#also @ the students THESE ARE LINES. IT'S REHEARSED. IT'S NOT JUST RANDOM TO A RANDOM PERSON THEY ARE YOUR CAST MATE

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Life Is Short So Make It Sweet

Chapter Thirteen: Proceed To The Exit

Summary- 5.9 Curtis Everett x Plus!Sized Reader. Winter Break is swiftly coming, making you busier than ever with getting your drama club ready for its first performance. There is also the aquarium date Curtis invited you to just before Thanksgiving, which is some much needed adult time for you both.

Warnings- Adult sexual activities, oral, some talk about critters like bats.

A/N- Hello hello! I've been waiting for this chapter because personally, I love aquariums and museums. The one I described in this chapter is very reminiscent of the one where I live. I have been going since I was a kid, still, try to make a once a year trip to visit. I was always that kid that pretended dinosaurs still existed, picked up snakes, lizards, and toads, makes sure to catch spiders to release them, and brought home frog eggs to hatch them. Anyways the huge fish like the sturgeon in our Echo Center always fascinated me, like living dinosaurs. The readers' love for this is my love for all this. As always thank you to everyone who reads and shares. Special thank you to @what-is-your-plan-today for the edits. Divider made by @firefly-graphics.

Chapter Twelve / Masterlist

The following days flew by, You and your class were getting ready for winter break and doing evening rehearsals with the drama club after school. Then there was prepping for sending out packages for your sister and her family in Florida as well as a package of gifts to your parents in New York, not to mention Christmas cards to your aunt, uncle, and cousins that you still kept somewhat in touch with. All while trying to keep up with life in general. The first couple weeks December was turning nothing short of hectic.

Curtis remained just as busy himself with the train yard, as well as helping Paulie at the bar during the busier time of year. It put some extra cash in his savings and you had insisted he does it since you were busy most evenings with after school projects. A few days a week he would stop off at the school on his way to Paulie’s, catch sight of you working with the kids on stage finalizing lines. When you would notice him standing in the back watching, you would slip away from them to go do a quick visit. 

Curtis never missed the enthusiastic grin that would cross your face when you would weave your way through the cafeteria that doubled as the school auditorium. “I didn't think I would get to see you today.” Your eyes would gleam in relief when he would hold up the to go package of food he picked up on his way over. “Or that you would be bringing me dinner.” You would go to your tiptoes to give a thank you kiss and Curtis would take advantage of you being in his space to draw you in closer. 

After all, these were few and far between on weekdays when you both were doing what life required of you, anxiously waiting for the weekend to roll around. “Figured you were probably too busy to make yourself something proper tonight.” Setting the bag down on one of the nearby tables, you would look a tad sheepish as he made an accurate assumption. You hadn't even given a thought to what you would have for dinner and most likely snack on whatever random thing you would find in your apartment before you went to bed exhausted. Your hand slid down his chest to tangle lightly in his chain, not wanting to separate the two of you quite yet. 

“Okay, you caught me, I would have remembered eventually.” You confessed and he gave a slight grumbling sigh that he knew he had been right. “But thank you, for looking out for me Curtis.” 

“Someone needs to. The kids look good up on stage, they must be excited for opening night?” 

You beamed, proud of how hard your students have been working and excited as well for the first big show at Mason Academy you have been a part of. “Tomorrow night, they are so excited and have worked really hard. I just hope the weather holds out so we don’t have to cancel.” 

“It will be fine.” Curtis assured you, a frequent weather checker due to working outdoors most of the time. “Save me a seat, I’m coming to watch with Tanya tomorrow. Timmy has been talking non stop about it she said.” 

“As director, I get prime seating options.” You promised. One of the students called your name, making you look back. “I should probably get back.” You sighed tiredly. 

“I also got to get to Paulie's for a shift,” Curtis stated, cupping your chin and drawing you into a goodbye kiss, bringing his lips to yours with a gentle brush. It made you tingle from the top of your head to the tips of your toes feeling his whiskers tickle you and the press of his plump bottom lip to yours. “Text me before bed?” 

“Promise, don’t cause no trouble at the bar.” 

“Tell people stop testing me then.” He winked as he gave a quick wave to Timmy who was on stage. “Talk later Honey.” 

You gave a little wave goodbye before grabbing your food, and when you looked in the bag you saw he sent enough for you to have for a couple days at least as he always did, and made your way back to the stage. “One last run through guys, then I think we are ready for tomorrow!” The cheer from the kids echoed through the cafeteria. 

The night of the play proved to be a success, Curtis showed up with Tanya, finding out that you had reserved some seats for the two of them. Their names were written in sharpie with smiley faces on a piece of paper.

Tanya was the proud mother, taking many pictures and excitedly whispering to Curtis about how hard Timmy had worked at home memorizing his lines. For Curtis’s part, he enjoyed the show. The kids certainly had done a good job and he saw all those costumes you had diligently worked on over at his house. He also caught glimpses of you behind the curtain, helping out. It wasn't till after the show you finally stepped out into the spotlight with the rest of the kids, and very much like every time he sees you, he is caught up in just how beautiful you looked. 

Curtis could tell you were enjoying yourself, thanking all the parents who had come to see the play, your energy was open, full of smiles and laughs. You were steadily shaking hands and giving praise to how hard the kids worked. Curtis waited for the stream of parents to start to thin out before he approached you with a small bouquet of carnations to gift to you. When you turned to him, there was no missing the excited relieved look you had at seeing him, your eyes were shining bright and a smile was permanently on your lips. You looked happy.

“What a great show Honey.” He held out the bright yellow and pink flowers. You dipped your head to them, your eyes closing as you inhaled there sweet scent. 

“They did all the work Curtis, I just helped. These are beautiful, thank you.” 

“Mmmh, I saw a lot of you in the play, even if no one else knows it.” He let his hand rest against your back to tuck you close. 

It was infectious, your energy and Curtis deemed himself lucky to get to bask in it. 

That Saturday night had you getting ready for the special date. Curtis had invited you before Thanksgiving to attend the adult night at the Aquarium, the function to raise money for the care of the animals living there and you were beyond excited to attend. It required a bit of dressing up, which now you felt much more confident in your choices. You chose a dress that was appropriate for evenings out- a little black dress that shaped around your curves. Your makeup done up a bit more then usual and your hair whisked in a style that pinned it back, allowing the slope of your neck to show off. 

Curtis as well was giving it his all, dress shoes were swapped out from his typical boots or sneakers, black dress slacks that accentuated his long legged stature up to a slim waist. A blue button up shirt was tucked into his pants. 

He was messing with his shirt in the hallway mirror, scowling at himself as he tried getting the collar to straighten out. His eyes lifted to see you coming down the stairway, and his eyes got wide before turning to face you.

“Honey, you look…” You felt your chest tickle with pride and wanting to downplay what he was saying. “You look incredible Honey.” 

You took his compliment to heart instead, not disputing it or trying to brush it off. You licked your lips nervously but gave a smile. “Thank you, do you want some help with that?” 

Tilting his chin up to give you plenty of room, he nodded. “Please? I’m no good at this stuff.” 

“Oh, I think your pretty damn fine with it Curtis.” You stepped in close to reach him. 

He kept the top of his shirt open, choosing not to go with a tie, but when you tucked his collar down, admiring him up close, you couldn’t help but find the entire look and effort very enticing. He had even been sure to trim himself, cutting back the shagginess of his beard and making his hair crisp with a fresh buzz. 

“Everything okay?” His blue eyes a tad nervous as he fiddled with the buttons and you covered his hand with yours to stop him from fretting. 

“I was just caught up in how damn good you looked Curtis.” You were rewarded with a slight pink tinge to the tops of his ears, well aware the back of his neck would be red as well. “Can you go warm the truck up? I will be out in a minute?” 

He patted his pants pockets while glancing around before you handed him his wallet and phone. “Right, lock up on your way out? I got the garage door open, come through there. I already pulled your car in.” 

Assuring him that you would, while he went to do that you went through the house one last time making sure everything was off, leaving the light on above the stove for when you two got back, you made your way outside. 

This time you two went to dinner before the aquarium at the French restaurant Curtis had taken you two at the start of your first date. This time you both enjoyed yourselves, delving into conversation while eating dinner. There simply wasn’t any awkwardness. Curtis opted for grilled Angus steak in a red wine sauce and you had a piece of snapper, also grilled in its own fresh sauce. 

By the time you both finished, there wasn't room for another bite for dessert, and having whatever was left boxed to go, you two proceeded to the museum. 

It was high school since Curtis last attended the freshwater aquarium, but his guess had been right that you would enjoy it. When he led you inside to show his online tickets to require the wristbands needed, you were already clutching at his hand excitedly. Ushered through one last set of doors and out of the cold for good, your jackets were checked and a glass of champagne was offered to both of you. Your arm hooked through his as you sipped from your flute, your eyes roving around to take in the different directions that you two could go.

“Where should we go visit first?” 

Curtis took a look around himself, getting reacquainted with the space. “Well, I think that way was displays of local habitats you will find on Lake Superior which includes otters…” 

“Otters?” You perked up and Curtis nodded to confirm. “I want to see the otters.” 

He chuckled and winked. “Anything you wish Honey.” Leading you in the general direction that the crowd was going, the area leading towards the otters was brightly lit, with glass turtle tanks built into the wall where the reptiles swam and lounged on great log displays.

Something under the water caught your eye and carefully you lowered to look at the lower part of the tank, Curtis bent from the waist to look into the display to see small minnows darting in schools from one particular turtle going for the chase. You admired the underwater set up, it did indeed look like a piece of the lake was set up in the tanks. 

“Think they catch any of those little bastards? They are quick in the water.” Curtis observed while he moved back to a stand, offering his arm for you to get back up as well. The surface of the display hid the chaos underneath, the row of turtles slowly slipping off one by one. 

“That many turtles, I’m sure they don’t stand much of a chance. Turtles are faster then anyone gives them credit for. You ever see one of those race across the road?” 

You two wander from the display, glancing in others showing woodland frogs peeping loudly but well hidden so you and Curtis had to search them out, garter snakes lazily stretching under the heated lamps and toads blinking at the two of them before giving a lazy hop in the small enclosure. You paused at some earthy colored newts creeping along damp moss.

“I used to love these guys. Only ours were fiery orange with dots on there backs. Oh… these too.” You shifted to the next tank, the salamander was much longer and black in color, yellow spots dotting its back. “My sister and I used to go out in the springtime at night and go looking for them. They would always cross through our yard.” 

Curtis peered into the tank. “I remember my grandfather caught one of these at the freight yard, runs right along the river so we see them there all the time in the spring while they are migrating. Came home with it and sent my grandmother just about through the front door.” Curtis laughed at the memory. “I can still hear her now ‘Wilford you get that thing out of my house.’ She wasn’t too keen on any of them indoors. Especially snakes.” 

“What did he do with it?” You asked, having lost focus on the small amphibian in the tank. You were much more keen on watching Curtis’s expressions recalling the memory. 

“He loaded me into the truck and we went back to where he found it. He insisted I let it go so I got to hold it for a bit before it scurried away.” His arm loosely fell around your waist, tucking you in close and smiling to himself. A genuine smile, you could see the way it crinkled the corner of his eyes and made his features relaxed.

“I think.. Yup. The otters are next.” He led you along, keeping you closer now since the crowd started filling out more. You made a mental note of the location for when you brought your class down on a field trip. Know where the otters were because they would be the popular exhibit.

The crowd broke to a large glass wall, the bottom half was much like the turtle tank, filled with water that mimicked the bottom a lake bed. More eye level was the otters above ground display, which featured logs and brush, a slide made to look like a hollowed tree, caverns for them to dart into. 

There was also a large amount of snow dumped in it, which the otter pair were rolling in and sliding into theirwater tank before rushing out to hop into the pile again. Their handlers stood among the pile, giving the presentation, drawing in the crowd. Curtis let his hand settle on your waist, listening to the display given which he knew would help draw in the funds the aquarium was looking for. 

You snapped a few pictures from your phone, listening to the info given while you sent the pictures to your sister with plenty of heart emojis. You inched closer, trying to weave your way through the crowd but you suddenly felt self-conscious, like you were in the way of people. You drew yourself into a corner, glancing over your shoulder to make sure you weren't blocking anyone. 

Curtis ended up following you, pulling you to stand in front of him and tucking your head under his chin as he wrapped his arms around you, seemingly knowing that you suddenly were feeling so in the way and to big in your space. He had no problem easing you two to a better spot in front of the tank. His head dropped to whisper in your ear. “Take a couple more pictures, I'm sure your sister would love these shots.” 

You eased up, and started to forget about being nervous or anxious as you felt his hands resting on your waist and the firm length of his body behind you. You did just as he said, take more pictures and enjoy the show of the otters playing in the snow. You would occasionally lift your phone to show him your sister's response before you moved away from the display. In the less crowded area, he came back up beside you, his arm lifting to drape over your shoulder, still relaxed as ever. Stepping from the bright light room that featured the otters, you two entered an area with large aquariums featuring some of the different styles of lake habitats and aquatic species. 

Curtis let you lead the way the rest of the time, catching a glimpse of who you must be in the classroom as you talked about different species of fish, pointing out the shape of fin patterns for different streams of water, what kind of food they would hunt and what animals would hunt them.

“I didn’t know I was dating a regular outdoors woman.” He arched a curious brow at you and you shrugged a bit, feeling suddenly shy about it. 

“If I wasn’t a teacher, I would have been a biologist. I always loved wildlife. Outdoors woman? Yeah, that is stretching it. I really hate mosquitos.” You shuddered in his hold, making him burst out laughing at your confession. 

“Really hate them Honey, like a lot?” He teased as he couldn't contain his laughter, his hand falling from your shoulder to slap against his chest. You scowled at him in play, elbowing his stomach in retaliation. 

“Okay Mr.Big Shot, you like everything out there?” 

He finished off his champagne in a swallow and you both set your emptied glasses on a bypassing host. “Thank you.” He said, both of you declining another glass. “Oh hell no, know what I hate… Bats.” 

“Bats? Bats are adorable.” While you two ducked into another section, coming up to a huge large tank casting the room in a soft blue glow. You both paused in front of it, watching huge fish, some as long as your body, swim lazily around. 

“They used to scare the shit out of me.” Curtis admitted. “They come swooping down out of nowhere and just barely miss you. I got stuck up in the attic once and there was a whole colony that had set up house. I just about broke down that door to get out.” 

You bit your lip at the mental image of big giant Curtis running from a couple of bats. His gaze looked down at you. “I’m sorry, I know its not okay to laugh.” Your voice bubbled while you tried to keep it somber and he nudged you, winking. 

“You can laugh, it is funny.” 

You let it out, a real genuine laugh, making him join right in while you two watched the lake giants in the tank. Once you two died down, your face lifted up to catch the tanks glow just right, your eyes sparkling in admiration at one in particular.

“That your favorite? The lake sturgeon?” He asked and you nodded, your head tilting as a small smile appeared. 

“Always, they are kind of like looking at the past, you know? Like a living dinosaur. They look intimidating and dangerous, but so rarely will hurt anyone. Plus they are just beautiful, something so large and yet elegant in how it moves.” You sighed almost wistfully at your statement and Curtis grasped your chin gently to look at him, away from the tank. 

“I see what you mean, but I think the only thing I can actually call beautiful in this room is you Honey.” He firmly reminded you, pressing a kiss to your mouth before you could rebut him. “And I refuse to accept anything else.” 

“You are stubborn Curtis, you can’t compare me to fish.” 

“I kinda just did and don’t take anything back.” He smirked and you shook your head at him while he took your hand. As more people came into the area, you two retreated, following the flow of the room till you two went into a river display. 

You continued to let Curtis lead you along, loosing concentration in what the displays were now. Your attention was focused more on the pull of Curtis’s shoulders under the light blue shirt, shifting just right so you could see the muscles in his back with his movements, the shirt tucked firmly in his black dress pants, that in your opinion made his ass look just as good as a pair of jeans could. Whenever the two of you would pause, he would squint just slightly to read the smaller print once in a while when he was really interested in something he would mouth the words along with what he was reading. 

It struck you just how nice this date out was for you, no one would have ever considered taking you to an aquarium. Most certainly not your ex, you had invited him once to something like this and he immediately shot it down. But, not only did Curtis bring you, he fully engaged in it as well, making sure to ask you questions and making his own observations. Even opening up to tell you things about his past. All of it just caught up to you how lucky you were to have met him. It also made you want to show him how much you appreciated him. 

