#I kinda thought it was cringe and no one would’ve wanted to read it

[temiizpalace]

☆┆MY LAST NAME BELONGS TO YOU!

SUMMARY: writing your name out, with his last name!

CHARACTERS: basketball club + azul and leona

GENRE: fluff

WARNINGS: reader is referred to as [mc] – not really a warning, just kinda cringe – mentions of pursuing marriage in floyd and azuls part

ROMANTIC, RELATIONSHIP IS UP TO READER

reader is g/n, reader is yuu

♥️┆ACE TRAPPOLA

“man, this stinks..”

ace whispered under his breath as professor trein droned on with the lesson. he was struggling to keep his eyes open. as much as he wanted to just fall asleep in the middle of the lesson, he really really didn’t want to add to his homework pile.

that’s just more precious hours of his day wasted. all the repetitive sounds were oddly enough lulling him to sleep. the grating sounds of grim snoring, the weird twang noise deuces rubber band was making, and the sounds of pencils writing against paper.

“hey deucy, make sure not to fall asleep.” he whispered to ace, as if he wasn’t about to do the same. deuce gives him a look, about to open his mouth before trein had looked in their direction. ending their banter immediately.

to keep himself awake, ace started doodling in his notebook. not in the corner as most would, no he began doodling on a brand new sheet of paper. curious as to what you were doing, it seems you were notetaking at first.

but getting a closer look, you were doing the same as him. doodling in the notebook, barely paying attention to the lesson. he snickered, deep down grateful that he wasn’t the only one not paying attention.

‘hah. look at that idiot, not paying attention. they’d have to work twice as hard without magic. hehe.’ ace thought, shifting his attention to staring at you. though he was focused on you, his hands still mindlessly doodled across the page. completely unaware of what he was writing.

deuce glances over his shoulder, eyes widening at what he managed to read. “ace?! i.. i never would’ve thought this was your level of dedication..” deuce says to ace, confusing the boy. “eh? deuce what are you talking about—“

ace looks at the paper. his handwriting was messy since he wasn’t paying attention but it was certainly legible.

[MC] TRAPPOLA

he shuts the notebook hastily, emitting a loud thud noise to echo in the classroom. all eyes were on him. including yours. he whistles as if nothing happened, face flushed a light pink color. trein grunts, and continues on with the lesson.

🦁┆LEONA KINGSCHOLAR

“how’d i get stuck here..”

leona mumbles, sitting at his desk in what felt like forever. his plans to skip were officially ruined as you dragged him to his classroom before he could make it to the botanical garden. usually he’d just brush off anybody getting in his way of a good nap, but you looked so persistent in getting him here.

so begrudgingly, he took his seat in class with a huff as the professor continued his lesson. does he regret it? sort of. you looked satisfied and proud when he listened to you, so he’ll oblige for now. he can just ask for a reward later as a thanks for his compliance. he’s mentally making a list of things you could do for him..

joining him for his afternoon nap, fetching him lunch, coming to a spelldrive club practice, the list goes on. his blissful thoughts were then interrupted as the professor placed a paper worksheet in front of him. a worksheet? those are barely ever given out to students..

“kingscholar, this is a sheet of things you must catch up on as a result of your frequent absences. surely you can finish this by the end of the week since you seem to have much free time.” the professor spoke, handing him a pencil and leaving him off to writing.

“haah.. I shouldn’t have listened to that damn herbivore.” he sighs, slouching in his seat and reviewing the sheet in front of him. ‘i already know all this..’ leona thinks, stretching his arms out getting ready to nap. the least he could do is write out his name and do the rest when he feels like it. instead of his name, it was something else entirely.

[MC] KINGSCHOLAR

his ears drop down, his eyes widened, and his cheeks got darker. he followed his first instinct and crumbled the worksheet, ensuring nobody could read what he had just written. the professor glares at him and makes his way over to his seat. “mr. kingscholar.. i hope you know that’d be a rather large part of your grade. we wouldn’t want you to be held back another, would we?”

“tch..” leona scoffs, trying to look away from any of the attention he was receiving. the class ends as soon as it has started, thankfully with no more incidents. leona was just glad nobody has seen what he has written and that he can escape this situation as quickly as possible.. or so he thought.

“roi du leon!” an all too familiar face calls out.

oh no.

🐙┆AZUL ASHENGROTTO

azul sat in his office, filing through the contracts he had made in the past month. many let their minds wander when sitting at a desk for 2 hours or so, and azul is no exception.

eventually growing bored and tired of looking through the deals he made, he took out a notepad and simply wrote out his thoughts. at first he thought this was a dumb idea, but his mother insisted he try it and it has been working ever since.

his mind always felt at ease once the notebook was pulled out. but today felt a little different. he was happy, but today he felt more excited than anything.

he had a dumb lovestruck smile on his face, lightly giggling as he wrote. what on earth? his face was flushed and warm, but he didn’t mind it one bit.

[MC] ASHENGROTTO

he would’ve never thought something so simple would’ve gotten him so worked up. it was just your name and his surname. what was so special?

that’s what he would’ve thought in the past. now, he began to imagine a future of you and him in the coral sea.. a house together.. you meeting his mother.. his stepfather.. it made him feel all giddy. like a schoolgirl if you will.

his love fantasies were inevitably cut short as he heard a knock on the door. “ne, azul. shrimpy is here to see ya.”

panicked that you and floyd might see his notes, he hurriedly opened his drawer and slams it shut. the thud can be heard on the other side of the door, confusing you. “a-ahem.. come in!”

as he saw you, his fantasies began to boot back up. a wedding.. dates at mostro lounge.. it sounded like paradise. every fiber of his being was fighting the primal urge to make you a sign a contract. a contract in which you’d agree to be his life partner. forever, and ever.

🦈┆FLOYD LEECH

not feeling like attending classes, floyd skipped out on the lesson. he knows he’d get scolded by azul later, but if he doesn’t feel like going he don’t wanna.

since you were in classes, the teachers had pushed him out before he even got to you. even despite his protests! floyd complains at the closed door, trying to open it back up.

“eh? why can’t i just take shrimpy and go? lessons are borin’ anyway.” he complains, causing you to hide your head from all the eyes staring at you. all this attention pointed more at you than at floyd..

“leech.. that’s quite enough. go back to your class and come back for this.. “shrimpy” later. interrupting a lesson is NOT what a mage of the future should be doing.” the teacher retorts, now ignoring floyd and his remarks.

“tch.” getting tired of trying to pull you out, floyd retreats to his room in octavinelle. he flopped onto his bed, a pen in hand and a notebook in front of him. jade said drawing is a good time killer or whatever, so he’ll do just that. in all honesty, it won’t take long for him to get bored of this activity and look for something else.

floyd being floyd, just wrote or drew whatever first came to mind. there were tiny drawings of shrimps all over the page. an occasional eel to be seen next to it. he laughed and smiled looking at the page before him. “ehe.. there are shrimpys all over this paper—!”

he writes out another thought that came to his mind. it wasn’t a shrimp drawing, neither was it an eel. the handwriting was slightly shaking being on an uneven and unstable surface, but you can tell what it says.

[MC] LEECH

[MC]? ohhh, that’s your name! leech? that’s his last name! he didn’t truly process what he had wrote, but he knew the implications of it. you being a leech.. to change your last name..

you typically marry a person of interest.. and that person of interest typically inherits the others last name..

hey! person of interest is you! you’re his person of interest! just wait shrimpy! you better save that ring finger just for him!

and 5 minutes later he gets bored, tosses the notebook to the side and goes back to terrorize your classroom again.

🐍┆JAMIL VIPER

jamil sat in the scarabia lounge, finally finishing up dinner for the day. kalim was held up in club activities, and basketball practice has been cancelled due to the fact over half of the members were injured thanks to floyd and aces negligence.

this was a rare moment where he actually had time to himself. nobody to interrupt him in his peaceful state of mind. jamil walked over to his room, locking the door behind him and laying flat onto his bed.

he stares up at the ceiling, unsure what to do with this free time. homework? no he already did it all. check up on kalim? no, why would he ruin his moment of peace like that. check up on you? …

what a ridiculous idea. he doesn’t have time for that. well he does but.. ugh. having time to himself isn’t as relaxing as he made it out to be. especially considering he never had a moment to himself in forever.

jamil figured to keep himself occupied, he can make a bucket list. many people make bucket lists, surely this’ll help him plan his future, right? he grabs a pen and a sheet of paper and began to brainstorm.

obviously seeing the world is one of them. that’s something he wanted to do for as long as he could remember. his mind blanks. so far, his only desire was to travel. far far away from kalim. a thought occurred in his mind.

“..they have to be putting a spell on me or something.” jamil mutters, massaging his temple. he tried wiping the thought clean from his mind, but there was no luck. it annoyed him that such a simple thought was enough to leave him flustered.

[MC] VIPER

he wrote it onto a separate sheet of paper. examining it with a slight smirk. his cheeks were tinted a slightly darker shade, signs of him blushing. “their name doesn’t go well with my surname. what a shame.”

he’s lying. hearing your name with his last is like music to his ears, as much as he’d hate to admit it. surely enough he rips the paper into shreds and tosses it into a nearby trashbin, going out on a walk to clear his clouded mind.

you must’ve put a spell on him. he shouldn’t be having such fantasies of you and him traveling the world together.

A/N: this kinda sucks but it’s better than nothing lmao

date published: 1/6/23

© temiizpalce — don’t steal or copy my work!

#disney twst #twisted wonderland fluff #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst fluff #twst wonderland #twst x reader #twst #ace trappola x reader #leona kingscholar x reader #azul ashengrotto x reader #floyd leech x reader #jamil viper x reader

[7ndipity]

Pumpkin Patch with Yoongi

Yoongi x Reader

Summary: Just a lil blurb of you and Yoongi bickering while trying to pick out pumpkins

Warnings: swearing, terrible halloween puns(I’m sorry), lil suggestive

A/N: Thanks to the lovely anon who requested this! I’m sorry it’s short and terrible, I wanted to make it longer, but my brain just would not focus(Adhd is soo not fun).(Also, I kinda wrote this with the pairing from Take a Chance on Me in mind, but it can totally be read on it’s own.)

Masterlist

Requests are open

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Okay, we’re here.” He said, pulling into the parking area in front of the barn/shop.

“Yay!” You cheered, excited. “Oh, wait!”

You quickly rummaged in your bag, pulling out a pair of matching knit cat ear hats. “Put this on.” You said, handing one to him.

“Why?” He asked, eyeing you skeptically.

“Because it’s Halloween and you love me?” You offered, smiling unconvincingly.

“Do you have any evidence to support that statement?” He smirked, quirking a brow up at you.

You frowned. “Just put the damn hat on, Min.”

“Alright, fine.” He relented, pulling the knit material over his hair as he mumbled under his breath. “So bossy.”

“I thought you liked that?” You teased.

“Not in this context.” He replied.

Halloween had always been one of your favorite times of the year, and since this was you and Yoongi’s first year together as a couple, you thought it’d be a cute idea to find some little traditions to do together, like picking out pumpkins. The only part you hadn’t factored in was the amount of bickering that the two of you added to any activity.

“My shoes are getting wet.” Yoongi grumbled several minutes later as he trailed behind you through the field.

“We’ve only been out here for like ten minutes.” You said, pausing to examine a pumpkin before shaking your head and continuing on.

“Which is about five longer than this should take,” He said tiredly. “They’re all the same.”

“They are not.” You gasped, turning to look at him, offended. “If you didn’t want to do this, then why’d you agree to it?”

“Cause you asked when you had your shirt off.” He admitted. “I would’ve agreed to anything at that point.”

You flushed slightly at his bluntness, glancing around quickly to make sure no one else was close enough to hear.

“Duly noted.” You said, grabbing his hand and pulling him along with you.

As you wandered on, you couldn’t help stealing a few side-long glances at him. He looked so cute, his oversized hoodie making him look extra comfy, his hat slid slightly off center, causing the ears to droop endearingly, a small pout on his lips.

“Hey, Yoongi, are you a pumpkin?” You asked suddenly, a mischievous glint in your eyes.

He looked at you, confused. “No?”

“That’s odd, because you make me so gourd damn happy.” You said, grinning at him.

He blinked at you. “You’ve been spending way too much time with Jin-hyung.”

“Oh, come on, that one was cute!” You argued, trying to make him crack a smile. “Wait, I've got another one!”

“Agh, please don’t.” He whined, covering his face.

“Why? I’m just trying to pumpkin-spice things up between us!” You snickered. “I can’t help it that I think you’re so bewitching!”

“Please, for the love of God, stop talking.” He cringed, ears tinting red in embarrassment.

“Fine, you sourpuss.” You caved, turning your attention back to the pumpkins.

“I like this one.” You finally announced, hefting one up into your arms.

“Great, now we can go.” He said, offering to carry it for you.

“Do you want to stop for dinner on the way back?” You asked as you walked.

“Nah, I’d rather go home and rattle your bones.” He said low enough for just you to hear, making you stop short as you looked at him in surprise.

“Excuse me?!”

“What? I thought you liked puns.” He smirked.

“I-” You blinked, caught off guard. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, let’s go, grumpy cat.” You grinned.

“Aaand you ruined the mood.” He said.

“What mood? We’re in the middle of a field!” You gestured wildly, finally managing to make him laugh.

“Alright, I’m sorry, let’s go and I’ll actually set the mood.” He said, smiling at you.

“You better.”

Taglist: @sopebubbles-replies @btsw1fe @this-must-be-my-tardis @whitefoxgirl @captainorangegoose @k4ngelz

#yoongi scenarios #yoongi blurb #yoongi fluff #yoongi imagine #yoongi x y/n #yoongi x reader #yoongi oneshot #bts blurbs #bts blurb #bts x y/n #bts x reader #bts fluff #bts requests #7ndipity

[thefrontofmymind]

Over The Balcony Wall (matty healy x reader)

a/n: hey yall i apologise i kinda half arsed this, but in return i promise more shit coming probably friday okay any feedback is greatly appreciated kisses xxxx

PROMPT: Flirting from hotel balconies

WARNINGS: tiny mention of alcohol consumption, also reader is very often on the brink of a panic attack lol (aren't we all?)

You’d been at your wits end with work. With being pulled left and right by everyone around you, the seemingly endless hours, and the pressure of single handedly organising successful project after successful project, you were due for a break and your supervisor thought the same thing. You managed to scrounge for a ten-day holiday in Barcelona, with not a single thought of logging in to your email or opening your laptop.

At first you were concerned you’d be lonely–you hadn’t spent so long alone, in a city where you didn’t know a soul, but as you settled, you realised it was better to relish in the quiet, there was no one around so you didn’t feel the need to keep up any expectation of you, and you could simply be.

Your days were spent lounging at the hotel pool, going between reading the small collection of novels you’d brought with you, and cooling off by floating in the water–eyes closed and breathing even.

You spent most nights in your room. After dinner at whatever restaurant the hotel reception would recommend to you that night, you’d make your way back and take in the city skyline on your balcony; you could spend hours just people-watching from your fifth-floor haven.

It was on your seventh night that your silent sanctuary was corrupted. As the sun was setting–quite late since it was Spain in the middle of summer–you could hear music–a guitar playing–from the balcony next to you. You couldn’t quite put your finger on the song–you’re pretty sure you’d heard it before, and it all-but entranced you. Note after note, it was methodical, and a little repetitive, but you couldn’t help but listen to it. There was a few minutes of fiddling, and you could hear the player ‘um’ing and ‘ah’ing from over the privacy wall that separated your two balconies, and you could smell cigarette smoke as well. 

There was a lull of no music, no sounds of someone deep in thought, and before your brain could catch up to what your mouth was doing, you spoke. “You’re very good at that.”

There was a moment of silence before you got an answer. A moment of kicking yourself, because who just speaks to a stranger over a balcony wall and compliments their guitar playing?

“Me?” The voice asked. An English accent, northern, you’d say.

You cringed at the interaction before you, certainly out of the ordinary. “Yes, you. You’re a very good guitar player.”

Maybe it was the couple cocktails you’d had with dinner that gave you the confidence, but it seemed to work in your favour. You heard a chuckle before receiving a reply. “Thanks, I’d like to hope I’m good at it, ‘ts kinda part of my job to be good at music-y things.”

There was a hesitation in the man’s comment, like he was unsure if he should be telling you anything about him. Though you couldn’t blame him, you were the weirdo who began speaking to him from the next balcony over at a random hotel in Barcelona. But there was a certain magnetism to the whole situation, you didn’t want to stop talking, maybe it was boredom, or loneliness, you weren’t sure.

You felt unease, like you’d struck a nerve there, and you weren’t quite sure what to say.

“I’m a singer in a band,” he continued. “And I play guitar.”

“Anything I would’ve heard?” You tried to place the voice, trying to think if you’d heard him before, though you were coming up blank.

“We’ve had a bit of radio play,” he said, and you could hear the smirk as he spoke–you theorised he was downgrading just a touch. “And…we’ve won a couple BRITs too…”

You were in shock. “No kidding! Who are you?” you asked with a genuine mixture of humour, awe and inquisitiveness. You didn’t mean to pry, and there wasn’t that sinking feeling that you’d overstepped a line with what you said, but the faceless voice didn’t reply–at least not after letting out a small chuckle under his breath. “Hellooo? You still with me?”

“Yeah, yeah, um-” He took a breath, while you held yours in anticipation, with an added twinge of fear that you’d committed a social faux pas. “Why don’t you come over? So we can get to know each other?”

There was an air about the way he said it–there was certain entitlement, like he knew you would say yes. And you just couldn’t let this complete stranger win this game. This unspoken game.

“I don’t know…” you began. “I’ve had a bit to drink, don’t think I can’t smell the weed, it wouldn’t be right.”

Again, silence. It seemed to be his specialty. You heard him shuffle in the chair you assumed he was sitting in–most definitely a carbon copy of the one you’d gotten comfortable in.

“No, yeah–you’re right. I wouldn’t want to go about something if you weren’t comfortable…” he trailed off.

There was a sense of awkwardness–and right after you thought you’d settled into a semblance of a groove with the mysterious man next door.

“Can I play you something?” He said, tapping on his guitar, making the strings vibrate slightly. “Anything except country, okay?”

