#cosmo lives in their pool house probably

[idiopath-fic-smile]

this one goes out to all my Singin' in the Rain ot3 truthers—

Cosmo Brown had always known it would end like this.

Cosmo was a lot of things—in fact, you could argue he was too many—but he wasn’t dumb.

From the early years, when Cosmo and Don were just kids playing for pennies in pool halls, to their stint dodging rotten vegetables on Vaudeville stages across the very backwaters of America’s backwaters, to their first real breath of success in Hollywood (and then the second and the third and the fourth), Cosmo would catch a glimpse of his handsome, charismatic friend from the corner of his eye—a flash of dark hair, that perfect tooth powder ad smile—and know that for all Don’s protestations, someday the guy was gonna meet a wonderful girl and get married, settle down, and very gently slip off to the far edge of Cosmo’s life.

So yes, Cosmo had seen Kathy Selden coming. Not the details, not her sense of humor or her musical little laugh or the madcap way she really threw herself into dancing with them around Don’s place at 1:30 in the morning—and okay, certainly not the part at the beginning where she had jumped out of a cake at a party, but he thought a fella could be excused for not correctly divining that. 

The general outline of the thing, though, how Don’s eyes followed her around a room...he had been preparing for Don to propose to Kathy ever since she’d tried to throw a pie at Don’s face. And when the happy day came, Cosmo had been ready with his best man suit, his best man speech, a slightly updated version of “Here Comes the Bride” that’d had Don and Kathy laughing all the way down the aisle.

Don and Kathy would buy a house together. They would have a swimming pool and a dog and then inevitably, a small parade of adorable little snot-nosed kids who would call him Uncle Cosmo, and they would spend less and less time with him, not on purpose but busy with the rest of their lives, and ultimately Cosmo would learn to make his peace with it because he’d have no other choice and he would have to try to move on and not live too much in his memories. He could picture it so clearly, he figured if the songwriting gig with Monumental didn’t pan out, he could always return to the backwater circuit with a new act: The Amazing Cosmo of the Cosmos—ladies and gentlemen, he sees the future, he reads the stars, he silently pines for his best married pal and all the while tap dancing!

Don and Kathy inviting him along on their honeymoon, though—that part was a surprise.

“What?” said Cosmo, hands frozen over the piano keys. He’d been busy with a brand-new assignment; on the heels of The Dancing Cavalier, offers were pouring in and he’d taken the first one scoring a movie that didn’t star anyone he was secretly in love with.

Don had looked a little wounded when Cosmo broke the news last week, but a guy had to start making his own way in the world. Besides, orchestrating layers of strings to swell as the camera zoomed in on Don and Kathy blissfully locking lips in radiant monochrome, oblivious to the rest of the world—well, Cosmo knew that dance, he had mastered the footwork, and he didn’t especially feel like a reprise.

It wasn’t lost on him that Kathy had dropped by his rehearsal space alone today. Of course, he had no idea what this meant—he didn’t think it was about the new job; Don didn’t tend to stay sore at him for that long—but Kathy was acting perfectly natural, and so probably the smart thing was to follow her lead.

“It’s a two-week transatlantic cruise,” she said now, gracefully dropping beside him on the piano bench. “We thought it would be nice to see Europe, take in the sights, get away from all the cameras.”

“Ah yes, such a wallflower, our dear Don,” said Cosmo solemnly. “Besieged on all sides by the love of his public, a tragedy of our times, up there with Lear! Hamlet! Caesar! The one with all the Greeks and the giant wooden horse, nay, nay, neigh.” He played a tragic little trill, for effect. Kathy huffed a laugh and smacked his arm.

“You know that’s not it,” she said. “Being watched all the time—we can’t always do what we want. It’s rotten.”

Tell me about it, thought Cosmo.

He was sort of seeing a fight choreographer named Archibald, who came from old money and was a “the third” or a “the fifth” but nice enough Cosmo might even forgive him for that. Archibald was trim and athletic, with dark brown hair that was just starting to go gray at the temples and enough discretion that Cosmo didn’t think they’d get caught. The only problem was that he didn’t laugh at Cosmo’s jokes, seemed to just tolerate them.

“What do you two even talk about, then?” Don had asked, when Cosmo had let this slip over drinks the same night he’d explained about the new movie project. (Cosmo had been trying to spend less time with Don and Kathy since the wedding but Don had said, “C’mon, pal, we miss you” and Kathy had laid one hand on his arm and peered up at him with her big green eyes and Cosmo was only one man.)

Cosmo had frowned, because Don hated Archibald, for reasons that were frankly mysterious. Then he’d looked up and grinned a grin he didn’t exactly feel and said,

“Tell you when you’re older,” and then Don had choked on his dry Martini even though Cosmo knew Don knew about Cosmo’s tendencies. It wasn’t something they discussed, and Cosmo had never properly gone with a guy before, but whenever a big-shot producer started complaining about all the degenerate queers in showbiz, Don always sharply steered the conversation someplace else. It was all very gallant and noble and knightly, and someday Don would play King Arthur and Kathy his lady Guinevere—

“Honestly, sometimes it feels as if we’re living in a fishbowl,” said Kathy now, in the present.

“And so your solution is to relocate,” said Cosmo, “to the biggest fishbowl on this here magnificent earth. The mighty ocean!” He struck up a sea shanty. “Oh blow the man down, blow the man down / way ay, blow the man down…”

Not everyone appreciated his musical flights of fancy, but when Cosmo turned, she was leaning with her elbow on the side arm of the piano, watching him with her chin on her hand and laughing. 

“Just for two weeks,” she said. “So, are you coming?”

“With you two,” said Cosmo, just so there could be no misunderstandings. “On your one and only honeymoon.”

“Yes,” said Kathy.

“As what, your first mate?”

“Sure.” She grinned and threw him a quick salute. Cosmo was almost never attracted to women but in this case, he understood the appeal.

He swallowed. “You are aware of that ancient saying, ‘Two’s company and three’s a fast track to divorce court’?”

“You’re hardly a threat to our marriage, Cosmo,” she said, and he agreed, of course, in both directions, even, but it still stung to hear her say it out loud. For want of anything better to do, he gasped, clutched a hand to his chest and reeled backwards so hard, he threw himself off the piano bench, landing in a somersault on the floor.

Kathy spun around fluidly on the bench to face him, pleated skirt whirling a little, heels of her shoes clicking together. 

“Oh, I said that badly,” she said. “I only mean that it’s more fun when you’re around. We have a better time, Don and me both. Remember the night we decided to make Dueling Cavalier a musical?”

“Do I remember the best night of my life?” Cosmo peered up at her from the hardwood. “Why yes, madam, now that you mention it, I believe it might ring a bell or two.”

“The best—” She frowned for a moment, and he remembered then that as a newly married woman, a newly married woman to Don Lockwood, no less, she’d no doubt experienced any number of evenings that blew that one out of the water.

Even besides that, it felt awfully revealing all of a sudden. Cosmo threw an arm over his eyes. He felt naked. He wished he was naked, because that might at least distract from whatever his face was doing.

“So it beats your time with Archibald, then?” said Kathy shrewdly.

Cosmo uncovered his eyes. He forgot, sometimes, that new as Kathy was to the moving pictures business, she was still a city girl, with a city girl’s worldliness. Also, Don had probably told her; that seemed like the kind of second-hand secrets married people shared with each other. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“Hardly a topic for mixed company,” he said.

There was a pause.

“So yes,” she said and smiled with a smugness that would’ve been unbecoming were she not as cute as a button.

“What do you and Don have against the poor man anyway?” he groused. “He’s never done so much as sneezed in your direction, and if he did, I’m sure he’d use a handkerchief.”

“For one thing, we know you could do better,” said Kathy, folding her arms.

Cosmo elbowed his way back to sitting, brushing himself off with dignity. “Well, better’s not exactly knocking on my door right now.”

“This town doesn’t have an ounce of sense.” She reached down to offer him a hand up, pulling Cosmo to his feet; she was stronger than she looked. “Listen, two weeks away, it’ll be good for you.”

“What about you two?” Cosmo protested as he reclaimed his spot on the bench, Kathy sliding to make room.

“What about us?” said Kathy with wide eyes.

“Two newlyweds might want some alone time?” he offered weakly.

Kathy shrugged. “I told you, there won’t be reporters or cameras. It’ll be plenty private.”

“What about your matrimonial needs?”

“Which needs?”

His eyes narrowed; she was a terrific actress but suddenly he wasn’t sure he was buying it. Kathy wasn’t dumb either.

“You have to know what I mean. Don’t make me play Cole Porter at you,” said Cosmo. She hesitated, and Cosmo began to pluck out a melody: “Birds do it, bees do it / even educated fleas do it…” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Let’s do it,” sang Kathy, finishing the stanza in her lovely alto, “let’s fall in love.”

Cosmo stopped playing.

“I do know,” she said simply, “of course I do, and we’re not worried about it, alright? Listen, do you want to go?”

Cosmo, who had been carefully not asking himself that question, stared down at the piano keys. Did he want to go? He thought back to that night at Don’s, the three of them giddy with excitement and inspiration and sleep deprivation, running through the house, clowning around and dancing with no audience except each other—he hadn’t felt like a hanger-on then, like a third wheel or an extra limb or a chaperone. He’d felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be, one note of a perfect chord.

Still.

“I can’t swim,” he said.

“They’ll have lifejackets,” said Kathy.

“I’ll have to work.”

“We’ll bring a piano.”

“All my houseplants will die,” said Cosmo.

“All your houseplants are fake,” she said. This was true, although he wasn’t sure how she knew since she’d never been to his house. She sighed. “Remember the night of that first screening, when you were about to expose Lina and instead of explaining what was happening, Don told me I had to sing, that I didn’t have a choice?”

He winced, thinking of Kathy’s heartbroken, tear-stained face before they’d pulled up the curtain and revealed who was really singing when Lina moved her lips.

“Yes, and I feel just awful about it.”

“Well, Don doesn’t,” said Kathy. “Because he knew it would take too long to convince me to do something that mean to her.”

“Mean?” Cosmo echoed. “She tried to trap you in a lifelong contract and steal your voice. A common sea witch wouldn’t stoop so low.”

“But there wasn’t time,” she pressed. “And anyway, he knew how it would end.”

“What’s your point?”

“We already bought your tickets,” said Kathy.

Cosmo gaped at her.

“We’ve cleared the trip with everyone at Monumental and anyway, like I said, we’ll have a piano on the boat.”

Distantly, he was aware his mouth was still hanging open. Kathy reached over with one light finger under his chin and gently closed it. 

“That’s better,” she said, folding her hands daintily in her lap. It was around this time she seemed to realize it wasn’t some routine, that Cosmo really was well and truly stunned. “Of course, nobody is going to force you to go with us if you truly don’t want to,” she said into the silence.

“These tickets,” he said at last, “are they refundable?”

“Gosh,” said Kathy easily, “I can’t imagine they are, no.”

The thing was, none of them were hurting for money or work anymore, so the fact that Don and Kathy might be out even a few hundred dollars didn’t catch at him the way it might’ve some years earlier. No, the thought that really seized his imagination was the mental image of Don and Kathy planning this together, Don and Kathy discussing the matter with each other, maybe over breakfast—toast and coffee in their dressing gowns, so sure it was the right thing to do that they’d decided to just go ahead and make preparations: oh and a ticket for Cosmo, of course.

He could do it, he realized. He could go. He wanted to go. It was foolish, but Cosmo was an entertainer; he’d been doing foolish things in front of a roomful of witnesses since he was in shortpants.

“I’ll pack tonight,” he said.

“Perfect!” Kathy hopped off the bench and straightened out her dress. “And bring something nice to wear at dinner for a night or two; it doesn’t need to be black-tie formal, a good suit will do.”

He nodded. “I shall leave the top hat and monocle at home. Two weeks, you say?”

“Yes, and another half-day on either side flying to the harbor and back.” She reached into her coat pocket, and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. “The itinerary,” she said. “Don and I are so glad you’ll be coming.”

“Uh-huh,” said Cosmo. “Say, where is that fella, anyway? What’s the big idea, can’t even stick around to ask his best pal to his own honeymoon?”

“He’s planning the trip,” said Kathy brightly. “Last-minute details. Anyway, he thought you and I should have a chat, one on one. He thought it might help.”

He blinked. “Help what?”

“Help us,” she said.

It was all starting to feel like a farce, like one of those old Vaudeville acts with a lot of fast talking.

“Did it?” he asked.

“I think so,” said Kathy warmly. She turned and began to walk towards the door. “See you at the airport tomorrow. Six AM sharp.”

“Six AM,” he said, and then, foolishly, “You know, I can see why he likes you.”

Kathy dimpled. “Oh, likewise!” She tossed him another smile and then she was heading out of sight down the hallway, shoes clacking rhythmically on the tile.

“Well,” said Cosmo to no one. He felt pole-axed, he decided. He wasn’t sure he had ever felt pole-axed in his life before, but there was no other word for it.

He played a chord, then another chord, then a few more.

“Pole-axed,” he sang, “out of whack, when you are near there’s only one drawback: I can’t be clever, no I lack the knack, Darling, I’m pole-axed, out of whack around you!”

It wasn’t exactly Cole Porter, but he’d take it, he thought, reaching for his pen. There was still an hour or two left before he’d need to race traffic home and dig out his suitcase. Apparently, he had early morning plans.

(ETA: if you didn't see, there is now a second part here!)

(ETA THE SECOND: the whole finished thing is now here!

#singin in the rain ot3 #i might write more idk but listen like you can probably imagine the rest of it #old-timey polyamorous shenanigans on a boat #pretty straightforward stuff #there's singing there's dancing and somehow don managed to 'accidentally' book cosmo in an adjoining bedroom etc etc

[thehill-rpg]

Episode 2: Whispers on The Hill

The quiet shuffle of bare feet on the gravel courtyard fills the air, accompanied by the faint squeak of a rusty pool gate reluctantly opening. With a pair of composed steps, a slender figure, tall yet delicate, makes her way towards an ageing pool chair. As she reclines on its worn surface, the chair emits a soft groan of protest, bearing witness to both its own well-worn years and the age of its current resting place: Palm’s Motor Hotel. Donning a pair of Ray Bans, she settles in, clad in a casual ensemble of a Washington Nationals' tank top and a worn pair of denim short shorts. In her hand, she opens a well-read copy of Cosmo, its pages gently fluttering in the breeze. Tucked between them is a torn clipping from yesterday’s issue of The Hill, resting over an article titled ‘The Secret to Finding Your Soulmate: Date Your Alter Ego.’ A good article, offering the kind of advice you could only get out of a drunk best friend, yet not the one currently capturing her attention.

Chelsea Dalton reclines beside a pool that seems questionably operational (was that the smell of an impending bacteria infection?), her gaze fixed on the familiar words. She reads it again, for what feels like the hundredth time, each word etched into her memory. She knows every line by heart. It’s beautiful.

It’s also months of dedication, collaboration, and hopefully, justice. Sure, it’s a departure from her usual flair, and while, yes, she’d normally sell her soul for this kind of traffic on her blog, she knew there was no way her posting this story would get it the attention it deserved. Hence, her email to Violet Shard, almost three months ago. She’d been hesitant at first. Sure, she was a fan, but this was something that needed to be handled with care. She was too close to her own source. She couldn’t risk being named. However, Violet had assured her of anonymity and a series of follow-ups that wouldn’t brush any pertinent details under the proverbial rug of Washington D.C. political justice. That's why she had agreed, and why she now found herself just outside the District, technically in Maryland, waiting for said blonde journalist. 

Where was she?

As she waited for Violet’s late arrival (had her trusty Saab finally coughed its last puff of exhaust?), she let her thoughts drift over to Gray, and the party she would have been at if the news she’d just leaked to The Hill, hadn’t implicated his father. She’d probably have been in some uncomfortable sundress right now, watching as Gray loosened a tie, only for his mother to promptly tighten it again, while she discreetly passed another crab puff to Mac. Of course, she hated every second of it, but even without her mom’s urging, she hadn’t missed one since she’d moved in next door to his family at six. What could she say? She had a thing for fish paste covered Hors d'Oeuvres. And tortured artists… She’d let the last one remain unsaid, stubbornly resisting even her subconscious attempts to divert her down that worn-out, oh so familiar road. Not today, Bucko! 

Just as she was attempting to shift her focus, fate intervened with the unceremonious thud of a bottle of sunscreen hitting her thigh, yanking her back to the realm of the living—or, more accurately, a realm that didn't revolve around pining over her best-friend of twenty-seven years. “Slip, slop, slap…” She glared over her glasses at a man holding a faded beach towel and a copy of The Hill. 

While quick judgments were usually her forte, she decided to withhold hers until he extended his hands to offer assistance. She leaned towards labelling him as the "concerned dad" type rather than a creepy motel lifer. "Uh, thanks, but— Is that the latest copy of The Hill?" She hadn’t been able to pick up a copy before she’d left her house in order to get here in time and she was keen to see how Violet had followed up. “Sure, kiddo. It’s yours.” She dropped her guard, leaning over to take the paper from his outstretched hand, “Are you moving in?” She’d have answered if the headline story hadn’t caught her attention. Violet Shard, facing charges of defamation and harassment, for her latest story on Congressman Whitman and Harris. “Uh, sorry, do you mind if I–” She was already up, picking up her copy of cosmo and hurrying out of the pool area and back towards her day room and her burner. FUCK. Voicemail. “Violet, call me. I— What can I do?” 

Well, she knew one thing she could do…  

She hastily opened her laptop, disregarding the unread emails clamouring for her attention with their requests for her usual freelance work. Instead, she navigated to her blog and swiftly crafted a new post.

Ms. Whisper here, emerging from the shadows with a scoop hotter than the Capitol's political inferno. It appears our esteemed journalist, Violet Shard, finds herself in the clutches of controversy. But this isn't your run-of-the-mill scandal, my darlings—oh no, it's a tale of truth-telling and the ruthless consequences that follow. Violet dared to shine a light on the dark dealings of Congressman Whitlock and Harris, revealing their insidious involvement in the war-torn realm of Matamba. Yet, instead of accolades, she's met with handcuffs and accusations of defamation and harassment. But fear not, dear readers, for Ms. Whisper is always on the case, ready to peel back the layers of deception and hold the powerful to account. In this cutthroat world of political intrigue, even the bravest truth-seekers like Violet Shard aren't safe from the claws of injustice. So, keep your ears to the ground and your eyes peeled, because when it comes to unravelling the truth, there's no hiding from the relentless pursuit of Ms. Whisper. #StandWithViolet

Her phone buzzed—an SOS. She shot a text back that she’d be there soon. Though even with her foot planted to the floor of her beemer she knew she’d never break an hour. Hastily rummaging through her overnight bag, she retrieved a somewhat acceptable dress (she didn’t own many); though the party might've been cancelled, she was certain Gray's mom wouldn't want the reminder. Hastily, she made her way over to the shower, and tried her best to find the password to get the hot water working longer than two seconds.

She did her best to keep her hair from getting wet, as she washed her nervous sweat from under her armpits. Chelsea hadn't seen this coming without a fight, but nabbing a journalist? This wasn't just a hiccup; it was the kind of move that had First Amendment lawyers rubbing their hands with glee.

She gave up trying to tune the shower into submission and let the cold water run down her back, as she wracked her brain for a way to assist Violet beyond mere page views. Nothing. Nothing.

When it came down to taking action, what good was being Ms. Whisper if all she had in her arsenal were a sharp tongue and a quick wit? That certainly didn't grant innocent journalists a Get Out of Jail Free card, did it?

After a quick drying session (as evidenced by her dress clinging to her back and making it a challenge to slide down over her thighs), Chelsea grappled with her wayward curls, victims of the fierce heat akin to the Battle of Waterloo. With her belongings in tow, she checked out of the motel, conceding that, for the time being, there was little she could do for Violet. As for Gray, a sense of obligation stirred within her to mitigate the unintended turmoil she had caused him. Nonetheless, she refrained from assuming full culpability, acknowledging that the root of this mess lay primarily with his father. All she’d done was overhear a phone call, sneak into his office at night, and make a few dozen or so copies of a report that she only wished now had more than just Congressman Harris’ name to it.

Pulling up to Gray’s house, adjacent to her own, Chelsea switched off the ignition and discreetly covered her overnight bag with one of Mac’s car seat covers in the backseat before stepping out and making her way inside. The atmosphere was sullen, with white chairs being shuffled in and out from the patio to a van parked out front. From a distance, Chelsea observed Nora overseeing the operation with an overflowing wine glass in hand. She couldn't shake the feeling of responsibility for the sombre mood, knowing she had played a part in it, at least partially.

Following the faint strumming of a bass, Chelsea ascended the stairs, purposefully bypassing Mr. Whitlock’s study. She had been instructed to call him Brody, but it just didn't sit right with her. Instead, she made her way down to Gray’s room at the end of the second floor. Her fingers brushed against the wooden door as she announced herself before slipping inside.

"So, on a scale from six-pack therapy to a spa retreat in the German highlands, how concerned should I be about you?" She offered a tentative smile. However, the instant she caught the strains of "Darn The Dream" by Ron Carter, being plucked, she realised she was entering yodelling territory.

#second episode: whispers on the hill #writer: admin josh #feat. chelsea dalton #feat. gray whitlock #recurring feat. broderick whitlock #recurring feat. joe plecki #recurring feat. nora whitlock #recurring feat. ricky greaves #location: palm motor hotel #location: the whitlock home

[larauthorized]

Marissa Cooper Analysis

Coop, as Summer calls her. Or Cosmo Girl as Seth refers to her in his comic book. The girl next door whom Ryan first met in that driveway, delivering the most iconic flirtatious pick-up line in history. Yup, we’re going to dive deeper into the one and only Marissa Cooper, the heart of the show, who’s sadly misunderstood and overlooked even in The OC fandom. (Also, because she’s not here to defend herself, but we got you, girl!)

