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voiceofsword · 1 year

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every1 that voted rinne as worst husband is so wrong... its literally canon that he cares SO much and fakes his insane persona hes just awkward and embarassed when he gets noticed

i have so many things i can say about this but im really bad at words but theyre stewing around in my brain explodes

what were your thoughts?

i do agree with the ones that mention niki haha those are true rinne is absolutely smitten but the ones that say its like. because hes rinne amagi. and others thay were probably filtered out by the OP... people that either didnt read the main story or just dont want to look further lmao

(cracking my fingers) okay. this may or may not be long. i fear you have struck a bit of a nerve with this (NOT YOU but just as like. a general statement. i feel like u dont know what ur asking. but that is ok)

this whole thing might seem really aggressive at times bc this situation did get me a little heated... plz keep that in mind going in! AGAIN IM NOT ANGRY AT YOU ANON ILY AND THANK YOU FOR ASKING you just happened to ask abt smth i feel very sourly about – not the poll itself but the answers to it – but i tried to be as. tactful as i possibly can while talking abt this

overall im very disappointed in a lot of the answers given for the voting so ive stayed off twitter almost all day today and yesterday. i fear like with stuff like this a very silent population of eng side shines through, the one that specifically Doesnt actually engage with the story and goes off fanon interpretation. look, im not saying its necessarily a bad thing. but when it comes to stuff like this, where people grossly mischaracterize a grand majority of charas or narrow them down to be the butt of a joke, or use it as an excuse to be plain racist/ableist, i feel like people really need to reassess where all of this is coming from. like. not rinne, but KANAME couldnt even be included because the answers used for his votes were, in their majority, apparently ableist, and op (definitely in the right, i think this was the right choice to make) chose not to post at all because they feared the qrts would be just as bad. because for some reason people seem to think that because they're fictional characters that being ableist is somehow ok, that saying they would "pull the plug" on charas like him and eichi is fine because theyre not real people – as if there werent disabled or chronically ill people in this fandom, in every fandom, or hell, around you?

and lets not mention tatsumi and people blatantly misinterpreting his christianity as something he would force upon others – first of all, western christianity does not apply to tatsumi. at all. i understand that people might find it easy to just associate him with that and make "haha, he would make me convert" or "haha he would be a homophobe" quips, and obviously its not necessary to have extensive knowledge on kirishitan history in japan and how they are, to this day, a minority that was persecuted for a lot of japan's modern history. LIKE, EVEN FROM HIS DIALOGUE IN ANY STORY.. when has he given off that impression? cite your sources, he's literally one of the most inclusive and accepting charas in the whole cast! not a prejudiced white christian middle aged mom...

i think that if you absolutely must reduce a character to tasteless jokes, stereotypes that arent even funny to begin with, and you refuse to even read the source content at all to correct yourself, you really need to think about how you engage with any media, not just enstars. if you want to look at the pretty characters just say that! but dont be like this, and don’t speak on things you don’t fully understand as if you did just to make a point or be funny!

OKAY RINNE SORRY LOL i hate it. i hated all of it and judging by the ratio many people seemed to dislike it as well (god bless!). if you havent seen it i wont link it bc tbf i dont feel like looking at it again (peace and love) but the answers summed up are like "oh he would steal my money" "hes selfish and would take stuff from me and not gaf about my wellbeing" "hes married to niki already" the last one being the only one i agree with. and it makes me think about a lot of issues with how a good portion of the fandom sees rinne. ive seen a lot of people read rinne in bad faith, regardless of whether theyve read main story, hot limit or any story rinne is in. and i dont get it, genuinely. YES he can be upsetting! he can be an asshole, he can be rude, he DOES steal money from niki! but these people neglect to see or mention that he gives it back and then some. they fail to talk about how he spends a lot of his time trying to make niki see his self worth!! since hiiro was BORN he's been trying to get him to understand that he's deserving of love!! that YES he can be a dick but ultimately treats crazy:b and his friends with love and wants what's best for them! these are the same ppl that think he's abusive or something idk i can only assume. like yeah rinne has a carefully crafted persona where hes a complete dickhead and ig some players cant really bother to see past that act

unfortunately rinne himself is built on a few harmful stereotypes of ainu culture irt the drinking, being portrayed or viewed as more 'uncouth' by other characters, etc which is why the initial more explicit ties to ainu culture were removed altogether from his and hiiros design and background. it is understandable, which is for example why it's not really my place to say whether he can be interpreted as ainu or not, and even so, i try not to rely on those aspects of him because it still veers into sensitive territory. and its an unfortunate part of his character, but undeniably, rinne amagi DOES drink, (he's one of the only characters in main cast of drinking age anyway) does partake in harmful behaviors, but fsr suddenly that means hes nothing but a drunkard, to a lot of people. when reading rinne you really have to take these things and ofc, consider that theyre relevant to his character, but it's not all there is...? in the slightest..? there used to be a tweet thread explaining this link further but it's either been taken down or the account has been locked. either way, just a bit of googling goes a long way. i'd rather not go into too much detail here because i don't feel informed enough beyond pointing these issues out, and i personally feel like it's not really my place. if anybody wants to add onto this post to cite more specific sources please feel free

he's such a fun loving, cunning, caring guy who helps people get jobs (dance of the white tiger), who volunteers to play with kids at a daycare (asobi), and wishes so badly to become an idol and grant everyone the same opportunities if theyd like to be, as well (main story, sudden death SUDDEN DEATH IS MY FAV STORY AFTER HL BUT THE TL IS DOWN....SORRY. but i really really think it's one of the most important ones when it comes to rinne's character and motivations. also if u can read it in app it's even better bc it's voiced and theres a line where he's like "oh this guy's [niki] is engaged to me" when talking to kohaku's sister AND HE SOUNDS FULLY SERIOUS TOO....)

don't get me started on people who dumb him down as if he wasn't one of the most clever characters in the game. and unknowingly, people that continue to make rinne's character out to simply be a gambling flirty drunkard who doesn't know how to control himself, as if there weren't other facets of him – they lean into stereotypes, bordering on racism, even if its not malicious or theyre not aware. and it makes me so sad. a lot of the time these interpretations are spread around and then liking characters like him becomes some sort of moral debate, esp in current fandom (which is one of the reasons i think this stereotyping? happens? b/c ive found that fandom sometimes has the tendency of grabbing characters and mischaracterizing them so BADLY that liking them makes you a bad person..? not necessarily villains either! i promise it's okay to just dislike characters without making stuff up!)

that aside also suggesting he'd be an awful, neglectful spouse is simply incorrect. i very firmly believe that if rinne is devoted, he will drop every vice, every pretense, to make the other person happy. he's Like That in the story and towards niki because they keep tiptoeing around the subject but the second he gets an inner monologue, or is truly being genuine, you can tell he would do anything for him, if niki would just let him. to say that rinne isn't capable of being a good partner because he'll treat you badly or not care about you just proves to me that you're not reading any scene he is actually in. if rinne loves you, romantic or not, he will go big or go home. read hot limit btw

im not about to pull the story caps out no wait yes i am lol rinniki4ever ✌️

these arent in order bc i had to scroll up like 2k pictures because i take caps of this game every time i blink. i was considering adding hiiro caps, to show his dedication to him as well, but given that this is for like a marriage poll id rather not. either way he cares about his family and loved ones a lot. read chapter 155 if you want to know the exact scene i was thinking about/referring to while typing this

um ok (breathes out) im fine now. theres things i didnt address because it's 1 am and i want to go to sleep. congrats kuro on getting #1 most marriageable tho u deserve it KURO NUMERO 1 CAMPEAO DO MUNDO 💯💯💯🔥

#im not tagging this with anything else #im sorry if i sound snobby or just. idk. mean at all. it isnt even a matter of media literacy anymore its more like #sometimes interpreting stuff on such a surface level and having to make jokes out of everything is not the best way to go #especially when the jokes are harmful/offensive. you dont really see this behavior outside of eng fandom #this isnt meant to be scolding i just wish people understood!!#but like if people say something is offensive rather than just doubling down...listen? please #im not an authority on enstars obviously i havent caught up on anything non alkakurei since like 2018. these are just my thoughts #if you read all of it i appreciate you :)#its not that serious. unless youre being purposely ableist and or racist which in that case it is that serious #mimthinks

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tothedarkdarkseas · 2 years

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3 and 4 for All Up the Seething Coast if you're still doing the ask meme. :)

Thank you! I really appreciate you sending these. I’m honestly happy to answer questions any time (like, extremely happy to) for as long as anyone is interested. If you remember seeing a post or an ask tag or something like that I probably still remember too, haha.

It’s funny, these two are actually rather difficult to answer and for opposite reasons. The story is simply so long and so dense that I have to think you’ll forget a bit of narration by the time you really notice another. Not saying it's all good mind you, haha, just that there is a lot of it. By contrast the dialogue is really quite sparse, and I can’t say how many lines stand out on their own? I think I liked what the broader conversations meant, but scanning for this does make me realize how unremarkable a lot of the dialogue is, haha.

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

Ahh, I'll be cheating to select a few, because I must admit there were some bits that still stand out in my mind despite how, er, [gestures] it all is. My favorite is probably the one I used for the summary:

-It puts him in mind of seeing his parents or his old girlfriend after the accident, their eyes glassy and voices trembling. He remembers how he’d blinked through the dull red film that coloured his hospital room and said he was sorry. Sorry for what he put them through.

It felt unfair then. It seems unbearable now. But that's probably what you'd guess! A few others I especially like:

-If there’s a shame in him, it is an unkind one; not flushed-hot or chilling but wet as black tar bile, weighty and toxic. It fills his corners and makes him sick, makes him full to leaking where Stu’s hollows echo. If there is shame, it is no comfort or concession.

-He loses himself briefly in memories of near-fights and drunken embraces over football bets in south London, lucky but never lucky enough. He sees boys sharing schoolyard cigarettes turn to men arm-to-arm in drunken heartsick choruses. After the accident, it becomes awkward, careful roughhousing in front of the telly, then promises to come ‘round his more, then nothing.

-“It is,” Murdoc says, and it’s not remorse so much as resignation. It’s a breath that soon won’t be enough. It’s the last time the diving gull surfaces.

And if it must be a single line, no chunks of two or three, I think my favorite single sentence (a contender for the thesis statement of the fic) is this one:

-Once more, Stuart feels like a favourite tin on the shelf: a familiar and lovely shape empty of what it came with.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

This might seem like a dumb choice, but it’s the choice I’m making at the moment: -“I’ve fucked off plenty, you don’t have to do it for me. You fuck off because you want to fuck off.” “You haven’t got the patent on fucking off, alright?[…]” A runner-up will be Cheryl, but you must imagine her accent, rocky but not loud from the Texas-Louisiana border: -“Maybe I’ll get clean again too, out in California. I don’t know. It’s tough to bullshit a bullshitter. I just don’t think I believe we stop bein’ addicts ‘cause we stop using.”

#thank you so much #i really do appreciate it #the past two days have quite frankly been some of the most stressful in a while #a little distraction is nice #fic asks

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duskholland · 4 years

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The Fame Game (Part Five) || Tom Holland

Summary ↠ You have a mishap with a washing machine, Harrison’s a bowling prodigy, and Tom... Well, Tom is actually quite nice..?

Warnings ↠ Alcohol consumption, reckless washing machine usage

Word count ↠ 4.6k

A/N ↠ And with this part, we’re officially halfway through the fic...? Omg. Crazy crazy. I decided to give you a fairly soft chapter before I start messing things up in parts six-eight, so you’ve been warned haha. As always, thanks so much to everyone that’s been reading and enjoying the story - means the absolute world to me. Enjoy! :D

FIVE: I Wanna Hold Your Hand (Y)

Your trip to London is going well until you have a little mishap with Tom’s washing machine.

It’s not your fault, really. You’d been all over the place - press engagement here, fake date there - and you hadn’t been thinking as you’d shoved your brand new, freshly-worn red dress into the machine, alongside a collection of Tom’s favourite white t-shirts. It hadn’t even dawned on you what you’d managed to do until you heard a very loud, disgruntled yelp come from the laundry room.

“What’s wrong?” You yell reluctantly, voice echoing through the large house. You’re very comfortable where you are - burrowed beneath a heap of blankets and cushions on Tom and Harrison’s squishy sofa in the living room. You’re a week into your visit, and it’s safe to say you have made yourself at home.

“Y/N! Do you not understand how a washing machine works?!” It’s Harrison. Immediately you feel trepidation creeping into your veins. “Come here!”

Shuffling guiltily, you slowly make your way to the laundry room. When you enter, you gasp as you see Harrison holding up a shirt you recognise immediately as Tom’s, stained a nice, bright pink.

“Oh no,” you mutter. Your hands fly up to your face. “Are they all like that?”

Harrison nods, humming. For all the irritation of his yell, he’s looking at you with an amused smirk on his face. “Seems like you’ll need to do a bit of grovelling. I’m just glad they’re all Tom’s, and not mine.”

You pinch at the bridge of your nose. “Great,” you mutter. “This is fantastic.”

You take a bottle of water as your peace offering to Tom, who’s out in the back garden messing around with a punching bag. When he sees you, he pauses his punches, throwing out a toothy grin in your direction. He’s shirtless, lower half wrapped in a pair of black basketball shorts, and he looks quite nice with his face flushed a rosy red and his brown curls thrown in every direction.

“Hi,” Tom calls out, stopping his assault on the punching bag. “You alright?”

You manage a tight-lipped smile as you pass him the bottle. “Yeah,” you mutter. “Are you?”

Tom looks at you sceptically, raising a ruffled eyebrow. “Are you sure?” He questions. “You look a bit… stressed.”

You deflate. It’s as if he can see right through you. “Fine,” you admit. “I did something bad, and you’re going to be annoyed with me, but before I tell you what it was, I want you to know that it was an accident and I feel horrible about it, okay?”

Tom tilts his head, laughing nervously. “Is it as bad as the time you told Ellen I was the worst celebrity in Hollywood?” You shake your head profusely, gnawing your lower lip. Guilt sweeps across you, but you’re too nervous to focus on that now. “Then it’s fine, Y/N. Just tell me what happened.”

It’s odd - how quickly your relationship has broken down into something so much gentler. When you’d stepped off the plane and tumbled into Tom’s arms a week ago, you’d been full to the brim with apprehension about your trip. But he’s managed to ease you at every point - offering you tea, a nice bed, and unlimited time with his dog Tessa (who really might be your favourite Holland now). He hasn’t goaded you, or teased you, or pushed you too far. Part of you wants to know what’s changed, what’s catalysed his change of heart, but a larger piece of you doesn’t want to open up that dialogue for fear of him turning it onto you.

Tom’s being nice to you, and without any digging comments to respond to, you’re being nice in return. It really is that frustratingly simple. The residual tension and anger that has been a part of your relationship for so long have dipped beneath the surface, and whilst you still feel them somewhere, bubbling away, your relationship feels looser.

Things between you are tender. Breakable and fragile, but like a tentative new beginning. You’re almost friends now - which is why you are so annoyed that you might’ve fucked it all up with one stupid mistake.

“I mixed colours in the washing machine and stained all of your shirts,” you blurt out. “I’ll buy you new ones.”

Tom takes a moment to process this, his face pinching into an expression of irritation. “All of them?” He repeats, his accent pronounced.

“All of them that were in the washing machine,” you mutter, kicking at the ground. “Maybe ten.”

His jaw flexes, and you prepare yourself for a harsh insult or a snarky comment. You haven’t heard any recently, but you can almost imagine it, your mind familiar with his chide remarks.

Tom releases a breath. “It’s fine,” he says finally, defying all of your expectations. “Mistakes happen.”

You raise your eyebrows. “I’m really sorry,” you emphasise. You watch as Tom flicks off the lid of the bottle and starts to chug the water, using his other hand to card through his messy brown strands. His sweaty hair sticks to his fingers.

“It’s fine,” he repeats. Tom even throws in a bit of a smile to ease you. “I need new shirts, anyway.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Even better if you’re the one paying.”

You roll your eyes, releasing a breath of relief. “I knew you were only dating me for the money,” you tease, gasping dramatically. “You’re just a gold digger!”

Tom clutches a hand to his heart, and you find your gaze briefly flittering over the defined lines of his muscular chest.

“I can’t believe you listened to those rumours about me,” he responds, his voice equally as performative as yours. “I thought you were better than this!”

You descend into a round of giggles together, and Tom’s deep, hearty laughs are like music to your ears.

The following day, you find yourself walking down Carnaby Street, hand wrapped in Tom’s. Your other arm carries an array of heavy shopping bags. Despite halving your purchases with Tom, the bags weigh heavily on your arm, the tight lines of the handles pinching at your skin.

But you don’t care - not really. You’re too busy listening to Tom as he tells you about the last time he’d been down this street - last Christmas, with his brother Paddy, apparently.

“-Yeah, so that’s how he bullied me into spending five hundred quid on his present,” Tom finishes, pausing as you laugh. “He’s such a sneak.”

“Paddy seems nice,” you say. You’ve got a broad smile on your face as the warm spring sun beats down across your skin. It’s the first properly sunny day since you arrived in London, and it feels like the sun’s come out, just for you. “Your whole family seem lovely, actually.”

“Harry’s a bit of a twat,” Tom says, “But the rest of them are alright.” There’s a brief pause, and you glance over to see him looking at the ground, a thoughtful expression on his face. He looks up at you, nerves visibly in his eyes. “Would you want to meet them?”

You swallow back the apprehensive lump that forms in your throat. “Your family?”

“Well, my parents and Paddy. You’ve met the others already. We’re planning on going bowling tomorrow night if you want to come with us.”

“You’d want me to meet your family?”

Tom shrugs. “Yeah. They want to meet you.”

Your eyes widen, and you stop walking. Around you, shoppers and families pass you by, trailing up and down the busy shopping high street. Tom pauses, turning to face you, his thumb brushing casually across the back of your hand as he stares at you curiously.

“Don’t they hate me?” You ask tentatively. You both know why his family might think of you unfondly. Your family certainly doesn't view Tom in a positive light.

Tom shakes his head, a bit of an awkward expression curling over his face. It gets uncomfortable now whenever your past is brought up. It seems both of you would rather skate around the topic than address it. You know avoidance is a bad idea, but pretending your relationship wasn’t built on resentment and crossed wires is easier than addressing the elephant in the room. Whenever you think about your history, it makes you feel angry - there are a lot of unforgiven sins hiding there, but you’re trying to bury them. You’re trying desperately to move on, but you can feel them following behind you like an anchor you don’t want to acknowledge yet. You can’t quite shake the feeling that this tactic of avoidance may, eventually, blow up in your face.

“They’d like to meet you. You’re going to be a part of my life for the next three months, Y/N, and… And I’d like to think we are, uh, sort of friends now.”

You nervously bite at your lower lip, giving him a soft nod. “Yeah. We’re friends,” you confirm, mouthing the word tentatively. Friends sound nice, and your smile grows in strength when he squeezes your hand tighter. “I’ll come tomorrow. Thank you.”

Tom steps nearer, and surprises you by pressing his lips to your cheek. The skin warms at his touch, and you end up with a stupid grin on your face when he steps back.

“Thanks, Y/N. You’ll have a good time, I promise.”

And you just about believe him.

You’re glad that your days are filled with interviews and press junkets, because your nerves about spending the evening with Tom’s family still manage to build up, even with a thousand other things on your mind to distract you. It reaches the point where Harrison offers to tag along too, just so you have someone else to cling onto if it all goes awry.

