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#also how are you gonna yell at people for interpreting a movie how they want to lmfao
yesthetrashbin · 1 year
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Lord Beerus X God of Creation (Male Reader)
TW: None?
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You; being a God of Creation, people tend to have very different interpretations of you if they never met you. Being depicted as; soft, warm, welcoming, meek, when in reality it's different.
Existence and life is a struggle and not a dreamy fantasy. Sure, good things happen but there is always horrific tragedies and violence.
This is what Beerus found attractive about you when you met. He admired how you could create life but also how downright terrifying and powerful you could be.
You're appearance was uncanny, but you were stunning in a rather unorthodox way. Tall, slim, presenting both feminine and masculine, all androgynous. A tail and horns, big yellow eyes, and a wide smile with sharp large teeth that could tear into anything.
You both met at a party, where all God's and Goddesses gather together.
You didn't care for these events but it was required of everyone to attend. Beerus was just across the room and when you two locked eyes, there was an immediate click.
The saying "Opposites attract" was definitely what was going on with you two.
The two of you talked all day and night, even way past the party had ended.
All the God's and Goddesses from all universes were placing bets already on "who will make the first move" "who will propose first" etc.
Courting took a span of thousands of years, everyone was exasperated to where they all yelled "FINALLY!" when you two made it official and even got married.
Now, for when Beerus meets the Z Fighters? (At least in the show/movie, I haven't read the manga) you stayed away from that.
When Beerus rambled to you on how he was gonna go find this Super Sayin God, you were inspecting you claws and said "Mhm, ok love, have fun."
He melts and swoons every time you call him a pet name.
But after a while of visiting Earth often, Beerus eventually accidentally slips about you.
"And because of my husband--"
"HUSBAND!?"
Everyone goes nuts in shock. Lord Beerus?? A married man?
The poor cat man is basically harassed and heckled to meet you, especially getting offended since none of them viewed him as a married man.
Beerus tries to put it off more and more until you find out and eagerly wanted to meet the mortals your hubby befriended.
When they all do meet you, they are all shocked and at the same time not. A God of Destruction married to A God of Creation?
Goku, being his usual dumb self would wanted to fight you, but you only smiled and placed your hand on his shoulder. "Goku, no offense.. but I can easily take life away, so don't tempt me."
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chwheeler · 2 years
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Jill @youandthemountains wanted to know my theater thoughts and I started typing and quickly realized a reply wasn't gonna be long enough so here's a post instead. I've also rewritten it like ten times, so hopefully it's coherent.
First, there's a part of me that has a hard time strictly enjoying theater. All I do while watching is think about the logistics behind the scenes, which I admittedly do enjoy thinking about because I've been there, but sometimes I wish I could divorce myself from that thought process and just watch as an audience member and connect through pure emotion.
Second, there's a same-y-ness to a lot of musical theater that I don't enjoy. I don't know what exactly it is that I'm reacting negatively to, like, something about the sound? Obviously, idk how to describe it. There's something too polished about it. No one sounds real. Like, I'd much rather listen to a mediocre singer perform a song with heartfelt emotion than a polished singer perform a song technically perfect.
Third, there's a weird attitude that theater is Real Art, because it is so inaccessible and fleeting, which I find grating. Like, it's not somehow better because a lucky few were allowed to see it during the brief window it's playing. And I'm sorry, but the idea that "It's Real because there's a real audience in the moment!" is only true up to a point. There's a point in a production where everyone starts operating on Auto-Pilot. That's not somehow Real-er than a film.
Lastly, my feelings towards theater are inextricably tied to my experiences in theater and I can't and may never be able to separate the two... I don't know. Like, it's a bittersweet feeling of "I wish I could do that again why did I stop" undermined by "I was miserable a lot of the time"? I always liked theater, but I never loved theater. I ultimately did theater because I didn't have the resources to do film and then everything I did from there felt like I was being pulled along in directions I didn't actually want to go. It's stupid to feel like I failed somehow, because I didn't fail, it just wasn't the life path I wanted to follow (even if the creative part of me is yelling Yes it is! Be creative! Your desk job is killing your spirit!). So I guess watching theater just reminds me that I couldn't hack it.
Ok, I lied, lastly and most petty of all, I'm still bitter the stage version of Newsies eclipsed the movie version of Newsies and people don't know how to tag properly. You can't tag a fic with both! They're completely different entities, with completely different character interpretations!
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arachnaem · 5 months
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Today I woke up thinking about the fact we're gonna go see The Boy and The Heron with a bestie in the evening and that got me thinking about the first Ghibli I ever saw at 11 and what it meant and that got me crying in bed. So.
YOU get a long post about my very personal interpretation of Porco Rosso as a man dealing with survivor's guilt and failing at managing it, because when is it ever not the appropriate time for it? Right? Right.
So right off the bat let's kick the corpse of the one very gross thing in the movie: making Fio, a minor, an ambiguous almost-love-interest for the main dude who is f** 36. Gross. Unforgivable. Kick it dead.
For the sake of writing this without yelling at old man Hayao too much, though, I will say that I choose to this day to see Fio as someone who is halfway between "want to help the sad man" and "maybe puppy love for the hot dad" but that it is never reciprocated. The narrative forces Porco to fight to "win Fio", damn you Ghibli for that, but that's all there is to it. There is no saving Curtiss but at least he is a very straightforward villain.
With that out of the way.
Porco Rosso for me is a movie about guilt, self-loathing and toxic shame. It's also a movie about a dude who loses the fight with himself.
(Ofc there is also the rise of fascism, but I don't have much to say about that. Fascism bad. Don't do it.)
So how is Porco's self image shown in the movie? Well, it's the pig face. Either this is a slightly magical reality in which you can loathe yourself enough to be cursed to look like your self-image, or Marco is never a pig and though the story is told by Fio his face is always as he imagines it, only breaking for a few moments. I like option 2 because it feels like a powerful narrative device, and maybe what other people call his "curse" is his attitude and the solitude that comes with it, not an actual physical manifestation, and sh** I might cry again, but magic is cool! Either way works.
What matters is what it says about the grumpy old boy Marco. He truly doesn't have a lot going for himself: a sexist vet who hates people, lives in the wild and probably doesn't wash very often. This is a man who has put himself on humanity's fringe because living amongst them had become unbearable.
Why does he hate himself so much? Well, plenty of good reasons as a veteran, he's got a body count. His insistence at never shooting anyone dead during the movie shows how much this is a choice. It says never again, no matter what.
He's very closed-off about what happened during the war, but war is about hunting people down in bulk because you think it's the only way to protect your own (or because you've been drafted and used against your will). So it makes sense that the moment that breaks him is the moment he loses his friends to the war. It's not objectively worse that gunning down civilians or whatever else he did, but he participated in war to protect his people and he couldn't even do that. As if the haunting choices he had made were ultimately laughable and completely gratuitous.
This is shown in a delicate way (in the subbed version at least, the dubbed version is well-done but allergic to subtlety and explains everything twice, adding a lot of bulk to the dialog and often changing it entirely). He completely deflects when Fio asks him about the curse, but asking for a story brings up the last time he seems to remember feeling human. He came back alone from there and wishes he had been taken instead. He then checks out of humanity altogether because he thinks he's not worthy of it.
This is outlined in pain throughout the movie. It is i the air, in everything unsaid between Gina and Marco. It's on his face in almost every frame and the more the story insists on talking about seaplane fights and silly pirates, the more the way he treats himself shows through. And that is what I find heartrendingly beautiful. Add the incredible watercolors and the soundtrack and I'm a sobbing mess.
I also love the way it ends. I'm usually not a fan of either tragedies or completely open endings. Here, with the way the story has been guiding us without saying anything, an open end is the only one that brings the necessary nuance. Because I don't think Marco is dead, captured by the fascists or whatever. I think when his curse broke, when he finally accepted that other people's care meant that maybe he was worth something, he ran away.
There is a hurdle between believing you're subhuman so much that it shows on you face, and actually doing something with the feeble hope in yourself you've been given. I think when the time came he walled off his hope and walked out, like the repressed dude he was. I think he couldn't break the habit.
I think Gina and Fio made what happened to Marco their little secret because they had to mourn him in a way that is harsher than if he was dead. In silence so they wouldn't tip off the fascists. Mourning in silence is hard.
And I believe that, with time, they learned to love people who were a little kinder to themselves.
So yeah everytime I rewatch this one I swear it gets worse, I've got a pig-shaped scar somewhere on my heart. And I hope you do too <3
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firethekitty · 3 years
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Lots of subtle homophobia in the Luca tag. You guys know you can be homophobic without being violent/saying slurs right
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#Luca#I’m seeing a lot of ‘they’re kids! let kids be kids not everything has to be sexual!’#and it’s so so obvious that the only reason you think that is because you equate being gay to sex. and it ain’t fucking cute#talking#if you argue with me I’m blocking you I don’t fucking care lmao. take your homophobia somewhere else#if you have a problem with queer people saying this movie is a metaphor for being queer then you’re literally LGBT-phobic#idk what to tell you#there’s no reason to be so outspoken with your ‘it’s about childhood innocence uwu not those filthy queers’#unless you’re literally homophobic. it’s revolting#and it is objectively a metaphor for being lgbt. that’s it. you cannot argue against that#whether or not they’re queer is another thing but this movie is about being lgbt. idk what to fuckin tell u bro💔#also how are you gonna yell at people for interpreting a movie how they want to lmfao?#you know it’s only cuz gay people say the kids are gay. any other interpretation would be fine. you guys are exhausting I swear to god#and yes obviously it’s not enough. Disney is full of cowards and having a gay allegory is not representation#literally no one is saying it's good rep. you all just want to fight gay people about movies we like#that said I think we should all rewrite Luca to make it explicitly gay#ANYWAY. the like:reblog ratio to this post is insane lmao#update apparently the creators are like ADAMANT that this is not an lgbt allegory and you know what? shut up. our movie now#coward
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homieswithhades · 3 years
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why steve rogers returning to the past was wrong
disclaimer: im clearly a stucky enthusiast, but please, do not be thrown off by that. i admit, there may be undertones of bias because of that in the following, but i did my best with trying to lay out the facts and draw logical conclusions, so do please give me a chance. also, i may have accidentaly omitted some moments and some quotes may not be 100% word for word, as my memory lowkey sucks. ALSO this is NOT a peggy hate post!! i think shes a dope and underrated character and quite frankly she was done dirty. but i also definitely h8 the trope of badass woman falls for the hero.
first and foremost, every sane person knows endgame was complete and utter bullshit when dealing with steves character, so this post will be more for you to maybe show (and hopefully convince) some stubborn friend or family member. nice, concise (not) and including proof from the movies (+a few tweets and stucky undertones, if u dont fw that i respect it but bucky is an integral part to steves character regardless of how u interpret their relationship) here is why steves character development was thrown away at the end of endgame.
let us begin at looking at the cap trilogy.
in ca:tfa it should be noted that steve had no one to return to in the 40s, except bucky. i believe steves relationship with peggy was no where near as developed as it should have been to elicit him returning exclusively for her. as we are aware, steves driving force has absolutely always been bucky. bucky was there for steve after his parents died, when he was sick, and always protected him from whatever trouble he got himself into. "until the end of the line" right? steves relationship with peggy was forced and short lived, literally, we're talking a matter of months here. i need to keep emphasising the important disparity between bucky and peggy, as it is absolutely key in this whole argument. steve dropped everything and went against every order just to even attempt to save bucky. even the slightest chance of him surviving being captured was enough for steve to break into a hydra camp and free the 107th division. steve even had the chance to capture zola, one of the main villains and masterminds of the war, but again, steve prioritised bucky. when theyre trying to escape the exploding hydra camp, the exchange between steve and bucky is critical. steve says "go! get out of here!" as all he wanted was bucky escaping safely. he put bucky's life over his own (this wasnt the first time he did this, nor the last) but bucky rooted himself to the spot, and yelled back "no, not without you!". they both escaped safely as we know, and then steve gathers the howling commandos to take down the red skull. bucky then falls off the train, nd steve blames himself for his death, even visibly crying over it twice. steves morals went from "i dont wanna kill anyone. i dont like bullies, i dont care where theyre from" before buckys death, to "i wont stop until all of hydra are dead or captured" after. stuff happens and steve defeats the red skull and is now in control of the flying ship with the bombs. he connects the comms with peggy and she tries to convince him theres another way to disarm the ship. steve was so dedicated at that point he didnt even want to hear it. he didnt even attempt to do anything to ensure his survival. this alone proves, peggy was not important enough to him to return to.
next is ca:tws. The stevebucky movie. in the museum, peggy confirms that steve saved the man from the 107th division who eventually became her husband (steve was never in the 107th, just to clarify) i believe her husbands name was daniel sousa (as revealed in the marvels agents of shield show) steve then finds out peggy is alive and talks to her. she, in short, tells him she's lived her life, and it was his turn to live his in the time hes in. the "my best girl" line was unnecessary and out of place; again, steve barely knew her. again, shit goes down, and steve finds out the winter soldier is bucky and immediately drops everything, and becomes dead set on saving him. not killing, not imprisoning, but saving him. no matter the cost. "he saw me, and he didnt even know me" "hes not the kind you save, hes the kind you stop. he won't recognise you" "he will." god, steve KNEW bucky would recognise him. regardless of the brainwashing, steve managed to break through the barrier hydra fought so hard to drill into buckys mind. nothing ever broke him out of that state exept for steve. "im not gonna fight you, youre my friend." "youre my mission" "then finish it. cos im with you till the end of the line." [[good fucking lord let me break out of my essay-esque semi professional format here and just say how fucking heartbreaking those lines are. oh my god. read them, over and over until it hits you.]] steve shows us again, that he is willing to not only die for bucky, but literally die by his hand. he would let bucky kill him. he'd dropped his shield. he didnt fight back. steve always, always, ALWAYS got up and fought back. always. exept that time. the time bucky could have killed him. that scene is the essence of "im with you till the end of the line" because then, it was true. it was true because steve was okay with dying at buckys mercy. theres a difference between sacrificing yourself for the greater good (steve going into the ice), willing to die for someone (steve risking his life multiple times in attempts to save bucky) and finally, being willing to let someone kill you, because you love and trust them so much (hellicarier scene). the difference between peggy and bucky's relationship to steve is that steve may be willing to die for either, but only willing to be killed by one. not to mention, bucky pulled steve from the river. he recognised him. steve broke through 70 years of brainwashing with such impact it literally drove bucky away from hydra out of his own free will.
in between ca:tws and ca:cw its confirmed (im p sure sam says it) that him and steve looked for bucky for two. years. even off screen, bucky was steves priority.
im going to squeeze in 2 points from from age of ultron here, for chronology's sake:
steves worst nightmare, as portayed in the movie, is LITERALLY going back to the 40s and being stuck there (with peggy too??lmfao) and also the quote "family, stability, the man who wanted all that went in the ice 75 years ago. i think another one came out." objectively confirms that steve isn't the man he used to be, and doesnt want to return to the past. aou may have sucked, but that doesn't mean the character development should be thrown away.
ca:cw. hoo boy. steve went against 117 countries and half of his closest friends and colleagues because he believed bucky was innocent of the bombing of the un conference. god, steve quite literally, did everything to defend and protect bucky. though i shall acknowledge that steve did attend peggy's funeral, however, there was no real connotations there other than the fact he was mourning her death (understabdibly so). steve then proceeds to protect bucky for 2 hours 27 mins and 41 seconds to the point where they escape together to siberia after the airport fight. "i dont know if im worth all this steve" "what you did all those years... it wasnt you. you didnt have a choice." "i know. but i did it" again, absolutely heartbreaking quotes if you read it a couple of times and truly understand the meaning of them. steve somewhat indirectly tells bucky yes, yes he is worth all of this. otherwise, he wouldn't be doing it. a quote to support that would be "for the longest time, i always did what i thought was right." (disclaimer this is not a direct quote i deadass couldnt find it to save my life, i belive steve said it at some point during civil war or tws, but the point is, bucky is the only thing that could have shaken steves morals so intensely.) and finally, the most important part of cw, the fight at the end with tony. bucky and steve constantly protected each other. steve kept fighting because he was fighting for bucky. to keep him safe from tony and the world. he got up, time and time again. "i can do this all day." the fact that he said that to tony, some people consider them the closest of friends, proves again, a million times over, bucky is more important to steve than literally anything else, INCLUDING his shield. his mantle. he dropped it and left it like it was nothing, because his priority was bucky. as always.
theres not much to discuss for infinity war other than their hug whicg was honestly just adorable.
mmmmm endgame. i will not go into how much i hate that movie because it would be a rant quintuple the length of this one. in the support group, steve dead ass fucking says "you gotta move on. you gotta move on" and that sentiment was literally forgotten at the end. my main point for endgame is this. people tend to tell me, the reason steve abandoned bucky and went back to be with peggy is because he knew that he was finally safe. :/. if you had half a braincell youd know that's not true. the steve we know, never would have left bucky for good, ESPECIALLY after the "dont do anything stupid until i get back" exchange [[god i want to beat the shit out of the r*ssos]] mostly because, bucky had fucking no one in the time he was living in!!! no family, no friends and most heartbreakingly, no one he could trust. (yes sam was there but were just seeing their friendship develop now in tfatws, all that wasnt there in endgame) and secondly, what made steve think bucky was entirely safe??? half of the worlds population just suddenly reappeared, which as we see now, there were massive consequences for that. i simply believe steve is not that stupid. steve going back was disrespectful not only to his character, but to bucky AND peggy. most importantly, the steve we've been watching since 2011 would NEVER abandon bucky, no matter how safe he thought he was (he visited him frequently in wakanda, the safest place on the planet arguably ffs) especially for such a dumbass and quite frankly, nonsensical reason as going back to be with peggy, who clearly stated to him she moved on, and so should he (which he did. idk endgame writers prolly didnt watch the previous movies :/) its not even debatable. bucky is more important to steve than peggy. even in terms of screentime.
now allow some tweets to speak for me, this one being the absolute most important one:
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ladies and gentlefolk, all of the stuff ive said can be summarised in that last line. "it would be contrary to who he is."
heres some more:
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and now finally, id like to briefly mention steve and tfatws, so beware of spoilers (writing this as of ep 4 coming out; praying it doesn't age badly)
bucky mentions steve, unprompted, fucking constantly. he clearly isnt over steve leaving, and im hoping that gets acknowledged and talked out in the show.
in conclusion, tl:dr, steve shouldn't have returned to the past and stayed there, it is contrary to who he is, as shown to us through his trilogy and other appearances in the mcu. not to mention the timeline bullshit in endgame makes zero sense in the first place.
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tuiccim · 3 years
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Terrigenisis (Part 9)
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Pairing: Steve Rogers X Bucky Barnes X Inhuman!Reader
Words: 1552
Summary: After undergoing terrigenisis unwillingly your life is turned upside down when you are deemed too dangerous to return to life as a civilian. You are put with the Avengers team to train and rebuild. As you hone your powers and skills, you must also decide if you can find home and love again. Or is your curse to be a lonely wanderer forever?
