#plus the whole ''pick one thing and dedicate all your efforts to it'' idea as generally more effective than trying to do everything anyway

[victoriousscarf]

There's so many questions on this thing I can't choose lol- (if that's too much stuff at once just pick the ones you feel like answering and ignore the rest 😅)

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

9. Do you comment on stories you read?

12. how does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

20. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

28. On average, how much writing do you get done in a day?

29. What’s your revision or editing process like? (Plus 47. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?)

40. If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see? (this is probably my favorite question) (I'm most curious about covet verse scenes ofc) (but yeah feel free to talk about whatever fic you feel like)

53. How do you spend your time when it comes to fanfiction? Are you primarily a fic reader, writer, or a perfect 50/50 split of both?

55. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

60. Have you had a writer you admire comment on your fic? What was that like?

65. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

7. It depends? Like sometimes a story will just be one POV--like Covet is pretty much Fili, and I'll often take Dick's POV over Jason's in a DC fic, but usually it's like whose eyes do I most want to be on in this fic/scene? I have definitely started leaning toward whole fics in one POV but I will still switch if it works for the story (for example, needing to know scenes about which one character cannot know about). I would have previously said I would switch POVs more in long fics but Mahanon sorta shot that right out of the water. I enjoy the challenge of a limited POV fic sometimes, because you really are stuck with this one dude for what's now 500k and thus as limited in knowledge as he is. But it's rarely something I think like, that much about.

9. I am once again trying to get better lol. It's all about seasons of our lives, right? I used to try and go through fics that didn't have a bunch of comments and comment on them in the smaller fandoms/ships I was in, but then I stopped reading fic for a very long time, and now that I'm more regularly reading again, it's like flexing a muscle to comment again.

But it is an effort, one I think more people need to start accepting again. Writing is really hard work, it deserves some acknowledgement.

12. Like. I will write some wild things, and I don't need a LOT of feedback persay, but if something is getting no acknowledgement at all and another fandom is doing their best to feed me... receiving/not receiving feedback WILL impact my desire to work on a fic. It can be one or two dedicated as fuck readers who get me through a whole story, or it might be a whole swarm of them, but if I get dead silence, I have less like ability to push through the bad times (which always come in any multi chapter fic) and keep going. It hurts the motivation to get silence for sure.

16. So many. So many. As always so many.

I've got usually a whole stack of fics waiting for me to care about them/have the time which I never do. In Dragon Age I've got a pirate AU (Just, Cassandra ranting every 30 seconds about the fact they declared her a pirate but when someone offers her a pardon if she turns Mahanon in she tosses them over the side of the ship like well anyway) a whole Regency Era AU with strong vibes of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, and a very strange fake dating college au that may involve Fae.

Tolkien wise I've got some fics I promised people that I never wrote, an elf time loop one (which apparently is becoming a really popular idea in the Silm fandom on tumblr haha but I've been nursing this damn one for ages), that Anastasia-ish Hobbit story, a Regency Era AU for them too (but specifically Emma) and a story I've turned around for literally years now where Thorin died before the quest so Fili becomes king in exile and pretty much laughs Gandalf out of the room when he tries to convince him to reclaim Erebor (he's got a LOT to deal with emotionally okay, he's not got time for that) so they have to go and like try and kill Smaug in the middle of the War of the Ring instead.

And those are just the ones off the top of my head.

17. I think the most important thing as a writer is give yourself some grace. I try and write every week, but like I went on a trip and then I've been too exhausted since I got back, so it's been 2 weeks now with no writing for me. And frankly, I'm still feeling really wiped out so it's more like, if you're not feeling it, it's okay to take a break. Drink some tea, read a book, let it all peculate in the back of your head for a while. Try to do some things that inspire you, like for me it's reading history, or taking walks outside or going to museums, basically just learning new things. See some friends. Spend time with people. And then come back and see if that all triggered something. We forget writers block is often a systematic issue, like we're too tired or burned out or whatever, and it's about reinvigorating your creativity. And understanding and giving yourself the time. And if you're just exhausted by life well, unfortunately, maybe it's about trying to make those bigger changes, or accepting this will be a period where you plant some clover on the field of your creativity and let it lay fallow for a season or two. It will be there when you're ready again.

20. I mean, over the years I've written some wildly different things but yes, hahaha, very much yes. My favorite conflict is duty vs desire, I'm a sucker for loyalty, I'm a sucker for little shits that just don't stop, I'm a fan of knock-down, drag out street fighters, and if you leave me alone long enough, I will manifest a revolution into basically any setting. I like characters who are competent and don't give up, but who are human and make mistakes and fuck things up and keep going anyway, despite the fuck ups and danger and road blocks in front of them. I like when people feel things very deeply, but maybe aren't very good at talking about it or dealing with it, but always know they loved first and foremost, but sometimes it wasn't enough, and sometimes they did terrible things for it. I like imbuing the every day with intense feelings, be that ships or robots or undead horses or flower crowns. And I will probably try and make you cry at some point.

22. Hm. Yes and no? I have written things that I would never have expected, and I have written a LOT of stuff over the years on what are essentially dares. And there's things I wrote before that I'm like, way less inclined to write now? Like looking back my early 20s were way more willing to play around with student/teacher relationships that now I'm like... why was I even touching that with a ten foot pole? I also really really really hate pregnancy and will probably never write that into any story with any degree of detail. I'm not saying people won't have kids, but I'm not gonna be dealing with it.

So I'll write anything, as long as I can make it work for me. But it might not be in a way that like, other people expect or like.

28. On days I write I aim for 4ish pages, single spaced, 11/12 font. On really good days I can do 8 pages. On really good days I can do 20. I do not usually aim for that though. 4 is quite manageable for me on one go. (And as you'll see in the answer below on my editing, that's usually the length my chapters are. I know some people like to complain about my chapters being ~too short~ but honestly I don't want to hear it. On a good weekend you're getting 8 pages of writing if I write both days, and while some would probably prefer me waiting until my chapters are at 8 pages instead of 4, the reality is if I wait for it to be that long I will start spiraling mentally on myself and if it's good enough, so it's actually much faster for me to post the smaller chunks than deal with that. I'm a post or die person, and isn't that better than not getting anything at all?)

29/47. ... Hm.

Yeah I don't really edit. My editing process is usually to do one read through before posting (Unless I'm feeling like a scene is not working at all, in which case I may go back and rework it while halfway through and change things to make it work. But if I have to do that more than 2 or 3 times I will delete the whole thing and start again). I will try and grab typos and make sure things are working, then I will post. Once posted I try to do another read through on a typo hunt, but sometimes I don't get to that for another day or two, depending on when I post it.

40. I mean, there are always so many images while writing that make me go this would be really fun as an art haha.

I would love the scene in chapter 7 of covet not the feel of gold or taste of blood of Kili just sorta losing it. Or Fili, poor lad, covered in gold.

I'd love Dick in his magic shop from trust not in the darkness, trust in my outstretched hand, or the cabin covered in candles and the snow. I tried to work on my settings a bit more in that one.

I love any time someone draws Dick and Jason and the bike from find the sun in the corners of shadows.

I would love to see Mahanon and Sonja in art together. That would probably make me cry.

But honestly I would not really care. Like any fanart is a gift that makes me so emotional any time it happens. I understand why commissions etc exist, but I feel like the idea of sharing gifts in fandom used to be stronger than it is now. And that does make me a little sad. But it still happens and every time is worth treasuring.

53. I'm more of a writer, but lately I've been reading a lot of fics again. (Stranger Things got to me). But I also read a bunch of non fanfiction things, so I go through seasons of reading fic or not. But I almost always am writing, so I'd say majority writer, but when I read I do lose it.

55. I mean, the classics at this point are Fili and Dick and Mahanon probably. I am a sucker for someone who has every reason to hate the world and chooses instead love, belief, compassion, or in Fili's case, simple fucking survival haha. And no, I don't really care about people's reactions to certain characters. If I did I would have less plans for Gaspard in the forest is dark and deep. (Every time he shows people yell at me about how much they hate him and I'm like oh well, you're going to have to keep dealing with him anyway <3)

Honestly I only seem to chose popular characters by chance, and sometimes don't really care about the fandom reading on them (Fanon Dick Grayson my beloathed). I don't mean this in a "I'm not like other girls" way, I just know I'm contrary at best, and don't really care for the whims of popular fandom. I do what I want, and I have gotten yelled at for it by readers, and not in a good squee-yelling sort of way.

Unless you mean, swayed by readers/follower's opinions in a "I will never write this again as long as I live" way in which case yes, I did actually drop a whole ship because the readers were so mean about it and it killed all joy I ever felt in those characters together. And it was Tony Stark/Loki back in the 2012 era. That was the worst experience in fandom I ever had, you will always be legendary to me for all the wrong reasons.

60. Yes! Actually I commented on their work and they went wait, aren't you the one who wrote xxx? And I was like oh, yes, that is me, and we went from there. And then we became fandom friends lol. It is always a very kind, warm feeling to realize people have read your stuff, especially when you know they've got good tastes in their own work lol.

65. Listen, listen, I'm so excited for where ancient sea is going, the fact my brain is refusing to write it is driving me crazy. I want Hawke to meet Bianca! For the temple of Dirth to be a total shit show!!! the Forbidden Oasis being EVEN WORSE! I want my boi Abelas to show, I want things in Orlais to get batshit insane while Mahanon goes "whoops" I am dying for the assassins from Josie's personal mission to show up while Mahanon is on a hair trigger on that issue (especially! Josie! After! Wycome! holy shit). I want Gaspard to show up and be really annoying for like many different things while Mahanon keeps wishing he killed him while he had the chance (real "I should have left you on that streetcorner where I found you" "But you didn't!" vibes). I want for them to try and start breaking Mahanon and his symbols down and for him and his to rebuilt something new from the ashes.

On the other hand I also want to keep trucking in Covet because I'm really excited about some of the stuff there too, and getting to the point where I can start posting some of the side story stuff I've been writing to keep myself sane in the main story lol. (I've got like a whole 13 pages of Nori POV that came out of a fucking joke to someone that I can't post yet and now I'm mad about it lol).

#vs does a meme #i talk so much but to be fair there are a lot of questions haha

[breadcoast9]

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[jungshookz]

the need for speed(dating); pjm

➺ pairing; park jimin x reader

➺ genre; sfw!! fluff!! y/n’s a goofball!! jimin’s into that!! featuring sommelier!hobi but before he finds his y/n,.. and also bartender!tae!! 

➺ wordcount; 5.7k

➺ summary; hoseok tricks y/n into attending a speed-dating event and (unsurprisingly) it doesn’t go down so well... then things gets a little better, thanks to the handsome stranger sitting at the bar. 

➺ what to expect; “please tell me you didn’t lure me here with the prospect of spaghetti and meatballs just to get me to take part in a speed-dating event for sad, single people.”

                                        »»————-　♡　————-««

“oh my god, what’s the rush?!” you stumble over your feet as hoseok continues to drag you along with him, “seriously, you need to slow down because i’m going to twist an ankle if you make me walk any faster-”

“we’re late for our reservation because you couldn’t decide on what top to wear-” hoseok scoffs and picks up his pace, your eyes widening for a split second when you actually almost fall flat on your face

“hey, i just wanted to wear something nice because you said that the place we were going to was a nice place- if you didn’t raise the standards, then i wouldn’t have raised the standards either!”

“less talking, more walking!”

you’re really not sure what possessed hoseok to want to go to a fancy restaurant tonight

pizza hut’s doing this triple treat box thing for the holidays and you suggested getting that because you get three main courses in one big box

what’s not to like?!

you weren’t even aware that hoseok had made reservations until earlier today 

he just sprung it on you that you guys were eating at a restaurant and not at the apartment tonight anD he told you to dress up nicely because of some dress-code 

“is this the part where you tell me you’ve actually been in love with me this entire time?” you joke as the two of you approach the restaurant, your eyes immediately picking up the romantic lighting coming from inside, “need i remind you, our ‘let’s get married if we don’t find anyone’ deal expires when we turn thirty, and i’m definitely not-”

“i’m not confessing my undying love for you tonight, y/n-” hoseok rolls his eyes playfully, the two of you joining the queue, “i just wanted to eat something that wasn’t fast food for once, you know?”

“you’re telling me the pizza hut triple treat box didn’t sound one bit tempting?”

hoseok pauses 

“…we’ll do that next week.”

heh

“plus, uh, you said that you wanted spaghetti and meatballs or something, right? i looked up where to find the city’s best spaghetti and meatballs, and this place came up as one of the results!” hoseok chirps, though you’re barely paying attention to him because you’ve just taken notice of one of the signs sitting by the entrance

“hey, look at that-” you point to the wooden sign before snorting to yourself, “there’s a speed-dating event taking place here tonight. i can’t wait to watch sad, single people get nervous and twitchy while talking to other sad, single people. do you think if we asked nicely, they could move us to a table where we can eavesdrop on everyone’s conversations??”

“yeah, our table is… a lot closer to the event than you think.” hoseok mutters off to the side before shoving his hands into the pockets of his trousers

“what’s that supposed to mean?” you turn to look at him, your brows knitting together in suspicion when he avoids your gaze and starts whistling a happy little tune to himself

…

…

oh my god

“hoseok,” you clear your throat quietly, hoseok’s eyes widening in alert when he notices you take a tiny step away from him, “please tell me you didn’t lure me here with the prospect of spaghetti and meatballs just to get me to take part in a speed-dating event for sad, single people.”

“well, i…” hoseok swallows, his adam’s apple bobbing in his throat

he flashes you a sheepish smile to confirm your answer

NO

“do they- do they even have spaghetti and meatballs on the menu??” you gawk, taking several steps back so you can look up at the name of the restaurant

le petit paris

oh god

this whole thing was a set-up

everything is a lie!  

this place is french

“this place is FRENCH!” you gasp, bringing a hand up to your chest in shock at this outright betrayal, “you tricked me, you slimy-” you spin around on your heels to walk back to the car, “i’m going home! no, first i’m going to get the triple treat- actually, i can’t finish that all on my own so- i’m going home, and i’m going to order that fancy ham and cheese sandwich from that one deli-”

“the fancy ham and- that’s a croque monsieur, y/n, that’s french!” hoseok snaps, “will you get back here?? you can’t go home because i’m the one who drove us here-”

“i don’t care!” you exclaim, standing at the edge of the sidewalk before looking to see if there are any taxis nearby that you can wave down, “i’m going home!”

“oh, c’mon-” hoseok gives the rest of the strangers in line an apologetic smile before rushing over to grab you before you can make an escape, “will you relax and please just-”

“hoseok, i am not doing this- are you kidding me?? you know how i feel about dating-” 

“i know, i know!” hoseok waves his arms, “but- just- you haven’t been out on any dates since you and seokjin broke up a year and a half ago...”

you immediately clam up at the mention of seokjin and you feel your entire face flush

it’s true

you haven’t made any efforts to go out and meet new people since you split with seokjin (sure, it was a mutual breakup, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less when he came to pick up his box of belongings at your apartment)

“and every time i tried to set you up on a blind date, you said that you weren’t ready for that yet- which, by the way, is obviously totally understandable, but-”

“but what?! there shouldn’t be a but!” you cross your arms, “all i have to say is that i’m not ready, and that should be enough of a reason to not trick me like this-”

“you use the breakup as an excuse to get out of everything, y/n!” hoseok exasperates, “remember when i asked you if you wanted to come to one of my wine-tasting courses? do you remember what you said to me?”

(“oh, you know… i would love to watch you do you thing at your… super fancy wine and cheese tasting thing, but i… i’m still grieving over the breakup! i’m, like, still devastated. super devastated. i’m in a very sensitive state, so i don’t think it’d be a good idea for me to leave my apartment, like, at all-”)

“…touché.” you mutter, reaching up to scratch the back of your neck

for the record, you felt really bad about not going to support hoseok at his fancy sommelier thing as soon as you hung up but you made up for it by going to his next one!

“plus, you look really pretty tonight and it would be a complete and utter shame to let that go to waste!” hoseok gestures to your outfit, “your ass looks great in these jeans, your legs look great in these heels, your boobs look fantastic-”

“okay, i think i get the point-”

“and you know i love hanging out with you, but… sometimes i wanna go out on dates too, you know?” he sighs, his shoulders drooping a little, “like, we can’t spend every weekend together-”

“i know that!” you frown, “you can just tell me that you have a date and can’t hang out, don’t make it sound like i’m forcing you to spend time with me-”

“i know, but i would feel bad about leaving you at home while i’m out with a potential romantic partner-”

“okay, you know what?” you raise both your hands before shaking your head, “fine. i will… i will do this one thing for you. i’m just glad we’re doing it together! because it would be awful if i went in there alone-” 

the smile drops from your face when hoseok has the audacity to press his lips together and look away from you again

“oh my- are you serious?? you’re not even doing this?? a second ago you were talking about finding your potential romantic partner!” 

“sure, but i wanna find them organically!” hoseok shrugs before scrunching his nose, “plus, i think speed dating is tacky.”

“wha-” you gawk, immediately spinning back around, “well, in that case, the only way you’re getting me in that restaurant is if you drag my cold, dead body-”

                                           »»————-　♡　————-««

“okay, if you need me, i’ll be sitting, like, right over there where you can still see me so it’ll sort of feel like we’re in this together-“ hoseok smooths the name sticker onto your shirt before giving it a pat, “but i saw a warm goat cheese puff pastry thing on the menu and i’m going to be helping myself to a big ol’ serving of that-”

“i hate you.” you interrupt, staring at hoseok blankly

“oh, you don’t mean that…” he coos, reaching up to fix a couple strands of your hair, “you’ll see! you’re going to have so much fu-”

“i hate you. and the burgundy button-up that you’re wearing looks awful on you.”

hey!

you said this was your favourite shirt on him!!!

“okay, well-” hoseok looks down at his (beautiful) top before frowning, “now you’re just trying to hurt me-”

“please don’t make me do this.” you whisper, hoseok looking up to see your eyes beginning to water, “i really don’t think i can do this.”

oh boy 

hoseok stays silent for a second as he watches your eyes beginning to well up with moRe tears 

“hey- i know it’s scary, y/n. i know.” hoseok shushes, immediately pulling a handkerchief out from his pocket to dab away your tears, “i know that it’s intimidating to... you know, throw yourself back out there after not having done this for so long, but… you have to at least try, you know?” he pulls away and gives your shoulders a reassuring squeeze, “look- if you really, really don’t wanna do this, we can just enjoy a nice meal together at this super nice restaurant that we definitely can’t afford… but do you think you can at least give it a try? please?”

“i…” you trail off, turning to look over your shoulder at the group of other sad, single people

okay

well

you suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try

it’s been a year and a half!!

and if you’re going to start somewherE, you might as well start at an event that’s dedicated to helping you find love

“fine.” you sniffle, looking down and adjusting the sleeves of your blouse, “but i saw truffle fries on the menu and you’re buying two orders of that for takeout-“

“deal!” hoseok chirps, spinning you around before gently nudging you towards the group of strangers, “remember to smile! and to not talk about seokjin! ooh, and to not make any weird jokes that could scare a potential suitor away!”

“go away, you’re being embarrassing-” you hiss quietly, stepping down to enter the… pit?

you’re not sure what to call this part of the restaurant

it’s the area where hosts usually ask customers to wait while they set up a table for them 

whatever this place is called, you’re just glad that there’s a bar here because you’re definitely going to need a boost of liquid courage

the lighting is nice and dim which is great because you’re pretty sure your eyeliner is already starting to smudge from almost bursting into tears a second ago

you stand awkwardly by the stairs as you take in the scene before you

…

you haven’t even been here ten seconds and you already want to leave

what makes things worse is the fact that this isn’t one of those regular speed dating ones where you’re set up with a person and then after the timer goes off you move to the next table

no

this is one of those free, go-with-the-flow speed dating events where you just go up to anyone you want and spark up a conversation and hopefully find someone who can match your energy

and since you came late, it seems as though everyone’s already found someone else to talk to

great!

you’re the only sad, single person in this room of sad, single, but paired-up people

you look back out to the main area of the restaurant to see hoseok chatting it up with one of the waitresses

she giggles as she shakes her head, writing something down on her notepad

it seems like he’s having a good time out there

…you hope he chokes on his goat cheese pastries.

okay

what you need to do is just go for it, you know?

like, don’t even think about anything

just go up to anyone and say hello, and then you’ll wing it from that point

you wipe your clammy hands down on the back of your jeans as you make your way towards the centre of the room, looking around for anyone… who isn’t… talking to anyone… else…

ah!

you reach up to pinch your own cheeks in an attempt to loosen up your face muscles before forcing a bright smile on your face

you can do this

easy peasy!

saying hello isn’t hard

“hilo!” you greet, tapping the guy on the shoulder to get his attention

oh

never mind

turns out saying hello brings some of its own challenges

“i mean- hi.” you clear your throat, already feeling heat trickling up your chest, “sorry. i didn’t know if i wanted to say hi or if i wanted to say hello, and i guess my brain kinda just jumbled the two together-”

“hello,” he cuts you off before offering you a stiff smile, “that’s alright. i was actually in the middle of a conversation, if you don’t mind-” he points to over his shoulder at the girl standing in front of him and your eyes widen in surprise

whoopsies

“oh, gosh! i- um, i’m so sorry!” you take a small step back before raising both your hands up, “i’m sorry, i didn’t see her over your broad shoulders, so- o-oh, that wasn’t- that wasn’t me hitting on you or anything, by the way, that was just, like- your broad shoulders were just a general observation-“ you chuckle, shooting him two finger guns, “okay, yeah. you guys can go ahead and… do your thang…” you press your lips together tightly when he turns back around, focusing his attention back on his date

alright

no problem!

it’s fine

“not embarrassing at all…” you murmur lowly as you step backwards, jolting when you accidentally bump into someone

!

you whip around quickly to apologize but you don’t get a chance to because suddenly there’s a champagne flute and a dirty plate being shoved into your hands

“wha-”

“a refill would be awesome,” the brunette smiles at you, “moët and chandon, please.”