“You’re being a bit ridiculous about this,” Harrison mutters. You’re leaning up against the counter of the desks at the bowling alley, waiting on your bowling shoes. He’d come to pick you up from your last interview, and together you’d come to meet with Tom and his family at the alley.

“I’m not being ridiculous,” you reply, eyebrows arching. You kneel on the floor, your fingers nervously unpicking your laces. “I just want to make a good impression. Is that so bad?”

Harrison joins you, the ring on his finger glinting as he starts undoing the straps of his shoes. “No,” he agrees, “But you really don’t have to be this cut up about it. They’ll love you.” He glances up at you, blue eyes glinting sceptically. “Since when do you care, anyway? I thought you don’t like Tom.”

You release a shuddering breath, shaking your head slightly as you stare at the patterned carpet. “Tom’s fine,” you find yourself saying. You stand up quickly, head spinning as you grab your shoes and place them on the counter. You rest on your elbow and look back to Harrison, who’s looking at you with an annoying smirk on his mouth. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You guys bought matching shoes,” Harrison states it like a fact as he reaches up to poke the toe of your new shoes. “I saw the same pair on him earlier.”

You bite at your lower lip, shrugging. “We went shopping together. He took some of my fashion tips.” You don’t like the direction the conversation is taking, so reach out to elbow Harrison. “Tom’s finally recognised that I’m far more fashionable than him.”

Before your friend can respond, the bowling attendant returns with your bowling shoes and the conversation is swept away, just as your new white Converse get hurried back and shoved in a cubby. Harrison changes the subject as you both slip on the squeaky bowling shoes, and then he’s leading you up to the end of the bowling alley, where Tom and his family are waiting for you.

Your first impression of the complete Holland family is their volume. They are loud, even as they’re split across two low, plastic bowling benches. Three either side, all six meeting in the middle with their voices clamouring together. Even as you and Harrison approach and you’re spotted, the conversation simply escalates - the topic of chat seeming to be which brother can lay out the most prominent greeting. It’s almost overwhelming, and Harrison seems to sense that as he’s quick to reach up and give you a discreet pat on the shoulder.

“Hello, everyone,” Harrison greets, exchanging a fist bump with Harry. You linger back, not entirely sure of your place within the fold until Tom’s mum rises from the bench and greets you with a kiss on the cheek.

“So good to meet you, Y/N,” she says warmly. “I’m Nikki, this is Dom, and that’s Paddy. You’ve met the rest of this noisy lot, I think?” Her eyes twinkle with comfort, and you feel yourself exhale.

There’s an exchange of pleasantries for a few minutes, and once you let go of the fear that Tom’s parents and younger brother might have gone into the meeting with chips on their shoulders, you’re able to relax. You end up gravitating towards Tom, who’s stayed sitting down on the bench, his arms crossed loosely over his chest as he watches the scene unfold. Tonight he’s in a black t-shirt and a chequered shirt, wrapped up in a pair of tight black jeans. Instinctively, your eyes skim around the rest of the alley, and you note the way you’ve already been spotted by a group of young men a few aisles down.

“Hi,” you say, voice soft. Your lips spin into a smile as you meet his eyes. “We’ve already been recognised.”

Tom’s eyes lose a little of their shine, but he opens up his arms and tilts his head towards the empty spot beside him. “C’mere,” he urges, and you’re quick to comply.

It’s easy, now, to slip into your role as Tom’s girlfriend. It’s almost second nature as you sit beside him and let him wrap an arm across your shoulders, and it feels normal as he kisses your temple and squeezes you closer. It feels nice.

“Hey.” Harry’s drifting over before you can get too comfortable, his nose scrunching up. “You guys aren’t on the same team. Y/N, you’re on the wrong bench.”

Tom releases a deep sigh, and the vibrations rumble across you. “Harry, lay off it,” he mutters.

Harry just crosses his arms over his chest, sharpening his gaze. “No. Y/N’s on my team, and I want us to win. That means none of this is allowed to take place,” he drags his finger between you and Tom, and you chuckle.

“Are you competitive, Harry?” You ask him, already shrugging off Tom’s arm.

“Definitely.”

“Good.” You stand up, grinning at Tom’s younger brother. “Me too.”

But before you can walk away, Tom’s grabbing at your hand and pulling you back, standing as he brings the back of your palm up to nudge against his lips. He meets your eyes, his gaze swirling with something indistinguishable, and your skin feels warm in each place he kisses. He’s still a respectful distance, given how close you are to his family, but he kisses your cheek before whispering into your ear, “There’s no chance you’re winning this, Y/N. Game on.” He pulls back to smirk at you mischievously, and you chuckle in response.

“Game on indeed, Thomas.”

You’re not trying to be mean, but you do think the division of the teams is slightly unfair. On Tom’s side is him, Harrison, Sam and Nikki - facing off against you, Harry, Dom and Paddy. It goes well for the first few rounds, and you’re keeping up evenly with Harrison, who’s quite the proficient bowler, but you have a loose cannon in the way of Paddy. You’d decided to play without the guard railings lining the lane, and you sit through round after round of him tossing the bowling ball straight into the gutter.

When it reaches round eight and your team is down fifty points, you decide to offer him some pointers.

“Have you thought about twisting it- no, more like this?” You’re standing up beside Paddy, staring down at the lane together. The ten pins at the end glisten beneath the fluorescent lighting, highlighted a bright, winning blue. You’re itching to grab the ball from his hands and throw it yourself, but you’re trying to play nice.

“More to the right?” The youngest Holland asks, looking up at you inquisitively.

“Yeah. And when you’re throwing it, try to look at the pins. Keep your eyes on the prize.”

“Eyes on the prize,” he repeats slowly. Paddy steels himself with a deep breath, and you shoot him a reassuring smile.

“Go on, champ,” you encourage, stepping aside. You can feel the eyes of the group on the two of you, and give him a wide berth as Paddy approaches the line. You watch him play around with the heavy ball, weighing up his options, and then your breath hitches as you watch him implement some of your pointers. He moves fast - arm swinging, hair flicking, and then…

Strike.

A round of cheers goes up around the benches, and Paddy turns to you, ecstatic. “Did you see you?” He boasts, face flushing with a proud grin. “Look what I just did!”

You walk over, meeting him in with a big high five as you beam. “Well done,” you congratulate. Paddy runs off to his family, and Tom wanders over, next in line to take his shot. Beneath the UV light, he’s glowing. The tips of his teeth gleam a weird blue as he smiles widely at you. “You see that?” You say, teasing, “That’s what I call star power. My team may lose, but I take full credit for nurturing such a young talent.”

Tom laughs, the sound deep and hearty, and with the hand that isn’t holding a bowling ball, he reaches out and rests it your shoulder. His fingers feel warm against your shirt, and as you drift nearer to him, the comfortable scent of his cologne tickles your nose.

“Quite impressive, I have to admit,” he concedes. “We’re still going to beat you, though.”

You shrug happily. “Whatever.” You lull into the comfortable thought that you don’t really care about the outcome of the match - it’s just nice to be spending so much time around so many good people. “Bring your best, Holland. I’d like to see you try to win.”

“A round of drinks for the losers, as promised.”

It’s with a sombre tone that you walk back to the booth, three pints of beer balanced precariously in your hands. Harry trails behind you, grasping two. As you place the large glasses down on the sticky pub table, some beer sloshes down your fingers, causing you to screw up your nose as you shake it off.

“Cheers,” Sam says, voice dancing with amusement. Harry slams a glass in front of him, eyeing him hard.

“I still don’t believe the machine worked right,” Harry mutters. He slips into the booth beside Harrison. “There’s no way you guys won with mum on your team.”

Harrison scoffs. “Stop being such a sore loser!” He exclaims, poking at Harry’s side. “We won fair and square. Have some grace and respect for yourself and get over it.”

Harry opens his mouth as if to respond, but you reach down to give him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” you assure him. “We’ll get them next time.”

He nods, eyes determined. “Definitely.”

You realise you’re still standing at the end of the table, and look to the bench on your left. With Harry, Sam and Harrison crammed there, your only option is to slip down into the booth next to Tom, who’s making quick work of his pint. He quirks an eyebrow as he sees you staring, eyes shifting suggestively at the free spot beside him until you sit next to him.

As conversation picks up around the table, Tom rests an easy hand over the back of the booth, the tips of his fingers coming down to rest over your hair. Time slips by and he plays around absently with a few strands of your hair, shifting it around, fiddling with it - never hard enough to hurt, but present enough for you to feel it. In response, you rest a hand on his knee.

It’s interesting to observe Tom as the night draws on. He’s got several quirky characteristics to him that you’d never been aware of before. You realise he’s actually quite funny - always exchanging small sarcastic quips here and there with Harry and Harrison - but he also seems to know where the line is. When the conversation grows darker and Sam opens up about something close to him, Tom leans nearer, eyes full of concern and love for his brother. He speaks in soft, warming tones that you’ve never heard before, and they’re like assuring melodies to your heart.

It’s interesting to see him show such care and consideration towards other people, because for so long, those qualities had been absent when it came to his interactions with you. You wonder if that was just because you’d been a dick towards him and he’d retaliated, or if maybe there’s always been something else hanging in the air between you - the type of emotion that doesn’t come out around family or friends.

As you relax by his side, Tom shows you many redeemable qualities, hidden away so close to the surface that you’re surprised you’d never seen them before. Your only explanation is that before - before this trip, and truly getting to know him - you’d been too reactive to notice them. Your past conversations had been coloured very differently, and you wonder how much of your history would be different if you’d seen this version of Tom, all those years ago, at the BAFTAs. The thought irks you, and you can’t help but think that you’ve wasted so much time fighting with him when you could’ve been chatting, easily like this, as friends.

“Excuse me? Hi?”

You’re slightly tipsy as you look up to the side, realising you’ve been approached by a few people who look at you and Tom like they’re fans. You’ve inched closer to him, with his arm wrapped around your shoulders and your side snuggled up against him. You think it must be quite convincing, how much you look like a real couple.

“Hello,” Tom says, tilting his head to look at them. You can’t see him, but you can almost feel the perplexed smile on his lips.

“Um, sorry, this is probably really weird. We just saw you guys and wanted to say that you’re a really cute couple.” The fan looks at her friend, and they giggle together. “Are you guys planning on getting married? I think it’d be, like, the best wedding ever.”

Across the booth, you watch as Harry whispers something into Harrison’s ear that makes them both laugh. You throw a scowl towards them before looking back to the fans, taking Tom’s silence as a window for you to respond.

“Not at the moment,” you tell them sweetly. “We’re just seeing how it goes.”

You omit to tell them that in three months, you won’t even still be ‘dating’ Tom. You try not to think about how that fact rests uneasily in your chest.

“Aww.” The friends share a few pouts. “Could we get a picture with you both?”

There are a few rounds of photographs, then you come to the group decision that it’s time to pack it in and head home. You’re just glad the interruption came after you’d been in the pub for a few hours and not earlier. It’s always a risk being in public, but you’d assumed you’d be somewhat safe buried in the corner of a small London pub. You should’ve known by now that you can only remain anonymous for so long.

There’s a bit of a walk to the car park, and Harry takes it upon himself to tease you.

“So, where are you guys going on your honeymoon?” He asks, imitating the fan. “How long until you have kids? You’re both so sweet. Couple goals-”

“Shut up, Harry,” Tom grunts. He’s right beside you, your hands tangled up. You exchange an expression of frustrated amusement, and Harry barks out a laugh.

“Sorry,” he mutters, sounding the opposite. “It’s just funny.” He looks back at you, scrunching up his nose as he realises you and Tom are holding hands. “You know there isn’t anyone around out here. You don’t need to pretend.”

Feeling a little embarrassed by how easily and instinctively you’d reached to claim Tom’s hand, you let his fingers fall away. You shiver as the dark London wind whips around you, and your hand feels cold.

You and Tom walk in sync, trailing behind Harry, Harrison and Sam. There’s a silence between you that feels almost tangible - stretched tight with unspoken words and observations. Eventually, he breaks it.

“It was really nice seeing you with Paddy earlier,” Tom admits. You glance to the side, noting the way his hair has fallen out of the loose gel he’d combed through it earlier. Chestnut curls frame his face - spreading out across his forehead, and you get the sudden urge to card your fingers through the strands. “He likes you.”

“He’s a nice boy,” you reply, smiling. “Got pretty good at bowling after I helped him, too.”

Tom chuckles, nodding. “You’re a good teacher.”

“I try.” There’s a soft silence again, and you nudge his arm. “Thanks for inviting me along,” you say. “It’s been nice getting to know everyone.”

“Any time.”

It’s cold. It’s really cold. Your hand aches - too used to the warmth of Tom to feel content hanging alone.

“It’s so chilly,” you voice, shivering for effect. Tom glances at you, his brown eyes glowing in the dark. “I think my fingers are going to drop off.”

Tom chuckles, nodding in agreement. “Mine too.” He brings up his hand, flexing his slender fingers. Halfway through the action, he pauses, suddenly gaining a distant look in his eyes. “Do you want to, uh…” He offers you the hand, quirking an eyebrow. “Just if you’re cold, we could..?”

You bite your lip, keeping the smile at bay. “Okay.”

Your fingers tangle together, and the moment you feel his warmth against your palm, you feel better. Tom’s thumb brushes tentatively across the back of your skin, and though you’ve held hands on numerous occasions, this time it feels different.

It feels different because it isn’t forced. You aren’t holding him because you have to - you want to. And that’s the kind of different that would make your head hurt if you weren’t so distracted by the way his touch ignites a glowing warmth in your heart.

Your hands rest comfortably between you, and Tom leans nearer, tilting his face so he can lay a gentle kiss to your temple.

“Get warm soon, darling,” he whispers, keeping his mouth near your ear. His breath against your skin makes you shiver.

Maybe it’s the drink, or the cold air, or the fatigue, but there’s a moment before Tom pulls back that your eyes find the slopes of his lips, and you wonder, briefly, what it’d feel like to kiss him without the eyes of the public resting on you. You wonder if it’d be different, like it is to hold hands now. Would he be gentle? How would it feel to share a kiss like that?

Your eyes flutter shut for a moment, and when you open them, he’s moved away. Your heart clenches.

“Thanks, Tom.”

↠ NEXT PART

please let me know what you’re thinking!!!! ask box is open and I am dying to know your thoughts! :D

series masterpost and the taglist can be found in my pinned post!

#tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland x y/n #tom holland series #Tom Holland fanfic #yippee kayak #enjoy my friends #this truly is the calm before the storm...#tfg

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vaguely-concerned · 3 years

Text

The Mandalorian Chapter 14 reactions: HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AWESOME BUT ALSO I’M CRYING edition

- the good good din characterization is back after all the weirdness last episode!!!! that soft way he says ‘no, no, I’m not mad at you’? THAT’S din djarin, he would not be fucking impatient with his son having just been informed and seen for himself that he is terrified, go away mr filoni I know you’ve got all of canon memorized but you don’t get this lol. this feels much more right in how din being conflicted and still thinking he should give the baby away for his own good plays out too

honestly every line of dialogue for him in this one was perfect I was just whispering ‘I love this awkward clueless wonderful man just doing his best’ to myself any time he said anything. “...does this look Jedi to you?” sir I adore you more than words can describe

- we got din chuckling. asjdklfhsdkafghsdafsadhjkfsdahjkfh. fskahfksjad. side note: I can’t believe my joke post about din desperately trying to Force home school the kid with the one (1) jedi trick he knows about and the baby being delighted by it over and over anyway -- listen to his expectant excited laugh when din takes the ball and sets up the game!!!! -- was canon all along. and then the baby & mando music kicking in when he gently put the silver ball into the baby’s hands again and tells him he’s special (because he IS special. to din)? hmng. hmmmmnnnnn

they opened on the height of softness so we would all crumple under the weight of the rest of the episode and that was very mean of them in a way I sincerely appreciate

- nothing to see here... just a dad trying to walk through the literal manifestation of the unassailable underlying forces of the universe to get to his baby again and again........ the desperation in that, the love, the foolhardy devotion................... shit

- okay so I might be a dumbass, but I’d never noticed this before -- the silver ball has a blue spot on the top, like so:

and in addition we get the room where the baby goes full darth grogu (I have to laugh so I don’t cry okay) on those storm troopers, and there’s a red light in there dominating the room (and it did even more in the concept art):

in star wars blue means light side and red means dark side (it’s very sophisticated that way), meaning the visual storytelling here is that there’s a battle for the baby’s soul and gideon and all his nonsense (and the trauma bb’s been through in the wider sense) is pulling towards the dark, while grogu and din’s connection leads him towards the light. just... the image of the baby looking at his own reflection in the symbolic representation of his relationship to din? the way children find their sense of self through being safely reflected and held by their caretakers? god help meeeeeee I will go in there and fistfight gideon myself for disrupting that in any way

the smaller light seems to be blue too, like there’s still the presence of light even if it’s dimmed and small in that shitty horrible room, which is a change from the concept art!

- FENNEC SHAND SURVIVED BITCHES!!! I even called that she’d be back with new shiny robot parts back in season 1, could not happen to a cooler lady, I hope we get more backstory and interaction from her the next episodes -- sounds like she’s basically sworn herself to boba’s service in gratitude for saving her life, I wonder if that’s a cultural thing of whereever she comes from? does she live aboard slave 1 now too?? because that would be hilarious and amazing, it must be like two strange cats trying to get used to sharing the same space

- everything I could ever hope for about boba fett in this series came true, they went down the much more interesting and nuanced route with jango and boba’s identities as mandalorians, he looked cool as fuck and made din as a character shine rather than overshadowing him... amazing beautiful yesss

(I did 100% not anticipate just how ‘cool uncle boba here to help you fuck shit up’ he was going to be but I am delighted to get it anyway. uncle points deducted for getting someone to point a gun at the baby, but the main point still stands lol)

the power and brutality of his hand to hand fighting too... a w e s o m e , I enjoyed the action scenes a lot in this one

- they even recanonized him actually wearing jango’s armour. what more could I ask for. I’ve had confused parent & child feels about these two since I was like eleven and here we fucking go again. and jango fighting in the mando civil wars too!

- so I’m grieving the razor crest (and I always will be, rip you magnificent jalopy, always in my heart) but also there’s the grim satisfaction that my reading on it was sort of true -- it is (...was. oh god it’s going to take a while to sink in huh) a symbol of din’s self and life, and at this point when they take the baby it tears everything else to pieces. the only thing that’s left in the ashes is the beskar and the thing that connects him to the baby. and there’s... a strange solace in seeing that that’s all he needs to keep going? he’s fucking obliterated from orbit but he still has his love for the baby and the beskar and that can keep him going until he finds something new, everything else can be replaced?????? weirdly healing, though he is probably going to have a solid breakdown at some point after they get the kid back (shut up they are getting the kid back) and the cold distant fog lifts

also this scene/shot feels like it carries some Meaning, doesn’t it? I’m on record several times saying I never want din to be mand’alor and that’s still true, but there’s something about the framing of this and the way boba looks at him that’s like... hm. I’m not sure I have the words for it. there’s something heightened about it, anyway, for a moment he looks like something mythic there in the wreckage

(something I would be much cooler with is our clan of two growing a little bit and those new people rallying behind him, actually, that might be neat. imagine if a force user does show up for the baby and gets adopted into the clan somehow??? so many possibilities.)

- from the way he picks up the silver ball... din djarin is on his way to straight up murder some people huh

I think part of what reassures me about this scene is the music -- this mando flute is not distant, is not beaten, is not despondent, it’s clear and determined and strong.

