#he wasn't joking he's literally like this and has so many fucked up ideas and povs

[maxverstappendefender]

Hi I was wondering if u can make an imagine with max verstappen where the reader is an athlete also (tennis player please 😮‍💨😮‍💨😭😭🥹🥹) and she is also from Netherlands

her and max were like in the same school or neighbors or even Victoria’s friend and her and max used to be dating since they were young teenagers but they broke up because of their careers (more like she broke up with him lol🤭) and they meet again at a gala or a wedding when they are at the top of their game her being world no.1 and many grand slams winner and him being world champion and then they have a confrontation with a lot of angst and yelling and max being heartbroken 💔💔🤌🏻🤌🏻

other part to this request: "Also about the max and athlete reader like if u can make it inspired by “call out my name” by The Weeknd 🥲"

a/n: this is such a good idea, i love some good angst. i made it a smau and also written parts (more towards the hend). i don't know much about tennis but i tried. the google translate dutch is probably bad but that's fine. hopefully i did your idea justice <3

warnings: profanity (?), alcohol

my masterlist !

The Dutch Athletes

yourusername posted on instagram!

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yourusername and that's a wrap on the lovely game of tennis, back to training for next season :)

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user PROUD TO BE DUTCH BC OF THIS LADY AND THIS LADY ONLY

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landonorris you're serving! (do you get it? im so funny)

-> yourusername ty lan (the tennis jokes are never funny)

-> landonorris not even a pity laugh.

user i see a certain someone hiding in the likes

-> user 🤺🤺🤺 be gone sir

victoriaverstappen cannot wait to see you next week!

-> yourusername i miss my favourite dutch person

-> user max is punching the wall rn

user wait, im new. why is everyone hating on max verstappen here?

-> user y/n dated him a while back but they ended it in 2021 for reasons no one knows. lots of speculation but they never confirmed or denied anything. he still has loads of pictures of them on his insta but she deleted hers, probs wasn't a mutual breakup in that case. she's still good friends with lando, charles, and max's sister!

-> user he probably cheated or something

-> user they both seem happy so we shouldn't make assumptions :)

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y/nmaxupdates still no new content of our favs together so we are doing a little throwback thursday to one of y/n's posts from 2015 (she has removed the post).

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yourusername posted a story!

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yourusername vegas baby! vv thankful lando is okay. congrats on the podium charlie!

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charles_leclerc You say congrats but you wear a McLaren hat

-> yourusername only because lando invited me, not you!

user max being cropped out has me CACKLING

user we were so so close to some y/nmax snippet by her posting him but she fucking cropped him out

landonorris i'm so mad i crashed, my helmet was so sick for this race. do you think i can wear it to the clubs tonight?

-> yourusername lando istg if you wear your damn helmet anywhere tonight. you are supposed to be staying at the hotel with me anyways?

-> landonorris i don't see a doctor that will stop me from leaving. but my helmet looked sick right?

-> yourusername eh

landonorris we literally spent like 3 days together before the race and you still chose that ugly picture

danielricciardo VEGAS BABYYY. tonight we party.

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yourusername 'VEGAS BABYYY. tonight we party.' ~daniel ricciardo (and don't worry, i didn't let lando leave the hotel looking like that)

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it had been a wonderful night so far. lando couldn't drink due to the drugs the doctors gave him so you didn't drink either out of solidarity. lando had gone off to do lando things, probably finding a way to the dj booth or socializing with whoever he can. you were just sat at this couch in the vip area. you were talking to charles for a while before he went off to do celebratory shots. you were so tired from the timezone difference, vegas compared to the netherlands was messing with your system. you had your head leaned back against the couch, your eyes were just looking at some of the drivers having a lot of fun and celebrating in one of the best party cities in the world.

you felt someone sit down next to you on the couch. you didn't know who it was at first but you quickly smelt the cologne and knew. max. you two hadn't really spoken since 2021, when you ended it. it wasn't the prettiest of breakups but we were both stupid kids and in love back then. you both should've known it wouldn't work out. you tried, though. you tried with every single thing you had in you but at the end of the day, fate would always be stronger.

"hey, y/n. haven't seen you in awhile," max finally said, breaking the silence. he sort of had seen you though, on instagram. had he missed you? every fucking day. you broke up with him though, and you seemed happier. if you were happy, he would accept that.

"sure," was all you said. that was your telltale sign that you did not want to talk. but let's be honest, max verstappen not having a conversation when he wants to sounded impossible. he wanted to fix things, he wanted to fix it all. why wouldn't you let him? "any chance we can talk?" he asked you. he wouldn't really take no for an answer. he would just talk to you while you listened, but even that would be stretching it.

you stood up from the couch, careful to not look at him. if you looked at him, you would be a goner and would do just about anything he asked you to. you were a strong person except when it came to max. "see you around," you muttered to him before leaving the vip area. you would infact not be seeing him around, not if you can avoid it. maybe not drinking was a bad idea. you had spotted lando who was busy chatting away to someone. "fuck," you whispered under your breath, realizing that the person who you had to make sure got home safely was still having a good night. you wouldn't want to cut his night short, especially when his night started bad with the race.

you felt some hands wrap around your waist and before you could protest, these hands were pushing you out this door to the club's back alley. you knew those hands though. you knew them all too well. "max, what the hell?!" you shouted at him as you felt the cool night air hit your face. it felt better than how being inside that club felt.

he knew this was probably too far. but when has 'too far' ever stopped him. he was so done with this all. 2 years of not having more than 10 words shared between you two. you two used to talk every single day, where did it all go wrong? he knew this one was his fault. he was the one who had lost you, all for racing. he gave up you for racing. he was a royal idiot for that. "i am so done with you not even talking to me!" he shouted to you. he was thanking god that you two were in an alley and not somewhere public for this.

"i don't want to talk to you," you said to him. not many people held their ground against max, but you always did. you never wanted to talk to him again, not since your breakup. you were happy and had a great life, you didn't need the mess that was max verstappen. "you never do!" he said back. that was true and you both knew it.

"you're right! i never do! because you fucked up," you shouted to him, putting your finger straight to his chest. the breakup was infact not mutual like the media made it seem. you two broke up because you were trying to support him in racing while still building a life in tennis for yourself. you could see the stress eating away at max that year and he still wouldn't let you help. even if it was help from afar. you tried to be there. he didn't even try to be there for you and your goals either.

"i know i did. believe me, i know i fucked it up," he said to you. there had been quite a few sleepless nights where his brain just wouldn't turn off. he had only been thinking about you. tonight was just his breaking point. he was done acting like he hadn't been thinking about you.

there was a moment of silence as we just looked at eachother. we had grown up a lot since we last got close like this. "so then why? just why?" you pleaded to him to just give him a real answer. 2021 had been a hard year for him and you knew that. but you were his girlfriend. you were meant to be there and help him but he wouldn't let you. he pushed you away at any chance he got. then you were alone. it was an endless cycle of you trying to help max with his stress, him pushing you away, and then you also getting lost to your own stress.

he put his hands on either side of your face. he knew he couldn't give you the answer he had given you when you asked this question 2 years ago. he couldn't say "just a tough year" because although that was a part of it, it wasn't the entire truth. and you deserved the truth. "i pushed you away before you could push me away," he said to you as he looked into your eyes. he felt like an idiot for saying that but it was the whole truth.

you gave him a slightly confused look. that had been a different answer than what you got 2 years ago. how could he even think you would push him away? you loved him so much and you had for years. you would have clung to him, even in death. "if i wouldn't have won in 2021, there was that thought that you would be gone," he admitted.

"i wouldn't have left. i wouldn't have ever done that," you quickly said. you had to say that really quickly before he spoke again. clearly your words took him aback a little. he really felt stupid for ever thinking that you would leave, let alone leave simply because he won a championship. mentally, you said 'fuck it', and just kissed him. you pulled away for a second to whisper, "je bent een idioot, max verstappen (you are an idiot, max verstappen)". then you kissed him again.

he smiled in the kiss, his hands in your hair and yours in his. your words were true, he was an idiot. he would probably have to kiss you a million times to make up for him pushing you away. and that was a price he was willing to pay. he felt you pull away and as desperately as he wanted to pull you back into him, he knew you had some more words to say.

you pulled away. "but you left. you left when it got hard and i will never put myself in that position ever again," you said to him. your lips stung with how much desire you had for max. but you had to make smart decisions, you could not get hurt again. and deep down, you knew he would leave if it got hard again. him leaving again would hurt too much. you had a good life now, he had a good life now.

he felt his heart shatter at your words. but he knew you were right that he had left when it got hard. he had taken the coward's way out. he wanted you to be happy and you seemed so happy with your life now. he couldn't take that from you. he nodded his pain away and spoke softly to you, "i hope you have nothing but happiness in life". then he walked away. he walked away but this time for your sake. he knew you wouldn't walk away from him so he walked away from you. he really did hope you had nothing but happiness in life. he could hear all about your happiness from the bits that victoria shared with him.

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y/nmaxupdates NEW CONTENT!! I REPEAT NEW CONTENT OF MAX AND Y/N!! that kiss?? oh we are SO back.

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#f1 #f1 x you #f1 x reader #max verstappen #max verstappen x you #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen fanfic #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen smau #formula 1 #f1 blurb #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #formula 1 smau #f1 smau

[odxrilove]

☆ SEVENTEEN AS PEOPLE AT SCHOOL

genre: highschool!au/uni!au

warnings: none

a/n: is this my official tumblr comeback ?? 😮

back to masterlist!

☆ SEUNGCHEOL

the leader of the “jocks”. he's the guy you see walking around school with his varsity jacket on– even if it’s in the middle of the summer. he’s the literal definition of the hallway crush, whispers and giggles being a regular thing he hears when he walks through the school hallways, hand swiping through his pretty hair. he often sits on the wooden tables outside instead of the benches whenever he and his friends have their little weekly hangout-meeting. always has a lollipop in his mouth and says it’s for the girls but really, he just likes sweets.

☆ JEONGHAN

the king of debates. if you sign up for debate class, don’t think you’re ever going to win if you’re up against jeonghan. he’s the reason why so many people left debate class mid year but the teacher is so impressed by him that she can’t force herself to kick him out. he’s also widely known for being the mastermind behind his high school’s senior prank. besides his maniac pranks and his broad knowledge of law, he’s actually pretty fun to be around and some girls who have had the pleasure to go on dates with him describe him as an angel– even after getting ghosted.

☆ JOSHUA

the class president. he’s a close friend of jeonghan and thus, winning the class pres’ election was easy peasy. he only presented himself as a joke but started taking it seriously 7 months in when the school planned to cancel the annual pajama day. he acts normal but he’s truly just as insane as his large group of friends. the grumpy math teacher is his next door neighbor and he once gave her leftover cookies and since then, he’s been her favorite student– and the only student she smiles at.

☆ JUN

the cat defender. falls easily asleep in class and is often woken up by his classmates after the bell rang. someone once drew a cat on a wall in the gym hall with a marker a few years back and when jun transferred to the school, his name mysteriously appeared under the cat drawing. in his second year, he got detention for a whole month after bringing a kitten to school and hiding it in his bag every day for two weeks straight– he was only caught because the cat meowed during a test and none of his classmates wanted to fake meow to help the poor guy out.

☆ HOSHI

the school’s dance machine. when the school speakers play music, you’ll always find him bobbing his head to the beat. he gets his notebook confiscated weekly because he prefers to write down possible dance movements and new choreography ideas than math equations and english vocabulary. he has a pretty big following on social media after a video of him freestyling at the school’s talent show blew up. he now uses his popularity to freely make dance covers at school, students avoiding him in the hallways when he’s swinging his legs and arms around.

☆ WONWOO

the school library’s only visitor. ok, maybe that’s a bit exaggerated but he’s definitely the only one going there willingly! the library stinks and there’s no wifi, plus some rumors are going around saying that the room at the back the of the library is the go-to place to fuck, and lastly, the librarian is a bitch– except towards wonwoo, of course. besides him being the librarian’s favorite, he once got asked to prom by a senior when he was a junior and every two months or so, someone brings it up and everyone goes crazy over it again. to be honest, if he wasn't so focused on his video games and books he would see how many people stare at him with heart eyes.

☆ WOOZI

the normal kid. what else can i say, he's just a regular guy. he goes to school wearing his silly baggy outfits and doesn't leave the house without his headphones on. he meets up with his friends and has lunch with them. he isn’t quiet but he isn’t talkative either, only partaking in his friends’ silly little conversations when he deems necessary. he gets normal grades and enjoys his silly music class the most. he’s on the school’s swimming team and won a few silly prizes during competitions. he’s been the subject of affection from a few girls since the start of school and he’s been on a date once. really, he’s just a silly little guy living his silly little life– what’s there to hate?

☆ SEOKMIN

the theatre kid. you either hate him or love him, there’s no in between– fortunately, no one really hates seokmin. he’s a loud student, his laugh often resonating through the entire cafeteria. he’s always been part of the cast for the school musicals, landing the lead role in his first year, something that had never ever happened before. the only kisses he’s had were during rehearsals or actual performances but he knows he has a large group of fans so nobody can really tease him for it. one of the school’s old students still has one-sided beef with him because seokmin ‘stole’ his role.

☆ MINGYU

the popular kid. he’s part of every club on campus, and has a hard time juggling football practice with the weekly sessions of the photography club. in his second year he decided he wanted to be an architect and since then he always complains about the school’s awful floor plan. people in the art club always go to him when they need a model because he has the Looks and actually knows how to pose. he’s actually very fun and the epitome of your rich friendly student who deserves to be crowned prom king. he’s known around school for mowing the lawns of his neighbors for free, shirtless.

☆ MINGHAO

the fashion police. there’s no better way to define minghao, as his judgmental faces have become an obsession for people on campus. he loves clothes and the fact he’s hoarding a drawer in his roommate’s closet further proves it. there's’ not one day that goes by where minghao doesn’t eat with his outfit, nails painted and sunglasses on his head– even in the winter. if you have to dress up for something, going to minghao’s dorm for help is the best solution. he’s rather honest, not hiding his disgust or love for people’s outfits. he was actually voted prom king (mingyu ending second) and was happy the crown fit the aesthetic of his suit. besides being an absolute bitch when it comes to clothing, his soft laugh does ease people’s nerves more often than not.

☆ SEUNGKWAN

the gossiper. or in better words, the head of the journalism club who’s in charge of the weekly school newspaper and news forum on the school’s official website. seungkwan is, with no doubt, respected by all. truthfully, he’s a good student, so teachers often let him write in his journal for new articles during class. there’s one unofficial rule though– you have secrets? do not share them with him. you can, however, ask him about other people’s business, and as long as you give him something in return, he’s glad to talk your ears off. you’re safe if you’re his friend though, because there isn’t someone as loyal as seungkwan walking down the school hallways.

☆ VERNON

the skater enthusiast. he always walks around wearing big weird hoodies, holding onto his skate and if it's one of those days, a beanie and some funky shoes complete the outfit. his skate is like an extension of his hand but does he know how to skate though? absolutely not. his friends now have multiple bandaid and first aid kits in their lockers because vernon never bothers to buy any but spends most of his lunch breaks trying to learn new tricks– and subsequently failing. he’s a sweet kid but a bit of an airhead, often bumping into people and staring at the people talking at him until he realizes the reason he couldn’t hear them was because he still had his headphones on.

☆ DINO

the school’s unofficial cheerleader’s cheerleader. it was truly a tragic day when the cheerleading squad’s manager got fired for fraud– not because of the money (duh) but because of the now lost cheerleaders. dino used to do gymnastics when he was young so in his eyes, he was their last hope. he was a god at planning cheerleading practices and events and in less than a year, the squad managed to win back their spot as number one during the cheerleading season. the school’s reputation was restored and suddenly all the teachers loved him. dying his hair blonde during a celebration party was the last straw for many– his locker would be full of confession letters the weeks following.

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please do not copy, repost or steal any of my work. all content belongs to @odxrilove

#k-labels #seventeen #seventeen x reader #seventeen seungcheol x reader #seventeen jeonghan x reader #seventeen joshua x reader #seventeen jun x reader #seventeen hoshi x reader #seventeen wonwoo x reader #seventeen woozi x reader #seventeen seokmin x reader #seventeen mingyu x reader #seventeen minghao x reader #seventeen seungkwan x reader #seventeen vernon x reader #seventeen dino x reader #seventeen scenarios #seventeen headcanons #seventeen imagines #seventeen fluff #svt fluff #svt #svt x reader #svt scenarios #svt headcanons #svt imagines #! music articles .. 💿

[steveshairychest]

It's the apocalypse.

