#i think i have a whole rant in my drafts somewhere about this exact thing lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dreamcatcherrs · 3 years

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dating a faceless streamer/youtuber; mcyt x reader

+ this was a request, but it got deleted in my drafts ;-; sorry!

dream:

since he is also a faceless youtuber

he’s very understanding of keeping your privacy

and whatever reason you have to not reveal your face, he respects it

he knows what it’s like to have people tell him to face reveal

sometimes his voice will just appear in the back of your streams/videos

like in sapnap’s with the question about one direction

and chat is like, how long has he been here?????

the two of you would hint at a face reveal

and then after weeks brush it off like it was nothing

because you like to torture the fans, I guess🙄

because dream never has a face cam on

he has the perfect seat for you on his lap whenever he streams/films

and the same thing goes for when you film/stream; he’ll be sitting right next to you with his hand in yours or on your thigh

you’re known as the faceless couple

georgenotfound:

it really doesn't bother him at all that you’re a faceless streamer/youtuber

I don't see him as the type to post a whole lot of pictures with his s/o anyways

or something along those lines

so it wouldn't make a big difference to him

would just think it was funny to tease chat about knowing what you look like, when they don't

and then having them just hear you voice in the background of his videos sometimes

but not actually seeing you

he kinda likes that your relationship is more concealed

and that it’s harder for people to come at you when they don't know what you look like exactly, just because he’s dating you

because that would honestly be his biggest worry when revealing your relationship

so he’s happy that’s one less worry :)

sapnap:

does everything to not get people to beg for a face reveal

he doesn't want people to put that kind of pressure on you

especially if they go after you for it just because you're dating him

like, he will make a video about it if he has to

or tweet about it

the last thing he wants is for the fake fans to try and reveal your face or other things about you

when clearly that’s what you wanna keep private

that being said, he’d do so many streams with you

wether it’s gong against each other, or being on the same team

you always have so much fun together

even if you're literally in the same room together

if his face cam is on, he’d look over at you every now and then and send you a smile or some shit like that

there’s some pretty cute moments - expect a compilation

badboyhalo:

bad would be really proud to have an s/o who did youtube/streamed

and he would for sure help you out if you ever needed him to!

like with coding

or just general growth in your channel

wouldn't really care if you showed your face or not - whatever you're happy with makes him happy

he would just make sure that you never felt pressured to show your face

he knows people out there can be meanies

and come for you just because you don't show your face

and he’d always be there to talk to about it if it ever stressed you out

he would also make sure that you didn't hide your face because you didn’t like it or something like that

and if that was the case, you bet he’d be reassuring you

calling your all kinds of sweet things and show you lots of love

he takes lots of pictures of his two favourite girls

you and rat, of course (without showing your face, obviously)

technoblade:

he actually really likes that you're a faceless streamer/youtuber

like, he doesn't notice how much he likes it

before he realises all of the times you'd sneaked some hand-holding while streaming, or shared little kisses when on mute wouldn't have been possible if you both didn't show your faces

you’d share these secret glances when streaming/filming together

and no one would even know about it

sometimes his chat hears a little talking in the background from you

but techno just brushes it off like you weren't sitting right next to him the entire time

and vice versa

he also just stays with you when you're working

sharing small touches and words

chat also notice eventually how much you gush over each other without noticing

it happens A LOT more than you realise

especially from his side🤭

wilbur soot:

okay so

I think wilbur would have a hard time not showing you off to stream every second of the day

he would just always talk about you and want you there with him in his streams

and miss your touch after 5 minutes of being apart

but would be totally respectful of you wanting to remain faceless

he would just talk to you from an angle where chat couldnt see you

but yeah, he loves that you do the same type of job as him

and most of all, you motivate each other on days where you can't be bothered to even get out of bed

you’re definitely that couple that everyone makes cute compilations of

and that everyone strives to be

chat loves you, what more can I say

corpse husband:

ANOTHER FACELESS COUPLE

the power you two hold over everyone is actually immaculate

you stream/film together all the time

just having fun and being yourselves

he would definitely ask if you could join the games he plays with others when streaming

and if that wasn't possible, he’d just get you to come into his room and be part of it that way

he teases you a lot on stream

both cutely and mischievously

and your viewers are like👀

while his chat is just going crazy

you share lots of giggles

like, seriously, the majority of the videos/streams consists of you two laughing your asses off

you two will forever be known as the faceless couple

even if you both face reveal, that’ll always be your title

skeppy:

zak will find a way to show you off no matter what

he just can't resist

the way his heart is always beating out of his chest because of you is just too much for him to not ever show you to the world

but of course with your consent only

he wouldn't ever pressure you or anything

but since you're only remaining faceless

you can expect LOTS of matching outfit pictures taken in the mirror

and just lots of pictures of you in general

with your face blocked out or not in view, of course

you'd always be helping each other with your setups or videos

and he’d want to introduce you to literally everyone he knows

especially bad

you don't necessarily stream/film a lot with each other

but you're always in each others’ company in some shape or form

he always mentions you in his streams

just small stories or conversations

chat can tell he’s head over heels for you

karl jacobs:

he's the most support person everrr

he’d always be celebrating even the tiniest achievements with you

you hit 2k subs? he’ll treat you to an expensive ass dinner

you hit 1 million subs? he’ll buy you a whole room full of filming gear to improve from your previous ones

you managed to finish that one video you've been struggling with? he takes you on a weekend trip to somewhere you’ve always wanted to go

he’ll beg you to join him in is streams

just so he can hold your hand :)

or laugh with you every once in a while

he doesn't need you to face reveal at all

your company is all that matters to him when it includes the rest of the world

I mean, he’s the one able to see your beautiful face all the time, so he can't really complain even if he felt like it

always tweets about you or tweets things at you that only you two understand

and everyone is like ?????

but you don't care :)

fundy:

fundy actually doesn't talk a lot about you in his streams or videos

mostly to avoid people leaving bad light on you in the chat

unless he’s in the same game as you, of course

which in that case, the first thing he’d want to do is find you and talk to you in the game

he’s very respectful of you keeping your face private

and tries his best to keep the pressure of a face reveal off your shoulders

especially if it’s happening in his or your comments

if it gets really bad, he’ll eventually talk about it on twitter or something like that

does tiktoks with you

only with your voice though

and posts manyyy pictures where you’re tagged, but only slightly in view

he doesn't really care about your face being a secret

as long as he gets to see it, he’s happy

quackity:

alex has so much fun making videos or going live with you

and obviously you have the best collabs

you’re the funniest couple on the platform and it shows

he would talk so much about you - like, telling embarrassing stories about you or some shit like that

or saying how clingy you are with him

and chat would be like AWW HE TALKS ABOUT THEM

and he's like “no”😤

but alex can't fool anyone

he’s in it for real with you🥴

and at times, he doesn't even try to hide it

especially when he speaks up about ho proud he is of you

and how people should respect your choice of remaining faceless to the world

but then he quickly moves on to his silly self again

with blushy cheeks ^w^

punz:

has you on his lap constantly

even when his hand-cam is on

nothing will stop him from making you sit on his lap while he’s streaming

he loves that he can rant to you about the problems he faces sometimes concerning his streams

because you get it

he’d teach you the games you didn't know of

and you'd teach him the games that he didn't know of

and then you'd stream/film together after learning the basics

he doesn't talk about you a lot on stream

but chat eventually figures out it’s because you're literally in the same room as him

and how do they find that out, you may ask?

well, your snores coming from his headphones made it very obvious to say the least

awesamdude:

sam knows what it’s like being a faceless streamer

so if you wanted, he’d give you all of the advice you needed

and if you ever considered face revealing, he'd totally help you!

you guys have matching setups

you sometimes talk to each other across the room as you're playing the same game together

because it’s funny to tease chat that way

you’d be posting pictures on social media

that give off hints that you're with each other a lot

like, in one photo he’s wearing a hoodie

and the next day, you post a photo of you in that exact same hoodie

stuff like that

he also celebrates big and small achievements with you

wether it be you achieving them or him, you always celebrate together

eret:

matching. outfits.

