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jenivi7 · 3 years

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First Lines Tagging Meme

I'M SO HAPPY TO BE TAGGED IN THIS TWICE! Thank you @ink-flavored and @clyde-side !! (I almost just did this on my own too because I love babbling about my own fics...)

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line.

Now pinned and under a cut because it became a really long, really good introduction to me and my stories!

Hello!

Unnecessary and overly wordy introduction/personal musings: I love opening lines so much. When I worked at a bookstore, I used to open books and hardcore judge them on their first lines. I had barely any free time to read at that point so if it didn’t grab me in the first line or two, I put it back. The first Harry Potter book is actually in my pile of really good openers. “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” (Subtle alliteration, HELLO??) So I'm super excited to see if my own first lines come even close to the standards that I apply to other people lol. MY OWN MONEY IS ON NO. I have the feeling that I'm so frantic trying to get the story down on paper before the good words disappear from my head that I'm not actually paying attention to the first line. BUT LET'S SEE, SHALL WE.

So just straight up going backwards, I've written and posted TWO BRAND NEW THINGS after being away from fandom almost entirely for 10+ years! They're drabble length but they're shiny and new! <3 (All available fics are linked!)

1. Tango:

She teaches them to dance so that they can dance with her but when Atem gets that mischievous smirk on his face and pulls Yugi into his arms, their bodies spark and the dance floor smolders at their heels.

(The fic is so short that this is a full 1/5 of it but actually, I think I crammed all the good stuff right into that first line. This already might be my favorite. Like it says there in the line itself, Puzzleshipping.)

2. No Betting:

Anzu sat at the kitchen table writing carefully calculated answers onto sticky notes before attaching them to a fourth-grade math worksheet.

(Peachshipping! This one doesn't pop off until about line five so here's the rest of that bit:)

She had the same arrangement with her spouse as most parents had. When the kids were good they were hers. When they were bad, they were his. And when they were winning at games because they picked up rules with uncanny speed and read their opponents with more insight than ought to be available to a child, they were definitely, definitely his.

3. If you wanted honesty that's all you had to say (working title):

When he realized that the figure sitting under the game shop display window and smoking wasn’t Ryou, the physical body response was as though it had discovered a coiled snake not two feet away.

(This one! It's a NEW half finished(?) WIP. I actually started this one before the drabbles but wanted to finish before posting it. Then it got out of hand, then work got out of hand, then I started a couple more projects and well. I keep putting words on it though and eventually there will be a Kleptoshipper that turns into Puzzle and Tender for your reading enjoyment. Also, fair warning - don't use song lyrics as a working title. Every time I look at the document I get the song stuck in my head.)

Now we have polished up reposts of old stories for their move to AO3, where I'll basically keep my master archive. Not full re-writes but I fixed a bunch of typos and awkward sentences and they're much stronger for it. Most of these are from a pairings contest way back when so LOTS of different pairings and lots of AUs!

4. Human:

It was like a bad noir, the thought crossed both of their minds.

(Scifi AU, Rivalshipping. That one's not bad for a first line. Actually no link at the time of writing cause the re-edit is going up in like, a half hour? an hour? a half day? It's my next project after finishing this, finishing up the edit and posting it on AO3. Now with link!)

5. Blood:

Fingers through midnight black hair, whispers in his ear, touches that sizzled along the skin, awakening nerves and senses.

(Dungeonshipping, Pegasus x Otogi, vampires AU. Oh that’s a nice first line! <3)

6. Crazy for You:

The keys are too large and too heavy for the doctor more used to more modern facilities but she doesn't say anything, just follows the orderly as he pulls the large door open.

(Manipulashipping, Anzu x Marik, Psychward AU. Still one of my favorites from that era. Big bold warning though, THIS ONE CONTAINS NON-CON)

7. Finality:

“What are you doing here?”

“Saying goodbye.” Bakura’s translucent arms swept across the graveyard. “Is this not an appropriate place for it?”

(First two or so bits of dialogue as the first first is a generic question. You can tell this is one of the really old ones just by that but it's a sweet, sad little Tendershipper that still has a special place in my heart.)

8. Pieces of You:

Glitter caught the light, leaving shimmering trails in the air as it got everywhere.

(Glittershipping, Anzu x Kisara. Another one that's special to me. Kisara is my girl and my first writing muse. <3)

9. Cambodia:

“It was summer of fifty three...”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute, it can't have been fifty three. You might be that ancient but I'm not. It must have been sixty three.”

(Jiishipping. Yes. Sugoroku x Arthur. HEY, IT CAME UP IN THE RANDOM DRAW FOR THE SHIPPING CONTEST OK. And my writer's brain hasn't backed down from a challenge yet... Another one that takes 4 lines to pop off but it's a good start. Actually, here's the rest of the bit just because I cannot get enough of these two bickering:)

“What do you mean it must have been sixty three? You don't even know what story I'm trying to tell.”

“Am I in it?”

“What?”

“So you're deaf now as well as daft? AM I IN IT?”

“Of course you're in it, y'old coot. Don't know why I'd tell a story without you in it when both grandkids are sitting here.”

10. Coffee and Cigarettes:

"Cigarettes and coffee? That's not a very healthy lunch."

Mana crossed her legs and took a refined sip of her own coffee even as her company was not.

(Mischiefshipping, Mana x Thief King Bakura. Oh this one I'm actually sad that it doesn't immediately sparkle in the first line cause it's one of my absolute favorites of everything I've written. And I think it's the only time I've ever written Mana but I LOVED IT AND HER. Oh no! I lied, I've written her at least one other time though I don't think that one quite captures her sheer chaos energy like this one does.)

11. A Million Missed Chances:

Somewhere along the line, someone made a choice.

(This one. THIS ONE. I think this is by far the most epic idea I've tackled. I still don't know if the sheer scale of the thing came across in the actual fic but in my head it was massive and I remember pounding away at my teeny tiny laptop late at night because the whole thing hit me maybe a day or so before the story was due for the pairings contest. We only had a week to write each fic and my really good ideas never came to me before the very last minute. T.T Conquestshipping, Mai x Valon.)

12. A Fear of Falling:

She drove.

Like she always did when something bothered her.

(Oh the first chapter on this is also one of the really ancient ones. Like one of the very first things I wrote. That first chapter really shows its age and is a little shaky but the others are better and the last one is what fits into the chorological order here. Polarshipping, Jou x Mai. One of my very first ships. Probably THE first actually <3)

13. What Our Creators Make Us:

"Well, well." The match flared, scattering dark shadows until it was blown out and the only light that remained was the red glow from the cigarette end. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

(Psychoshipping, Marik x Spirit of the Ring Bakura. With a bit of Bronze, Angst and Tender in the follow up. Old but I'm ridiculously proud of it, hence it's place in the master archive. Ahaha you can tell how old it is though by how clever I think I am. I thought it was funny to make my audience figure out who was talking and not reveal the characters for a good fourth to third of the fic. Ahhhhhhh. Sorry about past me.)

14. A Revolution of the Spirit:

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't.

That they were close was understandable (you don't get much closer than sharing headspace) but that even now, after deals were made with gods, endless arguments, compromises and the ultimate guilt trip that he had only been a teenager when he willingly sacrificed himself for all of humanity, things she had only half seen and only partly understood even though they had all been there to witness, that even now Atem continued to invade Yugi's personal space as though he belonged there got on her nerves.