It's the goddamn world splitting apart apocalypse and instead of freaking out like he should be, Steve's standing in front of his bedroom mirror trying to pick an appropriate outfit to visit his friend in the hospital.

The polo shirt is too casual and the sweatshirt is too colourful. And the plain t-shirt says that he doesn't care, but the button-up says he cares too much. He sighs and nervously runs a hand through his messy, grown out hair. It's been three months after all. Three months of mourning and wallowing in his own self hate and blame.

Only for it all to be for nothing because the person he's been grieving is apparently alive.

According to the nurse who called him at exactly 8:30am, he's just woken up from a medical induced coma and he's in the hospital just down the road from Steve's house. She said it so casually as well, like she was informing Steve that it was going to rain tomorrow. She had no idea what to do when he started crying hysterically on the phone.

And now here he is, stressed and flustered standing in front of a mirror because all Steve can think about is making a good first impression. He doesn't understand why, doesn't understand why he's not asking himself how this is possible, how someone he had felt die in his arms is apparently alive and well three months later. There are so many things he should be thinking about and questions he should be asking, but instead, the only thing he can think about is looking nice for his friend who has literally just woken up from a coma.

But he doesn't have time to unpack that.

That's for later; just like the apocalypse, which he pointedly ignores on his way to the makeshift hospital. The cracks that run through Hawkins are quite literally the last thing on his mind right now.

All he can think about is Eddie, who is alive and breathing, who will look at Steve's very carefully picked outfit and probably say something smartass-y and slightly mean, but Steve doesn't care. He needs that right now. He needs the witty jokes and crooked smile. He needs something to replace the lifeless eyes and blood-stained lips from his memory. He needs to know that this is real. That the phone call from the hospital wasn't a dream.

He needs to know that this isn't vecna toying with him.

"I'm here to see Eddie Munson." The words sound jumbled and unreal to his ears. He hasn't said Eddie's name out loud for months. Just the sound of his name would bring him to tears and remind him that he failed, that he is useless at his role as the protector; the shield.

When the nurses don't look at him like he's crazy, like he's lost his mind, and when they actually walk him down the crowded hall to a room marked with the number 27, that's when Steve realises this is real. This is happening.

Because laying there tucked into the all white sheets and hooked up to countless leads, is Eddie fucking Munson.

And he's smiling at Steve weakly, but it's the most beautiful smile Steve has seen in months.

"Hey, Harrington."

#as you requested here is your scheduled 12am before bed ramble sir #if u see an error close ur eyesss its literally almost 12:30 #tw mentions of character death #steddie #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #st4 vol2 #steveddie #stranger things s4

[yoonsdoll]

a love worth waiting for - chs

content : bsf!vernon x f!reader ; a lil angsty but fluff & happy ending ; 1.5k words warnings : vernon curses like 2ce lol - you are the most important person to vernon, but is it requited? an : i keep going on random writing hiatuses for no reason even tho i have so many ideas idek someone sos!!

vernon has loved you ever since he met you. as cheesy as it sounds, its something he cant deny whenever his friends ask him about, something he rants for hours about to his sister, something he finds himself thinking about more often than not. 

he remembers it like it was yesterday, even if its been years. it was an unusual meeting; seeing a pretty girl on a walk in the middle of summer would usually be normal, if only he didn't trip on a rock and land awkwardly conveniently on your path… and then make a comment on how his sister has the same shoes as you as if you’d care.

but you did. you made sure he was okay and laughed at his comment, then blabbered something about how your boyfriend has a similar hat to him. and, oh. he should've seen that coming.

of course he should have. such a put together, sweet girl would obviously have lines of guys lining up at her feet (or falling, in hansols case). but that didn’t matter - you only just met, you’d probably become friends if he asked for your number, that would be enough for him.

and for the first few months it was enough. you hit it off great, messaging each other often and even hanging out occasionally… well, when your jackass boyfriend let you. he hated your boyfriend - no, despised him. it wasn't even a case of jealousy; more of a genuine worry, at least for a while. he made it vocal on how he doesn’t like how your boyfriend controlled your life, but obviously supported your choices anyway. who wouldn't? you became his best friend, he would do anything to see you happy.

behind the worry he presented, vernon was stuck.

“i don't get it, why would she be with him if he's so.. controlling and mean?” everyday he called his friends.

“she literally looks unhappy, i feel bad and.. i dunno, angry... is that stupid?” everyday he talked about it, about how he wants to help you and, well, about you. “shes so… nice and pretty and forgiving. dude, he really doesn’t deserve her.”

until one day, “i could treat her better.”

he accepted it. he knew it wasn’t fair, for him or for you. everything leading up to that moment that he did, he thought it was simply sympathy. he put on this friendly act to not hurt your feelings, but maybe it was to not hurt his own. you wore your heart on your sleeve. it was obvious you were in love with your boyfriend, not him. and no matter what he did, that wouldn’t change.

soon you noticed the same things that vernon begged you to see in your boyfriend for a very long time. the gaslighting, restrictiveness, the bored attitude, and when you drifted apart it was only a waiting game till you broke it off.

vernon was surprised that the way his eyes sparkled when you came to cry to him didn’t give him away. truthfully, he couldn’t care less about the way it all went down or what he told you while you broke up with him. what mattered was that you were out of the situation you were blinded in. 

“he was a fucking dick,” no brainer, “its unfair - y'know, someone you love being out of reach.” those words sounded awfully familiar.

actually, maybe to him what mattered more is that he finally could reach you.

“i still love him,” you mumbled between your tears as vernon cooed at you.

he should've seen that coming too, and he couldn’t blame you at all - ever. but why did it sting so much more than the first time?

when he searched for your laugh after making a joke, you were laughing out of pity. when he comforted you, you weren’t thinking about him and how he was always there for you, instead you were thinking about yourself. when home to him was wherever you were, home to you was wherever your ex boyfriend was.

you just lost someone so dear to you and he was being so selfish. 

you two breaking up should've been the greatest thing he has heard in months, but instead he suddenly couldn’t help but feel like there was a bigger wall between you both than ever. 

of course, you never had feelings for him in the first place. vernon knew that. but something in him always held onto the possibility of you ending up together. not anymore, not after those four words left your mouth. he felt stupid for ever even having hope.

he paused to think before he spoke - something he rarely ever did when he was with you. “i know you do.” shaking his head gently, he added, “your heart just got broken, its a fresh wound, of course you still love him.” did everything he say have to apply to him too? it was almost humiliating in a way.

“its embarrassing… im the one who broke it off, i shouldn’t like him.” right, you felt it too.

at the end of the day, no matter who he was to you, you recognised him as someone you could trust. you spoke your thoughts freely, you were always by his side, you were his best friend; thats something vernon failed to see. he understood now to expect nothing but appreciate everything. because after all, being your friend would always be enough for him.

vernon promised himself he wouldn’t do or say anything stupid for your sake. he knew breakups are tough, and he knew that feelings don’t change in a day. he loved you, so he never would blame you for anything negative you made him feel. he wouldn’t blame you because you didn’t know.

or so he thought.

because months later when you arrived at his door looking more nervous than usual with a small smile on your face, vernon couldn’t be more confused.

“its almost 11pm.. what’re you doing here…?”

you let yourself in, setting your shoes aside and placing your coat on the hanger before grabbing his hand and dragging him to the couch to sit down.

“is it true?” 

“...is what true?”

“is it true that you have feelings for me?”

was that a trick question? “i mean..” he cleared his throat with a harsh cough, leaving the room silent for a few moments that felt like hours. “is that really what you’re doing at my house at 11 in the evening?”

“stop it. stop avoiding the question. just answer me.” 

“where’d you even get that idea from? dude i mean, you’re my best friend so if you’re asking -”

“you know what im asking..” your hands felt clammy, suddenly regretting knocking on the door after debating if you should for a solid 5 minutes. “i’m.. not mad or anything.” you added.

this was the million dollar question. he felt scared. “ha..” he couldn’t help but scoff to himself, “yeah.” though his tone tried being confident, the lack of eye contact and leg jittering was enough to see how nervous he truly was.

“im… so sorry,” you stared at him with your nose slightly scrunched - a detail he noticed whenever you were upset. “what? sorry? pfft.. theres nothing to be sorry for.” you figured he’d say that.

“im sorry for not noticing it earlier. i feel like an idiot.”

“no.. i feel like the idiot.” he quickly butted in, trying to take the blame, “you shouldn’t have to ‘notice’ anything. i should have told you ages ago so we could get past… whatever this is. i was just being a pussy and i -”

you admired his dedication to try explain but decided to stop him. “no vernon, im sorry for making you wait.” 

making him wait? “what are you even talking about? you didn’t do anything i swear…”

“maybe you really are the idiot..” you suddenly smiled a little wider, catching him off guard, “i meant i'm sorry for not noticing my feelings.. for you.. earlier.”

if he was confused before, he was now completely dumbfounded. the frown on his face wiped into a completely new expression. one of certain shock and hope, but with an equal amount of doubt. 

“agh..” you groaned in fake annoyance, feeling your cheeks heat up in embarrassment, “i’m telling you that i like you too.”

oh. for once, he didn’t see that coming.

“are you serious?” he mumbled out, struggling to process the consumed information, a million things going through his mind.

“no im lying.” you tilted your head, “obviously im serious, why else would i be here?”

“you’re right.. i don’t know why i said that.” he nodded, a smile forming on his own face, “im just… at a loss of words dude.”

he let go of a breath he didn’t notice he was holding, sighing from relief as he looked at you. no more words were exchanged before he moved closer to hug you. a hug of love, ease and joy.

“if so.. can i be your boyfriend?” he whispered in a happier tone than before, the previous fear moulded into delight.

“yeah. i’d like that a lot.”

#caratsland #k-labels #caratlibrary #chwe vernon #chwe hansol #vernon drabble #vernon x reader #vernon svt #vernon fluff #svt #seventeen #svt x reader #seventeen x you #seventeen fanfic #seventeen x y/n #seventeen fluff #seventeen x reader #angst #romance #laura : writing ! #laura : fics ! #yoonsdoll

[measuredingold]

safety net: part one

authors note: a fun little thing i wrote up (yes, another discord idea) and am finally posting! this will be in two parts because it got to be pretty long, and the next part will be posted tomorrow night. i hope you all enjoy and feedback is appreciated! (p.s. please be kind :) don't like it, don't read it!)

pairing: nicholas ruffilo x reader (previous noah sebastian x reader)

cross-posted on ao3

part two

word count: 5.6k

cw/tags: fake dating/pretend relationship, past relationship (with noah), angstish, all around fluff, kissing lol, 18+ minors do not interact

The buzz of your phone broke you out of your trance, eyes darting from the computer down to your cell phone. You were so caught up in your work that you barely even paid attention to it, but these days you weren't getting many messages from anyone besides your friends.

everything alright? 

You freeze, eyes scanning over your screen. You looked up from your desk and around the room, seeing your coworkers in their own world, before reaching for your phone. You stared at the text from Nicholas.

Why was he texting you? You're sure Noah's already told him what happened. There wasn't a reason for him to be texting you, anyways. Sure, you had gotten along whenever you'd come over to see Noah, and maybe you'd consider him a friend at one point, seeing as he has your number, but he was Noah's friend first. Best friend. Shouldn't it be a part of Bro Code or something to not reach out to your best friends ex?

You frown as another text comes through.

haven't heard from you in awhile.

has he not told you we broke up lol?

Just the thought of Noah made your stomach turn and you sat your phone back down on your desk, a sigh leaving you. It's been about two months since you and Noah had broken up. It was a 6 month situationship at best, according to Noah, but you had figured it was moving towards something more serious. Especially when you both stopped seeing other people. Guess you thought wrong.

You peer over at your phone as it buzzes again.

no, he told me. just wanted to check in because we haven't spoken lol 

i thought we were friends 😭

...that was a joke, by the way. you're not obligated to tell me anything ofc but i did think we were friends. lol

Your brows raise at that and you quickly reach for your phone again, thumbs moving across the screen.

you still consider us friends?

The typing bubble pops up immediately.

of course? 

even after your best friend broke up with me?

...are we supposed to stop being friends just because of noah?

idk

isn't it like bro code or something?

LMFAO i don't think so? 

i mean. you guys weren't that serious, right? i think this is different.

Ouch, you think, brows furrowing.

i thought we were getting serious but. lol. guess not.

really? 

yeah. i wasn't seeing anyone else, and neither was he. i thought it was *exclusive* or whatever.

noah obviously didn't think so lmfao

it was just fucking frustrating because i really liked him. and thought it could be something, you know?

You press send without thinking, heart thudding against your chest once you realize it went through. Complaining to Nicholas about his own best friend is probably not the best thing to do, you realize, and you text him again.

sorry. You‘re literally his friend, i should not be complaining to you lol.

don’t apologize. i don’t mind you talking about it.

tbh i figured he did something along those lines. it’s not at all surprising.

You stare at your phone, brows furrowing at Nicholas' text. What did he mean by that? And… Was he agreeing with you? That was odd, and something inside of you turned, but before you could type out what you wanted to say your boss' voice filled the room.

"Don't forget our meeting in 10, guys!"

Your eyes snap up from your desk to your boss' office and your shoulders slouched. The meeting hadn't been on your mind at all, and you knew you had to cut this conversation with Nicholas short in order to prepare for it. You sigh, thumbs moving across your screen.

i'm at work and have a meeting soon, but do you care to talk later? i haven't really talked to anyone about this and... it's kind of nice letting it out not gonna lie lol

His reply comes a few minutes later.

if you want, i can call you around 6 tonight if that's alright? i have some things to finish today but i should be free by then.

Call? For some reason that makes you nervous, your fingers twitching and stomach turning. You hadn't spoken to Nicholas in a few months, and the thought of hearing his voice has your skin buzzing. Weird. You don't have time to reply, instead reacting to his message with a thumbs up and gathering your things for the meeting.

...

A shower, a set of comfy clothes, your favorite blanket, and a bowl of ramen later, you had almost forgotten about your expected phone call with Nicholas by the time you rested on the couch after work. Too engrossed in your shows, you nearly jump out of your seat when you hear your phone rang from beside you. Your quickened heartbeat relaxes for a split second when you see it's just Nicholas, but speeds up again when you realize he actually called you.

You stare at your phone as you let it ring once, twice, and then a third time before finally pressing answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey." Nicholas' soft voice fills your ears. "Sorry it took me a while to get back to you, I got distracted."

"It's fine," You say from around your thumb, it somehow finding its way to your mouth as you nervously chew on it. "I kind of didn't really expect you to call."

"Seriously?" He sounds shocked, like it doesn't make sense why you would think that. "I told you I would."

"I know, just..." You shrug, then blush when you remember he can't see you. "This is weird, right? You calling your best friend's ex to listen to them complain about said best friend."

He's silent on the other end before saying, "Listen. We're still friends, correct? Friends check in on each other. Plus... I'm kind of on your side. What he did was fucked up. I told him that."

"You told him?"

"Mhm." Nicholas hums, and you hear the sound of a door shutting in the background. You hear some shuffling and the sound of him groaning quietly, and you suspect he's in his bedroom, lying down. "I called him an idiot for you, don't worry."

You laugh, surprised, pulling your blanket further up your body.

"You didn't have to do that."

"No, I did." He's laughing now. "He needed to be told that what he did was wrong.”

"He probably didn't like that."

Nicholas sighs on the other end. "He sure fucking didn't."

"Is he mad at you?" You say after a few beats of silence, your lips slowly tugging down into a frown.

"For what?"

"For talking to me?" You grumble, pulling a string of fabric out of your blanket. "And for agreeing that what he did was fucked up?"

"Uh..." Nicholas clears his throat. "He doesn't really know that I reached out to you. Yet. This was weeks ago when I called him out on his shit." He pauses. "But yeah, he was pissed that I told him it was fucked up."

