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ellieknows · 2 months

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High Cheng - Xu Minghao x Reader StonerAU (On-Going) Chapter Three

What happens when you get dragged to your best friends boyfriends party and end up getting high with a hot stranger, whom you got along with very well, only to realise the next day, you never got his name?

PLEASE READ AUTHORS NOTE AT THE END

Feedback/Constructive Criticism/Concerns can be given VIA comments, email ([email protected]), or private messages.

Read Chapter One: All Big Parties Suck

Read Chapter Two: A Smoking (hot) Stranger

CHAPTER THREE: A Cry Fest

MASTERLIST

DISCLAIMER: Drug Usage, College Party, Mentions of SA, Mentions of Cheating/Being Cheated On, Smoking

"You know what, sure. I'll take some hits from your joint."

"Cool." He takes one more hit before passing the half smoked joint towards me. I reach to grab it when he says "Nah uh, take a hit from my hands. It'll ease you back in better."

Yeah right. Definitely not how that works but, screw it. I take a hit and let the affects take over me.

"This shit is good! This the stronger stuff?"

"Mhm, I normally smoke the usual, but I needed something stronger to get me through this shithole of a party." He replies, taking another hit before offering me another.

"Yeah, I get that."

"Why'd you come anyways?" I take another hit. "Not that it's a bad thing. It's just like, you don't seem to know anyone here, and I have no idea who you are. You don't seem like the type to crash parties on the regular."

"You'd be right." I say as I exhale the smoke in my lungs watching him take another hit. "I was dragged here by my best friend. Her boyfriend's here since his old roommate is the one hosting and she wanted me to be here in case something happened. But after meeting this old roommate, she saw her boyfriend and I didn't feel like being a third wheel the whole time."

"Chai? I had no idea he had a new girlfriend"

"You know him?"

"Of course I do, I mean Shua's not his only ex-roommate."

"Oh, yeah right! I forgot you live here... and that this is your room." Gosh, I'm an idiot at some points.

"Yeah, this is my room. Speaking of my room. Whats the real reason you were in here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why were you crying?" he asks. Fuck. So he saw that.

"I wasn't crying!" I say defensively. As long as he didn't see what happened with the asshole Jack.

"Sure you weren't." He takes another hit, the roll shrinking as it burns more and more by the second. "Then explain the obvious tear stains on your face."

I remain silent, unsure if I should talk about it so freely.

"Look, you don't have to talk about it if you don't wanna. But I'm just saying, ranting to a stranger helps out more than you think. And I like to think I'm a good listener. But if you don't wanna, that's fine. We can chat about whatever you want to. Plus we're both high, it's not like the conversations gonna go boring."

"It's just that..." I pause, worried that if I continue to talk I might start to cry again.

"Hey!" He moves closer to me, moving his hand to lightly grab my chin, moving my face to stare at him. "It's okay to not feel okay. It's perfectly fine if things affect you, a lot of things will affect everyone. It doesn't make you less of a person for letting your emotions out. It does however stunt yourself from growing into a stronger person if you hold all that emotion in until it bottles up and explodes."

My heart feels like it going a million miles an hour. His touch, his words, the smell of the smoke wafting around, the buzz I'm feeling from said smoke. It's getting to be too much. But, he makes me feel safe. This total stranger, someone I've never met, someone who's balcony I am sitting in, someone who's sharing their joint with me, someone who is so willingly letting me rant to him about my problems without any judgement or butting in, just listens. Someone who finally makes me feel safe.

"Okay."

"Huh?" He removes his hand from my chin, my skin tingling, missing the feeling of his touch.

"I'll talk about it with you."

"Good, it'll help you, trust me."

"I do. Despite you being a total stranger."

He laughs a little in agreement before quieting down taking another joint out of his little container, lighting it and then offering me the first hit. I take the hit and exhale as I prep myself for the story about to come.

Time Skip: Y/N explaining the whole situation between Jack (A/N: I am not re-writing that whole section)

"So, yeah. That's how I ended up in your room. Which I am still very sorry for barging in by the way."

"No! No no, it's all good. I'm glad you found an empty room and didn't leave. If you left I wouldn't have a new smoking buddy."

I laugh a little, then I laugh even more. And suddenly I'm crying again. I can feel the tears falling down my face at a rapid pace, the snot running from my nose. The emotions finally overflowing from the metaphorical bottle that I've been stuffing my problems in to.

"Woah, woah! Hey. Hey! Look at me." I look up at him, the tears still pouring. "It's okay, don't worry. I'm here." He gets off his bean bag and moves to sit on mine, moving his arms to wrap around me, providing much more comfort than I ever thought a person could give. "You wanna know something?" I nod in a small motion, trying to stop myself from crying more. "You are who you are because of these tough matters in your life. Everything that Jack guy said is not true. Especially if you believe it not to be. You are who you choose to be. And from the little time we have spent together, you have chosen to be everything thats right in this world. We aren't perfect, and that's okay. We shouldn't have to be. What that asshole said to you has nothing to do with the way you dress, your smile, or your personality. And it is absolutely not your fault." He tightens his hold on me and I move closer to his chest, burying me face into his shirt.

"Thank you." I mumble into his chest.

He pulls away from the embrace, my body missing the way he held me. He moves to once again grab my chin, moving my face so that we maintain eye contact. "Any time. And I mean that. I know we met not long ago, and I know that you might not feel comfortable with me. But I want you to know I truly care for you. From the bottom of my heart. And I hope we can become friends in the future." He says, using his thumb to wipe away the tears remaining on my face.

"Me too. I don't know why, but I feel safe with you. From the minute we met. I just felt safe with you."

"I'm glad. You know, maybe we should stop being strangers?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"I mean, lets introduce ourselves." He moves to no longer face my directly, still sharing the bean bag with me. "I live here. Obviously. I'm roommates with Joshua which I assume you've already met."

"Oh, yeah, Bible Boy? We meet not too long ago."

He laughs. "Bible boy? Gosh I didn't realise that name would stick. I told him to stop carrying a bible with him everywhere around the campus."

"Wait? He actually carried one with him everywhere? I thought it was just some stupid joke."

"Nope! He claimed he had to have it around him because he lecturer for bible and religious studies would pop up out of nowhere and if he saw any of his studies without a bible, they would automatically fail the class."

"Shit, did he keep up with it the whole course?"

"Nah, he dropped out half way through. Claims it was like he was studying to enter a cult, something along the lines of how it isn't actually teaching about religion or spiritualities but more some cult work shit."

"Mmmm."

"Enough about Shua! What about you?"

"Well... I feel like you know a fair chunk about me already."

"I guess but not really. I mean, what courses are you in?"

"I'm going for a major in psychology with a minor in medicinal biology. So stuff like psychological analysis of the human brain. I wanna be a neuroscientist but that probably not gonna happen." (A/N: Feel free to change this to fit you better, I've just put this here as something.)

"I feel like you could. You just gotta try."

"I just realised, I never got your name."

"Oh, yeah. That's kinda important to break the fact we are strangers."

We both laugh.

"I'm Ming-"

The stranger gets cut off by the door slamming open. We both turn our heads and see Nayeon, her face red from what I can assume is her trying to rub away the tears that are continuing to fall down her face, her once tan body now pale.

"N/N? I'm sorry if you're with a guy or something, but can we please go." she says in a timid yet loud enough for us to hear her from the balcony.

The stranger and I get off the bean bag and hurriedly make our way over the the disheveled Nayeon.

"Oh my god! Are you okay? What happened?" I quickly move closer to her to embrace her in a tight hug. Her tears start to fall even quicker, her sobs getting louder as she cries into my shoulder.

"He cheated on me."

"What? Who? Chai?"

"Yeah. I went to grab us a refill of our drinks and got caught up chatting with an old friend I saw there." She takes a deep breath, trying to control her tears, however it doesn't work as she starts to sob once again, unable to continue her sentence. I look over to see the hot half-stranger looking around for tissues. He finds a box and hands them to me. I pull a few out and wipe away her tears as he motions for me to move her to the bed, letting her feel more comfortable. I smile weakly, silently thanking him for being so kind towards us, despite us now both having barged into his room. I move her towards the bed, letting her sit down.

"It's okay, take your time." I say reassuringly.

She takes another deep breath. "I was chatting with my friend when I realised 10 minutes had already gone by, so I excused myself and made my way back to him. When... When." I rub her back, in hopes of providing comfort. "When I see these two girls all over him. At first I was expecting him to push them away. But then he didn't and I couldn't move. Instead I just stayed there frozen, listening in. And then.. he... they... They asked him to have some fun with him... and he agreed...he kissed them, touching them all over, saying they couldn't do it right now because his 'clingy girlfriend' was still here. Then he said he would try and get me to leave so that they could continue sooner."

The room was quiet after that.

"I'm gonna to hurt him." A voice broke the silence. The stranger's voice to be exact.

Nayeon looks at me, still shaken up by the previously explained situation, however now slightly confused by this man defending her.

"I just met him today, he is a good person, trust me." I whisper to her, not quite wanting to explain everything that went down.

"I swear, I'll hurt that son of a bitch." The stranger continues about to barge out of the door.

I let go of Nayeon to quickly grab onto the stranger, stopping him from moving further.

"No need."

"Why? He's clearly hurt your friend and-"

"You won't need to because the second you get down those stairs, he will already be dead. By my fucking hands. That asshole!"

"No! Please N/N, can we just leave? I don't wanna create a whole thing about it."

I look at her. The pain in her soul showing through her entire body. She's right. I should just take her home.

"I'll drive both of you." the stranger offers.

"You can't, we were both smoking."

"I'll order you both an Uber."

"There's no-"

"No. I will order you both an Uber home. It's the least I can do... You both haven't had the best experience at this party and it's my duty to make sure the guests are treated well considering it's my house."

"Thank you."

We all walk downstairs, the stranger getting us an Uber as I tell him the address to Nayeon's house.

The Uber thankfully arrives quickly so there is no silence and we get inside and say our goodbyes.

"Tell Chai that they are over for me?" I quickly request the stranger.

"Of course. If you need anything please just let me know."

"Thank you."

I get inside the Uber and make sure Nayeon has her seatbelt on, nice and safe, before wrapping my arms around her to keep her within my body heat and embrace as we remain that way throughout the drive back to her house, her slowly falling asleep in my embrace as we near her house.

When we reach, she is fully knocked out, the left over tears staining her face. So, I decide to piggy back her to her bed, change her into more comfortable clothes and prepare some water and a small snack to leave on her bedside table.

I sigh, looking back at her as I make my way out her room, turning off her lights and closing her door, "Sleep well Nayeon." I say solemnly.

I close the door behind me and make my way to her couch, pulling out my phone scrolling on social media, before finally succumbing to slumber myself.

A/N: Please give me feedback on my writing! Two more chapters are posted (as of 23rd Feb 2024) however, the story is on-going.

This book is still in the works, and I desperately want to finish it this year. However, I'd like to make everyone aware of three issues. a) There are only three chapters published right now as I want to receive feedback from my audience on my writing style and plot building. Despite having been writing for many years, I am not confident in the style that I use for my stories and would appreciate constructive critique to help me improve future chapters. After a month of posting the chapters, further content will be added throughout this trail, I will collect the feedback, delete this section of my disclaimer, and apply my audience's feedback. Second, I am in my final year of school, therefore school comes first. Furthermore, my weekly schedule is extremely hectic, so many of these will be written during my rare free time or at times when most people are sleeping (don't worry, I will prioritise my health). Finally, this book covers mature issues like as drug usage, smoking, alcohol use, cheating, references to SA, and more. These will all be addressed at the start of the chapter so that you are aware in case triggers arise. Furthermore, I have never used drugs or any of the other topics discussed in this book, so I apologise if anything is incorrect.

Feedback/Constructive Criticism/Concerns can be given VIA comments, email ([email protected]), or private messages.

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iampikachuhearmeroar · 1 year

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y’know thinking about my emo kid self, there’s such a difference in me in 2022/nearly 2023 at 27, where i can finally sing along to songs like therapy and remembering sunday by all time low, when it rains by paramore, the day i left the womb by (old school) escape the fate literally basically every mayday parade song ever, but most particularly i swear this time i mean it and a little bit of truth by you me at six… etc etc et al et al…. in the shower without choking back tears while sliding down the side of the shower.

like the day that i just started randomly singing therapy by atl and the day i left the womb by etf, for example, in the shower in like 2017 after not listening to them for a few years, bc both songs were randomly just stuck in my head…..

i knew i was feeling much better than i was at 15/16 in 2011, when i was going through my teen mental breakdown phase. i WAS screaming and choking out the lyrics to therapy and sick little games (along with the other songs mentioned above) in the shower in tears on the floor….. because i just fucking hated my life so much (lol, but not lol) and i thought i’d never leave my hometown (ok this is true and it’s fine) and it was also fucking shit because i couldn’t decide if i was depressed or not or anxious or not or i was just a big fucking fake *cue i’m a fake by the used here* and i wasn’t emo anymore and i had to be indie to sit with *echosmith voice* ~the cool kids~ when i changed schools.

like yeah. don’t get me wrong. there are times when the songs mentioned in this post make me cry (usually on my period tbh. lmao sorry for the tired joke)- like when the song/s really decides to hit me/i’ve actively looked them up on YT or spotify so i can have a good cry lol. but now i can sing these songs at any time without having an absolute snotty cry fest during any shower/bath i decide to sing these in. or just generally. like getting older rocks, in some aspects, and this is one of them.

because the songs that got you through what you thought at the time were your hardest times yet- you’ve got a huge storm coming in your mid20s, teen me- these songs will be your light instead of the pain, the utter angst and self-loathing you felt towards yourself on a daily basis as a teenager. yeah where’s that corny ass tumblr quote i used to post every fucking day of my life at 19- we all know it. but it really is. and yeah, there’s the thing that these songs are still emotional as all fuck, i still love them to this day. but i’m just not crying to them as much anymore. y’know what i mean??

anyway idek where this post was going. but growth is good and every current emo kid should know that it does get better. for the love of god it does. hang in there kids. because one day you’ll be 27, and whatever mid2000s or late 2010s emo song you’ve got on blast right now, because tiktok has been having a moment with them over the last couple of years…. will be a source of joy and not a source of self loathing and reason to cry every night in the shower. anyway. my point is, you won’t be “outdated, overrated” and you can still be “a dreamer for sure”- to quote the mayday parade song i mentioned earlier. you’ll just be a newer, hopefully happier, you. even when you’re “at bottom of the blackest hole” and want to “sleep enough to not see the sun anymore”. and that’s all you need.

#life #about me #shut up ilona #my little emo heart #my little emo soul #my little scene kid heart #my little scene kid soul #my little pop punk heart #my little pop punk soul

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sarahjtv · 3 years

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BNHA Chapter 327 Spoiler Analysis: Home Sweet Home

OH MY GOD, GUYS!!! DEKU GETS A BATH!!!! 🎉🛁 🧼 My broccoli boy finally gets squeaky clean, gets some sleep, and we finally get some R&R time with the Class 1-A kids. It’s not close to the happy-go-lucky days of old, but it’s some time with the kids nonetheless. I’m glad Horikoshi put some heart and humor in this chapter because god knows we needed it. But, let’s be real, this is the calm before the storm:

The chapter starts off with what everyone and Horikoshi has been wanting for Deku since he went on his mission: A motherfuckin’ bath 🛀 🧼🛁! Kaminiari and Kirishima lead the Class 1-A boys to carry Deku into their side of the UA Alliance bathhouse (looks real nice btw) and give him a good power-wash. The whole sequence is very comical! The boys are rushing in and poor Deku has this O_O face on him like “what is happening?” 😂 We also see some of the boys butt naked 😳 It’s clear that Horikoshi had fun drawing this thing and it was fun to read 💚

Bakugo is with them of course and you can actually see his scars from when Shigaraki stabbed him. He’s not bleeding, but you can see those scar patches on his skin. I’m curious of how fan artist are going to draw him from now on. I would like to see that fan art 👀

There’s also some bubble sfx coving Bakugo’s crotch and a translator said it might say dick or penis. I’m curious what the officials will say.

But, Bakugo being Bakugo is still aggressive towards his classmates. More playfully than before, but still. He reminds everyone that he still intends on being the best there is and that everyone is still his rivals (also friends, Bakugo). HE EVEN MAKES AN ATTEMPT TO CALL DEKU IZUKU! LIKE HE ALMOST SAID “DEKU” BUT HE CHANGED IT TO IZUKU AT THE LAST MINUTE! AND DEKU SAYS THAT CALLING HIM DEKU IS JUST FINE LIKE THAT ANGER THAT ORIGINATED FROM THE NICKNAME ISN’T THERE ANYMORE AND IT’S A FREINDLY NICKNAME BKDK FRIENDSHIP GROWTH YOU LOVE TO SEE IT 🧡💚

After Deku’s bath, he’s sitting in the commons talking to the rest of Class 1-A. Well, most of them. Mina tells Deku that Ochako and a few other students went to bed after everything became ok again. So, I definitely didn’t see Tsuyu, and it looks like Shoji, Aoyama, and Hagakare weren’t in this chapter either. Ochako I understand; her speech must’ve been emotionally taxing. Aoyama and Hagakare are the top suspects for being the traitor in the fandom and this isn’t helping their cases. I don’t know about Tsuyu and Shoji though. They’re both mutant-types, but characters like Ojiro or mutant-like people like Jiro, Mina or Tokoyami didn’t get outcasted. Horikoshi did hint that Shoji would be getting something soon. But, I really am just speculating here.

Now that Deku’s back, everyone has questions for him. Though I understand why, this has gotta be overwhelming for Deku. At least they’re not mad at him for hiding OFA. They seem very understanding actually.

Then my ❄️🔥 boy, Shoto Todoroki, comes in all handsome right out of the baths 💙 He’s drying his right side while you can see a steam cloud on his left. So, it is canon that Shoto drys himself naturally with his heat. His entrance is so pretty that even Mineta’s questioning it (shut up, Mineta, you’ll never be as beautiful as him). And yes, I might be a Shoto simp, don’t judge me I see y’all too 👀

Anyway, Shoto asks everyone to let Deku sleep since that was pretty much the whole reason they brought him back. Problem is, Deku can’t because he really needs to apologize to All Might for abandoning him. AND AFTER HE SAYS THAT THERE’S A DETAILED PANEL OF SHOTO POINTING TO ALL MIGHT LIKE “UH, MIDORIYA? HE’S RIGHT THERE” AND ALL MIGHT LOOKING FROM THE WINDOW LIKE A HORROR VILLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE 😭

All Might comes in and apologizes to Deku for not being able to support him when he needed it, but Deku says that All Might support him more than enough. Mina also scolds All Might for not saying anything when he left. She wants All Might to apologize to everyone for that. Though I’m glad Deku and All Might have reconciled (I honestly thought that last convo between them was going to be THE LAST for a hot minute), Mina has a point. All Might did bail on all of them without any warning. Kinda messed up in general.