You sidled up closer to him, running your hand along the expanse of his back while leaning up to his ear. “Curtis…” 

He paused from his reading to turn his attention to you. His gaze narrowed slightly at the way you were biting your lip. “You okay Y/N?” 

“Come on, I have another place I want us to check out real quick.” Your hand weaved with his and this time you took the lead, by passing groups of people who were listening to hosts discuss the importance of the display. But you didn’t pause, not till the groups of people started to thin out, leaving behind the more interesting features of an aquarium. As a teacher, you knew the ones people tended to ignore. 

Stepping through a curtain under a large sign that said ‘History of The Great Lake.’ Just as you suspected, it was almost empty. A few couples wandered from old grainy photograph to another, reading the history. You turned to Curtis and put a finger to your lips for quiet. You knew what you were looking for, and when you saw the corner enclosed mostly in darkness, a curtain covering a red exit sign. 

Pulling him around the curtain, you faced Curtis and cupped his face to bring him in closer, urgently kissing him, drawing him in till his hands grabbed at handfuls of your ass to arch you into him as the kiss turned greedy, both of you going breathless to draw away from each other for gasps of air. This is when you prayed to everything you could think of that there wouldn’t be an alarm on the door. And when you backed into it and it clicked open, the two of you stumbling through, it stayed silent. 

Perfect. 

Once through, you pushed him lightly against the wall, dropping your hands to his belt with a smirking look before you dropped to your knees in front of him, fingers easing his belt out of the loop.

“Oh, shit. Right here?” He looked down at you with a wide-eyed surprised expression as you popped it open, along with the button holding his pants closed. The tip of your tongue slid along your lips as you glanced up at him through your lashes. 

“As long as it is okay with you Curtis.” Your fingers found the hidden away zip, tugging it down with a swipe of the zipper's teeth. You started kissing along his hip through his pants, not yet tugging down, but your fingers curled in the band of pants and boxers. “If you want me to stop, I will stop right now.” 

Did he want you to stop? Hell no, his brain was screaming at him while you looked up at him just as sweet as always, the hint of lust in your eyes as you waited for his answer. Your lips kiss swollen red and your tongue just adding to the image of you kneeling right in front of him, inches away from his cock that was now very hard and straining the front of probably the only decent pair of pants he owned. If you didn’t do something now, the likelihood they would be cum stained before this night ended was a real possibility. 

Curtis’s hand dropped to cup the side of your face that you leaned into. “I don’t think I will ever want you to stop.” He said seriously and you broke into a grin, leaning forward once more to kiss against the skin showing, sliding your tongue against the vein leading down as you eased his pants down far enough to give you room. His cock strained the front of his boxer briefs and you kissed there too, still staring up at him as you worked those down too till he was free. Very stiff and erect, you took a second to admire just how well-endowed Curtis was before you wrapped your hands around him, stroking upwards. 

Curtis did his best to remember this image of you, your eyes were all wide eyed and glancing from his cock to his face continuously checking in with him, hovering so close to his now weeping cock head that when you ran your tongue over him, he didn’t know how he was gonna hold out. He let his hand find a place in your hair, not to lead you but just to hold onto you while you wrapped your lips around him. 

Those lips, soft and supple as they stretched around his cock, to see you start to ease him with lots of spit from your mouth and flutters of your tongue teasing his length, he wanted a video. More than anything, he wanted to have this for later when he was alone in bed, horny as fuck picturing you riding his cock. 

Somewhere you must have realized, cause you dragged yourself off him, kissing against his swollen tip once more as your hands now worked him. “Feeling good?” 

“Fuck, It’s uh-” He stammered for a moment, distracted at the way you nipped the inside of his thighs and pressed your face in close to use your mouth to tease his balls. It cut off his train of thought, his grasp in your hair tightening, now this time to lead you. “-Like that, again Y/N.” 

Your mouth wrapped around his sac, sucking and teasing with strokes of your tongue, your nose nuzzled in close to him while you still worked on jerking him off. You started squirming at Curtis’s feet, wrapping your mouth around him again and bopping your head as your hands worked him, humming and moaning the more you took him down. It was turning Curtis into a babbling mess above you. Every time something he liked in particular happened, like your tongue wrapping around him, his hold would twist into your hair and he would break out into praising.

“Pretty Girl, I gotta be in you.” He finally declared, making you pull off him with a panting gasp, nodding that you understood. 

He was rougher than usual with you, but you felt that rush in your core at how he hauled you to your feet and twisted you to lean against the stair banister, looking down at the floor below while large hands pushed the back of your dress up over your hips and his fingers stroked your now soaked panties.

“Fuck, you get this wet suckin’ my dick?” A hook of a finger into the fabric slid them aside to feel your pussy welcoming him. 

“Yes! Fuck me Curtis, I need it bad.” You wriggled back against him, his chest draped over your back and his whiskers scratching at the side of your neck. You felt him groan so deeply that it made you shiver excitedly, arching your head back so he could kiss and nip at your neck. 

“Spread your legs wider.” He plunged fingers into you, finger fucking you with urgency while he grasped your hip with his other hand, holding you in place. You twisted your hands against the banister to steady yourself while doing just as he said, whining out when he moved his hand from between your thighs. But the wide tip of his cock pushed into you and you cried out at the sudden stretch when he filled you. A hand wrapped around your mouth to quiet you. 

“You gotta keep quiet Honey.” He grunted. 

Curtis waited long enough to see the tiny nod from you before dropping his hand to your throat, not tight enough to cut off air, but enough to see his fingertips press against your softer sides, feel you swallow back your cries as he picked up his thrusting pace, fucking into you hard and quick. Your body jolted against the banister in time to his movements while giving little soft cries you did your best to muffle till your mouth dropped open and you became silent. Squeezing around him so perfectly that his cock throbbed against your velvet walls.

“Curtis” You whined out his name in that needy way that confirmed what he knew; you wanted to come. 

“Let me feel you soak my dick Pretty Girl.” he hissed in your ear, tilting himself once more to find your sweet spot and have you break for him. 

Curtis felt it, the way you stiffened suddenly and pushed back against him. He was quick to muffle your cry as you came, slowing down enough to ride you through it, but when he felt you sag against the banister, he ran his hand at your hip to your breast, cupping through your dress and pushing you back against his chest.

“One more Honey, and I will come with you.” A kiss at your jawline was his promise to you. 

This time his fingers found their way into your mouth, sucking on his digits that he had fingered you with. Feeling your tongue wrap through them and your moan made him groan into your shoulder, biting down slightly as he sped up again. Now the sound of you being fucked loud sounded through the emergency exit of the aquarium, your wet pussy squelching with every slap of his pelvis into your ass, and Curtis fought that heated spiral raging in his gut, resisting the urge to fuck his cum into you till you were ready for him. 

He saw your hand loosen its hold on the banister, dropping to between your messy thighs to rub yourself, whining against his hand muffling you. “Come on Pretty Girl, get yourself off.” He hoarsely grunted in your ear while untangling his hand from your mouth back to your throat. You felt so fucking good under his body, soft and giving that he could just keep holding himself in you while you came for him. 

“I gotta, please Curtis.” You pleaded with him. “Tell me your close?” 

“Just keep squeezing me like that Honey.” The heat in his gut spiraled, rushing for that release. “I’m with you, fuck.” 

You came again, moaning out his name once more in relief while he fucked his cum into you, burying his face into your neck to keep himself from giving the two of you away with a yell while you both found your moments of mindless bliss. 

You were thankful for the banister holding you up, because Curtis was heavy behind you, holding you around your waist but still leaning into you. He groaned against you, bracing a hand against the banister next to yours to practically peel himself off your back.

“You okay?” he ghosted his lips against your neck before moving fully to a stand and easing his softened cock from you. Immediately followed by his spend, making you squeeze your thighs together briefly while he fixed your panties back in place. Heavy hands settled to your hips while he flushed kisses against any skin showing on your shoulder while you took a deep breath to clear your head of the fuzziness following an orgasm. 

You felt so fucking good. 

“Never better.” You eased around while he situated himself. You could see the tips of his ears were bright red as well as his neck, you imagined that flush travelled down his chest. He glanced at you and still had that dazed look like his world was just rocked in a good way, making your heart skip a beat and pride filled you that you gave him that. 

“I just… fuck Honey.” He immediately reached for you, drawing you into his hold while cupping your face and kissing you with a bit of teeth scraping at your lip. “Thank you.” 

“You are welcome.” You giggled as you circled your arms around his neck, accepting his affection. The embrace was cut short, a yell at the bottom of the stairwell making you both jump in surprise. Curtis took a quick glance over the banister and motioned that you two had to go. Slipping back out, he slung an arm over your shoulder and steered you out from behind the black curtain and off to a display. Keeping you tucked into his side, you both gazed at the picture of a lighthouse on Lake Superiors shore when the exit door burst open, two aquarium employees stepping out and glancing around.

“Did anyone come out from here?” One asked Curtis, you turned away, sure not to let them see your face in case your makeup was smudged from giving head. 

“You know… a couple came out and headed back towards the animals.” Curtis was sure to point them away from you, sending them off before they figured out it was indeed you two. Once they were gone, Curtis took one look at your face and gave a small grin. “We need to clean you up.” 

“Bathrooms should be up here a bit.” You ducked your face from other patrons and the two of you ended up near the giftshop restrooms, Curtis waiting outside while you went to go fix your smudged makeup. 

When you came back out, you looked back up at him, a nervous little grin on your lips. “Better?” 

“Well, I was pretty fond of the ruined look.” Curtis shrugged with a smug look. “But better. Did you want to go back in the aquarium?” 

“No, I think we have gotten into plenty of fun tonight. I do want to stop in the gift shop though. See what they have, I might find something for the classroom.” You suggested and Curtis took your hand, ready to follow you. 

Browsing the giftshop proved to be fun. Since most of the other people were still browsing the aquarium, there weren’t many people there. You managed to find a couple books you wanted, one for your classroom about the wildlife and habitats of the lake, the other a personal book for yourself about legends and ghost stories surrounding the lake. Curtis as well found himself a book about the lake's history to add to his expansive collection. Then you two were going through posters when you happened across one of the constellations. Curtis picked up that one too, with a pile of glowing star stickers as a Christmas gift for Sophia. 

All in all, probably one of the best dates you have ever had.

#curtis everett x plus sized reader #curtis everett x honey #curtis everett and honey #curtis everett and plus sized reader #curtis everett and reader #curtis everett x reader #curtis everett and you #curtis everett x you #life is short so make it sweet #curtis everett au #snowpiercer au #chris evans characters #amber writes #sweater writes

[fingerless-glovez]

The Performing Arts Academy of Concordia (aka, COD characters as theater kids)

MC: The long suffering director whose productions are constantly falling apart due to her uncontrollable actors screwing everything up. Takes her cast and crew out to dinner after every show and orders A LOT of wine for herself.

Guy: Constantly competing with Toa for lead roles. Usually sets up scenarios to make Toa have an "accident" on or offstage so he can swoop in as his understudy. They never work.

Lynt: Will take any opportunity to fall asleep when not onstage. He even falls asleep onstage when the focus isn't on him. Thankfully, he always seems to know where to pick up. Most of his monologues are delivered through long yawns.

Fenn: Overacting extraordinaire. Milks any role he gets so hard to make sure everyone remembers the one extra he played. His physicality is always exaggerated and sensual, which often gets a rise out of the female members of the audience, even moreso MC. When not cast, he usually does stuff like script writing, ordering props, helping with set design, and pestering Knight.

Toa: Constantly competing with Guy for lead roles. Usually sets up scenarios to make Guy have an "accident" on or offstage so he can swoop in as his understudy. They never work.

Roy: Good actor who has all of his lines beated and memorized and has all of his blocking on point. Although he does have a habit of giving a nasty stink eye to whoever gets cast as Sherry's love interest, should she have one (Not even Grayson is spared from this). Also the head costume designer.

Rio: Supportive assistant stage manager. Often acts as moral support for the actors and stage crew. Often takes care of heavy lifting and special effects and stuff. Holds up cue cards for Tino when he forgets his lines. Often brings snacks for the actors on opening and closing nights.

Jasper: *in an alternate universe where he isn't a pervy jackass* Usher/security. Shows people to their seats, reminds people not to talk during performances, and removes unruly guests. Also a popcorn thief.

Tino: A perfectly competent actor during rehearsals. It's when he's in front of an audience that he starts to fall apart. His severe case of stage fright leaves him sweaty, stuttering and stiff in the middle of the stage, and relies on Rio to hold up cue cards for him (Vane forbid the card be upside-down).

Knight: Stage manager. Let it be known, when he enters the room, he's in charge. He's the guy directing the crew, organizing props, and generally making sure everything goes according to MC's vision (or is at least set up to). Constantly scolds Rio for encouraging the actors to eat while in costume, and Fenn for trying to use props to poke his butt.

Grayson: Actually the best actor among these people. Fenn signed him up as a joke once, but with Sherry's encouragement, he really stepped up to the plate. Dude's so good he made MC, Klaus, and Aidan cry during a really emotional scene. Shame he doesn't always get the chance to shine due to the constant need to wrangle his co-stars.

Lance: Usher and security, mostly (not really sure what else he'd do, he doesn't strike me as a theater kid)

Dia: Composer and conductor of the orchestra. Will sometimes cue a random orchestra hit if Lynt falls asleep onstage and no one else is there to wake him up. Sometimes understudies for Roy or Sherry or plays female extras (because there's only 4 girls in the school who aren't just stand-ins for other students, MC doesn't act, and nobody cares about Lonette, right?) and he does pretty well as an actor.

Lou: Main sponsor of the shows. He loves watching everything fall to shit in increasingly ridiculous and hilarious ways. Also loves watching MC slowly die inside next to him.

Sherry: Usually the leading lady due to being one of the only 3 significant females in the school. Extremely embarrassed by Roy giving dirty looks to her poor male co-stars when they kiss her. Often helps Roy with costuming.

Violet: Gets cast for a lot of villain roles, believe it or not. She gets a little excited and exaggerates her performances a lot, but it's the thought that counts, right? She also ushers and handles the box office.

Aquia: Run crew. He's a little too shy for the stage, but he likes to help wherever he can. He often provides flowers for the sets, and even helps with script writing from time to time.

Thoma: Provides concessions during intermission. Is also a swing.

MC's cat: Walks out onto the stage sometimes just so he can flop over and have everyone love him. Carefully removed by Lance, who snuggles with him for the rest of the show.

#court of darkness #guy avari #lynt akedia #fenn luxure #toa qelsum #roy invidia #rio voleri #jasper lane #tino maes #court of darkness knight #grayson hotz #lance ira #dia akedia #court of darkness lou #sherry invidia #violet muller #aquia avari #court of darkness thoma

[bowandcurtsey]

AINE THE LOVELY DECORATED WRITER~! 💖

Congratulations on the 1.7k~! That's super cool for you! Your headcanons and scenarios are so cute and sweet (or beautifully angsty) so it makes sense why you've got so many followers!

And I'm glad to be one of them!

And, uh, I also have a request for your event... So...

Could you do headcanons of Nacht Faust and Morgen Faust in a Modern AU? Specifically them working in a bookstore and helping the reader to find a book (maybe as a source for a school paper or just a book recommendation)?

The Faust twins give me bookworm vibes, that's all.

{AINE'S 1700 EVENT}

When I saw Erika in my inbox, I was like: YES FAUST !! also my FIRST MORGENN WOOHOOOOOo

uwu this request is so cute hehehe!! I hope I met your expectation of your favourite Faust siblingssss <3

Nacht | Morgen x f! reader AU: Modern AU! tw: vulgarities , unchecked work.

Nacht Faust (the old, blonde hair Nacht)

He was kinda there just for the side bucks actually. He needed money for cigarettes and he thought being a bookstore keeper would be an easy job.

"Who the fuck comes to a bookstore?" He was surprised at the number of people that comes in and out. And more so at people actually buying books.

He totally makes fun and jokes at the "nerds" in the bookstore to Morgen and Morgen just rolls his eyes at his brother.

Until he met YOU.

When he was packing some of the books, you came up and poked his arm with your finger. "h-hi, do you happen to know where this book is?"

He turned around and it was like someone punched the wind out of his lungs.

Nacht didn't believe in all the love at first sight cheesy shit, but at that moment he did. And he fell hard.

He searched high and low for that book you wanted, and even dragged Morgen along. "SOS brother. Find that book NOW."

He found a lousy excuse to get your contact. Something along the line like, "oh we'll let you know when this author releases another book or like when a new similar book comes?"

