#and for that I apologize | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

luimagines · 1 year

Note

Oooooh, another one! What about the reader accidentally letting out which one is their favorite? Because they have a bit of a crush on them? ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 take care, ily ^^

..... Anon, I adore you and your brain. I'm doing this.

Masterlist

Immediate Reader! Boys under the cut!

It was a pleasant day all things considered. You were lost in your own thoughts as the group traveled.

You could hear them talking and teasing each other and vaguely you could see them rough house with each other. But nothing other than that registered.

You kept your head down and you kicked a stone ahead of you. It bounced off of other rocks and rolled through the dirt until it came to a stop.

One of the boys calls your name. “Hey! We have a question.”

You don’t look up and kick another rock. “Yes? How can I help you?”

“Which one of us is your favorite?”

Hyrule

“My favorite Link is the Traveler.”

Said Link’s head snaps up in question and his jaw drops. “...Really?”

Some of the other sighs and nods their heads in understanding.

You trip over yourself. It was not you intention to actually answer their question.

“I get it.” Wild holds his hands up in surrender. “I would argue that point but I get it.”

“He is pretty great.” Sky adds on. “He is definitely worthy of that spot.”

“Yup.” Wind nods. “I can’t even be mad.”

Hyrule’s face slowly turns pink. He looses his nerve to keep his head up, alternatively covering his face with his hands so that he doesn’t have to look at everyone.

You let out a small breath. The attention is off you for now. This is fine. Better than fine, actually. Besides, Hyrule deserves it.

You nod along, happy to have started this train of thought. “He’s the coolest out of all you.”

He squeaks.

You bite your grin like your life depends on it. He can’t know why you’re saying this. He can’t get even the slightest hint of your true feelings.

“He is a hero in his own right and we’re glad to have him as our brother.” Warrior claps the poor boy on the shoulder, nearly sending him face first into the soft earth beneath him.

Hyrule coughs and stumbles but he manages to let his hands fall just below his eyes. “...Thanks...”

You snap your head pointedly in the other direction. Hyrule is completely beet red from the tips of his ears to below his neck and under his tunic. It’s cute. He’s cute. He’s so cute!

You can hear him clear his throat and bashfully look up at the others. “You guys are pretty cool too.”

“But you can do magic~” Legend claps the other shoulder of the Traveler. “And none of us can do that.”

Hyrule groans. “That’s not true! you all have your ways of magic-”

“Ah-ah! With weapons and tools.” Legend amends. “You don’t need that.”

You grin, feeling your own happiness be buoyed by Hyrule being recognized for his talents.

“Not to mention his innate talent of picking a direction and it being the right one.” Twilight continues. “He has incredible sense of direction.”

“So naturally, our friend has a lot of reason to think he’s the best of us.” Time says and adds a cheeky wink. “I can’t complain with that.”

Four grins and skips ahead to bump your hip with his. “So are these the reasons you like him then?”

Your grin drops, your blood going cold in your veins.

Four’s grin widens, bordering on a knowing and malicious mischievous smile. “Can you name something else then?”

You turn to glare at the short boy but Hyrule catches your eye. For once, it’s to your chagrin. He looks up, almost hopeful and whatever you have to say.

You grit your teeth. ”Of course I have other reasons to like him.”

Four pokes your side and seals his fate. “What are they then?”

You step on his foot “on accident” and shrug. “He’s already embarrassed. I don’t see why I have to make it worse even if what you all said is true.”

“But what is it?” He says quietly, stopping you from storming off away from the snickering boys and their knowing smiles.

You stop and barely contain yourself from sagging. He looks so endearing. You have it within yourself to curse your fate. How are you going to dig yourself out of this one?

Warrior

“Warrior.”

Warrior actually trips on his feet and spins toward you.

“My condolences.” Legend snorts, firing the shot easily.

“Hey!” Warrior spins to him instead of acknowledging what you said. You take that as your escape and try to speed up your walk, trying to make your way to the front before anyone can look deeper into your subconsciously very honest answer.

“Wait- where are you going?” Wind calls after you.

You realize belatedly that you had disregarded any sort of subtlety in your attempt to escape the awkward conversation to follow. You cough and almost trip on your feet again but you manage to play it off. Until your voice cracks. Shush. It’s fine. “Nowhere don’t worry about it.”

Warrior makes an effort to jog up to you. He catches up to your fairly easily.

You wince and try to keep the grimace off of your face when you feel his hand on your shoulder. You can’t school your features fast enough when he appears in your vision.

He has a blinding smile on his face. “Are you serious?”

You can feel the blush slowly appear on your cheek even as you nod. You don’t want to seem rude and break eye contact. You were doing so well these past few weeks. This is not how you wanted to let him know.

“Of course they mean it.” Sky laughs somewhere behind you. You vow to get revenge on a later date. “They answered incredibly fast for it to be anything other than an honest answer. They’ve thought of it before.”

That seems to only goad Warrior further. “Really?”

Well, you think to yourself, at least he seems happy about it.

Warrior then has the audacity to giggle as the information process. “Well then... Aren’t I lucky?”

You snort and roll your eyes. You try to walk further ahead and get to the safety of Time- the one who to disperse shenanigans by being in his presence. You think it’s because Time is in his hero mode more often than not but you can appreciate the safety of being by his side. The boys won’t bother him too much. You should be in the clear if you can reach him.

“They’re running away.” Twilight remarks. “I wonder why.”

Now you spin around. “Shut up Twilight!”

Warrior only seems to beam. “Yeah, shut up Twilight.”

“You-” You turn to Warrior again but he looks so incredible pleased by this that you have to bite your tongue. “Don’t encourage them.”

“Aww... but aren’t I your favorite?” He leans close to your face.

Your face burns a bit brighter. “Nope. I never said that. You heard nothing.”

You turn and power walk away again. Warrior is fast on your heels much to your chagrin. Why, oh why, did your own tongue betray you?

Warrior actually grabs your wrist, gently slowing you don’t from your near sprint to safety. Time turns around at last to witness all of this. You plead your eyes. Save me, you tell him, get them to stop.

The menace in disguise smirks and raises an eyebrow only to turn around again. The illusion of safety shatters. He’s as bad as the rest of them.

Warrior is still laughing under his breath. “Oh come on, I can’t be all that bad, can I?”

You bite your lip, taking the chance to hold his hand. To your surprise, he takes the initiative to lace your fingers together and pulls you a little closer to his side. “N-no.... you’re not.”

“Good.” Warrior looks pleased with himself. “Don’t think too much on it. But if I had to say one thing.... You look cute when you blush.”

Now you hide your face in shame. You’ve been found out.

Four

“Four, of course.”

“Of course?” Twilight raises an eyebrow. You realize your mistake too late.

Four on the other hand, look like the cat that caught the canary. “I told you.”

You gawk and turn to look at the blacksmith, horrified by the implication of his words. Were you that obvious? Was he able to tell the entire time? Oh this is bad. This is very very bad.

Sky groans and run his hands through his hair- but it’s Hyrule who ends up coughing up a small bag of rupees.

You gawk some more, a small part of you daring to be offended. “You gambled on my answer!?”

