirm that nothing is actually wrong. I don’t want him to stress over nothing, and I’m sure by the time he gets home tonight he’ll just be laughing at me and my clumsiness!”

“Alright,” Anna grabbed your purse and handed it to you, as you managed to slink out of the chair, “go get checked out and feel better. If you need anything at all, just call me.”

“Thanks for all of your help,” you hobbled towards the door, trying to keep as much weight off of your foot as possible, as Anna grimaced at you, “I swear it’s not that bad - worse than it looks.”

“Sure, sure,” she disagreed politely, “now quit stalling and go get help!”

»»————-　♡　————-««

The white walls and bright lights of the exam room were enough to rattle your nerves, even if just ever so lightly. You sat on the examination bed and tried to keep yourself calm as you waited for the nurse to come back and begin examining you. Nothing but the distant sounds of people outside and the tick-tock of the aging clock met your ears. You almost wish you’d called Javier just to have some company. Shit.

“Mrs. Peña?” a kind looking woman, maybe around Javier’s age poked her head in as you nodded, “sorry for the wait, we’re pretty busy right now. You’re here for a rolled ankle?”

“Yeah,” you answered as you relaxed at her comforting presence as she came in and sat on her rolling stool, eyes immediately dropping your swollen and irritated ankle, “I was playing with my kids outside - kickball - and then tripped over my own damn feet and ta da!”

“Were you at home when this happened? Playing with your kids?”

“Oh no, I’m a teacher,” you quickly explained, a warm flush rising up your cheeks at the thought of children, “it was on their lunch break at school. I-I don’t have any children of my own.”

You weren’t sure why you felt the need to offer up a clarifying statement.

“I see,” she made a few notes before turning back to you, “it looks pretty bad, to be quite frank. I’m going to assume it wasn’t a break, a sprain rather, from how you’re managing, but we’ll need to do some x-rays to confirm. We’ll do your blood work as well just to make sure everything is in order. Before we do x-rays or anything - are you pregnant?”

“No,” you admitted, looking at your feet as you tried not to sigh. It had been on your mind recently, and you weren’t sure quite what to make of your own feelings on the matter. While you hadn't been actively trying, you couldn't help but wonder if it would ever happen.

“Any chance you could be?” 

“Umm,” you twiddled your thumbs as you shrugged your shoulders, “I-I suppose. I’m not on birth control and my husband and I don’t use protection...we’ve been trying but not trying if that makes sense? But my cycle’s been regular so I highly doubt it.”

“Okay,” the scratching of her pen on paper was almost maddening as she was making notes and you just sat there. You could curse yourself for babbling on to her, but you couldn’t really help it. Besides, it’d be better for them to know all the details if they were going to x-ray and poke and prod you, “very good. Let me just go get everything and we’ll get started and a better look at everything. We’ll have you set and on your way in no time.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Here you go,” you scratched Stevie’s ears as you offered him a treat, a scrap of carrot from the vegetables you were chopping up for dinner, “what do you think, buddy? Should we tell him tonight?”

“Should we tell who and what tonight?” Javi’s voice startled you so much that you almost dropped your knife. You hadn’t even heard him come in, ever the sneaky DEA agent as he walked into the kitchen. A smile was on his face as he came over to you and pressed a soft kiss to your lips, “hi baby.”

“J-Javi,” you couldn’t help but melt into his touch, despite his surprise arrival, “you’re home!”

“Oh very observant of you, Dulzura,” he teased as he pulled back and started to undo his tie. It was only then that he noticed you weren’t wearing what you had earlier in the day; you were in one of his sweaters and a pair of joggers and… “what the hell happened to your ankle?!”

There it was  - Javier switching into overdrive. You put everything down on the counter and turned to him, putting on your most innocent and sheepish expression. His large, warm hands found your face as he looked you over to make sure you were okay. 

“It’s nothing, Javi,” you promised him, “I swear it. It’s just a bad sprain, but I went and had it looked at and they wrapped it and gave me pain killers. It’s umm...a stupid little story actually…”

“What happened?” he bent down and reached out to tentatively and delicately cheek the binding to make sure the nurse had properly tended to your sprain. He made a small sound of disgruntled satisfaction before standing up and waiting for a proper explanation, “why didn’t you call me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you, Javier,” you promised as he crossed his arms over his broad but acquiesced with a nod, “you’re so busy, and honestly, it wasn’t a big deal at all. Besides, Anna was ready to call you immediately, but I told her not to worry. All that happened was that I was outside with the kids and we were playing kickball and I tried over my laces, fell, and twisted my ankle. It hurts, but no fracture or anything.”

Javier’s lips twitched as he tried not to laugh, his shoulders shaking with effort as he just studied you, “are you....are you serious, Dulzura?”

“Don’t laugh at me!” you pouted as he started laughing at your dismal nod when you confirmed that that was what actually happened, “they thought I was cool and how was I supposed to say no to them!? I’m the cool teacher to them!”

“And look what that got you,” he snickered as you sighed heavily, “I’m sorry - I’m sorry. As long as you’re okay, that’s what matters. Whatever you need, just tell me the word and I’ll make sure you have it. I’ll take good care of you, Dulzura.”

“I know you will...you always do,” your heart raced as you tried to decide whether or not to tell him the rest of your revelations. But then he looked at you with those eyes, those soft brown, gentle eyes, and your heart melted. He gently pulled you into his arms as he kissed you again, chasing after your soft, sweet lips with his own, seemingly never able to get enough of you, “Javier, I love you.”

“I love you too,” you felt him smile against your lips, “what’s brought on your sudden declaration of love, mi alma?”

“I...I’m pregnant,” you blurted it out without even really thinking about it. Javier pulled back as a surprised expression crossed his features. He looked at you, seemingly in a state of shock, before opening and closing his mouth a few times, “Javi?”

“You’re pregnant?” he repeated as you nodded. It took about a moment for everything to finally come full circle as he finally realized what you had said. Immediately, an overwhelming wave of emotion came over you as you felt the back of your eyes start to sting with tears. He grabbed your face and slowly crashed his lips back onto yours and kissed deeply and slowly, “holy shit.”

“I know,” you beamed at him, “they asked before they did x-rays and blood work and then well...they discovered I was pregnant. I had no clue and then they told me and yeah - holy shit."

“That’s amazing,” he said softly, “pregnant....”

“I know,” you breathed him in and ran a hand through his dark curls, “I’m not far along, only like six weeks, so it’s still very early, but yes. We’re finally having a baby, Javier!

“I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around and held you in a tight embrace, “I love you so much.”

“You deserve this - everything. You are such a good man, Javier, and I am so honored to call you my husband, and the father of my child,” he almost melted under your praise as you traced along his features before resting your hand on his cheek, “I love you, Javi. I am so excited for this.”

“Me too,” he agreed, “this is everything - you are everything.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

3 months pregnant

“Dulzura?” Javier yawned as he wiped the sleep from his eyes as he got up and found you in the kitchen, peering into the fridge. You were in the mood for...something. You just weren’t sure what that something was. Everything sounded good but nothing seemed to satiate that craving you had deep within, “what are you doing up?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” you admitted, hoping you hadn’t woken him up by accident, “and I got hungry. I’m sorry if I woke you, my love. Go back to bed, Javier.”

“It’s fine,” he insisted as he shuffled into the kitchen and slowly pried you away from the fridge, “sit down, and let me make you something to eat. What sounds good?”

“Javier,” you did as he asked, padding over to the other side of the counter and taking a seat at the bar. You rested your head on your hands as he stifled a yawn, "honey, go back to bed. You're exhausted and you've got back to back classes tomorrow."

"They start in the late morning," he insisted, with a sleepy nod as you just laughed at him. He was such a stubborn man sometimes it drove you crazy - but you knew it came from a place of love and concern, "don't sleep well without you anyways. 's better when you're there."

"Oh, my sweet husband," he reached into the fridge and pulled out some cheese, butter, and your favorite pickled jalapeños. You watched in curiosity as he went to the bread box and grabbed the fresh loaf of bread you'd purchased earlier at the store, "grilled cheese?"

"Grilled cheese with jalapeños," he corrected, a lazy smile tugged up the corners of his mouth. You made a small sound of musing as you realized it didn't sound too bad at all, "and tomato soup, naturally. How does that sound?"

"Sounds delicious," you grinned eagerly as you leaned in to watch him work. You made a small sound of surprise as your stomach rumbled loudly. Apparently you were hungrier than you had thought, "apparently, my stomach and I agree. I think its your daughter that agrees."

At the mention of your baby, Javier paused and smiled, his eyes flitting to your barely visible bump. Some days he still couldn't believe that you were having a baby. You were his wife. What a wild world it was indeed; years ago he'd never dreamed he would have all of this. The Javier that once existed and refused to believe that there was any light in the world could never have pictured any of this. 

But here you were. Continually proving him wrong. And he loved it all.

"Wait - how do you know we're having a girl?" he asked, suddenly wide awake as he raised an eyebrow at you, "I thought we still need to wait another month or so."

"We do," you grinned at him, "but I just know. I'm sure of it!"

"Well, you do have a fifty-fifty chance of being right…"

"I have a hundred percent chance of being right," you insisted as you reached over the counter and grabbed the jar of pickled jalapeños and fished a few out, and popped them into your mouth, "don't argue with your pregnant wife, Javier Peña. You of all people should know not to cross someone so dangerous."

He snorted with laughter, suddenly feeling much more awake as he sliced up cheese and turned on the stove, "and if we end up having a son?"

"Then we keep having more until we have a daughter and I am proven right," you plastered on a sweet smile, knowing it would wind him up. You'd never really discussed how many children you wanted or planned on having. It was just a sort of...whatever happens happens type thing. But, if you were being honest, you'd probably have given Javier as many children as he wanted. Your husband fell silent as he watched you for a moment before taking the jar away from, "nothing to add? Silence isn't like you, my love."

"We can have as many as you'd like," he promised, "you're the one doing all the hard work. If you're done after one, then it's fine for me. You already amaze me every day."

"Don't make me cry, Javier," your whole body soaked in the warmth and love from his simple words, "its getting really easy at this point, and you're taking advantage!"

"Sorry," he shot you a wink before leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to your lips, "back to business."

"Hmm," you mused quietly, "I thought kissing me was business."

"I thought you were hungry?"

"Fine," you playfully huffed as he carried on cooking, "Javi?"

"Dulzura?"

"I love you," you beamed at him, the little smile that worked its way onto his face take your breath away - as it always had. 

"I love you."

»»————-　♡　————-««

6 months pregnant

A huff escaped your lips as you tried to reach for the socks and underwear that had fallen out of the laundry basket. It was no easy feat when you couldn’t see your own feet anymore. But you were determined to get everything up and off the floor as you walked back towards your bedroom to put away the clean clothes. And you weren’t about to give up and ask for help - not yet anyway.

Instead, you opted to awkwardly lower yourself to the floor in order to blindly grab for the discarded items. But it was no use...this was almost harder. 

“You alright, Dulzura?” Javier came in and found you struggling, cleaning his dirty hands off on a rag. He’d been working outside, getting the garden spruced up as the summer slowly came to an end, “can’t reach?”

“I can,” you stuck your tongue out at him as he huffed with laughter, but motioned for you to go on. Wanting to prove that you were right, and weren’t completely helpless after all. It hadn’t been easy having to give up a lot of the things you used to be able to do with ease as you progressed in your pregnancy. The fact that none of your pants would fit over your belly anymore had been a point of horror for you - it meant you were truly and actually pregnant, you were actually having a baby. You’d always known, but that had been what made it all extremely real. Every day you got closer and closer to your due date, it all became a little more real. Exciting - but terrifying. 

Not being able to see your feet had been another blow. You could hardly get proper shoes on anymore, opting for easy slide ons, which were great for the warmth of summer and didn’t matter since you were on summer break along with your kids. It was almost as though Javier could sense your frustration, and he’d often silently help you with getting your shoes on in the morning. He never said a word, knowing he didn’t have to. He always told you he loved you in so many ways, often without saying it. 

You tried to again, dangling your hand along on the floor as you tried again. After watching you struggle for a moment, Javier came over and grabbed everything in one foul swoop before taking your hand in his and helping you upright. 

“Hey,” you pouted at him as he put the items back into your basket, “I almost had it!”

“I know,” he kissed the tip of your nose, “but I wanted to help. Why can I not help my gorgeous wife?”

“Your very pregnant and easily frustrated wife?” you teased as you started to walk towards the bedroom. He followed after you, swatting at your bum as you squealed in delight, “Javier!”

“Come on, mi alma,” he grinned, “let me help put everything away.”

“If I let you help, you’re just going to take me to bed and then I’ll have to wash the sheets again!”

“I’ve never heard a single complaint from you before,” as you set the basket on the dresser, he came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist before settling a hand on your belly and gently rubbing it a few times. He pressed a few kisses to the side of your neck as you tilted your head to give him easier access, “there we go, Dulzura. Just like you like it.”

“You’re the worst,” you teased as you turned your head to kiss him, “you’re lucky I love you. And I’m seemingly always in the mood right now - they really weren’t kidding about pregnancy making you more horny. Although, I’ve never heard a single complaint from you before.”

“And you never will,” he promised, his low in your ear as you tried not to completely let your mind wander too far away, “do you have any plans for this afternoon, Dulzura?”

“N-no,” you  managed to choke out as one of his hands skimmed along the waistband of your leggings. You knew exactly where this was going, and you were loath to stop him, especially as he slowly kept kissing you.

“Good,” he rasped, “because I have plans for you. Been thinking about you all day, especially in these tight leggings. You knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you honey?”