She’s introduced as the rich girl next door, who’s waiting to be picked up by her possibly first, long time boyfriend in the driveway. Later on, we find out that she’s not just the ordinary girl next door. She’s organized and loves planning events (the fashion show was the start of many),  while it may seem like she’s only doing it for her mother’s sake, but you can tell that she really enjoys it as it becomes another way of escapism  from her dysfunctional family (other than drinking that we’ll get into that later). She does this every season that when she’s kicked off the school even for heroic reasons, that’s when everything starts spiraling out of control that she loses herself. 

Now let’s talk about Luke, Marissa’s first, long-time boyfriend who happens to be a water polo guy that Seth might or might not hold hatred for. From the first season, we get to see a glimpse of how her family, well, Julie mostly, is the kind of rich family that forces her to be and stay with Luke just because they “look good on paper”. It reminds me of Blair and Nate from Gossip Girl, another one of Josh Schwartz’s big hit show. However, Marissa doesn’t seem too happy with the rich life that she’s used to, especially when she knows that her father is possibly in deep trouble as cops keep showing up at her door. Enter Ryan. He’s an outsider, someone who’s far different than her, someone that she longed for in years. She’s intrigued, that one is hard to deny. However, when they start talking and conversing in each other as they sneak into the Model Home house, she realizes that they’re not that different, if anything, they’re similar. In a way.. But, when Cotillion comes around, she doesn’t know what to do, as Julie once again, demands that she stays with Luke just because they’re “picture perfect” (doesn’t matter if the guy cheats and whores around behind her back like the asshole he is *sigh*). And if we’re not going to blame Blair Waldorf for letting Nate cheat on her and still choose to be with him, then we’re not going to shame Marissa, either. Yes, we went there. (take that, Bustle and TheTalko!). 

Marissa’s addiction. That one is possibly one of her worst traits, that the writers loved toying around with throughout the seasons. She tends to go overboard with this one as we see on the very first episode where she steals a whole bottle of alcohol and is left on the driveway, passed-out. This is where Ryan comes in, carrying her back to the pool house, indirectly claiming as her savior *this goes both ways for each other throughout the series, by the way*. Her alcoholism isn’t just the only thing that occurs whenever her life’s on downward spiral, it’s also shown in her bedroom sometimes. When she’s on a grey area with her life emotionally, she reflects it on her bedroom, that soon leads to be a makeover project by her best friend, Summer. Summer describes this as a reason why she’s so depressed, which psychologically speaking, can be accurate. Messy rooms are sometimes interpreted as one’s life not being as organized as they expect it to be, therefore they tend to think that “if my life is out of control, then what’s the point of keeping my room clean”? This is definitely what happens to Marissa. 

Her addiction doesn’t even get too much until Season 3. Even after what happens with Ryan’s brother, we rarely see her taking a drop after, Ryan says and I quote, “You’ve been amazing,” She replies with, “I know what it feels like to have someone believes in you when no one else does.” 

 Aside from negative coping, she’s not only known for that, if you’re actually looking closely into her character and not just judging it based on the cover. She’s an avid reader, though it’s barely shown, but we see her having her nose buried in a book every once in a while. Now that I think about it, that and many other positive qualities that she has, should have been focused and explored way more. She’s organized and carries planner whenever she needs to, she’s clearly more than the girl who needed saving if only the writers see that. Cause then maybe, people won’t refer to her as a “tragic” character that the writers want us to believe *she is not*. 

She’s definitely an introvert - compared to her best friend, Summer, who’s more the life of the party. Sure, she goes to parties and surrounds herself with her so-called “friends”, but you can literally see her drinking alone in the corner while Summer is probably having a lot more fun than she is. It’s clear that she only uses party scene as a way to steal alcohol that she will probably drink later at night as a way of coping. She also seems to be uncomfortable around new people and charges her energy while she’s on her own. This is why when she’s kicked off the school and has to go to a new environment, she doesn’t fit in right away, which leads to her insecurity increasing even higher (something that she also struggles with on a daily basis). The insecurity itself is possibly rooted from maternal issues she has, we see that on the very first episode, Julie is critizing her on how she looks, how she takes the comment on a personal level. After overdosing herself in Tijuana, she’s put on Suicide Watch, and we learn that she also suffers from “possible” ED in the past, masking it something that’s not serious because she was very stressed at the time, but is it though? Now, we never really know further cause that storyline is never explored further, we also don’t know if the writers are taking it seriously or just putting heavy weight on her shoulder for fun. Either way, it really sucks for her character, especially when she had other deep trauma issues that are barely addressed throughout the series.

Her savior complex. Now now now, this one is kind of controversial, excluding the last season where the main focus is “Ryan failed to save her”, helping and saving people are actually her forte, just like Ryan - which is why they probably connect in the first place. People love to call she’s selfish and needs saving all the time, but they’re people, who don’t bother to look deeper and judge all they please, it’s sickening. First, despite how problematic it might seem, she tries to help Oliver (no matter how many times Ryan thinks she doesn’t). She sees herself in Oliver and is scared that he might go down the rabbit hole if she leaves him alone, that’s actually sweet and showcases her nurturing side. The only downside is that every guy she does this to, seems to take it the wrong way and thinks of it as more than a friendly gesture. Cause you know, it was the 2000s, boy/girl friendships aren’t as common as it is now. She even lets Ryan go to help Theresa even though she needs him as well, knowing that he literally has an affair with another girl while they are still kind of together. How she’s trying to make  Ryan’s brother feel welcome in the neighborhood, keeping him company, not realizing that Trey might turn out to be the one that truly hurt and destroy her. What makes my blood boil even more is when they call her stupid for trusting Trey, for what, really? For wanting to get to know Ryan’s family because she loves him that much, that she’s willing to go far and beyond? *shudders* Even then, she’s still not thinking of herself when that happens, that her only response when Trey confronts her is “Me?! How about Ryan?” So yeah, I’ll fight anyone who calls her selfish. My ass.  The other thing with Johnny is that, she doesn’t try to save him, she actually sees him as a friend that she can vent to about her traumatic events that happen to her in the previous season. Because, for some reason they make Ryan look and seem like a douche this season and not wanting to talk to her though he always is there for her before *probably for angst, right?*. It’s actually stupid how they twist Johnny around and make him in love with her, leaving her yet alone again, but guess that’s what they’re trying to accomplish with her character as she’s left with her addiction only during this entire thing. 

Saving guys who don’t even deserve a shred of her kindness aren’t the only thing she’s good at - remember Hailey, Kirsten’s sister, who ends up a stripper that one time and how Marissa and Ryan find her and as he’s about to give up after getting kicked out of a club, she’s still optimistic and comes up with a plan to save her? Yeah, that one true partner in crime right there. She also schemes every now and then, not that that’s ever explored deeply in the show, but it’s there. 

Now Volchok, the guy that we all want to punch (Let’s go, Ryan!). She just loses a friend (one she can talk to about traumatic events), deals with s3xual assault and having to shoot someone to save her boyfriend, that’s got to be too much on a teenager girl like her. So no, she doesn’t just do that because she “loves to date bad boys”. There she is, standing and looking around the Model Home house, reconciling of the old times between her and Ryan. She realizes that she wants to be with Ryan and is ready for it too, but she can’t seem to go over to him when the time comes, giving him the mixtape that she makes him. The situation’s reversed, she used to be the rich girl with a mansion, now there she is, barely having her own bedroom, living in a trailer park. To add to that, she’s dealing with traumatic events still, so of course she’s insecure. She thinks she’s not good enough for Ryan and giving in to Volchok is a sign of that. But she wants Ryan to be happy, hence why she chases after Sadie, practically driving the girl into his arms. Poor, poor girl deserves so much better.

Let’s take a breather and talk about her family now. Despite how dysfunctional it might seem on the outside, and how many furniture thrown in the pool, doesn’t erase the fact that she’s a family girl. Jimmy, her father, has a way of coming and going any ways he likes. She even points it out and says, “You know, I wish you’d be like a real dad,” Ouch, that hurt. But it’s true, when it comes to family, she’s looking for a tradition, something stable that she can always cling onto especially when she’s in time of need. This is why when she comes up bringing bagels to the Cohen’s house, she feels warmed and welcomed by the family. It’s the one thing she lacks of in her family. Julie, despite the crazy ways in providing for her, is actually doing a better job at being there for her than Jimmy ever does. Sure, Julie is seen more of a villain in the first season (hell, the woman sleeps with her boyfriend that she lost her virginity to, so if I were her, I’d understand if she wants to, say, take revenge and invite her mom’s sister that Julie strongly hates as part of her master plan), but by the end of Season 3, they really grow stronger as a mother-daughter relationship that we really wish to see more of if given a chance.  Despite not showing much for her and only coming for the drama, she truly cares for her sister, Kaitlin. When she’s done moping around after traumatic events, she drives away to where her sister’s boarding school is, all because she wants to help her sister with something. There she is, finally having drama-free, fun episode where we get to see her strolling around in a sexy school girl outfit, but clearly the writers never catch her a break and hate to see her happy for once. 

Marissa is always seen as beautiful on the outside, but I don’t think she ever feels it at times. Luke’s cheating, probably makes her feel insecure and her mother sleeping with him helps as well. Ryan is the only person who actually sees her. She’s his heather.

People love pointing out her flaws when it comes to her relationship with darling Ryan, but the truth is, she has always been putting him before anyone else. She saves him multiple times throughout the series, even when he’s hardly there for her in Season 3. When she follows him to Chino, she visits his house and finds out more about him as a child - discovering that he used to be in a play dressed as Snoopy (again, she’s finding more and more about him because she cares and loves him deeply). Then, he goes out there saving his brother, not knowing that who he’s dealing with, she comes just in time with a car, saving him. This happens again when he’s broken up with Lindsay, she finds him in the rain, and comforts him, no talking needed. She shot her rapist to save him by the finale. Even in Season 3, when he’s chasing trouble with Volchok going back to his old ways as she’s miles away from Newport, he seeks for her help again, she is quick to respond and be there for him right away. Something he fails to do during this season, don’t ever tell me that she never thinks of him when that’s not true. She encourages him to talk about his architecture dream when they’re both on a college trip (this is such goals!). 

With her neglectful and narcistic parents, emotionally, and Ryan’s who’s more physically, that’s why they click and their relationship works. He doesn’t trust anyone and she doesn’t encourage her bad behavior on him, but they’re both there for each other. Always. She’s his constant, just like he’s hers, she accepts him the way he is because she’s imperfect as well. She sees him as the one thing that she can rely on and that’s really sweet. They both come from dysfunctional family with their own issues in hopes to build one of their own that actually works, at least that’s what we’re all rooting for, right? 

Well, at least, in another world, we see Marissa Cooper and Ryan Atwood sailing away on a boat, travelling, and exploring the world as they should be before settling back down to their roots - Model Home House, Newport. It’s what she deserves. 

#marissa cooper #ryan atwood #the oc #marissa cooper analysis #character analysis #the oc analysis #ryissa #ryanandmarissa #marissacooper #ryanatwood #theoc #analysis #blog #blogger #bloggerslife #writerslife

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Pairing: T. Iida x Reader Rating: 15+ Words: 4k289 Warnings: Reference of Alcohol, and angst  Requested by: No one, but requests are open! Summary: The story of Iida’s summer before UA, and how love isn’t always a good thing.

      QUIRK: Soul Beam

   The summer before high school was a fever dream that Y/n never wanted to wake up from. The sweat sticking to her skin was only ever washed away from the storms that passed through her life- note: even the pools she submerged herself in never removed the glistening water from her body because sometimes water needs a little force behind it in order to cleanse you. 

The gold and purple sunsets are passing memories that she wants to desperately hold on to. No taste will be quiet like the pancakes she had eaten, and no smell will ever replace that of the sweater she stole (despite overheating every time she wore it).

Scars are a painful reminder of what she went through, and it takes a little to see them as a badge of honor, but the help she received only made it re-open in the long run. 

Tire swings will never be the same, and that stupid song is still on the radio- as if it wasn’t playing enough in her head. Y/n used to think she was strong, but now that’s barely believable. Ice cream cones and train rides have a hidden meaning that will only ever be known by her and it hurts to know that no one can help her mourn a love that never happened.

--------------

The first question was asked when the summer started. It was next to a moving van that was a beacon calling out to everyone on the street it was parked on. The well-off neighborhood was full of upstanding citizens who wanted nothing more than to welcome the newest member with open arms. 

It was that beacon that called the Iida family over to the driveway. But as Tenya walked with his brother and parents, he wondered if the bright beacon that drew him in was the moving truck of the bright smile of the teen girl, happily grabbing boxes of things to bring inside. 

“Hello! We’re the Iida family, this is my husband, and these are my two son’s, Tensei and Tenya. Welcome to the neighborhood!” The wife smiled kindly at the mother.

“Thank’s for coming out! This is my husband, Y/d/n, and my daughter Y/n. We’re really looking forward to joining the neighborhood,”  to the untrained eye this looked like any normal greeting, but Y/n knew better. She could see the subtle glances her mom threw at her. She was trying to say how cute the younger boy was. It received a light chuckle and an eye-roll from her daughter.

“Tenya,” The Iida’s father said, clasping him on the shoulder, “Why don’t you go help Y/n with her boxes?”

“Yes, sir,” he said, walking over to the moving truck.

“You can just grab that one if it’s not too heavy,” she pointed at a medium side box labeled ‘Knickknacks’. He hummed in agreement and followed her up into her room, noting the aesthetic that she surrounded herself in.  

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A knock echoed through the newly-decorated house, alerting the present family members of a visitor. 

“Not it,” Y/n’s dad said, pressing his finger to his noes; her mother follows suit.

“You guys are literal children,” Y/n groaned, forcing herself off the couch she had grown ever so attached to.  Grumpily, she made her way to the door.

“Oh hey! Iida, right?” Y/n said, recognizing the boy that had already been in her room.

“Yes! That’s me. I uh,” he scratched the back of his neck nervously, “I was heading down to the boardwalk, and I wanted to know if you would like to come with me?” 

Truth be told this wasn’t his idea. His mother had been pressuring him for days in hopes to grow closer to the new family. It wouldn’t be long until they realized the Iida’s are a line of hero’s, and she wanted to get close to them before they found out.

“Oh,” Y/n replied, suddenly thinking of the clothes she was currently wearing. While her tie-dye shorts and loose t-shirt weren't anything to be ashamed of, they were not ‘paint the town red’ clothes. 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to!” Tenya said, suddenly embarrassed that he randomly invited a girl his age to hang out with him. 

“No! I’ll gladly go, just give me a few minutes to get changed. Come inside,” Y/n had said, opening the door wider for him before racing upstairs. 

--------------------

       Iida walked slightly behind the girl he was supposed to show around. It was a cliché, but she was mesmerizing. Her hair bounced with every step, and she walked like she had a purpose, and the end goal was in mind and she would stop at nothing to get there. 

She looked like she was made of honey and sugar and a taste would give him a cavity. The beams of the sun projected from her eyes like the cosmos and it made him want to fall in- knowing full well that drifting through the endless space would never cease to amaze him.

“Do you think they sell corn-dogs here?” 

“Huh? oh!” He blushed, before pointing ahead, “Yeah, there’s one right by the docks.”

“Well then what are we waiting for?” She smiled and leaned closer to Iida. “Let's hurry!” There was a burst of light laughter in her voice, as she grabbed his hand and ran off. What was he doing here?

--

When they reached the end of the docks- corn dogs in hand- they say on the bench which over-looked the sea. Night had fallen while they were out, Y/n becoming absorbed in learning as much as she can about where she moved to.

As she looked out to the wine-light sky, she wondered if she could swim to it. The horizon looked so close, like just reaching out a little further would put it in her grasp. It wasn’t until Tenya’s hand grabbed her shoulder that she realized she really was leaning forward.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked, eyebrows pulled together.

“Yeah!” She smiled, snapped out of her thoughts,. “Just day-dreaming,”

“We should get you back home,” He said, before looking back to the water. 

She saw his glasses, they reflected the golden hue of the sunset, and the beautiful purple that fought underneath it. She saw all the beauty in the world in his eyes, all that was good and right- was all in front of her. He was the sunset, he was the horizon she so desperately wanted to get to.  

“Hey, Iida?” Y/n asked, swinging her legs back and forth under the bench. 

“What is it?” He said, looking over to her face- which didn’t turn to see him.

“Stupid question- but an icebreaker; if you could have anyone in the world- living or dead- over to yours for dinner, who would it be?” she blushed a little, but kept a calm face.

He knew the answer as soon as she finished the sentence, but there was no need to tell someone he just met the name of the girl he had been in love with for years- so all he said was, “Probably Catherin The Great, she had a few political opinions I’d like to hear about first hand,”

“Hmm, I can see you two bonding over tea,” She smirked, standing up from her seat, “Let’s get home.”

Tenya nodded, walking beside Y/n- thinking about her.

----------------------------------------------------------------

        A month had passed, and the little interactions the two families had resulted in the Iida’s inviting them over for breakfast. Y/n had woken up early to get dressed. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, harshly shaking it so the baby hairs would fall out. She threw on a form-fitting sweater and yoga-pants. Despite wanting to look like it’s a casual mornings- she did apply some casual makeup to make herself look a little more awake. 

It was stupid- she knows- but Y/n really just wanted to look a tiny bit better when he sees her again. Looking in the mirror, she wonders if he’s putting a little extra effort in his appearance as well. She could only hope.

Walking down the stairs, she saw her mother- also wearing casual makeup- and her father in a black polo and slacks. They were both standing by the door, waiting for their daughter to come out from her cave. 

“Why are you guys already done?” She asked, turning on the phone and checking the time.

“Wanted to make a good impression,” Her dad smiled, putting his own phone away. 

“Alright,” Her mom smiled, putting on her wedges, “Let’s get going. Y/n can you grab the scones and smoothie?”

“Yeah mah, I’ll be right back,”

“Thanks love,” she smiled, grabbing the house keys off the hook. 

They were kinda heavy, but it was nothing she couldn’t carry. That didn’t stop her dad from taking it from her with a smile. She could have done it, but she’s not necessarily upset about it.

---

Sitting at the dining room table was only awkward in the beginning of the meal. The Iida’s seemed to be pretty profesional people, but the Y/l/n’s were introverts with an acquired sense of humor. Joking about everything from people at work, eachother, and random facts they had learned, the Iida’s quickly became much less tense during the meal. 

The mother and father- whom’s names Y/n never seemed to learn, were last few to smile or laugh along side the rest, beaten by Tenya by only a second, but Tensai had been the first to crack a joke, almost beating Y/n herself to break the ice. 

The loud laughter slowly split into multiple side conversations; Y/n- who sat across from Tenya- tried to strike up a conversation. “Do you want to be famous one day?” 

“Hmm?” He asked, looking up from the lone strawberry cut on his plate, “Yes, I plan on being a Hero.”

A few seconds longer than a moment had passed, end Tensai asked Y/n in return, “What about you? You wanna live the life of fame, or are you more of a low-key kinda gal,” he smiled at her, and for a second Y/n though he had noticed the embarrassment worn on her face after being rejected and forced into silence.

“I dunno really, my quirk is pretty multipurpose. I originally wanted to be a counselor or therapist, but it’s changed from a vet to doctor, to a hundreds of other things. My parents think I should be a hero- I wouldn’t mind I don’t think, but the constant attention could get pretty annoying. A like being busy with people and events, but I do value my privacy,” 

He smiled at her, nodding in acceptance at her answer. The Iida parents had been listening into her words while she spoke, but they still conversed with Y/n’s parents as well. 

Y/n saw a smile on Iida’s face. That mirrored on her own, and suddenly her pancakes tasted a whole lot better. She missed the far off look in his eyes, if only she saw the worried look that was on Tensai’s face. If she had, maybe that small warning could have protected her heart.

---------------------------------------------

         Y/n had found an abandoned tire swing in their large backyard, three acres of cleared land and two of forest. The swing was in a small clearing- it looked like a party or two had been thrown while it was vacant- shown by the few nips thrown about the ground. She swung back and forth- listening to music playing in her head. 

Because of how caught up in her head she was, she never heard the footsteps approaching her. “Hey, Y/L/N!” Tenya greated. 

“Jesus Christ!” She shouted, falling from the swing. Thankfully, with the use of his quirk, Iida was able to catch her just in time.

“You should really be more careful,”

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” she rolled her eyes. 

He smiled, helping her back up to the swing. He slowly began to push her back and forth, spinning her as fast as he could listening to her laughter. Getting more and more dizzy, she closed her eyes to stay level headed. 

With a heavy sigh of contentment, Y/n lied on the grass with Iida, staring up at the beautiful blue sky. “Hey, Tenya?” She asked, still looking up.

“Yeah?” He turned on his side to see her better- only to notice her eyes were closed. 

“What’s your perfect day?”

“Hmm...” he thought for a second, trying to think of a good answer. “Probably waking up early, and seeing the girl I love as soon as I open my eyes. Then I’d like to eat breakfast with my family- followed by patrol with my brother. Then I’d like to go home and make a cup of tea and sit down with a book I like. Yeah, that sounds pretty good,” he smiled himself, closing his eyes to really picture what he was saying. 

“That sounds really nice Iida,” she whispered, wondering if she could be the one he loves.

---------------------------------

           Summer only had a month left, but Y/n wanted to make the most of the fleeting free-time she had left. Wanting to explore more of Japan before her freedom was stripped from her, she invited Iida to go on a roadtrip with her. 

It wasn’t hard at all to convince her parents to let her go, with her quirk she really didn’t need to worry about being attacked. Even then, she’s physically strong if she can’t use her quirk to defend herself. With the rise of heroes to protect everyone, Japan quickly became one of the safest places. Y/n was also very closely trained with America’s top hero, Reflector. She taught Y/n everything she knew and fully plans on giving Y/n her hero agency as her predecessor. 

Iida’s parents were a little harder to convince, but Y/n’s parents were very persuasive. They would be gone for a week, and they would check in every morning when they woke up and every night before they went to sleep. If they didn’t call during one of the time’s then they had until the next call to respond.

They had made a list of regions and cities in them to visit in them, with the days they would be arriving and leaving. If they skipped a stop of stayed longer, then they had to text their parents with the nex information. Solid rules, and both the teens agreed to them, as well as their parents. 

