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13uswntimagines · 3 years

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Always Have a Place (Preath x Teen!Reader)

Request: learning to love part 2 with reader being super attached to Chris and Tobin then someone coments about it and reader starts to feel insecure about it again and Tobin and Chris has to reassure her again

You pulled the blankets tighter around you, padding through the chilly apartment towards the sound of your mama’s voice. The cold Manchester weather wasn’t quite agreeing with you, and paired with the holidays, you had been a bit on edge for the past few days.

You never understood what the big fuss around Christmas was (as you had never been visited by Santa when you were younger), and Christmas Trees kinda freaked you out (Forster father number 3 had sent one through a window on your first Christmas with them). Though Christen and Tobin tried to show you some holiday traditions, you just didn’t understand why making cookies and drinking hot chocolate were supposed to put the world in a more giving mood.

You rounded the corner, glancing to the left where Christen was sitting on the couch, and Right where Tobin was talking at the dining room table. You thought it was strange they never did video calls from the same room, but if it made them happy then who were you to judge.

You sighed, deciding that Christen looked more cuddly, and began shuffling in her direction. She glanced over the top of her laptop at you, opening her arms to invite you in as she took in your tired form.

“Hmm, you’re warm,” You mumbled, wigging into the woman to find your favorite spot. Christen giggled, wrapping her arm around you and pulling you closer, placing a kiss on the crown of your head. The two of you had grown close (almost as close as you and Tobin) in the past few months, and while you and Tobin bonded over art, you had become her cuddle buddy. Plus with the bad feelings the holidays always dredged up, you had been a bit more clingy than usual (not that her or Tobin were complaining) and her calming figure had put you at ease.

“I’m glad baby, just a few more minutes and then we can all go to bed alright?” Christen asked softly, running a comforting hand through your hair.

“You don’t have to rush, I’m comfy now,” You mumbled, allowing your mom’s scent to relax you. Now that she was here to ward off your nightmares, you were finding it difficult to stay awake.

“Awe, is our favorite designer in training tired?” Megan jested from the screen, and you stuck your tongue out at her.

“In training? My design sold out in less than a day,” you grumbled. You had been honored to work with your Ma on the popsicle capsule and were super excited that your work had done well. It was nice to know your art was appreciated, even if it wasn’t the typical portraits you did.

Megan laughed, nodding in concession, glad you had warmed up to her. You were making amazing strides with not only the women that had become your moms but with the team as a whole.

“The time change is a little much for us all I think,” Tobin said, glancing over at the two loves of her life from the kitchen table. God, you had come so far, had grown so comfortable coming to them when you weren’t feeling alright.

“We all know the truth, that kid is just super attached to you, and probably can’t even sleep by herself,” Kling laughed, not noticing how you flinched slightly. You didn’t know Kling as well as you knew Megan or any of the other members of the USWNT and you weren’t quite sure how to take her teasing.

“I can attest that Y/n is pretty cuddly. I don’t know how you detach her to train sometimes,” Pino shrugged and your eyebrows furrowed. Did Pino think you were too clingy too? Did she think you were holding your mom’s back? If they couldn’t train, they couldn’t be the best. They wouldn’t want you anymore if you were hindering them.

You twisted slightly uncomfortable, pulling away from Christen’s comforting embrace.

“I’m gonna go back to bed,” You mumbled, tucking your Batman blanket tighter around you.

“You sure babe?” Christen asked, brushing a strand of hair away from your eyes.

“Hmm,” You hummed, shuffling off to go and cuddle Roary. Hopefully, he could keep your nightmares away (not missing Tobin’s “Nice going, Kling,”).

****

You woke with a start, sitting bolt upright and clutching your blanket tightly to your chest. You gulped down the bile that rose in your throat. You ran your hand across your forehead, pushing the sweaty strands of hair from your clammy skin.

You blinked at the red number of the clock, the little 2 mocking you. It was the 4th time this week. Every part of you longed to go find the comfort your Mom and Mama always offered when you had a nightmare. But you couldn’t bring yourself to disturb them. Kling was right, how the hell were they supposed to play well with you bothering them every time you had a little scary dream. You were 14, not 4.

You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose and smoothing your thumb over both of your closed eyes in an effort to chase away the images that plagued your sleep. You were never going to get back to sleep now.

You leaned over and grabbed your trusty drawing pad, before quietly tiptoeing out of the room, and down the hall. You paused as you passed the slightly ajar door to your moms’ room. They never complained about your frequent visits to their bed or pushed you to tell them which ghost from your past had made you end up there.

You shook your head, taking a second to convince yourself that not going to them was going to benefit you in the end. If you stopped bothering them, being so clingy, they wouldn’t get tired of you. They wouldn’t get rid of you.

You continued down the hallway, bypassing the kitchen in favor of turning into the living room. You stared out the bay windows, wishing for a minute that you were back in Portland. That you had the balcony to stand on and collect your racing thoughts, and the cool night air to ground you back in reality. Alas, you were here in the UK instead.

You sighed again, curling up on the little window seat, staring listlessly at the drizzly night sky, and flipping mindlessly through the pages of your sketchbook.

You settled on a blank page, mindlessly tapping your pencil on the paper. Your thoughts wandered, taking in the skyline as though it would tell you what to draw, how to set your mind at ease. The movement of your reflection in the window caught your attention, and suddenly you knew exactly what to draw. How to get your brain to stop obsessing over them leaving you.

****

Tobin sighed as she entered the living room. It was the 5th time this week she had walked into the same sight of you slumped against the living room window, your pencil paused over your coveted sketchbook, which was balanced precariously on your knee.

“She’s out here Chris,” Tobin called quietly down the hallway. How they had gone to waking up with you almost always cuddled between them (or on the foot of their bed) to you virtually pulling away entirely they weren’t sure. It hurt to see the brick wall around your heart rebuilding itself in front of their eyes.

Christen padded up next to her, wrapping her arms around Tobin's waist and resting her head on her shoulder. “Again?” She asked, the sadness evident in her tone. They thought they had gotten over the hurdle of convincing you to come to them for help, plus she was starting to miss her cuddle buddy.

“Hm, we need to get to the bottom of this,” Tobin mumbled, leaning back into her wife. It wasn’t healthy for you to be awake all night, even if you were processing your emotions through art, if for you to be pushing them away. They tried not to push you too hard, tried to let you come to them, but you clearly weren’t. They were going to need to intervene soon.

“I’ll make the coffee, if you want to wake little miss up,” Christen murmured into her neck, placing a soft kiss before heading off towards the kitchen.

You may have been her cuddle buddy, but you always had an easier time opening up to Tobin. Her chill demeanor set you at ease.

Tobin nodded making her way over to you, making a mental note to put an extra blanket on the window seat in case this was going to continue.

She crouched in front of you, carefully maneuvering the dangling sketchbook out of your hand, barely glancing at the still open page as she set it on the coffee table, and placing a gentle hand on your knee.

“Hey kiddo, it’s time to wake up,” she said softly, rubbing your leg to rouse you.

“Hm, what time is it,” You asked, pushing your forehead against the cool glass and blinking sleepily at the woman.

“Just after 8. What time did you come out here?” She questioned softly.

You shrugged, yawning loudly. “Like 1:30. I couldn’t go back to sleep after my dream so I decided to come out here for a bit,” You lazily gestured towards your sketchbook “thought I could work through it and I guess I fell asleep,”

“Why didn’t you wake Me or Mom up, we would have hung out with you until you could get back to sleep,” The woman pressed, cupping your face and running her thumb over your cheek, brushing the dark circles that had grown more prominent under your eyes. You leaned into her touch, allowing it to ease your fears for the moment.

“Didn’t wanna bother you. Your both starting today,” you said.

Tobin squinted at you, her head tilting to the side. You were more important to them than any starting position, they thought you knew that. It was a piece to the puss me that was this change in your behavior, but she couldn’t seem to put her finger on the rest. She couldn’t quite see how it fit.

“You could never be a bother to us babe, we love you and want to help you. And you’re our priority, never worry about soccer when it comes to stuff like this. If one of us has to sit out, it’s no biggie,” She said, looking you in the eye, repeating the words that had become their mantra to you.

You hummed noncommittally, abruptly pulling yourself out of her grasp, looking away from her piercing gaze. That was too close, and you didn’t want her to make a promise you knew she wouldn’t keep. It would hurt less later if you didn’t believe her.

“Is mom making pancakes?”

*****

Christen was worried. Very worried. She hadn’t meant to go snooping, but the sketch on the page of your open notebook had caught her attention, and once she started she couldn’t stop.

It was a striking image. The drawing of the view from their apartment was nice, but what really caught her eye was the reflection of you in the glass. There was something about your expression that tore at her very soul.

You drew what you felt, and if you had this much disparity, then something was very wrong.

“Have you seen this,” She asked her wife breathlessly. Tobin glanced at the page, nodding once. It had been the same sketch 4 days in a row, the only thing that changes were the expression. The eyes growing emptier, the shadows getting bigger. She bit her lip.

“We have to let her come to us, babe. All we can do is try to be there for her,”

And try to be there for you they had. They increased their touches (trying not to feel hurt when you pulled away), Tobin scheduled extra time for the two of you to work on the capsule together. Hell, Christen even started leaving hot chocolate in the window seat for you. But nothing seemed to be working. You were slowly slipping away and neither of them knew why.

Christen sighed, glancing back at the sketch, so beautifully haunting. “I just want her to let me help,”

“She will, you just have to let her sort through whatever it is first,”

*****

Your moms were on their feet mere seconds after your first shriek, racing across the hall and into your room, searching for the threat. They released a breath they didn’t know they were holding when they saw you alone in your bed until another strangled cry left your lips.

“No, I’ll be good, please don’t leave,”

That was all it took for them to jump into action, Tobin flipping on your bedside light, and Christen crawling into bed beside you.

“Hey baby, wake up, it’s just a bad dream,” your mom said, wrapping you up in her arms and rubbing your back to rouse you from sleep.

“Mom?” You asked disoriented, trying to fight the gentle hands keeping you from accidentally hurting yourself.

“Shh, I’m here, you’re ok,” Christen said, pulling you into her lap. You buried your face in her neck, gripping her nightshirt so tightly the cotton was straining in your grasp.

You sobbed into her neck, your tears making the skin sticky. “Don’t leave me please,” You begged, the words garbled by tears and your adamant refusal to pull away from your favorite hiding spot. Christen shushed you, rubbing your back with one hand and cradling your head with the other, sharing a worried glance with Tobin over your head. The other woman stood next to your bed, her hands opening and closing, shifting foot to foot unsure how to help you.

“Never baby. We’re not going anywhere,” Christen soothed, gesturing for Tobin to take your other side. She did, hugging you from behind to let you know that she was there too.

They held you as you cried, whispering sweet nothings over your unintelligible whimpering.

“I’m sorry I’m too clingy. That you can’t practice as much as you used too,”

“No baby, we don’t feel that way at all. We love you, and we want to be here for you,”

“But Kling and Pino-“ You protested, only to be cut off by Tobin solemnly shaking her head. “Were joking, they didn’t mean anything by it. They’re both glad that you are opening up to them,”

You stared at her in disbelief (and Tobin made a mental note to murder her friends for being assholes. They needed to learn that even though you felt comfortable, your fears and insecurities were not something to be picked on, even with the best intentions).

“And so are we. We’re glad and honored that you’ve opened up to us, and let us see your goofy side, and your amazing art,” She added, brushing a wild curl from in front of your eyes.

“Really?”

“Absolutely. We love how cuddly you are- it makes up for the 13 years we didn’t get with you,” Christen said, squeezing you tighter just to prove her point. It had taken you a long time to let them in, and though it was still a work in progress, they were honored you trusted them. That you had let them in further than anyone before.

“Will you stay?” You asked in a small voice, almost afraid of the answer.

“Always,” Your moms answered together. Tobin pulled back the covers, allowing Christen to maneuver the two of you inside before joining you. You sighed, reveling in their safety. Here, wedged between the women, you knew you would always have a place.

#uswnt imagine #uswnt imagines #uswnt x reader #preath x reader #preath imagine

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writebecauseyoucannotbreathe · 3 years

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Ultimate Ship Meme: Azulaang

Rate the Ship -

How long will they last? - Until I say so. I can see them being together after death as spirits.

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - Ooooh boy. Azula struggles to understand friendship. I think she'd fall in love fast and hard but take the longest to realize. Aang wouldn't let himself get attached at first because Azula is unapologetic and one of the things I like about Azulaang is how it would push Aang to deals with the nitty gritty gray, not in a The Fire Nation was right all along way but in how even Kyoshi and Roku's conflict resolution let to disagreements. I think it would take Aang longer to fall in but once they reach a semblance of common ground he'd be well aware he's falling in love and would enjoy the ride.

How was their first kiss? - Let's see my fanfics. In Blue it was awkward. In Weightless it was sweet. In Smut it was horny and hate filled. In canon I think their first kiss would be very passionate and then they snap back to reality and Aang would evade while Azula denies so they wouldn't talk about it but they'd for sure be thinking about the kiss.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Technically Azula. As soon as Aang hears about a Fire Nation wedding, either his friends or he learns about Ozai and Ursa's wedding, his mind would be set on a wedding. He wouldn't say anything but he'd squirrel away relevant wedding information like he'd hear a song and go "I want that instrument to play at my wedding." But Azula would have her life planned out by other people and there'd be a set date where Ozai now Zuko are supposed to comb through suitor requests (it was probably Ursa's role. If she's there she'd talk to Azula directly instead of Lo and Li. I don't think Lo and Li are high enough rank to determine the suitor but I think it would be customary/expected for their input to be asked). Azula would tell Aang something along the lines of "I should be wed." and he'd agree and then Azula will spend an abnormally long time wondering if he married her because he liked her or because it's his duty until she asks him while he's discussing potential baby room colors pre wedding.