You let out a giggle–since when did you giggle? “Okay…” You thought for a jiffy. “Gimme some Wonderwall.”

“Oh, god-um-okay,” you could hear the smile in his voice. He fiddled for a second, finding the right chords, before he started. And he didn’t stop filling each and every one your requests–intermediately interrupted by questions back and forth between the two of you, that could very easily turn into a sleep-deprived tangent about anything from the current socio-political climate, to what breakfast cereal was the ultimate superior choice–until the sun began to creep up over the horizon, a perfect view from your balconies. You bid each other goodnight as the sky began to wake up to a tinge of light blue.

You woke up well past midday, and hungry. You dreaded the thought of properly waking up, getting ready, and going out to find somewhere with something that resembled breakfast food at this hour. So you decided on the next best thing, and within half an hour you’d at least showered, put on clothes that you could argue were “daytime clothes”, and sat yourself at a table in the restaurant attached to the hotel lobby–an intensely British establishment, made purely for tourists who missed the majorly under seasoned tastes of home.

It was only as you basked in the warmth of your English Breakfast tea and took in the smells of your traditional fry-up, that you put your finger on the uneasy feeling you were experiencing–from the moment you stepped out of your room and walked past the door next to yours–you felt exposed. You didn’t realise how much you enjoyed the anonymity of the night before, you didn’t know your conversation partner, and he didn’t know you, hell, you didn’t even know each other’s names, for Pete’s sake.

You could feel your breathing begin to get more and more shallow the longer you sat at that table alone. You were alone in the restaurant–bar the waitstaff and a group of five men at a table across the room who kept very much to themselves, all adorning either sunglasses, baseball caps, or drawn up hoodies. You couldn’t help but wonder as you took quick glances at them, were they famous or something?

You didn’t want to dwell on it, as you felt your heartbeat rise now, and you knew the situation wouldn’t end up pretty if you didn’t get out of there now. 

You were glad there was an option to charge your bill to your room, so you were able to book it out of there without having to wait around for a waiter to give you the bill, then charge it, before returning your card back to you.

Your vision didn’t falter from right ahead of you all the way to your room; out of the restaurant, through the lobby, in the elevator–you thanked whoever was in charge of the universe that you were alone during that portion of your trip–and down the hall until you were finally in your room.

You flopped facedown on your messy, unmade bed, when a sudden thought came to you–and you felt foolish that it didn’t dawn on you sooner.

If those guys were famous, would it be plausible that they were perhaps in a BRIT-winning band? Could one of them have been the man you spent the previous night talking to? You couldn’t recognise a voice, they were speaking to each other in hushed voices.

The air around you felt so, so thick, and hot; it was slowly suffocating you. You quickly rushed to your balcony–the scene of last night’s crime–and finally took a deep breath of the fresh air, draped in sunrays. It was as you began to calm yourself, that you could hear shuffling on the other side of that thin concrete wall.

“You alright over there?” You didn’t know what was to unfold. How would you explain your sudden fear of meeting your mystery man in person?

“Yeah, just a bit hungover, I think,” you joked, and you sighed in relief when you hear a laugh from next to you.

“Well I was thinking.” He paused for a second, seemingly trying to find the right words–you often did the same. “I’m feeling pretty ordinary, and I was going to just order some room service and chuck a film on-” You could see where this was going. “And I was wondering if you’d care to join me-I’ll even let you pick the film.”

You could hear the smile in his voice, and you weren’t sure if that’s what did it, or a sudden–but more and more familiar–wave of courage that washed over you, and the feeling that you just had to get to know the strange you’d yet to lay your eyes on, but in no time at all you’d found yourself agreeing, and you were knocking on the hotel door next to yours.

You felt your heartbeat hitch in your throat as the door handle began turning–everything felt like it was in slow motion. When your eyes met the chocolate ones on the other side of the door, you practically melted. You couldn’t have imagined what he looked like–if you tried, you wouldn’t have gotten close. He had a warm smile across his face, and he was dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a graphic t-shirt of some band you hadn’t heard of.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Matty.”

#matty healy x reader #matty healy fluff #matty healy blurb #matty healy imagine

[sukioyakio]

PART 2 OF CLUELESS!READER X BLACKCAT!MIGUEL

(how their dynamic is,but with an little bit of coldness and miguel being harsh on reader,but none the less their dynamic,not my art artist: @twinscomic2016)

Part one.

Words count :1.2k ish

FLUFFF mix with an bit of angst

warning: CRINGE nuh I'm kidding just bad writing and probably curse words,

Credits:TO ALL OF Y'ALL 👊👊❤❤ for being such support,and forcing my sibling to read-ahem I mean kindly asking my sibling read it 😇🙂

An:Well good morning,afternoon,night, whenever you are,was this hard to think of and write it YESS but it was worth 😗🙂😊JEZZ I was struggling with words,I suck at spelling never would be in an spelling b contest,cuz the only thing im winning there is being the first one out,but I was an bit busy so yeaaa,but I wanted to ask you guys should I put some of the across the spider verse character to make it spice up in the other part... ANYWAY HAVE AN GREAT DAY and hope you guys enjoyed this

They were the both at Miguel favorite lunch spot, it was in the back of school/college,but they were in an section that she never saw and there was an empty table there but it looks very much peaceful there with the trees surrounding it and bushes making it very unseeable but miguel and reader are sitting there,as both of them are just staring at each-other in silence,as reader was waiting for him to break the silence,

but knowing that he could go on,and could continue to give his glare toward her for the entire lunchtime,but she really didn’t want that so she just decided to be the one to break it “Soooo..aren’t you going to try the food I made you..hehe”she says in the loud silence hoping to lighten the mood,as she looked at him with an nervous smile,as she take out her bento box/lunchbox,and she tried to not make herself look awkward, “will that make you leave me alone?”he said looking at her with an stern expression,as he mumbles some things under his breath",as reader huffed at him and his seriousness,”pleaseeeee…I won’t bother you anymore for a whole class period tomorrow”she says with an desperate whining voice as she held her hand at showing her pinky finger,”I pinky promise”she said to him with nervous laughter,

she held it there for an while as Miguel look at her with an unreadable expression,which it made reader sweat as she thinks that Miguel would’ve break her finger already,and closed her eyes,but to feel something else,as she open her eyes to see Miguel pinky holding her pinky finger,as her lips started to form an wide smile as the sun shine on them,”fine,but if you don’t keep your promise im going to break your exact finger of your’s”he words were cold,and harsh but there was something else in them,it was his voice being calm,well sort of calm,"how long has he hadn't had an friend? She says in her thought in her head

as he quickly let go of her finger as reader kinda liked the warmth of his finger that engulfed her with,without even thinking about what she said “your hands are like an warm blanket,and there quite huge like how?”,as she tilted her head slightly,as Miguel eyes widened at her words as he looked at her like what the hell did you just said,”...What..”his voice snapped her off her daydream,and she quickly began apologizing and waving her hand in front of her face "omg I'm sorry,im sorry about that im such an mess,what wrong with me,omg I'm sorry,jezz that embarrassing,im sorry..hehne",as her face had an bit of redness due to the embarrassment, as she made an nervous laughter and scratched the back of her neck,in which miguel just grunted at her stupidness,as Miguel cover his mouth with his hand as he was just looking at his other hand,as it got quiet again and reader worry that he would just leave and never want to see him after offending him,well she thought she offended him by saying that his hand are huge,but she was once again she in her mind saying that,and that she would never be able to make him smile,as Miguel just pulled out the stuipd bento box at was small compared to his hand,and place it on top of the table as he opened and saw sushi’s and an failed attempt of making an triangle onigiri’s (basically if you don’t know what onigiri is  this 🍙 🍙) she made three onigiri with three different flavors,as he looked at the same section that had some sort of fruit art of an face,that one had an face design of him,

"its definitely an sunny afternoon today,almost as if she bought the light with her",miguel rumbled in his head,"he is as dark as the shadow's in the night,as if he was the darkness it self "reader thought in her head,while reader opens her bento box and started to eat her food without her reacting that she was throwing food in her mouth

Miguel looked the little tiny starwberry's one of them had an face design of him,and instantly made him scuffed by that,as he grab a chopsticks,as he started to eat the sushi,as reader finally got back to the earth,and looked at Miguel eating the food at she spended so much time on ( that she had to clean up after finishing making his food it was an disaster 😭💀,like she constantly drop the ingredients on the floor, rice grains and flour all over the floor😔. but reader kept saying in her mind that the thought of trying is what counts) she had an warm smile and couldn’t handle herself being happy that Miguel is eating her food,what made the smile look so warm was the sun shine on her face,”there’s she goes smiling to ear to ear . . ..what an idiot” Miguel says in his mind as he continues to eat the food,his favorite had to be the spicy flavored ones,something in his heart forgot how how long had it be since he had socialize,it had been an while since he ever socialize with people without being flirted or with people wanting to fight him,as reader spoke ”soo how far do you like it" she says happily with an sense of excitement,as her eyes look at him with an tickling in her eyes  

“It. . . .alright” he said in an cold voice as he put another sushi in his mouth,as he looked at her face expression,”alrighttt,jezz that hurts,maybe I’ll just have to try an lot harder then before” she said in her mind,“i thought she was going to put poison in this but this is really delicious, i guees..” as he thought about it as she went to talking about whatever nonsense she would have in that brain of hers,which miguel completely ignoring what she said or just put some sort of attention to her words but then she asked him something,”can I ask you something? Only IF you want to answer”she says with an nervous voice and her lips form an awkward smile,her eyes look at his face for any discomfort of sort but didn’t notice any discomfort,as he just grumbled and lean on his hand,the palm of his hand,as he looked with an amused look “what is the dawn question?” 

he said in an annoyed tone,but really in the inside he was curious of what that girls thinks.

“why are you. . .so. . cold,you don't have to answer if you don't want to!..."as she tilt her head,but as she says with patience yet and calm voice,her eyes looking at his glaze

"None of Your business" it was an quick response,that he said coldly to her as his eyebrows narrow down that made him look pissed off, and right now he didn't want to be near her at moment ,and he still doesn't know why he cares for that little dork in the first place maybe cause she reminds of himself or well more like his brother. but he just wanted to be alone,just that one question made him realize and remember why he stop socializing with people,especially what had happened in the past when he let people come to his heart without any care of the world.he got his things and pass the empty bento box to her,as he got up and looked down at her sitting position,"I think It Time for me to go,and dont think of following me,en serio" he said with an harsh tone as his eyes are once more the usual cold,as he started to walk off, as the sun was now covered by the clouds, reader who was worried about him but didn't want to scare him off as she loud sigh,and slam herself against the bento box,"jezz there you go again me,ughhhhhh Im so stuipd!!,there was my chance to be his friend and to make him smile,god I'm soo stupid"she says frustrated with herself and starts to pull some of her hair,but soon got up and took her things and walk off to her next classes. before the day ends,she started to over think about miguel hating her for asking that question,meanwhile miguel was in one of his classes, he just didn't want to remember what had happened in the past,That made him more grumpy,and more moody.

Meanwhile (time skip 😅)

It was the last school bell(idk💀) signaling people to leave which many people did leave not wanting stay any longer in the college campus but instead hang out with their friends,as reader was hoping to see miguel so she could say sorry,or a apology, or something,she is clueless of what she did that made him angry,as people walk around her and gave her looks of wondering that she most of got in trouble, or one that she got into an fight with miguel, or some were jealous of her being close to miguel,or people making fun of her. but she just ignored them,walking back and forth with her biting her nail,thinking of an apology from the top of her head,as she spot miguel and quickly walked towards him,and tap on his shoulder,it was an quick way to get have his attention,as miguel rolled his eyes and continued to walk not wanting to deal with her. And reader trying to be an detective and ask him more questions.as reader who was walking next to him,"wait! I-im sorry miguel if I hurt your feelings..I--i didn't mean to hurt your feelings,or anything,I shouldn't have ask you that question,I most have sound like I wanted to go through your private life,p-please forgive me!,i-i--ill get you anything you want for an week straight "she says with an worrying,concern voice as she closed her eyes shut as she was over thinking about the situation ,as miguel looked at her with an amused face and scuffed at her as miguel stop and turn away.and it become more quiet but soon enough he lean down towards her height,and flick her forehead,making her eyes open wide as she see miguel dead paned,stern expression "you seriously are an clueless dork" he said with an low cold voice with his brown eyes staring into *your eyes color* reader as he scuff and turn his head and continued to walk off leaving an little confused reader there

after an little while she started to walks but then trip on her clumsy foot,falling flat on her face,as she quickly got up and brushing the dust off her body,as she walks to her apartment,as started to say to herself "im not an clueless dork...or maybe I am dork but not clueless,hmph watch me I'm going to prove him wrong" she says with an playful smile,she wasn't sure what he meant by that but as long he wasn't mad at her,she was fine,still she made an loud sigh as she realized that the whole day she wasn't able to even make him smile or laugh or anything,"this is really going to be an challenge " she said in her mind as she reach her apartment and soon walked towards her room number,soon closing the door and heading straight in an shower,And doing whatever homework she had to do and get her something to eat as she remember what someone said that miguel likes empanadas and making them until she was satisfied with the results and cleaning the mess before going to bed.

TBC

THE QUOTE OF THE DAY:by my one of friend's

"Steal for the better" 😌😔😏

✌

TAG LIST: @cherryberry-sugarandspice @yawnderu @coffeeandbookskeepmealive @cherryredstars @everlastlady @tarjapearce @miguelsslvt @miguel-ohara-lover @vintagexherry @beautysamour @kairiscorner @oharasluverboy @lynxslokley @spiderlyla

If y'all want to be tag just it in the comments,anyway HAVE AN GREAT DAY sorry if it short

#miguel ohara fanfiction #miguel o'hara fluff #pls send feedback #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel spiderverse #spiderman 99 #across the spiderverse #artists on tumblr #art #clueless!reader x blackcat!miguel #random thoughts #first time writing #first time #nothing new #i bet you think about me

[keepingitformyself]

beautiful stranger, here you are(in my arms)

synopsis: you swear you’ve found the one.

pairings: natasha romanoff x reader

genre: nothing but tooth rotting fluff.

warnings: slight mention of bad past relationships. cheesy ending that maybe kinda makes me cringe but idk.

please do not repost my work anywhere for any reason at all. if you do see this happen to any of my stories, please let me know. thank you x.

——————————

‘i just got back about twenty minutes ago’ natasha’s velvety voice sounds throughout the room.

you stare at the redhead in front of you that has kept your attention for the last three months. she had texted you before getting back from a mission if she could FaceTime you as soon as she landed. of course you’d say yes.

‘did you at least get to shower before you called me?’ you ask with squinting eyes but you still couldn’t help the smile that broke out. knowing full on you didn’t mind one bit that she called you first before anything.

you stared at her through the screen as she walked throughout the many floors of the compound to get to her room.

‘mmm, nope. i would’ve called sooner but steve dragged us to a meeting as soon as we got back.’ she rolled her eyes. ‘then i called you as soon i got the chance.’ her voice came out in a low rasp that sent shivers down your spine but you were able to cover it with a playful roll of your eyes.

‘so you’re still in your suit then?’ you asked with an amused smile. she smirks at your question as she angles the camera downwards towards her body. ‘yup.’ she pops the ‘p’ and you giggle.

you continue to keep her company until she reaches her floor and throws her phone on the bed where she joins you a few moments later.

you didn’t notice that she had started to stare at you through the camera, you had become too engrossed in the essay you were working on in front of you to realize.

it wasn’t until when you hear a small chuckle from her side that you become aware. ‘what?’ you ask and your cheeks tint a light red as you realize she had been staring.

natasha doesn’t answer your question she only continues to smile a goofy smile as she tries not to break into a laugh and you shy a little when you start to grow even more flustered.

in her mind, natasha dreads having to wait longer until she could see you, she wonders if it’d be completely foolish of her to ask to meet with you by the end of the night. 

‘can i see you? like right now?’ she finally says and bites her lip, hopeful that you’ll say yes.

you’re caught off guard by her question because it was already nearing midnight and you’d think she’d want nothing more than to rest after a day spent saving the world.

‘are you sure? you don’t want to like….sleep or something?’ you ask with a furrow of your eyebrows.

and if natasha didn’t know any better she probably would have thought that you didn’t want to see her, but she knows you’re just trying to look after her. she smiles at the thought of that.

 she nods her head yes as a reassurance. ‘please? can i?’

you give in when you finally let the urge of wanting to see natasha as well take over your morals. ‘you can come to mine but both my roommates are home.’ you say a bit unsure, though a small part of you hopes you could work around it.

the last thing you wanted was for your roommates to interrogate your girlfriend. thankfully, as if she had read your mind, natasha smirks at you with a pointed look to show it’d be no problem for her.

‘i think i know a bar where we could be alone.’ she concludes.

‘give me ten minutes to shower and i’ll be there in fifteen.’ she says and hangs up before you could even answer her. you slump into your seat and sigh in content. god, this girl. you think to yourself.

true to her word natasha had shown up at your door in less than twenty five minutes. how she managed to shower and get ready in between all of that was truly a mystery to you.