(Woah Nelly! That third sentence should probably be three, four and five. Even if I just split it in half we'd continue the pattern of things popping off in the fourth line. I think that's one pattern that's emerging! A really good bit takes me about four lines to set up and deliver! Oh, the challenge was Revolutionshipping, Anzu x Atem, but the fic is actually Spiritshipping, Anzu x Yugi x Atem.)

So confession time, I haven't been out of fandom completely, I just hadn't written my own standalone stories in a very long time. There are a few (ok ok more than a few) long-running rps that @miss-moberg and I have been adding to on and off over the years. I can't resist throwing in a couple of these.

15. Cafe!

The door shut behind them with the soft click of the latch and the exhale of a breath long held.

(This opening line was from December of 2020 when we rebooted a very old Prideshipper and that is a damn good opening line if I do say so myself. I can definitely see the difference now between the newer works and the older ones. I've gotten better, she's matched me pace for pace and eventually something will be finished, I'll work up the courage to ask permission to post it and the whole internet will get to see how brilliant the two of us are together.)

16. Treasure Hunt!

"Ryou, I think you're going to regret letting me tag along on your adventuring this time." Yugi didn't bother turning away from the airplane's tiny window to see if his seatmate was paying attention. He was more thinking out loud with his friend playing the role of a convenient sounding board. "Because I think this trip is the only thing I'm going to talk about ever again."

(One more from RP because it's got that fun, four line punch that we've discovered is a pattern for me! Opening entry is from 2017.)

Also, in truth, my count is a little off when I say I'd been out of fandom 10+ years. I've been away from YGO for that long but I did spend a brief stint in Homestuck where I read a ton of fanfic, flirted with a couple group RPs and even wrote a tiny bit. 9 years without writing a new fic isn't as impressive as saying ‘over a decade’ but it is a little more accurate.

17. What You Will:

In the land of fair Illyria, along a small, sandy stretch of its rocky shore, a ship has come to ruin and one lone woman lies still as death among broken wood.

(The beginning of a Homestuck/Twelfth Night crossover that I'm still determined to work more on someday. It's only got a single chapter but it's magic though now I'm concerned about not being able to recapture that. Not a bad first line though. The style is so different it took me reading it a couple times before going, oh yeeeeeah, that's pretty good!)

18. Relentless:

You pull him to the deck and then across it by the remains of his shirt. Let him say one last goodbye. His ship pillaged, his crew murdered, his hands bound behind his back and at your mercy.

Funny word, that. Mercy.

(The first line is pretty decent but there's that four line combo again! Five but I could basically fix that with a comma. Featuring the troll ancestors Mindfang and Dualscar because every time Hussey introduced new characters they were instantly my favorite.)

19. Black:

There is dark and there is dark and there is dark and then there is black. She is black. Licorice and coal. She is hate and resentment and everything that tastes bitter, the kind of black that coats the tongue like oil, drips down the back of the throat and keeps going.

(Oh wow. Am I allowed to say that about my own work? A Terezi/Vriska drabble that I'm putting as much here as I think I can get away with because it's so good that it fucks me up a little going back and reading it.)

And here it gets tricky because I think the more recent of the old, old fics are in the Drabbles and Shorts collection on ff.net and I can't see a post date. So I'll just pick a good one to end on.

20. Two Princes:

It was inevitable as the rising of Ra's chariot after a long night, as the flooding of the river banks every spring, and Atem always knew that Yugi's kiss would be as warm and gentle as the evening breeze in the summer that brought relief from the scorching day. It was.

(How about the final honor going to more Puzzle/Blind? This probably has the strongest first line of its era. Actually I'm not sure when it was written. It was just hanging out in my writing folder and, thinking about it, I probably wrote it when I was fading from fandom the first time around but still trying to hang in there. No wait! That’s too sad, we can’t end on that! Lets add one more to the list for the sake of personal narrative!)

21. Linger:

The world doesn't need him anymore. It doesn't need his sword and it doesn't need his pen.

(A tiny Princess Tutu afterward that I wrote for myself. Nice one-two punch in the opener. Also it rounds out the personal story that accidentally developed here with a line later in the fic, "Words, however, never stray far from a good writer..." Like, wait, stop. Past me, how did you know T.T)

Did that take a sudden emotional turn for anyone else or was that just me. Can I offset that a little with an honorable mention? Let’s do that while I collect myself. Here’s one more.

Honorable mention: Ryou and the Thief

There was a storm gathering and too much magic in the air. Much more than occurred naturally and magic at this level was never a good thing.

(I can’t have a list of things I’ve written without having Ryou and the Thief on it. If you click on this one though, BEWARE, it’s old, it’s silly and it has a ton of explicit gay sex that… would be written very differently if we were handling it today I’m sure! This is the first RP @miss-moberg and I ever did together and our excuse to Gemship and Puzzleship turned into us running the boys through a whole adventure based on the Osiris myth. It’s the longest thing I’ve ever completed and I’d still consider it kind of my legacy.)

And that’s the last 21(+1!) stories that I’ve written!

The clear winner of best first line for me is 15. Cafe! It’s short, elegant and manages to contain a whole mood even without the context of what’s going on and who’s involved. (Spoilers: It’s Seto and Mokuba making an AU escape from Gozoboro.) Close second is Tango, the most recent story. It’s neat to see just how much better I’ve gotten and also really cool to see that even if the first line itself doesn’t contain a punch, it’s usually because there’s a nice, strong idea being set up and delivered in the first four lines (or so). What a pleasant surprise!

AND WOW, this whole tag thing didn't need to be so long! Or personal! Seriously, if you get this tag from me the challenge is only to list the first lines to 20 stories and maybe try to draw one or two conclusions from them. You all thought I was joking when I said I loved talking about my own writing! But actually, I guess it’s fine like this as I ended up using it as a way to re-introduce myself. Like, "Hey, I used to live here a long time ago and oh my god I love what you've done with the place!" Rather than being someone who's just popped up out of nowhere a few weeks ago to creepily bother all your best of the best creators so....

^///^ Hello!

Thanks for letting me ramble!

Tags! I think I've seen most of the authors I follow do this already but on the off chance you haven't been tagged yet: @elexica (checked your blog to see if you'd already done the tag and saw that you're another person returning to writing fanfiction after 10+ years. Same! Hello!!), @danieco, @draconicmaw, @nedjemetsenen (has someone tagged you already?) and two shots in the dark, @miss-moberg and @edmondia (I'm so sorry you two. T.T Please feel free to block me forever.) And please, anyone else who wants to babble about their own writing! Do this, it was so much fun. <3

#ygo #yu-gi-oh #yugioh #yugioh fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #jenific #so many ships #so many characters like woah #not half bad for a retrospective if i do say so myself #thank you for coming to my ted talk #tag game #first lines tag

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chibienvychan03 · 4 years

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MC Learns How to Cook

No way. No how. It just could not be. You followed the recipe exactly. No short cuts. No substitutions. Yet somehow you wound up with this thing… While you would rather not waste food, you were definitely not going to it or gods forbid show it to a certain CEO/chef. You recalled the last time he witnessed your cooking.

Victor takes one look at your latest cooking creation if it could be called one. “… Congratulations. You’ve created a new substance. I’m sure the scientists will be interested in how you managed this.”

At this point, your eye is twitching, and you struggle to fight off the urge to strangle your boss. After all, he’s in charge of your paycheck along with everyone in your company. Think of your poor employees. Must remember them.