STRAWBERRY DRESSES

PLATFORM HEELS

ahhhh chat would be going absolutely crazy at the fits you guys have sometimes

and you're always matching

as in always

he tells their stream that you have a matching crown like his

but that chat obviously can't see it on you because you don’t have a face-cam

she likes telling stories about you

like, memories they have of you two together

and he just always compliments you and praises you for your hard work on her streams

telling everyone how happy you make them

she also always invites you to join his streams because it means a lot to them that you're there :)

jack manifold:

jack is so excited about the fact that you're also a streamer/youtuber

it makes it easier to open up about your relationship online

because some people already knew you before you revealed you two were dating

though I feel like jack would kinda like the secrecy of your face online

just to brag to his audience about how he gets to see your face every day

but also because he likes that there’s more privacy for you

sometimes he’d pop into your room without knowing you were streaming/filming

and would just start talking to you while you giggled about how you were “kinda in the middle of something”

when jack realised what you meant, he’d hurry out of the room in an instant

you’d always be in each others chats/comments

showing what a supportive couple you were

he always raids you at the end of his streams if you’re streaming at the same time

tommyinnit:

tommy always forgets that you're a faceless streamer/youtuber

and is sometimes sooo close to blurting out something he shouldn't

because he’s so used to seeing you, he just kinda forgets that no one else can

you always have to send him a text to “sToP TalKIng AbOUt yOu” so he doesn't accidentally reveal something

that being said, he literally talks so much about you

again, I’m bringing up that time he said that tubbo is so clingy

he says the same thing about you

but he’s really the clingy one, and it’s pretty obvious

you catch him saying things like “yeah, y/n is really cool”

or “guys, please don't say stuff like that to y/n”

getting all serious and shit🥺

he asks you constantly if you can join his vc

even when you're busy, he’s like “pay. attention. to. me😤”

it’s really entertaining sometimes

especially when his streams just consist of you two bickering the whole time

calls you his favourite woman

tubbo:

ahhh tubbo is so sweet when it comes to you

like, when anyone mentions you he just starts smiling

and wants to tell everyone about you

even if they already know you from your channel

he just can't help but ramble on about you

especially to tommy

he replies to all of your tweets

and you reply to all of his

you always feature each other on your channels/streams

and share a celebratory cake when reaching subgoals

sometimes chat notices similarities in your layouts

like a colour change

or a similar pattern

posts a photo of your pinkies intertwined

wearing matching bracelets you made yourself

and everyone finds it super cute<3

ranboo:

he would encourage you so much to join his videos

and wear the same type of outfit to cover your face with

but with a sense of yourself in it so you'd look similar, but not exactly like each other

you'd be matching outfits so often

doesn't talk a lot about you on his streams

apart from mentioning how short you are

but on TWITTER

that's a whole other story

his twitter has practically just become a fan account of you

he’s always in your comments

just to leave a :)

or a supportive comment

if you ever wanted to do a face reveal

he would do it with you if it meant making you feel more comfortable about it

or less nervous

you’re just very lowkey and cute

___________________________________

tag list✰

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countdown-to-destruction · 4 years

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Inuyasha Sequel: a rant

Put this up this earlier on a post I re-blogged, tried to edit a part or two where I didn’t like the way I had phrased it, and ended up messing up the whole format I wrote this in. Luckily I wrote this as a draft earlier anyways! So I did a some fixing and now I’m just copy-pasting it again and making it a text post instead. This will be very long and a little nit-picky but I wanted to make a post ever since I heard about the upcoming sequel to Inuyasha, Hanyō no Yashahime. I did put a TLDR at the end for those who don’t want to read everything. Not sure how many people in the fandom still follow me and will see this, as it's been a long time since I was actually active in the fandom, but it's hands-down both my favorite manga and anime of all time and I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately so I had to post something. Before reading this be sure to read all of the translated character bios for Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha so that this makes sense.

When I first heard that Inuyasha would be getting a sequel I was excited! But after reading up on it, to be completely honest I'm not feeling this sequel anymore. I know it’s an unpopular opinion but hear me out. Firstly, it seems like Rumiko is mostly involved in the character design aspect and the writing is up to Katsuyuki Sumisawa. The music will be produced by Kaoru Wada which is great! And from what I’ve seen and read online a number of others who worked on the original series will reunite so hopefully the story will go well. However, knowing Rumiko isn't personally writing and not knowing how much input she has or will give makes me unsure about watching. The original Inuyasha anime followed and was based off of the events in the manga, and there was no manga prior to this for it to be based on. Depending on what happens this could be an alright sequel or a total miss. Unfortunately sequels in general are known to be disappointing in some way.

Secondly, if I hear anything about Rin being the mother of Sesshomaru's twin daughters I'm out. This part will be a SUPER long and in depth explanation on why I think this way, feel free to skip if you're not interested. Please don't come for me on this, I'm here to explain my thoughts and feelings on the sequel and the theories around it so far, not start an argument. I'm more than aware that there's plenty of controversy out there on this pairing and personally I do not support it. I never saw their relationship as more than a friendship, or something akin to child and guardian as Sesshomaru and Jaken are basically Rin's caretakers up until she goes to live in the village with Kaede. He definitely cares for her deeply but I can't see it in a romantic way, being that Sesshomaru isn't even a character focused on romance to begin with. He learns compassion through Rin's second death but that doesn't mean he loves her romantically. As a reminder his main goal is to seek power and be powerful, and it's stated that he needed to learn compassion and grief in order to mature. It's what helped him learn to wield the Tenseiga at its full potential. In addition, she was really young when they first met and still was when she went to live with Kaede. The idea of Sesshomaru (an adult) having romantic feelings for a kid under ten years old (around eleven at the end of the series, and still a literal child in all ways) and waiting for her to age with the intention of marrying her sits totally wrong with me. Age wise I realize that Inuyasha is decades older than Kagome and that his father was much older than his mother, Izayoi, as well. The difference here is that Kagome was a teen when she met Inuyasha (who not just physically, but more importantly mentally was also a teen) and clearly Izayoi was old enough to conceive Inuyasha and give birth. As far as the audio dramas (more specifically "Asatte") go they're generally considered as an outtake reel and are essentially parodies, or a form of satire. Some will debate on this but realistically there’s plenty of reasons this is true, and those who take the time to properly check them out understand that. For me I've always had a headcanon that at some point in her teen years Rin would inevitably develop a one-sided crush on Sesshomaru and that he would ultimately set boundaries and reject her, seeing her as more of a close companion than a love interest and wanting her to live with someone she can grow old with. He gave her the choice to follow him and it's most likely that she would, but I think that once she began aging he would want her to have somewhere to settle, given that he enjoys roaming and seeking out other powerful beings to battle. It's strange to me that they decided to give Sesshomaru hanyō/half-demon children in general but based on the artwork we've seen it's fair to guess that they might have made Sesshomaru and Rin a pairing in this sequel.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I want to clarify that if you ship them together I'm not writing this here because I want to hate on your ship for no reason, or in order to create an argument on if the pairing makes sense, these are my thoughts and opinions on the matter and I’m voicing them because it’s what I believe. I already know that somebody won’t like this and will take it personally. People usually say that once Rin is an adult the pairing is acceptable but I disagree. I find it quite creepy that someone would think it would be alright for an adult to wait around for a kid to grow up with the intention to marry and/or sleep with them. Watching from a distance is the same exact thing, after making an impression on the child... let’s not normalize this. In this situation it would be grooming. We all have our own opinions when it comes to our ships and fandoms and I try to respect that but I can’t get behind this one.