You go silent, not sure how to respond. You feel odd, like there's a weight on your chest, almost like... sadness. You knew how hard-headed Noah could be and how it was hard for him to get over his pride, so having one of his best friend's call him out on how he treated you was sure to piss him off. Though, a part of you was hoping maybe he'd tell Nicholas he regretted it all, regretted the way he treated you, but there was none of that. 

"Still there?"

Too lost in your thoughts you don't realize how long you've gone silent, and your cheeks flush out of embarrassment.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just thinking."

"About?"

"I don't know..." You sigh. "Just how stupid I feel being upset over a guy who's angrier that someone called him out than what he actually did to me. It's embarrassing."

"No, it's not-"

You cut him off. "Yes, it is. It's really fucking embarrassing. I thought we were serious, fucking exclusive, only to find out he looked at our entire relationship the complete opposite." You have to catch your breath, shoulders deflating. "He called me a situationship, Nicholas. Like it was just some fucking fling to keep him occupied because he was bored."

Nicholas doesn't say anything, and to be honest, you don't blame him. If you were on the other end you're not sure what you would say either. It just angered you, this whole thing. You thought you had found someone, maybe not exactly the one, but maybe someone you wouldn't mind getting serious with.

"I just," You continue on, filter long gone. "Sometimes I wanna get back at him, you know? Hurt him like he hurt me."

Nicholas is quiet on the other end and bringing your hand up to chew on your thumb again, nerves growing even more. Maybe you had said too much, complained too much, and he's probably annoyed. He probably regrets telling you that you could complain and that he didn't mind.

"Listen..." Nicholas starts and you're fully expecting him to be upset with you. "This might sound crazy, and tell me if it is, but I think I know how you can get back at him."

You freeze.

"What?" 

"Noah's my best friend, and I love him, but we grew up together. I know how he is." You hear him sigh on the other end. "It was shitty to lead you on and to make you think it was more than it actually was. I'm not going to sugar coat it."

"Well, we already know that but what's so crazy about it?"

"You didn't let me finish." He huffs out a laugh, and something inside your belly flutters. "The more I think about it the crazier it sounds but... it might not make him hurt like you are, but it'll definitely make him mad."

This interests you, and you find yourself sitting up on the couch. "Oh? Go on."

"Um..." He clears his throat. "Noah gets incredibly jealous and I know he wouldn't know what to do if he saw you with someone else."

"But I'm not." You say with a pout. He laughs again.

"Right." He pauses. "But what if he thought you were?"

"Okay..." You say slowly. It does sound like a good idea, but how would you pull it off? You had nobody to fill in for you. "How would I go about that? There's not exactly anyone jumping at the chance to fake date me."

"That's where the crazy part comes in," He sounds nervous and you can't help but find it almost adorable, the way his voice gets softer as his nerves settle in. "He'd lose his fucking mind if the person you were seeing was someone he knew. A friend of his." Another pause. "...Maybe even a best friend."

Realization dawns on you and you can't help the way your lips part, a gasp slipping from your lips. "Nicholas Ryan."

"Hear me out!” You close your mouth. "Just imagine how pissed he'd get. He wouldn't know what to do. It'd eat at him forever."

You let his words finally sink in, the proposition closeting around your mind. It was crazy, absolutely fucking insane but… it didn’t sound so bad. It actually sounded kind of genius. What bet way could you get back at him if not… fake-date his best friend? You knew Noah and you knew just how bad he’d handle this, and the thought made your body shake in excitement.

“Alright.” You say finally, lips stretching into a smile. “Exactly how would we do this?”

“Well…” Nicholas pauses on the other end, letting out a nervous chuckle. “We’d just try to make him believe we were actually together.”

“Like… hang out at the house and act like we’re going on dates?”

“If you want. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

You go silent for a moment. “And you think it’ll work?”

“I know it’ll work.” Nicholas says matter-of-factly.

You lean back against the couch and think over your option for a moment. You really had nothing to lose, either Noah will get upset or you’ll get no reaction at all.

“Fuck it. Let’s do it.”

You could practically hear the smile in Nicholas’ voice when he replied with a “Hell yeah,” and your belly fluttered, flipping and turning at the thought of you doing this. It was childish, sure, but you didn’t care. You wanted to get Noah riled up and you knew this was the only way to do it.

You and Nicholas talked over some details before you settled on coming over later that week and then you’d go from there. Later that night when you settled into bed, you felt lighter than you had in weeks, sleep finding you easily.

...

You took a deep breath as you put your car in park and leaned your forehead against your steering wheel. You had been nervous the entire drive over and even drove in complete silence, trying to gather your thoughts. They were too jumbled, you could barely even think straight. Was this a good idea? You turn your head to stare at the house, one you had grown used to months ago, and you feel the pit in your stomach growing. 

This was a terrible idea, you think. You should just put your car in reverse and get the hell out of here, because you're sure your plan wouldn't work. How would it? There's no way Noah would believe you and Nicholas were a thing, you were a terrible actor. Could you really convince Noah that you were actually with Nicholas?

Your phone buzzes in the seat beside you and you huff out a sigh, reaching for it.

let me know when you're here. he's just watching a movie with bryan and jolly right now.

is it too late to back out? idk if i can do this.

You press send before even thinking, pressing your forehead back against the steering wheel. Another text comes through.

it's your choice. i'm cool with whatever, as long as you're comfortable.

i got your back.

For some reason that has your chest blooming in heat. Your eyes flutter shut as you think over your choices, Nicholas' words looming in your mind, and you let out a sigh. I got your back.

meet me at the door? i'm coming up now.

All you get in a response is Nicholas reacting to your message with a heart, but that's enough to calm your nerves and even bring a small smile to your face. You pull the mirror down one last second to give yourself a once over, fixing your hair, and then you're opening the door. You take your time walking up to their house, eyes scanning over your surroundings to see if anything has changed. Nothing has, and it brings some sort of comfort to you.

Before you can even raise a hand to knock at the door, the handle is twisting and you're met with soft eyes and a smile.

"Hey."

You stand there, dumbfounded for a moment, as your eyes scan over Nicholas' face. You can hear someone speaking in the background, along with a movie playing, and you have to swallow down the nerves that are threatening to come back. 

"Hi." You say quietly and give Nicholas a shy smile. He looks behind him before stepping out, closing the door.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" He asks, face clouded with concern. His lips purse into a pout as he looks down at you. "I don't want you doing this if you're having second thoughts."

You shake your head. "I'm okay. I would've left already if I was that scared."

His frown only deepens. 

"I don't want you feeling like you have to do this. It's a crazy idea. I can understand why you'd be afraid."

His concern for you only makes the heat in your chest expand, feeling it all the way down to the tips of your fingers. He was so worried about how you felt about all of this, wanting to make sure you were comfortable... it was all new to you. It's not like Noah never cared about how you felt, but this was a different feeling. Nicholas was different. You swallow again, reaching out to place a hand on Nicholas' arm.

"This is a crazy idea, but it's one I agreed to." You see him look down at your hand on his arm before looking at you again, and you give him another smile. "I want to do this. Plus, you got my back. Remember?"

This makes him smile, albeit small, and he nods. "Hell yeah I do." 

You stare at him for a beat, smile never wavering before clapping your hands together. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

He opens the door and lets you in first, and you hear Noah before you see him. His voice has you pausing in the hallway, lips dipping into a frown, and you barely notice Nicholas behind you. You jump slightly at the feel of Nicholas' hand against your back as he guides the two of you to the living room. Your stomach turns reveling in the fact Noah has to see you, with Nicholas, because this was the only way to his room.

"Just follow my lead." Nicholas murmurs against your ear and you try to ignore the way your body shivers, heat exploding throughout you. 

You nod.

The second you enter the living room all eyes are on you, and you don't miss the way all the boys do a double take. Both Jolly and Bryan stare at you in enjoyment, lips curled, and you can't help but smile back, sending them a wave. Noah’s face is blank, but you don’t miss the way his eyes narrow at the sight of you and Nicholas together.

"Well, well, well." Bryan's grin only grows and his eyes dart between you, Nicholas, and Noah. "Long time no see."

"Where the hell have you been?" Jolly asks and Bryan chuckles beside him.

They know exactly where you've been, but the fact they still asked with Noah in the room has your smile widening. Especially with how his face is now turned into a scowl.

"Oh, you know." You shrug. "Around."

“With Ruffilo?” Jolly questions, his brows raising. You give another shrug, your cheeks heating up.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Nicholas teases, the hand that was on your back now sliding down to rest on your hip. Noah’s eyes follow the movement. You notice, and so does Nicholas, and his hand drops from your hip to circle around your own.  “We’re gonna be upstairs if you need me.”

Jolly whistles. “With everyone home? That’s brave, Nick.”

You can’t help but blush, head dipping down to hide it and Nicholas laughs out, “Fuck you.”

“Dude, shut up.” Noah snaps at Jolly. You look up at that, brows furrowing to find Noah already staring at you. “Since when are you guys friends?”

You frown as the anger begins to build inside of you, his tone immediately setting something off. It was so… accusatory. As if you had done something wrong – which you hadn’t.

“Dude-“ Nicholas starts, but you cut him off.

“We’ve always been friends.” You bite out. “Maybe if you’d paid attention before, you would’ve known that already.”

The room goes silent after that and you take a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down. You look up at Nicholas.

“Can we go now?” You ask quietly, but just loud enough for everyone to hear. He gives you a small smile and nods, facing his friends again.

“Text me if you need me,” He says while starting to tug you towards the stairs, “but don’t need me.”

Jolly and Bryan laugh but Noah remains silent, lips pressed together as he fumes in his seat. Nicholas' hand in yours feels heavy, especially now with the way you m know Noah's staring at your intertwined fingers. Nicholas gives you a supportive squeeze and gently pulls you with him, making his way up the stairs.

"When did this happen?" Noah follows after the two of you and you press your lips together, eyes rolling. 

"Like it matters?" You mumble, turning to look back at him. "We weren't serious. I can see whoever I want to."

"So, you chose my best friend?"

"I didn't choose anyone, Noah." You groan and stop at the top of the stairs, Nicholas still tugging at your hand. You don’t miss the way Noah is glaring at his best friend behind you. "Not everything is about you."

This has him stopping on the bottom step, looking at you as if you’ve just wounded him before turning into anger at the sound of Jolly and Bryan erupting into ooooh’s. You know a few months ago you would’ve doubled down and apologized, but right now all you want to do is laugh. It felt good making him feel bad, as crazy as it sounded, and the second you reach Nicholas’ room you feel as if you’ve finally made it to the end of the race.

The hard part is over.

You finally let out the breath you had been holding when Nicholas shut the door. He leans forward, pressing his ear to the door for a moment before taking a step back and looking over at you, his lips tugging up into a smirk.

"He's still out there." He whispered, just loud enough for you to hear. "He looked so fucking pissed, dude."

You have to press your hand against your mouth, trying to muffle the giggles that threaten to spill. You feel like a kid, pulling a stupid prank on your friend on the playground, but you can't help how exciting it feels. You wonder just how pissed Noah is, thinking that his ex or whatever you were to him moved on... to his best friend. 

"Did you see the look on his face when you grabbed my hand?" You press your lips together and let your eyes shut, taking a deep breath to stop your laughter. "Holy shit. That was priceless."

“I’m definitely gonna get chewed out for this but it’s so worth it.”

Nicholas makes his way over to his bed and flops down onto it, laughing to himself and he doesn't bother holding it back. You follow his lead, sitting down beside him as you finally let your own giggle release, falling onto your back. The two of you lay there, giggling like children, and you hadn't even realized all the tension that was once in your body has fully vanished. 

Call yourself hateful, but it felt good to see the look on Noah's face. To see him so upset. You're not sure if he was exactly hurt in the same way that you were, but you knew he was pissed. That's enough for you. It also felt good to just laugh, something you haven't done in a while, and you turn your head to look at Nicholas. He's still laughing, face scrunched in amusement and that same warm feeling in your chest comes back. 

"Thank you." You hum quietly, and Nicholas' laughter dies out. He turns his head to look at you and he smiles, bright and big.

"Of course." He mumbles. "I got your back. Remember?"

He echoes your words back to you and this makes you smile, hand reaching out for his own that laid on the bed. You find that it feels easy to intertwine your fingers with his and you give his hand a squeeze. He returns it back.

"What do we do now?" You question after a moment, hand slipping from his. You swear you see his face fall for a split second.

He sits up then, running a hand through his hair. "Well. We let him believe whatever he wants about what we're doing in here and..." He gives you a shrug, grinning down at you. "We hang out, I guess. Watch a movie or something."

You nod at his words, resting your hands against your stomach,

“Sounds good to me.”

And so, you do. He puts on a show he'd been watching recently, an anime that you didn't know the name of, and the two of you laid side by side as the episode played. You had watched a few anime’s with Noah when you two were together, but you never really found yourself getting into them. You're not sure what's different this time around, but you find yourself asking Nicholas questions every so often. You ask about the plot which he happily obliged, going into great detail about them.

It was nice, you think. You quickly realized you liked hearing him talk. His voice was soft, but low. It had a very calming tone to it, one that always put you at ease. You think you could sit and listen to Nicholas talk for hours and never get bored.

One episode turned into two, and two episodes turn into four, and before you know it, it’s already dark outside.

“Shit. What time is it?” Nicholas says beside you, reaching for his phone. You turned to look at him, eyes widening when you realized just how close the two of you had gotten in the few hours you’d spent here.

A part of you felt the need to be even closer. You shake it off, sitting up on his bed and stretching out your limbs as Nicholas spoke again.

“Dude, it’s literally nine o’clock.”

“It didn’t even feel that long.” You watch as he rolls off his bed, stretching, before looking down at you. “Sorry I kept you here so long. Once I get started on a show I can’t stop.”

“It’s okay. I actually really liked it.” You say earnestly, standing up from the bed. He smiles.

“Yeah?”

“Of course.”

“We’ll have to finish the next episode the next time you come over then, if you want.”

For some reason the words next time has your body heating up, skin buzzing with something you can’t exactly place. You smile up at him.

“I’m down.”

He waits for as you grab your things and the two of you make your way back downstairs. It’s much quieter than it had been earlier, but Noah and Jolly were still on the couch, but they had switched places at some point. You don’t bother glancing at Noah, though you feel his glare, and send a wave to Jolly.

“Leaving already?” Jolly says, a playful pout slipping onto his lips.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back.” You hear Noah snort, and you take a chance to glance at him, seeing the boy roll his eyes. You have to stop yourself from smirking.

You got him.

“You better.” Jolly’s eyes move to Nicholas. “Next time don’t hog her, man. Let her come out and say hi or something.”

“I make no promises.” Nicholas teases, placing his hand against the small of your back. Your skin prickles in goosebumps at the feeling and you find yourself leaning into his touch.

Jolly laughs but sends you both off with a wave, Noah’s eyes following you until you’re out of sight and by the door.

You let out the breath you had been holding.

“Doing alright?” Nicholas mumbles. You nod and try to give him a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You speak. “Thank you for doing this again, you really didn’t have to.”

"Hey, what are friends for? Also, it was literally my idea.” Nicholas murmurs, smiling down at you. “… Text me when you get home?”

You've already forgotten about Noah in the living room, most likely trying to eavesdrop on your conversation, too busy finding yourself getting lost in Nicholas' eyes. You nod. 

"Of course."

His smile widens, which you didn't think was possible, and he leans forward to brush his lips against your forehead. You freeze, eyes widening at the action. You had talked about making it believable on the phone, but you didn't expect him to go this far. You also didn't expect to like the feeling of his lips against your skin as much as you did.

You both whisper your goodbyes, and you find yourself back in your car, hands gripping the steering wheel. 

That went a lot easier than you thought.

...

This goes on for a few weeks.

You come over a few times a week to hang out, sometimes in Nicholas' room and sometimes in the living room when Jolly begs you two to join him and Noah for a movie. The first time was awkward, and you knew Jolly only did it to be an ass, but after a while it stopped being so awkward and started to become... normal. 

Noah didn’t speak to you, and according to Nicholas he didn’t speak to him either for a good two weeks. He’d only ever glare at the two of you during your movie nights or when you both made your way upstairs, and at first you loved it. You loved that you got under his skin so much that every time you were around, he was seething. It made you feel good, as crazy as it sounds.

Eventually, though, you stopped caring.