“Thanks for your… suggestion. I’ll keep that in mind.” This is the last time you’ll let Victor come over before you’ve finished practicing on whatever dish you’re trying to create. You dump your creation into a container you’ve brought before cleaning up. All the while you’re purposely ignoring a certain person.

Victor sighs a long one. He says something that you pay little attention to as you’re taking out your frustrations on the poor cookware. They won’t clean themselves after all. Once you’re finished and Victor’s kitchen is back to normal, you grab your dish and storm out of there.

Your anger and frustration are completely apparent, and if Victor doesn’t pick up on it, well he may as well be the dummy or blind. As tempting as it is, you somehow manage to refrain from slamming the door shut. No need to owe Victor any more than you already do.

The strange multicolored black lump had to be useful for something. The first thing that came to your mind was paperweight, but it might attract unwanted pests and would probably start rotting. Out of the question. Using it as a weapon? No. First of all Gavin would hear about it, and second you couldn’t think of anyone in your life that warranted such a treatment including Victor. At the same time, you hate wasting what was supposed to be food. Maybe it would make good fertilizer? Surely it wouldn’t kill the plants. If it did… oops?

After taking out your frustration on the black lump, you shove the now pulverized stuff into a container and took it outside your home. You glanced around to make sure no one (or camera) was looking before you deposited your “fertilizer” onto a random bush. The leaves hid the evidence.

Back at home, you went online and searched for available cooking classes. Even if it costs a lot of money, there was no way you were going to him and asking him for lessons. You’re already deep in debt with him. Plus that smug smirk of his even if he looked handsome wearing it. It took awhile to find a good instructor within Loveland, but you found someone who was about to start classes. When you went to register, your jaw dropped at how much, but then again, the classes were small, and they provided everything including the ingredients and apron.

So worth it.

You open your wallet to pay for these classes. If the teacher was anything like the reviews said, you knew this was going to be a great learning experience for you.

On your first day there, you managed to get lost until you ran into another person who was in the same class as you. At least he knew how to get there. The two of you arrived a few minutes ahead of the class starting in spite of you getting lost. Well he didn’t. There was a total of six students. Hence the high costs, but you kept thinking how great it would be to show up Victor… not outdo him, more like show him you could do more than what he anticipated.

Your teacher looked awfully familiar. Had you seen him somewhere? Not recalling where you had seen him frustrated you. Maybe once introductions were done, you’d remember… wait a moment, you recalled reading a name when you signed up. Why couldn’t you pull that information up? It was like your brain needed rebooting.

“My name is Kalvin, and I’ll be your instructor for the next three months,” the guy introduced himself. That was when you realized he had many cooking videos where he showed step by step how to make quite a few dishes. Not that you were his fan or bookmarked his profile on the video website. Nope.

As it turned out, the person who helped you find the place was name Levi. He looked like an expert when handling the knife. You, on the other hand, appeared to be drunk. Your vegetables were lopsided no matter how hard you tried. It was frustrating.

“You’ll hurt yourself that way. It’s better to have a good grip on both the ingredient and your knife.” It was that guy. When you looked over at his station, his vegetables were perfectly cut. He picked up one of your and showed you where to position both your hand and the knife, but he didn’t cut the eggplant. Instead he handed it back to you.

You attempted it and almost cut yourself if it weren’t for his quick reflexes. “Thanks.” On your next attempt, he helped you by moving your hand and knife where they should be in order to not cut yourself. It felt different than what you were used to, however, you managed to cut the eggplant into decent sized pieces. Not as good as certain people though a lot better than when you first started.

Your neighbor gave you a few tips on handling a knife and returned to his station. Maybe the two of you could be friends after this or something. The other students appeared to not be the friendly type as none of them bothered to greet you during the break nor did they help you when you were struggling. At the end of class, you all made a couple edible dishes… at least yours was. When you looked at your classmates, they all looked good… and smelled good too. Sigh.

Once you finished cleaning up your station, you found that guy waiting for you. “It’s not safe for a lady to walk alone at night.”

What a gentleman and caring too. “Thank you for staying… and helping me out.”

The guy shrugged it off. “Everyone has to start somewhere. Myself included. Let’s just say I have a way with knives.”

Something told you that you didn’t want to know what he meant by that. “Whatever it is, you’re an expert with it. Me? I’m clumsy.” You walked alongside him, and he even slowed down his speed to accommodate yours. If only a certain person… then again, it wouldn’t be him and didn’t feel right.

“It takes practice. Trust me I cut myself a lot when I first started.” Ouch. It reminded you of yourself when you first attempted to cook. Needless to say, you now kept a first aid kit and a couple of fire extinguishers in your kitchen.

“Sounds painful.” If he wasn’t there while you practiced outside of class, you knew you’d need those bandages perhaps several.

“Anyways if you want help practicing, let me know. I’m self-employed.” Did he just read your mind?

“Please. I don’t want to look like a fool in front of him.” Your cheeks become a bright red.

“You’re learning how to cook for your boyfriend?” he teased. When you glared at him, he held up his hands. “Sorry. I’ll avoid that landmine.”

You shake your head. “We’re not dating.”

“But you like him, otherwise, you wouldn’t be doing this.” How observant he was! Could this become any more embarrassing?

“How can you tell?” You hesitantly ask.

“Because there’s a guy I like.” Did he just say he liked a guy? “If that bothers you…”

You shake your head. It didn’t bother you at all. “No, I’m just surprised since you know… a lot of people don’t admit it to someone they first meet.”

“This guy doesn’t even know I exist… He is rather selective about what he remembers, and he cares about only one person who isn’t me.” You want to comfort and reassure him, but it’d feel a bit awkward or at least until you get to know each other.

“So you’re hoping to win him over?”

“The guy’s probably straight, and even if he isn’t, I probably don’t stand a chance,” your classmate sighed a long one. “But still his dietary habits are… not good for his profession. It’s physically demanding, and bad eating habits wind up with complications later on in life.”

You began thinking of your own dietary habits and wince. His words were true. If anything, you’d at least learn how to cook healthy for yourself. “When you cook, you can control the salt, sugar, and fat contents.” He nodded his head.

“You forgot it’s cheaper too.”

“Yeah, easy on the wallet.” You two laugh… well his was more of a chuckle. “You want to exchange numbers?” You took out your phone and show it to him.

“Why not?”

After exchanging numbers, you reached the bus stop. You were about to board the bus when he started to walk away. It turned out he didn’t need the bus, but rather wanted to make sure you got on safely. This reminded you a lot of a certain cop, but he was away on a mission.

Since you knew when classes would be held, you were able to change your work schedule to accommodate it. Anna, being supportive of your desire to learn and the fact she knew why you decided to take lessons in the first place, took charge whenever work ran late or for any sudden changes like a shoot being postponed and reports being delayed. She said it was for only three months, not three years. You decide to treat her to a well-deserved vacation once you finish your classes. Thanks to her efforts, you never missed a class.

Also thanks to Kalvin and your friendly classmate your cooking improved by leaps and bounds. This time you could handle a knife without cutting yourself! You still needed to work on cutting the ingredients into the same size and shape, but that came with practice as they told you. Focusing on your cooking had become easier. You’re able to cook a dish without having your mind wander too far. It helped to have more than a pair of eyes watching your cooking. It was embarrassing at first being reminded to turn off the stove, lower the heat, or something else. About a third into your class, you didn’t need that many reminders which your new friends praised you for. Friends as in the teacher and the nice classmate.

