#we don't get enough of his interactions with rose to know what his intentions with her were

[variousqueerthings]

TOP THINGS I'M EXCITED FOR IN THE NEW RTD RUN

getting the obvious out of the way, ncuti gatwa

but more specifically, ncuti gatwa is going in with such an exciting awareness of what he got out of doctor who and how that will inform his take

and both he and millie gibson are firmly taking doctor who into the next generation. I don't know a lot about her (and youknow, I'm getting older, so she seems awfully young, but that's really all I know and isn't enough to form an opinion on -- but susan vibes? hoping she won't be a rose!repeat, but I really really don't think that's the intention here), but gatwa is also next!gen whovian (like me), which is very fun. it's a nerdy show, I like it when nerds are involved

the wardrobe is looking so goooood. three also had quite an extensive repertoire especially, and this feels quite closely aligned with that campness (not specifically the exact style ofc, new doctor, but Vibes)

the other obvious out of the way, dtennant and catherine tate

specifically that there's a lot of potential in the 60th anniversary to properly wrap up ten's and donna's arcs in a way that organically interacts with the previous ending they had. some really fun potential to play with theme and genre in that, I'm a sucker for recontextualisation, and for dtennant having a bad time (but then maybe at the end... an okay time?)

I hope this will also more effectively merge the rtd run with moffat's and chibnall's. they did do a bit more of that as they went along, but I think they both went too hard on the reset button (especially moffat). we did then get some more... what I'll call continuity, but it took a bit (look, I know, the continuity is madness on this show, but I like to know it's the same story at least, and not totally excise what came before)

also donna has a kid now, played by yasmin finney. I'm excited for all of that, the fact that she's called rose, casting yasmin finney, another form of bringing it into the present, rather than it being all about the past, the fact that she's teased in the trailer, but there's so much more to see

speaking of casting -- camp and queerness! so many of the casting announcements have been queer actors, and you know rtd loves queering shit up, and he's got soooo much more freedom to do so now than he did in 2005. It won't just be in the casting, it'll be in the stories and the character-writing

references to classic!who and other dw!materials, as always, and of course rtd loves that. I just like how much of nu!who is having fun with classic!who. and updating it of course

I said it before but. I like watching dtennant be upset. he does it very well. perhaps even tears who knows...

EDIT: CONSIDERING THE NEW THEME SONG REVEAL ALSO FORGOT TO SAY MURRAY GOLD'S MUSIC!!!

some things I'm hoping for:

that the continuity of the last series won't be severed, especially in regards to the various regenerations that have been since ten

similarly that ten's arc interacts both with how they died/what happened with donna, and that they've been other bodies since then and so there has been growth and change, but what does that mean to a multi-lifed being?

that ruby and the doctor won't have a romantic will-they-won't-they and that generally the doctor continues to be a character through which those sorts of things can be interrogated (perhaps more deliberately now than in the past....)

that there will be some more ideas about gender, as has been increasingly played with over the last few years

that ncuti gatwa being black influences the kinds of stories being told in regards to what kind of history and future is important

that rose's part in the specials is important (I mean, even the fact that she's donna's kid is already important, but on her own as well -- that she gets something cool to do)!

that UNIT won't be toooo involved. I'm currently watching three from the start and I remember that UNIT does a lot in that one, and that's fine, I get that there's precedent. but also they're not my favourite part of DW, generally the doctor being associated with Institutions of a military nature. makes sense for three, who's relatively trapped on earth, and I like the way it's one of humanity's ways of reacting to alien life both in classic and nu!who, but never trust military. anyway, UNIT's fine for the specials, also ties in previous seasons with kate, but hoping won't be so much in ncuti gatwa's arcs. or that there's more conflict involved with them being involved

that new writers are brought onboard, especially women, black writers, and millennials

that it'll still be sincere. that it won't suffer from irony poisoning and over-reliance on references (don't think the latter is so much the issue), and that the bigger budget won't erode its ability to tell deeply personal intimate person stories, which has been an issue over the last few years and could be a problem in future. this isn't the show of massive explosions and michael by action, it's the show or a bunch of nerds who want to see practical effect aliens and cry about them

#doctor who #dw #david tennant #rtd #russell t davies #catherine tate #ncuti gatwa #millie gibson #the doctor has travelled with minors before -- not that millie is a minor #but we dont know how old ruby is yet do we? #and whether she's 19 playing 19 or 19 playing a 15 or 16 or 17 yr old #there's more im sure but off the top of my head this is it

[thescribeoflostmemories]

The Doll House

Yan! Modern Childe x 'pet'! Fem! reader x yan! modern Pantalone (Xtra Dessert!)

Minors do not interact or better yet, if you're uncomfortable with dark fiction. You may look away and nothing will be gone from you.

Thirsty fans, come git yer round 2 dessert. I know you guys have a separate stomach for it. Have a mood board for this fic too.

Warnings: R18+ Explicit content, Using Childe's actual name, Dub-con/non-con(?), bondage (ribbons), cosplay, use of titles/pet names: Sir, kitty, sweetie etc.., And more unnamable things to come. (+ Bad writing of smut)

This is my apology to you guys since I ran into some difficulty making the requests given in my inbox or chat, because I'll be busy for the next couple of days for personal reasons. - Puppeteer

"Y'all are thirsty, ps. Scribe doesn't know about this so please keep it between you and me." - Falaila

¶🗡️¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥🗡️¶

"Give me a little twirl, Darling." Pantalone commanded as you move your body around in the black lolita style cosplay.

"A-ah… " letting out a low moan as you took a step. Feeling the cat tail wag inside of your rear, no doubt that Pantalone got it just for his entertainment. Sweet chimes of bells ever bounce along with you as you get near the Regrator who sat upon a red velvet-y couch.

"Now, that's a good girl. Big improvement from last time." He smiled, having you on his lap, nipping at your exposed skin. Savoring the sight of you wearing the things he picked. Especially that collar of yours, customised embossed on the leather with his title. Hands roam around your body while your head rests on his chest. You couldn't do anything with your hands tied by a ribbon.

"Pan-!" Feeling the sharp pain on your bare bottom under your skirt making you yelp.

"Tsk, tsk, _. We talked about this, address me properly." Pushing up the frilly skirt before resting his hand on your butt cheek, rubbing it.

"I'm s-sorry, master." Whimpering as you buried your face against his chest out of humiliation.

"Mm, there we go." He hummed seemingly satisfied, it had been at least a few months after taking you in. His other gloved hand stroked your head, occasionally playing with the cat ear headband. Meanwhile, the hand that's on your ass teased you by pushing the tail a bit further in before rubbing your exposed cunt.

"Does my little kitten miss her master filling her up?" Teasing as to get a lewd reaction from you, while leaving love marks all over your neck. Knowing this would be enough to piss off Ajax once he comes back.

"We have all the time to ourselves, sweetie." Inserting his fingers in your sopping wet hole. "Oh, rose." He hissed when he felt you rubbing against him on his lap. Pulling his digits out and forcing you to lick it clean. Hesitant lips pried open as your tongue identifies the substance. “ Tasty?” Another jest, a humoured chuckle resonated from his throat.

He retreats his hands from your body, first you hear the jingle of his belt, then his zipper. It caused you to shiver in fear. " Don't be scared now." He mused before forcefully pulling you down on his lap, entering your warm entrance.

"Ngh… Master… It's too much..!" You were about to say his name again but rather not get humiliated. Tears welled up in your eyes as the pain slowly subsided into pleasure. He could feel you squeezing him tight, another spank is earned this time, his hand just squeeze your buttcheek.

"Shush, you take it as it is with pride." Kissing the side of your head before moving your hips to meet with his, letting your mouth make incoherent, lewd noises. What adds to your mortification is that the immoral act is on display to whomever enters or opens the door.

Jealous eyes met with his, the Regrator merely smirked and thrust his hips more. Hearing those sweet melodious moans from your lips satisfies him along with the saccharine tolls of the bells. Baby blue eyes that peered from the crevice of the door, stared coldly at him with an ill intent. His grip on your ass hasn't left, with one final thrust, he came inside of you. Some of his cum dribbled out, biting his lips as he felt you also came all over him.

"Mm, fuck… Who do you like better, doll. Me, Or a child?" He's asking a rhetorical question. Because he knows you'll choose him, right? It is also to taunt the little peeping tom in the room who made eye contact with him. His smile turned smug when he saw a child giving him the middle finger from the crack between the doors. In response to that, Pantalone's hand made contact with your pinkish butt cheek again earning another moan from your candied lips.