Warnings: Fluff and SMUT (18+, NSFW)
Terrigenisis Series Masterlist       Divider by @firefly-graphics
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You were lounging on the couch of the common room, reading a book, when Bucky finds you. 
“Hey Doll.” He smiles and crawls across the couch until he can wrap his arms around your waist and rest his head on your chest. 
“Hi love. Comfy?” You giggle.
“Yeah. Think I’ll take a nap.” Bucky nuzzles his face into your torso. You run one hand through Bucky’s hair and continue reading. Forty minutes later, Steve walks into the common room. 
“That’s one lucky jerk.” He says on a chuckle. 
You smile up at him, “Hey Stevie.”
Steve crouches down beside the couch, “Hey sweetheart. How are you doing?”
“I’m good. Reading with a weighted blanket on me.” You smile at your own joke. 
Steve looks down at Bucky and then back to you, “I…”
“You what, love?”
“I look forward to when I can be like this with you. It’s harder than I thought.”
“We will soon. How about a kiss?” 
“Cameras.”
“Forget the cameras. Just for one min-” 
Steve’s lips take yours, abandoning all of his reservations. When he pulls back he smiles at you tenderly with a hand on your cheek, “Love you, pretty girl.”
“Love you, Stevie.” You say just as you hear the elevator doors open. Steve snatches his hand away and stands. 
“Hey guys.” Nat says as she enters. 
“Hey.” You and Steve echo. 
“What are you guys up to?” Natasha raises her eyebrow. 
“Reading and being Bucky’s pillow.” you smile at her. 
“Well, I, uh, need to finish some things.” Steve stutters. 
“See ya later.” You say, attempting to hide your smile at Steve’s flustered demeanor. 
Natasha grabs a bottle of water from the kitchen and then heads towards you. She motions at Bucky still asleep on you, “He’s out cold, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. He’s a pretty heavy sleeper.” You say. 
“Steve seemed a little off.”
You shrug, “He seemed like Steve.”
“Is he okay? Since you picked Bucky over him?” Natasha whispers.
“Nat! That is not what happened.” You seeth. 
Nat purses her lips and shrugs as she walks away, “If you say so.”
You look down to see Bucky’s eyes trained on you, “Hi there, sleeping beauty.”
“Hey doll. I saw the look when Steve pulled away.”
“He’s not ready yet. I know that. It’s okay. It’s just sometimes… I don’t know.”
“Yes you do. What is it?” Bucky pushes. 
“Sometimes I feel like he’s holding back from me.”
“He’s still hesitant to put us in the open but he’s all in, doll. I knew it when he opened up to you about New York. He doesn’t talk about it much.” Bucky reassures you. 
“Really?”
“Yeah, doll. Now, why don’t we go find the punk and show him how all in we are? I leave on a mission with Sam tomorrow.”
“Mph, for how long?”
“Three, four days.” Bucky says. 
“Then let’s not waste any more time.” 
----
You smile at the handsome face on your screen, “How’s it going, love?”
“All good so far, Doll. Where’s Stevie?” He asks.
“In his room. He said he was gonna watch a movie.”
“Why don’t you go join him? He probably needs the attention.” Bucky chuckles.
“I will. I wanted to check on you first.”
“I’m good, doll. Spend some time with Steve. I’ll be back before ya know it.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too. Tell Stevie I love him.”
“Will do.”
“Doll?”
“Yeah?”
“He loves you. Just like I do. I’ll call you tomorrow if I can.”
“Okay. Be safe. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
You hang up the phone and change into a short, comfortable dress. You can sleep in it but it doesn’t look like you are wearing pajamas. You check the hallway and move quickly to Steve’s room next door. 
You knock on Steve’s door and slip in, “Hey.”
“Hey. What’s up?” He’s sitting up against his headboard watching tv.
“I was talking to Bucky. He sends his love.” You say. 
Hopefully, he and Sam won’t kill each other.” He chuckles and holds an arm up for you to come sit with him. You snuggle into him resting your head on his shoulder. He turns the tv off and wraps his arms around you. 
“Steve?” You look in his eyes. 
“Yeah?”  
“Love me. Please.”
“I do, pretty girl. Everyday more and more.” Steve’s lips meet yours and you kiss with tender passion. His strong arms pull you onto his lap and you curl into him. Steve’s hands rove over your body while you wrap your arms around his neck giving him access. You clutch at his shirt, pulling it up, and separate you lips long enough to pull it off. Steve pulls your dress over your head and lays you back to remove your panties. He kicks his shorts off and smiles down at you, “You’re beautiful.”
“So are you, Stevie.” You whisper, running a hand down his chest. 
Grabbing your hand, Steve rolls on top of you and pins your hands above your head with your fingers interlaced. His eyes stare into you intensely. With a maneuver of his hips, he’s pressing at your entrance. 
“Please,” you whisper to him. 
Steve slowly presses into you, never breaking eye contact, until he’s fully sheathed inside. His slow, rhythmic thrust into you causes your breath to hitch as he hits deep inside you while each movement grinds against your clit. 
“Steve,” you whisper, “Steve, oh.” Whimpers and moans leave you with each thrust. 
“You gonna come for me, pretty girl?” Steve asks. 
“Yes,” you moan as you shatter beneath him. 
“That’s it.” Steve encourages you while his hips never stop.
Suddenly, Steve’s bedroom door swings open and Natasha walks in. “Steve, do you… Oh my God! OH MY GOD!” Nat’s eyes nearly pop out of her head as she turns and runs out the door. 
“Nat, wait!” you yell. “Shit!” Steve rolls off of you and you both jump up to grab your clothes. “I’ll talk to her.”
“We’ll do it together. We’re going to have to tell everyone eventually.” Steve says. 
“FRIDAY, where’s Nat?”
“Agent Romanoff is in her room.” FRIDAY says. 
You make it to Nat’s room, knock, and enter before waiting for an answer. Nat is holding up a phone saying, “I know what I saw, Clint. There was no room for interpretation.”
“Fuck! Really, Nat? You had to call Clint?” You say. 
Nat stares at you, absolutely livid. 
“Give me the phone.” You hold out your hand and Nat surprisingly hands it to you. Clint also looks absolutely livid. “Okay, guys, I’m gonna explain this once. Nat just walked in on Steve and I, but what you need to know is that Bucky knows and that we’re together. All three of us.”
“All… THREE of you?” Nat says. 
“We know it’s not exactly typical but we love each other and we’re happy together.” Steve says, putting an arm around you.
“And Bucky knows?” Clint says incredulously. 
“Oh, fuck it. FRIDAY, call Bucky.” You hand Nat her phone back and walk over to the panel on the wall. 
“Hey, Doll.” Bucky answers.
“Hey, Love. Little hiccup in our plan.” You say. 
“What’s the matter?” 
“So, um, Nat walked in on me and Steve.” You point a thumb over at Nat standing behind you. “And she called Clint.”
“Shit. Hey guys.” Bucky says. 
“Hey.” Nat says. Clint echoes her through the phone.
“It’s okay, Nat, really. Well, I mean, could you fucking knock before walking into people’s rooms?” Bucky laughs darkly.
“Yeah.” Nat scoffs. 
“Look, guys, we know it’s different, but it works for us and we’re really happy together. Can you let us tell the rest of the team in our own time? Please?” You look at Nat.
“Yeah. Sorry for assuming the worst.” Nat says. 
“It’s okay. It was a normal reaction.” Steve says. “Clint?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll keep a lid on it. Uhhh… Congrats, I guess?” Clint says. 
You laugh, “Thanks.” You turn back to Bucky’s grinning face on the panel and Steve wraps his arm around you from behind and brings his face next to yours, “You’ll call us tomorrow if you can, right?”
“Right, Doll. I love you. Both of you”
“Love you, baby.”
“Love you, Buck. FRIDAY, screen off. Okay, well, uh, we’re gonna go back to my room.” Steve says, “Night guys.”
Nat lifts her hand to wave and Clint says “Night.” from the phone. As you close the door you hear the two of them burst out laughing and you make out Clint’s voice saying , “I told you something was going on there!”
You and Steve giggle as you make it back to his room.
---
Three days later, everyone is home again and gathers for dinner. You are talking to Wanda when Bucky walks in and pulls you to him for a kiss. 
“That’s it. I’m done. Can’t do it anymore!” Steve says, throwing up his hands. He’s to you in three strides, pulls you against him, and kisses you in front of everyone. 
“Called it.” Sam smirks. 
“I wasn't thinking that would happen.” Tony stares. 
When Steve pulls back from you, he looks at Bucky who grins. They kiss while you look on smiling. 
“Okay, I did not see that coming.” Sam gapes. 
“I called that one.” Tony holds up a finger.
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Part 10
Tuiccim’s Masterlist
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mcustorm · 3 years
Text
In Defense of a Black Cyclops
In case my username didn’t make it clear, the single most anticipated visual project for me is the MCU’s interpretation of the X-Men, which hasn’t even been announced yet [officially]. And ladies and gents, I have found your Cyclops:
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Good ol’ Alfred Enoch, who we all know from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder. If you’re not familiar with HTGAWM, know that his character goes from the de facto leader of the ragtag (murderers) and most cherished protege of Viola Davis’ Professor X to taking more of a grimdark turn after his girlfriend’s death. Sound at least somewhat familiar?
Enoch also embodies the physicality of the character well, seeing as to how he’s “slim”, 6′4(!!), black, and notoriously lanky. Wait, one of these isn’t like the others.
In general I hate fancasting. Everyone generally picks from the same pool of about 30 actors (Peeps, neither Taron nor Daniel is a good Wolverine choice. Argue with your mother!), and most all of it is based on physicality, except when it absolutely should be (like say, choosing a ~5′10 dark-skinned black woman for Storm).
And I think there’s some malarkey afoot. I think there needs to be some serious consideration on part of fancasters and actual casting agents alike to rethink race when it comes to the [white] X-Men, especially since they’re the X-Men of all teams. So I’ll make the case for a black Cyclops: 
1. There is no quota on Black X-Men: There’s a bug in your ear that’s been whispering lies to you for years, it says something to the effect of “We need a black person on the team for diversity. How bout Storm?” And you’ve gotten complacent. Storm does not have to be the only black person on your X-Men roster.
2. The X-Men represent diversity: Iceman is gay, Cyclops and Prof. X are disabled (sorta), there are plenty of women, oh and everybody except Storm is white. Of the A-List X-Men, there is only *one* POC character. I’d argue that an MCU X-Men needs to champion diversity like never before.
3. The X-Men represent minority struggle while being mostly white: There’s a cognitive dissonance in the metaphor that has always been there, and for the most part, nobody cares. To appeal to the white readers of the 60′s, the X-Men were all initially white. That way, the message of the mutants could be related to the audience with a familiar face. We don’t need to approach the problem that way in 202?
4. Just because that’s the way it’s always been, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be: The first line of defense. Sorry, that will never be a good justification for literally any idea. It’s time for some more critical thinking.
5. We don’t all want to be Bishop: So say you’re white and you have a kid who for his birthday having a costume party. You’ve bought some X-Men costumes and you want each kid to pick one. 9 white kids and one black kid show up to your house. As the kids deliberate who gets what costume, be it Cyke or Wolvie or whatever, you yell at everybody to “STOP!”, point to the one black kid and tell him “You’re gonna be Bishop. That’s it, end of story!” 
We don’t all want to be Bishop. The black child could have the best Cyclops interpretation within him, but you’ll never know if you don’t let him try. And that’s no different from the Black actors of Hollywood. There’s no reason why all of the black talent should *have* to compete for the role of Bishop or Storm, which I’ve discussed, while Joe Schmo can walk up and audition for literally anybody he wants.          
Jharrel Jerome is 23 and has an Emmy to his name. He needs to be in the MCU in some capacity, period. Stephan James is another. How bout Damson Idris. Ashton Sanders. But no, no, let’s fancast Dacre Montgomery or Ansel or Joe Keery again as [Human Torch, Wolverine, Iceman, Angel, I’ve literally seen it all.]
6. Nobody wants to see the B-team if it comes down to it. The next line of defense from your racebending naysayers after “That’s the way it’s always been!” is “Well, what about Psylocke, Bishop, Forge and Jubilee?” who are otherwise known as B-tier X-Men. The problem is, we’ve got limited time and limited spots.
So since the X-Men is all about wonky metaphors that make half sense, let me give you another: Let’s say somebody approaches you and says “Hey buddy, I got two free concert tickets for ya! You can either see Michael Jackson Sings the Blues, or you can go see Justin Timberlake. Free of charge!”
Now, are you used to MJ singing the blues? No! Do you have a problem with going to see Justin Timberlake? No, he’s fine on a Wednesday! He had that one little diddy we liked that one time. We’d love to see him eventually! But are you gonna say, “fuck that, I’m going to see MJ Sings the Blues” regardless? Hell yes, because that’s still Michael Jackson. He’s gonna give the same amazing performance he always does, it’s just gonna be the blues. And speaking of blues...
7. Black is not Blue, Brown is not Blue: Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this one: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, purple, or green, I’m going to treat you all the same!” I will not say all have this intention, but some fancasters have noticed that the racial diversity is kinda low within the A-List X-Men, so they oh-so-generously give the following roles to a black or brown person: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Beast. 
Notice the pattern? It’s a microaggression, and it’s bullshit. What these fancasters are implicitly telling you is that, yes the actors will be black or brown, but when the action starts we can ignore that. They’ll be blue by then. In other words, you in fact do care if they’re purple or green. Nobody will cry foul if Dev Patel gets to play Nightcrawler (because that’s a common one I see), but should Anna Diop be Starfire or Michael B. Jordan be Human Torch, I bet there’d be backlash. Oh wait. If that’s you, please stop acting like you actually value diversity. You don’t want to see black or brown skin, period. Unless of course, it’s Storm (refer to point #1).
But wait, there’s more! When brown characters get whitewashed in these movies, it’s crickets! So eventually it’s revealed implicitly that proclaimers of point #4 only care about it one way.
8. Professor X should not be black if you’re not willing to change anyone else: The next line of defense is that some people say the professor should be black, if anybody HAS to be racebent. Something something MLK Jr., Civil Rights or some shit. Number one, I’m not reducing Professor X to being a magical negro for 9 white people (and Storm!) who for all intents and purposes get to have all the action. Number 2, the Professor X/MLK/Magneto/Malcolm X comparison is an oversimplifying disservice to ALL FOUR of those people. I hate that line whenever I see it, please watch a documentary my friends. 
9. The Candidates for Racebending: For me, the A-List X-Men are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. Now, who should be exempt from the racebending? Storm, she’s our designated minority. Gambit, he’s Cajun and they’re white (generally speaking, that’s a fun bit of research). Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, because their nationality/ethnicity was the whole point of the Giant-Size premise in the first place. Angel, because his character embodies a privileged white male. Beast and Iceman, I don’t care one way or another (Point #7).
That leaves Cyclops, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde. Now Jean Grey is a redhead, and we all know that every time a redhead is racebent people sharpen their pitchforks (Mary Jane, Wally West, Iris West), so I will cede the ground on Jean if only so that my ginger friends can get their rep. Kitty Pryde is Jewish, but Jews of color exist. Rogue is from the South. And Cyclops is, well, just Cyclops. That makes those three characters good options for more diversity. But allow me to make the case for Cyclops, specifically.
10. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake: If you had to pick who the main character of the X-Men is supposed to be, most would say Cyclops. And so in a series that highlights racial discrimination in society, it makes sense that our main character be black. While changing Cyclops’ skin color should not change who he is as a character, it *should* recontextualize it. Now, as an eventual increasingly radical leader of the X-Men, Cyclops would evoke real life figures such as Colin Kaepernick or, shall I say, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Not that most X-Men fans and writers truly think about what it means to be black anyways. Storm’s minority status is almost always put through the lens of her being a mutant and not her being a black woman. In other words, you can’t argue that making a character black will fundamentally change his or her character when you haven’t even analyzed the racial context of the black character(s) you already have. Another concept that the MCU X-Men should tackle: intersectionality.
11. Representation matters: I have to say it: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther hit different. And now he is tragically gone. At the end of the day, the MCU moving forward is down its most prominent black male superhero. Which has implications beyond just the movies themselves.
The women are in good hands. Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia are badasses in Wakanda, Valkyrie is ruling Asgard, Storm is almost assuredly on the way, RiRi Williams has already been cast, and Monica Rambeau is here and she’s not even at her most glorious yet. That doesn’t even include variable Δ, or the number of characters who can and will be racebent. And I’ll note again that to me, Gamora doesn’t count, because she’s green (#7 really pisses me off because it’s so blatant. I hate it). Of course from a behind the camera perspective we love black women getting work.
The men are a completely different story. Imma just go out and say it, I can’t stand Falcon and War Machine [in the MCU] because they’re not characters, they’re just two of a slew of MCU minority sidekicks who have essentially been at the beck and call of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. You cannot tell Falcon’s story without mentioning Cap. The reverse is not true. There’s a whole essay that could be and have been written on “Minorities in the MCU, pre-Black Panther”. Remember, there’s a reason BP made so much noise in the first place.
So excluding those two we have, let’s see, M’Baku, Blade, and Fury who aren’t exactly the most superheroic superheroes, Eli Bradley is proooobably coming, I doubt Miles Morales is coming (because he’s just Peter Parker in the MCU), Luke Cage(?) Bishop(??), Sunspot(???), Blue Marvel(????). Not only are they not A-List, I would not put money on any of them being in the MCU any time soon.
Cyclops is thee Captain America of the X-Men. He’s the frontman. He’s the poster boy. He’s the “boy scout”, which in other words means he’s the hero, if there has to be one. It would mean a lot right now, and specifically *right now*, if he were to be black. The MCU needs it. It NEEDS it.
12. The X-Men is the Summers Story: I’ll even make the case that if just one character needs to racebent, then it should be Cyclops, because that of course implies that other related characters need to be black because half of the X-Men universe is in fact a part of the Summers family. 
So now Cable is black. Corsair is black. Havok is black. And one of the most central stories in the X-Men mythos, the Summers family drama, is now a black family drama set in space or the future or where the fuck ever. The concept is boundary pushing. When white families have drama in the media, it gets to be Game of Thrones or Star Wars, while when black families have drama in the media, it has to be black people arguing in a kitchen or living room about their various earthly traumas (I’m @’ing you, Mr. Perry). I mean, that’s all fine and good often times, but I want my black family drama in space, dammit.
And again, this is the X-Men, the series that’s all about *minorities* and their struggle, so again, why not?
Oh, and I’ll even throw out a Havok fancast for you: How bout Jharrel Jerome?
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bigbadmercer · 3 years
Text
Cross Our Hearts 2021
Okay, so I thought I’d have a go at writing. I’ve debated it for a while and this seemed like a good opportunity. Any feedback is welcome!