I love this. I love when we get explicit baby POVs, it makes it feel so real and intimate and... like home. (I especially loved baby’s point of view inside the razor crest, which just made me tear up again. baby lost the closest thing he’s had to a home in a long long time on top of it all. everything is suffering)

Emotionally Significant Thumb Grabbing tm; the show

- din djarin looking for the ‘on’ switch on a magic rock fhsdakjfhsadlfhsdjah I can’t breathe

“Well, this is the seeing stone. Are you. Seeing anything?” fsafkdsajhfsa sdhfksjalhfkjsdahfkjsdhf

- the energy around the baby as he’s, in ahsoka’s words, ‘choosing his path’ is blue, and the force sort of works across time and space, right?? so there’s definitely still hope for our lil green bean to not have to come up with a really dumb unsubtle sith name for himself, as is regrettably yet delightfully tradition. darth babbu should never come to pass (I do like how they’re interrogating the normal dark/light side dichotomy in this series, seeing as this is a literal baby who can’t really be responsible for that stuff himself yet and has such capacity for both.)

- listen. listen, the way din says ‘can you please hurry up’ with no sarcasm or real impatience whatsoever, more like a harried worry, to his force-meditating son as he jogs off to make sure no one’s trying to kill them. is hilarious and also YES this is what the character is!!! weirdly and incongruously polite under stress sometimes and with a slightly odd reaction pattern to things!!! he’s not just quiet and badass, he’s a little strange sometimes and it’s so good!

- a friendly opening volley warning shot from boba there

also din uncertainly asking BOBA FETT if he’s a jedi... now this is the dramatic irony I’ve been looking for haha

I guess neither shand nor boba actually know din’s name after this either. baby you gotta start introducing yourself at some point it gets real confusing when there are two mandos on screen

oh the long weary sigh going through din’s frame when boba says he wants ‘the armour’ and he thinks it’s just someone trying to peel the beskar off his corpse again. sorry the galaxy’s so shitty dad

- “But fate sometimes steps in to rescue the wretched” is a killer line well done mr favreau. I like that boba actually offers din a good deal as well and seems to intend to deliver on it from how things are going.

- din using his beskar-covered bod to cover someone he’s fighting alongside!!! literal moving cover haha. also I love fennec’s costume design

- I don’t know where din got more whistling birds from and I don’t care, it was really cool haha

wow haha um so anyway --

(cue all the ‘who wore it better’ with cobb vanth’s ‘spiderman’s first home made costume’ look on one side and ABSOLUTE UNIT DADDY boba fett on the other side posts lol)

- aaaghh the music almost like a stunned desperate fluttering heart beat as din watches the razor crest be destroyed

- for someone who has willingly worked for them in the past boba sure sounds less than thrilled about having the empire back in any capacity

- oof the deadness in din’s voice when he says “The child is gone”. ooooh no that got me h e l p

- guessing next episode is at least partly a ‘gathering old allies and preparing the assault’ step before the grand finale, then! they cannot go for the season ender cliffhanger with this, I will fucking riot. anything can be up in the air except baby and dad being separated, I will not allow it

it would be very funny if the force user baby called out to comes stumbling into the middle of all this like the troy entering the room with pizzas meme too

- the music in the darth grogu scene is partially a dark mirror of the baby & mando music :’( is nothing in this world sacred

also from how he reaches out for it baby might have used a light saber before in the past with the jedi? ngl the idea of baby wielding the dark saber not when he’s all grown up but in like two episodes -- with all the chaos a toddler holding a laser sword would involve -- is all that is keeping me sane here

‘liable to put an eye out with one of these’ well gideon you sure have doomed someone to lose an eye with that one, here’s to hoping it’s you, for full dramatic payoff

he is a deliciously smug awful force with great musical cues tho, you have to give it to him

- okay so this

is obviously awful and horrible and it makes me so sad... but it is undeniably also very very very funny in how it’s framed. you know what? after all this bullshit baby grogu can have a little dark side tantrum, as a treat, we’ve all been there right

(forget finding a jedi, we need to go out there and find a child psychologist who can help him deal with this without adding the fear that he’s on the path to become a two foot tall evil space sorcerer to the mix Y_________Y)

- rip the razor crest except for the second time :’’’( gone but never forgotten

- the last thing din tells the baby is “I’m gonna protect you; I’ll be back soon”. and I hope that stays with the kid somehow and that it actually comes true, that din will be back for him as soon as humanly possible and all this pain and fear can be repaired. ggggghhhhh my emotions are too big for my dumb human body

#star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian meta #okay I'm gonna have to. go take a calming walk or something after this haha

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nancylou444 · 3 years

Text

I tried to be nice

Replies to this post:

------------------------

Became this:

THEM: hi! thanks for the answers I really appreciate the discussion. normally if someone ships something I don’t like or something like that, I’ll just leave them alone but.. just to be clear I completely respect all of your opinions, even agree with some of them, even if we might disagree on the incest and Castiel haha. So I don’t mean any disrespect with this at all, please let me know if I’m out of line though!

But... I saw some things you said, and they come across to me in a way that I don’t think you intended? I feel really awkward sending this haha, you’re very nice and I don’t think you said anything on purpose, but I just.. wanted to let you know that some of the things regarding your opinion on certain characters come across not very well? I don’t think it’s intentional or anything, and I don’t mean to call you out at all which is why I didn’t want to point it out in the replies y’know?

Don’t get me wrong though, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with not liking castiel or destiel. I’ve been watching the show for a while with my dad, and he isn’t a huge fan either, I don’t think that’s a problem :)

I’d continue without waiting for a response but I don’t want to say something you’ve already been told, or continue without knowing if I’ve said something out of line already 😅

ME: I'm kind of distracted dealing with my Mom's rehab center. But you can keep going.

THEM: Alright! I’ve tried rephrasing this a million times but I don’t know how to make it seem not antagonistic. I promise I don’t mean that you’re doing it intentionally, it’s just, uh a lot of your criticism of spn feels like it could be read as homophobic? Again I don’t think YOU are I just wanted you to know it kind of reads that way!

That sounded so confrontational. I really don’t mean it that way 😭

ME: HOMOPHOBIC? Really? A lot of the 'proof' your fellow shippers use border on stereotypes but you think I'M homophobic? Considering my top two ships are Wincest and Malec. Yeah, sounds confrontational.

THEM: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I guess there’s no other way to say it, but I understand why you feel accused. What do you mean by proof..?

Also I don’t really think having gay ships means you can’t be homophobic. *I* used to be homophobic years ago, and I’m a gay person!

ME: How old are you? https://nancylou444.tumblr.com/post/154098904136/a-guide-to-dean-winchesters-imaginary-bisexuality

THEM: yeah this is starting to get frustrating. I’m gonna be real with you, why does it matter if people think dean is bisexual? like, bottom line, that is my question for you

and your answer will determine if your veracity is homophobic. why does it matter that some people think dean is bisexual. not the fans or actors or writers or anything. why does it matter that some viewers will watch, and they will think dean is bisexual?

ME: My problem isn't that some people think he is bi IN FANON, my problem is that they want CONFIRMATION OF A FANON SHIP. And that some people DENY how the show ended. These same people think that fake weddings are more canon than the FINAL EPISODE.

THEM: I get what you mean, but how is it a fanon ship when it’s confirmed romantic from one side, and interpretable as mutually reciprocated in Latin America? (I’m going to disregard the bit about the wedding, because I’m a firm believer in Neil Gaiman variety death of the author. Also that’s just people having fun with fanon, who cares?)

ME: Confirmed romantic?By whom MISHA, who wanted to sell necklaces? Have you never said 'i love you' to a FRIEND or FAMILY member? The dub is not canon, so don't even try using that as proof. Death of the author is just another way of saying MY VIEW OF THE SHOW IS SUPERIOR TO HOW THE CREATOR WANTS TO SEE IT. Jensen has said many times that the ship isn't canon and that Dean is straight. But it's better to believe what Misha says because he agrees with you. You think somebody is bi because of how they sit or the color clothes they wear? That would make YOU homophobe.

THEM: LOL You know what? I change my answer. I looked through your blog and you ACTIVELY and viscously hate Cas, Charlie, Claire, Kaia and the implication that Jack may not be straight. You’ve said Cas coming out as gay and in love with dean makes the rest of his actions predatory, compared him to a teenage girl, called him creepy, and openly rejoiced in your idea that dean looked ‘disgusted with him’. You said that Claire is awful, that Kaia is a wooden plank, that they ‘shoved them together’ for ‘woke points’ and said that Jody saying Claire was IN LOVE WITH Kaia ‘doesnt count’ and called it ‘lip service’. And it doesn’t end there! After all this, you said that you preferred the old better s4 Claire. Is it because she was ostensibly straight? Are you uncomfortable with queer women? And then you have the audacity to use these characters (Claire and Kaia and Charlie) as reasons to epicly own the Hellers and claim they already have represention. You are a completely disingenuous bitch and I don’t care to be nice to you anymore! I don’t feel AT ALL charitable toward you anymore, and I don’t care if you have gay ships. Gay people aren’t here for you to fetishize! You CONSTANTLY mock and ridicule jokes made by queer people regarding deans bisexuality or Cas being gay or any number of things. You constantly reaffirm that Dean is straight and call people who think otherwise delusional and disgusting, while you think dean is in romantic sexual love with his male sibling. You are openly hostile to the idea of non-binary jack and were pissed that Alcal endorsed that. You devalue Jack’s value and relationship to Cas who is, textually, his father figure. I have NO reason not to think that you are homophobic. I don’t care anymore! You’re a huge bitch and, judging by your prior responses and posts, a genuine dialogue regarding queerness in spn is impossible. You regard any instance of canonically queer moments ‘lip service’ and so regard it. You actively hate every canonically gay character and degrade them using traditionally homophobic tropes and stereotypes.

Feel free to explain how you aren’t homophobic. I’m so sorry if I got the wrong impression.

ME: Wow I see your true colors have come out HELLER.

THEM: Idc if you think I’m mean. Go ahead and make a post about me lol, have fun with it. Give me a moment to respond to your paragraph it’s... a lot to dissect.

I’ll touch on your comments about the dub and the Spanish language in a moment. First though

I ’m gonna be real with you, I don’t think you know what death of the author is. Neil Gaiman’s variety of the dead author principal is that once canon ends, the story belongs to those that consume and engage with it. That’s... also literally the theme of supernaturals final season. Anyway I really recommend you read up on death of the author and Neil Gaiman’s takes on fanon. It’s a fun way to consume your media, and in the end that’s what I’m here for.

I don’t care what Misha says, and I don’t care what Jensen says! I think they are both queer because I have eyes and watched the show. I think it’s a lovely narrative that is supported by canon, and it’s fine if you disagree with that

On your last sentence there... lol. It’s a common joke in queer circles that gays can’t sit properly, specifically bisexuals. Same thing with the clothing, it’s a SUPER common joke for example that lesbians wear flannel. Maybe you need to go outside and talk to some normal, non-incest shipping queer people. But what do I know!

And finally... ‘the Spanish dub isnt canon’

I am literally cuban. My first language is SPANISH. my entire household speaks Spanish, and my family past 1st cousins don’t speak any English. My Boricua cousins have watched supernatural in full for years, and they watch it in Spanish. Do you think America is the center of the universe? Do you think our media is somehow less than yours, that our interpretations of English language media isn’t valid? What, do you think we are idiots who don’t know how to analyze literature and media? Do you think the people who work at Telemundo, people employed as dubbers and translators, you think they do a worse job than the American crew?

Why, because they aren’t American or don’t speak English? ‘Te amo’ said to a non family member is, in 99% of any instance, ROMANTIC. it’s something you say to your spouse in serious situations like weddings!! Even MARRIED people don’t normally say te amo, everyone uses te quiero unless it is very serious or romantic in context.

All of my family who are Spanish language, they heard dean say ‘y a yo ti, cas’ and think that they were in romantic love. Sorry dude! The United States might be the center of your universe, but Latin America is HUGE. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the WORLD. In fact, more people speak Spanish than English. Sorry that you seem to hate gay characters SO MUCH you have to say an entire language somehow isn’t valid to consume media in!

ME:

Obviously this heller is batshit crazy.

Some of those things she thinks I said just show she has no idea how to follow a tumblr thread.

You are a completely disingenuous bitch and I don’t care to be nice to you anymore! I don’t feel AT ALL charitable toward you anymore, and I don’t care if you have gay ships. Gay people aren’t here for you to fetishize! You CONSTANTLY mock and ridicule jokes made by queer people regarding deans bisexuality or Cas being gay or any number of things. You constantly reaffirm that Dean is straight and call people who think otherwise delusional and disgusting, while you think dean is in romantic sexual love with his male sibling.

Wow.

I have NO reason not to think that you are homophobic. I don’t care anymore! You’re a huge bitch and, judging by your prior responses and posts, a genuine dialogue regarding queerness in spn is impossible. You regard any instance of canonically queer moments ‘lip service’ and so regard it. You actively hate every canonically gay character and degrade them using traditionally homophobic tropes and stereotypes.

Where have I hated canon gay characters and degraded them using tropes and stereotypes? The bitch has me confused with HER FELLOW SHIPPERS.

Gotta love how she is defending the Spanish dub. Hit a nerve did I?

It’s a common joke in queer circles that gays can’t sit properly, specifically bisexuals. Same thing with the clothing, it’s a SUPER common joke for example that lesbians wear flannel. Maybe you need to go outside and talk to some normal, non-incest shipping queer people.

Now who is using stereotypes?

#destiehellers #batshit crazy #your headcanon doesn't mean shit dean is straight #dub doesn't make it canon

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cescalr · 3 years

Text

u kno how everyone has their own version of Reverse Falls?? well i have one of those lol but rn what im saying is: my version of the au where the pines twins swap places (grunkles for mystery,,,, u kno,,, i think its called Gravity Rises? Anti-Gravity??? I can’t remember damn) yeah i have little bits of dialogue written,,,, if only i could draw... anyway all under the read more:

[[the scene where Mabel cheats off of Dipper in class; prev the scene where Stan cheats off Ford. Flashback to convo;]]

Dipper: Look. All you need is decent grades in math, right? Just copy off me. 'S not like the teachers pay attention during exams, anyway.

Mabel: I dunno, Dipper...

Dipper: Come on. We need scolarships. Our parents can't afford two full rides to college.

Mabel: It feels kinda... fraud-y, though.

Dipper: Think about it this way, hey - those rich kids pay their way past exams to a full ride, this is no more unfair than that. Just levelling the playing field. They're cheating at life - you're just opening up opportunities.

Mabel: True...

Dipper: Anyway. Nobody gets left behind, right?

Mabel: Haha. Yeah. Who's to say I won't leave /you/ behind? [punches his arm, with a smile.]

Dipper: Hah. Very funny.

Mabel: Thanks, bro-bro. Awkward sibling hug?

Dipper: Awkward sibling hug.

[hug]

Both: Pat-pat.

---

[[Big argument! Replaces the ford accuses Stan of breaking his machine. The conversation with the headmaster [uhhh, principal? in america?? i dunno im sorry] of the school is done w/ Dipper replacing Stan and Mabel replacing Ford bc I Like To Make Things Interesting!]]

Mabel: Come on, Dipper! I mean. Just - what kind of money is in /paranormal investigation/, anyway?

Dipper: What kind of money is in sculpting?

Mabel: That's not fair.

Dipper: Neither is you repeating our parents' talking points, but here we are. It's not about the money, Mabel.

Mabel: Well if it's not, then what's the point of you being on the opposite kind of the country to me?

Dipper: What's the point of you being on the opposite side of the country to /me/? Oh, that's right. You got a full ride anywhere you'd like, and there I am, trouble-maker, crazy-guy extraordinaire with the weird interests and stuipd belief in the supernatural. There was only one film school that'd take me, Mabel. You're the one who locked yourself into California.

Mabel: Why didn't you /tell/ me?

Dipper: I didn't think you'd want me around that much. What have I ever done, except pull down your stupid reputation?

Mabel: You can't still be on that. You know I don't-

Dipper: Still didn't say anything, though did you?

Mabel: That's not fair at all, Dipper.

Dipper: You never say anything. And here I am, always defending you. Maybe I felt we needed some space, huh? Maybe you give off the aura of wanting space. I'm not fun to be around.

Mabel: I didn't mean that. I just meant - you can get... kind of into a headspace I can't follow. I'm not - I don't believe in all your -

Dipper: Dumb conspiracies?

Mabel: Yes! Dipper, just - there's nothing down that road. You know that. You'll be -

Dipper: A laughingstock? Been there. Used to it.

Mabel: It doesn't have to be like that. You're really, really smart-

Dipper: So the only thing I can want to do is science?

Mabel: No, that's not it at all -

Dipper: He's a punk, he's headed nowhere, 'Mabel's a good girl, a real talent, smart and artistic... Dipper has the brain for a good life, but not the mindset. There's Fantartstic Academy, it's in California, so it's not too far from home, but it's on the other side of the state, a good distance away - I think it'd be good for your daughter to get independence, to find friends and a life outside of the trouble her brother brings. Mabel could have a real good go of it -'

Mabel: Stop it! Dipper, you know I don't believe-

Dipper: But you do! You always have!

Mabel: Just because you're /anxious/ doesn't mean you're right! We're okay! You're just paranoid!

Dipper: That's not fair.

Mabel: Oh, so now /I'm/ the unfair one? I get it. Things are only unfair when it affects /you/.

[pause]

Mabel: Why d'you have to do this?

Dipper: I - I have to prove that I'm right, Mabel. I have to. This stuff exists, I know it does, I've just got to find it.

Mabel: And, what? You're going to prove something people have been trying to figure out for centuries? Dipper. How can you tell me to get out of dreamworld when that's where you're staying?

Dipper: Screw you.

Mabel: Screw /you/.

---

As for other stuff;

Mabel makes the portal! It takes Dipper 30 years to activate it after she’s pushed in bc her instructions are Terrible. Partly because she didn’t understand much of it. Bill painted the whole thing as like, a monument of the arts or w/ever im still figuring that one out

Dipper takes Grunkle Stan’s place as the person they’re sent to visit. He’s been pretending Mabel’s been in various foreign countries for years @ this point. Uses either magic/tech to create voicemails for the family, has her be bubbly but distant, w/ promises to visit that she never keeps, which. you know he feels bad about but he needs to make people think she’s alive

Dipper had a ghost hunting TV show! For like three years, then went off the air bc of low ratings. Apparently real ghosts scare people! And kill them. Who knew. Also everyone thought the special effects were bad. Whoops. Anyway he runs a tourist attraction out of Mabel’s old ‘nature living art lodge’. It makes a good haunted house during high traffic at halloween/Summerween. The entrance to the basement is in his office, which used to be one of Mabel’s art studios. Dipper took all the bill art down because he pays attention to warnings written in blood.

Im swapping all ages here, so Dipper is good friends with Pacifica and Wendy. Gideon is ... a threat. Lee, Nate and Thompson are still in town. Tambry and Robbie are not.

Soos is 8, Fiddleford is 13, Stan and Ford are 12. Etc.

Because of how we’re swapping this, some people’s parents might have to become their children. I’m not a fan of that, but we’ll see. Filbrick Pines was the youngest sibling of Mabel and (Mason) Dipper. He’s not well liked by the family. And he doesn’t like his own family all that much, hence the distance between them. He likes his kids even less, though, so Gravity Falls they go! I hate that guy.

Ma Pines may or may not come with them? Hmm.