“oh, i’m not a-”

“oh, of course!” she gasps, reaching into her purse and pulling out a dollar bill, “here you go…” she narrows her eyes as she looks at your name tag, “y/n! lovely service. you’re doing a great job, girlfriend. it’s hard workers like you who make up the backbone of our society.”

“thank… you?” you stand frozen in shock when she tucks the folded bill into the shoulder of your blouse

this blouse was $200 and apparently it makes you look like a server so that’s definitely money well-spent

but also, who in their right mind would think a restaurant server would be wearing a square-necked, puffy sleeved blouse as part of their uniform?!

and why would a waiter have the exact same name sticker as everyone else participating in this speed-dating event??

“excuse me… pardon me…” you mutter as you elbow your way through the crowd, holding the dish and the glass up a little higher so you don’t get any crumbs or anything on anyone’s clothes

“oh, could you take this for me, please?”

“and this, too!”

“no, i-” you stop in your tracks when a plate is stacked on top of the one you’re already holding and you fight back the urge to let out a speechless laugh, “okay, sure, i’ll even drive you people home at the end of the night-”

to be fair, when you’re holding a dish and a glass like that, it does kind of make you look like a waiter so you can’t really blame everyone for thinking that you’re here to serve them

by the time you make your way to the bar, you’re balancing five little plates in one hand and you have four champagne flute stems held upside down and pinched in between your fingers

you let out a huff as you set everything down in the sink behind the bar, being careful not to drop and break anything

you dust your hands off, looking out towards the restaurant to see hoseok happily picking at a charcuterie board while swirling a glass of wine in his other hand

that sick, twisted bastard

…and your blouse now has a splotch of creamy white sauce on it, which is just fantastic, isn’t it?

not only do you look like a waiter, now you look like a perverted waiter!

“oh, come on…” you groan quietly, grabbing a napkin and wetting it with your tongue before reaching down to rub at it, “i just had this dry-cleaned a couple of days ago…”

so far this has been a living nightmare

but at least you got a dollar out of it!

...she could’ve given you a more generous tip, but it is what it is. 

“i feel like scrubbing it just makes it worse, no?” you hear a voice a couple feet away from you and you look up while continuing to rub at the stain

“that’s true, but i feel like dabbing it gently really doesn’t-“ you choke over your own words when your brain finally catches up to your eyes

handsome

handsome handsome handsome handsome handsome

holy handsome

the stranger tilts his head slightly, the corners of his pretty mouth pulling up into a lopsided smile, “really doesn’t…?”

“does- doesn’t, um…” you look down at the stain on your blouse as you feel your brain working overtime to spit out an answer, “doesn’t… do the thing.”

“do the thing. hm. that’s a fair point.” he hums, bringing his glass up to his mouth for a sip

you feel your heart skip a beat when you take in his pretty side profile... from the smooth, straight slope of his nose... to his pink, pillowy lips

oh, wow 

maybe there’s still some hope that this event won’t turn out to be too bad 

you stand up a little straighter when it hits you that this is your chance

this is your chance to stop being a waiter and start being a fellow speed-dater!!

“what are you drinking?” you ask, sitting down on the stool next to him before folding your arms up on the counter, “i could use a drink.”

“a gimlet.”

“a- a giblet? like… from chicken?” you frown, looking at the contents of his glass, “you’re drinking chicken giblets??”

he chokes on his sip and sets his glass down quickly before reaching up to wipe at his mouth with a napkin, turning to look at you with a smile, “no, silly. not giblet. gimlet. it’s gin, simple syrup, and lime juice.”

yeah

that makes more sense

“oh-” you snort, bringing a hand up to cover your mouth a little, “sorry. i heard giblet. but a gimlet sounds really good.”

“can i get one for you?” he asks, already raising his hand to get the bartender’s attention

“that would be nice, yes.” quickly letting out a breath when he turns to talk to the bartender

so far, so good!

you didn’t weird him out with your gimlet-giblet thing, which is a good sign

you cross one leg over the other, pausing for a second before switching legs

you hate sitting on bar stools because you can never find a comfortable position on them…

at the end of the night you’re always left with one butt cheek on the stool and one hanging oFF the stool

you settle on crossing your right leg over your left, nodding to yourself before folding your hands over your lap

this is a natural looking position, right??

you just don’t want to look like a dumbass in front of the very attractive giblet man

“everything okay?”

you look up to see that he’s turned back to face you, one arm propped up on the counter with his jaw resting against his fist

“oh! yeah.” you wave him off, “sorry… i just haven’t done this in a long time, that’s all.”

“what? sitting on a bar stool?” he jokes, the sound of his giggle immediately giving you a spurt of newfound energy, “are you enjoying yourself so far?”

“me?” you purse your lips in thought before scrunching your nose, “eh. i don’t think so. everyone thought i was one of the waiters, so i haven’t been able to really spark up any conversations because i’ve been busy collecting dirty plates and empty glasses- which reminds me, i’m pretty sure there are like, three people waiting for me to bring them champagne…“ you trail off, turning to look over your shoulder to see if there are any angry customers glaring you down

“yeah, i saw…” the stranger chuckles, “for the record, you’re actually pretty good at balancing plates! i probably would’ve dropped them all.”

“the only thing that kept me from dropping them all was the reminder that i’d probably have to pay for the damage done.”

“very, very true! and the bill would’ve been sky-high because this place is pretty fancy.”

“i know!!” you gasp, “and you can tell it’s fancy because you can pay someone else to park your car for you. like- valets are just- you know. fancy.”

“fancy.” he mimics, his knee bumping against yours as he shifts in his stool, “so, do you go to speed-dating events often?”

“oh, no.” you pause to thank the bartender as he sets down your drink on a coaster, “this is actually the first time i’ve ever been to one of these things. i didn’t even wanna come here in the first place, but my friend forced me to because he thinks i should get back into the game or whatever considering i broke up with my boyfriend, like, a year and a half ago-”

don’t make any weird jokes! don’t talk about seokjin!

hoseok’s words from earlier tonight suddenly echo in your head and you feel your cheeks grow pink

your giblet joke was pretty weird

and you just mentioned your ex-boyfriend

two for two!

you quickly take a sip of your drink before you blurt anything else out

ooh!

this is actually pretty nice 

“the, uh, the gimlet is good!” you hum, “i like the lime.”

“mhm, it’s my favourite drink.” he smiles, reaching over to gently clink his glass against yours before taking his own sip, “so your friend forced you to come and you’re not having a good time? that’s pretty rough.”

“yeah, well...” you sigh, “speed-dating is just the worst, you know? like… okay, if the hosts had set this up, like, where you get five minutes to talk to someone and then when the timer goes off, you move to the next table-”

“oh, yeah-”

“yeah, exactly- if it was like that, it probably would’ve been better, because that way no one gets left out!” you scoff, “but this freestyle just-talk-to-whoever-you-want-to type speed-dating is frankly ineffective and totally stupid, in my opinion. whoever organised this thing probably had one too many gimlets while they were planning it out…” you giggle, shaking your head, “also, i feel like organising a speed-dating event during the holidays is a little sad, you know? like… well, it’s not as bad as hosting one on valentine’s day or something, but doing it during christmas seems a little awkward, and, like… taking advantage and leeching onto sad, single people.”

“i see where you’re coming from- you know, i was at a valentine’s day one earlier this year and i’m pretty sure most of the people there were just looking to bone each other and not to make a real connection.”

“well, when you say it like that, it seems like speed-dating events are just a gateway drug into full-blown orgies-”

you bite back a grin when he chokes on his drink again before throwing his head back in laughter

wow!

this is going great!!!

you’re definitely going to have to thank hoseok if this thing with giblet man works out

of course, you should probably noT keep calling him giblet man if you want it to work out

his actual name is a crucial piece of information if you’re planning on asking him out on a proper date

“oh, by the way-” you clear your throat, “i never got your na-”

“hold on, before you say anything else, i just have to do something really quickly-” he holds his finger up to stop you before turning and getting up off the stool, your brows furrowing in confusion when he picks up the microphone sitting on the stool on the other side of him

huh

that’s a little weird

who brings a microphone to a speed-dating event?

bursting into song while everyone’s trying to have conversations with each other seems like a questionable thing to d-

“i hope everyone’s having a good time so far!” he announces, the music lowering a little bit as he continues to speak, “i just wanted to chime in and remind everyone to write down the names of whoever you’re interested in seeing again- there should be notepads and pens sitting on each of the tables…”

…

…

…

oh

oh no

oh dear GOD

you spin back around to face the bar, immediately slapping a hand over your mouth to suppress a scream of mortification when you realise that you just talked trash about the host of this event while talking to the host of the event

no wonder he didn’t have a name sticker!!! 

he didn’t even stop you! he just let you go on and on and on-

i need to get the hell out of here

you need to leave the crime scene immediately!!!!!

you down the rest of your drink before hopping off the stool, reaching up to rip your name sticker off and crumpling it up before tossing it to the side

of course 

of course this would happen to you!

out of all the people in the world, of course this would happen to you!

that’s it

you’re never going to do this again

in fact, you’re just never going to leave the apartment ever again

you’re just going to rot in your apartment and die alone, which sounds like a pretty good option to you

you should think about leaving the country while you’re at it 

you head straight for hoseok and you’re walking so quickly that your hair is practically whipping behind you

“hey! we’re leaving now-“ you hiss, grabbing hoseok’s arm and giving him a yank, “c’mon, up and at ‘em-”

“woah, woah-” hoseok smacks your hand away from him as he looks up at you incredulously, “what happened?? i just placed an order for your fries and they won’t be ready for a couple more minute-”

“screw the fries!” you duck down a little as you look towards the pit, “i just humiliated myself in front of a very attractive man and i would like to leave before i embarrass myself further-”

“well, what did you even do??” hoseok asks, scrambling to pull his credit card out of his wallet before raising an arm to flag a waiter down, “what happened??”

“oh my god, you don’t even wanna know-” you shake your head, “first, i went up to someone who was already talking to someone and i said hilo because i didn’t know if i wanted to say hi or hello and it came out as hilo- and, anyways, he basically ignored me so then i bumped into someone else and she thought i was one of the waiters which doesn’t even make any sense because i?? i’m not dressed like a waiter! i have a name sticker too!” you point to your chest before realising that you’d ripped it off a second ago, “well, i had one- okay, and then- and then this really cute guy started talking to me as i was wiping my shirt-”

“you stained your new blouse??” hoseok gawks, leaning back a little to inspect your shirt, “you just got it cleaned a couple of days ago!”

oh yeah

that’s a stain

...a very questionable looking stain-

“it was an accident-!” you groan quietly, “so, the cute guy- he started talking to me and we were having a really nice conversation- i slipped up a couple of times and made some weird jokes anD sort of brought up seokjin but-”

“oh my god, y/n-” hoseok mutters, pausing to take the chip reader from the waitress (in your panicked, rambley state, you don’t notice the way he winks at her and her girlish reaction to that)

“-somehow we started talking about speed-dating events and i just went into a rant about how tacky they are and how much i hate them a-and how much this one in particular sucked- and the next thing i know, he’s picking up a microphone and-”

“will you just get to the point?” hoseok gets up from his seat, pulling his jacket from the back of the chair

“i trash-talked the host in front of his own event!” you whine, feeling the urge to burst into tears for the second time tonight

“oh, jesus, okay-” hoseok laughs uncomfortably as the two of you hurry to get the hell out of here, “maybe you need to find someone organically too… and maybe we’ll avoid speed-dating for a while…”

“i told you we should’ve gone home!” you shiver as you step out into the cold, instinctively wrapping your arms tight around yourself

you decided not to bring a coat because you wanted to show off your pretty blouse but now you wish you’d brought one just to a) keep you warm AND b) hide your definitely-not-cum-stained waiter blouse

“this sucks! and i didn’t even get my truffle fries-!” you groan loudly, your voice dissipating into the air

“alright, shakespeare, take it down a notch-” hoseok reaches over to give you a pat on the back, “also, if you were willing to wait-”

“hey, hold on!” you stop in your tracks when you hear a familiar voice call out and you whip around to see the man you just embarrassed yourself in front of, “y/n!”

great!

and now he knows your name, too! 

“oh, god.” you turn back around, picking up your pace at the sight of hoseok’s car, “c’mon, let’s go-”

“you can’t just ignore him, he’s literally calling for you-!” hoseok grabs the back of your shoulders to stop you before turning you around, “i’m gonna wait in the car- and you better not mess up what looks to be a second chance-”

“hos-!” you don’t get a chance to turn and run after hoseok because the next thing you know-

“hey! you left your name sticker at the ball, cinderella.” mr. gimlet jogs up to you, unfurling his fist to reveal your sad, crumpled name-tag

“you came out just to bring me garbage?” you joke weakly, feeling completely drained from the events of tonight, “how romantic.”

“it’s, um, jimin, by the way.” he clears his throat, standing up straight, “that’s my name.”

“jimin.” you nod, testing the feel of his name coming out of your mouth 

jimin 

hm

you like it :-)

“i was going to tell you but when i turned around, you disappeared-” 

“well, yeah, because like-” you pause, “you’re not mad?”

“what?” he frowns, “why would i be mad?”

“because i… said all of that stuff?” you reach up to scratch the back of your head, “about… you know… stuff.”

“everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, y/n.” jimin smiles, offering you a boyish grin, “you’re a real goofball, you know that? you ran away because you thought i would be mad that you didn’t like the speed-dating event i was hosting?”

“yeah, i, uh… i full-on sprinted out of there…” you chuckle nervously, uncrumpling your name-sticker just so you have something to do with your hands, “ah, i’m sorry. i just- well, you know, i… haven’t really… done stuff like this in a while, so…”

“well,” jimin clears his throat, taking a step forward before plucking the sticker from your twitchy fingers, “you’re welcome to talk about how much you hate dates while we’re out on our date.”

“yeah, i- wait, o-our date?” you quickly look up at him before blinking owlishly, “are you- you want to take me out on a date?”

jimin smooths your sticker flat out on his palm before flipping it around to show you his number that he scribbled onto the back

he wants to take you out on a date?

...

jimin wants to take you out on a date!!!!!!!!

“of course i do!” he states as if it’s the most obvious thing in the entire world before handing the sticker back to you, “we can get wasted on giblets and you can help me plan out my next super-tacky speed-dating event.”

“oh, god-” you feel your face flush as you shake your head furiously, “i’m... so sorry...” 

“y/n, it’s fine-” jimin laughs, reaching over to hook a finger under your chin to get you to look up at him, “so... what do you say?” 

after everything that took place tonight you were sure you’d be leaving the restaurant with nothing but hoseok and two orders of truffle fries

but no!!!

here you are, being asked out by a very cute boy while his number sits right in the palm of your hand 

...this is what they’d call a christmas miracle, right?

christmas with cee 2020 masterlist

🎁what would you like from ceenta this year? 🎁

#cwc2020 #jimin fluff #jimin fics #jimin fic recs #jimin #park jimin #bts fluff #bts fluff recs #bts fics #bts fic recs #bts #bts au #jimin au #park jimin drabbles #park jimin one shots #bts one shots #jimin one shots #bts smut #reader insert #jimin smut recs #bts smut recs #jimin x reader #jimin cute #park jimin cute #jimin smut #jimin hot #park jimin hot #jimin cute gifs #sdhost!jimin drabbles #sdhost!jimin

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who most likely won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

When Dana Terrace did her AMA on Reddit, a fan asked what we could expect for the new season. To which she replied by listing five things:

Parental conflict

A lot of emotions

Island exploration

New characters

...There's a fifth thing in there. You just got to look closely.

Now, when Dana mentioned parental conflict, dozens of fans assumed she was talking about Alador and Odalia, which, I mean...valid. They were the only two parental figures who presented any real conflict, and the idea of Camila being involved seemed implausible due to Luz being cut off from the human world. But no matter how you perceived that line, one thing’s for sure: No one expected Eda and Lilith's mother to be a source of conflict!

Yup. Today we met the woman who created two of the (former) greatest witches in all of the Isles. Was her introduction welcomed? Or did she give the Blights a run for their money for the "Worst Parent(s) of the Year" award? Only spoilers can answer those questions, so keep that in mind as we go in-depth with "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances."

Let's review, shall we!

WHAT I LIKED

The Flashback: Already, this episode comes out swinging by giving us so much information! We get an explanation of what Eda goes through when cursed (which is horrifying), the reasoning behind her gem, the revelation that Eda ran away from home, and the reveal of how she got the portal door. The best part is, none of it feels rushed or forced. Eda's curse and the portal are integral threads to this story, both in this episode and in future ones. Tying them together sets up Gwendolyn's determination to cure her daughter while showing Eda's determination to escape her mother by skipping town into another dimension. There's also a sense of mystery in how and why the portal was in their backyard. And judging by how we got all of this incredible information in episode FOUR of the new season, something tells me we'll get answers to those questions sooner than we might think. This was such a strong opening to the episode. Despite giving so much information, it makes fans like me want even more. Which is an A+ in my book.

Gwendolyn: Yeah, might as well step out the gate in saying that I like Gwen...but I can already see how others won't. Immediately, she sets herself up as a mother who would do anything and everything to cure her daughter. That aspect of her character is perfect, and it quickly won points from me in terms of liking her. It's just that Gwendolyn's disregard of what Eda wants and the complete dismissal of Lilith are aspects of Gwen that are certainly going to rub some people the wrong way. Especially if those kids come from households where their parents are a lot like Gwendolyn. I was in the same boat of hating her too for a while, but thankfully, the last act saved her.

First, there's that scene where Gwendolyn threatened the lives of the demons for not only screwing her over but making things worse for Eda. It's one of those "Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned" moments that I always love to see.

Then there's the fact that Gwendolyn learns her lesson and, more importantly, apologizes. Not many actual abusive mothers would do that (Looking at you, Odalia), so it's nice to see that she makes an effort to make amends. Oh, and by the way, since I mentioned it, don't go around calling Gwendolyn abusive. She isn't. Or, at least, not to my eyes. If anything, she's a lot like Sara Fitzgerald from My Sister's Keeper (The book. Not the movie. The movie sucked).

In that story, Sara makes controversial choices that result in her youngest daughter Anna getting the short end of the stick due to putting all attention towards her eldest Kate. But here's the thing: KATE HAS CANCER! So while Sara's choices are beyond questionable, you can understand her point. And if you don't, well, I'd see how you would react when in her shoes. Trust me when I say that situations like this aren't always cut and dry. It's the same with Gwendolyn. She's far from "Mom of the year," but you understand where she's coming from. She wants to do what she can to help Eda, even if her methods could have been better. But that's just how I feel, and I can't speak for everyone who dealt with mothers far worse than her. If you refuse to forgive her, I'll understand. But to me, I consider Gwendolyn a worthy addition to the series.

(Plus, she just radiates Grandma energy when interacting with Luz. It's cute, and therefore I must love it!)

Luz: This season is on FIRE when presenting Luz!

I adore that the first thing we see her doing in this episode is sleeping after, most likely, another all-nighter to find a new portal. It proves that she has a determination made of iron and an intense dedication to getting back to Camila. In fact, it's that dedication that works as a perfect way to build a connection between Luz and Gwendolyn. They both want to reconnect with their families and are willing to do whatever it takes to do so.

Regardless, despite so desperately wanting to see Camila again, I'm glad that Luz still has common sense when it comes to helping Eda. She quickly sees that Gwen's cures are doing more harm than good, and it's great that Luz is the one to call malarky on the whole thing. No one had to spell things out for her because she's smart enough to notice that everything Professor Warlop is marketing feels a lot more like the fake medicine real people sell in the human world. It's a testament that despite having a big heart and the best intentions, Luz still has the intelligence to know when something is up and put a stop to it. And, again, let's hope that more people pick up on that.

Lilith: ...who would have expected Lilith of all characters to have most of the emotional moments in this episode?! I sure didn't!

But...Yeah. Lilith is the best thing in "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances." On top of her seeking Gwendolyn's approval being relatable for some viewers, it's also really heartbreaking. I mean, listen to the shocked and hurt tone in her voice after finding out Gwen visited Eda regularly. That alone should give away how much Gwendolyn is important to Lilith and says so much about how strained their relationship became after the curse. Then there's that scene where she just breaks down, feeling both scared and torn apart by the fact that she experienced the curse in its full form and could do nothing to stop herself. It...stung. That's the best way to describe it. It stung seeing a character who is (mostly) cool and collective to become so vulnerable and broken. And, you know what? It's because of this that Lilith has won me over. I still don't think she should have been as forgiven as quickly as she was, but after learning what Lilith went through and what she's currently going through, I'm more than willing to be ok with her. And--I can't believe I'm saying this--I'm going to miss her being a part of the Owl House. She earned her place, in my opinion, creating entertaining dynamics with everyone. Sure, she'll make appearances every now and again, but I wouldn't mind a few more episodes with her being with the main group. But I'm positive the writers will have plans for her in the future and seeing how well she was written in this, I can't wait to see what they do next.