‘hey, you look beautiful.’ is the first thing she says when you open the door. you look down at yourself and playfully roll your eyes. ‘thank you, but you’d say that even if i were wearing a trash bag.’ it’s true. natasha thinks you’d look good in anything but maybe that’s just her being biased because she likes you that much. 

she laughs at your response and sticks out her hand for you to hold as she leads you to her car. ‘so where is this bar you’re taking me to?’ you ask her once you’ve settled into the passenger seat.

she only looks at you with a smirk, ‘that’s for me to know and for you to find out.’ you pout at her words and she takes her hand and squeezes your bottom lip in between her fingers, the action instantly makes you break into a smile.

once she starts to drive you can’t help but let your mind wander at what could come out of tonight. you had gone out before but things still felt fairly fresh, still there was definitely an undeniable connection between you both.

the spontaneity of the last hour makes your heart pulse, it makes you grow more fonder of what could become in the hours to come, how adventurous natasha sort of felt for you, how she took the chance to see you as soon as she could and now you’re in her car letting her drive you wherever.

it hadn’t been the first time natasha had come up with sudden plans with you. she once showed up at your window climbing through the fire escape after you had told her about how stressed you were for exams coming up, then within ten minutes she was in bed with you trying to coax you into a state of comfort.

your past partners were never really unprompted like that. natasha was the total opposite, she liked crazy. she liked the thrill. she lived for it even, hell her job was one big thrill. she was unlike anyone you’d ever met; you'd started to see the world in a different light because of her. maybe that’s why you felt yourself feeling more for her everyday.

 and maybe someone like natasha was what you needed.

still, it scared you to think about how each passing day your feelings only grew bigger for the redhead. it all felt too fast and you dreaded having to experience the moment when natasha breaks the trust you had left to spare just for her.

you wonder if her lifestyle ever changed the way her relationships evolved, you wonder if they ever got left behind in how fast paced she lives or if she takes the time to let them catch up with her. 

but lastly, you wonder if she’d even take it slow now that she has you in her life.  

you discreetly steal glances towards the side of natasha’s face as she focuses on navigating the busy streets of new york.

the moonlight now casts a white hue on her face and you become transfixed with the way her eyes consciously squint, her jaw flexes and her eye brows twitch as she drives.

memories of past relationships flash in your mind and you grow paranoid at the chance that natasha could turn out to be like those of your past. love had been an awkward thing for you, people always either wanted too much or not enough. you had come to the point where love had started to feel like the loneliest feeling there was.

but the tiniest bit of hope in you believes that this time would be safe, you only hoped you were right. 

natasha notices your staring but chooses not to say anything, purely for the fact that she didn’t want to ruin the comfortable silence that had settled between you both.

in less than ten minutes you both end up in a seemingly lively street in the west village that is filled with restaurants and bars alike. natasha opens your door for you and leads you into a quieter part of the street where you both find yourselves walking down a set of stairs that led you to a antique looking bar.

you immediately fall in love with the atmosphere of the place. it’s dimly lit and it’s decorated with all types of things that seem to date back to the 1800s. there’s only a handful of other people and you think about how this small part of the world was being missed out on by everyone else.

‘i’ll have a vodka straight and a tequila sunrise for my lady.’ you hear natasha say as you approach the bartender and you smile at the pet name. she seats you next to her on a bar stool and looks at you with her head perched up on her arm. ‘i missed you today.’ she rasps out after a few seconds of admiring.

‘i missed you too.’ you cower a bit.

natasha smirks at the blush that covers your face when she utters those words. a part of her itching to make you blush like that as much as she could. she loved that she made you feel that way; shy, nervous, warm, giddy.

it stroked her ego a bit she wouldn’t lie. natasha was fully aware of the effect she had on people, but those were people she could care less about, this was you. and you just so happened to choose her to be the one to give you her companionship and care.

it seemed like hours have passed now and you and natasha had had a handful of drinks by then. you were laughing at anything, talking about whatever thing rolled off your tongues at the moment, and simply just being around each other.

you clung to natasha’s arm as she had told you some silly joke that no one else would probably find hilarious but you did, you did.

her throat tightens at the sight and now she only becomes aware of everything that is you. she smells the perfume you’re wearing that she had complimented you on once, she sees the scrunch in your nose when you laugh at her joke and she hears nothing but you.

natasha takes a shaky breath and it takes every cell in her body not to let her heart go over head. the bar now seeming claustrophobic; she brushes her thoughts away and suggests it’s about time you both leave the bar scene for the night. she grabs your hand leaving some cash behind before she pulls you out of the bar.

adrenaline and fuzziness fill your guys’ senses as you make your way towards a hotdog stand down the block. you giggle and cling to each other, acting like two love sick teenagers.

‘god i love this song’ you instantly perk up as you hear ‘can’t take my eyes off you’ by frankie valli playing from somewhere down the street. you smirk towards natasha as you meet her confused gaze.

with a cheeky grin you pull her towards the center of the street where you break into a dance with the song.

the sight of you leaves me weak there are no words left to speak but if you feel like i feel please let me know that it’s real

you mouth the words while making direct eye contact with the redhead in front of you. fully aware of the effect this might have on her.

natasha only continues to stare at you with an amused smile, knowing very well sober you wouldn’t ever do this in front of her. but a part of her is glad that it’s happening.

it isn’t until the beat drops that natasha decides to join you in on the fun.

i love you baby and if it’s quite alright i need you baby to warm these lonely nights i love you baby trust in me when i say oh, pretty baby don’t bring me down i pray now that i’ve found you, stay

you both shout the lyrics together. too engrossed in the moment to care about the people staring at you both. you sing while simultaneously dancing.

this is when natasha has a realization as she dances here with you.

time seems to slow down as you’re looking at her with all the love in the world. as if she doesn’t just give you the world but the whole damn universe. dancing so carelessly and free, so light and full of nothing but warmth.

her heart hammers as the words she so desperately wants to say almost spill out of her mouth. but they remain stuck there, much like when a candy bar gets stuck between your teeth.

maybe it was too soon to know, maybe it would go too far if she says what she wants to say. she doesn’t know. but she does know. because why else would she have the urge to mutter those three words?

her throat tightens again at the amount of emotion she feels. she knows it isn’t the alcohol making her feel like this anymore. she’s sober enough.

natasha doesn’t know that you’re having the same thoughts running through your mind at the moment.

you think of how part of her braided hair has released in strands at the sides, or how her lips looked more inviting than usual.

you slow your movements and consciously brush one of her loose strands behind her ear and lick your lips as you steal a glance at hers and wow…you don’t think you’ve ever seen a pair of lips that you’d kill to kiss.

the thing was, relationships for you had always been nothing but a painful chase. it always led you to beautiful strangers with nothing but heartbreak to give you in return.

no one ever stayed, but now that natasha is right here standing in front of you while you both sway to the music and she’s looking at you with those green eyes of hers-you’ve never seen such a prettier shade of green.

and in that moment you know.

‘i love you.’ she breathes out and you don’t know how you didn’t realize the close proximity you were in. her eyes look blown out of love and her cheeks are flushed due to all the dancing.

you’re left speechless at the words that leave her mouth that all you can do is halt your movements completely and stare at her. you notice how her eyes cast a glance at your lips every few seconds.

natasha starts to worry that maybe she’d said the wrong thing and she curses herself for letting her feelings overtake her.

‘say it again.’ she hears you say and you look at her doe eyed. it goes silent between the both of you and natasha starts to question if she even heard you say anything in the first place.

her heart is hammering so hard it starts to pound in her ears, but she takes a step towards you and breathes in deeply before saying, ‘i love you, is that…is it okay?’

you smile and you think you’ll cry at how happy you are to hear those come out of her mouth. ‘i love you, too’ you nod.

natasha’s shoulders visibly slump in relief and she doesn’t even have to question your words as the pureness in your face says it all.

‘can i kiss you now?’ she asks.

‘please do.’ you nod almost desperately.

she grasps your cheeks with both her hands, teasing your lips with a slight brush against your nose but you’re too impatient to wait any longer so you close the very last remaining gap left between you both.

the kiss is nothing short of devotion. your hands instantly grab onto her wrists that hold your face in place and you feel every bit of what natasha wanted to say but never could. the way she kisses you and then the way she looks at you after she pulls away, it tells it to you all.

she didn’t know that she’d been looking for someone like you until you stopped her in her tracks and then drove her off them completely. you became the better half of her that balanced her out just right. the tame to her wild.

you stare at her for a few moments and you instantly smile when you see how her eyes looked a light green even with the darkness of the night.

it reminds you of biting into a sour green apple. though you come to the conclusion that natasha is nothing like a green apple because from the times you’ve kissed her she’d always tasted nothing but sweet.

you sigh as you lay your head on her chest, letting her engulf you in a hug. you think of how there’s no where else you’d rather be than right here,

and you think of how for the first time in a really long time you feel it’s finally finally finally safe for you to fall.

#natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #Black Widow #black widow x reader

[maccreadysbaby]

A Hundred Ways to Become a Wayne

batfamily + oc insert

tw: none

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

*deep inhale* ah, yes, the smell of approaching chaos

part thirteen

❝ AQUAINTANCES ❞

SATURDAY — AUGUST 8 — 4:30AM

ASTEN SLEPT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF BENTLEY’S KING BED THAT NIGHT.

He envied the way Asten could fall right back asleep after everything he’d been through. He was all curled up under Bentley’s gray comforter, his black and blue hair sticking out like a sore thumb in the midst of all the dark sheets. 

Asten had been eerily quiet since the car ride. Bentley didn’t blame him, not at all. Bruce didn’t try to make him talk: he only asked him a few things, like if he needed anything to eat, or his preferred sleeping arrangement. Everything offered was quickly declined and he made it clear he just wanted to go to bed.

Neither he nor Bentley changed their clothes, they just crawled up into his bed and laid there, with one lamp on, in silence.

And that’s exactly what Bentley was still doing. Asten had fallen asleep long ago — the sun was probably going to come up in an hour or two. Maybe Bentley would’ve been able to rest if his sleep schedule wasn’t so screwed up.

He’d been sitting up against the headboard, mindlessly playing games on his phone, listening to Asten’s even breathing. There wasn’t much left for him to do but sit there and swim in his own thoughts, which had been a strange mix of what would happen if the Secret Keeper found them, wondering if he upset Dick by leaving the hospital bed, what would’ve happened if Tim hadn’t been able to get to Asten fast enough, and a slew of other mildly unpleasant things regarding their current situation.

His first ever sleepover had been brought about by a horror-movie-level supervillain chasing a kid he’d known for five days around downtown Gotham. Given what his life had held so far, he should’ve expected something like that.

Bruce had poked his head in once, and Bentley just sort of waved at him. They exchanged a few texts afterwards, but it had been a while since then, and Bentley hoped he went back down with Dick. Dick deserved having his dad down there with him.

When the clock struck 4:33am, and the after-patrol bedroom doors had been closed for a while, Asten stirred, humming incoherently.

Bentley glanced over at him, watching him shift around until he pulled the comforter up and over his head.

He mumbled almost incoherently in Portuguese, running all his words together. “Não… não. Por favor, não leve minha mãe embora. Por favor, não a leve embora.”

“Asten?” Bentley questioned, shifting slightly to face him.

“Não. Por favor. Não a tire de mim. Eu não quero ficar sozinho…”

Bentley reached over and tapped at the wiggling blankets. “Asten.”

A few seconds later, Asten’s head popped out, hair a mess, and he blinked. “Huh?”

“You were talking,” Bentley replied quietly. Asten cringed, so Bentley added: “Not in English.”

“What time is it?”

He glanced over at his glowing clock. “Four-thirty-four.”

“Ugh,” Asten grumbled, tugging the comforter back over his head. “You haven’t been able to sleep?”

“No,” Bentley replied. “I slept for a while after school.”

Asten’s voice was muffled under the blanket. “Guess I was really lucky your sleep schedules botched, huh?”

Bentley glanced over at the Asten-shaped lump in the blankets.

“You would’ve been okay,” He tried.

“You and I both know I would’ve been dead,” Asten replied, pulling the blankets off of his head. (Which made his hair even messier.) “It might be scary to think about, Whittaker, but you answering that phone probably saved my life. For real.”

Bentley said nothing. Most of him wanted to disregard that, to say that surely Asten would’ve been fine, but there was a small part of him that knew he was probably right.

“And I realize I’m staying at your house within like, a week of meeting you, and that’s kinda weird.” He continued, bringing the blanket back over his head. “So, sorry.”

“It’s not that weird,” He stated simply, fiddling with the edge of the blanket. “I mean, you’re my friend, aren’t you?”

Asten let out a huff of a laugh. “I’d like to think so. I knocked out a bully for you and you kept me from getting murdered, I’d say that surpasses the acquaintance category.”

Bentley shrugged. “I guess I’m just not the best at telling who likes me and who doesn’t.”

A moment of silence passed, and Bentley’s mind lingered on Damian.

“I guess you never really know. People can be fake right up until they’re not,”

Considering that Damian could’ve been fake-liking him the whole time didn’t make Bentley feel any better.

“So, ginger, I’m sleeping next to you and hardly know anything about you,” Asten stated, sitting up slightly against the headboard and pulling the blanket off his head again. “You’re not from Crime Alley or Bristol, you don’t sound like either of those. Where are you from?”

Bentley took in a breath, and let it out. “Drew.”

“That’s the city next to Bludhaven, isn’t it?” He questioned.

“I think so,” Bentley stated, trying to remember all the aerial maps he’d seen on the Batcomputer.

“I’m from São Paulo, a city in Brazil,” Asten explained, pulling his knees up sort of like Bentley usually did.

Bentley shifted against the headboard. “Why did you move here?”

Asten quieted.

“My, uh… parents died a couple years ago. In a car crash,” He said, speaking softer than he had been. “I don’t have any family in Brazil, grandparents or anything. My only relative was my dad’s brother, who lives here. So that’s who I went to.”

Bentley cringed, watching the way Asten’s eyes lingered on his own hands. He really did suck at talking to people, didn’t he?

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad,” He muttered, bringing his knees up, too.

“Hey, no sweat, kid.” Asten reached over and bumped him on the shoulder, quickly ridding his face of any undue emotion. “I’m fine. How’d you end up in Bruce Wayne’s house, anyway?”

Bentley quickly weeded through all the things he couldn’t tell Asten, which was basically everything. What was he supposed to say?

“My dad… got arrested… last December,” Is what he settled on. “And my mom died when I was a baby. My dad knew Bruce.”

“Oh,” Was what Asten replied. And then he snorted. “We are some little pity-fest, aren’t we?”

The word pity didn’t make Bentley feel any better, either. But he forced a little smile on nonetheless.

“Why are you in my classes when you’re older than me?” Bentley questioned, desperately trying to change the subject.

“I was homeschooled in Brazil, so credits and stuff were different when I moved here,” Asten explained, shifting so his position was mirroring Bentley’s. “You were homeschooled, weren’t you?”

Did anything his father did count as homeschooling? Bentley wasn’t dumb by any means, and he knew the basics of math and stuff. 

“Uh, yeah,” He replied. Technically he was, right?

Had he been lying to Asten this whole time? He couldn’t exactly tell him his dad was using him to destroy Batman, and he didn’t really think it was a societal norm to tell the first person you meet that you were abused and neglected for your whole life.

This whole double-life thing was hard. Of course, this wasn’t as hard as when he was trying to do his father’s work, but it was still hard.

“You seem like a homeschool kid,” Asten said with a smirk.

Bentley quirked his brow. “How?”

“Y’know, you just… have that way about you that lets me know you haven’t interacted with many people. It’s not a bad thing,” He insisted. “You’re similar to Nico, and he was homeschooled for a while, too.”

Bentley nodded slightly. (At least Asten thought he was homeschooled and not purposefully kept from outside contact by his abuser.)

“We can’t tell him about any of this Secret Keeper stuff, by the way. Nico. He’ll die on the spot,” Asten said, running a hand through his messy hair. 

“Okay,” Is all Bentley replied. With the reactions he’d seen from Nico so far (nearly crying over riding the bus, having an asthma attack over riding the bus, crying in the janitors closet when he wasn’t even the one afraid…) he really wouldn’t doubt it.

A few moments of silence passed. “Hey, Bentley?”

He looked up at Asten, brown eyes meeting green. “Yeah?”

“Have you really not seen her since your dream?” 

Bentley shook his head, pulling the blanket further onto his lap. “No, I haven’t. Not even when we went to pick you up.”

“I don’t think she’s alone,”

Bentley pinched his brows together, glancing over at Asten, who was staring off, deep in thought.

“What do you mean?”

Asten looked up at him, then down. “She was branded. Behind her left ear. I saw it in my dream — A symbol that looked like a weird A.”

Bentley sat up straighter. “Whats branded?”

“It’s, like… where you form metal in a certain symbol, then heat it up and burn the symbol onto someone’s skin. Like a mark that they belong to someone else,” He explained. “Luckily it’s not a common thing.”

Bentley squirmed a little in his spot, thinking about being branded by red-hot metal. “You… think she has a boss?”

Asten shrugged. “It’s just a thought. People don’t usually just brand themselves. Unless they’re trying to trick you and she knows I saw it, in that case, I don’t know.”

Another tense silence passed, but the way the gears were turning in each of their heads was nearly audible.

“You said in the car, you wanted your face to be the last thing she ever saw,” Bentley started, glancing up at him. “Would you actually go after her?”

Asten’s eyes lingered on his for a few moments, and something like a storm glimmered in the back of his green eyes. Similar to at school, but not so prominent. “If she’s going to make our lives miserable, then the least I can do is make her’s a hellscape in return. Why?”

Bentley glanced at his bedroom door, thinking of the family beyond.

“Because I…” Want to be good enough for them.

“… Want to help you.”

Asten searched his face for a moment, raising an eyebrow.

“We’ll have to beat the police,” He suggested.

Bentley shrugged. “And Batman.”

Asten smirked lightly. “You think we can do it?”

I’ve been trained into a deceptive weapon and living with the greatest detectives in the world, he wanted to reply.

“I think we need a plan,” Was what he said instead.

—

dedicated to @sassenashsworld 💚

—

tag list! (If you want me to remove or add you, ask in comments!)

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @cademygod

#batboys #batfamily #batman #oc; bentley whittaker #oc; bentley #oc; asten #oc; asten evans #oc; nico #oc; niko rockefeller #mb; a hundred ways to become a wayne #alfred pennyworth #bruce wayne #barbara gordon #oracle #dick grayson #nightwing #jason todd #red hood #cassandra cain #orphan #tim drake #red robin #stephanie brown #spoiler #duke thomas #signal #damian wayne #damian al ghul #dc robin #robin

[syncogon]

misc thoughts fresh off finishing yumi and the nightmare painter: 

* i should’ve taken my time reading this ahaha. books definitely hit different when savored and on larger screen/pages

- there were some tropes i didn’t like here, like painter pretending to yumi to be all cooler and more heroic than he actually was = cringe when it comes falling down. at least that part was relatively short. but like digging a hole with your lies ughhhhhhh hate that hate misunderstandings hate people not believing you when you tell the truth 

- was not convinced to care about the side characters. they didn’t really get any development. i wasn’t even sold on the old friend group being friends with each other - their banter wasn’t that good, and I’m sensitive to this kinda thing atm since I’m in my own struggle of writing convincing and interesting friend group interactions - nor were they written particularly compellingly as individuals. akane was kind but that was about it. i love the sleepless as a concept and masaka was great but she really came out of nowhere to help. and liyun could have used more development 

- speaking of masaka this is a hot take as a cosmere fan but i think there’s a point where the cosmere references get too much and detract from the story at hand. felt that a bit with lost metal, at times with tress, and definitely here. 