Who is the best man/men? - Sokka and Toph. Azula was going to pick Momo but he made a better flower girl. Yes she did this to annoy Zuko (and because Toph didnt want to wear the bridesmaid outfit) it's okay though Fire Lord Zuko was the guest of honor.

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Katara, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee. Mai pretends she hates the outfit but she's secretly pleased.

Who did the most planning? - Aang did the most thinking but Azula did the most planning.

Who stressed the most? - Externally Aang. Internally Azula.

How fancy was the ceremony? -

Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

100% Azula's fault. Aang has no clue what Fire Nation weddings are supposed to be like.

Aang: Wow I can't believe all weddings in your Nation are this big.

Azula: They're not. It's because I'm Royalty and you're the Avatar.

Though I hc that Aang wants to get married in all the different Nations and Azula secretly wants to experience a small wedding so they get married 3 more times with one of them being a very small Air Nation wedding.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Hmmm I'm not sure. On one hand, Ozai redemption. On the other hand, Ozai death.

Sex:

Who is on top? - Aang. Azula thinks she wants to be on top but she'd rather be pampered and Aang is more comfortable communicating and attending to needs. Aang has no strong preference either way and they do switch but this is their usual dynamic.

Who is the one to instigate things? - Azula but she denies it.

How healthy is their sex life? -

Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

I think it's up to the reader's preference but I can see them being very private (Azula) and naturally talented (Aang) to the point where they assume every couple has sex daily. Hc that Aang and Suki talk about sex freely (ex: When I do __ should I __ or do girls prefer ___? I can never tell with Azula. Why do guys do ___ after ____ ? I've tried asking Sokka but he doesn't give me a straight answer.) Much to the fear of Sokka and Azula.

How kinky are they? -

Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

Again up to the reader. They both like learning new things and are prodigies so I think they'd end up reading about things to try in bed (Azula) and would try things out to see what they like (Aang) until they learn what they and each other generally like/dislike.

How long do they normally last? -

Does the Avatar State remove your refractory period? >;3c

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - No. Aang likes overstimulating.

How rough are they in bed? -

Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

Neither can dirty talk. Azula is rougher. Aang likes to take it slow. She sets the pace in the beginning but he decides when it ends.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -

No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Azula refuses to cuddle in public but in return they cuddle all night.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - hc them having twin boys at first with one firebender and one airbender because poetry. But Azula really wants a girl so they have a third child she is an airbender with Aang's charm and knack for getting in trouble and Azula's ruthlessness. Amon kidnaps her and instead of easily escaping (Aang's genes) she instead viciously mocks him the way only a preteen can (Azula's genes.) It's traumatic enough for Amon even before the parents show up. Then Aang wants another one and Azula wants another firebender so they do the do and surprise triplets! (maybe it has to do with ejaculatimg in the Avatar State lol) So 6 in total and lets say its 3 boys 3 girls with 3 airbenders 3 firebenders.

How many children will they adopt? - None. Azula is wary of motherhood and I know people like to hc Aang as adopting and while I can see him acting as a father figure to several kids I think he'd greatly prefer biological kids especially airbenders. It's a flaw that was barely touched upon and def not handled well in Legend of Korra.

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Servants or Aang. After a kid or two Azula would be comfortable enough to change the diapers but it would still be mostly Aang.

Who is the stricter parent? - Depends on the kid. Aang is more lenient with airbenders and Azula with firebenders or girls. I can see Azula being strict with training & studies but not with sharing whereas Aang would have less rules but they'd be more heavily enforced (ex: no airgliding without supervision until you've mastered the safety course)

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Azula. She's pretty lenient with the term dangerous esp. when it comes to firebending as long as basic safety measures are applied (ex: you can pracrice lightning as long as it's not pointed towards yourself aka dont be Zuzu) but Aang is of the mindset "How are you gonna learn airbending without dangerous stunts?" And after the first few incidents she started stepping in.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Azula but Aang cooks them.

Who is the more loved parent? - Appa

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? Azula. When Aang attends the teachers shower him and his kids with compliments ("You're doing so well teaching your kids the values of the Air Nomads. It must be so hard being The Last Airbender"). They do the same with Azula but unlike Aang she sees through it and manages to get an accurate assessment of how their kids are doing.

Who cried the most at graduation? - Aang was more happy than sad. Azula cried before and after.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Aang. He is a notorious lawbreaker. Azula would bail the kids and she could do so quicker than Aang in a few cases because of her connections but she'd be mad so their kids would rather call Aang or break themselves out.

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Tied. Aang at first but then Azula wants to learn and after Aang teaches her since she has less experience she finds more enjoyment in cooking.

Who is the most picky in their food choice? -

Technically Aang since he's a vegetarian. Azula hasn't tried as many foods and she's used to not making a fuss at the family dinner table to the point of which Aang notices.

Who does the grocery shopping? - Both. Aang has a better eye for vegetables/fruits and Azula is better with prices (it's not about the cost it's about the value).

How often do they bake desserts? - Aang bakes them when he can/weekly. They're fruit based so if Azula doesn't want dessert he gives it to Momo or flings it at a target.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - Gee I wonder. Aang eats salad Azula eats meat.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Aang but Azula tends to figures it out. Azula is more likely to plan a dinner but she wouldn't make it a surprise.

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Aang but Azula is a close second. It would be a tie if it wasn't for the bathhouse.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Accidentally? Aang. On purpose? Azula.

Who cleans the room? - Servants or Aang.

Chores:

Who is really against chores? - Azula hates cleaning up but she's neater.

Who cleans up after the pets? - Aang.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Aang.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Azula.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Aang.

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Azula. In the Fire Nation Palace Aang has taken to chatting with Azula in the Royal Spa while he feeds her (and mostly himself) cherries.

Misc:

Who takes the dog Appa out for a walk? - Aang

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Never. Once they like the room they like the room. If its an event they'll go to a different location for it or leave the Air Temple as is.

What are their goals for the relationship? -

To stay together.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? -

Aang slept for a hundred years so I'll give it to him.

Who plays the most pranks? - Tie. They've both pulled elaborate pranks as kids.

#azulaang #atla #avatar the last airbender #aang x azula #ship meme #long

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cherry-interlude · 3 years

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Lana Del Rey Unreleased Ranked (2)

This is a re-ranking of Lana's unreleased songs, after making a first a few years ago. This is all my opinion, which I don't mind anyone disagreeing with but don't come for me for it - honestly, I like every song, despite any criticism, and this ranking is very vague. It's based on objective and subjective opinion.

This is the second of five posts, going past my least favourites.

Money Hunny

Lana details the downside of money, detailing the ways it ruins lives and causes more problems that good for some. However, it’s simplicity isn’t what makes Money Hunny fall short – it doesn’t resonate at all compared to Lana’s countless songs where she is either rich and famous or she is desperate for money (or men with money). As thought-provoking as Money Hunny is, it feels too twee and out of place in her money-adoring music to really hit hard. If Lana has spoken on the topic of how money can literally damage lives more, it would perhaps gel better with me, but with songs like Money Power Glory, National Anthem and Off To The Races (among many, many others), it doesn’t hit the mark as a Lana Del Rey (alternate names included) song.

Strangelove

Strangelove is hypnotising, from Lana’s mesmerising voice that gives her the impression of a Las Vegas desert temptress, seducing strangers and wishing for the simple pleasures of Christmas lights and mint juleps. It hits best for the first opening chorus.

Stoplight Delite

Opening with a tuneful mechanical whir, Lana’s song wouldn’t be amiss in a teen romance film. I’m not convinced by the mishmash of music – the more classical band instruments with unrelenting whirring begins to overwhelm the song. Lana’s at her sweetest in this however.

Daddy Issues

The music is a bit too harsh but it’s a nice enough song, referencing Baby Blue Love among others. It isn’t Lana’s best by far, messy with lyrics that go all over the place, but (yet again), it would be more promising if it was completely remade and produced properly. The demo, I Was In A Bad Way, is a lot more maudlin and less enthusiastic, so it does fall behind Daddy Issues.

Catch and Release

It’s another song that’s kind of creepy, with an eerie vibe thanks to the relentless, whining music and Lana’s razor-edged warnings in her lyrics. Lana is practically a megalomaniac in this song, completely selfish and unafraid to ask for – and get – what she wants. Yet it’s quite a hypnotising track that, with further production, could be more cohesive and dramatic.

Marilyn

One of her old live performances, Marilyn is too simple in its lyrics but is a strangely erotic tribute to Lana’s icon. Lana owns the stage in this performance, a more carnal honouring than some of her other outputs.

Noir

Lana really goes for it in this furious song of crushed self-esteem and badly treated lover. Lana lets her vocals rip and tear as she growls about her “papi”, her being merely his dolly to do as he pleases. It's not her most perfect song but she doesn’t hold back from letting her hurt and frustration spill over.

Bellevue

Lana utilises haunting harmonising in Bellevue and though she seems hung up on her lover not wanting her around (she repeats it, as if she can’t let go, throughout the song) she still convinces herself she could go back to the old days of drinking and not being hurt. It helps – her chanting – to bring out the emotion of the lyrics, and maintain that broken feeling she is so good at conveying whilst saying how happy she is.

Put Your Lips Together

Taking on the character of a femme fatale who can hold her own, Lana seduces the listener on top of a chilled instrumental. Her lyrics are little bit dirtier as much as her vocals aren’t their best in the choruses (of course, it being a rough demo might have something to do with that). It’s definitely a song that, if completed, could rank alongside Beautiful Player and Ooh Baby in her seduction library.

Starry Eyed

Starry Eyed is a romantic enough song, with a gentle plinking intro that leads to a rumbling, Born To Die-esque track – complete with Lana’s pretty vocals. However, it does tend to drag, a slow song that I find majorly skippable. The dragged-out choruses get tiring after a while of listening so I don’t frequently listen to this song.

Breaking My Heart

Lana is fully materialistic in this song, referencing multiple designer companies as well as her desire to be loved and party. It’s not too imaginative in its lyrics, instead pure pop with a mixture of lyrics that never quite come through with a particular meaning, but it’s a good enough bop.

Butterflies Part 1

A little love song about a tumultuous teen romance, Lana plays off the lovestruck teen ultimately in love with a guy not good for her perfectly. It’s heady and full of the rushes of love, emotive enough to get the feeling of a girl going mad from her relationship.

Ben

Lana, using the rain to her advantages, moodily comforts her executive love in the full femme fatale façade, quietly passionate. Lana, as much as she loves him, is still her own woman, insisting she will smoke if she wants and playing with her voice to showcase such control.

All Smiles

Lana puts on a happy smile as she mopes over Jimmy in this small-town, fifties-painted tale of a girl who wants a man she can’t have. She mostly hits the mark in this acoustic track and has the right foundations for a decent country ballad.

My Best Days

My Best Days is a short song of cleverly utilised trap beats, autotune and slowly layering instrumental in which Lana isn’t happy without her lover. The organ outro is gorgeous, and it’s a track that can perk you up or calm you down.

Get Drunk

Restless pace, whispered mocking and an overall darkly seductive tone – it’s unembellished and, in some ways, could play as Lana dealing with her past alcoholism (demanding whomever the song is directed to should get drunk). It’s a vibe Lana should explore more over a decade since Get Drunk and the like were made.

Let My Hair Down

A simple and spooky track, Lana has an acoustic jam session consisting of unsettled guitar, bongos and her voice. It’s rather repetitive but it’s something different that works well. It shows Lana doesn’t need too many fusses and frills on her tracks to make something captivating, much like her Sirens album.

Every Man Gets His Wish

The intro of upbeat whistling climbs into a lowkey track that goes from sensual stuttering and a sad chorus that still sounds like Lana has a smile on her face. The mood shifts along with the tune but it is altogether cohesive.

Dance For Money

As stripped as the pole dancer Lana plays, Lana gently teases and cajoles in her ode to older men, lemonade and motorcycles with little else.

Back To Tha Basics

Much like the title, this track is a little bit basic but it’s still zesty with a wonderful instrumental and some pop-inspired vocals.

Butterflies Part 2

Production isn’t perfect on this track but Lana has such promise in this song in which she compares to lured in girls to butterflies pinned to a wall, all at once melancholy, knowing and cheeky. It’s unfortunate that the lyrics are so hidden beneath the dominating instrumental, but with tweaking this stormer could be even better.

Children of the Bad Revolution

The kind of song that would be found on one of her albums, Children of the Bad Revolution is a pacy dedication to Lana’s life as a delinquent a la the 1950s starlets. It’s good but it’s not anything too impressive, instead a chilled track that is simply about being free.

Beautiful Player

Lana mopes in the track about a somewhat disliked girl (perhaps they’re all jealous of her) who is in love with one of her players, giving the feel of a villain club performer smiling with red lipstick on and black mascara staining her cheeks.

Lift Your Eyes

Lana takes control in this song, instructing her lover to lift his eyes, rise above his demons and join her in self-respect. It’s a fine alternative to her gushing and moping characters, and with machine-like music running under the song, Lana sounds stronger than ever.

Valley of the Dolls

In this compact track Lana is once again frustrated by her lover. It’s pained but pretty with her vocals once again taking the forefront.

C U L8r Alligator

Just an acapella demo, C U L8r Alligator is simply Lana’s voice with her beating a rhythm in time. However, I really do like this song. I think it would sound even better polished and complete, but for a rough demo it’s promising. The Kristijan Majic remix is the version I most listen to, which makes it sound even more eerie (and if anyone remembers the D1ETPUSSY video that went with it, you’ll get why this song doubly haunts me). It’s not Lana’s finest but it’s a song I would have loved to see developed.