Four turns to you with a grin. “I don’t gamble. I’ve made an investment.”

You clench your jaw and look away, trying to be as serious and collected as possible, not wanting to catastrophize just yet. “I take it back you’re no longer my favorite.”

Four actually looks concerned for a split second. “Wait. Please-”

“Who’s your favorite then?” Sky grins, leaning into your space. He has another cheeky smile on his face and you swear he’s more perceptive than anyone gave him the right to be.

You glare at him from the corner of your eyes and shrug, trying to appear nonchalant. It would work if you hadn’t picked up speed as well. “Wild is.”

Wild laughs in the background while Four runs up to catch up with you. “Oh come on we both know that’s not true.”

He’s joking but you feel like messing with him for a little moment. “Nope. I don’t even know who you are. What’s your name again?”

Four’s face drops. “Hey now.”

You turn to Twilight who’s watching with the biggest- if badly hidden smirk on his face. “Do you know who this is? Why is this sassy child left alone? Where are his parents?”

Twilight snorts and tries to clear his throat of the sound. “I have no clue.”

“Twilight, not funny.” Four glares.

You keep going forward, not sparring him a glance. Maybe if you keep this up it’ll die and then you can ignore that this ever happened. “Crazy. The wind almost sounds like it’s talking. Weird. Do you hear anything Warrior?”

Warrior raises an eyebrow and shakes his head. He’s not blind. Four may be oblivious but the smith isn’t blind either. Most of them know at this point that you’ve sweet on him. Warrior didn’t think you’d react this way, but then again he didn’t think you would answer so honestly to begin with. Now he can se that it wasn’t intentional. “No clue.”

“Oh come on! No you too!” Four all but shrieks.

You nearly crack a grin at the sound of his voice but you don’t give up. If anything you start walking faster once more.

“Hey!” Four calls after you, picking up speed as well. “Stop! Where do you think you’re going?”

“Away from this.” You answer.

“Oh so now you can hear me!” He yells and it breaks you.

You start laughing and take off running. You don’t even know where the group plans on going but you’re going to get there first.

Four tackles you.

You also shriek and try to fight him off. Four puts his arms by your head and pouts. “....Say it.”

You blink and only start to laugh harder than before. “You’re insane! Are you serious?”

Four blushes and looks away for a moment before meeting you head on once more. “Say it.”

“...No.” You grin.

Four frowns before he smiles and starts poking your sides. Your laughter starts to ring out through the forest.

“Who’s going to tell them?” Legend raise an eyebrow.

“Don’t you dare.” Wild chastises the other boy. “I still have money it.“

“You and me both.” Sky says quietly.

Sky

“My favorite person is Sky.”

“Awww...” Sky responds delightfully. “You’re my favorite person too.”

“Sky.” Four puts his hand to his heart. He dramatically takes a step back in mock betrayal. “You lied to me. I thought we had something.”

Sky grins and crosses his arms, intending on walking ahead of the group. “We could have, Smithy. But I like them more than you.”

You cough, trying to not choke on your own spit. You can feel your face burn up a bit even as Sky continues to tease and jest with the other boys.

Luckily, the attention is off of you for the time being.

You take a breath and calm down. You straighten up your tunic and fix your hair and smack your face enough to hopefully knock you out of the funk you’ve found yourself in.

That was too close for comfort.

You wiggle a bit, shaking your hands by your side before you stand straighter and hold your head up high. This is fine. So what if he knows. It’s not like you were lying. It’s was just the implications of your massive stupid school crush on the boy who holds the sword that seals the darkness. Hylia’s Chosen Hero.

You’re fine

You are not fine.

He’s incredibly intelligent. What if he figures it out? What if he doesn’t figure it out? What if someone else figures it out? What if they tell him before you can?

“Are you ok?” Time pokes your shoulder gently. “You seem a bit pale.... but also incredibly flushed.”

Time stops you from walking and puts his finger tips to your cheek first, before dropping them to under your jaw and lastly up to your forehead. He frowns. “You’re not getting sick are you?”

You put his hands down. “No, no, I’m ok. Honest.”

Sky managed to catch wind of that though. Before you could even register that he moved, he was already in front of you. “Are you feeling sick? You are a bit warm. Do you feel dizzy? Nauseous? Do you need to take a break?”

You can feel your face heat up more as a consequence which only spurs Sky on to keep looking you over. He frowns and ends up pulling you closer so that he can get a better look at your face.

It’s suddenly very hard to avoid eye contact- I wonder why. And yet, he’s being so incredibly gentle with you. So genuinely worried that you may be ill.

You’re heart is pounding within your rib cage. It threatens to jump out of your chest entirely. It even tries to escape through your throat, only to try dropping to your stomach the next.

Time clicks his tongue and takes pity on you. He pulls Sky away. “I know what’s the problem.”

Sky swerves to him. “You do?”

“You do?” You gulp. There’s too much going on. Your anxiety is spiking and your blood pressure is doing parkour on the charts and you think you’ve stopped breathing a while ago.

“They need to take a moment to rest.” Time gently puts his arm around your shoulders. “They’ll be fine. If they would take a nap it would be batter but we can take a break here. It’s around the time we should eat something anyway.”

Sky nods and looks back at you. Time stops him again. “Can you let the Champion know that they need something special to get their energy back?”

Sky’s eyes widen and he salutes the older man. “On it!”

Time grins and leads to a spot to sit your down. You gulp again, not wanting to face the Old Man. “...So... You know the problem?”

“Of course, love sickness is no laughing matter.”

“Oh my god, kill me.”

Time laughs and ruffles your hair. “I won’t tell him.”

“...Thank you.”

“Yet.”

“I take it back.”

“I’m kidding.”

“Are you?”

“Am I?”

You glare at him and punch his arm. Time only laughs louder.

Twilight

“Twilight is.”

Twilight doesn’t say anything but you can see him puff his chest out a bit in pride as he clasps his hands behind his back.

Wild rolls his eyes and drops his arm around your shoulders. ”Ok... fair. But who’s your second favorite. We have to settle a score here.”

You deadpan, borderline glaring at the boy next to you. “Wolfie.” You drop his arm. “Get off of me.”

Wild splutters and flails his arms round, trying to regain his mental footing. “You’re joking- You can’t be serious.”

“I said what I said.” You try to save face. You stare ahead, not wanting to give the boys the satisfaction of a reaction. “Twilight is great- actually, I take that back. Wolfie first, then Twilight. Wolfie wouldn’t ask me stupid questions.”

Wild actually seems to despair at your words. He whines a bit in the back of his throat. “Come on, work with me here. Tell me you’re kidding.”

Four is laughing. Silently. But he’s laughing. Now you’re sure you’re missing more information that you thought you were.

Twilight for his part is blushing but grinning from ear to ear. The look is cute on him and you try to not stare. You cough, clearing your throat and turning back to Wild. “Is there a problem with my answer?”

“Yes.” Wild sags forward like a puppet with cut strings. “But I can’t tell you what.”