Next we have the apparent lack of parental figures for the heroines. Where are the original Inuyasha characters at? Moroha's character bio says she barely knows her parents (Inuyasha and Kagome, our former main protagonists) and has been alone since she was young! It makes me think either something has happened to them or some kind of bizarre event separated them. And sorry, not related, but why does she transform by PUTTING LIPSTICK ON?? That part threw me for a loop.

When it comes to Setsuna and Towa their parents are absent too. I find it difficult to believe that Sesshomaru wouldn't keep track of his children given how he treats Rin and reacts to her going missing in any capacity. Especially if he happened to be fond of whoever their mother is. One daughter works as a taijiya/demon slayer for Kohaku and the other mysteriously transports to Kagome's era and is raised by Sota (I thought we had finished with the time jumps when the well closed but apparently not. When the Bone Eater's Well closed after Kagome's return it gave a sense of finality and closure to the story, and showed that Kagome had chosen where she was most happy and felt she belonged. I think that bringing the theme of time travel back into the sequel makes it feel repetitive, like something right out of a predictable fanfic. Props to Sota for taking in and raising a child who showed up out of nowhere though).

Another thing that came to mind when I read these character bios was why Inuyasha and Kagome's daughter and Sesshomaru's daughters are the exact same age. Of course there's nothing wrong with that. It only struck me as odd because suddenly everyone is having kids at the same time. And so far there's no mention of other characters like Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Jaken, Kaede, or Miroku or Sango's three children or where they are. One might expect that a story focused on the children of some of the original Inuyasha's main characters would feature appearances from those who had important roles in the previous series and their children. Which brings me around to wondering what made twin daughters a trend? Two sets of twin girls is a unique choice (Sango and Miroku's twin daughters. For such a small group of parental characters, what are the odds of two sets of twin girls? Where is the creativity and again why the repetition?).

Lastly, Sesshomaru's daughters lack some of the common yōkai/demon characteristics we see on Inuyasha and other characters. Their ears are human, and they have no markings or otherwise (that I noticed) with the exception of Setsuna's mokomoko/fur which is similar to Sesshomaru's. So perhaps they take more after their human mother? Given that Inuyasha seemed to inherit strong genes from his father it's interesting that they did not. Their ages also interest me as they appear to age the same way as humans do. Yōkai/demons are known to have a longer lifespan than humans and appear to slow down or almost stop aging at some point. Perhaps this confirms that the slowdown in aging occurs once they reach the equivalent of a human teen?

Overall Inuyasha was a fantastic manga and great anime on its own, and I never got the feeling that it needed a sequel. As a stand-alone it was everything it needed to be. I thoroughly enjoyed both formats of the original, though I do have a tendency to disregard certain parts of the anime. I always preferred the manga more when the anime dragged out certain scenes (Shichinintai/Band of Seven arc for example) or straight-up excluded, changed, and added others. Taking that into consideration the sequel might end up being the same for me in that way, but rather than one scene that plays out for too long or an excluded, altered, or unnecessary added scene, if it’s not any good I’ll simply disregard it altogether. When the anime comes out I certainly plan to try watching it out of loyalty to the fandom, and due to the fact that it's "technically" canon (without Rumiko being the writer I don't necessarily consider it canon, much like how some folks do or do not consider the movies canon) but I get the feeling that I'll wind up giving up on it in disappointment.

TLDR; Overall I'm left questioning if the sequel is worth watching (for me) given what I've read and heard so far, but nonetheless I will give it an optimistic try! I'm currently wondering how much we'll see of the original Inuyasha characters, if we get to find out what happened to them, if the number one pairing I'm not fond of will make an appearance (and cause me to drop the whole thing), and questioning parts of the character backstories and designs (why is there a repetitive and recurring theme of time travel and does it end up hindering or ruining the story, why do the protagonists all lack parents, and why do the hanyō/half-demon characters lack common yōkai/demon traits and does it make them more human than demon?).

#inuyasha #hanyo no yashahime #sesshomaru #please don't be sessrin #kagome #a feudal fairytale #internal screeching #my thoughts #my opinions #unpopular opinion

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ilovemygaydad · 5 years

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punk!patton is adopted by single parent logan part 2/?

part one - part three - part four - part five - ao3 version - masterlist (includes asks)

pairings: eventual moxiety, eventual logince

warnings: swearing, lots of emotions, anxiety, worry, panic attack mentions, patton’s an asshole (both intentionally and not), a tiny bit of accidental ableism, hurt feelings, food mentions, possibly something else

***feel free to send me questions or comments! i’ll answer them to the best of my ability, and everything is tagged under “punk!patton au”

here we go babey

for the entirety of his week-long suspension from school, patton just contemplates these icky, weird feelings that he’s having

because he thought that he’d gotten rid of them, but the way that he tried to protect virgil obviously proves something different....

before that day, he’d never tried to protect anyone before

it was patton against the world through and through

but then this... this boy in these pastel clothes shows up, and suddenly patton wants to protect him!

like what the fuck?!

he decides to pretend that these emotions don’t exist because feelings are too much fucking work

so he goes back to school like nothing happened

which goes totally fine because virgil doesn’t attempt to talk to him for the entirety of their first block

when the bell rings, however... virgil pretty much slams his hands on patton’s desk before he can get up, leaning in with stern expression twisting his normally soft features

(which is only accentuated by the still-fading black eye that virgil mostly covered up with concealer...)

“are you okay?”

and patton is just taken aback by how forward virgil is being--especially since he’s wearing a light blue skater skirt and gray long-sleeved crop top, which is not the epitome of sternness, and pat stutters out a shy “yeah” before virgil goes off on a tiny rant

“that’s good! i was really worried that you’d gotten in a ton of trouble with your dad for swearing at those parents, and i had no way to know if you were okay, so i kind of freaked out for the whole week. and, like, i’m really sorry that i got involved because it ended up getting everyone in super big trouble--especially you--and that kind of sucks. so, yeah, sorry.”

patton hadn’t been listening since the word “worried,” as he’d become entranced by virgil’s color-shifting lip gloss. he sees pinks and blues and purples as virgil talks, and he leans in just slightly to get a closer look

and it’s absolutely NOT because virgil’s lips look so pretty and soft pshhhhhh no

virgil notices that patton’s staring at him with furrowed brows, and he realizes that he’s looking at the lip gloss he’s wearing, and he sort of

freaks out...?

he flinches back and covers his mouth with his hands in one of his familiar bouts of self-doubt

“why are you staring at my lip gloss? does it look bad?” he rushes

and patton’s like

????????? what?????

no???????

and in an unexpected turn of truthfulness, patton says, “no, it looks really pretty.”

and for some reason, there’s a weird, fluttery feeling in patton’s chest when virgil takes his hands away from his face and smiles

[john mulaney voice] now we don’t have time to unpack all of that!

luckily enough, patton is saved from having to deal with the emotions when the warning bell for passing time rings, and both teenagers rush to scoop up their things and go to their next classes

even luckier, patton doesn’t have his next three classes with virgil, so he doesn’t have to think about his--gross--emotions

but then

lunch time rolls around

and patton hadn’t prepared for how absolutely fucking awful that mess would be!

as soon as he walks into the cafeteria, he’s accosted by so many noises and smells

he tries to leave, but the lunch monitor tells him that the kids aren’t allowed to leave once they enter until the end bell rings, which is such bullshit, but patton really doesn’t need another tick on his permanent record

clutching the brown bagged lunch in his fist, he scans the cafeteria for somewhere to sit and finds virgil sitting at an otherwise empty table near the trash cans

with a groan, patton makes his way over and plops himself across from virgil, who squeaks at the sudden companion and nearly drops his phone to the floor in surprise