You don’t know when it happened, or when you stopped coming over to piss off Noah, but it happened. You and Nicholas started hanging out more, even outside of the house, and you found yourself enjoying his company more than you ever thought you would.  You were starting to anticipate his texts, and even his calls, your belly erupting in butterflies every time you saw his name flash across your screen.

Some crazy part of you thinks that maybe Nicholas had stopped caring too.

Even in the quiet of his room where no one else was around, he was always touching you. Arm wrapped around you as you curled into his side, fingers twisting and twirling in your hair as you two finished another episode of his – and yours – current favorite anime. Sometimes he’d be the one curled up against you, his head resting against your stomach as you laid out on his bed, listening to him talk about why Episode 3 was the best out of the prequels.

It didn’t shock you too much when you finally sat down with your thoughts about everything – Nicholas, Noah, yourself – and with the help of your friends, you came to the conclusion that you weren’t pretending anymore. You had feelings for Nicholas, and the thought was equally terrifying and exciting in every way.

You find yourself back at the front door after spending a few hours there and Nicholas is already leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead, like he always does when you leave. Your eyes flutter shut and you lean into the feeling, letting yourself enjoy it for once, and you lift your head up. He pulls back, briefly, and your eyes open to stare into his. 

You can feel Noah's eyes on you both, the first time he has in weeks, but for some reason you can’t find it in yourself to care all that much. Nicholas gives you a gentle smile and you can't help but let your eyes drop to his lips, before gazing back up. He catches it, brows furrowing and head tilting, and you lean up again.

"You should kiss me." You whisper, eyes darting back to his lips.

He swallows. "What?"

"Noah's watching." You whisper again. "We gotta make it believable, right?"

You watch as he blinks from your eyes down to your lips. He does it a few times, staring at you in silence, and you know that he knows. Noah doesn’t care anymore, even though he’s watching. Nicholas knows you’ve already made it as believable as you could, but he still goes along with it. Your breath catches in your throat when you feel him reach up and tuck a piece of hair behind your ear before leaning down, forehead pressing against yours.

"...Yeah. You're right. We do." He breathes out and you physically shake at the feeling of his breath ghosting your lips. 

You don't move at first, and neither does he, and you let your eyes flutter shut as your fingers come to circle around the flannel that hung off of him. Your fingers curl around the material the second he leans forward, capturing your lips with his. Both hands come up now to cup your face, Nicholas' thumbs brushing over your cheeks, and you'd have half a mind to be embarrassed by the sound that escapes you, but you're too caught up in him. 

Nicholas is the first to pull away, but you don't move, you don't even open your eyes. You can hear your heart thudding against your chest, and you have to take a deep breath to try and calm yourself down. His hands still cup your cheeks, and he tilts your head forward slightly, pressing yet another tender kiss to your forehead.

"Text me when you get home." 

You don't miss the waver in his voice, and you finally open your eyes to look up at him. You see something in his eyes shift, something much softer than you've ever seen, and it makes your heart flutter. You give him a small nod and try not to frown when his hands fall from your face. You drop your hands from his flannel, and he gives you a smile, but there's something behind it.

You think about it (and his lips) the entire drive home.

#bad omens fanfiction #bad omens fanfic #nicholas ruffilo fanfiction #nicholas ruffilo fic #nicholas ruffilo x reader #mine

[mo0nlyte]

(This is something that happened, so I'm making a story, just imagine phones exist back then for the sake of this story)

Imagine you are on your phone on Pinterest, you found it fun, why?

Organizing, making cute and or deranged unsettling (Possibly ones about cannibalism people think are "AeStHeTiC!1! 😍🤪", you always did question which ones where and weren't actual cannibals..) moodboards.

Look, ya are quite lonely, and your brothers aren't always fun.

Actually you're in the barn hiding from your chores at the moment. You really didn't want to clean up all those knives :(

You like to keep random things, your room is FULL of stuff you've found around the farm. You got a lot of your personality from the twins, and Bubba. You spent most of your time with them.

..or stuff you've taken but that's besides the point!

You had bottles from 1947, your oldest glass bottle is from 1937! You also have old pins, which you and your brother Chop-Top do have a rivalry over who has the coolest.. Nubbins is the mediator, saying usually something along the lines of "Ya both tied, they are both equally cool." In reality he just can't choose who he likes more sometimes

You were on your phone, you heard Drayton calling. Oh no. You put it on a hay bale and immediately jump down from the hayloft. It's.. big but you fuck around and find out too often and have quite a high pain and heat tolerance.

"(Insert your full legal name), Get yer ass out here!"

To say your stomach filled with fear was definitely.. an understatement.

What did you do to piss off Drayton now? No idea but you went to go see what he needed. Hoping you weren't in for a beating on the head or back, why? He didn't whip you, he smacked your back so hard with a broom you heard a CRUNCH. Yes, you were fine. Well mostly, definitely traumatized a wee bit.

——————————————————————————

Meanwhile, guess who also had chores in the barn! The twins!

Guess who didn't lock, sign out, and brick their phone? You!!

Immediately they are nosey. What's their precious little-

..They didn't find porn, or anything like that.

Nah they just found the Spotify account, the notepad, which you definitely had a few issues. Specifically anger issues, you had some notepads you had to take 5 minutes to scroll through bottom too.

Your Pinterest was full of weird stuff. Odd animal pictures that look weirdly funny and distorted? Funny lil cannibalism boards, memes, a mountain of memes because you are either chronically yeehaw or chronically online, take that as you will.

They found a few moodboards about them, about our(? Your? Their? Ya get the point) Brother Drayton. Honestly it matched his personality.

Bubba's was cute and full of taxidermied roadkill, you had made both of theirs earlier, and rearranged it perfectly.

Then they found theirs.

When Nubbins saw it, you even had a picture of his knife and camera almost exactly, how cool!

You had Chop-Top's favorite band, maybe you do listen!

Then Chop-Top started hysterically laughing.

"W-w-what? What's s-so funny?"

Chop-Top gladly pointed it out.

Nubbins couldn't tell if he should laugh, cry, be offended, or plot your murder.

Meanwhile Chop-Top is dying (almost literally) of laughter. "That is the funniest shit I've ever seen her do, that takes the meat!" (You guys often don't say "take the cake", but "take the meat" as a joke.)

Fun fact, nobody actually went to school.. you guys were all homeschooled by big bro dray.

Chop-Top calmed his twin down after a while, still looking through the board, you had found many things you thought they would, it did like. You got almost everything right.

They are definitely plotting how they both can get you back tho.

——————————————————————————

No, Drayton wasn't too pissed off. You just forgot to tell him where you were, and scared the ever-loving shit out of this poor man.

Once you got back to the barn, you climbed to the hayloft.. and noticed your phone was moved. You immediately went through it, but surprisingly nothing was out of the ordinary.. except your notepad had a new note.

"you'll end up worse<3"

Cheeky little bi-

You silently live in fear waiting for what prank they'll do next :(

#texas chainsaw massacre #tcm #chop top sawyer #drayton sawyer #nubbins sawyer #bubba sawyer #Tcmwriting #the cook #the hitchhiker

[virtue-and-beneviolence]

This made me think how much hanma and draken have this funny enemies thing going on so imagine ur pissed at shuji or just sick of him not making a move yet? Y’all act like a couple but this mfer never made it official? Like why is his hand always in the back pocket of ur jeans? Why does this mfer offer u the last bite of his donut? No tell me why tf does he hold ur hand in a crowded place?🤨And when u lowkey joke about oh are u in love with me? And he laughs saying “don’t be silly doll” doll? (I’ll end him I swear) so u flirt with draken and yknow how he hates his guts that’s why u do so to piss him off and I think pissed shuji very sexy tbh wow 🤲🏽👍🏽and the thought of losing u to another man? And that man is bald with a braid? Aw hell naH Shawty he confessing so fast🤭😳

No because making draken the sacrificial goat is killing me lmao. Dw we won't do draken dirty here I've got a work-around.

also massive apologies to you vivi i'm sorry you knew abt this for an inordinate amount of time

Official.

it takes idiots (reader and shuji) many months, jealousy and miscommunication, and some prettiness to finally make it official.

cw: fem!reader, reader loses her temper and shuji is super needy so its a lil more subby!shuji smut, cream pie, unprotected sex (don't recommend, be safe out there), ye idk im gonna go pretend this isn't posted now, peace ✌️ ~2.2k

God but hear me out it starts at a toman party. Shuji and you are acting the way you always do. You're literally in his lap lounging in the corner of the couch. He's playing with the hem of your skirt, flipping the end between his fingers and rubbing the skin of your thigh. You're talking to Yuzuha who's occupying the chaise lounge. You haven't seen her in a while, she's been abroad with hakkai on so many modelling gigs lately. And she totally misreads the situation. She's like, so how is it, finally being together?

At first it's silly, though you have a tinge of want at the end of your words when you joke back with, "Well we've actually been married for three years, we just never found the right time to tell you all."

Yuzuha clocks it as a joke, but not as a sore spot for you. Or maybe she's so shocked and that's why she won't let it go that easily. "Hanma what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Undiagnosed ADHD and probabl-"

You give your friend a we're-going-to-talk-about-this-later look as a baffled Yuzuha cuts him off. "Wha- Hanma god damn it I meant-no- you know what I meant."

He offers a half shrug, "What? M'young."

That's when you excuse yourself blankly to get another drink. The insinuation that Shuji was still playing the field left you a bit numb. He wasn't. You knew that he wasn't because you were with him 90% of his waking hours. Hell you'd platonically (as platonically as you and Shuji ever really were) slept in his bed last night and woke up next to him. The bastard slept with his arms around you and snored in your ear half the night and he has the balls to joke like that? His words stung like a betrayal of the highest degree.

In the kitchen you found Draken looking for a pong partner. Perfect, you decide, a distraction with alcohol built in.

He tells you casually between turns he's fresh off (another) a break up with his on again off again girlfriend and you feel a dark part of you light up and a wicked idea is born.

You throw the pong game. To the point where Draken has to give you pointers. Has to get real close and talk lowly in your ear about how we need you to aim for the left one this time okay? His honeyed baritone sends shivers down your spine and you wonder for a second how much better this scenario would be if it were Shuji in your ear. Shuji's hands on your hip, his thumb dipping below the waist band of your skirt.

You huff a little. Nah fuck him. it's time to put your plan into action. You throw with your usual accuracy. You get the point. Out of the corner of your eye you see a certain skunk striped boy half-fixated on your game.

Showtime, you brain screams.

Excitedly you hop in Draken's grasp, throwing your arms around his neck and revel in his pleased laughter. "You're up again," he says as he puts you down and steps back. You stop him by the wrist, tug him back a little.

"Wait can you help me line it up again?" You bat your lashes a bit, playing at being drunker than you both know you are.

"Sure thing." You feel his warmth and relish in it, stalling and pressing into him. It's a miss, but the tiny peck under your ear he plants feels like a win.

The ball splashes in a cup on your side and you opponent, Kazutora smirks. Draken offers to drink it but you refuse. It's cheap beer. It's rough going down. Draken puts his hand between your shoulders and says that for such a pretty little thing you sure can hold your alcohol. The praise, more than the alcohol, warms your cheeks.

It's the last shot and you make it. You excitedly turn around in Draken's grasp and catch his lips in yours. You never intended for it to be a just celebratory peck, but you pull away, blushing a bit and stuttering apologies to make it appear so. Draken drawls out some praise for his pretty girl that won the game and draws you back in by the small of your neck and pulling the plush of your lower lip between his teeth.

You hear Kazutora cat whistle and know, you just know, it's meant to alert his buddy Shuji. Mentally you apologize to Emma but after she's regaled you and the girls with all the filthy details of the nasty make up sex she and Draken have, somehow you think she won't mind this little show, given that's all it was.

You hope she'll also forgive the two heavy punches Shuji lands on her Kennyboy before Kazutora pulls your next friend back and you can get back between the two again. People are staring, hoping for a fight. Some even boo when Emma whisks Draken away by the collar of his shirt and you try to push Shuji away.

"Fuck him," he spits and looks at you, "you too you little shit," he accuses and pulls you away by the wrist.

--

God, you're a certified sucker for that crazy look in his eyes. It's the first thing you think when Shuji slams the door of a spare bedroom in Pah Chin's house. You can't help it. There's nothing like Hanma Shuji slipping into his aggressive chaos mode on this earth. His irises glow with his emotion. And, wow was it easy to forget that he had you pressed against the door of this room with all his energy and attention fixed on you.

His fingers were knotted in your hair and you vaguely noted his growl asking you what the FUCK you thought you were doing.

"And who are you to ask that? I'm not yours. We're not together Shuji. Never have been. You're young, still right?" You shoot back

"Tch, that's what this is about?"

Maybe he had you caged against the door but liquid courage had you fighting back. You shove his chest. "Yeah. Yeah that's what this is about. What the fuck right do you have to treat me like I'm yours? You drive me everywhere. You hold my hand. You share your bed. You kiss my forehead. You make me breakfast. You know my secrets. You call me yours. But you can't make it official? What the fuck is up with that?"

With every sentence you've pushed Shuji back till he was perched on the corner of the bed.

"How the fuck is that fair, huh? You want me to be yours Shuji? Then tell me you're fucking mine." It's not a request. It's a demand. An ultimatum. A last chance to be honest with you.

He's looking up at you still as a statue, emotion so unreadable it unnerves you. You know how he wears almost any emotion. He rarely surprises you, and yet...

"I'm yours."

Shuji says it quietly at first like there's a lag between his awareness and speech. You're shocked he's caved so quickly and you stutter out an "Excuse me?"

"I'm yours." He repeats, more confidently. "God I'm so fucking yours." He's dragged you by the hips to straddle his lap and his lips are on yours and you swear you can taste the adrenaline on his tongue.

It's every bit as addicting as you guessed to properly make out with Shuji. You don't know how long you've been sat on him attached in this kiss but when you tug him by the hair to catch your breath and hear him groan at the tension you think you've died and gone to heaven. He's mumbling little "all fuckin yours, baby" up and down your neck and you feel his voice reverberating in your throat.

You grind down on the swell of his hardening dick and smirk a bit, lips ghosting his, "all?"

"All."

He's shimmying out of his pants, when you slide off his lap to kneel on the floor. You're met with a sizeable bulge hidden under tight black fabric and you damn near moan just at the sight of his freed dick springing up to tap his abs when you pull the last offending piece of fabric away. "Shuji you're so fucking beautiful." You say as you brush your fingers over his length carefully. His mouth opens in an amused playful smirk but you're on him immediately, stealing his words by licking a stripe from base to the tip that you pop right in your mouth. His jaw hesitates and then goes slack as you look up at him and take as much of him as possible.

You don't know what you expected but he is not quiet. He's mumbling praise and expletives and he exhales the hottest, breathiest moan you've ever had the pleasure to hear, let alone cause, when his tip hits the back of your throat and you swallow around it. You smile around him and want to giggle but you settle on humming around him. You force his fingers in your hair into a fist telling him to set his pace but he pulls you off instead. He's panting a bit and you feel a pang of pride in your chest.

"Need to fuck you. Need your pussy." He's already clamoring to help you up and discard your skirt. You do him the honor of not remembering his words as needy and stuttered as they were just this one time.

You climb over him to straddle his hips and stroke his cock once, twice, before running the tip along your slit. Rather than taking the tip you pivot your hips and pin his dick to his abs and run your soaking lips along his length. The sensation of his hot head nudging your clit brings you to your elbows, moaning in his ears.

Big hands grip your ass and grind you even harder into his dick. And between the warm stimulation and the nails digging into your skin you're already on the fucking edge, but you'll be damned if the first time you fuck Shuji you don't cum around his cock.

Finally after your relentless teasing you lined up his dick and hovered over him bobbing just enough to tease his tip with the velvety walls of your pussy. Shuji can barely whine a "fuck, doll stop teasing me cant take it," before you've sunk down and taken his cock whole and he's groaning and squeezing your ass, pulling you onto himself with bruising strength. You're suddenly laying on him again, collapsed down to your elbows with the power of your orgasm, while your fluttering walls only spur him on.

The weight of years of fantasies of this moment hit him at once and before you can process it, he's bear hugging you and rolling over to take the lead. Fuck, how could he not? After pining after you for so long, imagining getting to finally fuck you and promising himself that he'd make sure you wanted no one else when he was done with you.