“Nope.” Twilight interrupts and wraps his arm around Wild, lifting him up easily. “You’re answer is perfect Darlin’, don’t worry about it,”

You’re eyes widen, zeroing in on his bicep as it flexes to compensate for the weight of the other boy. You don’t want to pay too much attention.... but the sight is very magnetic.

You gulp a bit and tear your eyes away. This is a dangerous game. Your own cheek burn up a bit and you look down to the ground. You smile though. He called you Darlin’. “I won’t then.”

Twilight takes two steps forward and only then turns to look at you once more. “They made a bet.” He tells you. “And they didn’t expect your answer. Just Four.”

You snap your gaze to the smith. He has a splitting grin on his face. Four waves.

You pout but wave back. Four laughs louder.

Twilight seems to miss the meaning of your exchange but he laughs quietly as well. “Don’t take it to heart. You know we care about you.”

“I can’t believe this.” Wild groans. Twilight puts him back on the ground, gently hitting the side of the younger boy’s head. “I could have sword-”

“Hush.” Twilight ruffles his hair and pushes the champion forward. “I’m the favorite. So what?”

“Yeah, so what?” Four is giggling like a mad man as he slide up next to you. “I was right.”

“I lost that bet.” Wild sighs.

“You did.” Four place both of his hands behind his back. “You can pay me later.”

“I hate all of you.” You whine.

Four snorts. “Except Twilight.”

“....Shut up...”

“I know whyyyy~~”

“Tell him and I smite you, Smithy.”

Four smirks. “I wouldn’t dare. But getting you see you tell him yourself would be a treat.”

“Not happening.”

“Yet.”

“Ever.”

“We’ll see.”

You start power walking away. He’s too perceptive for his own good. You’ll take this to your grave if you have to. Just like telling... he’s your favorite... Oh my god, you might actually blurt it out. You despair similar to Wild. Four is plotting now and Twilight is going to be hit in the crossfire.

Wind

“Wind is my favorite.”

The pirate perk up and cheers. “Yeeeeaaahh!!!! You can all suck it!”

“Easy Sailor.” Warrior rolls his eyes. He’s not surprised, if a bruised in his ego considering Wind instantly rubbed it in.

Wind grins and runs up yo you, taking your hand and lacing your fingers with his. “I am the favorite.”

You cough and blush a bit. You didn’t necessarily want him to know that but he looks happy and you’re telling the truth and he’s holding your hand. So you don’t feel like complaining.

You only hope tat your palms don’t start to get sweaty and that it bothers him.

“I am the favorite~!” Wind sings, swinging your arms back and forth dramatically.

Legend groans loudly and gently knocks the back of Wind’s head with his wrist. “Ok. We get it. You win.”

Wind giggles, unbothered by the act. His cheeks go a bit pink and it travels up to his ears. It’s cute. “I win and you lose.”

You begin to blush, squeezing his hand a little tighter. You didn’t think it was that big of a deal. The other boys seem to be in a similar boat than you.

They roll their eyes and act annoyed, but some of them seem very happy by it. Whether it’s because Wind is happy by it or not, you’re not sure. But you can see the way the sneak little satisfied and pleased smiles when they look at the two of you.

Wind lets go of your hand suddenly and it feel cold. He swings his arms around your shoulders and pulls you closer, nearly throwing you off of your feet. He has a bright smile on his face. It’s lovely.

“Since I’m your favorite it means that you’re on my side, right?” He grins conspiratorially.

“Wind, what are you planning?” Twilight looks over with mock disapproval.

“Nothing.” Wind cries out, shaking you a little bit in the process. He turns to you with the same grin. “Right?”

You nod, not trusting your mouth to not betray you once more.

Wind’s Cheshire Cat grin gets impossibly wider. “See! Nothing to worry about.”

“There’s always something to worry about.” Warrior laughs. “Especially when you say it like that.”

“Quiet you.” Wind points a finger at him before turning to you again. “So you’re on my side right?”

You giggle and nod along. You don’t know what he means exactly, or what he’s planning, but you know that you’re going to be side regardless. So there’s no point in lying to him.

Wind cheers again and laughs. “Good!”

You hum and hug the arm that wraps around the front. You knew that Wind could get excitedly easily but this wasn’t what you were expecting.

“And you know what?” Wind proclaims loudly for the whole group to hear. “You’re my favorite too. You’re much cool than the Captain or Time.”

“Hey-!”

Time just smiles.

Wind sticks his tongue out. “It’s true.”

Time laughs under his breath. “I concede.”

“I don’t!” Warrior cries out. “I’m cool!”

“You’re not.”

You laugh louder and miss the look on Wind’s face. He looks prouder in this instance than the last. As if he was trying for that all along.

Time

“Time.”

“Yes?” The man in question turns around and looks at you. It appears that he wasn’t paying attention either.

“Oh.” Wind calms down. “Well that’s no fun.”

“It explains a lot though.” Legend scoffs. “Those two are more similar than anyone of us are going to admit.”

“What are you boys talking about?” Time raises an eyebrow.

“They say you’re their favorite.” Twilight provides with a mild deadpan expression.

You don’t react nor do you say anything. You didn’t expect yourself to have your guard lowered to that extent. You can feel a faint blush bloom across your features.

You knew that you had admired him. Time was strong, kind and determined in ways that seemed to seamlessly take your breath away. It was nothing major and you were sure it was going to die away like the stupid school yard crush that it was.

If you weren’t looking up before, this time it’s completely intentional.

Time looks over to you and smiles. “Is that so?”

Your blush deepens. “It’s nothing.”

Time smirks and turns back around to keep the group moving forward. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ohhhhh no. You don’t like that. Nope. That spells trouble. He already has something planned.

Time chuckles under his breath and winks. At least, you think so.

You didn’t even notice when you looked up to see that. You’re head snapped up for all you knew.

Warrior catches your reaction and nudges your shoulders with his elbow. You unfortunately glance his way and he bounces his eyebrows suggestively.

You shove him away. He laughs.

Within moments you think the matter is dropped and you go back to minding your own business. That is until... he starts walking next to you.

“I’m your favorite?”

You trip over your own feet. Time catches you by the arm and pulls you back onto your feet. “Easy there. I can’t have you falling for me, now can we?”

You cough and straighten yourself the best you can. “Nope. That would be... unwise... and painful... and dumb.”

“Aw, I can’t be that bad.” He gently flicks the side of your head. You’re too flustered to really fire back any lines. You still can’t believe that you admitted to him being your favorite as quickly as you had. Should you lose your nerve, you could do a lot of damage.

“No... I suppose you’re not.” You flick him back. It hurts you a bit more than it hurts him. You had flicked his arm guard but the sentiments are still there.

“In that case then maybe you can answer some questions of mine.” Time replies easily enough.

You’re guard goes up about as much as you can handle when it comes to this man. Which is to say that if he asked you to jump into the river you doubt you would have any second thoughts.

You gulp and nod, putting your hands behind your back. “What is it?”

“If I were to do this-” Time leans over and gets into your personal space, just shy of brushing his cheek to yours. You’re heart starts pounding. You’ve completely stopped breathing.