You were excited for today’s lesson. Dumplings! Two classes ago, Kalvin announced you’d be making dumplings and that you’d get to decide on which ones you wanted to make. He also needed to know as they needed to buy the ingredients for it. Once you handed in your list, you were told not to change. Otherwise you risk not having the proper ingredients for the filling. Trading ingredients was sometimes done, but not that often. Somehow with the way your classmates interacted with you, you doubted they would trade any of their ingredients with the exception of that one person. Rather than risk it, you had made a list of what you wanted to make and gave it to them last class.

When you reach your station, you started preparing for your lesson. You glanced over to your classmates. They were all busy with their own preparations. Your only friend was already prepared and waiting for your teacher to arrive.

“Looks like someone is in high spirits today,” he said in a casual tone, no teasing. “But it’s no surprise. We’re making dumplings, and we get to pick the filling.”

Nodding your head, you completely agreed with him. “There’s someone I want to thank. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to attend every class.”

“She covered for you?”

“Yeah, and she volunteered for it too! She’s someone I can count on.” In fact, you thought of her more as family than an employee.

“That certainly deserves a thank you gift.” She wasn’t the only one you plan on thanking. You also wanted to thank him for mentoring you in spite of his work even if he was his own boss. That was something the two of you had in common except he didn’t have employees. He was what they called an independent contractor or something similar to it. “What did you pick?”

You listed off what you wanted to make much to his amusement. The ingredients were mostly the same, and the way they were cooked too. Plus you wanted to learn as much as possible. You rolled up your sleeves. “I can do this.”

“Don’t rush yourself. We have class tomorrow and can finish it then.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think I can keep quiet about the gift any longer.” You felt like you had drunk several mugs of espresso. “And what if they don’t like it?”

“Have faith in yourself. Don’t forget. Failure is an option. Take it as a learning experience instead of beating yourself over it. It doesn’t do you any good ruminating on what if scenarios.”

The way he said it, something terrible had to happen in his past and that something changed him. You weren’t close enough to ask and you doubted he would voluntarily tell you. Some things were better left unsaid as someone once said. “You’re right. I may stumble, but I get back up on my feet and move forward.” After everything that happened in your life, you had become a stronger person.

You chat about everyday things, namely you complain about your work and unreasonable boss. Thankfully he was willing to listen to you vent. Some of his commentaries were hilarious and gave you ideas on editing certain pictures. You didn’t plan on showing anyone else, lest, they managed to make their way to that person.

Then you noticed him looking at his watch and frown. “Our teacher is late. He’s never late. I hope he’s okay.” As soon as he mentioned it, you pulled out your phone and looked at the time. He was right. Your teacher was definitely more than late. Kalvin usually arrived there early in order to prepare for the lesson. Your lesson should have started about ten minutes ago.

SLAM!

You jerked in the direction of the sound with a start, heart racing. It couldn’t be Kalvin as he had never slammed a door, not while you were in class with him. Your friend didn’t appear to be affected by this as if he was used to this. Why couldn’t you be that way? But no, you had to be jittery and full of nerves. Instead of your friendly teacher, you see a taller and much thinner man make his way to where Kalvin normally stood when demonstrating to the class. It turned out your usual teacher was sick, and he was there to help as he owed Kalvin a favor. Two classes. You hoped you would be able to survive this.

“He looks familiar,” you blurted out.

Your teacher looked in your direction as if he heard you, and you could see his eyes widen a lot. What? He never introduced himself but launched directly into the lesson. Still you get the feeling you know him from somewhere.

You didn’t have much time to dwell on this as your teacher instructed you to gather your ingredients from the walk-in fridge. Room temperature ingredients were already at your station, but the ones that needed to be chilled were in in the colder room. Each student had a couple bags with their names on them. You groaned upon finding yours. They had to put it just beyond your reach. Stretching out was useless as was jumping and tippy toeing.

A hand reached over your head. You turned around to find your male friend. He was definitely taller than you, but not a whole lot. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” When he handed them to you, you almost fall forward. Those ingredients were heavy, yet, he handled them as if they weighed nothing. “Here, let me help you.”

You followed him out into the much warmer room and discover you were the last two to get your ingredients. Your instructor narrowed his eyes at the two of you. What was his problem? It wasn’t that long, and helping others was a good thing, not bad. Your only friend in this class, Levi, placed your ingredients at your station before heading to his.

Mystery teacher appeared to be less than pleased by this. Now that you gave it some thought, he looked downright pissed. Was he angry or upset at you? It wasn’t like you could help being that short. Maybe your strength could be improved… okay, it needed a lot of work on it, but that took time. Gentlemen were rare and far between these days. A rare species even! Your other classmates, who happen to be all females, weren’t fond of you. Now your substitute teacher wasn’t either. You hoped he would be there for only a couple of days. There were only two nice people in the class, and one of them was absent.

As he began explaining the method for making the filling, there was that nagging thought in the back of your head. No matter how hard you tried to kick it out, it kept returning. You knew this guy from somewhere and sometime. It was a matter of figuring out where and when. Something hit your leg. You glanced over to the only male student who nodded towards the front of the classroom.

Oh crap. It looked like you had spaced out for a bit. Instead of being caught by the mean teacher, it was someone on your side. Phew. You focused your concentration on learning how to make those delicious dumplings. Then maybe just maybe you wouldn’t have to spend a fortune buying them at your favorite place. Yours wouldn’t be as good as theirs, but that would be akin to comparing a first-time student to an experienced teacher.

Grumpy, your substitute teacher, moved onto filling and folding the dumplings. He showed the different techniques and dumpling presentations. While he made it look easy, you knew your first dumplings would wind up as lumps of dough with meat fillings. Easier said than done as the saying went. After Grumpy answered a few questions and showed the others again, he told you to get to work.

Your filling turned out to be acceptable. Eating raw meat was definitely not a good idea. Grumpy taught you to take a spoonful of your filling and cooking in order to taste test it. It took a few attempts to get the seasonings right. First time you couldn’t taste anything. Second time there wasn’t enough salt. Third was too much salt so you added some extra ingredients. Third time the veggies were undercooked, but the taste was good. You mentally noted you needed to add more time in cooking the filling.

When you looked over at the others, they were well on their way to finishing their dumplings while you were just starting the assembling portion of it. You had an extra day, but did you really want to spend it with Grumpy over there? Not really. All right, time to get marching or rather folding. You had an idea of how much to add and what to do, but your clumsy fingers kept messing up. As you thought, your dumplings looked more like blobs, tasty ones. The first few batches tended to be the practice ones. You planned on eating your failed dumplings and giving the rest to your friends. Hopefully you’d end up with more successful dumplings than failed.

By your tenth one, you had made a little progress, but you still wouldn’t give them to your friends especially Kiki. You would never hear the end of it from her. Just as you were about to start crying, Levi came to your rescue yet again. “Need some help?”

You nodded your head. “I can’t get them right.” The failed dumplings proved your point.

“It’s not hard once you know a trick,” he said as he grabbed a wrapper. He then proceeded to make a dumpling, explaining every step.

Grumpy was there for only two days. After that, you wouldn’t have to deal with him or so you thought. Through his explanation, you couldn’t help but think that you had met this person somewhere. Not only that, but his voice sounded awfully familiar, one that you heard several times. Hard as you tried, your mind couldn’t pull out a name. It frustrated you to no ends. Yet, you couldn’t put too much thought to it as your teacher appeared to be the no nonsense, get it done type.