Before you could even speak, the door slammed open. "You fucking bastard, getting a head start!" Looking back at Ajax who had his shirt tattered a bit, he got into a fight earlier. While Pantalone just hummed and pulled you closer to his chest.

"Look, you're scaring her.." He cooed, kissing your forehead. It irked Ajax as you started to dread the sounds of him taking off his pants. "Oh, I'll fucking show you." Grumbled the 11th seat.

"W-wait-! I'm not ready- ah!" The cat tail is removed from your teased asshole as his cock slowly sinks in, replacing it. Letting out a loud groan, both men felt how your gummy walls clenched around them.

But that didn't stop the ginger haired combative man. "H-huu.. s-sir..!" He didn't hear your plea as he grabbed onto your bound hands from behind and used it to pull and push back into you.

"Fuck..! So, tight!" Ajax huff in your scent as your voice bounces off the room he can't even hear the sweet sounds of the bells placed on you.

Not seeing that scheming smile on Pantalone's face, he wasn't lying when he told you that he'll have more time with you than with Tartaglia. Especially when Ajax just came back from work. He figured that Pierro would assign the youngest to another turf for another shake down soon, leaving less time with you.

"Hope you don't mind working overtime, sweetheart. Unless you want us to breed you just before our wedding tomorrow."

#fatui x reader #genshin x reader #pantalone x reader #pantalone x you #childe x y/n #genshin fanfic #yandere pantalone #yandere childe #genshin smut #Falaila's Dessert #Scribe's not here!

[thewertsearch]

TheWertsearch shipping chart

Ver. 1, Act 5.1

Let's get into it!

I've included every Player and a couple of wildcards. I thought about adding minor characters like the Guardians and Exiles, but we don't know too much about their dynamics yet. For what it's worth, I think the first three Exiles would be a cute triad, and might add WQ when we've seen more of her. I don't really ship any of the Guardians, since we know next to nothing about their personalities.

I'm going to mostly focus on potential dynamics. There aren't many canon ships in here, but hopefully that'll change as we move through the comic, because I honestly got pretty invested in some of these while working on this post. Let's dive in!

Hearts

Rose/Kanaya is an obvious lock. I've talked about it before, and my thoughts haven't really changed, so I won't repeat myself here. Their dynamic is great, and it's even better now that we know Kanaya used to idolize Rose. I can't wait to see them talk that one out. At this point, I'm 100% convinced that they should be a couple, and about 90% convinced that it's going to happen in canon. Bring on the #RosemarySweep!

John/Karkat is an intriguing prospect. John's optimism is exactly what a sourpuss like Karkat needs, and their conversations are clearly having a positive effect on him. Conversely, Karkat's decisive leadership style might, in time, rub off on John. The two complement each other well - and since it's clear that Karkat doesn't really hate John, I think they're well-placed for a red romance, rather than a black one.

Karkat/Nepeta has potential. Nepeta clearly sees something in him, and I don't think it's just the 'cat' in his name. They both have a romantic streak, although neither of them seems all that experienced with (concupiscent) romance. I don't know, I just think it might be cute! I could also envision a minor moirallegiance between them. Karkat isn't that hot-tempered, but chilling out with Nepeta and bouncing ships off each others' heads might help him let off some steam.

Tavros/Gamzee would be pretty cute. Tavros is used to being Vriska's punching bag - and, more broadly, he's used to conversations where you're supposed to be punching. Gamzee, too, is frequently insulted, even by people who call themselves his friends. Bring these two trolls together, though, and Alternia's antagonistic social norms completely disappear. They're a breath of fresh air, and I think they deserve a quiet corner in the Veil to play Fiduspawn together.

Terezi/Vriska would make a great power couple, and I want to see them take on the world together - but I don't see it happening any time soon. They both have a lot of growing to do - and besides, I think another quadrant is in the cards first.

Jack/Droog. Yes, really. This one isn't complex, I just think they'd be funny together. Plus, a hot-blooded, stab happy gangster pairs perfectly with a stone-cold, calculating partner. It's like cookies and cream!

Dave/Jade is another one I've discussed before. Jade is playfully, authentically herself, and Dave, who's still treating life like a bit he needs to commit to, might have something to learn from her. There's a real person behind that persona, and Jade likes him.

I'm a Jade/Rose truther - but there's not much to report on this, since the game seems intent on keeping them from interacting much. Hopefully Act 5.2 will see them working together in the Medium, and we can really shine a light on this dynamic.

Gamzee/Eridan was initially a joke ship. Eridan wants a matesprit, but he'd only date a highblood, and Gamzee's the only one without that quadrant filled, so Eridan better learn to ride a unicycle. Except... weirdly enough, it sort of works? Unlike Feferi, Gamzee wouldn't be stressed out by being around Eridan - and despite what you might expect, Eridan doesn't even seem to dislike Gamzee. He opened up to him about Feferi, at least a little - and even slammed a Faygo when Gamzee suggested it. When talking to Gamzee, Eridan wouldn't be able to dance around the point, like he was doing with Feferi and Kanaya. Gamzee wouldn't pick on his 'hints', so he'd have to resort to direct, open communication, which might be good for him. Plus - you can say a lot of things about Eridan, but he sure ain't a quitter. Gamzee's Sopor addiction would annoy the hell out of him, and there's a decent chance he might actually be able to annoy him off the stuff. If we go with the moirallegiance angle, Gamzee would probably leave Eridan too baffled to give into any Alternian bloodlust - and any overblown genocide plans would fly right over Gamzee's head. Wow, this really did start as a joke, but I'm beginning to convince myself. I... guess we'll see what happens?

Diamonds

I'm convinced Kanaya -> Terezi would work. Terezi is violent and dangerous - but unlike Vriska, her violence takes the form of mind games. Kanaya is good at mind games, and I think she'd make an excellent, Machiavellian moirail for Terezi, using ConversationWithAVeryStupidGirl.txt-style rhetorical traps to trick her into good behavior. She could even collaborate with her future girlfriend, Rose, to design clever ways to keep Terezi from getting more of her friends killed. And you know Terezi would love it.

That leaves Vriska unattended. We can't have that, so it's time to make a case for Feferi -> Vriska. I think Feferi would make a lot more progress with Vriska than she ever did with Eridan. The biggest problem with Eridan was that he was insincere - he wasn't honest about his proclivities or intentions, and Feferi was working her ass off just to figure out what he was thinking. By contrast, Vriska is extremely sincere about her emotions - I don't think she can fake a feeling. Feferi will know exactly what she's getting with Vriska, because Vriska will constantly tell her. Feferi could pacify Vriska, I'm sure of it. She's cheerful, persistent, physically powerful, immune to Vriska's psionics, and has killed thousands to feed her lusus. Feferi understands Vriska.

Sollux <--> Aradia is a potential bidirectional moirallegiance. They both have their violent moods, and they know each other well enough to recognize and help each other through them. Aradia could potentially use her necromancy to get the soon-to-be-dead out of Sollux's head - and he might be able to remove Aradia's violent impulses entirely, using his technical know-how to revert Equius' changes and turn her body into a true reflection of her living self. Honestly, they still have a shot at hearts, too - but I think diamonds is the way to go for now.

Feferi -> Equius might work - he'd have to listen to a violet-blood. Plus, spending time with the princess might help Equius learn that the Empire is bullshitting him about the hemospectrum. After all, she's at the top of the totem pole - and yet, she's against a lot of what the Empire stands for. What gives?

Spades

Jack\Lord English was originally just a joke, but I've decided to start shipping it earnestly for shits and giggles - especially since we've learned about kismesissitude, a quadrant they fit perfectly into. Maybe there's more than one reason that Slick was so single-minded about catching the guy.

To be honest, Vriska\Terezi is basically inevitable. There's no way they peacefully talked it out during the session, and now they're stuck on a tiny meteor together. These are resourceful girls - they're probably already plotting their next moves, and they'd be fools not to factor each other into whatever plans they're making. They will come to blows, and then they'll realize how much they're enjoying the experience. I think this will be our first truly balanced kismesissitude, and I'm very interested in seeing where the chips fall.