“Uh huh,” you agreed as his warm hand slipped inside and a shiver ran up your spine, “Javier. Please.”

“Don’t worry, mi alma,” he captured your gasp in a sweet kiss, “I’ll take good care of you.”

The laundry could definitely wait.

»»————-　♡　————-««

9 months pregnant 

It was an early, chilling morning as you sipped on some tea as you sat out in the garden. It was probably too cold to be sitting outside, but you were handled up in blankets and didn't care. 

Christmas was a few weeks away and you enjoyed peeking into the neighbor's yards to see what they all had going on for decorations.

"Are you sure you don't want to come inside?" Javier poked his head out from the sliding screen door, his brow furrowed in concentration, "its freezing! And I have breakfast!"

"I've got blankets and a baby keeping me warm," you reminded him, pointing at your large belly. You were due in a couple of weeks; how time had flown. He jokingly frowned at you, sticking out his tongue. Playfully rolling your eyes, you clambered to your feet and waddled over to him, "fine, hold on you big baby. This is because I want breakfast."

Javier was on his winter break from teaching and you were on maternity leave now and you definitely didn't mind having him around all the time. If you could have always had it this way, you definitely wouldn't have minded.

"I'm just looking out for you," he insisted with a pout as you pressed a kiss to his lips, "I talked to Papà. He's really excited to come in a few weeks - more like excited to meet his grandbaby."

"I'm not complaining at all," you insisted, knowing there would be many sleepless nights and chaotic days ahead of you, "we'll need all the help we can get. Hell, maybe we can convince Steve and Connie to come and visit too…"

"I'm sure we'll have all the help in the world between our families and friends, Dulzura," he promised as he took your hand and pulled you into the warm kitchen, putting a plate of breakfast for you on the counter, "I'm sure we'll get sick of having so many people around."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," you took a bite and smiled as Stevie laid by your feet. The whole house was warm and cozy, perfectly decorated for Christmas, with a huge tree and already lots of presents. Javier had really outdone himself this year, seemingly more in the Christmas spirit than you. Honestly, you were feeling a little bit out of it - being so pregnant would do that to you. 

You watched your husband for a few moments, admiring his profile and lazy smile. Gods, you were still so in love with him. He felt you watching him closely, and turned to you, cooking a dark brow, "what's on your mind, mi alma?"

"Nothing much," you shrugged lightly, feeling a flush of warmth was over you at him catching you, "just thinking about how I love you, and how I'm glad you're here with me, that you knocked me up, and yeah. Are you…are you nervous Javi?"

"About the baby?"

"No, about the Astros' odds next season," you snorted as he groaned at your joke, "of course the baby. I'm just...so nervous. Like I feel ready to meet her, but I'm so scared that I'll fuck it up somehow."

"You still think its a girl?"

"Positive," you grinned at him - you'd decided not to find out the sex ahead of time, leaving it a surprise for both of you. You were still convinced it was a girl, Javier was undecided, "we'll find out soon enough!"

"Either way," he brought his plate and sat down next to you, "everything will be alright. You're going to be an amazing mother, Dulzura. You are everything."

"I love you, Javier," you beamed as he gently put a hand on your belly, "I know it'll be alright, but holy shit - I'm so nervous. Its getting so real lately. We're going to be parents."

"Parents," he repeated, "fuck."

"Who would have thought-" you were quickly cut off when you felt the baby flutter round. A small sound of surprise left your lips as you grabbed Javier's hand and placed it on your belly, "she's telling you not to curse."

He was silent for a moment as a smile spread on his features; despite having felt this many times by now, it still continued to surprise him. He couldn't even imagine how it felt for you, "this is...everything."

"I realized I didn't know what to get you for Christmas so I got you a baby instead," you don't know why it came to mind, but as soon as the words left your lips you brought into a fit of laughter - Javier joined in, a brilliant sound that you adored above all.

"Best Christmas present ever," he whispered before leaning in and giving you a gentle kiss - sweet from the syrup and pancakes he had just eaten, "I mean it. I love you both more than you will ever know."

"We love you too," you grinned as he stroked your belly, "I'm glad your class was the only one available and I took it. I'm glad you were a grumpy professor that let me into his office - I was able to work my magic and look where that got us."

He threw his back with laughter, his dark curls shining brilliantly in the light as his eyes crinkled in the corners. You'd never been more glad for subjecting yourself to his class.

"Me too," he whispered as he put a hand on your cheek, "you always were a stubborn thing."

"Some things never change," you stuck your tongue out at him, "I trust your daughter will be the same!"

»»————-　♡　————-««

You were humming to yourself as you shuffled around the kitchen and tried to put together a mid afternoon snack when you felt an odd sensation in your lower belly. It caused you to drop the knife on the counter as you held onto the marble and gritted your teeth. Stevie was at your feet in an instant, looking at you with concern.

"Its okay, buddy," you reassured him as the pain passed. Surely it couldn't have been anything too bad...probably just an end of pregnancy pain. Sighing at your nonsense worry, you reached for the knife again but before you reached it, the pain was back, "never mind, shit shit shit."

Trying to keep yourself calm, you leaned against the counter and tried to even your breathing. Contractions. Of course. You were due in a week and you still hadn't been expecting it.

"Javier?" he was down the hall in the second bedroom that had been converted into the nursery, putting away the final touches of clothing. Before he could respond, you felt an odd sensation followed by liquid running down your legs, "Javier!"

"What's wrong, Dulzura?" he rushed down the hall and back into the kitchen, worry etched onto his features as you stood there in shock and clutched at your belly, "honey-"

"My water broke," you said meekly as you pointed to your wet pants, "and I've had a few contractions - I think the baby's coming."

"Okay," he immediately kicked into gear as he remained cool and calm, despite wanting to panic and worry along with you, "its okay. I'm going to get the hospital bag, we'll get you in the car, Stevie to the neighbor, and then we'll go and have a baby."

"You make it seem so simple," you huffed lightly as you tried to channel his inner calm demeanor, "we'll be okay, right? I-I'm scared…"

"I know, honey," he promised as he kissed the side of your head, "you've done so amazing already, it will all be okay. I'm right here, okay? I'm just going to grab your bag and the dog and we'll go. Ten minutes and we'll be on the way."

"Okay," you agreed as he practically ran down the hall to get your packed bag, "we're going to have a baby, Javi."

"Indeed we are," he agreed with a small smile as he reached for his wallet and keys and stuff for the neighbor to watch Stevie for a few days, "we're having our baby."

Holy shit.

»»————-　♡　————-««

“You’re doing amazing, sweetheart,” Javier praised you as you squeezed his hand after another push. You groaned and gritted your teeth as you glared at him; this was absolute hell, “the baby’s almost there.”

“Shut up, Javier,” you hissed as you got ready for another push, “I am never letting you touch me again! You did this to me.”

“Hey - it was a team effort,” he reminded you in a vain attempt at a joke. Your death glare and the squeezing of his hand said it all, “sorry, Dulzura. I love you.”

“I love you too,” you said as you took a deep breath, “but right now, I’m blaming this on you.”

“Fair enough,” he said as you pushed again. He was sure his hand was going to break.

»»————-　♡　————-««

It wasn’t much longer before you were laying back and holding the smallest bundle you could ever imagine in your arms. You were somewhere between crying tears of joy and exhaustion, as you stared at your newborn daughter in awe. Javier was sitting next to you, looking down at her, his own eyes glossy as he gently touched her cheek. She had the darkest eyes and a shock of dark hair, already taking after her father. She had come into the world squealing and crying but had fallen asleep almost as soon as Javier held her. 

“I told you we were having a girl,” you teased him softly, “I was right. Look at her, Javier. That’s our daughter. We made her.”

“You did all the hard work, mi alma,” he whispered as he pressed a kiss to the side of your head, “she’s beautiful.”

“Lucia Luna Peña,” you grinned at your husband, “it’s perfect. I love you both more than you could ever know. Javier...you really are everything to me - the best friend, best husband, and now the best father. She’s going to love the hell out of you, just like I do.”

He remained silent for a moment as he looked at the sleeping baby before looking back at you. His whole world was in his arms, and the thought of that alone was enough to overwhelm him with emotion. He’d never thought he wanted this - a “boring” job, a home, a wife, and a baby. 

But here he was. And he had never felt happier, never felt more full of love and life. This was everything. 

“I love you so much, Dulzura - you and Lucia,” he promised as he rested his head on top of yours, “you have given me everything, more than you know. Te quiero con todo.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

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#javier peña #javier peña x reader #javier pena x fem!reader #javier pena x you #a good man #agm universe #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader

[hxneekyuu]

gym 3 boys on a road trip with their s/o

feat. (aged up) akaashi keiji, kuroo tetsurou, tsukishima kei, bokuto koutarou,

warnings : language, occasionally nsfw

a/n : i just decided to do the gym 3 boys bc theyre my literal favorites, but i can do others if anyone wants to request them!

akaashi keiji

literally prepared for anything and everything

has actually thought of every possible thing that could go wrong and has a plan for it 

more interested in the destination than the trip itself but will enjoy the trip just as much as you do

would want to drive the entire time, but he wont argue if you say you want to drive too bc tbh his back probably hurts

probably a pretty quiet drive because hes not much of a talker to begin with, but it’s not uncomfortable

would let you choose all the music because he doesnt mind , he just likes to spend time w you

tbh the only reason hes on this trip is bc you expressed interest in a road trip and he wanted to spend time w you

if you ever say anything about the view being pretty or nice, be prepared for him to quietly find a way to pull over so you can take pictures

no words, just silently checks his mirrors and switches lanes until youre on the side of the road

“what are we doing?” “you said it looked pretty”

literally the perfect bf ever wtf 

probably has an itinerary of things to do once you get to each place like a mom

will not hesitate to drag your ass out of bed at 7am every day to go exploring

“we did not travel this far just to sleep”

booked all the double decker city bus tours, all of them

the king of google maps 

you wouldnt have to do any of the work , hes already done it all

pretends to be strict about exploring, but will easily give in if you say youre tired and just want to chill at the hotel 

“i guess we can go back a little early today,,,” shut up akaashi you want cuddles too

kuroo tetsurou

has no plans

does not know how to plan

you will have to do all the work for this trip 

hes just along for the ride

it does not matter who chooses the music, he will talk over it 

will tell really bad jokes and laugh at every single one with that beautiful hyena laugh

definitely will point out all the ridiculous signs on the side of the road 

quotes all the possible vines 

“ROAD WORK AHEAD??” “tetsu pls don--” “I SURE HOPE IT DOES”

“oh look, it says deer crossing ahead!!” “,,,,, oh deer,,,” “tetsu--”

you will probably want to kill him at some point 

ten hours in a car with just kuroo? why did you agree to this trip

will 100% want to mess around at every hotel you stay in

most people want to get a postcard or something from every place they go

kuroo wants to fuck

surprisingly good at waking up early for exploring 

but he likes to explore in a chill way, like finding a place for breakfast and then going on a walk or smth

hes not big on tours and stuff like that, it’s not his vibe

the last time he went on a tour he got kicked out for all his bad jokes

probably very overprotective when youre exploring only bc its an unfamiliar place

will hover closer than usual and pay more attention to you in shops than the actual merchandise

like a guard dog

would probably make you feel so safe and comfy on a trip w him , 10/10 recommend

tsukishima kei

you will never have control of the music

do not even think of trying to control the music

tsukki has created the perfect playlist for both of your music tastes and he will be very grumpy if you even look at the aux 

it will prob be a very quiet drive but its very calming because he really did make the perfect playlist 

he will drive the entire time, no arguing with him over it

he’ll say its bc he doesnt trust your driving, but really its bc he gets really antsy when he doesnt have smth to do for that long, so he wouldnt want to sit in the passengers seat

probably always has one hand on your leg bc hes ~affectionate~

will joke about you giving him road head 

but hes probably a really safe driver so he wont actually let you do it if you try

if you try to talk over the music he will shush you and restart the song

will definitely complain every time you have to pee

and will make fun of you if you try to hold it for his sake

there is no winning, he is tsukki

but tbh he probably can already tell when you get hungry or want to stop for a bathroom, he just likes being difficult

also probably the most likely to have random surges of affection for you while driving

he’d never admit it, but just existing in silent comfort next to you for hours on end is something he appreciates

do not try to wake him up for city exploring whenever you do reach your destinations

hes a big fan of “sleep now, see later”

you will not get him out of bed, do not try

he’d be perfectly happy just staying in the hotel all day but that makes zero sense 

so he’d let you drag him around for a couple hours before he starts complaining 

this trip is mostly about the long stretches of driving for him, he likes that part more

bokuto koutarou

probably the best road trip partner ever 

is just so excited about everything

will point out every single cow he sees

and his only music request is that you play something loud and energetic when hes driving so he can sing along 

the master of driving games

wants to play all the games

hes like,,, that moment in every coming of age YA novel where the main characters go on a chaotic adventure road trip

hes just that entire sequence of events in a person

will make an adventure out of every possible moment with you

like a sudden breath of fresh air, sometimes hes more breathtaking than the view 

he makes everything fun and bright , there is never a dull moment

will also absolutely joke about you giving him road head and will absolutely mean it

is very excited to explore cities with you but will never complain about cuddles if you want to sleep in

anything you want to do hes like fuck yes i love that idea 

his favorite part is eating

he only ever wants to eat, he thinks about where to eat next while hes eating 

he is just the best person to travel with, he makes everything so much more fun

#haikyuu #haikyuu headcanons #gym 3 #tsukishima kei #akaashi keiji #bokuto koutarou #kuroo tetsurou #tsukishima x reader #bokuto x reader #akaashi x reader #kuroo x reader

[moonandflowersfairy]

hi if you make one for me i would appreciate it

your personality

loyal, introverted, calm, most of the time I'm always smiling, but never and really I'm a very depressed person I don't like to show my true feelings to others, sometimes I lock myself in my room for days, sometimes I'm very manipulative a little sadistic , I know what I want and I don't abandon anyone, quite stubborn, I'm like a tsudare, sarcastic, I try to solve problems in the conversation if I'm not afraid to succeed in the fight, sometimes I end up pushing people away because I'm afraid of disappointment, I don't let people come easily into my life, but who isn't, I always do everything to protect, enthralled, I hardly sleep

-What do you look like

my sign and libra, I'm 1.60 tall,

brown hair that goes over the shoulder, but I always leave it up, brown eyes, I almost always wear baggy clothes because my breasts are big and I'm embarrassed when they look at me, I'm also insecure because I have a lot of high mutilation scars, sometimes sometimes i'm a bit perverted

-what do you like

music, books, quiet places, animals, horror and action movies, drawing, sewing, macabre things

do not like

crowded places, people, monotonous things, leaving the house, doing unnecessary things that won't yield anything, talking

- what are you looking for in a relationship,

someone loyal patient, who I know will always be by my side, who is not afraid to say what he wants and what he wants, but also respects my space, who doesn't care about my sadistic side, and my silence

gender preference too

male, except taijo, baji, nayoha, i'm not comfortable with them

-and any facts about you think might work ♡

I'm very loyal, and would always be there to support and listen, he would always try to show my true feelings.

well i think it might have been a little confused i don't know how to spread it well if you want you don't need to do more if you have to😊

I match you with...