Making the filling was the easy part. Assembling was a different story. Your clumsy fingers kept messing up your first dumpling. At this rate, you’d need a third day to finish all the dumplings you planned on making. The others managed to get the hang of making theirs. Why did you have to be the slowest? Just as you were about to cry, your friend walked over to your station.

“Don’t you have dumplings to make?” Your teacher glared at the guy. Where did Grumpy come from? Was he secretly a ninja or something?

Your friend raised his hand to show he meant no harm. “We didn’t want to trouble you since you were busy helping another student.”

“That is why I’m here,” Grumpy said, still glaring at your friend. “I’m the teacher. Got that?”

“Understood.” Your reinforcements made a strategic retreat, leaving you to face the Grumpster by yourself. At least there were other witnesses. He wouldn’t try anything while there were others who would witness it, right?

“What’s your problem?” Grumpy asked. That was what you wanted to ask him.

“Err… folding it, but I think I got it!” You demonstrated your new folding technique. While it wasn’t that good, it was a lot better than your first dumplings.

“Do it again.”

Okay. You repeated the process. This time Grumpy made some suggestions on how to further improve your dumpling as well as speeding it up. Oh oh oh! Why didn’t you think of using that? It saved you time and effort. In spite of his cold attitude, Grumpy turned out to be a knowledgeable teacher. Yet, you kept thinking that you were supposed to know him.

Those hours were a lot shorter than you imagined them to be. Thanks to Grumpy’s and Levi’s assistance, you were able to assemble all your dumplings, but cooking them all was a different story. Class ended. Your last batch of dumplings were not fully cooked. They needed a little more time.

“Aren’t you going home? You’re finished.” Why was he still here when he did not have to be? He already finished his and packed them too.

“I could, but I’m not letting you go the bus alone,” Levi stated. It reminded you of Gavin, the way he was protective of you, but more of an overprotective big brother way than someone who could be interested in you. “It’s getting late.”

“Go home,” Grumpy said, appearing out of nowhere again. “Class is over.”

“Sorry teacher, it’s dangerous for her to be alone at this time.” The two men seemed to be in a glaring showdown. One of them was definitely taller than the other. Was Grumpy this tall? You hadn’t noticed as you were too busy trying to make dumplings last time he came to your station.

“I will take the young lady home,” Grumpy said in a very authoritative tone. This was too familiar.

“You have a vehicle?”

“What do you think? Of course, I have a vehicle. A lot safer than your motorcycle.” That arrogance and haughty tone could only be… no way.

If he was who you thought he was, it was mind blowing. Wasn’t he already busy with TWO business? Granted one of them was a side business than full time, Still… You didn’t want to believe, but all the evidence pointed in that direction.

You pointed your finger at him. “VICTOR!?”

Good thing the other students already left. Otherwise, you’d make yourself look like a fool again. If Victor was in disguise, then he also didn’t want anyone to know…. Oops? You just outed him to your newest friend.

“Took you long enough to notice, Dummy.” With that, Victor took off his disguise.

“… I heard nothing. I saw nothing. See ya next class.” Levi didn’t appear or sound intimidated by Victor. No, it felt more on awkward being the third wheel.

“Who is he?” Victor demanded to know as he stepped close to you, pinning you between himself and your station.

“He’s a classmate… and a friend. Why?”

“I don’t trust him. Stay away from him.” Victor sounded very cold and very angry. There was a look about him, something feral. It sent chills up and down your spine.

“Are you jealous?” you blurt out. Open mouth and insert entire leg. Why stop at your foot? Why not put in your entire leg?

“Me? Jealous? Where did you get that absurd idea?”

You giggled, not believing him. “You’re jealous of my gay friend.”

“Are you deaf? I’m not jealous of your what did you say?” Victor blinked in disbelief as if he couldn’t comprehend what you just told him.

“My gay friend. Yes, Victor, he likes guys. You have a problem with it?”

The bright blush on his cheeks spoke volumes. “No, I do not.”

You decided to press your luck. “He’s more of an older brother to me. You know? Looks after me, helps me, and encourages me without being interested in that way.”

“How do you know he likes guys? He could be lying.”

You were now giving him the ‘I can’t believe I have to explain it to you,’ look. “We went to the mall to shop and look at cute guys.” Victor’s eyes widened. “Kiki and Willow came too. You can ask them. They’ll vouch for us and that my friend likes guys.”

“You looked at ‘cute guys?’”

“Is there anything wrong with appreciating the aesthetics of men?” Apparently those were the wrong words to say as Victor’s attitude darkened quickly. “I can’t believe I have to say this to you of all people.”

“You—”

You cut him off. “Just because I like how something looks doesn’t mean I love it. I like looking at art, but I’m not in love with art. I love cute animals, but I’m not in love with them. I love eating good food, but I’m not in love with them either.”

“This appreciation is superficial?”

“YES! If a good-looking guy is mean and nasty, I wouldn’t like him even if he paid me to.” You hoped this would drive home your point.

Victor appeared to be distraught over something. Was it what you said? Why was he suddenly quiet? Wait a moment, did that mean you’d lose your funding? Victor wouldn’t be this petty, would he?

“You’re heavy. Mind giving me some space?” At this point, he was practically on top of you.

“Do you dislike me?”

Eh?

“Never mind.” Victor pulled away from you, not letting you answer the question he just asked. However, you weren’t about to let it drop.

“I don’t dislike you. Sure, you give me a hard time and are annoying, but that doesn’t amount to disliking. I guess you can say I’ve gotten used to you.”

“I’m annoying?”

“At times, yes.”

“When have I ever been –”

DING! Your timer went off.

“My dumplings are finished.” You rushed over to turn off the stove, ignoring Victor’s attempts to find out what you find annoying about him. They were finished. You began taking them out and placing them into your containers. It gave you time to think of an answer. Your mind was in overdrive trying to figure out a way to redirect his attention.

“Are you listening?” As soon as he opened his mouth to ask, you shoved an earlier dumpling into his mouth. Why didn’t you think of this before?

Rather than spitting it out, Victor ate it. He wasn’t the type to waste food. “Not bad… for a dummy. Why are you smiling like that?”

“From you, that’s practically a complement,” you sounded pleased. You knew your cooking would get better, but for your first lesson, it was good.

“What are you going to do with them?”

You glanced over to Victor who had that look. “I’m giving them to my friends.”

“……”

“You’re not getting any.”

Victor’s stance became rigid as he narrows his eyes at you and folds his arms over his chest.

“I’m going to make more with better ingredients.”

Victor relaxed a little. “You noticed the quality of the ingredients?”

You laughed at his observation. “Of course, I did. I may not be an expert at cooking, but I am when it comes to tasting. Besides it should be obvious.”

“Obvious?”

“Cooking classes aren’t going to give you the finest ingredients… at least this level.” Done! You finished packing your dumplings. As you were about to start cleaning up, you notice Victor grabbing the pots. They still needed to be washed.

“What are you waiting for? Get the rest.”

Between the two of you, you cleaned up your station in no time, and Victor insisted on carrying your dumplings to his car. You wanted to split the load between you two, but he wouldn’t have any of it, saying that you were too weak to carry it. Consider it a reward for improving that much in such a short amount of time, according to him.

“Why didn’t you come to me?”

You blushed. “You have a large company to run and a small shop. I didn’t want to be a burden to you.”

“What’s one more thing?”

“Hey!” You pouted and puffed your cheeks while looking away from him. “I also wanted to surprise you with my cooking skills. Besides weren’t you encouraging me to be more self-motivated?”