The bus ride to the train station was relatively short, but it was in complete silence. It was a little awkward, but they just had to get through that one part. 

The train ride itself was much more enjoyable. With their suitcases in hand, they sat close yet comfortably. “Hey, Tenya?” 

“What’s up?” He asked, looking up from his phone to see her eyes staring back at him- a smile tugging at his lips. 

“For what in your life do you feel most grateful?” She questioned, smiling into his eyes.

“Probably my family,” He responded as soon as she finished- having grown accustomed to Y/n’s random questioning, “They’ve done so much for me, and I only hope I can pay them back for all that they’ve supported me through.”

Y/n nodded at his answer, acknowledging how very much like him it is. The loud bustle of train and constant shaking led them to listening to music together, sharing earbuds and squeezing close together. It was a cheesy, new, pop song- one that will probably inspire a sub-culture of girls to bind together. It was weirdly comforting.

---------------------------------

        The last night they spent through their travel of Japan was by far the most enjoyable. There was a small frost in the air that traveled with the two, following them in their own little bubble. 

The streets were lightly illuminated, and it seemed like they were the only two in the world. Y/n had grabbed him by the hand, dragging him to an ice cream vendor. Seeing her in front of him, Tenya was thrown back to the first time they spent time together- everything's so different now. Yet, her beautiful eyes stay constant. Her kindness in unwavering. She’s still a girl made of honey and sugar.

After traveling together for so long, the two stopped correcting people who referred to them as a couple- they simply accepted it as an inside joke. This was why they laughed when the man behind the counter said “And these two for the cute couple,” with a wink at the end of his sentence. 

Walking linked by the elbows, the two passed through the park. Shivering from the wind and the chill of her ice cream, Iida stopped the pair. He took off his sweater, revealing the long-sleeve shirt he wore underneath, and he handed it to her. 

“Ten! You’ll freeze to death,” she said, refusing the offering.

“C’mon Y/n/n, I can heat myself up through my engines, and I wasn’t asking. You’re gonna wear the sweater or you’ll get sick. Put it on,” he said, taking the ice-cream from her hand and raising her arms like she was a child. 

Y/n was very pleased the cold hid the blush on her face- last thing she needed was for him to discover her feelings on the last day of this amazing trip. She slipped into his large sweater, and grabbed her ice cream back from him.

“Hey Iida, I’ve got another question,” she said, walking with him through the trees bordering the street. 

“I’m ready,” he asked, looking forward to make sur they didn’t walk into anything in the dark. 

“What’s a personal problem you could use some advise for?” She asked, actually curious as to what he could possibly need help with. 

He sighed, not making eye-contact. “I guess since we’re close enough- even on nickname basis- I should be comfortable telling you this. I’m in love with this girl, I’ve never stopped thinking about her since the moment I met her,” a dopey smile came onto his face, “I have no idea how to tell her. And now we’re going into highschool, and she’s going to meet so many other people- people I’m sure are more fun than me. I want to confess to her before the summer ends, but I have no idea how to. So,” he sucked in a deep breath and looked at Y/n, “What do you think?”

Y/n smiled, she was so sure he was being cheesy and talking about her. She fully believes that he’s gonna confess tonight. It has to happen- that’s the only way what he just said makes sense. 

“I think,” she closed her eyes, “You should look her in the eyes, and compliment them. Whether she accepts your compliment or refuses it, tell her you want her to know how perfect she is- and then tell her how you feel. Tell her how just seeing her makes your day, how you want her to be the first thing you see in the morning, and the last voice you hear at night. Tell her you want to spoil her, want to tell her everyday how perfect she is. Confess to her that she’s amazing, and that you love her. Let her know how you feel, and then respect her reply. But, there’s no way she’ll turn you down. Be confident, you’re amazing and I’m sure she feels the same,”

Tenya thanked her for her advise, and they fell back into a comfy silence. It was then she remembered the night they decided to go by first names, the night she realized how hard she fell for him.

----

Y/n was sitting on her rooftop, Iida beside her. They were looking up at the stars- sitting in silence. Like always, she started the conversation- “Hey, Iida, If you died this evening without being able to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? And Why haven’t you told them yet?”

“Huh,” he murmured, thinking hard. “I’d regret not thanking my brother more. He risks his life to save people, and he practically raised me. He’s why I want to be a hero, to live up to his expectations. I guess I haven’t told him yet because I want to prove that I’ve done something with myself. I want him to know he doesn’t have to raise me anymore- that I succeed,”

Y/n thought for a moment, before answering a question for the first and only time they have known eachother- but he didn’t ask it. She just felt a need to finally speak.

“I had an ex-boyfriend,” she sighed, clenching her eyes shut; “We’d been dating for five years- since we were children. We were so close as kids, but when our quirks manifested he broke up with me. He said my quirk was too dangerous for him, that he didn’t want to be part of the backstory of a villians history. It fucking ruined me. I was an idiot for actually thinking we could have lasted. About a month after we broke up, a villian attacked the agency I was working at. The only reason I was there was because I know the hero in charge, and he knew that. He had come to the building during my break- I don’t know why he was there, but I was the only person he knew there. The villain attacked, but his quirk wasn’t very strong. All he could do was change the color of an item for a few seconds. He was killed that day- slaughtered by the villain who’s only reason was boredom. I wish I could talk to him one last time, tell him I loved him one last time.”

Iida scooted closer to her, pulling her head onto his chest, letting her use him as a crutch. “It’s okay, Y/n. It’ll be okay,”

----------------------------------------------------------

When highschool started, and Tenya hadn’t confessed his love to him, Y/n came to the painful realization that she wasn’t the one he loved. However, it was the first day of school that hit the nail on the head. 

She had entered the classroom of 1-A, after her family convinced her to at least try out the hero course, and was terrified that she would know no one. And then, she heard a voice that reminded her of someone very similar.

At the far end of the room, she saw the back of a blue-haired boy scolding a blond with his feet on the desk. A smile spread across her mouth when she realized who this up-tight teen was. Practically running to cover the distance of the class, Y/n launched herself onto Iida, latching onto her. 

“Ten!” She smiled, shifting to wear he could comfortably hold her up.

“Y-Y/n?” He asked, momentarily stunned by her sudden appearance. He smiled and spun her around for a second before putting her down. “You’re here? You’re parents convinced you to pursue being a hero?” he was reasonably confused, but he wasn’t upset she was there- if anything he was glad to have a second familiar face around.

“Yeah, I’m just trying it out,” Y/n laughed, scratching the back of her neck. 

“So heartwarming, now get outta my line of sight four-eyes,” the blond snapped, glaring at the pair.

“You’re annoying, you know that?” Y/n said, rolling her eyes at his comments. 

Meanwhile, Iida laughed at Y/n being called his girlfriend. Y/n, who used to laugh with him, could only do her best to not cry. 

“C/mon Ten, let’s go to your seat,” Y/n said, tugging his hand towards the spot with his name on it- stopping when her arm was tugged, caused by him not moving with her. 

“Sorry Y/n/n,” he said, releasing her hand. “I would, but I promised Momo I’d meet her by the gate and guide her to the classroom. You know about Momo, right?” He looked into her eyes hoping she would put it together herself. After realizing she wouldn’t, he reminded her, “We talked about her on our last day of the tour.”

“Oh,” she said, feeling suddenly really cold. 

“Yeah,” He smiled, “Wish me luck!” He gave her a thumbs up and walked out the room- leaving her stunned and so very cold. 

A scoff echoed from behind her, causing her to look back and see the blond once again. 

“That guy’s an idiot- glasses or not. It’s so obvious how you feel about him, and you’re way to attractive to pine after someone like him. You’re smart too, since you got into this school- he’s really missing out,” he rolled his eyes, but he also knew what just happened- even though no one else in the room picked up on it. 

He assumed they were dating, but when Iida laughed, Bakugo had no clue if he was laughing at them dating or the girl’s reaction. He quickly figured out which of the two was the truth, and he also realized that he had no clue that she was in love with him. 

Y/n didn’t react to his words, just stuck in the weird state she was in. She wasn’t sad, or angry. There was no tears or screams or breakdown, just a silent wave of shock. An ocean of doubt consumed her, filling her with a sense of... nothing. 

She should have known. She should have realized. It’s entirely her fault. Who could love her. Who would want to love her. Who wants to date a freak. Who wants to date someone with a villainous quirk like hers. That’s why he was shocked when she showed up- he thought they’d reject a future villain like her.

No wonder everyone hates her; if she was someone else she’d hate herself too.

#bnha #bnha fanfiction #bnha x reader #boku no hero academia #Tenya #Iida #Tenya Iida #Tenya x Reader #Iida x Reader #Tenya x reader angst #tenya iida unrequited #boku no hero angst #boku no hero requests open #mha #my hero #My Hero Academia #bakugo #katsuki bakugou #bakugou katsuki #bakugo x reader #katsuki x reader #Bakugo x reader x Iida #Katsuki x Reader x Tenya #Iida x reader x Bakugo

[sevenstarsinning]

Summary: Raditz loses his mate when Planet Vegeta is destroyed and finds himself working alongside Prince Vegeta. When he comes to Earth to recruit his brother, he’s dealt another devastating blow when Goku refuses to join and leaves him near death. He’s found by a human and attempts to adapt to life on Earth.

Chapter 1 is here

Chapter 2

The smell of wet grass and dirt filled your nostrils when you awoke. Before you opened your eyes, you knew the sun was beaming overhead. Judging by the layer of sweat on your forehead, it was going to be a hot one.

Your clothes stuck uncomfortably to your body as you turned over to your back, groaning the whole way. Along with the nausea, your entire body ached from sleeping on the hard ground all night.

"Human, who are you and why did you sleep on me last night?" A large silhouette stepped up next to you, nearly blocking out the sun entirely.

"Thought you were just a vivid dream." As the events of the previous night flooded your brain, you realized how many unanswered questions there were regarding the handsome stranger.

"Wait... how are you standing? You were pretty much dying a few hours ago."

He bent down and grabbed your wrist, bringing you to your feet without much finesse.

"Hangover!" You shouted when you came face to face with his wide chest. A cold sweat broke out all over and before you could so much as turn your head away, you vomited all over the front of him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, human? That smells horrible," he growled, stepping back to get away from the odor but, of course, it followed him. He tugged at his armor and tried to wrestle it over his head but his face went pale before he could get it off.

"Spicy," you panted while you pulled your shirt over your head to wipe your mouth, "bar food, man... it's good going down but it fucking sucks coming back up."

He bent over and dry heaved a couple of times before his stomach emptied what little still remained. He groaned and clutched his ribs before pulling his cracked armor off the rest of the way. One side of it was almost completely gone and the rest was barely hanging together.

The two of you fell silent when you stopped and finally got a good look at one another. The only thing that covered him looked like some kind of spandex wrestling attire that left little to the imagination.

You stood a few yards away in a black bikini top from your visit to the community pool next to the bar the day before and your favorite pair of jeans, perfectly worn in and comfortable.

"As far as morning after looks go, this is not my finest. Self medicating hangover is not a good look on me," you said, breaking the intense silence between you.

"Who are you?" He asked again, completely unamused.

"Dude, you were dying in the field right next to my house dressed like you just left an anime convention. You tell me who you are first."

"I don't take orders from weak little humans," he snarled, offended you would even attempt to tell him what to do.

"I don't see any weak little humans," you shot back, unfazed by the difference in size between you. He had to be well over a foot taller and built like a tank.

He took in a sharp breath to come back with another insult but all that came out was a groan as he clutched his ribs and dropped to his knees.

You approached with caution as he tried to catch his breath. Each time he inhaled, the pain seemed to intensify. Even on his knees he was close to being at eye level with you.

"Do you need a doctor or... " you trailed off, unsure how to help him.

It was clear he wasn't from Earth which wasn't all that surprising or disconcerting living on the outskirts of West City. It seemed to be a hotspot for strange activity and visitors from the cosmos.

"No doctors," he growled.

"So, what, I'm supposed to just leave you here to die slowly? Not my style, big guy. Come on, my house is right over there." You took a step forward and offered your hand.

He tilted his head up to meet your gaze. The friendly smile you displayed took him by surprise. He expected some amount of fear from his less than welcoming first impression, but there wasn't any.

"I don't need help from a human," he grumbled as he began to stand.

"That's too bad, you're getting it anyway." You grabbed his arm to help him stay balanced and hoisted it over your shoulder. The second he let the full weight of his massive arm rest on you, it felt like you were sinking into the ground.

"Jesus fuck... how are you so goddamn big?"

"How are you so tiny?" He grunted, shifting to take a little weight off of you. All you could do was help keep him steady, anything beyond that was out of the question.

"I haven't been home in a couple of days so the house is probably a mess," you said, ignoring his question.

The small patch of woods near your house offered a short reprieve from the sun's intensity. You had never been more thankful for the end of summer. The sweltering hot days were miserable and difficult to enjoy because it was too uncomfortable to do much of anything.

You came to an abrupt stop when your house came into view. The front half looked fine, not a brick out of place. The back half had been reduced to crumbling walls and bits of rubble.

When your eyes settled on the pod sitting in what used to be your bedroom, you slowly turned your gaze to the stranger at your side.

"What's your name?" You asked, calm on the surface but inside your blood was boiling.

"Raditz, why?" He answered with a little more attitude than you could let slide.

"I'm assuming that's yours, Raditz?" You pointed to the small round ship surrounded by chunks of your walls and roof. Imagining him folding his massive body into the pod would’ve made you laugh if not for the anger over your house.

"Yes."

"And where you're from, I'm assuming you're well versed in galactic travel?"

"Yes, human. What are you getting at?" He sighed and clutched his ribs, not at all bothered by the fact that his pod decimated your house.

"This area is like 90% cow pasture, how the actual fuck did you crash land on my house?!" You shouted, loud enough for your voice to echo.

"How dare you raise your voice-"

"Oh fuck no, you're not pulling that high and mighty bullshit with me," you interrupted, hands shaking from the overwhelming anger.

"Do you have a death wish? I've killed beings bigger and far scarier than you for much less," he shouted back despite the pain he knew it would cause. 

"You destroyed my house, you gigantic asshole!" You stared up at him, not the least bit intimidated.

"I'm warning you, human, your life means nothing to me and I won't hesitate to end it," he growled back.

"Is that supposed to scare me? Dude, this is Earth, like half of us wish for death every fucking day!"

Raditz opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out while he processed what you said.

Your chest heaved with a long, drawn out sigh. Without another word, you headed towards what was left of the house. The inside was a complete wreck even in the front half of the house. The impact of the pod hitting the back half of the house shifted everything and left the floor covered with valuables from your shelves and TV stand. The only thing left unscathed was the furniture.

Glass from broken picture frames crunched under your shoes as you navigated the living room to grab the first aid kit from the small closet across from the bathroom.

"Sit." You pointed to the couch when Raditz appeared in the doorway.

He hesitated for a moment, looking around at the chaos his ship caused. After crossing the threshold, he moved gingerly towards the couch and sat down next to you.

With the first aid kit laid out on the coffee table, you shuffled through to find disinfectant wipes, bandages, and whatever else you might need to get him patched up.

He slowly pulled his ripped up black spandex top over his head and sat back on the couch, shifting to find the most comfortable position. His whole left side was one massive bruise with cuts and dried blood smeared across it. The cuts on the rest of his body had long since stopped bleeding but still needed to be cleaned.

"I'm guessing you have a broken rib or two?" You finally turned to look at him. The anger and annoyance that marred his chiseled features just minutes before was replaced with curiosity.

He nodded and moved his arm out of the way to give you access to his battered side.

"How do you take care of broken bones where you're from?" You pulled a disinfectant wipe from a small foil packet and unfolded it.

"Medical machines," he answered. Right when you pressed the wipe to the cuts on his abs, he hissed.

"Keep talking, what's a medical machine on your planet?" You continued, hoping to keep him distracted from the discomfort.

"A pod... " he winced and took a deep breath, "full of a healing liquid... it can heal us from any wound as long as we're still breathing."

You placed a bandage over one of the deeper cuts and moved onto the next. "I wish we had something like that here. How long does it take?"

"Dammit, woman," he grunted when you added a little pressure to his ribs to clean another long gash.

"Depends on the wound," he said through gritted teeth, "minutes up to a few hours."

"And I'm guessing you don't have one in the pod that destroyed my house?" You raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.

"Obviously not. What do you have on this pathetic planet that can heal me quickly? I have more important things to do than sit here and answer your questions," he bit back.

You pressed against his ribs out of spite and got an anguished groan out of him. Before you could return to cleaning the last of his cuts, he grabbed your arm to stop you.

"I could snap your wrist with one hand."

"Yeah? If you really wanted to, you would've just done it," you challenged. It was a gamble to keep pushing back but you ran out of fucks to give long ago.

A few seconds of silence passed between you and he finally released his grip.

His curiosity returned when you focused on patching him up as if he didn't just threaten bodily harm. The way you were able to be simultaneously angry and caring towards him wasn't something he expected from a human.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I don't want a rotting corpse in the field next to my house," you answered without a second thought, "you're also not leaving until you fix the chaos your pod caused."

"I owe you nothing, human-"

"You're also kinda cute but that's not going to last long if you keep being a dick," you continued, turning your attention to his arm.

He jerked it away and growled when a sharp pain shot through his body.

"Feel like a big man now?" You chided before pulling his arm back into your lap.

"How do you expect me to fix this? I'm a warrior, not a builder."

You raised an eyebrow and said the first thing that came to mind. In retrospect, it was probably the worst thing you could've said but you were incapable of keeping your mouth shut.

"Maybe you'll be a better builder since you clearly suck at the whole warrior thing."

A tingle went down your spine when he turned his murderous glare to you. It wasn't the dying part that filled you with fear, it was the infinite number of ways he could go about it that made your life flash before your eyes.

#raditz x reader #raditz x female reader #raditz #dbz #dbz fic #let you go fic #supremeleadershitlord #7ss raditz

[nothing-fancy94]

Excerpt: Let’s Go Home

This is an excerpt from my longer fiction called Let’s Go Home. The story itself is a Shadamy, but I just love this little Sonamy scene.

If you wanna read the story here’s the link:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11599811/1/Let-s-Go-Home

..................................

Sonic sighed, and stood up. The sun was almost completely gone now, and he could see stars in the sky. He looked up at them, and suddenly he found himself smiling. He couldn't help but think to that night six months ago…

"What did Shadow want?"

"Wh-huh?"

"Come on, Sonic. Listen to me."

His emerald eyes rolled lazily to the direction of her exasperated voice. She was sitting on a rock that was halfway buried in the sand on the beach. Her short quills danced frantically in a soft breeze, and her eyes were narrowed in frustration.

"Sorry, Ames. Ask it again."

She rolled her eyes to above, her muzzle letting out a tired sigh. She was quiet for a moment, before she fell back onto the rock, and lay staring at the sky.

"Oh nevermind. It was probably something boring anyway, considering it was that gloom-day prince."

Sonic grinned at her nickname for Shadow, and he got up to join her on the rock. Her body stiffened right away from being in close vicinity to him, but after a few moments she relaxed again. The hero was still finding himself amazed at her maturity, even though it'd already been several years, since she'd stopped her obsession with him. If this was the old Amy, she would've jumped on him by now, screaming her love for him. However, she just laid beside him, peacefully, with a sweet smile, and a cute blush gracing her cheeks.

Sonic put his arms behind him and leaned backwards, he wanted to see what she was so intently staring at. Once his emerald eyes had lift to the heavens, he almost gasped aloud at the sight. He'd never seen so many stars from the ground before. Although - to be fair - he scarcelyever looked up. He seemed to look in only one direction, and that was forward. Even when they'd been in space, he'd hardly looked out into it, which he was now regretting.

"No matter where we go, or what horizons we see… this, right here on Mobius, is my favorite sky."

Her voice filled the early winter air, with a gentleness Sonic had never heard before. He wondered if she was looking at him - with those big eyes, that she always seemed to have when they were together. Curiosity getting the better of him, he looked over to his right.

She wasn't looking at him. She was gazing at the stars. Her peach muzzle was relaxed in a serenesmile, her hands neatly folded on her stomach, and her quills fanned out like the feathers of a paradise bird. But it was her eyes that made Sonic catch his breath, and his heart beat faster. Her jade eyes reflected the starlight like infinity pools. Her bright green irises were the frames for two tiny universes, that seemed to twinkle more brightly than the night sky above them.

He was entranced. Trapped. And normally he would try to run as far from there as possible, but that night was different. For some unknown reason, he found himself actually wanting to dive in her depths... Wanting to lose himself in those unknown, yet exotic, cosmos.

He wanted to stay, exactly where he was.

As panic tried to seize his heart, her head rolled over to look at him. She smiled up at him, and he felt calm. He gave her a smile back. A comfortable, almost intimate, silence fell between them, and Sonic gulped nervously as those endless pools blinked slowly at him. He didn't know how long they would've remained stuck in that trance if it weren't for an unexpected interruption. Suddenly, her face had screwed up, and she abruptly sat up. Sonic's eyes widened in surprise.

"What's wro -"

She held up her hand, her muzzle opening widely to reveal her fangs and molars. And the air was filled with a loud -

"AH-AHCHOO!"

She sniffed, and wiped underneath her nose, letting in a gasp, as she tried to compose herself. Sonic stared at her - baffled - for a moment, before holding in a chuckle. Her face twisted into another sneeze, and he realized she was cold.

The jungle was still fairly warm during winter days, but the nights were almost freezing. Amy was wearing shorts and a tank top - since the early winter day had been a bit warmer than usual - but now the sun was gone, and she was regretting it.

Before a sneeze could escape another time, she felt something being pulled over her head. Sonic had taken off his white T-shirt, and stuck it over her. She struggled at first, but then calmed as he gently tugged downwards to allow her head freedom.

At first, all that could be seen was the top of her pink quills, until - with a cute 'spring,' - her pointed ears popped out from the neck opening. Then slowly her face started to appear, first her huge jade eyes - Sonic gulped at their appearance - than her adorable button nose, until finally, the large shirt was hanging very loosely off her shoulders. She kept her arms tucked inside the large clothing, and her face was lit up like a cherry.