Day 1 - Angst
Games: Prototype/Assassin’s Creed (Protocreed)
The past few months had been pretty crazy for Desmond. After saving the entire planet, it was decided that a change of scene for him and his fellow Assassins would be nice; and so they now had a hideout in Manhattan. It was a decently sized, abandoned apartment. As their luck would have it, they decided to show up just as a viral outbreak had ravaged the city.  The virus on it’s own was bad enough, but a few days into their stay they had learned that two organisations involved (Gentek and Blackwatch) were riddled with Templars. For Desmond, this meant many missions, a few injuries, two or three surprise encounters with the infected (during which he absolutely did NOT scream) and a lot of meetings to summarise each mission. 
Oh, and he met a super-powered virus freak.
He remembered the moment vividly. He’d managed to sneak into a Gentek facility and was making his way back out with the information he’d gotten his hands on. As Desmond was leaving, an alarm started blaring throughout the entire building, accompanied by red flashing lights. Desmond paused, wondering if he had been the one to set off the alarm. He turned over his shoulder just in time to see a group of armed Blackwatch soldiers round the corner. His stomach sank - he was good at fighting, but he was guy with a blade attached to his arm. He froze and watched as the soldiers ran towards his hiding place in the shadows, getting closer, so close he could hear their heavy breathing...
And then they ran straight past him. Puzzled, Desmond turned to follow their path with his eyes. He was met with a sight that made his heart leap into his throat. A man, just a bit shorter than Desmond, stood opposite the soldiers, who had now stopped. The man was wearing a pair of jeans, a black and red leather jacket, a hoodie (wasn’t that funny?), and a shirt with the collar up. Weird. However, this is not what drew Desmond’s attention, for when he looked at the soldier closest to this man, he saw a blade sticking out through his back. A long blade, almost as long as he was tall, coming from the man’s arm. No, it was the man's arm. He was too shocked to move. He stood and watched in horror as the man cut the soldiers to pieces like wet tissue paper, the once grey hallway newly painted red with blood.
Naturally, they got to talking, and it turned out they both hated the Templars. Well, Alex (the man had awkwardly introduced himself) hated Blackwatch and Gentek. But it didn’t take much discussion for them to realise they were more or less on the same side. Alex helped Desmond through the increased security so that he could get out of the base with his precious info. Then, Alex gave him the number to a phone he’d gotten hold of and left almost as quickly as he’d appeared not ten minutes ago.
Fast forward a couple of months (and a lot of missions) down the line and Desmond was sort of friends with Alex. He said sort of, because Alex would never admit it. But Alex was friendly with him. What Desmond initially interpreted as rudeness was actually social awkwardness. Alex wasn’t deliberately a dick - not most of the time, anyway. He just didn’t have a clue about how to talk to people. And he had a good reason, Desmond thought. Alex wasn’t human; he was the Blacklight virus. He was made to be a killing machine. He was a killing machine- a pretty damn good one, too. Alex never stopped. He was in his element surrounded by enemies. He didn’t sleep and he couldn’t stay in the same space for a long time. He’d soon grow restless. Despite all this, he’d developed his own mind and thoughts.
So when Desmond found him sat on top of a roof, looking rather still apart from his swinging legs, he knew something was wrong.
“Hey, buddy. You been parkouring without me?“ Desmond called out softly, hoping he’d be able to lighten the gloomy mood that seemed to be clinging to Alex.
Alex didn’t answer.
“Alex?“ Desmond moved to sit beside the virus-man, a concerned expression falling over his face. He was answered only with a soft grunt from the other. “Hey, what’s wrong, Alex?“
“Nothing. I’m fine.“ Alex replied in a voice not too dissimilar to a growl - his normal tone of voice.
Desmond pulled a face. “Dude, I know you enough by now to know that you sitting up here alone means you’re thinking about something. Probably not something good. Knowing you, something horrible, actu-”
“Shut up.“ Alex snapped. He shifted just enough that the light of a nearby billboard lit up his face, allowing Desmond to see his expression. He’d expected Alex to look angry, or maybe even confused. But Alex, he looked... he looked miserable. 
“Whoa, hey... I’m sorry. Seriously, Alex, what’s wrong? You look really upset.“ For a moment, Desmond debated putting an arm around Alex, but decided he liked his arm where it was - meaning, attached to his body - and thought better of it. 
Alex turned his head away to hide his face from Desmond. He stayed silent for a few minutes. Desmond sat by him, also silent, waiting patiently for Alex to answer. Then finally...
“I never got a chance.“ Alex mumbled, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
“A chance to what, Alex?“ Desmond spoke gently. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Alex off by interrogating him.
“Be human.“ Alex sighed heavily, then lifted his head slightly to get a better view of the people walking on the street below. “I have so many memories. Happy memories... But they’ll never be mine. I had a cross-hair on my back the moment I woke up in the morgue because... I’m a monster.“ The last few words were spoken so quietly they were almost a whisper. And, oh, if Alex looked miserable before, now he looked like he might cry. 
“Oh, Alex...“ And before he could stop himself, Desmond was gently pulling Alex into an awkward sideways hug. Alex tensed immediately and Desmond felt tendrils squirming uncomfortably under his arms. He was about to pull away when he felt the squirming stop, then Alex practically melted into his hold.
Alex was slightly cold to the touch, which surprised Desmond. He’d always thought Alex would be warm. For a moment, Desmond couldn’t fathom how Alex had refrained from chopping his head off, let alone how he had managed to relax. Then it hit him... This was the first time in this Alex’s life that he’d ever had any physical contact that wasn’t intended to hurt him. This was the first time he'd felt comfort from another. Even though he'd never admit it, Alex needed this.
“Alex, you are not a monster. You aren’t the mindless killer that they tried to make you into. You hear me?” Desmond spoke quietly. He didn’t get a verbal reply, but he suddenly had two cold arms wrapped around him and a head resting on his shoulder.
“Hey, we have the day off tomorrow. How about we stay in and watch a movie or something? Would you like that?“ Desmond asked tentatively. 
“Yeah, I’d like that.“ Alex mumbled into Desmond’s shoulder. 
They stayed like that for a while afterwards before Desmond eventually coaxed Alex into the hideout to lay down on the couch. Desmond covered him with a fluffy blanket, which earned him a funny look from Alex. Desmond only chuckled at this as he sat beside Alex. He talked quietly to Alex about completely random subjects. Alex relaxed at this, even gave some sarcastic comments where he could. Eventually, Desmond paused his rambling to check the time. 12:43am. Damn.
“Hey, Alex, I’m gonna hit the hay. You okay with that, or do you want me to stay?“ He heard no reply. “Alex?“ He turned to look toward the couch. The sight he was met with was very unexpected.
There was Alex, asleep. Desmond smiled softly  and moved to pull the blanket up to Alex’s shoulders. It seemed he was out cold, completely unaware of the world around him.
“Goodnight, Alex.“ Desmond whispered, before leaving to go to his bed. He fell asleep quickly. He was tired, but he was also happy that Alex had finally found peace.
...Or so it had seemed. Desmond awoke not long later to the sound of distressed yell, followed by tearing and hurried footsteps. He wasn’t the only one that heard it, because soon, he was running out of his room along with Rebecca, Lucy, and Shaun. The other three got a slight head start on him. Desmond looked to the other Assassins, who had their eyes fixed on the couch, all wearing worried expressions. Desmond moved forward to follow their gaze.
He saw an empty couch with several long, deep claw marks in it. A quick scan of the room and a wide open window confirmed his worries:
Alex was gone.
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anzcty · 3 years
Text
Analysing Episode 6 Sylvie - her actions, her choice and a whole bunch of theories (Spoilers!)
After watching the Loki finale, I have been scrolling through Tumblr for quite a long time. I already knew that people's opinions were gonna be incredibly different but I definitely did not expect this much negative backlash. Especially when it comes to two specific topics - the Sylvie and Loki kiss and Sylvie's betrayal (/choice/actions). I'm gonna be talking about the latter, for it is another time I'll talk a lot about Sylki's relationship. (Beware that this post is also really long though)
First of all, everyone has different opinions and I respect that. I absolutely adore movies, books, TV-shows and videogames because despite what's happening within the story, each viewer has the opportunity to see something else in what they are shown (besides the obvious canon). What I mean is that everyone interprets certain scenes differently and gains the opportunity to make up theories. Therefore I want to clarify that I do, by no means, want to force my views upon others. It's nice to see people talk about the Loki Series (as long as it doesn't get too negative and hateful, iykwim) because every viewer can share their specific experiences with it :)
I'm gonna analyse Sylvie's character a bit ( because, well, I'm bored and I kinda wanna protect my beloved character that I've only had for a few weeks >:^0 AND the only thing I could think about the past day was this episode) and try to explain her actions in the finale (keep in mind: not justifying them, but explaining them).
I'm terribly bad at concentrating on one single topic point so I kinda made a 'list' with questions and whatnot that I wanted to dive deeper into. Your thoughts are also more than welcome!
I already want to apologise for grammatical mistakes, for I am not a native english speaker.
Sylvie's reason for being taken away by the TVA is still kinda unknown
You know, I've heard quite a few theories about Sylvie's nexus event by now. Some people say that she got taken away because she was playing with her toys in a way that indicates her having a good heart (playing as a Valkyrie and wanting to save someone, another hint may also be the reaction she showed towards someone else who got kidnapped by the TVA, yelling at the soldiers to "help them out"). Another theory is that she already knew she was adopted, unlike Loki who found out way later than her. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but we never got to hear the actual reason why Sylvie got kidnapped. Even Renslayer didn't say a word about it.
Now I'm gonna come up with yet another theory. What if Sylvie didn't really have a nexus event in the first place how we know it? In the final episode, Kang has said that he has planned out everything beforehand so both Loki and Sylvie would end up right in front of him. Did Kang's plan also possibly involve him getting killed by Sylvie? Hear me out: We don't actually know if the Kang we saw in episode 6 is the actual 'nice' Kang and not one of his evil variants. He has already talked about 'reincarnation', so who says that after ending the first universial war, Kang didn't reincarnate into someone with an unpure heart (aka, one of his evil variants)? That'd mean that the real Kang would have been killed and the Kang we've seen in the finale is actually an evil version that simply lied to both Loki and Sylvie. Besides that, we also don't know if Kang actually had that 'point' where he didn't know what would happen next. The show revolves a whole lot around trust, not only regarding the characters, but also the viewers. Who's to say that Kang said the truth? Maybe he planned it all out: He created the TVA, let Sylvie get kidnapped and therefore give her a reason to hunt after Kang, who in return could reincarnate if he got killed OR get killed and therefore give his other variants a possibility to conquer the universes yet again. Don't you think that it was kinda suspicious that Sylvie escaped so easily out of Renslayer's hands? The one person who's probably closest to Kang? (Even though, yes, she doesn't know who he is but Renslayer seems to play a very important role in his plan). What if the Kang we saw was the nice Kang though? Would he plan everything up to a point where another universial war would break out because he might know that there is indeed something/someone out there who could end it and therefore, possibly end Kang as a whole or create a new kind of system revolving around the universe? And therefore, get rid of the possibility of another universial war happening? Who knows. I am definitely overthinking and reaching at this point. One more thing that stood out to me while thinking about the episode again today (which kinda weighs more into my theory of Sylvie being a keypoint (or rather a puppet) in this plan): Kang has talked about his Tempad and that he knew that he would need it to have enough energy. But for what? Yes, his initial idea was to give it to Loki and Sylvie to rule over the TVA, but what if it was supposed to be used for another reason? Sylvie used it to transport Loki back to the TVA (though I kinda think he was accidentally transported to another timeline, hence the reactions of both Mobius and Hunter B-15) and therefore get rid of the only thing that could prevent Sylvie from killing Kang. The Tempad was used to secure Sylvie's path and therefore eradicated Kang's only option of safety. You can see the Tempad loosing it's glow after Kang was killed, possibly due to Kang himself being the origin of it's energy. But maybe, it only had enough energy for one specific action: getting rid of Kang's protection. I do think that Sylvie is now stuck at this place and somehow has to find a way back to Loki's reality. The Tempad clearly doesn't work anymore (at least in my opinion) and there was quite a long shot showing the Tempad up close, which is kinda suspicious tbh. Also, something regarding Sylvie's unanswered nexus event feels kinda odd to me, too.
My theory in conclusion: Sylvie (and Loki) are unconciously helping Kang with his plan (a big, big, BIG plan). They're his puppets, especially Sylvie, because she's the one who created the Multiverse to begin with. Think about Loki, who was said to be manipulated by Thanos in Avengers? It's basically the same train of thoughts.
Sylvie does not take Kang's offer into consideration
To be honest, this was something to be absolutely expected of her. Sylvie was kidnapped as a child, taken away from her home and family, and had to grow up in countless apocalypses where she could never form a real bond with anybody because she knew that those people were all going to die anyway. (Please don't judge me if I got that wrong, maybe I understood the next thing wrong? Idk, if so, I'm very sorry) She revealed that she was kidnapped way before Loki was even born (something I have to think about, too, because, if Loki is the actual Loki the other variants are based off, why did he exist after Sylvie? Wouldn't that make him a variant of Sylvie instead? Idk timelines and parallel universes are hard to understand for me :') I'm kinda stoopid ), therefore she must've had spent several decades of her life running away. She had no life at all. Her only goal was to bring down the TVA and whoever is behind it, driven by pure rage, seeking out revenge for stealing her life and basically forbidding her existence. And now that she has found said person, the only thing that'd be right for her character would be to go for the kill. As immoral as it may sound, it is the only thing that makes sense. And I am actually very happy that Sylvie's goals didn't change besides the fact that she did indeed soften up a little and has gotten someone really close to her. In contrary, it makes sense for Loki to do the exact opposite. His goals have changed. He does not act the way he did in Thor or Avengers anymore. He has found another goal for himself: to make Sylvie feel alright. He has had immense character growth and didn't take a chance to change his goals back in the Thor movies or in Avengers, (....maybe later in Thor: Ragnarok, kinda). This is exactly what I think might happen to Sylvie, too. She is at the beginning of her character arc. She doesn't take the chance to change her goal, but goes for her original goal instead. Said goal does not really have positive consequences (though, maybe it might have some? We're about to find out), which results in a so called 'negative character development', which Loki has already gone through. I think that Sylvie is gonna grow as a character in season 2 and get a positive character development in addition, just like Loki did. I highly doubt that she's gonna become the antagonist, it does not make sense at this point.
Why does she not take Kang's offer (besides her very obvious intention ofc)? That leads straight (or not so straight, pun intended) to the next thing I wanna talk about. Sylvie's distrust in everything and everyone. Besides not wanting to let other people go through what she has been gone through and wanting to let people have a free will, she also does not trust Kang with his offer of 'ruling' the timeline. And it might be because she also does not trust the one she'd be ruling with: Loki.
Why does Sylvie not trust Loki?
I don't even have a specific answer to that, except that Sylvie has an incredibly thick wall built up around her. Loki has always been portrayed as the one you should not trust because he's known for backstabbing people. Loki could have thought the same about Sylvie, but he didn't. Due to his character arc, he himself has learned to trust other people and tries to redeem himself with making himself a person others can trust (He may project that onto Sylvie, meaning that he puts his trust into a Loki variant and therefore in himself, too). You can connect that fact with both Sylvie and Mobius. They're both people who are incredibly important to Loki. He wants them to trust him. He openly told Sylvie about his mistakes and tells her that he's not that person anymore. Sylvie on the other hand does not trust that easily and is - in my opinion - a very important key regarding Loki's character development. It is incredibly hard for Sylvie to trust others (probably due to her trauma) and it therefore creates a very difficult situation for Loki, where he has to 'prove' himself as trustworthy. It's basically about 'trusting yourself' if you put it that way. It's something Loki has to learn about himself: not betraying the trust of others. Sylvie might have to learn something like this, too: learning to trust someone else. It's kinda like a two sided coin - one side is about putting trust in others, whereas the other is about gaining trust from others (and what you do with it). (Good) Relationships in general are always based off trust and honesty. So in order for them to be able to have healthy relationships with others and themselves, they have to learn about trust within themselves (I hope you understand my point, I got carried away, sorry). Loki started to trust Sylvie very easily (maybe because of love? Maybe because of something else? There are still a lot of unanswered questions) whereas Sylvie doesn't trust Loki very easily. Sylvie's character arc might (hopefully) carry on with this topic in the next season.
Was that kiss initiated due to emotional or practical reasons?
Kinda both, somehow. I do think that Sylvie used the kiss to her advantage but you can also clearly see how moved she is while hearing Loki's words. Facial expressions are insanely important when it comes to acting and both Tom and Sophia delivered perfectly. You might've already heard of the quote "The eyes tell more than words could ever say". Look at Sylvie's face when Loki tells her that he wants her to be okay. She is teary eyed, sighs even. She is indeed touched by his words and I strongly think that Sylvie also has non-platonic feelings for Loki, despite barely showing anything.
Here's a snippet out of an interview with Sophia:
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(Source)
Both Sylvie and Loki are said to be people who can not trust others. They both have a vulnerable side though. Loki clearly showed that several times when with Sylvie (singing to her, the blanket scene, the comfort scene in the room of the timekeepers, the confession of wanting her to be okay) and is also shown incredibly vulnerable at the end of episode 6: there are several shots showing him, crying. Sure, we have already seen Loki cry a few times beforehand but this time, it's different. He cries because the one person he is the most vulnerable with doesn't trust him, and that does hurt like hell. By the way, if you look at the close-up shot of Sylvie after she yeeted Loki back into the TVA, you can see pain in her eyes, too. But that pain quickly shifts into rage and determination. Something that I have to admit was incredibly well executed by Sophia and the people who directed this shot. Sylvie does show her vulnerable side for a brief moment before putting up her walls again and reaching for her goal.
In conclusion: I think Sylvie initiated the kiss as an emotional response to Loki's words but also used it to distract him to be able to kick him back into the TVA at the same time. Keep in mind that it was because he was in her way of fullfilling her goal. She didn't want to kill or hurt him, so she sent him away instead. So, yes, I think the kiss had both emotional and practical intentions.
Did Sylvie betray Loki?
Even though it really felt like she betrayed him, she didn't. Let me tell you why:
Loki knew exactly what Sylvie was gonna do after reaching the person behind the TVA. Loki supported her all the way up until Kang suggested a deal to them, that's where Loki's and Sylvie's paths divided. Loki is a very smart character, he outsmarts a lot of Marvel characters and therefore I think it's very in character for him to consider one part of the deal and outweigh the pros and cons. Not because he wants the throne, no, but because he wants Sylvie to be okay. A universial war could lead to countless casualties - possibly those people close around him, so of course he would want to keep her safe through that decision. Making them both rulers over the TVA and the sacred timeline would probably guarantee a strong protection from several threats. Also, maybe he thought about the possibility of Sylvie regretting her decision (which she clearly did in the end) and wanted to protect her from even more emotional pain. But as we know, Sylvie's intention has always been laid out in front of her and it didn't change. Loki knew what choice she was going to make and merely tried to change her way - without being successfull.