Victor appeared to be stunned for a moment. “Heh. Never thought you’d be using my own words against me. That’s a first… and it’ll be the last time.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“You want it to be?”

“Bring it on, Tsundere!”

“Dummy, I’ll make you regret saying those words.”

#mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc zen #mlqc mc #tsundere #LOL

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miracle-sham · 4 years

Text

Our Faces are Hidden Behind Masks of Glass.

| {Maribat 2k20 – Day 1: Late Night Discussions} |

| [Ao3 Link] | | [Masterlist Link] |

| Sometimes, when secret identities are revealed, you just need a cuppa tea and some reaffirmation—and maybe some cuddles too. |

| Word count: 1534. |

==–==

| A/N: So I really thought SCAB would be my first piece of writing posted on here/for Maribat but then I got mugged in a dark dank alleyway by the Maribat2k20 MariTim prompt calendar and stabbed by the knife of inspiration. So uh yeah enjoy. |

| If you want to be tagged in future oneshots/fics, or a specific Au, then send me a DM or an ask! |

| Also side note, Don't Like? Don't Read. Also please do not criticise any of my writing. This was written for fun and receiving criticism, even in a compliment/criticism sandwich, is the exact opposite of fun. |

==–==

Heck-heck-heckity-heckles, Marinette chants in her head, desperately needing to find an empty alleyway that she can detransform in. She flicks her yo-yo towards a random skyscraper, and swings her way across the Gotham night skyline, scanning the streets below for somewhere that met her criteria.

Just as her earrings bleep thrice to signal that she was down to two dots, she spots it, an empty alleyway not in plain view of any roads, or windows. There! She cheers internally, dropping down into the alleyway and whispering a “Tikki, spots off!”

However, her relief at finding a place to detransform is short-lived, for as soon as the bright pink glow fades away, she's faced with the sight of Red Robin half changed into civvies, domino in one hand. Marinette stares at him in shock, and he stares back. Blinking blankly, she tries to wrap her mind around the fact that one of her "civilian" friends is actually a hero. A hero she's allies with, friends even.

The two stand there for a solid minute as their brains reboot. Tim cocks his head to one side, gaze flickering between looking her up and down, and staring at her earrings. Marinette also cocking her head to one side but her gaze switches between his bare face and the domino in his hand.

Once their brains finish rebooting, immediately the two blurt out the first thoughts to come to mind.

“Tim... You're Red Robin?”–

–“Wait, Marinette, you've been Ladybug this entire time?”

Marinette swallowed, blinking back tears, suddenly very aware of how vulnerable she was in the open with her secret exposed and—oh god, Tim's the first person to know my identity bar Master Fu… This is the first time I've ever had my identity revealed and I didn't even get a choice—She manages to choke down a sob before spitting out, “I think we should take this somewhere more private.” The words burning her tongue with the acrid taste of fear.

He nods sharply—almost more of a jerk than an actual nod. “I agree.”

Neither makes an attempt to move, both still staring.

“My place or yours?” She asks, hesitantly, half frowning.

He nods again, more softly this time, “Mine, but lemme just um…” Gesturing towards the amalgamation that was half his Red Robin suit and half civvies as he speaks.

Marinette's eyes widen in realisation, practically squeaking, she stutters. “Oh. Uh yeah, sorry!” She stiffly turns her back to him in an act of respect of privacy and cradles her face in her hands as her cheeks flush bright red from embarrassment. God, I'm never going to live this down, am I?

After about a minute of stewing in her embarrassment, she hears Tim clears his throat from the other side of the Alleyway. “Okay, done.”

She turns around to face him again, the blush has faded somewhat in the time passed but it's still very clearly noticeable. She can't help but glance at his civilian outfit. “Oh, er, nice?”

He sort of just blinks at her, rather bemused. “Uh, thanks… I guess?”

An awkward silence hangs over them as they shuffle and dance around each other on their way out of the alleyway. The walk to his theatre house is just as silent and awkward despite the hundreds of questions on each of their lips. A good thing then—Marinette supposes—that we didn't go to my place, I'm not sure I'd be able to handle an even longer awkward silence.

==–==

They take the civilian route inside—also known as using the door like a sane person—because apparently, vigilantes will only use windows as entrances provided there are windows to enter and that the vigilantes in question are suited up. Tim spends a good thirty seconds opening his front door, deactivating a bunch of different security protocols most likely. The hallway and lounge lights were already on probably to try and deter potential robbers—the house is in Crime Alley after all—but once they enter said hallway, all the ceiling lights on the first floor switch on.

Tim guides her to the sofa, which she perches on the edge of, facing the massive fish tank before disappearing into the kitchen. The sound of shuffling feet, cupboards and drawers opening, and the click of a kettle—or perhaps a coffee machine? She can't quite tell from this distance—are the only things to give away what he's doing in there. Marinette has no doubts that he's making the noise on purpose, he's a bat. But she's not quite sure if the noise is because he's comfortable here, or if it's because he's trying to make her feel more welcome?

A minute later, Tim re-emerges with two teacups in hand. He gently lays both on a coffee table between the sofa and aquarium, one of the cups pushed towards her general direction. He plops himself down on the sofa as well, albeit leaving enough space between the two of them that a third person could sit there.

She picks up the drink and peers at it, perplexed, for a second, question falling from her mouth before she can stop herself, “Earl Grey? With lemon?” I thought he was a coffee person?

“Alfred.” Is his clipped response.

She nods and 'oh's under her breath. That explains it. Marinette takes a sip and her eyes light up. “Oh wow! This is delicious!”

Tim raises his eyebrows in amusement and snorts but doesn't comment. The conversation lulls again. They sip their tea in silence.

When Marinette finishes her tea, she carefully puts the mug back down, with an audible clink, on the coffee table. She hesitates and the words Kagami once told her come unbidden to her mind. She grimaces, glances to Tim.

He's watching her with that calculating gaze of his, however, it seems far more tumultuous in nature this evening. He's hiding his mouth behind his mug like another mask.

Marinette leans back against the sofa and stares at his ceiling before idiomatically biting the bullet and physical biting her lips. “How long are we going to do this?”

He freezes. “Do what?”

She gestures vaguely in the air between the two of them. “This, tiptoe around the elephant in the room or I suppose in our case, the vigilantes in the room.”

Her phrasing manages to bring a small smile to his face but not a second later it fades and he purses his lips.

Solemnly, he gives her a once over. “So you're Ladybug then?”

Marinette huffs. “And you're Red Robin.”

“Does anyone else know that you're her then?”

She turns her head away from him, “No, you're…” Her throat closes up and she's forced to blink back tears again. Barely holding back the sniffles, she chokes out the last few words. “You're the only other person to know.”—Not technically a lie, it's not like Master Fu remembers anything about the miraculous, let alone my identity.

Tim deflates slightly, curling his shoulders inwards. “I wish you had told us before, we could have supported you. You shouldn't have had to deal with all that without help”

“What? Like Batman didn't start off alone?” Marinette snaps back automatically, no real heat behind her words.

“Batman's not exactly a pillar of good life decisions or emotional stability.” He retorts with a raised eyebrow.

Sighing, she shakes her head and whines, “Tim…”

“Marinette.” His lips twitch upwards like he's in on some joke she doesn't get, “On the bright side, now we know each other's identities, we can help each other on cases and patrols, or cover for the other in or out the masks.” He offers, sounding so calm and nonchalant.