"Um - Th-thanks, Sonic."

The blue hero looked away, now embarrassed with his kind act. He coughed and gave her a nervous smirk to hide his blush.

"Don't mention it, Ames."

She smiled at him, and snuggled into his shirt. They stared at each other for a while until Sonic gave another awkward cough.

"Well, I guess I better take you home before it gets even colder."

Amy nodded, a smile still lingering on her lips. He knew she wanted to stay longer, but he was already reaching his limit. His heart was beating wildly, and his leg couldn't stop shaking. But he refused to run this time, he wouldn't allow her to walk home alone at night.

He picked her up and within seconds, they were in front of her door. He lightly set her down, and stood while she fumbled in the pockets of her shorts for her house key.

"Damn, where are they?" She muttered, and Sonic smirked.

Finally, she managed to pull them free, and turn the lock in her door. She opened it slightly, but then turned back to Sonic. She glanced from side to side, obviously looking for an excuse not to say goodbye, but also not wanting to force him to stay.

"Why is this sky your favorite?"

There was a thick silence, as both hedgehogs were surprised at the question (an obvious way to lengthen the time together) and by who had asked it. Amy looked up at him, her gaze confused at first, but then she smiled like usual, that smile he would never admit that he craved to see.

"It's the sky that I was born under - the sky all of us were brought to life under. It's the sky of our home… and it's the sky my mother, and father live in now."

Her answer was honest, and soft, her voice trembling slightly at the end. Her figure standing before him, looked so sad for a moment, the hero almost hugged her. But she shook her head, and gave him a careful look, her eyes searching his.

"It's the sky that looks down on the ones I love."

His breath hitched in his throat for the second time that night. He knew she was saying, in a roundabout way, that she loved him. Sonic knew she had stopped saying she loved him all the time - in an attempt to give him space. This was her way to gently remind him of the words she always wanted to confess.

As they looked at each other in silence, Sonic felt he could almost stop. Maybe going slow wasn't such a bad thing. Maybe running didn't have to be the only thing worthwhile in his life. Amy smiled, and took off his shirt. She walked up to him, and put the clothing in his arms, her hands resting atop the mound. Her weight causing his heart to flutter and beat erratically.

"Thank you Sonic. Even though we never seem to hang out, without something happening - in this case a surprise visit, from an old hedgehog-hermit - I had fun looking at the stars with you."

She went on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek, before quickly dashing into to her house.

He stood there for a moment, before stiffly turning around, and walking down the boardwalk. He continued all the way, refusing to glance back, until he was completely covered by jungle overgrowth. There he stood, staring at her hut, until all her lights were turned off. He told himself that he wanted to make sure she was safe - that no enemies would pop out to harm her - once they thought he was gone.

After several minutes of staring at her dark home, he ran back to his and Tails' hut. Wasting no time, he bolted inside, and into his room, where he flopped onto his bed, face first. His body remained stiff as a board, and he tried controlling his breathing in an attempt to bring down the pace of his racing heart.

It was the just the effect of the run… right?

On the intake of a large breath, he realized he could smell something sweet - something intoxicating... a scent he wanted to become addicted to. He lifted his head to see what he was lying on, only to find his crumpled shirt underneath his nose. He pondered it for a moment, but the clothing smelled amazing, and who cared what the reason was - it wasn't like it was poison. He smashed his muzzle back into it, inhaling deeply. A smile curled on his lips, and he sighed contentedly. Would it be so bad to fall into this scent's warm welcome?

He stayed like that for a while, simply immersing himself in that scent. It wasn't until a half an hour later, that he realized, his shirt smelled of Amy.

He stood, feeling the breeze ruffle his quills, and he tried to conjure her scent, that sweet strawberry-flowery perfume. But all he could smell was the salty air of the sea. He sighed and opened his emerald eyes to the darkening sky. He missed Amy, he missed his friends. He felt like he'd become distant from all of them. He wanted to go back to how it was before. Before he and Per -

.......................

Want more? Here’s the link to the full story:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11599811/1/Let-s-Go-Home

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #Amy Rose #shadow the hedgehog #sonamy #shadamy #love #sonic boom #fanfiction #writing #romance

[artificialqueens]

You Know You Love Me, Chapter 9 (Branjie) - Kiki

A/N: Hey everyone, chapter 9 is here! Only two more left and then this fic is finally complete! Hope you enjoy!

2 years ago:

It was the start of summer break and everyone was relieved. Finals season had been a stressful time for Vanessa (not so much for Brooke; she kinda just showed up, wrote some stuff down and went back home) and she was ready to let her hair down and spend the summer having fun with her friends.

It was times like these where Brooke and Vanessa were eternally grateful for the fact that their mothers were such close friends and that they coordinated their family’s summer plans so they were both staying in the Hamptons at the exact same time. Akeria and Silky were coming to stay with them soon too and they couldn’t wait to spend their days by the pool and their nights at house parties, fancy dinners and clubs.

Akeria and Silky were arriving that afternoon and Brooke and Vanessa had decided to go to a pool party in a mansion nearby and told the other two girls to meet them there. It was their first day in the Hamptons and they were both already feeling overwhelmingly relaxed by being at the pool with a cocktail in their hand.

This year was the first year that they were allowed to go to parties and because of that, they didn’t really know anyone yet. However, they knew they would soon make lots of friends and they were excited to spend the summer partying with them. Vanessa was particularly enjoying the feeling of not having everyone’s attention on her and Brooke. She felt free.

The two girls had spent their time sunbathing and drinking Cosmos but Vanessa had started to get bored of that pretty quickly and suggested that they should go in the pool (that way she could get a better look at Brooke’s body in her purple bikini). Brooke agreed immediately and they both took their coverups off and walked down the steps to enter the pool. There were a lot of people swimming and just talking to their friends so once again, Vanessa felt like no one was watching and she loved it.

Brooke was splashing water at her and they started to have a water fight which ended up with Brooke picking Vanessa up to stop her from throwing more water in her direction. She then threw her into the water and Vanessa immediately started to chase her. Vanessa was a much better swimmer than Brooke so she caught up with her pretty quickly and Brooke found herself backed up into the corner of the pool.

Vanessa threw her legs around Brooke’s waist and Brooke was able to hold Vanessa up with minimal effort since they were mostly underwater. Brooke’s hands were gripped firmly on Vanessa’s thighs (Vanessa wished she would move them just a bit lower so they were on her ass) and Vanessa had her arms wrapped around Brooke’s neck. They were so close to each other that they could feel each other’s breath. They had been making out a lot whenever they were in private but never in public. Brooke would have absolutely no problem kissing her right then and there in front of everyone but she didn’t think Vanessa was ready for people to know about her sexuality just yet.

“I wanna kiss you so bad right now.” Vanessa whispered into Brooke’s ear, her lips lightly touching Brooke’s neck. Vanessa was breathing heavily and Brooke could tell she was turned on which, in turn, turned Brooke on too. Brooke had to take a deep breath before gently running her hands up and down Vanessa’s thighs.

“Wanna go inside? We can find a room.” Brooke suggested quietly.

“Yes…please, I wanna go right now.” Vanessa whimpered and Brooke had to hold back a laugh at the effect she had on the brunette. Brooke placed her back down and took her hand to lead Vanessa out of the pool. They quickly dried off and grabbed their bags before Vanessa grabbed Brooke’s hand and dragged her in the direction of the large house behind the pool.

As soon as they entered the house, they quickly realised that there were people everywhere in there too but Vanessa didn’t care. She kept a firm grip on Brooke’s hand and pulled her up the stairs, glancing into the various bedrooms until she found one she liked the look of. Brooke threw their bags on the floor, closed the door behind them and immediately pushed Vanessa up against it. Their lips met quickly and urgently and Vanessa loved the feeling of being caged in by Brooke. Brooke was flooding all of her senses and Vanessa was feeling extremely overwhelmed with desire.

Brooke broke their lips apart and immediately began to kiss down Vanessa’s neck and collarbone and Vanessa was trying her very best to suppress her moans and not let anyone heat them. Suddenly, Brooke tugged on Vanessa’s waist and pushed her onto the large bed in the centre of the room. Vanessa couldn’t help but let herself fall back onto the soft mattress as her arms quickly began searching for Brooke so she could pull her down on top of her.

Vanessa quickly realised that the both of them were in their bikinis and that was probably the most exposed she had ever been around Brooke Lynn in that kind of way. Brooke had Vanessa’s hands pinned above her head and was kissing down her chest and stomach and Vanessa was sure that if Brooke didn’t do something soon, she was going to explode. Brooke’s mouth was getting closer and closer to where Vanessa needed it most and she was so excited that this was finally about to happen until—

A phone. One of their phone’s was ringing obnoxiously loud. Brooke stopped in her tracks and raised an eyebrow at Vanessa, trying to see if it was a call that she needed to take. But Vanessa recognised the ringtone as one that Silky had set for herself and was immediately disappointed.

“I think Silky and Akeria are here.” Vanessa said with a disgruntled tone to her voice.

“Oh.” Brooke replied, also extremely disappointed that they could not continue with what they were about to do.

—

Now:

A week had passed since the Halloween party and Vanessa felt like her adrenaline was still buzzing from it. Her confidence was at an all time high and she felt unstoppable now that everyone knew about her being gay and nobody had anything to hold over her.

Vanessa was having a relaxed Saturday morning to herself because her mom was away on yet another work trip, but Vanessa didn’t mind this time. she had lit her favourite Winter candles; she had her favourite pancakes and coffee delivered from a brunch restaurant near her house and she had an unlimited amount of time to do one of her favourite activities: writing in her diary.

Vanessa had kept a diary since she was ten years old ever since she had gotten one as a gift from her grandmother. Her diary was the one place where she could be completely free and say whatever she wanted without fear of someone finding out (mainly because she kept them locked in a trunk at the end of her bed and she was the only one who knew where the key was located). Whenever she felt stressed or upset, she would just write and write until it felt like her hand was going to fall off. She also wrote about all of the good things happening in her life too and recently, she found herself writing an awful lot about Brooke Lynn Hytes.

She wrote: “I’ve been spending practically every minute of my free time with Brooke this past week and I’m so happy that we’re finally together. Technically, we haven’t said that we’re dating but it’s so obvious that we are. We made out in front of everyone at the Halloween party and in just a few hours, we’re going to make it extra official. She’s coming over tonight and I have a super romantic dinner planned. I’ve ordered all of her favourite foods and I just bought a new outfit that will hopefully leave her wanting to undress me as soon as she sees me in it. I can’t believe we still haven’t had sex yet. Every single time I’m around her, all I wanna do is jump on top of her but it just hasn’t been the right time yet. But I am determined: tonight is going to be the night.  

—

The dining room of the Mateo’s penthouse was decorated to perfection. The table was set with tealight candles running down the length of the table, some flowers in the centre and there was even some music playing in the background. The only thing that was out of place was a very upset Vanessa sitting at the end of the table staring at the time on her phone.

Vanessa had told Brooke to be there at eight o’clock and it was now ten minutes past nine and she still hadn’t arrived. To make matters worse, Brooke hadn’t answered her phone any of the twelve times that Vanessa had called her. Twenty more minutes had passed and Vanessa was starting to get worried. What could have happened that would make Brooke not show up? Maybe she forgot? Maybe she took a nap and didn’t set an alarm? Either way, Vanessa knew that Brooke was going to have to make it up to her big time. She was on the verge of just going over to Brooke’s apartment just to see what was happening when she heard the elevator doors open and an extremely drunk Brooke stumbled in.

“Nessaaaa!” Brooke strolled into the living room (almost tripping over her own feet twice) and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl.

“Brooke, where the hell were you? Why are you drunk?” Out of all the scenarios that Vanessa had imagined, Brooke showing up absolutely shitfaced was not one of them.

“Some of my boarding school friends were visiting the city so we went out for cocktails. I had waaaay too many though.” Brooke giggled at herself and Vanessa rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath to stop herself from snapping at the blonde.

Brooke’s eyes fluttered over to the dining room doors where she could see candles and flowers, and could faintly here piano music playing. The realisation struck her like lightning: this wasn’t just a casual hangout, this was a date…and she was an hour and a half late for it. She started panicking internally and tried to come up with some kind of excuse as to why she didn’t realise but she couldn’t think of anything good enough. Vanessa had gone to all of this effort to spend time with her and she just hadn’t shown up? This was awful. She decided that the only thing she could do was be honest with Vanessa, even if it did start World War 3.

“Shit, V, I…I didn’t realise you were planning all of this…I’m so sorry.” Brooke started mumbling her apologies and without any warning, Vanessa started to cry really hard. Brooke tried to get up to go and comfort her but she couldn’t sit up right and Vanessa couldn’t handle seeing her in that state anymore.

“I want you to leave my apartment and I want you to leave me alone forever. I’m done with you not taking this seriously, Brooke.” Vanessa said in a harsh tone and tried to walk away buy Brooke grabbed her hand with a tight grip and wouldn’t let her go.

“Don’t leave, Nessa, I’m so sorry…” Brooke was slurring her words so heavily that it was a miracle Vanessa could understand what she was saying. Vanessa tried to get Brooke to let go of her but she couldn’t, the blonde was holding on too strong.

“I don’t care if you’re sorry, Brooke. I’m sorry that I can’t keep waiting around for you to realise that what we have is special.” Vanessa said softly and she could see Brooke’s eyes slightly filling up with tears but she honestly couldn’t be sure if it was because of what she was saying or because of how drunk Brooke was.

“Stop, baby…I do realise. Just come cuddle!” Brooke kept trying to grab Vanessa by the waist and pull her down onto the couch but Vanessa was able to stop her.

“These last few months have been some of the best months of my life because of you, B. but I can’t do it anymore. This was the last straw.” Vanessa ran up the stairs to her bedroom leaving Brooke by herself, trying her best to apologise but unable to get her words out properly or even think straight. All Brooke could hear was a door slam in the distance as she sat on Vanessa’s couch trying not to fall asleep.

She was on the verge of passing out but a gentle hand on her arm woke her up. She hoped deep down that it would be Vanessa but unfortunately for her, it was Dorota. The housekeeper held out a glass of water and tried to get Brooke to take a sip of it but Brooke used all of her strength to push the glass away. She stood up on her shaky legs and tried to leave but could feel Dorota trying to get her to sit back down.

“Please, Miss Brooke, you will feel better if you sit back down and have some water.” Dorota tried to plead with the younger girl but she was having none of it. Brooke stumbled back into the elevator that she had previously stumbled out of and closed the door behind her, leaving a concerned Dorota behind her.

—

It had been an hour since Brooke had left Vanessa’s apartment and she had sobered up pretty quickly. She didn’t know if it was because of the cold air of because of Vanessa’s deeply upsetting words but she was suddenly able to think clearly and, unfortunately for Brooke, she remembered everything that Vanessa had said.

She couldn’t believe all of the effort that Vanessa had gone to so that the two of them could have a perfect night. She couldn’t accept the fact that she had ruined her chances of finally making Vanessa her girlfriend…all because she got too drunk to function.

She had been walking around the Upper East Side for an hour now, which probably wasn’t the best idea for an 18-year-old girl to be doing considering it was almost one o’clock in the morning, but Brooke didn’t want to go home. The idea of being alone with her thoughts terrified her more than she cared to admit. If anything, she wished she could go back to being as drunk as she was when she left Vanessa’s apartment.

It was a cruel night in early November which meant that Brooke was absolutely freezing and on the verge of shivering. She wasn’t exactly known for dressing for the weather, wearing a short black dress and a thin leather jacket. She didn’t really recognise the area she was in but she figured she should probably go somewhere to warm up for a bit before heading home.

She found a new bar that she had never been to before and decided to go in there for a little bit. Immediately, she downed three shots of tequila and after fifteen minutes or so, that familiar drunken state was beginning to come back. She ordered two more drinks and drank them far too quickly and just as she was about to order her next one, she almost fell off the bar stool. Luckily, there was a man there to catch her and stop her from landing on the floor.

“Woah, hey…are you alright?” he asked concerned, and Brooke shuddered in disgust when she realised the man who was touching was old enough to be her dad. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing all alone in a bar like this?”

“Fuck off.” Brooke returned her attention to her drink and presumed that the man would’ve gotten the hint that she wasn’t interested. The alcohol was definitely hitting her again, but instead of making her feel happy like it did just a few hours ago, she was now feeling an overwhelming urge to cry.

“Wow…I just stopped you from falling but whatever. I was just trying to get to know you but I guess I won’t offer to buy you a drink then.” The guy was acting like Brooke rejecting him was the worst thing she could’ve possibly done and usually Brooke would’ve gone on a rant about how he wasn’t entitled to the attention of any female but on this night, she couldn’t think of anything other than Vanessa. Brooke rolled her eyes as the man spoke and when he had the audacity to continue to speak, Brooke knew she couldn’t take it anymore. It was like all of her emotions hit her at once and she just needed to let them all out.

“You wanna get to know me? FINE. I just ruined the chances of ever having a relationship with the girl I love, the most beautiful girl in the entire world because I got too drunk! I ruined everything! And you don’t understand, I love her more than anything. I’ve loved her for so long. Do you have any idea what it’s like –” Brooke’s drunken ramblings went on for a long time and although the random man tried to escape numerous times, Brooke wouldn’t let him go until she was fully finished.

She also wasn’t aware of how loud she was being…or that Trixie Mattel, a girl from her school who was known for being one of Gossip Girl’s most reliable informants, was sitting at the other end of the bar with her phone out…and she had filmed her entire rant. Trixie knew when Gossip Girl saw this, it would be posted immediately and she really hoped Brooke sobered up before Vanessa saw it so she could do some damage control. Then she remembered Brooke wasn’t her friend and she didn’t particularly care about what the outcome was and pressed send.

—

Spotted: Brooke Lynn Hytes drunkenly professing her love for Vanessa. I don’t know what’s more embarrassing; the fact that Brooke was drinking alone or the fact that she had to force a stranger to listen to her problems. You better come get your girl, V. XOXO, Gossip Girl.

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #branjie #lesbian au #gossip girl au #rich girl au #high school au #you know you love me #kiki #submission

[thorne93]

Stan Lee University (Part 8)

Prompt: What would the Avengers be like in college, more importantly, what would they be like if Y/N existed around them?

Word Count: 3588

Warnings: drama, language, betrayal

Notes: This is based on a HC from @carryonmyswansong. They helped brainstorm and write part of this series. In this AU, no one will have powers, everyone is a normal human. Beta’d by @carryonmyswansong​

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday - the day of the party that you’d invited Stephen to.

You weren’t sure if he was really going to come alone. You honestly hoped he didn’t come at all. You didn’t want to deal with the awkwardness or his assholeishness. You weren’t sure why it got under your skin.

Maybe it was because he’d given you every reason to think he was into you. He touched you often in lab. His fingers grazing yours to grab a notebook, to pick up a tool. He pretended to graze your ass once and said it was an accident. He showed up to your pre-med club and joked with you. He always smiled when he saw you.

So why be a dick when you invite him out? How did that even add up?

Instead of dwelling on him, you pulled on some black slacks and a flashy top. Loki was taking you and that’s all that mattered. No Stephen, no Bucky, no homework. Just a night with friends and a new date.

You didn’t get too fancy with your makeup and hair because this was a college party and chances were your hair wasn’t going to stay intact.

At 6:15, a knock came at your door. You figured it was Loki and found yourself thrilled when you saw him on the other side of the threshold.

“Ready to turn heads?” he asked with a smug grin.

“Let’s do it,” you cheered before grabbing your bag and following him out the door.

The party was at Tony’s house, a huge place on the very rich side of town. You took your car, as you already knew the way to the place.

“So you good friends with this Stark guy?” Loki asked halfway to his mansion.

“Yeah, we’ve known each other pretty much all our lives. Most of us have. Small town and all that.”

“Must get annoying, everyone already knowing everything about you.”

You shook your head, frowning. What an odd thing to say.

“No, not really. I feel like I have a huge family. Which is why what Wanda did hurt so bad. These dudes are my extended family. Gosh, Clint’s spent almost every Christmas with my family. I’ve had Easter egg hunts at Tony’s for years. So no. I think it’s nice.”

“Yeah but don’t you ever like keeping some mystery?”

“I do have mystery. There are things I’ve shared with Bucky that only we know. There are little moments with Clint that we know. There are still some places and things I love that no one knows. I’m not an open book, you know.”

He peered at you. “Hmm, I’d like to know some of those things, one day.”

You lightly laughed. “Maybe… One day.”

A moment later, you pulled into the driveway, lots of other cars already there.

“Ready for this?” you asked, raising your eyebrows at him playfully.

“I was born ready, darling.”

The two of you jumped out and you walked up the sidewalk, not bothering to knock. When the door opened, it exposed you to about fifty people. You knew quite a few of them, but some were new faces.

The two of you made your way through the party to the kitchen, where Tony and Bruce stood.

“Hey guys!” you greeted, waving with a grin on your face. “I brought Loki.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand to the two.

“Likewise, Shakespeare,” Tony teased. “I’ve got the open bar, as usual, chips, and pizza is on the way.”

“Went all out,” you joked.

“Hey, if you don’t like it, you can leave,” Tony said with a huge grin before he looked over your shoulder. “Hey! Richie!”

With that, he was off and Bruce seemed to walk away to meet up with Peter.

Awkwardly, you turned to Loki and said, “Well, would you like a drink or…?”

“Aren’t I supposed to offer you one?” he asked with a side smile.

You bobbed your head. “Technically, but I know this place better than you. How about a Jack and Coke?” you asked, tilting a bottle of whiskey back, looking at the island in the kitchen.

“That’s a little heavy,” he mused, taking in the inventory.

“Oh, lightweight, huh?” you teased.

“Hardly. I can drink Thor under the table.”

“Hey, speaking of, is your brother here?”

“Probably,” he scoffed, seeming uninterested in talking about his sibling.

“Okay so no Jack… What about a hurricane? Dirty martini? Old fashioned? Cosmo?”

“Did you take a bartending course or what’s with the drink list?”