- hoid’s narration - i thought it fine in tress, suited the fairytale storytelling tone, but his comments felt kind of more annoying and distracting and out of place in this one. at least he had an actual role in tress...

+ the twist was very cool, big fan, i was totally misled, but 

- the reveal was... the fact that what happened was so complicated that it needed SUCH a big exposition dump, i was not a fan. like im grateful to hoid that he knew i was confused. but it shouldn’t have been so confusing, there had to have been a better and more elegant way to present what happened 

- and im still a little confused about what we saw of yumi’s world was real 

- also like who were the actual aliens they encountered lmao we’re just moving right along

+ so i was ready to throw hands when i saw “epilogue”. and then “another epilogue” ahaha. to be fair that sad ending was still a good ending itself but god i would’ve been so upset hahaha

+ the ending made me feel things. almost eked out some tears. such a good ending overall.

+ the art ahhhhhhhhh so pretty. def my fav artist / artwork of the four (i’m just a big fan of this kind of aesthetic. traditional korea + futuristic japan) 

- though i was a little disappointed with the cover. not sure why. the pure outlines don’t stand out very well and the text font/color... idk... 

* for some reason i thought that the colors being cyan and magenta meant that there’d be significance in the missing third color yellow or lime or smth. i thought there was a WoB or smth. oh well 

* are maipon sticks actually any different from chopsticks. why not just also call them chopsticks. 

- i think the preview chapters gave me expectation that there’d be a bit more with their respective magics and worldbuilding which were so cool and i wish we saw more of that, b/c that kind of stuff interests me more. top tier aesthetics for these worlds. but i guess this was always supposed to be more “inward” and more focused on the romance... 

- i think i didn’t find yumi or painter super likable on a personal / personality level either. this is kind of a me thing though. i know they’re supposed to be Like That with their backgrounds, histories etc. i suspect i’d appreciate them more on reread.

- oh yeah and i want to know more about the other yoki hijo too! 

+ this is a pretty focused book even if i do want to know more. i can respect that. like how this was a lifeswap not a bodyswap, allows for keeping the focus on the story he wants to tell 

+ will admit it was super funny that painter was seen as yumi but yumi was still just seen as herself 

+ was gonna cry at the introduction of the Machine to replace Art. but then it was like, maybe it’s worth it if it saves any other girls from suffering the - abuse, basically - that yumi had to go through? but in the end the Machine is unequivocally the evil here 

+ i do love yumi Stacking Things whenever stressed ahaha

this sounds like a lot of negative points but those are more interesting to talk about and those are what come to mind quickly esp since i’m just pulling thoughts out very quickly and haphazardly here. to some extent the good parts go without saying and id appreciate them more on (a slower) reread and tbh i might make a follow up post as i think more on this. i think i was just a little disappointed bc i came in with really high expectations... ah well. still a good book overall, and i want to give it a reread to better understand and catch some things. i think my current ranking is tress > yumi > frugal 

but im gonna hit post for now to forcibly stop myself from adding more

#yumi and the nightmare painter #synco talks

[melis-writes]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=392x-baFg4s

Hi! I wanted to bring up this video about why Michael changed since it was recommended to me by YouTube and I watched it out of curiosity (even though I already know the answer), and I was disappointed by the credit it gives Apollonia’s death. I don’t care for how the YouTuber claims that the Sicily sequence shows us how much Michael “loves” Apollonia- all it shows is him playing the role that he must in that society in order to marry her (and therefore be allowed to relieve himself in a socially acceptable way due to desperation, as we know 🤢). None of it seemed like a natural display of chemistry or frankly even behavior (I’m aware of what he says in Part III about loving her, but the thing about storytelling is that you’re supposed to show, not tell). The two of them kinda just seemed to be going through the motions throughout the whole thing tbh. We know what he wants (which should’ve been made clearer in the film), and we can figure out what she wants based on how she only smiles at Michael once she touches the golden necklace he gives her. I’m aware we get that one scene of them bonding (which only proves what she also wanted was freedom) but besides that, it honestly proves nothing- if anything, I bet if they met under normal circumstances, Michael would’ve been like a big brother figure to Apollonia and taught her some American things, and at most they would’ve been friends (since I’d even argue that romantically, she is not his type, and honestly how do we know Apollonia even likes men at all and wasn’t giving into comphet? Lmao). To call what they had “love” and then credit her death for his change is stupid and cringe imo.

Anyway, moving on to the YouTuber’s next point, I’d say Michael seems different when he returns to Kay due to all the trauma that keeps occurring in his life and how he keeps bottling it up inside, not because he’s mourning a teen he only knew for a few weeks. Trauma has been proven to wear on people over time who feel like they’re losing their support system and aren’t expressing their emotions in a healthy way. He also is closed off to Kay because he’s ashamed of what he’s done- it reminds me of that scene from The Lion King in which Simba is hesitant to tell Nala what he’s been through out of fear that she’ll turn away from him. Again, all this could’ve been explained better through dialogue and framing.

Finally, I disagree with the YouTuber’s speculation that Michael would’ve stayed in Sicily with Apollonia for a few years if Sonny didn’t die. We know Michael was bored out of his mind there so I don’t think he’d stay there just for her. Besides, I don’t think that their relationship would even last that long lmao. I don’t get why people give this random teen he wanted to sleep with so much credit for his development 💀💀💀. At first I sort of believed in the ship due how the shippers are so good at gaslighting, but then I finally started using my brain lol. Again, I also blame the movie itself for how it inaccurately adapted this whole arc from the book.

Speaking of the book, I’ve only read excerpts of it, but I recall Michael saying to Vito that he sought revenge not only for Sonny and Apollonia, but also because it’s the right thing to do. I think it just boils back to Michael taking things personally and having that sense of justice that never seemed to fully leave him. For all we know, he was angry due to being betrayed (like you’ve pointed out in one of your posts) and felt bad that an innocent life that he knew was taken due his own carelessness. Anyway, I know that this is long but I wanted to share my thoughts on this video since I enjoy discussing this franchise! Hope you have a great day!

“I don’t get why people give this random teen he wanted to sleep with so much credit for his development.”

THIS. This right here. 👆🏻 At this point, it’s almost annoying as to how obsessed people are with the whole Michael and Apollonia thing. It literally mentions in the book that Michael couldn’t even go near Apollonia if he wanted to, that marriage was the custom to do anything with a woman and Michael even wondered why people continued to believe/do these things when he compared it to the culture in the USA. It was extreme for Michael but as you said, he was bored. It literally mentions he. Was. Bored.

Michael was wandering the countryside every day with his bodyguards trying to see the country and entertain himself, but he was utterly bored. Everyday he waited for word from his father to come back lmao he didn’t want to be in Sicily. In all that time, he was also thinking about what he did and he thought of Kay everyday, assuming she also must have put two and two together and ended up hating him, but that didn’t stop Michael from continuing to wonder about her. In the book it also mentions Michael felt bad for leaving Kay behind with a word. He wondered what she was doing a lot.

There’s a lot of scenes in the book where Michael and Kay have sex. A lot. 😂 So it made sense to see in the book that Michael was not just bored, but horny. He only wanted to “possess” Apollonia, keep her to himself and Michael didn’t care for her personality or her shyness. He was solely fixated on her looks and wanted to please her and her family (mind you, Apollonia’s father was so happy his daughter’s beauty got them a rich, powerful groom) and so all Michael mentions is Apollonia’s physical aspect. During breakfast, Michael gets jealous enough to want to hurt Apollonia’s brother because he made her laugh. That’s not love, that’s an intense lust and toxic desire. 🥴

And when Michael married Apollonia, all he continued to talk about was her looks, despite Apollonia being nervous about the wedding night and wanting her mother to stay the night too. And then it goes on to mention that for a week or two straight, Michael kept Apollonia with him in the house and the word “sex slave” was mentioned in the sense that Michael basically did nothing but have sex with her all the time.

There is literally no love between these two and everyone knows it. There’s ships, and then there’s this weird, obsessive gaslighting, major misogynistic Kay slander thing going on where everyone wants Michael and this 17 year old to be soulmates so bad that apparently Apollonia turned him into such a cruel, cold man. Okay, please… 😂😂😂 I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one that finds this actually fucking ridiculous. It’s delusional.

The book mentions Michael loved two things: His father and Kay. That’s it. Watching the Sicily sequence on film is so annoying because you can see Francis deliberately tried to make it a love story gone wrong (coupled with gaslighting shippers now on the internet) even though that wasn’t Mario Puzo’s intention.

Michael’s entire relationship with Apollonia is predatory and because of him, she died. He ruined Apollonia’s life and Apollonia and her family are shitty in their own sense because they wanted Michael for his power and money. That’s literally all there is to it.

A lot of people also forget Michael didn’t go see Kay until a year after he returned to the US. He was working in the family business with Vito and it’s very obvious at that point that Michael will succeed his father as Don.

Michael and Apollonia were never in love with each other. I for once would like to hear someone point out how Apollonia loves Michael. (Spoiler alert: she doesn’t.) Everyone looooooves talking about how Michael loves Apollonia, but never if Apollonia loves Michael. How does that work? Lmao. And if Kay constantly has to be mentioned and slandered, then I think it’s already obvious… 🥴

Thank you for sharing this analysis with me!! 😂❤️ I loved it! You’re absolutely right and I agree with you. Of course, everyone can interpret Michael’s changes differently but I mean… Once I read the book and saw that no, Apollonia had no effect on Michael’s change, I’m like… 👁️👄👁️ it was Sonny’s death that changed Michael and I will die on this hill.

#the godfather #Michael Corleone #Apollonia Vitelli

[bootlegfrank]

HOW WAS EMO NIGHT!!!! I went to one of those earlier this year. So sad we couldn’t go together that would’ve been awesome:’( did they play mcr? They must haveeeee what was your favorite song they played? OH NO NOT YOU SPRAINING YOUR ANKLE:(((( BABY BE CAREFULLLLLL you’re almost as clumsy as me!!!! Manifesting a speedy and easy recovery<33333 you know what’s funny? We synced up again hahahaha that same night I got stupidly drunk too what are the fucking odds? it was bad I actually threw up LMFAO awful it was so awful I hate throwing up so much and the hangover omfg I bet yours was bad too YES I’m very soft and cuddly hehehehe

I’m so jealous you got to take it art history in secondary school that wasn’t an option for meeee YES omg I agree when I took it, it definitely changed how I looked at art. Most of the people in my class honestly didn’t give a fuck but I cared so much haha OH LORD I’d be annoying I’d end up rambling about paintings and art and get all stupidly excited it’s so cringe IT WOULD BE SO FUN TO GO WITH YOU. Most people I’ve known don’t appreciate art to the same extent I do and knowing you do<33333 we could stay for as long as you wanted and re-visit your favorites we see and come up with our own interpretations:’)))) I’d love to hear your takes on stuff OOOHHH I’ve never heard of Jugendstil before I looked it up and thought it looked like art nouveau and then google told me it’s like a local version of that hehehe that’s so cool!!!! AH NEOPLASTICISM THATS SO COOOLLLL I actually saw a few Mondrian works irl:’) didn’t know it was a Dutch art movement LOVE THAT HEHEHEHEHE omg me too I love abstract art that pisses people off I love that shit so much and I love defending it and seeing people absolutely fume my fave will be when they’re like “I could paint that🙄” and then I go “then why didn’t you” LMFAO oil paintings are so beautiful aren’t they? I’ve never painted with oil paints before I’d love to. I’ve also never heard of 'strandbeesten' before that’s a really unique piece. You can determine when the houses were put up THATS SO COOL. I’d love to hear more about architecture. I look the aesthetics of it but I don’t know a lot of the specifics I’ve never taken any courses in it:(((

THAT ZIP UPPPPP I’m obsessed ugh that’s fucking awesome YES TAKE PICS<333 and show me when you feel better I’m so excited YEAH I wanna see the heart pics oh that’s so cool I’m I’m I’m <333333333 YAYYYY OMG YOURE GONNA DO THE HEART you better show that too hehehehehehe mhm I like pushing you to your limits like apparently you like doing to me;) STOP EVEN READING IT I EXPERIENCED THE INTERNAL STRUGGLE AKQKQKWJSJDHXH because I’m like oh no scary!!! But at the same time it excites me AKAJSHDHDHDH once again you’re doing such interesting things to my brain<3333 go on what’s something insane you’d ask me to do lemme hear it I’m intrigued. Good hehe Stay wrapped around my finger you look really cute like that sweetheart:)

OOOOOO I bet the bruises look all pretty on you. Would love to kiss each and every single one of them. YES I ACTUALLY AM SO EXCITED FOR HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!! I wanted to bring that up in an anon of yours earlier but I felt like it was too early with it being only September. ITS MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY HEH WHATS YOURS??? Omg funny you say that bc when I was considering writing that in that anon I looked up if Halloween was celebrated there bc I didn’t wanna seem stupid and just assume it was and some things said it’s kinda celebrated there but not a lot and others said not at all what is the truth!!!! Is it really not celebrated at all there???? If so fuck that we’re having our own Halloween heh I would love love love to celebrate with you omg we could do so many spooky things!!!!! We could dress up in costumes (what would you dress up as omg omg omg) and eat candy (what are some of your faves) and watch scary moviessssss (are there any you’re particularly fond of) and carve pumpkins and do some urban exploring and omgggg I’m gonna be obsessing over Halloween with you now^.^

Emo night was fucking awesome!! It would've been so fun to go together <3 You would've had to drag me out of the mosh pit though haha. They played MCR and sooo many other bands, even songs I didn't know off the top of my head! I was wearing my slutty Hollywood Undead shirt (its called that cuz it's a size S shirt so it fits me tight and makes my waist extra slutty xP) and they played Hollywood Undead songs and I got so excited I screamed my lungs out hahaha. I think your manifesting is working cutie, cuz it's been like four days now and my ankle is doing so much better! It's still red and purple and green, but the swelling has gone down immensely <3 Hehehe we're so in sync, I love it <3 Awh baby I'm sorry you threw up :( I got so drunk I physically fought my friends on our way back home (which I did not remember, and they didn't tell me until yesterday) cuz I was overstimulated and they were threatening to put me in a shopping cart if I didn't hurry the fuck up. I feel really bad about fighting my friends especially because I don't remember, I only remember the fun parts of the night, not how much trouble I gave them afterwards :( My hangover was actually pretty manageable, but that's cuz I made myself throw up before sleep haha. I do that pretty often, a tactical barf to get rid of the latest alcohol I consumed x)

Art history was a life-changer for me in secondary school haha, I think I was the only person in the entire class actually interested in the subject xD I'd love to hear you ramble about paintings and see you get all excited, it's adorable <3 I always feel so rushed going to museums with other people cuz they always rush through and I like to stop and look and read the little plaques. I bet with you I wouldn't feel rushed <3 I love Mondriaan, there's such a beauty in the apparent simplicity of his work, and it's fascinating seeing his older works and watching the progression into his iconic style. It really opened my eyes for me, somehow when you're a teen you don't consider that artists go through phases and don't just get born mastering a certain style :] As a kid I lived next to a house in Mondriaan's style, it was super pretty. I've never painted with oil paints either! It's a pretty expensive and dangerous medium to get into, so I'm sticking with my acrylics and watercolours and digital art hehe. I never expected to learn about architecture in art history but it makes so much sense to pair the things together, there's so much artistry in architecture and buildings reflect the time period they were born from so clearly, I love it.

Hehe I've attached a photo of the zip-up at the end of this post <3 On the side of it you can kinda see part of the origami crane from 'Your Boyfriend' and the front of the zip has the half-white heart from that same game :] Is there anything else you think I should embroider on this zip-up? I also posted the heart pics! They're all the way from back in 2019 :0

Hehehe I like doing that to you, making you feel conflicted <3 I don't think I'd ever actually want to make you do something you don't want to do, because I'm too attached to you, but you wouldn't know that ;) What if I gave you a knife and asked you to carve something pretty into your skin? How long would it take you to admit you can't do it, or press the blade to your own skin? Would you obey me if I asked you to push the blade into my skin instead? Would your hands shake and your breathing get all trembly? I'd love to watch you try so hard to be good for me, but having to admit you can't. It's okay darling, I don't mind that you can't because you really considered it for a moment, didn't you? You would've done it if I'd pushed you, and god that's just the sweetest thing. I'd kiss you all gently as you're trying to get your breathing under control again, drinking up your struggling, you're so good for me baby <3

I've got a whole rainbow of bruises now :] From purple to red to green to blue to yellow, your kisses would be the best cure <3 I don't think I have a favourite holiday hehe, I like Halloween for the vibes, but it's not celebrated here. Very rarely people put up decorations, but no one dresses up or goes out trick-or-treating. College and Uni kids throw Halloween parties though, and those are a lot of fun. One time in secondary school I went to my lessons as a ball-jointed doll on Halloween. I painted joints on my hands and knees and stuff and dressed in my most doll-like clothes :] Everyone thought I was weird though because Halloween really really isn't celebrated here hahaha. I've never carved a pumpkin before, I'd love to carve one with you! You'd have to teach me <3 I love love comedy horror films and thrillers :D I saw Terrifier 2 in the cinema last year and loved it, I'm so in love with Art the clown hahaha. I've always wanted to try candy corn, what does it taste like? Is it good? My favourite candy is liquorice, which is so very Dutch of me hahaha. What's your favourite candy? Do you have any Halloween plans this year? I'm hoping to find a party somewhere hehehe.