I don't really know what to think about this scene though. To me, it doesn't meet the requirements of a 'betrayal' but at the same time it does feel like one. It's very difficult to explain :'D
Also, I've seen some people asking themselves how or if Loki will ever be able to forgive Sylvie for making her decision. Let me assure you one thing: he will forgive her. He has said it himself: "I know what you're feeling, I know what you're going through". He has been at Sylvie's point, too. Not only once, but several times already. He seems to have learned from his mistakes, Sylvie has yet to do so. ("I betrayed everyone I've ever loved" is a line to keep in mind now, too. Maybe it could even be projected onto Sylvie this time, because Loki is indeed very dear to her) If there's someone out there who can empathise with Sylvie the most, it is Loki.
Why would Sylvie straight up cause another Universial War?
As I already said. Sylvie's arc is a negative character arc. It does not end well and causes a lot of chaos. Think about Peter Quill in Infinity War and his rage moment on Titan. They could have had the infinity gauntlet way before but Peter got emotional (understandable) and therefore destroyed the chance of an early good ending. The same happened with Sylvie. Her decision was mostly emotional, but also practical on the other hand (giving people free will and freedom). She will face the consequences and I'm pretty sure she's gonna redeem herself and tries to help fix the big mess she has caused.
Sylvie's breakdown
Another scene that was absolutely brilliant was the scene after Sylvie has killed Kang. She backs off slowly and then slumps to the ground, breathing heavily (now that I think about it, I think she even started to cry). She has waited for this moment her whole life, but now that it's done, it kinda feels like she didn't exactly get what she needed. Hunter B-15 has already mentioned it before that Sylvie needs to hunt the person behind the TVA down, unlike Renslayer, who only wants to find out who it really is. Although Sylvie might have recognized that this wasn't everything she needed at this point. We already got to know that she didn't have a clue what to do after she's done with the TVA. She didn't have a goal beyond that. And now that she has reached the point where she is clueless, she might have recognized what she really needed beyond finishing her goal: friends, a life, literally anything that doesn't make her feel alone. And she literally just kicked that one thing away from her. Loki, the one person who has been closest to her and gave her the feeling of not being alone anymore, the feeling of having a friend (or someone more than a friend), has been pushed away by herself. I think that in this exact moment where she sinks to the ground she recognizes that not trusting Loki was a mistake this time and that revenge isn't enough to satisfy her forever.
But maybe that one thing that will satisfy her for a long time is something she's returning back to in season 2. I am so excited to see her again and find out more about Sylvie's character!
Thank you so much for reading this! If you want to add something to this list or correct something or anything, feel free to do so. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Sylvie's character in the finale and what you think might happen with her in season 2 :) see y'all, stay safe and have a nice day/night!
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officialwittek · 3 years
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pt. 4
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*gif is not mine* 
word count: 2,101
Ever since my little conversation with the girls I haven’t been able to really be myself around Jeff. Now I notice the side glances, the lingering touches on my thigh, the way his breath hitches when I get pushed a little too close to him at parties, and everything else I haven’t noticed before. My friends were adamant that he liked me back but I couldn’t see it. Slowly I distanced myself from them, for one my manager thought it would be a good idea to release some new music soon so I was extra busy and I can’t really be around my friends without feeling like my heart is going to explode. Of course they started noticing and not a day went by where I didn’t get texts from at least three of them asking where I was and why I stopped coming around. Even Jason and Josh dropped my apartment to make sure I was still alive.
Three weeks have gone by since my sleepover with Jeff. We still talk but not as much as before. Carly and Natalie were constantly calling and texting and I truly felt bad, but it would seem like such a bullshit excuse to say it’s because of my crush on Jeff.
“Sage, this is... this is real good work. I’m thinking we finish it up, and be set to release it in two weeks” James, my manager, said listening to to the final of three of the songs
“Thanks dad, I think today we’re recording the last song. I’ll email you our final version by the end of the day” I reply, he ruffles my hair and nods, leaving for another meeting while the producer and I talk about the last track
We record for about four hours, fine tuning every last detail. After the two of us finally felt good about it we sent the file to James who also gave the approval. We sent it in the the higher ups who also gave us the ok. All the promotional pictures were finished, we had an album cover chosen, now to put it all together and make this my first serious piece of art. After the long morning I decided to head straight to my apartment. I wasn’t particularly hungry anyways. I parked my car and took the elevator up to my apartment.  
I noticed shushing and brushed it off, thinking it was just Carly and Erin messing around. I unlock the door and see all of my friends crammed into this fairly small apartment. No one had their cameras out and they all had their arms crossed I sighed and put my things down before shutting the door.
“Before you even say anything. No I’m not on drugs, I don’t hate anyone, and I actually have been working on my music. My first EP is coming out in a few weeks” I explain, their faces relax and Carly walks up to me
“Don’t you ever try to ghost us like that again. We hated it” She said, wrapping her slender arms around my shoulders and I nodded, our friends came around and we all had a sweet group hug
“Well a congratulations are in order. I think we should celebrate tonight” David says, laughing loudly
“Fine, I’m stealing a Red Bull from your fridge though” I say, we all go downstairs and I finally notice some of their cars parked there
We all head to David’s house and I grab a Red Bull. We all sit in the living room. Filming dumb bits and getting ready for tonight. David wanted to throw it at his house since he wanted to keep it relatively small. Natalie, Carly, and Erin went to stock up for the night, asking me about all my favorite things. It took about an hour and a half for them to come back. Everyone helped get things from Nat‘s car and set up. We were finally ready and decided to start drinking before everyone got here.
“May Ilya and Zane stay away from the hospital. Amen” I yell, all of them cheering in response as we take our shots
After a few rounds of shots I was already pretty tipsy. I sat down at the couch, answering a few congratulatory texts from others. I talked to a few of our friends here and there. Jeff was nowhere to be found. I frowned a bit, but who can blame him? After all, I’m the one who made the decision to not talk to him.
“Do you think we could get a sneak peak?” Jason asks, taking a set next to me but I shake my head
“I want to keep it a complete surprise. Plus I’ve been thinking about having a release party and showing everyone there” I said, Jason actually thought that was a much better idea than just playing it
We made small talk here and there, apparently Wyatt has been dying to see my new studio. I loved Jason’s kids like they were my own family, especially since Wyatt and I have such a love for music.
“I’d love to have Wyatt at the studio. He can even record some things if he wants to. I know how to produce as well” I said, Jason damn near cried at the suggestion and we set a date
“Someone looks a little sober” Zane yells from behind us, I laugh and allow him to take me to the kitchen where the others were taking shots or making their best interpretations of different cocktails
After sampling everyone’s horrible attempt at a blackberry mojito it’s safe to say I was one shot away from exiting the physical realm. Especially since Zane decided it was appropriate to just dump nearly an entire bottle of rum in the drink. After a few minutes Todd headed to the door and let someone in. I heard the familiar accent and my heart dropped to my stomach. Jeff is here.
To be fair, I’m probably the only one who really cares that much, especially since I’m drunk as hell and I have a crush on the dude. I try to run and hide in a corner but there’s a lot more people now. I finally see an opening and head straight for the backyard. Thankfully no one noticed because Zane was too busy doing something extremely dangerous. I sit in one of the chairs we reserve for smoking, hitting my puff and scrolling mindlessly through TikTok, trying to get the thoughts out of my head. I hear the sliding door open and look up to see David.
“Alright what’s wrong? You look like we threw a party because we killed your dog” David jokes, my lips spread into a light smile
“Nothing, I’ve just been so exhausted lately with everything going on.. that’s all” I lie, I mean I’m not really lying, just not telling him the whole truth
“So it has nothing to do with Jeff showing up and you’re definitely overthinking and avoiding him even more. C’mon I’ve known you for forever, you can’t lie to me” He replies, his tone suddenly being serious
And it’s true, I’ve known David since I moved out here. He was my first real L.A friend. He’s seen me at my absolute lowest moments, and someone I could always go to whenever something was wrong. I hated that he could read me like a book.
“Fine, the Jeff thing is a contributing factor. But I’m being honest about the exhaustion” I say, crossing my arms like a child
We sit and talk, something we haven’t done in forever. It felt nice to have someone listen to me. After about half an hour of just talking we decide to head back inside. I felt too sober again and took some shots with Natalie and Toddy. I could feel Jeff’s eyes glaring a hole into the side of my head, but I was too sober to deal with anything right now.
At around 1:00 am. I got hungry and ordered DoorDash for everyone. All the other guests had left so it was just our main group scattered around the house. Jeff was surprisingly still here. Todd had whispered to me earlier that the only reason he was sticking around this late was to make sure I got home alright. I smiled at the sentiment, he was always making sure my drunk ass was safe.
Our DoorDash arrived and we all ate while watching some movie David found on Netflix. Jeff took a seat next to me, the look in his eyes was telling me he was going to ask for my permission so I simply nodded and scooted over so he could be comfortable. After we ate David wanted to get some last minute bits before we left for his vlog tomorrow.
“Jeff are you attracted to Sage?” David asks, my breath hitches in my throat, making me choke on my water
“No, I’ve blocked her out. Since she’s part of the friend group I don’t want to make anything weird” He replies, I can tell the answer even made David a little upset
Jason makes a joke to lighten the mood before there’s any tension which I greatly appreciate. Although Jeff’s words struck a cord, while I sit there repeating what he said it hits me. He’s right, I can’t guarantee that if Jeff and I were together that it would be for life and I can’t lose my second family. He’s right, it would never happen. Before I know it I feel my eyes watering and Natalie gently grabs my hand before leading me to her room with the rest of the girls in tow. When she closes the door I finally let it all out
“It’s ok princess, let it out” Mariah says, the girls wrapping me in a group hug
“It’s so stupid, we’re best friends before I let this stupid ass crush ruin everything but just hearing him say that out loud made it so much more concrete that we will never be together” I cry, resting my head on her shoulder
We have a little talk and I clean myself up before we all go back outside. At that point  David was done filming and was looking through the footage on his camera to pick out some clips. Jeff was waiting patiently on the couch before Corinna spoke up.
“Hey Jeff, I’m gonna take Sage home. We have some plans tomorrow and it would just be easier if I stay over” She says, it’s sort of true, Corinna has some meetings in the morning and they’re closer to my place but she isn’t staying over
“Oh ok, I should head out then. I’ll see you guys later” Jeff says, saying his goodbyes and leaving
“So was anyone else uncomfortable with Jeff’s answer or was it just me?” David asks, the group agrees, it’s definitely in his right to say that I mean no is mad
“Yea, I wasn’t mad cause it’s his own opinion and Jeff is a big boy, but he seems to sort of lead you on for him to turn around and say that he doesn’t even see you like when we ask him about Natalie and Corinna” Heath replies, everyone nods in agreement and I just sigh
“I’m not mad, I mean I have been sort of ghosting everyone these past few weeks, maybe he’s just upset” I explain, Heath and Todd give me the look
“Baby that’s bullshit and you know it” Heath laughs, Todd agrees with him and taps my leg
“To be honest, he was very stressed out while you were gone” He says, I know he’s trying to make me feel better but it doesn’t really help
Corinna and I leave shortly after we have our little group talk. We caught up during the car ride and before I know it we’re at my apartment. We say goodbye and plan to meet for lunch tomorrow before I head up to my apartment. I knew Carly was probably fast asleep so I tried to be as quiet as possible.
I get ready for bed and climb into my warm blanket, wrapping myself like a burrito. I browse TikTok on my phone for a few minutes before setting my alarm. Just before I let sleep take over my phone buzzes on my nightstand.
Jeff: I missed you.. I’m sorry for being an asshole tonight. I had no idea that I was leading you on, but I didn’t know you had a crush on me..
Fuck.
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lokigodofaces · 3 years
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thoughts on loki ep 2: the variant (spoilers)
under cut to not disturb your scrolling
Overall I enjoyed so that's good
Uh frick my mind blanked so sorry if things are completely out of order
I don't know, I expected the renaissance fair to be 2012 or 2021 or 2024 (Loki's time, our time, current time in the "sacred timeline"). So I was genuinely surprised when it was in 1985.
Ok, i really like the title card thing. And how the year scrolls around. It's a nice aesthetic touch there.
I wonder why the female Loki variant chooses her locations? Does she have a thing for renaissance fairs, French cathedrals, and Oklahoma?
1985 is when Back to the Future came out. And it's y'know, one of the most popular time travel movies ever. So I think they chose that year as a reference.
Again, not liking that the minutemen only have numbers, not names. It is giving me lots of Clone Wars vibes. If you don't know anything about Clone Wars, the clones are given number identifiers by the Kaminoans. Things like CT-7567. The clones would give themselves names (CT-7567, for example, names himself Rex). A really good sign throughout the series that someone is a sketchy person is if they call the clones by their numbers. The clones don't want to be known as numbers. They are people too, they deserve names, so they come up with all sorts of creative names (Rex, Fives, Cody, Tup, Hevy, Hardcase, Echo, Waxer, Boil, Wolffe, Jesse, Kix, Fox, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Omega, Tech, Matchstick, etc). The jedi respect this, and the only jedi that i can think of that called clones by their numbers is Krell, who fell to the dark side. the Kaminoans and other sketchy people all call them by their numbers and the clones don't like it. A big focus of the show is on the clone's agency (at the end, they all have brain chips that take away their agency and force them to kill jedi), and how the clones need to be respected. So for me to see in another series that people are only given numbers is bad. What's worse is that the minutemen are fine with this. They don't see it as dehumanizing or belittling. They are brainwashed into being okay with it. Which says a thing or two about the Time Keepers.
did. did the renaissance fair really have Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" for their renaissance themed fight? Is this normal? Was it normal in the '80's? We saw later that the female Loki can do electronic stuff. Did she rig it to play it? For the vibes?
Also the stuff before the song was about fighting for a princess, and in the end she kidnaps C-20.
Okay, btw, I'm just gonna say Lady Loki for a while because no one has explicitly said Sylvie yet, so I'm going to refer to di Martino as Loki until she or another calls her Sylvie. Cool? Cool.
I was thinking the "Holding Out for a Hero" fight would be the roomba fight or something. It is such a good song that has huge potential for this genre. Why did they use it in a lame fight as that one?
When Lady Loki did the spell on C-20, it looked similar to what Wanda and Agatha can do. As in, it had similar visuals.
Loki reading a random magazine he finds while sitting with his feet on the desk bored out of his mind because he has to learn sh*t is a MOOD.
What is Miss Minutes? She can jump around anywhere, and pop into computers. But she can't be just a projection. She took the effort to dodge Loki swatting at her, so that may mean she was corporeal. She also could be something similar to the Kree's Supreme Intelligence?
So, did Mobius give Loki the shirt, tie, and slacks, but really didn't give him the jacket until they had to call him in? What? That makes no sense? Did the TVA not have any jackets with the variant label? Did someone have to custom design a jacket for Loki?
What is up with this show giving me things I wanted to see only in holographic form? First we saw Coulson's death, and now Loki in his Jotun form in a holograph of another variant.
Okay, Loki being someone the TVA has to constantly deal with is very on brand. Loki is a creature of chaos, of course he's going to unknowingly rebel against the sacred timeline.
Also, headcanon that the Jotun Loki we see is king of Jotunheim because that would be epic.
Also, for personal reasons I choose to believe there is a Loki variant that defeated the Avengers and immediately went queer rights.
Loki's reaction to there being many Loki variants. He's seen what his life is supposed to be. I think he is even more upset that the TVA often deals with him, that there are so many things that could have been instead if it weren't for the TVA and the "sacred timeline."
Also, I totally think Mobius was waiting for another Loki to show up to help him defeat Lady Loki. They get them so often, it makes sense.
Loki explaining the difference between illusion projection and duplication was great. And very helpful to me personally understanding lore. Also, Mobius, get your crap together. If you're a Loki expert, figure this stuff out.
Loki calling the TVA out on propaganda, we love that.
The wolf quote is actually very nice, I quite like it.
Okay, the TVA doesn't even bury or cremate or do any sort of ritual for their fallen minutemen, they just reset the timeline. Which to me seems like another way to show how little the TVA actually care for their workers.
There are statues of the Time Keepers in Ravonna's office. The camera pays extra attention to it. Keep reading for more about Time Keepers and cinematography choices.
What. What sort of relationship does Ravonna and Mobius have? What is going on there? I am really confused.
Who is this "analyst on the side?" What is going on there?
Ravonna is MEGA SUS. Along with that, the Time Keepers are mega sus.
She signs R. Slayer. Yeah. Slayer. Not at all subtle, Marvel. Letting us know that she'll do the deed if needed.
Mobius you are sending me mixed signals. What do you want?
Okay, Mobius saying Loki was a "cold, scared boy" and an "ice runt" and stuff was totally a jab at Loki being Jotun.
Mobius saying Loki is insecure because of Lady Loki is...probably true.
With the elevator, the camera stops and focuses on the Time Keepers.
The Creation of the TVA, the beginning of time, the end of time, all classified. That is sus.
Loki almost crying over Ragnarok was good. Let him cry over the destruction of his home.
Loki being the one to discover something the TVA had no idea about after a day is on brand for Loki. And it shows how the TVA really are vulnerable.
Mobius: Really? In front of my salad?
No but the object lesson was well done and actually did help me understand what Loki was talking about.
Casey! Casey drinks grape juice! Imagine how confusing this is for Casey though. Loki is captured, threatens to gut you like a fish (whatever that means), and now he's dressed like an analysist, stealing your juice box. Does Loki get Casey more juice?
Honestly, Loki looking at everything logically and scientifically is fantastic. Adds to the science = magic thing Marvel's got going on, since Loki is a sorcerer.
Loki saying volcanoes are cool is fun. I agree. Volcanoes mean the planet is geologically active, which means we won't die. Also, there is a volcano named Loki on one of Jupiter's moons. I wonder if the creators knew that and put Loki in Pompeii because he is already linked with volcanoes.
Mobius telling Loki to start off small and Loki completely disregarding that felt very personal to me.
Loki being absolutely chaotic and telling everyone they were going to die while speaking perfect Latin was iconic. I want more of that content. Let the man be buckwild.
Again, Loki finding something out after a day that the TVA never knew about is on brand.
"Be free, my horned friends, be free!" I love that way too much.
Mobius being obsessed with jet skis wasn't something I expected, but I'm down for it. Heck, even Loki admitted they were cool.
The discussion on beliefs is going to lead to saying the Time Keepers are bullcrap. Hopefully.
Grapes and nuts are "candy" on Asgard. So, when Loki was eating grapes in Ragnarok, we can interpret that as him eating M&Ms. Second, this might add to something I've seen around here. I've seen things about a book somewhere with Loki saying chocolate fountains are mythical (which is really funny to me). So, I guess Asgard really doesn't have chocolate.
Oh my gosh, so many apocalypses between 2047 and 2051...hopefully none of those happen in real life.
Roxxcart is probably part of Roxxon, something that has been around in Iron Man movies.
Lady Loki got the shovel thing from Roxxcart that she left in Oklahoma! The minutemen said it was from the early third millenia, which is where we are now! 2050 also fits that category!
I saw something about the file saying Class 8 hurricane...there are only 5 classes...which means this is a crazy storm.
Does B-15 want Loki dead? This is a legitimate question, because I think she does. Dead or pruned.