#gfau #gravity falls au #stan #dipper #mabel #ford #wendy c #pacifica #etc #gf #gfcharacters

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coliverxxx · 3 years

Text

Titanic - Johnny/OC story

Summary: Johnny has never worked with someone who has said two pick-up lines on him in thirty minutes after they met him while working until her.

Pairings: Johnny x OC or Johnny x Reader or Johnny x She (whoever she is, really)

Genre: Friendship, Romance

Words: 5,876

Warnings: None, hopefully

A/N: First of all, the story has nothing to do with the infamous movie. It's just that I suck with titles. I wouldn't also call this angst but to anyone who's lighthearted, there is a bit of angst in here, okay? But I promise, things will be okay.

I was supposed to write 500 words yesterday because I just can't get over Johnny's long blonde hair. It does things to me. (I still haven't gotten over it.) But stories tend to write themselves and before I knew it, I have little less than 6,000 words all because of Johnny's long blonde hair. It's strange what inspirations can do. Initially, I wanted to convert this into a ship fic but then, I thought it's good as it is. At least for me, haha. (Might still do in the future though.)

Let's keep supporting NCT. Let's keep loving Johnny (I have this awful feeling that he deserves more love than he's getting I don't know) and the rest of the group. They received their first daesang recently, too. Congratulations, boys!

Titanic - Johnny/OC story

Johnny has never worked with her. It’s not to say that he’s bothered by her — he’s met people who are most troublesome, to say the least — but he has never worked with someone who is so obvious in their interest on him. He gets it. Not to be a dick but he knows he’s got good looks and a to-die-for body but no one in his professional years has said two pick-up lines on him in thirty minutes after they met him while working.

He arrives at the station with the other members that morning. Only a little after six which means it’s too early for him to be thinking too much about anything besides getting his makeup done for today’s performance. That’s why he’s more than surprised when the person putting foundation on his face says, “Titanic.”

He’s not sure if he’s being talked to because he’s pretty certain there’s this rule among the members and the staff that no talking is allowed before eight but when he looks at the makeup artist, she is looking back at him in all seriousness and Johnny just mutters “What?” even though he knows he heard her say ‘Titanic.’

“Sorry, bad icebreaker,” she solemnly says and continues on the foundation like nothing happened.

Johnny stares at her in the mirror because he can’t move while things are being put on his face. Then, he thinks about what she just said and oh.

Oh.

He laughs. Like loudly. Like something that shouldn’t be done when everyone is either on a state of half awake-half asleep, or entirely sleep walking through the morning.

He ignores the sharp glances from the other members and looks at her through the mirror again to see her looking back at him already with a grin playing on her face.

Johnny thinks none of that exchange. It’s still funny whenever he remembers it and when he tries explaining it to the other members when they asked him what’s so funny he had to drag their souls from sleep state forcibly but he thinks there’s nothing to do about it. Just a new makeup artist who is a little funny too early in the morning.

Then, he’s changing his clothes and there should be someone helping him but when he looks around, all the stylists are busy with the other members. He tries to look for someone and sees one of the staff just fixing their massive makeup boxes.

“Hello,” Johnny says. He just needs to know where the jacket he is supposed to be wearing is. The sleeveless top he is wearing isn’t exactly making him uncomfortable given that he’s been on stage with practically nothing but it’s winter and it’s cold. He’s human.

He immediately recognises her when she turns around and is about to apologise because even though he is desperate to find that jacket, he knows she’s a makeup artist. Not a stylist. He knows the line. He’s about to say so when she says, “Your name must be Adele.”

“What?”

“Because you had me at hello.’”

Johnny can’t help the smile that’s creeping on his lips that turns into a light chuckle until he is effectively laughing again. At barely seven in the morning. He shakes his head at her a little and proceeds to his original dialogue, “I was going to ask for my jacket but I don’t think you —“

“Here,” she answers, handing him out his jacket.

“Oh, great, thanks,” he says, a little surprised, immediately putting on the jacket with a light shiver. “Are you new here?”

“I only started today, yes,” she tells him.

“By the way, my name is not Adele. It’s Johnny,” he states with a smile.

He waits for her to respond but she just stares at him — you know, that stare that’s like stripping him without touching him — and for someone who he just met today, it’s a little awkward. He’s about to tell her that when she speaks.

“Did the sun come out or did you just smile at me?”

Johnny can’t stop another smile, the initial awkwardness leaving him entirely, even though he answers, “Definitely just the sun.” He begins to walk away while shaking his head again at the exchange to change his shoes, murmuring, “That’s three strikes.”

He’s not bothered about it. It will take a whole lot more to bother him at this point of his career than harmless pick-up lines from their new makeup artist who does a pretty good job on their faces, by the way, and does nothing more than make Johnny smile or laugh whenever she tries another line on him.

They are pretty close with the rest of the staff, all of their managers, the stylists, and the other makeup artists, but she and Johnny had become quite of a duo. She never fails on a line on him whenever he is on at least five meters radius from her and it has become quite normal for everyone around them to heat her say something like “Are you my appendix? I don’t know what you do or how you work but I feel like I should take you out.” to Johnny.

He is not one to get flustered merely because of such lines. He will admit he likes hearing them though because some of her lines are funny, even weird. He would always laugh whenever she pulls a weird pick-up line on him.

“Did you just fart? Because you blow me away.”

Johnny’s laugh can literally be heard in the entire station.

“Do your lines ever work in real life?”

She looks a little confused before replying, “Who says this isn’t real?”

“Right,” Johnny says, shaking his head again but smiling.

He becomes quite used to her lines and her presence, looking forward to what cheesy or weird pick-up lines she picks for the day, that it’s stranger when she’s focused — too focused — on how she puts eyeshadow in Johnny’s eyes that she’s not speaking a word.

Johnny doesn’t know what to say though. Does he ask her why she’s not saying any lines on him like she used to before? Does that mean he’s looking forward to her lines now? Will that be appropriate between an idol and a makeup artist?

His makeup is finished before he can put an answer to any of his questions and she moves on to the next member in line, not saying a single word to Johnny. Much more a single pick-up line. Who knows pick-up lines can be missed?

The silence continues until the end of the schedule and he just can’t go home without saying anything to her.

He corners her on one of the changing room when she’s helping out the stylists clean after the stage costumes. It’s probably unfitting but Johnny just wants to ask, “Are you okay?”

Her expression looks depressed in a moment before it turns surprised until she’s finally smiling even though just barely. He still considers it a win when she answers, “I’m okay, Seo. Do you need anything?”

Johnny stares at her for a second before he answers. “Give me your phone.”

“What? Why?”

“Just give me your phone,” he demands, looking behind him because one of the managers are already calling everyone to pile out. They’re leaving ahead of the staff; they always do.

Even though she’s confused, she pulls her phone in her pocket and hands it to Johnny. She watches him warily as he fiddles with it for a minute before returning it to her.

“That’s my number,” Johnny states, as if it isn’t clear enough on the new contact saved on her phone. “If there’s anything that’s bothering you,” he continues, looking away because he has not rehearsed this part of the conversation. He only wants to ask if she’s okay. This isn’t planned at all. But now he has one of their makeup artists have his number. If that’s improper, it’s already done. “If you need someone to talk to, you can call me or message me, whatever suits you.”

She looks at the new contact saved on her phone: seo johnny. Then, she glances up at the said person in front of her who is looking at anything but her. She clutches her phone to her chest and slowly nods. “Okay,” she whispers, looking down at the floor with rosy cheeks.

Johnny turns around because they’re leaving. He hasn’t took five steps when his phone rings. It’s an unregistered number but he answers it anyway, having a good feeling about it.

He hasn’t said hello yet when he hears a familiar voice on the other end of the line and on the person standing five steps behind him.

“I have 1% battery remaining. I chose to call you. Did I choose wisely?”

Johnny turns around and meets her eyes. “I’m literally still here,” he says with a fond smile.

She smiles back. Then, her eyebrows knit together a little again and she sighs, “I’m fine, or I’ll be fine.” She chuckles at herself, looking at Johnny’s eyes again. “Whichever,” she continues, “but the bottomline is I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me, okay?”

He still looks concerned but nods anyway. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asks.

She bits her lip before smiling again. “See you tomorrow, Johnny.”

They are just leaving the building when his phone buzzes with a new message.

12:39 pm to: seo johnny from: xxxxx aside from being sexy, what do you do for a living? >///<

Johnny has to stop for a moment to refocus his thoughts because he can’t be laughing by himself after receiving a one-line message in public. But the moment he glances at his phone to read it again, his shoulder begin to shake anyway.

7:27 am to: seo johnny from: xxxxx help, i’m lost!

7:27 am from: seo johnny to: xxxxx where are you?

7:28 am to: seo johnny from: xxxxx i don’t know but can you give me directions to your heart? :)))

7:29 am from: seo johnny to: xxxxx i thought you are really lost!!! -_-

He says that but he’s smiling a lot for someone who wakes up before five in the morning. He looks outside of the car — there’s still no horrible traffic and the sun is barely peaking out — and instead of sleeping like he always does, he thinks of how many minutes more before he sees her as he types another message to send her.

Johnny finds in her a comfortable friendship. And in a job that is as stressful as the one he has, having a friend nearby — someone that isn’t one of his members who also share the exact same stress as him and thus he can’t bother at times — who makes him laugh and smile and feel good all the time is heaven’s gift.

“On a scale of 1 to America, how free are you tonight?” she asks, appearing beside Johnny, when the group arrives at the set of that day’s first schedule.

He smiles and answers. “I think 0. But you know that, don’t you? You guys’ll be with us until the evening for tonight’s show, right?”

She looks at him for a moment and nods with a long sigh, “Yeah, today’s packed.” Then, she pulls out some utensils behind her and continues, “That’s why I prepared food. I’ve got all these chopsticks, forks, and knives. All I need is a little spoon.”

Johnny barely stifles a chuckle. And before his mind can process his action, his hand is already on top of her head. It’s such a gentle gesture but not one that happened to them before now. So he can understand if she flinches a little when he reaches his hand to her hair but she does not. She holds her beaming smile as she pats her head.

One pat. Two pats.

He pulls back quickly when he realises he’s probably acting unprofessional again. Even though he probably should have thought about that, too, when he gives her his number.

An entire day of schedule with her around means more than twenty pick-up lines in just half of the day. She always seems to have one around whenever Johnny is in the same breathing vicinity as her.

“Can I follow you home? Because my parents always tell me to follow my dreams,” she says to Johnny when they’re packing up from their first schedule to go to the next.

“We’re not going home yet though,” Johnny replies, chuckling and shaking his head.

“Is your dad a terrorist?” she asks after she’s done with Johnny’s makeup retouch on the second schedule. “‘Cause you’re the bomb.”

Johnny isn’t one to be embarrassed or to shy away from compliments, as weird as they come, but he’s learning to because of her pick-up lines. Even the other members are beginning to tease him about it, repeating what they heard her say to him at home. The worse thing is he’s not bothered by them at all. Not her lines. Not even when his members repeat it on him to tease him. He actually feels good about it. He thinks there must be something wrong with him.

He hears Jaehyun snickering with Yuta when they heard what she said, too.

The last schedule is just wrapping up. It’s a photoshoot for a cosmetic brand. Johnny already finished his part and is just waiting for the other members. He notices her standing beside him a few minutes ago, waiting for another pick-up line, but she hasn’t said a word.

He glances at her after a moment but she’s already looking at him.

“There must be something wrong with my eyes. I can’t take them off you.”

Johnny doesn’t know if it’s the light or the music that they’re playing on the set but the air is different that night, that time, that moment. When she says that, he thinks he can hear his heart thumping loudly, threatening to jump out of his chest. He has to force a laugh because he’s afraid she will hear how loud his heart is.

She doesn’t look away, not even when he laughs at her because he doesn’t know what to say. And Johnny can’t look away because she’s looking at him like she’s saying not just a pick-up line but what she truly thinks.

After what seems to be twenty-seven years of gazing at each other even though in reality, it’s only a minute at most, someone yells “Cut!” Every light opens and Johnny blinks, looking around them like he’s been caught doing something illegal, or improper. He lets out a deep breath he doesn’t know he’s holding and looks back at her.

She’s still looking at him. Then, she smiles at him for a moment before she turns to the members who just finished their shot, bowing at the photographers and director. “I’ll help them pack up,” she tells him, looking at him again.

“Oh, okay,” Johnny says, nodding.

But she doesn’t leave yet. She stands there for a second and says, “They say Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. Well, apparently, no one has ever been standing next to you.”

The lights have been changed and the music has already been shut. That’s why Johnny can’t understand what’s still different that he needs to remind himself to breathe after she walks away, leaving him there with a catapulting heart.

Those are still the same pick-up lines, aren’t they?

He has always been worried about Doyoung’s perceptive ability and his inability to keep his observations to himself but he doesn’t think he’ll receive the short stick of it until he does.

He can’t quite remember how the conversation begins — like most things that happen in our life that we want to forget. It just happens uncontrollably and goes out of hand in a split second. He just remembers talking to the other members until the conversation begins to get redirected, or misdirected to Johnny’s friendship with her.

“I think she likes you,” Doyoung states, yes, states, because there is no hesitation in his tone over what he is saying, “and you like her back.”

“What?” Johnny laughs, trying to keep his nerves in tact. “We’re just friends.”

“Really?” Doyoung raises a brow at him and even when he says that, it doesn’t sound like he’s confirming his thoughts but that he wants Johnny to confirm his.

He looks at the other members and sees them all waiting for his answer, expecting his answer. Then, before he can think it further, he laughs again and replies, “Really. As if I would date a makeup artist.”

Johnny expects arguments because even he wants to hit himself after he says that. He doesn’t know why he said that. There’s definitely nothing wrong if he falls in love with a bus driver, a bartender, or a makeup artist. He knows that but he’s nervous as hell because he thinks he’s going to get found out over something he’s not quite ready to admit to himself.

It’s been a lingering question ever since that time he feared his heart will escape from his chest. Does he really like her like that? Does he really like her as more than a friend? His makeup artist? Is that even appropriate?

But then, he hears nothing and as he searches for anything from the faces of the other members, he realises they are not looking at him but behind him.

Johnny turns to look behind him on the exact moment she’s turning around. He wishes he looked back a second later so he could have missed the way her eyes looks.

Hurt is an understatement.

Awkwardness is also putting is simply. Everyone has become used to their dynamics and when it suddenly stops, it’s like there’s something missing in the air. There are no corny or sweet or weird pick-up lines being said here and there. Johnny’s not laughing every time something is said to him, no matter if it’s honestly romantic or strange.

There are no messages like: Are you a parking ticket? ‘Cause you’ve got fine written all over you.

He thinks he misses the pick-up lines but he knows he misses her. Just her. Not the lines but the way her hand ghosts over his face carefully whenever he’s doing his makeup, the way she smiles whenever Johnny would laugh at her lines, or simply just stand there beside him if she could.

But he doesn’t know what to do about it. It doesn’t help that on their next schedule, a different makeup artist stands in front of him, holding up a brush.

Naturally, Johnny asks for her. Because she’s part of the staff. She’s been doing his makeup for months now. He also knows she’s professional. She even did his makeup retouch that time, when she heard Johnny, and she did it flawlessly even though she wouldn’t look at Johnny more than what’s necessary and she didn’t say a word throughout.

“She’s taking a day off,” the makeup artist who’s been with them longer answers, not even meeting Johnny’s eyes as she says so.

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” she simply shrugs and proceeds on Johnny’s makeup.

They said she’s taking a day off but when she doesn’t come for a week-long schedule abroad, Johnny can’t take it anymore. He walks up to one of their managers and ask if she already quit or something.

“She didn’t,” he just tells Johnny.

He is close to demanding “Then, why isn’t she here?” but he swallows it inside him because what’s it to him anyway? Can he even call them friends after what he said? Because he’s pretty sure what he said can also be translated to “As if I would be friends with a makeup artist.”

He’s obviously not in the mood because Jaehyun approaches him and says, “She’s watching her sister in the hospital.”

He doesn’t even deny it anymore. That he’s thinking about her. That he’s only been thinking about her. That when they say she, it just means her. “How did you know about it? Did she talk to you?”

“No,” Jaehyun shakes his head, sitting beside Johnny. “I heard from one of our stylists.”

“What happened to her sister?”

“They said it’s cancer.”

Johnny’s mouth drops. “Jaehyun, don’t —“

“I’m not one to joke around someone’s sick sister, Johnny,” the other immediately says, sighing. “Remember that time she looks so down and won’t say anything? I think it’s when they found out about it. She probably didn’t come this time because,” Jaehyun stops and Johnny understands. He doesn’t want to say it.

He stares at his phone. Should he call her? Will she answer? Is it the right time to bother her? She already has so much to think about. She doesn’t have time to think about Johnny.

Or that’s what Johnny thinks as he puts down his phone and firmly closes his eyes, no hint of sleep in his veins. He doesn’t want to bother. He doesn’t want to put more in her plate. But he wants to know if she’s okay. He wants to make sure that she’s okay.

11:11 pm from: seo johnny to: xxxxx if you were a booger, i’d pick you.

Johnny stares at the message. He deletes it, then types it again. He deletes it, and then he types it again. It takes him about four more retypes until he forces his finger to just send it. Then, he wants to undo it but it’s already been sent and he thinks he might have lost his one chance of making things okay between them again.

He dumps his head on his pillow and screams, fortunately not waking up Mark who has been assigned his roommate for the entire week. He glances at the younger on the other side of the room sleeping soundly while he messes up again in the middle of the night. Who does that? Only Johnny Seo.

It takes him more courage to look at his phone again and the conversation it is opened to than the first time he tried bungee jumping.

The message isn’t read yet.

He falls asleep staring at his opened conversation with the last message still unread.

He wakes up to his alarm and the moment consciousness hits him, he sits up on the bed and opens his message conversation with her again. It’s already read at 4:19 am but there’s no response.

He’s contemplating if he should send another message. What will he say? The pick-up line didn’t work. Not that it’s a good pick-up line but he figures it might make her laugh, or even just smile. He wonders if she’s smiling enough these days, with her sister in the hospital and Johnny hurting her like that.

Johnny sighs, sinking himself on the bed again and holding the phone against his chest. Six more days and he’ll definitely see her again. Then, he’ll talk to her, apologise, ask how she is, make sure she’s eating alright even though she’s staying at the hospital. Six more days.

The first three days drag long and the fourth would have, too, if his phone doesn’t buzz on a familiar but one that he hasn’t heard for a little too long assigned tone.

11:22 am to: seo johnny from: xxxxx that’s a really bad one, seo.

Johnny’s eyes widen and he reads her message over and over again and there are so many things he wants to say. Is she okay? How’s her sister? Is someone staying at the hospital with her? Is she still mad at him? Will she forgive him?

11:24 am from: seo johnny to: xxxxx how’s your sister?

11:30 am to: seo johnny from: xxxxx she’s fine.

He wants to call her. He wants to hear her voice but he wants to give her time. He knows she’s thinking of her sister the most and he doesn’t want to take that away from her. He’s thankful enough that she didn’t completely ignore him.

11:31 am from: seo johnny to: xxxxx can i visit when we come back?

11:31 am to: seo johnny from: xxxxx you know you can’t.

That’s true. It’s part of his predicament. It’s part of the job.

11:32 am from: seo johnny to: xxxxx i’m going to tell the company someone called.

11:34 am to: seo johnny from: xxxxx what? who?

11:35 am from: seo johnny to: xxxxx cupid called. he wants to tell you that he needs my heart back.