Here's the photo <3

#did you have fun at the emo night you went to?? #.violence #.nsft #asks

[landoncrris]

I think we should all take a deep breath :’) we’re not sure about anything. could be someone else’s phone, or even if it’s his, could be a picture of his family or even just the tower bridge in general if it means something special to him. i really doubt he’d go out having a girl on his lockerscreen like that because people text him all the time and since he doesn’t have dnd on, we probably would’ve caught it in a video/picture by now. also, are we not forgetting he has two phones? maybe that’s his “second” one and so the background is nothing personal. also you all coming in here to say things about him in such a negative note all because you caught a glimpse of a phone in a video is kinda…. weird. i don’t mean to sound rude but we’re definitely looking into it too much!! the only real “ick” anyone mentioned was anything he did in miami, and that’s most likely because we hadn’t seen that side of him yet. it’s a normal “shock”. if he likes his tattoos then leave him, him getting his teeth whitened is nothing of an ick, in fact he’s taking care of himself and I myself have done that in the past because of how insecure i was. anything he does to make himself feel good, why do people attack him instantly. not every single thing has to be an ick but people exaggerate and i’ve only seen this behavior on his fanbase. weird. he also might not know about his friends’ behavior on the internet, I don’t do a social media checkup when I meet someone to know what they’re saying online. he’s also extremely nice to probably see past it. also, some of the things you talk about happened years ago. he has been through so much ever since, it doesn’t make sense to analyze his past like that. i would cry if people ever went through my old pictures because that was reallll cringe. it’s normal. it frustrates me that people don’t think about what mason would feel/think about if he read any of these. his photoshoots? how is that an ick. he’s working. if it’s about the outfits, you know who you should be taking about. but also, if you just don’t like him then just say that (?) it’s infuriating to be his fan sometimes because he’s clearly just young and having fun whenever he can and he honestly deserves it. have you thought about how serious this season was and all the work he’s put in? helping carry a struggling team along with some of the other players? getting hate comments all the time? and the second he gets to relax and go out a bit you call it an ick because he’s finally been able to let go for a few days 😭 come on, if it were my fans i’d go insane probably. you find icky anything that’s not to do with him being your ideal boyfriend, that’s wicked. some people need to realize he’s a real person and not a fictional character we read in fics (even though all his fans’ fics are so so great, specially here on this blog!!) so i guess I just wanted to get that off my chest. some people are too sensitive and he could breathe and they would call it an ick. you found the word and ran with it 😭 love your blog lia, love that you’re so mature. I love your answers all the time but i don’t think i could ever put up with some of these anons. so i’m grateful you’re so mature and definitely such a great writer!! this was never targeted towards you but yes to some people who come in here every now and again and criticize mason for being a real human being and that just annoys me i guess, because i wouldn’t like people doing that to me. so just relax, breathe and enjoy his new content, he looked great in monaco :) x

i definitely agree with you at most things!! i do have to defend some people tho because they didn’t say those icks because of the lockscreen, they sent them to me because i asked for it, because in the end i was the one who freaked out about that video :) the teeth whitening itself isn’t icky in my opinion, it’s the picture of it i posted where you can see how he got it done. which is still no excuse i really get your point but it does look funny why lie. on anything else, i really agree!! maybe the reason why so many people try to find ‘icks’ about him is because we describe him as so perfect in fics that those things stand out more? of course those fics aren’t reality and we should know that but i also know how hard it is to remind yourself that that’s not who he really is why lie. and what you said about me and my blog, genuinely thank you so so much!! i really appreciate it and i’m glad that you think that way xx

[thornheartcat]

Thoughts on Life Is Strange: True Colors

Well, it’s been a year and I’ve let my thoughts marinate or whatever... let’s talk about True Colors. Obvs major spoilers for TC and the rest of the series below the cut.

I decided to make a post about my thoughts on the game since I have a lot of them and I did something similar for BtS. The good news here is that some of my issues were absolutely addressed. The bad news is others weren’t and there are other problems here. I wanna be real clear though, TC is, I would say, overall, a good game. I think it’s a hell of a lot better than BtS. But it simply didn’t hit me the way LiS1 and 2 did, and reading all the overwhelmingly positive reviews I felt like I was high or we hadn’t played the same game, so let’s look at some points and try to figure out why, yeah?

Let’s start with actual issues.

I feel like the first thing about the game that really jumps out is just how similar it is to the first game in structure. The most obvious similarities are how episode 4 has us return to a previously visited location which has been redecorated for a party and then ends with someone getting shot by the surprise true villain who seemed like a mostly nice guy until now, and a large chunk of episode 5 is taken up by a surreal dream sequence (though the first game’s beats TC’s in surrealness). It’s very noticeable, and indeed one of my biggest worries after seeing the reveal trailer was that this game might go a bit backwards and try to stick too close to the first game, and those fears were at least somewhat founded.

I feel like I didn’t really spend enough time with anyone, especially Ryan and Steph. I think they should have been there for more pivotal scenes, and I’m kinda surprised they weren’t? Like, as an example, imagine a version of the scene where you get pulled into the station where Ryan and Steph are with you, and maybe Pike steps out of the room for a second after asking you to sign the thing, to give you all a chance to think and talk it over or whatever, and then Ryan and Steph are on opposite sides of the decision, like maybe Ryan wants to sign the thing because he’s worried about his dad and friends and job or whatever but Steph is more determined not to give in to Typhon cause she has way less to lose and they both kinda give the pros of their side and cons of the other and then you have to make your choice? I don’t know if it’s like realistic or whatever but it’s just an example and I think that would’ve really worked and I would’ve liked some scenes like that, in that vein at least. It feels more Life Is Strange-y, having someone to bounce such decisions off of like Chloe, or at least right there whose attention you have to take into account, like Daniel.

More time should have been spent on the investigation, and less on the LARP. It was cute or whatever but it just went ON and ON and took up like the ENTIRE EPISODE and I just wanted to tell Ethan to go play normal, not-cringe pretend by himself so I could go to like, the local library or city hall or something and INVESTIGATE TYPHON! It sounds like Alex and at least one of the love interests might have done something like this offscreen, but then that begs the question, why was it offscreen??? And before anyone suggests it’s because “that would be boring”, it wasn’t boring when we broke into the principal’s office in episode 3 of the first game and snooped through literally everyone’s files and shit, was it? I didn’t think so at least!

This also would have involved visiting new locations, and this game SORELY needed them. For all the devs talked about the game being and feeling more open than ever, I felt SO CLAUSTROPHOBIC being stuck on that ONE STREET. It made the town feel so tiny, and not in a good way, but in a “this feels like a set” way, like a “it belongs on the Warner Bros. backlot next to Stars Hollow” way. And like, how am I supposed to care about this town if I only see one block of it and actually interact with approximately 10 people total? And bringing up 2 here would obviously be cheating since every episode took place somewhere different and thus required new environments, but even every episode of the first game introduced at least one entirely new environment, while in this game you’ve visited almost all of them (outside of the dream sequence stuff) by the time you complete episode 2! It’s disappointing!

It’s also particularly disappointing we never get to see anyone else’s (especially Steph’s and Ryan’s) places. Inspecting character bedrooms and living spaces has always been something I love about these games, because the environmental storytelling is top notch: you can learn a lot about a character from their decor and whatnot, and I feel like it was a serious missed opportunity.

Speaking of the love interests: Steph and Ryan get equal focus and you go equally far with them, fixing problems with the previous games (Chloe is naturally more narratively relevant than Warren so the game is very skewed towards you picking her, and you can’t go as far with Finn as you can with Cassidy, and while the story and character reasons for this are understandable, it still left many disappointed). The problem is that... it kinda feels like it shouldn’t be this way? Because Ryan ultimately seems he should be way more important than Steph! Ryan has lived in Haven for his whole life and has stronger roots here, his dad turns out to be the villain, and he was the one who was there when Gabe died! While Steph is just kinda... here. She was close with Gabe, and sets up the LARP, but, if you don’t romance her, that’s really it. And this sucks, cause like, in theory I WANTED equal focus on the love interests this time around, but they still ended up with one who’s more connected to the actual plot... and yet, Wavelengths also throws a wrench into this as Steph gets a character arc there that can make her route feel more thematically relevant... but only after you’ve played the DLC and beat the game already. And ideally, I shouldn’t have to choose between plot relevance and thematic relevance. They should both matter.

And to a certain extent you could argue they’re both equally worthless, after all Ryan doesn’t really do anything after episode 2 that isn’t also with Alex and Steph so... they’re both just sorta here. Neither of them really does anything. I mean they support Alex and shit, and help her steal the USB, but at the same time they’re not there for tons of important moments, and ultimately feel like they’re just here to be romanced more than anything else, and that kinda sucks. Like, if I wanted to play a dating sim, I’d play a dating sim. I have like 30 on Steam right now, like over 50 on my wishlist, and a few for Switch for good measure. I’m not lacking in options.

They’re also both sorta... boring. Like, neither of them have very strong flaws. The biggest one I can think of for either of them is that Steph is kind of flighty, and that she’s kind of a bummer to be around in the first week and a half of October, but that’s all really laid out in Wavelengths more than the game proper. Ryan has no clear flaws at all, and no, being able to not side with you at the end over his DAD is not a fucking flaw, it’s like, one of the most human things about him frankly. It kinda feels like they were worried about giving them flaws, like they thought if they gave Ryan any no one would like him because, if fan response to Warren is any indication, even a nice but mildly cringey straight guy is unacceptable, and if they gave Steph any flaws, it might look like they were saying something bad about lesbians or something? I dunno, I can’t claim to know any motives here, it could just be lame writing, but they both just feel so... safe. Like the rest of the game.

I felt like the whole “taking emotions away” thing was both underused, and confused as a concept. Like, there’s only two times in the whole game you can do it, so that’s kind of disappointing, like, it’s such an interesting idea so it’s a shame you don’t get to see more of it. And then there’s the confused message of it all. With Charlotte’s anger, if you take it, it’s almost certainly because you’re worried about her and want to help: Alex explicitly worries that her anger will lead to her hurting herself or someone else, and she doesn’t want that to happen because she cares about Charlotte. But if you take it, the consequences are literally only negative: Charlotte feels weird and empty inside, and doesn’t side with you at the council in the end, and her emotions come back out on Alex’s end later when she blows up at Steph and Ryan for no reason, upsetting them and making them leave. On the flipside, there’s Pike’s fear. If you take that, it’s because you don’t want to give up on investigating Typhon, and want to manipulate Pike into being on your side and ignoring the law (which Alex has indeed very much broken). But there are literally no negative consequences for doing so: Pike lets you go, sides with you at the council meeting, and while the fear comes back out for Alex as a panic attack, she’s alone and gets over it in like, a minute. So, taking someone’s emotions because you want to help them and are concerned for their safety (entirely selfless reasons) is bad, but taking them so you personally don’t get in legal trouble (entirely selfish reasons) is... good? This feels so weird and wrong. I feel like if they had just added one or two more instances where you could do this they could’ve both made it more interesting of a mechanic and avoided this weird message of “how dare you interfere with other people’s emotions instead of just letting them work through their feelings but also go ahead and do so if it will make your life and your life alone easier personally”.

Relatedly, I feel like there were a lot of decisions where there were pretty clear-cut correct answers. Like, it’s correct to not take Charlotte’s anger because doing so helps no one and nothing in any way, and it’s correct to take Pike’s fear because doing so hurts no one and nothing in any way. Or where it didn’t matter either way, like whether you tell Gabe about Ethan or not. Ultimately about the only decision I had any internal debate over was whether or not to tell Riley about Eleanor’s Alzheimer’s, and even then it sort of feels like there’s ultimately a correct answer, because if you don’t, Eleanor supports you at the council meeting. (Plus, once COVID hits next year, Riley will probably have to move home and take classes virtually anyways.) I always liked how 1 and 2 had such tough choices, how basically every decision had pros and cons in some way, and it was disappointing to see that wasn’t really ever the case again here.

So easily one of the biggest problems with the story is Alex’s dad. Gabe came to Haven in the first place to look for their dad, which, okay, makes sense. But the problem is that this is information obtained from looking at stuff that’s totally optional: there are deadass people who missed that Gabe came here looking for him because they missed the objects that explained that, and thus thought it was a pretty fucking wild coincidence that all the Chens just happened to come here. And considering the big final twist that he died in the mine collapse, THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN UNMISSABLE INFORMATION. I’m sorry to say it, but THIS IS OBJECTIVELY BAD WRITING. There was never any focus put on Alex’s dad until the dream sequence in episode 5, right before the reveal, so us being supposed to care about him comes straight out of nowhere, even if you did learn what little you could about him before that point! I was like, “oh right, her dad, or whatever...” This is the kind of shit that screenwriters use the rule of threes for: setup, reminder, payoff. You establish the dad thing earlier in a way that cannot be missed (maybe have Alex and Gabe actually discuss him briefly before Gabe bites it), remind us in a way that cannot be missed (maybe have [the player as] Alex do some digging into his whereabouts herself while digging into Gabe’s death as well), and then boom, the reveal. LIS2 actually provides a great contrast here: in episode 1, when you’re getting stuff for the party, Sean looks at a box of Karen’s stuff and thinks to himself that Dad should get rid of it, she’s never coming back and he needs to accept it rather than continue to hold out hope. Boom, we have established that Karen is alive but gone, Sean is bitter, and Dad’s not quite over it. Episode 2, you have to go into Karen’s old room to proceed and learn a bunch more about her in the process, and learn that she’s aware of the boys’ situation and wants to help if she can. She also comes up in non-optional conversations in episode 3. So when she finally shows up in episode 4, while it’s still a surprise, it’s not completely out of nowhere and it’s impossible to like, not know who she is and what her deal is and where she’s been and shit. The game FORCES YOU to know this information. TC needed shit like this.

Far from the first to say it but Alex’s powers are inconsistent af. After the fight with Mac she never really has any meltdowns quite the same way and it’s mad disappointing, like she mastered her powers all of a sudden. It’s hard to drive home the idea that Alex is afraid of her powers and their effect on her when we only see it once and then she has like no problems afterward. Also, there are times where it feels like she should be more affected than she is, like at Gabe’s wake. Shouldn’t all that sadness be overwhelming her? Funerals/wakes/memorials/etc. are fuckin SAD all by themselves and being surrounded by that many people who are that sad should be totally messing with her but it doesn’t...

I mentioned earlier that the love interests were kinda bland and that applies to the rest of the cast too tbh. Tell me one thing about Riley other than “likes computers”, “has a shitty boyfriend”, and “loves her grandma”. You can’t.

Except Duckie, actually. Duckie was not bland, Duckie was delightful. I wanted more Duckies.

Mac and Eleanor in particular also kinda disappeared after episode 2. If you at least helped Mac with his anxiety attack he shows up and you have a polite if strained conversation at the party in episode 4 and then he never shows up again, while Eleanor is at the party but doesn’t do anything and then is only important in the council vote at the end. It was a shame cause I felt like more could’ve been done with both of them.

So, speaking of the endings:

So we all know the endings are all kinda underwhelming and short. But also, some of them don’t make sense? Like, I played and romanced Ryan, so when the final choice was like “stay or go”, I was like, what? When was going ever really on the table? It felt like it had never even been discussed! We only ever talked about what would happen if I stayed! And then it turns out if you romance Steph, she talks about where she wants to go with you, so being given the option to stay with her also feels weird! Shouldn’t it be like, if you romance Ryan you stay in Haven with him and find the nice stable life you always wanted, and if you romance Steph you leave Haven and embrace the unknown and shit? It felt weird to be given that choice given those contexts.

It also feels weird that leaving is presented as like, Alex chasing her dreams or whatever, when Alex has at no point demonstrated any particular dreams or ambitions of any kind, let alone musically. Her love of music in general felt very “informed trait”, very “tell not show”.

Part of the moral at the end is like, Alex needs to stop trying to take on everyone else’s problems and focus on herself sometimes, to let herself feel and not force herself to be strong. So, shouldn’t there have been like, a scene where maybe Alex cries into Ryan/Steph’s arms and lets herself break down and be vulnerable after everything that’s happened, to show she took ghost/dream!Gabe’s advice to heart? Like, what’s the point of pointing that out if you’re not gonna actually show any resolution to it?

I feel like backloading all the flashbacks into the last episode was a mistake. I think it would’ve had more weight if say, episodes 2-4 had each started with a flashback, and then in episode 5 we had the “no, how it REALLY happened” thing. It would’ve had a lot more weight if we had spent a little while thinking this was how things had actually gone down.

Unfortunately I feel like everything near and around the mines kinda radiates some sorta stupidity rays, because I got a lotta issues with them.

So, how did Ethan get all the way out to the mines on foot? We leave in a car at sunset and when we get there the sun is totally down, it seems like it’s actually a bit far for a child to walk to on foot.

Why couldn’t the explosions be postponed? I mean, the answer we’re given is “because there was a second explosion” but like... why couldn’t that one be postponed too? Like, there’s actually an easy answer here: the secret explosion was timed and didn’t have a person monitoring it like the public one... but why isn’t that clearly stated?

So, common complaint 1: How the fuck did Jed miss Alex at point blank range? That was fucking bullshit. And frankly, him shooting her in the first place was stupid: just push her into the hole! The fall alone should be enough to kill her! And if, by chance, they did eventually find her body, isn’t it better for it to NOT have an obvious gunshot wound, so people could just be like, “oh I guess she fell in the dark what a tragic accident”?

Common complaint 2: How the fuck did Alex survive the fall? Especially with her glasses PERFECTLY INTACT? In general that scene felt like they were really just trying to copy the awesome shocking ending of episode 4 of season 1 but like, they kinda went too far with it and made it a little too over the top so when Alex didn’t die it kinda felt like a giant asspull.

Common complaint 3: How did Alex get out of the mine? I thought the explosions they did that killed Gabe were meant to ensure that no one could get into the mine and find the miners’ bodies, so how did Alex get out? Did they just do a shit job of it, so Gabe EXTRA died for nothing???

Common complaint 4: Alex is out of the hospital and seemingly totally fine and off crutches after only two days????????????????? WHAT??????????????????????????????

How did Typhon cover up all those deaths? Even if we assume Typhon was hiring for this job with like undocumented workers and people who wouldn’t be missed in mind, that’s still like, insanely sus, and kinda farfetched, and it would still be completely impossible to completely cover up the deaths. Mining is a heavily regulated industry for good fucking reason, and accidents are investigated thoroughly by the federal government, especially in a uranium mine where they’d have the Department of Labor AND the Department of Energy on their ass. It’s very hard to believe they would be able to cover that up in the face of that level of scrutiny.