He doesn’t say anything else and you’re both stuck in that position for a while until he pulls away, satisfied with whatever conclusion he came to. “Interesting. Thank you for your answer.”

You gulp for air. “Bu-but I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.”

And then he walks away.

Wild

“I love the Champion.”

Wild trips over himself for a second before he stands up and sends the most blinding smile your way.

Your face explodes into a blush and you smack you hand over your mouth. You clear your throat and smack your cheeks a bit. Hopefully, it looks like the smack gave you the pink cheeks instead of your own emotions betraying you.

Wild starts walking straighter with what you would only call a ‘pep in his step’. Warrior snickers from your right side, throwing his arm around your shoulders. “I can’t say that I’m surprised.”

“Captain, please-”

“You are sweet on him.” He winks at you.

Your face darkens without your consent and you cross your arms. You want to cover your face but you have the littlest inkling that it would be more incriminating than if you just let it run its course.

Wild begins to giggle incessantly. He bounds up to you and can feel your neck begin to lose inches. He gets right up to your face and Warrior laughs behind your back. Warrior lets you go and you’re left alone to deal with the Champion. While every one else watches.

Wild gets a little cheeky and pokes your cheek. “Interesting choice of words.”

By the gods- Someone just pitch you into the sun already. You nod. “Yup. Uh-huh.”

Wild then wraps his arm around your shoulders. “Nice. Noted.”

“Oh my god.” You clear your throat and hang your head in shame. “Yes. I said it. what of it.”

Wild picks up a bit of your hair and you can feel him twirl it around his finger. “Do you mean it?”

“You’re impossible.” You huff and look away even though you make no move to pull away from him. “Of course. You’re my favorite. That’s that. Don’t make me change my mind.”

Wild grins and pulls you closer. You can feel your hip hit his and his grip get tighter around. “It’s ok. I love you too.”

“Huzzah.” You try to say as monotonely as possible. “I feel so relieved. Happy day. This is the best day of my life.”

Wild giggles. “You’re so mean.”

You feel yourself softening up. “Now we both know that’s not true.”

“Kiss and make up somewhere else please!” Legend calls out, interrupting your moment together.

Wild actually pulls away from you for a moment and glares at the other hero. “Jealous?”

“Not really.” He shrugs. “But it’s a bit much to forget about the rest of us while we’re here.”

“You started it.” You point out and accuse the other boy. “You asked the question and I gave my answer. This is your fault.”

Sky starts laughing. His shoulders shake and you can see the amount of effort it takes for him to keep silent. You deadpan and let your shoulders drop. “Sky... you’re the worse.”

He laughs a little louder.

You miss the looks Hyrule and Twilight send to Wild but he becomes indignant and pointedly turns your way and kisses your cheek making you freeze on the spot.

“There. I did it. Screw you both.” Wild growls.

You blink and give up on trying to keep your dignity. Your hands fly over your face and fall into a squat. The group stops to let you have your moment.

Time rolls his eyes. The heart of youth... He doesn’t envy it.

Legend

“It’s Legend.”

“Oh snap, really?” Wild turns his head to look at you.

You take a moment to let the comment sink into your head and then you turn to him, offended on Legend behalf. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Yeah, Champion. What is that supposed to mean?” Legend walks up to him and glares at him. It doesn’t do much considering the other hero is considerably taller.

You take the moment to get away and leave the situation before the tension rises and it inevitably leads back to you.

“Wait! No no nonono nono. Hold up.” Four calls after you. “Where do you think you’re going? I want to know why he’s your favorite.”

You cringe and stop mid-step. “Do I really need a reason?”

“Yes-” “I mean-” Legend interjects. “Of course you don’t.... But I wouldn’t mind hearing it.”

You turn to him. A part of you wats to feel betrayed but then you see his face. He can’t even stand to make direct eye contact with you. He keeps his head down as he scratches the back of his neck. He kicks the dirt from under his boot with his toe and his cheeks and ear are delightfully pink.

To everyone else that is.

You can feel your face heat up similarly and cough into the back of your hand. “Well... What am I to say?”

Time takes mercy on you. “Nothing.”

He smiles and walks up to you to put a hand on your shoulder. He spins you around and pushes you forward by the small of your back, keeping you from looking back to where the rest of the boys are congregated. “They owe no one an explanation and you shouldn’t expect one from them either.”

You sag your shoulders in relief. Thank you, Old Man Time.

You feel as if you can walk in silence now and not have to worry about anything. With Time’s intervention on the matter, it’s been set to rest and no one would dare bring it up again without your approval.

And you don’t plan on handing it out any time soon.

At least, that was your idea. You’re about an hour from the break when you can feel someone slide up to your side. You stick your courage to the sticking place and lift your head to peak at who it might be.

It’s Legend and butterflies instantly fly through your stomach up to your throat. You try to cough and send them on their way, but a few stubbornly hang on.

Legend mistakes this as you try to get his attention and you clamp your mouth shut in horror. “So uh... About what you said... you didn’t even think twice about it.”

“Nope.” You blurt out, cursing the butterflies as you go. “I don’t need to.”

Legend nods and smiles. He takes a moment to look at the other boys. They are trying and failing to hide that they are ever so curious about your conversation with the boy next to you. Legend takes it as a need to be quieter so he leans in and whispers. “Do you want to know a secret?”

You lean in as well, happy to humor him and ready for a change in conversation. You whisper back. “What is it?”

You can feel more than see the way Legend breaks into a grin. “You’re my favorite too.”

You snap your head up, unable to hide the blush on your face. You cover your mouth with your hand but nod. “...ThAnks...”

You clear your throat some more. The butterflies are now messing with your voice. No one is going to be able to take you serious after this.

Legend takes the reaction in stride- dare you say pride- and shrugs. “And thank you.”

“...Of course.”

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader #this might be shorter than I intended #and for that I apologize

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dave-me0wstaine · 7 months

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feeling so feral for 90s dave rn… he’s more mature, knows how to really push all your buttons just right. also eats pussy like a fucking animal and loves when you pull his hair while he’s doing it.

P OMG YESSSS i LOVE the idea of a mature 90s dave who knows how to make your toes curl with pleasure. he's already very experienced, but because you've been together for a while, he knows you inside and out, and consequently knows exactly how to make you feel amazing.

and omg he loves eating your pussy. honestly he eats like a man starved, giving your clit wet licks and kisses, plunging his tongue deep inside of you repeatedly, fucking you with it. he especially loves overstimulating you because it means you pull on his hair to try and pry him off of you.

like IMAGINE he's eating you out and overstimming you to the point that it's borderline painful, so you tangle both of your hands in his hair and try to pull him off of you. he comes up for a second but immediately he's diving back into eating you out, licking and sucking at your heat even harder and more fervently than before, his strong arms holding you in place while you wriggle in his grasp. and his hair is so knotted and messy from your hands tugging at the strands, but all he can do is groan into your pussy and hump the bed while he overstimulates you to the point of tears <33

#this turned into less of mature experienced dave #and more into dave eating you out like a crazed man #and for that i apologize #but also not really #dave mustaine #dave mustaine smut #dave mustaine x reader #dave mustaine fanfiction #megadeth #megadeth smut #megadeth x reader #megadeth fanfiction #asks

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nico-di-genova · 5 months

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Keep to the Line Chapter 3

Summary: Charles' week at Milton Keynes wraps up as he reflects on his time with Ferrari. Arthur prepares for his F2 debut.