He stares at his phone for about ten minutes until they are being called to shoot the next segment, waiting for her reply. He dives to his phone the moment they finished shooting but there’s no reply yet. It’s read though.

The next few days are frustrating not because Johnny doesn’t enjoy what he does but because even though he does, he wants them to be over so he can go home.

He honestly doesn’t think he can pull it off.

He confesses to Taeyong and their leader helps him talk to their manager who helps him get to the hospital in a time when literally no one is there besides the doctors and the nurses.

Johnny stands outside the door that’s supposed to be her sister’s room, fidgeting. It’s around two in the morning. He has about two hours until he needs to go home if he doesn’t want to be late for their morning schedule and get him, Taeyong, and their manager in deep trouble. He takes a deep breath, puts his hand against the door, and is about knock when it opens on him.

She’s rubbing her eyes sleepily but they widen in full alertness when she sees who’s standing by the door.

“Johnny? What are you doing here?” she asks, poking her head out of the door to check at the hallway if someone catches an idol in front of her sister’s hospital room. She immediately pulls him inside, worried that someone will see him. “What are you doing here?” she questions him again when they’re already inside the closed door.

“I told you. I’m visiting,” he casually answers. “How’s your sister?” Johnny asks, looking past her to the woman lying on the bed, asleep, looking a lot like her but thinner, paler, and walks towards her sister.

She looks like she’s about to question his intentions again for a second but then, she sighs, and follows Johnny to her sister. “She’s fine,” she answers but her voice sounds as fragile as the patient.

He looks at her and notices dark bags under her eyes. He gently lifts his arm and brings the back of his hand to the skin under her eyes. “How are you?” he asks her this time.

She doesn’t flinch. She doesn’t move away. And Johnny doesn’t know what he’d do if she does any of those things. She just stands where her feet are and stares at him, searching for something. “I’m fine,” she finally says after a moment.

“Will you come to work anytime soon?”

“Did you come here to ask me to come to work?”

“No,” Johnny answers, shaking his head slowly. “I miss you.”

She takes a deep breath and just looks at him, like she’s looking for something beyond his brown eyes. He realises what she’s looking for and he can’t blame her after what he said. He realises he wants to make it right with her. He has to make it right with her.

“I was nervous,” he admits.

“What?”

“When they were asking me how I feel about you, I was nervous because I was pretty sure I was already falling in love with you but I didn’t know what to do about it. I said that and regretted it just as soon as it came out of my mouth. Even before I saw how hurt your eyes were when I found out you were behind me and you heard it. Because I’d fall in love with you whether you’re a bus driver, a bartender, or a makeup artist. I’d still fall in love with you.”

She opens her mouth to say something and then closes it again. She looks at Johnny for about ten years, or that’s what he feels under her gaze, before she speaks again. “Did you rehearse that?”

“Yes,” he confesses sheepishly. “I had to explain to Taeyong and to our manager everything. They need to understand what’s at stake here.”

“I can’t believe you told everyone you’re in love with me first before me,” she says, walking towards Johnny.

“No, I’m sure I told you first,” he argues, meeting her halfway.

“When?”

“When I said even if you’re a booger, I’d still pick you.”

She laughs, the laugh Johnny misses so much. The laugh Jonny loves to hear so much. “That’s not what you said,” she tells him, still laughing.

“It’s what I meant!” he says, wrapping his arms around her and when she wraps back her arms on his waist, he realises this is it. This is what he’s supposed to be feeling, light and happy and in love with her. He places a kiss on top of her head and mutters, “I’m sorry I was dumb and slow.”

She shakes his head and pulls him closer. “We’re both dumb and slow,” she whispers. “I should have told you I love you the first time I saw you.”

He pulls away, a little horrified in a good way and laughing. “Are you serious?”

“Why do you think I said all those pick-up lines to you the first time we met?”

Johnny visits her sister in the hospital as often as his schedule will allow it. She slowly comes back to work, too, one schedule at a time in the beginning to continue looking after her sister and fully when they find a donor for her sister. When she tells him over the phone that they found a donor at around twelve in the midnight, Johnny runs to the hospital just to hug her.

She tells him he shouldn’t have come over because she knows they have early schedule the following day but the way she clutches to his clothes when he hugs her — shaking because she’s so happy her sister is going to live that she doesn’t know how to put it into simple words — tells him he made the right decision to come.

He wants to share her happiness with her. He wants to share her worries, too. He wonders if that’s what love means.

His makeup is just about done. He’s already in his stage outfit but he comes back around and around to the mirrors where she’s still doing the makeup of the other members, checking himself over and over again.

“Hyung, you’re blocking the mirror!” Donghyuck exasperatedly complains at him the sixth time he comes back.

Johnny turns to look at the youngest and then at her who is still doing Donghyuck’s makeup, raising a brow at him as if she’s asking him what he is doing. He shrugs, biting his bottom lip, and walks away but not before saying, “Do you believe in love at first sight or should I pass by again?”

“Oh my god,” Taeil mutters from the seat beside Donghyuck, covering his face in embarrassment because it seems like Johnny can’f feel any.

But she smiles although she’s still completely focused Donghyuck’s face and Johnny considers it a win.

After the performance, he finds her putting the makeup pieces on the huge makeup box one by one, carefully, like each will break. He loves how much effort she puts in her job. He silently sits beside her and does the same after making sure that he’s already out of his stage costume and ready to go when they are called.

“Kiss me if I’m wrong but dinosaurs still exist, right?” Johnny suddenly asks.

Jungwoo who is within hearing distance hears it and gushes like he’s watching a romantic drama live while Jaehyun who is also within hearing distance loudly gags. “Someone stop Johnny please,” he mutters, faking another series of gags and walking away in distress.

She laughs at Jaehyun before turning to look at Johnny with a raised brow.

“I’m wrong, right?”

She shakes her head at him as well, still laughing. They have finished arranging the makeup in the makeup box and she stands up, him following after her. “Yes, you’re wrong, but there’s no consensual agreement over a kiss,” she tells him, walking past Johnny with a pat on his shoulder.

“Agreements are unnecessary with pick-up lines!”

They are just about to leave — everything’s already packed up and everyone’s already piling out of their waiting room. Actually, Johnny and the other members should have left earlier but they didn’t have any schedule after so they waited for the staff to have dinner together.

She looks around, checking if they left anything.

Then, her eyes land on the person in front of her. Johnny Seo.

She smiles at him, wondering what he’s thinking this time, standing and quiet like that. He has definitely not been quiet the entire day.

“If nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?”

They are in the middle of the room. Everyone is busy looking after things that they could have left but everyone turns silent when he says that. He doesn’t know if it’s weird fate or bad luck.

“Is that you asking her to be your girlfriend?” Doyoung asks with a tsk.

“Can't you just ask her that?” one of their stylists follows.

“And what do you mean will she be your ‘nothing,' hyung?” Mark questions, too.

“I know, right?” Jaehyun chimes. “Is that supposed to be positive?"

“What’s ‘nothing'?” Donghyuck confusedly asks, saying the word in question in English in an odd way of pronouncing.

“What’s so difficult with ‘Will you be my girlfriend?’” one of the other makeup artists shrugs.

Johnny’s face is burning and he could have answered all of their questions with “you know nothing” but his eyes are focused on her who is laughing her heart out at Johnny and his pick-up line proposal and at everyone for putting their cents in.

“Pick-up lines don’t work,” one of their managers says, shaking his head.

But she’s walking towards him and wrapping her arms on his neck and that would have been more romantic if they aren’t surrounded by people doubting and judging Johnny’s perfect proposal for her but it’s them and it’s enough and Johnny loves every bit of the moment. From the way she holds his neck towards him to the way she places a kiss on his cheek and softly answers, “Yes.”

Then, she pulls away a little to wink at him and adds, “Pick-up lines do work, right, John?”

Johnny grins and tightly hugs her, revelling on her scent and her warmth and everything her. “Of course they do, babe.” Then, he glances back at their manager and coyly asks, “Who hurt you, hyung?"

#nct johnny #johnny seo #johnny scenarios #johnny imagines #nct 127 imagines #nct scenarios #nct 127 scenarios #nct imagines #johnny fanfic #nct 127 #nct 2020 #johnny x reader #long haired johnny is giving me the feeling #this story is because of johnny's hair #johnny deserves more love

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jbbarnesandnoble · 3 years

Note

7-14-17-20 for the fanfic asks🤍

thanks for the ask my love, sorry it took so long for me to answer! i had to really consider a few of these, i also went to bed shortly after reblogging the ask list haha

7. What’s the last thing you read that made you cry?

i think it was probably after all this time by @wxntersoldiers that fic has crushed my entire heart and soul and it isn’t even finished yet, thanks bby, ily

14. (For authors) Post a line of dialogue from one of your WIPs without context.

"Girls are expected to cry, they wear their hearts on their sleeves and show everything they feel. While guys are meant to be tough, void of any and every emotion that might be a weakness. It’s ironic really, here I am, a girl who hasn't cried since she was eight. Sitting next to a guy who has cried eight times in three days."

17. Describe a fic that is still in the ‘ideas’ stage.

ok! so, this is from my photographer!reader x barista!bucky au. i’ve been working on this fic or well over a year, maybe even 2. it is my baby and i love it a whole lot

a quick summary: bucky lives in a small town, he’s lived there his whole life and has only ever left that town once. you on the other hand have traveled all over the world. you’ve seen places bucky could never even begin to imagine. however, years of travel have worn you down and you decide to move to a small town where you meet a handsome barista. which is great and all, but both of you are awkward. bucky has no people skills and everyone’s first assumption of his is that he’ll kill them. and you chose to be a photographer because taking a picture is an easier way to express feelings and words than actually speaking. even if that picture is of a stranger you met on your travels or a sunrise.

20. Do you have a favorite fanfic or author? If so, tag them/post a link and share the love!

my days i have so many authors and fics that i adore! i’ll tag my favorite authors since it’s a bit easier than linking all of my favorite fics!

@stareyedplanet // @itsbuckysworld // @invisibleanonymousmonsters // @wxntersoldiers // @xbuchananbarnes // @all1e23 // @buckthegrump // @jurassicbarnes // @justreadingfics // @kiritella // @nacho-bucky // @thefirenationsbride // @spaceodditybarnes // @marvelfulxbabes // @sunmoonandbucky

there are so many more wonderful writers out there, i wish my memory was better and i could remember all of you wonderful humans! I'm so sorry to everyone that i forgot to mention!

#anon #ask games #rae answers #author recs

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mhafiction · 4 years

Text

Out & About (Pt. 2)

Read Pt. 1 Pt 3 Pt. 4

Pairing: Bakugo x Reader

Fluff/ Friends to Lovers (?), lots of pining and !!some swearing!!

Synopsis: Reader is very close friends with the Bakusquad, except for the aloof and mysterious Bakugo. He still intrigues them however, and a night out with the group might actually be the the push they need to really get the ball rolling on transitioning their awkward comradery into something a little- more.

Note:Whhhhewww. Let’s get into it, I’m sorry that the dialogues’ very stilted -K (and again, I apologize for formatting)

XSero had scouted out a charming little restaurant in the heart of the city. Small, cozy, and family owned, the ambiance was perfect and the food was even better. You kept your eyes down for the most part, trying not to glance at Bakugo, but you couldn’t help but notice his order. An extra spicy dish that didn’t seem to affect him in the slightest. You wished you had that sort of tolerance and picked at your food, trying to calm your nerves. The interaction on the train still lingered in your mind. He was so, so close. Absentmindedly, you went to shovel a large helping of noodles into your mouth, instead feeling a caulloused hand brush against your cheek. You look up, eyes meeting Bakugo, looking just as surprised as you. Tugging his hand away, he glared back down at his food, pouting in his aloof manner. A thick silence hung between the two of you. Bakugo finally broke it, refusing to look up at all. “Tie back your hair or something. You looked like you were gonna swallow some strands with your food, idiot,” he mumbled, begrudgingly. You thanked the gods above that the others were occupied with their own dishes, because if they saw that interaction and they way you reacted, you’d never hear the end of it.

Wait. Could Bakugo like you back? You gave him a subtle side eye. No. Not possible with how he’s acting. Even if he did have some feelings for you, and this was all some tsundere situation, he clearly didn’t want to like you. And maybe that was for the best. Bakugo wanted to focus on being the number one hero, and so did you. A relationship would get in the way.

A relationship?!? Why were you thinking about that? You blushed deeply, sinking into yourself at the thought of dating Bakugo. Holding his hand, cuddling with him, kissing hi- “Hey Y/N, you alright?” You peered up at Kiri, who was sitting across from you. His voracious appetite was almost impressive, but even more so was the fact that he had managed to tear himself away from his fifth bowl of katsudon. “H-huh?? I’m fine, yep. 100% a-okay!!” You cringed. That came off as WAY too emphatic. Kirishima pushed aside his stack of empty bowls to see you. “Are you sure? You’re really red. Are you feeling okay?”

“I-“

“Wow, Y/N, you’re burning up!” Mina had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and had placed her hand on your forehead. She wiped a bit of rice away from her cheek and let loose a ferocious burp. You smacked away her hand, mostly out of suprise. “Mina!”

“What? I’m just worried about you. You’re the color of Kiri’s hair.”

Sero laughed. “Y/N, if you’re not feeling well, we should head back.” For once, you wished your friends were less doting.

“I’m fine! Just a little warm, haha.” None of them seemed very convinced. Even Denki gave you a skeptical glance. He smirked. “We’re you imagining something hot? I mean that waiter was pretty attr-” Sero flicked him, scolding. “Y/N’s not gross like you, Denki.” He turned to you, concerned. “But seriously Y/N, you’re up for tonight?”

“Yep! I’m okay.” You tried to grin, but it felt forced and false. The others were still skeptical, but decided to shrug it off. No point in wasting a perfectly good evening, and they were pretty sure you were responsible enough to know your limits. Mina wrapped an arm around you. “Alright!!! Let’s get shitfaced-“

“No Mina, we’re minors.”

Your group opted to walk around the city to see if they’d discover anything new. The moon hung high in the night sky and it was colder than usual- late fall was leading into winter. The neon signs filled you with contentment as you chatted with your friends, cocoas in hand. You lagged behind them for a bit when crossing a bridge, trying to take everything in. Everything but the...well, the Bakugo issue. Everything was fine then he had to smile at you and fuck everything up. “Y/N?” You snapped out of your stupor, looking at Kiri. “Yeah?” Kiri looked ahead at the group, oddly wary. You knew Kiri to be a trusting and kindhearted sort of guy- the embodiment of a paragon hero. Cheerful and humorous, and always willing to have some fun. But he could be serious when he needed to be. “Is something wrong, Eij?” Kiri laughed softly. “No, no it’s nothing serious!” He looked at you, cocking his head to the side. “I just want to make sure they’re not listening,” he pointed at the cacophonous trio dashing ahead, and you giggle as the three idiots directed their attention towards annoying Bakugo.

“Why’s that?”

Kiri rubbed the back of his neck. “I have a bit of a personal question and I don’t want you to be embarrassed.”

“Ha! Like I could be embarrassed in front of them. Shoot.”

Kiri hesitated. “Well, I’m hoping this doesn’t make you uncomfortable or weird or anything, I don’t to be rude or assum-“

“Eij just spit it out!”

“Do you like Bakugo?” He asked it earnestly, eyes shining with a quiet anticipation. You choked on air.

“Wh-what makes you think that?”

Kiri leaned back, crossing his arms against his chest and looking up to think. “Well, at dinner, your eyes kept darting back to Bakugo, and I thought that maybe that’s why you were so red! And when we went to get cocoa, when he went to grab the drink tray from you, you flinched at his touch. And also that one time in class when you guys were sparring and you looked super flustered when he pinned you even though you weren’t really going all in! Or when he taught you how to cut produce at camp and you got so nervous that you cut yourself! And-“

“Okay, I get it Kiri!” You covered your mouth, trying to hide your blushing face. You felt like you were about to hurl. “Am I really that transparent?” Kiri let out an quiet squee of excitement. “Oh my god I was right?? Really? Oh my god, my best friend is in love with my other best friend!! Ahhhhh!”

You sighed. “Well, you were half right, Eij. I only started liking Bakugo today.” Kirishima paused. “Wait really? Huh.”

“Wha- What do you mean by ‘Huh’??”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. It just seems like you’ve always been this way around him.”

You’re quiet, trying to chew on that. Always? Looking back, you thought that the nervousness was fueled by the intimidation factor Bakugo had.

But the truth was, you weren’t afraid of Bakugo. You never were.

You were in love with him.

You tried to shake that thought from your head: No! Back then, Bakugo was just someone you respected! Not a crush, just a colleague you thought was intelligent, brave, talented, fiery, attractive-

“Oh shit.” Kiri nodded.

“But why are you acting like this is a bad thing, Y/N? Love is great! And the fact you like Bakugo is even better! I mean-“

“He doesn’t like me back, Kiri.”

“What?”

“He doesn’t like me back.” You clenched your fists. “It’s that, or he doesn’t want to like me.”

“Why would you think that, Y/N?” Kiri said softly.

“He’s Bakugo, Kiri! Even if he did like me, it’s not as if he’d want a relationship. His ambition wouldn’t allow it, and you know that, you’re his best friend!” You hissed through your teeth with bitterness. Kirishima only looked sad.

“YO! Eij!!! C’mere, win this crane game for meeeee,” Denki whined. His pockets were turned inside out, and he clung pathetically to the machine. Kirishima turned to you. “I think he likes you, Y/N. Bakugo is the type of guy who stubborn and would never admit it, but I think he does.” He pats your shoulder. “And don’t give up on him.” Kiri winks, then goes to join Denki at the game. Sero and Mina dispersed on their own arcade escapade, but you decided to stay outside in the brisk autumn air. You didn’t have the appetite for games after that conversation. You sighed, rubbing your shoulders. It was cold. If only you brought a coat with you. You watched the night crowd going about their evening, looking at bright storefronts and multicolored signs, all with a serenity you couldn’t quite place. But it was lonely, to be sitting there on the curb with nobody to enjoy this with. Lonely and cold. You try to shrink yourself, burying your head into your knees. Were you lonely? Yes. But this was still a nice little scene , and you’d hate to squander it on self pity. As you’re about to lift yourself up, something soft and warm comes down on your head. An article of clothing that smells faintly of caramel.

You find a way out from under the expanse of cloth, and look up at Bakugo’s face. He quickly whipped his head away, watching the moon instead. In his hand was some hot beverage from a vending machine. He must have gone off on his own, just to escape Mina, Denki, and Sero. You lazily drape his jacket over your shoulders fixing your eyes on him. Just what is he thinking right now? If only you knew. You felt a quiet distaste for him in the pit of your stomach when recalling the train ride. It sickened you how attractive he was there and even now, when the moonlight hit him at a truly beautiful angle. “You shouldn’t have forgotten your coat. Did you even check the weather? You could have gotten a cold or something.” Bakugo only said things when it was too late, huh? You were reminded of the 5 o’clock rush hour crowd that you had been tormented by. Would have been real handy if he spoke up about that, escpecially since he seemed to be fully aware of it. You looked down at your feet. “Sorry,” you whispered in a half-there voice laced with a hint of resentment. It came off crueler than you intended.

Bakugo, a little taken aback , cast you an odd glance. “What?” You were always so cheerful. Always so peppy and excitable, especially with your friends. On a night like this, you should be celebrating and laughing with everyone else. Not apologizing. Not to him. What could have brought this on?