And he read that entire book at one go, then texted you, "how's the book? :-)"

Every time you popped over to browse books, he'd be there to chit chat with you.

And one day, he finally asked you out. AFTER rehearsing with Morgen like hundred of times.

"hey y/n, my legs are tired from standing and talking, I know a cafe nearby, wanna grab a coffee while we continue?"

His face was a little red and he gave you a little shy smile, which made you melt.

Morgen Faust

He loved books, which was why he got a job here in the first place AND he dragged Nacht along because he was rotting his life away.

He read a lot of books while he was there to his heart's content. It was a win-win for him really, he didn't have to pay to read the books, but he was paid instead.

You just came into the bookstore on a random day, he's never really saw you before, well of course since you were the student that rarely did any work.. Now it came to finals, you were low key panicking.

"er, hello...." you tilted your head and read his tag, "Morrrrrrgen."

Because you couldn't really see the tag, you dragged his name longer and he's never heard such a cute voice in his life.

"hey, how can i help?" he was a smiles as always but his heart was ramming against his ribcage at how cute you looked as well.

So you needed to find LOTS of materials for your final year project and thank the lord you bumped into Morgen the bookworm because he could find all the books for you AND recommended other useful books for you as well.

You both already hit off the first day you met, and you talked a whole lot. When you left, Morgen was all smiles, even Nacht couldn't take it.

"sheesh look at you all starry eyed over that girl..."

"I am not.."

"Oh please, we're twins. Besides, you NEVER let anyone use your staff discount code." Nacht teased his brother.

You came again to get more books , but low key, it was to see the handsome, charming bookstore guy with beautiful hair.

Morgen was elated and almost sprang from his seat to greet you, causing Nacht to laugh like a hyena.

"y/n was it? Morgen has been waiting the entire week for ya~" he was still laughing as he took his cigarettes and went out for a smoke break, leaving his brother in a blushing mess.

Getting the hint, you mustered your courage to ask Morgen out.

"so er.. to thank you, can i treat you to a meal soon?"

To which the raven haired twin agreed enthusiastically.

#morgen faust x reader #morgen x reader #morgen faust imagines #morgen faust hcs #nacht faust imagine #nacht faust x reader #nacht x reader #black clover nacht faust #black clover headcanons #black clover imagine #black clover x reader #black clover scenarios #black clover fanfiction #black clover imagines #aine's 1700 event

[astertiae]

for the character thing - judai, jarchivist, jack atlas

I am kissing you on the cheek MWAH very many J’s 👀

Judai

Favorite: he’s a really good subversion of a rousing speeches hero type protagonist! I love that he’s a little bit monstrous, that he comes back from the horrors changed, with the knowledge that that part of him was there all along

Least favorite: the way he treats other people, especially Syo, Kenzan, and Misawa

Favorite line: “we’re from the future. No big whoop.”

BroTP: with Pharaoh (the cat)! I can’t in good conscience brotp judai with any of the students tbh

OTP: heroshipping (Judai x Edo)

NoTP: fianceshipping (Judai x Asuka)

Random headcanon: his parents put a lot of pressure on him as an only son and instead of going the manjoume snapping route, he went the “I’ll do whatever I want” route

Unpopular opinion: he’s not actually that good of a duel strategist, but he has incredibly lucky draws

Song I associate with them: Girl Anachronism by The Dresden Dolls, Perfect by Simple Plan, I Am Not A Robot by MARINA (I swear I had other songs but I forgot them entirely oops)

Favorite picture of them: PLEASE view this art below

Jarchivist:

Favorite: He really does care for others and wants to honor them and do right by them, in his own way

Least favorite: His recklessness, like there was no way in hell the table wasn’t ACTIVELY HOLDING SOMETHING BACK sorry you’re not genre savvy 🙄

Favorite line: “Supplemental: I’m in the tunnels”

BroTP: I would’ve liked more Jon and Sasha and Jon and Basira moments tbh, they had good snarky friend vibes

OTP: JonMartin, naturally

NoTP: JonElias, I really don’t get it

Random headcanon: he looks like his mom, which upset his grandmother when he was little and she was raising him

Unpopular opinion: Sasha would have become The Archivist faster than Jon did

Song I associate with them: Annabel’s Lament from Paul Shapera’s The Dolls of New Albion: A Steampunk Opera, Amen from Frankenstein: A New Musical (2008)

Favorite picture of them: I haven’t looked up magnus art in SO long, + podcast char = no canon appearance, so just. Imagine a guy, I guess :/ No jkjk lol I like how spooksier draws him! (See link below!)

Jack Atlas:

Favorite: His integrity as a duelist! Jack may be a shit person who -checks notes- threw his friends to the dogs, betrayed his loved ones, and stole Yusei’s ace card and D-wheel, BUT he did also refuse to continue being the King knowing Yusei would have fairly beaten him if the red dragon hadn’t appeared. I think he’s just a funky little guy tbh, he’s a compelling and interesting character

Least favorite: see above the whole point about “abandoning his loved ones for profit”

Favorite line: uhhh I haven’t gotten very far in the anime yet, but maybe “Yes, but it (30$ coffee) makes you feel like a million” this line lives rent free (unlike Crow who has to pay rent)

BroTP: team satisfaction, I guess?

OTP: I’m not far enough to see him have meaningful relationships with anyone except Yusei yet 😭 tentatively I’m gonna say Jack/Carly because I know Of Carly as a Concept

NoTP: don’t really have one, but Jack with anyone not age appropriate for him is a no go

Random Headcanon: he has a super strong satellite accent that makes it near impossible for him to talk in public (for fear of exposing his past) without rehearsing a TON to perfect his accent first

Unpopular opinion: he’s so ugly 😭 also his name is actually Jack Atlus and we’re all spelling it wrong (this is canon actually)

Song I associate with them: King by Lauren Aquilina, The Crooked, The Cradle by The Crane Wives, Ancient History also by The Crane Wives

Favorite picture of them: this one, it’s so silly lol

Thank you for the ask, I appreciate you sm!!! 😭

#ask the whispering gardens #judai yuki #jonathan sims #jack atlas

[pressmmorg]

Best sound mixing oscar nominees

#BEST SOUND MIXING OSCAR NOMINEES CRACKED#

#BEST SOUND MIXING OSCAR NOMINEES MOVIE#

#BEST SOUND MIXING OSCAR NOMINEES FULL#

#BEST SOUND MIXING OSCAR NOMINEES CRACKED#

LOS ANGELES - Netflix finally cracked the Academy Awards.Īfter years of aggressive maneuvering, the streaming service received its first-ever nomination for best picture on Tuesday, with Oscar voters naming “Roma” as one of the best movies of 2018. So it was a big, big, big operation for us. Because we have close to 1,000 extras down there. What you see down on the street, we rehearsed in a football field for many weeks before, because it was going to involve stunts and people running, and I didn’t want any accidents just improvising at the last moment. And by the way, we shot in the place where the events took place. And finally, the camera reaches the window and looks down into the street to reveal that there’s a paramilitary group attacking the demonstration. But in my point of view, there is a greater randomness that puts things together or pulls them apart. There’s a certain part of existence that you feel that you’re under control. And this is important because this is just five minutes before the historical events took place, and I wanted this to be the moment in which the personal and the social come together, and the historical context also then come together. We see a shot of some window that has a lot of clocks for sale on display. And all of this is taken from historical facts. And you’ll hear also how they sing the Mexican national anthem. In the background, you can hear different chants in support of different affiliations and different universities around the country. You can see them walking with excitement to join the demonstration. So as they walk towards the furniture shop, they walk in front of riot policemen, but also, a lot of students. It’s clear that there’s a lot of activity, and we establish that there is a student demonstration going on. And she’s been taken to this furniture shop to buy a crib for the baby. We see our main character, Cleo, who’s a domestic worker working for this middle class family in Mexico City, who’s pregnant. I’m the writer director of “Roma.” This scene takes place deep into the movie. The Academy Awards will be handed out February 24, 2019.Transcript ‘Roma’ | Anatomy of a Scene The writer and director Alfonso Cuarón discusses a sequence from his film. (Spoiler alert: Not all of them are part of the Mexican film’s crew, we promise.)

#BEST SOUND MIXING OSCAR NOMINEES FULL#

Take a look at the full list of Latin Americans and Latinos nominated below. And yes, before you ask, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man (aka Miles Morales) did make it into the Animated Feature category. That means plenty of below-the-line Latin Americans and Latinos will be attending the ceremony at the end of February.

#BEST SOUND MIXING OSCAR NOMINEES MOVIE#

Roma‘s Best Pic nomination also made it only the 11th movie in a foreign language to be nominated for the big award, the second one to feature Spanish (after Babel) and the first-ever to include Mixtec. The black-and-white pic’s bounty of citations means that this is now the fifth year in the last decade where Mexican-helmed films have dominated ( Gravity, Birdman, The Revenant, The Shape of Water). Moreover, both actresses who anchor the film found themselves honored in their respective categories, making Yalitza Aparicio the first actress of Mixtec and Triqui descent to be up for such an award. She shares the nomination with Cuarón, who is up for four awards himself (or five, if you count the Best Foreign Language Film category – it’s given to the country of origin though his name would go on the statue if Roma won). Not only did the Participant Media-Netflix film become the streaming platform’s first Best Picture citation, but it also made its producer, Venezuelan Gabriela Rodríguez, the first-ever Latina to earn such a distinction. As expected Alfonso Cuarón‘s Roma earned its fair share of nominations, leading the way with 10. In doing so, it also broke a number of records. Hollywood woke up very early this morning to watch the announcement of the nominations for the 91st Academy Awards.

#Best sound mixing oscar nominees

[oscopelabs]

Isn’t Everything Autobiographical?: Ethan Hawke In Nine Films And A Novel by Marya Gates

When asked during his first ever on-camera interview if he’d like to continue acting, a young Ethan Hawke replied, “I don’t know if it’s going to be there, but I’d like to do it.” He then gives a guileless shrug of relief as the interview ends, wiping imaginary sweat off his brow. The simultaneous fusion of his nervous energy and poised body language will be familiar to those who’ve seen later interviews with the actor. The practicality and wisdom he exudes at such a young age would prove to be a through-line of his nearly 40-year career. In an interview many decades later, he told Ideas Tap that many children get into acting because they’re seeking attention, but those who find their calling in the craft discover that a “desire to communicate and to share and to be a part of something bigger than yourself takes over, a certain craftsmanship—and that will bring you a lot of pleasure.”

Through Hawke’s dedication to his craft, we’ve also seen his maturation as a person unfold on screen. Though none of his roles are traditionally what we think of when we think of autobiography, many of Hawke’s roles, as well as his work as a writer, suggest a sort of fictional autobiographical lineage. While these highlights in his career are not strictly autofiction, one can trace Hawke’s Künstlerromanesque trajectory from his childhood ambitions to his life now as a man dedicated to art, not greatness. 

Hawke’s first two films, Joe Dante’s sci-fi fantasy Explorers with River Phoenix and Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society with Robin Williams, set the tone for a diverse filmography filled with popcorn fare and indie cinema in equal measure, but they also served as touchstones in his development as person drawn to self-expression through art. In an interview with Rolling Stone’s David Fear, Hawke spoke about the impact of these two films on him as an actor. When River Phoenix, his friend and co-star in Explorers, had his life cut short by a drug overdose, it hit Hawke personally. He saw from the inside what Hollywood was capable of doing to young people with talent. Hawke never attempted to break out, to become a star. He did the work he loved and kept the wild Hollywood lifestyle mostly at arm’s length. 

Like any good film of this genre, Dead Poets Society is not just a film about characters coming of age, but a film that guides the viewer as well, if they are open to its message. Hawke’s performance as repressed schoolboy Todd in the film is mostly internal, all reactions and penetrating glances, rather than grandiose movements or speeches. Through his nervy body language and searching gaze, you can feel both how closed off to the world Todd is, and yet how willing he is to let change in. Hawke has said working on this film taught him that art has a real power, that it can affect people deeply. This ethos permeates many of the characters Hawke has inhabited in his career. 

In Dead Poets Society, Mr. Keating (Robin Williams) tells the boys that we read and write poetry because the human race is full of passion. He insists, “poetry, beauty, romance, love—these are what we stay alive for.” Hawke gave a 2020 TEDTalk entitled Give Yourself Permission To Be Creative, in which he explored what it means to be creative, pushing viewers to ask themselves if they think human creativity matters. In response to his own question, he said “Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about poetry, right? They have a life to live and they’re not really that concerned with Allen Ginsberg’s poems, or anybody’s poems, until their father dies, they go to a funeral, you lose a child, somebody breaks your heart, they don’t love you anymore, and all of the sudden you’re desperate for making sense out of this life and ‘has anyone ever felt this bad before? How did they come out of this cloud?’ Or the inverse, something great. You meet somebody and your heart explodes. You love them so much, you can’t even see straight, you know, you’re dizzy. ‘Did anybody feel like this before? What is happening to me?’ And that’s when art is not a luxury. It’s actually sustenance. We need it.” 

Throughout many of his roles post-Dead Poets Society, Hawke explores the nature of creativity through his embodiment of writers and musicians. Often these characters are searching for a greater purpose through art, while ultimately finding that human connection is the key. Without that human connection, their art is nothing.

We see the first germ of this attraction to portray creative people on screen with his performance as Troy Dyer in Reality Bites. As Troy Dyer, a philosophy-spouting college dropout turned grunge-band frontman in Reality Bites, Hawke was posited as a Gen-X hero. His inability to keep a job and his musician lifestyle were held in stark contrast to Ben Stiller’s yuppie TV exec Michael Grates. However in true slacker spirit, he isn’t actually committed to the art of music, often missing rehearsals, as Lelaina points out. Troy even uses his music at one point to humiliate Lelaina, dedicating a rendition of “Add It Up” by Violent Femmes to her. The lyrics add insult to injury as earlier that day he snuck out of her room after the two had sex for the first time. Troy’s lack of commitment to his music matches his inability to commit to those relationships in his life that mean the most to him. 

Reality Bites is also where he first positioned himself as one of the great orators of modern cinema.” Take this early monologue, in which he outlines his beliefs to Winona Ryder’s would-be documentarian Lelaina Pierce: “There’s no point to any of this. It’s all just a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. So I take pleasure in the details. You know, a quarter-pounder with cheese, those are good, the sky about ten minutes before it starts to rain, the moment where your laughter become a cackle, and I, I sit back and I smoke my Camel Straights and I ride my own melt.” 

Hawke brings the same intense gaze to this performance as he did to Dead Poets Society, as if his eyes could swallow the world whole. But where Todd’s body language was walled-off, Troy’s is loud and boisterous. He’s quick to see the faults of those around him, but also the good things the world has to offer. It’s a pretty honest depiction of how self-centered your early-20s tend to be, where riding your own melt seems like the best option. As the film progresses, Troy lets others in, saying to Lelaina, “This is all we need. A couple of smokes, a cup of coffee, and a little bit of conversation. You, me and five bucks.”

Like the character, Hawke was in his early twenties and as he would continue to philosophize through other characters, they would age along with him and so would their takes on the world. If you only engage with anyone at one phase in their life, you do a disservice to the arc of human existence. We have the ability to grow and change as we learn who we are and become less self-centered. In Hawke’s career, there’s no better example of this than his multi-film turn as Jesse in the Before Trilogy. While the creation of Jesse and Celine are credited to writer-director Richard Linklater and his writing partner Kim Krizan, much of what made it to the screen even as early as the first film were filtered through the life experiences of Hawke and his co-star Julie Delpy. 

In a Q&A with Jess Walter promoting his most recent novel A Bright Ray of Darkness, Hawke said that Jesse from the Before Trilogy is like an alt-universe version of himself, and through them we can see the self-awareness and curiosity present in the early ET interview grow into the the kind of man Keating from Dead Poets Society urged his students to become. 

In Before Sunrise, Hawke’s Jesse is roughly the same age as Troy in Reality Bites, and as such is still in a narcissistic phase of his life. After spending several romantic hours with Celine in Vienna, the two share their thoughts about relationships. Celine says she wants to be her own person, but that she also desperately wants to love and be loved. Jesse shares this monologue, “Sometimes I dream about being a good father and a good husband. And sometimes it feels really close. But then other times it seems silly, like it would ruin my whole life. And it’s not just a fear of commitment or that I’m incapable of caring or loving because. . . I can. It’s just that, if I’m totally honest with myself, I think I’d rather die knowing that I was really good at something. That I had excelled in some way than that I’d just been in a nice, caring relationship.”