Marinette shuffles closer to him on the sofa. “That would be useful. I just. I.” She stutters, brain moving faster than her mouth.

Tim grins ruefully. “You're worried I'm gonna tell the rest of the bats who you are, right?”

She curls up instinctively. “Yeah…”

“Don't worry, they're also detectives. If they can't work out your identity then why should I give them the answer?” He tries to joke but it falls flat.

“The magic of the Miraculous stops people from making the connection between my two identities.” Marinette responds.

“Ok, but what I'm trying to say is that I'm not going to give you away even if they ask.” He also shuffles closer to her and wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him.

“Thank you, Tim.”

“No problem, Mari.”

Marinette pauses. “So this won't affect our relationship in or out the mask, right? We're still friends?”

“Of course! This doesn't change a thing.” Tim, emulating Dick, pulls her in for a hug, and if Marinette melts into his arms—well he's not going to say no to that, not when he's so touch starved.

==–==

When Dick breaks into the house the next morning to check on Tim, seeing as he never checked out for the night nor did he return to the cave, he finds the two cuddled up together—fast asleep on the sofa. He nabs a spare blanket and pulls it over the two of them, snaps a pic to serve as evidence to Tim being okay, and then skedaddles before either can wake.

==–==

| Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little oneshot! Comments, likes, and reblogs are much appreciated! |

@maribat-2k20

#Miraculous Ladybug #ML x DC #DC x MLB #Maribat #Timinette #MariTim #Timari #Tim X Marinette #Marinette x Tim #Maribat2k20 #Maribat2k20 Tim x Marinette #Maribat2k20 Day 1 #Maribat 2k20 Late Night Discussions #Our Faces are Hidden Behind Masks of Glass #OFaHBMoG #Sham's Posts #Sham's Writing #Sham's Fics

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yossariandawn · 4 years

Note

FDTD for the fandom and Audrey/Nathan (Haven FTW) for the ship!

thanks for the ask @fortysevenswrites! I’m really glad I remembered Haven now, I just added that to the fandom list today. And this is also half of yours, @meredithharlow. 💖💖💖

FDTD Fandom:

Favorite character: TIE between Kate and Seth.

Least Favorite character: Sex Machine, no contest. I try really hard to understand even deeply unlikable characters, heck, I even actively enjoy deeply unlikable characters, BUT THIS GUY. If the show hadn’t treated him like he was some hilarious joke, while having his evil actions rooted in such a real world way, maybe I would feel differently.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): SethKate! Freddie/Margaret if they can get their shit together. Hmm after that, it’s all non-canon I guess, I do love the DRAMA of Richie/Dakota as a Dark!Ship (but probably just onesided on Richie’s end, but I could be convinced on Dakota’s end by some truly excellent writing, since we don’t know a ton about her) Scott/Kalinda sounds adorable, for two people who never even interacted. I truly believe the maid and the desk clerk at the Dew Drop Inn are the very best of crotchety old friends, so maybe that can be my fifth. You know they just sit around complaining about all the guests all day, and what more do you need out of a relationship than that 🤣

Character I find most attractive: Seth Gecko, the handsome devil.

Character I would marry: Oh my gosh lol. I’m not sure I’d want to marry anybody here, for different reasons, but I guess if I had too, I’ll go with Seth again.

Character I would be best friends with: Kate, and I would get along with Margaret and Ximena too. And Seth would be entertaining in a train wreck kind of way to have has best friend. WAIT, CAN I HANG OUT WITH UNCLE EDDIE AND DO CAPERS? Uncle Eddie it is.

a random thought: Richie didn’t get a traumatic flashback in the Labyrinth, and I’ve been thinking so much about that. I’ve basically decided it has something to do with the purity of the mind stuff that made him a good candidate for the tests, but I haven’t worked it all out in my mind yet. IT’S HIS BRAIN BARRIER, AMIRITE, @alwaysupatnight? 😂

An unpopular opinion: Carlos seems to get a fair amount of (understandable) hate, but I really liked him as a villain! He did very villainish things, and was entertaining to watch in my opinion. And I also didn’t mind his season 3 character reboot, I enjoyed the fact that he was so changed in a mysterious way. I stll think it would be a mistake to trust him, but I liked the uneasy (and I think temporary) alliance we got at the end of the season.

my canon OTP: SethKate!

Non-canon OTP: Let’s go with Scott/Kalinda, cause I want him to get some romance at some point, and the landscape is pretty bleak for him canon wise.

most badass character: bunch of badasses in this group, so this is a tough one. I’m going to say Kate because she is the one I would least like to have to plot against. She is quite the force of nature when she needs to be.

pairing I am not a fan of: Kate/Richie, I see them as fundamentally platonic at the end of the day.

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I wish we’d seen a lot more of a lot of the characters, but I’m not sure I would count that as screwing up so much as the show prioritizing some people over others. Freddie in season 3 didn’t land right for me personally? And I would have loved to see Ximena and him teamed up nonromantically and have her stay alive.

favourite friendship: There aren’t a ton of friendships in this show, mostly family and uneasy alliances, but I would have loved Scott and Richie as frenemies. I would 100% watch them have side adventures while snarking at each other.

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: I want to adopt Scott, because I worry so much damn much about that kid. I don’t know if I could help him, but I WOULD TRY MY BEST OKAY.

Audrey/Nathan behind the cut!

Audrey/Nathan Ship:

I haven’t seen the last five episodes yet, since I fell behind ages ago, and I always mean to go back and finish the series, but the mythology is SO DENSE that I also feel like I need to rewatch it from the beginning first so I can follow it properly. So while I have a general idea of what happens, I don’t know the nitty gritty of the ending.

when of if I started shipping it: I liked them from the start, but what really pushed me over into actually shipping them together was the “Nathan can feel Audrey” reveal. HIS FACE. The way it complicated their attraction and budding friendship IN THE BEST WAY.

my thoughts: I love them separately, too. And this whole thing is my thoughts, so I don’t know what else to add.

What makes me happy about them: PARTNERS. IN LOVE. WITH SO MUCH RESPECT AND UNSPOKEN UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THEM, AND THEY BOTH JUST CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER SO DAMN MUCH. I have a type, what can I say lol.

What makes me sad about them: THE RESETS. Oh my gosh, that made me so sad. Memory loss stuff always hits me so hard.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: I never really read enough to pick up anything that annoys me about them. I’m not an OT3er with Duke, and I know that had some popularity.

things I look for in fanfic: I read like all the fic right after the touch reveal, and I loved all the different takes on how she found out about it, and what they decided to DO about it. Other than that, just general togetherness, as long as it’s well written.

My kinks: partners solving problems together, competence, lots of touching, sharing their traumas, trusting each other, Nathan being a bit crazy when it comes to saving Audrey, Audrey doing the right thing anyway.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: If Nathan flat out died, I could be convinced of Audrey/Duke in the earlier seasons (pre Jennifer) but it would have been kind of a dark ship, and Nathan would have to be permanently off the table. But I do prefer Audrey and Duke as friends. Nathan would never love again though, let’s be real.

My happily ever after for them: Together, Audrey remembers her time with him and no more resets, and they solve crimes and keep the Troubles at bay. Also BABIES, because we know how much Nathan wants babies. He would be such a great stay at home dad while they were little, too.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: they take turns, but Nathan is such an snuggler, there’s no way there isn’t constant spooning going on.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Solving crimes after eating breakfast in bed!