¡! Kawata Souya ¡!

Why?

You and Souya would be a complimentary duo, whenever you feel down he would comfort you and viceversa, he loves you in every possible way no matter your mood. Your relationship would be based around intimacy and little, simple moments you both share.

general headcanons:

¡! SFW ¡!

you met at a Toman meeting, you were part of the 4th division and Nahoya was talking to you about being more present in fights and stop messing with your division's victory. Souya saw you very uncomfortable and decided to step in the conversation and give the message to you instead of his brother.

he then later started looking towards your way more often, noticing how you were normally pretending. it seemed like only him noticed your behaviour so he tried to reach you, but being an introvert himself was a challenge.

mikey knew about Souya's interest in you, he started ordering both of you little errands together.

it was super awkward at first because none of you knew what to say

Souya asked for his brother's advice but got nothing good from it.

just like Chifuyu's plan b, he opted for courage.

he tried to approach you little by little, it took him months to get your number but he wanted to know you better

dates would normally occur by accident, you meeting him at a random place and then he inviting you to go for a walk around the city.

after almost a year (10 months to be specific) he asked permission to be your boyfriend. he went to your house with a bouquet of daises, mostly white and the attempt of a smile (he looked very cute ^^)

to others, your relationship was slow, but to Souya it was perfect, he didn't want to push you and respected your limits all the time.

when you told him about your depression he didn't knew what to do, he just gave you the most loving and warm hug he could give, you both cried

he loves you the way you are, he wouldn't change a thing from you

when you doubt yourself he'll reassure you of the amazing being you are and how special you are to him

will recommend you to look for help if you aren't getting it, and would accompany you to your appointments

always checks on you, he doesn't see you as a burden, he just wants to make sure you are safe and okay

whispers sweet nothings to you when you cuddle

likes to hold your pinky when you are in public

will blush hardly when he sees you in an outfit

marathon movie dates, he always gets scared af because of your excentric taste but uses it as an excuse to be near you

asks you to read to him, your voice calms him so much

you'll sleep the best with him, he is a human pillow and his hair is the softest

knows you are not a fan of Nahoya, so whenever you go to his house he asks Nahoya to go out or to stay quiet

you still see him a lot

Nahoya talked to you about your relationship with his twin and asked you to protect him, you also discused some things just to be clear about what you didn't like about him, he obviously stopped because he knows his brother loves you too much.

you are the only one who has seen him smiling, not even Smiley has seen him like that.

is the sweetest smile that exists, gives beautiful vibes, he does it more often for you

his love language might be quality time and acts of service

it doesn't matter where he is as long as you are there he is happy

¡! NSFW ¡!

again, he will never pressure you to do anything

sex isn't very important to him

he's a switch, more on the sub side

loves to fuck you face to face

will eat you out for hours just because he can and he enjoys it

and believe me when I say he can, because he CAN and WILL make you scream in seconds

loves your body so much

loves to bury his face in your breasts, licks them and sucks them up

his tongue is a god tool and will put it to use

the first time he saw your scars he kissed them, wouldn't want you any other way

praises you like if his life depended on it

its all about your pleasure

if you enjoy it, then he does it too

likes to be degraded

super sensitive in his neck and lower back

it turns him on when you are being perverted and try to tease him

loves you riding him, getting the perfect view, squishing your hips and licking your boobs

his dick is very pretty, normal length and girth, pretty pink in the head, a mole near his crotch, trimed

he prefers you to have hair

likes to cry during the act

choke him, trust me, the "demon" comes out

normally passionate sex, but angry sex with him is the best (lol)

sex in the bathroom is the most common

aftercare is amazing

makes you cum like 4 times, just to see his pretty s/o being in heaven by his own actions <3

[daisies: pureness]

hope you liked it love! I know depression sucks but you are not alone, I'll be here whenever you need me bubs 😚💖

¡! song recommendation ¡!

#[❥︎] match ups #souya x reader #angry x reader #tokyo revengers #tokrev #tokyo revengers x reader #kawata souta x reader #souta kawata #souya kawata #souta x reader

[skelemira]

Heya! Could I request some Geno/Reader hc’s? Go as fluffy (or angsty) as you want! >:3

Oooooh my first angst ok I have been on a major fluff kick lately lol so I gotta switch my mindset... but I've got some fluff requests lined up so I'll do the angst ones first so I can switch back to the fluff mindset lol

Geno x Reader Hcs!!

Angst:

*Geno obviously has some major trauma from the genocide route and living in the SAVE screen/anti-void with only the original Frisk to keep him company (I couldn't remember much of Geno's actual story so I did a quick fandom wiki search). The main problems I can think of for Geno in a relationship are first of all that he would space out. A lot.

*I don't think he would be incredibly mentally present, just because of how much time he spent frozen in the same place, his one thought to try and destroy the timeline. I imagine he had a lot of free time, and not a lot to interact with for hobbies or anything. So I hc he would space out for hours, just trying to pass time until he can try to destroy the timeline. This would lead to him not being very present in the relationship or maybe during a date night he would space out while you're talking.

*I also think he cannot stand quiet. Maybe in some moments it's comforting, because of how overwhelming the world can be sensory-wise, but even then, he probably at least has some gentle music playing. Something varying enough to not let him space out, but soothing enough to let him calm down. I think in those too-quiet moments he would space out and maybe shut down a bit. He would bring headphones everywhere with him (those cute cat ear ones you got him when you learned how he hates the quiet) to try and combat the silence. He likes music with words, but nothing crazy.

*He would not be good at communicating his feelings. At all. He wasn't used to talking about his feelings before the genocide route and he tries to shut out the overwhelming feelings in the SAVE screen. Poor baby is so emotionally constipated and definitely opposed to therapy.

*^^To add onto that, it's not that he doesn't think therapy would help. It's that he thinks he's too mortal after he leaves the SAVE screen and why bother trying to fix himself (his words not my view on going to therapy I am in therapy myself and am very therapy positive but anyway XD) when he's going to dust eventually anyway?

*I'm a bit split on whether he would be overprotective or whether he genuinely wouldn't care what risks you take. Because on one hand, you're all he has. You are the only thing keeping him grounded instead of floating away into the void again (metaphorically). But on the other hand, leaving a place with time frozen and getting to a place where everything is so fast and so utterly mortal.... he would get a sense of what's the point?

Fluff:

*He likes listening to music in different languages. It's mentally engaging to try and figure out what language it is and what they're trying to convey, so it helps ground him a little bit during the silence. You both have youtube recommendations full of music from different countries.

*He likes to experiment with making music, and you help him sometimes with lyrics or with some melodies. He thinks of you as his positive muse. His more upbeat music is always inspired by you. (The darker stuff is him expressing his feelings about his trauma)

*He is very physically affectionate. It's grounding to him and comforting to feel another person, especially someone with skin and hair and so many textures to play with. He loves (non-sexually) feeling you all over, your hair, your skin, your nails...

*He loves head scritches. Honestly who doesn't but when you give him head scritches when you're watching a movie or something he just melts.

*He bounces from hobby to hobby but his favourite ones are yours because you can spend some quality time together while also experiencing a stimulating activity and creating/experiencing something

*He sees people with scars all over his social media, some hating them because they are reminders and some loving them because it means they survived. He chooses to be one of those who (after a long time) loving his scar because it means that he fought and survived. He advocates for body and scar positivity with what little social media presence he has (getting involved in the world of social media that he can't physically interact with reminds him of interacting with a timeline he isn't in so he prefers to meet face-to-face).

Ok yeah I went a bit overboard lol but I hope you enjoy!!! It's been a while since I've written angst, and I think this is the first angsty stuff I've ever done on my tumblr so yeah!

#undertale #undertale writing #undertale hcs #headcanons #geno sans #sans undertale #sans #geno x reader #geno x reader hcs #though it leaned more towards Geno hcs lol

[fanimesenseiwrites]

Hi!, how are you?, hope you're well, anyway, can you please do the '' 1 moment that they assist MC when it comes to adjusting to Devildom'' but for the rest of the brothers? (Levi, Stan, Asmo, Belphie) its ok if you dont want too, have a nice day/night <3

I'm well, thank you for asking! I liked this ask so I'm glad someone asked for the other brothers. Excuse the changing format, I was trying to think of the best way to do each story.

Link to the other 3 brothers.

The brothers help out MC in the Devildom:

Leviathan:

MC has always had a healthy fear of the ocean. As one should, it could easily kill you if you're not cautious. Sharks, certain jellyfish, and riptides and whatnot.

So when Levi asked MC to go to the beach with him, they were a little hesitant. But Levi so rarely wants to leave his room so they felt like they had to say yes.

But as soon as they get to the beach, MC feels their fear go past the lengths of healthy

The sand is black???? Which just makes the water look darker and now MC can't see any potential wild life which they're sure is far scarier and/or more threatening than anything the human realm has to offer and-

"MC? Are you okay?" Levi asks gently.

MC briefly wonders if they should tell him the truth or not.

"I... I just... I'm afraid of the ocean," MC confesses.

Levi is little disappointed. This is the only part of "outside" that he likes, he was really looking forward to this. He wants to stay but he doesn't want his best friend to be uncomfortable

"Why are you afraid of it?" Levi asks, wondering if there's something he can do to help.

When MC tells Levi all their reservations, he perks up a little; he can work with that.

Levi takes MC over to the tide pools first, thinking that starting with something small will help

He's right. MC is absolutely delighted by all the little flora and fauna in the tide pools.

Once MC is comfortable with that, he encourages them to get into the big ocean, promising that no sea creatures will harm them while he's there

"But what about riptides? You can't control the ocean."

That's true, he can't control the water... but he can teach them how to swim out of a riptide.

MC feels a lot better just seeing how much effort Levi has put into making them feel comfortable and safe

"Thank you, Levi. You really are a true friend."

Oh boy is he a blushing mess. He just wants MC to have fun tho and he's glad he could help.

Satan:

Satan is in the library one day, just browsing, when he hears a familiar voice mumbling, grumbling, and... crying?

He walks around to the next aisle to find MC sitting on the ground, surrounded by books, and holding their head in their hands.

He frowns. "MC?"

Their head snaps up to meet his gaze. "Oh fuck..." They sniff and wipe their tears away. "Hey Satan."

"What's wrong?" Satan asks as he kneels down next to MC.

MC sighs. "I just... feel really dumb right now..."

"Can I help you somehow?"

"Not unless you can make all these books suddenly read in (MC's native language)."

"Ah, is the demonic script giving you issues?"

"Yes! And I have to write a paper for literature and history and I'm already sucking ass in history, I have to do good on this paper or I'm pretty sure Lucifer will hang me from the ceiling next! But how can I write a good paper if I can't even read the research well?! Like why am I even here? I'm so stupid and useless down here!"

Satan frowns. "You're not stupid or useless. How about I help you with your papers?"

MC looks at him. "... you would do that?"

"Yes. I'll help you find some good books for your research and I'll help you with the demonic script too."

MC sniffles. "I'd really appreciate that."

Satan smiles slightly and helps them. "Of course, we can't have Lucifer punishing you."

MC chuckles. "Yeah..."

...

"Satan!" MC calls out to the demon just before attacking him with a hug.

"Oi! MC! What're you doing?" Satan is a little annoyed but mostly embarrassed by MC's actions.

MC shoves some papers in his face. "Look, look, look!!! I got an 87 on my literature paper and a 92 on my history one!"

Satan smiles at hearing the grades. "Good job, you did very well."

"Well, it's all thanks to you," MC thanks him.

Satan blushes a little. "You put in the work, I just helped."

"Still, I really appreciate it."

"I'm glad I could help."

Asmodeus:

MC is not "high maintenance" by any means

Especially not when you stand them up next to Asmo

But they still care about how they look a little bit

They want to be clean and look clean and well put together

So when they're thrust into the Devildom without a single personal item, it may not be the first thing they're upset about, but they're upset about it

Lucifer orders Mammon to take MC shopping for such personal items but when MC starts asking him about brands and prices, combination to oily skin...