King Hoping to see his Dad Again: This was just a cute tidbit that ties nicely into last week's episode. Bonus points for that scene where King and Lilith get drunk off of Night Market ice cream. It got a good chuckle out of me, especially when Hooty was the one who ended up being the voice of reason.

Cursed Lilith: ...How does she look worse and more terrifying than Eda?

How Beast Keeping Magic Works: Not much I can say about this. It's neat to be given a visual explanation of how Beast Keeping magic works and how it's more than just controlling animals. Judging by the roof shingles, it can also be making objects more animal-like. It's pretty cool, and I hope to see more of how the rest of the magic from the prominent covens work.

Luz wasn’t the only human: To tell you the truth, this doesn't surprise me. Eda did say that every myth humans have is a bit of the Boiling Isles leaking into the human world, so why can't the opposite be true? However, the reveal of there being a famous human around many years ago presents many more questions, and possible theories, that deserve to be discussed in a future post. For now, I'll just say that it's awesome how this reveal perfectly transitions us to next week's episode, "Through the Looking Glass Ruins." We already know Luz is going to the library. But, seeing how Gus is going to be a prominent character in that episode as well, he probably wanted to tag along with Luz to study about the first human in the Boiling Isles. Only to then get sidetracked by some cool kids from Glandis. It's in the realm of possibility, thus proving how more serialized this season compared to Season One while still being somewhat episodic. Because even if "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" presents a lot for the overall story, it's still its own tale about family relationships and knowing how to truly be there for the people you love. Resulting in a necessary and cute episode that ends on a wholesome note without any major surprises like--

Creepy Clone Luz: ...

...Dana Terrace, you lying--YOU SAID CREEPY LUZ WAS A FARCE! IN THE SAME AMA, TOO! CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU AND YOUR SNAKE TONGUE, GOSH DANGIT!

...Alright, now that I got my overreaction out of the way, this was an amazingly well-written surprise!

Tricking fans into thinking that Camila is crying over the realization that Luz is gone, only to then reveal this...thing, is the best shock to the system that this series has done so far. Even better, it results in all the right questions:

Who is it?

What is it?

Where did it come from?

When did it get there?

How did it get there?

How does it know about Camila?

And why? Just, why?

To me, a series that presents all of these questions, and makes me excited for whatever answers are given, is a series that's doing something right. Because if I'm still reeling over something that lasts for a second, despite seeing the episode hours ago, that is a testament to how good a surprise really is.

WHAT I DISLIKED

Trust me, I want to give this episode the A+ just for that ending alone. But, there are some issues I have that are worth discussing.

Eda’s Outfit Change: I know. It's the nitpickiest of all nitpicks I could present. Particularly because Eda doesn't even look bad (although that's no surprise). The issue is that it feels weird that Eda's having this permanent outfit change in the fourth episode of Season Two. Or, to me it is, at least. Because I think that if you're going to give a small yet constant change to the look of a character, it should be done right away. Like, in the first episode of a new season. I highly doubt fans would question why Eda is wearing different clothes by then, so it wouldn't be too bad if the first time we see her, she’s sporting a new outfit. Again, this is just me, and I have no problems with the outfit itself. It just seems odd they would do this later rather than sooner.

Screwing with Eda: I...did not like this. At all. It was funny at first to see Luz and Gwendolyn lure Eda with Apple Blood like how Wile E. Coyote would bait the Road Runner with birdseed, but it quickly took a turn. Because I don't want to see Eda meet inconvenience after inconvenience from her mother and surrogate daughter. I like Eda, and seeing her happy makes me happy. If I wanted to laugh at a character's suffering, I would have picked Boscha, Mattholomule, Alador, and/or Odalia. This? This was just unnecessary cruelness to a character who doesn't deserve it. And it takes up a good chunk of this episode, making me question whether or not this would be the stinker I was fearing. Fortunately, the ending increased my enjoyment by several notches, but that doesn't change how this was the low point of "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances."

IN CONCLUSION

Despite the road being rocky in the middle, I still consider "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" to be another solid A episode. The first and last few minutes have some quality writing that adds more to the characters, ongoing plot, and mystery that the series is building up. It's one of those important episodes you can't skip when watching a series, but given how it's keeping the new season's impeccable track record, I fail to see how that's a problem.

(Although, I am scared. We haven't gotten a stinker yet, and I really don't want it to be next week's episode. It's a Gus episode with sweet Lumity content on the side! That cannot fail!)

#the owl house #the owl house season 2 #the owl house spoilers #the owl house reviews #luz noceda #gwendolyn clawthorne #lilith clawthorne #eda clawthorne #what i thought about #creepy luz

[angst-fairygodmother]

Idiot (Affectionate) ~ A Bad Samaritan Fic

CHAPTER TWO: FRIENDSHIP

Pairing: Derek Sandoval x Reader Word Count: 2839 Rating: T - racism, references to the plot of Bad Samaritan, mild language A/N: I’m trying to balance covering a lot of time so that this doesn’t end up 20 chapters of the same thing and I never get to canon events and also getting some good, specific moments in, so hopefully this works...

Previous Chapter | Masterlist

Time passed. You found yourself settling into a surprisingly easy friendship with Derek, though not one without it’s frustrations, and certainly not one that looked like friendship at all from the outside looking in. On more than one occasion, Sean had poked fun at each of you, though never in front of the other so they were aware, calling you out for flirting and playing hard to get. 

You hated him for being right and refused to admit that it was what you were doing. Your stupid schoolgirl crush on your cousin’s best friend wasn’t something you wanted to acknowledge.

~

Nino’s had been abuzz for weeks with the news that the restaurant had been booked out for a re-election campaign event for the mayor of Portland, and now that the night had arrived, excitement had turned to panic. Nino had fretted constantly about every detail, from the amount of food and wine available to their arrangements on the plates. He had forgone setting up a buffet table for the cocktail and hor d'oeuvres hour in favor of what he thought was the much more high-end system of servers circulating with trays. And now two of the servers had, at the last minute, called in sick. 

“There are not enough people!” Nino was exclaiming. “But I cannot set out a table now! We would have to rearrange the whole room!”

You had only just arrived, stepping into the chaos from the street like passing through an invisible barrier. One that at least part of you wanted to turn around and cross back over again. 

“You need servers more than valets tonight, why not ask those two boys to help?” one of the kitchen staff suggested.

“That’s really not how their contract works,” you muttered, even though you knew it didn’t really matter in the end.

Nino looked thoughtful and turned to you. “Do you think they’d do it?”

Sean and Derek weren’t even there yet, and wouldn’t be until almost opening, so it would be a gamble, unless Nino could get them to pick up the phone. Plus they didn’t have appropriate service uniforms to your knowledge. Which meant that Nino had to either change everyone’s outfits or hope he had spares somewhere in the restaurant. Not to mention, there was no guarantee they’d even be willing, and since they were hired as valets (technically Nino’s had an account with their business, but since it was the only one so far and they didn’t really seem to be actively searching for more, he may as well have hired them directly), they weren’t obligated to do anything other than park and retrieve cars.

You sighed. The only problem with working with family was that you were expected to be able to know Sean’s thoughts on things, as if you were some kind of mind reader or expert.

“I don’t know,” you said with a shrug. “But they both have a lot of respect for you, so it can’t hurt to ask.” 

That was a lie. It could hurt. Saying no would make things awkward, saying yes would cost them a night of tips and...extracurriculars which you chose to actively not acknowledge. But the latter was probably best, since pulling their usual tricks on the mayor, his donors, and his powerful friends would be asking to get caught and spend the rest of their lives in prison.

“Great!” Nino hurried off to the phone as if you had said they would help without a doubt.

~

“Where is your tie?” Nino asked, gesturing, appalled, at Derek’s bare collar. “I told them to find you a tie. You’re not dressed properly. I can’t let you be seen like that!”

The whole staff was gathered around in the lobby for some sort of pep-talk/debrief and assignments before the doors opened for the big event. Nino was checking every detail like a hawk, jittery with nerves. The kitchen guys were anxious, not sure why they’d been dragged from their stations to the front of house, acting like a crowd of kids that got called to the principal’s office. Everyone else was casual, mostly gossiping over who they thought would be there, hoping for a political scandal to break before their eyes. 

Derek held up a length of black silk. “You got any of them clip-on kind? I’ve never worn one before, so I don’t know what I’m doin.”

Nino sputtered. You rolled your eyes, stepping up beside him.

“I’ll take care of this, Nino,” you offered, gesturing at Derek’s entire self, and he had the nerve to look offended.

He nodded, turning away in a hurry, radiating nervous energy, looking for the next crisis. Finding none, he started in on his speech about how tonight was the most important night in the restaurant’s history, how he was proud to have such a dedicated staff. Then he dismissed everyone, listing off assignments as they scattered. You half listened, turning to deal with the problem of Derek’s tie. 

“Hey, thanks,” Derek said quietly, offering you a half smile.

“I’m not doing it for you,” you answered. “Nino’s a better boss than most are ever lucky enough to have. It’d be a damn shame for him to drop of an aneurysm because you don’t know how to dress yourself.”

“Sure,” he chuckled. “Well I guess that means I’m in your hands.”

You smirked at the idea, ignoring Sean’s waggled eyebrow out of your peripheral. Derek noticed, his cheeks coloring slightly.

“You’ve seriously never worn a tie before?” you asked, taking the garment from him.

“No. Why would I? I don’t exactly get invited to the kind of places you need one.”

“Right…” you sighed, stepping closer, throwing the material over your shoulder to free your hands. “Step one is fully close your dress shirt.”

Your fingers darted nimbly, closing the tiny white buttons, ghosting over his throat and making him swallow nervously. 

You continued to describe each step as you took it, looping the tie around his neck, trying to teach him what to do. But he couldn’t focus on your words, not with you standing so close that he could feel the heat radiating between your bodies. 

“And voila. Tie tied. And if someone really wanted to, you have an easy way of killing you around your neck for fashion,” you joked, brushing the fabric smooth. Your hand lingered against his chest for a moment, for reasons you couldn’t explain, before you stepped back.

Silence hung in the air.

“So I’m all set then?” he asked finally, blinking as if coming out of a daze.

“You’ve got to button your vest too, but I assume you can figure that one out for yourself.”

“I don’t know,” he chuckled, beaming at you. “I’ll give it a try.”

You laughed along with him, trying not to think about how handsome he looked, dressed up like this. Not that he wasn’t handsome all the time, even in baggy jeans and a hoodie, but the formal black and white uniform suited him. You frowned, annoyed with yourself for letting your thoughts stray down that path. 

He finished buttoning the garment and spread his arms, gesturing to himself. “How do I look? Pretty good right?”

“Not bad,” you said with a smirk and an effort to keep your voice casual. “Someone nicer might even say you clean up good.”

Suddenly his arm was around your shoulders and he leaned in to your side with a charming smirk of his own.

“Maybe they would, but you know I’ll take a ‘not bad’ from you over that any day,” he said with a laugh.

Before you could respond, he sauntered off, leaving you to glare and gape at his retreating back.

~

Derek couldn’t help himself. He was supposed to be walking around the room with this tray of shrimp puffs - or whatever rich people food Nino had assigned him, he was pretty sure it was shrimp puffs - and offering them to the guests. Instead, he was just standing in one spot, tray held out absently and teetering every time someone brushed past him, watching Y/N. She wove effortlessly through the clusters of men in pressed suits and women in silk dresses that rustled when they moved, smiling easily at them as she offered them champagne or wine. Even from a distance he could see the sparkle in her eye that made each person she spoke to feel like they were special, and as a result scored her numerous ones and fives left behind on her tray when they picked up a glass. His fingers itched to brush aside the piece of her hair that escaped its updo and danced across her temple, tucking it back into place behind her ear. 

He felt a quick flash of guilt as he traced the shape of her body in her uniform, the black vest hugging every line and curve. He shouldn’t be staring, he thought. After all, she was Sean’s cousin and Sean was his best friend. And she was a friend, these days; you don't ogle your friends. But damn if she wasn’t hot, if he didn’t want her. His mind wandered, and he was just starting to imagine what her lips on his might feel like, what she might taste like - she had smelled like apple pie earlier when she was standing so close to him, when he’d been too chicken to make a move while he had the chance, and part of him hoped kissing her would taste like it too - when fingers, covered in too many rings and jingling from the stack of bracelets on the attached wrist, snapped in front of his face, startling him and dragging him back to reality.

“Are you even listening to me?” the woman demanded before raising her voice and slowing her words, over-enunciating each syllable. “I said I want your vegetarian option.”

“Uh. All I got are these shrimp things,” said lamely. “But my buddy Sean is around here with some mushrooms, I think. With like spinach stuff inside?” 

She huffed, glaring and waiting and not saying anything. 

“I'm sorry. I'm not—” 

“Very intelligent. I can tell. I want you to bring me a plate with vegetarian appetizers. That means no meat. Nothing that was alive. And I want a selection, not just dumping all the same thing in a pile.” 

As her voice got louder and her words even slower, it started drawing stares from the rest of the guests. He bristled at her tone, feeling his neck get hot as embarrassment and anger mingled. He knew why she was speaking to him like that. She wasn't the first.

He took a slow, deep breath. Getting angry would just play into her hand and make things worse. Before he could say anything, like maybe some remark about how plants used to be alive too, they just never had faces, Y/N appeared at his elbow.

“Derek! There you are, I've been looking everywhere,” she exclaimed.

He raised an eyebrow, silently asking what she was up to, and tried to ignore the fluttery feeling in his stomach at the idea she’d been looking for him.

“Nino said there was a problem, with the...thing and unless we want the guests to just be eating tiny hors d'oeuvres all night, you have to go talk the chef down from quitting over it.”

“What?” his face scrunched in confusion as he turned to Y/N.

She rolled her eyes (he kind of loved how often she did that) and plucked the tray out of his hand smoothly, fingers brushing briefly against his, sparking under his skin like a hotwiring a car. 

“The thing. In the kitchen,” she said pointedly, like it meant anything. Then she turned to the woman, the largest, fakest smile he had ever seen on her face.

“Right...I’ll uh...get right on that…” he said helplessly. 

“Sorry about that ma’am,” she lied to the woman, voice sickly sweet as she led the woman off. “He’s a culinary genius, but Nino likes to shake things up and keep the staff on their toes.”

“Oh,” the woman said, seeming surprised by the shift. “I just assumed...because he was one of them.”

“One of who?” Y/N asked, feigning confusion now though he could see that her eyes were hard and ice cold. Her smile took on a knife-sharp edge and he found himself grateful that it wasn’t being turned on him.

“Well. You know…”

“I’m sure I don’t. Because I can only think of one thing you might be trying to say. And I know you wouldn’t be so blatantly racist,” her voice got just a little louder, pitched toward the people around them, not the woman she was talking to, “at an important event like this. Would you?”

Derek chuckled and tucked his hands in the pockets of his pants, making his way to the kitchen. It might have been a fake reason, but he figured he may as well take the few minutes break it gave him anyway.

~

“Hey,” you said, dropping into a chair next to Derek, finally catching a short rest while the guests transitioned from one part of the evening to the next and found their seats for speeches and dinner. “Are you okay?”

“Hm? Yeah,” he said quickly, pretending that he had just been zoned out in order to cover for the fact that he was staring, again. “Just exhausted. Is this what it’s like for you every day?”

You chuckled. “It’s not usually quite this intense when we just have a few tables each to focus on. I think serving tables in a bit will be a better idea of that. But I meant about...you know...earlier.”

He made a face of confusion.

“The hag with the cheap perfume and the stupid attitude?” you offered.

“Oh that,” he shrugged. “I’m used to it. She was pretty tame, compared to some.”

“You know that’s the opposite of reassuring right? And not really an answer to the question.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it.”

“Okay,” you agreed reluctantly. “Probably for the best. She’s probably a senator or their wife or something, and something tells me bitchslapping a public figure is a negative on the Character and Fitness review.” 

You scratched the back of your head in a(n adorably) sheepish gesture.

“The what?”

“The thing where I spend all this time on a degree, and in the end it all comes down to one insane bullshit test and a review of my personal history. And a bunch of stuffy old men, and women these days, decide if I’m an acceptable fit for the esteemed legal profession.”

“Legal...I didn’t know you were trying to be a lawyer?!”

“Duh,” you rolled your eyes and dropped your voice. “Why do you think I keep telling you and Sean not to get caught yet. I’m useless to you for another year, at least.”

“You didn’t have to step in like that,” he said after a long pause. “I could have handled it.”

“I didn’t think you couldn’t.”

“Then why’d you get involved?”

“Just because you can handle it, doesn’t mean you should have to,” you shrugged. “I could tell you were uncomfortable. I thought I could help.” 

You let your thoughts race. Had you done something wrong in trying to divert the conversation and give him an out? Did you accidentally make things worse? Was there something else you should have done instead?

“I’m not mad,” he said reassuringly, noticing the nearly panicked expression that danced across your face. “I just don’t usually get people doing that for me.”

“Well, what else are friends for?”

There was the at word again, he thought. The thing he didn’t want to destroy, but that stood unnavigable between you. He didn’t know what he was doing. This was new territory for him. It didn’t help that the line was blurry. What was real flirting and what was joking? Sometimes you made him feel more confident than ever, and then seconds later you left him drowning, insecure and flustered. Maybe this was the moment to ask, you had left the door cracked open just enough for an opportunity.

Sean caught his attention, waving him over. He realized with a start that they hadn’t talked all night, for the first time in a long time. The door clicked shut, another chance lost. 

He turned to say something, and you waved him off.

“Don’t worry about it,” you said with a wink and a smile that made his heart flip. “I’m not interested in monopolizing your time. Besides, if I start now, I can probably pop in a quick 10 minute nap before we have to start running the first course.”

He watched you settle further, crossing your arms over your chest and close your eyes, either to continue the joke or to actually do what you said and shook his head fondly, before sauntering off to join Sean on the other side of the room.

#is this self-indulgence/projection? absolutely #but you know what #in reality all that is just window dressing #it's about the yearning #because this fic is going to be a slllllooooooow burn #Derek Sandoval x Reader #Bad Samaritan fic #Idiot (Affectionate) #overuse of italics probably #also possibly the worst title I've come up with to date

[ruzek-halstead]

dead of night

pairing: luke patterson x julie molina

written based on prompt:

"it’s three am, in the dead of winter, some idiot pulled/set off the fire alarm and i am being very vocal about how i’m gonna make that dumbass pay"

university au

masterlist || ao3 || twitter profiles

       When Julie heard the blaring alarm blasting throughout the room, she nearly cried.

It was midterm season, and she had been up late until two a.m. cramming for her exam later that day. She wasn't one to normally rely on cramming as her sole source of studying, but she had a paper due the previous day and another midterm the day before. She could only focus on one thing at a time. It pained her though, because Julie was a meticulous planner. She liked to have everything written down on a calendar and lay out a set number of dedicated time she would have to work on each assignment.

Nothing went as planned this time.

She had finally dragged herself to bed at around 2:15 a.m., with a set alarm for early in the morning to go over her notes some more. She never actually woke up on time for these said alarms, but it was the effort that counted. At least, that's what she constantly told herself.

It felt like she had only been asleep for all of twenty minutes when she was suddenly being ripped away from her REM sleep, and she was ready to kill someone.

"What the hell?" Julie hissed, throwing her duvet off her body violently. She could see her roommate Flynn (and best friend - they'd known each other since diapers) pulling on her shoes. Julie checked her phone from the bedside table and noted the time was now 3:26 a.m. She'd hardly been asleep for an hour.

Flynn opened their room door and was met with a number of their fellow students moving rapidly throughout the hallway. "Oh shit," she muttered, turning back to Julie. "Jules, get your ass out here. I'm not sure this is a drill."

Julie let out a loud groan, threw on her pair of black converse and booked it out the door after Flynn. She didn't even have time to grab a sweater like Flynn did, and only realized when she was halfway out the building, she was wearing a NYU short sleeve t-shirt and a pair of thin leggings.

"Someone better be on fire," she growled under her breath. She and Flynn were huddled together off to the side, trying not to freeze their asses off. New York was known for their particularly cold winters; it was mid-November, and this was no exception. The ground was littered with a light dusting of snow, and every time Julie breathed, she could see her breath.

She had never felt the urge to commit a felony such as murder until this moment.

Julie was so angry, she didn't notice the cluster of students hanging off to their right. She only noticed when she picked up on something particularly interesting one of them said.

"For the love of god, Luke!" The tall, blonde one yelled (Julie thought he was trying to whisper, but he obviously failed miserably). He also hit the shaggy-haired brunette (she assumed that was Luke) upside the head. "Dude, you set off the fire alarm! Our whole residence is outside in the snow!"

Julie's eyes widened and her grip on Flynn's arm tightened. Flynn groaned, absentmindedly shrinking closer to the ground.

"Alex's right. That guy's not even wearing pants!" The other brunette piped in, pointedly avoiding looking at the student in question. All three boys were dressed appropriately; pants, sweaters and beanies. Almost as if this was planned or something.

It only made Julie's blood boil even hotter.