In The Sun

In The Sun is so hot it burns, more heatwave than refreshing sunshine, as she scorns her ex-lover. It’s not the finest instrumental but Lana sticks her fingers up with incredulous shock that someone could betray her so. She keeps the vibe great paired with blue skies and swimming pools with the upbeat music.

Hot Hot Hot

Big Bad Wolf, a slightly different demo track, is what I favour – stripped back, sexily uneasy, the lyrics letting the vivid imagery of red skirts, red cars and devilish men shine. Yet Hot Hot Hot is a decent, if not cheesier, song too, the chanting great for singing along.

Trees

Lana and The Rich Whores strike out with this kickass band-driven track that showcases Lana’s feistier vocals strongly. The lyrics are sparse but the overall feel of Lana going nineties-rock-chick keeps me wanting more of her in this style.

Push Me Down

Rather than being like the controversial Ultraviolence, Lana keeps the ‘violence’ fun in this pacy song, demanding her bad boy treats her badly in the best way possible. With a mildly rock edge, it’s still distinctively party-Lana, reminding of a pop-ier True Love On The Side.

She’s Not Me

It isn’t particularly imaginative pop but Lana lets the guitars do the talking as she whispers her warnings to her ex-lover. Lana owns this track, and though it feels a bit amateur in comparison to her discography and some of her stronger unreleased music, it shows she would have been great even if she went for the noughties chart pop scene. Fun and punchy, it’s a song to play on repeat.

I Don’t Wanna Go

The tentative and tight intro gives me the vibe that Lana wants to avoid going home rather than simply wanting to hang out with her lover, and her pain-tinted vocals in the chorus only add to the theory. She compliments her fascinating guy throughout the verses, a little more restrained but ultimately tense in delivery, before confessing how much she wants to stay out.

St Tropez

This is a great track for dancing and a celebration of being a party girl with plenty of attention. Best played when you want to imagine yourself as the main character.

Summer of Sam

Lana has yet another song of being a cutesy bad girl, comparable to the likes of Dangerous Girl and Playground, but it’s still fairly generic, standard pop fare. Summer of Sam is still quite fun however, drenched in pop and even with a hint of rap-talking keeping the song lively.

I Talk To Jesus

Lana returns to her religious roots in a less blasphemous way (Body Electric, for example) and instead sings a sad ditty about wishing she could have her old life. Solemnly it remembers her past (as seen in her older music) where she had the trailer parks, Christmas lights and her equally holy boyfriend.

Axl Rose Husband

The imagery is rich and gorgeous, not to mention the reference to one of Lana’s idols, but Axl Rose Husband doesn’t always do it for me – despite her strained, desperate vocals that perfectly exemplify her emotion.

Ooh Baby

Sampling Sexual Healing, Lana ramps up the sex appeal as she lets the listener know how much they want her, all while keeping it a little but more upbeat than the original song.

Other Woman

Lana’s tired of being the other woman in this track, and I like the way the lyrics flesh out the story a bit more rather. However, the chorus does get a bit tiresome sometimes.

Girl That Got Away

Lana shows you exactly what you’re missing as she mopes for her ex-lover with a smile on her face, taking the reins and knowing she has something he misses in a bubble-gum pop song about being the it girl you’ll regret letting go of.

#lana del rey #lana del rey songs #lana del rey unreleased #cherry-interlude

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vindicatedvirgil · 4 years

Text

science partners / intrulogical

...yeah idk what it is about this ship but i’m in love. also, remus is still stuck to me, please someone help? he’s really growing on me.

it’s a high school human AU! please enjoy

includes: high school Logan, high school Remus, science experiments, friends to lovers, it’s kind of super fluffy at the end

(masterlist)

“Remus Creative–”

“I’m a present!” Remus cackled, a bow on his head.

“Yes, very nice. Roman Creative?”

“Preseeeent~!” Roman sang out.

“Logan Crofters–”

“Here.” His head was down, and he was jotting in his worn-down notebook. He tuned out the rest of roll call, and was only faintly listening to the assignment the teacher was talking about.

“Ahem. Mr. Crofters?” The teacher was standing right in front of Logan. “Did you hear what I said about your project partner?”

“Uh…” Logan glanced around. “No, sorry.” The teacher just rolled their eyes and pointed to the student sitting next to Logan, who glanced to his left. It was Remus Creative, probably the most inappropriate and wacky student in Logan’s grade. “Um, can’t I… do this project on my own?” Remus made a mocking offended noise.

“Ugh, like I want to work with Mr. ‘I’m better than you because I’m a super smarty pants’ but teach here has already said that we’re working together, so put on your big boy pants and look at the assignment sheet with me,” He muttered, resting his chin on his hand, his tongue sticking out a little bit. The teacher wandered off, and Logan closed his notebook, glancing at the assignment sheet that was set down between the two boys.

“...we have to come up with our own physics experiment?” Logan asked. Remus fluttered his eyelashes, staring at Logan.

“I have a few ideas for a physics assignment, cutie pie~”

“No. Nothing dirty, you snake.” Logan groaned, running a hand through his hair. Remus made that mock offended noise again.

“Excuse you, I am not a snake! Janus is the snake. I’m more of a stinky rat man, you know?” Remus laughed, then took out a pen and began writing potential ideas for experiments on the paper. Logan watched him scrawl a list of potential experiments, some typical, but a few of them were pretty out there. He was appalled at the fact that the pen wrote in sparkly silver ink, but ignored this.

“Isn’t something with solar panels… overdone a bit?” Logan asked, adjusting his glasses frames, then pointed to one item on the list. “Why does this just say bouncy balls?”

“It’s an experiment on height and linearity of bouncing balls,” Remus answered simply. “But if you think it’s too silly, whatever.”

“No, that’s actually… intriguing.” Logan responded. “We have to record our experiment for the presentations and log our results. We should find a space to film.”

“Not my house,” Remus muttered. “Unless you want to be around Roman.” Logan glanced over his shoulder at Remus’ twin, who was boasting about something. Logan shook his head.

“My apartment is kind of a mess, but my mom is always working, so it should be fine.” Remus looked deep in thought, but he just nodded. “We should get a variety of sizes of balls, so we have more data to go off of. I have carpet, tile, and hardwood, so we can test on surfaces as well.” Remus cackled.

“My balls are bouncy, I promise… and if you want, I have some hard wood for ya,” He grinned toothily, and Logan just rolled his eyes, ignoring the jokes. Well, what he hoped were jokes.

“There’s a dollar store by my apartment. We can do this after school today, and get it out of the way,” He explained. “We can meet out front once the day is done.”

Logan sighed, crossing his arms. Thirty minutes had already passed since the final bell rang, and Remus was nowhere to be found. This was why he hated working with others on projects; they couldn’t be depended on, not for anything. He decided to wait another fifteen minutes for his classmate, and if he didn’t show, he’d do the project on his own and tell the teacher that Remus bailed.

Logan was not so lucky. He was nearly tackled to the ground when someone hugged him from behind, arms wrapping around his shoulders. “Lolo!” Remus’ cackle was jarring and it made Logan’s head spin. He peeled the other’s arms off of him and glared harshly at the pouting teen.

“You’re late,” he said. Remus shrugged. “And don’t call me Lolo. My name is Logan, and you will refer to me as that and only that.” He began walking off campus, and Remus skipped alongside him, humming.

“So, how far away is your house?” Remus asked, wrapping an arm around Logan’s shoulders again. The logical teen didn’t bother to push him off, but glared at him through his glasses.

“It’s a fifteen minute walk to the dollar store and then a five minute walk from there to the apartment complex,” Logan explained. Remus frowned when he realized the direction they were walking in, towards the more low-income part of town, but he decided to say nothing. They walked in silence, which surprised Logan, until they got to the store. Remus grabbed a cart and wheeled himself down the aisles, giggling. “Remus, please, we need to locate the bouncing balls.”

“Oh, alright. You’re no fun,” Remus pouted, and the two located the area with them. They got several packets of various sizes, and Remus also grabbed a large bouncing ball, which he held by hugging it. Logan rolled his eyes, but a small smile formed on his lips when he realized that Remus looked like a small child when he held the giant ball. They checked out at the front, Remus insisting on paying for everything, which only amounted to about $10. Logan made a fuss, but secretly he was grateful, because he only had a few bucks left until his next payday, and would need to go to the grocery story soon.

Remus toddled along the sidewalk, still hugging the ball, while Logan walked beside him, the plastic bag in his hand holding the rest of the bouncing balls. When they got to the apartment complex, Remus followed Logan up a short flight of stairs and stood awkwardly as the smart kid dug his keys out of his pocket. He opened the door, allowing Remus to go in first, and went inside after. Remus set the ball down gently, glancing around.

The kitchen was small. There was no TV, just a futon with some blankets and pillows on it, a dining table covered in worn books and papers, and two closed doors, one leading to a bathroom and the other to the only bedroom. There were cardboard boxes littered everywhere, with clothes spilling out of them. Logan looked ashamed, but also remained quiet as he set his backpack down on the futon. He fumbled through his backpack to grab his worn notebook.

“...Logan, I–”

“Don’t. Let’s just get this over with,” was the only response he gave. He set up a chart to log height, trajectory, number of rebound bounces, size of ball, and floor type. “Should we start small or big?”

“Uh, big first.”

The two sat cross-legged on the floor in various areas of the room for the next few hours as Remus dropped the balls from a constant height and Logan logged the results. They had set up a perilous tower of books to keep Remus’ phone camera focused on the actions. It was mostly quiet except for the bouncing and the scratching of Logan’s pencil on paper, and he just hoped that Remus wasn’t uncomfortable. He knew that the Creative twins came from a rich family, and he wondered if the jokester had ever been in such a small and worn-down place.

As they were wrapping up their experimenting, Logan’s mother came home, eyes deep set in shadows and hair greasy and mangled. Remus said nothing as Logan explained that they were science partners, working on an assignment, and that he’d be starting their dinner very soon. She just nodded and excused herself to take a shower and a nap.

“What does your mother do for work?” Remus asked, breaking the awkward silence. Logan ran a hand through his hair.

“She’s a nurse during the day, and at night she works at a 24-hour café,” Logan explained. “Ever since my dad died, we’ve lived here. I’ve had to pick up a job as a tutor, and recently I started working at the café, too, to take a little bit of the pressure off of my mom.”

“I’m sorry about your dad,” Remus said gently, placing a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “Actually, I’m sorry about… everything. If I’d have known, I wouldn’t have suggested someplace else, this is worse than Roman singing–”

“Shut up,” Logan’s voice was wavering. “This isn’t worse. This is my fucking life, Remus, and I’m not ashamed of it. Don’t pity me.” Remus looked down at his feet, ashamed.

“I’m sorry. I just…” he sighed. “You deserve better. Everyone in school always makes fun of you for being smart and wearing those dorky clothes. You deserve a better science partner than me, that’s for damn sure.” Logan started to say something but was interrupted by his mom coming out from her bedroom.

“Remus, are you staying for dinner? Logan always makes the most delicious dinners, even though we don’t have much,” She said, sitting on one of the chairs at the table.

“Um, thank you, but I should… probably head home,” Remus didn’t meet her eyes. She frowned and gave a look to Logan, who just nodded. She went back to her room while Logan stood up, heading towards the small kitchenette. Remus watched him carefully. “So… you cook?” Logan smiled, getting the ingredients for his simple soup out from the fridge and pantry.

“My dad was a chef. He taught me everything I know about food, so… yeah, I make all of the food,” He replied. Remus went to join him in the kitchen, and studied Logan’s movements as he cut the vegetables up and put them in the soup pot. “You should stay. So that after, we can accumulate our data and write the report.”

“I don’t want to take what little food you have, though…” Remus’ voice was serious, and it startled Logan, who just shook his head.

“Please don’t worry about that,” he took a deep breath. “I’d… like you to stay. You’re my science partner after all.” Remus sighed, and nodded.

“How can I help?”

“This was so tasty, baby. Thank you,” Logan’s mom kissed the top of his head. “I’ve gotta head out to the café now, don’t stay up too late alright? And make sure Remus here gets home safely.”

“I will, Mama,” Logan said. He closed her thermos that he had filled with coffee and handed it to her. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She waved and smiled at Remus and then left the two in the apartment. Remus cleared the dishes from the table and began cleaning them, without saying anything. Logan just helped to dry and put away the dishes, and when their hands met he almost dropped a glass, but he caught it, the red blush coating his face.

“You’re kind of like Wolverine,” Remus said, breaking the silence. “Other than the fact that your name is Logan. You’re strong, and you’ve been through a lot, you’re kinda sexy…” He turned off the water. “You’re like… nerdy wolverine.”

“I don’t know about that–”

Remus didn’t let him argue. He grabbed Logan’s hands which were still holding a bowl and a towel and kissed him, startling the nerdy boy. Logan stumbled back, almost dropping the bowl but he set it down gently, his face bright red and a startled look on his face.

“Don’t! Don’t pity me–”

“Logan–”

“Get out!” Logan threw the towel at Remus’ face. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing–”

“Logan, I’ve had a major crush on you for two years,” Remus said plainly. Logan blinked, a confused look replacing his angry face. “The way you get all excited about science and facts? At the astronomy lesson last month you had this ‘lost in the stars’ expression the whole time. So… I requested to have you be my science partner for this assignment. I wasn’t going to do or say anything but… I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry.”

“I’ve never liked anyone before, so I don’t know if I can just…”

“It’s okay,” Remus looked down. “I’ll go home. I’m really sorry, Logan. I’ll take the data and write it up, okay? You don’t need to worry.” He started to turn away, but Logan gripped his wrist.

“I’m not saying that I don’t want to, Remus,” he clarified, then sighed. “I just… I’ll need a little bit of time, okay?”