Once again, a huge thank you to @lestappenforever for beta reading and continuing to motivate me with discussions of engineer!Charles.

It is snowing the night before Charles is meant to return home to Monaco. Sitting by the window of the pub that Max had managed to coax him into coming too, fingers wrapped loosely around the pint in his hands, Charles watches the eddies of snow swirl around in the sharp winter air and thinks about the sea. It is a good distraction from the noise of the pub, which is currently occupied by half the Milton Keynes technical staff and one very boisterous Max Verstappen.

“Just come out for a drink, mate,” Max had pushed in the car they’d shared back to the hotel earlier, “Meet the rest of the team, yeah?”

Charles, cold and headache forming from a long day of staring at screens, had every intention of turning down the invite. He’d been ready to politely decline, scurry up to his room, order in dinner and spend the rest of the night going over his notes from the day. Max had tried out the Melbourne circuit for the first time in the new car, and he’d wanted to review their sim report. But Max had asked, and Charles hadn’t known how to say no, not without sounding rude. He’d already turned down Max’s offers to dinner earlier in the week, and the repeated request to come play FIFA in his room. Charles figured he owed Max this one thing, especially when the olive branch had been extended so many times now that this might just be the last one before the Dutchman gave up entirely.

“Just one drink?” he had asked, wary.

Max had smiled, wide enough that his eyes crinkled. Charles couldn’t help but think he looked so much younger when he smiled like that, like the boy Charles had once known.

“Just one drink,” he’d promised.

That had been three hours ago. Charles, per his word, was still on his first beer. Max was on what Charles had estimated to be his fourth gin and tonic. He was loudly explaining the rules of padel to a group of technicians at the bar, while Charles absentmindedly ran his thumb along the glass in his hands. The headache pulsing just behind his eyes was on the verge of unbearable - the result of spending the entire week looking at data and numbers on screens that were too bright in a sim room that was kept too dim. Max did not seem to share this problem, not if the way he was bordering on shouting was any inclination.

Keep Reading

#listen #I deleted this chapter like three separate times #I needed it to be the best it can be #even if it is a bridge chapter #and for that I apologize #but also I am proud of this one #lestappen #formula 1 #keep to the line #my fic

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bruggle · 6 days

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Heck it, people are putting out sneak peaks, (looking at you @waythroughtheice) so here. The entirety of a self endulgent bs piece I'm slowly writing through. Not done, but I got a beginning, a small middle, and an end.

Because I like hurting people.

And idk if I'll fully finish this thing.

So here

Guilt ate at Brook as she made her way to the ruins. What was she doing? She knew better than to even attempt something this stupid! And yet...

Omega had disappeared; X had proven far too much for the crimson Cyber Elf, forcing him to retreat in order to avoid a true death. Brook was hovering over Volnutt; there wasn't much she could do. (Dang, even in death, she was still a weak link.) But after revealing herself, Omega had been... reluctant, almost, to get too close to her. She had used that to her advantage to help Volnutt avoid the worst of his blows, but even then. The poor boy had barely survived the ordeal.

Luckily, she had managed to use some of her energy in order to send a distress signal over Volnutt's communication device. The one that was linked directly to their father; hence his (very pissed off) presence. X turned to his children, a panicked look growing on his face as he noticed that Volnutt was unconscious. "He's okay," Brook assured him. "Just... wasn't... prepared for that." X let out a long sigh of relief as he looked to the ceiling of the ruins before fixing her with a hard look. "You knew," he accused. "That’s why you tried to talk him out of it." Brook looked away. What was she supposed to say at that? She couldn't deny it, but...

X let out a disappointed sigh, leaning down to gently pick up his youngest. "We will discuss this later," he told her, that hard look taking on an edge of anger. Brook had messed up in the past, but this? This was by far the worst one. What had she been thinking? As X turned to leave the ruins, Brook slowly began to float after him. However, the sudden appearance of a familiar presence behind her made Brook freeze. Fear forced her to look straight ahead. She almost called out to X, but before she could, Omega whispered in her ear. "Meet me tonight,"

And in all her infinite wisdom, she had nodded.

So here she was, after having just gone through an hour long lecture about exactly how dumb she had been for keeping Omega's existence a secret, going out to meet him in the middle of the night.

What.

Was wrong.

With her?

She had been trying desperately to talk herself out of it, but it wasn't working. What if it's a trap? Then... it wouldn't make sense for him to let her go in that instance if he wanted a hostage. What if he just wants to kill her? Again, it didn't make sense for him to have let her go when

he did. X would have had no time to notice, let alone stop it, if that's what Omega had wanted. So it wasn't even a matter of avoiding another fight.

There just... wasn't any way to figure what it was that he wanted other than to speak to him face to face. Which left Brook a mess. The last time they had spoken like this, it had ended in a fight. Omega far too sure that Weil had humanity's best interest at heart, while Brook had been adamant that he was just using Omega for his own gain. (She wishes she had been wrong.)

Upon reaching the entrance of the ruins, Brook took in a deep breath she did not need. Being a Cyber Elf was weird. There was no need for air, but Brook found it comforting to make the movements anyway; reminded her of her humanity. Something she refused to lose even now. In any case, the time for musing was not now. She had a psychopath to meet.

Floating her way through the ruins, Brook yet again chose to keep herself hidden. She still wasn't sure how effective it was, as Omega's full attention had been on Volnutt the last time she had tried it. But hey, anything was better than nothing. She still didn't have a backup plan in the offhand chance things went wrong. (Why was she so sure it wouldn't?)

The sudden feeling of arms wrapping around her middle made Brook give out a shriek. As she attempted to fight them off, a familiar chuckle was heard from behind. "Seems that I've caught a fish," Omega said in a smug tone; and despite the 'heart attack' Brook just suffered, she couldn't help the winded laugh that escaped her lips. Well, there was the answer to that question.

"Fuckin' asshole," Brook breathlessly grinned. "Let me go." The former reploid seemed to hesitate for a moment, before loosening the grip he had around her. Brook quickly stepped out of his grasp and turned to look at him. While she had, of course, seen him as he had been beating down her poor baby brother (and when X was handing the red clad Cyber Elf's ass to him); the amount of changes he had gone through still... suprised her, to say the least.

He didn't look as... human as he used to. No, the only thing Brook could compare him to was a dragon. Even as they were closed, Brook could tell his wings were massive. They were made of the same cybernetic fibers her own were, but linked in such a way as to remind her of a bat. He was still clad in the same crimson armor she remembered; but it was seemingly fused with what she remembered of Weil's Omega Armor. Especially in his helmet, she realized with a shudder. God, that brought up some unpleasant nightmares.

She hated not being able to see his face fully.