"Fuck this." He pawns them off on Asmo.

Of course Asmo tries to seduce MC first, but as soon as MC says the words "skin care" it's like a switch is flipped

Asmo pulls them into his room and gives them a skin and hair quiz?? Like on paper???? He just has them ready???????

Based on MC's answers, Asmo has all sorts of products to recommend them

He even lets them try some of the products he owns and uses before he takes them shopping for their own products

Asmo goes only a little bit overboard. He loves helping people with body care, but he's not super invested in MC (yet)

This interaction goes a long way in helping MC become comfortable in the Devildom, and though MC won't tell Asmo that, they do thank him for all his help

When they get home, they definitely find Mammon strung up. Lucifer was not happy that he pawned MC off on Asmo

Belphegor:

By the time Belphegor is released from the attic and is even able to help MC, they've already pretty much adapted to life in the Devildom

Belphie pretends not to care, but when he keeps hearing stories from his brothers about all the stuff they've done with MC he can't help but get a little jealous

Belphie keeps trying to find stuff for him and MC to do that they haven't done yet, but he doesn't have much luck...

Then, one night, he catches MC sneaking into bed with him

"MC...?" He asks, sleepily.

MC gasps. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

Belphie just pulls them close and snuggles them. "S'okay..."

"... I had a nightmare... but I always sleep better with you so I thought I'd come in here..."

Belphie hums. "I'll make sure you dream sweetly, don't worry."

MC pressed their face into Belphie's neck. "Thank you."

Belphie is incredibly smug about that the next day, but he won't tell anyone who asks about it.

#I enjoy stuff like this #sometimes it's hard to write for an idea that's not yours though #but it's good practice #forces me to get out of my comfort zone #I appreciate it #obey me #obey me fanfic #obey me mc #obey me shall we date #obey me Levi #obey me Satan #obey me Asmo #obey me belphie #fanimesensei answers

[animefanwrites]

brother’s best friend [F] | pt. 2

b. chan x reader | brother’s best friend au

synopsis: “what happens when your brother invites over his (hot) best friend but forgets to even inform you about it? And what happens when you walk out of your bedroom and see him in your house with no sign of your brother in sight?”

word count: 2k

genre: brothers best friend au, teen rom-com

warning: fluff, language, tiny bit of angst

a/n: here’s chapter 2! Hope you like it as much as you liked the previous one! Thank you!

chapters: 01 | 02 | 03 +

status: on-going series

The fresh smell of bacon was the first thing that you got welcomed with when you walked into the kitchen. Pushing your hair away from your face and dragging your feet towards the door, you could see a muscular back cooking. You shook your head and sighed, walking towards Chan who had woken up earlier than everyone to prepare breakfast.

“You shouldn’t have, you’re a guest here,” you said while smiling up at him. He turned to face you with a sweet smile and a cute laugh escaped his lips. That smile could make every evil in the world disappear.

“I know, but since I stayed over, I thought I should treat you with some breakfast. I’m aware Jisung can’t even make a sandwich.” Chan shrugged his shoulders and flipped the bacon in the pan. That was no lie, none of you could cook and you were partially glad that Chan decided to make breakfast.

“Well... does that mean that our guest will stay over for lunch so we can treat him with our skilful recommendations of Take-Out?” you smiled and Chan laughed again, making your heart miss a beat and a tingle to run through your body.

“Of course, I could never say no to you,” he said and placed the first set of bacon and eggs in a plate, handing it to you. “A pretty plate for a pretty girl,” as you looked down at the plate, you realised that the food was placed in such way that it resembled a heart. You blushed and waved your hand, going over to the table.

“You know, Jisung never told me about you,” you started while looking down at the bacon heart, smiling like an idiot — even though it didn’t mean anything in particular.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, almost everyone has come over but you. Seungmin hasn’t been here either,” you told him, wondering why Jisung was keeping such a handsome and nice guy away from you. All his friends were indeed nice and handsome as well, but Chan was a whole new level.

“I’m always quite busy with music and all so I guess there isn’t much to tell about me,” he chuckled and placed two more plates on the table. He sat across from you, slowly eating while drinking some water along.

It didn’t take long for Jisung to wake up as well and come running to eat. He sat between the two of you, watching carefully and glaring at you whenever you lifted your head from your plate to look at his handsome friend. There was no doubt he was suspecting something.

“I’ll get going now,” you exclaimed, seeing a surprised Jisung and Chan’s little frown with his shiny eyes. “I have some stuff to do, I’ll be back before lunch,” you added and hurried away to go get changed. You fixed your hair and put on your favourite comfortable outfit. Taking your phone as well, you waved at the guys and walked out, taking a deep breath and smiling to yourself, cheeks hinted with a scarlet shade.

Did he really look upset that you were leaving?

No, that’s not the priority now! You shook your head and headed straight for the library, where you knew you’d find the person you were looking for. Someone who could help you no matter what.

“I need your help,”

“Are you planning on murdering Jisung?”

“Not yet—”

“Then I’m not interested,”

“Minho!” You groaned, whispering slightly but still sounding desperate as you glared at the man on the other side of the library reception. He looked up at you from behind his large glasses and sighed, placing his phone down but not before staring at his wallpaper with his cats for a little.

“Fine, what do you need this time,” he answered, resting his elbows on the wooden surface while looking at you, obviously bored and maybe even a little annoyed at your presence.

“Look, I just want some help to get with someone behind Jisung’s back,” you said, playing with your fingers and noticing Minho’s suddenly interested look. He raised his eyebrows so you could continue and you looked around before leaning closer. “Chan,”

“I KNEW IT!” A plethora of hushing followed and Minho rolled his eyes before going back to you. “Hyunjin owes me money. We made a bet that you’d definitely ask about Chan the second you meet him,” he smirked proudly while taking his phone in his hand.

“Bet— that’s not the point, no one has to know!” you said while taking his phone away. “If you tell Hyunjin, he’ll definitely tell Seungmin and Seungmin will for sure tell Jeongin who will tell Changbin and then Changbin will tell Jisung! And worse; Jisung will tell Chan,” you ranted, watching as Minho became more and more confused with every passing second.

“That’s true...” he admitted and sighed, taking off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose.”Fine, I guess my money can wait, or you’ll give it to me,” Minho’s look seemed threatening so you handed him some money that seemed to satisfy him.

“Great can you just help me now? You know I’m not good with this stuff,” you sighed and looked around again, feeling like someone was spying on you from afar. “Tell me everything I need to know to get to his heart,”

“Be yourself, compliment him, make sure you don’t push yourself to get his heart, he’s a simple guy I’m sure he already likes you,” Minho said while grabbing a random book and writing down the name of the old man and his wife who just returned a book.

“Seriously?” you asked while crossing your arms seeing your friend smile at the couple. “I thought it’d be more difficult...”

“You forget Jisung exists,” Minho said, flicking your forehead. “It will be difficult because if he finds out he’ll kill you both and possibly even me,” he groaned while taking a jelly to place it in his mouth.

You nodded and shrugged slightly before agreeing with him. You chatted a bit more before you saw the time and decided to leave and maybe walk around before returning home. On your way out, you noticed a very familiar car parked outside.

“y/n, hello!” a voice was heard and you turned, grinning immediately as you saw the tall, handsome man approaching you. “You’re going home? Want me to drop you off?”

“That’d be great, thanks Hyunjin,” you replied, following him in his car. “How have you been?” a small talk wouldn’t hurt and you still had time to go home. Hyunjin was a really good friend, so Jisung would be even happy that he dropped you off as well.

“Just the usual, running for photoshoots here, helping Jisung there...” he said and started the engine, glancing at you. “You?”

“Just getting annoyed by Jisung and trying to study,” you chuckled, telling him the truth while sliding on your seatbelt. “Thank you for driving me home, it means a lot,” you smiled to him looking outside the window seeing all the way you had to walk back — Hyunjin was a life-saviour since your feet were killing you.

“Oh, it’s nothing!” Hyunjin grinned and when you finally reached your house he fully turned to you. “It’s always nice to spend time with you, we should meet again,” he added and you could feel the blush rising to your cheeks.

“Definitely,” you said and opened the door but didn’t leave before giving him a warm smile and closing the door on your way out. You heard the car leave when you twisted the keys to enter, only to see Chan at the door. “CHAN—”

“Easy!” he chuckled and caught your phone that flew out of your hand. “Sorry, I thought it was the take-out,” his smile made you calm down and sigh, inner peace coming right into you.

“I was just not expecting anyone at the door,” you chuckled and walked over to the couch after changing into your slippers. You quickly went to your room to change into something comfortable and walked back out to talk with Chan since Jisung had disappeared yet again.

“Was that Hyunjin’s car?” he suddenly asked when you sat next to him on the couch. “Are you guys...”

“No no!” you immediately said, throwing your hands up and the clearing your throat for a better answer. “I mean— he’s just a friend, we’re not together. Jisung would have already killed him if that was the case anyway,” you awkwardly chuckled in hopes to save your chance.

You saw him nod and smile slightly which made you wonder what he was thinking. Looking down at your hands you bit your lip and opened your mouth to say something before being rudely interrupted by the bell.

“The food!” Chan happily said and sprinted to the door, all excited. You smiled and stood up, going over to prepare the table. You were hungry as well and, hoping that Jisung wouldn’t appear soon, spending lunch with Chan would be a blessing.

Turns out Jisung came home just in time and you had to spend lunch with both of them while your annoying brother purposely kept hiding Chan from your view; either leaning forward, backwards or extending his hand.

“Can you like— stop?” you huffed seeing him reach for the salt just when Chan leaned down to eat his noodles. Jisung rose his eyebrows at you, pretending to be surprised while putting some more salt on his food. At that point, you were sure that it wasn’t edible.

“What do you mean, exactly?” he shrugged and took a bite, only to choke at how salty it was. “I didn’t do anything to annoy you. What, do you want to watch Chan eat? That’s creepy,” Jisung said while making both you and Chan choke on your food.

“I didn’t say that!” you defended yourself.

“Then go back to your food!” Jisung replied while switching his food with Chan’s since he couldn’t eat his own. “Don’t talk when you’re eating,” he added, slurping on the noodles.

You sighed at your brother and got up, placing your food in front of Chan since you were full and there was much left. Without a word, you walked towards your room, letting Jisung enjoy his ‘victory’, but your plans weren’t over. You were going to steal Chan’s heart with your charms and get your revenge — and a handsome boyfriend.

“Can I come in?” You smiled after hearing Chan’s voice behind the door. You answered with a ‘yes’ and soon the door slowly opened and Chan walked in, smiling back at you. He sat on the edge of the bed and you slowly moved next to him. “I’m sorry about Jisung—”

“Woah, he’s my brother, I’m the one who’s supposed to apologise,” you cut him off while raising your hand. He blinked and chuckled slightly, shrugging his shoulders. “Don’t worry about it, he’s always like that, I’m used to it,”

“Well, I’m glad,” he chuckled and scratched his head, looking quite nervous. “You know, on Saturday nights I usually go to my studio but since Jisung fell right asleep, do you want—”

“Yes!” you answered too quickly, then coughed slightly embarrassed. “I’d love to. I’m not tired and I wanna help! Sounds fun...” you replied with a small smile, seeing a grin spread across his lips and his cheeks to become a rosy shade.

“Great! I’ll go get the car ready,” Chan got up and smiled at you one last time before getting out of the room. You squealed in slight excitement while quickly jumping out of bed and putting on something more appropriate. You walked out and saw Chan starting the engine while fixing his hair in the mirror.

“So, where exactly is that studio?” you questioned, closing the car’s door and putting on a seatbelt. You watched him copy your actions and he soon smiled, placing a finger on his lips.

“Secret,” he replied, gripping on the wheel while driving away from your house, leaving Jisung behind to sleep. It was obvious that it was going to be something between you two, maybe even considered a date.

Spending some alone time on a Saturday night wasn’t on your schedule, but it seemed a lot better than watching cat videos and sending them to Minho. Speaking of who, you needed to tell him everything that happened, hoping that he hasn’t told anyone already.

#skz #skz series #skz oneshots #stray kids #han jisung #bang chan #bang chan x reader #stray kids x reader #stray kids series #brother's best friend #Lee Minho #seo changbin #yang jeongin #hwan hyunjin #kim Seungmin #lee felix #bang chan fanfic #lee know

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Do you have any advice for learning Japanese? (Sorry, unsure if it was asked before) It’s hard to find a way to start when self-learning, but I was wondering if you have any textbooks or resources you recommend? Thank you!

I feel like everyone has their own individual approaches to learning languages, so if you have learned another language before on your own, you should try to apply that to Japanese.

That being said, I consider grammar to be the most fundamental portion of a language. Tae Kim’s Grammar Guide is a godsend, and while it is not exhaustive, it’s a great reference tool even now if I don’t trust myself.

For those who prefer learning from textbooks, it would be a shame if someone uploaded the entirety of Genki 1 + 2 with additional resources. We can’t have anybody going around pirating things here. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Once you’ve reached a level where you’re comfortable with reading basic texts, I’d recommend just diving into reading as much as possible to build kanji and vocabulary. Flashcards and memorization have never worked for me, and I think it’s valuable to see how native speakers use words and sentence structures in context to give yourself a more natural understanding.

Speaking and listening practice is best done in person, especially with those who are native speakers in order to avoid picking up bad habits. Social anxiety incapacitates my ability to speak, so I don’t have very much advice here for you. Sorry.