Am I the only one who thought the coverup was actually going to be that like, Typhon’s mining practices had been unsafe and the miners had been exposed to radiation and it was leeching into the groundwater or whatever? Like, it’s explicitly mentioned that they were mining for uranium, but that fact was never relevant. Why? Feels like that would be a lot easier to cover up. Maybe have Alex’s dad turn out to have died of cancer, but it turns out he only got the cancer because of the poor safety, and that’s the big twist??? I dunno but it felt like a weird detail to bring up and then have not be relevant.

The idea that three people in their early 20s, two of whom are queer and one of whom is a woman of color, would try to take the USB to the police is ludicrous. Like Ryan is one thing but in what world would Steph or Alex in particular not immediately assume the cops have been bought off? Just send that shit to Wikileaks, get shit done faster! I mean, when Pike brought Alex in like “this is crimes” and she was all surprised Pikachu about it, it just had me like

Music. Previous games used music really well at pivotal moments, but this game relegates most of its music to optional moments of calm. This is pretty transparently to appease streamers, who get copyright claimed if they let the copyrighted music play, and so even though there’s a streamer mode that turns it off, clearly they wanted to be sure they wouldn’t be missing out on much. But that’s a shame, because there’s a lot of moments in this game that would probably be a lot more memorable if they’d had the right song playing over them.

The game needed more Hawt Dawg Man and Power Bear. This IS an objective flaw and I will not hear arguments to the contrary.

There is no way to pet Valkyrie, even in Wavelengths!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS ALSO OBJECTIVELY BAD. LET ME PET THE KITTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here we have problems that aren’t necessarily problems in the objective, but that are just like, my opinion, man

Haven Springs is very pretty... a little too pretty even! Like, so picturesque and quaint it felt fake and forced, and not even really in a “this image will be subverted and the contrast between the town’s dark secrets and perfect appearance will be jarring” way? Like even in the reveal trailer I was like “There is not a single small town anywhere in America that looks like this.” And before anyone says anything, yes, I have seen the video where they talked about the inspiration for Haven, but even what they show doesn’t look like Haven in that way. Like, nowhere has that fucking flower-covered bridge! And what’s really weird is that what we can see beyond the main street looks way more normal, so I was like, why can’t I go over there and appreciate the true American small town experience of crushing poverty, shuttered businesses, and only one grocery store for 50 miles? The first game gave me that vibe! The first game was like “almost every building in this town was constructed sometime between 1945 and 1995 and is either a boring generic ‘place of business’ box or a sad tiny cookie cutter house unless your name is Prescott” and I was like “Yeah, exactly, America!”

Ethan being alone often enough to go out to the mines and explore and draw those comics and shit... Is that really realistic? I mean I can only speak for myself and my own experiences growing up in NYC (very different from Haven Springs) but even though I live in a mad nice neighborhood when I was his age I was only allowed to go around the corner to school in the morning by myself, or MAYBE down like 2 or 3 blocks to a friend’s place! It wasn’t until I was in middle school that I was really allowed out on my own or that my mom felt totally comfortable leaving me and my sister alone for a few hours. Maybe small towns like this are different? Please tell me if they are!

Why isn’t Steph from Haven? Like, when she showed up in the reveal trailer I was like “oh, this must be her hometown, because why else would she be in this nowhere-ass place?” Like, I had assumed she wasn’t actually from Arcadia Bay in BtS on account of she owns a shirt that literally says Arcadia Bay, which is deeply tourist/transplant behavior IMO (I’m from NYC but you don’t see me walking around in an I❤️NY shirt, you know?) and we see her loitering outside the dorms in episode 2. I feel like it could’ve been interesting if she was from Haven, like, she’s had to move home because that’s how things are in the capitalist nightmare-scape that is this country, reconnecting with her old pal Ryan, maybe that makes Alex feel even more like an interloper since they go way back... I know someone will say “yeah but her mom needs to have died in the storm” but like I dunno it’s bad enough knowing other people you knew and were close to (like say your best friend’s brother) died. I dunno, this one is probably just me though.

Speaking of Steph, her playing drums and LARPing both felt like they kinda came outta nowhere. I mean, in BtS, she was interested in theater tech and D&D, which aren’t UNrelated, but a) being behind the scenes of a performance and being in the performance are two very different things, and b) LARPing is so much more tragically nerdy than D&D is and they are not anywhere near equivalent. You have to be SEVERAL magnitudes more of a loser to LARP than to just play D&D, and this was never suggested in BtS. Like, damn, they really kicked my girl down to the bottom of the nerd hierarchy.

Also encouraging Ethan to LARP feels like child abuse. He is almost in MIDDLE SCHOOL and you are encouraging him to continue playing pretend right when all his peers are about to decide that they Are Grownups Now™ and are Too Old To “Play”™ because It’s Called “Hanging Out” Now™ and start mercilessly mocking him? Positively cruel, this kid is going to have no friends and be miserable. (this is a joke, but he IS going to get bullied to shit and no one else is helping)

I was honestly kind of more interested in Alex’s time in foster care and group homes and shit than I was in the actual events of the game. Like, there’s an interesting fucking setting that is rarely explored in media and is rife with drama and potential for social commentary, so why aren’t we there instead? Kind of a shame to bring all that up but then never explore it in any real depth or detail.

Speaking of that time, in both LiS1 and 2 we see the inciting incident that like, activates or awakens the powers. Here, we don’t. And while that’s fine, I think having a protagonist who’s had them for a while is fine, it’s a shame we never hear what the actual inciting incident was. 1 and 2 seemed pretty clear that the powers were awakened by an extremely sudden and extremely significant trauma, but we don’t ever hear about any particular incident in Alex’s past (which is almost entirely wall-to-wall trauma, also meaning none would really stand out) that did it. Just kind of a shame, I was curious as to when and why she got them but we never found out.

Also speaking of foster care, in the dream sequence you can see a list of meds on the wall, and ignoring the slightly overused “person with superpowers is given psychotropic meds because doctors just don’t get it!” trope with Alex, we can also see that one of the girls in the group home represented there is trans and is taking hormones. This is cool, and I hate to be that person, but... that struck me as deeply unrealistic? I couldn’t help but think of this ABC Family/Freeform show my sister used to watch called The Fosters, about a family that was named the Fosters but also WAS a foster family. There was this storyline where Callie, one of the foster kids, ended up in this girls’ group home run by Rosie O’Donnell, and one of the people in this home was actually a trans guy, who had been placed there by the state with no regard for his identity. This obviously caused tension with the girls in the house, some of whom were transphobic to him, and Rosie O’Donnell kept having to fight the system to get him placed in a group home for queer youth that was better equipped to support him and his needs, and it was way harder to do than it should’ve been. So it felt a little weird in True Colors to see this group home listing a trans girl’s hormones on the med list, like, is the Oregon state government really willing to pay for hormones for trans teens in foster care? They SHOULD, but WOULD they? I don’t think so.

In general I think the game could’ve gone harder on the whole ACAB thing, kind of a letdown after LiS2 went in particularly hard on it.

I think there should’ve been more side characters, particularly named side characters that you could have conversations with, rather than just eavesdrop on. One thing I think would have been a positive thing to bring back from the first game is the minor characters like Max’s classmates and some of the recurring townspeople. Like, the guy who lost his dog has a name on the fake Facebook/Nextdoor app thing, but he’s never named in the subtitles and I don’t remember him or what he looked like, but I remember random characters from the first game like Stella and Justin. It feels like a real wasted opportunity, like, we could’ve had Alex really integrate herself into the community and form her own relationships with more people around her rather than just taking Gabe’s place in his social circle.

A lot of minor aesthetic choices bothered me: the logo is bland and boring, as is the in-game text. Previous games had logos that told you something about the story and characters (the Polaroid and sketchy look in the first game’s logo reflecting Max’s hobby and journal, the marker look and anarchy A in BtS reflecting Chloe’s punk attitude, and the embroidery and patch in 2 reflecting Sean’s backpack and travel) but True Colors’ is just... nothing. LiS1 and BtS had their own font, and LiS2 and Captain Spirit did as well, but True Colors just has... boring normal font. The menu music for journals and stuff in previous games was memorable and calming but True Colors doesn’t have any. The game’s title screen never changes, while all previous games had it change every episode. Some of this can almost certainly be chalked up to COVID but not all, and it’s still disappointing.

Is it bad that I thought Alex singing Creep was kinda cringe LOL like it’s just SO basic you know? Like what are you gonna play next, Wonderwall?

Bonus Wavelengths gripe!

Steph has a bowl of pride-themed buttons, still with some Chloe made in there. It’s clear which ones Chloe made: the black and white DIY-aesthetic ones that say PRIDE WAS A RIOT and BE GAY DO CRIMES. Which are extremely Chloe’s style and I love that, but... at the time Chloe would’ve made those buttons, “pride was a riot” was not really part of the discourse yet and “be gay do crimes” wasn’t a meme. I know, because I’ve been on this godforsaken website for over a decade, and I am the same age as Chloe. So I can’t help but notice these things.

Alright that’s enough bitching. I did still overall enjoy the game so let’s say some nice things before I go.

The graphics are beautiful. While I’m still a little miffed at them moving the dial a little closer to realism, it’s a beautiful game. The facial animation in particular really is stellar and the team at Deck Nine should be proud.

The music that was there was gorgeous, Angus & Julia Stone are fantastic as usual and their original compositions absolutely shone, I simply wish they had been used more outside of mood music for chill slideshows of the scenery. mxmtoon also did great work and I loved her original songs!

The way the game tackles grief clearly resonated with a lot of people, and I love that. I particularly loved the examination of Charlotte’s anger: how she knows it’s not anyone’s fault, and yet... she can’t help but blame them. Her emotions don’t stop just because she logically knows they’re wrong. That felt super real.

I liked using my powers to do little good deeds for the people around town. Again, I wish those minor characters had been fleshed out more, but I did like what was there!

Episode 1 did a great job of establishing Gabe and making you like and care about him before he bites it. I just wish the trailers hadn’t spoiled that, because it would’ve been a hell of a twist, and I and a lot of others probably would have been more invested in him rather than looking at our watches like “okay he’s great but when’s he going?”

Look when many of my biggest problems with a game can be summed up as “I liked this but I feel like it could’ve been explored more” I think that’s generally a good thing LOL

Wavelengths was decent and I think it was particularly good when you consider the quarantine constraints it was largely made under.

So yeah. Those are my thoughts on TC. Finally, it is out of my system. I give it a 6/10, big step up from BtS (3/10 if I’m generous), very interested to see what Deck Nine does next, and what’s next for the franchise.

So yeah, peace out til next time dorks.

#life is strange #life is strange true colors #life is strange: true colors #listc

[the-cat-chat]

August 12, 2023

Bones and All (2022)

A young woman embarks on a 1000 mile odyssey through America where she meets a disenfranchised drifter. But all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether love can survive their otherness.

JayBell: Going into this, I knew it was a cannibalistic love story, so I made the conscious decision to have an absolutely open mind. Honestly, I don't know how anyone could possibly go into this movie without being at least a little mentally prepared.

So here's the thing. I actually do like the story. If you take away all the cannibal aspects, it's simply a coming-of-age love story. It's about a girl, on her own for the first time, trying to discover who she is and what she believes in without the influence of her parents' beliefs and expectations. And honestly, that's pretty relatable. As you grow, you are forced to decide things for yourself, the life you want to lead, what's right and wrong, and how much you should value the opinions of others.

But of course, the cannibalism is in the story, and I can't just ignore it. And trust me, I wanted to. I found this depiction of cannibalism more visually disgusting compared to the depiction of cannibalism in Fresh. I was more psychologically disgusted with Fresh because it presented cannibalism in a way that forced you to see the possibility of cannibalism in familiar foods that you've had before and enjoyed.

Don't get me wrong, in Bones and All, the sight of tearing flesh and the nasty sounds are gross, but the whole situation seemed a little too absurd and out of the realm of possibility that it almost made it all the way back around to comical. Like sure, maybe someone hides human flesh in a meatball and forces me to eat it. I can see that happening, and that idea is completely terrifying. But can I see myself chomping on some strange rando that I find at the grocery story? Thankfully, no.

If I remove any thoughts on cannibalism and just look at the coming-of-age story that's at its center, I can digest the narrative more easily (pun intended hehe). That said, there were a few grievances.

At one point, our main couple has this argument and they split up for a while. Not only did I not completely understand the root of this argument they had, the viewer doesn't get to hear their conversation when they reconnect. What made our main girl decide to come back? Does she apologize? Does he? Where has she been? Is he angry at all? Maybe this scene is more explained in the book, but I feel like it's an odd choice to not have it in the movie. Plus, the weirdo stalker cannibal following our main girl has a hair fetish or something, and I wish that was explained a bit more.

In the end, I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. So I consider that an accomplishment. But I also don't think I can ever see Timothee (Champala—)(Charlat—)(you-know-who) again in the same way.

Rating: 6.2/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: This movie. My gawd. I could probs write a whole book on this movie and the acting and the plot and how I literally haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since we watched it and did I mention OMYGAWD!!!

Soooo I tried reading the book knowing I had every intention of watching this movie. I couldn’t do it (now like 30% of me wishes I would’ve stuck it out a bit). And when I saw the movie on Amazon Prime when we were lost and destitute for a movie to watch- it was like the stars aligned. And I kneewww this would be weird and we’d suffer organ damage. But we did it. And I gotta say the least I’m kinda concerned.

Bc the more I think about the movie the more I think I kinda liked it. Barf 🤮 I knooowwww. What is wrong with me? Someone call the doctor I need a lobotomy!!! But yeah obviously half the time I was cringing and screaming internally and saying ewww and omigaaawd. But two things can obviously be true- and I have a love hate feeling towards this movie.

Like it was absolutely bizzaaaaare. Love that. It was so out of this world crazy and unlike anything I’ve ever seen that it was just transfixing. I wanted to know what the actual fluff was happening. And like why are they like this? And why’d her dad leave? Where’s her mom?? Sooo many questions. And like why are the cops after Lee? Where’s his dad? Was he an Eater too. Also Eater? Ew. Is that really the agreed upon name the team picked?

And the actors. Omigawd they were sooo good I loved Taylor Russell as Maren and obviously Timothée Chalamet as Lee. But let’s give the ickiest shout out to Mark Rylance as Sully. For the love of goooooodnesss. It balances on such a David Lynch Twin Peaks vibe which I love but in a horrifically unsettling way, and then maximizes to a total Forensic Files freak vibe of “someone pls get me outta here pllllssss.“ And by here I mean take me away from my brain and soul.

And the detailsssss. The way some characters have like bite marks??? Ummm okay?!? The sounds??? Barrrrrf. Like who said it was okay to unlock all my primal fear and ickiness. Bc it’s not I know I signed up for it but it’s not okay. And the fliesssss. And that poor old lady. - and she hasn’t died yet and it shows how cruel Sully is when he’s acting like he’s sooo kind. But like how when they eat her- gawd help me- And her pictures are all there in the room showing she had a life that connected her with others and she was probably someone’s granny and then all the creepy dolls bc that’s what old ladies do is collect dolls. Ahhhh!!!

I do have complaints obvi- I’m meee. Ummmm soo first thing we’re gonna glaze over is the mullet. And the weird KISS dancing scene. And then how people are cannibals. I know it’s a big one. And the weird hair rope Sully has. No. Just no. And I hate the ending- the ending’s a big no. Like a girl can’t just work in a bookshop and be a cannibal with her boyfriend. And Lee’s sister. 😢

Okay so I guess I kinda hated it. 😬 IDK anymore I actually feel a bit broken. But I think it is worth watching even tho it’s uncomfortable and weird bc it is bizarre and unusual and entertaining. It’s interesting too how there is meaning laid into the story so subtly bc you’re just like this is disturbing and gross why am I watching this weird stuff? Oh bc it’s actually about human connection and identity and how we all fit in together and just finding another person that understands and accepts without needing to change you? Ahhhhhhhh I can’t. Really. And that’s my essay- you can go back and forth that this is awful and oh this fit in the bigger picture like that so good, and I’ll be thinking about this movie at least once a week for the rest of my life. So yeah, question of the century, is it yay for trauma or genius!?! I haven’t a clue.

Rating: 6/10 Cats 🐈

#movie #movie review #timothée chalamet #taylor russell

[soulmatesthrough-death]

❗️🤝 🤡 🧍‍♀️😼 🎵 😎 + Wrench?

F/O Ask Game -- Part 2

❗️- Quick! Without thinking, tell me your favorite thing about your s/o!

   “Heh, not gonna lie...first thing that came to mind was their hair. Which is...sorta weird when there’s a lot to love about my Kat? But... I guess it’s just the fun of it, y’know?

   “The long hair I met them with... Seeing it grow out, getting to play with it... Helping fund the “chop off” process so they could feel better. It’s been a ton of fun. A way to show off their personality. Who they are. So... Maybe it’s a little less weird if I phrase it that way?”

🤝 - What is something in your relationship that you and your [s/o] mutually agree on?

   “Haha, typo! I gotcha, though. Anyways! So a mutual agreement, huh...? I mean, there’s a few things to pick from, but for the one that stands out...

    “First of all, sand is only cool in theory. You miss the beach until sand ends up in your pockets, your boots, (now our) masks... Your ass, still, somehow! Fucking incredible.

   “Also that the Siska movies are cringe, but in a way that has you laughing... So basically, they’re good cringe.”

🤡 - Do you ever embarrass yourself in front of your s/o?

   “When I first read this, I thought it said “does your s/o ever embarrass you” and I was trying to figure out if Kat ever did, intentionally or not...and I re-read it now to realize it’s if I embarrass myself in front of Kat?!

   “...The better question is when don’t I? Even now, I think I’ve got the “cool and suave” vibes going, only to trip on my sledgehammer or stumble over my words and fuck up my lines... We’re married, for fuck’s sake! You would’ve thought I woulda gotten better at all this, at some point.

   “...Well, not that I’m complaining, actually. Me messing up and looking like an idiot gets them giggling and happy, so... Ah, I guess I’ll settle for looking like some kinda dweeb around my partner.”

🧍🏽‍♀️- Has your s/o ever done something (purposeful or not) to embarrass you?

   “OH, I DIDN’T MISREAD!!! HAHA...! I still don’t know, actually. I’m trying to think up something that comes to mind, but... Most of the time, they’ve either been so cute that nothing else registers, or so awkward that I’m more worried about them than me. Y’know?