The film ends without the audience knowing if Jesse and Celine ever see each other again. That initial shock is unfortunately now not quite as impactful if you are aware of the sequels. But I think it is an astute look at two people who meet when they are still discovering who they are. Still growing. Jesse, at least, is definitely not ready for any kind of commitment. Then of course, we find out in Before Sunset that he’s fumbled his way into marriage and fatherhood, and while he’s excelling at the latter, he��s failing at the former. 

As in Reality Bites, Hawke explores the dynamics of band life again in Before Sunset, when Jesse recalls to Celine how he was in a band, but they were too obsessed with getting a deal to truly enjoy the process of making music. He says to her, “You know, it's all we talked about, it was all we thought about, getting bigger shows, and everything was just...focused on the future, all the time. And now, the band doesn't even exist anymore, right? And looking back at the... at the shows we did play, even rehearsing... You know, it was just so much fun! Now I'd be able to enjoy every minute of it.”

The filming of Before Sunset happened to coincide with the dissolution of Hawke’s first marriage. And while these films are not autobiographical, everyone involved have stated that they’ve added personal elements to their characters. They even poke fun at it in the opening scene when a journalist asks how autobiographical Jesse’s novel is. True to form, he responds with a monologue, “Well, I mean, isn’t everything autobiographical? I mean, we all see the world through our own tiny keyhole, right? I mean, I always think of Thomas Wolfe, you know. Have you ever seen that little one page note to reader in the front of Look Homeward, Angel, right? You know what I'm talking about? Anyway, he says that we are the sum of all the moments of our lives, and that, anybody who sits down to write is gonna use the clay of their own life, that you can’t avoid that.”

While Before Sunset was shot in 2003, released in 2004 and this monologue refers to the fictional book within the trilogy entitled This Time, Hawke would take this same approach more than a decade later with his novel A Bright Ray of Darkness.

In the novel, Hawke crafts a quasi-autobiographical story, using his experience in theater to work through the perspective he now has on his failed marriage to Uma Thurman. Much like Jesse in Before Sunset, Hawke is reluctant to call the book autobiographical, but the parallels to his own divorce are evident. And as Jesse paraphrased Wolfe, isn’t everything we do autobiographical? In the book, movie star William Harding has blown up his seemingly picture-perfect marriage with a pop star by having an affair while filming on location in South Africa. The book, structured in scenes and acts like a play, follows the aftermath as he navigates his impending divorce, his relationship with his small children, and his performance as Hotspur in a production of Henry IV on Broadway. 

Throughout much of the novel, William looks back at the mistakes he made that led to the breakup of his marriage. He’s now in his 30s and has the clarity to see how selfish he was in his 20s. Hawke, however, was in his forties while writing the book. Through the layers of hindsight, you can feel how Hawke has processed not just the painful emotional growth spurt of his 20s, but also the way he can now mine the wisdom that comes from true reflection. Still, as steeped as the novel is in self-reflection, it does not claim to have all the answers. In fact, it offers William, as well as the readers, more questions to contemplate than it does answers.

The wisdom to know that you will never quite understand everything is broached by Hawke early in the third film in the Before Trilogy, 2013’s Before Midnight. At this point in their love story, Jesse’s marriage has ended and he and Celine are parents to twin girls. Jesse has released two more books: That Time, which recounts the events of the previous film, and Temporary Cast Members of a Long-Running But Little Seen Production of a Play Called Fleeting. Before Midnight breaks the bewitching spell of the first two films by adding more cast members and showing the friction that comes with an attempt to grow old with someone. When discussing his three books, a young man says the title of his third is too long, Jesse says it wasn’t as well loved, and an older professor friend says it’s his best book because it’s more ambitious. It seems Linklater and company already knew how the departure of this third film might be regarded by fans. But it is this very departure that shows their commitment to honestly showing the passage of time and our relationship to it. 

About halfway through the film Jesse and Celine depart the Greek villa where they have been spending the summer, and we finally get a one-on-one conversation like we’re used to with these films. In one exchange, I feel they summarize the point of the entire trilogy, and possibly Hawke’s entire ethos: 

Jesse: Every year, I just seem to get a little bit more humbled and more overwhelmed about all the things I’m never going to know or understand. 

Celine: That’s what I keep telling you. You know nothing!

Jesse: I know, I know! I'm coming around! 

[Celine and Jesse laugh.] 

Celine: But not knowing is not so bad. I mean, the point is to be looking, searching. To stay hungry, right?

Throughout the series, Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke explore what they call the “transient nature of everything.” Jesse says his books are less about time and more about perception. It’s the rare person who can assess themselves or the world around them acutely in the present. For most of us, it takes time and self-reflection to come to any sort of understanding about our own nature. Before Midnight asks us to look back at the first two films with honesty, to remove the romantic lens with which they first appeared to us. It asks us to reevaluate what romance even truly is. 

Hawke explores this same concept again in the 2018 romantic comedy Juliet, Naked. In this adaptation of the 2009 Nick Hornby novel, Hawke plays a washed-up singer-songwriter named Tucker Crowe. He had a big hit album, Juliet, in the early ‘90s and then disappeared into obscurity. Rose Bryne plays a woman named Annie whose longtime boyfriend Duncan is obsessed with the singer and the album, stuck on the way the bummer songs about a bad breakup make him feel. As the film begins, Annie reveals that she thinks she’s wasted 15 years of her life with this schmuck. This being a rom-com, we know that Hawke and Byrne’s characters will eventually meet-cute. What’s so revelatory about the film is its raw depiction of how hard it is for many to reassess who they really are later in life. 

Duncan is stuck as the self-obsessed, self-pitying person he likely was when Annie first met him, but she reveals he was so unlike anyone else in her remote town that she looked the other way for far too long. Now it’s almost too late. By chance, she connects with Crowe and finds a different kind of man.

See, when Crowe wrote Juliet, he also was a navel-gazing twentysomething whose emotional development had not yet reached the point of being able to see both sides in a romantic entanglement. He worked through his heartbreak through art, and though it spoke to other people, he didn’t think about the woman or her feelings on the subject. In a way, Crowe’s music sounds a bit like what Reality Bites’s Troy Dyer may have written, if he ever had the drive to actually work at his music. Eventually, it’s revealed that Crowe walked away from it all when Julie, the woman who broke his heart, confronted him with their child—something he was well aware of, but from which he had been running away. Faced with the harsh reality of his actions and the ramifications they had on the world beyond his own feelings, he ran even farther away from responsibility. In telling the story to Annie, he says, “I couldn’t play any of those songs anymore, you know? After that, I just... I couldn’t play these insipid, self-pitying songs about Julie breaking my heart. You know, they were a joke. And before I know it, a couple of decades have gone by and some doctor hands me... hands me Jackson. I hold him, you know, and I look at him. And I know that this boy. . . is my last chance.”

When we first meet Crowe, he’s now dedicated his life to raising his youngest son, having at this point messed up with four previous children. The many facets of parenthood is something that shows up in Hawke’s later body of work many times, in projects as wholly different as Brooklyn’s Finest, Before Midnight, Boyhood, Maggie’s Plan, First Reformed, and even his novel A Bright Ray of Darkness. In each of these projects, decisions made by Hawke’s characters have a big impact on their children’s lives. These films explore the financial pressures of parenthood, the quirks of blended families, the impact of absent fathers, and even the tragedy of a father’s wishes acquiesced without question. Hawke’s take on parenthood is that of flawed men always striving to overcome the worst of themselves for the betterment of the next generation, often with mixed results. 

Where Juliet, Naked showed a potential arc of redemption for a father gone astray, First Reformed paints a bleaker portrait. Hawke plays Pastor Toller, a man of the cloth struggling with his own faith who attempts to counsel an environmental activist whose impending fatherhood has driven him to suicidal despair. Toller himself is struggling under the weight of fatherhood, believing he sent his own son to die a needless death in a morally bankrupt war. Sharing the story, he says “My father taught at VMI. I encouraged my son to enlist. It was the family tradition. Like his father, his grandfather. Patriotic tradition. My wife was very opposed. But he enlisted against her wishes. . . .  Six months later he was killed in Iraq. There was no moral justification for this conflict. My wife could not live with me after that. Who could blame her? I left the military. Reverend Jeffers at Abundant Life Church heard about my situation. They offered me a position at First Reformed. And here I am.” How do we carry the weight of actions that affect lives that are not even our own? 

If Peter Weir set the father figure template in Dead Poets Society, and Paul Schrader explored the consequences of direct parental influence on their children’s lives, director Richard Linklater subverts the idea of a mentor-guide in Boyhood, showing both parents are as lost as the kid himself. When young Mason (Ellar Coltrane) asks his dad (Hawke) what’s the point of everything, his reply is “I sure as shit don’t know. Nobody does. We’re all just winging it.” As the film ends, Mason sits atop a mountain with a new friend he’s made in the dorms discussing time. She says that everyone is always talking about seize the moment—carpe diem!—but she thinks it’s the other way around. That the moments seize us. In Reality Bites, Troy gets annoyed at Lelaina’s constant need to “memorex” everything with her camcorder, yet Boyhood is a film about capturing a life over a 12-year period. The Before Trilogy checks in on Jesse and Celine every nine years. Hawke’s entire career. in fact, has captured his growth from an awkward teen to a prolific artist and devoted father, a master of his craft and philosopher at heart. 

#ethan hawke #boyhood #before trilogy #before midnight #before sunset #before sunrise #reality bites #first reformed #dead poets society #a bright ray of darkness #film writing #film essay #musings #oscilloscope laboratories

[eggmarr]

genshin boys but they’re orchestra nerds

characters: zhongli, diluc, childe, kaeya

a/n: this is literally the most random thing but i’m feeling really self indulgent right now so here, maybe a part two with something different idk. also my orchestra knowledge only extends to the high school level so far so just keep that in mind kk? (also if you wanna know i play violin so yes i am the leading expert on orchestra nerds/j)

(kinda high school au/vaguely modern au, gender neutral but mentions of girl-majority fan clubs, mild “i’m not like others” mentality of teen age, and very little suggestive themes)

———-/

zhongli

he is the upperclassman first violin who takes his school breaks to help teach the other younger classes, the one each member looks up to with some mix of envy and attraction when the teacher continuously praises his posture and technique. the younger girls swoon over him, and you swear he must be keeping the program running just from the new recruits hoping to catch the eye of such a talented young man. you’re really only there with him for the extra credit, but he’s just so...him. does that make sense?

first violins in a string orchestra generally carry the melodies of pieces, and as a result the section itself is highly desired. nothing is wrong with being a second violin, it just couldn’t be zhongli aha; concert black is like all black dresswear, which differs from place to place. it’s usually dress pants and a nice shirt, but different areas can have things like uniforms or specific dress.

you are quite staunchly against being a cliche, but by the stars if he doesn’t stop being so charming and smart with that voice of his every time you join him with the younger grades, you’re going to make a very stupid decision the next time you see him in concert black.

diluc

most definitely a bass player. mysterious and somewhat enigmatic, a quiet private lessons kid who volunteered to play with your class to offset the amount of smaller instruments. the others gossip amongst themselves about how his backpack is emblazoned with the crest of a famous academy and how they’d very much like to “test his vibrato technique” (wink-wonk), but you spot how a small cord of blue beads dangles from his backpack and the way he keeps a small smile even as he’s rolling his eyes at someone on the other line of the call.

vibrato is a technique used to warble and waver the sound of the string, which you may have seen used in media occasionally (it’s basically that finger movement they do while playing). the string bass is a big instrument and i mean,,, diluc in a blazer and collared shirt with a high ponytail feels like something that appeals to a lot of people

his brother is rather moody, but at least kaeya knows when to back off (most of the time). but the way diluc looks at you when you’re looking away - he wouldn’t be so mad with a wingman, would he?

childe

first chair viola. this smug, flirty little rich boy has been a pain in your ass since you met him at the organized rehearsal, and were (begrudgingly) sat to his right at the connection of your sections. i mean, this is a collective of the best student players in the state, and he’s…challenging you to bowfence with him? there’s someone strange about this “childe,” and you’re going to find out before the three days are up.

childe would play viola just because it’s the most slandered instrument so naturally he wants to master it and become best at it. bowfencing is like the young orchestra kid’s show of dominance and only flirting technique until they adapt. this is based lightly off of my time with all state/all city orchestra, but it differs from place to place.

you’ve finally got some free time right before the performance, when you see the boy you babysit on the weekends; teucer, with his older siblings tonia and anthon at the door. oh, they’re not here with your family, but here for their brother? you’ve heard a lot about this sweetheart, why don’t they point him out before the concert so you can finally meet the elusive ajax?

kaeya

also viola, but much more casual about it. it’s his hobby, which is code for he saw how his adoptive family treasured their expensive talents and wanted something to share with his new and distant brother. a new student transfer; he says he’s practically inept at it but the calluses on his fingertips beg to differ. the teacher makes you his tour guide, and you squint at his mannerisms when a wave of deja vu overcomes your senses. but, who is this boy, and why does the look of blue hair in low light look so familiar?

kaeya originally wanted to play bass but in typical brotherly fashion, he and diluc made a bet which he lost. chamber music is usually played by a small group of players, with each one having a single part. yes, this is a childhood friends/light amnesia trope, don’t blame me blame netflix for making wish dragon so cute ok? good.

you and he are from two different lives, but he’ll be damned if he lets those circumstances tear the two of you apart again. being partnered for the end-of-year chamber project is supposed to be his saving grace, but perhaps a red-haired deux ex machina may be of better use here?

#i finished this while listening to one direction #i honestly don't know what this is i just know bass player diluc #this looks so messy but i don't understand dividers yet so #fellow orchestra players tell me how accurate i am before i combust/j #i put so many tropes in here lmao #i would have done more characters but i know nothing about band or chorus other than that orchestra is better/hj #zhongli is just eddy from twosetviolin ok i realize it now #genshin x reader #diluc x reader #kaeya x reader #childe x reader #zhongli x reader

[cucumbers-and-olives]

She's A Good Girl

Summary: Luke hates his younger sister. Her perfect facade, her good grades, and most of all- her boyfriend.

Category: kinda a Boy Meets World au?

Fandom: JATP, Boy Meets World

Paring: Eric Mathews x Reader, Luke x Platonic!Sibling!Reader

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings/Includes: verbal arguments, implied verbal abuse

A/N: this is for the lovely @dream-a-little-bigger-x's 90's week! if you guys like this, go check out her stuff, its incredible!

Mandatory Thanking of the Betas: @russianalpacafromoldzealand and @funsizearsonist thank you both so so so much!

AO3 link here

Please don’t repost my work without my permission, in part or whole. My work can also be found on AO3 under the same username. Thank you!

“Luke! Keep it down, your sister is studying!” He rolled his eyes at his mother’s shout.

“It’s not like you’re being quiet,” Luke muttered and rolled his eyes, but he turned down the volume on his amp anyway. He didn't want to get yelled at twice, that's for sure.

If there’s anything Luke Patterson wasn’t, it was idiotic (depending on who you asked, of course). “Dumb bitch shouting at the top of her lungs.” He sighed and continued playing his guitar, albeit at a lower level.

Y/N popped her head in the door. “Ya know, you only get to be a smartass when you pass your classes idiot.” She had clearly overheard him as she walked into the room and turned his amp down even lower than he had before. “It doesn’t sound too bad, keep going.” She winked at him and shut the door behind her.

It wasn’t often that Y/N gave Luke complements, but when she did, they were always backhanded ones.

Luke just ignored her and ran through his song again, the chords, the riffs, the random pauses. He had titled this one “Good Girls”. It was about her. Her perfect behavior, her ability to not get caught, and just everything about Y/N made his blood boil. It didn't matter that she was his sister, she was so infuriating, that he hit at her with every line of the song.

Her and her perfect boyfriend, Eric Mathews. He was a senior, a jock, way too cocky, and she was a little miss perfect, sweet and kind, a junior.

Let’s just say, if Luke had a photo of the two of them, it would have darts in it.

~

“How’s it going in here, hun?” Mom said. She had a glass of water along with some cookies with her as she stepped into the room. Soft music came from the record player in the corner, a big contrast from the music in the room next to hers.

Y/N turned her grimace at the woman’s sudden appearance into a big bright smile as she turned around, closing her textbook but leaving a finger in so she wouldn't lose her place. “It’s good! I was struggling with this one concept, but I think I’ve got it down now.” Her mom smiled, and she knew she had picked the right words.