The bell above the door jingled as Remus stepped into the small café. He didn’t immediately see Logan, but he sat down at his usual booth, setting his backpack down next to him. Logan’s mom bounded over, a smile on her face.

“Morning, Remus,” she said, pouring some coffee into the mug in front of him. “Lo’s on dish washing duty today, but I’ll let him know you’re here, okay?”

“Thanks, Mrs. C,” Remus smiled up at her. He pulled a book out of his backpack and began reading, taking occasional sips of his coffee. After about five minutes, Logan’s mom brought over his usual sunny side up egg with some hash browns.

“Another book on reptiles, Remus?” She asked, settling into the booth across from him. “You two really are very similar.” Remus smiled, dog-tagging the page he was on and setting the book down. He coated his entire plate with ketchup and took a bite.

“Did you know that snakes and lizards use their tongues to smell the things around them?” Remus asked, and she just giggled, sticking her tongue out. He did too, and laughed. She got up after that, doing her rounds, and he settled in deeper to the cushion.

It had been two months since the science experiment. Remus spent all of his Saturdays in the café while Logan was working. He did his homework, read books, and got to know Logan’s mom, who was quirky and silly despite her constant exhaustion. Logan was still hesitant around Remus, though, and he didn’t want to push anything. When they saw each other, Remus would just kiss the smart boy’s cheek. They hadn’t kissed again.

But they spent a lot of time together, and Remus hoped that some progress was being made. They’d study together in Logan’s apartment after school on Logan’s days off, and sometimes Logan would just rest his head on Remus’ shoulder because he was so tired. On Sundays, Logan would go over to Remus’ house, since Remus had a lot of fancy science equipment they could use together.

Every once in a while, Roman would ask what was going on between the two, but Remus would just shrug and say they were friends. He hoped that someday, he could say they were more.

“Hey,” Logan’s clear voice brought Remus out of his deep thoughts. He glanced up at Logan, who slid into the seat across from him, a plate of toast with jam on them in hand. Remus gave him a sweet smile, resting his chin on his hand.

“Hi, Lolo,” he said. “Are you on your break right now?”

“Yeah,” was Logan’s only response as he took a bite of one of the pieces of toast. Remus took a bite of his food as well, and they ate in comfortable silence until Remus felt a foot brush against his own. He raised an eyebrow at Logan, whose face was bright red.

“What’s up?” He asked, setting his fork down with a slight clang. Logan said nothing and kept eating his toast, but with his spare hand he took a folded note out of his pocket and slid it across the table. Remus gave him a confused glance but picked it up, unfolding the paper.

Remus,

There’s a documentary about eels playing at the dollar theater tomorrow. Wanna go?

-Logan

Remus giggled a little, holding back his desire to make an eel-in-his-pants joke. “Yeah, of course, Lolo. Why couldn’t you just ask?” Logan looked down, his face still bright red, and scarfed down the rest of his toast. He took a sip of Remus’ coffee, then cleared his throat.

“It’s kind of nerve wracking asking someone out on a date, okay?” Logan admitted. Remus must have looked startled, because a wave of panic crossed Logan’s face. “I-if you don’t want it to be a date–”

“No, I do, Lo, I just… I’m surprised, is all,” Remus said, giving Logan a bright smile. “I just don’t want you to rush into feeling ready for that…”

“...I’m… ready for that, Remus,” Logan said, looking down again. Remus nudged his foot again, and the two sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of Logan’s break.

“...you’re wearing a suit,” Logan muttered, eyeing Remus up and down. He had just opened the apartment door. “Why, exactly, are you doing that?” Remus shrugged, looking down at his own attire. It was a dark green suit.

“It’s our first date, so… yeah.” He blushed a little. “You look nice, Lo. As always.” Logan adjusted his tie, but felt like his polo shirt just wasn’t cutting it anymore. He always wore this, he figured Remus would show up in his usual torn jeans and tank top and leather jacket but no, he just had to show up looking all dapper and smelling like something he’d gotten a whiff of from a magazine once.

“Hang on,” Logan shut the door quickly, leaving a startled Remus on the other side of the door. He frowned a little, but didn’t move from his spot. Logan ran into his mom’s bedroom and flung open the closet, digging until he got to the box of his dad’s old clothes.

When he opened the door again, Remus’ jaw dropped. Logan was in a tweed jacket. LOGAN. WAS. IN. A. TWEED. JACKET. And he had changed out of his jeans into some nice dress pants and from his polo shirt to a button-down. He wore the same tie, but, god, Remus could have tackled him then.

“Lo, you look… fucking beautiful,” He smiled, pulling Logan in for a hug. His lips brushed Logan’s warm cheek, and Logan reached up to wrap his arms around the taller teen. Their lips met briefly, and Remus swore he could sprout wings and fly into the sky. “Okay, seriously though, we should go before I rip that jacket right off of you.” Logan blushed and stepped outside with Remus, then closed and locked the apartment door. Remus laced their fingers together as they walked down the steps and onto the sidewalk.

Logan insisted on buying the tickets for the film since he was the one who had initiated the date, but Remus wouldn’t let him pay for their popcorn and icee. They settled into their seats, the theater almost completely empty save for a few older folks near the middle of the theater. Logan’s leg bounced up and down, and Remus settled a hand on his thigh.

“Sorry, Remus. I’m just… nervous? I don’t know why, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a movie, but–” He cut himself off, looking down.

“It’s okay, Lo. I’m nervous too. I don’t want to mess this up,” He kept his hand on Logan’s thigh as the lights dimmed and the film started. Logan put the drink holder between them up and leaned into Remus a little. In response, Remus wrapped an arm around his shoulders, bringing him closer.

They each made little comments throughout the film, but Logan was almost completely enthralled by the smell of Remus’ cologne, and Remus could barely breathe with the way that Logan was pressed up against him. Once the film was over, Remus insisted on walking Logan home, and once again their fingers were laced together as they walked as close together as possible under the flickering streetlights and moonlight.

As they got back to Logan’s apartment, his mother was leaving for her shift at the café. She gave them each a kiss on the cheek as she left, and then the two stood awkwardly in front of the door to the apartment. Logan rubbed the back of his neck.

“You… um… you wanna come inside for a few minutes?” He asked hesitantly. Remus glanced down, but nodded, so the two entered the apartment. They sat on the futon, barely touching, and Logan sighed. “I… I’m sorry. I just feel all tingly when I’m around you, Remus. It’s a good tingly, but… I don’t know how to cope with it.” Remus let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and scooted closer to Logan, his hand once again finding a comfortable space on the nerd’s thigh and his arm wrapping around the padded shoulders of the tweed jacket.

“Tingly is good. I don’t want to push you too much, okay? If I’m doing something you don’t like, please tell me. You mean a lot to me, Lo,” Remus said before kissing Logan deeply. Logan kissed back, enthusiastically pressing himself against the larger man, a hand tangling in his hair. Logan’s other hand trailed under Remus’ jacket coat, making him shiver and pull back. “Lo, seriously, you don’t need to do anything you’re not ready for–”

“Remus, just shut up and kiss me more, okay?” Logan tried kissing him again but Remus stayed out of his reach.

“If we’re going to go any farther we need to discuss it first, please,” Remus’ eyes were pleading, and it took Logan by complete surprise. He figured that Remus would be ecstatic to take things to the next level physically, considering all of the jokes and hints he thought he had been given over the past few months.

“I… I think this is what I want, but how do you know when you’re ready?” Logan asked. Remus took his hands gently and brought them up to kiss each knuckle.

“I’m not so sure myself, Lo. I’ve never… had someone like you. I’ve never done anything,” He admitted, which honestly surprised Logan, and it was evident on his face. “I did say I’ve had a crush on you for years, didn’t I? I could never be with someone else, no matter how tempted I was.”

“...I haven’t either. But I feel like… I could with you. Maybe not today. But… someday?” Logan’s voice was small. Remus smiled and placed a hand on his cheek.

“I like the idea of someday, Lo,” He said, leaning in to kiss him gently. “It’ll be like a science experiment. As time goes by, we might get more and more comfortable but we will have to test the boundaries. We might get things wrong, but… eventually we will figure it out.” Logan smiled, resting his head on Remus’ shoulder. “Until then, we can take things at a snail’s pace.”

“Did you know that some aquatic snails have lungs?”

“No, but did you know that snail mucus could be good for your skin?”

#amanda writes sanders sides fic #intrulogical #ts logan #logan sanders #logic sanders #ts remus #remus sanders #dark creativity sanders #intrusive thoughts sanders #lomus #regan #sanders sides fanfiction #fluff #sanders sides fluff #human au

114 notes · View notes

daiseukiis · 3 years

Text

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 ┊ 01 ┊ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐭 ┊ 03

⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀"DOES HE HAVE A DEATH WISH?" kiyara wonders, annoyed at the current predicament.

"won't gojo-sensei be fine? isn't he the strongest shaman?" itadori soon catches up to fushiguro and kiyara who had a head start, kugisaki running right behind the two of them. the two were still confused, what was wrong?

an exasperated sigh leaves the pale blonde's lips, "god, he's not even here but i can already feel that man's ego growing." rolling her eyes they all took a turn towards the school, breaths escaping their bodies in patterns to keep their heart running and going.

kiyara knew this feeling. usually her hitches and feelings towards a certain thing were never wrong so far, why would it suddenly be wrong now?

"that's not what we're worried about." fushiguro explains them, but their confusion increased more than it needed to be. he glanced at them and groaned, 'of course they wouldn't know.'

"it's the two strongest jujutsu sorcerers possibly wiping the school off the map." the blonde says.

there was a pause between all four, the two staring at her back with wide eyes and disbelief. "w-wait... are you implying mizuki-sensei is as strong as him?"

"she can definitely put him at bay."

⠀⠀⠀⠀"fuck." fushiguro breathes out.

there stood all four students witnessing that most of their school buildings wer wrapped in black like mistー shadows. at first their response was that they were under attack, but that thought was dismissed when their eyes fell to the two teachers on the ground in front of them.

one female had flowing chocolate hair, strands which touched the ground as she laid atop their sensei's waist. pure annoyance was written all over her facial as amethyst eyes focus on her target. the strength of her body tries oh so hard to make the dagger in her two hands break through gojo's infinity, but to no avail.

the shaman on his back on the ground had his signature smirk gracing his lips, he was mocking her. anyone could see that her efforts to break his jujutsushiki was entertaining him, and he knew for a fact barely any to none could beat him, and she was no exception even after multiple spars and fights.

it was either a draw or her utter defeat.

"tch, strong bastard." she groans, throwing the dagger away after struggling to stab the snow haired male. the dagger faded into black and disappeared under her shadow. standing up from the mounted position she prompted a hand on her hip.

"still feisty, yusa." gojo smirks at her, yet a tick mark pops above her head and standing up after mizuki.

"please, for the love of the gods leave me alone." she looks at gojo's blindfold, hoping in some unearthly means he would actually listen to her for once in his life. but the teasing she earned right after was not it. "awh~ but your reactions are too cute! it's hard not to."

a straight was thrusted right at gojo's face, one he was able to tilt his head far enough to dodge. attempting to hit her with his right fist towards the stomach, mizuki spun into a round house kick and caught his arm after it extended out whilst her foot was stopped an inch before it landed on his head.

"she's... cool." itadori and kugisaki couldn't help but stare in awe.

"she's second to best from gojo-sensei, but the strongest female jujutsu sorcerer." kiyara glances back to her two companions that were new to the school, smiling at them as they both showed their excitement. "and she's going to be our sensei?!"

"yeah, amazing right?" the smile she gave was bright, kiyara couldn't be any prouder to see others admire her aunt after all the hardships and struggles she's been through.

"i'm just glad that they didn't destroy half the school like last time." fushiguro comments as the two behind him freeze up upon hearing his words. kiyara gives a light chuckle, "we don't talk about it..."

mizuki let go of gojo's arm as she plants her foot back down to the ground, her black coat fell to her calves as it slightly taps her knee high combat boots. black pants and top designed in the same way as almost every other sorcerer, she sighs.

"the new ichinen?" mizuki looks their direction, one click of her heel and the black mist that engulfed the area started to retreat back into her shadow. gojo gave a grin, his hand out gesturing for her to approach the four.

'the shadows disappeared!' itadori and kugisaki's mouths fell as they got starstruck by the simple gesture which unraveled everything.

"yusa, meet kugisaki nobara and itadori yuji." the said two straigthen up when the tall shaman inspected the two, "ryoumen sukuna's host, huh? reminds me of someone."

"right? i thought so too! too bad she's overseas right now." gojo slings his arm around mizuki's shoulder as his chin rests on her collarbone behind her figure, grinning from ear to ear as a thumbs up was shown to the students. she grimaces at his actions, mizuki slaps his hand as a way to tell him to get his heavyass off her.

"who?" they chorus.

"you guys also don't know?!" itadori and kugisaki point at kiyara and fushiguro who flinch at tne sudden upbringing, yelling back at their classmates and pointing at their teachers in resort. "how would we? they never tell us anything!"

"right," mizuki breaks up their yelling fest, right hand planting on gojo's face and pushs it away from hers. the male lets out a string of complaints, which she continues to ignore and successfully pushes his body off hers. her hand lands on her hip and shifts her body to one leg causing her to accentuate her curves.

"where's my daughter?" she demands.

"mimi-chan's right here!" kugisaki takes a step to the side and gestures to the girl behind her. or so, was supposed to be there. their eyes look at the empty space that she introduced, gojo and mizuki furrow their brows as a question mark appears above their heads.

'we left her at kuidaore!' thunder struck behind the three of them, jaws dropping to the ground the moment they realize she was not even on sight. their skin went pale and blood turned cold, the gloomy aura ungulfs the teens as different worse case scenarios play in their mind.