A laugh escaped you as you shook your head. “No, not quite. Tony just loves to drink and pretends that mixology is a science.”

Loki touched a few of the bottles and noted, “Apparently. Um, make me something blue.”

“That’s vague as hell, but sure. A Jack Frost, one of my favorites.”

You set to work making the drink, grabbing the blender from its place in the cabinet. Tony wasn’t one for blended drinks, but in the summer during his pool parties, you often manned the slushy duty.

The drinks were done and you poured them in solo cups. You would’ve preferred to do it properly in a nice glass with shredded coconut on the rim, but at this party, it was best to use plastic.

“Want to go out on the patio?” you offered.

“Sure,” Loki said with a smile.

The two of you walked out where Scott, Clint, and T’Challa were sitting.

“Hey guys,” you greeted with a bright smile, sitting across from them. Loki sat next to you on the bench swing, putting his arm behind you.

“Hey, Y/N,” Scott said happily. “Heard about the internship. That sucks. Sorry about that.”

You waved it off. “Hey, it’s fine. There’s others out there.”

“Wanda’s here, you know,” T’Challa noted.

“That’s fine,” you assured. “It’s water under the bridge.”

“So you’re not still pissed?” Clint wondered, frowning.

“Oh, I’m furious but I’m not about to stay away from all my friends for her, and I don’t expect her to do the same. Karma will get her back. I just need to live my life.”

“Very mature of you, kid,” Scott slightly joked with a wink before tipping his beer bottle back.

“Thanks, old man,” you shot back, hiding a smile.

You all began to chat, they directed a lot of questions at Loki, as he was the new kid in the group and everyone was highly interested in him and his brother. Last night, only Scott was at the party.

Eventually, T’Challa saw a guy he knew from his Congress class and Scott went in for a refill and never came back. Natasha found Clint and drug him off to God knew where. Then Thor discovered Loki was at the party and those two bantered for a moment in front of you, making you giggle.

Wanda made her way out to the patio and the two of you exchanged a glance that didn’t go unnoticed by the small circles you were in, but no words were said before she went back to talking to her brother and a guy you’d never seen before.

By now, it was about 2 am, and more than half the attendees had gone home or were asleep.

“Hey, hey, hey guys,” Tony said, poking his head out onto his patio, the pool light reflecting off his face. He was totally shitfaced as Pepper hung on him, laughing at something unbeknownst to you. “We’re gonna play spin the bottle, come on.”

Loki smile at you. “Shall we?”

Immediately, you reclused. “Uh, no. I’m good.”

“What? It’s harmless. Come on,” he coaxed.

“Nah, it’s not really my thing.”

He nodded. “Well, suit yourself then.” With that, he stood and went inside, where you saw everyone sitting in a huge circle in Tony’s living room. You shook your head and sighed.

“Unbelievable…” you scoffed. You walked over to the old swingset Tony kept in his yard and sat down, just swaying.

You couldn’t believe that after the wonderful time you had last night, and the good time you were having tonight, that he just ditched you like that.

“This seat taken?” Stephen’s voice suddenly said and your head snapped up.

“You’re here?” you asked, surprised.

“Nope, I’m an apparition,” he quipped as he walked over and sat beside you in the swings.

“Oh, that’s good then. I’m glad I don’t have to actually converse with the jackass who thinks he knows the difference between velocity and acceleration.” You smiled to yourself, stealing a glance at him.

He grinned as he gestured to the air. “Precisely. You can just, talk to the air about how much you hate me.”

“Sounds perfect to me,” you remarked with a grin.

His voice got more serious as he swung over, bumping your seat. “Hey, why are you out here all alone? Shouldn’t you be inside, sucking face with the Drama King?”

You peered at him out of the side of your eyes. “How’d you know I came with Loki?”

“Saw you two walk in.”

“You’ve been here all night?” you wondered.

“Mhm. And you’ve avoided my question. Why are you the only one out here?” he pressed, thrusting his head towards the house where you could still see everyone laughing and kissing.

“Just not my scene. What about you? What’s a strapping young doctor-to-be all alone on a Friday night doing out here, hanging out with the idiot that only looks up definitions?”

He hung his head, grinning. “Well first off, I’m not alone. I’m at a famous Tony Stark party with the popular Y/N. Secondly, even if you do just look up the definitions, you’ve got a better handle on the science than most of the other so called ‘future doctors’.”

“Careful, Stephen, that almost sounded like a compliment,” you teased. “So I’m not sucking face because it’s not my thing, but what about you?”

Stephen looked forward, watching the lot of them laugh, kiss, and get even more drunk than they already were. “Call me old fashioned, but when I kiss someone, I don’t want it to be a bottle deciding who, when, or where.That goes for empty ones and one’s I’ve finished off.”

At his words, you peered at him. Dammit, why did he have to remind you why you liked him? Sure, at first, it was a physical thing. Then he was into the same academics as you. But he was always so arrogant, with reason to be, and always making all these clever witty little remarks that stuck with you.

And now, now your date was in there kissing anyone the bottle landed on, and the guy you actually liked was out here with you.

“So how’s SLU treating you?” you wondered.

“I like it just fine, other than Stewart.”

“Stewart is literally the only bad thing about SLU,” you promised. “I’m glad to hear you like it though. I was worried I might’ve scared you into going back to your old school.”

He let out a soft laugh. “I don’t scare that easy.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“So graduating high school early, huh? How’d that come about?”

You shrugged. “I was doing really well in my classes, so my teachers pushed me to do some extra work. I eventually got a lot of work done during summer and stuff and graduated early with Tony and the gang.”

“Do you miss high school?”

You laughed. “Uh, no, not really. I mean I got my prom and everything. I was focused on school. Besides, I have more than enough fun on campus.”

“Not a lot of people would be willing to give up their youth like that, jump right into college, then a career.”

“Not a lot of people are like me,” you noted softly.

“That’s true,” he agreed in a whisper. “If I’m honest, I just thought you were pushed through.”

“What? You mean like rich parents or something?” you wondered.

He bobbed his head side to side, hesitant to agree.

“Yeah, you aren’t the only one. Well, my friends know I got here based on my academics, but…”

“But?” he urged.

“But they think my parents paid my way. They don’t. I actually got a few scholarships. My parents help with meals, because they want me to focus on school but, that’s it. Clint knows they don’t, but the rest of them don’t seem to believe me when I tell them I have financial aid. I mean, my parents aren’t rich by any means, just above comfortable, you know?”

He nodded, listening.

“They think the same thing about you, you know,” you mentioned. “They think you’re a spoiled rich kid, floating by on your parents money.”

“That what you think?”

“Why does it matter what I think?”

“It matters to me,” he said firmly.

You stared into his grey eyes for a moment, appreciating their haunting color. “No, no I don’t think you’re some spoiled rich kid. Do I think you’re a dick? Yes, but that has nothing to do with your tuition.”

At this, the two of you laughed before you suddenly noticed Loki walking across the patio and pool area towards you two.

“Hey, what are you doing out here?” Loki asked.

“I told you I wasn’t into that,” you informed, gesturing lazily to the house.

“I didn’t know you were such a prude,” he remarked with a scoff.

You glared at him. “I’m not a prude because I don’t want to mouth fuck all of my friends,” you snapped, jumping from the swing.

“Oh, well excuse me for trying to liven up the party.”

“Liven up and be a total manwhore are two different things,” you said angrily, shaking your head. You pegged Loki all wrong. You thought he was a good guy, maybe a little mischievous but he was so sweet and kind last night. And up until the whole spin the bottle, he still seemed great. He was funny, witty, charming.

But then he had to go and swap spit with most of the people you’d grown up with. What kind of guy does that? He was your date to this party.

“At least I’m not skulking about like some moping child,” he retorted. “You could’ve joined the fun.”

“It’s not fun to me, don’t you get that?” You turned back to Stephen. “It was nice to see you, Stephen. I’m gonna go. Getting late...”

Stephen nodded meekly and gave you a tiny wave with a side smile, trying to ignore how awkward this was to be caught between the argument.

You looked at Loki. “Find your own way back to campus.”

“Oh is that how it’s gonna be?” he slurred. “Fine! I’ll have any one of these lovely ladies bring me back. You could’ve had me, Y/N, you could’ve had me tonight!” he shouted after you. You walked down the lawn, thankful that the party goers seemed oblivious to the ordeal except Clint. He saw you walking away and he put his beer down to run toward you.

“Hey, hey, you okay?” he asked, stopping you and putting his hands on your shoulders.

“Yeah, just… Loki being an ass. I asked the jerk here and he went in there without me and made out with everyone.” You shrugged, shaking your head slightly. “It’s fine, Clint. I’m fine. He’s just an asshole. I’ve seen ‘em before. I’m gonna go back to campus and prevent a hangover. You need a ride back or are you good?”

“I’m good. Are you?”

You nodded  “I stopped drinking hours ago. I only had two drinks anyway.”

He peered at you with worry on his face. “Alright, if you’re sure.”

“I am.”

With that, he let you go and said he’d see you later. You got to your car and sat there a second before starting it. With your head resting on the window, a knock came to the passenger side window. If it was Loki, you were going to tell him to eat shit.

However, when you glanced over, ready to tear him a new one, it was Stephen.

Confused, you rolled the window down.

“Hate to bother you in the middle of a meltdown, but could you give me a ride?”

“How did you get here?” you wondered. You really needed to be alone and hoped his ride here could just redo the favor. Any other night, you would probably jump at the chance to be in the same room as the handsome jerk, but tonight you’d had your fill of assholes.

“By portal,” he joked with a ‘give me a break’ look. “I came with Sam, but he’s passed out in the living room.”

“That… sounds about right,” you agreed. “Alright, yeah, come on.”

He climbed in.

“Thanks.”

“Sure thing.”

You took off, and drove slowly through the neighborhood.

“So date didn’t go as planned, huh?”

You glanced sideways at Stephen, wondering if he was trying to be a dick on purpose. If so, he and Loki were both out of the running for any sort of romantic relationship. You didn’t need or want games or drama.

“No, it didn’t. I don’t know I just… He was so cool last night.”

“Last night?” he wondered.

“Yeah we went to Scott’s party last night and he was perfectly fine. Now tonight he was… I don’t know. I don’t know what that was.”

“Think you’ll see him again?”

You scoffed. “No, most likely not.”

Quietness filled the car for a second.

“You know what bothers me the most?”

“That his IQ isn’t anywhere near yours?” he joked with a serious face before a small smile slipped in there.

You smiled despite yourself. “No, not that. It’s that he seemed really cool, just like a really good guy to be around, at least like a friend. You know? Entertaining, charming, well-read. Now, he’s just another douche at a party. So I’m sad that what could have been a good friendship was ruined by one night.”

“It doesn’t have to be ruined. Maybe he’s just shitty boyfriend material,” he offered.

“I don’t know. If you treat your date like that, are you really going to be any better as a friend?”

He bobbed his head side to side in contemplation.

“I don’t know. Do you think I’m a prude or that I overreacted?”

He took a deep breath. “Seeing as I wasn’t participating in the game, I can’t call you a prude. Overreacted… maybe a little bit, but to be fair, I wouldn’t be thrilled if the chick I brought to a party was doing that either. However, how many times have you two gone out?”

“This was date number two. We’ve had lunch and stuff on campus and study sessions but…”

“Well in one way, you could say you two aren’t serious yet and no one’s put a label on anything and he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“And the other way to look at it?”

“That he’s a sleazeball,” he remarked with a smile and laugh.

This made you chuckle as well.

“Glad to see you can still joke around. There may be hope for your sense of humor afterall.”

“And there may be hope for your physics grade afterall,” you shot back with a coy grin.

“Oh, okay, taking shots too now, are we?” he commented with a pleased smile. “I can appreciate that.”

A minute later, you were back on campus. “Where is your dorm?” you asked, ready to turn wherever he needed.

“Let’s go to yours.”

“What?” you asked, appalled. You sincerely hoped he didn’t think you two were suddenly going to hook up, did he?

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Not like that. I’m not the type of guy to take advantage of a girl who had an asshole encounter. I just want to make sure you get to your dorm safe, and I’ll walk to mine from there. That’s all.”

“Oh,” you said, a little embarrassed. Your cheeks started to heat up.

He turned to you a little more pointedly. “Would it really be that abhorrent if I did offer it though?” he asked, offense evident in his voice.

“Tonight? Yes.”

“Ah, but not all the time.”

At this, you laughed. “No, not all the time.”

Normally, you’d never been this candid about your feelings about a guy. You’d hide them for fear of rejection or worried he’d make fun of you. Especially with Stephen. So far he’d just given you crap. But in a way, you trusted him. Besides, he already knew you liked him, you’d asked him out on a date. That was easy enough to deduce, so the rest was just details.

You parked just outside your dorm and the two of you got out. He walked you up to the lobby door.

“Thanks for the ride,” he said with a smile.

“Yeah. It was… I’m glad you were there to have someone to talk to.”

He shrugged, looking away. “I thought you might not wanna be alone. That’s all.”

“I really didn’t, so thanks for that.”

“Sure thing. See you Monday in class?”

“Yeah,” you said with a head nod and smile.

“Be sure to look up all the big words in the lab manual. I don’t want you getting scared,” he said as he walked away.

“I’ll only be scared if you start to understand the material, jackass.”

With that, he waved, not looking back.

You couldn’t help but smile before going into your dorm, Loki’s antics long forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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#stan lee university #loki x reader #loki fic #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange #stephen strange fic #loki #bucky #bucky barnes

[joannalannister]

I'm not sure who to ask this question, and I tried Googling, but came up with no answers. Why is it that iron is so prominent in ASoIaF? There's the Iron Throne, Iron Islands, Ironborn, Iron Price, Iron Bank, Ironwood, etc. So just curious why that's the element GRRM chose to use/focus on so much. BTW, I love all your lovely blogs! 😊

Thank you so much! I love these kinds of questions! We would probably have to ask GRRM to know for sure why iron inspired him in ASOIAF, but we can speculate!

Iron features prominently in folklore, including in-world westerosi folklore: “A child’s rhyme echoed in his head. Oak and iron, guard me well, or else I’m dead, and doomed to hell.” Interestingly, this rhyme is not invoked by any highborn POV, only by Dunk. And Davos remembers something similar: “A knife in the heart, though…even demons can be killed by cold iron, the singers say.” Even lowborn Will of the Night’s Watch, from the AGOT prologue, takes comfort in cold iron.

Perhaps it’s only a smallfolk superstition, but I’m inclined to believe the smallfolk remember a truth the nobility have forgotten. Whether they remember or not, lords often build their gates and doors of oak and iron. For example, one enters the Great Hall of Winterfell by “wide oak-and-iron doors,” big enough to ride a horse through. More importantly, Winterfell is guarded by “massive oak-and-iron gates” though by the end of ACOK they’re hanging “charred and askew”. Combine this with @racefortheironthrone​‘s idea that Winterfell was built as an engine to fight the Others, and I think GRRM’s grand design might be getting a little clearer. All the stuff listed here is going to be important in the War for the Dawn:

“Winterfell…grey granite, oak and iron, crows wheeling around the towers, steam rising off the hot pools in the godswood, the stone kings sitting on their thrones…how could Winterfell be gone?” 

Winterfell isn’t gone. Just dormant. 

Winterfell lies dreaming, waiting to be reborn in oak and iron and granite. There’s magic in Winterfell’s walls. (More about Winterfell here.) 

I know you didn’t ask this part, but I think we need to explore the question of “Why oak?” before we tackle “Why iron?” Oak trees represent strength and steadfastness, endurance and long life. The oak is considered a holy tree, closely associated with pagan gods of Northern Europe, and GRRM is aware of this association. In King’s Landing, “The heart tree was an oak, brown and faceless, yet Ned Stark still felt the presence of his gods.” The Ghost of High Heart also associates oak with the old gods. 

“Oak-trees have always been regarded as great protectors and guardians of the virtuous.” A fitting tree for Duncan the Tall to be invoking. Arya herself is called an oak tree. The oak has a duality to it, with “deep roots [that] penetrate as deep into the Underworld as its branches soar to the sky.”  

“The Sanskrit word, ‘Duir’, gave rise both to the word for oak and the English word ‘door’, which suggests that this tree stands as an opening into greater wisdom, perhaps an entryway into the otherworld itself.” [x]

I don’t know if there will be a connection between oak and the Others, or if oak is just symbolically important in the War for the Dawn, but it will be interesting to find out. 

“Of all the trees in Britain and Ireland the oak is considered king” and we know what GRRM thinks of kings: “a king protects his people, or he is no king at all.” Oaks are a popular fantasy element. C.S. Lewis used oaks and other trees to fight alongside the Narnians in Prince Caspian and of course Tolkien had the Ents, some of which resembled oaks. I don’t think GRRM’s trees are going to get up and start walking around, but I think ASOIAF themes support the idea that even the trees oppose those who would seek dominion over you. The Others are certainly seeking dominion over the earth. The walls of Winterfell are going to fight against them, oak and iron and granite, and protect people. 

So, what about iron? Because you’re completely right to pick up on the iron motif. GRRM references iron from the very beginning. In the prologue of AGOT, when Wymar Royce battles the Other while Will climbs a tree (not an oak but something GRRM calls a sentinel … which is not a real type of tree but GRRM’s own fantasy brand of evergreen) … Will is mentioned to have “cold iron”. 

He whispered a prayer to the nameless gods of the wood, and slipped his dirk free of its sheath. He put it between his teeth to keep both hands free for climbing. The taste of cold iron in his mouth gave him comfort.

He’s unwittingly invoking oak and iron. And remember, the Others leave Will to be killed by wight!Wymar. Could the Others have killed Will? Did Will’s iron make any difference? idk, GRRM isn’t saying, but I hope we get more definitive information in future books. “Cold iron” in literature has historically meant any weapon designed to draw blood, but I don’t know if GRRM is making a distinction between iron and steel. 

*****

ASIDE: What is the difference between iron and steel? I didn’t know so I had to look it up: 

Steel is a mixture of several metals (this is called an alloy) but most of it is iron and often some carbon. Steel is harder and stronger than iron. Steels are often iron alloys with between 0.02% and 1.7% percent carbon by weight. Alloys with more carbon than this are known as cast iron. Steel is different from wrought iron, that has little or no carbon.

Something made of pure iron is softer than steel because the atoms can slip over one another. If other atoms like carbon are added, they are different from iron atoms and stop the iron atoms from sliding apart so easily. This makes the steel stronger and harder.

Changing the amount of carbon added to steel will change its properties:

Hardness

How easily it bends

Ductility: can it be made into thin wires

Strength

Is it magnetic

Will it rust (or corrode)

Steel with more carbon is harder and stronger than pure iron, but it also breaks more easily (brittle).

Iron is an element and a metal. It is the second most common metal on Earth, and the most widely-used metal. It makes up much of the Earth’s core, and is the fourth most common element in the Earth’s crust.

***

I’m out of my depth here, but I would like a chemist or metallurgist to discuss the potential carbon-content of Valyrian steel and relate that to the fact that all known life on Earth (and probably Terros - with the exception of the Others, probably) is carbon-based, and then tie that into ASOIAF’s life-affirming themes in the War for the Dawn. 

something something carbon as a life force in the Valyrian steel being anathema to the Others something something steel made with human blood sacrifice something something…

Has someone already written an essay about this? If so, please link me. 

*****

In the meantime, we can consider iron in folklore. Iron is believed to repel fairies. GRRM has said that the Others are like “the Sidhe made of ice” and the Sidhe are the fairy folk of Ireland. So when Westerosi invoke “oak and iron" to guard them, I think this is a remnant of the cultural memory of the Long Night. (I’ve talked about the Others here and in my tag for #the Others.)

(There are other scraps of cultural memory that recall the Others. For example, in TSS, Egg hears vicious rumors about Rohanne Webber from the smallfolk:

“Four,” said Egg, “but no children. Whenever she gives birth, a demon comes by night to carry off the issue. Sam Stoops’ wife says she sold her babes unborn to the Lord of the Seven Hells, so he’d teach her his black arts.”

Obviously these rumors about Rohanne were not true, but demons coming by night to carry off babies is eerily similar to the deal Craster has with the Others in exchange for protection.) 

What’s special about iron? Pliny the Elder, who lived in the first century, believed that iron could protect and heal people, and some of these ideas persisted well into the 20th century. 

I don’t know if the potential magnetism of iron is important but idk, the heroes probably have to go to the North pole, that might be important. 

Also, “iron can attract and conduct electricity, focus and release it, store it as magnetic energy, or disperse it by returning it to the earth. Iron can change form. It can be made molten, fluid, and malleable, and then set into unbending forms of our design.” Considering that ASOIAF is about rebirth and duality and transformation and shapeshifting (please see this post about Tyrion - please click), iron is thematically important to ASOIAF, to our malleability, our rebirth. 

Victorians believed that the first iron found was in meteorites. “Of course, even today, iron still seems magical in many respects. It is the most plentiful metal in the universe. All iron was initially forged in the hearts of stars, and only gifted to the cosmos when they exploded in supernovae. This stardust is in each of us; it is what makes our blood red.”

Consider:

Dawn, forged from the heart of a fallen star. 

The Daynes of Starfall are one of the most ancient houses in the Seven Kingdoms, though their fame largely rests on their ancestral sword, called Dawn, and the men who wielded it. Its origins are lost to legend, but it seems likely that the Daynes have carried it for thousands of years. Those who have had the honor of examining it say it looks like no Valyrian steel they know, being pale as milkglass but in all other respects it seems to share the properties of Valyrian blades, being incredibly strong and sharp.

The iron content in Dawn is probably important. 

***

(GRRM has said that, while the Daynes share the violet eyes of the Targs, they’re not the same ancestry. I’m guessing that Dawn and Valyrian steel are like that too, parallel in their formation but different. (There is a term for parallel evolution in biology but from completely different ancestors. Biologists, help me out!))

EDIT: @victorvontooms supplied the term I was looking for: convergent evolution. That’s how I think of Daynes vs Targs and Dawn vs Valyrian steel, both made to fight the Others but forged completely differently.