Luke rolled his eyes, latching onto the third boys' shoulder. "Relax, Reggie. It was an accident."

"They're going to eat you alive if they find out," Alex added sassily. "I'll help them. You screwed up my beauty sleep, bro."

Luke snorted. "What beauty sleep?"

"Don't test me right now!" Alex snapped. "You know what this dry cold does to my skin!"

Luke nodded with a pout, seemingly sympathetic. "Stop being such a baby and live a little! This is sort of hilarious."

Reggie bit his lip and averted his eyes from Alex, who looked like he was about to rip his own hair out. "Dude, I'm going to strangle you if you don't stop talking."

"Oh my god," Julie hissed at Flynn. "Are you hearing this? These idiots did this because they're idiots! What the hell?"

Flynn chanced a look behind them, surveying the three boys. "Hmm, they're kind of cute," she said without thinking. Julie was quick to throw her murderous glare in her direction. "Wait no — that came out wrong..."

"I'm going to kill him."

Flynn had to grab Julie's arm and yank her back.

"Julie! I don't have the money to bail you out of jail right now! Don't do me like this!"

Julie huffed. "I have to say something. I have an exam later and I should be sleeping!"

"Just no felonies, okay?" Flynn pleaded with puppy dog eyes. Julie conceded with a nod.

Whirling around, Julie marched up to 'Luke' and tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around and the smile he was sporting dropped from his lips; now he just looked confused. "Uh — can I help you?"

"Probably not," she started bitterly, "but I just happened to overhear that you're the idiot who pulled the fire alarm and I would genuinely like to know what in the hell would possess you to do such a thing on a fucking Tuesday during midterms?"

Julie was now yelling and Luke looked like a terrified deer in headlights.

His friends were holding onto each other with wide eyes.

"Uh — well —" He stammered on embarrassingly.

"Some of us have shit to do! I have a midterm in a few hours and instead of sleeping, I'm stuck out here with you and believe me, I'm trying really hard not to punch you in the throat right now."

Luke blinked, his mouth opening and closing because he didn't know what he could possibly say to make this situation better.

Alex did, however.

"Do it," Alex blurted, "punch him!"

Luke whirled around, looking affronted. "Dude!"

"Don't 'dude' me," Alex sassed. "You deserve it."

Luke turned back to face Julie with a newly apologetic expression as he tried to explain himself. "Listen," he started and by the furious look on her face, he could already tell it was the wrong thing to say. "Shit, I'm sorry! I just — I swear, this was all a misunderstanding. I really didn't mean to do it; it just happened."

"Buddy," Reggie leaned in to whisper in his ear. "This doesn't sound nearly as good as you think it does."

Luke rolled his eyes, pushing his friend back into Alex. "I'm sorry; what can I do to make this better?" For the first time since she started yelling at him, he actually looked at her.

She looked absolutely exhausted and it only made Luke feel guiltier. Her hair was up in a messy bun and her glasses were low on the bridge of her nose. He took note of her outfit and the thin t-shirt; she was obviously freezing and the goosebumps on her arms proved that. Immediately, he shrugged out of his hoodie.

"Um — here, take this," he shoved his NYU hoodie in her direction. She looked down at with furrowed brows, and then back at him. Her glare was still in full force, and Luke admired her ability to look so angry, but so adorable at the same time. "It's the least I can do."

Julie looked down at the sweater again, scoffed in annoyance and walked away.

Flynn was holding back a laugh as she made eye contact with Luke. He looked exasperated as he hobbled after Julie.

"Wait! Just — hold on a second!"

Julie didn't feel like stopping for him and her angry speed-walking was finally sending some blood back into her arms. When Luke grabbed her arm to spin her around, she turned to him with a ferocious glare. "Shit — okay, sorry," he dropped her arm sheepishly, "should've asked. I'm sorry. I just — please, take this."

Once again, he offered her his grey hoodie.

She really wanted to stand her ground and make a point. But she was genuinely freezing, and her pride could only control so much. With a sigh, she grabbed the hoodie and slipped it over her head. It fit baggy, but it was so warm and her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head. She didn't even notice that this now left Luke in a measly t-shirt.

"Again, I'm really sorry," he apologized again, biting his lip. "You have a midterm later today and this was so stupid of me."

Julie took a deep breath; she felt calmer now. Probably because she had already yelled at him, and she was tired and she didn't have the energy to stay annoyed for much longer. Plus, he had already apologized like six times.

"It's fine. I may have overreacted a little bit."

Luke chuckled nervously. "No, you definitely didn't. I've always been told I'm a little — uh, reckless."

"And I guess I've been told I'm a bit uptight," she admitted. Julie had no idea why she was being so honest with a guy who's head she bit off five minutes ago; but he had really beautiful eyes, like puppy dog eyes and she couldn't help but get sucked in. "I'm Julie, by the way."

"Yeah?" He was suddenly hyper aware of how gorgeous she was and for the first time, she wasn't glaring at him. Holy shit, was she making googly eyes at him? "I mean — we can always treat that. I happen to know a few rascally boys that can help."

Julie let out a gentle laugh. God, this night really got away from her. She could see the firefighters start to exit the building, seemingly finding no sign of a fire and any other issue. "I think I'm hardwired like that, unfortunately."

The students around them slowly started filing back into the building and Luke realized he only had a few minutes left. "Um, well — again, I'm sorry. And I hope your midterm goes well." He originally intended to ask for her number, but of course, that's what came out instead.

"Thanks," she replied softly, thumbing at the sleeves of his sweater. "I can wash this sweater and get it back to you."

Julie gave him an opening and he knew it.

"Of course. Is it alright if we exchange numbers?"

Julie was surprised at the warmth that immediately spread through her chest. She could also feel the smile stretching across her lips through no effort of her own. "Yeah, that'd be great," she responded, "as long you promise not to wake me up at an ungodly time of the morning."

"No?" Luke raised an eyebrow, shooting her a smirk. He could see the fire in Julie's eyes and he knew the feeling was mutual. "But I thought that was our thing."

"If that's the case, our thing will also be me punching you in the throat."

x

i wanted to make julie sassier and make luke work for it a bit more but i got tired and i really wanted to post this asap so i kinda wrapped it up early. i hope it still ended okay???

#jatp #jatp au #jatp fic #jatp fanfic #jatp fanfiction #juke #juke au #juke fic #juke fanfic #juke fanfiction #palina #julie and the phantoms #julie x luke #luke x julie #julie molina #luke patterson #alex jatp #reggie jatp #flynn jatp #willex #julie and the fat ones #fics

[syifrae]

Through his stomach

@winteriron-week

Day 3 “But I did it” 

Read on AO3

Tony had a secret admirer. Not only that, but he had the world’s best secret admirer because this secret admirer was seducing him via food.

It had started a few months back when Tony had returned from a particularly stressful day at work, fielding calls and actually attending meetings (I mean, he had to go to some otherwise Pepper would literally strangle him). Tony felt tired and hungry and his feet hurt and his head ached and there was just a general aura of blegh all around him.

He had just about managed to drag himself through a shower and into some comfy pants but the thought of having to make food was just overwhelming. He lay in his bed for what felt like hours arguing with himself about the pros and cons of getting up to make something. Of course, he could just order food but for some preternatural reason any time anyone was ordering takeout in the tower Clint found out. This was not necessarily a bad thing, but on occasion, it could result in heavy debating over what to order and half your food disappearing into the apparently bottomless void that was the archer’s stomach.

Right now, though, Tony just really wasn’t in the mood for any kind of human interaction. He loved his teammates, don’t get him wrong, they had become his pseudo-family and he would, at any time, lay down his life for any one of them, but right at this second, he couldn’t stand the thought of having to interact with them.

He knew it was a cruel thought to have, but on the one hand, he’d have to pull up a front that he was fine -which would take a hell of a lot of effort given the facial expression and body language skills of some of his teammates- or let them see how…blegh he was feeling. Neither option seemed appealing to him. One would drain him of all remaining energy and the other would result in (well-intentioned) questions about his mental and emotional state, which again would drain him of all remaining energy.

Just as he was thinking he could risk calling in for pizza and hope against hope that the resident vent mole wouldn’t notice, he heard the ding of the elevator. Tony sighed. How on earth had Clint known he was thinking about pizza? That shit was unnatural and vaguely disturbing.

Only he didn’t hear footsteps, instead, there was the familiar whirr of gears and excitable beeps from his favourite (but don’t tell the others) bot. Sure enough, his bedroom door was pushed open and in trundled DUM-E, carefully carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of something on it.

The smell wafted through the room as Tony scooched up the bed to accept the tray off of the bot.

“Uhh, J?” he began hoping his AI would know what he meant. How is DUM-E up here? Why does he have a bowl of what looks like soup with a side of charcuterie and garlic bread with him? Did DUM-E make it himself? If so, how? Was it safe to eat?

Luckily for him, he had the best AI in the world (if he does say so himself-which he does) and JARVIS somehow knows all his questions and answered them so succinctly.

“Someone who wishes to remain anonymous has prepared a dinner for you and asked DUM-E to deliver it as you appeared fatigued. It is a courgette and almond soup with garlic ciabatta and sourdough toast, assorted cured meats and a mango chutney. It has been safely prepared and monitored on it’s journey, and does not contain motor oil.”

Tony breathed in deeply at the exquisite smell coming from his dinner tray. This was the perfect ending to a low-grade-shitty day. Once everything JARVIS had said was fully registered in his mind he quirked his head in question.

“Someone who wishes to remain anonymous?” he mused, “Well, I mean it’s gotta be someone living in the tower, right? That narrows it down. Plus, it’s gotta be someone who can cook,” That thought leads him to an ever-diminishing list of suspects and he rather thinks he knows who it is.

Tony ducks his head, a dusting of pink colouring his cheeks at the thought. He digs into his gifted meal with gusto, suddenly it seemed like the weight of the day had simply rolled off of him, and he had regained some of his earlier energy. If the person who he thought it was wanted to stay in the shadows for now who was he to put a stop to it? Especially when it might cost him more nights like these with a delivery of home-cooked ambrosia.

And so it had continued.

Not only when Tony had had a bad day either, but almost every other day it seemed he had some new delivery of food. Be it a sandwich left by his elbow to remind him to eat during his workshop binge, a cooked meal when he had had a long day, a tray of cookies, cakes or brownies left on the counter in his penthouse, a selection of petit fours delivered to his office as it seemed just-because. And sometimes they even came with little post-it notes!

They weren’t much to go on, just little ‘thinking of you’s or ‘hope you enjoy’s or ‘looked like you needed this doll’s. With each delivery, Tony’s crush deepened until he was halfway in love with his ‘secret’ admirer, despite the fact that they both seemed to reluctant to acknowledge any of it in public or around the team.

However, Tony was only so patient- ask Pepper or Rhodey, it was a miracle he’d lasted this long in the first place- and he was now determined to… Well not exactly confront, that felt too aggressive a word to use, he was going to gently but firmly (very firmly) encourage his admirer to go on a real date with him. It felt like it might be a bit premature to declare his undying love and devotion to a man he wasn’t technically in a relationship with after all.

This idea however all came clattering down around him when he entered the kitchen at around three am exactly three months and four-day post initial food delivery. He hadn’t even realised anyone else was awake, he hadn’t meant to even be on this floor but JARVIS was a tattletale and would ping an email to Pepper if the coffee machine in his penthouse or workshop was used between 11 pm and 6 am.

It was just dumb luck.

Or unluck as the case may be. Because there in the kitchen, pulling a tray of very familiar looking and smelling chocolate orange and hazelnut cookies out of the oven, was Steve.

It was the wrong one. All this time Tony had believed that Bucky had been his admirer, his personal chef and his culinary hero. All this while, and if he was honest with himself for a long time before that, Tony had been slowly but surely falling in love with their resident one-armed-wonder, and given that he was 87% sure that that was who was making the food he was fairly confident that feeling had been mutual. To learn that all this time it had been the wrong supersoldier was devastating.

Tony felt like the bottom had dropped out of him and his heart had dried up all at once. Not only was he wildly, catastrophically wrong about who had been delivering him all these preciously prepared and lovingly made gifts, it also meant that he was wrong about Bucky reciprocating his feelings.

Not only that, but he now had to confront the idea that it was Steve, not Bucky, who cared for him and how the fuck was he supposed to let Captain America down? I mean yeah they had moved past their first meeting hiccup, gotten over their brief subsequent future hate/resentment/hero worship issues and had become the closest of friends. Or at least, that’s what Tony had assumed. And while his inner sixteen-year-old was very much still attracted to the pinnacle of human perfection, Tony just could not see Steve in that way. Objectively yes, he was handsome and kind, down-to-earth, generous to a fault and stubborn as a mule when it suited him, but to Tony that was just Steve.

Steve was great! Steve was an amazing friend! He’d be happy to talk up Steve as a wingman and be confident that nothing he would say would be a lie because Steve was just that awesome a person! But he was not attracted to Steve himself!

Continuing his approach to the kitchen Tony tried to mentally prepare what he was going to say. How he was going to gently thank Steve for his gifts but let him know that any feelings he had were purely platonic. He was mentally debating if he could get away with not telling Steve that he didn’t know it was him who had been the one behind the culinary delights. On the one hand, it would make him look like an utter dick for letting it go on this long without letting Steve know it was a doomed seduction. On the other hand, it seemed cruel to tell Steve that he was hoping that the man’s best friend (practically his brother) would go out with him instead. Knowing Steve, he’d be extremely supportive and then not show anyone how he was devastated and dying inside.

“Hey Steve, I didn’t realise you were up so late,” He began, coward that he was trying to put off the uncomfortable conversation that was to come.

Steve looked up from the sheet pan where he had been carefully inspecting the cookies, a look of surprise on his face showing that he’d been so concentrated on his task he hadn’t picked up on Tony’s approach. And wow, seeing how dedicated he was just made Tony feel worse about the whole thing.

“Oh, hi Tony,” the other man glanced down spying the coffee cup clutched in the inventor’s hands, “You know that cheating by getting your coffee down here only means that Pepper will be madder when I’m the one to tell her.” He teased.

And god did Tony feel like the world’s biggest tool again, even when Steve was being mean it was just because he cared. Why did it have to be the wrong supersoldier? Why was his life like this?

“Listen, Steve.” Bracing himself for what was coming Tony stepped further into the light of the kitchen, making sure to give the other man 100% of his attention, it was the least he deserved. “I think we need to talk. I am so grateful, really I am, for all that you have done. They were some of the finest and most delicious things I’ve ever tasted in my life, and that comes from a guy who regularly eats at Five Michelin Star restaurants. The deliveries have been a source of joy and comfort, they have never failed to lift my spirits and I have adored each and every one. I want you to know that I will always care very deeply for you,”

Steve had an odd look on his face as Tony tried his best to be brave and plough on, it wasn’t fair to let this go on any longer and he had to get it all off his chest in one go or else he’d put his foot in it.

“I don’t know that I could ever see you in that way. What I feel for you is more of a platonic bond, and a lifelong one at that, but there could never really be any romantic feelings on my part.”

Steve looked downright confused and embarrassed now.

“Uh, Tony that’s great?” He replied, head tilted in that lost puppy look he sometimes had when he couldn’t quite get his head around something. “I’m not entirely sure where all of that came from but uh, I love you too buddy.” Steve patted Tony on the shoulder, looking for all the world like Tony had lost his mind.

“Look Steve, the secret is out alright, I know those are the cookies you made me the other week. I can recognise them well enough, they are just about the tastiest goddamn things I’ve ever put in my mouth and I’ve dreamt of them twice since. I know it’s you who’s been making me food, and I just wanted to let you down eas-”

“But I did it.”

The voice came from behind, cutting through Tony’s very messy 'it’s not you, it’s me' speech, nearly scaring the life out of him and causing Tony to jump about three feet in the air and clutch at his chest as though that would slow the rapid staccato of his heart.

“Wha?” was all that the dumbstruck genius could eke out.

“I’m the one who’s been making you food, doll. It was me, not Stevie here.” Bucky replied from where he was stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

“But- he… I just saw Steve taking the cookies out of the oven? He was even checking them over to make sure they were right?” Tony blurted, head pinging over to Steve as he heard the man huff out a laugh.

“Yeah, cause Buck here hadda go pee and the last time he put me in charge of getting his shit out the oven I got a whooping because smooshed a cookie with the glove. I ain’t making that mistake twice.”

It took Tony a second for everything to sink in. He had a moment post reshuffle in his brain of who had done what that he was mistaken after all. It wasn’t the wrong supersoldier.

“So, wait. Does that mean that you’ve been my secret admirer? Not Steve?”

“Yeah, doll,” Bucky said, shifting his weight and loosely crossing his arms in front of him as if to protect himself. “You mean all that you said about it being good?”

Tony had never heard, nor expected to hear such uncertainty from the other man. Carefully making his way over to Bucky and making sure to telegraph his movements as he did so, Tony lifted his hand to cup Bucky’s cheek.

“I meant every word. And I’m so glad it was you.”

The smile that Tony could feel growing on his own face was mirrored back to him. Flickering his gaze between Bucky’s ocean eyes and his lips he slowly tilted forward, allowing Bucky to decide if he wanted to close the gap or not.

Tony’s heartbeat fluttered as he felt the soft press of lips against his. Something in his chest settling at the feeling of how right this all was. Steve on the other hand was apparently feeling indignant.

“Hey, wait a minute! How come I’m not good enough but this lug is?”

#WinterIron Week #winteriron week 2020 #winteriron #my writing #day 3 #i wrote this at 5 am so let me know if it's full of mistakes #I don't even know what i'm doing anymore #lol #¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[windstormwielding]

How did you come up with Kotaro's zanpakuto? (i really love the bird theme of his attacks!) did you go through a lot of changes when coming up with names, abilities, and the general concept?

{ ooc } bUCKLE UP KIDDOS ‘CAUSE IT’S TIME FOR SOME LONG OVERDUE GODDAMNED KŌTA META-

Kōta’s zanpakutō was essentially conceived out of my own love for great big storms and heavy winds – and yes, I have a story to go with that! On one occasion many years ago, I hopped on a bus to visit a friend in town, but I was ill-prepared in that it was about to rain heavily and I had jack shit but a jacket. No raincoat and not even an umbrella. I thought I would make it there on time, buuuuut evidently, I did not. It already started raining and thundering hard by the time I walked out of the bus and had to walk a few blocks by myself.

And honestly, Plouton, looking back? I would not have changed a single little detail that day. Those several minutes I spent outside at the mercy of a live thunderstorm left such a huge impression on me! The incessant rain keeping me tethered to the ground, the sheer volume of deafening thunder cracking so hard and so loudly that the air around me quaked... pair that with times I’ve enjoyed feeling myself at the mercy of heavy winds, or even the smell of the outside after rain falls...

...pretty much all of that served as the biggest source of inspiration behind the wind and storm-oriented zanpakutō, and I wanted Kōta to embody that himself.

Besides, aside from Senna herself in Memories of Nobody, the Gotei 13 lacked a dedicated air-manipulating shinigami barring Kensei’s unique take on the topic with Tachikaze, and we’ve only seen antagonists use this power (Dordoni of the Arrancar within the main story, Kariya if you want to go filler with the Bounts... whom I’ve honestly forgotten about prior to creating Kōta WHOOPS) in the traditional sense. Not to mention, air as an element is SUPER malleable and there’s so much you can do with it if you get creative?? So, given we’ve got some real powerful element-leaning shinigami already with water (lbr Kaien would’ve been a beast had he not been nixed), fire (Yama), snow (Tosh), and electricity (Sasakibe), why not keep adding to the idea?

With that, we’ve got the main concept locked down. Powers and general theme? Check. Bird-like zanpakutō spirit? Check. Defined attacks? ...noooooot quite there yet—in fact, those were a fairly late addition well after the blog reboot. As for what led to it, this never took off since the other mun blipped on an indefinite hiatus, but our thread would have likely turned into a fight thread between our muses and uh...

...yeah, I realized named techniques are kind of an important thing to have, especially when writing within the context of an action-oriented series like Bleach. It wasn’t just about the cool factor, but having a readily available kit for reference (for myself, my writing partners, and folks reading in) was a must, not to mention it helped better define just what his main friggin’ weapon is capable of like those of most of the existing cast. In case a fight thread does come around in the future, it’d be an ideal thing to have ready to go and bring him further up to par with other fighters!

Just like that, I subjected myself to extra homework. Coming up with the moves themselves came to me simply enough, in seeing how air was played with in other media I was familiar with (key ones being Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda, and Avatar: The Last Airbender) and fashioning some of my own spins on top of some original ideas. I knew I wanted to lean hard on the bird motif since his zan spirit is a tengu, and given the wide variety of things the element of air/wind can do, I thought to make full connections between the two by theming each special move after certain species of bird! Creating those moves and naming them were the easy parts.

Naming them, that is, in English. Naming them all in Japanese was, by far, the hardest part. Why? Parce que je ne suis pas japonais, et aussi parce que je ne parle pas la langue, you see. On top of language barriers, the Japanese tongue operates on a whole other set of rules, compared to the Latin/Germanic-based ones I’ve grown used to with English, French, and (at one point) German. I did take some Japanese classes as an elective back in university, but that was only in first year – my own understanding, as a result, was threadbare and surface level at best, so that was not going to get me anywhere. I did not want to half-ass it with romaji and I love Bleach too much to not want to do these ideas justice.