“do you not have a lunch?” patton asks, choosing to ignore the fumble

“ah, no. i can’t eat the school lunches because i have celiac disease, so i usually just sit here on my phone”

with probably more force than necessary, patton tore the top off of his lunch bag and pulled out an apple, holding it out to virgil as he ordered, “eat it”

virgil hesitated for a second, but ultimately took the apple and bit into it, wincing as lip gloss got all over the skin

patton smiles gently and says a quick thanks to virgil before digging into his own lunch

they exchange a bit of banter, and all is going well and good until patton gets curious

“why do you dress like that?”

virgil freezes in his spot, and an emotion flashes on his face that patton deciphers just a few moments too late

“i--i’m sorry, i’ve got to go!” virgil mutters, leaving the half-eaten apple on the table and running from the cafeteria, ignoring the angered shouts of the lunch monitor

patton only spends a few seconds staring at the doors that virgil ran out of before he turns back to his lunch and shrugs. it’s not like he was really that into making friends at school. and he was already planning on sitting in the library for lunch

he didn’t care

he really didn’t

he didn’t!

patton pretends not to notice the fact that virgil’s name is called in several of his last few classes, but the quiet boy isn’t there

later that night after dinner, logan is sitting at the kitchen table grading some homework assignments from his first graders

“grading” being used very lightly. he was mostly looking to see if they actually followed the minimal instructions on their writing sheet

but then the doorbell rang, which was confusing for logan because he wasn’t expecting any visitors

he walks the few meters to the door and opens it

standing outside is a man in a slouchy hat and very... colorful clothes

“hi, are you logan summers?” the man asks in an odd accent that logan can’t place

“yes, and you are...?”

“roman sanders. my son, virgil, goes to the same school as patton”

and logan is internally going oh shit what the hell did patton do now

on the outside, he simply says “do you want to come in? it’s a bit chilly, and i’d rather not cause a draft.”

roman nods and steps inside, and logan closes the door. he leads his “guest” to the living room where they can talk in comfort.

“did patton do something to virgil?” logan blurted out as soon as they were seated

“sorry, can you repeat that? you were talking too fast for me to read your lips.” roman gave a lighthearted laugh and took off his hat to reveal a mess of brown hair that didn’t quite cover the bright red hearing aids that wrapped around his ears

which would explain why his speech was different. he couldn’t actually hear what the sounds were supposed to be like

logan felt like an idiot

“my apologies. i just asked if patton did something to upset virgil. he isn’t the most... gentle person.”

roman’s smile turns to a grimace “virgil called me in the middle of the day to ask me to pick him up from school. i was lucky enough that all of my patients had scheduled for the morning, and i was able to get to the school without feeling guilty about cancelling someone’s session last minute. when i got to the school, virgil was sobbing. virgil likes wearing gender non-conforming clothing, and apparently patton asked why he liked to dress the way he did, and it spooked the poor kid. i was hoping to clear some things up so virgil would feel better.” (roman is a therapist)

logan

well

he was kinda pissed

patton of all people shouldn’t be judging others for dressing against the norm, since he did the exact same thing!

he quickly excused himself and dragged (figuratively, though he would have resorted to fireman carrying the teenager if he’d refused) patton to the living room to talk to roman

introductions happened blah blah blah and roman asks what patton did to upset virgil

and patton’s like “i was curious about his clothing style????”

roman kind of just narrows his eyes at patton and says “i want to know exactly what you asked before i make an assumption on what to do. words can trigger emotional responses depending on the person, especially with added influence of tone.”

logan will never admit that he’s surprised at how intelligent this man is

and how he’s a little bit attracted to him

and patton being patton said, “i just asked, ‘why do you dress like that’ and he got all upset! it’s not my fault he got offended by my curiosity”

logan pinches the bridge of his nose, and roman pulls out his phone

“we’re calling virgil, and you’re going to apologize to him”

roman starts a facetime call with virgil, and signs “hey, starlight! i have someone here who wants to talk to you.”

virgil both audibly says and signs “who?”

it sounds like he’d been crying

roman turns the phone so that it’s facing patton, who just crosses his arms and turns his face so that he doesn’t have to see virgil

“patton,” logan says in his Dad Voice. “apologize”

and then patton glances at the screen and sees virgil’s red nose and the tear tracks down his cheeks and how bad virgil looks, and he breaks

his voice is quiet and shy as he says “i’m really sorry for upsetting you. i was just curious as to why you chose such a unique style in an often unforgiving environment. i should have worded my question better”

patton peeks over at virgil, who seems to contemplate the apology for a few seconds before saying “i forgive you” with the tiniest baby smile that makes patton’s heart melt

and they both kind of seem to forget their dads are there until the phone is turned back to roman, who took the smiles and not speaking as a cue to take the call back

“i love you” he signs to virgil

“love you too,” virgil says (and presumably signs) “but please don’t hunt down every person who hurts me and do this. you’re lucky that i didn’t catch you, dad, because i would have kicked your ass before you would have left the house”

roman smiles, and patton lets out a surprised laugh because he didn’t think that someone as cute as virgil could physically swear

“dad, can you give the phone over to patton and let me talk to him in private for a few minutes?”

roman hands the phone over and follows logan into the next room (where logan definitely isn’t eavesdropping and relaying all of the information to roman)

“so,” virgil starts as soon as patton gives him an all clear “i wanted to explain to you why i dress the way i do even though it’s really simple: i just like the soft fabrics and colors. they make me feel much happier than when i tried to fit in with the other kids by wearing hypermasculine clothing.”

“that’s valid,” patton says because he doesn’t really know what else to say

“why do you dress in all dark colors and edgy clothing?”

patton hadn’t thought about virgil reversing the question on him, but he feels compelled to answer

so he does

he talks about his life at the orphanage and how he shut himself off from the world. he knew that people didn’t like him for his emotions, so he just tried storing most of them away and pushing others out of his personal space. he lashed out so easily because he was lonely but didn’t know how to properly express his emotions

and by the end of the explanation, virgil is a little teary, and he says “patton, you are far more lovable than you think. i’m sorry that the world told you otherwise”

and now patton is crying a bit, and they kind of just sit there for a second and take in their emotions

for once, patton doesn’t try to mash them down

the parents come in a few minutes later when the kids calmed down, and roman took his leave, but patton doesn’t forget to say goodbye to virgil first

and he’s actually kind of looking forward to seeing virgil the next day, even though he won’t admit it

to be continued in.... PART THREE

okay so here’s the thing fam... so many of you asked to be tagged that i don’t know if i’m going to be able to fit everyone. literally. SO if your name isn’t on here, or you notice someone whose name isn’t on here that asked, i’m sorry, but i literally can’t do anything about it. it will take me years to tag everyone even with infinite tags. the amount of love this has received is great, but i am human

tag list: @residentanchor @eeveeawesome @xionical @absolutesandersidestrash @stormcrawler75 @musikasworld @ironwoman359 @a-weirdo-with-a-computer @thegaypotatoroyalty707 @darkrainbow333 @ravenclawunicorn1 @noahlovescoffee @whymustibedraggedintofandomhell @romansleftshoulderpad @still-waiting-for-cookies @emounicorn2006 @lana--22 @angels-ofthe-sea @demonickittykat @lonelysoul43 @the-virgil-mary @five-second-cookies @noisywolfbatbakery @band-be-boss-blog @heck-im-lost @lamp-calm-sanders @patton-e @knightofbloodcancer @cloudchaser7 @really-sleep-deprived-nerd @era-eclipsed @khadij-al-kubra @anxiousmorality @are-you-really-sure-about-that @today-only-happens-once @notalwaysthevillian @backatthebein @sunshineandteddybears @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 @emo-sanders-sides-loving-unicorn @dodos-in-damnation @some-lost-meme-boi @dead4sevenyears @spookyingarbageisland @the-poison-apple-of-art @radioactivehelena @the-melody-of-eliza @im-a-mess-aaaaaa @whycantihavemorethan32characters

#m writes things #moxiety #logince #patton sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #punk!patton au

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thezeekrecord · 3 years

Text

GAGEGN ch15

[index/summary]

REPORT: Regarding D.Pepper and T.Coolatta's time babysitting

Darnold had to admit—maybe sitting around for a month had been eating away at his mental health more than he had cared to notice at the time. Watching Joshua was a big task, but it was something to do, something that had a very clear goal and many rewards. He hadn’t known very many people with kids during his adult life, let alone any that would turn to him for babysitting, so it took them a brief adjustment period to find what worked. Joshua was an exceptionally picky eater, but giving him small portions of many hard set choices he could ask for more of at mealtimes seemed agreeable to him. He was incredibly high-energy, but tended to put his all into particular types of activities for hours at a time; video games were one draw, but Tommy had picked up a few different children’s science kits that he seemed to enjoy as well. He especially liked anything involving plants, so they let him attempt gardening in their backyard, which mostly just amounted to him digging a bunch of holes with Sunkist and burying random things.