Loki looking around at the storm, I love it. This could be him loving science, or him missing Thor, since Thor creates storms. Also, at this point Loki probably things Thor dies shortly after him in the sacred timeline, so Loki would be particularly sentimental about Thor.
I love Loki drying himself off and not anyone else. And B-15 yelling about his magic. And Loki's motions are so fluid, it's so aesthetically pleasing, I love it.
Dudes, I thought B-15 was going to try to prune Loki when they were alone.
Okay, was Lady Loki bsing about the azalea sale, or does Roxxcart actually do that? I want to know.
Wunmi Mosaku did a really good job as Lady Loki, I loved it.
Loki being annoyed at Lady Loki and saying he understood how Thor felt, does that insinuate Loki can do what Lady Loki was doing?
B-15 and C-20 were both very shaken after being possessed by Lady Loki. I wonder how that felt for them? We've had different explanations of mind control/brainwashing/similar from Clint, Bucky, Daisy, Mack, Fitz, and Monica in the MCU (including AoS). I wonder what is specific to Lady Loki's possession.
C-20 kept going on about something being real. What was that about?
C-20 revealed the location of the Time Keepers to Lady Loki!
Lady Loki not wanting to be called Loki could be a sign she is Sylvie.
There's something weird where Loki's voice echoed around while the camera focused on Lady Loki. Maybe she's telepathic?
Someone needs to keep a tracker on people telling Loki this isn't his story in a show literally about him.
But, that does add to themes for his life, and how everything was always about someone else in his life. He was always a supporting character for Thor, for Odin, for Thanos. Now, even in his own story, everyone insists he doesn't matter.
I was wondering what the reset charges would be used for. I wasn't expecting a massive bombing of the sacred timeline! Wow! That was unexpected and I loved it!
Okay, this isn't from me, this is from New Rockstars. But to list all the places mentioned on chronomonitors, either bombed or not: Knowhere, Barcelona, Niflheim, Dartford, Phong Nha, Lisbon, Vormir, Thorton, Cookeville, Asgard, Rome, Sakaar, Barichara, Porvoo, Ego, Titan, New York City, Tokyo, Hala, Kingsport, Xandar, Beijing, Madrid, Portland, Jotunheim. Bolded are other planets. Those are almost all the planets visited in the MCU. So fun easter eggs there!
I like Lady Loki's aesthetic. The fingerless gloves, the cloak, I love it. And YES SHE ISN'T SEXUALIZED. So many genderbent characters are excuses to sexualize women. But Lady Loki is just as covered as the male Lokis.
Lady Loki just...left the time door open for Loki to follow...for a really long time...I'm worried he's running into a trap.
What is Loki going to do now?
Theory time y'alls: Lady Loki bombed the sacred timeline to flush the minutemen out of the TVA, leaving it defenseless. And she's gonna go after the Time Keepers themselves. We know she gets into the TVA from trailer footage, and that's what I think we're gonna see next episode. I think she (like the Loki we are following) is upset over the lack of free will, and she plans to change that. That's why she wasn't interested in helping Loki "take over" the TVA, because she doesn't want to become the leader of a new TVA, she wants it destroyed.
Alright, back to the Time Keepers stuff. They keep focusing on the middle Time Keeper. Even in the end credits they have a weird cut to focus directly on his face. I'm not 100% on this, but I like this theory. That face is similar to Jonathan Major's, the actor confirmed to be Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Kang is a well known time travelling villain in Marvel. Maybe he is Kang, and is using variant versions of himself (that's a Kang thing in the comics) to mess with the timeline, and no one expects that from him. Also, Renslayer was his S/O for a bit in the comics, and they keep framing her in front of that one Time Keeper's face. I feel like this would be a good way to set up Quantumania and to show how sus the Time Keepers are.
Also, Loki was absolutely adorable the entire episode. And he got to sleep! Yay for him!
Again, I enjoyed, and can't wait for next week!
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sepublic · 3 years
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Halloween Special: The Shut-In!
           So, this episode is SUPPOSED to be canon, I believe? Or the idea is that within the episode itself, the events take place after the Plantars return to Wartwood, but otherwise it isn’t canon? I’m not sure, I’ll have to go check. Either way…
           This was a REALLY fun, and surprisingly freaky episode, especially towards the end! I love the darker, pragmatic take on Halloween for Amphibia, and how the holiday is interpreted in this world as more of a doomsday preparation sort of thing, this show’s worldbuilding is always so fun. Let me tell you, I lost my mind when I saw human Sprig, Polly, Maddie, and Toadie! Is the implication that Toadie is actually, like, around the kids’ ages this entire time? That makes people shipping him and Mayor Toadstool, uh… VERY, er… But at the same time, I can see why everyone thought he was an adult- So an honest mistake and thus no harm done! And come to think of it, Polly seems to be about the same age as Sprig here. So, the ages may not necessarily match… But then come to think of it, it IS weird that the writers/animators chose to give Toadie a humansona, and not say, Ivy! Actually, Toadie is rather minor and feels oddly specific considering who else was excluded, so I have to wonder if there was some particular reason for this, of if the writers just felt like it?
           Anyhow, the humanized versions of our frog friends are adorable, Sprig and Polly are gingers, no surprise there, and the bucket over Polly’s foot is so cute! I love how Anne didn’t even TRY to change who she was, she legit just tied up her hair and that’s it. Her story was a fun premise, and I expected the video to actually be a jumpscare that pulls in its victims at the last moment. And I mean, sort of? It definitely takes a while for that Video Cat demon thing to arrive… But I loved Anne in this bit, how she’s so smug and proud of herself and really doesn’t want to care what others say about her skills, you go girl! You go write dialogue! And I just realized, but this is possibly the closest look we have to Anne’s actual home and bedroom, assuming things haven’t been changed up all that much in the ‘bootleg’ translation… So F-Annes, analyze!
           That Video Cat being unable to take criticism and literally dying to it is a mood. Also, either its eggs ARE boba, and/or they just taste like it… Either way, keep in mind that Molly legit took a huge bite out of one. Then again, more feral things have happened in Amphibia and ESPECIALLY with Polly, so I guess I’m not too shocked- Look at Anne, she wanted to eat that monster crab that almost killed Sylvia way back when! Are those cats invincible because they’re bound to no videos, or are they subject to regular criticism in general… Can they also be physically killed as well?
           WHY am I even asking, when we know this isn’t canon whatsoever and is never going to come up again!? Anne insists that this happened to her phone specifically, so I guess the gag is that the phone had a previous owner named Anna, etc…. Still, while it’s funny how Anne just gets away with completely making up a story, I do have to wonder if it’s like. Allegorical to a real-life experience. Probably not, given the presence of humanized Sprig, Polly, Maddie, and Toadie… Unless Anne is recounting something that happened in Amphibia, but then Sprig and Polly would’ve recognized what Anne is alluding to, given how they remembered those other past adventures (which was a hilarious gag that I felt nostalgic to recognize). I’m probably just overthinking it.
           Then, we’ve got Hop Pop’s story! He had LUSCIOUS locks, and he met the Grim Reaper- Again, allegedly. Not gonna lie I assumed that dude was Frog Lucifer or something, but this is kind of better? Either way that was pretty dark, and I love the implication that the Grim Reaper legit went out of his way to steal some rando’s hair. Poor Hop Pop, he never got his hair back! Are we going to call this canon? Does this confirm the presence of a Frog Grim Reaper?
           (Side-note, I feel bad for Wally! Imagine being born on a day where everyone has to be holed up lest they turn into Were-Amphibians! That must’ve been quite the scandal for the Ribbiton family, I have to wonder if this influenced his decision to go out and live his own life with how lonely Wally was…)
           Then we have Sprig’s story! I’m so happy to see Ivy again, I never realized how much I missed her and her adorable design, and her hair is so cute! Kind of reminds me of Anne with how wild it is, I want to see a one-shot of Anne bonding with Ivy over their messy hair now. I really appreciate that gag of Sprig realizing what Ivy’s about to say, about how everyone has knitting needles, and Ivy breaking down that door without remorse. This story was my favorite, not just for the comedy, but also…
           DANG, that was legitimately terrifying?!When I saw those slimy frog skins, knowing those were actual people, with Hop Pop even suggesting one of them could’ve been Gary… and YIKES, what happens to the flayed bodies?!? Legit I freaked out when I saw the Seamstress, this was straight-up Leather Face, the show wasn’t even trying to be subtleor dodge around it, those were actual people skins! This was some Wartwood Chainsaw Massacre…! Seeing all of those hanging skins and faces gave me the heebie-jeebies, I didn’t expect the show to go THIS far, and while I’m impressed and glad it managed to freak me out, still! That build up to the reveal of Ivy literally ripping off that ‘face’, us seeing a glimpse of the Seamstress before her skins fall off, and it looks like she lacks any skin entirely, and that’s why she wears others’!
           Only, she DOES have skin, it’s just clear- Fun fact, I watched this with my brother and he immediately recognized the Seamstress as a Glass Frog, by name, before Sprig did! I think it was a neat gag how for Sprig, he immediately calms down because for Amphibians, Glass Frogs are a somewhat normal and non-supernatural facet of life, relatively speaking. For us humans, well, it reminds me of this one myth about a woman whose head can rise from her body, unveiling her organs…
           I THOUGHT the episode was going to go the sweet route, even as I joked that the Seamstress still, y’know, KILLED people. And like Apothecary Gary, the show remembered this and we legit had the Seamstress burn to death in a classic horror movie finale, and I yelled when she made one last stand to grab Ivy by the leg and bite her! I get that there’s meant to be an allegory between Ivy not appreciating her own hair, and the Seamstress not appreciating her own skin, body positivity and all that- But mostly I was too freaked out to appreciate it. Ivy waddling around blindly in present-time was adorable, though.
           And, Polly! I LOVE the sort of lesson, the realization that her being gone was scarier than ANY story they’d heard that night (probably because this was real, at least I assume the other stories were fake but regardless). We get our twist of Polly turning into a Were-Tadpole, and then anticlimactically reacting while the others lose their minds as noises of ruckus are heard, implying that Polly immediately went feral afterwards, or the others just made a mess as they freaked out! Also, love the twist on the ending credits, that’s delightfully morbid…
           All in all, this was a great episode! Surprisingly scary, and definitely hilarious- It’s a much-needed break from this Amphibia hiatus, especially now that I’m also dealing with the hiatus for The Owl House and Infinity Train (the latter of whom may be permanent PLEASE watch the show on HBO Max), and Kipo’s ending. I do have Carmen Sandiego’s third season to watch, though. I wonder if there’s any speculation to be gleaned from the Blue Moon turning people into monsters, and how that can connect to Blue Energy for the Calamity Box relating to the virtue of Heart. Does the Blue Moon turn people into a monstrous form that reflects the darker sides/fears of their heart? I’m probably overthinking it. Either way, I’m really glad we got a classic Holiday Episode for this show- I always love those, ESPECIALLY Halloween ones!
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im-whatchamccallit · 4 years
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You Confess While Drunk//ATEEZ
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(A/N: I’ve been binge watching anything and everything NCT related for the past few days. Someone save me 😭 Also, this is super unedited because it’s so L O N G and I’m exhausted lol)
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Hongjoong
Hongjoong didn’t stop you from taking another swig from the bottle of vodka you had saved from your birthday party over a month ago, he also didn’t stop you from lying your head in his lap as you sobbed loudly on your sofa. Why? Because once he stopped you, what could he possibly do?
Your boyfriend of a year cheated on you and you made the hard decision of breaking up with him, leaving you in a position you’ve been desperately avoiding for so long. You hated being lonely, you dreaded it, being left with the harsh thoughts that you were unwanted, unlovable and, based on the relationships you’ve had in the past 3 years, those thoughts were growing true.
But Hongjoong knew you and your thoughts were wrong. You were in the wrong for crying over someone that didn’t deserve you, and your thoughts were just years of anxiety that built up and finally found a way to consume you. His heart broke every time he found himself in this position: stroking your hair as you drunkenly questioned him on why you couldn’t find the perfect guy. He hated it. But you were slowly starting to hate him more.
But not really. You were only growing more desperate for him.
You used your free hand to hold yourself up and glared at him through your tears, your eyes puffy and red as you sniffled, setting the half empty bottle onto the ground.
“This is all your fault!” Hongjoong stared at you with wide eyes, prepared to retaliate but you continued on your tirade.
“I’ve been waiting for you for so long! And you just ignore me, and treat me like I’m just your best friend, when we both know we’re more than that!” A choked sob escaped your lips as you rested your forehead against his shoulder, knowing you were too emotional and drunk to be doing this, but you couldn’t stop it.
“You say you hate seeing me like this, but you never take the hints that I give you and I…. I just want you to love me the way I love you.”
This situation was unusual for Hongjoong, usually having at least something to say to ease your dejection. But he was silent. The real reason behind your disdain started and continued because of him, more tears spilling from you than usual as you both took in the fact that you were finally honest with your emotions, with Hongjoong, and yourself.
He didn’t say anything as he wrapped his arms around you, taking in the moment and your words, his heart aching with each beat as he tried to figure out how you haven’t noticed him being by your side all these years, aiding you through each break up and rebound as if it were nothing. Giving you overall care and companionship was his own silent confession. You both so oblivious to each other’s advances, yet so obvious about your love for one another.
Seonghwa Seonghwa was not holding back his anger as he held you by the arm, practically dragging your drunken form from the restaurant as you squirmed in his grasp, your free arm swinging at him in an attempt to release yourself.
“Get OFF, you fucking nerd.” You groaned, eyes glancing to the sweater vest he wore and chuckling to yourself. He really did dress like a dad sometimes.
He ignored you as he made his way to his car, placing you in front of the hood to balance yourself so that he no longer had to hold you. His gaze was fierce, piercing into your soul as he tried to determine where he should start in explaining how you ruined this night.
You were the one who invited all of your mutual friend’s out to dinner, saying you missed the get-togethers you had, only to order five cocktails and swear at your former roommate and high school friend, Miyeon. Seonghwa didn’t know what had gotten into you, barking out insults and telling her to keep her hands away from him, his only option to drag you out before it escalated into something violent. And what seemed like a happy reunion turned into an utter disaster, and he was pissed.
“Can you explain to me what the hell you were doing back there?” He asked, trying to sound calm but his heavy breathing and burning stare were a dead giveaway to his rage.
You ignored it though, matching his fury with your own as you leaned against his vehicle, glaring at him as if you were intimidating, but really looked even more drunk than you truly were.
“Don’t get mad at me! She knows what she did wrong! She should be the one getting yelled at!”
“She’s not the one that got drunk and tried to attack you!”
“But she’s the one that kept touching you knowing I called dibs!”
He stared at you as if you were an absolute idiot, or psychopath at that, his hands raking through his hair as he tried to make sense of your behavior.
“’Dibs’? What are you, five?”
“I told her in high school that I wanted you, and she even asked me when I texted her the other day if I still had a thing for you and I said yes! Then she sits there and touches you, and you’re laughing with her like she’s the best thing in the world! Well, why don’t you do that with me?”
Your rambling swirled in his head, his brain picking it apart before a simple conclusion was made: you were jealous. And as much as Seonghwa wanted to remain upset with you, he found the situation suddenly amusing, holding back a smirk as he approached you.
“So you got jealous of her and decided it’d be smart to act out in public?” You only rolled your eyes to look away from him, gasping at the feeling of his thumb and forefinger grasping your chin, turning your head to face him, his eyes swimming with amusement.
“I could laugh with you like that, especially knowing we feel the same about each other, but you’re gonna have to learn to behave.” The words alone made you gulp, a breath you didn’t realize you were holding escaping your lips as he finally released you, stepping back with a wide smile.
“Let’s go apologize and tell her I’m taken.”
Yunho
The boys looked up from ‘Harry Potter’ playing on their television as the front door opened, eyes falling out Yunho carrying you bridal style through the living room. You didn’t look alive, but the way your face scrunched in annoyance of being moved around was enough proof you weren’t dead, but that still didn’t explain why the giant brought you back to the dorm of all places.
“They drank too much at their office party and asked me to pick them up. And they wouldn’t stop whining when I said I was taking them home so I just brought them here for the night.” His explanation was wordy, Seonghwa sighing in exasperation as he rubbed his temples before looking to the younger male.
“You were drinking too, weren’t you?”
“N-no! I swear!” Yunho said in a panic, not enjoying the way their eyes bore into him.
They had planned to have a movie night, finally having some time to relax now that their tour was over, and as much as they adored you, you were ruining this night for them.
“I’m just going to put them in my bed and I’ll come back. I promise.” Yunho rushed out, San calling out a loud ‘hurry up’ as the older boy eased further into the dorm.
He easily found his bedroom, trying to make as little noise and movements as possible to keep you asleep, but you weren’t asleep. You felt your body press onto cold sheets before a thick blanket covered your body, your hand reaching for the one that was attempting to tuck you in.
“Please stay with me.” You murmured, Yunho conflicted as to what to do.
He didn’t want to leave you, but he already kept his promise to the boys, his body growing hot as the gears turned in his head for who he had to be there for. But as soon as your hooded eyes opened, staring into his with a cute and desperate gaze, the boys were an afterthought. Yunho hastily got beneath the blankets, your body moving further into his warmth as your arms wrapped around his torso, slowly but surely preparing yourself for sleep.
“Why did you want me to stay with you so badly?” The vibrations from his chest made you stir but your eyes remained closed, honestly and absentmindedly responding to him.
“I always want you with me, being in love makes you that way. But, even if it’s not romantic, that’s fine. I just need you by my side.”
A strange flutter emerged from his chest, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip to hide his smile. Your words were so simple yet made his body shiver with excitement, knowing that you wanted him in the same way he wanted you, or at least from what he interpreted from this moment.
His lips gently pressed to your forehead, your head tilting back as you tried to find his lips with yours, both of you so close until the bedroom door slammed open, San rushing in and standing above you both with a stern look.
“I told you to hurry.” He said while grabbing the tall boy’s arm, yanking him from beneath his blanket to drag him to the living room.
Yunho was about to protest that you needed him to stay with you, but you were sound asleep, Yunho no longer having an excuse for the night.
Yeosang
“I’m so sorry for the trouble that was caused tonight.” Yeosang apologized to each of your parents once more, bowing profusely whilst still holding you in his arms, an arm slung around your waist as your own draped over his neck, your eyes shut as you wanted to do nothing more than sleep.
Your parents invited you both to dinner, mainly because they missed Yeosang, but also enjoyed the fact you both were still close friends, prompting them to also invite Yeosang’s parents in order to reminisce. And despite you and Yeosang being so close, friends is all they assumed you’d ever be, causing them to question when you’ll find someone of your own, not realizing that that someone was your childhood best friend. One day, at least. You tried to ignore their comments by drowning yourself in various glasses of white wine, especially when they began to bring up the possibility of Yeosang dating other people, losing track of how many cups you had until you were nearly blackout drunk.
And here you were, slurring your speech as you made a slightly incoherent rant while dangling loosely from the poor boy’s arms, a quick goodbye leaving him as he “carried” you to his car. Once settled into his seat, he immediately started heading towards your apartment, listening to you groan at his side with your eyes still clamped shut.