Clubs

Aradia -> Vriska/Tavros. Someone needs to keep these two apart. Robot!Aradia doesn't have the ideal temperament for auspisticism, but things are far from ideal at this point. She's Tavros' old FLARP teammate, and even in her current state, she's still invested in his well-being. This might also be a way for Aradia to reconcile with Tavros, since it doesn't seem like they've spoken much since they died. What does Tavros think of this new Aradia, and will his opinion change if she starts to intercede against Vriska on his behalf? I want to find out.

Feferi -> Equius/Aradia. This one would be so easy. All Feferi would need to do is tell Equius to back the fuck off, and he'd be obliged to obey. I don't like the hemospectrum, but if we're stuck with it for now, let's at least use it for good, hm?

That's it! It was the first shipping chart I've ever made, and I had a lot of fun with it. I'll be doing this again the next time we 'finish' an Act, and it'll be interesting to see how this evolves over time.

See you next time, for the beginning of Act 5.2!

#homestuck liveblog #full liveblog #act 5 #deep dives

[lostlegendaerie]

Do you have any backstories concocted for Drew?

Oh man. OH MAN. DO I EVER.

I think I talked about this on a @torchickentacos post about the Deoxys movie but let's look at what we know about Drew:

He's from LaRousse City, a movie exclusive location that's super high tech that features it's own battle tournament

He cried when he lost his first Contest (according to Solidad)

Rosalia is his first Pokemon and he gets VERY upset when any of his Pokemon are injured and generally seems to baby them (except in one instance, but we can talk about that another time)

He can put on An Obvious Show of a suave coordinator but he dislikes doing it and will drop the act around friends (Fan With A Plan, Spontaneous Combusken)

For his origin, it's such a weird contrast to have your Grass-Type Coordinator rival come from the all-robots professional battle island city. He was in the perfect environment to do Battle Frontier (is that the name?) or other similar things, but he goes clearly in the opposite direction. However, it's clearly important to him and he needles May about being nervous/gimmicky with her frisbees. Additionally, he challenges Ash to a battle (and wins) specifically to make a point about type match ups not being everything and Coordinating needing battle skills as well. Coordinating is his Pokemon Journey, and he thinks people don't take it seriously enough.

Drew is very hard on himself, too; Solidad said he cried, but they're clearly on good terms now so he may not have been upset at her so much as upset at himself for letting his Pokemon down. He shows May a similar side by complimenting her Pokemon but reminding her that she needs to work on herself as a coordinator (specifically that her indecision will make her Pokemon confused when she's learning about combinations and that Bulbasaur doesn't listen to her very well in Fan With A Plan and shouldn't be used on stage). He also cites feeling "weak like (May)" as his reason for getting upset at Absol for not doing well. Aside from that specific instance right around a contest loss (I think) he babies his Pokemon and is very often seen treating them with Potions in background shots. He cares deeply about his Pokemon, and pushes himself very hard to do well with them.

That being said, he dislikes being the center of attention himself. He deflects compliments and avoids signing fan-made merchandise, and is clearly uneasy around the star-struck Brianna. While he always attempts to be graceful in his interactions with fans, he can be pretty scathing when it comes to coordinators like Harley and Jessie who dress up and make themselves part of the show. (He would NEVER have survived Sinnoh Coordination) Even when giving May the roses, he downplays the act and pretends they're for her Beautifly instead for the first one and a half, slowly abandoning the pretense without ever saying it out loud. And if we pretend him never discussing Solidad to May was intentional and not sloppy writing, Drew is someone who keeps people a bit at arms reach and avoids directly being friends with anyone who hasn't fully earned his respect.

So OVERALL I could absolutely see him having a falling out with a more Battle-focused family and leaving home with no intention of returning except to prove them wrong about Coordinating; very strong artsy son of a business-focused family energy, here, especially with Roselia. He picks a FLOWER, one that is both beautiful and dangerous, to be his partner when he leaves LaRousse. That feels spiteful and deliberate.

So that's why he's probably Ghetsis' long lost son, whose insistence of heading off on a Pokemon Journey that focuses more on peaceful displays of power than strictly combat would have influenced or been influenced by N, but the abandonment caused Ghetsis to crack down every harder on controlling his remaining child so that his company would have an heir and, failing that, fled to Unova to establish power in a different way entirely in a worst scenario Gozaburo Kaiba analogy. :)

#did I make that last paragraph up just to be funny? yes #am I implying Ghetsis adopted TWO boys just because they had green hair? also yes #pokemon drew #Pokemon anime

[futureforged]

LAST UPDATED FEB 4, 2024 [ … ] These are subject to change over time  /  at my partners request as threads progress. If you’d like to become a main & we are mutuals, feel free to interact with my MAINS CALL or talk to me OOC.

                            ◆      @nightlyvisitor

┆  ( TAG )   —   ❝ You’re a new day rising ; you’re a brand new sky. ❞ . [ NIGHTLYVISITOR ] ┆  ( SHIP TAG )   —   You make the street lights reappear & I feel bright when you stand near. [ ; ] JAYCE / RAYMON ➤ 〔 NIGHTLYVISITOR 〕

      *RAYMON BLACKSTONE. — Resident Evil ↳ PINBOARD. ↳ PLAYLIST.

             ROMANTIC / INFATUATION    💖💕 ( … ) Having been the newest addition to the BSAA, Talis knew it wasn’t a place to make friends. The work they were tasked with doing would no doubt be constantly strenuous, harsh & unforgiving, but ultimately, he knew it’d make a difference in preventing more outbreaks like the one in Raccoon all those years before. Though the pressure is heavy, he finds himself relying a lot on another Operative, Raymon Blackstone throughout his employment. As they both continue their respective jobs within the BSAA, they take to relaying information to one another in an effort to make complete sure their efforts are actually making a difference. When the threat of another global apocalypse looms near constantly, each perceived ally bearing the potential to be another new enemy, it’s a justified paranoia shared by both. Though perhaps the simple partnership has burrowed its roots far beneath the veneer of “friendship” at this point...

                            ◆      @luxcruor

┆  ( TAG )   —   ❝ Knowing little of your wounding ; share our mending all the same ❞ . [ LUXCRUOR ] ┆  ( SHIP TAG )   —   Show me where the delicate ends. [ ; ] JAYCE / SHORI ➤ 〔 LUXCRUOR 〕

      *SHORI NARA. — Multifandom OC / Arcane ↳ PINBOARD. ↳ PLAYLIST.

             ROMANTIC / INFATUATION    💖💕 ( … ) It took a lot to surprise him these days — Jayce hadn't expected Shori to make such a strong impact on his life. But then again, maybe he should have. A shy thing, she’s flower-like in how she leans towards the sun, petal softened kindness offered quietly with a tell-tale gentleness. She’s honest, reliable in a way not much else was lately, & though he didn’t plan on it, he comes to see her as a close ally, a friend to rely on that sparks at his own softness. The kindly artist leaves her mark, traded words steeped in an airy lightness passed on with dazzling smiles & friendly laughter , all enough to hook him deep like a lure. With her past still remaining such a carefully kept mystery, Jayce is determined to return the stable reliability she’s given him.

                          ◆      @witchembrace

┆  ( TAG )   —   ❝ Seen your heart don't you forget. All that's past are what comes next. ❞ . [ WITCHEMBRACE ] ┆  ( SHIP TAG )   —   Love in my arms & the sun in my eyes. [ ; ] JAYCE / SUMMER ➤ 〔 WITCHEMBRACE 〕

      *SUMMER ROSE. — RWBY / League of Legends ↳ PINBOARD. ↳ PLAYLIST.

             PLATONIC / INFATUATION    💙💕 ( … ) A mysterious stranger with seemingly nothing but wholly good intentions. No strings attached to her goodwill, Jayce isn’t quite sure what to make of Summer. But … she hasn’t given him much reason to feel so truly on edge. With a sunbright personality that does fit to her name, he feels an urge to try getting to better know her. It’s not often Piltover houses the genuinely kind ... perhaps she truly means well. TO BE FURTHER UPDATED.

                            ◆      @pitgritted

┆  ( TAG )   — ❝ Shine razor eyes before the walls come down. Wilder than lions ; louder than sound. ❞ . [ PITGRITTED ] ┆  ( SHIP TAG )   — You've got diamonds for teeth. [ ; ] JAYCE / SETT ➤ 〔 PITGRITTED 〕

      *SETTRIGH. — League of Legends ↳ PINBOARD. ↳ PLAYLIST.