I am a stickler when it comes to detail and canon-compliance, so getting the naming right by abiding to the proper conventions as best as I possibly could became my topmost priority. Google Translate was not going to fly because lord knows it’s no good without proper context between wholly different languages in English and Japanese, and it only gets wilder once you throw Chinese into the mix, given I’m supposed to use kanji. Thus, the name of the game here turned out to be “reverse engineering,” and I had to go in accepting I probably wasn’t going to get it 100% right the first time.

“What rules do zanpakutō names and special attack names follow?” “How do I apply on- or kun-reading in spelling out a group of certain kanji?” “Where are the common denominators in those rules that I can identify?” “Which language conventions have I already picked up from watching god knows how much anime over the years that I can replicate?” “Which set of words best conveys this particular English word that has no direct Japanese translation?” “How does [x] roll off the tongue? Does it sound right and fluid enough, or does it still feel super stilted and weird?” It was a loooooooot of this until I was finally satisfied with each individual end result!

Tl;dr: Jisho.org and Wikipedia were godsends during this whole process. I also want to thank @tigrextoque who gave me some helpful pointers after the fact!

ALSO... the ones on the Battle Info page aren’t even all of the ones I’ve thought about. Because I’m a glutton for punishment apparently, I purposely went and submitted a request for a certain ask meme on an ask meme source blog, JUST so I could play around with more ideas that came or would come to mind. This time, however, it was through the form of COMBINATION ATTACKS (which, by virtue alone, are honestly peak awesomeness). Those that implicated other shinigami got new bird motifs to meld the aesthetics of both muses, while I did get a couple of Quincy ones (with their referenced attacks actually using romaji as a base! Whoo-hoo for saving me the effort!) as a bonus to mix things up!

I’ll link them all right here (and later on the Battle Info page) for your convenience:

Noboru no mai, Shiro Fukurō (騰の舞・白梟, Rising Dance, Snowy Owl), with Rukia Kuchiki

Ahōdori Kyōka: Flying Battery (群烏強化: フライング バッテリー, Albatross Strengthening: Flying Battery) with Bambietta Basterbine

Muragarasu Kyōka: Galvano Volley (群烏強化: ガルヴァノ ボレー, Flock of Crows Strengthening: Galvano Volley), plus upgraded variant Muragarasu Kyōka: Galvano Storm (群烏強化: ガルヴァノ ストーム, Flock of Crows Strengthening: Galvano Storm), with Candice Catnipp

Hagetaka Rinbu (禿鷹輪舞, Vulture Round Dance) with Rangiku Matsumoto

Senkō-fū: Kitsutsuki (穿孔風: 啄木鳥, Drilling Wind: Woodpecker) with Nemu Kurotsuchi

Gyaku-fū Fūsa: Benizuru (逆風封鎖: 紅鶴, Headwind Blockade: Flamingo) with Byakuya Kuchiki

Hikuidori Hinshō (火食鳥 頻傷, Cassowary Frequent Cuts) with Ueno Chie​

Yes, “Flying Battery” was a deliberately written Sonic the Hedgehog reference. No, I will never apologize for that.

...might I reblog that meme again in the future though...?

...probably not right away.

So, uh... Plou, I should probably apologize for giving you a lot more than you likely bargained for, but hey, I just didn’t want to leave any stone unturned! Thank you so much for sending me your three questions, I enjoyed writing these little deep dives into my Bleach OC, and thanks for taking interest in Kōta! I hope all of my responses have been both enlightening and to your satisfaction.

#deivorous #{ i’m falling free in the wind ☁ headcanon ☁ } #{ cut for length } #{ whispers in the wind ☁ replies ☁ } #{ beyond the sky ☁ ooc ☁ } #{ ooc: we hope to return to our regular programming tomorrow-! } #{ i just could not focus much until i answered all of these hahahaha- }

[daisylincs]

Author Interview Tag

Tagged By: so, long story short... these tags happened right as I was getting super busy with end-of-the-year-craziness, and I completely didn't see them until I was re-scrolling through all my mentions on Tumblr recently. So the people who initially tagged me have probably forgotten they even did (🤣😬🤦‍♀️) but my my count, they would be: @loved-the-stars-too-fondly, @libbyweasley, @aleksandrachaev, and @everythingirl44. Thank you very much indeed, all of you!! This looks like an absolutely amazing challenge, late as I may be to it.

Name: Lily

Fandom(s): Agents of SHIELD (TV) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)

Where You Post: AO3, and the occasional drabble/prompt fill to Tumblr - which, upon consideration, I should probably collect on AO3 🤔

Most Popular Oneshot: for Spideychelle, and overall too, apparently it's my, my, just how much I missed you, my surprisingly angsty (but with a hopeful ending) ten-years-post-FFH fic for Day 4 of Spideychelle Week.

For AoS, it's time can break your heart, have you begging please which, to be entirely 100% honest with you, I completely forgot I wrote in the first place 🤣🙈 It's post-7x10 angst on... that 7x10 and very spoilery death, with some Dousy hurt/comfort. Apparently, Dousy hurt/comfort is the rage, so... that's cool, I suppose.

Most Popular Multichapter Fic: just a few weeks ago, I would have responded with something like, "multichap? Me? As if 😳😅" But now... well, I'm actually posting my first multi-chapter fic later today, so we'll see how that goes!!

Favourite Story You've Written So Far: oh, gosh, that's a really, really hard one!! I've really, really enjoyed almost everything I've written, so picking is going to be very tough cookies xD

For AoS, I think I'm going to go for take my hand, take my whole life too, which is one of the first few things I wrote, but still holds a very special place in my heart, because I felt that it was a fic I could really be proud of, you know? Plus, it made me feel ridiculously soft and shippy-happy throughout the writing process. Plus plus, it has an absolutely stunning banner created by the amazing @ughfitz, which still touches me a lot, because I'd never had such a beautiful banner made before and askjgddfshhdhh it's just perfect.

I'm also very partial to july second, the birthday fic I wrote for @doctorofaos - because Hunter's point of view, it turns out, is ridiculously fun to write, and I had an absolute ball. The whole arc - a surprise birthday party for Daisy, and some team bonding/family fluff - just really works for me, too.

Another one that has to go on this list is hold out your hand, 'cause friends will be friends, my DaisyMack Soulmates BroTP, because that one is my amazing wife @aleksandrachaev's favourite, and it melts my heart so much to hear how much she likes it. 💜

Then lastly, for Spideychelle, my favourite thing I've written is quintessential spideychelle, no contest - it's a Roommates AU and my birthday gift for @eowima, and all the bonding those two dorks do over Lucifer and fandom in general brings me endless delight.

My Aladdin AU, now when did you last let your heart decide, will also always hold a special place in my heart, because it's the first really long thing I wrote. I put a ton of effort into it, and, well, I still think it's kinda fab.

(also I'm so sorry for the relentless self-plug that turned into, oh my God, apparently I'm just that indecisive and love talking that much. I apologise once again)

Fic You Were Nervous To Post: Aubrey, high-five! Because one of the things I was definitely the most freaked out for was that is good, my first-ever Quakerider fic and birthday gift for @acerobbiereyes. The response to that turned out to be overwhelmingly positive, though, and I have even made promises to venture into Quakerider-land again 🥰

I was also a little stressed for we love you, we love you, and we hope you love we too, which was my first-ever polyship fic - Fitzskimmons and cute notes for the fluff bingo - and something I also dedicated to the amazing @bobbimorseisbisexual. Also the formatting for this thing was HELL, and computers and I do not get along, so I was in cold sweats that it wouldn't work and fail on me completely... but, no, it worked, and the wonderful response to it too, very much melted my heart 🥺💖

How You Choose Your Titles: song lyrics. Almost always song lyrics. And if it's not song lyrics, it's a quote of some kind - it just works for me, and I actually find it fun to go hunt for something that works. Maybe I'm weird, but I actually do love it xD

Do You Outline? absolutely, yes - in fact, a great many of the things in my WIPs folder are solely outlines, or even just the beginnings of outlines. I find that outlines are a really good way to save your ideas if you don't have time to write them out properly, so you can come back months later and be all, "what the hell I'm actually so clever." (or, y'know, occasionally, "what the hell can the earth come swallow me up." But let's go with the cleverness 🤣👌)

In Progress:

... I think it's better that we don't talk about my WIPs folder, which, as most people who know anything about me can tell you, is an utter mess, and more than a little insane. (If you don't believe me, check it out here - I bet you do now, right?)

Out of that monstrosity, I'm currently working on numbers 20, 64, 192 and 174, which would be my Skimmons Hallmark Rom-Com, and fics for my three Secret Santas - Spideychelle, Fitzsimmons, and then one for the AoS Secret Santa whose pairing is, in delightfully SHIELD style, classified until the 24th of December.

Then in the very background, I'm also writing some Pipsy, Fitzsimmons and plat!Diper for the fluff bingo yes which I have still not finished I'm awful I know, and I'm going to make my lateness a liiiitle better by passing them of as gifts for my friends. I do love my friends very much, though, so that's more than fair I think 🥺💜

My Complete AO3: ta!

Do You Accept Prompts? yes, always! I have this plan in the back of my mind of gathering up all the prompt lists I've got saved to my drafts and doing like a masterpost/mass prompt request thing, but I'll leave that for a little later yet, because goodness knows I have enough to finish 🙈 In the meantime, though, if there's anything you'd really like to see me write, I'd be just thrilled to do it for you! It'll definitely take me a couple of months to actually get to it, but if you don't mind the wait, then yes, absolutely, I'm your girl! 💖

Upcoming Work That You're Most Excited About: oooooof, another tough one, but I'm very much looking forward to posting the first chapter of my Skimmons Hallmark Rom-Com, which I'm going to do later today!!

Then there's also my three Secret Santas - though I'm not particularly religious, the idea of a gift fic exchange brings me endless glee and I cannot wait to see what my giftees think! I also can't wait to get my own gifts, too, of course... ;) Oh, it's just going to be so much FUN!!

Tagging: well, everyone did this a couple of weeks months ago, so I'm not actually going to tag anyone - but if you see this and think it's cool, by all means go ahead and say I tagged you! 😍 Also, have a very big virtual hug, all of you, and thank you so much for reading through all my blathering!! 💜💖

#tag game #author tag #author interview tag #ahhhhh it has been SO LONG since I was tagged for this fsklfsgjdhkksdhs it's terrible #but here I am; late and very... chatty? #does that help at all?? #lmao well you'll be seeing a lot of that the next few days 🤣😍 #ahhhh it feels so good to be properly back in the fandom game! #three cheers for breaks xD #queue'll figure it out together

[iamtaekooked]

Genre: FLUFF

Pairing: Yoongi x female reader 

Word count: 2.7k

Warnings: none

Synopsis:

When Yoongi gets jealous, he receives the best birthday present ever. 

A/N: Happy Birthday to our lovely boy Min Yoongi. I wrote this in like 3 hrs and it’s not edited so RIP. I dedicate this to Min Yoongi’s lovergirl @ughkive​. I hope ya’ll enjoy! 

Min Yoongi is your best friend. Always has been, always will be. There is no way around it. 

Min Yoongi is also your long time crush. Always has been and it seems like he always will be a crush and nothing more. There is no way around that either. 

But Park Jimin thinks he’s got a perfect idea. Park Jimin, your incessantly annoying friend always thinks he’s got the best ideas. After all, he prides himself on finding his one true soulmate, his brother from another mother Kim Taehyung who happens to be the best influence on Jimin and keeps him in check. 

But when Jimin opens mouth and blurts out his worst ever idea, even Kim Taehyung is late in stopping him. 

“Jimin” Taehyung looks at him warningly. 

“Look it’s going to work okay?” Jimin responds defensively 

“So let me get this clear. You want me to go as your date to the Masquerade just so Yoongi will get jealous?” you chime in. 

“We all know Yoongi prides himself on being stoic. It’s his charm or that’s what he thinks. But you guys remember that Yoongi and I competed in high school over this one girl we both liked. I know for a fact he loves you y/n and he will get jealous” Jimin explains, hands flailing around, passion clear as day in his tone. You don’t think he’s even this passionate about dancing and Jimin adores dancing. 

“That is a bad idea” Taehyung comments firmly. “In fact, it’s the worst idea ever” 

“I agree with Taehyung. We’re not kids. Yoongi definitely isn’t childish like that. He’s above jealousy. Plus it’s his birthday tomorrow. We can’t do that to him” you say it with pride. 

“You both are clearly dumb” Jimin huffs. “No man in this world will okay when he sees another man acting all cozy with his girl. Especially when that man happens to be someone handsome like me and also someone he is friends with. It would make the best present for him when he finds out you like him and he will find out because he will react. I can bet anything he will tell you he likes you just because he’ll feel threatened by me. Trust me on this y/n” Jimin imparts this piece of knowledge on you with a self-satisfied smile. 

You’re all silent as you look at each other. Taehyung seems to mull it over for a moment lips jutted out in a pout and a vacant look in his eyes. “Well...” he starts. “As a member of the male species, I can understand that logic. I don’t think I would like it if Jimin got all hot and heavy with a girl I liked” 

“Exactly. Plus Yoongi and I have a history of going for the same girl. He lost last time so he’ll probably feel threatened this time and react to it” 

“Technically he didn’t lose last time” Taehyung corrects, quickly looking away when Jimin shoots him a glare. 

“She dated me” Jimin pouts. 

“Yeah. For a day” Taehyung mumbles, not so subtly though because all of you hear it. 

Jimin looks thoroughly offended as his mouth drops open and his nostrils flare slightly. “Still. That’s a win. But that’s beside the point. The point is that since Yoongi and I have this history between us, he’ll believe it quicker because he will think that there is a chance that even this time the girl he likes will choose me. The threat is real in his mind” 

As much as you hate it, it kind of does make sense. Yoongi already always acts weird around Jimin, trying to one-up him whether that be in beer pong, or trying to get Jimin to rap just to show him out, or trying his hardest to compete against Jimin in Just Dance and Fornite even though he knows Jimin is a dance major and no one can win against him. 

You bite your lip in indecision, unsure about the implications of it all. The absolute worst that could happen is that Yoongi doesn’t react at all. He doesn’t care and at least then you know that there is a high possibility that he doesn’t like you. 

“Fine. Let’s do it” you agree despite the reservations your harbour. 

Kim Taehyung doesn’t usually get surprised or shocked. Even when you all watched ‘IT’ in the theatres, all you reacted to the jump scares but Taehyung didn’t. Taehyung wasn’t even surprised when Jeongguk ended up losing to Jimin in Overwatch. 

But Taehyung is surprised when at the Masquerade Ball Yoongi downs four vodka shots one after the other after he sees Jimin and you flirting over in the corner of the room. He watches wide-eyed and bewildered and Yoongi orders two more shots and downs one of them quickly. 

“What’s gotten into you?” Taehyung tries to keep his lips in a straight line but he knows Yoongi is starting to feel something the more you and Jimin get touchy with each other. 

“Nothing” comes Yoongi’s stoic voice accompanied by his usual stoic expression even as he continues to glare at you and Jimin. He doesn’t take his eyes off as he reaches for the other shot and chugs it, placing the glass back down on the bar counter with a slam. 

Taehyung follows Yoongi’s line of sight to find Jimin leaning in, whispering something in your ear as you giggle in delight. 

“I don’t get it” Yoongi comments, eyes still fixed on Jimin and you. 

“What?” Taehyung prompts on purpose. 

“That” Yoongi spits with spite as he continues to glare at you both only this time a frown appears on his forehead and his nostrils flare slightly as Jimin locks one of his hands in yours and continues to say something close to your ear making you throw your head back with a laugh. 

“What about that?” Taehyung raises his brows, lip quivering in a knowing smirk. 

“How does he always know?” Yoongi continues to be vague, unable to look anywhere but you, and at how you look so happy next to Jimin. He can’t look away because you look beautiful in that sparkly golden gown of yours, which hugs you at just the right places. He can’t look away because as usual, you hold his attention like no one does. You enrapt him, rendering him unable to focus on anything around himself. 

“If you’re jealous, just say it bro” Taehyung takes a sip of the strawberry drink in his hand. 

“Pfft” Yoongi finally tears his gaze away from the wretched little corner and looks at Taehyung. “Jimin isn’t anything special so I am not jealous”  

“Oh yeah?” Taehyung lips widen in a grin. “Then why do you look like you could kill Jimin right now?” 

Yoongi casts his gaze down on his lap, rolling the shot glass between his fingers as he tries to come up with a good enough response. He sighs heavily before he addresses Taehyung. “Because I could kill him” 

“I never thought you of all people would be prone to being jealous. But then again you both did like the same girl in high school and she did choose Jimin so..” Taehyung remarks in an effort to irritate Yoongi. Yoongi shifts his icy cold gaze to him, daring him to say another word. 

Taehyung can only shrug in his defence as he hops off the barstool. “Happy Birthday bro” he winks at Yoongi and strolls off, disappearing into the sea of people. 

Yoongi’s eyes flutter back to you and he thinks he’s had enough of you and Jimin to last him a lifetime. So, very ungracefully he stumbles off the stool and makes his way towards you. Even with each step he takes, you still seem further out of his reach. He doesn’t know if its the alcohol playing tricks on him or if the distance is actually increasing between you and him. 

He shakes his head and continues to part through the crowd of people muttering small apologies under his breath. 

He stops in his tracks, breath hitching in his throat because Jimin is leaning in, his eyes closed and your eyes closed. Jimin’s lips are just about to touch yours when Yoongi clears his throat very loudly, breaking the moment. He exhales the breath he had been holding once you and Jimin are a respectable distance apart again. 

“Look who it is!” Jimin grins throwing an arm around Yoongi. But Yoongi is quick to push his arm away with a vexed look on his face. 

“Seems like I interrupted an important moment” he looks at you, lips pursed in a thinly-veiled jealous and halfhearted attempt at a smile. 

“It was nothing” Jimin waves him off. “We were just talking” he pretends as if nothing happened. 

It seems to work because Yoongi raises a brow at the younger boy. “Really?” 

“Well.. I mean we were just talking and things kind of got a little serious and you know” he shrugs in a nonchalant manner. “It happens sometimes” Jimin passes you a look trying to hold back a smile. 

“Well, why don’t you try to keep it in your pants and stop trying to get at my best friend” Yoongi offers a thin-lipped tight smile clearly not impressed. 

“So you were saying y/n...” Jimin raises his brows as he trails off hinting at your previous conversation and certainty that Min Yoongi would not react. “Anyway, it seems like I am getting in the middle of something here so I’ll be off. Happy Birthday, Yoongi” Jimin raises his glass to Yoongi who just glares at him, until he’s out of sight. 

“What was that?” you question tentatively as Yoongi turns to look at you after having had his fill of shooting dirty looks at Jimin. 

“What?” he shrugs 

“You know the whole I-am-the-alpha-male- routine” 

“I am the alpha male y/n” Yoongi’s fingers wrap around your wrist and he tugs you along with him. 

“Where are we going?” you question as he pulls you along through the sea of people in front of you. 

You reach the ballroom where people are dancing. Yoongi lets go of your arm and from a table on the side that is filled with masks, Yoongi picks a golden shimmery one. He turns to you, places the mask on your face and reaches behind you to tie the strings behind your head. You can smell his cologne from this distance, you can also smell the vodka on his breath as it fans your skin, leaving you with goosebumps all over your body. 

“There,” he pulls back with a smile. “Looks like it was made for you” 

Then he turns back around and picks a black mask for himself. He turns back to you and holds it up to you. “Your turn” 

You take it from him and tie the mask around his head. “There. It matches your suit” you say as you pull back. “Is Min Yoongi really going to dance?” you question, finding his actions uncharacteristic for his usual demeanour. 

He holds out his hand for you take. You look between him and his hand and upon being met with a sincere look in his eyes you place your hand in his. He leads you out to the floor, arm circling around your waist as he pulls you in. With his other hand, he wraps his fingers around your hand and starts swaying gently. You wrap your arm around his shoulder and hold his hand tight

“You look beautiful tonight,” he says gently

“So you’re saying I don’t look beautiful otherwise?” you tease. 

Yoongi shakes his head with a chuckle. “You can never take a compliment can you?”

“Not from you” you reply

He’s silent as he sways you in his arms, moving to the rhythm of the music and holding onto you tight like he can’t let go. He gently and softly begins to stroke your back and you lean into him and place your chin on his shoulder. 

“Is there something between you and Jimin?” his voice mixes in with the music as his words melt in the air.

“No” you shake your head, pulling back to look at him, but his hand stays firm around your waist even as you let go of each other’s hands. “Why are you asking?” 

“I am asking because I hate it when you and Jimin act all friendly with each other. I hate it when he’s that close to you” he stops moving and so do you. 

“Why do you hate it?” you reach behind your head and take off the mask.

“Because...” Yoongi too unties the string behind his head and takes off the mask, his glowy face coming back into sight. “I like you. I always have. I can’t lose you to anyone, especially not Jimin. So I need to know if there is something between you and him” 

“Mr. Min Yoongi, there is nothing between me and Jimin. For the record, I like you too. I always have” your lips curve up in a smile that Yoongi is quick to mirror. 

“Hmm. I see” his lips quiver, a smile threatening to escape. “Did you get me a present?” 

“I just told you I like you too and you’re asking me for a present?” you gawk at him, disbelief flooding through you. 