“I’m sorry, okay Bakugo?! I know-“ you choked back tears. Why were you crying?! Why did you have to care so much?! “I know I’m not as smart as you, or as talented.” You looked him in they eyes, anger clouding your face. Why did it have to be him, of all people. Why couldn’t it have been a nice boy like Midoriya or Kirishima? Why did it have to be the boy who demeaned you or refused to help you until after the fact. Why did it have to be a boy you’d never be good enough for, even if he liked you back? A boy you’d never be an equal to, in talent or looks or intelligence.

“But couldn’t you stand to be a little more considerate?!” You rise, throwing his jacket back at him. You’re screaming now, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. “You could have bothered to tell me about the fact that we left too close to rush hour. Or that I should have worn a coat before we went out.” Bakugo was silent. His jaw hung slightly open, uncertainty in his eyes. “But of course, you’re not going to say anything.” You cross your arms, turning to leave.

“Wait.”

He grabs your shoulder, turning you towards him. You expect a scathing comeback or some sort of equally rude outburst.

But instead, he envelops you in a hug.

He rubs your head, whispering to you in a low, pained voice. “You shouldn’t be the one apologizing. It’s me.” He releases you, hands still on your shoulders and eyes scanning you like he’s afraid you’ll disappear into thin air. “I-“ he grits his teeth, as if holding back words. “I think you’re okay, all right? And I don’t have the heart to tell you anything when you seem so happy. But, I guess that backfired. ” He seems to retreat within his shell again, shoving his hands into his pockets. “So. I’m sorry. I don’t really have an excuse other than that.” He attempts to avert his gaze, but it’s hard when you’re staring him down like that. It starts to snow.

“Well?! Are you gonna say something?!” He finally yells. It’s a little bit weaker than usual. His voice shakes and his hands tremble and he feels scared thinking about all the things you could possibly say. But he tries and tries not to show it. He’s Bakugo Katsuki; he’s not supposed to worry about anyone else. So why was he so hung up on you?

You’re heart skips a beat. He’s still attractive, even yelling like mad and frothing at the mouth. You debated whether or not to tell him the truth.

You began. Tentatively, cautiously proceeding with your words. “Bakugo, I-“ you froze. What if you were misreading him and he didn’t have feelings like that? What would happen to being friends? And furthermore, your friend group? What if you held him back from his dreams? What if...

You weren’t good enough, you weren’t good enough, you weren’t good enough-

You smile, all with a trace of melancholy. “I forgive you Bakugo. But next time, please tell me when I’m being ridiculous.”

Bakugo sneered, but you caught a glimpse of relief in his eye. You might have a long way to go to see that same soft-hearted boy on the train car, but it was nice to know he was still in there. You give him another grin, and he turns to hide his face behind the back of his hand. Odd behavior. You laugh. And after a bit of suprise, he does, too. It died quickly though, dissolving into an awkward silence.

Bakugo hesitated, fiddling with his spiky hair. His words come out in barks. “You too, Y/N. Let me know when I’m being dumb. Not telling you stuff.” He turned away, but not before tossing you his jacket. “Wear it.”

And you obliged.

Little did you know, seeing you in his jacket almost made him explode. It was too much for him, and as you two scanned the arcade for your friends he screamed at himself internally every time he inadvertently sneaked a glimpse at you. Before you spotted Denki crying over some rhythm game you offhandedly commented to him with one of your bright beams:

“It smells like caramel!”

And he died on the spot. Full catatonic shock, and it took him around 15 full minutes to fully recover.

Once Kirishima had been found, he watched Bakugo usher you away from some creep that’d been eyeing you. He smiled. Something had changed between the two of you, and he couldn’t quite place it, but he knew it was a change for the better. But still, he sighed with exasperation.

“Those two really are clueless, aren’t they??”

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rivalsforlife · 4 years

Note

"Eventually Miles said, “Do you want to know when it happened, when I realized it, or when I came to terms with it?” / “You have three answers?” / “Technically four. Don’t be a hypocrite, you rejected me even though you were in love with me —”" and the rest of the scene if you want to haha, not a lot fits in the ask box :P

Alright!! I’ll do... most of the scene haha, there is one part of the scene I really want to point out, so I’ll once again put this under a keep reading so I don’t take up all this space on people’s dashboards...

Okay!

So basically this part of the scene existed because... I kind of wanted to touch on Miles’ perspective throughout this entire fic as well as a handful of headcanons for Miles and also so that I could fit in a bunch of narumitsu fluff in there somewhere, since my notes for this chapter were pretty much to just shove as much fluff as possible to make up for the rest of it.

In some ways I’m kind of regretting talking about Miles’ perspective because that reduces some of my flexibility for possibly rewriting this fic entirely from Miles’ perspective OR the handful of jumbled scenes that could potentially form a sequel someday... but honestly writing has been like pulling teeth lately so who knows if that will happen at all. Either way I’m sure I’ll be able to get it to work somehow. (Also kind of... directly pointing out what Miles was feeling when it probably would’ve been a better decision to leave it implicit but WHATEVER TOO LATE NOW --)

“When did you fall in love with me?”

Miles didn’t say anything, and Phoenix might have thought he fell asleep again if it weren’t for his breathing. It didn’t line up with what Phoenix had learned from experience, when Miles fell asleep.

Eventually Miles said, “Do you want to know when it happened, when I realized it, or when I came to terms with it?”

“You have three answers?”

when you’re Miles Edgeworth emotions are waaaaay more complicated than they need to be huh. Since this scene was just Dumping Ground For My Headcanons they for the most part tend to line up with what I think most of the time, buuut I might go into more detail a little later.

“Technically four. Don’t be a hypocrite, you rejected me even though you were in love with me —”

Phoenix shushed him by clapping a hand over his mouth, except he missed in the dark and slapped Miles’ nose instead. “Whoops! Sorry. Okay. Give me all four.”

aww see they can laugh about it now like Miles didn’t cry for several hours after the rejection :’)

“I should have guessed,” Miles sighed. He used the hand not currently squished against his side by Phoenix’s entire body to hold Phoenix’s hand, guiding it down from his face and holding it against his chest.

This is me trying to find a way to write affection in a way that isn’t totally awkward... uh so basicallyyyy I am not a very affectionate person and I don’t think Miles is particularly big on physical affection most of the time, so when I write him trying to express affection I typically go for subtler things... like hand-holding and such, because I think even that much would be a pretty big deal for him when it wouldn’t be for some other people.

Pretty much every time in this fic he initiates any form of physical touch (which is pretty often because he is attempting to Court Phoenix (ba dum tshhh)) it’s something that he’s deliberately thought through and deliberately initiated, as opposed to like... Phoenix who does it more unconsciously. (And of course not all of Miles’ initiation of physical affection is strictly romantic, I like to headcanon him making an effort towards platonic physical affection as well towards his friends + found family members... just putting this here to cover my bases so no one thinks every time Miles puts his hand on someone’s shoulder he’s flirting with them haha that’s NOT what I was going for, more that he’s aware that lots of people enjoy physical contact and see that as a way of expressing affection, and he’s trying to get better at expressing affection, and Phoenix happens to be one of those people he is expressing affection to, in both the platonic and romantic sense.)

(That was a very long paragraph for literally one sentence about affection hahahaha...)

“Well, I am fairly sure I had a crush on you in fourth grade.”

“No, you didn’t. I had a crush on you in fourth grade, I changed my whole career for you because of it. You were in love with your law books.”

“I told you I ‘liked’ you and you started talking about girls.”

“O-Okay, sorry I didn’t know about bisexuality when I was nine, give me a break here.”

I waver back and forth on whether Miles had a little baby crush on Phoenix in fourth grade or not, I guess when I wrote this I was feeling that way! Anyways this line is referencing the flashback part of chapter 3:

“Do you like anyone, Miles?”

Miles blinked. “I like you.”

Phoenix’s face reddened. “N-No, I meant like-like. You know, like a girl.”

Miles looked at the ground, and his face was red as well.

this fic would have been over with SO MUCH FASTER if Phoenix actually knew what he meant there --

My interpretation is pretty much always that Phoenix had a little baby crush on Miles in fourth grade, but it wasn’t until he got older that he realized that it was a crush and not just pure idolization -- which was definitely part of it too, and I could probably write thousands of words on how baby Phoenix’s idolization crush on Miles when he was younger shaped some of their interactions throughout the trilogy but I’m not going to get into that now. I thiiink I said in this fic somewhere that Phoenix didn’t realize he was bi until he was in his teens, so baby Phoenix just thought that Miles was His Best Friend Who He Wants To Hang Out With All The Time And Hold Hands With And If Miles Were A Girl Phoenix Would Want To Kiss Him, and at some point adult Phoenix remembers this train of thought and goes “... wait.”

As for Miles, in the universe of this fic he figures out that he’s gay pretty young, probably largely influenced by Larry talking constantly about girls while Miles complains to his father “I don’t know why Larry’s talking about how pretty [girl of the day] is, I think Phoenix has a nicer smile” while Gregory tries to pretend his laughter is him choking on his dinner. And I think Gregory was an excellent father who loved and supported his son, and probably talked about it a bit with him and made sure Miles knew he was always loved and supported no matter what and --

Anyways, there’s that.

The next paragraphs are mostly them talking about the situations where Miles did fall in love with Phoenix (Turnabout Goodbyes) and then realized it (after Farewell, My Turnabout/ when Phoenix fell off the bridge) then kind of... repressed it until post-canon because he didn’t think he was ready yet and they weren’t really in the right place. I don’t have much to say about it because it’s all pretty straightforward stuff...

Then Phoenix deflects Miles asking about when he fell in love, because Phoenix is still struggling a bit with expressing his emotions this way haha. Also because he was in denial for a really long time so he can’t quite pinpoint exact moments aside from “the moment Miles stood up for him during the class trial”, but much like Miles he’s probably had multiple realizations of love throughout his life.

My personal headcanons though is that Phoenix genuinely thought he was just helping out a friend throughout the trilogy... and then sometime during disbarment, possibly during one of those Europe trips, he realizes “oh crap I loved him the whole time”. Obviously in this fic Phoenix doesn’t realize he’s in love with Miles until the cherry blossom petals scene at the end of chapter 4 and then can’t quite articulate that feeling as love rather than more general attraction until the end of chapter 8 after reading Trucy’s note. (Where the last psyche-lock breaks!)

What I DO want to talk about though is this line at the end of the scene:

“It doesn’t matter when I realized it,” Phoenix whispered. “What matters most is that we’re here, together, now.”

No one’s pointed it out so idk if it was too subtle or too obvious that it didn’t need pointing out, but it’s a callback to this line in chapter 4:

Edgeworth stared at him with an unreadable expression, almost curious. “Well, you don’t have to say anything,” he said. “What matters most is that I can be here with you now.”

It’s a very slight difference in the last part of the dialogue, but an important one!!

I had an interesting conversation with my best friend a while ago... long story short her brother was in a relationship for a long time with this one woman then they broke up and now he’s engaged to a different woman, and they dated for a shorter time than the first. And my friend says that she and her family knew that this was a different relationship and that she was “the one” because the way they talked about doing things was different -- more of a “we’re going to do [x]” rather than “she and I are going to do [x]”. This probably isn’t really a real thing so like... don’t use it to judge relationships around you... but I thought it was pretty neat.

So in the conversation in chapter 4, Miles says “What matters most is that I can be here with you now”, which is still like exceptionally romantic, but it still sees the two of them as separate entities -- whereas Phoenix in chapter 9 saying “What matters most is that we’re here, together, now” sort of phrases the two of them as more of a unit. ... not that they’re not still separate entities with their own lives outside of just each other of course but you know. you know. just having some fun with sentences!

Anyways that’s what I really wanted to talk about... I hope you enjoyed!!

#dvd commentary meme #the catch-up game #asks

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hyannah · 5 years

Text

Anon Archives vol. 4 (right?)

full res: x I miss him too. He was the first of the cast I ever designed and without him, there would simply be no TBoA. Rest assured there will be no shortage of him in the comic :) I understand that the concept of Wolfe with facial hair will be like marmite for most of you, but it’s probably something that you should prepare for regardless! Wolfe no longer has use of his hands due to extensive nerve damage and he has to get imaginative with ways to keep his grip on things - but some tools, like razors - are simply impossible for him to use anymore due to his tremors. Before the gang comes together he will be looking quite worse for wear.

full res: x She calls him “Marty” :) Her mother called him that so it makes him happy. He’s not her father but he loves her as one would. He was the one who delivered her as a baby, though during the process there were complications. She broke her leg on the way out and though Martin was able to treat her, it caused her to walk with a slight limp growing up. Teaching her to dance wasn't just Martin's idea of physiotherapy but his way of showing her how dearly he cared for her. Music and dance are our good doctor's love languages, you see. He will have Twinkletoes refer to him as “Sir” when he reprimands her, but due to some of Martin’s own issues growing up, he hates disciplining children. If he absolutely must, it’s firm but merciful, and under no circumstances would he ever raise his hand to them.

full res: x Michael Graves is one of three of Ashwick’s Senior Wardens, the other being Hunter Gerhardt and an as of now unannounced third. Wardens are the town’s law enforcers who work directly under the church’s orders. Neither entirely police nor militia, they’re a bit of both. Wardens patrol the streets at night and make sure no one is out after Curfew. Wardens are simultaneously feared and revered amongst the deeply religious townsfolk who view them as God-sent, but no one strikes pure terror into their hearts quite like Graves. While Hunter is known for being terrifying but sometimes merciful, Graves holds no such reputation. If gunshots are heard in the night or blood stains the cobblestones in the morning, townfolk know to keep their mouths shut and heads down.

Thank you so much! I still have some demons to battle but I want to get better, and your support means the world.

Thank you! I kinda wanna die when I look at that piece. Damian deserved better than my art in that funky phase and I will capture his true beauty one day.

LOL Bloodborne has been a huuuuge visual influence on me over the last few years. Expect to see some similarities I'm sure.

Thank you ;.; I used Paint Tool Sai religiously but I've unfortunately fallen out of love with it in the last year in favour of Clip Studio Paint. I would highly recommend CSP and since it comes with a one-month free trial you'd be missing out not to give it a go. I occasionally use Photoshop for some final touches but not enough to say it's worth paying that silly subscription fee for. Lately, I've been using Procreate on my iPad. It was one hell of an investment (😔💸) but it was worth it - the iPad feels great to draw on.

Thank you! Yes, definitely expect that. There are a few timeskips in canon and I have outfit changes planned.

Wolfe can sometimes be seen circling a bed or chair a few times before sitting/lying down not unlike a dog would. Rose cannot - and I truly mean this - fathom numbers. To say she is bad at math would be a terrible understatement. Martin needs a few shots of whiskey a day to keep him going but he never seems inebriated so it’s impossible to tell (unless you’re Hunter). Hunter is so tall that churches are the only buildings he doesn’t have to duck to get in to and he Riker Sits everywhere. Gloria is a little superstitious, and Graves is a cigarette smoker. Twinkletoes likes pigeons.

I would certainly recommend it! If drawing inspires you, give it a shot! Though whether or not I recommend going to school for it is a more complicated question. The good thing about pursuing a career in art is that at the end of the day your work ethic and portfolio are your best friends. Having degrees and connections will help in the industry for sure (and why I DO recommend art courses for people who have the money and want to experience student life), but if you're a poor kid that can't shell out the dough for art school or if you studied a different field, or if college didn't/isn't working out for you, it's not the end of the road. You can build your career on your own terms if you're driven enough.

Hm, let's see. I think Wolfe and Gloria would appreciate some sweet treats! Hunter rarely eats anything that isn't meat, and Rose has lived on the road most of her life so campfire food is what she's used to. She's the kind of person you'd see eat something horrifying like uncooked beans straight from the tin. Gloria appreciates her guilty pleasures and Wolfe recalls her sharing taffy with him as a little boy. But those memories are hazy now, and he's long since forgotten the taste.

Oh jeez, that would mean the world to me! As for the dialogue, it’s probably a bit of both honestly haha.

Hunter: 43, Wolfe: 23, Gloria: 41, Martin: 45, Rose: 19, Graves: 38. Some of you may recall Hunter being younger but I had to make a few timeline adjustments. Otherwise, everyone has remained the same.

Oh, well, it just might be! Wolfe is used to carrying the frail and sickly through the Charnels, but human touch in that regard is alien to him.

You're right about one thing, Ashwick is certainly in the title! I'm pretty close to revealing it so hopefully you won't be stumped for too long. I can reveal however, if I haven't already (and I think I may have, I haven't read the previous Anon Archives in years), that TBoA was going to be called Memento Mori.

He raises an amused brow at your sentiment but if you're under 35 you're all toddlers and babies to him. Plus he can't go 5 minutes without thinking about his wife so it's safe to say he’s settled down.

Haha, yeah! All of the above. Though it goes both ways. Hunter’s antics drive the poor man up the wall for sure but Hunter will be the first to tell you that doc is a force of nature too when he’s got to be. They’ve known each other for decades. They’ve taken bullets and bruises and stabs wounds for one another. Martin makes sure Hunter doesn’t get himself killed (at least he did before Malignancy took that off the table) and Hunter makes sure Martin doesn’t work himself to death. Gloria just wonders why they both have to be so damn dramatic.

1. Rose's candles simulate artificial sunlight and can temporarily vanquish Spectres from the area at night until the wick runs out. These are especially useful to the common folk who may be suffering from seeing their dead loved ones night after night. Her special coloured candles are different, though. They block a Malignant from being able to possess their Host's body and thus allow the Host to keep control of themselves when night falls. You'll learn more about the ins-and-outs of this mechanic in the comic.

2. I can't share that! You'll just have to wait and find out. Though it is a wonder how someone as formidable and self-disciplined as Hunter could fall prey to a Malignant's manipulation … I suppose even men like Father Gerhardt have been vulnerable at one point in their lives, huh?

It’s private, sorry :( It was a kind gesture from a fan who wanted to show their appreciation but it quickly got a little out of hand and very inappropriate. I’m good friends now with the few who did join so it’s not so bad and we have a good laugh, but it’s given me a small taste of “Fandom” on a grander scale and it was enough for me to realise it makes me pretty uncomfortable to be in the middle of it. I love being able to communicate with you all but I don’t love being in awkward situations so much. I might try again in the future, we’ll see.

Malignancy is unpredictable and what happens to one Host won't necessarily happen to the other!

ohohohoh who knowsssssss ;D

Nope, she’s Hunter’s danger noodle gal.

Yes, I love them!!!! I recall checking them out after you sent this message quite some time ago. I had heard a few of their songs before but I've been listening to them regularly ever since. I appreciate the recommendation since music is a really big thing for me.

Oh thank you very much! They're my own characters yes :) I first created them when I was 16 for a college project. One day I would like to share that with you all because it's come a long way. The comic is in development. Thank you all for your questions, I think that’s most of them. If you don’t see your ask in here it’s because it was asked already, I got a similar question and took a screenshot of that instead, it was too inappropriate, I can’t reveal the information yet, or I simply didn’t see it. As always if you’re looking for more prompt responses please message me off anon so I can reply privately since I respond to most anons in bulk!

#anon archives #tboa #tboa (webcomic)#my art #digital art #Illustration #wolfe grey #martin mcgregor #michael graves #twinkletoes #asks #anonymous

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upthehillask · 5 years

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i’d love to hear your cursed child opinions!

Oh boy, well now you’ve unleashed me :D lol I don’t know if you’re interested more in what I loved or in what I’d critique, so I’ll go for both I guess? And you can read whichever you like :) But tbh you won’t hear anything new from me that you haven’t heard other fans talk about. Anyways, here are my thoughts on the actual play: [Spoiler alert I guess!]