             PLATONIC / RIVALRY / INFATUATION    💙💜💕 ( … ) He’s heard rumours & loud whispers of the Pit, of the man in charge of it all. Maybe a foolish idea to start, but curiosity always did have a way with luring him in, in deactivating his suspicion in favour of more hopefully naïve wonder. But he’s not a fool, not a complete one. When the inventor decides to seek the other out, he has a one of a kind offer of sorts in mind : a partnership to help him start creating again on top of offering Sett some shiny new training bots & inventions to make his fights a little more interesting. A first step in countering the ugly reality of his creations serving a more violent, harmful purpose, though maybe he can see that they hold protective, defensive purpose as well. Too bad he hadn’t accounted for having to navigate the other’s constantly present mix of fondly infuriating challenge. For better or for worse, Sett spurs Jayce on in a way that’s hard to explain. Maybe it’s better left unspoken.

                            ◆      @burntscars

┆  ( TAG )   —   ❝ The ashes of disaster drift to you ; All your dreams of change are coming true. ❞ . [ BURNTSCARS ]

      *AMALA SHARMA. — Multifandom OC / League of Legends ↳ PINBOARD. ↳ PLAYLIST.

             PLATONIC    💙 ( … ) He wasn’t looking for any advice, wasn’t looking to shine a light on his short comings when they were still so painfully raw. But when a freshened perspective offered from an unexpected source manages to ease him into opening up, actually helps him better face all that’d recently happened, he holds the experience close. The true reality of magic & all its many possibilities still weigh heavy on Jayce’s mind, but with a wiser opinion offered from Amala, he feels more stable taking it all head on than he has in a while. Since meeting her & making her acquaintance, her mysterious nature has captured his intrigue enough to allow his walls to lower. An offering of sorts in thanks for her help, her blunt but genuine nature is one he greatly admires.

                            ◆      @deathsmark

┆  ( TAG )   —   ❝ Kill the chaos ;; find the balance. ❞ . [ DEATHSMARK ]

      *ZED. — League of Legends ↳ PINBOARD. ↳ PLAYLIST.

             UNDECIDED    🤍 ( … ) A mysterious stranger who seems to have urgent business within Piltover & her sister city, Zaun. Jayce’s gut instinct guides him to investigate further, to make absolutely sure it’s nothing more than passing business, harmless, easy to solve. Though with his current pattern of luck? He has a strong feeling it won’t be anything quite so simple. TO BE FURTHER UPDATED.

#➤ ꜰɪʟᴇᴅ ᴀꜱ . . . // links. ( … ) MAINS. #A reminder that if you’d like to collaborate on any of them just lemme know and I’ll send an invite link 🙏💕 #I hope you guys like them eeee

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi mbti notes, long time follower and thankful for your blog. I’m an INFP. I’m wondering if I’m in an Si loop at the moment and not thinking logically. Four months out of a breakup, and I am utterly convinced I will never find a partner as good for me again. It seems very Si loop as when I say that I can hear how ridiculous it sounds, and not using any Ne to see how many people could be good for me.

However whenever I try to remind myself of that I get thrown by the objective fact that my ex (ESTJ) was genuinely excellent. He was extremely compassionate and caring, showing an interest in all my hobbies and doing warm things for me, very intelligent, good looking, successful, blah blah blah, organised, our hobbies matched, our core values matched although we were different on the surface and with cognitive functions. Treated me really well, and genuinely warm hearted and with a touching innocence. Objectively I know I’m gonna struggle to find this again.

I know you might be thinking, “but you broke up right?” So it can’t have been all sunshine and rainbows. Well it wasn’t, because of me. I have past attachment trauma and I wasn’t ready. In fact jn the relationship I acted a lot like I was in Te grip. I was triggered by his confidence and straight forwardness and became critical, cold, harsh, detached and started to think we weren’t right and that (missing Ne) someone out there was better. He eventually got sick of my shit and left. Fair enough. I’ve done a lot of introspection since and I’m really regretful and wish we could have another chance but in true ESTJ fashion he has made his choice and that’s that, which I understand.

I just feel I’ll never find such a good match again. Is this Si loop thinking or is it based in truth, given that it was me who wasn’t evolved to the same level as him and stuffed it up?

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

In a relationship, you won't find the truth by only hearing one side of the story. I'm only hearing one side, so I'm not in a position to tell you what is true. Deep down, only you know whether you're being completely honest about what happened. Only you know whether you have been as objective and fair as possible in incorporating all the relevant facts from both sides of the story. Remember that one of the major challenges of being Fi dom is lack of objectivity, so it is right for you to question whether you've grasped the bigger picture.

As a general rule, it takes two people to create an unhealthy relationship dynamic. Thus, when an intimate relationship fails, there is some fault to be found on both sides, though both parties may not be equally at fault. You seem to be looking at your ex through rose-colored glasses and taking on all the blame as a result. He may be as great as you say, but a great person doesn't automatically make a great partner, i.e., an individual's traits don't necessarily tell you how well their traits will interact with another person's traits. At the very least, he didn't know you well enough. He wasn't able to interpret your needs, understand your trauma, and navigate your insecurities. Even when you've done some self-work, trauma doesn't just disappear, does it? Whatever great traits he possesses, the fact is that he doesn't possess the right ones to make him a good match for you. It seems your concept of "compatibility" may be far too naive.

If you want to know what went wrong exactly, who did what wrong exactly, and to what extent each person is responsible for the failure of the relationship, you have to conduct a brutally honest postmortem. It is especially important to do a postmortem if you've exhibited a pattern of destructive relationship behavior and want to break the cycle. A postmortem, in itself, does not count as Si loop, as long as your intention is purely to take responsibility for what you did wrong and learn from it, such that you don't repeat the same mistakes in future relationships. Is this what you're doing? Are you genuinely reaching for closure? Or is there something fishy going on?

Have you experienced Si loop before? Are you able to spot it before you get too deep into it? Do you understand what brings about Si loop and how to stop it? If you do, you shouldn't need someone else to tell you whether you're in it. Be honest. Are you ruminating in circles because you can't accept the reality of your loss? Are you stuck in some kind of guilt and punishment performance? Are you rewriting history? Are you indulging fantasies of changing what can't be changed? Are you stopping yourself from moving on because you don't really want to and prefer to yearn and yearn and yearn?

I believe what you say about your insecurities and how they sabotaged the relationship. That part sounds real and honest. There is only one area where you seem deluded. You've convinced yourself that the two of you are a great match, ignoring all the counter-evidence. And because you've convinced yourself of that lie, you then start to believe the subsequent lie that there isn't a better relationship out there for you. There's no way you could possibly know the future given the plethora of possibilities out there, yet you believe the lie as though it is an indisputable fact. Why? If you answer honestly, you'll know whether it is Si loop or not.

If you've done as much introspection as you claim, this experience of failure should've increased your self-awareness, which means you've significantly reduced the chances of repeating your past mistakes. This fact alone is essentially going to mean that your next relationship attempt will be better because you now know better what not to do. Relationships don't succeed according to some silly matchmaking formula. Relationship succeed when you improve yourself and your relationship skills. Only you know the truth of whether you've come out of this relationship better prepared for the next one. If you are, you should look forward to it.

#infp #infp relationships #si loop #past #closure #breakup #relationships #ask

[atlasifyllm]

15 character questionz!!!

got tagged by @kudzucataclysm ! tysm

uhhh tagging @writing-is-a-martial-art @whileyoureinschoolidothisallday

doing this for ruby and cobalt, pretend this takes place at the beginning of arc 2

1 - Are you named after anyone?

Ruby: All of my family's names all have alliteration in them! I'm Ruby Raleigh, and both my moms have pretty alliterative names too!

Cobalt: I don't think so. It's just Cobalt Azure Zaffre. I don't really think I named Turquoise in any particular way; it just seemed like a suitable alias.

Ruby: ...You have a middle name???

Cobalt: ...Yes??

Ruby: ...Dude, NO one has a middle name!

Cobalt: Well I do. "Azure".

Ruby: But that's AZURE and you're BLUE??

Cobalt: Ruby. I have heterochromia. I'm BUILT DIFFERENT.

2 - When was the last time you cried?

Ruby: Pshh, when I was like, 5! I... accidentally crushed a caterpillar. :(

Cobalt: D-Don't ask.

3 - Do you have kids?