“Just answer with a yes or no. Did you get me a present?” he repeats himself, eyes crinkling slightly as his lips begin to slowly stretch to reveal that gummy smile you have come to love so much. 

“No” you whisper, suddenly feeling a pang of nervousness in your stomach because Yoongi’s eyes soften and he looks at you the way you have always wanted him to look at you-- with love, fondness and absolute adoration. It’s the way every woman wants to be looked at by a man. It’s that look--the one where the other person looks into your eyes and holds your gaze, the one they talk about in movies, the one they write poems about. Yoongi is finally allowing himself to look at you like that and you don’t know what you’re supposed to do with yourself. 

“Then can I ask for a present?” his voice a dulcet of a whisper. 

You nod because your voice is stuck in the back of the throat and so are the words you want to say.  

“I want to kiss you. I want to kiss you in a way no one has ever kissed you. Will you let me?” 

“I thought you would never ask” 

Yoongi leans in, his lips almost on yours. You can feel his breath ever so softly fanning your lips. You can smell the vodka on his breath. His lips graze against yours and he pulls back slightly like he’s teasing you. Your eyes flutter close because of the sensation and then you feel it-- the sudden surge of adrenaline as he finally presses his lips against yours. 

His hand travels up your arm, while the other holds you tight against him. He rests his hand at the nape of your neck pulling you deeper into the kiss. He’s kissing you softly at first but then with a gradation of intensity that makes you hold onto him for support for your knees feel weak. 

He kisses you once, and then he kisses you again until you realize that you’ll never have enough of him. He holds himself to his word because no one has ever kissed you the way he is-- by making you lose your mind and then, making you question whether you even want it back. 

When he pulls away you’re dizzy and red-faced. You cling onto him still because your knees will give out if you let go. 

“I am glad I asked” he whispers as he ghosts over your lips and placed a gentle peck. 

“Happy Birthday Yoongi” your quiet voice melts in the air, etching itself into Yoongi’s mind as he takes you in with your swollen lips, and red cheeks and he knows that he’ll never get tired of seeing you a mess after he kisses you. 

As he looks into those heartbreakingly beautiful eyes of yours he knows that he’ll always kiss you like he’s losing you. 

#bts #bts scenarios #bts reactions #bangtanhq #magicshopnet #yoongi x reader #bts min yoongi #bts suga #THIS IS FLUFF #I AM SOFT #i really just wanted to write a jealous yoongi #and Jimin as a slight crackhead

[jq37]

The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 16 For Candia (Part 1)

The Second Most Stressful Conversation All Season

The Rocks family sails up to Cola River, concealed in Primsy’s ships with a small contingent of soldiers. As they go, they pick up another set of allies--the remaining knights from Theo’s order.

Ruby gets called to speak with her mom and dad and Cara asks her to close the door behind her. When she speaks, it’s with more candor than she’s ever used with Ruby that we’ve seen. She says that all she’s ever wanted for Ruby was her safety and she tried to secure that by protecting her from secrets but now she is truly a woman grown and the best way to protect her is by sharing secrets, an approach Ruby seems to appreciate. 

Cara fills her in on what she and Amethar learned last episode--Ghee died before she married Amethar. That means she’s still queen, he’s still king, and though Rina is still Amethar’s first born heir, Ruby is also trueborn. 

Ruby asks if they’re going to tell people and Amethar says he wants to wait. Things are heightened right now and it would make things weird in battle. Ruby says that if that’s what he wants, she won’t tell anyone. Ruby also says she doesn’t trust Rina’s people, something Amethar cites as another reason he doesn’t want to tell people yet.

Cara asks Ruby’s opinion on Rina and she says that she thinks she’s dangerous. Cara agrees and Amethar thinks she’s being a little harsh in her assessment but Ruby goes on. She thinks that Rina has tunnel vision in her hatred of the church and there are good people who follow the Bulb (again, Cara is a devout Bulbian). Cara chimes in that Port Syrup is in ruins because of her people. Amethar wants to delay all this talk but Cara drops an absolute banger of a line, “Amethar. The delay of conversation has been perhaps your most cardinal sin.” 

Ruby thinks that maybe Rina can be good but her people are full stop, bad. She didn’t order Port Syrup sacked (good) but it was by her people in her name (bad) and she doesn’t seem super bothered by the collateral damage (also bad). However, she does think that maybe if she wasn’t surrounded by these people, she'd make different choices. 

Cara says that with Rina on the throne, Candia’s future is written in flame. She says that Theo was pretty quick to join up with Rina and asks Amethar what he thinks he’ll do with the new info about his kingship. Amethar thinks he’ll be loyal so she thinks maybe they can tell him but Ruby points out that he’s not good with secrets. Cara says that’s a wise observation. She also says, in not so many words, that this is going to be a dangerous battle and during dangerous battles, sometimes people--like your husband’s pesky half daughter who is bumping your own daughter in the line of succession and has a merry band of war criminals--die.

“Hey, you’re talking about my daughter,” says Amethar.

“I am talking about the future of Candia,” says Cara. 

She tells Ruby that if she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to talk to Theo, that’s fine, but she should listen to her heart. She has the sight for the future to come and “If fortune cannot be on our side, we will have to do what fortune cannot.”

The Most Stressful Conversation All Season

The ship continues to sail upriver. Brennan makes a little roll that he doesn’t announce but seems entirely too pleased about. 

There’s a lot of debate about arriving and attacking and they decide to get to Dulcington late so they have cover but can attack when it starts to get light and have some visability for archers and such. 

It’s the middle of the night as they approach their destination and Rina hears a knock at her door. It’s Swifty and, wouldn’t you know it, he just eavesdropped on a *reaaaaaal* interesting conversation by the royal family (we get a quick cut to Brennan’s mystery-roll). But before he can spill the tea, she stops to tell him (and Gooey who is also there doing the bodyguard thing) that she was *not* about the carnage of Port Syrup. They NEED to be better than that. These people may never accept her but she doesn’t want them to *hate* her. Swifty is like, “lol, about that.” She tells her what he heard--or at least *some* of what he heard. He tell her about the death/wedding timeline and about the fact that they’ve been sitting on the news for a day (leaving out the bits where Amethar defended her and Ruby thought she might be good) and implies that they’re waiting for her to die in battle (something Cara implied in fairness) or kill her themselves (a little more of a leap--but not by much). Rina, not quite seething but something akin to it, says that if they had just told her this information, she would have worked with them seeing as the crown was only ever a means to an end for her but they had to be dishonest with her. Swifty says he’s excited to waste all their enemies during the upcoming battle and, once it’s over, if she wants them to turn their slaughter efforts a little closer to home, she just has to say the word. In response, she says she wants to speak to Theo so she can seek his counsel. She also reiterates that the Port Syrup debacle was a full war crime and shouldn’t have happened regardless of her relationship with the Rocks family (Swifty and Gooey exchange a glance she doesn’t fully parse) and then Gooey gets Theo.

After some weird flirting with Gooey (he makes an appointment to get “slammed big style” [sic] by her), Theo shows up to talk to Rina. She says that she’s been helping the Rocks family a ton in battle but she’s only been rebuffed. Is it worth it? Should she keep helping them? Theo says that he’s known the family for a long time and they’re good people who wouldn’t hurt her. Rina says that Theo is an honorable man and she trusts that even if he doesn’t side with her, he’ll do the honorable thing. Then she tells her what she knows, info that he is, of course, hearing for the first time. On an 18 Insight check, he knows he’s not being lied to and he knows he has a choice to make. He remembers Lazuli, all those years on their first meeting, telling him to think for himself and he amends his earlier statement. He might have spoken too soon about Amethar. He’s reckless, he wishes he could have worked for any of his sisters rather than him, and he clearly doesn’t have love for all of his family based on the way he’s treating her. He’s officially Team Rina (like he kinda was before but even moreso). She makes it official by casting the Dedication version of Ceremony on him and he feels more connected to her than ever before (also +1d4 to all Saving Throws for 24 hours). 

War is Hell (to Recap) 

The group gets into position with a bunch of stealth checks to get ready for their dawn attack. Despite pledging himself to Rina, Theo doesn’t want to work against Amethar and he wants to tell Cumulus. Rina agrees since she doesn’t fully trust her people and she thinks it’s good to bring another trustworthy person in on this.

Right before fighting breaks out, Theo gives the CliffsNotes version to Cumulus (ie: there is some weirdness in the line of succession and the family is plotting without us) and also messages Liam that Rina is potentially in danger, getting back the message that he’ll for sure help protect her. Ruby rolls Insight to see if she can tell Theo’s being weird but with a Nat 20 deception check from him, she’s sure that Theo is loyal to them above all else and would never betray them.  

OK guys, here’s the deal. Almost everything else in this episode is truly just chess. Moving units across the board. Taking out troops strategically. Placing minis. Stuff like that. Not at all interesting to recap or read. So all you really need to know is, “The Rocks family and their numerous allies (cheese sailors manning catapults, monks, Candian fighters) get into position and the fight begins at dawn, with them doing pretty well once it starts.” Pretty much everyone gets to do at least one clutch thing and you can check out the episode if you want more detail than that.

The only really important thing to know is that Kerradin is there, Grissini is there, and Plumbeline is there. In fact, not only is she there, she comes down from the castle walls so she can ride in on her meep chariot and knock Theo prone.  

Unfortunately for her, she hasn’t gotten the news about Peppermint Batman. Three attacks+flanking+sneak attack+favored enemy damage+bursting arrow+hail of arrows=58 damage to Plumbeline immediately.

As she stands over Theo, two crossbow bolts explode through her eyes and she drops down dead.

And that’s it for this episode! Join us next week for the actual finale of a Crown of Candy!

1 Million Years Dungeon

SWIFTY!

Man, Swifty really is the personification of Brennan’s craving for some sweet, sweet PvP action huh?

You homicidal little chaos gremlin, it is BAFFLING that you have the queen’s ear and I hate it.

Things I’m Concerned About

Emily had Rina use the word “fools” and I know that she grew up on the same Disney movies that we did where fools is an antagonist exclusive word. Hate the implications of that!

Do you remember what I said about Cara in her literal first appearance? I generally like her but I’m getting some light Lady Macbeth vibes. Well here we are. It was so weird to see her and Ruby getting along but I really loved the scene. So tense and so careful with every word. (Also, I *knew* that info was going to get to Rina as the conversation was happening and I was bracing for it but it was still like, damn).

We still haven’t gotten to, “Family is exposed, family is vulnerable.”

That look Gooey and Swifty shared? Don’t love that. 

So, as I’ve been concerned about for a while now, we’re gearing up for some PvP. It still doesn’t have to happen but things are getting dicey and lines are being drawn. Theo has made his allegiances known and Cumulus from way back when said he stands with the magic of Candia, not the Rocks family--plus he just pledged his whole order to her. Ruby and Amethar obviously are on the same side if this happens (though you know no one wants to avoid PvP more than him) and I think Liam would be more inclined to stay with the family if it comes to it, though he also doesn’t seem like he’d be down for this.

Continuing on from my last point, if there’s a big PvP fight potentially on the horizon and the other side has a DRAGON and also ALL THE HEALS...mmm, I wouldn’t love that. Oh also, I didn’t mention it in the recap but Rina said she wasn’t gonna waste her spells on Ruby/Amethar anymore which is a SCARY THING for your HEALER to say before the FINAL BATTLE.  

Edit: I forgot to mention (s/o to @fjordgofurther for the sideways reminder)! Because of the way it’s been framed (“we will have to do what fortune cannot”) and because of the poetry of it and, practically speaking, because they’re the two main casters, if it gets to PvP I can see it ending up being Rina and Ruby, head to head and...do not care for that image one bit lemme tell you. 

Five More Things

I am VERY happy that Rina told off her crew about their casual war crimes because it would have dropped by opinion of her HUGELY if she was just chill about it. 

I don’t want to downplay the amount of work that went into the battle stuff in this ep. There were a lot of cool large scale battle mechanics and home rules for fighting with troops and letting them use your abilities and stuff. But it’s very hard for me to recount that without sounding like a history textbook chapter on the Civil War or something and I’m not Ken Burns. 

Place your bets. Blessed Ally Nat 20 on the wish-egg-seed or on icing Kerradin?

Very wild that they destroyed the afterlife RIGHT before this fight. Like, before they knew that if they died, they could at least still talk to their loved ones to some degree. But now that’s gone. Perma-death is suddenly extra-perma. I wonder if that was a conscious choice on Brennan’s part.

Did I ever get to say, “newly *mint*-ed” with regard to Liam’s Peppermint Batman status? I don’t remember and it would be a shame if I hadn’t. 

I have more thoughts but this episode ends so clearly midway through the action that I feel it’s best to leave them for the actual finale. 

One More Thing!

As I’ve mentioned on here before, I’m working on an audiodrama podcast which should be dropping later this year! Absolutely No Adventures, a podcast about avoiding dangerous quests, making weird friends, and baking. It’s also a podcast about baking.  

The Twitter handle is @noadventurespod and we just got our art!

I’m very excited to start releasing stuff for it and I hope some of y’all check it out!

#a crown of candy #a crown of candy spoilers #dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #the royal report #i love my cover art so much! #the moment acoc is done that's my new pinned post #this recap was so short...I'm Concerned the next one will be a total monster

[mortviolette]

Catra The Historian

Based on the characters developed for TV by Noelle Stevenson and owned by DreamWorks

Concept originally by sunnylildragun on tumblr

Written by MortViolette

Prologue

 It has been 6 months sense the defeat of Horde Prime and all Etheria is well on its way to recovery. The Fright Zone now known as New Sorpion is ruled by Scorpia, who along with Perfuma helped the former Horde soldiers and clones settle into a more positive and healthy life. Entrapta had taken Hordak back to Dryl, promising to keep a close eye on him. The two learning from and experimenting with the remaining Horde tech. Glimmer had remained Queen but had appointed Micah as her advisor. Meaning he ran the daily operations whilst she kept the official title. Adora had insisted Catra move into her room immediately after arriving at Bright Moon. Adora still planned to go off into space eventually but she was first and foremost Etheria’s protector and knew she and the best friend squad needed to postpone their plans for at least a year or two. Bow had been busy assisting Glimmer and had not visited his dads in a while. Once things calm down the BFS decide to join Bow in visiting Lance and George at their recently repaired home in the whispering woods.

Chapter 1

As they enter Bow’s parents are quick to greet everyone. Lance holding a tray of snacks with an excited look in his eyes. Catra stands a bit behind Adora. She has gotten used to meeting new people at this point, but its still strange.  Her mismatched eyes wondering around her surroundings. Its more books and artifacts than Catra had ever seen. The Horde was selective with its teaching of history. The bullet points primarily consisting of Hordak rules and princesses suck. Beyond that the former Horde soldiers knew extraordinarily little about Etheria and its vastly complicated backstory. A loud voice startles Catra a bit as her fur stands up. Lance having snapped her out of her thoughts. “And you must be Catra correct?” The man smiles, greeting the visitor. It is definitely Bows dad; she thinks. Attempting to reply. “I see where Bow gets his sunny disposition” She says with a playful level of snark. Both Lance and George Laugh. Lance especially finding it amusing. “Bow wasn’t kidding, you are as sharp as you are cute” He smiles warmly. Catra looking at him then at Bow with a death glare. “Stop telling people I’m cute!” She shouts, her tail shooting straight up as Adora and Glimmer join in on the laughter. She cannot help but smile a little at the sight of Adora laughing a slight blush forming on her cheeks. George cuts in threw the laughter. He has a more serious tone than Lance. A familiar commanding presence to it that Catra finds oddly comforting. Reminding her of old force captains she grew up around. “Well any friend of Bows is a part of this family. Whether they like the attention or not” He gives Catra a wink. Then gestures for everyone to follow as Lance chimes in cheerfully. “Lets all enjoy some snacks! I’m sure you’re all hungry from your trip, plus we have so many new discoveries to tell you about! Oh, and Bow, you must tell us more about what you and Glimmer have been up to lately.” He smirks. Bow blushes looking at him embarrassed. “Lance!” Catra cannot help but giggle seeing him flustered for once. Enjoying the irony.

 After about an hour of conversation on their couches. Catra stands up, stretching a little. She decides to explore the house for awhile while. Only Adora notices, the rest very distracted by their current conversation. Adora stops her, grabbing her hand gently but firmly. “Is everything ok?” She sounded so caring. Catra could never get used to having so many people worry about her. She nods, thinking before speaking. “I just wanna look around. This place seems-I don’t know, neat” She mumbles over her words. Adora smiles wide, that stupid, dorky, lovable smile. Catra hadn’t shown much interest in anything outside of fighting and winning.  When they had become comfortable at Bright Moon the BFS had tried to get Catra some hobbies, interests to keep her mind occupied. Perfuma having said it would help her adjust to her new normal and being bored and sitting around the room 24/7 wasn’t exactly great for her mental health. But nothing seemed to interest her. So Adora cannot help but be encouraging about this sudden interest. “OK, whatever you want babe” Catra sticks out her tongue to dodge the embarrassment her girlfriend is putting her threw. “Ok weirdo” She heads to the second floor for a bit of privacy. Looking at the seemingly endless rows of books. Its almost a bit intimidating. She looks curiously around, grabbing a few books and flipping threw them. She squints her eyes to focus, a habit she picked up from the few times she’s had to read during her time in the Horde. Its difficult but she manages to read a few random chapters and get the gist of it. But she feels a prominent headache forming from the effort. She sighs, starting to put the books back looking a bit frustrated. When she suddenly hears the familiar voice of Lance. “Have an interest in history Catra?” She looks a bit startled, calming her fur as she looks at him. “No, just bored of y- “She stops herself, taking a breath as Perfuma’s words of kindness and speaking your truth repeat in her head. She speaks again more calmly. “Maybe a little. We never learned about it in the Horde.” Lance looks on the verge of tears, causing Catra to look concerned, worried she did something. His tone is devastated. “You never learned history?! What a terrible thing! History is a wonderful world of stories and discovery. We have dedicated our life to it. A life devoid of a knowledge of history is simply something a cannot allow.” Before Catra knows it, several books are being placed in her hand. Nearly causing her to fall over. “Now this is just the basics to get you started, brief history of Etheria volumes one threw ten! But if you ever decide you want to learn more our home is always open to a fellow lover of history!” He smiles warmly at her, a warmth to him that Catra has never seen in a parental figure. She doesn’t have the heart to tell him about her difficulty reading and simply nods and attempts a smile. “Thank you, um you’re really nice” The two of them head back down the stairs. Catra gets a thumbs up from Adora, the rest of them surprised at the pile of books their friend is now carrying.  After awhile they all head home, Adora insisting on carrying the books for Catra. Although she doesn’t mind watching the show of strength. Enjoying the walk home, Catra having refused to be teleported home.

        Chapter 2

It was time for the meeting of the princess alliance, a weekly event that primarily consisted of pleasantries, followed by import information and closing in hours of upbeat conversation and genuine friendship. During the tail end of this particular meeting, Adora finds herself uncharacteristically alone in her chair. Catra had gotten in the habit of either sitting on the arm of her chair or more often than not sitting directly on Adora’s lap. Refusing to be away from her and occasionally chiming in with useful advice or ideas (She had been a Horde general for some time) which were often appreciated when they didn’t involve too high a dose of snark. But today Catra had decided not to attend, claiming she was going to read the books Lance had given her. Ever the supportive girlfriend Adora did not fight her on the idea. Despite knowing she would miss her presence, more worried about the feline being alone then her own feelings. Adora takes her mind of it by chatting with everyone. However, Adora was not the only one to notice the absence. Scorpia who was rarely hesitant to speak up, looked to Adora asking curiously. “Hey Adora, why isn’t Catra with you?” She says in an upbeat but equally concerned voice. Glimmer speaks up “Ya she’s never not attended a meeting. Did something happen?” Adora watches as the whole room turns their attention to her. She speaks confidently but slightly nervous at the attention. “She’s uh, reading” Scorpia looks shocked, mouth agape as she starts to lough a bit. No malice in it, simply finding playful humor in the idea. “Catra? Is reading? She never reads, even when she had to do paperwork for the Horde, she just had me or somebody else do it. Wow times change” She smiles looking pleased at the idea. Entrapta takes the opportunity to speak up, speaking quickly and excitedly as usual. “Come to think of it, I had noticed Catra would never read the blueprints or data I collected. I always assumed she just didn’t care about the way I did my research simply that it yielded results. But maybe there was more going on!” She says excitedly as if Catra is a fun science experiment. Glimmer who had been listening to the two of them intently turns to Adora. Speaking curiously but with a hint of concern. “Well Adora. You’ve known her longer than anybody. Can Catra read?” Adora takes a minute to think, her forehead creasing as she summons every memory of Catra she can. After a few moments she speaks, almost shocked. “Honestly, I can’t remember a time I saw her read. I guess I never thought about it” She rubs her neck, embarrassed that she might not have known an important detail about her childhood friend turned girlfriend. Glimmer speaks up, grabbing Bow, Adora, Scorpia and Entrapta. “OK, then let’s settle this!” Poof, pink sparkles of magic surround them and they are suddenly right outside Adora and Catra’s shared room. Entrapta attempts to rush in but Bow stops her, whispering. “Wait, let Adora check first” Entrapta lets out a restrained sigh as Adora leans the door open ever so slightly, trying so hard not to alert her girlfriend. With one eye Adora can see Melog, sitting at the foot of the bed, then she looks to the bed seeing books strewn about. Then seeing Catra who is sitting cross legged, holding a book right in front of her face and squinting. Annoyed sounds coming from inside. Suddenly, the doors swing open behind Adora, Glimmer striding passed her as she walks to Catra, who has jolted off the bed, fur standing up as she hides behind it hissing. “What the hell Sparkles?!” Glimmer ignores her reaction and speaks firmly. “Catra do you not know how to read?” Catra, who is still looking up from behind the bed grumbles at Glimmer, seeing the others following behind her. “Of course, I can read! How dumb do you think I am?!” Adora looks concerned at Catra, not intending to ambush her like this, but willing to go along with it if they get to the bottom of the issue. “Catra please, its us. Nobody is going to judge you.” Adora says as calmly and comforting as she can. Catra just ducks behind the bed, hissing again.