All Might apologizes and he is going to fight with everyone regardless of his physical state so that he can see that flame continue to shine. However, he warns the kids that they got info on the villains and that the final decisive battle is coming soon. If the whole “Final Arc” thing hasn’t been hammered into your head, there you go. I’m also glad that Stain’s speech did end up motivating All Might further. Who knew?

So, All Might is off to help Endeavor since he’s got unfinished business to take care of. But, the kids are wondering why Endeavor (and probably Hawks) isn’t entering UA entirely yet. Shot reminds them that Endeavor is still connected to Dabi and that his presence alone would cause more discourse. People’s minds can’t change that easily. Shoto of all people would know.

As Deku FINALLY SLEEPS 💤 and Shoto puts a blanket over him (possibly warmed by his left side 🔥) 💙💚 Shoto acknowledges how his presence might be making people anxious too even though it’s not his fault at all (thank you, Kirishima for doubling down on this btw ❤️🪨). But, things are different and Shoto’s going to show that so that everyone can be at ease like he wants as a hero. There’s even this sweet small smile on his beautiful face as he says this. He’s grown so much and he’s pretty to boot I love him so much *HANDS IN FACE* 💙❄️🔥

EVEN KIRISHIMA’S CRYING FROM HOW MANLY SHOTO IS I LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!

And now Jiro steps up and says her piece. That she knows how hard it is to convince everyone to change their minds for the better. Like with those two critics from the Culture Fest. Even so, they accomplished this before, so she thinks they can do it again. She even gathers all the band members to emphasize on this. I love how Jiro uses her earphone jacks to rally the band and how she literally drags Bakugo by the shirt for a cute group shot. None of these kids are afraid of Bakugo anymore LOL 😂! Also, Momo is the tallest out of all of them in this line up shot (except for Bakugo who’s still being dragged on the ground). I think she’s roughly 5ft 6-7 inches? She’s the tallest of the girls I know that, but damn. She towers all of them. Even me... She’s also very pretty in this shot and it’s her birthday as I’m posting this, so happy b-day Momo ❤️

And we get a beautiful panel of Jiro leading everyone to make sure that they’ll go beyond with making everything better than it was before. We get a nice group shot of the rest of the class agreeing with her with a smile including Shoto with a small one (did I mention that I love him?) 💙💙💙 And Deku’s in the center still sleeping away. I hope he has good dreams *kisses forehead*💚 And go Jiro for stepping up to the plate too 💜! All these kids have grown so much. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Finally, the last pages show Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist going somewhere, maybe Tartarus. They got info out of Dr. Ujiko via polygraph and the Nomu Research Group at Central Hospital. They predict that they have 2 months until Shigaraki’s ready to go again, so they’ll need 1 month of preparation. But, the info Stain gave All Might gave them more info. His letter ended up being a personal letter to All Might (Stain really is that nuts...), but there was a microchip in the blade Stain left containing the security records from Tartarus. It’s not stated how this info affected the mission at hand, but it sounds like it has to do something with the time frame. So, I’m curious if they have less time to prepare or more? Given how this is the Final Arc, Imma say less.

Finally, the teaser asks “How are the villains moving?” I wonder if that means we’re switching to the villain’s next week. I would love to hang out with the kids more, but I would also like to know what our villains are up to. Like, where the hell is Himiko Toga? Is Spinner still questioning shit? What happened to Mr. Compress after he mauled himself to help Shigaraki and the others escape? Also I think we need more info on this dude’s backstory given he’s the grandson of the famous Robin Hood villain who’s name definitely didn’t escape me... 😐 Is Dabi laughing his ass off from the utter chaos he started? Is AFO still smiling like the evil mastermind he is? Is Shigaraki as crispy as he was earlier? I was going to ask about Twice but... 😭

So, yeah! Love this chapter. Really good transition chapter into whatever happens next. I’m kinda sad we didn’t see Deku fight off more past villains during his vigilante days. We got Muscular and Overhaul and I think that’s it? Didn’t see any of Overhaul’s minions or that teeth-blade villain (Fish-something?; he broke out, but we haven’t seen him since) or Re-Destro or his goons. I don’t count as Gentle or LaBrava as villains anymore and they were never truly evil to begin with. Regardless, it was a really cool arc to see a more dark side of Deku. I’m really glad Horikoshi made great use of his bunny hood and metal mask finally. Deku really did look demonic for some time. Also, seeing Deku badass is always a plus. And seeing the deconstruction of hero society and the possible reconstruction of it was really good too. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately, but we can do our best to make it that way.

I’m also glad that we finally got our kids back in top form. Not just being heroes, but being teenagers too. They all had great moments especially Iida, Ochako, and now Shoto as they should. But, Bakugo’s apology was peak for me. Over 320 chapters of development and build-up lead to that moment and it really is one of the best in the series. It lives in my head rent free.

So, we got 1-2 months in-manga-time until what is probably the final battle of the series. God, I can’t believe we’re actually nearing the end of this series. I started reading it back in 2018 when shit was rough for me. I found this series after listening to the music and reading the hype around it. I watched the show then I read the manga and it really helped me. Saved me from a dark place actually. I will miss this series when it’s done and I will be greatly for the joy Horikoshi has gifted us. I’ll try to save the farewells for later. I’d say this series has at least 1-1 1/2 years to go.

Me @ the kids and All Might:

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be11atrixthestrange · 3 years

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Waking Up In Vegas Chapter 9

After a night of debauchery, Ron and Hermione wake up in Vegas... married.

Muggle!AU. Romcom!Romione. Slow burning, smutty, angst-fest.

Rated M for reasons.

Ao3 | FFN

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[Ron]

"Okay. Let's talk," says Ron, throwing his arms down in defeat. "Go on, then."

"Not here!" exclaims Lavender, her eyes nervously scanning the restaurant where they're still drawing attention. "Not in front of people," she whispers.

"Where, then?"

'Your room."

Ron narrows her eyes at her. His room has to be the worst place for whatever conversation she wants to have. He has an inkling that her grievances will include 'don't you miss me?' and 'we're in Vegas, let's live a little' and being in a room alone with her and a king-sized bed is a very bad idea.

However, unlike her previous attempts to get him in bed, this time he has his eyes set on someone else, and her tricks won't work.

"Okay then," shrugs Ron. "Let's go to my room."

Lavender beams, and Ron reckons he should tell her to keep her pants on and her hopes down.

They leave the bar and continue up the stairs to his room, Lavender skipping by his side while her hand swings between them, almost begging for an accidental brush of his fingers. Ron crosses his arms in front of his body, wondering if his intentions were that obvious on the walk back to the hotel with Hermione, when he was painstakingly aware of how close his hand was to hers.

Panic sets in as they approach the door to his room. Did he ever clean up the whipped cream and champagne flutes from last night? Does he even care if Lavender sees?

His question answers itself when he opens the door to find that the room is spotless, thanks to the hotel's cleaning service, but his stomach sinks in disappointment. Maybe spotting the evidence that Ron really has moved on would have been a clear signal for Lavender to follow suit.

Immediately after entering the room, Lavender tumbles into his perfectly-made bed.

"Can you get off my bed?" he hisses.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Seriously. It's a bit weird, don't you think?"

She narrows her eyes, which are momentarily wet with tears, before making a dramatic show of getting up.

"Where can I sit, then?"

Instead of getting too comfortable, he'd rather she get straight to the point. "What do you need to talk about?"

"Nothing in particular," she says airily, taking a seat beside him on a barstool.

Ron rolls his eyes. "You just said—'

"I said, I want to talk. We never just talk anymore," Lavender says, as if that was a valid reason to drag him away from a very enjoyable afternoon at the bar.

"We never talk because we broke up."

"Right, and I want to make sure you have people to talk to. You know, confide in."

"Confide in?"

"Yes, Ron. Confide. I can tell you're stressed out. You're doing a lot for Harry and Ginny, planning this whole trip and everything. I just want you to know I'm here if you need a sounding board."

The way she bats her eyelashes at him and reaches her hand to his head to brush his fringe from his eyes sends tingles down his spine, and not the good kind. He sees right through this.

"I'm not stressed," he says, and it's true — he's not at all anxious about the trip. Hermione's done most of the planning, and thanks to her itinerary, things have been extremely smooth.

It's almost as if Lavender can see Hermione's name passing through his thoughts. "It looked like you were having a pretty intense conversation with Hermione Granger at the bar."

Ron doesn't like the sound of her full name in Lavender's voice. It makes Hermione sound like a stranger. Emphasizing the name instead of the person behind it sounds like an attempt to create distance, and Ron doesn't want to know what Lavender plans on justifying with that distance. Other than being a bully, of course.

He hopes his calculated response will get under her skin. "Yeah. 'Mione's great."

Ron's never used a nickname on Hermione before, but Lavender doesn't need to know that. Plus, he likes the way it sounds. Maybe he'll try it later, if she'll allow it, of course.

Without warning, his mind flashes to his bed, where his fingers are digging into her flesh as he grips her by the thighs to pull her writhing body hard against his erection. He's on his back, watching her ride him and freely calling her 'Mione' — moaning it, even. She bites her bottom lip and her breasts bounce with every thrust, her pleasure is evident by her arching back and hitching breath, and she doesn't seem to mind the nickname one bit.

Lavender's shrill voice pulls him from his ill-timed daydream. "I agree, she's great!" she says, her tone suddenly cheerful, like she's talking about a beloved college roommate. "I'm quite surprised by how much I like her. There's more to her than meets the eye, you know."

"Yeah, well, that goes for most people—" says Ron, now in two minds about diverting the conversation away from Hermione. What does she mean there's more to her than meets the eye?

There's not enough time to decide if it's worth humoring Lavender before she continues. "I'm just surprised that you two get along. You're like polar opposites."

He opens his mouth to respond but she interrupts.

"Oh of course! Football!"

"Football?"

"Yeah, she's a pretty big football fan, but you knew that, didn't you?"

He didn't know that, and as exciting as that news is, it makes him wonder how it didn't come up in conversation. She knows he's a football fan. Why has she never engaged him in a conversation about it? Ron shakes his head, refocusing on the present conversation. Lavender might be trying to get into his head.

"I'm sure most of it she picked up from Viktor, but still. She can probably carry on a sports conversation better than me."

Viktor. He knows that name. But it can't be… "Viktor?" he asks, unable to resist asking for more information.

"You know the one, that Bulgarian player."

He sure does. Viktor Krum. "Hermione knows Viktor Krum?"

Lavender scoffs. "Yeah. She dated him. For a long time," she says, reaching for his fringe again. Misreading the jealousy etched across Ron's face as confusion, she continues, "I was surprised too. He's hot. She might not look like much, but she clearly has no problem landing a really good football player."

To Ron's dismay, his daydream returns and he's back in his bed, pinned down by Hermione as she grinds on top of him. But this time, she answers to 'Mione' with a nickname of her own: Vicky. She screams that name when she reaches her climax, but it sucks the pleasure from the moment, and all Ron wants to do is fucking cry.

"Anyway, that's not really my tea to spill," says Lavender, shrugging innocently.

No it's not, he thinks. Although he wishes she didn't spill it, he's grateful she did.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asks Lavender, drawing her hand away and taking stock of his hollow expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responds curtly.

"And we're good?" she asks.

Are they good? He doesn't know — he can't decide if she is manipulating him or not. All he knows is that he's suddenly self-conscious about having kissed Hermione, and curious how it compared to Vicky. He can't help but wonder if her disappointment in finding out she's married to Ron stems from the fact that she could have had anyone else — for example: an older, hotter, professional football player.

"We're good," he says. Lavender doesn't need to know any of it.

"Good."

An awkward silence encroaches as Ron waits for Lavender to leave, but she doesn't move. She looks like she wants to say something else.

"You know I still care about you, right?" she says eventually, breaking the tension.

"Of course," he adds, unwilling to say it back. He does care about Lavender, but he knows she wants to hear it too. It has to be a trap...

"I just miss my best friend. That's all." At that moment, she leans in so their shoulders are touching, and reaches her hand toward his exposed knee.

"Best friends don't sit this close," he says. His tone is colder than he anticipates, but that might be a good thing. It's probably necessary to get his message across at this point. "You should go, Lavender."

She lets out a shaky sigh, and Ron dares himself to look at her face. Her face is reddening, and her eyes water. She's not accustomed to rejection, especially not from him. "Walk me back?" she asks.

"Sorry, Lav. I really need a shower."

She opens her mouth to respond, but then snaps it shut, as if her automatic response was to flirt with him and invite herself to stay for the shower. Her face reddens and she looks away, his rejection fully catching up to her.

"Okay then. I'll see you at the bar later?"

"The bar?"

"Yeah, we're all getting together. Even Hermione," she adds icily.

Ron groans, shaking his head. He knew it. She fucking knows.

"Maybe," he says, avoiding her gaze. He then stands, stumbles into the bathroom, and slams the door.

She is so damn good at getting into his head. How does she know? And is that Viktor Krum stuff true?

There's only one way to find out...

He can vaguely hear Lavender huff as the bathroom door shuts, and he places his hands on the counter to gauge his reflection.

He looks like absolute hell. His skin is shiny and peeling, he has more freckles than he ever thought possible, and his hair is still dripping with sweat. Fuck the desert. How stupid was he, thinking that Hermione might have found him attractive in this state? She was probably relieved when Lavender settled into his lap at the bar; it was the perfect escape plan. Thanks to Lavender, Hermione didn't have to sit around and wave off unwanted advances from the weird sweaty guy she accidentally married — why would she want him when she was used to Viktor Fucking Krum? If it was true, that is.

He hears his hotel room door slam shut, and only then does he feel comfortable turning on the shower and stripping off his clothing, making a point not to look at his scrawny self in the mirror. Ron steps into the shower and groans as the cool water hits his sunburnt body, and forces his mind to wander far away from Hermione Granger.

When he's done, Ron steps out of the shower and towels off, still avoiding his reflection until he can't anymore. He ties the towel around his hips and stomps to his suitcase; maybe he owns something that can make him look somewhat desirable tonight.

He rummages through his clothing, settling on a royal blue button-down shirt and grey shorts. Lavender always says the blue brings out his eyes, and maybe she's right. He reluctantly makes his way back to the bathroom to check his reflection. The blue seems to distract from his reddened skin, and the structure of the shirt makes him look a little bit less lanky. Maybe he could catch Hermione's eye tonight, or, if she's truly not interested, he could attract the attention of someone else.

Someone else? The thought makes his stomach flip — he doesn't really want anyone else.

What would Hermione think if she knew that?

Ron leaves the bathroom, slips on his shoes, and after checking to make sure he has his phone, his wallet, and his room key, he turns out the lights and leaves.

Ron arrives at the hotel bar, and its new appearance leaves him momentarily confused. The bar has transformed from the quaint eatery where he and Hermione shared a round of drinks and appetizers just a short time ago to a bustling nightclub. The walls have come alive with flashy neon lights, which gives the portraits the illusion of movement. Just when he thinks this hotel can't get any more ridiculous, it seems he's proven wrong.

Previously an open-air eatery, the restaurant's doors are now blocked by a security guard standing his ground like a gargoyle. He checks Ron's I.D. then gestures to a sign on the door — something about no guns allowed on the premises.

"I'll have to pat you down."

"Uh, okay," says Ron, holding his arms out, while the security guard scans him for weapons. America's a strange place.

He enters the bar through a cloud of smoke, reminding him of a grade school stage production. People are everywhere, the music has shifted from acoustic tunes to electric pop remixes, and the place smells of cologne and alcohol.

Then he spots his sister at a large rectangular table across the dance floor. She waves him over and hands him a mystery cocktail.

"Drink this!"

Ron can almost smell the alcohol on her breath even though she's feet away. He glances over at Harry, slumped in a chair looking dazed and confused.

"You've gotten the party started quick, haven't you?" asks Ron as he brings the straw to his lips. The wave of guilt induced from the turtle-killing plastic straw is cut off by a slap of sugar and alcohol. "What is this?"

"Don't know!" says Ginny. "You're too sober!"

He decides her assessment is fair as he scans the crowd, looking for no one in particular, of course.

"Lavender's not here yet," croons Ginny, once she spots his eyes washing over the crowd. "If that's what you're wondering."

"It isn't," says Ron pointedly.

But then someone catches his eye. Hermione's at the bar, wearing a tight black dress that instantly makes Ron's shorts feel a size too small. Her hair is pulled back to display her gorgeous sun-kissed skin which looks shimmery and flawless, as if she's wearing a spot of make-up.

As far as he can remember, he's never seen her wear makeup before. Although she looks stunning all glammed up for the night, she didn't need to do any of it. It makes his heart swell and clench at the same time — there's something so vulnerable about Hermione doing hair and makeup for an evening out, and he even dares to wonder if he crossed her mind while getting ready.

If so, he hopes he will have the opportunity to tell her how beautiful she looks tonight. Maybe he'll even get a chance to say it again tomorrow, when all that makeup has been washed down his shower drain or even better — rubbed off by his bedsheets.

Ron gulps down the rest of the sugar-bomb masquerading as a cocktail, and makes his way toward Hermione. As he approaches her, his stomach clenches into knots at the memory of his conversation with Lavender. Viktor Fucking Krum. Is it true? Did they really date? Are they still shagging? It could be Lavender trying to get into his head, but he has to know.

"Hey, Hermione," he says as he reaches the bar. "Long time no see."

Hermione whips around and scowls at him. "What do you want?"

Ron takes a step back, baffled by her response. Did he say something wrong? Maybe she really was relieved to get rid of him earlier, and him approaching her now is the last thing she wants.

"Well, we were interrupted earlier, so I was hoping we could just pick up where we left off at the bar—"

"Oh really?" Her eyes are wide and suddenly angry — it almost wouldn't look out of place if they had turned crimson-red. "You want to pick up where we left off? And where exactly was that? With you staring down my shirt over a cocktail?" The rest of her words blend together, and it's then that Ron realizes she's had a bit much to drink.

Ron's face floods with color and his throat tightens. He steadies his voice to hide his hurt, but it only comes off as angry. "Hermione, are you okay? We should get you back to your room."

She opens her mouth to retort but is interrupted by a man's arm sliding over her shoulders. "Is there a problem here?"