   “But yeah, they’re too much of a sweetheart to bully me like I do them. If I embarrass them, it’s all fun and games! But they never do the same back... Although, that might have something to do with us having different...thresholds for who considers what “embarrassing,” so I win more than they lose.”

😼 - Do you ever get jealous when your s/o pays more attention to a cute pet than you?

   “...No. Yes. Fuck! Maybe!?

   “...All I’m saying is I am totally, way cuter than a “puppy”...or cat...but I’ll admit defeat to Princess Leia. ONLY because she’s our baby!!! Any other cat or dog or horse...or whatever has no grounds to stand on!!”

🎵 - Give me a song that reminds me of your s/o!

   “Oh... Wow. Uh, I’m not prepared for this one, actually. We have a song together and it’s so “us” that I’ve never quite thought up a song that reminds me of KitKat...? Lemme check, though.

   “Hmm... Might have to go with Moon and Back by Alice Kristiansen. It goes both ways, but... The gentle tone of the song, overall sappiness, moon themes (right next to all things cats, they LOVE the space-stuff), support through rough times... Yeah. That’s my wifey.”

😎 - What do you do to impress your s/o?

   “Uhhh, a little bit of everything? Especially in the beginning! To...the point I was overbearing, yeah. But I really wanted them to like me. An embarrassing amount. Miiiight’ve gotten a little over the top, sometimes.

   “Now, though? I’ve actually calmed down. My biggest “love letter” to Kat was getting Princess Leia at all and... They recognize that. I get to live with this silly furball-baby and I...think that’s a break for awhile. Might get back into DedSec work...might find something new.

   “I’m still thinking about it. Kat wants kids someday, though, and I plan to keep impressin’.”

#Anon #Wrench answers #otp; purrfect anarchy #[W] also a break is BIG TIME what Kat needs #[W] I won't...no refuse to let em get too in their own head #[W] about....anything rlly #[W] I'll look out for em and...yeah #[W] kiss their ass to bed and all that

[haikyuu-sins]

Hiiii sweetie I love your Law writings so much! Oh this sounds like your others are bad, no I didn't mean to say that! I'm sure your others are good too, I just didn't read them yet because I'm Law obsessed lately. Anyways, could I request something? It's actually my first time to request something so I hope I did it right??? I'm sorry if I didn't. Coming back to the request, could you do something like Law x reader (preferably female but gn would be okay too though so everyone can relate!) being kinda close to each other and always teasing each other (she is a Strawhat member) and he is deeply in love with her but his heart breaks seeing her hugging a guy of her crew? Like he knows she's a cutiepie and loves hugging her friends but he just gets so jealous seeing her with Zoro or whoever and his mood changes and he distances himself from her, leaving her all confused because he thinks it's impossible for her to like him when it's so much more likely and also practical to date someone of her crew. But then she asks him about him being so weird and cold lately and he kind of let's everything out and confesses? I'm so sorry if this is too long or complicated, ignore it if that's the case! Sending lots of love to you from Germany! <3

Oh my freaking goodness you’re so sweet! I’m glad you enjoy all of my Law writings as much as I love writing for him! Don’t even worry, you don’t have to read my other’s if you don’t want to, if it’s just Law you wanna read the go right ahead! :) GERMANY?! I have people reading my works in GERMANY?! It always baffles me when I get asks that say they’re from another country because I forget that not everyone is going to live near me. Thank you for all the love all the way from Germany! ❤️

Warnings: None, other than some swearing here and there, not proofread in the slightest.

****Law x Strawhat!Reader

He hated it. There was nothing more that Law hated right now was seeing you draped over Zoro’s back while you watched something over his shoulder. He was stupid to think that you wouldn’t have a close relationship with them, of course you would. Law could only grit his teeth and endure it. It wasn’t like the two of you were in a relationship, he couldn’t tell you to stop.

Law actually could think of something he hated more. It was the fact that Zoro didn’t seem to mind, not in the slightest. It was like this was a daily occurrence for him and it was something he was used to. Part of him wanted to see the marimo push you off and act annoyed. But something told him that even then, you wouldn’t care and would simply do it again.

“Hey Law! Come look at what Usopp made-!” you slid off of Zoro’s back and turned around with a smile, hoping to see the other swordsman you had seen just a moment ago. Your sweet smile turned into a frown, then a pout when you realized he wasn’t there anymore. ‘Where did he go?’ You thought to yourself as you looked around the deck.

You knew that the other captain was a bit more reclusive than you’d like since you enjoyed being around him and it never seemed like he wanted to be around the rest of the crew-probably because most of the crew was so boisturious and loud and Law was, well...the opposite of boisturious and loud.

It didn’t take you long to find him. “You left us!” you say to him, playfully feigning like you were upset as you crossed your arms. “How rude!”

“And for a reason.” he simply responded back, not even looking at you while he did.

“Sorry, were we being too loud?” you chuckled and smiled. “You’re gonna have to get used to that on this ship while you’re here with us.”

Am I going to have to get used to seeing you all over your crew as well? Law kept his thoughts to himself while he opted not to give you another response.

“Um...I’ll just…” you pointed back to Zoro and the others, leaving him to be by himself since that’s what you thought he wanted. It was the opposite. He wanted to be around you, but he just couldn’t stand seeing you so close to them as well. As much as he wished that was him, he’d never say it aloud.

It was something that you had been noticing the past few days. The two of you got along great when you were on Punk Hazard together, so what was different now? You felt more comfortable since you were on your own ship and maybe that was it. There weren't any battles happening and everyone was quite lax...so shouldn’t it be the opposite? Shouldn’t he be more relaxed now that he knew he was safe? Or was that even it? You weren’t sure.

It took you a few days to finally approach him about it. You noticed that every time you he was around you and then when you went over to your crew mates, he’d be gone before you even turned back around.

The crew was inside eating and Law had finished first, opting to go outside in the quiet after he was done. You soon followed after you were done and left the loud dining room to find him. It wasn’t difficult since there was only a limited area outside on the deck.

“Don’t like how loud it is in there?” you chuckled as you walked up to the railing next to him. “I’m not sure how long you’ll stay with us, but you get used to it, you actually tend to enjoy it after a while and when it’s quiet, you feel a little weird.”

“I don’t think I’ll be getting used to Mugiwara-ya anytime soon and I don’t know how you deal with…” Luffy’s loud shriek was heard in the distance and Law’s face scrunched up, “that.”

You only laugh at the other captain, “I take it your crew isn’t like this then?”

He rolled his eyes and almost cringed at the thought. “No. They are. I just choose to ignore it most of the time.”

“And does that work?”

He answered almost immediately, “Never.”

You laughed again and Law felt like his breath almost caught in his throat. It was something he would be able to listen to over and over again and never get sick of-unlike your captain.

“I wanted to ask you something too…” your fingers tapped the railing and traced the design of the wood. “Are you okay? Or did I do something wrong? I thought we were getting along really well and lately it feels like you’ve been more distant for some reason. I just...I like talking to you and I thought you did too. We’ll be in the middle of a conversation and I’ll turn to talk to someone and then when I turn back to talk to you again, you’re gone. But maybe I just misinterpreted it and you didn’t want to talk to me in the first place.” you let out an almost pitiful sounding laugh, along with a sad smile.

Fuck...That wasn’t the reason in the slightest and he hated that he made you think that it was your fault he was just a little jealous of your crew mates that you live with.

“No.. that’s not it…” he sighed to himself, feeling guilty that he had made you feel that way. He was fighting with himself internally. Do I say something to them or not? He knew that there wouldn’t be much of a relationship since the two of you were on separate crews. Pair that with the fact that he doesn’t even know if he’ll survive this attack on Doflamingo.

Law wouldn’t want to get your hopes up about anything if you felt the same way about him. At the same time, this could possibly be one of his only chances to tell you how he felt. All he could think about was embarrassing himself. From the first time he saw you on Sabaody, he knew that there was something about you because of the way you never left his mind since then.

It was a stroke of luck that you managed to see him again on Punk Hazard. Since you were relatively new to the crew at that time, you still hadn’t bonded with anyone in particular so he never saw you acting like you do now with them.

You raised your brow in an attempt to get him to continue with what he was trying to say. “Then what is it?” you ask him slowly. “If you don’t want to say anything, that’s fine I guess. As long as I’m not doing anything to make you mad or hate me.”

“I’m not mad at you. I don’t hate you either.” he paused for a moment, gritting his teeth together. Law couldn’t believe that he was even doing this to himself. “Quite the opposite actually…”

Your brow raised again in slight confusion. “Oh?” you hesitated, the thought registering in your head about what he meant. You knew he wasn’t exactly the person who would let his feelings gush out. A small smile slipped out and you tried your best not to smirk.. “Ooh~ I see.” you drug your words out slowly.

As Law went to open his mouth, whether to object to what you were saying-even though he wasn’t-or let you know that you were right, he didn’t get to say anything before your Captain burst onto the deck.

“Y/N-chaaan!!! Come play with us!!” and you couldn’t even object or tell Luffy that you would be there in a minute when a long arm stretched out to grab you. It wrapped around your waist and you before it was able to yank you away from Law, you grabbed the collar of his shirt and planted your lips firmly on his.

“I’m glad you don’t hate me~” you grin as you pull away, not because you want to but because you’re being forced away by Luffy.

Law could feel his cheeks heat up from the sudden kiss and all he wanted to do was grab his hat and pull it over his face. But then he would’ve missed seeing your smile as you notice just how flustered you made him. He wouldn’t mind being a little embarrassed if he gets to see your smile every time.

#one piece #trafalgar law #trafalgar law x reader #law x reader #trafalgar-law-x-reader #law-x-reader #trafalgar law scenario #trafalgar law fic #law op #trafalgar law op #trafalgar law imagine #one piece x reader #one piece imagine #op

[donutloverxo]

Soooo there are many fics where reader makes steve jealous and it ends in rogh possesive fcking.. but what if steve tries to make reader jealous and it totally backfires and she becomes extremely insecure?? But please with a fluffy ending because my poor heart can’t handle anything less 🥺🥺

Hey. Thanks for the request and I hope this fits. *gif is not mine* Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Please note that my stories are not to be stolen or reposted on any other site. Reblogs and welcome and much appreciated. This blog and this story is 18+. Do not read, follow or interact if you are not 18+. Please🙏🙏

"Um... yes?" You asked as you brought down the hand which was holding out a twenty dollar bill - since you thought it was the pizza you've been waiting for, for like the past half an hour, and not a blond, six feet and some inches,tall super soldier.

"Hi... doll," he smiled.

"My name's Y/N," you corrected him as you frowned, so fed up of men undermining you by calling you such 'sweet' nicknames. You knew Captain Rogers wasn't like that, but still you couldn't have him getting any ideas.

"Right," he cleared his throat as he repeated your name. "Sorry," he said with a toothy grin, which almost made your heart melt.

"How did you get my address, Captain?"

"Tony gave it to me. I would've asked you at work... but I wanted to do this the right way."

"Do what?" you quirked a brow.

"Um, I maybe people aren't as formal nowadays," he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "But I can't really change who I am... not so late in life anyway," he cringed as he realised he was pretty rambling then, taking a deep breath he gathered enough courage, "I wanted to ask you to come with me, as my date, to the valentines party this Sunday."

You hummed at that, considering it because damn if Rogers wasn't convincing. Even when he wasn't as authoritative and dominating as he is when he puts on the suit.

It would be nice to be courted and treated nicely, and to not have to put up with the shit most men try to pull with you, you were sure Rogers would show you the time of your life. Besides, only an idiot would say no to him.

"No." You said with a finality that left no room for debate. "Is that all?"

"Uh... I... yes..." he stammered, not exactly prepared to be turned down so bluntly. "Can I ask why?"

"I don't shit where I eat."

"What?" his eyebrows cutely scrunching up.

You just knew you must've touched a nerve with your crass language. Tony, your boss, had told you about Cap and his 'language' incident.

"I don't date people at work... it can get complicated," you explained as he nodded.

It wasn't a complete lie. You didn't want to be known as the 'easy' girl or have others gossip about you. But that would be a sacrifice you'd willing make for someone like Steve. Who'd dare make fun of the Captains girl anyway?

You had been smitten with him from the moment you saw him, learning about his bravery and sacrifice as a kid you looked upto him and respected him, but when you met him in real life... you were a complete goner. Your stomach did somersaults every time he touched you, or hell even looked your way.

You tried your best to flirt, which was basically you stuttering and trying to make small talk whenever you had a chance to talk to him. Since he was born almost a century ago he would probably be offended if you were the one to make the first move.

You continued your back and forth for weeks before he told you about her. That he'll be visiting her over the weekend. You simply nodded, having a vague idea of who Peggy Carter was but not of what she went to Steve.

After some research you found out that she was an old flame of his, someone he couldn't marry and build a life with because he was frozen for decades. Upon seeing her many qualifications, and just how freaking brilliant she was, you knew one thing.

You may not be as smart as her, but you knew that you could never measure upto a woman that incredible. Someone Steve still visits after all these years. You were already afraid that he was out of your league but now you were sure of it.

"Did I do something wrong?" he wanted to know.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he shoved his hands in his pockets, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout, "It's just that you used to talk to me all the time... and now it seems as if you're ignoring me. Is it because of something I did? Whatever it is I never meant to hurt you," he swore.

You sighed. "It's nothing you did, really. I just realized how incompatible we are. I hope you find the one you're looking for, someone who'll make you happy and give you the world. It just won't be me."

You didn't let him say anything closing your door instantly as you kept your tears at bay.

At the valentines party

"Cap," Tony said, slapping a hand on Steve's shoulder, "I thought you'd have her on your arm tonight. What happened?"

Referring to his assistant. He wanted to play cupid this once, since it was the season of love, he wanted to see his idiot friends happy. He was sure you both would be disgustingly smooching and all cute at the party. But not only had you both shown up separately, you seemed to be actively ignoring Steve.

"She uh... rejected me," he said, looking down into his glass of whiskey. It didn't do much for him but it helped him blend in.

"Ouch," Tony winced, "I was sure she would go for you. But I guess I have been wrong before," he shrugged.

"Really?"

"Yeah. She goes all heart eyes whenever you're around. But I guess that's nothing unique since that's just how most women act around you," he scoffed. "You should read all the love letters you got today. I was going through them, you have quite a passionate fanbase of people who want to... what was it..." he pretended to think hard about it. "Yes, 'ride your bicep', I don't understand the physics of how on earth that would work, but I am intrigued."

"Tony," Steve rolled his eyes as he always does when he's around the billionaire. "I don't really care about all of them... they don't know me. I only care about her and I don't know why she said no, but there's nothing I can do about it."

"Whoa, you're accepting defeat so soon? Where's that I-can-do-this-all-day attitude?"

"This isn't a war, Tony. If she doesn't see me that way... then there isn't much I could do."

"Maybe she's just playing hard to get. There's absolutely no way to really know what goes on in womens heads, Rogers. They're so smart and sneaky... it's kinda scary actually."

"I don't think she'd play games..."

Tony had gotten distracted pretty quickly and left Steve alone to pout and only appreciate your beauty from afar. You had worn a pink dress with red hearts on it, and for some reason, you got more beautiful every time he looked at you.

"Hello."

He jerked when he heard the foreign voice, looking at the blonde woman next to him, with her hand out, he shook it just to be polite.

"I'm Crystal," she smiled, flashing her sparkly white teeth.

"I'm Steve."

"Of course I know who you are!" she laughed, "You're Captain America, everyone knows you," she playfully hot his bicep before squeezing it, "Oh my... you must work out a lot."

"Uh... yeah..." he nodded. He could never get used to how people perceived him so differently.

"There is something I need to know really bad," Crystal blinked as she looked up at him, "Do you wear underwear in those suits? They seem really tight, wouldn't it be uncomfortable?"

"Oh, um... we just sort of..."

You had never looked at yourself as a jealous person. Maybe things were different when it came to Steve... he was a pretty special guy.

When you looked at him, talking to some girl, dancing with her, laughing and having fun with her, it was as if you were on fire from simmering rage, at the same time you could feel your heart breaking in a million pieces.

You knew it was wrong. You had no claim to him, he can do whatever he wants. If you said no to him then it makes perfect sense that he seeked out someone else.

You just had to get away for some fresh air, so you wouldn't abandon all class and pull the girls hair and drag her away from your Steve.

You yelped when you heard him call out your name.

Looking over your shoulder you saw him staring at you, his brows scrunched up, he looked so worried. But why?

"What're you doing here? You'll catch a cold, doll," he takes off his blazer, putting it over your shoulders and then groaning when he realised his slip up.

"Right, sorry, old habits die hard. I won't call you that again, I promise," he said, crossing his finger over his heart.

"No... I think it's kinda sweet. No ones ever had such an endearing petname for me. I do like it."

"Oh," he frowned, "it's just that you said you didn't."

Tony, of all the people in the whole universe, was right. There was no understanding women.

"I guess I lied..."

"Why?"

"Um..." You were at a loss of words and nervous. Steve wouldn't tolerate lies, and you didn't want him to hate you. "It was easier to do that then tell you the truth."

"What's the truth?"

"I do like you... a lot. But I don't want to live in someone else's shadow. And I just think the whole thing would end in a disaster..."

"What're you talking about, Y/N?"

"Peggy. Your first and only love. I can't measure upto her, not in my wildest dreams, there's no use trying."

"Why would you have to measure upto Peggy?"

You opened your mouth to answer, but couldn't really come up with an answer. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I did have feelings for her, but that was a long time ago. I'm happy she lived her life, it just wasn't meant to be."

"So, you're not still in love with her?"

"No," he shook his head, "I wouldn't have asked you out if I was."

"Well, what about Crystal? You were practically glued to her the entire evening!" you huffed as you stomped your foot. Mad at your own stupidity. You could've simply told him the truth and asked for a straight answer. "I have to warn you, she had was pretty crazy in the last season."

"Last season?"

"Mm-hm, the last season of her reality show, I've seen all eight seasons. Maybe they just amp up the drama, maybe she isn't actually crazy, I wouldn't know," you shrugged.

"Doll," he smirked, circling a hand around your waist and pulling you into him, "are you jealous?"