***

Also, Tyrion tells us:

Dragonbone is black because of its high iron content

(No one shows the dragon bone in ASOIAF as black!! But it is!! Dragonbone is black!!! 

^^Detail of art I commissioned from @bidonica, showing the dragonbone as black!! Will I ever stop screaming about this? No!! It’s my desktop, it’s so important to me!!! Not that I ever see my desktop through my tab forest but it’s the principle of the thing…)

Anyways, “Dragonbone is black because of its high iron content”. If that doesn’t set off the Others’ alarm bells, it should. I really think the Others dislike iron, not just Valyrian steel, and we have these giant high-iron content, fire-breathing beasts coming for them. 

In terms of the setting, I think GRRM might be invoking a lot of iron imagery to suggest humanity’s Iron Age, a period that extended into the early Middle Ages in Northern Europe. All this iron carries connotations of a time long, long ago.

TV tropes actually has a great little article on cold iron, suggesting that iron is part of some magic vs technology symbolism.

The Iron Age is generally understood as the period during which the technology to make iron items — particularly weapons — spread from the Hallstatt culture in western and eastern Europe during the 8th century BCE. […]

Clearly, the peoples of this extended period did not one night go to sleep in the Bronze Age and awaken the next morning in the Iron Age. There were considerable overlaps as the technology of iron developed and travelled throughout the European continent by way of trade. This also appears to coincide with a violent period of history, with hill forts springing up all across the British Isles, particularly in the southern regions. […]

The Britons had a reputation for being small in stature yet fierce warriors, and possibly adept at magic. They seemed to be able to appear and vanish at will from among the trees of the forests and among the hills. According to some early Roman accounts, the Britons would spike their hair with white lime and cover their bodies in swirling patterns of blue woad for battle, possibly to enable them to vanish into the pattern of clouds in the sky or reflected on the surface of lakes. This resulted in a belief that they could appear out of thin air and make their getaways via ‘portals’ in lakes and rivers. Some have suggested that this is where the myth of the fairy folk began. These ‘fairy folk’ who used ‘magical’ tactics were armed with bronze, which was no match for the iron blades of the invaders. Therefore, iron became known as the enemy of the ‘fairy folk.’ [x]

I’m not sure that the magic vs technology war applies to ASOIAF (idk maybe it does!) but what I would say applies to ASOIAF is a war between the Old Way and the New, obviously a reference to Ironborn culture, but something I think applies much more broadly to ASOIAF as a whole. 

Right now in ASOIAF there is a war between the Old Way of doing things by dehumanization, led by men like Tywin and Randyll and Roose, and the New Way of doing things by valuing people’s humanity, spearheaded by people like Jon and Dany and Brienne. 

So people paying the iron price in blood, sitting the iron throne … I think that’s all representative of the Old Way, something outdated and tired and without forward motion or progress. Something that is (hopefully) on its way out. 

Just as the early Britons’ bronze swords yielded to iron, I think we’re witnessing in ASOIAF the iron Old Way (metaphorically) yielding to … I don’t know yet…kindness? valyrian steel? idk, ask me when the books are done. 

Whatever it is, we have to be careful. Iron can be a force of good (repelling the Others), but it can be terrible too. We have to be careful. Because the iron is in our blood. The potential to dehumanize is inside all of us; as Professor Moody would say, “Constant vigilance!” Or as GRRM might say, the war is inside us. We’re all capable of great acts, and terrible ones. We have to choose. And we have to be careful. 

*****

“There are more esoteric explanations, like iron being seen as the lifeforce of the earth, or associated with lifeforce because blood smells like iron.“

“All iron was initially forged in the hearts of stars, and only gifted to the cosmos when they exploded in supernovae. This stardust is in each of us; it is what makes our blood red.”

The War for the Dawn is a war between life and death … a war between life and something worse than death. 

It’s a war for our humanity, it’s a war for the earth itself. It’s a war for our flesh and blood and bone. 

I said … way up above now … I said the trees are fighting for us against the Others’ dominion. Not the way Tolkien’s trees fight, but still they’re fighting. 

GRRM likes to trick casual readers into thinking his world is nihilistic … but deep down, it’s not. The Magic wouldn’t have saved Daenerys from the flames if it was truly uncaring. 

In this war, (almost) everyone’s pulling for us, I think. We’re all in this together. The weirwoods and the ravens and the Children of the Forest and all the elements of life, all the way down to the iron in our blood … it’s all rooting for us. Winterfell is rooting for us, with its fires deep within the earth and its life-giving waters rushing through its walls “like blood through a man’s body” and the earth is rooting for us, lending us its lifeforce of iron to oppose the Others. 

But we have to stand. We have to fight for it. 

*****

So there’s lots of possibilities right now in terms of what Iron means as a motif. Ask me again when we have more books and maybe I can talk more. 

PS - I think those bankers are gonna fuck people over in twow. Watch out for them. This might be my Lannister bias tho. 

EDITED TO ADD: 

@essayofthoughts replied to your post:

Iron swords were the first really meaningful weapons (bronze dulled too quickly) and would sometimes by ritually broken and sacrificed due to their value. An iron or steel sword that has been used and let get rusty, when polished will “bleed” the bloodiron back out. 

Oak and Yew have significance as life/death dichotomies in tree folklore. Without English Oak the British Empire and Navy wouldn’t have happened. Oak mistletoe is sacred bc Oak as a hardwood would almost never grows mistletoe, also ties into its status as kings of the forest. Oak once cut and aged is one of the hardest woods out there and even a modern steel knife can’t easily cut aged oak (speaking from experience; my home is made with century old oak beams). Oak also ties to dryads and hamadryads - life from trees in myth -and technically all dryads are of oaks. idk why but the dryads thing makes me think of the children of the forest

@nobodysuspectsthebutterfly replied to your post:

re the first war against the Others– the First Men didn’t have iron as such, they were bronze users. Iron and steel only came to Westeros in sufficiency with the Andals. (Possible proof of the theory that Ironborn are not First Men, but from somewhere else? As their islands are a great source of ore.) What little iron the First Men had was rare and treasured, almost magic to them probably. See Jon’s description of similar among the wildlings today (including the bronze-working Thenns).

Think of the First Men fighting the Others with their bronze, failing. Except for the few who have help from the CotF and are using dragonglass too. And the very few with their rare iron, they must have considered it magic– no wonder it became part of a crown! And then the Last Hero somehow got a sword of dragonsteel– even more magic–and saved the world.

Though interestingly the Others may hate cold iron, but it can’t kill them. See them checking out Waymar Royce’s sword before approaching him, it’s only regular steel. Iron defends, but dragonsteel, Valyrian steel, that’s the game-changer.

#asoiaf meta #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #rosesandrenaissance #replies #lannister thoughts #winterfell #the others #the war for the dawn #iron #oak and iron #oak #dawn #house dayne #endgame #asoiaf speculation

[glitterrdickk]

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[cksmart-world]

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

by Christopher Smart

Feb. 26, 2019

HILARIOUS LEGISLATION, SINNERS IN ZION

& TAX CUTS FOR STIFFS

Nobels For Trump & Kim

Spike Lee's in a snit but who cares, the Oscars are over. Now we can look forward to the next big awards show, the Nobel Peace Prize. The smart money is riding on that sporty North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and our jaunty president, Donald Trump. As Trump has said many times, he deserves the Nobel more than that Kenyan, Barack Obama. Look it, our president has single-handedly prevented a nuclear war with North Korea. We could be dead by now. That easily beats carpet bomber Henry Kissinger, Nixon's alter ego, who also is a Nobel laureate. It's only right that Trump and Kim should win the Nobel together because, well, because they love each other. In Trump's words: “He wrote me some very beautiful letters... I fell in love.” (We are not making this shit up.) Haircuts not withstanding, they do have a lot in common. As we speak, Trump and Kim are in Hanoi, the beautiful capital of Vietnam, to smoke the peace pipe. And the usually reserved Vietnamese people are absolutely gaga over the summit. According to CBS News, one barber there is giving away free Donald and Kim haircuts. Why this hasn't caught on here, we're not sure. One footnote: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science is lobbying for Alec Baldwin to get a share of the Nobel for best supporting tyrant. It's much better than an Oscar.

Tax Cuts For Working-Class Stiffs

Speaking of great feats, it's time for everyday working Americans to begin enjoying their tax refunds. Oh yeah. The Republican overhaul of the tax code is really making a significant difference for some more than others. The beauty of the tax cuts is that they also apply to what some people call the investment class. (Wilson and the band just call them rich bastards — or RBs.) It's like this, Republicans have known since the time of Ronald “Ketchup Is a Vegetable” Reagan that if we give big tax breaks to the RBs, they, in turn, will take all that dough and invest it everywhere. It follows that all those investments will grow the economy and all the worker bees (Wilson calls them working-class stiffs — or WCSs) will get lots of money and everybody wins. Some economists say we're still waiting to see the trickle down from Reagan's time. But remember, Galileo and Darwin had their doubters, too. The downside, of course, is the trillion dollars the tax cuts added to our national debt. But that doesn't matter so much anymore. Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell and former House Speaker Paul Ryan — who has returned to working at McDonalds — have explained that it's no big deal. What's another trillion, anyway? And besides, the RBs aren't worried because the WCSs — or their grandchildren — will take care of it in due time.

Let Us Entertain You

This is the best time of year for many reasons. The days are getting longer. The Oscars are over. And the Utah Legislature is providing entertainment beyond our wildest dreams. For example, there is a legislative proposal to bring the most dangerous type of radioactive material to Tooele County. Is that funny, or what. Another bill would make it so we don't have to stop at red lights any more. It's the best idea since the legislation two years ago that did away with auto safety inspections. Another bill would make it legal for children to play outside without adult supervision — the “Free Range Kids” bill. That came as a surprised to the staff here at Smart Bomb. We had no idea it was illegal for children to play outside without an adult. Wilson says it reminds him of free-range chickens. But let's not go there. (Notice, we haven't said anything about medical marijuana or Medicaid expansion. That's just too hilarious). Legislators also are focusing on our deadly air pollution with a bunch of bills that would study pollution from cars, pollution from smoke stacks, pollution from cows and pollution from vaping high school kids. Wisely, legislators have been careful to avoid setting rigorous standards for industry, building construction or transportation. That would be too expensive — and, after all, people have to live.

Sinners Tarnish Utah's Rep

OK, this is serious. Utah is not the least sinful state in the nation. That's the word from Tribune columnist and all around bon vivant, Scott Pierce. If he wouldn't know about sin, who would. This has to be of great concern to the old boys in The Tower of Power, who must be preoccupied right now lobbying against sin at the Utah Legislature. And that's not to mention Brigham Young University that, year-in and year-out, holds the honor of most sober school anywhere. It's probably the most chaste, too, but BYU officials have refused to release that data from undercover campus police. It's just too bad the classifications weren't based on sex and drink. Utah could have, um, well, never mind. The rankings by the website WalletHub were based on scores for vanity, jealousy, lust, anger, hatred, greed and laziness — you got it, the Seven Deadly Sins. Vermont was ranked least sinful of the 50 states. Can you believe that — the home of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Hah. Maine, North Dakota, Nebraska and Idaho (in that order) also beat out Utah for lacking sin. Well, of course, those states are practically empty. How can you have sin in a vacuum. Where did the Beehive State fall short. Was it lust. Was it greed. It couldn't have been vanity, could it? Nah. We're too special for that.

POST SCRIPT

And finally, here are this week's top stories from our “As Rome Burns” - file:

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar ate a salad with a comb and ordered a staffer to clean it

Ivanka Trump endorses Nikki Haley's daughter for student body vice president at Clemson

Delta Air Lines apologizes for 'creepy' Diet Coke napkins, is removing them from flights

Utah County Still Home to Large Families with 6 Kids

Have Dark Forces Been Messing With the Cosmos? (We did not make this up.)

Well, that's it for another jaunty week here at Smart Bomb, where the staff keeps a close eye on the cosmos so you can adjust your feng shui as needed. OK Wilson, take us out with a little something for our cosmic well-being: Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup / They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe / Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting through my open mind / Possessing and caressing me... Jai Guru Deva, om / Nothing's gonna change my world / Nothing's gonna change my world...

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #181

"wine is fine, but whiskey’s quicker. suicide is slow with liquor.”

What’s the farthest you’ve gone with someone? I mean I'm not a virgin? Have you ever said “I love you” to someone and didn’t mean it? I don't believe so. Do your parents usually agree with your partners-of-choice? Yeah. I really don't know how Dad feels about me being with a girl currently, but he likes her personally. How many people do you like right now? (even the slightest bit) Legitimately, just one. My "I don't actually know this celeb but I'd 10/10 marry them" thing is just a joke. Do you believe little kids can fall in love? My guess is not until you reach a certain level of maturity where you can grasp the seriousness of "falling in love." But who really knows. What was the last dream that you can remember? On the morning I'm answering this one, I swear I had like ten or something last night. As time goes on though, they're starting to blur together. The one that stands out most tho is my sis and I became the first Americans (yes, that was a detail) to fully infiltrate a Russian, secret government base without being killed. Look idk either. Have you ever been rickrolled? Maybe? Do you like balogna? Yeah. It was my favorite lunch meat as a kid. Are you supersticious? No. What animals have you ridden? Horses and ponies off the top of my head. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done to someone you don’t know in public? I don't think I've done anything notable for this. Do you ever stick gum under seats? No, and my opinion of you greatly plummets if you do. Do you live somewhere where it’s completely safe to walk alone at night? I don't think those exist anymore. Have you ever lived with someone who was a total slob? When Dustin pretty much lived in the apartment with us... jc. Would you rather be able to talk to animals or be fluent in every language? Talk to animals. Does your kitchen have a pantry? No. Have you ever interviewed a job applicant at your workplace? N/A Have you ever gone over 3 months without shaving/waxing your legs? I don't shave them anymore unless I fear there's even a tiny chance someone might see them... Thanks, society. Are you high-maintenance? Definitely not. Would you ever consider being a foster parent? Being any kind of parent is off the list for me. What are some things that make others cry, that don’t make you cry at all? Idk, I'm a crybaby. Most sad songs don't, I guess. Are you a very detail-oriented person? Or are you better at seeing the big picture? Definitely the former. Do you have any upcoming plans with friends? lol What kinds of leisure activities did your family do together when you were growing up? Watch TV or sometimes play board games, probs. Occasionally all go in the pool together. Dragons or unicorns? I'm all 'bout dragons, man. Do you wish vampires existed? Um no. Do you sing in front of people you don’t know very well? How about dance? Nope. Have you ever sang/spoke/preformed in front of people on a stage? Sang in church choir and elementary chorus, read my D.A.R.E. report, and was in groups at dance recitals and competitions. Is it more fun or scary to do so? If you haven’t, then what would you think? Eh, it depends on your level of confidence in what you're performing. Like with dance, I was never that nervous as I knew what I was doing. Singing wasn't bad either because I was with others. Now reading aloud, alone, fuck that. I think anything alone would be scary. Would you rather slit your wrists than read Cosmo? I normally delete just plain stupid questions, but I'm leaving this here to hope and pray the author of this question sees me sincerely  and genuinely say fuck you, you goddamn fly-swarmed shitpile with a maturity level surpassed by an infant's. Did you ever like barbies? Do you currently like barbies? They weren't really my thing, but I'd play with them if my sisters or friends wanted me to. What’s your favorite hit song right now? I don't know what the hit songs are right now. What’s your favorite element? (fire, water, air) Out of the traditional four, fire. Have you ever been to a wild party? No. Have you gone through any drastic life-changing experiences? If so, what was the most drastic? Depression and anxiety manifesting was absolutely life-changing, and then when you consider it resulted in PTSD, obviously the break-up was incredibly serious, but it also led towards my gradual recovery. What traits from your father would you like to pass down to your children? Don't want kids, but I'll answer as if I did. If that were the case, I like how he's not one for grudges, is very openly himself, and is super goofy. What is your biggest fault? It probably all boils down to my anxiety and trust issues resulting in me jumping to conclusions. If you could transform into any animal what would it be and why? Probably a snow leopard. Climate I love, super pretty, and I know I'd wanna be a feline anyway. What are the first three things you do when you wake up? Check the time, go to the bathroom, then it varies. Can you remember the first time you ever talked to the person you love/like? Does he/she remember? Ha, sure do, both through text and Skype... I'm sure she remembers the basics at least, too. Would you be able to have a relationship with someone you didn’t find attractive, if they had a nice personality and treated you well? Yeah. Have you ever really liked someone to begin with, then changed your mind about them? Maybe? Does your significant other/crush know about your Tumblr? Does he/she look at it? Yeah, and we follow each other, so. Do you ever feel a desire for sex at inappropriate times? Define "inappropriate?" What was the last thing that one of your parents bought for you? Fast food. Think about your first boyfriend/girlfriend. Did that person make you happy? What went wrong in the relationship? Sure, but just as friends. If you decided to dye your hair, would you choose to go lighter or darker? Lighter. I want more colorful hair. Is there a TV show or movie in which you’re incredibly emotionally attached to the characters? I don't think so "incredibly" since Meerkat Manor. Would you rather arrive super early or super late to class? Early. What’s something really basic that worries or troubles you on a consistent basis? It's a wonder I'm blanking here considering I know there's a load of things. What do you use the internet for the most? YouTube. On a scale of one to ten, how good is your memory? A goddamn one. It's been exceptionally awful lately. Do you worry about money? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YEAH. Do you have any health problems that are unusual for your age? Well, the memory thing, though it's probably just a side effect of my meds or actual ADD. My knees are atrocious, though, and after many, many tests, we still can't figure out what's wrong with them. What’s the longest nap you’ve ever taken? When does it no longer qualify as a nap?  Maybe like... four hours at max? Are you more likely to expect the best or the worst of a situation? The worst. Always. Have you ever said or done something in public that resulted in a stranger’s response? Possibly. How many serious relationships have you been in? Two. Do you think you have a vivid imagination? Very, personally. What was the last song you listened to? "Sick Like Me" by In This Moment. How many hours a day do you spend on Facebook, if any? Not even one. Do you own your favorite film on DVD? Maybe? Idk if we replaced the VHS. Have you ever been so angry that you screamed out of nowhere? On one occasion I basically screeched my lungs out on the porch. What’s your opinion on Nicki Minaj? I guess as a rapper she's good, she's indisputably quick as fuck, but I'm not a fan personally. Do you like having your lip softly bitten when you’re kissing? Oh fuck yes. Have you ever been on a boat? Yeah, when Dad would take me fishing and also on a 5th grade field trip to a horse-inhabited island near one of the lighthouses. We couldn't go to the lighthouse because the water was too rough. Have you ever been hopelessly in love with a celebrity? You can't be "in love" with someone you've never met and don't know personally. Generally speaking, do you like acoustic or original versions of songs better? Hm... tied, I think. What was the last band shirt you wore? Otep. Do you follow any celebrities on Twitter? I use Twitter only for Mark. That is all. What was the last flavor of pudding or yogurt you ate? Chocolate. What was the last thing you bought online, and how about in an actual store? With my own money, online it was Sara's ring I believe, and in a store was a snack. When was the last time you met someone who seemed very unpleasant? Hm. I honestly don't go out and meet people enough to answer this. Does anyone have a romantic interest in you, that you don’t return? Possibly, but it doesn't matter. Have your parents met the person you’re currently interested in? Yeah. What was the last alcoholic drink you tried for the first time? Did you like it? Oh my fucking god, some kind of "fancy" vodka in a margarita. It was disgusting. Are your eyes the same color as your siblings’ eyes? Only my brother. What food(s) have you eaten a lot of recently? Nutrition/meal replacement shakes. Do you use the microwave a lot when it comes to cooking food? Yeah, 'cuz I can't cook. Are you currently trying to get over someone? No. Do you know anyone who’s been on TV? If so, which show? Not to my knowledge. Do you have any lockets with pictures inside? No. Have you ever liked a football player? No. What was the last thing you learned? Some snacks rats can eat. Do you like Chinese food, Mexican food, or American food better? American. I'm very picky with all foreign food, actually. What’s your favorite scent? Freshly-baked bread, coffee, honeydew, lilacs... If you could house any pet, what would it be? Out of all pet options, uh... I suppose a horse or Saint Bernard if I had the means to properly care for them, too. Do you pluck your eyebrows? No. Do you like to swing? YEAH. How about jumping on a trampoline? I would if my knees weren't shit. If you could have any car, what kind would it be? Idk. I'm not educated on cars enough. What’s your favorite fast-food restaurant? I'm a slut for Wendy's. How often do you like to have sex? I'm not in a position where that's ever a thing yet. It wasn't something I thought about with Jason either, but we were pretty regular with sexual affection so we never went very long without, anyway. What’s your definition of weird? I don't care to define it, honestly. "Weird" can be good, bad, neutral... It's too vast a term and super subjective. Do you use shaving cream? That or lotion when I shave my legs. Have you ever personally known any girl who shaved their head? Well, she's an online friend, but I'd count her. Have you ever coughed up blood? I don't believe so. Who was the last person you hugged? My niece or nephew. What’s some of the worst pain you’ve ever felt? Mental: heartbreak and abandonment (both without any obvious prologue), rejection from who I cared about most, as well as deep hopelessness. Physical: having a cyst drained, an internal hemorrhoid, fracturing my wrist, having my tongue piercing redone and more accurately, a severe case of constipation I had as a little kid, an ear infection that made me want to chop it off and all out, a concussion, menstrual cramps before I was put on the pill... What kind of mouse pad do you have? I use a trackpad. What color is your mouse? ^ What’s your favorite dessert food? Ice cream, donuts, or red velvet cake omlllll. What is the closest thing to you right now that is alive? My dog Teddy. Are you an outcast? By the actual definition, no, though I feel it occasionally. Do you exercise? Ugh, no. I'm working on building back up my motivation to do Wii Fit again. What’s your favorite carnival food? (cotton candy, corn dogs, funnel cake) I haven't been to enough and gotten food to know many at all. Are you a very open-minded person? I think I am, and I feel that improves further like, daily. Are you modest? Probably sounds immodest to say, but I know I am. What kind of guys/girls do you usually fall for? Above all else, my consistent weakness seems to be the "weirdos." The ones that really stand out in their uniqueness. Do you skate? No. I mean, I'm capable of rollerblading, but it's not something I do every weekend or something. If you were to make it big with your own band what would it’s name be? Hell if I know. HAHA WAIT. My old username in some places, BulletsxButterflies, was based off my Rock Band band "Bullets And Butterflies" and like can you say #myaesthetic so that'd be pretty cool I suppose. ... Although it was inspired by the song "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" and I don't wanna get sued so like- What’s your favorite kind of pasta? Just normal spaghetti with sauce and meatballs. Would you rather a friend come over to your house or you go over there? I GO OVER THERE. I am a SHIT host and there's nothing to do here anyway. What’s the perfect first date? Go to a sit-down restaurant (doesn't need to be expensive at all), just the two of you, and *talk*. Don't touch your phone, just talk and listen with honest interest in your partner. I think this is especially important if you started dating shortly after meeting, as now that you're together, you really need to get to know each other. If you were good friends prior, you should already be pretty familiar with the other, and then I think things are a bit more flexible. Have you ever had rabies? No. Do you know anyone who ever had to get a rabies shot? *shrugs* Ever eaten deer? Duck? Squirrel? How about lamb? No. Have you ever received a note in your locker? I believe I did in middle school from Aaron? What was the last birthday present you bought for someone? A personalized chameleon mug for my darling. Did you get grounded often as a child? No more than usual, I guess? If you have a car, how much does it take to fill up your gas tank? N/A What’s your favorite album from your favorite music artist? Ozzy's "Black Rain." Every song is absolutely amazing, replayed more times than I ever wanna count, and it was my introduction to metal. Was the last person you held hands with a significant other? No, Aubree took my hand as well as she could to take me to her brother's room. Do you remember the brand of your first cell phone? Uhhhh... Blueberry, maybe? What is your Facebook cover picture? A pink pastel background-type thing. Last video game you played? Shadow of the Colossus. I beat it all over again to start my Time Attack grind, but I'm thinking of waiting til I get the PS4 remake one day to do so. When did you last try a new restaurant? Back when I was up at Sara's again. Does “out of sight, out of mind” work for you? Usually no. Do you have any friends whose birthday is this month? MY BABY If you have a favorite actor/actress, which of their movies is your favorite? For Betty White, idk. Depp, Alice in Wonderland. Are you currently expecting anything to arrive in the mail? No. What is your favorite kind of salad? Just bring me a ship full of Olive Garden's salad and I'll be g. Do you own a tablet of any kind? No. How many minutes is the longest song in your music library? I'm not sure, but off the top of my head, probably "Call of Ktulu" by Metallica. What is a brand name you don’t really care for? Any?? Idc. Do you prefer sleeping in complete silence or with background noise? Not complete silence, but quiet, simple background noise. When was the last time you weighed yourself? Today. As I do almost everyday even tho you're not advised to. Oops. Would you convert to a different religion if your fiancé/fiancée was of a different faith? No. The world is ending, and you can save one group of five people: who would be the five people that you save? Just five ah screw you man. Considering both those I hold close to myself but also people I feel would help recover the world for the better, and also assuming you don't include animals: Sara, Mom, Mark Fischbach, my psychiatrist (he's so fucking knowledgeable on medication that the world does not need to lose all that information), and probably Jane Goodall. Well idk, she's up there in age and may not last very long, but. asjfapwuw this is a hard question, I'm trying to consider who I love personally but also who would be capable of properly rebuilding humanity, or at least give us last six (if I'm alive, too?) a happy end to our lives. What is one thing that you are proud of, that you think lacks praise/lacks appreciation from the people around you? It could be a simple thing; it could be a secret thing. Ummmm... idk. What is the funniest one-liner Tumblr text post you’ve ever read? THERE'S SO MANY What is the absolute hardest thing about staying alive? Staying in a mentally sound place. If you're not okay in your own head, that makes living so, so very hard, and too many people get there. What is a book that has been recognized as ‘great literature’ that you dislike? Why? *shrugs* I enjoyed those I recall reading. Except one I don't remember the name of. Do you believe in the supernatural? Absolutely, 110%. What was the last thing you cried about? Probably my current groundhog day cycle. Are you mad at yourself about anything? Always, sure, but in like, the back of my mind. It doesn't dominate my thoughts. What was the last thing you cooked on the stove? Eggs. What pharmacy do you use? Harris Teeter's. Are you proud of yourself or disappointed in yourself? Both. What do you consider the perfect temperature for winter? ~50 is my preferred temperature always. What does your umbrella look like? I think ours is black? What is something you wanted as a kid but never got? One of those little crane machines with stuffed animals in it. I had one for candy, I think... but apparently that wasn't enough for Young Brittany. What is something you were scared of as a kid? Porcelain dolls. Still make me uncomfortable. Do you like your current driver’s license picture? My permit one is HIDEOUS. What is your favorite Elvis song? "Devil In Disguise." Do you think you could be the next American Idol? Hell no. Do you prefer reading fiction or non-fiction? Fiction, easily. Do you prefer fruity candy canes or peppermint-flavored? I like both, but the former is my fave. Do you eat too much candy? No. If you ever took dance classes, what were your favorite classes? Jazz. Have you ever been bullied because of the things you like? I don't think so? Have you bullied others because they like things you do not? No. Were there any classes you enjoyed because of the teacher? Not "enjoyed," but made them better. Have you ever been a bad friend? I'm sure I have. Has a friend ever replaced you with somebody else? Yup. At least it really feels like it. Have you ever disliked something just because it was popular? Admittedly, I think there were some things when I was newly a teen and developing that "I'm not like others" mentality. Have you ever watched a movie just because it starred an actor you liked? Maybe? What about just because it starred an actor you thought was good-looking? ... I'm deadass tempted to see Aquaman because of this lmfao but I'm not going to. Are there actors/musicians you have met? No. Do you ever judge people based on the music they listen to? Nah. What would you say are your top five bands/artists? Gaaah... I'll try here. Ozzy, Metallica, Otep, Manson, and Korn, maybe? Has anyone ever told you that you were really pretty? Yeah. Do you listen to a wide variety of music? No. Most are some kind of metal and rock, but I do have some really random artists/bands I like, such as Melanie Martinez or Marina and the Diamonds. Did you ever go through a phase when you didn’t want to take medicine? No. Was the last book you read good? Yeah. Do you make grocery lists? I don't do the shopping, so no. Do you have stomach problems? It can be finicky every now and again, especially with "fancy" food. Do you enjoy editing photos? Yes! Peace signs or hearts? Hmmm, idk. I guess it depends on the style. What kind of pie is your favorite? None. Do you have a strong relationship with your parents? I feel very, very few parent-child relationships exist stronger than my mom's and mine. Dad and I are good, too. Do you know your best friend’s middle name? Yeah. Have you ever kissed someone that was high? No. Is your Facebook profile private? Yeah. How many true friends do you have? Like four? Who has your Facebook password? Me and Mom. Do you wear the hood on your hoodie? Pretty much never. Do you believe in aliens? I'm neutral. Do you like pineapple? Yessss. Is there anyone you dislike, that you have to see/speak to regularly? No. Are you living with anyone that isn’t related to you? No, if you don't include pets. How many people would you say you’ve been “in love” with? Two. Which one of your relatives are you most likely to argue/disagree with? MY GRANDMA. How much do you monthly pay for mortgage or rent? If you don’t, how much is your cell-phone bill? N/A What is your favorite grocery store to shop at, and how often do you shop for groceries? Sam's Club got them deals. But I don't do the grocery shopping. How many hours do you work a week? If you don’t work, do you plan on finding a job? If so, when? I'm getting help from vocational rehab now to find a job perfectly appropriate for me. Where did you have your first kiss? What about your last kiss? His bed; airport. When is the next time you will be going out of town? 18th for my therapy appointment. Hour away. What is the last thing you spoke to your father about? Phone bill. Where did you spend Christmas or any other winter holiday? My sister's house. Who in your life causes you the most stress or negative feelings? Myself. Do you like shopping alone? I wouldn't know. Do you have any scratches on your cell phone? A small one. When was the last time you blushed? Idk. Who is one person you met and automatically didn’t like? Most of my sister's exes. Almost all, really. Do you have any video game systems in your room? Which one(s)? Well, the DS is in here. Have you ever done another person’s make-up? Jason's as just a joke. What is one thing you don’t like sharing? My drawings or writings if you're in my "real" life. Online is like... mostly np, but otherwise, don't fucking look. If I share a drink with you too, that means a loooot. Where on your body would you NEVER get a piercing? You know... ~the spot~ Which Adam Sandler movie do you like the most? Idk. Did your parents ever read stories to you before bed? Yes. Would you be considered more of a teacher’s pet or a class clown? I was inadvertently the teacher’s pet like... always. Do you have any family members who are mean to you for no reason? No. Do you have to do any yard work? No. Do you have a nativity scene in your home? Mom will put it up eventually. If you’re a girl, what color is your favorite bra? Navy. Would you rather make a snow angel or snowman? Snowman. What is the best antique shop in your town? *shrugs* Does creating make you happy? YES YES YES YES!!!! Do you have abusive family members? No. What US city would you most like to visit? Idk. What country in the world would you most like to visit? Japan, probably. Or Scotland. Do you have your wedding all planned out in your head? No. Do you sell things online a lot? No. Is there anyone you secretly miss? No. What color are your Christmas lights? On our tree that isn't up yet? Rainbow. Owls or penguins? Owls.