Omega knew she was appraising his appearance; he seemed to be preening at it even. (Asshole.) "Like what you see?" he teased. Brook gave him an exaggerated scoff. "Not really," she snarked. "Can you take off that stupid helmet?" Omega cocked his head at the request, a smirk making its way onto his face. "Oh?" he mused, stepping towards her. "Now, why would you want that? Is there something you're missing?" Brook fought to keep the blush off her face; it was strictly because she did not like being reminded of her near death experience. Thank you very much! She did not miss anything about him!

Brook gave the draconian Cyber Elf a half-hearted glare. "As if," she muttered, taking a step back. "Just, not a big fan of the stupid thing." Omega regarded her for a minute before letting out a chuckle as he reached up,

And slowly removed the white helm.

It surprised Brook how much seeing his blood-red eyes set her at ease. (Damn, she didn't think she was that unnerved at the reminder of Weil.) They looked exactly as they had all those years ago, just now accompanied by lizard-like pupils. "There," the former reploid said, an amused glint in his gaze. "Better now?"

Brook gave him a glare. "No," she lied. "I've changed my mind. Put it back on." Omega gave her a bewildered look, causing her facade to crack. As she began snickering, the white clad cyber elf gave her his own glare. "I had forgotten how indecisive human females are," he grumbled.

"Pretty sure that's just me," Brook grinned. "Given that I'm not... you know... human anymore."

Omega gave her a hard look. Slowly, he reached out to her; gently cupping her face. How long had it been since she felt anything? Nothing but other cyber elves could touch her. "How?" he demanded.

Brook gave a hard swallow. "We're not - We're not entirely sure," she stammered. "X has theories, but... nothing concrete." Omega gave a sort of thinking hum, beginning to pull his hand away. Without thinking, Brook covered his hand with her own; keeping it against her face. She stood stock still. Had she really just done that? Omega had a slight look of surprise; but slowly, his expression softened as he stepped closer.

"Where have you been?" he asked softly. How did she explain it? "Around," she whispered. "Home. Becoming a cyber elf... didn't exactly... agree with me. I uh... I couldn't remember much of anything for a damn good while. But I knew home was important. Kept people from ransacking the place."

"And after that?" he asked, a slight accusory tone to his voice. "After you began to remember?"

Brook took a deep breath. She knew what he was asking. "I didn't know how much you remembered," she breathed. "It'd been... so long and -"

"You think I'd forget?" Omega snarled, his grasp tightening a fair amount. Not enough to hurt her, never. Never her. but enough to make her wince. "Not you," Brook assured the white clad cyber elf. "But... I didn't know what Weil did to you. That suit... I had no idea how it worked. Did it just suppress you? Did it delete your personality? I couldn't -"

Omega's grip loosened. Slowly, he brought his second hand up to her face, cradling it as he pulled her closer. Gently, he rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. "I've missed you," Omega whispered. Brook nodded, her grasp tightening on his hand. "I'm sorry," she breathed. "I just - I didn't -"

His lip curled. "You want me," he snarled. "To forgive X? After everything he's done?" Brook let out a sigh. She knew this was a touchy subject. "Omega -"

"He exiled me into space," Omega interjected; pacing the floor, anger evident on his face. "For one hundred years. And I was aware the entire time. Do you understand what that did to me?!"

"No," she admitted. "But... Omega, he lost everything thanks to Weil. Thanks to you. And I know. I know. You were in that fucking suit. It wasn't entirely you but...

"He lost Zero. He lost Axl. He lost me. You lost me thanks to that asshole. You were just... easier to blame. And it wasn't right, I'm not saying it was, but..." Brook let out another sigh. "If the roles were reversed, you would have killed him."

"Don't ask me to choose," Brook begged. "You know what I'm going to choose."

As Brook entered the houseboat, her heart sank at the sight of X in the kitchen. Nursing a mug of coffee in his hands, he looked like he hadn't slept much. Why did she do this to him? "You were out late," he noted. Brook hesitated. "I was," she agreed. X slowly nodded. "See anything?" He asked, taking a hard swallow.

And she knew.

She knew what he was asking.

She wanted to cry.

She wanted to yell. Scream. Tell him he isn't her father. Anything she would have done at sixteen. But she couldn't. It wasn't fair to him. It wasn't fair to her.

"No," she lied instead. Why.

If X knew she was lying, he didn't give any indication of it. That made it worse. Rather, he just let out whatever breath he had been holding. And not for the first time, she wished she could hug him. Grab his hand. Something. She hated this existence. It barely counted as one. "Alright," X replied simply, gathering his dish as he stood from the table. Brook watched as he emptied out its contents and placed it in the sink. Why does she do this.

But she knows why. Her heart wants two things at once. It always has.

As X passed her on his way back to his room, he paused. "Brook," he said, although it sounded a lot more like pleading. "You know I love you, right?"

She nodded.

She was going to cry.

"And you know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

Not this.

Not now.

She nodded.

He opened his mouth as if to say more, but thought better of it.

Instead, X continues on his way to his room.

She can't leave it at that.

"X?" Brook called, causing him to immediately stop. He turned to her, a hopeful glance in his eyes.

A lump forms in her throat.

"I love you, too," she honestly tells him. He's just not ready.

A look of relief washes over his face, although they both know that's not what the problem is. What it has been. She's done nothing but hurt him since they met. She wonders why he bothers.

But what else can she do?

Curse her stubbornness.

Damn her heart.

She hates being a Cyber Elf.

#be quiet bruggle #writing #legends reborn au #self indulgent #bleh #this legit caters to nobody except me #and for that i apologize

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thatscarletflycatcher · 4 months

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I might be interested in that “Sherlock writers/producers power trip” stuff 👀

Calling it a power trip was a bit dramatic of me XD but I do think the creators of Sherlock had a... weird relationship with the character of John Watson. He gets two different and incongruous characterizations, and I don't understand the rationale behind it.

The most clear example of this for me is how this changes between the Unaired Pilot and A Study in Pink. The Watson of the UP is self assured, practical, intelligent, competent, moral (if somewhat grim and with a veneer of darkness lurking beneath the surface) and mature. The Watson of ASIP is insecure, impractical, rather dumb, extremely loyal to a person he just met for no reason, a failure of a petticoat chaser, and essentially an adrenaline junkie. And these are two versions of the same story.

On the UP, the first meeting between Sherlock and Watson is marked by Watson's curiosity and earnest admiration about Sherlock's deductions; the same scene in ASIP shows us Watson being taken aback by Sherlock's behavior. When they are at the scene of the crime and Sherlock asks Watson if he's aware that he's speaking his appreciative remarks out loud, UP Watson just calmly asks if that bothers Sherlock; ASIP!Watson hurries to apologize. And in general he hesitates, apologizes and feels out of place much more across the latter version.