"I am not!" you gasped, looking away from his eyes as you felt your cheeks heat up.

"I don't want anyone but you. Why would I? You're goddamn perfect. And... I want you to be my girl."

"I guess I don't really have a reason to say no now..." you murmured, your face still flustered as you played with the buttons on his shirt before he tilted your chin up to make you look at him, placing his lips over yours in the most tender of kisses.

"Got the job done, Tones... I'm pretty sure I saw him go after her, I have to say though, you look at Captain America, and you really don't expect him to be that awkward..." Crystal said as she sipped on her gin and tonic. "You owe me."

Tony only hummed, not too happy about being indebted to someone, but you both needed a necessary push in the right direction.

#berry answers #steve rogers x reader #chris evans x reader #captain america x reader #steve x reader #steve rogers x you #marvel x reader #avengers x reader #chris evans x y/n #chris evans x you

[strawberryspence]

A Dinner and A Future

Fluff | Spencer Reid x Reader

Summary: Spencer just wants your first date to be perfect and surprisingly, it goes really well.

Word Count: 3,7k.

Warnings: some cursing, first date nerves, but that's it. just pure mindless fluff.

Writer’s Note: Hello! I've been going through a writing dry spell and the thing that solved it was writing this. I've been seeing a lot of edits on tiktok about Spencer's traumas and I just wanted to give him something simple and happy. I was also listening to Kodaline on repeat while reading this, so yeah it's going be hella sappy. Enjoy! <3

Gif is mine. Lesley Smith-Juniment, you have my heart.

Spencer is nervous.

Wait no, scratch that, nervous is not good enough. He was brimming to the edge with worry and queasiness. What other synonyms does nervous have? Spencer was antsy, anxious, perturbed, uneasy, at this point he can recite the whole thesaurus.

Spencer closes his eyes and takes a deep breathe. He can do this. He has waited for this for a long time and he won’t waste it because of burnt pasta.

Okay, he looks back at the note that David Rossi himself wrote in his own special handwriting.

1. Cook 1 pound pasta until Al Dente. Boy Genius, Al Dente should be firm when bitten. You cook it on a boiling water with salt and oil. SALT AND OIL.

2. While that’s cooking, do nothing. LITERALLY DO NOTHING. Watch it. Do the sauce later. In some miraculous way, if you don’t watch the pasta you’ll burn it.

A grin spreads across Spencer’s face as he puts down the paper and reaches for the fettuccine pasta and dropping it on the boiling water (which he measured with measuring cups he borrowed from JJ)

“Okay, now I wait for it to boil.” Spencer stares at the pasta as it cooks. Did he buy enough parmesan cheese? or enough pecorino cheese? Oh no. He looks over the other side of his counter where all the (complete) ingredients sit and he sighs in relief as if he hasn’t checked it 15 times since he started.

The pasta was still cooking and isn’t going to be firm anytime soon. Spencer ponders if he should just cook the sauce while waiting but he knows he’s going to mess it up if he doesn’t give it his undivided attention.

He looks at the watch on his wrist as it ticks to 5:21. He has one hour, thirty nine minutes and forty six seconds. He still has time before the date. The date with you.

It took him nine months, Derek and Emily annoying him to death to just ask the pretty librarian out, one extensive background research from Penelope, two separate talks of the “You deserve to be happy” advice from JJ and Hotch and one lecture about marriage from Rossi to finally ask you out.

He’s kinda annoyed really because he spent so much time thinking about you and thinking of the perfect way to ask you out but he shows up at the library you work at one day with a cup of coffee in hand and his heart on the other.

You didn’t even hesitate. There was no pause to process what he asked, there was no questions following the embarrassing stumbling of the words, “W-will you go have d-dinner with me? L-like a date... Date?” You immediately said yes with a small hop and the biggest smile on your face.

This date has to be perfect. He asked you to come to his apartment at 7. Spencer would’ve picked you up but he was making you a home made dinner and the date was taking place on the rooftop of you apartment, which Penelope and Derek helped him decorate with lights.

He tries the pasta and when its finally firm to the bite, he takes this as his queue to read the paper again. Of course, he can remember all of the instructions but Rossi still wrote it down and reading it calms his nerves.

3. If its cooked, drain your pasta water but leave a little pasta water on the side. Then you can continue.

4. In a pan on MEDIUM heat (just around 2-3 on the stove setting) cook one pound diced pancetta and 1 cup chopped onions in olive. Put this down and chop chop!

Spencer puts the paper down as he follows the instructions to drain the pasta. After he was done with it he puts the pan on the stove and starts chopping up the ingredients he needs.

Cooking is strangely calming. He never thought he’d find it calming. He always found himself burning stuff. So he sticks to the microwaveable meals and fast foods, even if he knows the statistics about these kinds of food.

After finishing the chopping he reaches over the paper and reads it again.

5. Are you done? Okay. Put the chopped stuff on the pan with olive oil and cook it until the pancetta is browned and onions are soft.

He immediately follows the instructions written. The onion and pancetta create a silent hiss as it hits the pan. As it cook he looks down again.

6. That’s going to take a while, so leave it but stay by its side. I am giving you permission to do two things at once. Dr. Reid, please be mindful of it.

Spencer rolls his eyes before proceeding to #7.

7. Combine the two cheeses. Then divide it in half. Then pour the half into 4 egg YOLKS. Just yolks! The yellow ones! Then beat it lightly until its really combined.

He has already separated the egg yolks from the whites (a job he didn’t think would be that hard but was surprisingly very hard) before he started cooking. He adds the combination of cheeses to the eggs and lightly beats it as he watches the pan of onions and pancetta sizzle.

When done with the egg and cheese combo, he gives the pan a stir before looking back down.

8. Is the egg done? Yes? Good. Is the pancetta and onion good? Yes? Good.

9. Okay, now you put your pasta in the pancetta pan.

10. REMOVE IT FROM THE HEAT! REMOVE IT!

Spencer follows the instructions to the T. He puts the pasta on the pancetta, gives it a stir and immediately removes it from the heat. He sighs in relief. He hasn’t burned anything yet.

11. You haven’t burned anything yet? I am proud of you.

12. Now, pour the egg mixture into the pan and toss the pasta until coated. TOSS IT GENTLY. If you’re scared use tongs.

13. Pour about 1/4 cup of the pasta water I told you to set aside earlier. You don’t have to pour all 1/4 cup, just until you get the creaminess you want.

Spencer reaches over the nearest tongs. He’s not going to toss anything tonight that involves pastas or pans. He’s taking the safe road because he wants everything to be perfect.

14. Add the rest of your cheese! Toss some more and then add salt and pepper as NEEDED!

15. You can serve it with parsley.

16. Now, go take a shower and change into some cleaner clothes.

17. Just be you and have fun, Spencer. Goodluck! :)

Spencer smiles as he puts the paper down and makes the finals touches to the pasta. He starts doing what was instructed and it surprisingly, ends up in the perfect texture. Just like the one he tasted when Rossi had a pasta night.

He was proud of himself as he takes it off the stove and makes sure that all the stoves are turned off. There was this report he read in 2018, that cooking and leaving the stove open was the leading cause of home fires.

He takes the food, puts it into a fancy tupperware (another thing he borrowed from JJ) and puts it in the microwave. He cleans up a little and stuffs the pans and pots to the dishwasher, because you are coming in his apartment even for a second.

He starts getting himself ready for the date with a shower. As the warm water glides through his body he thinks of how funny life could be.

Spencer first meets you in the library. He has not slept well in weeks so instead he opts to go to the library to get some reading done. But as soon as he sits in one of the (surprisingly) comfortable leather chairs, its as if sleep knocks him out. It wasn’t until the closing time that you wake him up and he thinks that you were an angel sent for him. This elicits a giggle from you.

“I am sorry, I am not an angel. I am just the librarian and we’ve been close for over an hour now. I just didn’t want to wake you up. You looked like you really needed that sleep.” Spencer immediately jumps to his feet as he apologizes profusely to the kind librarian, “Oh, it’s okay! Don’t say sorry. I was also reading so I didn’t mind the peace and quiet.”

That’s how Spencer meets you. He comes back a few days later after a case with coffee, croissant and an apology. You immediately become friends and thats how all of this started. Spencer finds himself falling in love with the kind, gorgeous, clever librarian faster than he expected.

Every week after that, Spencer comes to the library with pastries and coffees for his favourite librarian and every week, you welcome Spencer with a warm smile and a new book for him to read. He can read it in one sitting but he reads it in the slowest pace he could so it can last for a week.

Spencer comes out the shower and stares at his closet. Should he go casual or formal? Casual or formal? Its just dinner, he’s chill and casual is the way. He picks one of the few plaid shirts that he has and puts it on with a white shirt underneath. He tries to brush his hair, it sits for a moment before it starts curling again. He cringes but leaves it be.

Spencer proceeds to the kitchen to start packing the food into a wicker basket (that he also borrowed from JJ, he basically borrowed her whole kitchen). He packs the utensils in a table napkin that comes with the basket. The main course for the date was the carbonara, and the dessert was a tiramisu Penelope made.

He reaches over his sofa where the bouquet of paper flowers are. He made it a few nights ago with Penelope’s help. He stayed up to make more of it with old books he found in the BAU.

Because what kind of flowers is the best flowers for librarians? Origami flowers made with old book pages.

He shouldn’t be nervous. You’ve been friends for all the months that he didn’t have enough courage to ask you out. You’ve taken trips to old bookstores together for book hunting. This shouldn’t be different from your other trips.

The pitter patter of rain against his window takes him out of his thoughts.

“Shit! Is it raining!?” Spencer yelps, before opening the closed curtains. Beads of water runs down his windows and if its any other day he would love it. But not tonight, when he planned a rooftop date. He cringes as he thinks of the fairy lights hanged up and the table set up that is probably soaked now.

“Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Think, Spencer, think.” Spencer thinks fast. He finds the extra table cloth that JJ gave him because “Just in case.” He reminds himself to buy her a bottle of wine as a thank you. He places it in his small kitchen table before taking the utensils out of the basket and placing it on the table in a fancy way.

Candles. Does he have candles? Spencer scrambles around his kitchen, like a chicken without its head, looking for candles and he finds it underneath the kitchen sink. He lights some of it up and props it into some glasses (he doesn’t have a candle holder he realizes after lighting it up).

With the lights dimmed down leaving the light from the window and the light from the candles, his dark apartment gives off a romantic, kind of comfortable, vibes. It was kind of perfect because with the books on his shelves and the lighting, it actually has the same vibes a library gives off.

He was ready now, bouquet of paper flowers in hand. He can’t believe how smooth things are going, minus the damn rain. Only thing that’s missing is you.

A knock comes to the door and he instantly opens it. There you were, hair a bit wet and messed up from the rain.

His future was bundled up in a cozy cardigan and a pair of jeans right in front of his eyes and he didn’t even know it.

“Hi.” Spencer smiles.

“Hi.” You smile.

-

“A little to the right. No. No. Too much right, now give it a little bit to the left.” You sigh, your hand under your chin, “No, no, baby, its crooked.”

“Love, can we do this later? The pancetta is going to burn.” Spencer laughs as he climbs down the ladder with the frame.

“But you said you’ll help me with putting up the frames!” You pout at him, Spencer chuckles before kissing your nose, “I know but you also asked for my famous carbonara and I can’t do both at the same time.”

“Hmmm. I still don’t think you can call it yours when its originally Dave’s.” You follow him to the kitchen, zigzagging through the boxes of books you’ve both barely opened.

“What he doesn’t know, won’t kill him.” He winks at you before giving the pancetta and onions a stir.

“It already smells good, love.” You snake your arms through his waist and lean your head on his back. Spencer lets go of the spatula and spins around to face you.

“Thank you, sweetheart. Go unbox some of the books and I’ll call you when its cooked so we can fix the frames. Okay?” Spencer kisses the top of your head and lets you go.

You walk out of the kitchen to the hallway full of boxes full of books. You chuckle as you open the nearest box and its just full of chemistry books. You push it to the room where Luke, Derek and Spencer has built shelves for all of your books. An olive green couch sits in the corner beside the built in fireplace.

Hmmm. This is your home library but as a former librarian the dewey decimal is calling you. But then again, the books you and Spencer have doesn’t have classifications on them. You began unpacking the chemistry books and placing it on the shelf. You can hear the distinct hiss of the pan and Spencer humming Kodaline’s The One.

You push in another box from the hallway to the room and its another one of Spencer’s, this one full of philosophy books. You start unpacking it to the shelf below the chemistry books before stopping as you pull out a book that doesn't belong with the philosophy books. A smile graces your face as your hands glides unto it. It was the book Spencer bought for you on your first anniversary.

The Peter Pan cover is a bit tattered, it was an older edition he found in your favorite old bookstore. You open the book and Spencer’s messy writing greets you with nostalgia.

“We are most alive when we are in love. Thank you for making me feel alive everyday for the past year. Happy Anniversary, love. I live a full life as I love you fully.”

You smile at the book before hugging it to your chest. You sigh deeply as you looked around the room and how it felt so surreal to be in the new home you share with Spencer.

“Love, I am finish. Come meet me in the hallway!” You leave the book on the shelf as you hear Spencer calling you.

“Are you helping me with the frames?” You clap, excited to finally put up the frames. Spencer smiles as he sees you excited to put up the pictures.

“Yes, okay you need to tell me if they’re straight okay?” He instructs before climbing the ladder.

“To the right, just a bit. Oh! Perfect!” You scramble to reach for another frame as he comes down the ladder to move it, “Here! This one.” He climbs again and you instruct him with directions for the frame again.

After a few more frames, he finally comes down and looks at the frames you asked to be put up.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Spencer smiles down at you and gives your cheek a kiss as he wraps his hands around your waist, “It is. Thank you for framing them.”

The frames comes in different shapes and forms, the biggest one in the middle is the picture of your wedding day. Your wedding took place in a library you immediately fell in love with when looking for places to get married at.

In the picture, you were smiling, your head rested on Spencer's shoulder as he reads a Harry Potter book he found in the kids section. It was a candid moment, both of you running to the back of the shelves to get a moment to yourselves after the wedding and the photographer snapped it before leaving the two of you in peace.

Beside it are pictures with the team on the wedding day, some on thanksgiving, christmas, new year with the BAU team, some with your family, some with Diana and in the corner is a shadow box containing the paper bouquet that Spencer gave you on your first date, the same exact flowers that was in your hands as you walk down the aisle to him.

“So, how's the first six months of officially being a Reid-Y/L/N?” Spencer teases as he lets you go from the back hug to face you and you roll your eyes at him, “Oh very hard. They hear Reid and they immediately expect greatness.”

Spencer laughs, “Same as the last name Y/L/N.” This time your the one who laughs at his statement, “Uhhh. I am not the one with 3 PhDs and 3 BAs.”

“And I am not the one whose a New York Times best selling author.” Spencer laughs even more when he sees your nose crinkles, making his heart dance and swell in glee.

“Hey, let’s dance.” He takes your arms and leaves it on his shoulders as he wraps his arms on your waist.

“We don’t have music, you silly goofy boy.” Spencer rolls his eyes at the endearment used, “I’ll sing.” He hushes you down.

“You make my heart feel like it's summer when the rain is pouring down.” Spencer’s singing voice was soft and sweet in the edges. Most nights you lull him to sleep with your humming to keep the monsters at bay and some days, his better days, he’s the one who sings and these were the days you treasure the most.

“You make my whole world feel so right when it's wrong, that's how I know you are the one... That’s how I know you are the one.” He sways you to the gentle buzz of his voice. You close your eyes as he sings the same song he sings to your ears on the dance floor for you first dance as a married couple.

“When we are together, you make me feel like my mind is free and my dreams are reachable hmmm.” Spencer hums as he runs his hands on your back. Your head on his chest and your ear listening to the way his heart is beating for you.

“You know I never ever believed in love, I believed one day that you would come along and free me.” Spencer feels at ease as he sways and sings, knowing that he’ll have you in his arms for the rest of his life.

The song ends but you and Spencer continue to sway to the music of silence.

“Can you believe its been 4 years since our first date?” Spencer asks, in disbelief of how fast time is running when he’s with you. You pull away from his chest so you can face him. You find a small spark in Spencer’s eyes as he thinks fondly of the night.

“Really? 4 years since our first date got rained on and Penelope cried because we broke all her fairy lights?” Spencer laughs before protesting, “Hey! I paid for that!”

"4 years later and I still can't get enough of that damn carbonara." Spence cackles, like an evil villain, "Don't tell Rossi that I stole his recipe for my beautiful partner."

"4 years later and I am still completely in love with you." Spencer smiles as he leans down to place a small kiss on your temple.

"4 years since I almost completely lost my mind because I was so nervous about our date." You roll your eyes, "Love, our first date was perfect. We've had this debate how many times now?"

"19 times." Spencer answers and you pinch his nose before looking around the room that’s still full of unopened boxes, “See. We should probably eat lunch and unpack. Why do we even have so many boxes of books?”

“Honey, you were a librarian and you are a writer. I am a professor and FBI agent that can read 20,000 words per minute.” Spencer answers as he looks around the unpacked house.

You smile fondly at him before standing on your tiptoes a bit to reach him and give him a kiss and he immediately steadies you with his hands. Kissing you was intoxicating and Spencer loves every bit of it. You only pull away when the kiss finally takes away your breathe.

“I love you, Spence.” You smile as you hold his face in your hands, “I love you more, sweetheart.” He smiles at you as you untangle yourself from him.

“Let’s eat your famous carbonara and unpack the rest of our house. It doesn’t really feel like home when all we can see is boxes.” You giggle before dragging him to the kitchen, making Spencer sit on the island as you prepare the pasta he cooked. Spencer watches you as you sing and dance through the kitchen in one of his old cardigans.

He doesn’t say anything but you were wrong. Home is not four walls with unpacked boxes and hundreds of books.

Home was when you showed up bundled in a cardigan, wet from the rain for your first date with him and home is still you, four years later, bundled up in his old cardigans and singing songs that magically fills and heals the crevices of his heart.

-

the recipe i copied for the famous carbonara!

taglist (if you want to be added, please message me 🥰): @all-tings-diego @shemarmooresfedora @averyhotchner @samuel-de-champagne-problems @bingereid

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