It was a little exhausting, but fun; Darnold enjoyed the company of kids. Still, he did tend to sigh in relief once Joshua was in bed; his high energy was hard to match sometimes. Darnold was knelt down beside Joshua’s bed, telling him extensively about potions in the hopes of boring him to sleep when Tommy appeared in the doorway. Josh didn’t seem to like falling asleep alone, after all—something Darnold couldn’t help but wonder about, given the fact that his dad had disappeared for some unidentifiable amount of time during the resonance cascade. Darnold glanced back at Joshua. He looked halfway asleep by now, so Darnold stood, giving him a brief affectionate pat on the shoulder.

“Goodnight, Josh.” Darnold said.

“Goodnight.” Joshua mumbled.

Darnold exited the room, closing the door gently behind him.

“What’s up?” Darnold whispered to Tommy.

“Oh, nothing. It was just—you were taking a while, so I thought I might see if, uhhh, if I could help.” Tommy muttered.

Darnold laughed slightly as they headed back downstairs. “Nahhh, I had it. He’s just shockingly interested in potions.”

Tommy snorted as they arrived in the living room, plopping down on the couch together. They were, as far as Darnold was aware of roommate etiquette, the appropriate distance from each other—each sat on either end of the couch, with more than enough space for a third person. Tommy picked up the remote, turning on a recording of the newest Invitation to Love episode they’d arranged to watch together. Darnold wasn’t necessarily a fan; it was the exact type of drama that really grated on his nerves. Tommy loved it, though, and actually had pretty interesting analysis to offer on the exact things Darnold hated about it, so it wasn’t a total loss of his time. Besides, any time spent with Tommy was never considered a waste in Darnold’s mind.

Once the episode was over, Darnold was ready to hear Tommy lovingly roast it like always, but when he turned to him expectantly, Tommy looked distracted.

“You alright?” Darnold asked gently.

“...Yeah.” Tommy muttered. “I’m just...thinking.”

“...About what?”

Tommy paused before turning to Darnold to give him a smile. “I think you’d make a really great dad.”

Darnold smiled back bashfully, heat rushing to his face. “O-oh—really? I mean, I don’t know.”

“To be honest, I was—umm...I was sorta nervous about watching Joshua.” Tommy went on, curling in on himself a little tighter as he looked back at the TV. “I was worried that, like...I wouldn’t really know what to do. But you do a really good job with kids.”

“You do a good job, too. You actually know what he’s talking about half the time.” Darnold pointed out with a laugh.

Tommy laughed too, leaning his head into his hand. “Did you ever—were you ever planning on having kids? Before the resonance cascade?”

Darnold’s smile fell just a little bit. “Well...yeah, I mean, it always ended up being a ‘when I find the right person’ kinda thing. But I never ended up dating anyone, and then I moved into the Black Mesa dorms...it just never really panned out.”

Tommy nodded, and they settled into a brief silence.

“...It’s been fun watching over Josh with you, though.” Darnold admitted shyly.

Tommy smiled. “Yeah! I don’t know if I could do this all the time, but—I, uhh—I could see myself babysitting for Mr. Freeman whenever he needs.”

They fell into another comfortable silence, the TV automatically going back to the last channel they’d been on before they’d started up the recording. As always, the small part of Darnold’s mind that endlessly calculated a future with Tommy romantically began chugging away, weighing Darnold’s interest in having kids versus Tommy’s reluctance, but he did his best to quickly stamp that thought process down.

“...I wish I had this growing up.” Tommy murmured suddenly. “The group homes I grew up in weren’t all bad, it’s just...you know. Something like this could have saved me a lot of grief. And then—and to think, my dad could’ve provided me something like this this whole time...”

Darnold frowned. “...I’m sorry, Tommy.”

Tommy let out a small sigh, turning back to Darnold. “I-it’s okay, though. I guess I just, umm—I would wanna use my experiences to, like...help my friend do better for his kid. You know?”

Darnold nodded. “I know exactly what you mean.”

Tommy and Darnold’s quiet time together soon came to an end, and the next morning, Darnold, Tommy, Joshua, and Sunkist were all sat in the living room sometime after breakfast when they heard a knock at the front door. Darnold stood first, immediately assuming it must have been Gordon. Instead, though, he found Dr. Coomer, greeting Darnold with a bright smile.

“Hello, Darnold!” He said. “How are you this morning?”

“Oh, hi. I’m doing good.” Darnold replied.

“Do you need any help with Joshua, perhaps?” Dr. Coomer asked, leaning over unsubtly to see into Darnold’s house.

Darnold stepped aside to let Dr. Coomer in. “Well, we’ve got things under control, but you’re welcome to stay.”

Dr. Coomer stepped in enthusiastically, and Darnold closed the door behind him.

“Have you seen Gordon already?” Darnold asked him as they headed to the living room.

Dr. Coomer maintained his smile, but there was a hint of evasiveness in his tone as he replied. “Oh, Bubby’s over at Gordon’s right now. I figured I’d drop by here instead to see how things were going.”

Darnold had half a mind to ask if Dr. Coomer was feeling well—he had heard he was having some trouble yesterday, after all—but decided to drop it, as Dr. Coomer appeared to be just fine. He greeted Joshua enthusiastically, scooping him up into his arms for a tight hug.

“How are you, Joshua?” Dr. Coomer asked as he eased himself down on the couch, Joshua in his lap.

“We’re watching Spongebob!” Joshua answered with a smile.

Dr. Coomer looked up at the TV, confirming they were indeed watching Spongebob.

“Oh, I do love cartoons!” Dr. Coomer chirped. “Tell me more about ‘Sponge Bob’.”

Joshua immediately began firing off on a long rant about Spongebob as Darnold sat back down. Once Joshua lost interest in describing the show to Dr. Coomer, he turned, settling in Dr. Coomer’s lap to keep watching in silence.

“How are you feeling today?” Tommy asked.

Dr. Coomer smiled. “Oh, I’m doing much better today. Thank you for your help yesterday, Tommy.”

“...Is umm...is Benry at your house?”

Dr. Coomer’s smile fell. “Oh, I—I entirely forgot. I’m sorry, Tommy, I don’t believe he is, unless he was hiding in our linens closet again. I can go check, if you’d like.”

Tommy shook his head. “No, it’s okay. I’m—I’m uhh, sure he’s just squatting somewhere again.”

“He has a cell phone, right?” Dr. Coomer asked, putting a strange emphasis on the words “cell phone”. He shifted his weight a little bit to pull out his phone. “We could always try sending him a text message!”

“I would...feel weird texting him...” Tommy muttered, looking pointedly at Dr. Coomer’s phone.

Dr. Coomer flipped his open, holding it out in one hand while he used his other hand to jab at the buttons with his index finger. Darnold tried not to look too amused by it.