The man is tall, muscular, and wears a smug smile that makes Ron want to punch him in the face. Although it's tempting, one glance at the man's ham-like hands stops him. Ron knows better than to start fights he can't finish.

"Who are you?" he asks instead.

"Cormac," says the man with a thick southern-American twang. "Who the fuck are you?"

Hermione leans into Cormac's arm as he slides a drink in front of her. Hermione immediately puts her mouth to the plastic straw and takes a long swig.

"Well listen, Cormac. I'm a friend of Hermione's," he begins, trying to emphasize 'friend' to convey how blurry their line really is. "She's had too much to drink, so I'm just going to take her back to her room safely now."

Ron reaches for her arm but is cut off by Cormac's hand. That's when he notices the large football tattoo on his forearm. Great. Another football player. Hermione has a type.

"I can do it," growls Cormac.

"No," says Ron. "I will."

"Can I have some water?" slurs Hermione toward the bartender, who instantly obliges.

"Mione," growls Cormac, and Ron's stomach sinks. He immediately wishes he could unhear the nickname slipping from Cormac's mouth — it sounds wrong in his seductive grumble, like he's appropriating a word from a language he knows nothing about. "Do you want to go back with this asshole, or with me? Remember, he lied to you."

"What are you talking abo—"

But Ron doesn't have time to finish his question before a wall of ice-water slams into his face, causing him to stumble back. Suddenly, he's alert, shell-shocked, and full of adrenaline. "What the FUCK?" he yells.

"You lied to me!" mumbles Hermione, now holding an empty glass of water, while Cormac watches on, wearing his smug but knowing grin.

"What are you talking about?" He turns to Cormac. "What did you tell her? And who the FUCK are you?" Ron's heart is pumping fast with anger, likely energized from the rush of ice water that when paired with the heat he's starting to grow accustomed to, has left him shivering from temperature-whiplash.

"Just a guy trying to get some action," says Cormac, quietly enough that Hermione, slurping away at the mystery cocktail that Cormac has so kindly purchased for her, can't hear.

Ron is seeing red. If Hermione's too far gone to care that she's drinking out of a plastic straw, she's too far gone to go home with this twat. The buzz from Ron's single but very strong cocktail is becoming apparent, and he feels like he can run a marathon. Instead, he channels his energy in the best place for it— Cormac's stupid face. Consequences be damned, Ron clenches his fist, winds up, and slams it right into his cheekbone, underneath his left eye.

Ron yelps — his buzzed and adrenaline-filled state isn't enough to mask the pain of his knuckles hitting hard bone, but luckily, his cry is drowned out by Cormac's, who clutches his head and stumbles a few feet back.

"What the hell?"

Before Cormac can retaliate, something, or someone, grabs Ron by the shoulders and shoves him away from the bar. "Get out."

It's the security guard from before, now clutching Ron's upper arm and leading him toward the bar's exit. "It's him that you have to worry about!" he says, trying to motion toward Cormac and Hermione, but he can't loosen the guard's grip on him to muster any gestures.

"Looked to me like you threw the punch," says the guard calmly, before pushing Ron out the door and slamming it shut behind him.

Well, fuck. Now what?

Ron rummages in his pocket for his phone, only to find that it won't turn on. How did he not think to charge it? He has to text Ginny, or even Harry, and warn them about Cormac. Who knows what that man is going to try with Hermione.

He shoves his phone back into his pocket and takes the stairs two at a time, with one goal in mind: find a way to keep Hermione safe.

#Ron Weasley #ronweasley #Hermione Granger #hermionegranger #Ron and Hermione #ron x hermione #ROMIONE #romione fanfic #romione fanfiction #hpromione #muggle AU #muggle world #romionecom #be11a_vegas

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apriorisea · 4 years

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BTS Imagine Series: Don’t Leave Me, Pt. 5

Hoseok x You

That night, he doesn’t meet the others for a late dinner. He doesn’t join them for a few drinks after. He doesn’t even answer Jungkook’s text about playing video games together. He just goes back to his apartment. It’s big and empty and silent. He hates it. The last message from you hasn’t changed, no matter how many times he looks at it: Please don’t. So he doesn’t. He sits silently in his dimly-lit kitchen for hours. His knee is killing him. But it doesn’t hurt more than how much he misses you.

----

You sit in your car for 45 minutes, crying until you just can’t anymore. Your head aches, your eyes sting, your throat feels raw. You hurt. The first thing you see when you enter your apartment is his jacket hanging on the back of a kitchen chair. Your stomach lurches. I don’t get it. A few more stubborn tears slip down your cheek and you wipe them away angrily. You move instinctively towards the chair, reaching out to touch the jacket before you can stop yourself. “How can you seem like you love me so much, but not enough?” you whisper to him. Except he’s not there. The apartment is silent. Empty. Just like it was for the 3.5 weeks while he was touring, except--- Your breath catches in your chest. Except he’s not coming back now. Closing your eyes tight against the tears that bubble up, you suddenly realize you don’t want to be alone in this empty, silent apartment. You grab your phone and before you can stop yourself, open Hoseok’s contact. “No.” Your heart hurts so much, but you force yourself to navigate out of his contact and to your best friend’s instead. “Hi,” you sniffle when he answers. “Can you come over?” He’s there within 15 minutes. By this time, you’re changed into baggy sweats and sitting listlessly on the couch. You’d washed all your make-up away, which only highlighted how red and swollen your eyes were. You’d kept the TV on as loud as you could, unable to bear the silence. He knocks once before letting himself in. “Hey,” he says hesitantly, shutting the door behind him. “What happened?” You take a breath to explain---and lose the words in a torrent of tears. Sighing, he moves to sit next to you on the couch, reaching out an arm to wrap around your shoulders. “All right, dummy,” he says, rubbing your arm. “Tell me.” The two of you had known each other practically since birth, so you had complete confidence that he’d be able to interpret your watery, muffled, garbled storytelling. By the time you’re finished, the second wave of tears is over. You sit back, wiping your nose on your sleeve. “All right,” you say thickly. “You tell me.” He’s quiet for a moment, before turning to look at you shrewdly. “Are you really ready for my opinion?” “I....” you hesitate; one of the things you loved the most about your best friend was his ability to offer unbiased, straight-talk opinions. Coincidentally, it was also one of the things you hated the most about him. “No,” you admit. Nodding, he gets to his feet and heads for your kitchen. “Please tell me you have ice cream or chocolate or something; I came woefully unprepared.” You watch him rustle around the kitchen through puffy eyes. “You think I’m wrong,” you posit. “No.” He pauses in his search and turns to look at you seriously. “I think you have every right to be upset and hurt, and for that I want to punch his face in.” The amount of snot you’d accumulated through your crying-fest causes you to make a really unattractive noise as you manage a laugh. “I’m serious,” he insists, returning to the couch with a bag of mini-Snickers, a half-full carton of mint chocolate-chip ice cream, and two water bottles. “I’m a good 10cm taller than him; he wouldn’t even know what hit him.” “You,” you say, already feeling a little better at this familiar humor. “You were what hit him.” Smiling, he hands you a spoon. “So.” He opens a mini-Snickers and pops it into his mouth. “Did he ever apologize? Or did he just keep insisting that he wasn’t a liar?” You pause, putting your ice-cream-laden spoon back into the tub. “He...” Frowning, you trade your spoon for your phone; with your best friend here next to you to help analyze, you’re not afraid of opening Hoseok’s messages anymore. “He just keeps saying he’s not a liar.” “Yeah, I really can’t get behind that,” he says, shaking his head. “Whatever his reasoning might be, he did lie.” “Right?” you say glumly, folding your arms over your stomach, ice cream forgotten. “Honestly, that’s part of what hurt me the most: that instead of trying to apologize or explain, he just kept saying he wasn’t a liar.” “Well he was flustered,” he reasons logically, digging his own spoon into the now-abandoned ice cream. You raise an eyebrow. “So that makes it okay?” “Hey.” He waits until you accept the Snickers he’s offering you. “I’m on your side, dummy. Always. And I never said it was okay.” You exhale heavily and tip your head back to rest on the couch. “The closest he ever got to apologizing,” you remember, “is saying that he never meant to hurt me. Isn’t that the oldest excuse in the guy playbook?” “It’s turned into that now,” he shrugs, “But some of us actually mean it still.” You’re quiet for a moment. “The worst....” You take a second to catch your breath, feeling fresh tears sting your eyes. “The worst part was when he said but.” “But?” “I asked him if he even loved me,” you say quietly, “And he said “Of course I love you, but....” The tears catch the end of your sentence, carrying it away. Wordlessly, he leans over, pressing his shoulder against yours in a familiar sign of solidarity; a code the two of you had made, a sign that the other person wasn’t alone, wasn’t shouldering everything on their own. It helps. The two of you sit like that for a long time, snacks ignored. Finally, when you feel like you’ve caught your breath again, you clear your throat. “Okay. I’m ready for your opinion now.” You reach for a Snickers. He nods, gathering his thoughts again. “Generally speaking,” he begins, “This dude’s a good guy, right?” “Yes.” The answer comes immediately, easily. “He’s never mean or cruel?” he persists, looking carefully into your eyes. “He doesn’t demand things? He’s not abusive?” “No.” “Good.” He thinks again. “Does he take care of you? Worry over you? Try to make things easier for you?” Your stomach knots as you remember all the little conversations you’d had before Hoseok had left for tour: don’t forget the trash, the landlord’s coming over, remember your dentist appointment. “Yes,” you whisper. He nods. “Do you believe that he loves you?” “Yes.” Even with how much your heart was hurting right now, you knew it was true. “Except for the but.” “Here’s my theory.” He takes a long drink from his water bottle first. “There’s something he’s trying to protect you from.” This catches you completely off-guard. “...Protect me?” “Yeah. Whatever it is he’s “hiding” from you is being hidden in an effort to protect you.” “Like--like what?” He shrugs. “I don’t know. But...we both know the hectic life of an Idol, right? How much their privacy is invaded, the death threats, the stress....It’s not beyond imagination, right?” Defamation. “Right.” “Now,” he turns towards you seriously. “Hear me carefully: I don’t agree with it. Whatever it is. You’re in a committed, serious relationship, and that requires transparency and intimacy in all things. There really shouldn’t be secrets, no matter the reason for them. That’s my opinion, anyway.” You nod slowly. “But....the two of you are still brand-new in a baby relationship.” He sits back. “These things take time to work out.” There’s a long pause. “So you think I was wrong?” you ask eventually. “Not wrong,” he says firmly. “He still lied to you. And then lied about lying. You still have a right to be hurt.” He studies you for a moment. “What do you think?” Your swollen eyes are aching and your head is starting to swim a little from exhaustion and the crying. “I think....I want to be in an honest relationship, with someone who loves me enough to include me in everything. A real partnership.” You exhale roughly. “And I think I’m sad. And tired.” You look over at him. He smiles gently. “Ready for sleep now?” “I think so.” You grab his arm and give it a squeeze. “Thanks for coming,” you say. “Sorry it’s so late and I’m such a mess.” He laughs. “I’m pretty sure I called you over at 3 in the morning after Ex #4 dumped me.” You make a face. “Usually I hate it when you refer to your ex-girlfriends just as “ex # whatever,” but.....man, I hated her so much.” “She was the worst,” he agrees easily. Growing more serious, he adds, “But your guy is not the worst.” Bumping your leg with his, he goes on. “I’ve seen how happy you’ve been these past few months. That makes me vouch for him more than anything else. I just want you to be happy, dummy.” You both get to your feet and you accept his hug willingly. Sighing heavily, you say, “I’ll keep you updated.” “I’m always here,” he says as you walk him to the door. “Speaking of Idol-privacy, though, are you sure it’s even cool that you told me all of this? Am I going to get snipered on my drive home??” You laugh. “It’s fine. I’m sure he’s talking and commiserating with all his buddies right now, too.” The thought twists your guts a little. Shoes back on, he gives you a look. “Okay. Get some rest. Text me in the morning, okay? And don’t be afraid to give yourself a little time to think. Just listen to your instincts. It’ll be okay.” “Thanks. Drive safe. Send me a text when you get back?” “Yes, ma’am.” With a final wave, he’s gone. You close and lock the door behind him, feeling much lighter---though still heartbroken. As you shut off the lights and head for bed, you can’t help but picture the scene again: Hoseok, surrounded by his brothers, explaining and defending, getting advice from the older ones and support from the younger ones.....The image brings you sorrow and relief at the same time. “You should be here with me,” you whisper to his pillow. “But at least you’re not alone.”

----

He was alone. It was well past midnight, and he hadn’t heard from you again. The apartment was dark and empty and still silent. He sat alone in the kitchen, his thoughts a mess. Finally, at 3am, he drags himself out of the kitchen and down the hall to his empty bedroom. He stares at your side of the bed for ages. In the end, he grabs his pillow and favorite blanket and takes it back into the living room with him. He curls up on the couch, turns the TV on so it isn’t so silent, and tries to sleep. Everything hurts. How? How did he end up losing you anyway?

#bts imagines #bts scenarios #bts clean imagines #BTS #non-smut #bts imagine series #don't leave me pt 5 #don't leave me #bts imagine hoseok #hoseok #jhope #hobi

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starkerparkerpony · 4 years

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I Scold Because I Stan Pt.3

AU where Tony (44-45 y/o) meets an aged up (23-24 y/o) Peter after Civil War, Tony is broken up with Pepper and all kinds of sorry for himself. Peter is a ESU graduate and currently has an internship with Oscorp and is a photographer for the Daily Bugle he is also spiderman and therefore perpetually exhausted and has very little patience

Read part 1 & 2

Please consider reblogging.

Two months of having Peter in his life and one thing became abundantly clear to Tony, he was not used to being adored like this. Because it was pure adoration with Peter. Maybe he was different with him than he'd been with Pepper but he couldn't be sure. He didn't know. He just really liked it.

They had not had sex yet. Hell they hadn't even properly kissed yet, Tony had had a long day dealing with goddamned Doombots because that's the kind of person Victor Von Doom became after he got dumped by his fiance, which was a complete and utter disgrace and men should learn how to cope with rejection better... like seriously... he's not the biggest fan of that stretchy-fuck Richards either and what the fuck kind of name is 'Reed' anyway? But it's still no excuse to become a supervillain... Tony used to like Victor for fuck's sake- Peter was waiting for Tony back at the tower.

And for some reason Tony prepared himself to get scolded... because that's what happened right? He manages to right what was wrong and comes back to a stressed and disappointed Pepper.

But that didn't happen.

"I saw you get hit." The young man hurried towards him and scanned Tony's entire being, very thoroughly for potential damage with a forrowed brow, Spiderman man was there too, Peter must've been there to get photos.

"I'm fine, the suit is going to require some tlc though," Tony tried to reassure him.

"You're sure?"

"You bet."

"Okay," Peter said, relaxed, and then pressed a quick kiss onto Tony's lips before enveloping him in a very tight and very comforting hug.

And that was it... no further lectures about priorities and personal wellbeing. Just comfort.

No, they hadn't had sex yet but Peter looked at Tony with such intensity sometimes, that he already felt too naked whenever he was with the younger guy... surprisingly enough, he liked this feeling too.

Pepper was an actual saint but it had required a very specific type of physical and mental effort, to maintain a relationship with her. But with Peter it was so effortless, that sometimes Tony felt like a cheat.

But he'd started to have that uncomfortable conversation with himself... the conversation about commitments and public announcements. Peter was mindful of dealing with the press that comes with rich people. So their "dates" had all been in the tower. Tony had asked about Peter's place but Peter refused because "Tony honey, you're not old enough to be exposed to the graphic images of poverty and squalor that come with a cheap New York studio apartment. And I'm not emotionally prepared to take down all my Iron Man posters, so that's not gonna' happen."

So they hung around the tower, they watched movies, they ate together, sometimes they even worked together. Peter always brought flowers. It was home.

Which was probably why Tony kinda forgot himself one such day. He had spent more that 42 hours in the lab, Peter showed up.

And Tony, because he was a little bit of an idiot, who wanted nothing more than to impress his new guy, asked Friday to tell him that he was more than welcome in the lab.

But Peter had never been down there before.

So after waiting more than half an hour, a very impatient Tony made his way into the living area of his tower, where Peter was watching CNN while munching on some of Tony's favorite cheese popcorn.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked indignant.

"Watching the news... waiting for you, ass," Peter answered, shooting him a teasing little glare "Oh, and I made popcorn! Want some?"

"I asked you to come downstairs," Tony had been waiting patiently downstairs to show the guy the new sensors he had been working on, for Rhodey.

"Er... I- I've never been... I thought you were just being courteous," Peter winced and mumbled, feeling awkward as hell.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Tony had already had a shitty day, Pepper had been yelling at him for not showing up for a government contractor lick-fest, Tony didn't need whatever it was that Peter was trying to do. He just wanted to show his boyfriend the cool things he made and be kissed.

"Tony... I don't know... I didn't think I had the clearance to be down there. I've never signed an NDA or anything for you," Peter half shrugged.

"Why would you need to sign an NDA to hang out with your boyfriend?" Tony realized very late that this was the first time he'd used the word 'boyfriend' in front of Peter and immediately started blushing like an idiot.

"Because I work for a rival company of yours and it would be very awkward for both me and my boyfriend if something you're working on was suddenly introduced by said rival company. Even if it was a coincidence. Also don't you have Avengers stuff down there? Like don't I need... I dunno security clearance to see it? By the way are we discussing the boyfriend thing now or later because I need to cry and scream from the rooftops about it at some point." Of course Peter wouldn't let that bit slip, which only made Tony blush harder.

"I'm not an idiot... anything you don't have clearance for, you won't see. And I trust you. Is this good screaming and crying or bad screaming and crying?" Might as well make sure.

Peter was already making his way closer to him, wrapping Tony in a warm embrace.

"The crying and screaming of pure joy."

"Sounds intense."

"It will be... there'll be snot involved."

"Sexy."

"I know."

"Wanna makeout?"

"Oh hell to the fuck yes."

And so Tony walked Peter back to the couch, planted himself in the younger man's lap and right as he was about to initiate the tonsil hockey game of a lifetime, Peter interrupted-

"You really trust me?" He asked.

"Do you think that I would currently be straddling you if I didn't?" Tony asked back, incredulous... and then his three leaked sextapes that still sometimes trend on certain 'hubs' on the internet came to mind. "Wait don't answer that."

Trust was a pretty weird thing for Peter... he absolutely adored Tony but he still hadn't told him about any alternate identities and maybe it was time to reciprocate that trust.

Soon.