Things I loved:

- THE MAGIC!!! The effects were EVERYTHING. The time warp, the telephone booth, the floo, the underwater, the dementors, the writings on the walls, and so much more… Really cool!!! And I loved the whole vibe and aesthetic of the play too, it felt authentic and fitting! THE SWISHY CLOAKS!! I want them!!

- The scenes I especially enjoyed were Harry’s nightmares, glimpses into his past and scenes from the books in general. I think they executed those quite well, made me really soft! Especially the scenes of little Harry in his cupboard and also him in the graveyard. Gripped my heart. Oh, I also loved that they finally showed Cedric in the end, he was so perfect!!

- Draco. Yes yes yes to dad Draco. Still bitchy, pretentious, and petty, trying so hard to play cool and tough, but a pained softie deep inside—we STAN. The relationship between him and his son I CRI EVRITIEM!!! Draco in the alternative timeline letting Scorpius do what he believes in, Draco in the real timeline hugging his son, I LIVE. And oh my god that scene where Draco walked in to Harry crying.. GOD. Yes emotions, yes vulnerability, yes bonding, yes yes yes. (Though I still can’t get over the ponytail. Would’ve been more than fine if Lucius hadn’t been portrayed with long hair lol)

- I loved Albus!! He’s a good Slytherin boy! That’s all I have to say. He’s a good friend and son who tries his best. I liked him a lot, more so now after watching the play. He really did remind me of Harry in a lot of ways. (Also, unpopular opinion, but I always loved Albus Severus’ name and I always will, fight me.)

- And just all the dad-son relationships, parenthood themes, friendship between the boys, related conflicts… Loved all of them. Touching, inspiring, couldn’t get enough!

- McGonagall was fcking ON POINT. Fcking QUEEN. Get it girl. Show em how to understand and respect children 👏👏👏

- I really loved Snape too! It was nice to finally see him being his self that only Dumbledore got to see in the books. I loved his demeanor too. I know actors change, but the one I saw portrayed Snape in a way that felt more canon. As much as I love Alan Rickman, he was a bit too graceful and sophisticated for canon Snape. In the play, however, Snape was kind of more rough, more rash, less pulled together in a way that he spoke and moved. It’s subtle but I lived for that. Also he was finally short. Yes.

- I feel like I have to mention Harry too. I actually quite liked him, so I’m gonna put him under this list as well. Yeah, that one scene where he threatened McGonagall into strict surveillance of his son is a bit much, errr 😅😅😅 But overall, I like the idea of him struggling as a father, making mistakes and learning from them. He’s a good egg.

- Ron and Hermione, my babies!! I had issues with Ron’s characterization, but I did mostly enjoy the portrayal of their relationship. I liked that their roles within the play were mostly to be together or to find their ways to each other. Since so many fans are against their ship, I was really excited to see them. And I just loved Hermione in general. They got her characterization almost on-point too, I think. I just love her 🥰

- In general, I enjoyed a lot of the dialogue. I liked all those strong, emotional one-liners that make you gasp. Harry saying things, Albus saying things, Scorpius, Draco, Ginny, others… There were good examples of lines they’d say that perfectly articulated everything that they embodied or felt or were dealing with. Well done there.

Okayyy I’m sure there’s more I could think of, definitely, but I’ll stop here since this is already a lot 😁

Things I questioned:

- So the one single biggest thing that I am the most critical of has to do with the plot itself, and it’s about Cedric turning into a Death Eater. I’m sorry but I just can’t. I could write a whole essay on how this makes no canonical sense (and I probably will if you ask me lmaoo), but to sum it up, Cedric eventually turning bitter and evil because he was publicly humiliated directly contradicts his canon character development. Cedric’s humility, kindness, and fairness are the core qualities around which Cedric’s personality was developed in the books. He almost explicitly places popularity, glory, and reputation second, and that’s critical, because if failure and humiliation were to affect him so drastically, his primary core values needed to be broken down and changed beforehand, but they never weren’t. So presenting the Triwizard incident as the turning point for him does not make any sense, and as a result the rest of the narrative falls apart. This is a plot hole and hasty writing.

- Yeah, Bellatrix having a child is still kinda weird 🙃🙃 I just hate that because in the books Bellatrix played the archetype of this anti-mother, the antithesis of motherhood and motherly love. I feel like having her voluntarily bring a child into this world destroys that symbolism. It makes me unsatisfied.

- I had some issues with the very beginning and the whole “montage” of events leading up to the fourth year. I found it overwhelming and disorienting, even though I’ve already read the script and knew what’s going on. Still, I felt like I was hit by a train, watching all the fast-paced scenes, cliché chaotic small talk going on, years going by… It felt messy for some reason. I feel like I need to watch it again in order to fully catch up and process everything I saw, and that’s not a good sign. But I didn’t hate it, I just wish we were more eased into the story.

- Scorpius. Now listen. When I read the script, Scorpius was my favorite character. I LOVED him, this awkward nerd who loves his dad and best friend with all his heart. The way I grew to imagine him was quite not how he was portrayed in the play. I know the dialogue and everything’s all the same, but idk, Scorpius in the play was way more hyper, bolder than I pictured, and worst of all, he was going out of his way to be this wannabe player. He seemed so all over the place, even acting a bit arrogant sometimes, celebrating moments of over-confidence, chasing after girls, trying to be everything BUT himself. But that honestly might just be my takeaway alone. There’s nothing actually wrong with his character, I just found myself slightly disappointed with him in the play specifically. I wish I could see the play again to actually analyze things more thoroughly to explain why I feel this way, but I can’t. I still like Scorpius, but a different version of him. (tho damn did I love those skinny pants on him lmao 👌👌)

- Moaning Myrtle. Like, I laughed, it was funny, but it just wasn’t very tasteful lol and I was left feeling a bit uncomfortable from the idea of this young murdered girl writhing and thirsting over literally everyone. The play really blew that out of proportion and idk it’s kinda awkward when I think about it 😅 And in general, there was just so much thirsting… with Rose, Polly Chapman, Delphi… Not to mention Albus kissing his AUNT… Like damn chill JK please 😂 Weird cliches and teenage hormones aren’t the only source of comedy okay?? 😂😂😂 Also, speaking of Myrtle, I kinda wish there was something mentioned about Draco having had been friends with her in sixth year. Idk it would’ve been nice to see that relationship somehow reminisced since we didn’t really get to see it :)

- Craig Bowker Jr... If he was supposed to be a parallel to Cedric, both being the spare, why did he get literally zero attention?? We don’t really know who he is, we don’t see anyone hurting because of his death, he’s killed with such apathy. We don’t even see his parent grieving, like we saw Amos (who also happen to be an integral part to the plot of CC!). The whole parallel is so incomplete. Poor Craig and his unsymbolic death..

- Ok I am obviously elaborating way too much so let me just quickly summarize the rest of things I don’t actually hate but might wanna rant about: RON IS NOT A JOKSTER—GEORGE IS. RON IS A FIGHTER. HE IS ALSO HARRY’S BEST FRIEND, NOT HERMIONE, BUT HE WAS MADE USELESS AND UNNEEDED, WHICH IS HIS ACTUAL WORST FEAR, SO WHO THE FUCK DARED. ROSE IS MORE THAN A BITCHY ROMANTIC INTEREST AND A BAD FRIEND. WHERE THE HELL IS HUGO. GINNY’S EVEN COOLER THAN SHE WAS PORTRAYED, I PROMISE. THE SURPRISE SECOND TIME TURNER ERRRR LOUSY PLOT DEVICE I’M SORRY. LACKLUSTER PLOT IN GENERAL, THE ONLY ACTUAL TWIST IS DELPHI’S REVEAL—NOT ENOUGH, JKR KNOWS BETTER THAN THIS, THE BOOKS WERE FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS (but that’s kinda okay with me because the relationships between characters in CC really made the whole story worth it).

Alright enough :’D I’m not actually upset, just exaggerating haha Because overall, I liked the play. I wanna see it again. And I wanna analyze it more, too. I’m so excited I finally got to watch it. It’s far from flawless, but I’m still happy with it overall and want to approach it positively! Sure, I’ll rant when it’s ranting time, but I do love it (:

#the cursed child #cursed child spoilers #Q&A #Anonymous #upthehillask

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luxexhomines · 5 years

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Sup, can I please get DR2 boys reaction to S/O who apologizes a lot (even when they shouldn’t and it’s out of habit)? Thank you very much, your work is amazing keep it up!!

Thanks so much, sweet anon!! & thanks for the request ♡I hope you don’t mind that these are quite short. I felt like the prompt is pretty self-explanatory, so I just quickly explained the premise and then had a quick exchange of dialogue between the character and reader!These aren’t bullet points, though–just a super short bit, maybe around 150 words for each one, some shorter or longer.

Oh, and there’s a little bonus at the end from an ndrv3 character because I forgot it was for sdr2 after writing all those ndrv3 requests, haha!

Anyway, here you go, not under the cut bc it’s so short!

SDR2 Boys x Reader Constantly Apologizing

Hajime Hinata

The two of you were out hanging at the burger joint when you accidentally spilled your drink–and all over your own lap. You snatched the napkins and started drying your lap hurriedly, rushing out of your seat to grab more napkins, and when you came back, Hajime had started drying the table, too.

“Agh, sorry,” you say. “Sorry, sorry, Hajime.”

He grins at you incredulously.

“You’re apologizing to me when you just spilled your own drink over yourself?”

You let a chuckle escape yourself before replying as you sit at the table, wiping furiously.

“Well, you’re helping me clean up my mess!”

He simply laughs.

“I can’t believe you. You mean, I have to help my s/o for once in my life? I don’t get to just sit here and watch you scurry around cleaning it up yourself?”

You can’t help it and start laughing along with him. It was true, the idea of Hajime just sitting there and looking on as you ran around drying yourself and the table was rather amusing, especially taking into consideration his helpful disposition that wouldn’t allow him to simply be a bystander and even more so when it was someone close to him that was in trouble.

You slip out of your seat and scoot next to him, leaning your head on him affectionately.

“Thanks, Hajime.”

Even though you can’t exactly see it, you can feel him smile back.

“It’s nothing.”

Nagito Komaeda

You suddenly stop short as you’re walking and feel someone bump into you from behind, so you turn around to see who it is, apologizing repeatedly.

“Sorry, sorry… Oh, Nagito! Sorry about that,” you say, putting a hand to your chin and shrinking slightly. He laughs slightly.

“Oh, I should be sorry for bumping into you. You don’t have to apologize so much, especially to scum like me,” he replies.

You examine him to make sure he looks okay, and then look him in the eye, pouting.

“What did I tell you? You’re–”

“–not scum,” he finished for you. “Even so, you don’t need to apologize so much, as I was the one at fault.”

You fidget a little as you look at the ground, and then raise your head to look at him, only to be met with a pair of lips to your own.

“N-Nagito?” you stutter nervously, blushing.

He offers a charming smile in reply.

“I’ll accept that instead of an apology,” he says, his green eyes staring into yours with utmost adoration for you.

Teruteru Hanamura

You stumble on what seems to be mere thin air and fall out of nowhere and hear Teruteru’s voice behind you.

“Oh, my~ Do you happen to require some assistance, s/o?”

You manage to get up and brush yourself off.

“Oh–no, I’m fine, Teruteru. Sorry about that,” you reply, rubbing your head. “Guess I had a clumsy fit.”

He simply laughs and sidles over to you.

“Oh, don’t be sorry. That was a lovely sight, seeing you sprawled out like that on the floor,” he chuckles. “I’d love to have you sprawled out like that on my bed.” He licks his lips suggestively, but you’re having none of it, and slap his arm forcefully.

“Come on, Teruteru. Not today,” you groan.

He brushes it off, grinning, and blows a kiss at you.

“Seriously, though, dear. Don’t apologize for doing nothing wrong. It seems to be a habit of yours,” he notes in a surprisingly observant manner. You sigh as you feel him wrap an arm around yours.

“Okay, okay,” you smile. “I’ll try.”

Nekomaru Nidai

When you turn around too quickly to the sound of your name, you find yourself tripping over your own feet, and close your eyes in bracing yourself for the impact to follow–except you only felt warmth.

Upon opening your eyes, you find Nekomaru grinning down at you as he keeps you on your toes, and you right yourself, stepping away from him quickly.

“Oh, sorry! Sorry, Nekomaru,” you apologize, offering an awkward smile.

He claps you on the back cheerfully.

“Don’t be sorry! It was an honest mistake. I’m glad I was here to catch you, as that could have ended up much worse,” he states, scratching his head. “Try thank you instead.”

You nod and smile back gratefully.

“Thank you, Nekomaru.”

He gives you a big bear hug and lifts you off your feet, squeezing you tightly with a wide smile.

“That’s it! Don’t mention it, s/o. Don’t mention it.”

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu

You accidentally knocked over a sealed water bottle on Fuyuhiko’s desk.

“Oops! Sorry, sorry…”

He sighs and looks up at you, his concentration now broken. You apologize again, but he’s having none of it.

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize so much all the time. Or is it because you’re actually scared of me?” he laughs mockingly, but you know he’s not really being mean. Or at least, he isn’t trying to.

“No, that’s not it. It’s just…” you trail off.

“A habit?” he ends your statement. “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t apologize so much, especially when you’ve barely done anything wrong. People will step all over you like that,” he says with a hard look at you. Aw, he did care after all. You smile happily, and he seems to take offense. “What are you smiling at, anyway?”

You laugh and walk around the desk to his side, bending downward and, placing both hands on his shoulders, press your lips to his cheek affectionately.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Byakuya Twogami (The Ultimate Imposter)

When you almost step on his foot but somehow manage to step slightly to the right of it while walking with him, you start apologizing continually.

“Sorry, Byakuya! Sorry, sorry, sorry. Are you okay?”

He scoffs and pushes his glasses up.

“I’m fine, you didn’t even touch me. You shouldn’t be so quick to apologize, you know.”

You look at him curiously.

“How do you figure? I mean, I almost stepped on you.”

He holds up a pointer finger forcefully.

“‘Almost’ being the keyword here. And even if you did, one ‘sorry’ would do the trick,” he informs you.

You laugh and grab his hand as the two of you walk.

“Okay, I get it. I’ll think before I say ‘sorry’ again.”

A smile hovers faintly on his lips, and you feel him pet your head with the other hand gently.

“Good.”

Kazuichi Souda

“Hey, whatcha got there?”

You jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly put down the mini-Nekomaru bot on the table.

“Ah, sorry! I was looking at it, sorry.”

He walks over to you and puts an arm around your shoulder casually.

“No need to apologize, heh. I’m always glad to see you looking at my stuff,” he grins with those sharp teeth.

You let yourself melt into his body from the side and smile, putting your head on his chest.

“Well, how could I keep my eyes off of them? Although I probably shouldn’t have picked it up.”

He shakes his head seriously, although you can see him blushing a little.

“Nah, that’s not what I meant. You can do whatever you want. I’d just be worried if you were lifting something really heavy or touching something with a lot of grease on it because you might get hurt or dirty,” he remarks. “And don’t worry about apologizing so much or anything. If something did happen, once would be enough.”

You close your eyes as you lean against him.

“Okay, you’re the boss,” you giggle.

Gundham Tanaka

“Wah! Sorry! Sorry, Gundham,” you say, feeling the hamster escape your hold and jump back onto your breeder boyfriend. He laughs loudly.

“Ahaha! Fear not. I am more than capable of handling a rogue Dark Deva of Destruction!”

You nod and smirk.

“That, you are. You usually manage them all, after all.”

He juts his chin upward confidently.

“Exactly! So you need not apologize, as you have done unto me no wrong.”

You watch the hamster run up his arms, and you lean in, putting a small kiss to his cheeks as said cheeks turn a furiously dark crimson.

“Thanks, Gundham.”

Bonus:

Shuichi Saihara

You almost bumped into Shuichi, the two of you swerving opposite directions to avoid a disastrous crash.

“S-Sorry!” you exclaim as the two of your arms brush past each other. “Sorry, sorry.”

Shuichi smiles, chuckling slightly as he tries to keep his balance.

“I’m sorry, too. Although you don’t have to apologize that much, s/o, it’s fine.”

You nod, scratching the back of your neck sheepishly.

“Sor– Oh!” You slap a hand over your mouth, realizing what you were about to say. The two of you exchange a knowing look and start laughing at the same time.

When your laughter has died down, you reach out toward the blue-haired boy and take his hands in your own.

“Hm?” He tilts his head in puzzlement, his wide gold eyes looking at yours.

In response, you come closer and put a kiss to his cheek.

“Here, take this instead of an apology,” you smile gayly, to which Shuichi’s pallor starts transforming into a deep crimson as he sputters unintelligible words bashfully.

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stratsandwhiskeywritestuff · 4 years

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Q+A With Strats and Whiskey!

We held a brief Q+A over on our Twitter, and had some awesome questions come in! We’ll post em here too for everyone to see. Have questions for us too? Hit us up on Twitter or in our ask box :D we’d love to hear from you!

Questions include asking us about the collaborative process, about writing kink together, the trust that takes, what characters we love writing most and our thoughts on writing in general!

PaleGlimmer: I asked about collab writing because I have no idea how you make it work.

WHISKEY: I’ve been collaborating on stories since I got into Hannibal. For me, it started as an offshoot of online RP. If you go back far enough you can see that, because the writing is stilted and jumpy, and you can tell that two people are writing. I’ve had three major collab partners in my fandom life and after a time our “voices” and styles start to gel and it becomes more seamless. That, for me, means that’s the right partner to write with, because you start taking on their mannerisms and descriptions, and they take on yours, and people can’t tell (or can tell very vaguely) that two people wrote a story.

As for technicalities, we just “tag” each other with part of the story for the other to continue it. Sometimes it’s short tags, dialogue, or brief descriptions, other times we get carried away (in the best way possible) and end up writing 6k a day. With Strats and I, we started with preferential characters and usually tagged for just them, but now we cover everything and everyone in our tags.

STRATS: Whiskey covered this pretty well. With Whiskey, We share characters pretty evenly now, and just write about 200-300 word chunks back and forth, but there are definitely characters we each feel more comfortable with. And scenarios we both excel at! Even if I haven’t written much, I’ll tag Whiskey in if we are coming up on something Whiskey is better at, and vice versa. (For example, Whiskey is much better at pretentious Hannibal speeches than I am, and I have a particular fondness for writing emotional breakdowns. This doesn’t mean we are the only person to write those, of course, just that we tag each other in more often.)

If I’m writing with anyone else, I usually write the same way. There’s only one person I’ll still do RP-style writing with. Usually I try to match my partner’s style, so for example, when I wrote with YAMD I focused a lot more on detailed descriptions than I usually do. I can’t really describe it, I just try to align with how my partner writes.

I’M NOT VERY HELPFUL, SORRY :D

Cuttlefishcatfish:

1. What do you love about writing?

STRATS: When you finally get to that moment, that scene you’ve been thinking about for AGES, the one you have entirely plotted for weeks.

Also, writing emotional breakdowns. Give me a sobbing panic attack any day.

WHISKEY: The moment you hit the flow point and everything just makes sense; either an idea just CLICKS or you finally get over that plot point you were worried about and you are racing through.

2. What do you hate about writing?

STRATS: god why haven’t we yet invented a way for me to think words onto the page? I’M SO TIRED.