It's endearing, you think, how he mutters as much to you over and over as he makes your pussy his as he fucks you through your high and beyond. You giggle and moan and gasp and think this is exactly how you pictured sex with Shuji to be needy, whiny, unexpected, a little rough.

You can read him so well that when his breath hitches just right, you wrap you legs around his waist, ignoring the stuttered warning of his own impending orgasm. Instead you gripped his hair, pulled his face to yours and breathed, "Gonna make me all fucking yours?" over his lips.

Immediately he pulled away from your kiss, unable to coordinate as he lost his composure and filled you, half locked in place by your legs. Muttered curses and filthy nonsense about how you feel around his is all he can get out until he's spent, finally latching his mouth on your shoulder to give an affectionate bite, not unlike bites you'd exchanged as friends a few hours before. You let him lay on you a minute or so to recover before he pulls back and sits up on his knees to look down at you, at his handiwork.

"Holy shit."

"Yeah," you agreed.

"Why haven't we done that before?"

"Hm...something about you being young?" You tease as he eases out of you.

"Yeah yeah, I get it. We already fucked that issue away," he jokes back and combs his fingers through some minor tangles in your hair, "S'not like I meant it anyway, y'know."

You catch his hand and tug it, wanting to be closer, "You're free to prove that to me any time."

In true Shuji form, he gasps in that goofy performatively dumb way he likes to as he brings his face close to yours for a kiss, "You mean I can do this again?"

#i don't have it in me to tag this #hanma shuji #hanma shuji x reader #hanma shuji smut #hanma shuji x you

[asukaskerian]

Battlefield Terra is one of those works that just...changed my brain chemistry for so many reasons. I still go back and read it and think about it. This isnt an ask to return to it (though wouldn't be upset) but just to like thank you for putting the amount of it that you did out there

.__. *squish squish* thank you.

i cannot REMEMBER for the life of me if i ever posted any of the scene bits i had written in the chapter i never completed. first scene is actually one i love a lot, but then the battle scene was overtly complex and too long and had required so many rewrites and nothing worked. hghghhg.

but. anyway. this is the scene with the fallout from the "oh shit i kissed the alien am I GAY after all?????? oh fucking hell why did i notice JUST AT THE SAME TIME AS I NOTICE HOW MUCH HE'S NEVER GONNA *DECIDE NOT TO GO HOME* vfbndjh gnx;"

--

"And this is why it never pays to be stingy with technology," Jane said philosophically from the bucket seat next to John.

Strapped in like a sausage in its skin, John still managed to turn his helmet and grin at his sister. "Aw, come on, you didn't want the industry to cut into its profit margin, did you."

In the corner of his -- of all the pilots' -- glasses was an explosion of Spanish and Chinese sentences, nonsensical words, and Roxy-worthy typos.

The industry thing was mostly a joke; the think-typing-thoughts interface had first been developed for quadriplegics and amputees, and outside of hardcore nerds and professionals whose job required they be able to code very fast, people still preferred using their actual hands. One good reason for it: at the level of miniaturization necessary to put the brain sensors into glasses, it was new enough to still be expensive.

The new communication hub was a complete mess of hundreds of people trying it on for the first time, and it was hilarious.

"--Wow, hey, I know what that guy is doing! Oh my god, it's excellent, he's trying to think in sign language." Roxy giggled, tried to kick her feet only they were also strapped in. The craft was still accelerating, after all. Bleh. "Only then he has to transcribe into English, and he's doing it super literally! Hehehe."

Jane perked up a little. "Huh! No wonder the grammar was odd."

ID28YB: holy shit were all guna die in space aaaa

ID28YB: on the upside italics!

ID17NC: fuck how do you backspace backspacebacmlnpi

ID13JA: SARGANT MY CAPCLOSK IS FUCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ID01JA: Like shit it is, PrivatE.

ID01JA: DamN.

ID98NZ: fifty Nine bottles of beer ON THE WALL, take one DOWN pass itaround FIftynIneBOTTLES on Thewall!!!!!

"I'll be so glad when they lock it down to emergency communications again," Jade said from John's other side, and sighed.

"At least the bosses forbid them to use colors," John said, trying for consoling. (He kind of failed, mostly because he was snickering.)

Jake chuckled from his seat at the end of the line, on Jade's other side, but didn't add anything. He hadn't really been talking much ever since they took off, and since they couldn't lean out of their seats it was really hard to see what face he was making. John wondered if he was worried about --

Of course he was worried. And if John thought about all the reasons why, he was going to start to fret too. His stomach was already in a knot behind the adrenaline grin, no need to double down on it.

"Hey Jake," he threw out, with no idea what kind of light-conversation topic he was going to pull out. "D'you think--"

"Say, chaps, I think I feel lighter!" Jake interrupted.

"Huh, yeah, maybe?" John tried to bounce his leg and wasn't sure if there was a difference yet. It was hard to feel the lessening weight of his body when it was such a knot of anticipation already, and when he couldn't move. "Wow. Are we reaching cruising speed already? There was no announcement--"

The door opened and Corporal Vantas stepped through.

(Not Karkat. There was a difference.)

"Woohoo, you clean up nice!" Roxy said with a whistle as he stalked closer in his alien boots and his space-black flight suit, head bare but for the jarringly pink headset nestled against his horns. John noticed all over again that his skin was slate gray, that his eyes were violently red and yellow.

That he moved through the heavy gravity of the rocket's push like it wasn't even there, when John himself -- at least at first -- would have wobbled.

"What mean -- no, I don't care."

He sat beside Jake in the free seat at the end that should have gone to Dirk, and disappeared from John's view, what with the helmets and the protruding edges of the bucket seats. John swallowed and put a smile on his face, even though no one was going to see him. For a second he had thought Karkat was coming toward him. Haha, silly.

"No more talk with the Generals, Karkat?" Jane asked, tone forcefully light.

"Mm. No."

"Talk with us now? Do you have anything important to say or just hanging out?"

John's eyes flitted over the logs on his glasses, the higher ranks starting to organize to separate the chatter by platoons. It was still mostly banter and bad jokes.

"...Hanging out? Yes. Hanging out. Here, not... other here. I'm Corporal not General, it's not fucking right I'm with them."

It was the exact same tone the Marines John knew used when they got offended when their chain of command got dumbass ideas. Heh.

Maybe a little hesitation. Maybe just the translation issues.

JH: haha, you guys *wish* you could type in colors!

ID28YB: if by colors u mean rainbow fruity goodness then sure :(

ID28YB: i wanted mauve goddamn!!

JH: maybe better that you can't have it, echidna would have had to cut you. :'(

(Urgh. He missed Rose. He wished she were well enough to fight with them today.)

Jade joined the conversation, asked Karkat about... John wasn't listening. What the politicos had told him, when he was alone with them without a translator. Stuff. Boring stuff.

Karkat's low, gravelly voice kept slipping into his ears no matter how hard he tried not to pay attention to the words. ("You talk I fall on you a lot. Maybe you want --")

Anyway when the loudspeaker in the wall started talking he was pretty glad.

"Attention troops, cruise speed has been reached. Stay seated until your immediate superior allows you to stand..."

Two clicks echoed around him, Jade and Roxy undoing their security harnesses in unison.

"Oh my god, I'm so stiff," Jade groaned. "I'm going to check on Remington, anyone wanna come with?"

"You sit still for longer stretches of time in battle," Jane pointed out as she freed herself in turn, as Jake was still fighting his clasps.

"In battle my seat is perfectly adapted to my butt!"

The girls started to file out, talking about butts, and John almost heard Dave mentioning butt massages, almost mentioned it himself but. No. That would have been wrong even if two thirds of the lot weren't family.

He thought of following them. He would just skip along, snicker and stretch his legs and tease the Marines and...

"See you guys later," he said instead, waving without looking, heart a pulsating knot in his throat. "Karkat and I have to practice the telepathy-typing thing. Well, mostly me."

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, listened to the tread of boots on the hard plastic floor.

He didn't need to look in order to know which one of them was Karkat, getting up and moving one seat down the line.

Leaving one seat empty between them. Huh. John wasn't sure how to take that one.

"Huhn. You want telepathy now?"

John winced to himself. "It's pretty much now or in the middle of battle, isn't it?"

A beat of silence, and then Karkat grunted an acknowledgement. "Mm."

"Mm," John agreed, and kept on not making a move toward his own headset. Karkat's was already in place, possibly already turned on. John just had to tap.

"Maybe we speak and then headsets," Karkat suggested.

"... Yeah, maybe that."

John made a superfluous noise of agreement, and then groaned and pushed his helmet off his head, tucked it between his feet. He took his gloves off next, dropped them inside the helmet, and then buried both hands in his hair to scratch and rub with vigorous frustration. It did not soothe him as much as he had hoped for.

"This is the worst timing," he groaned, muffled, as he curled forward until he could prop his elbows on his thighs and lace his fingers behind his head. His spine cracked.

The worst timing, and the worst thing. He wasn't sure he'd have taken it much better elsewhere, with more time to take care of the fallout. It sucked. His head was a mess just when he absolutely needed to be as perfectly in the zone as he had ever been in his entire life.

"I'm sorry," Karkat said quietly. "We do big things today. I was stupid. Even if you said oh yes good, kissing! it's other things in our head and we can't have other things in our head now. I didn't do the good thing."

John groaned quietly, face prickling with heat, and closed his eyes. "No, it's... Yeah. Yeah, okay, that wasn't -- the right time. But you... You were right. I was looking."

He hadn't managed to stop looking even once since he'd seen Karkat naked, coming out of his slime. Maybe he had even been looking before that, playing it off as fascination with Karkat's alienness. Kind of like 'haha no I just like looking at his horns because they're weird, so random amirite!' only with everything else on top of the horns, like his little bitey teeth on goth-black lips and his bare toes and the fit of his goddamn dress suit at the summit--

"So why--" Karkat fell silent, drew in a breath, and then released it in a long, hissing sigh and muttered under his breath in alienese. John couldn't even offer a guess from the tone this time around.

Why did you kiss back, he could have been asking. Why did you stop kissing. Why did you never make a move. Why did you make a move now. Why are you such an idiotic mess.

Answer was the same for all of them, anyway. "I don't know."

"Why do you not know that?!" Karkat shot back -- more incredulous than angry, but John winced anyway. "How you look at a people and don't know, and other people tell you 'yes, them' and you say 'haha, no' and you're wrong?"

"Oh, shut up!" John snapped as he threw himself back into his chair, his arms coming up to cross tight against his ribs. Even now he couldn't look toward Karkat at all, shoulders curled in and away from the other man. His stomach felt like someone was squeezing it with both hands; his face still prickled with mortification. It was awful, he wanted to get up and run just to get moving, stop having to think on it -- leave the feeling behind -- but he knew better than to think it would work. He knew better and he still wanted to try, flinching and too tense; what a shit condition for battle. Fuck. "I know, okay? I'm the most stupid jerk--"

Karkat's hand was hot even through the glove.

He tugged on John's elbow, lightly, squeezed a little.

"Zhann."

"... Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," he said, sounding tired, and his hand fell from John's arm. "It's shit words."

John sneaked him a look; Karkat wasn't looking directly at John either, mouth pinched in discomfort, eyes dim somehow.

"Is it I'm alien and it's gross? So you don't in your head because ... haha, gross, can't be true--"

"No!" John spluttered, turning in his seat as much as he could to face him. "No, no, you being an alien is -- it is weird, but it's not bad, it's just not normal. It's... You're a guy?"

Karkat looked up at him, eyebrows furrowed. "Huhn?"

God. It figured. For all the joking about Karkat being gay that John had been doing like an asshole, he'd mentioned an old girlfriend too, and the cat girl who liked him that he didn't want to lead on, and it had never felt like she was disqualified because of boobs.

Also -- ugh, thanks Dirk and his casual beach gossipping -- Karkat thought Jade's butt was nice, and so was Mr. Strider's. So. Bisexual.

The way he looked now, baffled and not liking it, it was a little like he had never heard of someone who wasn't. Oh boy. What a mess. John raked a hand through his hair, tried to get back into explaining mode.

"It's -- we're mammals, remember? We need a boy and a girl to. To make little humans. That means normally we don't want other males, or other females, because -- there can be no babies? So a boy doesn't have a boyfriend, he has a girlfriend, and... The other way around, too. Boy and girl, yes, boy and boy no?"

"... Huhn."

"I mean. Some men like men! Dirk and Mr. Strider like men. But they knew it pretty early on. They knew when they were kids -- when they were small? -- that they were like that. And I've never." He swallowed. "I've never. Thought about a guy. Like that."

"Oh."

"And it's really weird." He gave a twitch of a shrug, looked away. "... And I don't know if it's because of the telepathy."

"Oh," Karkat said again, but this time he sounded stricken, not baffled.

John dropped a hand on Karkat's forearm across the empty seat, patted awkwardly -- wanted to squeeze or hold his wrist (or hold his hand) but that was just -- even such a short touch made his stomach twist with odd queasiness, his face flush back to maximum redness. "It's okay, buddy. I don't -- it's just. ... Don't feel bad, okay, that's stupid, I just -- it is weird, but --"

Karkat's breastbone beeped. Scowling down, he fished his tablet out of his collar, unrolled it, shook it stiff. Oh. Little countdown shown in rows of dots, going one by one from red to dark.

Five seconds to a dot, fifteen dots to a row, and how many rows... Hm. Ten minutes left before... John wasn't sure. They weren't going to be there yet in ten minutes.

"My mech. Gotta wake up, it's slow." Karkat waved a brisk hand, eyebrows furled in worry.

John closed his eyes. "Do you want to practice the mind-typing?"

"It's not want," Karkat grunted, slanting him a look. "... It's going to be bad."

"Mm."

"We need bigger time, not this," he added, tapping the tablet with the outside curve of a claw.

John tried out a dry shrug, and thought to himself that he really didn't enjoy it, that 'if you fuck this up you will have fucked everything up' feeling. Dread was for the battlefield, not for stupid interpersonal relationships. 

"Probably. We can keep working on it once we're in our mechs, too..."

Karkat snorted, replied something in alienese that had to be 'We had better.'

Yeah, okay. John just had to put his helmet back on.

"We don't have time for this crap!" he growled -- whined, if he wanted to be fair, something strangled and pleading, frustrated.

"Mnh."

John curled forward, hands cupping his temples, elbows on his knees. "Damn it. I don't -- I can't -- in ten minutes, that's too--"

There was no way he was going to be able to stop thinking about all the things he didn't want to think about, all the things -- the petty, selfish things -- he didn't want Karkat to know about.

Like the incontrovertible fact that no matter what John figured out he wanted, whatever compromises they found with each other, there was no magic button that would make Karkat stay.

He'd been in Karkat's head too much to imagine for one second he would weigh out John and the dubious safety Earth offered him against his people -- his people abused and thrown out like shark bait to be mowed down by enemies and superiors alike -- and choose John.

John was pretty sure Karkat wouldn't even choose Gamzee.

"Do you want sex." 

John flinched around and back so fast he hit his shoulder blade against one of the edges of the seat.

Karkat was looking back at him -- steady, John thought at first, but his lower eyelids were tight, his cheeks just a little dusky. The heat on John's face cooled down just barely at that.

"I ask so it's not more alien bullshit thing. It's what you want?"

"Oh my god," John protested, looking around wildly in case anyone had managed to open the sealing doors to the small room without the hiss of pneumatics warning them. "I don't know! I'm not -- I swear I'm not lying, I don't -- this is freaking me out."

"I see that, dumbass," Karkat said, but almost nicely. "You're so bad in your head, I don't know you can get that much a clusterfuck."

John groaned, slumped forward again.

"... Mouth thing, was good?"

"... Yeah."

"Touching?"

John gave a little grunt, eyes closed.

"Want where?"

"Why do you need to know?!"

There was a moment of silence like Karkat rolling his eyes, or maybe just watching him, waiting. John didn't check. 

"Zhann."

"... Horns? Maybe your hands. I kind of. Want to see your claws. We could sit close? We could--" He choked. His face prickled so hot it almost hurt. He wanted to touch Karkat's face, follow his nose with a fingertip -- he wanted Karkat to allow that, the trust and closeness it would mean.