Ruby: HELL no. I'm fresh into tourney fighting! I don't have the time to take care of kids. ...Also I'm pretty bitchless.

Cobalt: ...No, but it'd be nice to have one. Someday.

4 - Do you use sarcasm?

Ruby: Only when someone is being a little BITCH. When they DESERVE IT.

Cobalt: It's a little hard to tell. I'm veryyy bad at making it obvious. So I don't really try too often.

5 - What's the first thing you notice about people?

Ruby: I AM the person you notice. NOTICE ME. PAY ATTENTION TO ME. I just like talkin' to people!!

Cobalt: Their eyes. I want to know what a person's intention's are first, before interacting with them. It's very difficult to be comfortable within crowds.

6 - What's your eye color?

Ruby: Azure blue! My soul color is red though, so my eyes glow red with strong emotion! Or Paladin powers. 'Cause that's a thing I have to handle now.

Cobalt: ...It's complicated.

Ruby: ...Why would it be complicated?

Cobalt: My eyes are naturally turquoise, but that's not my soul color. Sometimes they'll glow cyan, sometimes they glow blue. Sometimes they glow both. So in total, I can have four different eye colors.

Ruby: ...Your eyes are strobe lights.

7 - Scary movies or happy endings?

Ruby: I love scary movies! Me and Turqbalt used to watch horror movies together, but he'd get too scared. So I stopped.

Cobalt: ...What she said. Happy endings, please.

Ruby: He used to hide his face and cry into pillows during the scary moments!

Cobalt: ENOUGH.

8 - Any special talents?

Ruby: I love parkour! I'm already SUPER fast as a hare fighter, so doing parkour is my daily excersize!

Cobalt: I'm like a hueman freezer. My ice powers make my body naturally cold, so lots of my friends will just tell me to hold their drinks for them so they'll still be cold.

9 - Where were you born?

Ruby: Right here in Neocity! Born and raised!

Cobalt: It's one of the border cities between Celestia and the Hyperion Republic. We moved to Neocity when I was about 8.

10 - What are your hobbies?

Ruby: Music-making! I'm pretty good at guitar and ukelele, I have some experience in piano... me, Blaze, Rina, and Turq used to play gigs at the Silver Spade! We get free drinks there too! ...None of us are of age yet, so I typically just get coffee from there.

Cobalt: I collect knives and swords.

11 - Have you any pets?

Ruby: No :( Me and Jay are too lazy to cook, let alone own a pet.

Cobalt: he’s so cute it’s shiro my dog being such a cute baby prince 😍 he’s a samoyed!

12 - What sports do you/have you played?

Ruby: Track! Also, technically tourney fighting is a sport I guess?

Cobalt: Yeah, I'm not one for typical sports. Tourney fighting is a little more dramatic.

13 - How tall are you?

Ruby: 5'9!

Cobalt: 5'11.

Ruby: Jay, Blaze, and Tarum are all 6'0! Rose is 4'11 though.

Cobalt: Tiny hands... my only weakness.

14 - Favorite subject in school?

Ruby: I'm assuming we can't say "field training".

Cobalt: Yeah, no. Field training's basically tournament fighting beta.

Ruby: I'm not much of the school type. Cs get degrees! Hmm... Maybe art? I enjoy designing clothing for all my friends, and my moms are pretty supportive in all my creative endeavors!

Cobalt: ...Lunch I guess.

15 - Dream job?

Ruby: Tourney fighting, obviously!

Cobalt: Well, I thought it was tournament fighting. I think. But then I got my arm cut off, so I had to stop for a while. Lots of people can be mean to champion tournament fighters... I'm not sure if I should be coming back. Can I even come back? I mean, I lost a bit of my lightning powers... God, I wouldn't even know-

Ruby: AAAAND THATS ALL THE QUESTIONS WE HAVE FOR TODAY BYEEEE <3

#atlas speaks; #sul text; #honestly some parts im a little sketchy on but uh i can elaborate if needed lol #huemans are just very glowy guys

[thelaurenshippen]

uhmm.. i worry i might be the only one thinking like this but? im not entirely a fan of the gang gathering up to ward off damien from having ANY friends? like,i do think warnings of toxicity are necessary but none of them are really a mutual friend with rose and her and damiens possible friendship was nipped in the bud. idk people change people, and if damien gets pissed that theyre engaging in a potentially toxic behavior as well in isolating him-- well saying "you were worse" doesnt (1/?)

justify it??? like..i KNOW damiens abusive and him getting beat up was GREAT… but im not a fan of the group ganging up on any possible friends of damien and stopping it? again, people change people and especially if damien was to get involved with a friend who is good at emotionally mature convos like rose seems to be??? i think thatd be awful of the group to do and though i excuse this as “dr. bright acting on being rose’s therapist” as valid, if its someone NONE of them know and they (2/?)

get involved??? i dont agree with damien on anything but i would definitely be in his corner for the inevitable blow-out of isolating him. and idk i would be a big fan of damien having a relationship with someone where,if his power returns, he is a bit conflicted because it means he will be manipulating his friend. idk im a big fan of bad characters growing into decent ones, and if damien never becomes one,thats fine. but id hate it if he didnt purely because of that kind of interference (¾)

am i crazy for thinking that??? (4/4)

First of all, no you’re not crazy for thinking that - I think you’re probably not alone in feeling this way. But, okay, this turned into a long one, so more under the cut. 

I think it’s important to think about the information that the group has - they only know Damien as someone who has manipulated and abused them (granted, this is a little more complicated for Mark, but we’ll get to that) and they only know Rose as a seemingly innocent patient of Dr. Bright’s who got caught in his orbit. Damien has been known to use mostly unrelated people to get to people he’s targeting - using Adam to get to Wadsworth, threats against Sam to get to Mark and Dr. Bright, etc. So when Dr. Bright shows up to meet Rose and Damien is there she, as Sam said, “freaks”. 

Does that mean it’s the gang’s place to determine who is in Damien’s life? No. Does that mean they feel a responsibility to warn Rose about Damien’s pattern of behavior? Yes. Does that mean the actions they take are completely without fault? Absolutely not. Nothing any of these people do is without fault. 

Rose is a grown woman who can make her own decisions. She’d only met with Damien a few times, but she also doesn’t know any of the group very well, except for her therapist and this is a pretty weird situation in which to see her shrink. She’s going to have to make judgements on her own about who to trust based on the information she has. 

What the group said to Rose is not dissimilar to what Damien said to her - after she approached him, he warned her against what The AM was capable of. But she had a good experience there - Agent Green made sure she was well taken care of and it really helped her. With the new information Damien gave her, she’ll have to make her own judgement. Should Damien not have told her about the shadier stuff The AM does? Will that keep her from going back there when she really needs help?

I agree that people change people, but if Damien doesn’t grow into a decent person, it won’t be because the gang interfered in whatever tentative acquaintance-ship he’d struck up with Rose. It will be because he consistently and continually chooses not to change. Dr. Bright began the series as someone who lied and manipulated but she ultimately made an effort to own up to her mistakes, apologize, and try and be more open. This doesn’t mean she’s perfect, but she is constantly trying to be better. We haven’t seen that kind of behavior from Damien, so there’s not really a strong argument for him making huge changes just because he met Rose or doesn’t have access to his power anymore.  

They are imperfect and messy and are literally constantly making bad, potentially damaging choices, but, in this particular instance, I would have made the exact same decision the group made to warn Rose. They don’t control her - they’re not trying to forbid her from seeing Damien, they want her to be part of a decision despite the fact that she makes it clear she doesn’t have a strong connection to Damien that she wants to defend - but they want to make sure she doesn’t put herself in danger. In telling her, they’re not thinking about ruining Damien’s life or ganging up on him; they’re thinking about protecting Rose.

This is probably the moment for me to acknowledge some inherent, strong bias I have about this kind of stuff. I work in an industry that is now notorious for our spreadsheets of terrible men (many of which I have been seeing for years). I’m very glad to see some of these terrible men being torn down, but my community still very much operates on women (and LGBT folks) warning each other about scary, abusive people. Some of the people I hear about are people I’ve had perfectly nice interactions with. And then I have to make a judgement call based on the info I have. Given how much this topic has been in my conversations over the past five months, I think a lot of that bled through into my writing, for whatever that’s worth.