"ah, there you are my little flower." gojo stands in front nomari who stood a few meters away from the group, his hands wrapping around her waist and bringing her up into his arms.

'how did she get there?!' itadori exclaims in his mind, shocked to see the child in perfect condition at her spot. kugisaki let out a small sigh of relief, hand over her chest and quickly smiled so mizuki wouldn't see that it was a mistake, 'yikes... that was close.'

'wait, so she walked here by herself..?' fushiguro ponders making kiyara groan and facepalm softly, 'we're such idiots.'

"hands off her sato. geez, you'll make her stupid." mizuki walks over to the two, her arms out to take her daughter back but gojo only pouts and swerves her, "heey, that's so mean yusa!"

itadori watches with his classmates on how the trio interacts, mizuki being continously annoyed by gojo as nomari kept the expression of her wondering exactly why she was stuck in their quarrel. yet something didn't add up to him, "mizuki-sensei actually looks really young... how old is she?"

in the next second the pinkett was powerfully punched in the face, kicked and screamed at by kugisaki that held a fist at itadori who laid on the ground with a bump on his head. "you idiot! how inconsiderate! you don't ask a lady her age! this is why you don't have a girlfriend!"

"i'm just curious!" he defends.

"it's still rude y'know!?" kugisaki screams.

'good thing i never asked...' fushiguro continues to keep quiet, watching the fuss go one beside kiyara who was just tired at this point. other than the fact she returned overseas from a mission, bombarded with new people and hadn't taken a nap just yet to replenish her dying sleeping schedule. listen, she just wants her bed and food at this point.

"do you know, kiyara?" itadori asks her, popping the girl out of her small break down. kugisaki in the background continued to yell at him for prolonging the situation and asking other alternatives which she thought was still rude concerning that it was about private information about a woman.

"sorry, but i don't. i just thought it wasn't my business." kiyara scratches the nape of her neck, a hand out in apology to the boy. 'well, it was more to the fact that she always looked like she never wanted to talk about it...'

"almost sixteen."

"what?"

"yusa was almost sixteen when she had mari." gojo answers their questions, all eyes turning to focus on their white haired teacher that stuffs his hands into his pockets.

it took a while for them to register what he said, staring at gojo's figure to make sure if he said ant words about joking they would only get mad at him, but it never came. their lashes blink thrice, processing his words as the shock from it barely passed over them.

"that's really... young." kugisaki still couldn't recover from the disbelief, but fushiguro was the first to question gojo on his words. "what do you mean almost?"

"is that because they're both december babies?" kiyara adds on, taking a step forward filled with curiosity. she knew close to nothing about her aunt when it came to her younger days, she never said anything about it which led her to believe that it was a topic one she should never ask about. but now, maybe, just maybe, gojo had the answers to her questions.

"her early high school years is what you could say were the darkest points of her life," he starts, but his attention was nowhere near his students. his gaze fell to where mizuki and nomari were, watching the child hand her mother sweets she bought at the cafe and the smile that would light up the world as she embraced her loving girl.

"did you know the woman right there was known as the disgrace of the mizuki clan? until one day she showed up being as a special grade sorcerer and crashed the main estate, it was really a sight."

"gojo-san, you're sounding like a simp." kiyara snorts.

"i'm not a simp. but you might want to check with yourself if you're not one for, you know." quickly snapping back at her, he smirks and gestures his head with a little nod to the boy that stood beside kiyara.

his words made her cheeks flush, knowing full well he cracked a code he should have not to begin with. "go away!" her arms flung to push the older man from her group, but the blush that tinted her face remained pigmented and prominent. it only got worst when he chuckled, ears being coated by the same pink.

"no can do! i'm your awesome sensei, remember?" gojo gloats as his hands stop kiyara's effortless advances to push him out of the group circle.

the three students stand there lost in the conversation, 'they seem close...'

"can you stop picking on my niece, sato?" mizuki puts a hand on the sensei's shoulder, he grins and stops his movements as kiyara mirrors him, letting out a small huff. nomari shifts over to gojo who notices it and picks her up into his arms once more.

"anyways, get ready for tomorrow." mizuki hands nomari the bag of sweets she had, the child taking out and showing daifuku to gojo. he grins widely and lets her feed him the dessert as the others blink at the interaction but decide to ignore it.

"do we have a mission?" fusiguro asks. mizuki sighs, crossing her arms over her chest and stares at all four students.

"a high grade one."

tags ; @to-move-on-means-to-grow @dearsukuna @sukun4s

notes ; these are probs gonna be all qued bc im lazy

DO NOT REPOST 、 MODIFY 、 CLAIM WORK OR LAYOUT AS YOURS.

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naruto--imagines · 5 years

Text

Sasuke x Reader [Baby Project]

[A/N] I do not own any of the characters present in this story, nor do I own the GIF that is featured. I do hold ownership over the story itself, please do not re-post it anywhere. Thanks! <3

Just like a majority of the students in your school you had a crush on Sasuke Uchiha. Yours had started when you were in grade school. One day while at recess a group of boys started to pick on you. They shoved you to the ground and called you all sorts of mean names. They were ruthless and even when tears started to pour down your face they didn’t stop. Not until someone else intervened. Sasuke showed up and with some harsh words sent the other kids off in the other direction.

“Are you okay?” He asked holding his hand out to you.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” You responded as he helped pull you to your feet.

“Good. See you around.” He said before running off to his friends.

That’s where it all started. That one moment of kindness.

Your crush followed you all the way through grade school and middle school. Up until present day, your third year of highschool. Despite the many years you spent in Konoha, you had yet to talk to Sasuke since that fateful day. Other girls had no issue with professing their love for the Uchiha, but you weren’t as confident as they were. The boys from grade school left deep scars, and the hidden wounds only deepened later on. The bullies stopped by your seventh year, but the damage was done. And it had caused lasting effects into your teenage years.

Currently, midterms were coming up in three weeks. You were sitting in health class, the topic until midterms passed was Sex Ed. Kurenai sensei had done a great job to explore all avenues of the subject. Abstinence, birth control, STD, etcetera. Last week she showed you the birthing video and promptly scared all of the kids in your class.

“Alright class, today we are going to begin your midterm project.” As she said this a technician with a ‘RealityWorks’ shirt walked in wheeling in a dozen RealCare Babies. “Each pair of you will receive a baby and it will be your job to take care of it for the week. Today you will be partnered up by me, assigned your infant and supplies, name your babies and get your bracelets. These bracelets collect information from your baby 24 hours a day. It will react like a real baby, cry when it is hungry, when it soils itself, and when it needs soothing. It will also record if you shake, drop, or don’t support the baby’s head in anyway. You will have to pass your bracelet over the censor in the chest to learn what is wrong, this will be further explained in the instruction booklet I’m handing out.” She said as she began handing out the booklets.

After she passed them out she then grabbed a bucket from her desk and shook up the contents with in. “Since we don’t have an even number of boys and girls, I will draw names from the bucket and that will be your partner.” Kurenai explained.

She began drawing names, and with each pair she drew you grew more on edge with who you’d be partnered with. Finally she called out your name. Then immediatly after she called out Sasuke’s name. You sat stiff in your seat, not moving until Kurenai told you to get with your partners.

In all honesty, you were nervous to be partnered with Sasuke. Sure your crush originated from his kind actions when you were younger. But over the years he became more reserved, and slightly cold. Even you had to admit you noticed the change.

Eventually the two of you pushed your desks together and read through your instruction manuals. Once you read through the booklet completely each pair was called up to obtain their artificial baby. After picking up you baby and supplies everyone received the bracelet to operate the animatronic. Then you were told choose a name for your babies (Kurenai told each of you to refer to them as babies to make the experience more real).

“So, any idea?” You question tentatively.

“Hn, not really.” He replied with a bored look on his face.

“What if we used a random name generator?”

“Fine with me.” Sasuke replied. With that you took to the internet, and that is how you got the name Yuki.

“Okay, now that everything is settled, I will activate your babies and your project will begin.” Kurenai said before simultaneously through the room babies started to cry. You quickly took action soothing your baby faster than your fellow classmates. Once your baby had been calmed you decided that you and Sasuke needed to figure out a schedule.

“Well, how about for the rest of the day we switch off at every class, and we could meet up after school at the coffee shop down the street and discuss some more then.” You suggested.

“Sure” He replied. “I’ll take him for the next class.” Sasuke said as the bell rang dismissing your class. Sasuke reached down and grabbed the baby carrier holding Yuki and the mock diaper bag with the supplies before he left for his next class. The day went on and soon enough the two of you were walking to the coffee shop with Sasuke carrying Yuki between the two of you. As the two of you sat there you had your fair share of “looks” from other patrons, until they realized that it was a fake baby. (The scanning of the bracelets and lack of movement eventually gave it away)

“How about during school, I’ll watch him for the first half of the day, and we can switch after the lunch break.” You proposed.

“And for after school?” Sasuke questioned taking a sip from his drink.

“Since you have prep-school, I can take him for that time. And then we can alter nights.” You replied.

“Sounds good to me,” Sasuke said “I have to get going.” He replied standing up.

“Sure, I’ll take him tonight, and I will see you tomorrow.” You said with a shy smile.

“Yeah, see you later.” Sasuke replied leaving.

“Okay, Yuki, let’s get you home.” You said leaving the coffee shop.

The night went smoothly, you easily slipped into the role of caretaker while getting your homework and chores done. Nightfall provided a bit more of a challenge. You were able to put the baby down easily and ended up falling asleep soon after. Then it began, every hour and a half Yuki started screaming. The first time he needed a bottle, then a diaper change, finally it was 3 in the morning and Yuki simply wanted to be held. For an hour. You put him back in his carrier and fell asleep. And shortly after you had to wake up to go to school.

You showed up with yuki in his carrier and easily breezed through the first half of the day. At lunch you meet up with Sasuke to eat lunch. Then afterwards you handed over the baby items and Yuki to Sasuke as he went to his next class. Before long it was the end of the day and you were meeting up with Sasuke again.

He quickly handed you the baby carrier with an irritated expression on his face.

“Everything okay?” You ask receiving the carrier from the teen.

“No, he wouldn’t stop screaming through my last class.” He explained adjusting his bag. “I’ve gotta go, I’ll text you after class to pick him up.” Sasuke said walking away.

“Okay see you later.” You said walking off with Yuki to find a bench to sit on and wait for Sasuke.

During the time you sat there Yuki had only fussed to be held, which was easy enough to do while reading for class. You were lucky to have practice with infants. Your sister was several years older than you. Three years ago her and her husband gave you a niece. Since the two of them worked they frequently requested your assistance with baby sitting little Ami. Including over nights, which gave you plenty of experience for your current project.

Soon enough Sasuke was finished with his prep-school classes and you were meeting up with him. You handed over Yuki and the diaper bag before saying goodbye and going your separate ways.

The next morning you meet up with Sasuke before class and immediately noticed the bags under his eyes.

“Rough night?” You questioned.

“Yuki woke up every forty-five minutes.” Sasuke said with contempt, practically throwing the baby carrier at you.

“Yeah, he did the same to me the other night.” You replied gently rocking the carrier in your hand.

“How were you able to function yesterday?” He asked in genuine curiosity.

“Well, I helped my sister with raising my niece while her husband was away on business trips. Sometimes I watched Ami for the whole night so it was good practice for this project i suppose. But mostly we took turns during the night waking up to see to Ami’s needs.” You explained to the boy in front of you. You looked up to Sasuke and caught him staring at you rocking the carrier. “UH, but that was probably too much information. My bad” You said glancing away from him with a blush on your face.

“That’s a good idea.” Sasuke stated

“Huuh?”

“After prep class tonight I’ll take you to my place. We have a guest bedroom you could use, that way we can watch Yuki together.” He explained.

“Oh. Uh, sure! I think that’s a good idea. Let me message my mom and make sure it’s okay with her. I’ll let you know at lunch.” You told him.

“Yeah, see you later.” Sasuke said handing you the diaper bag and walking to class. You quickly shot your mom a text asking to stay with the Uchiha’s for the next two nights for the project before walking to your first class of the day.

By lunchtime your mom had said that she didn’t have a problem with it, only requesting to talk with Mrs.Uchiha before you went over. You relayed the message to Sasuke when you saw him. He gave you his mother’s cell phone number so you could get it you your mom. After that, the two of you went on with your normal routine until school was over.

With Yuki in hand you walked to your house to pack a bag for the next few days. Bag and baby in hand you said ‘bye’ to your mom and walked back to the school to meet up with Sasuke again. The two of you made your way to his house where you meet the rest of his family before Mikoto shows you to the guest room you’ll be staying in.

Once you were settled in it was time for dinner. You hand a nice time conversing with the Uchiha family (not to mention the excellent food) before you and Sasuke went up to his room with Yuki to do your homework.

Sasuke’s room was pretty average. The walls were a light grey with a few posters scattered around. His bed had a blue blanket on top of it and his desk was on the adjacent wall with his closet straight across on the opposite wall. Finally a kotatsu sat in the middle of the room without the futon. That’s where the two of you sat doing your homework with Yuki sitting in between you.

Soon enough you two had finished your homework and were getting ready for bed. You volunteered to keep Yuki in your room for the night since your room was across the hall from Sasuke’s you left your doors open so both of you had easy access. Each of you decided on taking turns when Yuki woke up, you taking the first wake up.

Everything through the night went fine. Yuki woke up almost every hour, but you came to expect that. Sasuke and you took your turns until the morning. The two of you woke up and got ready for school. After breakfast the two of you walked to school together and continued on with your normal routines. Then after school the day repeated with the two of you walking to Sasuke’s place, eating dinner, doing your homework, and going to sleep. Both of you ready for the project to be over tomorrow.