My teacher once recommended to “think in Japanese”, which essentially means to attempt to craft your sentences in Japanese first, as opposed to thinking of what you want to say in English and then trying to translate to Japanese. This will make your speech and writing sound much more natural and fluent. It’s challenging, and I still struggle with this a good deal, but I’ve found that reading or listening to something in Japanese first can help make your brain switch over to the correct language.

Best of luck!

#not a translation #asks

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Do you have any sort of, words of encouragement, for a Greek-American who is struggling to learn Greek? My family is pretty connected to our heritage but I was never taught to speak Greek. I am an adult now, and I know I'm at an incredible disadvantage trying to learn a new language. The most discouraging thing is when I try to pronounce a word with a sound that isn't really in English (like γ) and I KNOW I am not saying it right, but no matter how hard I try I can't pronounce it correctly.

Hello! I'm very sorry for delaying this answer for some days, but as we see here, Zeus was fucked this week 😅

I will pin my answer so you can see it when you return, and the rest will be under the cut.

I believe there are MANY reasons for hope in this situation. Of course it feels very discouraging that you don't know the language already and you might feel left behind in this process. Plus, learning a new language is not an easy thing to learn. But worry not!

You are grown, and that means you can learn a language better and with more consistency and discipline. Have trust in your skills as an adult. What is more, you have grown up around Greek speakers and you will pick up certain things faster.

You are not alone in feeling this way. Most of the world has to learn a second language (and a third, as it's usual for many) and that would be the language most dominant in the wider area. Almost every person in the West who is not an English speaker has to learn English and learn it well, otherwise we feel embarrassed every time we try and form a sentence. For example, we apologize to each other about our accents in English German and French, even though we speak Greek.

Surely there are some differences between your situation and ours, but I mentioned this to show you that most people will be very understanding with accents because they have the same struggle. I mean, I'm not going to make fun of someone for having an accent in Greek when I sound like a demented chicken in German, despite taking years of lessons 😵 I have more confidence in my English but even now that I'm writing to you in this language I have to quadruple-check my sentences and phrasing. The amount of times I apologized in advance for my accent to English speakers is higher than my credit.

I relayed your situation to other Greek speakers and non-English speakers, and ALL agreed the accent is not anything they would pay attention to and told me to write you that you shouldn't feel bad about that. I did that because I knew they would have words of encouragement for you. And it turns out they believe exactly what I'm writing in this answer.

Accents are natural. You cannot expect not to have an accent when you have been speaking a different language all your life. Beating yourself up for having difficulty with the Greek pronunciation is like beating yourself up for something normal like walking or laughing when hearing something funny. You lack practice with the pronunciation due to circumstances beyond your control. You are doing what you can to change that, and every small win is worth celebrating!

I found this post the other day:

The notes? The likes?

And NO disagreements in the comments and reblogs for OP’s statement! Look how many thousands are supportive in this! (And that’s a small fraction of people who understand accents are natural.) And some of the responses:

Sure, some mention they have met native speakers who made it more difficult to feel comfortable with their accent and phrasing. But those people are assholes in general, and not the people you want to surround yourself with. If a relative expresses disgust about your accent remind them you didn’t have any control of how much and how well you were taught Greek when you were a kid, and then tell them that if they are a true friend and relative to you, they should support you in your journey. And even if you had some control and chose not to learn, you are learning now. So they should leave their resentment behind because, honestly, what do they have to lose from you learning the language better??

For the embarrassment you feel for yourself: you wouldn't make fun of a Greek for having trouble with the “r”, "s", “ch”, and possibly the "h" when speaking English, so extend that kindness to yourself when you speak Greek. Not to mention that with enough practice and time you can nail the accent!

Worst case scenario, if the accent never leaves, that's no problem whatsoever. Anyone who thinks badly of you for your accent is probably a PoS and they don't deserve your time. No matter where you are from, if they make you feel bad for having an accent in Greek, block them from your mind forever.

But chances are that (from experience) if anyone laughs with how you said something, I guarantee they are not laughing at you but because of how strange the sound or phrasing was. The person doesn't think badly of you because of this. Making mistakes of any kind when learning a language is very natural and it's something everyone must accept. If you are not willing to make mistakes and expose your language vulnerabilities to people who know the language better, might as well not try improving at all.

If anyone corrects you, they are not doing it out of pity. The majority of Greeks do it because they are very happy you speak the language and want you to be even more fluent. Like, they are doing it as an act of backing you up, they are feeling like they are giving you that extra XP to reach the next level! Others - like me - get that rush of happiness when they get to share their language with others 😁

I remember a guy on Tiktok who was learning Greek and ordered a coffee "without sugar" in a Greek cafe but instead of saying σκέτο ("without") he said σκατά ("shit"). I mean damn that was funny! I remember it weeks after I saw the video of him telling that story and it always cracks me up. Do I still appreciate him the same as before and follow him? Absolutely! He just had an unfortunate - and funny - incident, not something that lessened his integrity as a person.

From tiktok again: An American girl wanted to pronounce γύρος correctly when ordering it, and she was mumbling to herself on camera: “yeero, yeero, yeero!!” When her time to order came she shouted “May I have a gairow? FUUUUCKK FUUCK FUCK I SAID IT WRONG” 🤣

Another example is Athena from the Bachelor 2! She has given some gems throughout the show because she doesn't know the language that well, but everyone still loves her because she spreads positivity and is so cute!! If we, as viewers, disliked her it would be because of her character, not because she doesn't know the language well. And if some of the other girls in the show don’t take her seriously is because she laughs too much and mentions feta too often, not due to her Greek level of literacy. Athena, even when she is hurting someone else’s feelings, is always so genuine and you just can’t be mad at her!

I really can’t stretch enough how people laugh at the mishap, not the person! Please don’t feel discouraged if you ever see a Greek laughing with the pronunciation of an English speaker when it comes to Greek words (which I have done as well) because we never laugh at the speakers. We don’t even know them! We might laugh at one mistake but then instantly want to become this individual’s friends because we think they are amazing (see the three examples I mentioned above, the sugar guy, the gyro girl and Athena). Because that’s the normal thing to do; laugh at fun stuff and not judge people for their small mishaps. (In a casual setting, and not to an uncomfortable degree ofc!)

There are so many things to a person other than their accent and the accent becomes old news really fast. What remains is how the presence of a person makes you feel and if they are a good individual. If an English speaking friend says yatakai instead of γατάκι that opens the way for sooo many jokes! Greeks will laugh, do some YATAKAAIIII screams - ninja style, and then continue being friends with that person!

Greeks makes these mistakes as well... A Greek once said "arrive arrive" (φτάνει φτάνει) instead of "enough" when an English speaker was filling his glass. A Lower English degree caught fire that day 🤣 I have many bad examples of Greeks’ mistakes in English but I can’t remember a lot. But I’ve seen many videos of Greeks mocking themselves for how they sound in English. You can take a look at Tsipras’ (our former prime minister) mistakes on youtube if you are feeling brave 😂 (Ο Τσίπρας μιλάει Αγγλικά)

So, own your possible mistakes, laugh at them and move on because everyone makes them and we better have some good while we are struggling!

(( For the record, we are not making fun of Tsipras because of his accent, but because 1) he doesn’t know γρι English and yet he rarely brought a translator with him in international meetings with world leaders, 2) he could absolutely not hold a conversation with negotiating or discussing 3) he didn’t take steps to improve or fix the situation (like bring a translator). 4) Instead, he chose to torment us all with mind-numbing hours of reading English texts and making other world leaders struggle to explain to him what they meant for the nth time and meetings move at a snail pace.))

Alright, now that I cringed with the memory of Tsipras speaking English, I’ll go though the recommendations for improving the Greek pronunciation.

1) Go to my resources for learning Greek (#learn greek) where I have many videos where you can hear the sounds individually or withing other words very clearly. Easy Greek on youtube has excellent videos about pronunciation!

2) Seek practice as much as possible. Some Greeks switch to English when they hear an English accent to make the conversation smoother for the other person. If Greek speakers insist on talking with you in English tell them that you would wish to speak in Greek. I've seen that people often mirror the accent of the native speaker when they speak to one, so this might work for you as well with hours of practice. If no Greek speakers are available to you now, you can find Greek Americans online – or go to their festivals – and start talking to them.

3) Listen to Greek podcasts, songs and shows. (In my blog you’ll find them at #greek youtuber #podcast #greek tv #greek movie #short film #greek music). You know when you hear a catchy foreign song and then it’s stuck in your head and you say all the words perfectly without even knowing what it means? Well, this helps with pronunciation!

4) If you had Spanish in school or have Spanish friends mimicking the Spanish accent might help you. (Our accents are extremely close! The Spanish are the best at Greek pronunciation, and vice versa!)

5) Find sounds in your native language that sound close to the sounds you want to say in Greek. In German lessons I had trouble with “ch” in certain words because I made it sound like χ and it was horrible. My Greek teacher told me to remember how χ sounds in χήνα (it sounds a bit flatter) and make that sound when I encountered “ch”. It worked actually!

To people who have English as their native language I often suggest they remember the sound of w for γ because, although not used the same in the word, at times they have the same intensity. Γ is pronounced more “to the front” of the mouth, so if you can bring that sound forward in your mouth you’ll be very close, if not accurate, to γ. (But don’t bring it too much forward, sometimes it can sound like a “y”, unless you are saying a word where γ sounds like “y”).

Greeks pronounce σ more closely to “sh” than to “s”, so you also might want to keep that in mind since σ often distinguishes the Greek accent in English for me :p

That’s all! If you have more questions or want to tell me anything else about your experience with learning Greek, feel free to send another ask or a DM!

#answered #learn greek #pronunciation #encouragement

[iam93percentstardust]

hey! i hope you’re having an amazing day. this is just me popping in your inbox to say that’s youre one of my favourite writers and you got me really interested in winteriron (honestly one of the cutest ships) are there any fics/authors ii could reccomend?

Hi there! Thank you so much! I love this ship so much, they’ve got such potential for both fluff and angst. They really are one of my favorite ships to write and I’m glad I was able to write so much for them this year. I certainly do have plenty of recs for you, starting with my favorite authors:

@riotwritesthings: started writing last year, I highly recommend just about everything Riot writes but especially Road Hazards, Melt into Me (Your Words are My Own), and When is a bed not a bed? (When you’re not in it)

@hddnone: so many stories and all so good! Has nearly 100 Winteriron works on ao3 and you will not regret reading any of them, though fair warning that some of them are Team Cap Critical. Especially recommend Honey Pot, You’ve Got Mail, and A Bit(e) of Danger

@monobuu: mostly an artist but sometimes writes stories as well. i recommend Ravioli, Invincible Summer, and Meet the Fam

@tisfan and @27dragons: can’t make a Winteriron rec list without including the both of them. They work together a lot but you should definitely take a look at their own stuff as well. I recommend Safe and (the) Sound, Kiss Me Thru the Phone, and Stark, Naked

@ad1thi: currently taking a bit of a hiatus and working on non-Marvel works but I love everything Adi writes, particularly her entire Bollywood but Make it Gay series, which isn’t always Winteriron but wonderful nonetheless. I recommend the Greek Gods AU, 1000 Lives (For You), and we’re connected

@the-winter-writer: lots of smut and all absolutely fantastic! I like Precious Treasure, Winter Wings, and Instinct

@rayshippouuchiha: definitely an iconic writer for this fandom. Really great if you’re looking for genderbends. Writes a lot of absolutely incredible fics and not just for Winteriron but my personal favorites are The (Not So) Great Pretender, Fearful Symmetry, and The Mistletoe Kiss Polka

Finely Honed (jaqen_hgar): once again very iconic. you’ve probably read at least one of their works even if didn’t know. I recommend Shameless, Today’s Forecast, and Practice Makes Perfect

@lovelyirony: mostly writes ficlets here on tumblr and a multishipper (I don’t know why I’m saying that like it’s a bad thing, I’m a multishipper), also a fan of Sharon Carter and that’s the thing that made me follow her so you know

@amethystinawrites: I only recently started working their works but I’m loving everything I’ve come across so far. I recommend Tech Support and I Won’t Hold My Breath

AvocadoLove: also writes a lot of Stony and Stuckony, which I love a lot, but for their Winteriron works, I recommend Amalgam and Dead Man’s Switch

Dracusfyre: another one I’m new to. I literally just started reading their works today so I don’t have any recs for them yet but one of my friends loves them so I’m going to go with you should definitely take a look at their works

Eirlyssa: has some anti-Team Cap works so keep an eye out for that if that’s not your thing but writes very good Winteriron. I recommend Guide Me Home (Guide My Heart) and Always (I’ll Be There)

@imposter-human: one of the first MCU blogs I ever followed! I recommend childhood memories, speak my language, and lost in translation

As for specific works I like:

Four Strings and Second Chances by Vashoth

It was reluctance to let one of his finest inventions ever out of his grasp that made him take a couple days over a week to send the arm to Pepper’s office. But all things considered, Tony figured that sending finest prosthetic that had ever come into existence--literally grasping an olive branch--was one of the classiest gifts he’d ever given. He’d included a note and everything. ‘Barnes,

Can help with installation. Or not. Up to you. --Stark'

Who is the Mechanic? by @akira-of-the-twilight

The Asset watched as his handlers brought in a stranger—a man with a metal object stuck to his chest that was hooked to a car battery.

The handlers shoved the man onto the stool where many who had operated on the Asset’s arm in the past had sat before.

“Asset,” one handler said, “meet the Mechanic. He will be responsible for the upkeep of your arm. Should anything malfunction, kill him.”

The Asset eyed the Mechanic. The Mechanic was glassy-eyed and unresponsive.