Some of the people I’ve encountered I bet could change - I hope some of those people do change. But taking that on is an enormous responsibility. Maybe it’s one that Rose would want to take on but maybe Damien was never interested in being her friend in the first place - he’s certainly never shown interest in growing a relationship with anyone, with the exception of Mark. And I personally believe it is never the abused’s responsibility to redeem their abuser. 

Sorry for this extremely long-winded reply, but I always want to take the time to talk about these Damien-related things because it is a very sensitive and difficult subject. I really appreciate you vocalizing this view and I absolutely don’t want to suggest that someone like Damien couldn’t become a good person. He could. But he would have to choose to change his behavior and how he treats people and so far, we haven’t seen any indication that he’ll do so. 

Just a head’s up about Episode 48, our next episode: Damien has a pretty difficult conversation that addresses a lot of these ideas of responsibility and abusive cycles. So if he’s someone that you feel a lot of empathy for, just know that before listening!

#answered #damien #tbs spoilers #the bright sessions spoilers #really sorry this is so long-winded #but I clearly have thought a lot about this #I know that Damien is an interesting person who has A LOT of baggage and has been hurt a lot in his life #but he has done almost nothing but abuse the other characters #and that's important to remember alongside his softer qualities #he has not shown compassion to anyone but mark and even that is...minimal #we don't get enough of his interactions with rose to know what his intentions with her were #but you can probably count on them being more about getting back at the AM somehow and less about Rose herself #I'm sorry if that's disappointing to people #but we shouldn't make assumptions about how much Damien actually cares about Rose #there's maybe one person who could *maybe* help him grow #but #let me tell you #it is not that person's job #anyway #I'm getting ahead of myself here #a lot of people are...not going to like 48 I think #but I stand by it #it's a difficult one #and no one really comes out of it all that shiny? #all these people are disasters!!! #shwarmi #anyway sorry this is literally so long #hope I didn't sound too harsh! #I totally hear you #I just think there's sometimes a little rewriting of Damien outside the canonical podcast

[songmingisthighs]

Hooked

introduction pt. i | pt. ii | pt. iii

ch. lxiv - cowards

<< previous | masterlist | next >>

??? × reader, ateez × reader

A freshman hookup rekindled into something new. With an incentive, of course. But what would happen if your 'relationship' led you somewhere you never thought would happen to you ?

After sending the last text, Mingi and Jongho didn't waste time and immediately rush to (Y/N)'s room. When they arrived, the door was ajar with Seonghwa standing inside. He was staring blankly around, seemingly confused.

"Hyung, have you been here?" Jongho asked, breaking Seonghwa's trance.

"Y-yeah, I did- she left? Just like that ??" Seonghwa asked, still not believing anything that just happened.

Maybe it was Seonghwa's guilt. The fact that his last interaction with you was him accusing you of being a whore didn't sit right with him. There was a lump in his throat and a heavy feeling on his chest. It felt like he was suffocating.

The three of them stood silently, not knowing what to answer.

As they stood silently, the other boys walked in one by one. Wooyoung walked in first with San in tow, they both immediately took note of the silence and just stared at each other with guilt.

One by one everyone else filled the room, staring blankly at the emptiness and letting sorrow and regret fill them.

"S-so that's it? She left us yet AGAIN after having just came back last night?" Hongjoong asked in disbelief. There was no malice in his tone, there were no ill intentions. He was shocked, surprised at the sudden tension.

Mingi turned to look at the eldest with much disdain, "After what happened to her last night, could you really give her blame?"

inking that Hongjoong felt wronged, as he thought his assumption was justified. To be singled out as such was a little bit too much. "Are you trying to be a hero here?" he asked the taller guy. Mingi scoffed at him, "Hero? You think I have some sort of a complex?" "I don't know, do you? I don't think it's a hero complex, but there must be some sort of a messed up complex in you. Because you've been all over the place and overreacting, acting like a mess when you can't find (Y/N) and yet not saying anything when she was here, letting Yeosang ran his mouth at her, driving her off,"

At the mention of his name, Yeosang spoke up from the corner of the room. "I drove her off? Are you fucking serious?" to which San, who was by his side scoffed, "Weren't you the one who verbally attacked her last night? Calling her out on leaving without any explanation was one thing, but to call her a wandering tramp?" "Okay, I was looking out for all of us. YOU especially, San! You don't know how much it affected me seeing you all broken down and you even fell into depression! As your friend, I was fucking worried!" Yeosang defended himself.

Wooyoung chimed in, scoffing at his long-time friend, "Looking out for us? From what? From who? The woman we love? If you wanna go off on her, that's one hundred percent your choice, but don't use us as your excuse. That's just pathetic, man," he told Yeosang whilst glaring at him.

Seonghwa got in between the two, preventing them both from going at it even further. "Okay, enough with you two, you both can't be fighting during this time. Yeosang might've said some... unnecessary things to (Y/N) last night, but things aren't completely his fault," he reasoned.

Surprisingly, Yunho chimed in, smirking at the older man, "You got that right," he muttered. Yunho's voice was intentionally loud enough for everyone to hear, but still low enough for it to seem snarky.

At his chime, Seonghwa furrowed his eyebrows at Yunho, "what's that supposed to mean?" Yunho stepped to Seonghwa while tilting his head as if challenging him, "Don't play dumb, hyung, I heard you last night. Here, you mentioned Yeosang calling (Y/N) names when you basically called her the same thing,"

Whilst the others were left confused, Seonghwa visibly froze. His demeanour changed to a nervous one.

"Yunho, what the fuck are you talking about?" Hongjoong asked.

Yunho looked to the side at Hongjoong casually, "I walked by when I was about to get water last night when I heard yelling from inside her room. Whatever they were talking about, I heard Seonghwa hyung yelling something about (Y/N) staying with guys other than her cousin. The implication was bad, I even heard (Y/N) crying,"

All eyes suddenly shifted to Seonghwa. "Hyung, you made her cry?" San asked, not able to completely believe that Seonghwa was capable of doing that to (Y/N).

Tension rose in the room and suddenly everyone was arguing with each other. All but Jongho who stayed by the sideline, watching the whole thing unfold between his older friends with disappointment in his eyes.

"What happened?" you asked him, appearing by his side out of nowhere.

Jongho sighed before crossing his arms, "They're blaming each other because you left again," he muttered. You frowned and furrowed your eyebrows, "But, I haven't left yet?"

At that, Jongho finally looked at you properly. His eyes widened as wide as they could go, "Oh, hey! You're still here!" He exclaimed loudly, capturing the attention of everyone who was bickering inside.

You stared at them weirdly, "Yeah? Why is that so surprising?"

Mingi stepped out towards you slowly, his hands reached out to grab yours in his softly, "W-we thought you had really left again," he told you, his voice broke from how glad he was.

But that relieved feeling was soon crushed when he heard your answer.

"Well, now I am. I was making sure of something and waiting for Haknyeon to come to pick me up. Since he's here now, I'm... Gonna go," you smiled at them gently. Despite that, there were clear indications that the smile you wore was one of a broken heart.

Seonghwa couldn't help but let his words slip without thinking properly, "You're going back with him and his friends?" to which Yunho immediately nudged him hard on his stomach.

You turn to look at Seonghwa directly. You shook your head at him before answering, "No, I'm not going back to his apartment. Wouldn't be right for me and wouldn't be fair to him. He's just escorting me to my old dorm where I will be staying," you told him. Seonghwa immediately gulped after hearing your answer. He felt bad for jumping to that conclusion, especially after you told him where you were going.

At this point, San had tears brimming in his eyes, blurring his vision, "Wh-why are you going again, (Y/N)? You just got back," he asked as he walked closer to you.

Seeing his tears, you couldn't help but get emotional as well. you let one hand off of Mingi's grasp to cup San's cheek, rubbing it gently with your thumb, "I just have to, Sannie, I'm sorry. I... Just came back up here to tell Mingi and Jongho directly that I'm gonna go now,"

Wooyoung pushed people away to charge directly at you, "Only Mingi and Jongho? That's it? The rest of us didn't even deserve your goodbyes?" there was no resentment in his voice, you noticed. His eyes, however, showed much sorrow.

You sighed and shrugged at him, "With how things went last night, I don't even know if you all wanted to see me again, that's why I tried making my escape as quickly and silently as possible,"

Hongjoong suddenly spoke up, "See, I don't think you wanna leave at all, because if you do, you wouldn't tell us at all and just leave,"

The way he said it set something off in you. Your previous calm demeanour switched within mere milliseconds as you answered Hongjoong bitterly, "of course I don't wanna leave. You think this is easy on me?"