Entrapta walks over and grabs her from the bed, Catra hissing and struggling a little as she is bound. Meanwhile Glimmer grabs one of the books off the bed and opens it, putting it in Catra’s face. “Then prove it. Read one sentence from this book and we leave you alone.” Catra grumbles, looking grumpy as she says annoyed. “Fine!” She looks at the book squinting her eyes as she leans her head closer. “The Etherian P-princesses have b-been in, in- ugh that’s enough see I can read now let go!” Entrapta turns around adjusting her grip as she pulls down her goggles, examining Catra’s eyes. “Fascinating! It seems that along with heterochromia you seem to suffer from an undiagnosed problem with your vison” Catra yells angrily. “English please!” Glimmer puts down the book, looking at Catra sternly but caringly. “It means you need glasses Catra.” Entrapta lets Catra go but before she can get her bearings Scorpia rushes in grabbing her in a big hug. “Oh, you poor thing! To think you’ve been unable to read all this time and we never knew” Catra has a look of murder on her face but takes a deep breath. Channeling all her self-control as she speaks calmly “Scorpia, would you please put me down?” Scorpia quickly lets her go. “Right! Personal space” Glimmer gestures for everyone except Adora to leave, giving her a warm look before closing the door behind her. Catra sits on the bed, looking at the floor. Adora walks over, sitting down and wrapping an arm around her, gently rubbing her arm. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Catra looks away, then sighs before muttering quietly. “Because I was embarrassed” Adora just smiles, placing her other hand on Catra’s cheek as she lifts her head to face her own. “You don’t need to be embarrassed Catra. We aren’t in the Horde anymore; you don’t have to hide weakness. Its ok to need something.” She softly caresses her cheek, tears starting to form around her mismatched eyes. She speaks in a slightly broken voice, filled with sadness. “I just hid it for so long and eventually I just didn’t think I could tell anyone. I, I was afraid you would be mad at me for keeping it from you” Adora’s heart breaks hearing her say that. The thought of her girlfriend ever thinking she could be mad at her over such a thing tearing at her. Adora wipes some of Catra’s tears away and pulls her close tell their foreheads are touching. She speaks softly but firmly. “Catra I will never be mad at you for needing something. Yes, I’m upset you didn’t tell me. But I’m more worried that you would rather hide this from me then come clean.  You need to tell me things and damnit we are getting you glasses because you clearly want to read those books”, she kisses her forehead, pulling back a bit as she looks at her. Catra takes a second, then speaks up. “I’m sorry I-I wouldn’t keep anything else from you I promise” Adora pulls her into a tight hug, placing her chin on her head, gently rubbing the back of Catra’s head.

 About a week later Catra along with the BFS go to get her glasses. After professionals check her eyes to confirm Entrapta’s impromptu diagnosis, they begin the process of picking them out. Glimmer and Bow seem adamant about having her try on a million different ones, much to Catra’s annoyance. Eventually Catra settees on a round pair, claiming to have chosen them at random because she was sick of looking. It wasn’t because Adora said she looked cute in them. Totally not that.

     Chapter 3

Over the last few weeks Catra has been diving deep into the books gifted to her. It took her awhile to adjust to the glasses and reading at a good pace. But after a day of reading she was off to the races. In just two weeks she had read each copy twice, filling them with countless sticky notes and highlights, even working up the courage to ask to barrow a few books Bow had with him, quickly finishing them as well. Everyday when Adora comes home Catra can hardly resist the urge to talk about what she has read, a brightness in her eyes and excitement in her voice that makes Adora smile wide every time. She is also crazy smart, Adora comes to realize. She knew the love of her life was clever but like wow, Adora barely understands half the things she talks about but what she does understand is extremely complicated. Catra seems especially interested in old wars and rulers, recounting several chapters on old battles won by wit or leaders overthrown threw clever plotting. When Bow happens to mention one night at dinner that his dads have several detailed books and artifacts on wars and even combat styles and weapons. Catra cannot help but light up and let out a cheerful purr at the idea. Catra is reminded by Bow of Lance’s offer for her to visit sometime, knowing they would love the company. Catra is hesitant to leave Adora’s side for long and she knows Adora is far too busy to visit with her for any long stretch of time. She says she will think about it, choosing to table the idea for now.

A few days later during a meditation session with Perfuma, the princess can tell something is bothering the feline. Her body struggling more than usual to relax. She speaks as she always does, extremely calmly and positively, still in her pose. “What’s troubling you Catra?” Catra groans a bit, it can be annoying how Perfuma always seems to see right threw her. “Its nothing” Perfuma lets out a light chuckle. “If it were nothing you would be able to relax instead of thinking about it. Remember Catra, holding in emotions only hurts you. Breath deeply and speak your truth” Catra sighs, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, then exhaling as she speaks calmly. “I’ve been thinking about leaving for a while. Bow’s dads offered to let me visit and well- “She takes another deep breath, then lets it out. “I can’t decide what to do” Perfuma nods, thinking for a moment. “You want to go, to learn about history. But you’re afraid to leave Adora for so long.” Yet again Perfuma saw right into what she was thinking. Catra opening her eyes and looking at Melog who is currently chasing a nearby butterfly. “We haven’t been away for any longer than 24 hours sense the heart.” Perfuma keeps her eyes closed, nodding at Catra. “It’s a big step for the both of you, to be afraid or nervous about change is perfectly normal Catra. But I know you want this, you yourself have gone on about everything you’ve learned with such joy during our meditation” She giggles, opening her eyes to look at Catra, pulling her attention back to Perfuma. “Your friends will still be here when you return, Adora will still be here when you return. You need to go where your heart leads you. If that means leaving Your love Adora briefly, to explore a love of history. You should take that choice to heart and really ask yourself. Will you regret not doing it?” Catra looks to the floor, the closes her eyes and repeats her breathing exercise a few times. After about a minute she speaks calm with a flare of determination in her voice. “Yes” Perfuma smiles. “Yes what?” Catra responds confidently. “Yes, I will regret not doing it. I-I really want to do it.” Catra feels a hand touch her shoulder, opening her eyes to see Perfuma looking down at her, big smile on her face. “Then you need to talk to Adora” They conclude their session, Perfuma always insisting on hugging Catra before she leaves. She waves and hops on Melog, headed out of Plumeria and back to Bright Moon. Back to Adora, a mix of nerves and excitement at the conversation and events about to come.

The other chapters are still pending. Just wanted to see what everybody thought so far. =3 

@sunnylildragun 

#spop catra #spop #catradora fanfic #fanfic #she ra catra #catradora #She Ra #she ra glimmer #she ra s5 #she ra bow #adora shera #adora #Catra the historion #perfuma #entrapda #scorpia #post s5 #catra

[crqstalite]

You've been visited by the random writing prompts goblin!! - Write about your character just... talking. Are they talking to themselves, or with someone else? What kind of slang or phrases do they use often? Do they have an accent?

I really should quit writing these one-on-one scenes with Kodelyn and Lali (and maybe y’know, with their actual partners) but I couldn’t get the prompt out of my head! I love them too much and Citlali’s POV is one of my favorites to write -- she goes off on a lot of tangents and I find it more funny and entertaining that anything. Way different than I write Kodelyn’s. Probably should do more shippy writing at some point, but some point is not now.

Post-war. Word count: 2,008. no warnings.

-

“Y’know, she even said she might even put a good word in for me,” Citlali leans back in her chair, grinning around her straw, “Might be a real flight lieutenant, give or take like a decade. No more stowaway-ing for me.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah. Dealing with ships is more my speed than people. Biotic regiment sounds too...I don’t know, challenging? Out there? For little old me.” The younger woman sighs, throwing a hand over her forehead dramatically, “Plus I’d have to work with our dear Major Alenko of all people. As if I don’t see enough of him now, he’d be my actual CO this time around.”

“Yep.”

“Still, that’s years out when the galaxy gets it’s head back on straight. Think they’re just absurdly shortstaffed right now. Not even sure whether this is a good idea or not, I mean, I spent half my life afraid of what I could do and now? Supernova. Might as well make good use of this.” She snaps her fingers, “Like lighting...something on fire. Damn it, lost the analogy that quickly.”

“That’s great.”

Citlali straightens in her chair again, looking around the atrium and shaking her cup, ice rattling inside of the plastic. The Citadel was rebuilding, after nearly a year and a half after the war had ended, and a few wards were getting back to the idea of normal. If one went wandering, one could probably still see the scars and missing shops, homes and even nearly half a ward on the other side. Yet, here they were, at a little fast food place, still very much alive and thriving.

Suck on that, Reapers. Shepard 3, Reapers 0.

The energy in the food court is different from where it had been before the Citadel had been moved to Sol. Less nervous energy to burn, less fatalistic views being preached from every corner of the Presidium. Life was getting back to good. Summer was right around the corner on Earth at least. Less death and mass murder at the hands of the Reaper putting a dampener on dinner.

She squints at her sister. Kodelyn Shepard, entirely off duty, was still in something that made Citlali think she was going to spar with James. Offhandedly she wonders if she would ever take her up on that offer to get a full wardrobe beyond the one or two shirts, jeans and boots she owned. Considering she rarely saw Kaidan out of anything similar, she’d have to do something about that soon.

She’d always looked nice in yellow.

However, said Shepard has a smile just gently tugging at the corners of her mouth while one hand flies over her omni-tool’s keyboard, not a glance up to where Citlali is.

She’s not paying attention. Probably hasn’t been since she started talking nearly five minutes ago. Her offhanded responses have gotten better though, Kodelyn almost had her fooled that she was carrying on a two-way conversation. Probably should’ve gotten suspicious when she didn’t actually offer anything to the conversation. Or when she opened the omni-tool to begin with. Multi-tasking had always been a skill that she had, not so much one that Citlali did.

“Anything good?” Citlali reaches over the table to gently (alright, she’ll admit it wasn’t all that gentle) pull at her sister’s wrist. A quick glance at the ID tells her all she needed to as she slumps back in the chair, “Damn, speak of the devil! You haven’t been listening to a single thing I’ve said have you?”

“Hey!” Kodelyn yanks her hand back, swiping at the screen a few times, “I have been listening.” She retorts indignantly.

“Have you?” Citlali raises an eyebrow. She hasn’t been, but knowing her sister, she’s good enough at halfway paying attention to reconstruct what she’s said well enough that she wouldn’t be able to accuse her otherwise.

Damn her. Sound doesn’t turn to soup whenever multiple conversations are going on around her. Lucky.

“Yes! I have.”

“Uh huh,” Citlali gnaws at the straw, wickedly grinning when she returns to typing, “Anything dirty?”

“No!” Kodelyn yelps, closing the UI, and dropping her face into her hands as Citlali cackles at her own jab, “Would you give it a rest?”

“I would, if he didn’t take over every waking thought of yours.” Citlali playfully presses a finger into her vulnerable forehead, “Fi-an-ce, brother-in-law-to-be or otherwise, you could at least spare your maid of honor and baby sister twenty minutes of your undivided attention.”

Kodelyn softly smiles. She’s at least genuinely apologetic, leaning back into her own chair with her hands out in front of her, “I know. And I’m sorry, just...”

“I know. He’s important. This whole shing-ding you have planned for the dead of summer is important. Actually, why the middle of July? Do you know how sticky July is? How humid it is to my poor hair? And yours?” Citlali gets a bit carried away (well that was on Kodelyn, July was the month of the devil. But then again she’d never been to Vancouver in July...and she was getting carried away again), “But have you spent a single second today not on that thing?”

“You know, I don’t just use it to talk to Kaidan. There is spectre business to attend to as well. Just because the war ended didn’t mean that work did.”

“Really? You had me fooled, thought he was the only contact in there,” Citlali snickers as Kodelyn rolls her eyes, “I get it, you’re still important and you’re still really busy. I respect that. Just sometimes I just want to know what’s going on with you without having to hear it secondhand, or on my ‘tool.”

“As if you haven’t been equally quiet the last few months.”

“I haven’t! I even sent the RSVP note back. In pen. That’s how much it meant to me.”

“That was your writing? Thought Mason got ahold of it. Kaidan and I could barely tell who it was from.”

“Ok, glad we can agree our baby brother writes like a chicken, but my handwriting is not that bad!” Kodelyn snickers as Citlali pops the cap off her cup, rattling around the ice at the bottom of the cup. Pink liquid still hangs onto the cubes, which meant the last of the juice was still hiding from her. She sucks on the straw anyway, “We have all the time in the galaxy now and we still just keep missing each other. Twice you were presumed or actually dead -- three if you want to count the original battle of the Citadel, and sometimes it still doesn’t feel real that you’re sitting across from me, very much alive and kicking. Three times I had to come to terms with the fact you might actually be gone.”

Kodelyn’s expression softens at her admission, “Is that why you keep trying to invite me out to ‘girl’s nights?’ Because you just want to make sure I’m still here?”

“No that’s mostly mom, you really have to start answering those. Occasionally Tali whenever she’s here, she’s asks after you, y’know. Liara and I hang out sometimes. Not as much fun, she’s as quiet as you sometimes and I’m not an archeologist. Or information broker. Or Asari. Not much we can talk about that isn’t confidential or something way out of my realm of understanding -- not like she wants to talk about the newest extranet series either.” Citlali remarks. She did genuinely like Liara, even if their interests were on opposite sides of the galaxy. Maybe she should bother the Asari a bit more before she took off again into the unknown, wherever said unknown was. What did a Shadow Broker do all day?

Beyond the point though, “Look, I won’t get sappy, but the piece of your pie chart that’s dedicated to me means a lot. It’s good when I don’t nearly get a heart attack every time you’re on the news.”

“If it was that serious-”

“-And it’s not.”

“If it is,” Kodelyn continues, “I’ll always be here. Just a call away.”

“I had to schedule this a week in advance, Dee.” Citlali gestures with her pretty much empty cup, though backs down a moment later, “Maybe I’m being a bit ridiculous, but I can count on one hand how many just...days like this we’ve spent together since the war ended. I mean, you could probably count everyday I was in your hospital room, but those are technically invalid since you weren’t conscious for most of them.”

“You know better than anyone that I’ve been pulled in thirteen different directions at once, not all of them as fun as you make them out to be. And yeah, you’re right, maybe I haven’t been making as much of an effort as I could be to spend some 1-on-1 time with you.” Kodelyn taps her nails on the table, thinking while the conversation lulls, “You still mean everything to me Lali. I’ll be better, just give me some time to figure all of this out, okay?”

Time, all they had was time these days. And yet it felt like she’d blinked, the war happened, and she was sitting in a hospital waiting room for hours on end. Blinked again, and she found herself back in her own apartment, her own bed, her semi-old life. Startling, almost like none had passed at all between when she’d picked up that call from Miranda to now. And yet, now it didn’t feel like she was wasting any of it by pulling her sister away to do something silly or inane. Death was no longer rapping at their door with increasing ferocity, almost like a much too determined salesman. Felt like they’d managed to crucible it across the front lawn and send it scrambling.

“Yeah, of course. Just...for the record.” She shrugs. The cup is finally empty, making an ugly noise when she sucks on the straw, instead still gnawing on it, “All we have is time these days. And I’m not being sarcastic, we honestly do. We’ll see the passing of another century given something else doesn’t try to annihilate the galaxy.”

“Yeah, if they could wait until after the next Council summit as well as after the wedding, that’d be great.” Her sister says, flickering open her UI again, “I spent way too much time helping planning both of those to have them ransacked by the next Harbinger.”

“Oh yes!” Citlali grins, “Councilor Shepard-Alenko, that’ll be the day. Yes ‘Reapers’, we have dismissed that claim already.”

“I still haven’t accepted,” Kodelyn laughs, turning her wrist to show Citlali something, “And I might not, I’ll recommend Petrakis but that’s as far as I’m going to help them find a proper representative. I’m not really Councilor material, and Kaidan’s had to remind me I can’t exactly hang up on them if they’re standing right next to me.”

“Really? Finally time to kick back and settle down with you, huh? Nice little place in Vancouver? Here? Part of me is going to be surprised if I see you in anything other than a t-shirt and jeans.”

“Probably not forever, but there is a piece of my pie chart dedicated to not driving myself up the wall anymore,” She gently presses her finger into Citlali’s forehead, making her chuckle, “Not such a bad thing. And I wore that spring dress you bought for me last month.”

“The day you step back from all this,” Citlali waves her arms around them, “Is the day I eat my hat.”

“I’m capable of more than just all this.” Kodelyn gestures similarly, “It’ll be nice to step back and enjoy what we saved. Preferably not from a war room anymore.”

“Never thought I’d peel you out of one,” Citlali says, “Mrs. Kaidan Alenko.”

“You have to get tired of saying that at some point.” Kodelyn’s partially right, though it amuses her. Sort of sweet at times.

“Will I? I don’t think so.”

“Really?” Kodelyn raises an eyebrow, “So how soon can I call you Mrs. Jeff Moreau?”

“New topic!”

#kodelyn shepard #citlali shepard-velasquez #oc #original character

[finchfeelsdump]

How to be adequately competent at fighting games

Expository Essay - missing some pictures and messed up formatting from the original document.

Introduction :

Fighting games have climbed in popularity ever since having been introduced in the olden days’ arcades, where kids, teens, and adults gathered to be the most powerful player amongst their opponents. However, with the introduction of consoles and online play, arcades met their downfall, but fighting games grew into an immense community (the FGC) of competitiveness and skill.

Selecting a game:

What are you looking for?

Do you want something simple or complex? Realistic or cartoonish? Classic or modern? Intensely violent or toned down? New or familiar? There are so many choices that it makes you feel you could not play them all in a lifetime. As of today, the most prestigious and popular franchises in the competitive scene are: Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros., Guilty Gear, Tekken, Soulcalibur, Under Night In-Birth, Dragon Ball FighterZ, King of Fighters, BlazBlue, and Samurai Shodown. All of them are unique and incredible, plus many other minor franchises. Your choices are virtually limitless.

Comparing your choice:

Try out every game you can for as long as possible! You may find an old game that you enjoy very much, or maybe unlock a secret character or learn some advanced techniques that drastically change how you play.

Limiting yourself to one game:

Limiting your practice to only one game may be optimal to getting better at it, but you have got to take into consideration two things: maybe you’re very skilled at other games, and maybe you enjoy other games just as much or even more.

Familiarizing yourself with the community:

Casual:

The best you can do is having some friends play with you. Maybe they will be interested in the game as much as you and will become your training partners. Either way, it’s a guaranteed fun time.

Competitive:

Most communities have online forums and detailed videos from professional players to help newcomers. Depending on where you live, there might be some small, local tournaments you can attend and meet experienced players. The biggest tournament of the year, EVOLUTION, hosts around 9 selected fighting games that thousands of players from all over the world come to participate in and try to climb their way to win the prestigious 1st prize. Some communities have a lot of controversies involved within them, mainly caused by the misconduct of their professional players; however, it is unfair to judge the whole community that is united to have unadulterated fun because of some bad apples.

Mastering the controls:

Variations and presets:

You are allowed to change the controller configuration to whatever accommodates you the best or to the ones the community thinks the most optimal is. Maybe changing around some buttons can change your playstyle altogether.

Adapting to the situation:

Some games, like Super Smash Bros., allow you to save multiple controller configurations for whatever situation you may be in, whichever character you are playing as, or whoever may be playing against you. Other people may like the default controls or use a very specific configuration, and some characters feel better and smoother with different controls.

Different controllers:

This is extremely important, as it can dictate how long can you play and how well can you play. They say a poor craftsman blames his tools; this is not that case. They are many different types of controllers, with different button layouts, sticks, bumps, triggers, and grips for many kinds of hand sizes and shapes and playing styles. Some are cheap, some are expensive. The only thing you can do is to try out as many as you can, play with them, and choose the best one that accommodates your hands and your fighting style for the best comfort and precision.

Choosing a character:

Roster:

This is a graphic representing all the characters available in the game. Some games have a couple dozen or even less. Others, like the most recent Super Smash Bros., have an insane amount of 80+ characters... That makes it even harder to choose one!

The best method I use to choose characters is to ask 3 questions: Do I like the character? Is the character good? Do I play well with that character?

Matchups:

This means how a character performs against another character, since they all have different abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and even physical properties. A good matchup means that your character has the advantage; a bad matchup means the opposite.

Tier list:

It is a list of all characters, from the best one to the worst. A tier list can be created by anyone, and because of that it involves a lot of controversy, since it includes both objective and subjective arguments. The most accepted ones are the ones created by the top professional players. It gives a general idea of how good a character is, but it really shouldn’t influence much on picking a character.

Main:

This refers to your main character, the one you love and practice the most.