Friday morning around 6am Yuki woke up again. You got out of your bed and sat on the floor next to the carrier. To your surprise Sasuke came in and sat next to you.

“You didn’t have to get up. I’ve got it.” you told Sasuke.

“Yeah. I was up already.” He replied. The two of you sat in silence for a little while. “You’ve really saved me with this project.” Sasuke said, his voice drawing your attention up from Yuki so your eyes catch yours. “I’m glad I got paired with someone who knows what they’re doing.” He said, you accepted the sort of backhanded compliment. Especially since Sasuke doesn’t hand out compliments very frequently.

“You’re welcome. Glad I could be useful.” You responded falling back into silence.

The two of you stayed sitting like that for quite some time. Even after Yuki fell asleep and you placed him back into his carrier. In fact, you two sat on the floor until the sun started to peak through the window and it was time to start getting ready for school. You both moved to get up from the floor to start your morning routine when Sasuke spoke up again.

“If you’re free tomorrow,” He started hesitantly, an unusual characteristic for the Uchiha, “would you wanna get something to eat?” Sasuke finished, slightly turning fromm you attempting to hide the blush on his face.

“Ah, sure. I’d like that.” You responded with a smile on your face. After that the two of you got ready for class.

Today was the final day of the project. In class you returned the babies, everyone excited to be done with the animatronics. You were also excited, not necessarily to be done with the project (you thought you had done really well on it), but because you had the chance to get to know Sasuke better. An because of your date tomorrow.

#Sasuke #sasuke x reader #naruto imagine #m/m #m/f #gender neutral #reader insert #imagine

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blog-oddeyecircle · 5 years

Note

Headcannons of kakyoin and jotaro having a s/o who is a teen mom?

Headcanons of Kakyoin and Jotaro having an S/O who is a teen mum.

Kakyoin did have a hunch that his S/O may be a teen mum from her mother like personality; his S/O would often fuss over him by asking if he had enough to eat, wiping his mouth for him before he can do it himself, she seemed really mature for her age and he was fascinated by how she seemed to be genuinely experienced with very young children.

In addition, he noticed how she always seemed tired and worn down sometimes or how she had to constantly leave school early. He made the decision to wait for her to tell him she was a mother despite her age. When his S/O told him she was a mother, he responded with “I may have had a hunch that you were a mother,” he was not bothered that she was a mother as he knew she was trying her best to have an excellent career and he accepted her.

He didn’t care what others may think about his S/O being a teen mum, he’s willing to defend anyone that mocks his S/O by criticising them for being so ignorant and he will fight if someone refuses to stop. He doesn’t want to hear how his S/O had just got pregnant because she’s a just slut or how she threw her life away, and she’s a terrible mother, he knows they are all false.

When his S/O arranged to meet her baby, Kakyoin felt very anxious because he had no clue how children function and he was worried he would make the child cry. When he met the baby, he kept watching the child but he didn’t make the effort to interact with the child much as he felt very anxious around them.

As time went by, he started to interact with the child more as he offered to take care of the baby when his S/O needed some time to herself and he did bring the child home with him but his mother was not keen on his S/O being a teen mother so he had to look after the baby at his S/O’s home. He started to cherish the child like they were his child and his S/O will sometimes walk in to see him softly talking to the baby.

Jotaro found his S/O’s mother like behaviour overwhelming at first when he started dating her, he would be reluctant to let her fuss over him. He was surprised to find that his S/O was very mature and she seemed to have excellent experience with very young children. Deep down, he was concerned for her well being as she seemed to be constantly tired and worn down.

Behind closed doors, he asked her if she was alright and if he needed to help her. His S/O always responded that she was fine but when the right time came, she confessed to Jotaro that she was a teen mother. Jotaro was surprised to hear this news but it did explain why she had that mother like personality and why she was always tired. He accepted her as he believed that there are worse things a person can be and he shouldn’t reject her.

He made it clear to everyone else that no one calls his S/O a slut, someone who threw her life away and a terrible mother. He had already gotten himself into fights when some people would not stop mocking his S/O. When he met his S/O’s baby, he accidentally made them cry because he looked so intimidating and scary to them. It broke his heart and he was reluctant to interact with the child after that.

After a while, the baby became used to Jotaro and he started to interact with them. He often took the child to his mother to teach him how to take care of the child. Holly loved the little angel, she would give Jotaro many tips on how to take care of the baby and they bonded extremely well through that experience. Holly had already called the child her grandchild and she always tells his S/O that she and her baby is always welcome here.

When Joseph met the child, he fell in love with them and told his S/O that they were a very adorable baby. He had called the child his great-grandchild already and he wants to introduce the baby to his wife Suzi Q. Jotaro loved the child and his S/O can sometimes walk in on him sleeping with the baby on his chest or him putting his cap on the child.

#JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #jotaro kujo #noriaki kakyoin #jojo stardust crusaders #jojo part 3 #fanfic #jojo fic #teen motherhood

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ayakanetrashoffical · 5 years

Text

Night terrors (Fluff/Angst)

Intro; Ayato has a nightmare about his parents and hesitates to reach out to kaneki for comfort. Kaneki wakes to an sobbing Ayato and does his best to comfort him.

‘Dad!" I screamed out, Touka was laughing loudly behind me, I glared at her through a blurry vision. "What is it Ayato?" He asked looking down at me with soft dark blue eyes, a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Touka's trying to make me eat worms again!" I whined and hugged my dads leg for comfort. "Touka, What have I told you about teasing your little brother?" His said, looking over at her with a look of disappointment. "Not to do it" Touka grumbled folding her arms together and kicking the ground in a fuss, I looked over at her and we made eye contact, I immediately broke out into a sinister grin.

She huffed and poked her tongue out at me, I returned the gesture. "Now now, come on you two, let's inside before it rains." He said, his voice calm and composed as always. "Okay dad" Touka whined, disagreeing with his choice but still doing as told. "Dad!" I spoke out, reaching out to him, he just chuckled and picked me up, sitting me on his hip. A feminine giggle echoed around drawing all's attention, she was leaning against the door, her short white hair blowing in the wind. "Mommy! You're back!" Touka giggled running up to her and squeezing her leg tightly.

I smiled at her and then looked up at my dad, he was smiling but he looked concerned. "Ow sweetie not so tight, mommy's leg is sore" she said, gently petting Touka's hair, "sorry mommy" she apologised before letting go. "Cmon everyone come inside! It's gonna rain" she ordered chasing Touka inside the house, but she looked odd. "Daddy why is mommy walking weirdly?" I asked looking up at him, he just gave me a gentle smile "she must have hurt her leg." He replied as he walked in with me on his hip.

"Ha Ha you got in trouble!" I mocked through giggles as my father put me down onto the floor, "shut up! Atleast I'm not a baby that goes crying to dad!" She yelled, frowning and stomping her feet angrily. "I'm not a baby!" I grumbled, glaring at him harshly, mom let out an amused giggle at us. "You're both my babies, come here you two." She asked her arms wide with a gentle inviting smile on her lips. Me and Touka ran to her without hesitation. "Come here and give your mom a hug, Ive missed you two so much." She said as she pulled us close and squeezed us tightly, "we missed you too!" Me and Touka said in union, as we both grinned into her chest.

"I'm sorry my darlings but I have to leave again soon" she started to say but Touka quickly cut her off "what! why!" She complained pulling away to give her mom puppy dog eyes. "Don't leave again, you're always gone for so long!" She continued with a loud whine, she looked down at us with a troubled smile. "I know I'm sorry, but mommy needs to protect us." She said before looking over at my dad who looked back down at her.

"Fine! Then just keep leaving!" Touka screamed with tears in her eyes, "Touka.." I called out but she didn't listen and stormed off. Mom let out a loud sigh and buried her face in her hands, "Ayato, you understand don't you? You're not mad at mommy for leaving a lot are you?" She asked her voice quivering and on the edge of breaking. "No mom" I replied, my dad looked down at me and smiled warmly, she pulled away from her hands and smile down at me as well. "I promise that I'll be back soon, Aya, mommy won't be gone for long this time." She said and I believed her, I just nodded and smiled at her.

"Ayato..Touka.." my dad called out his voice shaky and tears running down his face. "What is it daddy?" Touka asked running up to him trying to comfort him, "where mommy?" I asked looking around the room for her.

"I'm sorry. But mommy's not coming back."

Ayato's eyes shot open and he immediately started to gasp and struggle to breathe, his eyes starting to burn from tears swelling up. He pushed himself up on one of his hands and looked down at the man laying next him, his white hair the only thing visible through his blurry vision. He took a deep breath and sat up straight in the bed, he let out shaky breaths, struggling to hold back his sobs. He ran his fingers through his hair before burrowing his face in his hands, he sat there for a while; struggling to compose himself and breathe calmly.

He looked over at the sleeping Kaneki and teared up more, he reached his hand over to shake Kaneki's shoulder but stopped. 'No, I can't let him see me like this.' He thought before pulling his hand away. He quickly rubbed his eyes free of tears before walking off to the bathroom. He gently pushed open the door and turned on the sink as he stared at himself in the mirror. "I promise..." her voice resonated in his head, he couldn't help but feel weak when he watched his eyes tear up again. He threw his head down, his hair blocking his sides as he stared down at the tap as tears threatened to spill. He quickly scooped up water and splashed his face with it, he grabbed a nearby cloth and rubbed it on his face.

He looked back up at the mirror and stared at his reflection, his dark long blue hair a mess, his eyes red, previous tracks of tears painted his face. "I look like shit" he thought as he ran his fingers through his hair to help calm his nervous. He let out a final sigh before turning around, switching off the light and closing the door before walking back to the bed. He stared at Kaneki's peaceful sleeping face and smiled a bit, he gently pulled back the covers and climbed back in. He laid on his back staring at the roof for a few moments before looking over at Kaneki.

He bit his lip anxiously and stared at him in thought, he very hesitantly moved closer to the older male, he pushed his face into Kaneki's chest and wrapped his arms around him. Everything was fine for a few moments until Ayato started to tear up again, he choked on a sob and clutched Kaneki's shirt tightly.

He bit his lip to hold in his cries, not wanting Kaneki to hear or wake up, but the more he tried to fight it the more intense it was. He clutched Kaneki's shirt tightly but despite how hard he was trying to hold it together, he exploded.

He let out loud sobs after sobs, efficiently soaking Kaneki's shirt. "Kane-" he sobbed out, hugging Kaneki impossibly closer and tighter. A soft groan caused Ayato to panic and freeze but rejoice at the same time. "Aya?" He yawned out, looking down at the crying teen through tired and half lidded eyes. Ayato felt a sob get stuck in his throat, the white hair, the calm and warming voice, the nickname, it was all too familiar. With the scary familiarity it caused Ayato to break down, he pushed kaneki onto his back, laid on top of him and wrapped his arms around his neck, sobbing into Kaneki's ear. "A-Aya?" He whispered tenderly in confusion.

"Hey..hey it's okay" Kaneki cooed as he wrapped his arms around Ayato's waist tightly, holding the younger as close and as tight as possible. "I've got you" Kaneki's whispered as he rubbed patterns on Ayato's back to help soothe him. "This is so pathetic..." Ayato whispered out between whimpers, Kaneki frowned heavily at him "it's not pathetic, you're not pathetic for having emotions Ayato. Everyone cries, everyone has feelings, it doesn't make you weak or pathetic" Kaneki reassured kissing Ayato's wet cheek gently. "You're not pathetic, you're so strong Ayato. You're allowed to break down, just because you do doesn't mean you're weak." Kaneki whispered in his ear as he squeezed him tighter.

"Mhm." Ayato replied, burrowing his face deeper into Kaneki's neck, "it doesn't at all, you've been through so much, give yourself some credit, you're so strong.", "you're allowed to hurt, you're allowed to cry. You don't have to be strong all the time, I'll keep reminding you that until you believe me" Kaneki said, peppering the youngers wet face in kisses. Ayato stayed quiet besides the occasional sniffle and whimper as Kaneki continue to give him gentle kisses and whisper him comforting and soothing words.

"Thanks..." Ayato whispered, Kaneki's smiled and held him closer, "it's okay Aya, I'm here for you. I'm not leaving, I promise." Kaneki gently cooed kissing Ayato's neck gently, Ayato whimpered before letting out another loud cry. "I'm not going to leave you, I promise, I'll keep reminding you that until you believe me." Kaneki said nuzzling Ayato's neck affectionately as his cries turned heavy sobs.

#ayakane #ayaneki #ayaken #kaneaya #ayatoxkaneki #kanekixayato #ayato x kaneki #kaneki x ayato #fluff #angst #nightmares

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princessdevy03 · 7 years

Text

Tumblr Exclusive!!!!

Author’s Note: My peeps with prostates – GET THAT SHIT CHECKED!

For @anybodihearme and No Shave November....

Hair RaisEdd

Kevin trudged through Jimmy’s kitchen and then practically threw himself into the seat in the middle of the floor.

“What’s it going to be?” The blond asked as he pulled Kevin’s ever present snapback off his head and handed it to him before flipping out the smock that would keep the redhead’s clothes free from auburn clippings.

“The usual and do you think you can line me up?” Kevin asked sheepishly as he removed his scarf and Jimmy gasped.

“Well, hello there, Stud,” the blond giggled and Kevin’s cheeks and hair started to match.

“C’mon, Jimmy,” the ginger whined and Jimmy whipped the smock around him with a flourish.

“You got it.”

Twenty minutes later, the smock was covered in auburn and black hair, but Kevin felt like he looked okay.

Not like his dad, but like he was trying too hard to look grown up, either.

So maybe he could get a date this weekend and not look like a total douchebag skeeveball doing it.

“You’re gonna knock ‘em dead, Dude,” Jimmy snickered when Kevin handed him the mirror back and stood up to dig out his wallet. “Hey, Edd!”