WHISKEY: That meme? The one that goes like “I need this very specific fic and I need it immediately… which means I need to write it… but I just wanna read it, not write it”. That.

3. One writing tip that you could give to other writers.

STRATS: When I was a teenager I came across some writing advice from an author I loved (I want to say Steven King, but it’s been years). The advice was “sit down and actually write.” And I was PISSED. As a teenager struggling with motivation, I hated that advice.

Now I’m almost 27 and I can safely say that the best writing advice I can give you is JUST FUCKING WRITE THE THING. Even on days I feel like my writing is garbage, I force out a bit of garbage. Force your way through the shitty parts so you can get to the fun parts. You can always go back and edit the shitty parts later (and often it turns out they weren’t as shitty as you thought they were).

WHISKEY: Practice. I’m sorry, I’m trite and boring but honestly that’s the only way you will get better, get into a habit of writing all the time, and start to find your own voice. Practice even just 100 words a day, coz that’s 100 words more than you had yesterday.

4. One overused word in fanfics?

WHISKEY: Oh god our beta actually points these out now haha! I’m terrible for teeth/tongue/lip action (he tongued the corner of his mouth, flashed his teeth, bit his lip)

STRATS: any time someone’s smile “quirks up at the corners” or you read the words “fluttering/thrumming pulse,” that’s me. It’s always me. I have been called out on the hummingbird pulse before.

5. Have you guys disagreed on a story direction? If yes, how do you resolve that?

WHISKEY: I don’t think we have *disagreed* really, once in a while we find that a story doesn’t flow how it should, and we start over, or a character we had planned in our head ends up written differently on a tag. In that case we usually just ping the other and explain what we were after (we have a chat always open alongside writing) and figure out what works best for the story. I can think of a couple times that’s happened and it’s always a super chill and fair affair; both of us have “won” those kinds of things before.

STRATS: We gel really well together, and often our stories are at least loosely planned out from the beginning, so it doesn’t come up much. Every once in a while one of us says “so I don’t think this is working” and we usually do our best to find a way to change it around. It’s not really “fun” to write together if you’re making your partner write something they aren’t happy with, so we try to take each other’s opinions into account.

6. How did you guys manage to let the other into your thought process? Writing is intimate. With a writing partner, that person knows what your kinks, opinions about things, etc. are. Was it scary to let that person in and see you being vulnerable with your works? This is assuming that you let your personality bleed through your stories.

So, this is an awesome question actually, thanks for asking it, and the answer might sound a bit weird so bear with us! We both get a bit of a (major) crush on our writing partners when we write, and after. Not in a way that would be considered cheating or manipulative but in a way that is… intimate. You said it right that it’s intimate. Neither of us want to date the other (besides, Strats is married) but we love each other and spend a lot of time together with our writing.

There is a lot of trust there, and opening up is a process. I think with Strats and I, we started talking about a kink we shared (human furniture) and it sort of bled out from there. “Oh, I also like bondage! And I’m a huge fan of cock and ball torture, you into that?” and it grew from there.

There were some kinks that we came across that we’d both agree were not our jam and we’d just put them away, and there were some kinks that at one point were not one of our kinks but now we share them. These are interesting ones because it happened absolutely organically; neither of us ever push the other into kinks we know make the other uncomfortable, but we do offer the chance, if one of us is so inclined.

For Whiskey this was ABO and feminization, for Strats it’s underage. Once in a while we’ll push a little to see how we feel about those things, but there’s always a carte blanche to back out if anything makes us uncomfortable. It’s honestly such a safe place to explore these things that we really love it. Also both of us are super kinky and very open about it so there’s usually VERY little (if any) filter when we talk sex/kink.

Blue Posey: Where do you get the ideas from? Your stories are so varied.

WHISKEY: We shamelessly pluck ideas from the Hannigram Kinkmeme on Discord, we have about 150 saved in a spreadsheet that we random number generate from when we want a new idea. Sometimes it’s AUs of movies or other shows that we like, sometimes it’s just an idea that we’ve had that we put out into the void and one of us will freak out and connect it to something.

STRATS: we also both keep track of twitter and tumblr and will send each other prompts based on those. We are following quite a few non-fandom porn accounts…

and of course, sometimes I wake up at four am and text whiskey absolute gibberish and in the morning we write a fic.

Christina Shinn: I always like knowing about what gets writers really excited about their own fics. How writers overcome their writer's block. What motivates writers. What are some pet peeves of writers. YAY! Love your fics!

WHISKEY: 1. I get excited about fics I know people are excited about. If Strats pings me with a story idea and she’s stoked about it, I’ll catch that fever and be entirely into exploring that story. Likewise if someone commissions us or requests a story that really digs its heels in.

STRATS: 1) I’ve gotten a LITTLE less vain now that I do commissions and gifts for other people, but generally, every single thing I have written is something I’ve wanted to read, and so I love rereading it. Sometimes I’ll cringe at a typo or a mistake or an awkward line, but overall, I love everything I write. I have spent hours retreading my own fics before. Write the kind of story you want to read!

WHISKEY: 2. Writer’s block is an asshole and honestly I have no actual “fix it” for you; collab writing definitely helps because you have someone to soundboard off of, but even then sometimes we find ourselves just stuck. That’s when we start yet another original story XD

STRATS: 2) Writer's block occasionally eats me alive. If it’s REALLY hitting you, take a day off. It’s okay. Take a break. Do something fun.

But once that day is over WRITE THE THING. Write something terrible. Just do it. You can always fix it later

WHISKEY: 3. Collab writing is hugely motivating for me, it’s an immediate and awesome feedback loop of love. You tag, you send it off, and someone FINDS THAT IDEA COOL ENOUGH TO CONTINUE and ping you back, and you have new material to work with that didn’t come out of your head and… it’s great, it really is. Also feedback from readers. Even if it’s critique (note: not “I hated this” but “this could have been done differently imo”) it’s a great way to keep growing and moving as a writer.

STRATS: 3) collab writing is really motivating for me because I am a Guilt Monster and other people are relying on me. For my own stuff, I’m motivated because I’m writing something I like. Something I want to reread later.

If a story isn’t working for you (and it isn’t required for some sort of work or whatever), stop writing it. Go write something you like. It’s okay to say “actually, I don’t want to write this one anymore.”

WHISKEY: 4. I think every writer has a pet peeve regarding their own headcanons. Some people hate endearments with a pairing, but have their own pet names that work for them in their personal headcanon. In others’ work? There are certain things that irk me, but they’re also entirely personal. If I feel that a character has been written really OOC in a fic that is marked as canon for instance, it grinds my gears. THAT SAID that’s also the writer’s own prerogative.

STRATS: 4) I have too many pet peeves to mention because I am a snob, but I still have relatively low standards for what I’ll read, so I’ve read a vast variety of things.

Besides what Whiskey said about characterization, I have a few aspects of life that I’m somewhat knowledgeable about, and I can’t stand when people get it WRONG. Special mention goes to people writing children badly, which is the entire reason Family of Choice exists. If you don’t have children or know children, PLEASE do some research into child development before you write them. It drives me up the wall when kids are doing things they shouldn’t be at that age. NEWBORNS. DON’T. GIGGLE.

#stratsandwhiskeywritestuff #stratumgermanitivum #collab writing #hannigram #spacedogs #hannibal #will graham #nbchannibal #nbc hannibal #Q+A #twitter

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popatochisssp · 5 years

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Hello! I hate to bother you but if you don’t mind, could you possible show one of your outlines? Like maybe Fur a Good Time, call... since it wouldn’t be spoiling anything by showing? If you still have it! I just have a really hard time making outlines, and I’d love to see your process on it. Only if it’s not a bother ^^ I hope you have a great week!

Yeah, sure, I could do that!

Forewarning, I didn’t really do any outlining before Chapter 4, so that’s where it starts, and the basic, bare-bones version I have of it was back when I thought there would only be 10 total chapters instead of 15…

Also, it very much is the bare-bones version, right before I write each chapter, I usually try to map that particular segment out with even more detail, so each chunk of this later got expanded into something more intricate. Those are usually a lot longer and include actual bits of dialogue sometimes ‘cause y’know…if I’m outlining it and hearing the perfect dialogue in my head, I gotta write that down so I don’t lose it! Sometimes gets tweaked, but very helpful during the Actual Writing part…

ANYWAY.

I’ll put the rest of this under the cut, but I’ll give you the full bare-bones FGTC outline, and then the (very long) detailed outline of Chapter 4!

Ch 4 - more Papyrus, dinner at theskeleton house, Sans is a cat person, more friendship, road trip/beach episode,okay whoops more than a crush

Ch 5 - The Breakdown, confess your Sans, the bigI care about you

Ch 6 - Papyrus hangout, character development,more Underground backstory, encouraging you to go for it with Sans

Ch 7 - self-deprecation, look I know I don’thave much to offer somebody like you but— cut off because are you serious? Youdon’t really think that do you? You’re so special and important to Sans, youmake him feel like just a person again for the first time in a long time, bothlean in…kiss meets nuzzle, haha no lips sorry? No, it’s nice, I like it,giggly, cuddly couch makeout until Papyrus comes home, FINALLY!!! Now moveover, my soap opera is on. Sans stuffs a pillow in his rib cage to try and getyou to come lay on him and it’s so sweet, how could you say no?

Ch 8 – dating fluff, bed sharing,some stargazing, the schmoopiest schmoop to ever schmoop

Ch 9 - after some time dating, Sans wants totake a big monster step, he wants to share souls with you, it’s super intimate,it’ll be basically no secrets, no important ones anyway, so you don’t have toif you’re not ready…but you are. Sans entire life story/POV up until now. Howmuch did you see? everything. i love you. I love you too! Dog person but catsare really cute line

Ch 10 - epilogue, Papyrus’ graduation, Undyneis allowed to attend with guards, she is solemn and aloof with you but concedesit looks like you’ve been good to these skeletons and you’d better keep it up.Cherish them! Not even a little bit of a problem, they’re practically family.Nod of approval before she’s led away. Papyrus nudges you to go find Sans, hedisappeared when Undyne came over and he PROMISED Papyrus a very specificgraduation present. You find him outside with Buddy and mention Papyrus’present— which turns out to be a bit of a present for you, actually. See, Sansfound a REALLY cool rock that he’s been meaning to give you, he just wasn’tsure when was the right time, human customs are so weird. He shows you a glowingcrystal, from the Waterfall ceiling, rambles a little about stars and wishesand penguins and oh, wait, I’m supposed to be on one knee for this, right? He’sproposing and you say yes without hesitation. You’ve got a skeleton fiancé, abest friend/soon-to-be brother-in-law, and a very good boy: it’s not a bigfamily, but your life feels as full as it’s ever been and you couldn’t behappier.

Thinking of a guest gift(s) –> because hanging out with Papyrus/Buddy & it comes out that you eat mostlygarbage and No Way, Not My Cool Friend! You’re Coming Over For Dinner!

You get a succulent and a rock paperweight (Nothing IsCarved In Stone) and head over

You’re early, Papyrus welcomes you at the door, Buddy’sjazzed to see you, Sans is asleep on the couch but snrks awake when Papyrussays your name

“Sweet dreams?” “nah I don’t dream, whatcha got there?”

The gifts go over GREAT! …and the sight of Sans holding hismakes you remember…

“Oh hey, Papyrus, what can you tell me about Rocky?”

“Oh My God, I Should’ve Known That Would Come Up, Listen, IAssure You, You Have Nothing To Be Worried About! Buddy Is Being Very WellTaken Care Of Here, *I* Am In Charge Of His Mealtimes, And He’s Never AllowedOutside Without A Leash Or In-Yard Supervision, There Will NOT Be A Repeat OfRocky!”

Papyrus goes off to squirrel his gift away somewhere heknows it’ll get good light.

…. OH MY GOD. Sans loses it, even as he pockets his newrock. ROCKY IS REAL??? “I told you he was, you gotta start trustin me more,jeez”

You take your mind off it by fawning over Buddy a littlebit, “hey I’m here too y’know,” “What, you want a belly rub, too? Ear scratch?”“that’d be a neat trick, lemme know if you figure out how to pull that off,”“pass,” “ouch”

Brief small-talk, you both just saw each other at work, notmuch new has come up, but Sans tells you Papyrus has been looking forward tothis all week, thanks for coming, “Of course, like I’m gonna turn down dinnerat my three best friends’ place?”

Oh look, you made Sans blush again. God that’s adorable, heneeds to quit doing that, it’s really not helping that crush you’re trying torepress

Papyrus returns! And he admires and compliments yourearliness but dinner isn’t quite ready yet, would you like to help? You’re notobligated, of course! He only asks because he knows sitting around waitingdrives him crazy as a guest and he wants you to have the best guest-experiencepossible!

You agree with the warning that you’re nowhere near a chefbut if an extra pair of hands would be helpful, you’re his set of ‘em!

Sans flops back onto the couch, practically curled into aloaf-shape, “okay cool lemme know when you’re done,” god what a cat-person

You follow Papyrus into the kitchen where it looks like he’smaking pasta! A pretty easy dish that even you can help with, you ask him whathe’d like for you to do, he wants you to watch the noodles and stiroccasionally, he’s going to throw together the salad—made of veggies from hisown garden!

You alternate watching the noodles and Papyrus. Sans hadsaid Papyrus didn’t cook too often lately, you mention that you’re honored he’sdoing it on your account, but of course Papyrus is going to cook for you! It’sa very important step in friendship building!

Papyrus admits the reason he doesn’t do it much anymore isthat he has, “…Well, The Word My Therapist Used Was ‘Trigger,’ Is That A WordThat’s Used Outside Of Therapy As Well?”

It is.

Well Papyrus has some triggers that seem to bekitchen-related, so he avoids the situation as a whole for the sake of hismental health

You’re concerned that he might be risking said health justto make dinner for you, but he promises that this sort of meal is safe, he’snever had a reaction to vegetables or pasta, which is great because pasta ishis signature dish!

(By process of elimination, you realize it’s probably rawmeat that triggers Papyrus. You don’t need to ask why and you don’t intend to.)

Papyrus doesn’t allow for any awkward silence and tells youhe used to make spaghetti all the time when he was first trying to pick up someculinary skills, he knows it was probably not great but he kept making itanyway. Cooking Underground could be a lot of trial and error (the Undernetdidn’t have much in the way of recipe blogs, you see, it was much betterutilized as a social media platform), so if you wanted to get good at makingsomething you had to practice and get opinions—the only problem was he couldhardly ever find anyone to taste-test for him and Sans was useless, Papyrus hasseen him eat mayonnaise out of the jar, his taste is questionable in theextreme!

You laugh about Sans being disgusting as Papyrus finishes upthe salad and you notice that the noodles seem ready, so Papyrus takes over foryou—since he doesn’t have any of that fragile skin to get scalded by hot water!

Your mind is going though and as you watch him drain thespaghetti you’re thinking about what Pap said about his therapist. It’s gottenyou wondering—Sans doesn’t work every day at the shelter, is that where he goeson the other days? To see a therapist?

You ask about it, gently and leaving Papyrus room not toanswer if he doesn’t want to, you’re just curious, but Papyrus tells you no,Sans doesn’t attend any kind of therapy

Oh. That…sits badly with you. He’s a grown skeleton and youespecially have no authority to tell him what he should or shouldn’t do, but…you saw the news reports. The pictures of what monsters looked like, fresh outof the Underground. It was BAD, for all of them, the fact that Sans isn’tgetting counselling too just feels…not right.

You’re not sure how to express your thoughts withoutsounding pushy or like you’re trying to say you know what’s best for them, soyou decide you probably shouldn’t say anything

Papyrus is too sharp for you, though. “No, I Agree, I WouldLove For Him To See A Therapist, Too. It’s Really Helped Me, It Would Be NiceIf He Could…. But Also…He Has His Reasons For Not Going. I Thought He Was BeingStubborn At First, But His Reasons Are Actually Good Ones. …Would You BeSatisfied If I Told You It Was Private?”

“Of course!”

“Then The Reasons Are Private. But Don’t Worry Too MuchAbout Sans, He’s Almost As Tough As I Am! He’s Been A Lot Better Lately, EvenJust On His Own. Besides, He Has At Least Two Very Cool People Looking Out ForHim If He Needs It!”

That really does make you feel better. You share a moment ofsolidarity with Papyrus before you help him bring the food and dishes to thetable

Papyrus wakes Sans up by kicking the edge of the couch andyelling, “Sans, You Lazybones, Wake Up! Your Friend Is Over For The Very FirstTime And You’re Going To Spend It Snoring On The Couch?”

“nah, I can snore at the table, I’m versatile”

“You’re Impossible, Is What You Are, You Bipedal Snail!”

The bickering is a little jarring from how gentle andconcerned Papyrus was for Sans just a few minutes ago, but the affection inboth moments is obvious enough if you look for it. Little brothers, you thinkwith amusement.

Sans makes eye-contact with you and you feel like he’sprobably thinking the same thing. You share a smile and he shrugs and you allhead to the table for a delicious meal (Papyrus sets Buddy a place at the tabletoo, Buddy hops up into a chair and starts chowing down on his kibble, oh mygod that’s adorable, he eats with the family

At some point, Papyrus talks a bit about his job and thesubject of vacation time comes up—a coworker of his mentioned that she wasactually operating on NEGATIVE time-off and he really feels like that’s a thingthat doesn’t make sense

It’s weird to you too, the last vacation you had was, well,that week your boss MADE you take off, right when Sans had started

This is the first Sans is hearing of that story, “wait, sheMADE you go on vacation? like she told you you HAD to stay home for a week? ohmy god, that’s hilarious, that’s so you”

You can see the humor in the situation and laugh at yourselfa little, while Papyrus says they HE would NEVER take a vacation!

Wait, really? Never?

Not for ANY reason!

Sans chuckles. “you’re so intense, bro, it’s awesome.”

“…Well, now, I want to MAKE you go on vacation,” you admit.You recognize the hypocrisy—you certainly never really wanted to take time offwhen you had so much you felt you needed to do—but you feel like theseskeletons DESERVE a break or a trip or something. Sans especially, but youcould’ve guessed within a day of (really, actually) knowing Sans that he’dnever go anywhere if his brother wasn’t on board. “Isn’t there someplace you’dwant to go? Just to visit? Anywhere at all?”

“None Come To Mind! And I Certainly Wouldn’t Want To RequestTime Off For It!”

The beginnings of an idea start to hatch in your brain.

“You don’t work weekends, do you?”

“No!” Papyrus declares petulantly. “They Wouldn’t LET Me.And I Don’t Have Any Classes Either, Weekends Are The Worst! There’s Only SoMany Weeds I Can Pull In The Garden Until There Aren’t Any More Weeds To Pull,And The Best Soap Operas Are Only During The Week, Which Is Prejudiced Somehow,I’m Sure!”

…And I guess that’s where I stopped outlining and started winging it again, and clearly there’s some bits I changed, added in more stuff, got rid of others because that’s just how it worked out as I was writing but obviously, y’know, that’s a pretty solid base to work off of. Once it’s this detailed, it’s still technically an outline but it’s not quite so much work to go from that to the finished product?

It’s like… instead of Brain –> Finished Chapter, it’s more like Brain –> base outline –> detailed outline –> Finished Chapter, and the steps in between really help me build up to it. Not as much pressure as flying blind like, “HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE BY THE TIME I’M DONE ‘CAUSE IDK WHERE I’M GOING,” if that makes sense? XD

Anyway, I hope this is helpful– or at the very least, interesting for you! ^^

#anonymous #crinkling #fur a good time call

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