"That's where?" Karkat grumbled, gave John a frustrated look. John tore his eyes away, ducked his head. Where had he -- when they had kissed (his mouth tingled like an echo) -- when Karkat was so close, almost on his lap, what had he --

"Your thighs," he whispered, dizzy with nerves and shame. "Inside." He clenched his knees together, hands knotted between them -- oh, Karkat's legs clamped down on his hand, all warm and snug. Muscles bunching, straining. So close to his -- his. Oh shit, John couldn't pop a boner inside his flight suit, not while Karkat was watching, while they were hashing out how much of a total clusterfuck this was going to be.

There was silence for too long -- three seconds, ten, every single one tightening his shoulders, knotting his guts worse, nausea and heat mingling dizzyingly.

"... Put your head thing on, Zhann."

John groaned out loud. "Are you kidding me, I will die. I don't want you to -- there's too much, it's. We can't!"

But when he glanced at the tablet still across Karkat's lap they were down to the last two rows of dots and it was now or never. More accurately, now or on the battlefield when they were supposed to coordinate two forces that had never fought together against ... however many of those aliens who wouldn't have followed some random high-ranked asshole from nowhere into open rebellion.

He shoved the helmet down before he could think about it twice. It felt too tight, like he was going to strangle, to be crushed.

Karkat felt too close; an empty seat between them and John still remembered him in Excalibur's cockpit, how easy it would have been to slip on his lap and kiss and--

(Yeah okay definitely sexual there) flitted through his mind from Karkat, alongside ... surprise, oh wow, so violent, stop feeling, not the end of the world --

John flashed back to his previous thought -- sitting next to each other and his hand trapped between strong thighs and oh shit he was getting hard, no, no --

(hand pushing higher) echoed back briefly, edged with curiosity, a spark of -- Karkat shook his head, slapped his own hands down onto his knees, hard enough to sting. John startled. "Okay!" Karkat said, staring straight ahead.

He was maybe smiling a little.

Okay yes we need to talk later I don't fuck and run (do you?)

John spluttered. "How would I know!" I've never/and run where anyway we're on an island!

Take your mech, zip off? (laughter) (mister space pilot, so locked in.) Wait, never? How old-- oh right no one around only older adults and your tangleclan/friends and you can't with half of them because blah blah mammals (and not boys? Why not boys. Aliens what the fuck.)

John groaned again, hands on his helmet since he couldn't get to his face. Could have Rose or Roxy! Roxy was my first kiss! (haha sloppy-alright-nice but I saw you fingers up your nose too much as a kid sorry John I like you tender-nice but it all fizzed out) and Rose kissed me on a dare and it was like kissing Jane it was horrible.

And that was the entire fucking extent of your romantic and sexual experience oh my dear little dark gods that's pitiful. (sharp/teal/lovely-blade moaning over me (tight-soft-deep) other hurried hands in dark corners--) shit sorry--

Oh. Of course Karkat had had sex before. Of course he would know more, of course John was hopelessly late and useless -- he couldn't even bring himself to think about, about kissing, never mind what happened later, he was a kid--

The tablet beeped.

"Shit," Karkat said in English, and another few words that echoed as bounce me around on a bladed dildo. Which, yeowch. He turned to stare at John, already half out of his seat and leaning forward, a claw-tipped hand clenched on the armrest. "(I gotta get going now. John, do you--)"

He was leaning forward like he was about to kiss John, if John hadn't been wearing a helmet, and John knew full well that wasn't at all what he'd been doing, knew because he was in Karkat's brain, and still couldn't help but fear-hope for it.

(I'll kiss you if we win) flashed between them, too fast to hold back. No wait sorry (god it'd feel nice) we have to talk first and -- not now, cannot be now.

John laughed, mostly from nerves. I'll come with you (sit in cockpit think tappy thoughts oh my god they'll love transcripts of your foul mouth be hilarious what if I accidentally transcribe the sex thoughts too oh no oh no--)

Karkat's hand caught his wrist.

"(Do you trust me,)" he said low and intense, in an alienese that John almost didn't notice as not English from how strong the mind-echo was.

The response came embarrassingly instantaneous. "Of course I --" He swallowed. What do you want me to do?

Okay. (You are ridiculous) (thank you.)

Karkat crinkled his golden-red eyes at John and for the first time John realized he doesn't mind how I feel.

Crushes happen, Karkat replied almost casually, with a little pleased-flattered-glad trill running underneath. Crushes happen to me in particular all the damn time so I have no stones to throw. (I know this one is worse, tangled-odd with headsets but it was kind of predictable too especially because of the headsets.)

A harsh beep.

No more time. Follow me?

Follow you where, John wondered, and then Karkat showed him.

His mind nudged closer. Body alive with battle arousal, heart thumping too fast, just barely shaky in his body and he need-wanted John's cheerful-calm interest, his certainty. They should absolutely not kiss before the battle because he would cling and waste time hoping for time to stop instead and also they really needed to hash that shit out but oh, so smug that he'd been right all along. His face winced briefly at whatever echo John sent back, and then he --

(Terrifying/not right/I will never manage alone.) 

John's gorge rose. (can't let that happen/you're not alone (I'm not alone either can't be please god--)

(Good,) rang like a bell between them, and then Karkat's direct, almost forceful Dive(/echo/merge) with me.

John's hands closed tight enough on the armrests that the hard plastic cracked under his fingertips at the thought, visualized like two discordant graphs slowly entering resonance, like rebounding, endless echoes -- the pattering, muted thunder of armies in lockstep. But -- but too close so many things I can't share, how?! Can't sync if we're like this I'm mortified (want to die/hide/wash it out of my brain) you're -- you're --

I want to fight. (Scared to fight.) I need to fight. Silly flurry of thoughts -- bothersome, I have them too (misjudged when to tell people about psychics, misjudged you, (this is not a romcom where you are the heroine what the fuck Vantas,) could have endangered/maybe did endanger the operation twice) we can sync on that! (would be bad). Or we can sync on --

Mechs. Piloting.

Winning the goddamn battle.

We had better not think of beds, John sent Karkat, smile shaking on his face. Karkat snorted back, crooking him a smile.

They bumped foreheads -- or forehead and helmet -- and straightened up, because it was time to go.

They stood (John stood) and walked to the door, one-two, one-two. (Easier if we walk in sync, they agreed, and wondered if it would also work mirrored. But they would experiment later, John, now where was the hangar?)

It was… odd, not quite seamless, little twitches of individual thoughts -- not like last time, at the conference.

It was easier when a Marine came across them -- Sergeant, look at the shoulder bars -- and said, "I was assigned to escort, uh, you, Corporal Vantas..."

"We're coming," they assured her with two mouths (unnecessary) (but which is it again.) "How long do we have left?"

"Four minutes," she said, carefully expressionless in her bulking power armor, the helmet politely open still as she placed herself opposite from the claws side. 

Can you blame her though? haha.

It's not like I didn't help patch those weaknesses.

How'd you even find -- oh, yeah.

Of course horn sense would perceive the electricity field where crucial wires ran, the way a solid plate trembled under a headbutt at the weaker places, of course Karkat's terror would crank his pitiful amount of sensitivity up higher and the luck of frenetic, half-blind panic do the rest.

The upgraded armor would be a little harder but they had the brute strength to punch through and the claws to tear wiring free. Should be easy -- but the Marines weren't the enemy. Strong-respectful-friendly-safe. Distant-confused too (we're too young for how much weight/responsibility we carry) but nice, mostly.

The bay where they were keeping (dad) the mech was empty, if well-guarded; the Marines had taken the warning that the biomechs sometimes ate people to heart, it seemed. Which was hilarious, because (dad) was way too tired to lunge and chomp, which... wasn't funny at all, actually. (When they won, the first thing they'd do would be to put him to a feeding/repairs station.)

They scaled the black-shelled side of the mech, pushing and pulling each body from handhold to foothold -- chinks in the shell, the edge of a plate. (They avoided the gaping cavity of its ripped-away manipulating-arm, no matter how convenient it would have been for a step-up.) The edge of the cockpit opening was cracked open like a wound, ready to be pushed through -- convenient but loose because dad was tired; worrying but nothing to be done for now -- thank god they'd gotten the flight suit back because those weird cotton clothes were a clinging, heavy pain when soaked through with neural gel...

Oh right. John's flight suit might not react quite well to the neural fluid now that dad-mech knew it. What if it dissolved? Haha, naked in the cockpit. Or more like half-naked with strategically placed, slowly widening holes, talk about a porn flick setting. Didn't help that the dissolving/digesting gels used to clean dirt and dead skin cells might also trigger if Dad felt contrary enough and also eat through yeah okay, that was an unsexy thought. John/Karkat crouched, one body on the solid edge, one across the cracked-open plates, and then sinking, eyes closed.

It was the perfect temperature inside, but that never made that first deep breath of gel any easier. He breathed air deeper with the body still outside, like the unencumbered-lungs feeling could help (it helped, even though oxygen wasn't going to come through telepathically. Bodies were stupidly easy to trick.) and settled inside within the nest of coils, seeking out the one that went -- ow, yeah, there, in the flight suit slot at the base of his neck, between the vertebrae.

Wake up, he thought at it, through the neural gel and through the spinal tap, letting it feel his nerve impulses so they could sync more thoroughly. Wake up, (flight systems, weapon arms, no more standby) there's a battle coming. 

Once the process was started it was a matter of waiting until it was sufficiently awake (and burning through the last of its energy.) The Karkat body wiggled into place, let the other tentacles slot into their ports to read his every muscle twitch, so the mech would be ready to move before he even thought it coherently enough to decide exactly what movement he wanted, and then settled down.

It was easier to keep in sync if they weren't both doing different things. The John body waited until the other one was at rest and then stood up, let himself slide along rib covers until gravity flung him off entirely, still pretty high over the ground; he landed in a perfectly timed crouch, laughing a little in admiration (Gods of the Devouring-dark but this body was convenient) and walked out of the hangar.

The Marines at the door didn't look at him like a stranger-threat or even a superior-officer-threat, more like a low-caste soldier might look at a beloved high-blue who cared-possessive for them (still dangerous in the abstract, never quite controllable, but theirs.) It was so strange, so normal.

"Is Corporal Vantas going to stay inside his mech?" the sergeant asked him, falling into step.

"Yes, Sergeant," he assured her soberly. "Until we go."

They weren't sure why that got them a weird look, but it was probably nothing to fret about. The metal mechs' bay door was just there -- similarly guarded but they let John/Karkat pass without a word; one of them nodded at him, fierce and grim-eyed. He nodded back the same way, and then -- oh -- worried that it might worry them, because John usually joked before a battle and soldiers didn't like things to be different. Bad luck. But by then they were at the lift and it was a bit too late to fret about the mental state of grunts.

They opened the cockpit and walked in, swung around to sit. The butt-hollow still felt wrong. 

So many buttons and toggles and it was a wonder John never got them wrong regarding which did what. (Heh.)

The arm-rest where Karkat had sat ... for a moment John-alone was sent reeling, buzzing, experiencing it from the other side -- the tingle of excitement-certainty, that wordless moment when you finally knew the other person was interested, had been flirting back, the pleasure-relief of feeling wanted and known. So touching-surprising-soft to find John so far from cocky carelessness, from being sure of Karkat.

It was sweet, Karkat felt. John stared at the screens he was bringing to life and read the words he knew by heart like they might have changed somehow, tried to think war thoughts.

Weapons check, Karkat thought, tinged with apology-for-the-distraction, tinged with fondness/you-are-sweet.

John went through a weapons check.

They'd left him Excalibur's usual monofilament swords, breakable as they were -- one-hit kills was more Dave's thing than John's -- but he had his hammer too, and the more usual set of bombs and missiles.

Also two EMP bombs. He thought back to Karkat shying away from the microwave and the difference in yield and --

Yeowch vicious yeah that'll work. Not through the home-ship hull (gotta shield from star radiations) but it'll work. How come no one generals-making-plans told me we had that -- wait fuck I'm stupid of course no one would tell me when they were still considering using it on me. It'll work on the biomechs and probably the troop transports but I don't know about the range.

Excal's got good radiation shields, so we can get pretty close and make sure of the kill, John reminded him, and then Karkat reminded him they weren't supposed to wade in, just watch-coordinate from the back.

Like that'll last, they both thought, so closely that maybe neither one had thought it first, that they'd just both had the exact same amused-despairing reaction.

They went through the flight check in comfortable, whispering quiet.

#battlefield terra #asuka writes #this dates from 2017 sobs #homestuck #jonhkat

[cephalog0d]

Okay, but like. There's the whole joke about Bruce recruiting children to be his sidekicks, but honestly there's only really one that fits that.

And it's Jason. And the whole story there is, frankly, unhinged. Aaaaand then he died.

(I'm specifically talking about "first post-crisis origin stories" here because Jason and Dick, in particular, have both had multiple major retcons and revisions over the years, and some of them dramatically change how things happened.)

Like okay. Going backwards, you've got Duke who joined/led a whole Robin-based gang at a time when Bruce wasn't even Batman. You've got Damian and Cass, who were both literally born into the world of masks and capes and heroes and villains, so they weren't ever really not going to be part of it. Steph might have taken inspiration from previous heroes but she made her own identity and repeatedly refused to stop involving herself in the vigilante lifestyle. Tim, obviously, basically strong-armed Batman into letting him be Robin, despite Batman's protests.

Dick's a little more complicated just because there's so many versions, because that's what 80 years of comics and multiple universe reboots will do, and there's kind of a general trend that earlier pre-crisis versions were more of Batman being like "hello, child, would you like to be my sidekick" and later versions have leaned harder and harder into the idea that Dick was absolutely going to do this anyway, regardless of what Batman had to say about it. But even in the first post-crisis version, the flashback in Batman Year 3, Dick says he wants to find a way to keep people like that from hurting others again. When Alfred questions Bruce's offer to train him, Bruce says that Dick should learn to do things the right way if he's going to do it. It's not hard to extrapolate that, much like later versions of the origin story, Dick was going to get himself into this one way or another. (Batman (1940) #437)

And then there's Jason. Whose backstory has also had a lot of (sometimes major) revisions over the years (remember when his adoption was, like, some kind of Joker-originated long con? Fucken Nu52, man). But the original post-crisis version is pretty straightforward. Steals Batman's tires, gets caught and sent to Ma Gunn's Secret Criminal School, intervenes when Batman goes to investigate, immediately gets offered the chance to be Robin based entirely on that.

Which is itself kind of unhinged. That Bruce saw this kid who was living on his own stealing tires and went "Hey you would make a good Robin" as his very first instinct.

But if you've never read Jason's post-crisis origin, or it's been a while, it's honestly even more unhinged than that because that arc starts with Dick getting "fired" as Robin specifically for the reason that he got shot by Joker and Bruce freaked out about how the Robin identity has too many enemies and therefore Dick, a legal adult with approximately a decade of training and experience, should not use the identity anymore.

(And it's specifically about the Robin identity, in this version, because when Dick says he's not going to stop the crime fighting thing Bruce's response is basically "I know and I didn't expect you to". Honestly I could also say a lot about this version of the Robin/Nightwing transition vs. later ones and how this one definitely feels like the Heavy Hand of DC Editorial in the fact that they had no contact for so long afterwards, because the interaction really doesn't feel like it warrants that in this case compared to some later versions, but that's a whole other too-long ramble.) (Batman (1940) #408)

And then a few weeks later Bruce turns around and picks up a random kid, a literal child, and goes "Hey you would make a good Robin!"

And I think a lot about how fucking wild that is. And it's not like the people writing just didn't notice. Dick's big argument with Bruce when he finally comes back to Gotham and meets Jason isn't about the fact that Bruce took in another kid, or even necessarily about Dick feeling proprietary over the Robin identity, the thing he's angry about is that Bruce said it was too dangerous for him, an adult, someone who has trained with Batman for a decade and was already highly physically trained before that for his whole life, to be Robin, and now Bruce has turned around and painted that target onto some random new kid. He pushes, repeatedly, trying to get Bruce to justify himself and this absolutely irresponsible decision, and Bruce gives a lot of answers about how Jason was on a bad path and needed this outlet and eventually just admits that he missed having a partner. (Batman (1940) #416)

And like. Dick's right, is the thing. He is 1000% in the right in this argument. If he can't be Robin anymore because of the danger, how in the hell is it anything like a good idea to hand it over to someone way younger, way less trained, way less experienced, and expect that that wouldn't end in tragedy?