"So You don't think I'm like a gold digger or something?" This was some quick thinking on Peter's part

The strange vulnerability in Peter's voice made Tony ask-

"Did someone say something to you?" Pepper and Rhodey hadn't yet met Peter but they knew about him. They wouldn't do something like this but maybe...

"Just a silly joke that MJ and the guys made... kinda kept niggling... no big deal," Peter was trying to brush it off because he wasn't ready to discuss the what was really on his mind when it came to trust and Tony but the older man still thought that if it didn't affect him he wouldn't have brought it up.

"Babe... I regret to inform you but you're really not kiss-y ass-y enough to be a gold digger. I don't think any gold digger has scolded their gold diggee(?) As much as you scold me." Tony pressed soft kisses along his jawline as he tried to reassure him.

"Hey I scold because I care you ass." Peter chuckled huskily.

"I know"

And then Peter was running his hands up and down Tony's back, and it made him wonder if he was in fact part cat, because humans don't really enjoy being petted as much as him, do they? Maybe it was just that Peter touched him so well.

Honestly Peter could be doing anything and Tony would enjoy it. He nibbled along his throat and Tony couldn't help but grind down on his lap. He brought his delightful hands up his back and into his hair, gently pulling him into a deep, sensual kiss and Tony was so utterly lost.

He gently licked into his mouth and of course he tasted of cola and popcorn and it was delectable.

Tony hadn't ever really been the dominant type but he'd also never quite felt so... safe as when he did when Peter was leading him.

When they broke apart for a breath, Tony couldn't help but cup Peter's beautiful face with both his hands and just stare into the beautiful boy's eyes, as if trying to figure out the reason why such a fantastic creature could ever choose a... mess like Tony.

"God Tony you have the most beautiful eyes," Peter breathed.

Which of course made Tony blush like an absolute fool. He always did this. Peter Parker had a habbit of breaking through Tony's moments of self doubt with pure adoration and he was utterly helpless to it.

Tony had to physically restrain himself from replying with 'I love you' because two months was probably too soon for saying it.

He'd say it the next time Peter scolded him.

Soon.

Not many words were spoken after that except for "scoot back" "shift up a little" "no that tickles" "wait not there" "oh yess that's nice" "keep going" "don't stop" "please stay".

Taglist- @spidey-nerd @areluctantsblog @briesb1tch @fleet-of-ships @darker-soft-starker @heybrotherpourthewine @buckybarnes-is-bae @starkerlovestony @nachtvuur @theginkosakata @plsstopgivingpetertrauma @highbloodprinz @supernaturalpadfoot @strkrmdnss @thewolffearsher @starkravingspiders @whenfandomscollide @starkerrifics @starkersenses @merwinist @this-starker-hoe @sad-princess28 @smidnite @mystarkershame @somethingihadtocarry @goodtimesstarker @lacechains @hermit-fangirl @colorofpearls @narutoyaoifans @ravens-starker-stuff @lover-starker @littlemonstercupcake @starkerkitty91x @tigger232 @mcusicals @cartorchdeath @sadbumblingmess @winter-starker @pixelizedgenocide @lurafita @yadds @starkerisendgame @peterscherry @tonyfuckingstarkismykink

#starker #starker fic #tony stark x peter parker #iron man x spider man #ironspider #bamf peter parker #precious tony #i scold because i stan #fluff #starker au

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spnreactionblogging · 3 years

Text

CARRY ON

spoilers below but I’m very late to the game

here we go!!! there's Some Woman in the thumbnail for this episode and I'm like oh boy did you fuckers turn castiel into a girl to make it Not Gay, I will riot. we're off to a dread-inducing start I'm honestly not even sure I want to watch this? I have not heard anything good but since my options are either keep SPN blacklisted forever but ultimately get spoiled anyway, or use my dwindling remaining time to see it for myself without being told what happens, may as well be on my own terms I am hearing that misha and possibly j2 were not happy with this, whatever this is (?????) yikes I don't understand how you even have another episode after the last one. that seems like a traditional ending. you either beat a dead horse or go ultra meta and it sounds like they dropped the ball, big time but let's see jack's sweet and deserved better. there's a clock but it's NOT heat of the moment playing, damn oh the dog. we love you miracle dog sam's still jogging where's eileen!!!! I like seeing sam cooking I actually enjoy watching them do domestic stuff dean sneaking food to the dog 😭 can this be the whole episode, just them doing chores I meant to catch which book sam was reading I can't tell but it looks like it's old this is extra bonus sad for knowing that they couldn't even like, have a wrap party or anything. extra isolated. :( SPECIAL GUEST STAR JIM BEAVER!!! "Are you sure you're ready for this?" "Oh, I don't have a choice." dean hasn't been this relatable to me in years, this is how I feel watching this lmao akron pie fest dean dies of complications from diabetes god I miss bakeries or restaurants or anything I do love Sad Sam Face "I"'m thinking about Cas, you know? Jack. If they could be here." thank you Sam that pain isn't going away for me either "stop being an eeyore" Sam's the Eeyore of the series, Dean, okay, and same lmao jared fucking slammed that pie into jensen's face and they just filmed it. you can see the actual glee on his face brady??? like sam's old classmate? wasn't that his name? or no some kid. is this just a regular-ass monster of the week. do sam and dean just get killed by like. regular people? are there no monsters anymore. I would actually love that. humanity is truly the worst monster of all. didn't we learn that in season 1 :') in "the benders" are these guys sam and dean? are they just murdering monster families like they did in the holiday episode? what is happening. are those dean's shoes. I could probably recognize how they walk if I really paid attention i guess not. probably. "singer and kripke, FBI" ha fucking clowns lmao poor sam they still have dad's journal, huh. THE LORE evil mimes. vamp-mimes. I guess they kill these dudes? we gonna unmask them or what there we go this guy looks like joseph gordon-levitt oh we love torture on this show this is definitely "dean who's NOT the ultimate killer" amirite "if those kids are dead he's gonna use a spoon" how very walter sullivan of you also I feel like sam would not do this anymore but hey who am I, someone who likes consistent characterization? lol we're back to creepy barns instead of wet pipe factories dean has a fucking shuriken lmao I honestly for real need a machete for the overgrown weeds I don't hate this so far? I'm tired of the constant torture but I guess this feels like early seasons, kind of. idk. lmao sam with the concussions. classic tie them to a chair. it's what we do. i will be disappointed if they are not tied to a chair jenny? cue studio killers. I do not remember whatever episiode this is but it looks very early based on sam's hair oh thanks sam. couldn't get out of this episode without beheading a woman too one of the suggestions for me typing "woman" was a high-heeled shoe emoji. thanks, predictive text...?????? true feminist oh damn he could very well get tetanus from that. that's how trinity dies, man. should've gotten your booster shot, dean. vaccines save lives this is like the plot of signs why don't you guys wear bulletproof shit. your plot armor was holding you together until now. GUYS THIS IS HOW HUNTERS GO OKAY don't ever un-impale someone, guys like "dean we are in a major city, there are ambulances" call fucking 911, someone could be there already "I've always looked up to you" because you're taller than me lmaoooo idefk what to say about this like. we all know this is how hunters die. you fucking leered at jessica is what you did, dean if sam makes it out of this I'll accept it. if sam lives I can be okay. if this is the only way sam gets free of this, I'm okay. CALL 911 AND CALL JACK "always keep fighting" aw :( they're both very good at crying, I will give them that we never think it's gonna be the day. at least you got pie. OH THE WINCHESTER FAMILY MUSIC don't do this to me dean got a way better death than castiel. this actually reminds me a liiiiittle bit of the end of season 2? with how dean holds sam's body. the writing here is overwrought though. jared and jensen do the best they can with the script they're given but like you guys just FOUGHT GOD. they're a bit too up their own ass with this. you can tell that dabb thinks he's very clever. sam... gets a dog again? at least. i guess. the pacing is bad. I don't hate this on principle but it is not executed well. I am having like no emotional response to this except maybe relief for sam in a horrid way. like, you're free! at what cost. it's like the opposite of season 5? sam survives instead of dean. and... sam marries a dog. where do they get all this fucking lumber!!! did sam chop that all himself dude if he woke up to "heat of the moment" i'd lose my shit in the best way. gabriel wins. "gotta keep you on your toes." what had to change in this because of the pandemic? at least sam has a dog to be in scenes with him. the two guns as big and little brothers is an interesting choice of a shot. god the fucking phones. "DHS" "CIA" "dean's 'other other' phone" "state patrol" what's the paperwork on his desk? (512) is an Austin area code I have this on amazon prime and the saddest thing thus far is X-Ray: Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester, with no other actors at all. meta ways, pandemic related. "this is agent bon jovi" donna's alive??? sam just quit, babe. just quit. or take a day off at least, jesus. didn't you just drive back from ohio are you even gonna go back to the bunker DEAN IN HEAVEN!!! how'd you get here. "well at least I made it to heaven" lmao he said the same thing oh hey bobby!! I love jack god i've missed jim beaver you guys moved on to dream bubbles!!!!! RUFUS how very homestuck + narnia of you, starring sam winchester as susan pevensie so jack just like melded all of these metaphysical spaces, I'm cool with that "so the question is what are you gonna do now, dean?" get a better beer so I can drink and drive with my car that's in heaven, I'm already dead so who cares what I hit TELL ME WHERE IS BALTHAZAR FOR I MUCH DESIRE TO SPEAK WITH HIM break everyone out of the empty I do get the impression this was supposed to be a big cast reunion and the pandemic clobbered that :( oh it's the original license plate on the impala sure do love that cas and jack "helped" to give dean everything he's ever wanted. the only time "carry on my wayward son" has been diegetic I guess sam and the dog had a child I like jared in glasses are we doing a bunch of elderly makeup yeah there he is did they just spray grey temp dye on his hair or what is sam gonna drive into toluca lake!!! buddy please don't just run the engine in a garage, he took off his glasses and that makes me nervous jake gyllenhaal looking dude which cover is this must be nice to have healthcare I so appreciate that sam's wife has zero personality and is merely in the background, of no importance whatsoever compared to his kid named dean are the two impalas gonna meet in heaven????? vancouver is beautiful, or wherever this is at jared looks so cozy in that coat you can tell j2 really do love each other for real the majesty of that forest/that river got me choked up a bit, it's such a lonely thing. like. I can see what they were going for? like dean just... getting sick, falling off a ladder, getting in a car accident, etc etc would've been more potent, I think. the execution was not good. I'm not that unhappy though. it's all right. eh. it's fine. the heartfelt message from the cast (what's left of them....) and the crew was sweet. I want to know what they were intending to do? I feel like you can definitely feel the weight of COVID fucking this up which is genuinely upsetting. sam gets like 50 years of being free of dean I GUESS???? perhaps the only way to break the cycle.

at least there was no sexual assault in this episode. i have definitely watched way worse episodes of this show. it's like. twee. but I can't be mad at these guys especially with how much I know jared in particular has been struggling with the state of the world this year but jensen talked about it with rosenbaum on his show too. 2020 has been rough. like. at least they filmed it. whatever. I feel like I get what they were trying to do even if circumstances meant it wasn't really pulled off. it seems like they were supposed to have a big cast reunion and the pandemic took the wind completely out of their sails. this feels incredibly tacked on. 15x19 would've been a much better place to stop. I feel like I just read andrew dabb's notes. I get what they were trying to go for but they didn't pull it off. I thought it was gonna be a lot worse tbh in summary: EHHHHHHHHH

#s15e20

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krisseycrystal · 4 years

Photo

rated: g

fandom: Steven Universe

prompt: “Protecting Someone You Love” + BisPearl (& Steven)

requested by: @moominquartz

i’ve been on an SU-love-fest i think alskdjflakjsdf trying to write as much as possible for this show that means so much to me now that it’s over i’m so sorry

HERE’S THE OTHER HALF OF THE REQUEST MY WONDERFUL HUSBAND @moominquartz GAVE ME !!! When he first said “write BisPearl” it was a tie between “Protecting Someone You Love” and “Competition” and I already did “Competition,” so now it’s time to finish the duet with “Protecting Someone You Love”

i got really sappy in this but shrug emoji what else is new. ENJOY

- o - o - o -

Instrumental [Read on AO3]

- o - o - o -

The broken stonework of the world bursts into dust and fragments around her. It settles on her tongue and sticks to her throat. Bismuth coughs and hacks to try to get it out, but time is passing strangely and she’s not in full control of her limbs. Reality has been cut and pasted into snippets that reel past too quickly. Consciousness slips in and out of her grasp. Everything seems as flimsy as clouds, which, for the record, is not proper for construction. She’s told the Morganites over and over again: you can’t build a castle on top of sand. Did they listen?

There are birds chirping, twittering, from far away. It tastes like morning. She has always liked the seasonal changes on Earth. Very fitting.

Ivory keys dance along her shoulders and draw her into a slender chest. Someone is shouting.

Bismuth can’t make out the words. She thinks she wants to reach out to that voice. She thinks she ought to comfort them. She knows them.

“Just hang on!”

A butterfly has latched onto her hand. It’s funny; she hadn’t even been aware she had a hand until it was held.

Wait. That’s kind of whack. Of course she has hands. How else does she—

“It’s cool,” she tells the butterfly. She lifts her hand to eye level. “Hey, now. Y’don’t gotta panic. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

“Bismuth? W-what are you…?”

Light bursts into a towering column that swallows them whole. Bismuth’s vision is filled with an alarming clarity, accompanied by the soft popping chime of an activated warp pad, which seems pretty confusing at first, considering that means they’re leaving the place Bismuth thinks they should probably be at.

“Hey,” she tells the butterfly, “The fountain…”

“Not now, Bismuth.”

The butterfly lands on her shoulder again as their destination solidifies under their bodies. There’s a breath, another young voice she knows that shouts, “Pearl!” and a rustle of grass.

“Steven! Oh, thank goodness—”

“—It’s okay, Pearl! I got your text! I’m here. Is she—?”

“—yes, she’s a little…”

Bismuth can’t make out what the words that were supposed to follow are. She blinks slowly and the next time she looks, her perfect view of Earth’s blue, blue sky has been eclipsed by pink shoulders and black clouds.

“Who put that floof there?” she mumbles and reaches up.

A salamander laughs and pushes her hand away before she can move back the black clouds. “Y-yeah, I see what you mean,” the salamander rumbles. He sucks in a sharp breath. “Oh, Bismuth…okay, here we go.” Then, something wet and warm and strange sets itself upon her gem.

And there’s pink.

And pink.

And pink—

Bismuth gasps upright hard. Her hair flings forward over her face; she shoves it back with a broad hand and winces before she realizes she can’t feel any pain. She’s fine. She feels fine. Her eyes snap to her whole, unblemished gem.

“I—”

“Bismuth!” Pearl’s wobbly voice is her first warning before she’s encircled in thin, white arms. Pearl’s face presses into her shoulder. “Oh thank goodness you’re all right! I was so terrified after…”

“Pearl—” Bismuth’s laugh dries up the instant Pearl pulls back.

That’s a scary look on her face Bismuth doesn’t think she’s ever seen before.

But Steven, on Bismuth’s other side—hey, she hasn’t seen him in a while; did he get his ears pierced?—winces as if he knows very well what that particular, specific turn of Pearl’s lips mean. “Oh boy,” he murmurs when Pearl opens her mouth.

“Bismuth.”

“P…Pearl?”

“Don’t you dare do that again.”

Clarity is a sharp mirror in Bismuth’s head, replaying the events preceding the wonkiness of the world. Bismuth sets her own mouth in an unhappy slant.

Steven frets. “Uh, do what again? Guys?”

“I can’t promise you that.”

“Yes! You can! I can take care of myself, Bismuth. I have for millennia.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“When you pull stunts like—like that, you certainly seem to suggest—“

“—I was just trying to protect you!”

“And look what it did!” Pearl throws out her hand. “That fusion, whatever she called herself, Charoite? Whatever; she got away! And even worse than that: Rose’s fountain is now in ruins! Gallons of her healing tears, lost! It’s going to take ages for Steven to be able to replenish that, if he even can!”

“Uh, guys?”

Bismuth scowls. “It’s fine, isn’t it? I’ll fix it! It’ll look just as good as it did before. At least that’s something I’m good to have around for, anyway.”

“What?!”

Pearl’s voice pitches high to a degree Bismuth hasn’t heard in centuries.

Bismuth and Steven’s gazes snap to her. Pearl’s brows are pinched tight on her face, peaking just below her gem. Her pale blues shine under the sunlight peeking through the canopy of leaves high above. She looks hurt and wounded, which is the strangest thing considering that last Bismuth checked, she had done everything she could to ensure that wouldn’t happen.

“Bismuth,” Pearl says and Bismuth has never quite heard her name sound like that before, like someone needed to say it, “this is exactly the problem.”

The sensation of a hand against her cheek is new. Pearl’s touch is gentle. Warm.

Steven’s face softens from worry to something else: something starry-eyed and open-mouthed as he watches them.

“How could you possibly think you matter so little to me?”

“W-what?”

“You honestly think I don’t want you around for more than fixing things? That you’re…”

Bismuth kind of feels like she wants to take back her words, now. Her face is burning, burning, burning. Her stomach has swooped. There’s embarrassment and something giddy rising in her chest all at once. She doesn’t know what to do with it. “Aw, geez, Pearl, nah. I didn’t mean to…”

“Don’t do that again.”

There’s something in the way Pearl’s voice shakes as she repeats her words. Something in the press of her fingers into the edge of Bismuth’s jaw.

Bismuth chuckles, low and quiet. She dips her head. “Pearl, you know I can’t promise you that.”

“No! I don’t know. Why not?”

Aw, stars. Is this the moment? Bismuth would be lying if she tried to say she hadn’t imagined over and over again how she’d confess the big, goopy mess inside her that’s feelings. She could have done big, grand, pre-planned gestures, or small, intimate ones. She always fancied making Pearl something, but could never decide what would be good enough. She never figured the opportune moment would be immediately post-almost making Pearl cry.

But then Pearl looks at her with those big eyes and all that concern and with all that grace in her and Bismuth thinks maybe, well, maybe she’s been thinking too much.

She would just really awfully like to hold her.

“Pearl, I—”

“—aw, just kiss already!”

The tinny voice echoes across the forest clearing, followed by shocked and indignant, “Amethyst!”

Amethyst’s voice cackles loudly from Steven’s phone as he hurriedly jams his thumb over the face of his screen. Just before it clicks off, Amethyst shouts out, “Hah! Hurry, Steve-O! Warp to the temple! Pearl still can’t get into my room; you’ll be safe here!” and Steven’s face is red red red. He stuffs both hands in the pockets of his jacket and shoots to his feet. Quick as he can, he bolts for the warp, shouting, “Sorry!”