“Amazing! Well, I’ll leave these cookies with you in case you get hungry-,” A very loud guitar riff emerged from Luke’s room, and her mother’s happy, bright face turned into one of disgust. She always had a bone to pick with Luke. Maybe it was because of the band, maybe it was for just existing, Y/N didn’t know. She had a feeling she never would.

“Mom…” Y/N begged. She knew what was about to happen next, it had happened times before, and it wasn't like anything was gonna change this time. So, as her mom stepped into the hall she turned back to her book and tuned her shouts out.

“There.” The older woman said, stepping back into the girl’s room. She had tormented Luke, and now she focused her happy energy on the child she loved. “You’re doing great sweetie.” She assured Y/N.

As the door closed, Y/N sat back and let out a huge sigh. She loved her mother, but her distaste towards her son was unparalleled.

Soft guitar riffs came from Luke’s room, and she stood up quickly at the chance to see her brother.

Popping her head into the doorway, the exhale that Luke let out was one of relief. He thought I was mom, she thought. That scared her

You sound really good, she wanted to say. Can you teach me? But instead, she insulted him and gave him a half complement.

Not your best moment, Y/N, not your best moment.

~

“Are you gonna be in the library after school?” Luke asked Y/N as they biked to school. The ride wasn’t long, but it was one of the few times that the siblings got to talk to each other.

“Yeah,” she said. Her eyes had a dreamy kind of look to them. Luke wanted to call her out on her bullshit. Her goody-two-shoes bullshit.

“I better not catch you sucking face with him.” Luke’s voice was cold like steel. He didn’t like her boyfriend, and that was no secret.

She laughed, “Aww, do you not like seeing Eric kiss your little sister? Grow up, I’ll kiss who I want to.” She sped up, biking ahead of him.

“It’s not like I police who you kiss,” Y/N mumbled when she knew she was out of earshot.

“One of these days Mom’s gonna catch you!” He hollered.

“Good girls are bad girls that haven’t been caught! Let her live in her fantasy!” She shouted back.

Luke shook his head, and his next comment he muttered under his breath. “Maybe then she wouldn’t think you’re such a good girl.”

~

“Hey babe,” A voice whispered from behind Y/N.

She turned around to face Eric, and her eyes lit up as she saw him. “Hi! Sit down, I’m almost done with my history homework.”

“Alright, and then can you do me?” He asked as he sat down and your eyes went wide.

“Mon Dieu,” She said, sighing at his childish behavior.

“Ooh say more,” He grinned wickedly, thinking that she was saying something- not PG, and you looked back up at him from your homework. With a smug smile on your face, you spoke to him in French, knowing that he wouldn’t understand what you were saying.

“I love you so much, but you can be so dumb at times, you dumb idiot. Why you are so idiotic at times, I do not know, now would you please get me some snacks?” He laughed at the end.

“I have no clue what you said, but your face is asking me for snacks, ignoring the fact that you are one- gimme a sec, I’ll be right back with some!” He said, giving her a quick kiss before slightly jogging out of the library in search of the nearest vending machine.

~

“She is just so infuriatingly perfect, and she just gets praised 24/7 about it,” Luke complained during a pause in rehearsal.

“You wanna play Good Girls then? Throw all your anger into it?” Alex suggested.

Bobby chuckled, “That look on your face says yes, so let’s do it.”

She's a good girl, she's [mommy’s] favorite

[Mom's] saved for Harvard, [mom] knows she'll make it

She's good at school, she's never truant

She can speak French, and I think she's fluent

'Cause every night she studies hard in her room

At least that's what her parents assume

But she sneaks out the window to meet with her boyfriend

Here's what she told me the time that I caught 'em

She said to me, forget what you thought

'Cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

So just turn around and forget what you saw

'Cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

Whoa

Good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

Whoa

Good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

She's a good girl

A straight A-student

She's really into all that self-improvement

I swear she lives in that library

But if you ask her she'll say,

"That's where you'll find me!"

But if you look then you won't find her there

She may be clever but she just acts too square

'Cause in the back of the room, where nobody looks,

She'll be with her boyfriend, she's not reading books

She said to me, forget what you thought

'Cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

So just turn around and forget what you saw

'Cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

Good girls are bad girls and good girls are bad girls!

Good girls are bad girls and good girls are bad girls!

She's a good girl, hasn't been caught

She's a good girl, hasn't been caught

She said to me, forget what you thought

'Cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

So just turn around and forget what you saw

'Cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

She said to me, forget what you thought

'Cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

So just turn around and forget what you saw

'Cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

Whoa

Good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

Whoa

Good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

Whoa, whoa

Good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught

“Hey, that was a really good song!” Eric said, entering the garage. “Who’s it about?”

“Your girlfriend,” Bobby said.

“Yeah, you know what, we need to talk about that. Stay the hell away from her.” Luke said and then he stormed out of the garage.

“Dude what the hell! What’s your deal?” Eric said, walking out after him.

Luke scoffed, turning around. “What’s my deal? It’s you. I know guys like you, and you are going to break her heart. And then I have to pick up the pieces as she tries to look like the perfect girl she was to our parents. That’s my deal.”

“That’s all you think of me? That I’m just a jock that’ll cheat on her?” Eric paused for a second and then he spoke, harsher than before.

“Your band is no longer allowed to practice in my garage. Leave, or I’ll call the cops.”

~

Please send an ask or fill out this form to be added to my taglist(s)! Send an ask to be removed.

JATP: @n0wornever @calamitykaty @crybabyddl @badwolf00593 @dream-a-little-bigger-x

Luke: @thesweetestsinner

#jatp90sdreams #jatp #julie and the phantoms #boy meets world #luke patterson #i loved writing this #asdfghj so so much fun #did i change reggie to eric like yesterday? yep #idk why #netflixwewantjatp2

[organic-guacamole]

showtime

episode 211 let's go

ok first of all, this is the second to last episode guys... I don't even wanna think about how much pain I'll be in after next week's episode

mr mazzara doing the recap-

this is so weird to me and I don't know why

WHY DIDN'T YALL JUST ASK BENJAMIN FOR HELP, THATS LITERALLY HIS THING

is Nini giving out the cards a callback to season 1 when Natalie Bagley said that Nini gave her a card or something on opening night of another musical?

STEPHY AS THE ENCHANTRESS OMG YES

Ricky in the crown gives me Harry styles in that photoshoot vibes

he's so pretty.

ok but why did we never see Ricky and Ashlyn interact before? it's been like 5 seconds and I already love how they bounce off each other and it's just so natural

OH THEY REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY UNDERSTUDIES-

well that explains a lot...

so Ricky fell on top of Ashlyn and all that broke for both of them was their wrist-

insert Jake Peralta *coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool no doubt no doubt no doubt*

of course howie was amazing as the beast, were we expecting anything less??

Ricky is so beautiful and I will not shut up about it....

let me enjoy this before the makeup crew slaps mud on his face.

Nini and Ricky talking to eachother? in a civil manner? wasn't she avoiding him just in the last episode? hm ok

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH THEY CANT EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS JUST LIKE ME HAHAHAHAHA THIS IS HILARIOUS, WHATS NEXT? THEY CUT EVERYONE OFF CUZ THEY CANT HANDLE EMOTIONS? ...ha

yes Kaden and Rico, my favourite east high boys 🥰

I mean....where's EJ?

THERE HE IS

EJ AND GINA IN THE BACKGROUND... doing something idek

KOURTNEY'S MOM IS BACK YAY

Howie is a shining star, ofc ofc

the smallest fOrk

can't wait to see the fork burst into song about how she deserves more than to be used to eat salad😌

the duster and the bluster.... ok😃

hi Gina!

hi- oh wow I didn't know Robbie Rotten was in this show!!!!!

the portwell look.

that my friends, is a married couple's look✋

GOSH EJ WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU

aww Gina's so excited for this

D word?

Die?

Delicious?

Dom Toretto?

"good, clean fun all alone with someone I dig...a lot"

sir that does not sound very clean to me

SEBLOS

Seb looks so cute standing there next to pope Carlos

DID THEYEY REALLY LIGHT ANTOINE ON FIRE-

I NEED TO SEE THAT

Seb's reading Carlos better than big red read the script in episode 102, this is great development after the "fight"

Kourtney really just made the best outfit for herself and let the rest of them suffer

the way Gina immediately goes to hold on to EJ after the announcement

"tonight we're going to put the U in UTAH"

...

"hey where are you from?"

"TAH"

SEB'S SINGULAR CLAP KILLED ME-

he's officially salt lake city's resident thanos

just wity clapping because for some reason I have a feeling he doesn't know how to snap his fingers...don't ask why

Ms Jenn do you mind encouraging your leads before the show? idk just an idea

pepto bismol product placement smhsmh

those flowers are bigger that big red himself-

*bops along to the opening theme*

that whistle at the end slaps everytime

WHY IS THE AUDIENCE SO MASSIVE

I guess they're all here to see Ms Jenn go on as a fork after Nini decides to *go her own way*

wow i am so funny

so they couldn't do many group scenes cuz of covid, but this 300 person crowd is cool? nice

OO THE VIOLIN GIRL FROM EPISODE 6 IS IN THE ORCHESTRA

HOWIEEEEEE

"Mr Caswell", he said, in the loudest voice possible while backstage at a show that's about to start.

Mazzara what are you trying to pull-

I usually like Benjamin but I don't like his tone

"iS yOuR wHoLe FaMiLy HeRe?" LIKE YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW THATS A SOFT SPOT FOR EJ

"we've had some good conversations these past few weeks"

right so what's going to happen after you graduate?

what does he think of you not going to Duke?

what did he say about you giving the sweatshirt that's been in the family for 3 generations to a girl you're not even dating?

good old Mr. M

therapist Mr. Mazzara, they all need it.

start with Ricky though.

"Michael Bowen"

dude why did you shave, now you look less like "hot lumberjack" and more "creep at the gas station"

OH-

does she not like Mike anymore?

why does it sound like jennzzara started dating and now they just sit back and talk smack about everyone in their freetime

break the fourth wall-

uhhhh im scared

why am I scared

he's scary

hehe flowers for Ricky, obviously for Ricky, ObViOuSLY

oh boy poor Michael

this man is in love, rip

why does Ms Jenn always look at people with her eyes open so wide

LILYYYY

I'm only excited because I really like the idea of lily and Ricky being friends, nothing more.

ha this guy's got jokes

a MOAT AROUND THE SCHOOL

wheeze

also he's very pretty.

"the wolves and very talented humans"

how dare he forget to mention the very talented wolves and normal humans, smh erasure

"being nice, what a concept" ted talk by Lily who still doesn't have a last name

did she just say lol out loud

same with the hug emoji last episode-

go touch some grass babes

the way he didn't say no, but said he didn't know how the east high kids would react-

not saying he does want to date her but that's an interesting thing to think about, also another thing to write an essay analysis on just to leave it in my drafts for a few months

awww lily genuinely trying to help him

sorry guys, I've been taken by the Lily charm (didn't know it existed until now but oh well)

REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I'LL NEVER SHIP PORTWELL?

just look at me now

the Lily wink I can't she's so cute-

HELP ME I'M BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY LIL-

David Attenborough?

oh nvm it's Benjamin narrating the show in a really weird British accent for some reason.

STEPHY GOT MORE LINES YAY GOOD FOR HER

also is this to show that Nini doesn't care about being the star of the show anymore? the way she's supporting everyone else even though she's a fork?

I would pay for a special of the full musical ngl

OOO THE TRANSFORMATION WAS SMOOTH

shockingly

yo where did the makeup come from

man I wish I was a theatre kid

THIS IS STEPHY'S EPISODE NOW IDC✋

my girl is starring

"needs an X-factor"

Simon Cowbell creeps in

"it's a yes from me"

and them boom, he takes Nini and mistreats her horribly and then she comes back to theatre after deciding music isn't for her👍

"I thought she just hog-tied him?"

don't ask sebby, it's better if you don't know.

imagine they spotlight the wrong person and this dude is just some random person that likes writing down stuff during shows.

Ms Jenn just let them do what they rehearsed (at some point we never saw) or else this is gonna end horribly wrong

"help"

same Carlos, same

I love how seb is just his translator rn

I thought he said "great displeasure" instead of "greatest pleasure"....help?

big red coming out from throwing up to see his girlfriend star is the cutest thing in this show.

Ash and Gina dancing is so fun

I'm imagining them practicing at night at their home, watching the movie for the 100th time and making sure their one dance together is perfect

KOURTNEY YES

HOWIE IS IN LOVE AHHHH

I LOVE HOWIE SO MUCH

SEBBY

THIS SCENE HAS SO MUCH GOING ON I CAN'T KEEP UP

THIS IS SO GOOD

HOW???

no because I'm actually crying

I'm dead serious.

we need this musical released as a special

big red is so proud and I love to see it

Natalie: "if you do not by at least 20 dollars in concessions, you do not support art"

rando in the audience: "but I pay for ad free Spotify"

Mr Mazzara clapping in the distance

Gigi, the guy you like is talking to you, complimenting you and hyping you up

YOU LUCKY LITTLE FEATHER DUSTER

aw EJ teasing her about the chocolates in a way that doesn't make her feel bad? take notes Richard

JORDAN FISHER

there is no rest of the show idc Jordan is it for me

THE WIG CAP ON RICKY OMG

they look like they're high and having "deep" conversations on the floor

THE MEAN GIRL WITH THE EYES-

@sunshine-julie-molina YOU HEAR THAT

Natalie really just be coming for them all

Howie what is happening rn

I'm scared

"did you enjoy it"

"very much"

dude wants a kiss so bad

ASHLYN OMG

NO DON'T DO IT BECAUSE OF LILY, PUT YOUR OWN TWIST ON IT

I want a Jordan autograph please

just keep swim- oh pushing...

Gina is literally a giant next to him and I live for it

am I about to cry for the 3rd time in this episode?

yes.

Ricky's leg kicks under the table makes me so happy aw

the portwell glances will kill me.

ah yes, mashed potato snow

Mr. M.... I'm not a theatre kid but even I know you can't have your phone on backstage.

Howie please just do it

CHIP'S BIG LINE I CANT

I LITERALLY HAD TO PAUSE IT AMD SCREAM INTO MY MASK FOR A SOLID 2 MINUTES (I'm not at home rn) HES SO CUTE

oh ok bye Jordan

oo tea

NOT HIM BEING STARSTRUCK BECAUSE HE'S MEETING HIS FUTURE BROTHER IN LAW-

"we're all just glad Gigi has a big brother figure in her life"

excuse me for a few thousand hours while I laugh hysterically

THE CAMERA ZOOM ON EJS FACE AND EVERYTHING-

STOP EJ LOOKS LIKE HE'S GONNA CRY BUT I CAN'T TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY WITH THE STAGE MAKE-UP

someone else said this already but I think it's hilarious that they had to bring in 2 guest characters to create some portwell angst

omg this really is Cici's episode, found family is their thing

elevator music lol

I'm gonna bet that big red took the harness for his surprise for Ashlyn without realising what it was

did Ms. Jenn just....tell her most mentally unstable student....to commit suicide....on a disney show...was that....I'm very....well....what the actual-

oh and there she goes running off instead of trying to make it right

oh wow Nini's the hero, she's gonna save the show 🤩

😐

the judge is doing a sudoku

honestly if I went to the hsm show as well, I'd come prepared for this one too

Lily why are you looking like that-

I WAS JUST STARTING TO LIKE YOU DON'T MESS THIS UP

wow ok, there goes that.

omg

what if Howie was acting weird because he knew what Lily did and wanted to tell Kourtbut Lily threatened him so he was scared to-

anyways see y'all clowns next week when we all simultaneously lose all motivation for the week without Fridays to look forward to.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts s2 #hsmtmts season 2 #hsmtmts spoilers #ej caswell #gina porter #ricky bowen #nini salazar roberts #seb mathew smith #carlos rodriguez #big red #ashlyn caswell #kourtney greene #howie my pizza king #lily hsmtmts

[ceciliaaa-youre-breakin-my-heart]

Sooo I decided to start by re-uploading some of my old art I drew before deciding that those two dorks would become my oc's.

Everybody, say hello to Anthony (on the left) and Arthur "Art" (on the right).Those designs are not exactly how I would envision them right now, but sadly my drawing skills seem to come and go, so I'm at the moment unable to create anything better. I can't say everything about their backstories because it's still kinda a work in progress and would also be a little spoilery, so instead here are some random facts:

ANTHONY MARLOWE (born 19 august 1948)

- his mother left when he was 5, so he was basically raised by his father. It's very important.