And then it did.

And yeah, Bruce, it is kinda a lot of your fault.

#And the punchline is Batman clearly should not get to choose his own sidekicks! Haha? #(Sorry this is a lot more serious than my usual Batfam shitposts it won't be a regular habit don't worry) #this is long and rambly but it's something i think about a lot #and it's on my mind extra because of an AU oneshot i'm working on finishing right now #and obviously there's eight kabillion versions of any given origin and reboots and retcons and they change drastically yadda yadda yadda #and also obviously there's always behind-the-scenes editorial choices and other factors when it comes to comics story events #story and character choices are frequently not just a matter of storytelling but of things like meeting editorial demand of What Must Happe #but just looking at the story as presented: the one time bruce specifically recruited someone as his sidekick that kid ended up dead for it #it does make narrative sense given this that bruce's reaction to most of the subsequent kids is initially 'go the fuck home and stop this' #and then only really yielding with the realization that they're totally going to do this shit anyway #jason todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne

[mr-payjay]

feel free to complain to me about the ii finale <3 i'm all ears

thank you ellie :)

fair warning for ii neg, especially on the latest episode.

prefacing this with saying: I LOVE INANIMATE INSANITY!!!!!! inanimate insanity is my favourite show in the world and every episode leaves me full of joy and excitement. i adore criticizing it not out of hatred but out of genuine love. i enjoy every single episode i watch.

however, i find that iii19 has been the worst episode so far. it has gotten me the least hyped out of any episode in the series, which is saying a lot because i bounce off the walls at every episode no matter how much i end up criticizing it later. there are. so many problems i have with it. im gonna try and organize them the best i can, though i'll probably(?) edit this post later to insert anything i missed or forgot to say.

starting off positively: oj!!!! personally i am so glad he didn't talk in this episode. i was terrified of the idea of him having a new va. the spin was adorable, i loved his signature thumbs ups, and every time i saw him i squealed with delight. him voting for balloon also made me really happy! despite the grudge he's had against him for so long, he still sticks with him on this part. even after laughing at his death the episode before that

in general all the seasonwunners voted for balloon!! which makes me happy!!! paintbrush, nickel, balloon, and oj have all been there for the very beginning of season 1, three of them being there for every season. i love the inherent connection the contestants from season 1 have with each other. they've been together since inanimate insanity began and they're there for the end of season 3 too. very sweet.

onto more negative stuff! I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE WHAT THEY DID WITH SILVER SPOON AND CANDLEEE they set up something crazy in the last episode and then did NOTHING with it!!! they had silver spoon beat candle unconscious the second she said something that wasn't coddling him like the manchild he is and she STILL voted for him. where even was she for half of the episode?? they just left her lifeless corpse on the ground in iii18 and then she eventually got up in this episode and just. went back to the competition??? dogshit writing

okay now i wanna talk about cabby. I Don't Like Cabby Anymore. so from the very beginning i have loved cabby. she was extremely similar to me in fact! i have really bad memory issues and i tend to keep files on people and on things that i might forget about, as well as just to organize my thoughts and ideas. i loved her confidence, obsession with knowledge, and analytical personality at the start. i was pretty upset when the characters (mostly test tube lmao) started relentlessly bullying her, and i HATE the whole thing in spring on the breakfast where they try to demonize her files. it was kind of annoying when they tried to remedy it really quickly after that because it was clearly because of the backlash, but i was glad they at least tried to fix it. however, over the course of the series, she just felt like she was... becoming sadder? pitiful, honestly? she went from an awesome smart character who loved taking notes on people's behaviour and using that information to get better at the game into some kind of Sad Little Bullied Victim. she doesn't even feel like a character anymore to me, just a mouthpiece for the creators to write dramatic "cathartic" speeches through to prove they're Definitely Not Ableist. also what was the deal with her parents lmao they never brought that up again

aaaand this episode was generally written really badly. super fucking corny for one. they literally had a little dance party at the end like people make jokes about for stereotypical Kids' Shows. but my issue is more with like... the weird super fast character development? and the way they wrapped everything up as quickly as possible? something that bothered me was the tonal whiplash between zuwie voicing springy super hysterically and dramatically and then springy being fully redeemed within like the next 5 minutes and dying for mephone. Why did they even die for mephone. like as a character why would he of all people die for mephone. thats so fucking stupid. the rest of the voice acting felt completely different from springy's as well so it just made the effect worse. everyone's lines were really corny and felt so manufactured, like they would pull characters to mephone's side (losing my mind over all the contestants rooting for mephone like cmon man that guy sucks i just know oj at least would want him dead) with a short Cathartic Speech and everything would be fixed and lovely and peachy keen. its just painful to watch. everything feels really weirdly disjointed and badly put together, the flow is awful, the "danger" doesn't feel like there's any suspense to it at all, and every character gets fully redeemed for no good reason. even walkie talkie chats casually with mephone at the end as if they're good friends after they were HYSTERICALLY INSISTING ON MURDERING HIM? AND MAKING HIM WATCH HIS OWN DEATH?? idk if this will get explained in s2 but we still don't know who walkie talkie is, what their motive is, WHY they got redeemed, etc. we know nothing about them. and even if it will be explained later, i think it's shitty writing that NOTHING was explained in this season.

some extra stuff

- SO FUCKING GLAD THEY DIDN'T BRING HOTEL OJ INTO THIS I WOULD'VE CRIED IF THEY PUT SEASON 3 CHARACTERS INTO HOTEL OJ OR MADE IT ALL SLEEK AND S3 STYLE

- the "you can do this" thing at the end was fucking stupid man that was so corny (btw corny isn't always bad but jesus christ... this episode was just awful with it)

- could not feel any emotion towards the Emotional Parts but laughter and secondhand embarrassment

- HOW DID THEY GET THE FUNDING FOR A LIBRARY? I THOUGHT THE PROBLEM WAS THAT MEPHONE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR A PRIZE HOW DID HE PAY FOR AN ENTIRE LIBRARY

- speaking of, why isn't oj back at the hotel. doesn't he have to manage it. wasn't paper having a ton of trouble managing it. why are all of them still on that fuckass island. did the library take like 5 minutes to build what the fuck

- ALSO!!! Why did they build a library in the middle of a deserted island

- i liked the short nickloon scene because im a nicklooner

- glad yinyang and candle got to talk

- test tube saying nearly nothing at all the entire episode except for sitting on the ground in a really stupid pose and apologizing to cabby made me laugh

- weirded out by tt and fan not talking to each other at all? not as a ship thing but like they're best friends aren't they

- really fucking annoyed by the fantube family picture at the end i hate fantube family leave that grown ass adult (bot) alone

- glad they didn't canonize any ships i was so scared about silvercandle and fantube

- 4s scene and s1 flashback was cool i love s1 so i got excited

- aaaaand i think my misogyny thread is relevant again. i should update it sometime because ii has only gotten worse about it lmao

- didn't like them making clover stupid for some reason like "is he talking about me?" come on

- oj not talking in these last two episodes is so glaringly unusual because he's never been able to shut his fucking mouth for even a minute

#juice.txt #ii neg #ii spoilers #i love this show but jesus fucking christ #absolute dogshit writing its so embarrassing

[fbfh]

okay, pretty odd request and i completely understand if you do not feel comfortable writing it; you can totally scrap it! so i just got my wisdom teeth removed and i am pretty miserable about it. i was kind of wondering how our favourite boy leo might react. i feel like, as repair boy, he would be pretty bummed to not be able to just fix it right away, y’know? thank you so much, whether you feel comfortable writing for this prompt or not, i love your work and you are literally my favourite writer for leo💋

awww babes!!!!!!! I got my wisdom teeth out like maybe a year ago???? ish???? while it did suck it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be so I TOTALLY understand both how much it sucks and the i feel like shit Leo cravings.

okay okay so first of all Leo would not leave your side for a minute. he is so sweet and attentive and gentle with you while your coming back from anesthesia like a motherfucking walking lime green flag. like this. if he's still in college at MIT or wherever he's collecting diplomas like pokemon he will not HESITATE to ditch all classes that day to take care of you with or without his school's permission. if you cry on anesthesia like I do he will be SO FUCKING TENDER with you. he gets every possible caring for someone hack from his mom and from the internet and every resource possible to make sure you're happy and pain free and comfy. He brings you ice packs for your cheeks with tongs so he doesn't accidentally melt them with his hands (it did happen once. you both laughed so hard.) and he always makes sure you eat enough yogurt so your antibiotics don't mess up your stomach. he stays close to you, helps take care of your hair and skin, watches cartoons and movies with you. if you like having your nails done, he will SO give you mani pedis. even if you normally get acrylics or gel or whatever, seeing the slightly messy, sparkly matching nail polish in your favorite colors Leo tenderly and carefully put on your nails and toes makes you so happy every time you see it. he pets your head and peppers you with kisses and tells you how brave you were in a soft voice. he gets you a "conradulations on letting them steal your teeth" basket full of plushies and juice and intricate little coloring pages and crossword puzzles and stuff to keep you busy. He plays cozy video games with you and builds the most insane shit for you in animal crossing. you post it online and some people speculate that he hacked or modded the game to do that but nope. Leo simply loves you to the point of invention. If your swelling or pain is real bad and you're also a demigod he'll check with Will (aka the entire demisquad's informal PCP) how much ambrosia or nectar to give you to help you heal quickly and take the edge off. He holds your hands while you take little walks around your house or apartment a few times a day, like your recovery instructions say to. he makes you what he affectionatley referres to as "gourmet baby food", aka soups and soft pates and purees that taste better than most solid food. he relays all get well soon messages from your friends, including how percy joked that getting your wisdom teeth out means annabeth has less competition for the title of group brain cell wielder. your kitty Jackjack curls up on your lap as soon as Leo initially brings you back from the dentist and doesn't leave your side for a minute. every selfie you and Leo send the group chat has Jackjack curled up on your chest, purring and drooling contently. You have no idea how Leo makes something like pulling teeth feel like a spa vacation, but he makes everything into such a warm, cozy, happy experience. but you guess that when you love someone as much as you and Leo love each other, it's not too surprising.

#drabbles #leo valdez #leo valdez x reader #leo valdez drabbles #heroes of olympus #heroes of olympus x reader #heroes of olympus drabbles #tw: wisdom teeth #tw: dentist #tw: food #tw: surgery #BABES!!!!!! not even scheduling this. it's getting posted right now. #SENDING KISSES AND CUDDLES AND A SPEEDY RECOVERY!!! /p #<333 #also THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE!!! PURELY ANECDOTAL!!! #but when I gotmine out I was taking antibiotics like every 12 hours or smth #so every OTHER 12 hours(like in the middle of my antibiotics) id have a gogurt and it saved my tummy SO MUCH #check with a doctor obvs but yeah idk if it's common knowledge or not but it helped me a lot uwu #FEEL BETTER BABES ILY

[minthe-lover]

Chapter 233 Analysis

So don't worry I'm still alive. Life decided to just kick my ass and could actually get this done but doing it now!

So just to make this clear at the start, i don't inherently dislike stories of women using their sexuality to their advantage. Ie the sexy assassin type stories, I've said it before but I was a sex worker and that very much does effect the way I look at and analysis media.

Though stories like that often run a very thin line between just sexism and sexualization. I think the main way to tell the difference is the reason why the the person is using their sexuality is such a way. In lore olympus with hera.. it's a story about women using their sexuality as a form of power.. it's women being sexually abused to hopefully save themselves from more pain.

Hera has no power in this situation, and it's not an empowering story because it's just about a women being forced to let herself be raped and lastly rs just doesn't give the time and energy to actually respect the sexual assault of hera. It shows terribly in this chapter.

This episode starts.. alright. I don't fully mind hera being haunted by kronos, it's honestly sort of terrifying. The problem is that we aren't given enough time to actually sit and grow with this, Rs just can't spend the time she's given well enough to put it towards this event.

One of the first things we learn after the kronos fight is that he wants hera... it takes us another like 17 or so episodes to learn that kronos the main villain is fucking hunting hera. This is such a big and important event that just gets ignore and rushed in one chapter. We see her struggling with this, we even in like one panel how it is actively effecting her others relationships.. but we only get one panel. Like you can imagine a scene where hera gets uncharacteristically angry at echo and we aren't even a reason why till we get like a shot with kronos in a reflection with hera. There are ways this could've been set up and made it so much more impactful but then it's just ignored till it's needed.

Also again rs just has so many great points to make interesting drama that she just ignores... like the whole missing ten years thing is barely brought up. Most people just continue as normal. This line is a fucking insult cause like.. besides one panel of them hugging WE HAVEN'T SEEN HERA WITH HER DAUGHTER. like holy shit all this time could have been spent so much better.

Now I honestly don't think the child has been even mentioned since it was told to hera.. also having hera being the only one mentioning the child.. and when she is she's being literally raped... really makes persephone and hades look even worse. Also again.. this chapter didn't have a trigger warning.. and it really fucking should.

now I don't fully dislike this plot point... like the idea of it.. same way I don't dislike the idea of persephone sexual assault. My problem with it isn't the fact that sexual assault happened.. it's how it's dealt with. We have this dramatic build up and while it's not explicitly stated it's pretty clear that hera was just fucking raped.

now instead of giving this really upsetting and serious plot point time to breath.. rs decides to immediately go to a cut away joke? about how haha persephone and hades are engaged and dumb drama with that. It's just such a tonal shock that just fundamentally doesn't work. Rs you literally couldn't done the exact same thing you did with persephone rape. Give a few quite panels of reflection and just... let a chapter go by without Perspehone and Hades.

We barely even see heras own reaction to what happened to her.. the literal rape that just fucking happened is basically completely ignored for the rest of the chapter. We don't have a few panel of someone asking hera why she wasn't answering the phone. No one acknowledges what happened and instead it's time for dumb Hades and Persephone.

This chapter, which is mainly about hera being sexually and emotionally abused... ends on the happy note where the main characters are going to get married. It's just... feels so disrespectful. Rs you could make this chapter like 80% better by just removing all the stuff with the marriage and instead just having a few panels of hera actually being effected by her rape.

Now I've taked about how the whole rushing into marriage with Hades and Persephone is bad.. but it really shows the most in this chapter. A chapter that regardless if you are a fan or critic should objectively be focused solely on the rape of hera... instead is just made so much worse by adding this... It's been what.. an hour maybe two at most since hera was literally sexually assaulted and she's just completely fine and shows no effects of it.

Like it's so clear the bias towards hades and persephone that rs has.. literally every single story outside of theirs suffers because of them. Why are you making stories that and obviously more important then them getting married if you want the focus on them being married. Kronos should have just been fully defeated.. adding all this other shit just makes them look like terrible people and makes it clear that they don't actual care.

Despite season 3 not being finished yet... I'm pretty sure this is going to be by far the worse chapter.. just because rs decided that a rape should happen right before the main characters getting married.

#lo critical #anti lo #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus

[eddiebrockx]

⚠️ SPOILERS for Venom issues #164 and #165 (the 2016 to 2018 comics in general), Venom: The First Host, and the Venom comics in general. ⚠️

Incoming mini-essay! (TL;DR - Sleeper is the manifestation of everything I love about Venom as a comic series, Eddie and the Symbiote are top tier parents, and Spider-Woman is fucking awesome.)

Okay so, I know everyone jokes about issues 164 and 165 because “wow omg Eddie Brock is pregnant.” However, I feel like there isn’t a lot of discussion (that I’ve seen) around how Eddie and the Symbiote handled raising Sleeper because it reveals a lot about their growth up until that point.

It’s been previously established that the Symbiote has been through multiple abusive relationships in the past. The only people who have treated it relatively well as a host are Flash Thompson and, obviously, Eddie Brock. However, even in those relationships we see that it struggles with unhealthy tendencies. The most obvious being just hiding things to protect itself, which it has developed mostly as a coping mechanism (although sometimes it's just used as an easy way to create drama instead of as a sign of its trauma; the downside of having so many different people creating different comic arcs). Beyond itself, it has also seen all of it's children--Carnage, Riot, Lasher, Phage, Agony, and Scream--become incredibly violent in the hands of their hosts.