He’d probably be dead in a week.

The Fix by SleepsWithCoyotes

Right, because Tony...Tony fixes things. He remembers thinking that, not for the first time.

Paths are Made by Walking by @potrix-the-queerschlaeger

The road to recovery is long, winding and a different one for every person walking it. Bucky chooses to help himself the only way he knows how; by doing what he does best.

Or, alternatively; the one in which Tony is a mess and accidentally kick-starts Bucky’s protective mother hen instincts.

The Evidence by StrivingArtist

Didn’t notice. Right. Sure. Two brilliant minds, two super spies, and a god didn’t notice when the chattiest man they knew stopped making sound. They just seemed happier than before. Brighter and more cheerful than before. They just seemed like they were more comfortable with him around when he was stone silent.

Fuck it.

He knew they noticed.

And he knew they liked him better this way.

Shadowed Hearts and Winter Souls by NotEvenCloseToStraight

The mid-1800s and Antonio Carbonell Stark is caught in a scandal with his lover. Desperate for a chance to escape the trouble and his own broken heart, Tony accepts a proposal from a mysterious Russian heiress and flees the country.

Natalia Romanova is in trouble of her own and has enough secrets to make Tony's head spin but somehow they settle into a fake marriage and calm day-to-day together, and everything works... until her half brother comes home and their life is disrupted again.

James is somber and silent, brutal and nearly broken and scarred, a soldier of the resistance. His heart is cold and gaze like ice, but his hands are hot and lips are warm and Tony finds himself ignoring the blood on James's palms and the shadows in his soldier’s eyes, and falling in love.

When danger lands at their doorstep, Natalia and Tony have to pack up and leave, running away in the middle of the night and leaving their men behind.

The distance between Tony and James gets longer every day, and Natalia has been keeping a secret for that can’t be hidden much longer. With no place to call home and a thousand miles between them and the men they love, what are Tony and Natalia supposed to do?

Puppy Love by Reioka

Bucky is learning to become a person again. When some guy starts crying all over Natasha's dog, he decides he's doing better than he originally thought.

Describe Your Perfect Date by ali_aliska

After getting turned down by Bucky, Tony decides it’s time to move on from his massive crush. He tries online dating—Pepper’s idea, not his—but the only thing worse than getting rejected is getting rejected and finding out your soulmate-level match is Clint Barton, all in the same day.

Clint, of course, does not let opportunities like this go to waste, but he’s driving Tony nuts for a good cause, he swears.

Bucky’s just trying to do the right thing and fails spectacularly, but it all works out in the end.

Rocket Science by marsmaywonder and orbingarrow

Sleep-deprived and under-caffeinated, grad student Tony falls asleep in a conveniently empty classroom and wakes up in the middle of Bruce’s Physics 101 course. After seeing a groggy Tony fumble a simple question, actual-student Bucky offers to tutor him. In a moment of “oh no; he’s cute” panic, Tony takes him up on it. Now, in addition to his already complicated life, Tony has to figure out the answer to the incredibly messy question: “How do you look like you’re failing the class, when you literally wrote the book?”

What’s Good for the Goose by Taste_is_Sweet

For this nonny prompt at the Imagine Tony and Bucky comm on Tumblr:

"A soulmate AU where an immortal goose shows up one day to lead you to your soulmate, the challenge is surviving the goose." (Full prompt in notes.)

We all have soulmates, and every soulmate pair shares an animal guide. The Guide is there to lead you to your One True Love, and they represent the aspects of the psyche that you both share. They appear when you're about to meet your soulmate, and often materialize in moments of great personal crisis, offering hope and support. There are stories upon stories about how someone's Guide appeared to lead them to their One True, or how the barest glimpse of their Guide eased their hearts and gave them hope in the midst of despair. The newly-rescued almost always attribute their Guide with giving them the strength and courage to hang on.

Animal Guides are ephemeral, ethereal, and elusive. They are, most often, no more than a warm presence or flicker out of the corner of one's eye. They are incarnate symbols of perseverance, optimism and hope. Foretellers of happiness, and the grand destiny of love.

Except for geese. Geese are assholes.

and so, we unfold by TheKitteh

Senbazuru. Thousand Cranes.

An ancient Japanese legend that promises anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by the gods. Some stories believe you are granted happiness and eternal good luck, instead of just one wish, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury.

Bucky’s not big on believing in any legends, not after all that has happened. He just wants to create something for a change, not destroy.

He needs to prove himself that he can be trusted to handle something delicate. He doesn’t need a promise of a wish come true. He just,- needs to do this for himself.

He doesn’t need noticing how sad, tired Stark looks. Doesn’t need to want to do something for the man, when he can barely do anything for himself. --- Tony simply goes through days and motions. He deals with the Avengers, with R&;D, with the rewritten Accords. All of it, it’s nothing new really. He just wants to get things done.

What’s new is seeing Barnes hunched over the coffee table, one step away from ripping a glossy magazine apart in the middle of the night.

And why the hell Barnes keeps looking at him during the days after like he’s a puzzle to be solved?

Welcome to the Winteriron fandom! We’ve got a lot of incredible authors and artists both and this is just the tip of the iceberg!

#alle answers #winteriron #fic recs #have a great day as well! #hold-our-destiny

[kingofthewilderwest]

Are you really happy without the conventional work? How do you deal with feeling like a failure compared to your peers? How the fuck do i adult i'm so tierd and stressed and don't know what i'm doing

I'm really sorry about how tired, stressed, and uncertain you may be feeling. <3 That's really hard stuff to feel. And I mean that with every ounce of sympathy I wish I could express better beyond this stiff text. Sending you all the love.

I am happier without doing conventional work. It might be less stable because my jobs are short-term, and the instability does make me nervous, but I feel like it has more pros than cons for my personal happiness. It will not be for everyone, though, and I would not recommend it for everyone.

I'm assuming when you ask about feeling like a failure, it's both in concern to how I feel with it, and how you might feel yourself. <3 <3 I hope that this answer ends up helping. It's the best I can try. <3

As for myself, I don't for a second believe I am a failure. I've always been a cocky bitch, and here the cockiness reigns supreme: I'm pretty awesome whether I do anything or not. When I'm exhausted and unhappy and Depression takes over (and hooboy Depression can take over like demon possession), my mind might stray to unbearable self-hate and self-deprecation, but I argue against those voices rather than let them enter my everyday language about myself. (It's a dangerous habit to ever repeatedly insult yourself; it ingrains those thoughts in you worse, it really does.)

There's nothing that makes me a failure compared to my old peers. They're pursuing jobs that society traditional deems "successful." So what? They're irrelevant to me and my life, and my life is irrelevant to them. Society's ideas of what is and isn't good has always been complete bullshit anyway... why should I care if I amount anything to what broader society feels? Broader society is stupid and I don't give a damn about it. I'm not saying this out of bitterness or rejection or something; I honestly don't care because it's irrelevant to me.

I'm here to pursue myself, pursue what I personally like. If I feel happier, if I make a milestone that's relevant to me and myself and I, then that's awesome. In many ways, if I'm different than my old peers and not following into their notion of success, then I know I'm doing right by myself. ;) It's proof of my own growth, isn't it?

The truth of the matter is, nobody is a failure for being different than someone else. Every person has a different life path. I know for many people, they are more self-conscious about how the world around them operates, how the world sees them. If the world doesn't find them successful, beautiful, etc., they feel like shit. Maybe you feel self-conscious about not meshing with society or being "as good as" other people around you. And I'm here to say: your life is your life. <3 <3 I know it can be hard to stop comparing yourself with others, but in the end, I do believe we have to understand our own innate value is permanent. Our value is there no matter what. You are beautiful. Period. There's no ifs, ands, buts, accomplishments, actions, or choices that will change the fact you are innately incredible. <3

The people whose heart meshes with yours, the people who lift you up, those are the people that matter, and those people will never believe you're a failure. Those people will see you as the diamond you are. If people judge you and are cruel to you for that, then their voices are the irrelevant ones to be discarded, because they aren't valuing you, and so they don't have good life advice or good values. There's no value listening to idiots, fools, and castigators. Now, that's not to say that good friends and acquaintances won't tell you you're doing something wrong or struggling or making a bad choice... a good friend is someone who protects you by speaking honestly and warning you if they think you're stumbling... but they aren't going to put you down as some failure, either. They're there to help you move forward with your life's journey for yourself.

We all struggle. We all stumble. We all fall. We all fuck up. We all get tired. We all don't know what we're doing. We all flail around aimlessly. We all make the wrong choice. We all look "better" to outside viewers than we see of ourselves. We see the sloppiest parts of ourselves whereas most others don't, so that's why it's easy to be the most critical with yourself and start bashing on yourself. But I guarantee that my peers, shiny as their PhDs might look, have probably had nights where they've cried into their pillows, or been frazzled, or been at bad low points, or wished they were anyone else. And I wish them the best and emotional security, but what it means is: we're all some level of fucked up anyway. Some people have worse struggles than others, and that needs to be respectfully recognized, but at the end of the day, we're all human and we all struggle and our pains are all real things we experience. The pain is real and it's valid to feel bad over it. The best we can do is give ourselves a break, stop tormenting ourselves internally over our natural inability to be perfect, and when we have the strength, to give love and support to others so they don't stumble as bad as we did.

I want to relate to you by saying... I think I was constantly clueless, confused, anxious, and apprehensive in the first half of my twenties. It sucked and I'm sorry if things suck for you.

Somehow....... I think a switch was flipped somewhere when I got more years of "adulthood" under way. The switch flipped from "I hate that I don't know what I'm doing" to "ehhh, whatever, life is life." Now, it's not to say I'm more organized. I'm not. My refrigerator has more mold than food. There's a horrible smell coming from the kitchen sink where water's been resting in a dirty pot for several days. My laundry is scattered all over the floor and I've run out of pairs of clean underwear... ran out several days ago. Don't ask what I'm wearing. I don't know the last time I've vacuumed and my place looks like a tornado zone. It took me several months to have the mental energy to schedule my first COVID shot, and I often have to cancel my banjo lessons like an unreliable buttfart because something Came Up In Life Just Now. In many ways, my life is still a chaos zone. I think I'm getting better (I've earned a ton of money in my savings account the last two years, victory!!! I'm no longer living month-to-month!!!). But I just want to say in all this.... it's okay. It's not preferable that my house is disorganized piles of crap on the floor, but I can continue to live. If we manage to wake up, get ourselves food, do hours of work, then we have achieved adulthood, and everything else is icing on the cake.

In the end, I think "stability" in adulthood is being semi-comfortable with instability. Adulthood just means handling unstable shit, and if we're novices with it, so be it. Maybe as your life goes forward, things will be less tiring and less confusing. Maybe things will be more stable. Or maybe not. Maybe the same problems will keep coming around. But I think adulthood is the ability to accept that these problems come around, and handle them, even if you aren't 100% a master at the novel circumstances.

And over time, I do believe it gets easier. <3 It takes more to rock the boat. It takes more to daunt you. The things that were initially anxiety-causing become a part of everyday affairs, and when a new novel circumstance comes up, you're more mentally prepared to try on something new. I encourage you to keep at it, my friend. I hope things feel better over time. It's okay that you aren't sure what you're doing right now. Maybe someone can help you in the present day. Maybe in the future you'll know what you're doing with tasks that previously confused you. Maybe in the future, the new weird tasks won't feel as daunting. Adulthood is weird and we don't know what we're doing, but that doesn't mean that life is going to fuck us through that.

In the end, you will still have beauty in your life. No matter what, beauty will exist in its simplest forms, and the simplest forms are the best. You don't need to achieve anything to get there. You don't need to be put together (although being put together is nice and something I want to help my friends feel <3 ). You don't need to look impressive in society. If you see a beautiful sunset, if you see a cluster of cute mushrooms, if you pet a cat or dog or animal of your choice, if you spend twenty minutes talking with your friend on voice call, if you read a good book for half an hour in the morning, if you buy yourself a tasty $4 drink to treat yourself, then your adult life is worth it, and your adult life is enough. <3

#uff-dah and like always I fail at brief #long post #sending you love friend and hopefully this doesn't accidentally come off weird tone-wise in any way <3 #blabbing Haddock #hope something okay was said in there #non-dragons #my life #ask #ask me #awesome anonymous friend #anonymous

[whats-rambled-rambled]

stuck in stories - Neil’s perspective

Neil x Reader

summary: the team is blowing off steam, drinking and playing a dare game

+ song: The Neighbourhood - Cry Baby

warnings: language, alcohol mention

author’s note: another request, thank you! It was quite tricky to switch the perspectives, but once that chaotic idiot let me inside his head, it was so much fun to follow his thoughts as the story progressed.

Even though I usually try to write Reader as gender-neutral as possible, this time I chose to insert fem!Reader directly, I hope you’re still going to enjoy it!

This is a one-shot, but as always - hits differently in you’re familiar with Neil and Reader from Stuck in Reverse series.

---

“You lot are a bunch of fucking children! Who wrote that, eh?!”

Neil’s mouth widened in a shit-eating grin. “Now now, Ives, we all know you want it,” he teased, snickering as he had to dodge an empty beer can Ives threw his way.

The whole team of rookies decided to blow off some steam after their first big mission together. Everyone was too tired to do anything too elaborate though. Instead of going out, the squad ended up on the floor of Wheeler’s hotel room, drinking and playing a dare game.

“What did I miss?”

Neil looked up and smiled as he watched his best friend sat down on the floor between him and Ives. He noticed how exhausted she was, even though she tried to hide it under the curious expression painted on her face.