- despite talking all the time about "high literature" his favorite genre is actually science fiction, which he discovered by accident when he was around 9. Will defend Izaak Asimov with his life

-In sixth form he auditioned for the titularrole in his school's production of "Hamlet". When he learned he didn't get the role and was instead cast as Rosenkrantz, he never showed up to rehearsals which prompted other students to kick him out of the drama club for being "a terrible sport".

ARTHUR O'RILEY: (born 25 November 1949)

-1/4 irish from his mother's side

- has 2 older sisters- Sarah (2 years older) and Joanne (5 years older)

- learned how to sew from his mother and dreamt of becoming a tailor when he was younger. Let's just say his father wasn't a fan of that

- probably has a bunch of undiagnosed health problems. I'm sure it won't become a problem later down the line...

I'll try to make a reference sheet and inspirations for both of them, but right now that's all i guess

#oc art #oc lore #look at those boomers #tagging my own shit feels so weird #don't be surprised if i occasionally spell his surname Marluv #I just find it funny #Also #you may wonder why I would name both of my characters with names starting with the same letter like isn't it a little confusing #and to that my answer is #shutup #anthony marlowe #arthur o'riley

[highly-flammable]

Reacting to Legacies 3x03 (SPOILERS):

1. So ARE we FINALLY getting to some proper firstborn Mikaelson witch breakdowns?

2. Oh well, apparently no. They'll just try to wave it off as some one time thing probably.

3. So Hope and Landon are on a break. Okay. TBH watching them sass each other is interesting.

4. The guidance counselor is pretty much a compulsion monster, is that it? Well, I do like his wardrobe.

5. Alyssa's concern for MG is so fake I can't.

6. Nobody other than Jed read for Stefan? THE DISRESPECT.

7. Lizzie playing Caroline makes total sense but them asking Josie to play the lead without even an audition looks a bit bad TBH. Like, give the other interested people a chance, at least.

8. I find it a bit repetitive how there are mind-controlling monsters popping out again and again.

9. So MG is basically going through a phase similar to what Cami was going through when Klaus used to compel her at the beginning of TO. Considering Quincy's fondness for Cami, he must have liked playing that.

10. I understand that Landon is supposed to be a capable songwriter in-universe but it takes more than that to write and direct a musical and it's very weird that they didn't even find a guest star to pose as a Drama or English teacher who is guiding him or something. WHERE ARE ALL THE TEACHERS?

11. I kinda feel like some of the lead characters in this show are colour-coded. I see Hope and Landon in red and blue a lot (the two gowns we have seen Hope wearing also fall into this pattern) and Josie wears yellow in like, every other episode. If I recall correctly, Lizzie wears a lot of white, too. I wonder what the reasoning behind these choices are.

12. Well, I liked Hope and Landon's relationship in S1, I have no idea what was going on with it in S2, and I still don't know what to think about it.

13. Lizzie casts herself in Caroline's role and then chokes at rehearsal. Not totally unrealistic but still feels a bit forced to me. Would have been better if Landon cast her because she's Caroline's daughter and Lizzie was a bit apprehensive in the first place because she didn't want to mess up the role.

14. I appreciate the show taking a moment to talk about Lizzie's bipolar disorder though. It's been a while.

15. "Bonnie just disappears for long periods of time"? Dude, she's still super important and you're putting her in the play. Right? RIGHT?!

16. Landon, THANK YOU for pointing out how weird Caroline and Alaric's relationship was. The guy deadass got engaged to her and had a pissing contest over her with Stefan, that will never not gross me out.

17. So the monster is mind controlling Landon to put Klaus into the play. Saw this coming IG.

18. Hope is painting again, like her dad used to do when he felt things were going out of control. I've been rewatching TO and this is making me so emotional. I MISS KLAUS AND HIS SHENANIGANS. And not a single character on Legacies comes close to Klaus, Elijah and Hayley for me. (Sorry if this hurts anyone's feelings but Legacies really is a downgrade from TVD and TO)

19. Ugh, why would he use the contents of the letter as lyrics? Dude, is it because you're mind-controlled? No, I don't like this. Klaus loved Hope to the ends of the earth and wanted everyone to know but Hope wants to keep things private, and her wishes should have been respected.

20. So apparently Landon tries not to put Klaus' villainous antics into the show. Well, okay, it's definitely a copout but since he is Hope's boyfriend, makes sense. But I don't understand why the musical HAS TO BE about the Salvatore school. The accreditation excuse is lazy, writers! Also, Landon, my dude, Klaus was a major donor of the school. Put that in instead of the other things, stop pissing off your girlfriend FFS. Even if you're mind-controlled 🤦🏻‍♀️

21. I do find it funny how Landon is all gaga over Klaus' use of language though. The guy really did have the best lines, didn't he? (Tied with Elijah, I suppose, for me)

22. The other singers of the first song are really good so Kaylee sounds a bit rusty in comparison. Also, she reminds me too much of Dark!Josie with the hair and makeup. From a distance, she can be mistaken for Nina though.

23. I love that the backstage activities are being shown.

24. I'm digging Jed as Stefan and I really like his singing voice. And the Hero Hair wig cracked me up. Kaleb is obviously good at singing at it's nice to hear more from him. I also like how Chris Lee didn't try to exactly emulate Ian and played Damon how someone who has only heard about him might play him.

25. Is Hope painting herself before the pit or something? Or is this supposed to symbolize her despair at her parents' loss? ALSO, I WANT SOMEONE TO MENTION HAYLEY :( Why is Hayley so ignored?!

26. The same person probably wrote MG's notes and Caroline's letter IRL and therefore, in-universe, MG has Caroline's handwriting and it's funny to me.

27. Jenny sings well, I like it. I don't understand the song though, was Caroline actually ever feeling this insecure? I feel like the song became a lot more about Lizzie than her mother. (It's been forever since I watched TVD, if anyone has yet to guess, I prefer watching TO)

28. The doppelganger thing cracked me up.

29. Wait why did the monster attack Josie?! Ohhhh he's forcing Landon to improvise and put Klaus' song at the end. Well, I guess it makes it seem a bit less like Landon's fault. But would Hope know that?

30. It's hilarious how they lowkey make a call back to Nina leaving TVD and them having to put Elena in a sleep spell though.

31. Landon having a hissy fit is funny to me. Aria needs more comedic scenes.

32. Wait, where did Jade come from? Has she been in the school all these weeks?

33. While the scene seems a bit shabby to me, Klaus talking to Hope reminds me of their scene from TO 4X03. I needed more of Summer Fontana and Joseph Morgan together. Also, the donation did get mentioned, YASSSS. Man did some horrific things but he did fund the school so maybe a little less badmouthing in the presence of his daughter now that you know the story, eh, students?

34. The fact that the guidance counselor actually wore a leather jacket and a henley is cracking me up. It's really bizarre.

35. "Terrible painter" XD Klaus would have eaten you for saying that if he were alive.

36. Um, Hope, wouldn't you ask your family if you are doing enough to make your father proud, instead of this random bloke who supposedly met him once?! Maybe call Freya or Rebekah.

37. Why is this monster being nice to Hope? Doesn't it try to break people up or something? You'd think he'd try to piss her off even more and ruin her relationship with Landon.

38. Stefan was trying to be more like Damon by sacrificing himself? Um, what?

39. Well, this musical at least gave Stefan and Caroline a goodbye scene. I wonder how much the twins remember Stefan, must have been a bit emotional for Lizzie to play that. Jenny's singing was gooood, really liked it.

40. JED WAS GONNA KISS LIZZIE AND I WANTED IT TO HAPPEN. But a forehead kiss does work.

41. Hope's playing Elena now? What?

42. Ngl I want Hope and Jed to be friends. She needs more of a connection to her wolf side. Both of her parents wanted her to be surrounded by wolves and she's barely interacting with the wolves in this show, which always makes me sad.

43. So this monster can also do little spells and move physical objects eh? Whatever, this is random.

44. And this monster brings people back together? Why?

45. So when Hope is singing, is she doing it as Elena or Hope? She came on stage as Elena, but I thought the song is about Hope. So WHAT IS IT?

46. Oh Damon's on stage, so Hope is singing as Elena and it's a call back to the graveyard scene from the TVD finale.

47. Danielle sings pretty well. It's good she decided to perform this time.

48. Okay, that lifting up scene was adorable. I feel like Hope and Landon are at their cutest when they're a bit spontaneous. But she's Elena on stage and it lowkey looks like Landon crashed her romantic scene with Damon to kiss her so I'm cackling.

49. How much older is Jade supposed to be than Josie?

50. So is Josie going to leave the school for a while and that's why Ethan will be back in the picture?

51. Jade used to babysit Josie? Okay, it is hella awkward.

52. Josie why, don't do this, yikes. Kissing her once doesn't make it non-creepy.

53. The Sheriff feels kinda shoehorned to me. Also, I don't care for Matt Davis or his character.

54. So Candice did the voiceover for Caroline's letter. That's nice for the show. I still don't understand why the letter showed up in Hope's fireplace though LOL.

55. This episode should have spent more time exploring the aftermath of the loss of Rafael. The abrupt shift from the last episode wasn't nice.

56. Yeah, kids, talk out your problems, thanks.

57. I feel like Klaus is too much of a controversial figure that Hope's conflict about her father's reputation would be resolved in one day. This is feeling undercooked. Speaking of, when is one of Klaus' or Hayley's enemies coming after Hope, because she did inherit all of them. Would make for better storytelling than this monster of the week nonsense. And yeah, still no mention of Hayley, I hate this.

58. The monster's characterization was really odd to me and I am so tired of this format SMH.

59. So they toyed with MG for weeks to get a vampire for the spell? That sounds like too much effort. There are tons of vampires from Klaus and Rebekah's bloodline, they couldn't find another? Also, I wonder who is the wolf that they will use.

Well, I felt like this episode was mostly okay, but not that well-cooked or epic or whatever. What is horrific is that they didn't show Bonnie, though. They could have at least gotten a female black guest character who is one of the witch students or something. This is very offensive.

Also, I don't think it makes sense for the show to do any more musicals in the future. This ain't Riverdale.

#legacies #legacies cw #hope mikaelson #landon kirby #lizzie saltzman #josie saltzman #kaleb #jed #milton greasley #alyssa chang #jade #klaus mikaelson #hayley marshall #elena gilbert #damon salvatore #stefan salvatore #bonnie bennett #caroline forbes #cami o'connell

[miruko-will-fight-god]

Class 1A x Immortal reader

Warnings: death, Reader death (But revival), talks of pain

Reader info:

Quirk: Complete Restoration (This quirk allows the reader to completely heal from any injury, even allowing them to regrow organs and limbs)

A/N: I swear this isn’t angst, tbh I dont even know what to call this since it isnt fluff, crack, or angst enjoy anyway tho (Also Mineta is replaced with Shinso but that shouldn’t really be a problem lol)

You walked into the room of class 2-A greeted by the faces of your new classmates and Eraser Head, who you had met a few days prior, was lying on the floor wrapped up in his blindingly yellow sleeping bag. You walked through the door, the exhausted teacher sluggishly sitting up. “Alright, introduce yourself quickly, we have things to do afterwards” he grumbles before slouching back down.

 You stepped beside the podium, reciting your rehearsed introduction from memory “Hello, I’m [Y/N] [L/N], I’m a new transfer from [Country]. I look forward to getting to know you all!” You finished, looking over towards Aizawa who was now standing, only half covered in his sleeping bag. “Alright,” he said, “now that that's over with, everyone get suited up and meet me at ground gamma.” 

You followed the rest of the class towards the lockers to change into your costumes Your costume was simple, it consisted of a simple black full bodysuit that had two large pockets running down the outer sides of your legs containing rope for restraining, and some combat boots. Since your quirk didn’t give you any offensive properties, your weapon of choice was a scythe, which was quite noticeable as you paraded out of the locker room with it.

 You, Ahisdo, Shinso and Midoriya were the first ones out of the locker rooms. You stood in awe of the massive industrial training grounds, as Ashido and Midoriya tried to convince you to tell them what your quirk is and Shinso looked like he was planning. As the rest of the class gathered up, you were greeted by your grumpy homeroom teacher and the frail form of all might. When all of you had arrived, All might began to brief you all on the exercise. “Today the battle will be a free for all, The border will be marked by a large red line that will shrink every minute, get pushed out of the border and you’re out, become immobilized, you’re out. Someone will win when they’re the last person standing within the border. We’ll give a 45 second grace period, for you all to get into a position, just make sure that you stay within the border.” He finished explaining. “Does everyone got it?” he asked, eliciting varying ‘yeses’ from you and your classmates. Before the class was told to begin Aizawa added something on. “One more thing, [L/N] and Shinso” your features became riddled with confusion. “As you most likely guessed this test will be an evaluation of you skills. And if I feel like your lacking what it takes to remain in this class, I will expel you.” You jumped at the notion of expelling while Shinso only narrowed his eyes,  you knew that Eraserhead has expelled entire classes of students before, you were no exception to this.

You calmed your nerves just as the pair gave the signal for the grace period to start. All of you ran in, some moving faster than others due to their quirks. An overly loud horn blew throughout the arena just as you reached a safe area near the edge of the border.

‘I guess that was the signal’ you thought, starting to come up with a plan

You knew that you had the benefit of them not knowing your quirk, you were told of them and their quirks and you remember seeing them in the sports festival from last year. So your best bet would be sneak attacks and to knock people out of the border since you only had a limited amount of rope, you figured the stronger and more ballsy of your peers would be near the center, so the majority would be around the outskirts like you.

You were taken out of your thoughts by tape narrowly avoiding your face. You towards your right, to find the person of origin perched on top of a pipe. You readied your weapon in front of you, The memory of the sports festival last year coming back to you. The grip you kept on your weapon tightened as you ran towards Sero, dogging and cutting tape as it was shot as you. Once you were close enough to the pipe you jumped up, hitching your scythe into a vertical pipe adjacent to where you were jumping using the momentum to pull yourself up. As your feet landed on the metal with a soft thud, you pulled your weapon out, grasping it with both hands.

Without hesitation you run towards your current opponent, making your way between the two streams of tape he shot at you. Once he was within range of your weapon, turning the blade around so he was hit with the heel of your scythe. You watched as he fell off of the pole landing on his butt. Before he had a chance to get up or even register the slight pain in his tailbone, the large red line marking the perimeter began to move inward, leaving him outside the line. You slightly felt bad but remembered that there was still a challenge going on. However you knew you were definitely going to be apologizing.

Your next destination was closer to the center of the arena. While it was still fairly early in the game, you had no doubt that quite a few people were out. After a while navigating, only accompanied by the sound of your footsteps and the sound of fights off in the distance. Before you knew it you reached what you assumed was the center. Primarily due to the fact that the area seemed more cleared out compared to other places in the structure. The area seemed almost under ground due to the lack of pipes at the bottom but random pipes acting similar to a roof only letting stray beams of light worming their way to the ground. Within the large cleared out area three people stood the arena. Three who you recognized from their files Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugou, and Hitoshi Shinso.

You remembered them specifically since one only transferred to the hero course this year, and the other two were fairly powerful. From where you stood you noticed a few other people, their either eyes trained on the scene in front of them waiting for an opportune moment to take one of them out or fighting someone else. The boys were currently engaged in a three-way battle trying their best to keep each other at bay while also trying to keep each other down. 

The boy in the green seemed to have a slight advantage since he seemed more skilled in close ranged hand-to-hand combat than the others. The blonde was stuck primarily on defense and the purple haired boy seemed to have a decent balance between defense and offense. You remembered Aizawa’s words, the threat of expulsion still slightly terrifying you. You took a deep breath and formulated a plan.

 As the battle continued you scaled your way up the pipes avoiding the other spectators. You eventually made you way to the end of a pipe that led directly over the battle- well as direct as you could be considering how much they moved around. You did your best to stay as quiet as possible as your made your way across the pipe until something caught your eye. Quite a bit ahead of you, the pipe got unstable due to it missing quite a few screws. It was unstable enough that probably if you applied enough pressure the pipe would collapse causing a domino effect to the few pipes below it. You knew if you spent anymore time thinking it over you would psych yourself out of it.

 You got a running start and jumped onto the pip fell with it  was everything collapsed. The trio below you saw and each to appropriate actions to save themselves. Bakugou jumping back using the force of explosions to power himself back. Shinso using his capture weapon to move larger pieces of debris out of his way. Deku jumping off of the falling rubble to make sure none of it fell on himself.