Kevin turned around as Edd shut the door and while Edd knew it was rude to stare, he couldn’t help himself.

Or the force of habit that made him tug his beanie off his head as soon as he walked into Jimmy’s home barber shop.

Wild ebony curls flopped out from under the hat, white streaks crowding around the crown of his head making him look a bit like a mad scientist, or angel, Kevin couldn’t decide.

But the genius was floored that the black beard Kevin had apparently been hiding all Halloween weekend was on his face at all as his face was generally hairless any other time he had ever seen him.

“That’ll be $20, Kev,” Jimmy said as he wiggled his fingers at the stunned ginger, breaking the shock and awe going down in his kitchen. “And not a word of this to anyone, understand?” He continued as he pocketed the money with one hand and pointed at a sheepish Edd with the other.

When Kevin started to protest, Jimmy gave him a silencing glare and the redhead nodded before hurrying out the house, clapping Edd on the shoulder, tossing a small, “But it looks good, though,” over his own as the backdoor slammed behind him.

“Knock ‘em dead, Kev!” Jimmy called after him with a laugh and Kevin’s groan resounded all over the backyard, which made one of Rolf’s chickens squawk in annoyance at all the noise.

Edd let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding when the door slammed closed and Jimmy giggled.

“He won’t tell,” the blond said firmly as he flipped all of Kevin’s hair off the smock and Edd took off his coat, putting his beanie in a sleeve.

“I know.”

“You boys behave!” Mrs Vincent said as she slipped into the Über, Edd’s father sizing up the redhead standing next to his son before his wife hissed at him to get in the car.

“Goodbye! Call me when you land!” Edd called after them with a few enthusiastic hand waves goodbye as the car pulled away and Mrs Vincent blew kisses as Mr Vincent glared at Kevin.

“Can we go inside now!?” Kevin whined once the ride sharing service car pulled out of the cul-de-sac. “My face is cold.”

“His face is cold,” Edd mocked as he jammed his key in the front door’s lock and stormed inside. “YOUR FACE IS COLD?!” He screamed as Kevin slammed the door behind him and started to toe off his shoes.

“JIMMY’S SEEN YOUR HAIR!” Kevin retorted and both of Edd’s shoes hit him in his shins as the ravenette stormed into the kitchen.

Kevin found him pacing between the sink and the stove, hands in front of his face in thoughtful contemplation, but his blue eyes were still in a same state of shock as they were the day before when they ran into each other at Jimmy’s.

The same shock they’ve been in all night since Kevin stopped by to hang out and had dinner with Edd and his parents before heading to the arcade to hang out some more, grab some ice cream, and then head back to Edd’s just as his parents left for another quick business trip.

“What?!” Kevin said accusingly and Edd exploded.

“What?! What do you mean, ‘what?!’” He seethed. “Where in the world did all that hair on your face come from?!”

“The same place as the hair on your head!” Kevin snarked back and Edd screamed in exasperation. “Don’t you dare, Double Dork!” Kevin fumed. “How come Jimmy can see your hair but I can’t?!”

Edd looked into hurt green eyes and knew that while he may have been wrong to keep his secret from Kevin for so long, he still needed to get his hair cut and Jimmy wasn’t gonna brag about it.

“Because you can’t keep your mouth shut!”

“Can, too!”

“You all but told my parents we’ve had sex! You don’t do that!”

“Well we can’t have sex when I can’t get my damn boyfriend out of his damn hat or pants for that matter,” Kevin pouted as he eyeballed the beanie on Edd’s head.

Edd stared at him in sheer speechlessness for a few moments before whispering, “Your boyfriend?”

Kevin kicked off the kitchen island he was leaning on and walked over to the stunned teen in the middle of the kitchen.

“Only if you want to be, Edd.”

Mutual crushes became obvious after they hung out all night chatting and catching up after spending most of their summer away from home with academic camps and a family vacation on Edd’s part and sports camps and a family reunion on Kevin’s at Nazz’s Back To School party Labor Day weekend.

They went to the homecoming dance as friends, as the other Eds got dates, Nazz went with Johnny, and Marie was skipping the event in feminist protest, but most were sure that it was because Edd wouldn’t take her. When Kevin took Edd out to his favorite pho place for his birthday, Edd’s mother was falling all over herself fawning over their blossoming bromance and his father started to stare the redhead down every chance he got.

When they came back from the ice cream parlor, they were holding hands, and Mrs Vincent was beside herself.

Edd was sure that his father would want to have a chat with him Wednesday evening when they got back home, but his buzzing phone on the counter let him know that nearly everyone that saw them out tonight was wondering what Kevin was wondering rightthissecond.

He slid his beanie off his head and scared blue eyes, full of fear of rejection, looked up into awed green, and a heavy hand twisted itself into silky curls as it tugged their owner in for a kiss.

Edd whined a bit at the scruff of Kevin’s mustache on his upper lip, but the apologetic smooch he got more than made up for the small scratch.

“Is that a yes?”

Blue eyes twinkled as Edd nodded and the next kiss was deeper, the scruff of Kevin’s beard on his chin tickled a bit and he squeaked so Kevin pulled away.

“You okay?”

Edd sighed as he took his face in his hands and said, “This is gonna take some getting used to,” as his thumbs rubbed at the trail of black hair on Kevin’s jaw.

“You’ve got a month,” Kevin shrugged.

“Then let’s get started,” Edd smirked as he drew him in for another kiss, but his hands fell away from his face as Kevin’s tongue teased the gap in his teeth and he moaned.

“Yes, let’s,” Kevin growled as he pulled away and then started to pull Edd to his room.

They fell onto the bed, hands everywhere, the scruff of Kevin’s beard on Edd’s neck driving him insane.

He shoved the redhead’s hands down his pants, moaning for more and begging for relief all at the same time.

Kevin hated that the hair on his face came in a completely different color than the hair on his head and started shaving as soon as the first few dark hairs sprouted towards the end of eighth grade.

They were juniors now, and between his Granddad’s prostate cancer and Nazz’s fussing, he finally decided to grow out a beard for No Shave November.

Begging off of Nazz’s Halloween party with an excuse of homework and finishing up his extension on his art midterm, and thankful that Edd’s parents were in town to distract him from his self-imposed absence, he didn’t put a razor to his face for a full 32 hours.

With his head in a helmet for the game on Friday, everyone wound up in Halloween celebrations on Saturday, he woke up Sunday morning looking just like his father.

But it was all scraggly and messy and he knew he needed help.

Jimmy was clutch, for sure, and even his mom said he looked like young man and not her big baby.

He just didn’t expect Edd to react the way he did, but he liked the smol smarty pants reaction.

He liked it a lot.

Every kiss had a sound coming out of Edd that’s just making him want to do more, but only as far as Edd will let him.

And Edd was hitting the throttle like he’d pump his Harley through the hills that surrounded their small town.

But once he got Edd out of his pants, he stopped.

“Whaaaaaat?!” Edd whined, fully turned on, half naked with only his tank top and socks on as Kevin stared at his crotch.

“Oh. My. Gawd.”

Edd looked down to see what Kevin was staring at and he squeaked when he figured it out and went to cover himself, but Kevin’s hands were faster and locked his long arms above his head.

“Hooooooow?!” He drawled in shocked lust, a silly, slightly mischievous grin on his face, his eyes sparkling with sheer delight.

“I don’t know! Genetics?!” Edd squeaked shyly and Kevin wanted to get all up in his damn gene pool as he looked back down at the mound of red hair between Edd’s legs that ain’t his!

“What the hell kind of genetics is that?!” Kevin said as he released his arms to use both of his hands to point at the joy of Ireland that shows all of Edd’s manhood.

“I could ask you the same damn question!” Edd retorted as he grabbed Kevin’s face, thumbs firmly pinching black haired cheeks.

“My mom’s from Wales.”

“The French have a few redheads, too,” Edd sighed. “I mean, Europe as a whole has a bunch of them running around so it goes to reason that the gene pool will produce a few anomalies.”

“This is not an anomaly,” Kevin said huskily as he took Edd’s cock in his hand and the smaller male arched his back on a moan. “This is fucking amazing.”

A kiss to each nipple made him giggle, tiny bites to his side had him squirming, and Edd knew he wasn’t behaving and didn’t care when Kevin took all of who he was into the back of his throat and hummed.

His nose buried deep in Zestfully clean auburn curls made him well up a bit because he couldn’t believe he was finally getting to touch the boy he couldn’t get off his mind.

Said boy couldn’t keep his hands off his face and Kevin’s ego was getting stroked.

Soft hands smoothed back the hair on his beard a bit before gripping his jaw to get him to suck him down harder. When he did so, a bit of pre-cum came out and Kevin had to pull off of him because he knew he’d get him to cum but he wasn’t ready for that just yet.

“Why?!” Edd sobbed as he kissed the mound of red hair that was making him feel a bit like a bull in a china shop.

“B-Because,” Kevin stuttered, suddenly realizing that he didn’t know if Edd was truly ready to go all the way just yet.

“Well, if you’re not going to finish me off then kill me because I’m going to die!” Edd cried, tears coming down his cheeks like rain, hurt in his blue eyes.

“You’re not going to die,” Kevin smiled as pulled him into a cuddle. “I just…”

“Oh. You’re not ready, yet?” Edd asked softly.

“Oh, I’m plenty ready,” Kevin said reassuringly. “I was just wondering –“

He was cut off by Edd rolling him over onto his back and then sitting on his stomach, ass rubbing softly, teasingly against his cock.

“I’m ready when you are.”

And Irish eyes smiled.

It wasn’t anything they hadn’t done before, at least not to each other. Just themselves in curious exploration, then needed hormonal relief.

Where Kevin would need a gentler touch, Edd liked it rougher.

Kisses on his neck turned him on and made him open himself a bit more to the redhead, which made it easier to accept the dick he spent way too much time thinking about in the one place no one but him would ever touch.

A condom provided protection from the semen induced mess and eased Edd’s germ filled mind, and a bit more slickness to the task at hand as the lubed up touches got harder and kisses got rougher, a few leaving burning marks in their wake.

When Edd finally got through the haze the pain of sex had sent him into, he looked up to the man hovering above him, the strain in his arms showing with throbbing veins and his face went hot from all his staring.

“You okay?”

“Move.”

A slightly relieved moan turned into a shrill cry as Kevin’s hips moved out slowly only to snap back in.

“I’m s-sorry.”

“I-It’s okay. J-Just go slow. Please.”

Edd clung to him as he did his best to move as slow as possible moving his face to expose his neck and silently ask for more of those stupid delicious neck kisses.

He shifted his shaking legs a bit to relax them from the strain of being held open so wide, and it made Kevin hit his prostate.

Hard.

He was sure he’d never screamed like that in his life, but he was also sure he’d never felt anything like that ever before, either.

And he needed it to happen again.

NOW.

“A-Again.”

Kevin growled before biting his collarbone as he gave another hard thrust and Edd’s perfectly manicured nails left their mark across his back as he arched his back and screamed again.

“D-Don’t you d-dare stop.”

“Never.”

A heavy hand twisted into his hair and pulled while the other held his knee into his chest. He wrapped his free leg around the redhead’s hips and they kissed sloppily while Kevin railed him as fast and as hard as he could.

When Kevin felt the grip on his shoulders loosen and one of Edd’s hands crawl into the space between them he pulled back a bit to see what the other was up to.

“I don’t think so,” he huffed as batted Edd’s hand away from himself and the ravenette fell back into the bed on a choked sob that turned into a moan as Kevin gripped him and tried to keep his hand and hips moving at the same time.

He failed, but Edd didn’t care.

An opened mouth kiss to the sensitive spot behind his right ear had him shaking, but it was the tiny kiss to the underside of his jaw that made his overstimulated body cum, screaming the redhead’s name into the ceiling so shrilly, if he didn’t have a look of sheer bliss on his face, Kevin was sure he’d hurt him.

But Edd squishing his face into his neck did kinda hurt, especially since he couldn’t breathe and he had to wiggle away, leaving tiny kisses and beard scratches behind as he did so and Edd hummed as he melted into the bed.

In the afterglow, Edd guided him through all their usual kisses that first began after Edd’s birthday, but today seemed just a bit more sweeter, even with the hair on Kevin’s face making things different.

“Just a month?” Edd asked as they sat on the floor of his shower, the hot water easing the crick in his back as he leaned into Kevin’s chest.

“Us?” Kevin asked frantically as he sat up from leaning in the back of the tub and Edd cracked a smirk at the pout on his silly, grown up face.

“No, this,” he said as he pointed to Kevin’s beard.

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Edd giggled. “I’m not breaking up with you in a month, that’s just silly.”

“Yeah, yeah, ya dork,” Kevin muttered. “I guess I can keep it, if ya like it…”

“I do,” Edd said with a thoughtful look in his eyes. “But, it’s your face.”

“Let’s give it a month,” Kevin shrugged as he pulled him close again.

Ten years later, they got married in November.

Jimmy lined up Kevin’s beard for the event and toasted to them and the continuation of the longest No Shave November ever.

#kevedd #kevedd fanfiction #tumblr exclusive #five points to anybodihearme #reg!kevedd #reg!kev #reg!edd #kevin barr #eddward vincent #vincent-barr #I REGRET NOTHING

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theconservativebrief · 6 years

Link

Ten years ago this month, the first Twilight movie sparkled broodily into movie theaters. By then, the four-volume book series had already been published in full, made the best-seller lists several times over, and was safely established as a cult phenomenon for its target demographic of teen girls — but with that first movie, Twilight became mainstream.

In the fall of 2008, America at large was introduced to the story of Bella Swan, teenage everygirl, and her fraught, star-crossed love for glitter-streaked vampire Edward Cullen. Twilight introduced us to Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, and it continued the Harry Potter tradition of the YA book-to-movie franchise as a dominant box office force.