In the UP, what "cures" Watson's limp is that he notices that something has gone wrong with Sherlock's attempt at dealing with the cabbie, and he jumps to go help/save him. Watson is a doctor, his vocation in life is centered around helping and saving people; his psychological symptoms are caused by a sense of purposelessness, as he's been discharged after being wounded, and lives on a military pension. Now that he has met Sherlock and realized the ways in which Sherlock is self-destructive, he has found new purpose. ASIP, by replacing this for a foot-chase, replaces this element of characterization (intelligence, moral fiber, decisiveness) with... John is just an adrenaline junkie -and doubles down upon this through Mycroft words, and by removing from the ending scene the lines where Sherlock calls Watson "my doctor", and Watson tells Lestrade off by reminding him that Sherlock must eat if he is to be useful in future. In both versions we have the set-up of the gun Watson keeps in his drawer (that he may come to use to kill himself) and the payoff (that he ends up using to save Sherlock's life); but whereas in the UP it is of a piece with the characterization I mentioned above, in ASIP it feels like a leftover they couldn't remove because it was so deeply baked into the plot.

The framing of Watson's killing of the cabbie is also different between UP and ASIP: in the UP, we only see Watson leaving the restaurant, then the cabbie dying, and "realize" with Sherlock who the shooter was. It is implied that he guessed where the cabbie was taking Sherlock, called the police, made a detour to pick up his gun, and then headed to Baker Street where he chose the vantage point of a house across the street, from which he watched the cabbie and Sherlock, and waited till the last possible moment to shoot, in case bloodshed could be avoided. This shows that he can keep a very cool head under pressure, that he underwent military training and it stuck, and that he is moral and practical, grounded and efficient.

ASIP!Watson picked up his gun after his interview with Mycroft -the implication that he means to use it as protection/defense for Sherlock and himself from... MI5/6. Now that does give some credence to Mycroft's insult that Watson is brave, but bravery is what people say when they mean stupidity. You were in the army, Watson! You should know better! (the Mycroft subplot also includes two painfully awkward attempts at hitting on one of Mycroft's underlings, a woman clearly much younger than him. As I was saying, Watson loses maturity between the UP and ASIP). Watson then only follows Sherlock and the cabbie because of the phone setup that had been previously solved by Sherlock (so no application of intelligence here), does not think of calling the police, and then we watch him desperately searching for the room where Sherlock and the cabbie are, then when he casually lands on the room across that one, he screams Sherlock's name to the top of his lungs, and as he is not heard, he ends up shooting the cabbie as a last desperate effort. No planning here, no cold head, and some very stupid decisions (had the cabbie been armed for real, and he had stumbled into the room or been heard, chances are one or the two would have ended up injured or dead).

I think the contrast between the two versions of this other scene showcases this really well:

ASIP: Sherlock: are you alright? Watson: Yes, of course I'm alright. Sherlock: you just killed a man. Watson: Yes, I... That's true, innit? (pause) but he wasn't a very nice man.

UP: Sherlock: you are alright? Watson: of course I'm alright. Sherlock: you have just killed a man. Watson: I've seen men die before -good men, friends of mine-; 'thought I'd never sleep again. I'll sleep fine tonight.

The unaired pilot plays more with setting up a "dark side" to Watson; his profession as doctor makes him mainly caring and helpful, but it can also make him clinical and detached at points; I don't think it is a coincidence that Donovan tells Watson to take his distance from Sherlock because "One day just showing up won’t be enough. One day we’ll be standing round a body and Sherlock Holmes will be the one who put it there", but by the end of the episode the police is standing around on a crime scene for which the killer was... Watson. This last thing, again, carries over into ASIP because it couldn't be taken out without breaking the plot, but has been removed from the rest of Watson's characterization in the episode. Mind you, I don't think "exploring the dark side of John Watson's personality and maybe turning him into a villain or a conflicted antihero" is a good idea, but it was set up in one, discarded, and not replaced in the other.

I could write another post with the differences in the characterization of Sherlock between the two tellings of the story, but exploring that here would make this answer way much longer than it needs to be. I'll summarize it by saying that UP Sherlock is written to have some complementarities with UP Watson: Sherlock is rather juvenile/childish, too focused on "the game" to take care of himself, assess risks or evaluate how his behavior affects others. He has a hard time understanding the feelings of others, and that coupled with an enjoyment of tricks and disguises and games is what makes him difficult for other people to deal with. Basically, Sherlock is very intelligent in a rather theoretical, detached way, whereas Watson is a grounding presence because he's full of common, practical sense. ASIP Sherlock is... an asshole. It's not that he doesn't understand the emotions of others, he despises them. It's not that he's reckless, it's that he's super cool and dangerous (and suddenly is a master of combat what). He's basically a sort of pop culture übermensch?

The ASIP characterization for both characters dominates series 1 and 2 of Sherlock, and develops through two main dynamics: one is the "Watson as a silly wife in a bad 1950s sitcom", that is particularly intense and weird in The Blind Banker (which, in all fairness, was not written by mofftiss).

The first Sherlock-John scene in TBB is a juxtaposition between Sherlock having a skilled fight at the flat, while Watson is failing miserably at... checking out groceries. The following scene is poor silly woman Watson with her his silly little homemaking problems cannot understand the huge work and problems her husband Sherlock tackles when she's not looking. Watson is worried about having money to pay the necessities, Sherlock cannot be bothered to mind such pedestrian things.

This depiction of Watson as """"feminine"""" (derogatory) pops up here and then. He gets kidnapped three times for just being... careless (again, doctor, yes, but war veteran and human being that has been kidnapped before). It may not sound like A LOT, but when you consider the whole series is just 14 episodes, of which one is a short and another happens exclusively inside Sherlock's head... well...

Magnussen literally calls Watson Sherlock's damsel in distress in His Last Vow. His feelings upon discovering Sherlock is alive in The Empty Hearse are treated as over-reaction by Sherlock, Mary and the narrative. In general the whole Mary arc is filled with this sense that Mary and Sherlock relate to each other and understand each other and cooperate with each other on a level that Watson can't reach, and he's therefore relegated most of the time to a figure to be protected from both truth and evildoers, and then to give Rosie to, because man carrying a baby emasculating or something? (Sherlock's single interaction with Rosie is about his trying to reason with her, but he never touches or holds her, and she virtually disappears as a being once Mary dies).

This concept of Sherlock as idealized pop culture übermensch and Watson as a failure of a man takes the rest of the time a strange tone of aggressiveness, not only in the occasions in which Watson beats up Sherlock (A Scandal in Bohemia, TEH, The Lying Detective), but in smaller ways in Watson's pointed acting like he's not interested in the case or in explanations... and his dating women for apparently no other reason that to try and stick it to Sherlock (which makes it extra out of nowhere when he's not only so deeply affected by Sherlock's death, but that he tells to his grave "I was so alone and I owe you so much". Wait, what? You've spent most of your time being annoyed and feeling threatened by this guy).

Watson's relationships with women is also part of the weirdness of his characterization. He dates several of them one after the other in what seems an effort to show Sherlock that at least in this he's more competent than him; he doesn't seem to really care considering he mixes up their names and neglects them. However, the series also wants to make him also a very awkward and poor flirt with no standards (like trying to get the therapist in The Hounds of Baskerville, starting an emotional affair with a woman who just smiled at him on the bus, gets very mad at a tabloid calling him confirmed bachelor), and that the women that DO actually get into stable relationships with him think him beneath them one way or another (the series makes a pointed joke about how his girlfriend in The Great Game won't have sex with him or make him breakfast, Mary uses him first as a cover and then calls herself the best thing that happened to him as a joke while he's very seriously trying to propose to her). It rounds up again to that subtle "not man enough - feminine" undercurrent.