Without realizing it, you slipped your hands off of Mingi's grasp and San's cheek. The others who were in the way moved to the side to let you face Hongjoong directly, slightly afraid of you, "You really think that I came back here just to leave the next day? If so, then not only that you're dead wrong, but you're also an asshole. Every single one of you is acting like I've only been playing around with you all, going back and forth as I please because I don't know what I want. You don't even know why I left. Maybe most of it was because I didn't tell you guys, but part of it was because neither of you even gave me the chance to even explain last night. All of you just turned your backs on me and walked away," you laughed bitterly.

Your words struck them deep. Because they were all true. You might have been the one who started the fight, but they were the ones who delivered the final blow. Not to mention they're male adults who should've been able to communicate and made better decisions. Lastly, there were eight of them and one of you, how was that fair?

The silence and the expression on their faces said a lot, you realized if you were to tell them everything, that was your chance.

So you took a deep breath and spilt everything to them.

You told them about the threat Sunhee gave you, the proof they had, and how they planned on ruining their futures. You told them about how you felt like you didn't have any choice and how you didn't want to make things worse so you just listen to them until you were able to think of something, you wanted to protect them. You also told them how paranoid they made you and how you almost went crazy from worrying over them whilst having to be worried over what those crazy bitches might do.

When you finished talking, you realized that the boys had had tears streaming down their faces. You could see their resolves wilting away and being replaced by regret and shame.

Without even saying anything, Wooyoung pulled you into his arms tightly. He cried, saying how sorry he was for how he acted last night and how he should've trusted you more. Yunho and San wrapped their arms around you too, despite the tears streaming down, they managed to utter how sorry they were for not doing anything. Soon, Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Mingi, and Jongho attached themselves to the growing group hug as well, wordlessly showing their remorse. Despite their lack of words, you understood them just fine.

At that moment, you felt safe, you felt relieved that you were finally able to tell them everything. Things finally seem like they will go back to normal.

Maybe except for one thing.

You lifted your face from where it was nestled in the crook of Wooyoung's neck to meet eyes with the one person who was still rooted in his position.

Yeosang immediately looked away, an attempt you assume was to cover up his own tears.

Though heartbroken that he seemed to still resent you, you took the current win and let yourself bask in the warmth the guys were giving you.

You promised yourself then and there that you wouldn't act so carelessly anymore.

At least not without letting them know.

taglist :

@raysanshine @peachy-maia @xuxiable @90s-belladonna @theclawofaraven @sanraes @sungiehan @felix-kithes @nycol-ie @superstarw99 @skkrtnawrskkrt @viv-atiny @the7thcrow @stfu-xeena @laurademaury @multihoe-net @daisyhwa @scoupshushushu @whyisquill @bikiniholic @yunhorights @exfolitae @simplewonderland @verycooldog2 @perfectlysane24 @hannahdinse8 @tannie13 @aka-minhyuk-kun @phebeedee @em0yunho @marsophilia @donghyuckanti27 @se-onghwa @malewife-supremacy @hyunsukream @elijahbabyb @taejichafe @alliecoady98 @rdiamondbts2727 @hakuna-matata-ya @ohmy-fandoms @ateezminonspace @stray-bi-kids @imaaroy @fashi0nablee @rindomo @violetwinters @nabihwa @linhyyboo12 @mirror-juliet @bestboiericsohn @hwahwaseong

#ateez #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #ateez au #ateez social media au #ateez smau #kpop #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines #kpop au #kpop social media au #kpop smau #ateez scenario #ateez imagine #hongjoong #seonghwa #yunho #yeosang #san #mingi #wooyoung #jongho #smt social media au #smt smau

[frobin]

Random consideration: there is an online legend about Oda can change story events if someone on the web/fans guess the thing. So... what do you think about this topic? It can be really valid? If yes, even for whatever eventual not-canon ships? I don't know, because ships are just a very side element in the story, and not like main events of the storyline. (And for my opinion, for Jin:be father topic, I could agree with who said is for the age, maybe. Anyway, I will ship FroBin forever).

Hey anon! Thank you for your question!

Maybe Oda really made Jinbe the dad because of age. right now Oda and Jinbe have the same age (46). He has two children who are (if the internet and my math are correct) 15 and 12 years old. So may it’s not unlikely? If he connects with Jinbe he would rather see him as a dad than a grandparent or a weird uncle. 

-

Now, to the rest... I have to say sorry for answering so late but as of right now I’m writing parts of my answer and I literally pulling my hair because I really try to make sense of the whole situation and trying to understand the intention of a 46 year old japanese man. And this is long again so sorry about that. Anyway... 

I have heard about that. I remembered something about Oda not reading Fan Theories and now I googled once more. Apparently this is the newest Information:

"Oda once said he will change OP story if it coincides with fan theories. But according to TV show today, Oda will never change his plan about "final chapter" even if a fan theory hits the nail on the head. Oda said in 1999 that he had already decided final panel and chapter."

https://twitter.com/sandman_AP/status/1352851201478418432?s=20

I don’t think Oda is actively browsing the web for OP content ( how would he have time to) but he gets fanmail with questions and suggestions. And considering that over 4 million people are One Piece fans... one of them has to get it correct eventually. Trying to avoid any similarity with any fan-theory is IMPOSSIBLE. 

And I do believe that Oda knows how he wants One Piece to end and won’t change that, no matter what. 

As for the details in-between........ I wouldn’t say Oda is not prone to be a Troll and sometimes downright an ass towards his fans. XD Never out of malice but because he thinks it’s funny. 

I’m also sure he will never focus on romance in the manga, but since love is an important part of life it will come into play now and then. Classic romance (?) more with side-characters  (Roger/Rouge, Sai/Baby5, Bege/Chiffon) than with main (Strawhats) but still possible.

He may very well edit less-important plot lines if they don't change the ending. 

That also includes, that I absolutely think it’s possible that the Strawhats will have romantic involvement at the end of the story. At the moment it is never in the focus, except for plot reason (Whole Cake Island for example, though that is an entirely different topic) but absolutely possible. 

Because the Strawhats boning each other or maybe someone outside of the crew will not change the story. It has no influence to anything, except if it’s on a higher scale, like if Luffy really suddenly married Boa Hancock. That would influence the political outline of the world.

Meanwhile Pauli/Iceburg or Noland/Cagara or Bartolomeo/Cavendish have literally no influence to the story (anymore). And I don’t think I have to start on things like other rare pairs or even OC-ships. 

That being said, and having more stuff in mind, I wouldn’t put it past Oda to actually focus more on Jin/Bin. 

Why? Well... 

we had so many interactions between Robin and Franky after the time skip that it was almost ridiculous. In every single arc we see them fight alongside each other. We had strong romantic tropes portrayed with them: 

Their meeting after the timeskip (Sabaody Archipelago)

Franky having his head in Robins lap (Punk Hazard) 

Wearing the same shirt (Dressrosa) 

Finishing each others sentence (Zou)

Franky offering Robin a ride and her answering with a heart (Wano)  

And the moment the internet exploded when Robin was holding Frankys face. Which yeah, only a Colorspread and not canon yadda yadda

For now let’s gloss over all the other moments that showed that they cared for each other. 

... so many.

Anyway what I want to say is that Oda had declared “All the Strawhats are in love with adventure.” and “I won’t focus on romance.”  but is seemingly showing a connection between Franky and Robin, that made one think that he might actually be aboard the ship even if the fandom itself is rather silent and small. 

Meanwhile when Jinbe appeared (in the timeskip) he was instantly a hit. His popularity then rose thanks to Fishmen Island Arc. And again I can’t blame anyone. On the other hand Franky always had a hard stance. This was recently shown again because is the lowest ranked Strawhat in the popularity poll. 

One (Oda) might come to a conclusion here:

Maybe people don’t like Franky and so would dislike FRobin. But since Oda also seems to enjoy grown up relationships (?) maybe he thinks Jinbe is the only reasonable replacement?  -> It could be a tactial decision. 

Maybe he really changed his opinion and personally likes one more than the other. He was a FRobin supporter but now likes JinBin more? It wouldn't change anything for the story and there wouldn't be any harm -> It could be a personal decision. 