#survey #quiz #questions #random

[smilingformoney]

It Lives Beneath Diamond Scene: Tour with Imogen

CHAPTER THREE

You: You know what? I’d love a tour. Imogen +10 Imogen: Of course you would! I’m only just the best tour guide in all of Pine Springs! You: I don’t know… Tom gives some pretty amazing tours. You have a lot to live up to. Imogen: Puh-lease. My tours can out-tour his tours any day of the week. You: Well, then. After you, my lady. Imogen: Follow me, group! Be careful not to get lost! You trail behind Imogen as she gestures grandly and explains details of the house. You keep an eye out for anything amiss, but it seems like the place has been entirely cleaned out. You: Hey, Imogen. Don’t you think it’s weird Ned was just in town yesterday, and now suddenly he’s selling his house? Imogen: I guess? I hadn’t thought about it like that. 

You: Do you know… -What happened last night?

Imogen: Wh-what do you mean? Did something happen last night? You: Maybe. Where were you? Imogen: Um, let me think. Last night I was having dinner with my mom on Lakeview Boulevard. You: And after that? Imogen: We went home. And went to bed. Imogen: Why? What were you doing last night? You: Nothing. Never mind. 

-Who moved Ned’s things?

Imogen: Pine Springs doesn’t have any moving companies, so… Imogen: Maybe Ned moved his things himself? You: The whole house? On his own? In one night? Imogen: I-I don’t know. When you say it like that it sounds pretty impossible. You: That’s because it is. Did anyone help him? Was anyone else here last night? Imogen: How am I supposed to know? I was out having dinner with my mom! 

-When the house went up for sale?

Imogen: My mom got the call late last night, right before we went to bed. Imogen: She sounded pretty angry. Probably because of how short notice the house showing is. You: Do you know who she was talking to? Imogen: Well, I thought it was her secretary at first, but I heard her call them a man’s name. You: What was the name? Was it ‘Ned’? Imogen: No, it was something else… Imogen: Sorry, I can’t remember it right now. You: No, that’s okay. That already helps. 

Imogen stops walking and turns to face you. Imogen: [Name], what’s going on? You’re being weird. You: There’s… there’s things going on that I can’t talk about. You: But I need to know I can trust you. Imogen: Of course you can trust me! You: Just tell me one thing. Imogen: Anything. 

You: Tell me… -Who are the robed men?

Imogen: Robed men? What robed men? You: You really don’t know? Imogen: No! I literally have no idea what you’re talking about. You study Imogen closely. She meets your eyes with a sincere gaze… and you remember the way she reacted to Kyle’s death… You: Okay. I believe you. Imogen: Um, thanks…? 

-Do you know if Ned had any enemies?

Imogen: No! I mean, I don’t know him very well, but I’m pretty sure everybody likes him… even if he does say some strange things… Imogen: Why? Did somebody hurt him? Is he okay? You study Imogen closely but her concern seems genuine. You: Sorry, I can’t tell you that right now. 

You: Are there any rooms, any rooms at all, that haven’t been cleared yet? Imogen: No, everything was already gone when we came in this morning. Imogen: Oh, except the basement. But my mom told me not to go down there. She said it’s dangerous. You: Dangerous how? Imogen: It’s full of building materials and tools for the contractors or something. You: Which one’s the door to the basement? Imogen: But we’re not supposed to-- You: Imogen. Please. Imogen: You’re asking me to go against my mom, and you won’t even tell me what’s going on. Imogen: How am I supposed to trust you? 

You: Trust me because… -There’s something between us. +Romance

You: I knew it from the second we met. And I know you can feel it too. Imogen: I-- Imogen stops and looks away, a blush on her cheeks. Imogen: You’re right. I… I like you. A lot. I thought it was just me. You reach out and take her hand in yours. You: It’s not. And I can’t wait to ask you out and really get to know each other. You let her hand go. You: But I need to deal with this first. 

-Kyle’s death wasn’t an accident.

Imogen: W-what? You: We both know it. You saw how weird Kyle was acting right before he died. And as for me… You: …I know what I saw. Imogen: What did you see? You consider telling Imogen about the thing that grabbed Kyle… but you sense her hesitation, and quickly decide against it. You: I’m… not sure I’m ready to tell you that yet. You: The point is, there’s something seriously messed up going on in this town, and people are working very hard to cover it up. Imogen: You’re right. Kyle’s death wasn’t an accident, no matter what Chief Kelley says. But what are you going to do? You: I’m going to find out the truth and bring it to light. 

You: I promise I’ll tell you everything as soon as I can. You: But for now, I just need a little faith. Imogen exhales a deep sigh, then smiles. Imogen: Okay, [Name]. But we have to be fast. If my mom catches us we’re dead. You: Thank you. You won’t regret this. 

The basement stairs creak as you descend. Imogen clicks a light switch, and an old bulb flickers on. You: I thought your mom said there were building materials down here. Imogen: She did. There’s nothing down her but old junk though. Why would she lie? You: I don’t know yet. A reflection catches your eye. You move toward a small spot of something on the floor. You: Imogen… look at this! You kneel to examine a puddle of tacky liquid on the floor. It’s deep red. Imogen: Oh my god! Is that-- You: Blood. Imogen: W-Whose blood? Why would there be blood down here? You: I’ll tell you after I tell the police. But first I need to document this. Do you have… I don’t know, some cotton swabs and a plastic bag? Imogen: What, on me? You: Never mind. You fish out your phone. You: A picture of some blood on the floor isn’t the best proof, but it’s better than nothing. 

POOL OF BLOOD -Take a picture. 

Your camera flash throws light into every corner of the basement. Imogen: Hey, did you see that? You: See what? Imogen walks across the cluttered basement and shines her phone into a corner. The light glints off of something metallic. She picks it up. Imogen: It’s some kind of… key. You join her, and she hands it to you. 

SKELETON KEY -Examine 

You: Why don’t you hold onto it, Imogen? Imogen: Really? Imogen: Well… Okay. Just for safekeeping. You: Come on. Let’s get out of here before your mom finds us. ITEM ACQUIRED 

You: Could you do me one last favour? Imogen: Sure, but only if you promise to do something for me. You: Oh, uh, sure. What? Imogen: Promise we’ll get to hang out together soon. Without creepy basements and weird blood. MC +2 You: I think I can manage that. Imogen: Awesome sauce. Now what’s this favour? You: Can you keep all this between the two of us for now? And don’t let anyone touch the basement until I get back with the cops. Imogen: Okay. But the next time we hang out, I expect to get all of the deets. You: You will. That’s a promise.

CHAPTER FOUR

You: Yes! Look at this. You pull out your phone and bring up the picture you took. Parker: Is that…? You: Blood. Parker: Where did you take this? You: At Ned’s house, this morning. The whole place was empty except for the basement. Parker +5 Parker: That’s evidence, all right. I’ll head over there later and look into this… You: But what about Chief Kelley? Parker: Off the books for now. You: Thanks. Parker: In the meantime, is there anyone you can think of who might have seen anything, heard anything?

You: Oh hey, before I forget, did you find anything at Ned’s houses? In the basement? Parker: No. It was clean. Even the basement was empty. I asked Astrid but she said she hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary. Parker: I’m sorry. You: It’s fine. I didn’t really expect you to find anything. You: It was lucky I even got a picture before those robed weirdos came back and finished the job. Parker: Hey. Maybe we’ll find something tonight. You: I hope so.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Imogen: You mean a key like this?

RECOGNIZE… -Skeleton Key 

Imogen pulls the skeleton key from a discreet pocket in her dress. Tom: Is that…? Imogen: A skeleton key. A Cosmo girl never leaves home without one. Imogen slides the key into the lock. It resists turning at first but then unlocks with a satisfying click. Imogen +5 Imogen: Voi-la! MC +5 You: I knew that key would come in handy! Imogen removes the key and tries the knob. It turns easily. Imogen: Are we really doing this, you guys? Danni: We’ve come this far. I’m not turning back now. Tom: Whatever’s behind that door, Richie Rich does not want people seeing it. So that’s exactly where we need to go. Parker: Time’s wasting, people. [Name], whatever answers we find in there, they might not be the answers you’re looking for. Parker: Are you sure you want to do this? 

You: Is it what I want? -It doesn’t matter.

You: Everyone is here tonight because they want answers, because they want to protect people, or stop bad things from happening. You: Even if we find nothing, that’s one more box we can check off our list. Tom: [Name]’s right. I’ve been investigating for a while, and even dead ends can help point you in the right direction.

-More than anything.

You: Ever since Kyle died-- no, since my parents died, I’ve wanted to find out the truth. You: Even if the truth is ugly, I need to know it. It’s the only way I’ll be able to sleep at night. Danni: [Name]’s right. Uncovering the truth is the only thing that matters. 

Parker: Okay then. Let’s find out what Richard’s hiding. One by one you disappear behind the door and close it as softly as you can behind you. 

You find yourselves on a balcony overlooking a dimly lit room panelled in expensive mahogany. You: What is this pl-- Parker: Shh! Get down! Parker drags you down into a crouch and you see the hooded figures surrounding the table below. Imogen: What are they doing? Tom: Being creepy? Slowly, they begin to chant. Cultists: O Numen Magnus, audi nos, da ad nobis vim, da ad nobis fortitudinem… Danni: Getting cult-y enough in here for ya, Parker? Parker: Shhh! As the chant continues, you notice the design emblazoned on the polished surface of the table. 

RECOGNIZE… -Symbol on Cultists’ Table 

Below you, the chant comes to an end. One of the figures steps forward. Cult Leader: Welcome, brothers. Power be with you all. Cultists: We are one with the Power. Cult Leader: Tonight we will be discussing several matters of extreme importance. Cult Leader: First, the successful suppression of the truth regarding the Garza boy’s death. Imogen: Aa-- You cover Imogen’s mouth quickly before she can cry out. The people below seem not to have heard her outburst and continue. Cultist: Thank you, Leader. It was a simple matter. The public does not want to believe his death could have been anything but an accident. Cult Leader: Indeed. Our second topic is the most important one at hand. Cultist: The Vance child. You: (Me?!) Cultist: Her/His investigation into our affairs is beginning to compromise our agenda. Cult Leader: Do not get ahead of yourselves, brothers. All in due time. Cult Leader: Now. Let us begin. Cultists: Before the Power, we reveal ourselves! As one, the cultists reach up to their hoods… and pull them down! Astrid: … Vincent: … Imogen: Mom and Dad?! Richard: … Danni: Richard! Chief Kelley: … Parker: Abe? Your friends’ voices fade into the background as your gaze fixes on the fifth figure. For a long moment, you’re unable to even process what you’re seeing. Then he lifts his head to speak and the world seems to fall out from under you. Grandpa: Before the Power, we are revealed. You: GRANDPA?!

CHAPTER EIGHT

You sit back in the balcony overhanging the cultists’ overhanging the cultists’ headquarters, reeling from the discovery that your grandfather… is one of them! Grandpa: … You: (It’s Grandpa! I-- I can’t believe it!) Astrid: Now, my brothers. It is time to begin. Imogen: Gina, th-this can’t be true! 

-If you have the bracelet 

Cultist Guard: Hey! What the hell are you kids doing up here! You whip around and find two cultists looming over you and your friends! Imogen: Um, ‘run’? The commotion’s caught the attention of the cultists below! Astrid: Imogen? Richard: Apprehend them immediately! Cultist Guard: You’re coming with us! Danni: Over my dead body! One guard cracks his knuckles, while the other whips out a baton crackling with electricity! 

STUN BATON -Examine 

You all shy away from the sizzling baton, feeling the electricity raise the hairs on your arms. Cultist Guard: Now, are you gonna come along quietly or are we gonna do this the hard way? You: We’ll… we’ll come quietly. Won’t be, guys? Tom: Yeah, not a peep. You and your friends are dragged downstairs by the guards to the assembled circle. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Imogen: Wait a minute! Imogen frantically fishes in her pockets, and pulls out… 

IS THAT… -The skeleton key! 

Imogen: A-ha! Parker: I don’t want to burst your bubble, but I’m fairly certain the key for these doors doesn’t look like-- The doors unlock with a heavy click! Parker: You’re kidding me! Danni scrambles down the lamp post! Danni: Nice one! Imogen +5 Imogen: I knew this thing would come in handy again!

#playchoices #choices stories you play #choices it lives beneath #choices ilb #it lives beneath #it lives beneath walkthrough

[jasenet]

200629 | #color-pool-museum

( image cover. ) — location: town of lunaris.