“I don’t believe I have his phone number...” Dr. Coomer said.

Tommy gave Dr. Coomer his phone number, hovering over his shoulder a little as Dr. Coomer began trying to draft a text message. Tommy leaned in close, giving Dr. Coomer pointers on how to text properly, but ended up taking the phone entirely from him as Dr. Coomer dictated to Tommy what he wanted to say.

“Now, I would like it to say...‘Hello, Benry! This is Harold. Tommy gave me your cell phone number.’ And put a smiley face there, if you can.” Dr. Coomer said.

Tommy typed the message expertly within a manner of seconds. Once he was done, his finger hovered over the send button, pulling away and turning back to Dr. Coomer. “Ummm...anything else?”

“Yes, say...‘I wanted to check in and see how you were doing. We’re not quite sure where you are at the moment, but you’re always welcome to stay with me and Bubby if you need.’ And I’d like another smiley there, please. Then, ‘Love, Harold.’”

Tommy smiled. “You don’t need to put, uhhh—you don’t need to put a valediction in a text, Dr. Coomer.”

Dr. Coomer frowned, distress clear on his face. “But I want to!”

“Okay, I’ll put it in.” Tommy said with a small laugh, taking a moment to finish texting. His smile fell when it came time to send the message, thumb hovering over the send button. “Ummm...h-here.” He muttered, pushing the phone back into Dr. Coomer’s hand.

Tommy closed his eyes and curled up on the couch as Dr. Coomer hit the button for him. Once the message was sent, Dr. Coomer reached to Tommy, pulling him into a side hug. Tommy sighed, relaxing against Dr. Coomer.

“It’ll be alright, Tommy.” Dr. Coomer said reassuringly.

Tommy nodded. “...Yeah. I just feel so...complicated about it.”

“I know.” Dr. Coomer replied gently. “You invested a lot of your time and energy into him—that’s not easy to let go of. But if he’s not listening to you, I understand that you need some time away from him.”

Tommy sighed again deeply, turning and settling to lean his back against Dr. Coomer. Darnold smiled at them, hoping they wouldn’t notice. He sympathized with Tommy for having a hard time over putting his foot down with Benry, but the sight of him and Dr. Coomer clearly being so close was nice; he’d heard a little bit about what happened with the Nihilanth project, but he didn’t know too much about Tommy’s friendship with Dr. Coomer and Bubby. Clearly, though, they’d been through a lot together already—they all had, in fact. Darnold wondered not for the first time if he would be this close with them, if he had decided to go with Gordon after all.

They all sat together peacefully, quickly moving on to sit out in the backyard and watch Joshua play with Sunkist. Darnold had been a little nervous at first about such a massive dog with a small child, but Sunkist was well-behaved as always, perhaps even alarmingly aware of what Joshua should or shouldn’t be doing. She was barking orbs of sweet voice eagerly at Joshua, trotting leisurely behind him as he ran in circles around the yard. Everyone looked up curiously as the fence gate was pushed open with a creak by none other than Bubby, slouched over with a grouchy expression on his face.

“There you are, Harold.” Bubby sighed, closing the gate behind him. “I thought you were staying home.”

“That’s what you decided.” Dr. Coomer pointed out. “How is Gordon?”

Bubby reached under his glasses to rub his eyes exhaustedly. “...There were some ups and downs.” He settled to say, plopping down in the empty lawnchair beside Dr. Coomer.

Dr. Coomer pulled Bubby’s chair closer to him, Bubby gripping the sides to steady himself as it moved, so he could drape an arm over his shoulders. Bubby glanced at Darnold and Tommy, crossing his arms with a huff.

“He’s okay with Benry now, though, I guess. Sort of.” Bubby went on.

“What? Really?” Tommy asked incredulously.

“Yeah, I have no idea why, I didn’t ask. But I walked in this morning, and they were just hanging out.”

“That’s...that’s good.” Tommy said, staring down at the concrete at his feet. He didn’t sound too enthusiastic about it, Darnold noted with a frown.

“I made that list of therapists for him, at least, but I didn’t get the chance to try and talk to him about it.” Bubby continued, pushing his glasses up on his face. “We got his house cleaned up and most of his things unpacked. That’s about it.”

“That’s a very good start!” Dr. Coomer said with a smile. “We can discuss his therapy options tomorrow.”

Bubby frowned, looking away. “You’re going to have to do that yourself, Harold. Sorry.”

“Why’s that?”

“...I just...probably shouldn’t be there tomorrow.” Bubby glanced up at Darnold and Tommy again, then looked down into his lap uncomfortably. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Bubby, I thought I told you to be nice.” Dr. Coomer said, but his tone was gentle as he pulled Bubby in a little closer.

“That’s your thing.” Bubby grumbled.

“Bubby!” Joshua shouted enthusiastically, breaking away from Sunkist to jump on the lawn chair Bubby was sat on. Bubby tensed as Joshua sat himself in his lap, arms hovering over Joshua like he was afraid he’d break him if he touched him. “Do the fire!”

Bubby grimaced. “No, Gordon got really mad the last time I did that around you.”

“Please?”

Bubby hummed uncomfortably. “Ohhh...fine. Just go sit with Harold.”

Bubby nudged Joshua gently over to Dr. Coomer’s lap, then sat up, scooting his chair away a little bit.

“Hold on—the fire?” Darnold asked nervously. “You’re not gonna—”

Bubby already had his fingers to his temples, though, and in a flash, he had a controlled flame in his other palm. He then took a deep breath, held the flame up to his face, and blew on it, giving him the appearance of breathing out a massive flame. Joshua clapped enthusiastically as Darnold clutched his chest, watching the flames go dangerously close to the roof.

“Excellent form, Bubby!” Dr. Coomer chirped.

“Please don’t do that in our backyard!” Darnold shouted.

“Oh, a little fire never hurt anyone.” Bubby retorted, leaning back comfortably in his lawn chair.

“Yes it has! It absolutely has!!”

A good portion of their afternoon was spent together after that, Joshua greatly enjoying the company of Bubby and Dr. Coomer. Aside from Bubby’s lack of restraint with his pyrokinesis, it was nice; Darnold only wished Gordon would be there. Darnold was sure he would’ve loved to see some of the fun things his son was getting up to. Well, it was only a week, Darnold reassured himself—Gordon would get himself back on his feet, and then they had the rest of their lives to have more times like this.

Well, except for the fact that Darnold was fairly certain he was going to need to find something else to occupy his time after he was done watching Joshua. Maybe a different job, maybe some sort of volunteer thing—going back to life as it was before was going to be very, very boring.

Everyone looked up curiously as they heard several hard knocks on the door, with long pauses between each knock. Darnold hadn’t heard Gordon’s typical method of knocking, but something about this didn’t quite seem like him. Tommy was already on his feet this time, leaving Darnold alone with Dr. Coomer, Bubby, and Joshua.

“How have you been doing, Darnold?” Dr. Coomer asked, filling the awkward silence that ensued.

“Oh, I’m good.” Darnold replied. “It’s been really cool living here. I’m glad I moved in with Tommy, otherwise I’d probably just be...y’know, hiding out in my own place doing nothing.”

“That’s great! I’m happy to have you here.” Dr. Coomer said with a smile.

Darnold smiled back shyly. “Oh! Th-thank you. That’s really nice. Yeah, it’s—I’m glad that like, I get to hang out with you guys.”

“Say, I do recall you saying that you were interested in boxing.” Dr. Coomer said, a hopeful, excited look on his face. “I happen to love boxing!”

“Oh, yeah! I remember I took a few lessons when I was younger, but I never really got too into it. I always wished I stuck with it, though.” Darnold admitted. “I could pick up a new pair of gloves sometime.”