The only one perhaps most off-color than all of them is Pearl. She stands, aghast, but by the time she reaches out, the warp pad chimes and a familiar, melodious pillar of light stretches to the sky.

“Steven! Get back here!”

“For the record: it was Amethyst who video-called m—!” Steven’s voice is cut off before he can finish.

Pearl stares at the place she last saw his red flip flops against the top of the warp pad’s surface.

Bismuth can’t help it.

She laughs. She laughs and laughs and falls back against the grass, arms spread out in an open invitation to the sky.

Pearl slaps a hand over her face and lets it slowly fall. “Ugh. I’m sorry. Those two can be so insufferable together. They have no concept of personal boundaries whatsoever.”

“Oh, believe me. I know.” Bismuth sits back up once her chuckles have subsided. She props up an elbow on her knee and looks to Pearl with a lazy grin. “I mean, I was just thinkin’: y’know, it’s such a shame Steven probably had to leave his Dondai parked somewhere around here when he came to meet us at this warp pad…it’d be a tragedy if, y’know, somethin’ happened to it while he was hiding…”

Pearl blinks. Slowly, she smiles and presses a hand to her own cheek. “Why, Bismuth! I knew there was a reason I love you.”

And there it is.

And it’s so simple to hear.

And it’s perhaps the first time Bismuth has ever actually heard the words, which is funny, because after all of her imagining and all of her notions about what this moment would be like: to know that she matters and is cared for reciprocally…she never expected for it to be so unsurprising.

Pearl smiles at her as if she, too, knew exactly what she was saying and wanted it said and had no trouble at all saying it.

It makes Bismuth think maybe, she’s been hearing those words all along, too. Maybe she’s been trying to say them back just as much: throwing herself into harm’s way, trying to protect her, but these are not the ways Pearl wants it said.

“Yeah,” she hums instead. “I love you, too, Pearl.”

#steven universe #su #pearl #bismuth #bispearl #fanfic #a little bit of amethyst too #but really she's just the left wing to steven's right wing as the together-wingman these two #if that analogy makes sense #aslkdjflakjsdf #fluff bingo!#protecting someone you love #krissey writes a thing

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moonstruckbucky · 4 years

Text

Rant Fest

So for the past couple of months, my “in-laws” (we’ll call them that even though my SO and I aren’t married *whispers* yet) have been driving me up a wall and then some.

His mom? Super sweet, loving... but a helicopter. And I don’t mean one of those dinky little news helicopters. I’m talking full-out military style, equipped with heat-seeking missiles kind of helicopter. She hovers a lot. Calls my SO multiple times a day, for no real good reason at all except to check up on him. Mind, he’s 30 - he’s a big boy.

Things have been a little stagnant for him since he had his seizure two months ago - he’s stranded without a car (totaled in the accident) and without a license (if you have a seizure MA state law dictates you automatically surrender your license for 6 months). So he’s been getting rides from her when he needs to, or his grandmother.

(Gonna throw a read more on this puppy. We now resume our regular scheduled dash scrolling).

Anyway. Besides the hovering, which has undoubtedly gotten worse since his accident, she gets a little too touchy with him that bothers me. Pinching his behind (again - he’s 30), and just all over him in general. I get because he’s the first born, she’s probably super attached to him - plus, he fell 15 or so feet when he was 2, so we think that’s what spurred her hovering because at the time I don’t think she was watching him; he ended up spending two weeks in the hospital after bonking his head. She doesn’t really act like this with her youngest son, who’s a year older than me at 28, but because he’s had issues with drugs/drinking in the past, she hovers over him too and clearly doesn’t trust him all that much.

Which, not that it’s my business, I have a problem with, because she isn’t giving him the chance to earn her trust back at all.

Then came Baxter, our one year old lab pup, who we got for free because we studded out our 6 year old male to a guy who’d grown up breeding coonhounds - so a responsible breeder. We took him home over Labor Day weekend last year. From the get-go she was all over us about training him, and what we should or shouldn’t do. A little note: I have my Associate’s in animal care, had to take hours of classes on dog training and behavior, so I like to think I know my shit about dogs, okay? Okay. It bothered the fuck out of me.

Cut to less than a month later, Nick’s grandmother gets out of bed in the middle of the night, takes a wrong turn and ends up falling down the stairs. Breaks her fingers on one hand and doing some other damage to her other arm.

First thing out of his mom’s mouth? “Did she trip over that dog?” I was livid. As if she couldn’t trust that we’d keep Baxter with us in his room at night - he was fast asleep when this happened. Even Nick (SO) was annoyed that she’d asked that.

Jump to this past weekend, and here’s a long background to this event.

About two months ago, Nick’s brother and his ex - not even his girlfriend anymore - decided they were going to get a puppy. Now, I think it was Jake’s idea to get the dog, and then the ex just maybe saw an opportunity to stick around, and voila, their puppy.

Who is a backyard bred pit bull puppy bred by a guy either by accidental pregnancy or because he “just wanted to try and breed his dogs”. Either way, these are key signs of an irresponsible breeder. Next sign? The fact he told them both they could take him at 5 weeks of age. When the normal age to take home dogs is 7-8 weeks. We took Bax home at 7 weeks. So not only is he missing out on crucial socialization skills such as bite inhibition and when to cool his jets with corrections from mom, but he’s incredibly small, the runt probably. And then begin the seizures. 5 week old puppy is now on anti-seizure meds - the same ones Nick is on actually.

What’s worse? Jake and his ex didn’t even pay for the fucking dog - Nick did, because Jake didn’t have the money. Makes me wonder how the fuck they’re paying vet fees for a sick dog.

You angry yet?

Jump to a few weeks later. This puppy is a fucking menace. Has zero bite inhibition and those puppy teeth are like razors. He was actually fucking vicious about it as well. Would only let you pet him so he could turn and nail you. Even. Worse? His “parents” encouraged this fucking behavior! Every time he began biting people, even if he was in someone else’s arms, “mom” would take him from them and cuddle him - thus, if you know a little about dog training, is seen as a reward by the dog. Even when I put him down on the floor when he started biting, she picked him up and cuddled him while trying to tell him “no”.

It doesn’t fucking work like that.

So you’ll understand why I get nervous as he gets bigger around Baxter. Having the reputation pits do (I don’t hate them; I just think not everyone should be allowed to own them if they’re not going to take training seriously - and even then, you can’t guarantee they won’t display some genetic aggression later in life), and I brought it to Nick. He’s convinced they’ll “be fine”, and frankly, I don’t want to take that risk because Baxter? Is a softie. He’s a wimp (sorry bubba, but you are), and he won’t stand up for himself - and I don’t want him to be in that position with another dog’s teeth in his neck, where he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do. Because by the time he figures it out, he might be dead (I’m gonna cry just thinking of that possibility).

So I keep an eye on them when they play. Jump to this weekend. The whole point of this rant. Sundays are for family dinner, and the puppy usually accompanies his parents. Why the ex still comes to fucking family dinner, I have no idea - she was his plus one to his sister’s wedding, which multiple people thought was fucking weird, myself included. Anyway, our boys are blocked off from the kitchen while we eat so the puppy can roam and we can keep an eye on him.

Then after dinner we let everyone in the kitchen. Well, Hydro (the 6 year old and Baxter’s father/sire) is at the table looking for scraps (bad habit, I know) when the puppy wanders over.

Now, let me mention this: Hydro was trained and raised as a hunting dog, so while he is socialized, he isn’t a very social dog with other dogs or even strange people. When Baxter was a puppy learning about boundaries, he pushed Hydro too far, and Hydro nailed him - picked him up by the head and tossed him. Baxter was fine, but he kind of got the gist. I was concerned, but at the same time I know it’s how a dog communicates enough is enough. Baxter still pushes boundaries but he’s a jerk like that. It isn’t for lack of trying.

So, puppy wanders over to Hydro, who gives a low warning growl to tell him he’s too close, he needs to back off. Adult dogs don’t very much like puppies to begin with because they have absolutely no manners. It’s crucial in dog development for them to be able to be taught by older dogs in their own way what is right and what is wrong.

Well, puppy made a wrong move not backing off, and Hydro snarled and snapped his teeth at him. He ended up catching him on the snout. Puppy starts screaming because he probably hasn’t had a dog do this before, and it’s bedlam. Hydro ducks under the table thinking he’s going to be punished for communicating in a way the puppy will understand. “Mom” scoops up the puppy, in goddamn tears (fucking please), acting like Hydro just tried to maul him. I’m watching this whole thing happen trying not to roll my eyes at everyone losing their minds.

I feel terrible for Hydro, so I’m the only one (even Nick wasn’t assuring him he wasn’t a bad dog right away, and that dog is attached to his hip) worried about Hydro. So I give him love and attention and tell him he’s okay, he’s not a bad dog. You can’t punish a dog for communicating that he’s had enough, for setting his own boundaries - and “mom” coddling the puppy isn’t helping him either, but he did learn. He was a little nervous about Baxter approaching him, but I’m glad his instinct wasn’t to bite. Had Hydro wanted to hurt him, he would have.

The puppy has to learn - even Baxter was trying to get away from him and everyone was just letting the puppy leap at him. Now granted, I read this morning you shouldn’t do that - if your older dog is trying to get away, you need to separate them.

Anyway, the family, besides Nana and Nick, kept giving Hydro wary glances every time he entered the room in case he was going to just up and attack the puppy. Which pissed me off.

What made it worse? Nick’s mother claiming Hydro wasn’t “socialized”, and the fourth time she said it, I corrected her with, “He’s socialized just fine. The puppy has to learn that dogs have boundaries. Not all of them are going to be like Baxter.”

(Spoiler alert: he would’ve learned this had he been allowed to stay with mom those extra 3 weeks)

So I’ve come to the decision that when Nick and I move to Maine next year, the dogs are staying home, and I’ll be minimizing contact between them. I don’t trust at all that they’re going to take the puppy’s training seriously, especially for a breed that’s so stigmatized like pit bulls. 7% of the dog population and they’re number 1 in fatalities? There’s something wrong there.

Anyway, this is my giant rant that’s been building up.

OH, and when we move to Maine, I’m going to do a happy dance because it means Nick’s mom can’t drop in unexpectedly all the fucking time and disrupt my domestic life. I can’t wait.

Uh, yeah, so y’all asked for it and here it is. Go wild on feedback, thoughts, agreements, whatever.

#personal #in laws #dogs #dog training

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curestardust · 4 years

Text

if you want: (bad) sci-fi comedy with drama / lots of boring characters but cute waifus / weird and overcomplicated plot

Watching the anime from the top of the Seasonal pile is always a gamble. Somehow an anime about horse girls (x) that I assumed to be fanservice-galore ended up being one of my favourites and then a sci-fi mystery which I was quite looking forward to ended up being a fucking trainwreck.

“Kanata no Astra” is, to put it plainly, a plot twist factory. We have like 3 episodes of the characters just doing stuff then every fucking episode ends on a cliffhanger and ups and ups and ups the story to where it goes from shocking to “you can NOT be serious”.

But lets roll it back a bit, to the very first episode. After an overdrawn sequence introducing us to Aries and Kanata, we finally meet the rest of the characters. The year is 2063, and apparently they have camps now where they just drop off a bunch of students on another planet to survive for a week and this is normal. Cool. Immediately, you know the personality of each main character as they’re as cookie-cutter as it gets and we’ve seen it a 1000 times. The clumsy one, the one with the hero complex, the cool and smart one, the tsundere, the brooding one, the shy one, the charming one and the always cheery one. There’s also a 10-year-old with them, who’s cute. Of course, all of them also have their random skills that will make them useful for the trip. Which of course goes as well as you would expect. Like 2 minutes after landing on McPa, their camping planet, a random ass sphere appears and sucks each of the characters in, who find themselves in deep space. Somehow, all of them managed to put their helmets back on so now their main problem is that they’re floating in the middle of nowhere! But do not worry, dear viewer, as a old ship is for some reason floating very close to them and after a bit of dramatic struggling they all manage to board it. Then comes the shocking reveal! They somehow ended up 5,000 lightyears away from their home planet! There isn’t enough food or water for a full trip. Oh no! But do not worry, dear viewer, as somehow there are 5 habitable planets just on their way back home where they can restock (and at this point the possibility of food and water shortage is immediately forgotten). What a coincidence! And this is where we start our story, a group of teens, lost in space, against the elements, having to visit dangerous planets and the mystery as to how this all happened. Sounds interesting enough, right? Well, prepare for all that potential to be squandered.

This is where the spoilers start as I need to talk about all the nonesense I’ve been subjected to.

First of the planets they visit all blend together. There is only one thing that’s a threat and it’s always the fucking plants. There is one time an animal is a threat to one of them but that’s solved in a few minutes. It doesn’t matter anyway, as it’s quite obvious that none of them are going to die. This anime tries to blend lighthearted humour with drama and it really doesn’t work. The humour always comes out of nowhere at the worst moments possible, always undercutting the seriousness of any situation. The characters also get their backstories revealed, usually in boring flashbacks, and I could basically see the “Plot Armour Unlocked” achievement pop up in my peripheral vision whenever that happened. Then these characters get thrown into the background and are relegated to random remarks so we don’t forget that they still exist as we move forward with the story. These backstory reveals are supposed to make us really feel for these characters which would be carrying the emotional weight of the upcoming dramatic moments but it doesn’t change the fact that all of them have 1 personality trait. The anime was basically asking me to care for characters with the personality of a pebble. I didn’t. And that’s bad because everyone is always CRYING! Speech? Crying. Reconcaliation? Crying. Dramatic backstory? Crying. Danger? Crying. Anything? Crying! I was rolling my eyes so often I almost gave myself a migraine.

Then the main story. First, the “smart one” (Zack) and the” hero complex turned captain” (Kanata) find out that there’s a traitor among them who was the cause behind the sphere. Then they do the logical thing and keep it to themselves and observe everyone with a close e- OF COURSE THEY DON’T DO THAT. They immediately tell everyone on the ship about it! There’s an uproar that lasts about 30 seconds then they all settle on the fact that they’re all companions and friends now UWU and they shouldn’t worry about it. Anyway, anyone with half a brain could narrow the potential suspect down to 3 characters. Luca, the DIY master and cheery one, Ulgar, the always brooding and mysterious one and Charce, the charming chef who doesn’t seem to have anything bad about him. Well, Luca and Ulgar have a show off on like the second or third planet where their backstories get unlocked and they can be crossed out from the list. Meaning, that you knew who the traitor was halfway through, making their reveal pretty lackluster.

But this all would’ve been fine, has it not been for the plot surrounding their “attempted murder”. Through everyone’s stories one thing becomes clear: they all had shitty parents (except for Aries). If I had known what the actual reason ends up being I’d have been screaming “NO this is good, this is an interesting concept!!!”. As we get a few scenes with the parents back home, this could’ve been so interesting. Maybe, they sent their kids they didn’t love to die and then someone regrets it and threatens to report it and then they have to stop them! THAT would’ve been great. The actual reason though, not only is ridiculous but comes from complete speculation. The 10-year-old with them, Funi is another member’s adopted little sister, the tsundere Quitterie’s. The 2 look literally the same. Same skin colour, hair colour, eye colour but somehow this didn’t peak Quitterie’s curiosity in the slightest as when Zack does a DNA test she is like “omg what if we’re actually related wow”. Except, Zack finds something else: the 2′s DNA are a complete match. So he reveals to them that they’re “the same person”. Interesting. Then he jumps about 1km forward and arrives to the conclusion that they are, in fact, ALL clones of their parents and as a law was passed tha made cloning illegal, it was the reason for wanting to kill them in deep space. Wha...

Ok...ok. Now we’re going into a weird territory but I can deal with this. Not a bad concept. Aight.

Except it doesn’t stop here. On their last planet, they find an astronaut who’s been in stasis after her ship broke down. When the team finds her and unfreezes her she is like “OMG I can finally go back to Earth!!!” and they’re like “...what’s Earth?”. Now this storyline was what completely broke me. They apparently live on a planet that looks very much like Earth, called Astra. Which is fun cause they named their ship Astra...and they acted like they didn’t know what it was? There was a plaque with the quote “Per aspera, ad Astra” in the ship (which I’m quite familiar with as it’s one of my favourite quotes). Then Kanata is like “Astra....I like that.” ISN’T THAT YOUR PLANET’S NAME??? Imagine naming your ship “Earth”, like????????

Khm, anyway, Polina, the astronaut, explains to them that an asteroid was supposed to crash into Earth and this is why they were looking for another planet to migrate to. Jump a little forward and we get the info that the sphere is actually a warp gate humanity used to move over to Astra, however there was war and crime and shit over land and they deactivated them. Then humanity was so ashamed that they “rolled back history” 100 years and erased that part from human history......and this somehow worked.....oh and they also abolished all countries and unified the whole planet and made everyone speak the same language. Oh, and they also banned guns...

Anyway, all this is kept secret by the only place they allowed to keep the Monarchy system which is where Charce is from and is how he knows all this. Then he goes and completely KO’s me with his final revelation that Aries is the clone of the daughter of the king??? And was being raised by one of her handmaidens??

Let me also finish this complain-fest off with the stupidest moment in the whole anime. Charce, after realising that he does actually want to be with his friends, activates the warp gate to commit suicide. Kanata jumps to him and he....he.....puts his arm out toward the warp gate and shouts “Stay back!” at it. Then when that OBVIOUSLY doesn’t work and his forearm gets sucked in Charce panicks and deactivates the gate, ripping Kanata’s right forearm off. This is all pretty hilarious in itself but then Kanata dramatically says to Charce “You promised to be my right hand man” as we get a shot of his bloody amputated right arm. [Key Smash]. I laughed for almost 5 minutes at that.

If you skipped all that here’s a short summary: can’t balance the drama and the humour, the humour is pretty bad, the characters all have 1 personality trait, the emotional moments don’t carry any weight, incredibly stupid and overcomplicated story with a lot of plot holes, predictable outcomes.

But for some reason people do like this anime. I’m guessing half of them are there for the cute waifus and the other half hasn’t seen actually good sci-fi comedy with drama (cough Cowboy Bebop cough) but whatever. Watch it, don’t watch it, this was more of me complaining than an actual review.

[3/10] (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

#dusty reviews #Astra Lost in Space #Kanata no Astra #long post #sorry yall #but i had to get this all out of my system

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lobsters-on-their-heads · 5 years

Text

Continuing Travels of Cophine, Part 3 Chapt. 10

Fucking finally. I’ve been trying to get my novel out to literary agents, which has taken up a lot of creative energy on top of regular life activities and things (bipolar doesn’t always work in my favor, either). But, here it is!