CH: it’s a phrase he heard often before coming to seraph, even now he hears it from time to time. from ‘oh it’s nice having someone like you around’ or ‘i wish i could do this more often with someone like you.’ slowly, he builds an aversion towards it. even now, he thinks he dislikes it but it’s part of his own syntax by now. chase finds himself utilizing it more than he’d prefer to. it just slips out and he notices it around julian more often as of late so he actively tries to drive his thoughts from conception into action. instead of, it’s fun looking up at the stars with someone like you, or going to see the ocean again with someone like you, he wills himself to think ‘i want to stargaze with you, view the cosmos in all its glory’ and ‘i want to go to the ocean with you, build sandcastles, sink our toes in the sand as the tide just barely reaches us,’ today, he does his best to bring at least one idea into fruition, wanting to keep it a surprise til the last moment but blindfolding someone that can get nervous is a bad idea and he doesn’t trust himself to guide julian without bumping into something himself. he’s glad the outside is somewhat nondescript and doesn’t hint of the colorful delights inside, waving his hand for julian to follow his lead, he hopes the photos he searched for online are still accurate for how to navigate inside. tugging on julian’s sleeve, he grins once they’re within sight of the entrance. “surprised?”

JN: It took two seconds to text Nam Hae that he wouldn't be coming to the study session and Cameron that he won't be at the house. There was no way he would pass up the opportunity to spend time with Chase today. Albeit, he didn't have a clue where they were going. The anticipation grew more and more, but not knowing where the location was made it feel like it was much longer. By the time they reached a tall building with glass all over, he was under the impression that they were going to a hotel. Was this how hotels even looked like? Though, he wasn't about to ask and find himself sorely mistaken. Now this was really new to him. "Yeah!" Following along with a bounce in his step, looking left, right, and center, there wouldn't be a place left unseen. Wide eyed and curious, he looked to Chase—staying relatively close to him. "What is this place, though?"

CH: fingers continue to curl in the soft fabric of what julian was wearing, he glances down at how the colorful shirt he wore matches the inner hallway he can just barely see from outside the entrance. bright flower patches scattered across the front and one on the right sleeve. it'd reached a point that he couldn't remember which shirt belonged to who or who chose what patches. all he knows is that wearing any one of the items they customized makes him think of julian. he'd pre-bought the tickets online, showing the code to the staff member at the door and looking up at the balloons arranged in rainbow color in one of the first hallways, bright decor spelling out COLOR POOL nearly everywhere. taking out his phone, he turns to julian earnestly. "i was thinking the other day... i want to take more pictures! of you and together and i wanted it to be somewhere fun first... each room is different and colorful and we get to wear jumpsuits because there's ballpits and— it's way better if you see it! just trust me! you do, right? enough to change into one of the jumpsuits right now and wait to see?" 

JN: Letting Chase take full reign over their activities today is a wonderful feeling. The wolf prepares so much for them, and he thinks all he has to do is keep their spirits up. Julian’s wandering eyes see what he doesn’t understand, but definitely wants to. He’s always thought that he could draw better when he knew what he was looking at. Right now, with the colors splashed on the walls and items, he really thinks it’d make for a great watercolor piece. He feeds in his curiosity while also holding onto the hand that holds him. There’s no way he can just get lost here, right? It’s a building. However, he doesn’t know how big this place is, or what they have in store, causing him to step that bit closer to Chase. “Take more pictures?” He wonders how they’d do that. They didn’t bring any cameras, to his knowledge. “What are— oh okay.” He nods enthusiastically, hoping that all his questions would have answers in due time. “Can I wear it over my clothes now?” 

CH: cell phone in his back pocket and a disposable camera in his pocket, charmed by the less modern notion of taking it in to be developed and picking up the photos once they're done, he nods enthusiastically when julian asks, squeezing the hand in his lightly. "ah, i didn't think of that... it'll get really warm if we wear jumpsuits too but it seemed fun too!" gaze falling to the floor in thought, he looks to julian. "what would you rather do? our clothes are colorful too! i think people wear the jumpsuits if they're worried or are wearing clothes they can't move around in." but julian wears long sleeves as it is and he's, again, happily wearing one of the shirts they sewed patches onto. "let's go see the first room and decide, that might be best." following the signs for one of the rooms he saw the most pictures of, he brings them to one that's shades of bright pink from head to toe, from the tiled walls and the slides to go into the ball pit along the sides, pink and white beach balls are being tossed around by other people there and chase watches excitedly, taking another moment to see if they're wearing jumpsuits too or not. 

JN: Julian would argue that his tolerance for heat is much higher due to always being covered. The most anyone sees of his skin are on his face, neck, and hands—though they're more callous. Sometimes he feels bad for holding Chase's hand, because he deserves soft, smooth touches. However, even in Summer he's used to the weather and he doesn't mind wearing a jumpsuit over his clothing. It's a sacrifice he'll probably have to live with for the rest of his life. Taking a quick glance of his and Chase's clothes, he might actually prefer jumpsuit anyway. The fabric of his shirt is far relatively thin this time around. "I'll wear it over mine," he says regardless of how they may look. Julian follows along without hesitation, though is again met with more mundane questions. "Is that— We can go in?" He asks first, grin plastered on his face. But within a second, he's tugging on Chase's hand and leading them into the ball pit. Colors aside, if this is the sort of childlike urges he gets at the sight of a ball pit, something he'd never experienced before, he'll definitely enjoy the rest of their time here. 

CH: there's moments he wonders if he holds onto julian too tightly, if he clings too much, if he should have a gentler touch. ever since he learned more of julian's past, of memories left on his body that his mind no longer grants him access to remember, he's decided that julian deserves everything soft and gentle. sweet and caring. tender and loving. but when it comes to himself, he knows he pretends to be as soft as sunshine despite burning inside. "we can! we don't have to wear the jumpsuit first or w—" light laughter spills from his lips when julian guides them towards the ball pit without another word. letting go for a moment, he steps down into it, opting for the small ladder down into the filled pool lest he ends up being overeager if he actually jumped. with a grin, he picks up a bubblegum pink ball and tosses it towards julian, snickering when it bounces off their shoulder. 

JN: So much for the jumpsuit, he thinks, as he rushes to get into the ball pit. Without considering how deep it might be, he jumps into it. A groan escapes him when his knees hit the limits of the pink-colored 'pool' and he takes a moment to rub them as he gets into a more comfortable position. "I thought it'd be deeper. My bad." Sitting up, as dry as ever, yet feeling a familiar pull as if he were in water, makes him like this more. Not to say he doesn't like swimming in water, he does, but this way his clothes won't stick to his skin uncomfortably. The slight disorientation is squashed when he feels something hit his back. Turning around, he quickly puts the pieces together. "So they're meant for throwing, too, then?" He says, just to acknowledge, before throwing one of his own at Chase. Then two, and three as he swims away and closer to the old telephones stuck on the wall. "These aren't real, right? What do you do with them then?" 

CH: the groan julian lets out because the pool is rather shallow makes chase both laugh but 'swim' over, wading through bright pink to reach down and pat julian's legs, trying to help him with the pain even if the attempt is superficial at best. "it's okay. we did go swimming and that was pretty deep." actually, it'd been deep enough that chase worried, wondered if he would be able to keep swimming without paddling towards the edge to hold onto. instinct couldn't help him enough there, it seems; it has its own limits. he'd managed to dodge the ball when he moved closer, but the rest get him and he scrunches up his face. "wanna try calling someone? maybe 119 since—" throwing a few more balls at julian's chest, he sulks when a few fall short. literally. he considers working out again, doing more than trying to go on a run in the morning, and he's about to ask but he ends up throwing another ball, grinning as he remembers he wanted to take pictures. "wait, truce. you should try the phone! it'll look cute." 

JN: He watches as Chase comes closer to him and pat him. It's such a sweet gesture. "Do you want to go swimming again?" While they're out here, he could look for clothes to swim in. Something that doesn't stick so uncomfortably to him, if that's even possible. At the question, and the failed attempt at a throw, he brightens up into a small chuckle. "These balls are really light. It's hard to throw without the weight on it." He picks one up to throw, but it doesn't travel that far either. Julian raises a brow in question. "I should try it?" Looking towards the phone again, already having pulled the receiver and input out already, he can't hear any of the usual sounds to indicate that it's working. He checks all around it for secret wires that don't exist, only to lean against the wall staring at the thing in his hand. "What is your purpose?" He asks the inanimate object.

#( ongoing )

[youforeverwithme]

Owl Some Days You Have To Put On The Hat And Remind Them Who They Are Dealing With Witch T-Shirt

I think the Owl Some Days You Have To Put On The Hat And Remind Them Who They Are Dealing With Witch T-Shirt job in this room have is the opportunity to present visible but also to inspire up and coming physicians who are in medicine sports medicine and so that the legacy will be how many and I like how many more doctors can I encourage with the key to continued success still like another three months to go through the celebrate now do not celebrate the first milestone was Wilson 22 teams. Dominic in just a moment that we want to bring me the asian reaction as well gracefully is in tokyo this morning from asian leaders when we hearing so far on the president diagnosis grace while their first we heard from some time usually include prime minister nearing the money which I was trying to outrun the recovery along with his wife pointed response front prints me out and she will treat it out this morning saying donald try paying the price for gambling you are responding trying to which_shower theory overall the other as well overall donald transcribe you mind going on by not going and not sugar overall in the us response front where I am right now you leave there is really survive trying and trying to tow the line between the trade partners you may point in the political process due to the us probably got so interesting donald trump from microphones from my by very much really setting up a real fight over the source of 19 and will insurance sometimes encouraging us using page and sometimes very critical. The children staff not wearing masks this morning from a moderator chris wallace foxman first offered masks that refused to talk seems late trump side of of the hall this is trump came in wearing a mask that took it off when what she said sat down to see when they came in but all the other members the first family that I saw there including about god tiffany when they sat down they weren’t wearing masks i’m told by the pool of reporters was there that somebody from the cleveland clinic came up to the first family I believe this was before mrs trump sat down and offered the mass in case they didn’t have them and they waved them away on the following wednesday trump was traveling card opportunity on outdoor rally on a trip should the cognitive morning as well on aboard air force one and returning to washington then took new and got a result positive and significant morning white house knew of the results of the morning your traveling resort to for learning from multiple report photo of people in close proximity

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Fox Either Calling up Our People When Dealing with Them When Giving Them Certain Advice We Actually Have the World Health We Have Them over There Also and We Have A Lot Of Our People Making up That Group That Went over There Now He’s Working Very Hard Be Very Easy for Me to Say No Doesn’t Matter What I Say Really I Can Tell You He Is Working on a Owl Some Days You Have To Put On The Hat And Remind Them Who They Are Dealing With Witch T-Shirt Long Talk with Him the Other Night He Is Working Really Really Hard He Wanted to Go Away from. Built by slaves know this desk that’s coming but back then by means of comparison how would you really know why it was the oldest it’s exactly theand always is a cool ruler of ancient Egyptand one day he wandered out into the desertand he was visited by aliensand disappear that’s don’t have any data on acne after certain point all day they checked the in of the sarcophagusand it’s emptyand I would leave the bills are covetous for a fee because he was presumed dead as a physician the idea here is that like apparently Jim Starling must’ve taken some kind of like ancient Egyptian class is working on thisand why would you do this like hotel in Stargate was passing three by then you may started to fill the crappy show the amazing show depended on you when I went to college I was roommates with people who had the whole show prominently displayed on top of their television for easy access to any episode started as the oneand later started went right anyway so why can by aliensand Jim Starling admits that like there are a lot of theories as to what happened to them that are probably realand then there is the real fake one which is the aliens took me a while at the X mansion Jean Grey is hit by a psychic visionand she is reminded of a villain that she fought back in the day with the X men women Pharaoh the whole living Pharaoh is not Akin eightand nor is he related to this in any way but he is an ancient Pharaoh villain that the extra foughtand he kinda reminds them of thatand in other reports of the story people will refer to academe as the living Pharaoh but don’t get confused because there is another living Pharaoh is nothing to do with all my God is actually a made up character is a real character but this is all appropriate financial meet up character from the sort of cut so when Jean just has a thought she said she’s getting a psychic vision like I remember correctly my one massive dump health is a psychic vision versus just a regular vision whining because her power psychic days so the division would be from anywhere right but anyway sheesh she thought at least about a decent flick will chill outand such like did you get the same vision energies like I did a not all crap what are we gonna do about this we should call our friends the other superheroes process were you wearing a dune costume because Grant Morrison is writing the exit of the spine at this pointand Frank Whiteley’s drawing themand so Jim Starling is using the new X Men designs from that raw that explains beasts yuppies looks like a cat he is is straight up like movies like where we yeah the fortunate but you do it’s an acquired tasteand it’s it’s a moment in time them using acquired taste like people like that people like these people people like Ted pleased people like Wolverine to fill these weird like synergistic costumes were like they all like to bring over interviews wear a shirt with a silver leather jacket such as bare chested wolverine in leather jacket that was his next costume people like these suits I don’t but whatever right I guess if you started reading X Menand they were wearing this that’s what they look like yes exactlyand is supposed to make you think will happen right now right something years ago writes so meanwhile in the space between universesand whatnot lays a small childand the usurper of the previous Guardian of said on the verse is sitting around watchingand guarding the cosmos along with her babysitters Adam warlockand Gomorrah of the set up via a previous Jim Starling events which are not to get into it right if she’s here that’s it there’s like a little interdimensional place where a small child is supposed to bear witness toand control the universe not control of were like guarded the rightand at laser is the name of the small child also soaring of upper right but like you’re in space so it is weird because like you expected we were space close but you just where normal colossal because like you just a good job of drawing a child but some artists who draw comics can’t really draw a child versus a small adult so if you put her in romper is no mistaking of the child was to get the image that a child is cut guarding the universeand that’s kinda crazyand not like a weird alien in small no literal file number I get that it’s just bizarre to see a girl in this giant universe is to make you think that graduation but the world more there like what what’s going on laser Jesus everything about the change CO what is going on your cosmos all she she should I watch her but she is not really effective anyway so that for who is currently at this point in time in charge of Asgard is at his balcony door gets a vision of unspeakable power this is careening towards me guardand it faces himand says everything on Tiger Woods slowly doors like woe that is such power is stuck hereand talk to me because you know for his poor Laura can have your divorce right now hello he’s is pretty powerful years the current WWE title know that’s that’s Conan’s belt it’s a pretty dope belt it plays no part of the story yeah so doors like Crestor is there to show you all my God this new power in the universe is way stronger than the old for so it may be even stronger than like any force that Jim Starling has previously created while it’s free strongly while in space the sheer Empire has been decimated just completely wrecked over servers line for a clandestinely oh sheer embarrassment decimated what kind of power could possibly destroy the will a survivor it’s gladiator disease made of tougher stuffand will gladly was going to do something came through hereand whacked us there was a vocally confirming what you already surmise something superpower both wrecked everything Rosso fan is like binary wondering well tell youand so that he segues into himself back then which is to say in the present in his satellite just coping with being but a cog in the grand scheme of the universe now that he is taken to his you know quest for powerand conquests off until the table but he is still technically looking for to buy is doing is essential to select look I know that conquestand ruling universes about it he assaulted all the powerful things out there what else goes exactly the argument you ever wonder what else they can get Jim Starling is more than happy to tell you that directly asked a lot yeah everyone does that so the fantastic four monitoring this leaving the fuel you know some great power in the universeand all crap they call the avengers eventually we sought to the X Men have a have a meeting where they call everybody they called like because of Xavierand Jean Grey psychic vision like let’s everyone all the reserves on every single axman you could ever imagine that is alive right now into the mansion at onceand so they all appearand then Jeanand Chuck go everybody stay in living room were to go to cerebral were to tryand contact this this thing that reached out to usand see what’s up okay so they doand the many genes that the best choice for the right to be an excellent start is no reference to things all them shocked there is a like concern for the other thing is you willing to fix issues we want to get the flow below the entire issue for removing it precisely so Jean is basically there just kind of like help support Xavier White is going to try harder there is a retry before you your brainpower he needs their combined power to make it workand they doand when John asked Emma Frost now she’s in the living room literally else that you get the use ofand so they do reach out past the known universeand they find activate all is now the ultimate powerand universities common for pennies like hello you’re my subject technically I was the in the 18th dynastyand on the ruler of Egypt like as far a lot of water concern I ruled everything the assets on coming back to my rightful place in your one of my subjectsand I can tell from your thoughts that you don’t like that idea alland then Chuckand Jean disconnect through not sureand Akin Eaton drops a powerful beamand blows up all the X Men’s on the right oh so was also exiting the present one will think of recurrent told him to converge. The Oval Office two weeks later their absentee we have to defeat him criminal justice reform prison reform opportunity zones with Tim Scott a great senator from South Carolina he came in with his incredible idea for opportunity zones one of the most successful programs people don’t talk about a tremendous investment is being made beneficiary black and Hispanic communities and then historically black colleges and universities after three years of coming to the office I love some of those guys they were great pertaining to the office and they said should we do and what you keep coming back because we have your funding is not to come back every year we have to come back because Pres See Other related products: Owl Some Days You Have To Put On The Hat And Remind Them Who They Are Dealing With Witch T-Shirt

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[meteorajulie]

The Mother

Looking in the etymology of the word mother, we see that the roots of mother has the sense of “that’s which has given birth to anything” it’s not even gendered, it goes strict to the point: to create.

The creation of the world, the creation of order, the creation of life, the transformational motor, and the informational motor are all operations of coding.[1]

Creation is unlimited.

 Creation and destruction irrevocably interlocked, endlessly re-enacted.[2]

 Has her children left and she separated from her former husband, Elisabeth feel the loss of self and urge for survival[3]

For Elisabeth being a mother will never mean the same to her for now on.

Creation resists death, by reinventing life: that is called resurrection.[4]

 Accommodations: One hotel[5]

The hotel, the hostel, the master’s house is open to the frozen passer-by[6]. My work is to design a hotel for Elisabeth to welcome people in.

But it won’t be only a place of rest or unsignificant stay. Mixing it up with the program of a monastery, a place where people seek a certain level of spirituality, we are gonna make it a place for giving birth by being a place for intellectual exercise.

People are intentionally gathered in the city centre, its heart, to share. [7]

 In today’s reality, the fresh food corner in a department store or a local 24-hour convenience store probably play the role of kitchen and refrigerator more than the ones in a house. Cosy, enjoyable spaces and household functions are being successively absorbed into the commercial spaces of the city. People are taking great pleasure in urban life. For them, cinemas, theatres and bars are living rooms, restaurants are dining rooms, and the pools and saunas in gyms are luxurious gardens and bathrooms. Boutique stores are their wardrobes, coin laundries their washing machines. For them, all urban spaces may be inhabited. It might even be said that the spaces connecting the trails of their behaviour constitute a house.[8]

The guest can access to the city through the Seine.

 The Garden / Cloister

The Cloister is a covered walk in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral, typically with a colonnade around a garden and in both its public and private form is a constant element in the life of men in cities.[9]

For the garden in the centre [Elisabeth] selects indigenous plant material so that her planned landscapes will flourish.[10] Inspired by Monet’s house who finds itself endlessly caught up by the plant forces of an unrestrained garden, a cosmos of roses.[11] This gardens would been used in the healing process, such as the Japanese Zen garden or the monastic cloister garden.[12] But it is also a place for cultivation,

Once it was truly a garden, filled with herbs and fruit which seem uncannily to anticipate their later profusion on the same spot.[13] And When evening descends and the air becomes brisk, a warm glow washes across the garden in stripes of light.[14]

 The Studio

The health of the human race: Plants are fashioned by cultivation, and men by education.[15]

This place would be a for learning, but also processing that information in order to create something new in a room with lots of natural light, the overall light is warm.[16] The quality of the light is like nothing else, anywhere—certainly not in any regular vanilla "universal space" type of gallery [17]

The move to the museum environment, apart from being a huge logistical and documentation exercise, is also an intellectual one.[18]

The mirror, by making visible, beyond even the walls of the studio itself, what is happening in front of the picture, creates, in its sagittal dimension, an oscillation between the interior and the exterior.[19]

Variation in brightness, colour of sunlight, the angle of light entering a space, the colour of the sky, temperatures, air movement, and sounds vary from morning to night, starting with quietness in the morning, activity during the day, and quietness again at night as nature settles down.[20]

It is a challenging intellectual exercise[21] of a space.

The Bedroom

‘How much light do people need in order to live?’ asks Zumthor, ‘And how much darkness? … Are there some things we can experience only in dark, shaded places, in the darkness of night?’[22]

Within the house, the bedroom encloses a box within a box.[23] In this box, a bed and a window, View to the outside [24] At night, the structure glows jewel like on the city street; the roof, facets of light against a dark sky.[25] But out of the darkness, rich colours glow, and mysterious, complex forms create an unforgettable atmosphere.[26]

  [1] Serres, Hermes Literature Science Philosophy

[2] Koolhaas, Delirious New York

[3] Hovestadt Buehlmann, Quantum City

[4] Serres, Troubadour of Knowledge

[5] Kipen, San Francisco in the 1930s The WPA Guide to the C

[6] Serres, The Parasite

[7] Maniscalco, Public Spaces Marketplaces and the Constitution

[8] DISMANTLING AND RECONSTITUTING THE ‘HOUSE’ IN A DISORDERED CITY (1988) by Tyo Ito

[9] Miller, The Culture of Cities

[10] Deitz, Of Gardens Selected Essays Penn Studies in Lands

[11] Deleuze Guattari, What Is Philosophy

[12] Deviren, The Greening of Architecture A Critical History a

[13] Ackroyd, London A Biography

[14] Deitz, Of Gardens Selected Essays Penn Studies in Lands

[15] Derrida, Of Grammatology

[16] Alexander, A Pattern Language

[17] Banham, Critic Writes

[18] Edwards, Photographs Museums Collections Between Art and

[19] Foucault, The Order of Things

[20] Kellert, Biophilic Design The Theory Science and Practice

[21] Lubar, Inside the Lost Museum Curating Past and Present

[22] Kite, ShadowMakers A Cultural History of Shadows in Ar

[23] Serres, The Five Senses

[24] Alexander, A Pattern Language

[25] Deitz, Of Gardens Selected Essays Penn Studies in Lands

[26] Matthews, Kirtland Cutter Architect in the Land of Promise

#mtrjl