“They want me to find someone so badly but they haven’t even considered that Yeosang might be good for me.” You grumbled, the first intelligible thing you’ve said in the past hour.
A smirk came onto his face hearing you speak about him as if he wasn’t the one driving you home, playing along and pretending he was some inner thought of yours.
“Really? What do you like about Yeosang?”
“He’s so pretty! And smart! And he does this really cute laugh whenever I try to talk to him about music but mess up the terms. He’s always been so nice to me too, even though I was a weirdo in middle school, but he didn’t mind. He always loved me for who I was.” You spoke with a soft smile, eyes still shut as your head pressed to the window, and a gentle smile on Yeosang’s own face before you started speaking again.
“But my parents are right. Yeosang is so great that he’ll find someone, and they’ll be a million times better than me and a million percent made for him and I can’t do anything about it.”
The mood grew melancholy, Yeosang ignoring your words to mentally argue with you, knowing you probably were drifting in and out of consciousness at this point and wouldn’t process a word he said, his face growing hot with frustration. You knew how much he loved you, but were too blind to see that he was in love with you. It was ironic, and a very (Y/n) thing to do, one of the things he loved about you. Another smile gracing his features as he peered over to you, watching you lazily shift in your seat to get comfortable. He couldn’t think of anyone in his life that would be a million percent perfect for him than you.
San
Although San was an idol, he never passed up your invitations to parties on your college campus, wearing clothes that were comfortable and helped him keep a low profile. But, being with you, there was no such thing as a low profile. Your clothes were flashy and personality loud and bubbly, everyone perking up at your presence once you arrived to the large fraternity house.
San spent the night dancing and drinking, mingling with a few people who were probably too out of it to remember who he was, which was good enough for him. You, on the other hand, went from showing off your bartending skills in the kitchen to pounding back shots with your “customers”, growing louder and giggly as you sloppily poured more. One of San’s biggest concerns was that you were a people pleaser, incapable of saying no and shyly agreeing to go along with whatever scheme they had in order to not have anyone hate you. It was a dangerous flaw you had in your normal life, and he was almost scared to think about what would happen now that you were extremely drunk.
He stepped away from the girl rambling about her boyfriend ditching her that night, heading towards the kitchen to see you lying on a counter, a collection of guys and a few girls finding the other ingredients they needed for body shots. If San knew you properly, he knew you weren’t comfortable at all. It was as if in an instant, you were being lifted and set on your unstable feet, listening to the outraged protest of the group that were prepping you as San guided you towards the more populated area of the house, making sure they didn’t follow you before pulling you close, his mouth by your ear as he swayed you both to the loud and upbeat music.
“Don’t go off with random people like that.” He muttered, finally moving away to see your face.
You could barely keep your eyes open but still managed to look at him in utter adoration, a lazy smile settling on your face.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, just stay by my side for the rest of the night, okay?” You nodded and continued to move your body with his, absentmindedly tangling your fingers together while keeping your eyes trained on him, his body shifting uncomfortably at your gaze before looking back at you.
Maybe you were misinterpreting the situation, but he was like some knight in your eyes. Rescuing you from a situation where you don’t remembering saying yes and couldn’t bring yourself to say no. He was always like this, protecting you and holding you close when he felt as if you were in danger. You probably were just projecting your own feelings but maybe, just maybe…
“I love you, San” You both froze at your words, his eyes wide as he began to process what you said.
“I- nevermind. Forget I said anything.” You muttered, averting your gaze as you mentally slapped yourself.
Your confession was so childish yet effective, San mentally battling with himself over if his next move would be wise or not. You were clearly drunk, but his body thought it was the right thing to do, his brain not having time to decipher what was going on before he pressed his lips to yours, hungrily but gently moving them in unison as he held your body close to his, the relief of waiting years to do this washing over both of you as you drowned in the kiss. Much to your dismay, he pulled away, a small but audible ‘I love you too’ leaving his lips in case his actions weren’t loud enough.
Mingi
Mingi sat timidly on his bed hiding away from you, knowing you were still in the living room consuming your sixth beer. Or was it seven now? He couldn’t keep up at this point, but Mingi knew how you were when you were drunk. You were playful yet so rough, hitting him with the strength of a body builder despite your lighthearted behavior. But for some reason, you were rougher with him than others. He had a bruise forming on his shoulder where you punched him earlier after telling a joke.
So, he hid away, not wanting to face another punch or slap on the arm from someone who couldn’t control their own strength but, as he heard the bedroom door open with a whiny ‘Mingi’, he couldn’t help but cower away.
“Why did you leave me?” Your face appeared from the door, a bright blush on your cheeks as you pouted at him.
He sat upright to appear as if he wasn’t intimidated by you, despite the fact you waddled towards him cutely, plopping at his side and resting your head on his shoulder.
“I just needed some space.” He admitted, watching as you looked up at him with doe-like eyes.
“Did I do something wrong? Ooh! Did you wanna play hide and seek? You always loved hide and seek!” He flinched as your pitifulness returned to its original aggression, your fist making contact with his already aching arm before finally putting a stop to it.
You were a bit out of it as you watched him grab both your fist in his hands, turning to face you with a serious, but almost pleading, look.
“I know you’re not doing it on purpose, but your hits hurt. A-and I notice you’re rougher with me when you’re drunk, and I just want you to stop.” He confessed, your eyes dull from your intoxication but he could still make out the glimmer of sadness in them as you looked away.
“I just don’t know how to express my emotions properly.” Although Mingi’s wish for you to be gentle came true, it was almost scary not seeing your usual drunken grin.
“Just use your words.” He explained, waiting patiently as you slowly looked up to him, uncurling your fist until your palms rested in his.
“I like you. And, whenever I’m near you, I feel like an elementary student with their crush. Because when girls play with boys like that, it means they like them, right?” You could feel your face burning at the comparison, realizing you were ridiculous for your actions.
It was a strange sensation flowing through Mingi. It wasn’t embarrassment but he couldn’t bring himself to look at you, nor was it fear as his mind raced with endless possibilities to reciprocate your feelings. He was at a loss for words though, unsure of what he should say or do to get rid of the sudden panic in your eyes as you realized what you’d done.
As you went to pull away, Mingi gently pulled your arms until you fell into him, your head colliding with his chest as he held you, letting out a content sigh. It wasn’t the first way he planned on accepting your feelings, but it was the most appropriate for the moment.
Wooyoung
“Fucking fuck fuckity fuck,” You groaned as you slowly pushed yourself up from the mattress, your eyes squinting at the sun pouring in and all you wanted to do was die.
You shouldn’t have drank so much last night. Speaking of last night, you barely remembered what happened at all, or how you got home.
“Oh, great! You’re up!” You winced at Wooyoung’s booming voice, reaching out to slap him as you buried your head beneath your duvet.
“Why are you here?”
“I brought you home, silly.” He teased, grabbing the blanket from your grasp so you could see his grinning face.
“And based on that question, I’m guessing you don’t remember last night at all. Which is why I started recording you after your eight shot.”
Wooyoung grabbed his phone, sliding through various videos before finding the one he’s been replaying since 1AM. He hurriedly positioned himself under the blanket with you, pulling you into his side while pressing play, but the still alone, you leaning forward while standing on stage at the familiar karaoke bar, seemingly screaming into the mic, made your eyes go wide with the realization of what happened that night.
“I wanna do a song!” You slurred into the microphone, the KQ staff cheering you on as you tried to find a song to play, choosing the first one you recognized before straightening your body, the upbeat trot instrumental causing everyone to dance around.
“I just want you to know, this is dedicated to Jung Wooyoung!”
“Jung Wooyoung!” Everyone cheered back, no one seeming to care that they lyrics on the screen went by without you singing along.
“Why Wooyoung?” The man himself instigated from behind the camera, an amused smirk on his face while watching you stumble slightly, moving closer just in case he had to catch you.
He knew how you felt about him, just waiting for the day you finally said it out loud but, if this was as close as he’d get to a confession, he had to make sure you remembered it somehow, and what better way would that be than video documentation?
“Jung Wooyoung is sweet! And nice! And the only man I’ve ever loved! He takes care of me like no other! So, Jung Wooyoung,” You raised your free hand before bringing it down to point at nothing in particular.
“I love you!”
“I love you too!” He called back just before you began singing, laughing hysterically as it was a different song from the one chosen.
Your head was buried in the blanket, face hot with embarrassment as Wooyoung continued to rewind it to you professing your love for him, taunting you in your hungover state.
“This was a great way to start our relationship.”
You could hear the smile in his voice and, although you finally got the relationship you wanted, and finally knew he felt the same as you, you knew no amount of begging would make him delete that video.
Jongho
Idols lived their lives under a microscope, society watching their every move to see their flaws and praise their perfections, even some of their perfections being criticized. It was a fear for most to slip up and do something reckless while in public. But you? You lived recklessly.
You had finally got your first music show win and invited all of the backup dancers and staff from KQ to join you for a celebration at a nearby bar, a few of the Ateez boys joining, more specifically Jongho. You were only recently of drinking age but he was with you the night of your birthday a month ago, watching you down ten shots easily before they hit you at once, his hands holding your hair back as you puked into a nearby trashcan. He wasn’t much of a drinker himself, so tonight he was playing the role of your guardian angel.
But you proved to be more of a challenge than he thought. You were dancing on tables while playfully beginning a strip tease, Jongho grabbing you and taking you from the intoxicated crowd. You were running off to talk to strangers, Jongho apologizing prolifically to the bar patrons. You were a walking tornado in his eyes. Yet for some reason, he loved you as is, even now as you laid in the booth with your face pressed to the table, signaling it was time for you both to go.
Everything from then was a blur, your eyes opening to see you were lying in bed, out of your original clothing and in your usual pajamas, a faint light from beside you causing to squint as it made the dizziness you felt worse. A silhouette appeared before turning the light off, slowly approaching you as you laid back in the bed, exhausted and disoriented.
“Hey. You alright?” Jongho’s familiar voice made you look up to him with a grin, something cotton-like and  wet touching your cheek.
“I’m just trying to get your makeup off so you can sleep.” He commented, paying close attention to make sure he didn’t miss a spot.
Once he finally wiped over your lips, you smirked playfully at him.
“Did you undress me too?” A faint pink dusted his face, glad he didn’t turn on the lights in your bedroom or else you’d see how flustered he was.
“Y-yeah. I thought you’d be more comfortable in that.”
“Did you like what you saw?” The way he froze made you laugh out loud, tossing your head back before placing a hand on the crown of his head.
“I’m kidding, but thank you. You’re always so sweet to me.” You commented, shutting your eyes and he began to scrub away your eyes shadow.
“What else are friends for?” He muttered, your lips pursing into a thin line.
“Friends keep you from doing dumb things when you drink. But boyfriends help you take off your makeup after a long day.” When he finally removed the makeup covered towelette from your eyes, you stared him down with no hesitation. You were just as bold drunk as you were sober.
Jongho swallowed hard as he struggled to find a response.
“W-what do you mean?”
“I mean, I want you to be my boyfriend.” You said plainly, your eyes trying hard to focus and meet his wide ones, your stomach turning with butterflies.
He was always so cute to you. Sure, he was mature and manly, but the way he squirmed under your bold statements, even simple compliments, made your heart beat faster, a brief moment of joy filling you as you daydreamed of the days you could be that open with him, shying away because of how cheesy you are rather than being the friend that unexpectedly hits on him. You dreamt of that day for years. But now was the only time you could think to act.
Jongho didn’t know what to say, clearing his throat as he stood, eyes hard while gaining the courage to respond.
“You should probably confess when you’re completely sober.”
“You’re right. I’m not sober at all, Jongho. Just a really competent drunk.” Your tone was sarcastic.
For a split second, he almost believed you were just tipsy, aware of everything you were doing and saying. But as he went to the bathroom to dispose of the wetwipe, he returned to you completely out cold, snoring like a bear in hibernation, his feelings swirling into confusion as he no longer knew what to believe.
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peteywillproceed · 4 years
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All The Lies
Author’s Note: I’m so glad you guys liked the teaser for this yesterday, I hope the full thing lives up to expectations! As always, I hope you enjoy! x
Summary: Admitting you got cheated on is hard. Being cheated on by the person your best friend set you up with is harder. But telling your best his girlfriend was the other woman? Impossible. What good could even come from it?
Word Count: 3,582
“I cannot believe you!” You yelled, hands in your hair, jaw almost on the floor. “You told him what?”
Harrison just laughed, wiping the dish you’d unceremoniously dropped in his hands after the revelation and putting it back in the rack. “I didn’t know it was a private thing.”
“My breakups are not a matter of public interest,” you told him pointedly “and why did you even feel the need to tell him about it anyway?”
“I dunno, we were just out and you came up and he asked what you’d been up to recently.”
You almost screamed, biting down on your lip before you could snap and say something you’d regret. “You could’ve answered that with ‘she’s good’, there was no need to tell internationally beloved actor Thomas Stanley Holland that my relationship was a complete and utter failure.”
He snorted, draining the sink of washing up liquid and chucked the tea towel into the washing machine. You leant against the counter, staring out of the window whilst you wondered what the most effective way to kill your best friend was and whether this constituted a well meaning kicking-out-of-your-flat. Sighing, you shook your head and blinked back the tears that had pooled in your eyes when you were distracted – you’d promised yourself you wouldn’t think about it, after weeks on the sofa and tonnes of ice cream. It wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t worth it.
“Y/n?” Harrison said softly, moving behind you so his chin rested on your shoulder.
You took a deep, shuddery breath, plastering the best fake smile you could muster on your face and spun around to face him. “Yep?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you weren’t ready for people to know yet,” he pursed his lips and rubbed your arm, pulling you into a tight hug when a sob wracked through your body. You clung onto his shirt, feeling the material dampen as you pressed your face against it, trying to remember to breathe, trying to forget the loss of a two year relationship.
“It’s okay,” you finally managed, choking back the sobs, even though it definitely wasn’t. “I just didn’t expect you to be so blunt about it. Or to tell Tom.”
“Well he was going to find out sometime, or were you planning on leaving it till he came over and Justin wasn’t in the flat anymore?”
You laughed between tears, wiping your face with your palms. “That one.”
“And, may I ask, have you been Googling Tom again? Since when did you know his middle name?” Harrison poked your chest playfully and you rolled your eyes, batting his hand away.
“Since he wouldn’t stop teasing me about mine last time he came over, I figured I needed some ammunition.”
“Ahh, you never were that good at revenge, were you?”
“Excuse me?” you gasped, pretending to be offended “what are you implying?”
“Y/n, Tom’s an actor – he’s been teased so much about that name I honestly don’t think he gives two shits.”
You could hardly breathe between laughs, the tears drying up faster than they ever had before, and you wondered if that was what progress had looked like. You’d thought it was progress when you’d gotten out of bed, when you’d stopped eating two tubs of ice cream a day and finally brushed your hair, but the truth was Justin had still been in the back of your mind, always there, always reminding you of that night you so desperately wanted to forget. Except for the first time in months, for that little split second, he hadn’t, and it had just been you and Harrison in your own little bubble.
“Anyway, speaking of the dipshit, he’s home tomorrow,” Harrison pulled his coat off the back of a chair and slid his arms into the sleeves.
You frowned, trying to remember what Tom had told you the last time you’d spoken to him. You’d known both Harrison and Tom since you were young, always that little bit closer to Harrison, and you’d been nervous about Tom coming home because he’d missed so much. You’d dreaded telling him everything that had happened, because he was the one that had set you up with Justin all those years ago. So, when he’d invited you and Harrison out to Morocco a few weeks back you’d stayed behind, too scared to face up to reality. You thought you’d have more time to prepare yourself – he was supposed to be on set for another month. “Oh really? He’s done filming already?”
“Yeah, something about a schedule mixup,” Harrison shrugged and fished his car keys out of his pockets “there’s a welcome home party at Nikki’s tomorrow night, are you coming?”
Oh, that. You remembered the invite, burning a hole in the pocket of your jacket. You’d seen the little white note card lying on the floor last week, but you’d been so caught up in Justin and that stupid picture you’d barely had time to process it.
“Sure, I think it’s in my calendar.”
“I can’t believe you still have a calendar,” Harrison rolled his eyes.
“Hey, some of us like being organised!” You chased after him as he made for the door “Some of us actually make it to appointments!”
“It’s 2020, Y/n,” he smirked, looking over his shoulder as he got the flat door open “It’s time to live a little and take some risks!”
You pushed your tongue against your cheek and tutted. “And what if I don’t want to?”
“Then life is going to make you,” Harrison called, already disappearing into the hallway outside “and I, for one, am going to enjoy watching.”
***
You pulled up to the Holland house later than you meant to.
Mostly because you’d spent half an hour in front of the mirror wondering if it was a better idea to just stay home. But also because you’d tried putting makeup on for the first time in weeks and somehow you just looked worse.
You’d ended up back on the floor, sobbing so hard you thought your chest would cave in and wondering if it was even worth going tonight. You hadn’t seen your best friend in months, and it sucked that you had to ruin it by having a conversation you never wanted in the first place.  By the time Harrison texted you asking when you were gonna get there, it was way past six and you were embarrassingly, stupidly late.  
You shouldn’t have gone.
Yet here you were.
And everything felt so much worse.
“Y/n!” a familiar voice yelled as you hopped out of the car and spun around. Harry was running down the steps and launching himself towards you, pulling you into a tight hug before you’d even locked the car. “Harrison told me, I’m so sorry, Justin’s a dickhead. No wonder you didn’t wanna tell Tom.”
“Yeah, well we didn’t need to ruin two relationships did we?” you laughed, pushing away the pain. You’d practised what you were going to say, run your lines like you were rehearsing a movie. You figured there was no way you were going to make it through this without crying, but you could at least try.
Harry opened his mouth to say something, clearly confused by what you’d just said, but you were interrupted by Harrison flying down the stairs and yanking you into the house. “Finally, thought you’d died or something.”
“Nope just car trouble,” you lied, more than grateful as he dragged you away from a frowning Harry. “Where’s Tom?”
“Right here, darling,” he said, stepping into the hallway and swinging you into the air.
“Jesus Christ, Thomas let me down!” You laughed, bashing his back as he spun you in a circle. Harrison grinned as Tom tipped you upside down, spinning you so violently the black and white floor blurred into one, meaningless grey, and you had to close your eyes or else you would’ve ended up vomiting.
“Six months, SIX MONTHS its been since you graced me with your presence!” Tom turned you back upright and pulled you against his chest, arms wrapping around your waist. “You can let me have this!”
“Yef but canft breafthe,” you mumbled into his shirt.
“Don’t care, you owe me.”
“TOFFAS!”
“Alright alright,” he relented, letting you go. You could feel the heat flooding your cheeks as you smoothed down your hair and fixed your top, rubbing your palms against your jeans. “But you do owe me a proper cuddle.”
“Should’ve stayed in England, mate, there’d have been plenty to go around,” Harrison smirked, but you eyed him wearily, knowing exactly what he was referring to. For a good three weeks after the break up, you were pretty certain Harrison hadn’t left your side.