#replies #asked and answered #fdtd #haven #about me #ask games

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captaincharpen · 4 years

Text

Movie Optimus and Megatron are actually really deep guys, seriously

You know what, screw it, I’m dropping all of my thoughts on why I think Bayverse Optimus and Megatron are tragically underrated here. So buckle up kids, here we go

So everyone seems to think that the Optimus Prime and Megatron of Michael Bay’s movie series are either terribly shallow husks of their classic characterizations at best, or atrocious bastardizations of sacred childhood icons at worst.

However I, an intellectual, have unwisely spent several hours of my life poring over every detail of them to come to the conclusion that there’s actually a lot going on with them. So I’m going to drag you, kicking and screaming, into my head and break down exactly what makes these two tick. Starting with Megatron.

Now most people see this guy and think “generic movie bad guy. Makes evil plan, screws up evil plan, slinks away to return in sequel with a more messed up face”. But this Megatron actually has so much going on for him that I think he could almost be seen as a would-be hero in his own way.

While starting a war that effectively killed his planet does dock him quite a few sympathy points, one thing that can’t be denied is that he truly cared about Cybertron when all’s said and done.

While his plots to destroy Earth to restore Cybertron can easily come off as bog-standard bad guy scheming, looking at it from his perspective, he’s fought for centuries to reform his home for, what he thinks, is the greater good. And now that he’s done so much damage to it for that goal, he’s determined to fix it, no matter what it takes.

That’s why he risked stranding himself on an alien planet to find the Allspark when, arguably, it would’ve been easier to simply press on with the war he was winning and find another planet to colonize when the dust settled. It’s also why, no matter how many times he’s left for dead or forced to work with people who’s ideals he’d normally hate, he still chases every chance to restore life to Cybertron anyway. Because that genuinely is the most important thing to him, and he’s perfectly willing to give his life as many times as necessary to save it

And even though his negligence of human life seems terrible from our perspective, in his eyes it’s a necessary evil to sacrifice a bunch of tiny aliens to finally bring his home back from the brink of a death that he’s effectively responsible for. Of course that doesn’t make it okay, but it’s not like he’s a cackling villain who wants to screw over humanity for fun. From his perspective, Optimus abandoned the planet they’d waged thousands of years of war over for the sake of some random alien planet he decided he liked better. And the thing is, he’s kind of right

The Optimus Prime of the movies is usually seen as either a noble, if bland, hero or a psychotic maniac who’s prone to chronic bloodlust. But honestly, he can be, and very much is, a little bit of both

So it’s obvious that this Optimus is a little cracked in the head, and it’s hard to see how he could NOT be after having his figurative and/or literal brother turn on him and failing to stop him from nearly destroying their homeworld and killing millions of people, all of whom Optimus was responsible for protecting. Not to mention being forced to willingly seal his planet’s fate by throwing the Allspark, the one thing that could save it, into the far reaches of who-knows-where.

And through all of this, he HAS to maintain a stoic, optimistic appearance. He can’t show any doubt, hesitation, grief, or even the effects of the general stress of the job, because he’s the one pillar holding up what’s left of the Autobots. They’ve lost literally everything else, and if their perfect leader who’ll get them through any crisis were to ever show that he’s vulnerable, the last thing they could really believe in would effectively be shattered.

So instead he dedicates himself to an, admittedly very unhealthy, black-and-white view of “Autobots and humans good, Decepticons bad”. He’s tried pleading, negotiating and showing mercy to the Decepticons and it got his planet nearly destroyed and him and his loyal friends stranded light-years away. So he’s essentially lost faith in himself and allowed himself to go further than he ever would otherwise just to see an end to the Decepticons for good

I think the best character to compare him to would be, believe it or not, Batman. No matter how far he goes, he’ll always hold onto his one rule. And for Optimus, that “one rule” is humanity. He clearly sees humanity as a reflection of what the Cybertronians used to be and as a result, projects his guilt over his failures and desire to see Cybertron start over, and do things right this time, onto them.

When he makes the decision to sacrifice himself and the Allspark to save Earth from Megatron, it’s arguable that he was effectively running away from what he sees as his failed legacy and giving a new chance to humanity in its place. Now obviously that’s an incredibly short-sighted idea, which even Sam could see, but by that point Optimus had effectively given up on Cybertron and adopted Earth as his “new Cybertron”. In his final speech at the end of the first movie, he seems incredibly dismissive of the loss of Cybertron and seems totally fine to just chill on Earth forever.

And no matter how many times the Decepticons uncover new ways to fix Cybertron, at the expense of the humans, he immediately shoots them down, while never trying to find a more mutually beneficial solution of his own. Even when the cracks start to show in the Autobots’ alliance with the humans and his own mentor and father figure seemingly comes back from the dead to tell him he’s given up on Cybertron, he still gives an optimistic speech at the end of DOTM and says that he’ll never turn his back on humanity. Even after seeing his old world right in from of him, he seems to feel no affinity for it anymore.

That is, until he has his mid-life crisis after the soft reboot of the last two movies. Humanity outright betrays him, almost all of the last of his loyal followers and friends are dead because of it, he could’ve seen the obvious signs of this coming, but he didn’t.

He decides to break his one rule and kill whoever’s responsible for all of it, but still clings onto his black-and-white defense mechanism of convincing himself that this one human is the SOLE instigator of their betrayal, as he’s still unwilling to admit that his new favorite aliens could be just as terrible as his own people can. And when he does finally kill him it’s only when his new human friend would die if he didn’t act immediately.

But once that line was finally crossed, he hits rock bottom. Sure, he goes back on his threat to abandon Earth and commands his Autobots to protect yet another special human friend, essentially falling back on his old ways of having maybe a little too much faith in humans. But once he leaves to find his creators, to “find himself” essentially. He’s forced to confront his failures yet again, this time in front of someone claiming to be his creator and, by extension, the supposed authority on what he should and shouldn’t be. And, in his vulnerable state, he allows himself to become corrupted into “Nemesis Prime”.

Now one could argue this was just simple brainwashing, but I could argue, have you SEEN this Prime? This is essentially what he’s like all the time, only now he’s stripped of the tenuous limits he’s placed on himself. In keeping with the Batman comparison, he’s “lived long enough to see himself become the villain”.

But the thing that brings him back from the brink isn’t one of his precious humans, it’s the voice of the one Autobot who stuck by his side all this time and is still there believing in him even at his worst. When he’s finally reminded of what he’s really fighting for, the Autobots who pledged their loyalty to him, knowing that he could lead them to victory, his faith in himself is restored. Maybe not completely yet, but he’s remembered that the awe inspiring leader that his Autobots see isn’t just a facade. Which is why his “did you forget who I am” scene is one of the most underrated badass moments in the entire movie series. Even without my painstaking overanalysis in your head to back it up.

And with that, I think I’ve rambled long enough that your brain has been reduced to a fine paste, so if you’ve really soldiered on this far, total props to you on that and I appreciate you caring this much about my mad rambling. Obviously, I’ve romanticized both characters here quite a bit, but I kind of had to for the sake of the argument. In practice, both of them are unstable, single-minded and admittedly kind of selfish. But I just wanted to point out that both of them have their own reasons for being the way they are, that could have easily gone deeper and made them into truly iconic takes on these characters if the movies had only run with the concepts they set up.

And so my only solution was to amend that with a hastily slapped together essay on my Tumblr blog that nobody reads. Anyway thank you for coming to my TED talk

#transformers #bayverse #movie #optimus prime #megatron #rant/essay

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