It also became a cultural flashpoint. Think piece after think piece by turn celebrated Twilight’s cultural dominance, mocked its shimmery vampire mythology, and feared the effects that romanticizing its tortured, dysfunctional love story might have on its teen readers. In 2008, Twilight was adored, but it was also hated, feared, and mocked.

Here in 2018, we finally have room to get a little perspective on the whole thing. In celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the first Twilight movie, Vox culture writers Constance Grady, Alex Abad-Santos, and Aja Romano joined forces with deputy managing editor Eleanor Barkhorn to look back at the unlife and legacy of the Twilight phenomenon.

Constance: When the first Twilight movie came out in 2008, I was 19, and I was positive that the entire franchise was a blight on the pop culture landscape. Before the movie even came out, I made up my mind about it. I read the posts about how the Edward-Bella love story ticked all the boxes of an abusive relationship; I shook my head over Stephenie Meyer’s bland, boring sentences; I howled over the whole concept of everything that happened in Breaking Dawn. (He chews the baby out of her uterus!)

But I was also completely fascinated by the franchise. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I picked up the first book to see what the fuss was all about, and even though I thought the love story was creepy and the prose was blah and absolutely nothing happened until about three-quarters of the way through the book beyond some vampire baseball (vampire baseball!), I kept turning those pages. I was compelled. I couldn’t help myself.

I hate-read every Breaking Dawn review, and every review of the movie. I developed opinions on Kristen Stewart (bit her lip too much) and Robert Pattinson (I appreciated his palpable hatred of the franchise). I spent so much emotional energy thinking about the whole Twilight thing that I was, for all intents and purposes, a fan. I was just a fan who hated it.

Looking back 10 years later, I don’t think I was necessarily wrong about most of the things I disliked about the franchise then. Bella and Edward’s relationship does have some disturbing power dynamics (which we’ll get into in a bit). Myer’s prose is pretty bland. The structure of the plot is bananas. (I was wrong about Kristen Stewart, though, and the way she was penalized for sometimes seeming mildly uncomfortable with the Twilight phenomenon while Pattinson was lauded for his outright hatred of it says a lot about gender politics circa 2008.)

But I also think that I clearly found Twilight really compelling when I was 19, and I was mad about that, because smart girls weren’t supposed to like books and movies like Twilight. There’s a weird, creepy eroticism to those books that is calibrated to speak precisely to the sexual and romantic fantasies of teenage girls, and I was a teenage girl. It did speak to me. And that pissed me off.

There are few pop cultural products that our society likes to shit on more than the pop culture created for teenage girls, and Twilight circa 2008 was the pinnacle of that phenomenon. This was a franchise that was built for teen girls, marketed to teen girls, and loved by teen girls, and because of that, it became accepted common knowledge that all correct-thinking people could only despise and revile it. So when I look back 10 years later, I find it difficult to untangle my hatred of Twilight from my own internalized misogyny, and from my profound and at the time unexamined belief that anything made for teenage girls must inherently be less-than.

How did you feel about Twilight back in 2008? Has it changed for you since then?

Eleanor: I was 24 when the first movie came out, and I think being just past teenagehood made all the difference for me. I loved the movie — fully, earnestly, without irony, without reservations. I loved the moody Pacific Northwest setting. I loved the longing glances. I loved the vampire baseball! (But then I am a sucker for the “characters with superpowers show off their superpowers” scene that these movies always tend to have. Ask me how I felt watching Tobey Maguire leap from Queens rooftop to Queens rooftop in the 2002 Spider-Man.)

I had spent my teenage years full of feelings, full of angst, full of deep, painful crushes on mysterious boys. And I’d mostly felt embarrassed by those feelings. I wanted to be calm, detached — a Cool Girl, to reference Gone Girl, another best-selling book turned hit movie. Seeing Bella feel so many of the things I’d felt was tremendously validating. I was normal! I’m okay, you’re okay, etc.

The fact that I watched the movie at 24 instead of 19 also meant that Twilight inspired a fair amount of nostalgia for me. By my mid-20s, I was no longer having those intense feelings anymore. I was turning into a much more practical, grounded person — realizing that I should be looking for stability, kindness, and shared values in the men I dated, rather than hotness or mysteriousness.

This was a necessary step in my maturation as a human being. (I’m very glad to be married to my kind, stable husband, whom I met at church, rather than the hot guy in my algebra class who sometimes showered me with attention and sometimes ignored me.) But it came with a sense of loss — intense teenage feelings have a particular joy and drama to them.

Twilight came at just the right moment for me to be a fan: I was close enough to my teenage years to appreciate the validation of my feelings, but far enough away that I could appreciate, rather than be embarrassed by, the romanticization of those feelings.

And that’s why I never fully understood all the hand-wringing about whether Twilight was “good” for women, or whether Bella was a “good role model” for girls. Pop culture doesn’t need to be instructive to be good. It can simply show people as they are, rather than as they should be. Bella isn’t a character I want to be like as an adult, or want my daughters to be — but that’s fine. Fiction for young people is full of spunky, plucky young women role models. It’s okay for Bella to capture a particular way that many young women are — even if, with the benefit of a few years of hindsight, we recognize that’s not the way we want to be forever.

Alex: I mean, I understand the hand-wringing and analysis of whether Bella is a “good role model” because of Twilight’s audience. The books were being consumed by teenage girls (and younger-than-teenage girls), and the natural response from adults, when it comes to any piece of culture as popular as Twilight was, is to fret over “what is it teaching the children?”

Many adults seem to believe that books for younger audiences should follow a certain moral code or provide some kind of moral guidance. Though overhauling the way we teach kids about books and how we approach books ourselves warrants its own entire article.

I read New Moon — the one where Bella wants to die so Edward will come and save her — and I’ve seen every movie except Breaking Dawn Part I. I guess my main impression of that one book and the four movies (I don’t want to speak for Stephenie Meyer’s entire oeuvre) is that Twilight is both a not-so-well-written book and a mildly exciting movie franchise.

But like Constance said, it gets criticized exponentially harder than other pieces of pop culture because teenage girls like it. I think some of that criticism is warranted, in that the book wallows in shallow descriptions, but it gets magnified because of who its target audience is.

One of the things I wish the movies had done more of was lean into the vampire action. There wasn’t enough vampire baseball. If you’re gonna give these vampires magical superpowers — elemental manipulation, mind-reading, pain projection, etc. — then show us those powers. Make it seem cool to be a vampire. Or at least make it seem cooler to be an immortal high schooler than Twilight often did, with the characters just trolling around a Pacific Northwest high school looking for an eternal mate.

Aja: We also can’t really talk about whether Twilight was instructive or not without talking about the kinds of real-world legacies it left us with — including a full decade and counting of YA novels with extremely problematic relationships at their centers. Despite the many red flags flying around Bella and Edward’s relationship — starting with their 87-year age difference, his stalking and controlling behavior, and the fact that he wants to bite her more than any other human he’s ever met, fans loved the couple. And because plenty of Twilight fans were so interested in their codependent passion, publishers started marketing books that featured similar relationships as a selling point.

(One of the most disturbing of these books was Hush, Hush, a New York Times best-seller that featured a hero who literally stalks, threatens to sexually assault, and tries to kill the teen protagonist. It’s a controversial book that’s currently being made into a movie, so the phenomenon is still very much with us.)

But we also have a whole generation of Twilight fans who turned the publishing industry on its head with their insistence and demand for trope-filled stories that indulged their fantasies. And their unashamed consumption of a brand of media that nakedly catered to them arguably presaged the flourishing romantic comedy resurgence we now appear to be in the middle of.

Twilight fans were also responsible for one of the most remarkable and underdiscussed publishing phenomena in history, in that they essentially built an entire new publishing genre from scratch. They started by creating a controversial but very effective system of pull-to-publish Twilight fanfiction — stories that centered on Bella and Edward analogues, without any copyrighted names or details. Then, backed by the money and enthusiasm of ravenous Twilight fans who wanted to read more, more, more, they created their own small-press publishing houses in order to ship those fics-turned-novels directly to their audiences.

It was from one of these Twilight fandom publishing houses, created for and by Twilight fans, that Fifty Shades of Grey — which was originally a massively popular Twilight fanfic called “Master of the Universe” — originated. By blowing the doors wide open on the potential financial power of fanfiction, and introducing it to mainstream culture for the first time, Fifty Shades of Grey forever changed publishing. And it wouldn’t have existed without this very specific way in which Twilight fans commercialized their fandom.

We could debate endlessly whether the marketing of any of these fics was “good” or “morally instructive,” but I do believe these fans were galvanized to do what they did because they were forced to spend years defending their hobby and their reading pleasures. And we all know the best way to defend your hobby is to find a way to make money from it.

Constance: Aja brings up a great point here: Twilight was such a giant franchise that it had a real effect on pop culture. So what do you think is its most lasting legacy?

An interesting counterbalance to the wave of YA romances about creepy, mysterious, controlling boys that Aja correctly pegs to Twilight’s popularity is that Twilight also fundamentally changed the way we talked about those romances. Before Twilight, they were considered silly and fun and not really worth critiquing, but the criticism of Twilight was so heated and so pointed that it ended up influencing the discourse around practically all relationships built on the Bella-Edward model.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a lot more sophisticated about the power dynamics of its relationships than Twilight was, but I don’t know that it could have gotten away with a ship like Buffy-Angel in a post-Twilight era. When Buffy first aired, a scene where Buffy wakes up in the middle of the night to find Angel sitting on her windowsill passed without comment, but after Edward Cullen, it became one of the scenes that people brought up when they talked about why they don’t like that pairing. That’s because one of the things the hand-wringing over Twilight established is that it is creepy when a boy breaks into a girl’s bedroom to watch her sleep, the way Edward does with Bella.

And The Vampire Diaries, the next big vampire romance franchise after Twilight, went out of its way to subvert any Twilight comparisons with its central romance between Stefan and Elena. That show very pointedly played the big reveal that Stefan was a vampire in an echo of the famous “Say it!” / “Vampire,” scene in Twilight, but in this version, Elena ran screaming in the other direction as soon as she realized what Stefan was. There’s even a scene in one episode where Elena is watching Stefan sleep, rather than the other way around, and he tells her it’s creepy.

There’s plenty for us to critique about the gender politics of The Vampire Diaries, but it’s a show that clearly wanted to be the woke alternative to Twilight, and the way it positioned itself to take that slot was by subverting the tropes that the Twilight discourse had established were gross.

Eleanor: The only love triangle YA story I really got into after Twilight was The Hunger Games, which provided an interesting (but also maddening) foil to Twilight. I saw The Hunger Games get treated a lot more seriously as a franchise because of its apparent critique of income inequality (the movie came out just months after Occupy Wall Street), and because Katniss was in so many ways the anti-Bella: tough, resourceful, independent. Also in The Hunger Games’ favor: Jennifer Lawrence, who played Katniss, was much, much better at the celebrity image game than Kristen Stewart.

But I found everything about The Hunger Games a little too perfect; the good role model protagonist and the “serious” commentary on today’s social issues was all a bit much. I still appreciate Twilight’s stubborn refusal to be anything more than what it was: an evocative, albeit problematic, teen love story that took its characters’ feelings seriously.

Would it be a stretch to call movies like Brooklyn and Lady Bird part of the legacy of Twilight? Of course, they’re in an entirely different genre; they’re also more nuanced and better acted, and the relationships at their center are largely absent of the troubling power dynamics we discussed above. But they fill a place in my heart that Twilight once did, for the way they show that the stories of young women and their romantic choices are important and worthy of deep study.

Alex: The world would be a better, kinder place if everyone was required to watch Brooklyn. Though I’m not sure if it and Lady Bird are a part of Twilight’s legacy or are simply terrific stories about teenage girls growing up that haven’t been given the credit they’re due.

Twilight’s more direct legacy is Fifty Shades of Grey and the phenomena — the backlash and the fandom — that followed it. Right? When Fifty Shades came out, article after article depicted and chided its readers as desperate, horny middle-aged women. The book was considered “mommy porn.” Like Twilight, Fifty Shades is no beautiful tome of language. But the criticism of it seemed amplified because women, particularly women of a certain age, were really into it. And If there’s one demographic whose taste people like to judge more than that of teenage girls, it has to be moms. Poor moms.

Aja: I definitely think we can’t discount the fact that a lot of the teen girls who got vilified for loving Twilight grew up and got vilified for loving New Adult erotica, so I’m doubling down on the stance that Twilight’s legacy is creating a generation of women who became loud and proud about their fictional kinks as a result of being perpetually shamed for them. I want to think that ultimately, this confidence outweighs all of Twilight’s problematic tropes.

I will add that Twilight sparked a weird purity backlash in YA literature whereby depictions of sex and sexuality between teens became newly taboo, in part because of all the hand-wringing over Twilight and its ilk. I think that’s taken a while to wear off, in part because Twilight’s imprint was so indelible.

Also, there’s one really obvious thing Twilight bequeathed us, simple but huge, and that’s “Team X” and “Team Y.” Twilight made shipping, and discussion of shipping, a standard part of the pop culture discourse around media franchises, and it did so specifically via “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob.” (And the perennial underdog, Team Bella.) These ideas — and the specific concept of shipping as rooting for your pairing or character, or “team,” to win the love triangle — entered the pop culture landscape with Twilight, and now they’re ubiquitous. And crucially, by framing shipping as a pastime akin to rooting for a sports team, they made shipping into something harmless and fun rather than yet another toxic, galling thing to shame fans for doing. If only for this, I am Team Twilight all the way.

Original Source -> Reckoning with Twilight, 10 years later

via The Conservative Brief

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