That portion of the Arena was covered in a layer of dust causing everyone to cough. As the dust started to settle, letting everyone open their eyes and get fresh breaths of air into their lungs, that's when they noticed it. You were dead…? You laid on top of the rubble, only small pieces laying on top of you. There was quite a noticeable head wound, and a hole in your stomach. Almost like a piece of metal had passed clean through you.

No one dared to move, the sight of a dead body causing some of them gag, trying to keep the bile in their stomachs. No one’s eyes dared to stay fixated on anything your body, like if they looked away you would really be dead. The most stoic of your classmates were unable to keep their unwavering facades together. Everyone's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden yelling from the pile of  wreckage “THAT HURT LIKE A BITCH!” You yelled, sitting up unaware of the state of your classmates. Tears started to flow as some of them finally gained the courage to run up to you bombarding you with questions. 

You chuckled at the familiar questions of “what?” “how?” “weren’t you dead?” Aizawa looked through the screen, a shock that was unknown to his colleague riddled his mind. He knew what your quirk was, but he didn’t know it was to that extent. He had seen healing quirks at work before, but he had never seen someone just come back to life like that. Aizawa ended the training session early giving you his logical ruse spiel while also reprimanding you for being that reckless.

Soon enough lunch rolled around, and you sat with a large group of one 1-A students ending up next to the green haired boy from earlier. As soon as you sat down you were bombarded with questions before you chuckled. “I can’t answer all your questions at once, one at a time please.” Midoriya asked his questions first which were basically all the practical ones. 

“What is your quirk?”

“It’s called complete restoration, I’m just able to heal any injury on myself, including ones that are fatal.”

“So you’re immortal?”

“Pretty Much.” you answered curtly, continuing to stuff your face. 

“Do you feel pain?” a red head asked sheepishly. “Not in the slightest! But I can tell when I get hurt, it’s like some sort of sixth sense. And “dying” is practically just waking up from that weird falling feeling ” You shrugged. “But it makes it really fun to jump off of buildings and stuff!” you finished giggling. Your classmates looked at you with a mix of awe and disbelief, continuing to ask questions throughout the lunch period.

#Bnha #Mha #mha imagines #bnha imagines #Class 1a #class 1-a x reader #bnha x reader #reader insert #Katsuki Bakugou #Izuku Midoriya #Hitoshi Shinso #eijiro kirishima #Mina Ashido #Shouta Aizawa #Toshinori Yagi #Possible Part 2 I just wouldnt know what to do with it #I rlly like the potential for this quirk #I only added a scythe cuz before I wrote this I had just rewatched soul eater for the 5th time #tw: death

[faerielleart]

who is here for a really bad and random high school au that is completely self indulgent yo

in which levi loses a bet with erwin and mike and is forced to audition for their school’s production of les misérables, he tries to mess up the audition but somehow he still sucks less than everyone so he ends up getting the part of marius??? and he can’t quit because it will influence negatively on his grades??? idk imagine levi reading the script without knowing shit about the play and reading all the cheesy lines for the first time and him hating every single thing about this situation until the first day of rehearsal where he meets the person who will play cosette, his weird schoolmate hanji who shares some classes with him who is always spending time in the school laboratory to do experiments and shit and oh. Oh.

at first dude wants to Scream because he just can’t bear the thought of acting like a booby who is madly in love (quoting old les mis memes from years ago here) with this wEiRdO who somehow has a pretty fucking amazing voice and wow maybe this weirdo,,,,, isn’t a bad weirdo. how bizzarre

Maybe just maybe as the days go by they start spending time together because hey! Looks like they are polar opposites but at the same time they have SO! MANY! things in common!!! and they eventually use rehearsing as an excuse to spend even more time together! and they bond over the fact that they’re supposed to play characters who are SO distant and different from how they are irl and levi finds out that hanji tried to audition as a joke but got the part bc she can actually S I N G like an angel and has a really solid head voice and range despite being a mezzo and cosette needing a soprano bc her parents forced her to take lessons, while levi despite having a decent singing voice actually had to have the songs lowered a lil bc bby is a baritone in a tenor role and has never had lessons and can’t support all the notes but fear not! Hanji offers to teach him some tips and tricks and whoops now they’re spending even more time together

And maybe just maybe it becomes easier for levi to sing “in my life she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun, and my life seems to stop as if something is over and something has scarcely begun”, maybe it comes natural for levi to stutter his line in “a heart full of love, a heart full of song, i’m doing everything all wrong” because?? he is looking right at hanji’s really pretty brown eyes and he can’t concentrate?? and he hates feeling like this lmaooo like sweaty palms butterflies fast heartbeat,,,,, boi is in love and he doesn’t realize it he just thinks he’s constipated

anyway let’s spice shit up and add erwin to the mix! erwin knows hanji, they’re childhood friends and they actually met through their singing lessons, the dude who was going to play enjolras gets idk chicken pox and the director is frantically looking for a substitute, levi wants to get back at erwin for making him audition in the first place (it’s all in good faith tho it’s a joke and they’re best friends dw he just wants to have a lil revenge) and suggests erwin, not knowing that he and hanji know each other and that he actually has been trained in singing so yeah erwin gets called for a last-minute audition and dude SMASHES it the director’s crying tears of joy they found their authentic tall hot blonde enjolras who looks like he’d be a great commander and people would die for him (;DDDDD) and during rehearsal levi finds erwin and hanji chatting like old friends!! and dude’s like wtf do u know each other??? and hanji says hell yes we studied together since we were children :D and just because i am huge huge erumike trash lemme say that mike got a lil part bc they needed ensemble members and he got to play grantaire so yeah enjoy both e/R and erumike there we go erwin gets to act with his boyfriend!! and they both watch levi and hanji during rehearsal and see how they obviously pine for each other but are far too oblivious for their own good so they decide here and there that they must get those two together bc it’s exHAUSTING to watch them stare lovingly into each other’s eyes and hold hands and kiss and then brush it off saying “it’s just acting we literally have to play a couple”

anyway the day of the show is here ladies and gentlemen levi is nervous af but doesn’t show it, he has to act like a lovesick fool in front of the whole school, the students, the teachers, the parents, EVERYONE and oh my god i hate it here might become his gratuation quote but all he needs is hanji backstage who squeezes his hand and whispers “can’t wait for you to sweep me off my feet shorty” which is extremely cringy but hanji did it on purpose just to see levi get embarassed and he does lmao so yeah the show goes amazingly! levi went flat a few times on the higher parts but it’s totally normal bby’s not trained and he did great everyone praise the birthday boy he deserves it

it’s after the show that things get a lil sad for our boi bc now he doesn’t have to rehearse anymore and is afraid that hanji won’t spend time with him anymore bc the show’s over :(( but fear NOT hanji plans on glueing herself to his side for the rest of the schoolyear and until they graduate and even after that and years later they’ve graduated college they’ve been living together for a while and they go to see the actual show on bway done by professionals and hanji acts weird all evening and OH as they’re going home she stops in the middle of the streets and whips out two lil matching rings,,,,,,, and says the cringiest cheesiest fucking thing in the world that has levi groaning and facepalming,,,,,, hanji says “will u be the marius to my cosette” and yeah levi just sighs and puts the ring on his finger and they smooch under the moonlight aw isn’t that CUTE and they lived happily ever after victor hugo is smiling down at them from the afterlife and patting himself on the back for helping them get together

NOW THERE’S TOO MUCH FLUFF AND I NEED ANGST TO BALANCE IT OUT so imagine this is also a reincarnation au and whenever levi sings “empty chairs at empty tables” he gets a weird feeling in his stomach and he gets really emotional singing “oh my friends my friends forgive me that i live and you are gone, there’s a grief that can’t be spoken, there’s a pain goes on and on” and “oh my friends my friends don’t ask me what your sacrifice was for, empty chairs at empty tables where my friends will sing no more”?? He blames it on the character getting to him too much but then he sees the scene where the students sing drink with me and the lyrics “drink with me to days gone by, can it be you fear to die, will the world remember you when you fall, could it be your death means nothing at all, is your life just one more lie” sound really familiar and resonate with him somehow as if he heard similar words somewhere else already, he sees erwin playing enjolras and being a commander giving orders and singing “let others rise to take our place until the earth is free”, he sees the scene where all the students get shot at the barricade and die one by one and he feels his head pulse and he has the strongest feeling of deja-vu and suddenly everything goes black and he wakes up in the infirmary with a very worried hanji sitting on a chair beside him and he really can’t explain what happened except that he feels like he just woke up from a very long dream and he feels like he fought through a battle and hanji just waves it off as him taking the stanislavski technique a bit too seriously for a high school play but the feeling doesn’t really ever go away and sticks with him even years later whenever he hears les mis being mentioned

#levihan

[transcripttt]

A transcript of Eliza Dushku’s statement about forced arbitration and her experience on the CBS show Bull.

CW: Descriptions of specific instances of sexual harassment.

The original video can be found here.  The transcript can be found beneath the read-more link:

I’m Eliza Dushku, an actress, producer, new mother of two, and currently a graduate student in my hometown of Boston.  I’ve worked in the entertainment industry from the time I was nine years old, in numerous movies with actors such as Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Halle Berry, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, more recently as the lead in two network television series.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today about this important issue, and will share my experience as a victim and survivor of sexual harassment in the workplace and as someone who was fired and silenced when I attempted to address it.

In 2017, I was aggressively pursued by CBS to become a co-lead on a show called Bull.  I was told that the role would be a six-year commitment to play a smart, strong leading lady; a confident, high-powered lawyer meant to counterbalance the existing male lead; and that the role had been written specifically with me in mind.

However, in my first week on my new job I found myself the brunt of crude, sexualized, and lewd verbal assaults.  I suffered near-constant sexual harassment from my costar.  This was beyond anything I had experienced in my 30-year career. My male costar, who was also one of the show’s producers, would frequently refer to me as “Legs;” he would smell me and leeringly look me up and down.  Off script, in front of about 100 crew members and cast members, he said that he would take me to his rape van and use lube and long phallic things on me, and take me over his knee and spank me like a little girl.  Another time, he told me that his sperm were powerful swimmers. These are just a few examples.  These were not lines in the script.  They were incessant and demeaning and directed at me in the middle of what was supposed to be a professional workplace.

Per my history, I tried to be professional and just do my job, but was relentlessly sexualized, crudely mocked, and laughed at.  I began dreading going to work each day, and often rode home in silence on the verge of tears, feeling this confusing shame over not having been able to stick up for myself more.  I feared that if I pushed back or reacted strongly, my job could be at risk or my professional reputation could be harmed.

One day, after I delivered a courtroom monologue that I had spent significant time rehearsing, my costar shouted out that he and his buddy wanted to have a threesome with me, and began mock penis-jousting while the camera was still rolling.  Then, as I walked off to my coffee break in between scenes, a random male crew member sidled up to me at the food service table and whispered, “I’m with Bull.  I want to have a threesome with you, too, Eliza.”  I was horrified and became physically nauseous.  I had just been humiliated in front of 100 coworkers on the set by the star, and now it seemed it was open season for others to demean me sexually, too.

My costar’s behavior continued and increased.  It was pervasive and mean and intentionally disempowering.  It was awful.  As vulnerable as it feels to admit, I began to borrow my husband’s sweatpants and wore big Timberland boots to work to avoid more comments about my appearance.

Over the years, I had become accustomed to the usual banter that occurs on the set.  This was very different, but the multi-year contract I had agreed to was a big deal, and my drive to succeed was strong.  I had received rave reviews from the showrunner, who is the person in charge of the show, and others at CBS.  I wanted to make the show work, and I loved the role that had been created for me.

I spoke with my manager, and we decided that I would try to address the intolerable sexual harassment I was being forced to endure.  I had built a professional reputation, and should have been able to speak directly with my costar as an equal.  I specifically asked him to be my ally on set and tone down some of the sexualized comments directed at me, especially as he set the tone for the workplace.  Admittedly, I was nervous, but I shared with him how he had made me feel on set and asked if he would work with me to rectify this. He responded in feigned shock: “No one is more respectful of women than me.  I grew up with sisters.”

What I found out later was that, 40 minutes after this conversation, he texted the head of CBS Studios that I had a humor deficit and he didn’t want me on the show.  The CBS studio head replied that I was great and made the show better.  I was fired the next day.  The showrunner told me straight-up that, after the next episode, I would not be returning.  He even suggested that I ask CBS and Steven Spielberg, whose company Amblin co-produced Bull, for my own show, because he thought my work was so impressive.

Now, I have worked as an actress since I was a child and signed countless contracts negotiated on my behalf, but never understood that there were mandatory arbitration clauses that would be used to keep what had happened to me a secret and would protect CBS and the sexual harassment perpetrator, who had blatantly retaliated against me for trying to stop the harassment in my workplace.  I was shocked to learn that I had signed away my rights to a public forum before taking a job.  Who would ever think up such a clause?  Who are these clauses meant to favor and protect?  It suddenly became clear: Not me.

I began to understand how very limited my options were to try to address the prohibited sexual harassment and illegal retaliation I had experienced.  In response to a letter from my counsel, CBS handed over hundreds of hours of tape, which included video of the actual harassment.  It was captured, verbatim, on their tapes.  No one other than my legal advisors and CBS has ever seen, or will ever see, those tapes.  I was trapped by the binding arbitration clause I had unknowingly signed.

For the next year, I found myself pitted against one of the most powerful media corporations in the world, CBS, with its unlimited resources, which was controlled by the men who used the arbitration clause to protect themselves, their profitable show, and to silence me.

To this day, whenever my career, my life’s work, is referenced, my accomplishments as an actor are ignored.  I’ve been reduced to being “Eliza Dushku, the actress who was paid off for allegedly being sexually harassed on a TV series.”  As I hope you can understand, this was not the outcome I desired, nor ever expected. But because of binding arbitration, there will never be real justice for me and for countless other victims of sexual harassment and assault.

Lastly, there’s an irony that I fully understand: I’m getting to break that silence today.  Countless others who are bound by arbitration are not so fortunate.  I offer my strength and solidarity to all the other brave women who will speak today.  We can help end this.  Accountability and transparency aren’t partisan issues.

Thank you for hearing me, and for considering this important legislation.

[tirednotflirting]

show's over, the same old story now

hi i wrote a fic based on ‘moon in the morning’ by adam melchor. objectively this is very much not a happy fic am very sorry (but also not bc i think it’s good lol)

if you’re not comfy with reading stuff about infidelity this one is not gonna be your jam just fyi

thank you to @reveriesofawriter for giving this a read for me this morning <3

you can read it on ao3 here

He’s never given Alex a key. Jack figures he has to draw the line somewhere so he’s never given Alex the spare key to his place. 

Instead, the key stays just beneath the flower pot beside the front door and it stays there rather than under the mat because the first place someone would go looking for a key is below the mat, Jack. So really, the line is more like faded chalk on a sidewalk after a summer rain and Jack can’t be bothered to fix it with something more permanent.

It’s around midnight when Jack hears the lock turning and the front door open and close. He’s been sitting on the floor in front of his coffee table working on a research paper for the last several hours, late night talk shows play from the TV for some background noise. Without lifting his eyes from his laptop screen, he listens to Alex kick off his shoes by the door before wandering into the kitchen. It’s a well rehearsed routine. He doesn’t need to look across the room to know that somewhere on the other side of the wall Alex is plugging his phone into the charger by the coffee maker before checking the fridge for leftovers. (They’re aren’t any in there tonight since Jack finished off the last of the chicken parmesan for his own dinner. There is some watermelon on the top shelf though.)

Given the time and the fact that it’s Friday, Alex must have been picking up someone’s shift at the bar so Jack isn’t surprised when he hears more soft footsteps head in the direction of the bathroom. A few moments later he hears the sound of the spray from the shower. Jack figures that’s another ten or so minutes he’ll have to work on his citations so he gets back to the task at hand. 

Almost exactly ten minutes later, Alex wanders into the living room wearing a pair of sweatpants pulled from Jack’s closet but his own flannel. He hasn’t bothered with the buttons and Jack does what he can to ignore that observation. Alex takes a seat on the couch just behind where Jack sits and again, in an all too familiar routine, Jack sighs at the feeling of Alex’s fingers pressing into the tension he holds in his shoulders. 

“You’ve gotta stop sitting on the floor when you’re working,” Alex says. “You’re going to graduate with a masters in back pain otherwise.”

“I’m comfiest on the floor.”

“I promise you would be comfier at your desk, Jack.” Alex says with a laugh before he leans forward and presses his lips against Jack’s hair like he always does. Before he sits back up, Jack catches the faded scent of Alex’s cologne on the collar of the flannel and it’s enough motivation to reach forward and quickly hit save before closing his laptop for the night. Jack pushes himself up onto the couch beside him and their brown eyes meet for the first time since Alex let himself in twenty or so minutes earlier. Alex looks tired (he always looks so tired) and Jack can’t help but lift a hand to cradle his cheek, his thumb brushing gently below the dark circles he can see in the glow from the TV. 