You can read all of Part 3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16820221

Cosima didn't know how to write a condolence card. She sucked even more at picking one out, but on Tuesday that was her One Job.

At the card-and-party-goods store Sarah brought her to, the card section stretched over three full aisles, and the “sympathy” cards were ten percent of that. “Just grab a card,” she muttered to herself, “any fucking card.” But all of the cards she picked up sucked. Donnie Hendrix just lost his mother – the first person in his entire life who loved him – and the trite pre-written message on a two dollar piece of card stock was supposed to sooth his pain? Were the swoopy cursive letters and watercolor flowers actually supposed to comfort anyone? Or wasn't it all just a ploy to make those who hadn't lost anyone feel better about themselves? Like saying “look, I helped” without actually helping anything at all?

She picked up a card showing a tire swing at sunset. Always remember that every part of life is a part of God's plan, it said.

Cosima huffed. “Is cloning a part of God's plan, too?” she asked the card, and stuffed it back into it's slot.

Another read, Nothing happens without a reason. A whole bunch of Cosima's life experience contradicted that one, too.

Those who love us never really leave us.

“Way to rip off Sirius Black, yo,” Cosima told that card. As she suspected, JK Rowling was not credited with the message anywhere on the back.

She had no idea how close Donnie was (had been) to his mother. If (when) Cosima's mother died, there wasn't a card in existence that would even dent Cosima's pain. To make matters worse, in her search Cosima came across sympathy cards for the loss of a spouse or partner and she nearly fled the card aisle to join Sarah in the “summer fun” aisle with the pool noodles and plastic sand buckets. The two news alerts from Syria she got a few minutes ago really didn't help, and Delphine wasn't even in Syria yet.

Cosima was scowling at a card reading Don't cry. They're in a better place now when her phone rang. She crammed the card back in it's overcrowded slot and answered. “Hey gorgeous,” she said.

“Hey,” Delphine said. “Is everything alright? You said you needed some help?”

Delphine sounded exhausted, and Cosima chided herself. Delphine had treated two Turkish clones in two cities in two days. She deserved some time to herself. “Totally alright,” Cosima assured her. “Nothing to worry about. Forget I asked.”

“Euh, not very likely. What do you need help with?”

“Well, you seem like a classy lady, and so I thought – ”

Delphine's snorted laugh cut her off. “I'm sorry, what?”

“I have to buy a sympathy card for Donnie, and I have no frikkin' clue what to get, or, like, what to do when we see him later today.”

“Oh.” Delphine's mirth vanished. “Why are you buying a sympathy card? What happened?”

“His mom died. She had a stroke on Friday and she never woke up from the coma. Not, if you ask me, the worst way to go, but still sad, you know?” Funny how none of the sympathy cards said that: It wasn't the worst way to go, but it's still sad, I know.

“Hm.”

“Anyway, I'm trying to find the right card, and nothing seems right. Sarah doesn't know either, and the whole “sorry your mom died” thing kind of sent her to a bad emotional place too. Totally understandable, you know? She's distracting herself right now. I'd normally ask Alison, but obviously that doesn't work here. Scott's socially inept in these areas, even worse than me, and my mom's off the grid until June, so I can't ask her either.”

“I see.” Traffic rushed by on Delphine's end, and she said, “hang on,” a couple of times before the traffic noise ceased. “I'm not sure how much I can help, actually. I'm not exactly an expert in comforting phrases or what to say after someone dies. In English or in French, actually.”

Cosima sighed. “Well, you've gotta be better at this than I am. Like, what kind of card would you want if your mom died?”

Delphine laughed again. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“How she died, if she'd decided to talk to me before she passed, if she has a will...”

“Let's say there's no will, you were on speaking terms, and she died of a stroke.” Cosima had no idea about the will part, but assumed it didn't matter here. “In fact, you know what, scratch that. You'd probably want a card saying something like Guess what? She's dead.”

“In my case, yes, that would be fine. But this is not my case.”

“What kind would you want if I died?”

Delphine inhaled sharply, and Cosima kicked herself again. Delphine already had those nightmares. “I'd rather not think about that.”

“Yeah, fair. Ditto.”

“Cosima. What kind of card do you think you should get? What would the right one say in this situation?”

“I just want one that says, This sucks, and we all know it sucks, and we're here for you. None of this greater purpose, heaven and God shit. I mean, I know the Hendrixes go to church and all that, but... I don't know. It seems off base to me, and it'll be super obvious I don't mean it.”

“Don't they have any blank cards? You can write in your own message if you want.”

“I am not sure that would be better, actually.” She sighed again and held a hand to her forehead. Chances were, this would be their only conversation that day – it was dinner time in Bursa, and Cosima would be spending the next few hours with the Hendrixes. She should get the most out of her daily Delphine Time. Walking away from the cards towards the big store-front window, she asked, “How'd your day go, then? How was the treatment?”

“Fine. She's asymptomatic, as we suspected.”

Cosima smiled. “Nice of you to use the plural there. If I remember correctly, you're the one who convinced me not to drop clone fest to inoculate her back in March.”

“You weren't terribly opposed, though.”

“Mostly because I knew Alison would kick my ass.” Cosima giggled. “If only we'd known how Clone Fest would actually go! Alison might've been happy for us to miss it.”

“I thought you two smoothed all that over?”

“Eh. I guess. Forgiven but not forgotten, for my part.”

“Doesn't sound like you've completely forgiven, either.”

“I've forgiven enough to not bring it up again with her. How's that? I'm letting it slide.”

“As long as you're both okay.”

“I am fine. Alison's husband is the one I should be worried about right now. And you. I'm always worried about you.”

“Don't worry too much. Bursa is very nice. Rainy, but nice.”

“Oh, I'm sure it's nice. And it's not really Bursa I'm worried about, either.”

Delphine made a noncommittal noise. Cosima picked up a little animatronic Easter bunny from the store's clearance bin and pushed the button on its ear. While it danced around to its tinny robotic song, Cosima tried to think of something else to say – something other than “you know there have been chemical attacks in Syria recently” and “you know our security team can't really protect you from everything.”

“How's everyone else?” Delphine asked.

“Fine. Charlotte's still being Charlotte. Sarah's worried she's gonna fail her math class, so we're all trying to help her out with that.”

“Wait. Sarah's worried that Charlotte will fail? I thought she was strong in math.”

“No no no. Sarah's worried that Sarah might fail math.”

“Ah!”

“Too many shes, I know.”

“Hm.”

Cosima looked around to make sure Sarah wasn't in hearing distance. “I'm trying to kind of gently coax her into, like, an advisor's office or something. Maybe an academic counselor.”

“Sarah, you mean?”

“Yes, still Sarah. Like, it's weird.” Cosima looked around again. Sarah had moved on to the “Over the Hill” birthday aisle, where she was laughing at some tombstone shaped decorations. “She's obviously smart,” Cosima whispered to Delphine, “and she's doing everything she's supposed to do. She's working her ass off for these classes, and she just can't get it. Me and Scott are still tutoring her like once a week or so, but I dunno. I think she needs something that we're not able to give her, but I don't know what. She just keeps saying she's too stupid to get it, but I don't think that's the case.”

“No, I don't think so either.”

“She was joking the other day that someone must've dropped her on her head as a baby.”

Delphine was silent on the other end, but in the silence Cosima heard her thinking. The gentle tap of a pen or pencil gave it away. Before either of them to continue the conversation, Sarah came over and waved a “old man survival kit” at Cosima.

“Art's birthday's all set, then,” Sarah said. When Cosima just stared, she clarified. “He's turning 40 in a couple weeks.”

“Oh,” Cosima said. “Cool. Um. Send us the date, yeah?”

“Sure. He doesn't want anyone to know, but whatever.” She waved at the phone in Cosima's hand and raised her voice. “Hi Delphine!”

Delphine chuckled softly and said, “Hello Sarah” in a voice soft enough for Sarah to miss it.

“I should get going,” Cosima said into the phone. “I probably can't talk much later, but text me if you want, yeah?”

Delphine agreed to, they both said “I love you,” and Cosima hung up. Then she turned to Sarah. “How'd you know I was talking to Delphine?”

“Your face, mostly. Anyway, you ready yet? Where's the card? I wanna get outta here before I buy too much shit I don't need.”

* * * * * *

On Thursday, as Delphine travelled to Izmir, Cosima sat in their apartment and scrolled through job listings. The exercise was futile – she wouldn't apply to any of them and anyway, she didn't have her PhD yet. Her advisor sent back a list of dissertation edits yesterday, but Cosima had only made two of the smallest ones. More and more, every time she sat at the computer, her mind drifted. Some of it was the same old shit: anxiety over the state of the world and the nagging feeling that nothing she did amounted to much. And worry about Delphine. She always worried about Delphine. The job search began as a combination of those – worry that she'd never get a job good enough to give Delphine the kind of life she deserved.

Her family made sure to get her away from the Rabbit Hole for at least an hour every day now, and Cosima was not allowed to protest. If she did, they pretended to move in with her, loudly, until she left the apartment in frustration. That only happened once, though. Tuesday's outing was to the store and the Hendrixes, where Clone Club gathered to support Donnie in his grief. Yesterday, Cosima was back at Bailey Downs, to “help Helena with the boys” while the Hendrixes attended the funeral in Hamilton. “Helping with the boys” made no sense, of course, since Cosima didn't know what the fuck to do with one-year-olds except make silly faces once in a while, and Helena resented the obvious supervision. Cosima spent half of that visit riding Alison's bicycle aimlessly through the subdivision by herself.

Thoughts of the twins and the suburban expanse of Scarborough set Cosima's mind spinning again.

She remembered the sprawling, packed metropolises of Mexico City, Istanbul, and São Paulo. Those weren't even the biggest cities in the world, and still their size and scope took her breath away. She remembered the bustling streets of Lima and Cairo, and she'd never stopped being amazed at how many distinct individuals existed in the world. Little Arthur and Little Donnie were unique, just like every single one of those people. Just like Delphine. Just like Cosima and each of her sisters.

She shook her head and tapped her own cheeks. Another cup of tea was in order, but before she got up her phone emitted a weak little chirp – another news alert from Syria.

“Fuck it,” Cosima told her laptop. Grabbing her coat and purse, she went outside, leaving the job search and dissertation edits behind.

The Syrian news alerts never made Cosima feel better. Even the occasional cease fires failed to get her hopes up, because most of them devolved into violence again, or yet another armed group entered the scene to fuck shit up again.

At least Cosima now checked those alerts only from outside of the Rabbit Hole, with a view of sky and trees rather than drab walls and a moldy ceiling she lacked motivation to clean herself. Ignoring the chirps from inside the apartment didn't change the situation, but it helped Cosima keep her head screwed on, and it kept her from telling Delphine to just stay far the fuck away and send someone else to cure the Syrian Leda.

Not that she hadn't thought about it. The trouble was that no one else would do it – not the way it needed to be done, or with the appropriate discretion.

Cosima ordered a chai latte at the cafe around the corner, sat near the window, and gave in to her brain's desire to dwell on bad news for the day.

Fighting in Aleppo schools bombed in Hama clinics shot up in Ghouta ISIS kidnapping people in Deir ez-Zor

Hundreds of thousands of people were trying to flee with the clothes on their backs, and the only people trying to get in were ISIS recruits, aid workers, and foreign military “advisors.” By the time this whole shit show ended, Cosima doubted there would be anything left of the beautiful country she'd wanted to visit as a teenager – encouraged by her tenth grade math teacher who just happened to be Syrian and also super fucking hot. But that was now beside the point. The point now was that a different super fucking hot object of Cosima's affections would be in Syria within the next couple of weeks. Their purchase earlier that year of “kidnap and ransom” insurance only made Cosima feel worse.

Skimming over the most recent alert from Damascus, a pair of chimes interrupted her. The first was from Qamar, their remaining Arabic translator, requesting a phone call in a few minutes. She did that often, preferring to relay messages longer than five words verbally rather than in writing. Cosima sighed and agreed.

The other was the semi-daily update from Nabil back in Djibouti. Like most of the children's texts, it was short and random – a picture of a filthy street cat in the shadow of a trash can that he'd captioned “friienb.” Cosima replied as she usually did, with a picture of her own – her chai latte, framed by a glass sugar shaker and a napkin holder. She added a short and simple message of her own. “Lunch.”

She kept thinking of talking with Qamar about Nooran's nieces and nephews. Djibouti was certainly safer than Yemen, and now that Nooran was cured their life could improve somewhat, but Cosima couldn't let go of Nooran's request – to take the children to Canada with them. She also couldn't forget the role they'd inadvertently played in Cosima's current situation by sending a picture of themselves with the flag of the Muslim Brotherhood in the background. It wasn't their fault, and she would never – could never – ask them about it.

Her phone rang and she answered before even checking the caller. “Hello, this is Cosima,” she said.

“Hi, Cosima,” her mother said, a certain heaviness in her voice.

The dissonance between her expectation of Qamar's chipper accent and the sound of her mother's voice made Cosima reel. “Oh. Hey, Mom. I thought you were out to sea right now?”

“Well, we were.”

“Okay. That doesn't sound good. What happened? You said the boat was having some issues, but – ”

“No, honey, the boat's fine. We got that fixed last month.”

“Okay...”

A garbled, wonky announcement sounded through the phone, like the announcements at airports or train stations, but filtered under water. Sally sighed and waited for it to finish before speaking again. “We're at the hospital right now.”

Cosima froze. “Oh shit. Is it your foot?” She'd been worried about that, about her mother going out to sea so soon after bunion surgery, but Sally said no.

“No, honey, my foot's doing fine. It's Gene.”

“Oh. Is he...”

“It's not his heart this time. He's very keen on everyone knowing that. He did not have another heart attack, and he's been taking his statins regularly.”

“Okay, well that still doesn't really tell me what's wrong with him.”

Sally sighed again. “Well, a couple of days ago, he started noticing blood in his urine. Of course, being Gene, he didn't say anything about it until yesterday, when he couldn't urinate at all.”

Imagining that made Cosima squirm and cross her legs in sympathy. “That sounds awful.”

Beeping in Cosima's ear told her Qamar was trying to get through. Whatever. Qamar could wait. Qamar probably didn't have a urinary blockage.

Sally went on. “Yes, well, after several hours of that, he agreed we should turn around and head for shore. Fortunately we were only about six hours out from Eureka, so here we are.”

“So, what, Dad went like eight hours without peeing? Holy shit.”

“Closer to twelve or fourteen, I think. He's on a catheter now and they're running some tests.”

“Jesus Christ, poor guy.”

“Yes, well.” Sally gave a few of her deep sighs – the kind that came from somewhere beneath her diaphragm and that Cosima was all too familiar with.

“Go ahead and say it, Mom.”

She sighed again. “Well, it's just – I know this has been going on longer than he says it has. The doctors were worried about his prostate last year, and sometimes Gene gets this pinched look on his face, you know? This pinched pained look and then he acts like it didn't happen and he's not in any pain, like I'm some kind of an idiot.”

“That... sounds familiar.”

“Oh, so you noticed while we were in Toronto a few months ago? You noticed it too?”

“Uh, no, actually, I didn't. I was thinking of something else.” She was thinking of Delphine, wincing over the phone and over Skype and swearing that nothing was wrong, all the while having a cracked knee cap. “I think you and I have similar tastes in partners,” she told Sally.

Sally laughed. “Don't say that! Delphine's a nice girl.”

“Yeah, nice and stubborn as hell. Anyway. What's next? What's going to happen?”

“We're staying on land for a while. I knew Gene was really hurting when I told him we'd have to, and he didn't even argue.”

Cosima whistled. “Back to Berkeley then?”

“We'll see. I'll keep you posted. Love you.”

Cosima returned the sentiment and hung up. She needed to call Qamar and see what she'd turned up, but that could wait another few minutes. Pulling up her on-going text string with Delphine, Cosima typed, Would you tell me if you couldn't pee for twelve hours? After hitting send, she kicked herself. Over text, she wouldn't see Delphine's face when she read the question, and in regular messenger it was impossible to delete texts.

The phone call with Qamar lasted four minutes. Samira, the one Leda remaining in Syria, still resided in Douma, but had no cell phone or internet access. All the information Qamar had was word-of-mouth, from the cousin of a friend of Samira's husband.

“I tell him, you see her next month,” Qamar said

“It'll be a lot closer than that,” Cosima said. “Delphine's scheduled to meet the security team there on May 9.”

“May 9? Okay, I tell them tomorrow. I talk them tomorrow.”

“I mean,” Cosima cautioned, “there's also always the chance the date could change. Just like the others.”

“Yes yes. I know.” Qamar had been with them since they got the Leda List, or close to it. She knew the deal, even if she never quite understood it.

Off the phone again, Cosima let out a long, slow breath. Different news would have been welcome – that Samira had fled along with her Syrian Leda sisters and Delphine didn't need to go there at all, ever. Or maybe that Samira was in some unique position to hop over the border into Lebanon for a day or two and get treated there.

Not likely.

Finishing her drink, Cosima debated a trip to the aquarium or to see Scott at the university, where he was working on nanotechnology. She'd just settled on visiting Scott when Delphine's reply arrived. Yes, I will tell you if I can't pee for 12 hours but only on one condition.

That was unexpected. What's that?

You have to tell me why the fuck you tried putting a robot worm in your face a few years ago.

#continuing travels of cophine #my fanfiction #cophine fanfiction

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bakugou-tm · 6 years

Note

Omg I’m so glad you’re doing this! Can you do the jealous kiss with bakugou and fem!reader! I live for jealous kisses from bakugou!

Of course! Lord only knows Bakugou falls too deep into jealousy, but I guess it’s not too bad for the reader ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Bakugou didn’t think this day could get much worse…

A forced school field trip to the museum of heroes, what a snooze fest. None of those old farts could ever compare to All Might or even himself, and the fact that his parents were jealous of him going proved that he would absolutey hate this.

So with this, he couldn’t dream that his day could sink any further down.

He was very incredibly wrong.

“Alright we are going to mix the groups up with Class 1A and 1B that way you all won’t be messing around with your friends.” Mr. Aizawa said in a dull tone next to Mr. Sekijiro, Class 1B’s teacher.

Frowning you looked up to your boyfriend with worried eyes, his own crimson ones beginning to twitch in annoyance at the announcement.

“Bakugou I don’t think we’ll get to be together today.”