Tom seemed to pick up on the double meaning, sliding his eyes between you and Harrison in turn. “Am I missing something here?” he asked.
“Depends how you interpreted it,” Harrison said, turning towards the living room. “But you two probably need a catch up. I’ll go find Sam and give him a hand with dinner.”
You glared daggers at his retreating back, mentally cursing him for not even allowing you to take your shoes off. You felt Tom’s hand rest gently on your shoulder, the other tilting your face to face him, and you took a deep breath, knowing that if you didn’t get it over with, you’d never be brave enough again.
“Yeah, he’s right, we probably should,” you sighed, and Tom’s frowned deepened.
“Is everything okay, Y/n?”
You hesitated, gnawing at a loose piece of skin on your thumb. “Not…not really. Can we go sit in your bedroom? I feel awkward doing it here.”
Tom nodded, not taking his eyes off you as you took your shoes off. You could feel him staring at your neck, knowing his brain was working over time to figure out what was going on that was so bad you had to wait to tell him. You knew he’d be thinking the worst, it was just what he did, and usually you never had to make that a reality.
But today…today was different - and you had no idea how he’d take it.
***
“So,” he said, closing the door and pulling you onto the bed “what’s up?”
You pushed your tongue against your cheek and looked everywhere but his face, knowing you’d lose all the confidence you’d built the moment you looked into his eyes. His room was clean, a few pants chucked across the floor and a couple of dust bunnies lurking beneath the bed, but he’d only been a day. He had more than enough time to dirty it up to its usual standard.
“Seriously, Y/n, you’re scaring me now.” Tom’s voice reminded you he was still sitting in front of you, the two little lines creasing his brow even deeper now.
“Sorry, it’s just…I don’t really know how to phrase this.”
Tom smiled, taking your hand in his, and you almost snatched it back in shock. His palms were warm and clammy, just as trusting and open as they’d always been. You had a feeling this might change things. “It’s just me, I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“But’s that’s not the point. It’s just…well, it’s about Maura.”
“Maura? As in, my ex-girlfriend Maura?” Tom drew back slightly, confusion still written across his face. “What about her?”
“Well I- wait, your ex girlfriend?” you stopped mid-sentence, realising what he’d just said, mouth hanging open in shock. Tom gulped, flicking his eyes away from yours, and shuffled backwards on the bed. He wouldn’t meet your eyes, desperately looking for anywhere else to focus on, and this time it was you getting more and more confused. “Since when did that happen?”
“Since before I went away,” he sighed, scratching the side of his head as if that was enough of an explanation. “I figured we weren’t right for each other.”
“But I thought-” You’d been going to say you thought he loved her, thought she was the one for him and that was who he was going to end up with. This all seemed so…so random, so out of the blue you couldn’t even have written it as a surprise twist in a book. You could barely process what he was saying, a thousand thoughts crossing your mind at once. Why hadn’t he told you? What the hell had happened for him to break up with her? But the most important one of all, the one you didn’t really want to let yourself believe, kept flashing in front of your eyes like a neon sign.
If they’d broken up before he went away to film Cherry, then that meant Maura had been single that night.
“Justin cheated on me,” you blurted out before you could stop yourself. “He cheated on me when you were away and I’ve had no idea how to tell you.”
“He did what?” Tom’s eyebrows shot up so fast they were a blur, and before you could process what he was doing he had his phone in his hand and was scrolling through his phone. “I’m gonna kill the bastard.”
“Wait, no, Tom, stop,” you desperately reached for the phone, clawing it from his grip as he tried to turn away from you.
“That arse hole cheated on you, Y/n, he’s not getting away with it!”
“But you don’t know what happened!” You finally grabbed the phone and yanked it away, panting from the effort. “There’s more to it than that!”
“Like what? What possible excuse could he have for cheating on you, Y/n?”
You huffed, folding your arms across your chest. Tom’s face was red with anger, his hands curled into fists at his sides. “We’ve kind of gotten off topic here.”
“Well you were the one that brought up getting cheated on,” Tom stepped towards you, holding his arms out “I honestly had no idea.”
You collapsed into his reach, remembering how much you’d craved his smell and warmth over the months he’d been gone, and sighed against his chest. “That’s because I didn’t want you to know. I made Harrison promise not to tell anyone.”
“But why? It’s not like I would’ve blamed you for it, it wasn’t your fault.”
“No,” you admitted “but, the thing is…he cheated on me with Maura and-”
“And you thought we were still together,” he finished the sentence for you and the relief that washed through you was like water poured on a wildfire. You’d kept it bottled up for months, sobbing to Harrison and wondering how the hell you were supposed to tell him about it. To finally say it, to finally hear him understand, was worth more than you’d realised. “You didn’t want to hurt me too.”
“Especially not whilst you were filming. I knew how much you loved her and I couldn’t bear the thought of upsetting you when you were thousands of miles away.”
He laughed, the sound hollow and unnerving as he guided you back to the bed and held your fingertips with his. His gaze was fixed on the door, barely acknowledging you as you turned to stare at him in bewilderment. “The irony is, you did still upset me.”
You frowned, your lips parting in confusion and your heart beating wildly in your chest. “What?”
Tom raked a hand over his face and lay back against the bed, his chest heaving a sigh as you fell down beside him. His curls were gone, the stubble of his head prickling your fingers as you reached up out of habit to run your fingers through it, trying not to panic. You’d worked so hard to keep everything to yourself so it wouldn’t mess up his work, that the thought you somehow hadn’t even managed to do that was crippling.
“When I set you up with Justin two years ago, it was for a reason other than just wanting you to get out more,” he said eventually, turning to face you. “I couldn’t admit something to myself and I figured the best way to…stop thinking about it, was to pass the problem on.”
“What problem?” you shook your head, still not really understanding what he was trying to get at. Tom’s hand reached to cup your waist and you gasped at the contact, not used to being this close to him.
“You,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against yours. “You were my problem. Y/n, I’ve been in love with you for years and I couldn’t admit it to myself. I thought if I saw you happy with someone else it would make everything go away, but somehow…somehow it just made it worse.”
You couldn’t breathe, paralysed by Tom’s revelation from your head to your toes. Your eyes were locked with his, filled with desperation and a sadness you’d never seen before, and your heart almost broke at the thought he’d held himself back from this for years.
You’d never given much thought to it really, there’d been the usual teasing in secondary school but once Tom had gotten with Maura it had pretty much stopped. There’d never been any confusion, no wondering about what might have been – to you, he’d always been Tom, the boy who’d wiped a booger on you at six, and copied your chemistry homework for four whole years and never been caught. Sure, you knew exactly what people saw in him, why girls chased him on the streets and oogled him in the gym, and now that you thought about it you’d always liked it when you went swimming.
But he was still just Tom.
“I…I don’t really know what to say,” you said at last, pulling away from him slightly. You saw hurt register in his eyes, and it killed you to be the one that caused it. But what else could you say? You couldn’t tell him you loved him too because it was a lie...
...wasn’t it?
“Anything - anything but that this has scared you away.”
You held back a sob, somehow feeling more conflicted than you had than when you’d come here in the first place. “It hasn’t, I’ll always love you Tom,” you saw hope flare in his eyes “but I don’t think I love you like…like that.”
He nodded, pushing his tongue against his cheek and pulling away from you. Suddenly the air went cold, all the energy disappearing with him, and you wanted to sob at the loss. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, his back blocking you from seeing his face, and you ran a finger across your lips, at a loss for what to say.
You knew today would go badly, but you hadn’t expected it to be because of this. You’d prepared yourself to deal with the fall out of a cheating girlfriend, not a declaration of love, and now you just didn’t know what to do.
Thinking on instinct, you reached out and wrapped your arms around his waist, feeling his shoulders shake as his warm hands embraced yours and he leant back into your body. You glanced at his cheeks, reaching up to wipe away a tear, and sighed into his neck, wondering how you’d gotten here.
“I’m sorry, you probably didn’t expect that,” Tom laughed, the sound full of a profound sadness you’d never heard in him before.
“I didn’t, but I’m glad I know,” you replied, feeling more sure as soon as you’d said the words.
“Really?”
“Of course. It seemed like it was upsetting you not telling me, and if telling me has made it any easier for you than I’m glad I know.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say it’s made things easier.”
You smiled, bending down onto the floor and cupping his cheek. “Maybe not, but things are always better out than in.”
“Isn’t that a drinking joke?”
“It applies here,” you grinned, relief filling you as he cracked a small smile. “Besides, things change.”
Tom’s brow furrowed, big brown eyes turning to look up at you as you rubbed your thumb over his chin. “What?”
Hesitating, you bit your lip and met his gaze, remembering what Harrison had told you yesterday about life and taking risks. This was either a horrendously bad idea or about to change a hell of a lot in the space of five seconds. 
You weren’t exactly known for your rational decisions after all, you barely managed to make it out of your flat alive most days. But the second he’d said it, the second he’d made you question everything you believed, you knew you had to find out what it felt like, even if it was just once and never again.
And so you went for it, without thinking, and pushed your lips against his, feeling the shock wave course through his body and his rigid mouth melting against yours as he finally registered what was happening. For a second, you wanted to pull away, pretend like it never happened, but then Tom reached for your neck and fireworks exploded behind your eyes.
It was like nothing you’d ever felt before, butterflies flapping excitedly in your stomach, your heart swelling and beating faster than ever before. Bolts of lightning raced through your veins, electricity crawling across your skin and setting your nerves on fire as his lips moved slowly against yours. Suddenly, there were no more questions, no more overthinking, just you and Tom, exactly where you were supposed to be.
And, for the first time in weeks, you were stupidly...embarrassingly...happy.
When you finally pulled away, you were both a little breathless, a little starry eyed and overwhelmed. Your lips curved into a smile, a small laugh escaping you as you fell against Tom’s arms and nuzzled your face into his chest.
“Does this mean...” he started, but you pushed your finger against his lips.
“Don’t even question it, Thomas,” you grinned, reaching up to press another kiss to his cheek. “It’s not something that needs to be thought about.”
Before you could think, his lips were back on yours and this time you were in his lap, pulled flush against his chest and he was running his tongue along your bottom lip. 
But before you could deepen the kiss, the door behind you suddenly burst open, Harrison nearly giving you a heart attack as he yelled at the top of his lungs.
“Oh FINALLY! Harry? You owe me twenty quid!”
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lloydskywalkers · 4 years
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afsdgfdhgj!! thank you sm, i’m so happy to hear that :’D that is...something i do very much need to work on actually, i’ve been trying to kick the talking-self-down habit for a while now, it’s just!! it’s tough, guys.
on a lighter note, i know exactly what trope you’re talking about and i’m an unapologetic sucker for it afdsgfdh. unfortunately this probably isn’t exactly what you’re looking for, but i got bit by the idea and it wouldn’t let me go, so here’s a somewhat-short (somewhat) fic about it!
Sometimes, the ninja forget they’re technically, kind-of-sort-of, famous. Like, not all the time, because some people are creepy and won’t leave them well enough alone, and some people are just…really enthusiastic…but for the most part, it is easy to forget sometimes, because out of gi they look pretty normal.
(Until Lloyd’s eyes start shuffling through colors like a sporadic traffic light, of course, but that doesn’t happen as much now.)
The point is, sometimes it’s easy to forget that they’re famous.
Sometimes, though — when movie posters the size of the Bounty are plastered all over the city because some wise guy thought making a film about them would be a great idea — it’s harder to forget.
“This feels like an invasion of privacy,” Cole mutters, crossing his arms as he sinks deeper into the theater seat.
“Oh, yeah,” Nya says. “Because trading cards and entire news documentaries with our full names and intimate dating life details were one thing, but a loosely-based movie is where we draw the line.”
“Intimate dating life my foot,” Lloyd scowls, clearly far from getting over that one article that managed to snag a picture of him and Harumi before…everything.
“Well — yeah, fair, but like—” Cole sputters. “They hired actors to play us. They’re gonna be recreating our lives and it’s — it’s weird, okay?”
“I dunno, I think it’s pretty cool,” Kai says, already on his third mouthful of popcorn, and the trailers have’t even started yet. “I mean, it can’t be worse than that play they put on, right?”
“Don’t jinx it,” Zane mutters darkly, his eyes flashing at the reminder.
“I’m with Kai,” Jay says, bouncing in his seat as he reaches for the popcorn. “I think it’s cool that people care enough about us to make a movie, you know? Like, did you see the budget for this thing?”
“Was it as high as the repair cost for the tower we blew up last week?” Lloyd says.
“Uh…maybe. I didn’t compare, exactly. But look, you can’t put a price on lives. A little collateral damage is worth it.”
“A little?” Zane says, his eyebrows shooting up.
“Eh, we helped clean it up,” Nya shrugs. “That counts.”
Jay points at her. “Thank you.”
“Still say it wasn’t my fault,” Kai grumbles, crossing his arms. Lloyd pokes him in the ribs, and Kai yelps, flinching away from him. “Not cool, not cool!”
“We’re definitely not going to make it through this movie without getting thrown out,” Cole groans into his hands. They’re already getting looks from the movie-goers around them, and their patience doesn’t look like it’s going to last very long.
“C’mon, have a little optimism,” Jay placates. “This is gonna be fun— hey, that’s my popcorn!”
“No way, lightning brain, I bought it, I hold it.”
“But you bought it with Nya’s money.”
“Which she stole from Lloyd’s sock drawer this morning, so that doesn’t count.”
“Wait, you stole my sock money?”
“Um…call it payback for stealing the last of the cookies last week.”
“How is that a fair trade, I only took one!”
“Yeah, one dozen—”
“Guys, please—”
“You’re one to talk, you stole all the—”
“Would you all shut up, it’s starting, and — I said shut up!”
******************
It takes a few threats of murder, and one or two threats of open power-use to the face, but they quiet down in time for the opening credits.
The movie begins peacefully enough, with an older man telling some ‘punk little kid’ as Kai describes him, a whole lot of ‘stereotypical sensei mumbo jumbo’ as Lloyd describes it, about himself. Which, to be fair, is pretty accurate to their lives, so they’re able to quietly munch on popcorn for the first few minutes, at least.
But then the plot starts.
“What do they mean, ‘uh oh’, to Lloyd Garmadon?” Kai frowns. “The city loves you.”
Lloyd shrugs, tossing a mouthful of popcorn back. “I dunno,” he says. “I mean, it is tough to be that kid.”
“Yeah, ‘cause he’s the worst shortie ever, like four feet tall,” Nya whispers to him. Lloyd elbows her in the side. Zane shushes them, just in time for the actual movie Lloyd to show up on the screen, in bed and receiving a call from—
Lloyd doubles over, choking on his popcorn.
“Luh-Lloyd?” Kai says, in delight. “Luh-Lloyd?!”
“Pajamas,” Lloyd wheezes, as Nya thumps his back. “Look at his pajamas, I gotta buy my dad those—”
The others are left to giggle their way through the interpretation of one of their greatest enemies snacking on cereal in printed pajamas, telling Lloyd he ‘must’ve butt-dialed him’. It’s hysterical until Garmadon forgets Lloyd’s birthday, and the Lloyd onscreen gets the signature Sad Puppy Eyes Lloyd Look on his face — which, props to the actor, he nailed it — and everyone looks to Lloyd in sympathy.
“That’s rough, buddy,” Jay pats his shoulder. Lloyd rolls his eyes.
“It’s not me,” he says, shrugging again. Really, his dad forgetting his birthday is like, incredibly tame, compared to hurling him through a prison wall or six.
Now, forgetting he existed, that stings. But also, like, this isn’t his dad, so. Eh. He doesn’t really care.
“Is that supposed to be Misako?”
Never mind. He cares now.
“Are you—” Kai plasters a hand over his mouth, muffling this next part. “—kidding me?!”
“Oh, she’s, uh…really present, huh,” Cole winces, as ‘Koko’ encourages her son about being himself, and other really nice stuff Lloyd would have super appreciated hearing when he was younger.
He opens his mouth again, and Nya takes the opportunity to stuff more popcorn in it. Lloyd chomps down angrily, glaring at the screen and grumbling under his breath.
“At least you’ve shown up at all,” Jay comforts him. Lloyd is very much not comforted. He just wants to get through the rest of the movie in peace, and shift the focus off of him as quick as possible.
Oh boy, is he disappointed.
Like, he gets a few minutes of relief as the others are introduced, but that’s all, really. Even if it is hilarious.
“Hello, fellow teen.”
Cole makes a sound like a dying balloon, and Jay almost coughs popcorn out of his nose. Zane just presses his lips into a flat line, his expression unreadable. “I do not…know how to feel about this.”
Jay and Kai are doubled-over on each other by now, choking on laughter. Cole, bless him, is doing his absolute best not to burst into giggles, while Nya and Lloyd have given up and are full-out cackling.
“Well,” Zane says, eyeing them with a gleam in his eye. “Perhaps I should start updating my database with ‘teen lingo’ then—”
“No!” they all chorus in unison, waving frantically at Zane, earning several dirty looks from the people around them as they do.
“You’re perfect the way you are, buddy,” Jay says hastily.
Kai, at least, seems pretty steadily in character—
“Aw, look, I almost snapped your spine.”
“That’s a Kai hug, for sure.”
—and Nya’s thrilled about having a motorcycle. Jay’s a tad indignant at his character’s stuttering, but Cole reminds him he has zero room to talk, so Jay shuts up in time for Cole to shrug at his own portrayal.
“I like that shirt,” he remarks. “And those headphones are cool.”
Then the reality of the scene they’re watching sinks in.
“Wait, why are we in school?” Zane blinks, confused.
“Why are they being so mean to you?” Cole exclaims at Lloyd, taken aback.
Lloyd makes a face at the cheerleaders on screen, jerking his shoulder up as if to say ‘like I know’. Which is kind of a lie, because he does know, the movie told them, but he’s not gonna get into that. Kai is already fuming in his seat beside him, growing steadily angrier by the second. “Who do they think they are,” he hisses. “I’ll show them a number one hit.”
Lloyd rips his eyes from the screen, watching Kai in mild alarm. “Kai, you know that’s not actually me, right?”
“—tear those kids a new one—”
Lloyd cringes at the looks they’re getting from the people around them, patting Kai’s arm. “Chill out, Kai, seriously. This is like, basic Darkley’s stuff, don’t worry. And I walked away from that fine.”
Wrong thing to say. Kai swivels on him, his eyes flashing. “Wait. This happened to you at Darkley’s? For real?”
“Um…” Lloyd sweats briefly, the sounds of Boo Lloyd! coming from the screen really not helping at all. “I mean, I was a brat. I brought a lot of it on myself.”
Kai looks like he’s going to combust. “I swear—”
“Kai,” Lloyd interrupts, trying to quell the storm. “It’s fine. Seriously. I mean, there was this one time that four guys way bigger than me ganged up and hung me from a roof by my hoodie all night, but it wasn’t that bad. I’m fine.”
Kai’s face turns thunderous, matching the roar of Garmadon finally coming into view onscreen. “Wasn’t that bad?” he says, incredulous, gaining them several shh’s, mainly from Nya. Kai ignores them. “Point me to those punks, Lloyd, I’ll strangle ‘em—”
“Kai.”