“I’ll be fine,” Jack finally answers after a few beats of silence pass between them. 

“Just trying to take care of you,” Alex mumbles as he drops a hand against Jack’s knee and his thumb traces circles against the bone there. There’s some kind of emotion Jack can’t quite place in his tone. He’d question what to call it but they both know that’s not where this is headed.

“You always do,” he replies instead and moves his hand to the back of Alex’s neck to pull him closer to bring their lips together. Alex catches on quickly enough and sighs against Jack’s lips before climbing into his lap and winding his arms around his shoulders, his fingers tangling into the ends of Jack’s hair.

Jack smiles into the kiss when Alex gasps at the feeling of Jack’s fingertips skating their way up his back below the worn flannel shirt. Jack has perpetually cold hands meanwhile Alex’s skin always feels like he’s on fire. There’s probably something poetic in that but Jack ignores the dreamy thoughts and words in favor of pushing the soft material away from Alex’s shoulders until he briefly removes his hands from Jack’s hair to shake the shirt the rest of the way off. He tosses the shirt behind him before wrapping himself around Jack again. Jack feels goosebumps rise against where his fingers brush against Alex’s chest and he knows it’s something he’ll never get over the thrill of being able to do.

Alex’s lips travel down Jack’s jaw to the tattoo on his neck that Alex has always been fond of. “Let’s go to your room,” Alex mumbles in a lower voice, his lips brushing against Jack’s ear. He all but falls out of Jack’s lap before grabbing his hand to pull him in the direction of the hall. The flannel is left forgotten on the back of the couch and the TV is left on with some random late night show host still telling bad jokes to a studio audience. 

As they pass the kitchen, Alex’s greedy lips pressing against whatever skin he can find as he pulls Jack toward the bedroom at the end of the hall, Jack swears he can hear the sound of Alex’s phone buzzing out a rhythm against his kitchen counter. 

And unlike Alex’s melancholy tone or the poetry told by the temperature of their skin, Jack doesn’t have to question who’s trying to call Alex after midnight on a Friday night. Jack already knows the answer. But as he takes the final steps into his bedroom and lets Alex kiss him against the closed door, he once again chooses to ignore the truth and the buzzing beside his coffee maker in favor of falling into bed with a boy he knows will be gone by sunrise.

*

A few hours later, the sound of the sink running wakes Jack from his sleep. He’s always hated how lightly he sleeps. He knows he’d be far more well rested just in general if he could stay unconscious through the sound of thunderstorms and his late night companion leaving in the earliest hours of the morning. But he figures for the universe to stay balanced he has to be punished for this somehow and maybe this is the best the universe can do at this kind of hour.

His eyes flutter barely open, just enough that he can make out some of the details of his bedroom from the tiny light provided by the moon shining through the curtain he hadn’t bothered to close before falling asleep a few hours earlier. As he listens to the sounds of Alex brushing his teeth and wandering around Jack’s apartment to find the clothes he arrived in, Jack takes in his open closet and the mussed up other side of his bed. It’s reached the point in the year where Jack only sleeps with a sheet because he can’t rest when he’s too warm. A long time ago Alex told him something about how he’s never been able to sleep without something weighing down over him. Jack had started keeping a quilt in the chair in the corner soon after that. It’s already been folded up again and placed back in its spot.

He hears the familiar jingle of Alex’s keys that he dropped in the bowl by the door on his way in a few hours earlier and exhaustion starts to settle back over Jack. He pulls the sheet up over his chest and turns away from his bedroom door and lets out a long breath before closing his eyes. 

He’s just started to tumble back over the edge toward sleep so he can’t be sure it wasn’t the beginning of a dream but Jack swears he hears the soft sound of footsteps on the carpet and feels a pair of lips press against his temple. It’s probably easier for everyone involved to assume it’s only his subconscious playing tricks with him again though, he figures, and then he’s asleep. 

*

It’s a couple weeks later on a night that follows the same routine as all the others. But for some reason they’ve both chosen tonight to pull a wild card on each other. Rather than forcing his eyes shut and his breathing to steady out after listening to Alex shuffle around the small apartment before heading out, Jack lets himself stay awake. He sits up against the headboard, the sheets falling to pool around his waist. He feels himself shiver in the cool air. He always keeps his place fairly cool at night but he stopped noticing it when he so often is sharing a bed with a human furnace.

Alex steps back into the doorframe, his arms crossing against his chest as he leans his shoulder into the wood, his dark eyes falling to meet Jack’s. He doesn’t look all that surprised to see Jack awake, his eyebrows only barely lifting in recognition that they’ve gone off script a bit.

“You should get some rest, Jack,” Alex says in a voice that suggests he should take his own advice. “You’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“Does he make you happy?” Jack asks, his tone all curiosity. Jack is a student before all else; all he wants to do is understand, really.

“He doesn’t make me unhappy,” Alex answers as though the answer should be that obvious. “I wouldn’t stay with someone that makes me miserable.”

“Then does he know you come here? Does he never question why you come home two hours after closing smelling like another man?” Jack isn’t sure who he’s judging more out of the two of them with the questions. He watches Alex take a moment to sigh and scratch at the back of his neck.

“Jack, we can’t have this conversation right now,” Alex says, his eyes floating around the room from his spot at the door in an attempt to avoid Jack’s gaze. “I need to get home. It’s late.”

He shoves his hands in his pockets and turns then to leave. Jack holds his breath until he hears the front door open and close and the lock slide into place. He takes a deep breath then and lets his body fall back against the mattress. Jack closes his eyes and pushes aside the ache in his chest at the silent reminder that despite how often Alex makes his way into Jack’s apartment and heart at the end of the day, home will always be within a different collection of four walls and with a different boy.

*

It’s a creak in the mattress that wakes Jack up this time. For a moment he’s confused at the warm body still pressed against his back. He’s worried his mind is starting to play even more cruel tricks on him in his dreams but the fingertips pressed against his middle tell him their current position is a reality. He lets his fingers fall into the spaces between Alex’s and he feels a sigh against the back of his neck. But he also doesn’t miss the way Alex pulls him impossibly closer against his chest.

“I need to leave soon, Jack,” he states quietly, another emotion hidden in his tone since Jack can’t see Alex's face. 

“Can you stay until the morning?” Jack asks the question before he can stop it from leaving his lips. He squeezes their hands together. The action feels somewhat clumsy, it’s not often that they hold hands. “We’ve both gotta get up for class. I’ll make coffee, you can borrow a shirt.”

“He’ll wonder where I was,” Alex answers though there isn’t anything combative in his voice.

“Will he?”

They’re both silent for a few moments but they both know there’s an answer that’s been said regardless. Alex presses his lips against the back of Jack’s neck and it feels like he’s struck a match against the skin.

“Goodnight, Jack.”

And as both of their breathing evens out while they stay pressed against each other under the sheets, Jack’s final thought before stumbling into sleep is that maybe he wouldn’t mind getting burned. 

*

#jalex #jalex fic #atl fic #yeah i'm not gonna lie i felt a bit bad about this one like it's just a very angsty fic #excellent song highly recommend if you haven't heard it #adam melchor makes some bitchin tunes

[pianogal]

Flirting Lessons

Summary: Just as Dan was about to give up on love, Dan becomes Phil's tutor. (University AU)

Word Count: 2k

This phanfic is a gift to @phanetixs from @phandomgiftexchange !! I hope you like it!!

꧁꧂

In an attempt to cheer me up, Pj has offered his vast knowledge in the art of flirting. He's convinced me that a good distraction will occupy my mind. As Pj and I walk down the hallway to the cafeteria, we rehearse this week's lines.

"You're cute, wanna bang?" I say sarcastically.

"C'mon Dan! If you really want to be back in business, you have to take it seriously!" Pj complains.

I know exactly why he urges me to 'get back in business.' Deep down we all know that I haven't gotten over my breakup. Although it's been 4 months, the thought of Charlie churns my stomach. It's not that I miss the guy, it's the way he chose to dump me. It wasn't the typical: "It's not you, It's me." He went ahead and said: "It's definitely you."

I always thought flirting was stupid. And the reason for it is because I really have no idea how to flirt. People make it look so easy, but to me it's worse than math. It's my fault for asking Pj to teach me how to flirt.

The cafeteria is a wide open space filled with round and square tables circulating the area. From the direction of our dorms, the smoothie bar is positioned to our left, right next to a group of fairly attractive college students. Although Pj made me practice my lines, I was not ready to put them in practice.

"Do you remember what to say?" Pj asks.

I look at him and widen my eyes. I realized what little confidence I have in walking up to random guys, let alone flirt. "I think this is a bad idea," I admit.

"No it's not! I say you should walk up to them and ask them to marry you," Pj encourages. Before I could protest, Pj began pushing me towards their direction.

As I walked to my doom, I realized a pair of eyes staring at me. I see Charlie to my right watching as Pj forces me to interact with the group of guys. Pj notices where my attention is and whispers behind my ear, "Show Charlie how much these guys would kill to date you."

Pj stops pushing me just a few feet in front of the group. All 4 guys notice my sudden appearance and look side to side as if silently questioning which of them knew me. I turn back to see Pj heading to the smoothie bar while Charlie patiently waits for my failure to sink in.

"Uh, do you guys take Literature with Professor Starch?" Was the only sentence I could come up with.

Each guy looks at their group before saying anything. The tall brunette on the left answers, "None of us do. Sorry." After his response, they all began to walk the opposite direction of me. I then turn to see Charlie walking towards me while laughing at my misery.

"Did you really think you could find a rebound?" Charlie chuckles.

"Yeah I was hoping to do the same thing you did," I harshly replied.

Charlie straightens his posture so as to stand taller than me. He pushes his dirty blonde hair from his face and relaxes his devious grin. "You wish you could find a rebound like I did," Charlie walks away after saying what I thought to be the worst thing I needed to hear at that moment.

"What the hell happened?" Pj rushes to me while holding his newly purchased strawberry and banana smoothie. "What did that jerk say to you?"

Although Charlie meant nothing to me, his words would always take a toll on me. Probably because he knew exactly what my biggest insecurities are. He used every single one to taunt me. In this case, he made it very clear that I would never be good enough to earn love.

"I need to go. Class starts in 15 minutes and I need to talk to my professor about an assignment," without waiting for her response, I walk away and head to class.

I lied to Pj about speaking to my professor before class started. It was just an excuse to get away from everyone. I needed time to process all the events that went down. I sit on the far end of the room. No one is here yet, but soon enough students will start rolling in.

I feel stupid. I don't want to tell anyone about how I feel because they'll probably think I can't get over a breakup. It's not that I still love Charlie. It's the fact that Charlie dumped me because he wasn't happy with me. 4 months ago, Charlie said he preferred to be single than to be with me. 

I loved him and for a while I thought he loved me too. I couldn't understand why someone that loved me would dump me out of nowhere. And I wonder if I wasn't good enough for Charlie, who the hell is going to love me? I'm not attractive, my personality sucks, I'm not outstanding in any way, and I don't even have my shit together.

"Is this seat taken?" A tall, well built guy broke me away from my train of thought. I look at him for a second to take in his completion. Fair skin, black hair to match with his pair of blue eyes. He wears a plain white t-shirt along with black jeans. I stopped myself from drooling.

I look down at the seat and look back to his eyes. It's been two weeks since class started. The only person who sat next to me dropped out the second day of class. With a sly smile, I say, "Nope, you can sit here."

"Thank you," he smiles back. He pulls the chair away from the table and relaxes into his new seat, "My name is Philip, but you can call me Phil. I've been absent for the past few weeks due to illness. Have I missed anything important?"

"Well, uh… I’m Dan." I'm dumbfounded. I couldn't believe how someone this attractive is sitting next to me. Then again, I'm sure the only reason he's hanging out is just to pass the class. Even so, I already failed flirting this morning. I was not planning at all to fail again.

"We had several assignments due each week, but they're not worth much. Probably ten points each. Maybe if you talk to Professor Starch he can give you an extension for them," I smile politely once more.

Phil sighs and leans back into his chair. Our gazes turn over to Professor Starch waltzing into the classrooms as he hurriedly reaches his desk. He logs on to the monitor and turns on the projector screen. I steer my attention away from our Professor and redirect it to my notes to hide my face. As much as I'd love to get to know Phil more, I can't stand but feel like it's a waste of his time to speak to me.

"Good afternoon everyone!" Professor Starch greets. "I hope everyone is doing well. I apologize for being late, I was deciding if I wanted to come to work today." Light chuckles fill the room. "Today we will be discussing ‘Don Quijote.’"

As I flipped through my notes, Phil lays his hand on my wrist. I look over to see him staring straight at me. "I know this is sudden, but do you think after class we can meet up and go over what I've missed?"

I really want to, but I don't know how Pj would feel if I bailed out our study session for a cute guy. "I don't know if I can after class. But I'm sure if you talk to the professor he'd be cool. He's really nice and-"

Phil moves closer to me and says, "I don’t have anyone else who can help. Can we please meet after class, Dan?"

"Of course," I immediately reply.

I have absolutely no idea why those words came out of my mouth. It is almost as if I had no control on what I said. I didn't even think about my answer. I realized my eyes are still trained on Phil. I can feel my face heating up and quickly look away. I didn't want him to think I was desperate to meet with him. There goes my last bit of dignity.

"I really appreciate your help, Dan," he smirks and turns to look at what Professor Starch has written on the board.

I sigh and reply, "No problem." 

꧁꧂

"The reason Don Quijote turns into a knight is because..." It's been an hour of nonstop tutoring. Although I'm grateful for the view, it is time consuming to be teaching two weeks worth of Literature. 

"Because of the books he’s read?" Phil almost asks.

"Yep! We just have to finish chapter five and then you'll be all caught up," I say to him, but also with the intent of reassuring myself.

We are seated in the right corner of Amy's Baking Company. We chose this spot because it's quiet and has comfy chairs. Not many people are here today. A couple of students spread across the Bakery, but other than that, it's pretty dead today.

"Do you mind if we take a little break," Phil asks.

"Yeah sure," I was hoping he'd feel as tired as I was. I close my notebook and focus on my new assignment that popped up on my computer screen.

"Tell me about yourself," Phil speaks up. I stare at him for a second. I'm trying to decide if there's any possible chance that Phil could be interested in me. Now I think about all the things I could say to sell myself.

"Well, I'm 20, I'm in my sophomore year, I'm a Political Science major and..." How do I make a move?

"And?" Phil leans forward against the table, as if intrigued by what my last response could be.

"I'm single…” My response of the year. 

Phil chuckles. I couldn't read him at all. I wasn't sure if he was ready to walk out the door and drop out of class or go along with my answer/question. I thought I'd had enough earlier, but I guess I came back for round 2.

"I'm 24, I took a gap year to figure out what I wanted to study. I'm now an English major and I'm single too," he then winks and smirks at me. "Why are you single?"

"I'm not good at flirting," I admit. "What about you?"

"No reason," he says without blinking.

"Why not?" I press for more information. 

"There’s no one that interests me,” Phil deadpans. 

"That sucks," is the only thing I could muster. By this point, I couldn't look at him directly. I tried to avoid his gaze by looking at my laptop's screen.

Part of me was hoping Phil would ask me out. Guys never ask me out for anything. The fact that Phil wanted to study with me after class is news to me. Curiosity washed over me. I want to know why he wasn’t interested in anyone. 

"How come?" I ask, now returning my full attention to Phil.

Phil then tilts his head. I suppose my question must've caught him off guard. "Well, you don’t know how to flirt.” 

“That I… what?” I ask. 

“I’m not interested in you yet because you haven’t flirted with me,” Phil smirks. 

My eyes widened. I feel my cheeks heat up once more. “Why would I flirt with you?” 

“I guess I thought you liked me,” he smiles cheekily. 

“What makes you think that?” I ask while my cheeks readen.

“Just a hunch.”

I sigh and say, “You seem to like me then.”   

"Tell you what," Phil pulls out his cell and unlocks it. He hands me over his phone with the 'New Contact' screen laid out. "Let's exchange phone numbers. When you learn how to flirt, give me a call."

“For what reason would I tell you?” I ask knowing his response. 

“So you can ask me out,” Phil stands from his seat and winks before he turns and leaves the bakery. I suppose I’ll have to beg Pj for more lessons.