Secondary:

It is your second most practiced character. Some players may not have one, as they pour all their efforts into their main, but having a secondary is optimal to cover some matchups your main may lose against.

Pocket:

It is your “surprise” character. It is rare to have one, and it is used to throw your opponent off balance as a “last resort,” since most pockets are unusual characters that many players don’t have experience with and may have a poor matchup against.

Fighting:

Mechanics:

Basic:

You must master these in order to fight. It normally includes simple commands for movements, standard attacks and defense.

Advanced:

Mastering these can be the bridge between an amateur fighter and a skilled fighter. Some techniques are complicated to perform, or even understand for many people. They include mechanics like counters, special abilities, directional commands, canceling (cancel an action sooner than usual to perform the next one quicker), actions that affect frame data (a frame is used in all media; in fighting, it refers to how many frames in a second it takes an action to start, affect, and end), and many more unique mechanics that are exclusive to each game.

Approach:

This depends on both the fighter and player themselves. This means how they fight, be it aggressive, defensive, zoner (meaning you control a zone of the stage), and many other unorthodox styles. Changing fighting styles correctly may be the deciding factor to win a match. “Neutral” is a term used when both fighters are distant to one another without acting, as if the match had just started. This is used professionally to analyse all the available options to approach and try to secure a combo.

Opponents:

Never underestimate an opponent, always be one step ahead.

(Leonardo López Pérez, from Mexico City, who at the age of 15 gained fame for beating the top professionals Super Smash Bros. players and quickly became the world’s best Super Smash Bros. player and proud bearer of the title after many years).

Counterpicks:

If you know what character your opponent will pick, you may want to choose a fighter who has the most advantage/better matchup. In some games, even the stage matters as a counterpick.

Combos:

This is slang for combination of moves. Combos can be true, meaning that once the combo has successfully started, your opponent has no way of escaping it; they are impossible to defend, counter attack, or avoid. If your opponent can cancel a combo at any point, then it is not true.

It is seen here the use of moves like punches and kicks (both of which are separated into light, medium and heavy), and directional inputs (like the quarter circle).

Hype:

It’s a play that makes the audience lose their minds! The play of the game. A majority of hype plays are made through complex combos, perfect stocks (beating your opponent without taking any damage), and reads (accurately predicting what your opponent will do and punishing them, as if “reading a book”). Nonetheless, is it better to win boringly or to lose with hype, sending a message? That is yours to decide.

Pressure:

No matter how much you grind (practice as if that is your only purpose in life), at the moment a fight starts, your nerves can get the best of you, and if you are in a tournament, where a lot of people are watching, it will get worse. Calm down. Breathe. Analyze your opponent. Have fun. There’s always a next time.

Conclusion

The increase in both quantity and quality of the fighting games has guaranteed to offer the ideal game that will surely interest anyone with the intent of playing this genre. The competitive scene is rough, full of controversy and hardships, but the rewards of practice and dedication make it worth all the blood, sweat and tears poured into building a reputation of skill to be recognized for years to come by the people in the community, be it spectators or opponents. Either way, the only way to really learn to fight, is to fight. Fighting games are not only greatly challenging, but really fun as well!

[matth1w]

I saw that requests are open here, I hope that they still are. Can I request Tony Stark x Villain reader (around endgame) when she is literally a glitch (teleporting, being unstable, and having the ability to "hack reality", ya know normal glitch stuff) and can change the timeline die to who she is but it will cause her to get deleted. I know it's confusing and I'm sorry if it's too much to understand.

Glitch

Pairing: Tony Stark / Iron Man x Villain!Reader

Summary: You join forces with the enemy to fix the mess Thanos created.

Warnings: Angst

Rating: All

Word Count: 1,797 words

Note: I hope you like it! Thanks for requesting!

Tag: @emilaa2001

You stood defiantly in front of the group. Maybe teleporting into the remaining Avengers’ new headquarters wasn’t the smartest idea but you doubted they’d open up willingly if you rang the doorbell.

“Just… hear me out.”

At Steve’s ‘look of disapproval’ you sighed.

“Look. We all know if I wanted to kill any of you, I could have done it already.” Eyebrows raised around the room.

“And without all this ruckus.” You added, waving your hand around at the armed heroes before you.

Nat spoke up next, “And why should we even give you the chance? Aren’t you one of the bad guys, Y/N?”

You couldn’t help but scoff at that knowing she was using your words against you. It felt especially ironic coming from her.

“If that’s the narrative they spin, then I’ll take it. At least they’re listening.”

Movement behind the group caught your eye. You watched as the others turned to Tony,

‘Stupid’, you thought. ‘They really need to learn to not turn their backs on their enemies.’

Satisfied to see Tony but admittedly distraught at his sullen appearance you stood firmly in your place. You didn’t want your body acting on its own.

His voice was as weak as his body,

“Why are you here, Y/N?”

You smiled at Tony, genuinely happy to see he was alive. Even in the state he was in.

“Would you believe me if I said I was here for you?”, you said, on the edge of flirting.

Thor looked at you with annoyance and Rhodey barked out a bitter laugh.

He spoke up before Tony could reply.

“No really. Why are you here?”

You held your hands up, conceding. It wasn’t a lie, per say. But it wasn’t exactly the truth either.

“I want to help fix this.”

At the stares of the group, you elaborated, waving your arms around as you spoke.

“This. This whole mess Thanos created.”

Now you were on a rant and couldn’t stop. Or rather, didn’t want to. Maybe they’d see your way.

“Destroying half of sentient beings? Okay. Makes sense. We’ve done a pretty shit job. But getting rid of half of all life? Plants and animals too? It’s ridiculous. If he was so hellbent on making a better balance why didn’t he increase the resources or hell, make them unlimited?”

Everyone exchanged looks. You were right and they knew it. They were ready to agree with you when you ruined that.

“Plus, worst takeover of the universe ever. He just snaps and bam disappears. I mean if I had the stones I would…”

At Tony’s pointed look, you cleared your throat.

“The point is,” you let out. “I want to make things right. Or at least to how they were.”

— — —

The team stayed in the living room to discuss after you agreed to leave. And not come back unless they asked you to.

No one spoke. They were all trying to decide if they wanted your help. And why you offered in the first place.

“So she’s like your Loki?” Nat asked dryly, breaking the silence.

Tony turned to look at her with a puzzled face,

“What?”

She leaned forward and uncrossed her arms. “I mean, she’s the person who always betrays you but you keeping giving her chances in the hope she’ll change.”

Thor looked down at that, he knew it was true. But he also knew Loki had proven himself in the end.

Tony looked offended at the notion but Rhodey nodded after thinking for a moment.

“You’re right”

Tony turned to his friend and gave him a look of disbelief.

“Ton, you keep hoping Y/N will be the person you knew. But she’s not going to be. Who knows if she’s even telling the truth now? Her speech wasn’t exactly reassuring.”

Tony couldn’t disagree with that. You were never great with words though. Even before…

— — —

You knew Tony from a long time ago. It felt like a different lifetime. You were a model Stark scientist. One of the best. But when Tony had his “epiphany” you couldn’t continue with the company. Or him.

It seemed so stupid to stop when you had been at the cusp of a breakthrough. You were leading a team designing the next generation of missile-loaded drones. It would change the way wars were fought, decrease causality loss, and allow your name to go down in history.

But Tony has other ideas. Said he didn’t want to continue making weapons of war. Yet he made his suits, countless bots, and Ultron.

— — —

During the five years after the failed attempt to get the stones back from Thanos, you and Tony had grown somewhat close. Not like before, but at least better than it had been. Plus, he had tried to help you with your… problem.

“I feel like it’s my fault”, he admitted one night you two had been staying late at the Thai restaurant you two frequented.

“What is?”, you asked, picking up a spring roll.

Tony looked at you pointedly. Seeing the twinge of sadness behind the annoyance, you put the roll down.

‘Ugh. Feelings’, you thought

You wiped your fingers on a napkin and leaned forward. You were only going to say this once and you didn’t want anyone else to hear. Even though there was no one else in the place except the older chef and his son working the tables.

“Look,” you started. “It wasn’t your fault. Sure you made the stupid decision to stop production. And research. But… it’s my fault I ended up like this.”

At Tony’s surprise that he was trying, but failing to hide, you grimaced but it ended more like a smile.

“I got sloppy. Procedures and precautions didn’t matter. All that mattered was success. So I could change your mind.”

He read between the lines. Knowing you meant more than just getting Stark Industries up and running like it had been.

He held your eyes for a moment before nodding and looking away.

“Sorry it didn’t.” He muttered.

— — —

The swarms of creatures surrounded you. You were teleporting more than you had ever done and suddenly — it hit you.

Killing Thanos had failed. Time travel had failed. And none of you had been able to get the gauntlet from the past Thanos.

Recalling what Tony told you Strange had said about the one outcome. You realized it was you. You were the one chance they had at it.

The stones wouldn’t work. Bruce trying proved that. Nat has already died. You were fighting a losing battle with less than half the team.

Having accepted your fate, you spoke into the coms.

“Tony?”, you croaked. Your tears were already bubbling up.

Tony immediately flew down to you and his helmet faded away.

“Y/N, what’s wrong?”

He looked down to see your glitching hands and grabbed them with his.

“Hey, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

You looked up at him, tears now falling. You nodded.

“Yeah. I know how to beat him. I know…”

“The stones? Yeah I know. We’re trying.”

You shook your head. Squeezing his hands.

“No, it’s me. I have to go deep. Erase him from this timeline. And all timelines.”

Still not understanding but guessing what you were doing, Tony met your eyes, and softly pleaded.

“No, Y/N. It’s too risky. You could be gone too. You can’t… I can’t.”

You took your hands from his and grasped his cheeks, pulling him towards you. Pressing your lips together with every ounce of emotion, you let yourself truly feel what you had always felt. Love.

As you pulled away, you looked into his eyes one last time. Happy you were able to see his love at least once.

You closed your eyes for a moment and pressed your forehead against his. Taking one last breath, you stepped back and smiled at him.

His tearful smile was the last thing you saw before you closed your eyes once more.

You teleported in front of Thanos and thrust your hand inside his chest. Grabbing his heart with your bare hand, you bared your teeth and smiled wickedly at him. All your hatred, all your anger, all the fear and loss and pain that you felt. You dug it all up and brought it forward as you twisted your wrist and enjoyed the suffering of the gasping man before you.

“You. Are. Nothing.”

His wide eyes met yours before you pulled him out of existence alongside you.

— — —

*Bonus mid credit scene*

Tony sat back in his chair and recounted the story once more to the man sitting across from him.

“She pulled him towards her and then they disappeared. Next thing we knew his minions were glitching left and right and then the portals were opening up behind us.”

“And she was gone?,” Ross confirmed.

Tony nodded, “Yeah.”

“And you can’t find her?”

Tony understood why Ross was pressing. You hadn’t been exactly best friends with the CIA. But now, having to confirm he couldn’t find you, it felt like a knife twisting his heart in two.

“No.” He muttered. “I couldn’t find her.”

Ross nodded, trying to be sympathetic.

“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.”

— — —

*Bonus end credit scene*

Tony smiled with mixed emotions as he read the morning paper.

Y/N recognized as hero for defeating Thanos

Although many knew Y/N as Glitch - a villain who famously teleported into the White House, Pentagon, and UK House of Parliament all in one day - the UN, alongside American government agencies recognized Y/N as a hero for her ultimate sacrifice to defeat the titan Thanos.

In a media conference led by Agent Everett Ross of the CIA, Wakandan King T’Challa, and Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), the trio unveiled a dedicated research building named after Y/N.

Everett Ross of the CIA spoke to Y/N’s during the Final Battle against Thanos and said her efforts saved the world and brought back the billions who had been taken during the Snap.

King T’Challa praised Y/N saying, “Without her, our world would have likely been destroyed again. I would not be standing here today if not for the sacrifice of Y/N.”

Stark spoke proudly of Y/N’s work with Stark Industries and showed remorse for her firing which many say led to her failed experiment that caused her to have the ability to teleport and hack reality and eventually become Glitch. 

Stark detailed Y/N’s efforts alongside the Avengers, including the late Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) in undoing the snap Thanos caused in 2018. He revealed the two had a romantic relationship stating, “I will always love Y/N. She was the smartest woman I knew and I will never forget her sacrifice.”

#tony stark #tony stark x reader #tony stark fanfic #tony stark reader insert #iron man #iron man x reader #iron man fanfic #iron man reader insert #villain reader #hero x villain #mcu writing #Marvel MCU #mcu fanfic #MCU fanfiction #angst #marvel angst #marvel

[ebottcatacombs]

Not-Fancy Dates To Take The Boys On

The skelebros’ favorite not-fancy dates. Dedicated to @popatochisssp, whose writing inspired me to make this blog

UT Sans -

Late night shopping cart races. While it’s true he loves a good night’s sleep, he also enjoys staying up late on occasion if some fun times are involved. That being said, he doesn’t care much for fancy restaurants or crowded theme parks, but grocery stores are tame and full of potential entertainment material. Plus, there’s a sort of giddy feeling he gets seeing a place that’s usually full of people so empty. It’s a strange sort of giddy, bordering on fear. Like when you ride a roller coaster.

Ideally, the date consists of pushing each other in carts (he’ll urge you to make the “nyoom” noise when you push him) eating free samples (he brought disguises you can sneak extras) and goofing off in the kid toy section until you get asked to leave. Then he’s content to loiter in the parking lot, staring up at the stars with your hand in his.

UT Papyrus -

Fashion show! Like Sans, Pap’s ideal date happens in a store. However, he prefers unique clothing stores or big bustling malls. They’re so exciting! You better believe he’s bringing a boom box full of fashion-montage beats. You pick outfits for each other to try on and take tons of pictures. Papyrus is full of compliments the whole time, praising how well you wear each outfit and how this one scarf brings out the color of your cheeks when you blush. Compliment him back and he’ll be beaming the rest of the day.

You two usually don’t end up buying anything. If you see something you really like, Papyrus will look for ways to improve the design and you something similar but better (usually covered in flames) because let’s face it, clothes are expensive, and there’s no need to spend all that money when it’s more fun (and usually cheaper) to sew something. After the date, he takes you to get smoothies.

UF Sans -

At first, UF Sans tried to take you to one of those couples pottery classes. He was quick to get annoyed with the teacher, though, and you ended up leaving early. Now craft dates are held in his garage. He tries to mix up what you do, getting clay for sculpting and modgepodge for greeting cards, but when it’s his turn to choose the craft you two end up tinkering with car parts or making something more practical than knick-knacks or post cards. He likes to feel productive, and he likes using his hands.

He won’t ever say it, but he loves when you ask him for help. Not in a creepy way — he respects your independence and loves to see you thrive on your own — but if you ask his expertise on something you’re making it boosts his confidence and makes him feel useful. He loves when he gets to sit behind you and help position your hands the right way, murmuring directions in your ear as he walks you through steps.

UF Papyrus -

While this man definitely appreciates a classy resturant, UF Papyrus can’t resist the allure of a cozy bookshop. The smell of coffee and paper soothes him, and even such a loud guy can appreciate the quiet. The date usually starts with pastries and fancy coffee. He likes to impress you with his super refined coffee taste (you can tell by the look on the barista’s face he orders something simple in a complicated and round-about way) and depending on what you order he’ll make a teasing comment about your sweet tooth. By the third date, he knows your order by heart.

Usually Papyrus will give you time to look around by yourself while he writes in his journal. Or you can sit beside him and read yourself, or write. But he enjoys the quiet moments between you two when you just enjoy each other’s presence.

By far his favorite part of the date is the journey to the romance section. He grabs some classics off the shelf and looooooms close to you, lowering his voice and reading off some of the sweetest words you’ve heard. He is absolutely preening and puffing with pride once he’s got you blushing. Get him back by reciting a love poem to him. Make sure it’s super corny and tooth-rottingly sweet. He will be the blushiest boy.

US Sans -

Gym dates or park dates. Really, any date where you two can burn up some energy. He enjoys roller skating and treadmill dancing, so expect him to show off. Boy can also lift like no one’s business. If you’re not particularly sporty, no worries! He’s happy to lead you in some yoga or just take a walk with you. He also finds pushing you on the swing irresistibly romantic, the nerd.

It’s important to say that while he’ll encourage you on these dates, he’ll never push your limits. If you don’t feel comfortable in a gym that’s fine, and if you can’t keep up with his excessive amount of energy he understands. As far as dates go, he’s super flexible and accommodating. You want a chill picnic? Perfect! He knows the spot. You prefer an arcade over the roller rink? No worries, watch him destroy his high score on Dance Dance Revolution! Overall, his main focus is showing you a good time.

US Papyrus -

You might just be surprised by the amount of energy US Papyrus has on your date. It’s by no means as intense as his brother’s idea of a workout, but he enjoys exploring the outdoors. Impromptu dates happen quite often, as he has a habit of staring out of the window, and if he sees a bird he needs in his journal he’ll ask if you’re up for an adventure. He has an impressive collection of drawings and pressed leaves in his book. Once you come along, he’ll also pick flowers and thread them in your hair.

If you two are going on a planned excursion, you’ll need boots, water, snacks, and a machete. Papyrus doesn’t care to follow paths, so you’ll make plenty of your own. Sometimes you go with a goal in mind (an abandoned fort he heard a rumor about, a certain type of mushroom he’s never seen before) and sometimes you just walk. He’s an excellent conversationalist, and you find talking to him feels easy and natural. You two don’t take any pictures, but Papyrus likes to sketch your adventures. You’re in all of his drawings.

SF Sans -

Given how busy SF Sans is most of the time, he actually prefers simple, easy-going dates. As much as he loves to get dressed up and show you off, taking you to fine art museums and treating you to expensive drinks, homey dates will always be his favorites. He enjoys a good game night with you. Gin rummy, bananagrams, chess. Something stimulating but not tiring (like his job.) You two often break out games and puzzles on the weekends, enjoying a dinner of delivery whatever (veggie pizza is his favorite) and whatever alchohol you can scrounge from the cabinet.

As the night goes on, the games usually turn to things like truth-or-dare and twenty questions. You play ‘never have I ever’ and take shots from those paper mouthwash cups. It’s his favorite part of the week. He gets to unwind with you, and he doesn’t even have to drive anywhere. He doesn’t even have to wear pants! He is honestly so relieved to be out of his royal guard uniform you do not even know. He insists pajamas are necessary for maximum date coziness (plus you look adorable and extra soft.) The date ends with you falling asleep on top of each other.

SF Papyrus -

Blanket fort dates. Look, SF Papyrus is... not fancy. Please don’t make him be fancy. He’s depressed and has little energy, so this is the perfect date for him. Crowds overwhelm him and he already has a tendency to nest, plus you two can fall asleep all cuddled up. He also puts a lot of effort in the blanket fort. Fresh-baked cookies, fairy lights, teddy bears, the works. He makes them functional and beautiful, and you always get to pick the movies. Often times he feels like he should be able to take you on a better date, even if you insist this is more than fine, so he tries to make everything extra perfect to show you he cares and is willing to put work into your relationship.

Papyrus also has an old record player he’ll set up on these dates. Once you two start to wind down for the evening he’ll put on a gentle tune and gather you up in his arm, cuddling you to his chest as he sings. His voice is soft and warm, just a bit scratchy, and you can smell something smoky and sweet on his teeth. He massages your head until you fall asleep.

HT Sans -

At the end of every month the community holds a farmer’s market, and every month Sans takes you on a farmer’s market date. Usually crowds make him nervous, but this is a decidedly tiny meet-up, mostly consisting of people just trying to get by, people trying to continue a family tradition, people just starting out in their passion, that sort of thing. To your surprise, Sans isn’t as reserved as usual the first time he takes you to the market. He cracks jokes, talks to vendors, buys a kid a yarn doll. Deep down, he’s a real people-person who loves to see others smile.

The people at the farmer’s market love you. They coo over what a cute couple you and Sans are. You’re offered a free sample of organic lotion and collect some soup recipes. A little kid introduces you to their teddy bear. One lady tells you about what a joy Sans is, how he always buys something from each of the vendors, encouraging them and giving them hope. They’re so glad the two of you are happy together.

You look forward to the end of every month.

HT Papyrus -

Gardening dates, all the way. On the surface gardening quickly becomes a passion of HT Papyrus. The king and queen used to garden, he tells you, planting golden flowers next to a patch of tulips. And isn’t gardening lovely? It’s an endless circle of food, it looks pretty, and plants are such good listeners. You are also a good listener and very pretty, he tells you. You blush. He puts a hand over yours, helping you pat the soil down nice and snug.

Papyrus has a green thumb, you find out. He’s attentive to the needs of the different types of plants, and is patient while waiting for things to grow. He encourages his plants constantly (“you can do it, I believe in you, you’re the loveliest vine!”) One day you two set up an irrigation system, and between figuring out how much water should go where and how to adjust the system for when it’s time to rotate crops, you two became so very confused. Stumped, you laid in the sun, tossing solutions back and forth. You were growing frustrated, but when you looked to Papyrus he was smiling. When you asked him why, he simply replied he hasn’t been this excited to solve a puzzle in a very, very long time.

You smiled back at him.

#undertale headcanons #ut sans #ut papyrus #uf sans #uf papyrus #us sans #us papyrus #sf sans #sf papyrus #ht sans #ht papyrus #popatochisssp #undertale imagines