He couldn’t help feeling so proud of how well she did during the mission. The truth was, he’d never doubted her abilities on the field. It might had been his idea for her to join Tenet alongside him (he still couldn’t believe that TP wasn’t more opposed to the recommendation; Neil took a mental note to ask him about that the next time they meet), but she quickly proved that she was a natural and made her way to the first response squad. There was a certain comfort in having her next to him when things got heated, because even though he trusted the rest of the guys to cover his six during the missions, he trusted her with his life.

Neil’s train of thoughts was interrupted by a sudden holler that filled the room

“The Universe has spoken!” cheered Wheeler, raising her beer as she winked at Neil. He furrowed his brows, not entirely sure what made her so gleeful about the change of events. Well, she probably was straight-up drunk at this point.

Neil switched his gaze to his friend, her bright eyes darting left and right, trying to make sense of the cackling people around her.

“You and your impeccable timing, huh?” he said and showed her a small piece of paper.

She squinted as she read the dare prompt. “...Kiss a person sitting on your right?” she glanced at Ives and flashed her teeth in a wicked grin. “I must admit, I kinda want to see that!”

“Oi, fuck you, mate!” Ives groaned and kicked her leg, making her giggle in response.

Neil nudged her shoulder, then tilted his head and smirked. “Well, but now you are the person sitting on my right.”

He watched as her eyes widened, a hint of blush creeping up her cheeks. She clenched her jaw and blinked twice.

“Shit,” she started laughing, but Neil was studying her closely. Her shoulders tensed slightly, she held her breath for a moment and shot a quick look in his direction.

The last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable in any way.

Neil put his hand on her arm and squeezed it reassuringly.

“Only if you’re okay with this.”

She looked at him, thankful for his concern. She chewed on her bottom lip. “Well, I mean…,” she hesitated and shrugged, but then her eyes lit up and she asked, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

Neil couldn’t find an answer to that.To him, it wasn’t a big deal. Because she was...her. His best friend in the entire world. The one he knew like the back of his hand. Always there, joined at the hip, as her mother used to call them. The one constant in his life.

...But there he was, feeling all sappy again. Oh, if only she knew, she would smack him in the blink of an eye.

He couldn’t resist trying to make her laugh, just to wipe any leftover tension remaining in the air.

Neil’s eyebrow quirked. “Try not to fall in love with me,” he said, leaning in her direction.

“Might be too late for that,” she mumbled.

Neil could swear a flash of panic clouded her face for a second, as if she realized what she’d just said. He hesitated.

“...what?”

Whatever that was though, it was already gone. She rolled her eyes and tittered. “You wish.”

...Sometimes, he did.

Or at least he used to, anyway.

Neil chuckled and shook his head. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and when their lips met, he closed his eyes, utterly mesmerized by the sensation. And then, just as he wondered if maybe he selfishly lingered for too long in this moment, her lips parted delicately.

His mind went blank.

Without giving it too much thought, Neil’s fingers slid on the back of her neck and he pulled her a bit closer. His heart was pounding in his chest as he lightly deepened a kiss.

The team’s collective “ooh” rolled through the room, breaking the spell.

She gasped quietly against his lips. Their gazes locked. Her expression was puzzled, the pupils dilated in her shimmering eyes, her cheeks flushed.

Neil tilted his head, his brows drew together in a silent question.

Are you okay?

She blinked slowly and nodded, the corners of her mouth curling into a coy smile.

Then, she turned her attention to a small pile of paper rolls on the floor in front of her. “All right, my turn, I hope that you idiots put more of those in there, I wanna smooch my girl Wheeler next!” she teased, hiding all the softness behind a smug grin.

Neil smiled to himself. She was impossible.

Later that night, he was laying on his bed wide awake, staring at the ceiling in the dark, thinking. His mind running a thousand different scenarios. Carefully examining all the what ifs.

Finally, he scoffed, rubbing his face with his palms. They were both tired, tipsy, and it was just a kiss, no need to overthink it.

Her sudden nervousness. That little smile. The softness of her lips. That quiet gasp. The strange look in her eyes.

...right?

He sighed.

Enough.

#neil tenet #neil tenet x reader #neil x reader #robert pattinson #tenet #neil tenet imagine #neil tenet fanfic #stuck in stories #stuck in reverse #tenet fanfic

[rigelmejo]

Unrelated completely, regarding listening reading method:

I am genuinely so excited to test the listening reading method out wholeheartedly. When I looked up the method, few people were trying it with Chinese, and of the people I saw a lot were beginners with less vocabulary than I have which I think both made the task harder for them and made their progress look different than I imagine mine will.

For example, in my first attempts using listening reading method, I noticed I picked up a TON of words I could already read, and a TON of phrases I could already read but didn’t properly “chunk” until I heard them aloud. Whereas the beginners tended to document picking up entirely new words, and not understanding much of any paragraph for the first several chapters. Whereas again, because I had more vocabulary, my first chapters I listening reading method did I heard a TON of individual words/followed the main gist, and it took several chapters for me to start finally understanding full phrase chunks and sentence chunks together. I 100% think the listening reading method can work with mandarin, I just think since few people have tried it and shared the experience, I’m going to find out how much it can improve someone’s mandarin myself...

I saw people who did listening reading method with german, and Dutch, who like the creator of the method ended up going from 0 to B1-B2 listening and sometimes-reading* skill in 3-5 months (reading skill tended to depend on how much they focused on the actual text during target language audio/target language text portion). The people with the most success usually already had a foundation of several hundred or a couple thousand common words, and had seen some grammar summarized beforehand (both of which I have already done with mandarin). I’m extremely curious how far the listening reading method can take my reading skills specifically - since the method mainly improves listening, and reading is simply affected a bit as a consequence of picking up new words/reading target language text along with the audio during one of the steps. With Chinese I suspect I’ll have to do more Hanzi learning, and reading-only work like intensive reading, to supplement my reading skills. However I already do a lot of intensive reading, so maybe that will keep the skills relatively even.

I do know that only couple dozen hours of listening reading method already boosted my listening skills a TON. So listening reading method definitely improves listening skills, as it is intended to. The actual method suggests learners listen read through an entire novel in a week or two, then do another novel etc, at least 3 novels though potentially more - and redoing some novels again from the start if desired. For my kind of novels - like Guardian by Priest, that means 106+ chapters, 800+ pages, 30 minutes audio a chapter (53 hours for the English text-chinese audio portion, another 53 hours for the Chinese text-chinese audio portion, and lets say half as many hours to read it in English 26.5 hours). So that is 132.5+ hours to listen read to Guardian. The listening reading method assumes you do a few books, so let’s say around 3 books, 396 hours (roughly 400 hours). Well... no wonder people saw such improvements! 400 hours of listening to comprehensible input in a European language will get an English speaker quite far into learning. Most European languages according to FSI take around 600-750 hours for an English native speaker to learn. Listening reading method would fill a huge chunk of those hours, and if you focus on the reading portion too, then that should definitely at least be a solid foundation into B1 I can imagine.

Listening reading methods creator also tends to do these in 6-12 hour reading bursts per day - which I absolutely never do because I’m lazy and unable to focus on things for too long usually without switching things up. But like I’ve mentioned, even me just doing maybe 12 hours of listening reading method so far, in small 30 minute to 2 hour chunks, has been enough to make noticeable improvement in my listening comprehension. If someone is already intermediate and just wants to improve their listening skill, I think they’d see fast results like I have regarding their listening skill dragging up closer to their reading skill level.

When I read the listening reading method creators website, they sounded like 10 hours was about how long it took (for beginners in a language) to start parsing individual words and recognizing them, 30 hours to start hearing word chunks and phrases they could understand, and 60-100 hours to start comprehending a majority of the words.

I am therefore very curious what my rate of improvement will be. I do feel chinese study using the listening reading method at least for listening skills will see similar levels of improvement. I’m wondering if my listening skills will improve a bit faster, since I’m already past the “progress at 30 hours” mark expectations wise - I can hear many individual words, can hear many sentence chunks/phrases, and just struggle to follow some full sentences and catch brand new words until I’ve heard them several times. I do very much want to completely go through Guardian with this method - for many reasons lol. 1. Because I’ve been wanting to read it in english and I’ll have a chance to use that for study which is cool, 2. Because I’ve been wanting to read it in chinese and this makes it doable/more comprehensible for my current skill level (aka following along to the audiobook I will read at a less slow pace/comprehend more since the English will be fresh in my mind, compared to if I just read it extensively on its own), 3. Avenuex made a beautiful audiobook I adore and I’ll have an excuse to listen to it while actually comprehending everything since I’ll have the English and Chinese novel to look at while o read! So... once I’m through Guardian, I’ll be able to answer for myself what over 100 hours of progress doing the listening reading method produce, how well it works when using a book with a more complicated/high vocab style - which is sort of priest, reading challenge wise, and the kind of novel the listening reading method creator recommends using. Also, I’ll have read Guardian! ovo)/ and I will have read a full priest novel, so I’ll have picked up words by my favorite author that will hopefully make other priest novels easier to read (the same reason Tian Ya Ke may be helpful).

———-

Another thing people who have tried the listening reading method suggest doing first (particularly if studying a language much different than your native language, but for any language tbh). The creator of the method suggested: knowing a few hundred to a few thousand common words, and having looked at a grammar guide or overview prior. That’s something anyone who’s already a bit of a beginner, to low intermediate, probably has done or is doing. In addition, some people who have done this method suggested using something like sentence audio flashcards (in English and target language audio) and listening to them a few times, repeating them, until one felt comfortable with them. Generally common word/grammar ones, and you could do “listening reading” with those sentences too (reading them while listening to the audio). This would serve as a primer to learn the basics comfortably before going into listening reading novels. They suggested doing yjis would make the method work better - they got to B2 in Dutch in a handful of months of intensive listening reading by doing this beforehand and they think it helped a lot. While I think it’s not necessary, I do think of listening reading is hard, then getting a basis beforehand as a beginner and/or covering a easier basics common language material first will help. I use the Chinese SpoonFed Audio files which basically amounts to the same thing but no reading (if I used the flashcards still, it would include reading). So I do have some sentences/phrases/words I have a good listening foundation for already. Also, as mentioned, I do read, so for many common words and Hanzi I already can read them. I do think this advice is very good for beginners though, if they want to see noticable results sooner (versus 30-50 hours into listening reading before they start learning significant amounts - basically it just means they’d do 30-50 hours prestudy instead of basic common words/grammar, to make the listening reading initially less difficult). A total beginner could dive right into listening reading (just like my chaotic self first started to try to read Chinese knowing 500 words and brute forcing mdzs and guardian a few paragraphs at a time), it just means it’ll feel more difficult at first for a while, and they’ll be mostly learning basics for a while first before they build enough of a basis to comprehend more. Which is fine. It all just comes down to how much incompréhensibilty can you personally tolerate without giving up. The creator of the method? Can tolerate a TON. Me? I can tolerate a brutally large amount, surprisingly, but usually I need to comprehend had least the main idea and that’s a minimum of like 40-60% depending on which parts I’m comprehending. Most people will feel it’s unbearable until they can comprehend at least 80-90% (and I certainly PREFER material I comprehend that much of). And most people ideally are comfortable once they understand 95-98% (think reading a book in your native language with some unknown words you can figure out easily from context, or graded readers made to feel this easy with around this many unknown words for you to figure out in context, or maybe manhua/manga/comics once you’re a pretty decent intemediate level in a language etc).

#January progress #listening reading method #rant #I am genuinely like #so excited #as soon as I’m in the right mood to do it #I can’t wait to #because it’s just like a bunch of stuff I wanna do #!!!!!! #and I really do think the method has merit #since I discovered it and at the Least #combined some of its points into my regular study routine and reading #it’s improved my listening skills a LOT

[morosoro]

Reuben

Chapter 20

Summary: Reubens happy little Valentine’s Day bubble pops the moment he gets home.

Ao3 link here

He came home after school to find two visibly upset Scottish women taking tea on the sofa as his boy crawled about on the floor playing with a stuffed rabbit toy. Playing was a generous term, actually, Neal was more so just dragging it around and giggling as it moved each time his hand did. Quality entertainment for a baby, Reuben was sure.

He avoided the scowls from the older women as he crouched down to play with his son, gently taking the rabbit and making it wave to him. The babe giggled at that too. Oh what simpler times, when your happiness would depend on whether something moved or not. Reuben longed to be in the child’s place as Glynis cleared her throat.

“The Hatters called us yesterday.” She supplied.

Reuben huffed a sigh. He was getting tired of people asking about Jefferson. He’d had to answer several people today when asked, and not once had it been met with the aloofness he thought it deserved, Yes, they had a fight! It didn’t seem like a very big deal to him! “Yeah? What about it?” He asked.

“Mrs. Hatter informed me that Jefferson are no longer friends? That you told him to stop acting like himself? Now she didn’t explain precisely what happened, I get the impression she doesn’t know her son as well as she should, but Edith and I got the gist of it. And we are immensely disappointed. We thought we raised you differently.” The women told him, jaw set firm and spine rigid in her discontent.

“What? In the two months I’ve been here? Yes, a lot of raising done on your part.” He replied sardonically.

“You say that as if we weren’t pivotal caretakers of you since birth. You know full well we brought you up just as much if not more than your parents did. Now I suggest you start explaining yourself.”

“We had a disagreement. So what? It’s hardly the end of the world!” He was instantly in a sour mood as soon as this conversation had begun. He was so done having to explain himself to people who refused to understand. Even Belle had been upset with him when he told her what had happened in full. She’d told him he was in the wrong and that should apologize. He had thought out of all people she would’ve understood where he’d been coming from. Now his Aunts seemed to be antagonizing him too?! How come nobody could just give him the benefit of the doubt or see his side?!