“Wha — oh. Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“That — that was different.”
“Uh-huh.”
“…you — you weren’t there all night.”
“I sure was.”
“Oh.”
“Mm-hm.”
“Um. Sor…rry?”
Fortunately, both are saved by Garmadon smashing his way on screen in a giant shark mech with a full-scale crustacean-themed army, to which the ninja kind of just…stare. That’s — that’s the best they can do with that one. That, and be thankful Garmadon himself isn’t here to see this.
“I mean, to be fair, I can see him appreciating a song entirely about himself,” Kai mutters, as the chorus continues to yell about Garmadon!. “And — wait, Lloyd, are you filming this?”
“Uh, yeah?” Lloyd says, re-adjusting the zoom feature on his phone. “Now hush, I wanna save this and make it my ringtone.”
******************
The mechs are, admittedly, cool. Their total lack of ability to do Spinjitzu, way less so.
“That’s so not how Spinjitzu works,” Nya scoffs, as Sensei Wu finally makes an appearance, just in time for Lloyd to request wind as an element, which brings on another bout of choking.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Lloyd sighs. He then blinks rapidly. “Wait, where are our powers?”
“Nonexistent, apparently,” Zane murmurs. “Along with our common sense.”
“To be fair, that’s never been a reliable thing in the first place,” Jay points out.
The lack of common sense continues to be a trend throughout the movie, and by the time the ‘Ultimate Weapon’ comes up, things start to go downhill rather fast.
“Which, to continue to be fair, is also pretty in-character. This whole fight kinda is.”
The other ninja grumble in agreement as Lloyd runs off to confront his father alone despite all warning, and Lloyd begins to sink lower into his seat. He has a bad feeling he knows exactly where this is going, and sadly, he isn’t disappointed.
Well, for the most part.
“A cat?” Lloyd yelps, his eyes bugging out. “A giant cat?! How is that fair? All I ever get to fight is creepy part-reptile people who want to suck the power out of me, where do I sign up for this?”
“This is surreal,” Zane remarks, as Meowthra tears her merry way across the screen. The whole scene is a disaster, slo-mo destruction and everything, but it’s pretty much the standard fare they’re used to, so they really don’t bat much of an eye as the cat totally wrecks them.
“Nice to know we can’t catch a break in any universe,” Jay sighs sadly, as his mech is torn apart on screen.
“This movie is really beating the ‘don’t-challenge-dad-solo’ message over the head, huh,” Lloyd mutters, chin in his hand, having recovered from his brief bout of extreme-cat-heart-eyes.
Kai gives him a stink-eye. “Yeah, I wonder why.”
Understandably, the Lloyd onscreen is considerably upset at the apparent destruction of all his friends. The ninja are all incredibly curious as to where the movie is going to go next, though, since this Garmadon celebrates his victory by throwing a pretty sick party instead of building a skyscraper-sized stone Colossi of destruction and wrecking half the city.
“Kind of unfair,” Jay scowls, as the henchman do the conga onscreen. Nya’s got a smart comment to make back, but then the Lloyd onscreen reveals himself —
“In typical dramatic-Lloyd fashion, they got that right.”
“Oh, shut up.”
— and then proceeds to snap at the Garmadon onscreen, “I wish you weren’t my father.”
The theater goes remarkably quiet, as do the ninja. Cautiously, they turn to look at Lloyd, who is staring at the screen with a look on his face similar to if you’d shaken up a soda bottle really hard and were about to take the top off. Then—
“Oh, heck yeah, how’s that for karma, you over-powered conceited jerk of a dad,” Lloyd hisses viciously at the screen, punching his fist in the air. “He’s got the right idea, it’s my turn to start disowning family members. Screw ‘you’re not my son’, I’m gonna pull this one out next time and disown him—!”
“Lloyd,” Nya says, a bit nervously. “You know he’s, uh, he’s crying on screen now, right?”
“Yeah,” Lloyd spits.
“You, uh. You know you are too, right?”
“N-no.”
“Therapy,” Cole whispers to Zane. “So much therapy.”
“I’ve already booked us,” Zane murmurs back, sliding his phone back in his pocket. “If the office can simply manage not get blown for one more week this time, we might actually make it."
******************
While they do, however, manage to stay quiet for most of that scene — and isn’t Cole wildly impressed with them for that — the next scene kind of shoots that victory right into tiny little pieces.
“Why are we being so mean to you now?” Cole exclaims, flabbergasted, as the poor Lloyd onscreen looks seconds from tears, the rest of the team staring down at him with firm glares.
“Shh, this is getting dramatic,” Lloyd hushes him.
Nya gets a look on her face that promises murder, and Kai refuses point-blank to be shushed.
“What a bunch of jerks. We’d never do something like that, I’m going to have words with some people—”
“Jamanakai,” Lloyd just says, wearily. “Rooftop. All night.”
Kai deflates, sinking into his seat. “S’not the same,” he mutters, fiercely. “We never said all those mean things to you.”
Lloyd gently pats his arm. “There, there,” he says. “I know you didn’t mean it.”
“I never said it! It’s — it’s that imposter on screen, that’s who!”
“Kai, I know—”
Lloyd is interrupted by an unfortunately-timed declaration from the onscreen Jay.
“Now, we hate you.”
Lloyd blinks, almost surprised at the slight flare of hurt that sparks in his chest at that. Which is stupid, because these directors don’t know them, and that’s not really Jay, but hey, why not play into his worst fears, movie—
Then “Jay!” is hissed in scandalized unison, and Lloyd stuffs said worst fears back into box and tries not to snicker at the look on his brother’s face.
“It’s not me!” Jay defends desperately, waving his hands wildly. “That’s not me!”
“Deleting all data related to treating Lloyd as a friend.”
Jay is saved as everyone turns on Zane, who just buries his face in his hands. “Let it end,” he moans.
******************
Apart from being shocked that Sensei Wu is actually going with his ninja on their quest for the Ultimately Ultimate Weapon—
“It’s ultimate ultimate, did you miss that trip-inducing scene they explained it with?”
—they aren’t as surprised by things anymore after that, having caught on to the movie’s flow. It’s a little more slapstick than they’re used to, all bright colors and quick action, but it’s enjoyable to watch Garmadon and Sensei Wu snipe at each other, at least.
“Ten bucks says he survives just fine,” Cole says blandly, as Sensei Wu goes plummeting toward the river.
Not one of them take him up on that wager.
“Geez, they’re really roasting us for being morons in this, huh,” Jay observes, as their onscreen counterparts take the clearly-a-trap route, as per Garmadon’s advice.
Lloyd, who is still stewing about having his voice made fun of, bites out, “I think it’s pretty valid, for some of us.”
“Oh, suck it up already, Lloyd. Your voice changed anyways, get over it.”
“Are you saying I sounded ridiculous before?”
“Uh, no-o…?”
“Oh, there we go, getting humiliated again,” Nya sighs, as the ninja are cornered by Garmadon’s ex-generals. “I wonder why they didn’t give us our powers. You’d think they’d have capitalized on that, it’d look pretty cool.”
“Who knows. I’m still trying to figure out if my character’s love for music is a clever reference to me and my dad’s singing background, or just a shallow attempt to give me character at all,” Cole muses. They turn back to the movie just in time to wince in unison as the ninja onscreen flee, leaving Lloyd and Garmadon to be captured.
Kai is less than pleased with this development.
“Oh, so we’re just leaving Lloyd behind now? Who wrote this movie, I wanna talk.”
******************
By the time Garmadon’s teaching Lloyd how to throw bricks from a roof to some sappy soundtrack, then relocating his dislocated shoulder in a wild tone change, they’re mostly lost for words.
Also kind of enjoying the movie, though no one will admit it. The expressions are funny, and there are some lines that hit home. Sure, Lloyd spends a good ten minutes alternating between sputtering and gaping when Garmadon describes their family history, and only proceeds to get worse when everyone else receives powers and he gets a cute little tree branch, but it is fun to watch their onscreen counterparts run around to “I’ve Got the Power” playing cheerfully in the background. Plus, no one tries to ostracize Lloyd again, and it’s oddly satisfying to watch Garmadon get eaten by a giant cat, so by the time Lloyd’s trying to hide suspicious sniffling into the empty popcorn tub while his onscreen counterpart is giving Garmadon his big sappy speech about forgiveness, they might actually give the movie a decent rating.
Cole’s just happy they haven’t been thrown out yet, because they’ve really been pushing it this whole time. But finally, it seems like everyone’s settled down and is keeping perfectly quiet—
“What do you mean, he gets to keep the cat?”
Cole’s hopes and dreams go up in sad, despairing smoke.
“Wait, that’s what’s bothering you?” Nya blinks. “Not the whole, ‘this Lloyd gets his entire family back happy’ part, but the cat part?”
“Well yeah, I’m upset about the cat part!” Lloyd exclaims indignantly. “He gets a giant cat! The size of a skyscraper! What kind of raw deal did my grandfather cut me here, I didn’t even get to keep my dragon! This is so dumb, and — and oh look, now my dad’s all happy and stuff—”
Nya and Zane glance around in alarm. The movie-goers around them seem to be losing the last, lingering shreds of their patience, and Cole wisely decides that this might be a nice time to make an exit. The movie looks like it’s about over, anyways, and—
“—and what, they just have happy family dinners together now?!”
Yeah, they’re leaving.
******************
“Well, that was…enlightening,” Zane says blankly, as they exit the theater. He still looks tragically annoyed at the way the producers decided to portray him, but he’s mostly recovered by now. Probably because he torched his little movie poster on the way out, but who are they to judge.
“I think you mean infuriating,” Kai mutters, glaring at the theater as they leave it behind.
“I don’t know, it wasn’t so bad,” Nya says. “Like, they obviously decided to go for Lloyd’s very sensitive personal life as a focus point, so at least the rest of us got off alright.”
“Giant cat,” Lloyd mourns, clearly still more hung-up on that than Ninjago’s apparent obsession with his family drama.
“I just wanna try that lightning thing later,” Jay says. “Know any doors I can practice busting open dramatically?”
“Yeah, the door to the producer’s office,” Kai grumbles.
“Enough, guys,” Cole sighs. “It was a lot better than it could’ve been. Let’s just be happy the city still likes us enough to make us the heroes.”
They all nod at that, placated for now, at least. They fall into silence, carefully navigating their way home, until Jay breaks the quiet.  
“Your heroes on the wa-a-ay,” Jay murmurs. He’s met with five looks of equal disappointment. “What?” he shrugs. “It’s catchy.”
Cole rolls his eyes, and Kai scoffs. They fall back into silence for a beat, their footsteps the only sound on the street, then—
“Something-something save the da-a-ay,” Lloyd hums.
Jay beams, and Kai moans. Nya just grins. “Gonna something-something pla-a-ace—”
“That takes us higher!”
They dissolve into snickers, their mix of off-key singing echoing across the Ninjago City streets. Cole spares a sigh of despair at their attempt, but he can’t help grinning too. It is a catchy song, and, to be fair, for trying to capture their general team spirit, it comes pretty close.
A lot closer than half that movie did, he frowns. Though he does still want that shirt his counterpart wore.
“Hey,” Jay speaks up. “Let’s learn that Garmadon song next. We can sing it to him in battle.”
“Oh, now you’re talking.”
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king-finnigan · 4 years
Note
14. Bodyguard, and 63. Everyone mistakes them for a couple, geraskier.
Okay, not gonna lie, this one was a bit harder to write a drabble for (mainly because I was torn between canon compliance and modern AU)
***
It had all started when one slightly deranged fan had broken into his house. 
Really, no biggie, he had told himself, when the cops had arrived. Sure, it had been a bit scary, but really, all the girl needed was some psychological help. She meant no harm. So, he had decided not to press charges.
Which had gotten him into a lot of trouble with his manager and dad, who had yelled at him that oh my god, are you stupid, Julian? You could’ve gotten hurt! She won’t be the last, mark my words! 
The conversation (if you could call it that) had ended with his dad resolutely telling him he was going to hire his son a live-in bodyguard who would be by his side 24/7. Jaskier had protested, a lot, really, because what the hell is he supposed to do with a stranger in his house? Who even invented live-in bodyguards? What the hell was that all about?
His dad hadn’t taken no for an answer.
Which had led all the way to now. As Jaskier walks off the stage, he is immediately flanked by said bodyguard, Geralt. 
“Good show,” the guy mutters under his breath, one hand softly pushing against the small of Jaskier’s back, the other stretched out to ward off fans that are getting a little too close to be comfortable.
Jaskier scoffs, when they finally reach the private area of the concert hall. “Don’t lie to me, I know you hate my music.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s a bad show.”
“Alright, alright,” he pushes himself away from Geralt, his back burning in the spot where his bodyguard’s hand had been mere seconds earlier, “that’s enough, you don’t need to guide me as if I’m some lady from the 40′s who’s about to faint, Christ, dude.”
Geralt shrugs. “Just doing my job.”
Jaskier sighs, as he pushes open the door to the side alley, where his driver is waiting for him. Of course, he knows it’s Geralt’s job to make sure he gets to where he needs to be safely, but he also can’t stand the way the guy always looms over him with his big hulking form in a way that makes blood rush to his face and other, much lower parts of his body.
He stops dead in his tracks, halfway between the door and the car. Shit. He’s bloody attracted to the guy. 
Great, way to keep it professional, Jaskier - he tells himself, as he shakes his head and sighs, opening the door of the car, sliding onto the back seat. Geralt, as always, sits next to him, the ride home quiet.
He looks out the window, watching as the lights of the city flit by, smiling as people bustle around the never empty streets of London. He spots the park where he and Geralt had once taken a stroll. His bodyguard had been forced to hold his hand as to make sure he stopped straying away from the path to give anyone who recognized him an autograph. He had also accidentally fallen into the fountain that same day, and Geralt had given him his jacket to make sure he didn’t catch a cold, and he had bought Jaskier icecream after to cheer him up.
He smiles at the memory.
Half a mile later, he sees the bar they had once gotten absolutely hammered in - at least Jaskier had. Geralt had just rolled his eyes, and had eventually picked Jaskier up, carrying him outside over his shoulder to make sure he didn’t give himself alcohol poisoning. He remembers how weirdly comfortable it had been, being carried by Geralt, and how he had whined like a puppy when his bodyguard had put him down.
When he sees the bakery they get bread at every morning, he knows they’ll be home soon.
Really, despite his initial resistance, it had been fairly easy getting used to Geralt’s presence in the house. The guy was a great cook, honestly, and though they had avoided each other at first, they had eventually fallen into a comfortable rhythm, eating all their meals together, watching a movie or tv show on the couch every night, chatting, laughing, getting to know each other.
And he would never admit it to his dad, Geralt, or anyone for that matter, but he’s not so sure he wants to live without Geralt anymore. 
Finally the car stops in front of his- their house- no, his house. There is not ‘their’, there is no ‘them’, it would be completely unprofessional, and Geralt is exactly the kind of guy who is anything but unprofessional. And of course, Jaskier is a bit of a wild child, he’s never going to settle down. 
So why does he feel a pang of disappointment shoot through him as he realizes he and Geralt could never be a thing? Since when does he even consider the possibility of them being a thing? Since when does he want that?
Oh god, he realizes, as he gets out of the car, walking to the front door, acutely aware of Geralt’s presence behind him, I’m in love.
Fuck.
He sighs again, opening the door, letting Geralt in before he closes and locks it again for the night. He honestly, more than anything, would love to take a shower to wash the sweat of the performance off, but his eye is caught by a bunch of magazines lying on the table next to the door. 
Huh. His dad must’ve delivered them earlier that day, judging by the folded note on top of the pile of magazines that reads: “Julian.” His dad is the only one who still calls him that.
He folds the note open, frowning at the single sentence that is written inside. “This needs to stop.”
He cocks his head, laying the note on the table again, picking up the first magazine. On the cover is a picture of him and Geralt, that day in the park. They’re holding hands, and Jaskier frowns at the giddy expression on his own face as he looks up at Geralt, who has a small smile on his face. “Pop sensation Jaskier finally settling down?” it reads next to the picture.
Wait. 
They think Jaskier and Geralt are a couple.
He shrugs, putting the magazine down again. What’s the harm of a few people spreading rumours around? Could be worse.
Except the next magazine has a picture fo him, from that night at the bar, hanging over Geralt’s shoulder, giving the camera a dopey grin. Then, right next to it, a picture of him leaning against Geralt’s arm, once again looking up at the man with an expression that could easily be interpreted as adoration. Once again, Geralt is smiling. 
“Night out with new boyfriend?” it says next to the pictures.
Oh, okay, maybe two magazines are spreading rumours, what’s the problem with that?
Except the pile is at least fifteen magazines thick and Jaskier has a growing suspicion that they all have the same sort of front page. 
His suspicions are confirmed when he looks through the pile. Every single cover is adorned with a picture of him and Geralt, walking hand in hand along the Thames at night, at the bakery a few blocks away picking out pastries together, of Jaskier leaning on Geralt’s shoulder, of them smiling and giving each other looks that could barely be interpreted as anything other than loving.
And each and every magazine thinks they are a couple.
Well, shit.
And what’s even worse is that he wants the rumours to be real. 
He looks up when he feels eyes boring into him, and spots Geralt, now only dressed in a shirt and sweatpants, leaning against the door to the living room, arms crossed. “What’s that?”
Jaskier smiles weakly, holding up one of the magazines for a second. “A lot of people seem to think we’re a couple.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that.”
Jaskier cocks his head, putting the magazine back down on the pile. “Then why didn’t you say something?”
Geralt shrugs. “I thought you knew and didn’t mention it because you didn’t want to make it uncomfortable.”
“Well, you’re right.” Jaskier looks down at the pile, eyes caught on the way he adoringly stares at Geralt in the picture, and the way his bodyguard smiles back, “not about me knowing, but...” he shrugs “I don’t want to make this uncomfortable.”
“This?”
“Whatever...” he points between the two of them “Whatever it is we have going on.”
Geralt sighs, pushing away from the doorframe, running a hand over his face. “I don’t think I can be your bodyguard anymore.”
Jaskier’s heart cracks in his chest, and he doesn’t even try to fight to keep the hurt from his voice. “What? Why not?”
Geralt walks forward a few steps, stopping a foot or so from Jaskier. He sighs again, avoiding eyecontact, hand scratching at the short stubble on his jaw. “Because I’m in love with you. Which is highly unprofessional. That’s why.”
And, by the gods, Jaskier could kick and kiss this man at the same time. But, he decides his feet aren’t exactly a match against Geralt and he would probably only end up hurting himself if he were to kick the guy, so instead, he moves forward, cradling Geralt’s face in his hands, kissing him.
After a short moment of hesitation, Geralt kisses back.
He pulls back after a few seconds, Geralt’s face still in his hands. “Hmm,” he mutters, “guess I’ll have to find a new live-in bodyguard.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Geralt says, pulling him in for another kiss.
***
Send me two tropes from this list and I’ll write a short drabble for them!
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