The ash blond simply clicked his tongue, gripping onto your hand tighter while glaring at the opposite class, “I’ll make sure we fucking get put together.”

But of course, it wasn’t as simple as it seemed. As the teachers began to read the groups the two of you began to lift your hopes up, being one of the very few left. You may have actually gotten lucky this time!

“Group F: Yosetsu Awase, Neito Monoma, (l/n) (f/n), Yui Kodai, and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu.” Mr. Sekijiro called before lowering the clipboard to look at the five students.

Letting out a gulp you looked to the members of your new group, most of them seeming pretty pleased with the outcome. You on the other hand were the opposite of pleased, pouting out your lip you began to move away from Bakugou until his grip on your hand became bone crushingly tight.

“As if I’m gonna let my girl hang around those shit for brains.” Bakugou growled, holding you close before the teacher narrowed his eyes down to the ash blond before looking back to the clip board.

“Well young Bakugou you are paired up with Kyoka Jiro, Minoru Mineta, Pony Tsunotori, and Juzo Honenuki. If you can’t handle that then I suppose you could go home with a failing grade for this trip.” Mr. Sekijiro hissed in return, Mr. Aizawa shooting a glare to Bakugou that effectively shut him down.

“It’ll be fine Katsuki it’s just for a few hours, then we meet up for lunch and go home.” You said, offering your best reassuring smile and a kiss to his cheek before trotting off to your group.

Bakugou watched as you ran off, crimson eye slowly beginning to twitch as his steaming hands clenched into fists. His temper would have gotten the best of him if it weren’t for a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Hey dude relax, Tetsutetsu is in her group and I made him promise to keep an eye on (s/o) and the other guys. She’ll be fine.” Kirishima said with a toothy smile, even though Bakugou would never admit it, it made him feel just a bit better.

“He better or I’ll kick his metal ass, then those fucking idiots.”

————

Finally the humdrum yet exhausting day had come to an end, all of the groups returning back to the lunch cafe after their tedious tours.

“I hope you future pro-heroes enjoyed! Enjoy your lunch and please stop by to visit anytime!” The cheery tour guide said with a pearly white smile, mostly everyone in Bakugou’s group had enjoyed the tour except for Bakugou himself.

He had to admit the older heroes were actually pretty cool but between the constant worrying of how his (s/o) was doing and the constant annoyance of that little grape shit drooling over every girl that walked by, he couldn’t really enjoy much of it without wanting to explode.

Tapping his foot impatiently, the ash blond looked over once he saw the familiar sight of (h/c) locks walking through the entrance to the cafe, a similar jolly looking guide talking before them.

Bakugou waved you over with an irritable expression on his face which you gladly accepted, your (s/c) legs making a mad dash for him until a soft hand grabbed your wrist causing you to turn around.

The ash blond narrowed his eyes to see Monoma was the owner of the hand, his face holding that trademark smirk that he always carried around. Whatever he had told her she agreed to, her head whipping back to Bakugou before she held up one finger to signal him to wait.

When the two disappeared back into the hall they came out of Bakugou looked as if he was about to explode, there was no way he could sneak back in but he needed to know what was going on. Looking around his crimson eyes scanned the room until he saw the tin head that was in her group.

Roughly, Bakugou yanked Tetsutetsu from his conversation and to the side, being met with his surprised small pupils.

“Where the fuck did (s/o) and Monoma run off to?”

Tetsutetsu looked down to the fuming boy before letting out an ohh in understanding, his eyes looking to the side a bit nervously.

“I..I don’t know man but if I’m being honest, Monoma was all over your girl the whole time. But don’t worry (s/o) totally wasn’t diggin’ it! In fact she seemed a bit uncomfortable by it but she stayed polite, she’s pretty nice bro-”

The grey haired boy’s words were interrupted when Bakugou let out a string of curses, explosions coming out of his hands at this point as he shoved the large boy aside.

“That fucking mop looking motherfucker.” The ash blond hissed, storming past the guides and down the hallway to find the two that had disappeared. At this point he didn’t care about the people giving him strange looks or the children crying at his scary demeanor, he just needed to find you and fast.

It wasn’t until he saw the light haired blond holding your hands next to a balcony that surrounded a large statue of All Might that he began to clench his fists. Your features clearly looked uncomfortable, even distressed if he was being extreme. This simply wouldn’t due.

Quickly Bakugou stomped to the two, pressing his hand roughly against Monoma’s chest to knock him back before pressing his girlfriend against his side firmly.

“What the hell man?” Monoma yelled, his greyish blue eyes glaring to Bakugou

Growling the ash blond lifted an arm around you while narrowing his own crimson eyes back to him, “What the hell? You’re touching my damn girlfriend that’s what in the hell is going on! I’ll blast your fucking brains all over these walls!”

“K..Katsuki.” You whispered nervously, your hand moving to his chest to calm him down before Monoma interrupted your calming tone.

“It’s not my fault I think she deserves better, it’s obvious the way she looks at me compared to the way she looks at you.”

This not only insulted Bakugou but yourself, your mouth falling agape as you furrowed your eyebrows to the snobby blond.

“Excuse me but I do not- mmph!”

Your words were cut off when a rough pair of lips smashed up against your own causing your (e/c) eyes to widen a bit. Usually when your boyfriend kissed you in front of other guys when he was jealous you would get annoyed, knowing he was just being over dramatic, but in this situation you knew he had every right to be jealous.

So with that, you kissed him with every bit of zest you had.

Closing your eyes you snaked your hands up his chest to around his neck, tugging at his hair to further provoke him to go even further.

Meanwhile Bakugou didn’t need to get a signal from you to know he was going to kiss you harder than he ever had. His own muscular arms wrapped around your waist firmly while his lips kissed yours so intensely you knew it would leave some sort of bruising, but at this point he didn’t care. He only had one intention with this kiss, and it sure did prove it’s point.

“Whatever, I knew (s/o) was a bitch anyway.” Monoma hissed, striding back down the hallway angrily.

The ash blond’s ears perked up to the insult, his head yanking away from yours while already storming after the boy before you held your hand up against his chest to hold him back, causing his furious eyes to look down to your own.

“He’s not even worth it babe, don’t waste your energy on him.” You said softly, causing him to exhale before holding you close against him.

“Yeah I guess you’re fuckin’ right.”

Snuggling up against Bakugou’s chest you let out a pleased sigh before a small grin began to curve at the tips of your lips, “Besides, he’s just some shitty extra right?”

The ash blond froze in place; he wasn’t sure if it was the way you whispered it into his ear or the words that had just fallen out of your mouth, but damn did it turn him on.

“C’mere shitty girl.”

#katsuki bakugou #bnha bakugou #bakugou #bakugou x reader #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #jealous kisses

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techouspeaks · 5 years

Text

A Review of: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Well first establish, I never watched the old series so I’m not going to compare the two series together. With that being said, I am very aware of the He-Man series since I grew up with the 2002 series, though that doesn’t make me an expert, I do understand the lore and what that series is about.

Put it short, I’m just going to judge it as is and I’ll try to be a bit brief about it. So, I guess I should explain the complaints I and most people have with this series. First the animation. Yeah...it’s pretty bad. I mean for a Dreamworks project I actually did expect much better. Considering that a lot of Dreamworks stuff in terms of animation wise, is soo good! Like Voltron being the best but shoot, even Kulipari, Dreamworks Dragons, ect, they have really great animation and this is She-Ra! An 80s fan favorite and one that would clearly sell because at this time of age, the whole girl power is like through the roof! They could have put more time into the animation. I mean, keep the art style. Art style is fine but the over all animation and how characters move is poor. Not terrible but you can tell it’s very rushed. They put more effort into the transformation scene than the rest...

And don’t tell me poor budget or lack of time...I’ve seen personal projects done by small studios, and people doing it by themselves through their homes that done better job at animating. Yes, animation is hard and it takes time but it’s worth the effort put in and there’s no excuse of a professional team cutting slack. Shoot, even the Disney sequels have better animation than this and they’re done from the animation teams that were just starting out.

Granted, the art isn’t totally bad. I prefer this over the butter bean style that Cartoon Network, for whatever reason decides to not give up on. I will say the character designs look like human beings than beans and in some parts when the animation decides to be good, it does show. The character designs and background art is good. It’s very creative. The animation and the movements just need to be amped up more.

Don’t tell me it’s because it’s a “kids show, it doesn’t have to look good.” Here’s a good example of a kid’s show with quality

Again those are shows that are done today that clearly had more effort put into the animation. Dreamworks has done the same with other shows, they could have done so with She-Ra. Again not the art style that’s the problem. It’s just how choppy the animation is.

Another thing that I have issues with is the pacing especially in the development with the characters. All the characters develop way too fast in my opinion, at least in some moments. Some moments with certain characters are developed fine, like Glimmer’s development. Her’s I actually thought was handle rather well, others especially Catra’s was handled either forcefully or rushed. Characters aren’t given enough time to take in the moment and breath a bit. Everything is rushed.

Speaking of Catra and her relationship with Adora, that was especially rushed. When we first meet the two, I didn’t even believe they were friends. If we had gotten to know Catra and Adora from the beginning more and have Catra actually feel something other than being bitterness at Adora, I would have felt something from their relationship, which sadly I didn’t. Even when we get to the arc of learning about Catra’s past with Adora, the relationship again feels rushed and clunky. Though I will admit, the pacing does get a little better towards the climax, but we had to deal with rushed pacing through out the whole season.

I get there are 13 episodes. You know what? Voltron had that much episodes, even less than that sometimes and each character developed well pace. Yes, some seasons had to have characters have their own arcs and it took a season for some to develop but that’s just it. The team behind Voltron knew that’s what it takes sometimes to make a well paced and very well told story and characters. We at least got to know quite a bit of characters and yes, sadly some don’t get a back story, but shoot, we got more backstory on those characters than we do the princesses besides Glimmer, Adora, shoot, we dunno much about Bow even and he’s one of the main characters. He’s the main bestie of the crew! Where’s his backstory and proper development? Least we had some kind of back story about Lance, Hunk and even Coran and those are the characters sadly we didn’t get too much back story, but they were developed enough for me to care about them deeply.

That and a lot of the story is very predicable sadly. When Shadow Weaver attacked Adora when they were vacationing, I knew exactly what was going to happen. She’s going make Adora freak out and make her friends believe they hate her because she’s destroying everything, but Adora will realize SW’s plan, stand up against her and make everything right again. Some episodes had surprisingly good moments like the episode that introduces Entrapa. That episode was pretty good, though, I again I could predict a bit of it, except for the ending.

Bitch and moan, bitch and moan, what do I at least like about the series? Well, the characters are really good. I know I said that after bitching about the development but the characters as they are, are pretty memorable and likable, though, I can tell with the boys there was some SJW interfering.

You know masculine men aren’t all bad? Not every masculine dude is a dick. It doesn’t hurt to have at least one masculine man. Just saying but as I say this, I will admit even when with that, the boys are still rather competent. They do hold their own and have some heart to em, especially Bow, who is one of my favorite characters and I like Mermista, Entrapa though a bit too out there to be even real, maybe anyway, I still like her character and design. Also her butler is so adorable! I wish he had more screen time!

The villains, except for Hordak are decent, I love Scorpia being one of the best. I wanted to hug her she’s so awesome. Hordak is a snooze fest. I mean there isn’t anything about him other than he has a weird baby spy for some reason, which actually makes it all the more creepy...Is that like his son or something?

Catra is okay...I mean the actress who plays her is pretty good in doing her crying scenes. She does act like a teen would when upset and trying to figure out things, but again, her development is so clunky and again, I didn’t care for what was going to happen to her and her relationship with Adora. Again, if she had shown more sympathy to her friend from the beginning, I would have shown more concern for her and cared about their friendship. As is, they don’t act like best friends. They acted more like just classmates with how rushed the development is.

Adora herself is pretty likeable and I did want to see what happens to her. Though again, some of her development is a bit rushed. At least in say Winx Club, Bloom got more time to develop but with there being 13 episodes, I could give this a slip.

The music is amazing though! I loved the score for this series! It reminded me of some 80s background music with the guitar and the synthesizer! That is awesome! The only thing that wasn’t so awesome was the theme song...It’s mediocre but the rest of the score was awesome. In fact, half the time I thought the score was too good for this series man!

Another thing I did enjoy was the episodes that did lead up to the 13th episode. That’s when the development did start slowing down a bit and we had time to at least care about the characters a little bit more and how they feel about each other. The animation even got a bit more decent towards the end. Like where was that in the beginning? Though the climax...Yeah I will admit, was pretty weak. Compared to others including from not so big animation studios, the climax could have been a bit more original. I’ve seen this climax done hundreds of times. I even have this sort of climax in one of my written novels but I at least put it well paced. As is, it’s not the worst I’ve seen, but definitely expected a better climax for a season.

I really tried to open my mind for this series and as is, it’s not the worst by far. I can tell a lot of heart went into this. The art style is fine but the animation can be very bad at times. The characters are great and memorable, but very rushed in development and a bit too SJW appeal to some, thus making them a bit dated once the SJW fad wears off and people move onto the next trend. Some episodes towards the climax are decent but the climax I felt could have been more original, if anything throw in a few twists to make an already seen premise be a bit more fresh. The music is awesome and some designs are cool.

As is it’s not terrible but I’m gonna have to rate She-Ra an average 5 out of 10 star rating. I do recommend you watch it to see if you like it or have kids that would like to see some nice characters and action scenes as well as rather easy to follow story. It’s by no means a bad series, I just think there are shows that did better what She Ra was trying to do. I will see what Season 2 will bring and see if it will be better than Season 1 so there’s a silver lining. I will continue to watch this series. Not great but not awful.

5 Stars

Level: Good!

#she-ra #she ra netflix #she-ra and the princesses of power #cartoon review #review #netflix

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mamawolfblood · 3 years

Text

Chap 7 fear factor

Iris pov

The Gophers and I walk to the camp fire of the bass. When Duncan saw me he got up kissed me infront of everyone. "Well hello to you too." I said breathlessly. "Do you two mind some people don't want to be sick." Courtney said pulling us apart. "Why are you here anyway?" She asked looking at the others. "Owen stunk up the cabin needs time to air out." Trent said. Duncan pulled me in his lap. It turned into a fear fest of sharing. "What are you afraid of Iris?" Harold asked. They all looked at me wanting to know. "It's embarrassing especially since I want to be a doctor like my dad. I am afraid of being covered from head to toe in blood." I said holding my arm blushing. "Wait I thought Chris was your dad" Harold said looking confused. "She means her step dad dipshit." Duncan said glaring at him. "Ok gosh didn't know." He said before leaving. When everyone left I sat on the log next to Duncan. "You know I get why you have beef with Courtney but I like her. Is it ok if we..." I stop him by placing my hand on his knee. "Duncan if you don't want to thats fine. It was fun while it lasted. Your a good kisser by the way." I said smiling at him. He chuckled "your not bad yourself" he said kissing my cheek. He left leaving me by the fire. When he left tears slid down my cheeks "guess you can be first place after all Courtney." I said when a hand rest on my shoulder.

*Time skip to the morning.*

I sat drinking some coffee. "Hey you ok sweetpea?" I look at Chef and nod. "Listen Iris when I was your age. I fell in love with one of the most beautiful girl. Well I thought so at the time. I got the courage to tell her how I felt. She rejected me and that hurt deeply. My momma she told me that yeah your hurting now. He is not the only one. You will have your heart broken many times in this life. You will also have joys and eventually you will find the one. So chin up soldier the war isn't over yet." He said nudging me. "Thanks Chef." I said hugging him. "Alright you finish your coffee and I will get breakfast started." He said before going in the back. Everyone walked in and sat down. I sat with the Gophers making thim look at me. Thankfully before anyone could say anything Chris came in. Chris [after he whistles] : Campers, your next challenge is a little game I like to call… Phobia Factor! Prepare to face… Your worst fears!

After people made remarks and laugh Chris smirks. Chris: Now for our first victims, Heather! Meet us all in the theater! It’s… Sumo time!

Heather spits out her juice.

Beth, Cody, and Lindsay gasp.

I just look at him worried.

(Confessionals Iris)

You have got to be kidding me. This is wrong on so many levels. *cross arms* I hope its fake blood.

*static*

The challenges started Beth jumps in a pool of worms. Heather trips a Sumo. Sadie and Lindsay had to where a wig. Izzy and Owen went up in a plain Gwen gets buried in sand. Tren got followed by a mime. Cody had to defues a trash bomb. Bridgette went into the woods. Duncan had to hug a standi of Celine Dion. Then it came to me I stood on a platform Chef and Chris had a bucket in hand. "Sorry honey it will be over in a second." Chris said before they threw blood on me. I scream feeling the woar sticky and slimy. I had to stand ther for five minutes. I was skaking trying to keep my cool but I wanted to cry. Chef hoses me off and Chris held me. "Its over I'm sorry your ok." He said petty my hair.

"You showed no pitty for us." One of the campers said. "Yeah well your not my kid. I didn't want to do this to her." Chris said letting me walk to the others. "Hey if you can't stand the site of blood your going to be a shit doctor." Heather said thats when I punched her. She glares up at me but freezes when I glare back. "Whatever that was a lucky shot." Heather said walking away.

Tyler couldn't pick up the chicken. That left us to second place Courtney. I smirk knowing her fear. "Alright Courtney I will give your team triple points. If you can jump into this pool of green Jelly." Chris said making her climb. "Ooo it look so gross. It is probably warm green slimy snotty." Gwen and I said getting in Courtney's head. She told us we won't get to her but we did. Duncan encouraged her making me curse under my breath. When she got to the top she chickened out. The Gophers and I cheer.

(Confessionals)

Courtney [sniffing]: I’m so embarrassed. How could I be so weak? I deserve to go home! Ugh! Okay, stop it! You’re pathetic! Show some confidence, Courtney! [whimpers and smacks her own face]

(confessional off)

Chris "Alright Killer Bass I will see you a the bonfire."

Chris: There are only two marshmallows left on this plate. The three of you did not complete your challenges today. One of you is going home tonight and cannot return. Ever. The next name I’m gonna call… Is… Bridgette. The final marshmallow of the night goes to… Courtney.

Duncan: You’ll get that chicken next time, dude.

[elimination music]

Chris: Looks like a new pecking order has been established here.

Duncan: it’s not like who could cry… Fowl.

Geoff: Time for Tyler too… Fly the coop.

Bridgette: He won’t be flying high tonight.

Courtney: Okay, that’s enough.

[boat motor running]

[sad music]

[chickens clucking]

Tyler screams

(confessional: Lindsay)

Lindsay: Aww, I’ll never forget out time together Taylor– uh, Tyler! [blows kiss] Bye!