“It was more than a disagreement and you damn well know it.”

It’s not like he’d really meant anything he said anyways. He just didn’t like the implications Jefferson’s words had set on the table. Jefferson needed to be taught a lesson, that’s all.

“Okay so I got tired of the jokes. I’m sorry that I don’t want people thinking I’m a bloody buftie who's shagging a dude behind his girlfriend's back.” He sneered, fed up of the conversation already. “I’m sorry for setting some god damn boundaries. In all honesty I think that if he were really my friend and not just hopeful he could ‘turn me queer’ or whatever then he would respect said boundaries.”

Edith gasped at his language, still remaining silent. Glynis’s glare only hardened. “You sound an awful lot like yer father saying words like that.” She said coldly.

His head whipped over to look her in the eye, bewildered rage taking root. How could she say that?! “You take that back!”

Glynis stared right back at him. “Or what? You’ll call us auld hags? Stomp around and break things?” After a beat of silence where he said nothing in preference of continuing to fiddle with his son’s stuffed toy, the woman continued. “Oh? Ignore us then? Your father liked to do that too.”

He stood to his full height quickly, discarding the rabbit as he went. He gestured sharply as he shouted. “Shut the hell up! I’m nothing like him!”

His son started to cry, obviously startled by the loud volume. He froze, staring down at the scared little boy in alarm. Oh no… what had he done? Had he hurt him- he didn’t think he did… but then again he had tossed away the toy pretty carelessly. Had it hit him? No! The idea made him sick.

Could he really be turning into a copy of his father? Was this proof?

Before he could think to reach for his son to try to comfort him, the boy was picked up by Glynis instead. “I wouldn’t be so sure, the lines seemed quite blurred lately.” She hissed in response.

“Glynis- please!” Edith pleaded, her expression softer but still troubled. “Give the lad break? He’s been through a lot lately.”

“That’s no excuse for bigotry and slurs! Did you not hear him, Edith? ‘Buftie’, ‘Queer’? Doesn’t that upset you?” The other woman asked, sounding incredulous.

“Well, yes…” Edith agreed before pausing to sigh lengthily. “But I’m also aware that he’s in a very tough spot. He’s still only a boy, see… He’s bound to have bad days and ugly moments. We all are, Love.” The other said, calm but firm. “ Besides, shouting at him and making him feel like shite won’t get us anywhere productive...”

Still holding the sniffling child, and with her jaw still set Glynis also sighed heavily through her nose. She seemed to calm slightly before deciding “Fine then, you deal with him. I’ll be taking Neal for a stroll down the paths. I suppose I could use some air.”

Edith nodded. “I think that’s best, dear. Thank you.” She then looked at her still visibly angry and hurting great-nephew. “Why don’t you go to yer room? Put on a tape, read a book… calm down some? I’ll come up and speak to you before dinner, Aye?”

Reuben, with clenched fists and hunched shoulders, let out a grumbled “Fine…” before hurrying his way upstairs.

—

He was only a couple chapters further into his copy of ‘Lord of The Rings’ (borrowed off of Moe, actually. The man had recommended it to him a couple of weeks ago) and the chorus to Genesis’ ‘Land of Confusion’ was playing when there was a knock on his bedroom door.

Sighing, he paused his cassette, marked his place in the book and called for the person to come in. To no surprise, Edith entered, and she had brought more tea for the both of them.

She sat herself on the foot of his bed and offered him the mug, he accepted it and took a sip. They sat in silence for a moment before she finally decided to speak. “You know lad, it doesn’t matter how upset you are, it’s never okay to be disrespectful.”

He stayed quiet, only grunting over the rim of his mug in response. She continued. “But we’re not going to talk about earlier today. Glynis and I are older than dirt, we’ve heard it all. We can take it. I want to talk about what happened with Jefferson.”

“We had an argument. What more is there to talk about?” He responded lowly.

“Why?” She asked. “Why were you arguing with him?”

“Because I was sick of the gay jokes.” He answered. “The ones that implied… stuff. I’m no feckin’ fag and he can’t bloody turn me into one!”

The woman let out a hissing sound, as if she had be burned. “See, what we’re not going to do is use terms like that.” She told him, stern voice in place. “Like Glinnie and I have both said, upset is no reason for disrespect.”

The teen was once again quiet as he sipped his tea again. The woman moved ahead in the conversation. “A person cannot ‘turn’ gay or straight. They either like the same sex or they do not. And it is not a bad thing to be that way.” She explained.

“Sure, okay… whatever.” He replied. “It still doesn’t fucking matter. He crossed a line and it made me uncomfortable so I told him to knock it off. That’s it. I don’t see why everyone’s making such a big deal out of it!”

“Because you hurt his feelings. And I think you knew what you said would hurt his feelings. That’s not okay, Reuben. You need to understand that.”

“I get it!” He barked. “I was just upset, okay? I lashed out. It happens…”

“Then it sounds like you need to work on controlling yourself. Maybe start by thinking things over before you say anything, like why Jefferson’s jokes upset you so much in the first place.” And with that she got up to leave again, throwing a casual “Dinner will be ready in an hour.” Over her shoulder as she went.

After the door shut behind her and he was by himself again he let out a frustrated growl. After setting down his tea, he drew his knees to his chest and raked his hands through his hair frustratedly, head hanging low. Why was he like this? Why was his anger like a light-switch? This was definitely something to bring up with his therapist next time.

He sighed then as he made a small connection in his head. Dr. Hopper had told him last time that he ought to take time for himself to think and figure things out and work on ‘self-improvement’. Edith had just told him to do pretty much the same thing. He glanced to his nightstand where the crinkled pamphlet-turned-coaster sat, and after a moment’s consideration, he reached for it, taking it out from under his mug. He turned to the second page.

‘Ask yourself ‘Why?’. Contemplate response. Consider your reasonings. Repeat.’

Why did Jefferson’s Joke upset you?

“Because it made me uncomfortable.” He mumbled.

Why did it make you uncomfortable?

“Because… I could picture it?”

Picture what?

‘I’m straight!’

‘So is spaghetti until you get it hot and steamy.’

‘Hot and steamy’

Hot and steamy...

“Fuck!” He growled out, tossing the pamphlet away. “This is bloody stupid! I’m not getting anywhere!” He told himself as he rubbed at his eyes, trying to will the unwanted images away. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with him today?! He hated it. He hated himself.

It was hard to believe today had started out so lovely, with his girlfriend in his arms and a promise ring in question.

“I need a nap.” He decided. “A long one.”

———

Doctor Hopper was a strange individual. The kind of man that made Reuben wonder how his son Archie had become… well… Archie. Guys like Archie tended to have strict, straight-edge, academics-obsessed fathers. The type with the big glasses and button-down shirts that they tucked so neatly into their khakis. They were a vision of who their sons would become, but not Doctor Hopper.

No, Doctor Hopper was more laid back. Yes, he wore khakis and button downs but in a much more sloppy-casual sense. His hair was long and he wore a cowboy hat atop his head. He didn’t tip-toe with his words, he just spoke freely from his thoughts (and his degree, hopefully). He was also just odd enough for Reuben to believe he’d likely had a few run-ins with the law in the past. Yes, Reuben could definitely see this man scamming people of their money, or being picked up off the street where he lay a drunk… or something… fool. And yet this man was somehow his therapist and he was supposed to trust him and his advice. It was certainly a peculiar situation.

They currently sat opposite each other, Reuben on a large leather sofa, and Dr. Hopper laid back in the matching armchair. The latter was having a cigarette as he listened to his patient’s concerns.

He puffed out a measured stream of smoke before speaking. “So, basically, you’ve been acting like a cunt to your friends and family and you don’t know why?”

“Uh…” Reuben shrugged his shoulders awkwardly. “Yeah?”

“You just freak out when you feel targeted? As in you just suddenly feel like you have to defend yourself… but really all you're doing is spewing shit?” At the teens nod the therapist took another puff, answering with his exhale “Sounds like anger issues to me, kid. Probably got it from the alcoholic disgrace you call a dad.”

Reuben huffed a worried sigh. “So what? You think I’m going to wind up like him?”

“Nah, unlikely.” The man responded with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You both have issues and bad trauma, but yours is just…” he mimicked the sound of an explosion. “Different. That stuff really shapes a person. You’ll be fine… or well… as fine as someone like you could be.”

Someone like him? He wondered what that implied. He didn’t want to ask. Instead he focused on the positive. “You think so?”

“Yeah, kid. As long as you keep trying to get better, hell yeah! Anger issues? No problem kid. We can manage that with just a bit of work.” The adult said before taking another draw.

Curious, Reuben asked him “What kind of work?”

“Thinking. Self-help work, kid. You know about it, it was in the pamphlet. First off, why do you think you were acting like a cunt in the first place?”

Running his hands through his hair, Reuben groaned. He should’ve known. “Because my friend was making jokes that I didn’t like. They made me uncomfortable.”

“Okay, but why?” The man prompted him to expand on it.

“Because they were implying something that I didn’t want to be implied.”

“So it’s something you’re insecure about then?”

That gave Reuben a moment’s pause. Was he insecure about his sexuality? “.... no?” At least he didn’t think so.

“You don’t sound sure about that.”

Fuck.

He huffed, frustration growing. “What do you mean? I’m definitely secure about it!” He snapped.

“Whoa man-“ the therapist warned. “Don’t go acting like a cunt on me now. I’m just trying to help you figure this out.”

The teen pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated with himself more than anything. “I know… I’m sorry. I just don’t know why it upset me.”

“Then you just gotta think a little deeper about it sometime. But don’t try to rush it. Take your time to figure you out, Y’know?”

“I-I guess?” They were quiet for a moment before he asked “What do you think the reason was?”

“Hey, I can’t really say for sure, I’m not in your head. But to me it just sounds like the jokes just hit too close to home. He hit a nerve, something you're insecure about and don’t want to address. Whatever it is, you should probably address it before you try to apologize to this guy. You do want your apology to be as genuine as possible, right?”

Confused and practically in a stunned silence, he realized the implication his therapist had just made. He only swallowed thickly and nodded, squeaking out a broken sounded “Yeah, right.”

#ouat #once upon a time #fanfic #rumbelle #Rumplestiltskin #high school au #80’s au #this is my ventfic

[missmorosis]

hi! this is for the valentine’s day event :)

- the fandom i want is atla

- my pronouns are she/her and i don’t care what gender i’m shipped with!

- i’m an infj

- i think my love language is words of affirmation

- i look for a partner that has a good sense of humor and will have open communication with me!

- i have social anxiety so i’m usually really really shy, but i get out of my shell pretty quickly if the person i’m with is very extroverted if that makes sense?? but i’m also not afraid of confrontation and i will speak my mind if i feel it’s needed (sometimes i go a little overboard though, i’m really stubborn, oops). i think i’m kind of smart and would like to think i’m a kind person :)

- for my hobbies, i play guitar and piano and i sing! i also love reading

- three things i do every day: listen to music, read, and play with my dogs

i’m really sorry if this is too much ahhhh

u asked us to talk to u so how r u doing? what did u do today? and also could u recommend a show u really like? i’m looking for a new one and would love some recs!!

also a reminder to please drink water and eat if u haven’t yet today!!

tysm, wishing u a wonderful week :)

^^english is my second language so sorry if there are any mistakes

ENGLISH IS YOUR SECOND LANGUAGE YET YOU WRITE SO PERFECTLY?? IM SO JEALOUS 😭😭

ALSO SZJDJ IM GONNA CRY THANK YOU FOR SOCIALIZING WITH ME AAAAAAHHH!

im just kinda ehh HAHHDJ how about you??

i literally did nothing all day HAHFLSDK- answered my asks and hhnngg that’s pretttyyyyy much it LMAO

OOHH OKAY OKAY IF YOU DONT MIND A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE... TRUE BEAUTY AND HMMM ITAEWON CLASS!! they're both kdramas AND THEY'RE SO GOOD!!

i think you'll go well with...

SOKKA!

he's super extroverted, which would help you get more comfortable!! he's also pretty humorous sooo :)

how he asked you out

-> You were playing one of your favorite songs to yourself on your guitar, singing softly. Trying to switch chords, you groaned when you messed up, creating a dissonant sound. 

“What’s wrong, babe?” Sokka’s head popped into your room, and you waved it off.

“Nothing, I just messed up,” you laughed at his concern. You were glad he cared so much about you, though.

“Would it make you feel better if I asked you to be my valentine?” You rolled your eyes, but nodded nevertheless.

“Yeah, it would make me really happy, Sokka,” you said, somewhat hopeful.

“Alright then... be my valentine?” You laughed, and nodded.

how you spent the day together

-> Sokka had his chin on your shoulder, reading along with the book you had in your hands. You turned the page, and he clicked his tongue.

“Not yet, not yet, I’m not finished.” He turned the page back, and you laughed.

“Fine, you have ten seconds.” He nodded, and read as fast as he could. “One... two... three...”

“Wait wait, I need more time,” he said, and you shook your head.

“Your fault for being a slow reader,” you snickered as he pouted. “Four... five... si-” He kissed you on the lips to shut you up.

“Give me more time, I’m almost done.” You sighed, blushing.

“Alright, since it’s Valentine’s day... I’ll make an exception.” He smiled in approval, pecking you on the cheek in thanks.

ignore how the “how you spent the day together” HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH VALENTINE’S DAY SLKDFJLKFS

#morosis's valentine's day event 💖 #morosis matchups #sokka x reader #sokka #atla