Because of this, it rightfully fears the idea of having any more children and seeing them become either like itself or its siblings. Comic issues #164 and #165 entirely focus on this idea because the Symbiote is going to spawn soon. Of course, usual Venom shenanigans ensue; people try to kidnap Eddie and the Symbiote, they escape, etc. But what's important is two things: 1) the Symbiote's dreams for the baby, and 2) we get to see Spider-Woman kick absolute ass.

In issue #165, we get these panels:

“It's true Eddie. Didn’t want my baby to be another monster. Wanted it to be a hero. A hero like you. Like Venom.”

I feel Eddie had a right to be upset at this point in time--what with not being told that your significant other is literally going to give birth--but he also doesn't at all slack on getting the Symbiote what it needs next. A quick run to Alchemax later, and they are able to (with some complications) deliver the new symbiote. They decide they will raise it separate from a host within the lab, Eddie and the Symbiote carefully watching over it's growth. Their main goal is to prepare it for a host, so hopefully it won't join its siblings.

Also (sort of a side rant) but I really want to emphasize how much I love Spider-Woman in this scenario. She, like a lot of people in Venom comic history, initially tries to attack Venom. However, upon learning that the Symbiote is pregnant, and seeing it's side of things, she promptly leaves them alone. On top of that, she steps in to rescue them, even when it wasn't necessary to do so. I don't know, I just really appreciate seeing her here. She rocks, and this also means she's one of the few characters who actually understands the relationship Eddie and the Symbiote have (and she doesn't want to destroy it).

"It's beautiful, Eddie." "It is."

I really loves this for a lot of reasons. Mostly because I'm weak to good parenting in stories, but I really want to emphasize how important it is that they're trying so hard. Eddie and the Symbiote have both been constantly fighting and internal and external struggle against the idea that they are a monster. Their mistakes have defined both of their lives. After a lot of trial and error--being broken up and reuniting again and again--that they are now taking steps to improve not only their relationship, but their overall lives and the life of their new kid.

And their new kid is absolutely overpowered. Sleeper is probably my favorite character in Venom history by a longshot. Sleeper is calm, cool, and collected, AND they're strong as hell. We get to see all of that and more displayed in Venom: First Host.

For those who haven't read it, the gist of this arc is that the Symbiote's first host--a Kree--is on a mission to find it again, along with a Skrull. Meanwhile, on Earth, Eddie and the Symbiote are trying to raise their baby in peace. They save the Kree from the Skrull, who then asks the Symbiote to return with him. It, of course, declines. And then the Kree goes absolutely nuts and tries to steal their kid so they're forced to make a sacrifice: the Symbiote goes with the Kree.

"If that is your choice...I honor it. You have my envy, Brock. You must be a great man." "No. Not great. But together we make something...more."

Stuff ensues. Eddie has to go on a rescue mission with the Skrull from before to save the Symbiote; and his kid is more than ready to help. Which, is awesome, because Sleeper is OP. They have the ability to camouflage themselves, secrete a pheromone that confuses the senses of those around them, AND can live with a dead host (they lobotomize the Kree guy and use his body to go have adventures after Eddie and the Symbiote reunite. All of this is awesome, but the only part I truly wish to highlight to you is this:

"We wanted better for you." "And I'll have it. This body is strong. There are depths of knowledge and memories in this mind. Worlds. Galaxies. I've been kept in a cage my whole life. There's so much to see out there. And I will see it. I know you did your best, father. But I don't need a cage anymore."

Sleeper has grown up; Sleeper is free. Thanks to Eddie and the Symbiote's efforts, Sleeper is their own individual. It's hard for them to accept their child leaving, but it's alright. Not only because Sleeper returns to them in the next couple of arcs anyways, but because they succeeded. While they had hoped that Sleeper would end up with a good host, they've instead given Sleeper the tools to be free on their own. They don't need to rely on a host's whims to be a hero, to be good.

It's powerful, and I love it. It's so compelling to see these character who have had such a difficult time finding themselves, finding their place in the world, raise such a strong and good individual. Sleeper goes on to be a vital asset in the King in Black arc (which I have words for, but I appreciate Sleeper's role in it) as well as a good big sibling to his human brother.

I can't even fully articulate how much I love this entire arc, just that it's the encapsulation of everything I really love about Venom. We get romance, we get parenthood, we get growth, we get all the good shit. I love it. Anyways, I'll leave you with that. I just wanted to share some of my many (many) thoughts about these comics.

#venom #venom: first host #sleeper symbiote #sleeper #eddie brock #symbrock #comics #marvel comics #venom comics #mini essay #venom (2016-2018) #rant #spider woman #sorry this is so long #im just super passionate about this #jane essay

[joyswonderland1108]

Seriously Army?

So she's back home and she's ready to rant and give answers and let you rant with me cause what on earth?

Okay So Jimin had a schedule in Budapest, he left on the 16th which got fuckers panties in a twist because why oh why would Jimin go to the same country JK went to? Didn't you know Budapest is exclusive to JK and JK only? But fear not, a few hours later they were celebrating again because "Jimin will be away for GOLDEN Live on stage" Uhm okay.

Comes the 18th and Jimin is going back home, guess what?

Right.. Because how fucking dare Jimin goes back to his HOME COUNTRY WHERE HIS PLACE IS, HOW DARE HE? THAT VIXEN!! But yeah gotta love the dedication in manifesting Jimin's presence in JK's GOLDEN Live in stage performance. Anygays..

Damn if you do, damn if you don't. So they're unhappy that Jimin went to Budapest but they're also unhappy that he's going back home.. Exactly how do you make these people happy? We don't know, actually we do they absolutely despise Jimin's existence and the ideal for them is him staying 7 countries away from JK..

MOVING ON, comes d-day of the performance, Joon is there, absolutely adorable, in his whole hotness and cuteness, then someone mentions that apparently according to K-army Jimin was there, well.. False alarm that of course got deleted later (rightfully so) when they got the correct information. But that was enough to rile up that cult which led to this

(Stole this from jikookreports)

All that from a false alarm too, they didn't even wait for it to be confirmed or anything just the mention of Jimin there was enough to have them foaming at the mouth. Which then was followed by this

(Stole this from Keira on Twt)

Which ended up being complete bullshit but of course Army hyped it up took it as a fact despite it being unverified news and despite the fact that k-media has been bullshitting on many things before but before i continue.. Notice how none of Joon or Tae's presence in JK's event seem to bother people? Like yes, them being there means they love their maknae, their baby star candy and want to support him but Jimin being there means he's a leech and can't stay home for once. Lovely.

Moving on and this is the cherry on top, this dumb ass, this wet sock, this lab rat, posted this

Now if the previous post wasn't enough of a lie this uncultured twat decided to make up a whole ass au out of that previous lie and of fucking course 12.4K (now probably more) of "smart" Army ate that shit up.

Mind you this post is still up and OP thought it was funny to keep it up and add this

So not only homeboy Tae was busy today, as seen here

Joon also mentioned that other members, which logically would be Vmin, have a shoot today, which means both weren't there. But this motherfucker was proud about spreading misinformation DURING THE LIVE not even after but decided it was a good idea to post some bullshit before even the live ended so basically disrupting people's attention and creating some whack ass drama instead of focusing on the performance that JK worked hard for.

Now if you did watch the live you know that JK pointed to Joon and asked to give him the mic to give a lil speechy speech, so are you now insinuating that JK is a dick for not acknowledging Tae's presence and only acknowledging Joon? Literally nothing about that post is a cute joke, not the timing of it, not the obvious lie when my boy Tae wasn't even there, just.. How very inconsiderate do you have to be? If YOU don't care about the live then it's on YOU, keep your childishness to yourself and if you still wanna make sick jokes, out of respect, wait for that live to fucking end.

Some people are on the TL while watching the live to hopefully catch some live translations as those offered with the live can be a bit off for now, so having to scroll through your tl and then you come across this shit? I don't know why it is so normalized to hate on Jimin and to disrespect JK, exactly what did this fandom become? Is it that hard to appreciate these boys without creating so much drama, so much hate, so much chaos?

I'm seriously very disappointed, as always, in ARMY cause if that was coming from the cult only then it's nothing new but then again at this point, at this rate, is it even something new that ARMY are engaging in loads of fuckery? No.. Not at all really.

Grow the fuck up.

#Army #Well.. BTS Army not actual Army uhm #If this stupid fandom could treat Jimin & Jungkook good we'd finally find peace. #Youtube

[thispatternismine]

ATLA live action impressions part 2

Following on from last night's post, here are my impressions of eps 5-8

Still really loved it. Gonna be tarred & feathered for this but I actually like it better than the animated show

Highlights:

Ozai giving Zuko credit for finding the Avatar. There's this weird idea in the fandom that Ozai never intended to take Zuko back. Even though we saw him do exactly that at the beginning of Book 3. Yes he set an impossible task, but when Zuko (apparently) achieved it, he was like 'ok yeah cool - you have met my standards'. Sure, there's no way Zuko would have continued to meet those standards if he'd stuck around, but Ozai did actually keep his word. The fact that he does it to make sure Azula knows she's overstepped & remind her she's replaceable, is an especially nice touch

Getting to see how Azula is treated by her father. I've seen way too many people try to claim Azula was never abused because she wasn't literally set on fire like he was. Never mind that she avoided that fate only because she was able to meet his standards. And having to constantly strive to meet the standards set by someone who thinks 'find a guy who's been missing for a century' is a suitable task to set his kid is abuse.

Another annoying tendency of the fandom is to flanderise Ozai into some diabolical caricature who spends all his time thinking up new ways to torment poor Zuzu, so having that scene of him banishing Zuko was a nice touch. He genuinely believes he is being a good dad & raising his kid to be strong (note: This isn't me saying Ozai is right - I'm saying he thinks he's right.)

The 41st Division 😭

Iroh & Ozai interacting with each other

Gyatso!

I spy some female soldiers! A problem with the animated show was that it's all well & good deciding that the Fire Nation has female soldiers, but bias is a thing & 99.9% of the time if you ask someone to draw a soldier it'll be a man. Yeah sure they all stayed to guard the Fire Nation that's why we didn't see any till Book 3 suuure

"Anything you need." "It has to do with Koh." "Anything but that." DYING

Aang's whole speech to Zuko about how helpful his notebook was (let's be real Iroh probably sighed & told him it was a waste of time so this was the first time he heard 'Hey good job on the Avatar research!') & the way they bonded before he unwittingly set Zuko off

"Quit it before they think there's something wrong with you. More than there already is."

"The Firelord deems your performance... below average." OOF. Pretty sure that's the worst thing you can possibly say to Azula. She'd much rather be told she sucked outright than just 'meh'

Waterbender Yue

Non-arsehole Hahn

Using Kuruk lore from the Kyoshi books!

I like the changes to the NWT siege. Having the spirits' mortality be an occasional, temporary thing to gain an appreciation of life that occurs during a full moon when the powers of those who will protect them in that state are at their peak, makes more sense than permanent vulnerability that relies on nobody finding out. Also never made sense that a naval officer was stationed in a fucking desert & was able to just take time off to go through a spirit library, so having Zhao find his info from the Fire Sages works better IMO. I do hope we'll still get the spirit library though

Ozai's lil eyetwitch when Azula backtalked him like if you agree

Haven't mentioned yet but I love the costumes in this

Also never mentioned Momo, the Real Hero of ATLA

Sokka continues to be awesome

Lowlights:

June calling Iroh cute & fawning over him. Normally I'd think it's unfair for the live action version of a character to be held accountable for what the animated version did, but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Like og!Iroh's groping of June being treated like a joke has been called out many times so they fucking had to know what they were doing

Why isn't Azula's fire blue? We got like 1 second of it & that's it. Maybe consistent blue flames are a power up she'll obtain later idk

#atla #zuko #azula #ozai #aang

[holyvirgilscriptures]

It's so funny when some fans can literally point out how Will loves and appreciates Mike for who he is unconditionally as a form of byler endgame proof (and anti mlvn proof). Yet when it comes to their own fanon interpretations of his character, suddenly Will is perpetually annoyed with Mike for no reason.

Fanon Mike is chacterized as an annoying loser who, by the grace of god, was allowed to have friends who tolerate him, but not without letting him know he's annoying. And Will? He's the Chief Ambassador of the Neutralizing Mike Comittee (The NMC™) who forever has to remind Mike that had he not said yes to being his friend on the goddam swingset almost 10 years ago, he would be nothing but a frogfaced nerd who has an enternal home in Loserdom.

It's not like Mike being his best friend means anything to him. It's not like Will wasn't brought to literal tears after essentially telling Mike how he's made personal, irreplaceable impact on his life, and how he would always have a place in his heart (as well as his other friends and family). Mind you, Will said all of that immediately after Mike expressed his own self-doubt and inferiority.

Some fans took Mike's nightmare fuel (personal insecurities) and decided it would make great wholesome byler content. Feels bad man... I wish they would let Will love Mike unconditionally like he does in canon.

(P.S. I went on a huge rant about Will's response to the rink o mania/rain scenes , but I didn't know how to get my point across in relation to this without going off the deep end lmfao)

can you marry me, please? 💍 this is a very good articulation of my own thoughts

my answer is very very long, so i'll put it under the cut:

i firmly believe a lot of fanon mike's characteristics are a reflection of the fandom's own anger towards him, starting from s3 onwards. for example — the concept of mike being overly clingy or having nerdy geeking out moments, and then will being annoyed by it? like i'm so sorry, people are not going to like what i say, but the opposite of that dynamic is what is literally canon in the show. in s3 will is attached to his childhood (and by extension his friends + mike) and tries to get all of them to play d&d, and then lucas and mike both scorn him. mike basically tells will to grow up.

now, am i saying that this is the dynamic i want to see portrayed in fics? no, of course not. in fact, the show itself makes it very clear that mike was in the wrong for treating will like that. and the audience was mad at mike. which is why i believe a lot of bylers write a role reversal of this, as some sort of comeuppance mike gets for s3 where he wasn't a good friend to will.

and as for mike being treated like he's the loserest loser in loserland, again, i think it just has a lot to do with people's anger towards him in s3 and s4, whether it's conscious or subconscious. when vol 2 came out everyone and their moms wanted to set fire to mike. people made soooo many jokes about will getting with another guy. all of this anger is also why people constantly peddle the "will is too good for mike" rhetoric as well.

the actors' appearances also come into play here. noah is broader and more toned than finn. that's also why buff byers became a thing, though noah's not really buff, he's just fit. buff byers also came from the idea that mike should be fucking groveling at will's feet, as repented for the way he treated will in s3-s4. like, "hey look! will is super strong and he's a chick/guy magnet and he could literally have any boy in the world!" and so they try to make this sort of disparity between both boys and put will on a pedestal compared to mike so that mike can do nothing but be his personal fanboy who should be grateful will even dared to look upon him.

i think that the van scene also added to people's anger towards mike. ranging from mike not noticing will crying (allegedly), to mike not realizing/accepting will's veiled love confession (allegedly). which is again, why we get more fan content of will not reciprocating mike's romantic affection. or people declaring that mike doesn't deserve will's love. it's just another role reversal.

which is so funny because like you said, will's love is unconditional. he openly admits to feeling lost without mike, but people like to pretend will was a happy little clown in california where everyone wanted a piece of him. and he admits that being mean or pushing mike away is NOT WHO HE IS NORMALLY. like seriously this is literally in the fucking show!!!

my answer is just mostly about byler but again just to note that all of mike's friends love him. they fight him or tease him but that's because they care. they find him annoying in the same way he would also find them annoying. because friends will annoy each other. but they still look up to him. in fact, all of them have had moments where one of their issues was literally the fact that they wanted mike's attention in one way or another.

mike IS a loser. but he's a loser in the sense that all of the party are losers. not in the way fanon portrays, where the party are somehow infinitely cooler than mike, who is written as a bottom of the barrel leech. (and also just to add here — people love over-exaggerating the idea of mike being "ugly" in canon, just so they can pair it with will "could attract literal gods" byers.)

and also, last one — mike is the heart of the party. there's no other way around it. he is their leader, and "without heart, we'd all fall apart" is literally THE most applicable thing to mike. when mike didn't act true to himself, not like the leader he normally is, that's when everything began falling apart. which is why i'm so hyped for s5, where we hopefully get to see mike come back to himself and truly lead the party as their paladin.

anyway marry me anon 💍💍💍

#virgil.ask #anonymous #fandom bs