Dr. Coomer grinned, punching Darnold’s arm—it was playful, but it was a bit harder than he’d probably intended. Either that, or Darnold was just softer than he thought he was. “Darnold, I think we’re going to get along very well.”

“Just don’t let him get in the habit of breaking the rules with you.” Bubby said, crossing his arms and leaning back on the couch. “He knows he can’t win against me, so he always puts me in a headlock before I can win.”

“No, I do it because you make it so easy!” Dr. Coomer retorted, immediately hooking his arm around his neck and dragging him into a headlock. “Also, because I think it’s fun.”

“Let me go, you ass!” Bubby barked, wriggling in Dr. Coomer’s grip.

Dr. Coomer leaned down to give Bubby an affectionate kiss on the head before letting him go. Bubby huffed, looking thoroughly embarrassed as he leaned back on the couch again.

“I have to say, I’m quite happy to see that you and Tommy get along so well as roommates.” Dr. Coomer said as he settled back down. “I think he found living alone in the dorms to be rather lonely.”

“Oh, yeah, me too.” Darnold sighed. “I mean, I definitely didn’t see it that way back then, but living with Tommy has been really nice. I like him a lot.”

Dr. Coomer rested his chin in his hand, beaming at Darnold. “You do?”

Darnold’s face felt hot as he avoided Dr. Coomer’s gaze. “Well—yes, that’s a normal thing to say. There’s nothing not normal about it.”

“Oh, of course it’s normal.” Dr. Coomer replied knowingly.

“I mean—I meant that as in, like, I’m—you know. He’s...a good roommate.” Darnold babbled nervously.

Bubby kicked Dr. Coomer, not too gently. “Quit embarrassing him, Harold, let them sort it out on their own.”

“I would never embarrass a cherished friend over such matters.” Dr. Coomer said far too dramatically, putting hand to his chest as though he was offended.

“Oh, yeah, like you didn’t do this with Percy and Van from boxing club.” Bubby said sarcastically.

“To be fair, neither of them were going to do anything if I stayed quiet.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s true, but come on.”

Darnold hoped they would slip into some long banter about their backstory, but Dr. Coomer turned back to Darnold.

“Take it from me, Darnold. As a man who spent far too long unable to be with the one I love, I think it’s best for you to seize the moment and say something to Tommy if you’re interested.” Dr. Coomer said, placing a friendly hand on Darnold’s shoulder.

“Wh—is it really that obvious?” Darnold asked in dismay. “I thought I was being subtle.”

“Well, usually, until Tommy makes some move and then you fall apart.” Bubby pointed out.

Darnold groaned, burying his face in his hands in embarrassment.

“I think you two would be very cute together.” Dr. Coomer said encouragingly.

“Yeah, but like, I don’t wanna make it weird if he doesn’t feel the same way. We live together.” Darnold pointed out.

“So what if it gets weird? You’ll get over it.” Bubby said dismissively.

“Yes, you and Tommy are very rational people, I think you could handle it if anything becomes awkward. But I don’t think it’ll necessarily come to that.” Dr. Coomer said. “Trust me, if you face him head-on and just tell him how you feel, I think it’ll turn out well.”

“...Is that what you guys did?” Darnold asked.

“Well...yes, I did initially, but our history isn’t a particularly good example.” Dr. Coomer said with a small laugh. “That feels like so long ago, now.”

“That’s because it was.” Bubby chimed in. “And don’t go telling everyone about our backstory, I’ll kill you.”

“Bubby caught on fire when I told him I liked him!” Dr. Coomer said with a fond smile. “It was very cute.”

“Shut up!” Bubby growled, kicking Dr. Coomer again.

“But we couldn’t be together until after the fall of Black Mesa.” Dr. Coomer said, his tone suddenly much more serious. “You have a long, incredible life ahead of you! There’s nothing standing in your way except your own inhibitions. Don’t let them overtake you, Darnold. I believe you and Tommy could have a very fulfilling life together, and you shouldn’t have to wait even a second longer.”

“I—that’s all very nice and inspirational, Dr. Coomer, but...I don’t know if I’m ready for any of that.” Darnold said nervously. “I’ll...I’ll, uh, let things settle down a little first, and then see how I feel.”

“Oh, alright. I suppose that’s reasonable.” Dr. Coomer sighed.

Darnold couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, if I ever need your help with Tommy, I’ll know to come to you.”

****

All things considered, despite that stressful moment in indirectly texting Benry, Tommy was chalking his day up as pretty good. He always enjoyed having Dr. Coomer and Bubby over—though he wished he could spend his time with all his friends at once—and Joshua and Darnold seemed happy, so it was good. He liked seeing his friends in high spirits, despite the circumstances. Maybe now, considering Benry and Gordon were apparently cool with each other, the two of them could sort their shit out and they could all finally just live in peace for once.

Tommy was thoroughly enjoying listening to Dr. Coomer and Bubby discuss a show they were currently watching when there was a knock at the door. It was a strange knock, but he hoped against all odds it might be Gordon, so he stood enthusiastically to answer it; but the man he found at the door was decidedly not Gordon.

Tommy still didn’t want to dignify him with calling him “Dad”, but he had nothing else to call him, so he just stared at him wordlessly.

“Hello, Tommy.” The man greeted politely. He wore the same suit as always, as well as the same inscrutable expression. “It’s good to see you. Have you been...enjoying, your new home?”

“...Yeah.”

“It’s very good to, hear that, Tommy. Have you, perhaps, been feeling any sort of...desire, to, branch out?” The man asked. “You have been, exercising your powers, yes?”

Tommy paused. “Branch out?”

“Yes, Tommy. You were, quite fascinated with—inter-dimensional matters...in your time at Black Mesa, after all.” The man explained vaguely. “Your research on what...resulted from the Nihilanth was, most, impressive. You possess the, powers and intellect bestowed upon me, as well as the rather...tenacious qualities of a human. Your talents would be, quite valued by my, employers.”

Tommy frowned deeply. “Is this...more nepotism? Because—you know, thinking back on, uhhh, getting my job at Black Mesa...I wish I’d known that was what was happening.”

“In my line of work, Tommy—in the world from which your bloodline stems—nepotism isn’t, quite so much an issue.” The man said, shaking his head. “Nudging you towards, Black Mesa, was a necessary action. In fact, it was the only action, I could have taken.”

Tommy pressed his lips into a thin line, shoving his hands into his pockets uncomfortably. “Well...I don’t know anything about, like, my bloodline or where you—where you come from. I grew up here. On Earth. With—with no help from you or anything.”

“I was helping, Tommy. I helped...where I could.” The man said, somewhat defensively. “I thought that I, explained to you, that I have—intergalactic matters to tend to.”

“Then why did you even bother having a kid?” Tommy asked accusingly. “And—and—for that matter, who’s my other parent?”

The man frowned deeply. “...That information is, as things go, not relevant to matters at hand.” He said. “As such...I am not aware of who your other, parent, would have been.”

“Wh—but—of course it’s relevant!” Tommy argued. “I mean...at least...it feels like—it feels like that would be important for me to know!”

“I understand your...frustration, Tommy.” The man said, the faintest hint of sympathy managing to worm its way into his tone. “As it is, though, I am here, now. And I think it is, high time, you got to know...my occupation.”

Tommy crossed his arms. “...I’m not interested.”

“Trust me. Familiarizing yourself with my, influences, on the world will be...highly...beneficial to you.” The man insisted.

“...How?”

“You’re curious about...Benry, aren’t you? And the world, we, currently reside in?”

Tommy looked away, biting his lip as he thought. He was curious. But at the same time, he was beginning to wonder how much that mattered. Benry, regardless of what he was and how he came to be, was still just as capable of good or bad as anyone else—his origin didn’t mean anything when it came to him simply being an asshole. Plus, he’d already made peace with the fact that his reality may not be truly real more times than he could count. All Tommy wanted was a safe place for his friends, and he already had that; so why throw anything complicated into the mix?