(confessional off)

After the Bass left Dad and I sat by the fire talking. He offerd some advice. "It wouldn't matter because he will pay soon very soon." I said before the camra stopped rolling.

#td trent #td gwen #td heather #td courtney #tdl #total drama island #romance #heartbreak #phobia #fear

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acidmatze · 6 years

Text

In which Dabi increasingly thinks that he is stuck in a third rate emo music video

I have no idea why I wrote this. But it wanted to be written. This is Part 1 of the obligatory College AU and everyone is a dork.

It’s not proof read or anything.. Im tired...

It was a kinda gloomy afternoon in late October when it all started. It was raining and the dorm was crowded with students that normally were walking around town but with weather that bad no one really wanted to go out.

Dabi was sitting on the windowsill in the common room and stared outside.

Spinner was in some kind of fight with two other students about some hockey game.

Twice tried to watch some motorcycle race on TV.

He then suddenly jumped and walked over to Dabi with just a few really big steps.

“Dabi, I have an idea!”

Dabi lazily turned around to his friend.

“Shoot.”

“So far we have befriended three people. But I think we need a lot more friends. There are a lot of people here on campus that don't seem to have many friends and no one should walk alone around here. You know, we all need someone to talk to and stuff. You know??”

Dabi blinked a few times.

For some reason since summer, Twice seemed to be obsessed with walking around and trying to talk to people he never talked to before. Dabi was just dragged along. At first Twice started hanging out with Spinner. Then he almost stalked some weird guy called Chisaki. And then his friends. Dabi always felt the weird need to apologise for Twice's behaviour but somehow in the end it all worked out and their circle of friends grew.

Twice blabbered on

“There's this girl I have a few classes with and she's like.. two years younger than us or so I have no idea how she is in college already but she is. I have never seen her with people around and I think we should change that.”

“Uh.... okay? How do you wanna do that?”

“I'm just gonna talk to her on Monday. What do you think?”

“Dunno? Go ahead I guess...?”

Dabi had a vague idea which girl Twice meant.

She was blonde and short and could be cute but there was an eerie air surrounding her. But since Twice's group of friends was a ragtag bunch of misfits she would be fit in just fine. Twice himself was a giant goofball sometimes. In one moment it seemed like he was just a kid trapped in the body of a tall guy in his early 20s. In another moment he would shout the most obscene things anyone has ever heard. Be it in the hallway, in the middle of a lecture, while eating lunch and sometimes in the middle of the night. Dabi knew because even though his room was further down the hallway he could still hear his friend's yelling. It woke him up semi-regularly.

And on some days Twice would just break down sobbing and fled to the bathroom and wouldn't come back for a few hours.

He had no idea about what happened afterwards.

Dabi himself also was far from being the average college student. First of all the appearance.

Then his type of humour. He often insulted people without meaning to because for him it was just friendly banter. And his careless attitude pissed people off. For reasons Dabi cannot explain. What's so bad about not blowing up at every single thing?

“I haven't felt an emotion since 1997” he often said.

“Look how many fucks I give. They are falling from the sky” he also often said.

Chisaki, the first guy they “recruited” was terribly afraid of bacteria and getting ill. They never saw him without wearing gloves and a face mask.

No hand shaking or friendly hugs allowed, thank you.

Please just wave in my general direction.

He was often seen furiously wiping seats, benches, tables, kitchen counters and other places you can sit on.

Sometimes Dabi wondered if it was a good idea for him to study medicine.

On the other hand, if he would become a surgeon no one would need to worry about keeping the operating room sterile.

“We only have guy friends. We also need some girl friends. Not girlfriends... well, maybe those too but I mean like.. girls. Who are our friends.”

“I get what you mean, Twice and I agree. This group is a sausage fest.”

Two days later when Dabi walked to his next lecture he saw Twice down at the campus plaza wildly gesticulating and talking to that girl he wanted to talk to.

She didn't seem to mind.

As far as Dabi could see, whatever Twice was talking about must be funny since she was laughing.

Good. Another weirdo joined the group. Let's see what this eerie feeling is about.

Dabi almost bumped into another student he didn't even had noticed.

“Whoa there. Didn't see you there buddy. Sorry.”

The other student shot a quick glance at Dabi and walked a bit faster. Well, okay...? Maybe he's late for class. Though in his oversized black clothes he almost looked like a high school student.

Weird kid.

This time the common room was almost empty, even though it was raining again.

Why is it always raining the last few weeks?

Dabi stared out of the window again.

“Is this interesting?” Chisaki asked.

“I'm pretending to be an emo girl in a music video. I'm currently missing my boyfriend who broke up with me to fuck my best friend.”

“Okay?”

“It is complicated, you know? He just bought me an expensive ring and told me we will be together forever but then at a party my bff flirted with him and he didn't do anything and now I'm so angry I think I will set his apartment in flames.”

“Dabi? Are you... okay?”

Dabi turned around to Chisaki and pretended to be crying.

“No! I am depressed! I was so in love with him, Rawr!”

Chisaki stared at Dabi for ten seconds.

“Please. Don't say this ever again.”

“Rawr means I Love You in Dinosaur!”

Before Chisaki could smack the lanky bean in the face Twice stormed into the room.

“Guys! Guys, we have a new friend! Say hello to Toga!”

The short girl from earlier today stood in the doorway grinning way too wide for her face.

“Hiiiii~ I'm Toga! I'm so happy to meet you all! Very happy indeed.”

What is up with those teeth? Dabi had never seen canines that sharp. He had heard that some people let their teeth sharpen. But until now he thought someone was playing a very elaborate prank on him. But seems those people seriously exist.

A wave of eeriness hit him.

There's something about this girl that's definitely not normal. But who in this weird clique is normal anyway?

“So what do you guys do all day? You all look totally different, do you even have common hobbies? Like Twicey here looks like a MMA fighter and you look like a law student and you look like you beat up kids and then go home and write sad poems about it.”

Dabi's eye twitched slightly.

“Also you look stoned!”

It twitched even more.

“Law student.....” Chisaki muttered, “I have never been more insulted in my life.”

“We're just hanging out. And sometimes we go play pool and stuff” Twice said.

“Oh that's cool. I collect knives. Do you want to see some?”

Toga was beaming.

Okay, so that's what's wrong with her. That explains so much to be honest.

“I don't think anyone would be interested in....”

Dabi cut Chisaki off.

“Sure we want.”

And a few minutes later they were standing around in Toga's room. Which looked like a normal girl's room. Except for the wall of knives where other girls maybe had posters hanging.

But otherwise, very normal, very pink.

Toga pointed at one of the knives.

“This is the first one I got. I found it one day on a playground. I took it home and cleaned it and sharpened it.” She pointed at another that had sharp wedges.

“This is really great when you want someone to bleed out. When you stab someone with it and they try to rip it out the teeth just get stuck and do more damage. I bought it at a hunting store a few years ago.”

Whoa. Chisaki had gone completely pale. Twice seemed nervous too. Did they have to worry that this girl would break into their rooms at night to do Horrible Things to them?

“I see your worried faces and I want to reassure you that I only collect them.”

At least she's sane.

“I also collect other things! Like articles from the newspapers.” Toga shuffled over to a drawer that was completely plastered with hearts and peace signs and whatnot.

She pulled out a folder and went through the pages a bit.

“Here. This one, for example is about a case of unexplained murders in the 80s. I have collected every little bit of information I could find about it. Which is very hard by the way. Do you know how weird it feels to google all that stuff? And this one is about that guy who abducted and killed five women like a year ago.”

Nope, completely insane.

But in a weirdly nerdy way.

“And now I am collecting stuff about a string of weird cases of mutilated animals found on roadsides around Yokohama. No one really investigates that! Can you believe it? Just because it's not people. I think that's not fair. Animals have lives too.”

She closed the folder and huffed.

Dabi crossed his arms.

“So you're like... playing detective? Finding out more about it?”

Toga's face lit up.

“Wow, I never thought about that. I could totally find out the truth. I know everything!”

Chisaki leaned over to Dabi and whispered: “Hey, can we go now? I still have to write an essay and also this is creeping me out.”

“Dunno man. I think that's definitely a weird hobby but she seems harmless.”, Dabi whispered back.

“Yeah maybe, but I'm out, cheers.”

Chisaki marched out of the room without even saying goodbye.

Twice and Dabi remained.

“Oh nooooo I scared him away.”

“He's just horrible when it comes to blood” Twice tried to explain.

“Oh yeah you should have seen his face, when I was hit by a baseball once and it almost knocked out a tooth. I thought he would faint any second.”

Toga grinned.

“He really acts like a law student.”

“He studies medicine.” Twice said.

Toga just stared at the guy.

“You're joking, right?”

Twice shook his head.

And then Toga had a hysterical laughing fit that lasted so long that Dabi briefly considered to call an ambulance.

It was already dark when Twice and Dabi went back to their rooms. The fact that it was already dark didn't mean that it was late though. The sun was already setting at 6pm.

“She's weird as fuck but I'd be lying if I would say what she said wasn't interesting. I don't know why I would need to know about serial killers but somehow I do now.”

Dabi was rambling.

“So you like her? You think she fits in with us?”

“Yeah kinda. Maybe. But I don't mind her hanging out with us.”

Twice pumped his fist in the air.

“Yeah! A new friend! Oh can you wait here for a minute? I wanna head over to the kiosk and get some snacks.”

“Sure. Knock yourself out.”

Dabi leaned back at the wall and Twice hurried out of the main door.

Empty corridors. Silence.

Pretending to be a a girl in some music video again, Dabi imagined walking down the hallways crying about some lost love and unfair parents. For some reason the sprinklers were on. The eyeliner is running dramatically over the wet cheeks. Emo girl is looking at her wrist where she wrote the name of her ex with a sharpie. It's also running from the water from the sprinklers. Some guitar solo is playing in the background. Emo girl gets angry and punches the wall.

She swears revenge. Maybe burning something down would help. Maybe destroying things....

“Hey, what are you doing there?”

Dabi looked up. Oh, he really had wandered through the hallway. But without the sprinklers and the sharpie and the cheating boyfriend.

In front of him stood the guy from before. Black oversized hoodie, black jeans, black Converse. God, is that a Senses Fail patch?

How emo, Dabi thought, ignoring the fact that he also has a Senses Fail patch on his backpack.

No one needs to know.

The guy still stares at him.

Oh Jesus, please someone get him lip balm. And some moisturiser. Because this dude looks dead.

“I was just dramatically walking around, thinking about my cheating boyfriend.”

“What?”

“Ah nothing. It was a joke. Sorry again for bumping into you earlier.”

“Ah. Its fine.” The guy shoved his hands back in his pockets and walked back in the direction he came from.

That's not where the dorms are. Weird.

“Hey Dabi, I'm back”

Dabi was lightly punched in the shoulder.

“Nice. Dude, have you seen that weird dude in the wannabe emo clothes just now?”

Twice seemed confused.

“Emo dude..? No. I haven't seen anyone.”

Dabi scratched his head.

He also never had seen that guy before. Is he a ghost or something?

Over the next few days Dabi ran into that guy over and over again. But every time he asked someone about him, no one had an idea who he was talking about. He ran into him in the bathroom during lunch break. He ran into him in the library. He ran into him while running cross campus to catch a bus. Had this dude always been there and Dabi just didn't notice?

“You always look like you're searching for something. Are you okay?” Toga asked. They were walking down a popular shopping street in town. Toga wanted to meet with a friend of hers and asked everyone if they want to come with her but only Dabi agreed.

“I think I might have seen a ghost. Also, I'm not okay.”

Toga's eyes went wide. “A ghost?? A really spooky one? The one that haunts your dreams by night? Where have you seen it?”

“Everywhere, basically. And he even shows up during the day. I need proof that this guy really exists.”

“Wooooooooow..... A real mystery. Maybe my friend can help you. She's great with mysteries.”

They arrived at a small café.

Toga was running towards some guy in brown cargo pants who was waving at her. But didn't Toga say “she”? Oh. Okay.

Then Toga ran back to Dabi grabbed his arm and pulled him with her.

“This is my best friend, Magne. She's basically like my sister. If you need help with mysteries, then talk to her.”

Dabi awkwardly shook her hand. Wow that's a strong handshake. “I took the liberty of already ordering some cake for me. I just couldn't wait. So, what is this mystery you are talking about?” They sat down at one of the small tables. It was weirdly warm for October this week so somehow everyone was still outside.

“Basically I am chasing a guy only I can see, it seems. I never have seen him before but suddenly he is everywhere. But when I ask someone about him no one knows what I'm talking about.” Dabi explained.

“Wow that really is something. By the way, Toga you should order the Strawberry Shortcake it's the best I have ever eaten. Okay, so if you need proof that this mysterious guy really exists you maybe should take a picture of him?”

“Isn't that creepy as fuck?”

“Well, for me it would be way creepier if I would see a guy no one else can see. If you can take a picture of him you know he's real at least.”

That girl has a point there.

Sadly, after this the guy vanished. Over the course of the next weeks Dabi grew more and more frustrated.

He felt like he was stuck in some third rate emo music video.

Maybe he should let his hair grow out a bit and get blue streaks. “Dabi, you look like you're constipated. Do you need help?” Chisaki offered one day.

“I'm not okay” Dabi mumbled.

“Yeah I can see that. Seriously, if you have problems with your digestive system, I know some drops that really...”

“I can shit just fine, Chisaki.” “Oh. Then.. care to explain what's wrong?”

Dabi sprawled himself out on his bed.

Chisaki was standing in the middle of the room. He forgot his wipes and spray and wasn't brave enough to take a seat on Dabi's really old office chair.

Dabi groaned.

“This guy...... This weird guy I told you about... The one I am always running into. I'm not running into him anymore.”

Chisaki furrowed his brows.

“And that's a problem why...?”

Dabi sat up and threw his arms in the air.

“It makes me feel like a fucking madman! I know this guy exists. I have even talked to him like once. Almost. He needs some damn lip balm and looks like dead itself. And now that I was ready to take a pic of him and prove his existence once and for all he vanishes!”

“You want to take a pic of him?”

Dabi groaned again.

“I know that sounds like a stalker. But I just wanna prove that he exists. It seems like no one but me has ever seen him.”

“Dude... you do you. But who knows. Maybe he was an intern or stuff. I wouldn't waste a single thought about the whole thing.”

So Dabi tried to not waste a single thought about the whole thing.

He tried so hard and got so far. But in the end, it doesn't even matter. Because two days later he caught himself looking for that guy again.

It was already close to Christmas. And the dude remained gone.

Dabi was in the library looking for some books to read. Maybe that would distract him. He just wanted to check out when he saw him. Emo dude. With the oversized hoodie. Coming in through the front door. Dabi almost dropped his books. He imagined he was a girl in an emo music video who sees her crush. He walks past her and their eyes meet. Maybe he was smiling, maybe he was not. Everything is in slow motion. The people around them vanish. It's only those two. When he passed her everything is back to normal. Guitar solo.

Dabi wanted to slam his fucking books on the floor.

Then he walks into emo dude while crossing a bridge. Okay, emo music video. It's raining. Girl was just dumped by some stupid jackass. She is desperate and doesn't know what to do. Maybe she should jump but the bridge isn't really high. She's nervous. After contemplating for a while she sees Him. Some emo dude walking towards her, asking her if everything is alright. It's still raining but also now the sun is shining. Everything is well now even though there is still sadness in her heart. Forever. Guitar solo.

Dabi seriously contemplates to jump into the river below.

The third time he runs into him is at a bus stop. Some old lady is also there but that's it.

“Hold still!” Dabi says harshly and the guy looks at him, startled.

Dabi takes out his cellphone and takes a pic of the dude.

“What...... why...?”

“I explain later. Don't worry, I will delete the pic soon. I just have to prove something to someone.”

Emo dude is chewing on his lower lip. His leg seems shaky. Dabi sighs.

“Look. I know that was creepy as fuck but you won't believe the hell I went through to get this pic. As soon as I prove that you exists I will delete it.” “That I exist..?”

“Yeah.”

Fuck that sounds stupid. Oh god so stupid and creepy and.... hell, Dabi has to explain this seriously now.

He groans.

“Okay, there is no way to explain this without sounding weird. Remember back in October when I almost ran you over?” Emo dude nods. Dabi can see strands of blueish grey hair. Is that dye?

“Good. I thought to that day I had seen everyone on campus. But I never had seen you. So I asked my friend about you and he said he doesn't know about you. And he literally is friends with everyone. And then I kept running into you. But every time I wanted my friend to look at you you vanished. Like a fucking ghost or something. It was... kinda pissing me off somehow. And we kept running into each other but I was either alone or you did that magical vanishing thing.”

Emo kid stared at Dabi in silence.

“I kinda got all riled up about this. And then I didn't see you again and I seriously thought I was going crazy or had seen a ghost or something. A friend had told me to take a picture to prove it. But then I couldn't because I didn't see you. But now I did. And now I can prove it. And now I can have peace of mind.”

The dude still stared at Dabi.

Ah fuck.

Oh, wait.

Dabi pulled out the phone again.

“I could also delete the pic right now. And take you to my friends instead. You know... In the flesh?”

“You want me to meet your friends..?”

Dabi nodded.

“You're always alone. Maybe you could need some friends.”

“Friends....” Emo dude looked at the ground. Spit stains everywhere, ewwww.

“Okay... Take me to your friends.”

“Ah I can't today. Maybe we could meet at that church at 4pm tomorrow?”

Emo dude shrugged.

“Okay....”

Dabi wanted to shake his hand, but emo dude didn't react. He awkwardly pulled his hand back and coughed.

“Okay then.... Until tomorrow. And I'm Dabi, by the way.”

“Tomura... I'm Tomura...”

Then Dabi's bus arrived. Time to visit his mom in the hospital.

He sat down at the window.

Okay. Emo music video. Girl just had a date but it didn't go as planned. Maybe she should have listened to her bff, she had a bad feeling about this all the time. It's raining. It's also raining in emo girl's heart. She had sadness for breakfast. She should have stayed home and spend the time with her bff instead. Now that she thinks about it, bff was always there for her. Every time emo girl needed a shoulder to cry on bff was there. The rain represents the tears she wants to cry but cannot because this is a public setting and that would be embarrassing. Emo girl thinks maybe she should have dated bff instead. There is thunder in the background as the bus drives into the darkness. Guitar solo.

#my writing #Dabi #boku no hero academia #Shigaraki tomura #as an unknown emo dude #this is part 1 #i wuill write part 2 as soon as I am concious again #please give me attention

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