Then there's Watson's general incompetence. On my first draft of this answer I had written a list, episode by episode, of all the times Watson is being sent on wild goose chases, makes mistakes that no one with his background should, stumbles upon clues by sheer dumb luck, is generally useless, and his ideas are treated as extremely dumb, but it was very long and boring. So here are the ones I found to be the most notorious examples:

In TBB, he does not comment that left-handed people do in fact learn to shoot with their right hand (he is himself a left handed person who does that as established in ASIP); on that same episode he daftly stands by with a paint can and gets caught by the police and can't say anything to defend himself despite the high unlikeness of his being.... a street artist (his worrying about the charges is, again, framed as silly.)

He leaves the witness they need and who is in danger, alone, so he can go "help Sherlock" (which meant just... running out of the scene so she could get killed).

Watson's date is better than him at the brawl that happens at the circus somehow. He cannot tell a delivery guy from a ninja and gets kidnapped. He's scared witless because an old lady is pointing a gun at him (HE'S AN AFGHANISTAN VETERAN).

In TGG, Watson has kept the gun with which he killed the cabbie (against UP, and also, you know, incriminating evidence). Watson, a doctor whose CV specifies surgery, is jumpscared and upset by a head in the fridge.

In ASIB, he doesn't even know how to punch properly. The guy who is an ace with a gun in ASIP, is reduced and held at gunpoint like nothing here, and contributes nothing while badass Sherlock and Irene kick the goons asses. Falls for a dumb seduction trick because he's an idiot. Cannot tell apart real shock from Mrs Hudson just pretending.

In The Sign of the Three, Sherlock realizes Mary is pregnant before Watson, WHO IS A DOCTOR does.

These characterizations I have been talking about are very dominant through series 1 and 2, but then something curious happens on s3: without any warning or connection, the series starts acting like the characterizations of the UP have been the show's characterizations all along.

It begins with Sherlock's characterization; he's back and itching to see Watson, not realizing that he would have moved on in two years. Mycroft tries to warn him to break the news softly to him, but Sherlock doesn't understand; all he can think about is what a lark it will be to show up out of nowhere! There's no real meanness in it, just childish joy. This goes on through TsotT, with his anxieties about his speech, his difficulty to prepare and deliver it and following through the ceremonies, his surprise and emotion at being chosen as best man and called Watson's best friend, his promise to keep Mary safe and his efforts to save Watson in s4, and even his realization about Eurus' emotional needs in the series finale.

Not that the original ASIP characterization doesn't show up here and there again and again, through things like Sherlock's edgy comments about religion, his complete distraction and lack of attention at Rosie's baptism, his mysoginy and use of Jeaninne in HLV, etc.

Same happens with Watson. The narrative keeps doing its mockery thing, and will lay VERY THICK the whole "Watson is just an adrenaline junkie" with Mary's secret and how Watson married her because he's attracted to danger and that makes it all his fault somehow... it will also show Watson being bored by his job at the surgery. BUT the main storyline of the Sherlock-Watson relationship only makes sense through the UP characterization. It is, in fact, spelled out loud in TsotT: Sherlock solves puzzles, Watson saves lives. The back-cases of the episode show Watson being intelligent, competent, and helpful, specially as a doctor. Sherlock believes that he's been saved by Watson through their friendship. The case at the end is solved through both Watson's saving of lives and Sherlock's solving of puzzles (we are even shown that Watson has another friend! who is also a recluse!). Watson is at peace in his relationship with Harriet. We are even shown that Watson is secretly drinking more alcohol during his bachelor bender, to not disappoint Sherlock's calculations about his alcohol tolerance, and so "ruin" his fun and the work he put on it.

This goes on through HLV as well; Watson gets some PTSD flashbacks, then manages firmly and competently the "rescue" of Isaiah Whitley, and even shows some of that colder and a tad cruel side that was hinted in the UP. He has authority enough to make Mycroft leave when he tells him to. He's in on the plan to reveal Mary's past as a spy, and even later on is the one to suggest Sherlock puts a tracker on her before she drugs him and leaves, which shows both practicality and foresight. He even jokes with Lestrade about Sherlock being like a baby!

Even though The Abominable Bride only happens in Sherlock's mind and therefore doesn't really count towards Watson's characterization, it is worth noticing that in it Watson is so much more involved in monitoring and containing Sherlock's drug problem than he has proven to be till that point (sure, Watson got Molly to test him in HLV, but nothing came of it, and the treatment of the matter in TLD is even worse).

The only way to make some sense of The Six Thatchers and TLD, Watson-wise, is to play along with this idea of Watson as supremely practical, competent, and mature. His being rather checked out about Mary (he spends the whole morning (9 hours) of what seems to be one of his free days just proving with a balloon that Sherlock doesn't need him, while his wife is dealing with a very young baby, for example), and his emotional affair are to be understood not as part and parcel of the character we've seen through series 1 and 2, but as a moment of weakness of the character they say he is in s3.

It's not just the only way to understand not only his intense guilt, but the way the narrative tries to present the infidelity as "well, it is what it is, we are all human" down to Sherlock telling Watson that even Watson is human. That's not what Watson actually is, though, through most of the series. He's a callous, violent, horny idiot, which the narrative calls human, and that's the resolution of the opening scene of TLD about things being wrong and being able of calling them wrong. They are just what they are and we are all human.

The finale is all about Sherlock and Eurus, and so Watson's development ends here.

And the thing is, that I would have liked to see much more of the potential the characterizations in UP showed. That would have been an interesting dynamic. I think the casting of Martin Freeman for Watson was great, and that he elevates whatever he's in (yes, even The Hobbit movies), but was ultimately wasted, and for what?

Maybe it is that the BBC demanded those changes to bring in a lighter tone and comedic relief. Maybe they really wanted a sort of loose remix of House M.D. (which is what the Sherlock-Watson dynamic is most of the time in this show) instead of the Sherlock Holmes adaptation Mofftiss wanted to make. Maybe only after the show became wildly popular they were allowed to do what they wanted that way. But it was too little, too late, and mixed in with a steep decline of the quality of the writing of everything else.

Even within the limits of that generous reading of what happened, it is still stories they wrote and signed, where what could have been a compelling character with many interesting things to explore, from an actually accurate portrayal of PTSD (and not the "actually it is civilian life that is giving him PTSD because he's an adrenaline junkie, surprise!), and a war injury and physical disability being taken seriously, to his grounding role in Sherlock's life, a development of his deductive abilities, a more equal and complex relationship with Mary... we got an idiot whose function in the plot most of the time was narrative punchbag and high contrast to Sherlock's übermensch.

And that's such a pity.

#ask #apesoformythoughts #sherlock #sherlock meta #listen this isn't anywhere near as coherent and polished as I wanted it to be #but I've been working on this reply for so long #I have reached the #it doesn't have to be perfect it just has to be posted #stage of things #and for that I apologize #and will be happy to clarify/discuss specific points

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