“...Not really.” Tommy finally muttered.

The man seemed surprised by this answer, widening his eyes just a little at Tommy. “I thought...you would like to, spend time with your father, though. Is that not what you wanted?”

“Yeah, I wanted that! When I was a kid! ” Tommy snapped. “This isn’t Elf! I’m 37 now, and you never—you never bothered to actually take care of me, and now I’m already an adult! It’s too—it’s way too late for that now. You’re not—...how could I even consider you my dad at this point?”

“I am your father, though, that is...an irrefutable, fact.” The man said, a tinge of dismay in his voice. “And Tommy, 37 is, very young for us. I have been alive, for...hundreds of years, now.”

That, on top of everything else, was too much for Tommy to process at this point. He unfolded his arms to put a hand on the door. “...I already have a family. I don’t need you.” He said decisively.

The man pressed his palm to the door to keep Tommy from closing it. “Tommy. I think it would be, very, beneficial for you to join me now.”

“...You haven’t exactly made a good case.”

“It would be...unwise, for me to make any promises on the exact...significance of my work, after the end of the game.” The man said evasively. “But I do know that it is going to be critical. And, provided your, experiences, your assistance could be...vital.”

Tommy glanced behind him, where he knew his friends were sitting nearby. “...I don’t think I, uhh, wanna to get myself...involved in anything if I don’t have to. If you can—if you can give me exact reasons why you need me, then I’d hear you out. But...I sorta just wanna enjoy my life for now.”

The man finally withdrew his hand from the door. “I suppose...that is a fair line to draw. Enjoy your life, Tommy.”

As the man began to turn around, Tommy frowned, stepping forward just a little bit. “Wait. Can I ask you one more thing?”

The man turned back to Tommy curiously.

“I’m not gonna call you my dad.” Tommy said sternly. “So...what’s your name?”

“...If you must...then I am commonly referred to as, ‘the G-Man’.”

“...Huh?”

“Goodbye, Tommy.”

Tommy blinked once, and suddenly, the man was gone.

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baadkennychen-blog · 7 years

Text

Manifesto Draft 1_CopywritingAssignment_1

Manifesto

Universal fact, the world and society as a whole is unfair – look at those above you and below you. There’ll be others who achieve your dreams in a shorter time than you can ever dream of. But that is not an excuse to give up, “why bother?”, you’d ask yourself… just because he or she have it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t, it doesn’t mean you can’t. Your dreams are yours, never forget that. Fake it til you make it, slay any shred of doubt in your mind and finally, keep your shoulders out and head down…Onwards! People have called me intense, zealous or even crazy but I prefer the term passionate. When I said I wanted the Lion Of St Mark or I’ll die trying, I heard a very faint Jeezus coming from the side, he might be thinking “what the fuck, crazy AF Asian” but I hey, I’m surprised as well. I’m surprised you don’t have a goal for your career, I’m surprised you don’t have lofty goals to work towards. I’m surprise that you’re even in such a passion based industry with so little passion. Maybe all you care about is where the next party’s going to be, perhaps all you care about is the experience of Uni Life and probably all you care about is enjoying life. Unfortunately for me, I can’t because of the color of my passport

The feeling of a job well done has a better high than any form of narcotics (legal or otherwise) can provide; that is also the reason why I’m boring. When everyone was at the Pirate Party, I was doing layouts and writing copy for an HSBC ad for my friend’s agency – 75 quid for 5 hours of work. When everyone was enjoying Fresher’s Week, all I can think was, “how can I improve my Design and Art Direction assignment”. I got my name cards designed, printed and even letter-pressed before I even flew to the UK because of the upcoming London Trip. I spent money from my own pockets to create and maintain my own personal website – populated with stuff I had a major role in. These agencies have visits every week, the best way to get noticed to not only be proactive and teachable but show that you’re passionate about the craft. I volunteered to work at BBH in client servicing – for free and for no recognition, paid only in experience and contacts. It was the worst year of my life, I was hazed by my seniors – I’ve ever gotten a mocha Frappuccino without sugar and promptly got cussed out because I only got one with less sugar, had coffee thrown at me because I “wrote the worst brief he’d ever seen in his entire career”, had a bunch of creatives take turns to cuss me out for failing to even pitch banner ads to a legacy client; their exact words were, “are you so fucking useless that you can’t even sell a bunch of banner ads to old people ? No wonder you had to work for free”. That was my baptism by fire in an actual “big boy” agency, call me a masochist because I hated the environment but I LOVED the work.

Note: I got the interview with help from a friend who’s a Junior AD in BBH, I was actually interviewing for a creative intern position but I guess I wasn’t good enough so I volunteered to work for free. Luckily, the senior Accounts Manager was in the interview and asked if I was interested in working in her team…for free. I promptly agreed but the HR who was in the interview mentioned that it won’t be an official position as it violates labor laws in Singapore. So, I was given a desk, an access pass and things to do instead.

I’m committed to my work and a pact I made as part of the 8 Black Sheep – the 8 Black Sheep was what me and 7 other juniors when I was at BBH called our clique. The pact we made was simple, we’ll give a thousand and one percent to a single goal…To – as an Asian born in Asia- lead an agency in the West – be it in creativity or accounts management, we’re not picky. We were sick of the status quo, we were sick of the rotating door of western creatives coming in to lead Asian agencies and leaving after a few years to somewhere better, we want to show that Asian creatives have the talent and fortitude to LEAD Western agencies and in turn show the next generation of Asian creatives that the huge poster in the S&S office that reads “Nothing Is Impossible” no longer came with a fine print.

Note: The reason we called ourselves Black Sheeps was kinda self-explanatory – BBH and all. But another reason why we called ourselves Black Sheep was the fact that most creatives in Asian agencies are content with being creatives in their own countries and not setting their horizons further (the white sheep in the Levi’s ad), my clique wasn’t content with Spikes Asia or APAC Effies. We wanted more, we wanted Cannes Lions, we wanted LIAs, we wanted Clios. This might sound like a rant but we’re sick and tired of CDs from the west coming in and claiming credit for campaigns and ideas they just “signed off” on and not actively doing their jobs as CDs but get praised to the high heavens by the local management. We were all supposed to get a small black sheep tattooed on our bodies to remind ourselves of the pact but we’re young and Asian so our parents nearly killed us when we pitched the idea.

2 Pencils…That’s the minimum number of New Blood Pencils I’d have to win to even compete on an even playing field with my western peers. The deck is stacked against me but what can I do about it? Not a damn thing, so I just have push myself harder to get what I want.

What times get tough, my western peers can always apply to Asia, do moderately well and gain some “Global Experience” before returning to their home countries or heck, even stay in Asia and lead us. But what can Asian creatives do besides just stay in Asia? A majority of us are forced to stay in Asia, with our backs against the wall, constantly fighting with each other for whatever scrap that are left (for clarification, by scraps I mean senior positions in network or prolific agencies) and constantly looking over our shoulders. The fear comes from the top-down, mid-weights are always gunning for senior roles and the seniors are always afraid of mid-weights eclipsing them and making them irrelevant. All the while, juniors are gunning for mid-weight creatives so the mid-weights themselves must be able to do well enough to fend them off. You might be in my team but you’re also my contemporary and by extension….my competitor. It is this hyper toxic culture that I would be forced to return to if I don’t do well here in the UK. I understand that there are dues to pay in the Advertising world, I’m prepared to pay them. Overnights, horrible assignments, nightmarish clients and huge egos; I’ve faced them all and I’m still prepared to face them again until my goal has been reached and the pact fulfilled. I’ll walk up on stage with the Lion in hand while the screen in the back played my life’s work, I won’t wake up in my bed anymore. It’ll all be real, it’ll be when I know that my life is complete, I’ve finally stopped losing.

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