Maybe he fears that he put too many hints in the manga and now has to paddle back? Because let’s be honest, until the colourspread with Robin putting her hand on Frankys face... the FRobin fandom was on the backburner. And so he wants to throw out some Red Herrings.  -> Again a tactial decision

Maybe he never inteded to make it  romantic and it is actually all just friendship. Subtext is something many authors use without being aware of it. (Just ask anyone who is a lesbian!Nami fan. They have good points.) -> A mistake from the very beginning. 

And you can use these same thoughts for every other non-canon ship. 

Please take everything of this with a grain of salt because I try to understand the intention of a man who is more than 10 years my senior and from a culture I can’t even start to try to comprehend (sometimes I don’t even get my own culture), who is the head figure of a money-making machine. So it’s hard to tell what else influences his decisions. 

My interpretations are influenced by my own experiences and knowledge which is big and vast but also stretched very thin. 

Last but not least I want to make clear that any speculation is really the same as asking a crystal ball. In the western fandom we have only few people who can even slightly try to give an insight to the whole thing and they (smart enough) keep out of any shipping discourse. 

tl;dr: I don’t think Oda will change the ending. But I do think that he is willing to change minor plotlines  and so yes I think Oda might change couples for any possible reason, as long as it does not change the ending, and he does not even has to choose a good reason because in the end they are his characters and he is free to do whatever he wants with them.

#FRobin #One Piece Meta #One Piece Analysis #One Piece Shipping #One Piece Storytelling #long post #text #ask #if in the end it turns out that Franky is gay and just friends with Robin I'll drink a lot #Not because I wouldn't accept that but because I got it SO wrong #Should I make videos of some of my postings? #kon #Anon

[theangryjikooker]

Hi, I wanted to see what your thoughts are on the Rosebowl moment since you briefly mentioned it in one of your post as being #1 for you. It goes the same for me. I would love insights and first impressions (if that’s the right word) on it. Also your blog is refreshing and I appreciate you for your honesty.

Thank you, anon, I appreciate the kind words. :)

I wasn't ARMY at the time that concert happened, so I was late to the party. When I first saw the Rose Bowl moment, I just remember squinting at it a lot because I wasn't sure if I saw what I thought I saw. I first saw it in a video of all the ways Jimin is loved by his members, I think? I tried to find it and I couldn't, at least the one I saw at the time. It didn't have any commentary other than showing that Jungkook was comforting him with a caged hug, but the moment he was pulling away from his ear looked exactly like it did. I was like, Bro... you didn't need... to do that. He's crying but... I don't think he's THAT sad.

It was unusual. The kind of closeness BTS have with one another is quite different than a lot of other K-pop boy groups who are interacting (but then again, I've never really paid that close attention to other bands with the same scrutiny as I do with BTS). And obviously, in western culture, we don't really see that kind of skinship between men at all.

But even looking at BTS on a Petri dish, that kind of skinship isn't one I've ever seen before among them. Most of them get grossed out when spit gets on them by accident, so being able to suck on someone's ear and have it be (allegedly) a comfort thing entitles you to a certain kind of privilege that the others don't have.

I'll reluctantly add this, though--for some reason, after some time had passed after I'd watched this, it made the rounds on Twitter again, but it blew up in a way that drew a lot of criticism from (mostly) Tkkrs. And someone had actually posted a YouTube video of K-pop idols sucking on their band members' ears. It wasn't a short video either, it was substantially long of all these idols being a little too close but were/are allegedly straighter than my flat-ironed hair.

Maybe it's an idol thing, I don't know. Idols truly live a different life with different rules that apply to them that can't be explained away if they lived regular lives.

I'll give the Rose Bowl Jikook this much: the intent behind that moment was a little different than what was shown in the compilation video. It didn't seem like Jungkook did that in the spur of the moment; it was natural enough to him almost as if it's happened before (not saying that it has, just that it looks that way).

There are just some things, if it was a very real thing to them, that should not be shared with the public, and I'd be very (pleasantly) surprised if they ever did tango with that line again in front of thousands of people.

TL;DR Day 3 Jikook doesn't hold a candle to Rose Bowl Jikook.

#TAJ asks #darling anon #jikook #kookmin

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

JATP ROUND TWO FICS!

We received seventeen (17!!!!!) Fics for the Second Round of the JATP TROPED Event! These fics were fluff-filled and super fun, and we loved to see how you all challenged yourselves with the theme, tropes, and pairings!

Please try to read as many fics as you can! Take some notes, leave some kudos/comments for the authors, and help us vote on the winners!

Voting will be open until May 14th at 11:59pm EST! Vote here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BZ3W5FT

Please rank ALL the fics in each question based on the USE of each trope, the theme, the fics overall, and the two bonus polls (best setting + most unique pairing)! Your #1 spot should be the best answer and your last spot the least likely answer for the question. The Best Overall Poll will determine who will be writing in the Final Round! We ask that you please rank EVERY fic, so we can avoid technical difficulties! A reminder that you must include a Tumblr or AO3 username/URL, and you may only vote once, we will NOT count multiple votes by the same person.

————

Okay, Campers, Rise and Shine! (Rated T) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: When Reggie launches a particularly ill-advised prank war at HGC Ranch, Luke's fully prepared to take it in stride.

When the days start looping, though, he begins to suspect that this might all be a little bit above his head.

In other words, he's at least 78% sure that the time loop isn't a direct result of Reggie's pranks.

Maybe 77%.

Oh, well.

At least he's not in it alone.

(The Groundhog Day meets Gravity Falls meets Summer Camp meets The Author's Own Distaste For Prank Wars AU that no one asked for. Ever. At all.)

Starting To Forget (Just What Summer Ever Meant To You) (Not Rated) [Flynn x Carrie]

Summary: Last summer didn't end on a positive note for Carrie Wilson - she and her girlfriend broke up on the last night of camp, and she's been miserable since. But it seems that the universe is intent on having her fix that this summer. Even if that means she has to live through the same day over and over and over again until she does.

Creative B.S. Was No More, Was No Less (Look Around, You're Gonna Miss What You Found) (Rated T) [Alex x Luke, Flynn x Reggie]

Summary: The midnight men move again

Don't know when

Best friends forever

In trouble again

Here's to you, here's to me

Over the rafters and we're free

--- Over the Rafters, Rick Schiffman

***

Alex and Luke go undercover on a mission to a summer camp in order to find a talisman that could endanger the camp and all the kids. While there, they bond with the kids and make peace with the fact that they broke up.

While Alex and Luke are away, Flynn accidentally fucks with time.

bitch but like romantically (Rated T) [Flynn x Carrie]

Summary: The dining hall’s exactly the same as it has been for two mornings now, and Flynn doesn’t hesitate to poke Willie twice on the nose and whisper “pancake” on her way past their seat.

His eyes widen and he whips his head around to follow them, excitement glimmering in their eyes.

“Really?” they blurt. Flynn rolls her eyes and nods.

~

or: flynn gets stuck in a time loop. {for troped jatp round 2}

down by the bay (Rated T) [Alex x Willie]

Summary: Over time, Camp Phantom has simply become known as a selective summer camp: one that took only the kids that Caleb saw promise in. And Caleb wasn’t exactly lying. He really did take only the ones he saw promise in, he simply looked for different traits than others might.

For example, say, hypothetically, a boy who could see the future. Or, hypothetically, a girl who could interact with ghosts. Or, hypothetically, a boy who could summon objects to him with a simple thought. Or, and this is completely hypothetical mind you, a boy who could manipulate time.

Those might be some traits that Caleb saw promise in. Just, like, as examples.

Time will tell (But only if you do it right) (Rated T) [Flynn x Carrie]

Summary: Carrie had been acting a little off for a week or so, but Flynn was pretty much known for seeing something in nothing, and that was probably what they were doing then. If something was going on, Carrie would tell her eventually.

OR

Who knew all it took was a little bit of miscommunication to mess up time itself?

and so it begins (Rated T) [Bobby x Reggie]

Summary: It’s the first day of their second week at Camp Carolling (they’re spending an entire month, and they’re getting paid to be there!) when Reggie gets a little lost in the woods. During this misadventure into the woods, he finds an egg shaped rock, an inhabited cabin that may or may not be riddled with signs, and something that might be magic. He probably doesn't get paid enough to discover magic.

or, when they were thirteen years old, four boys met at camp carolling and eventually became a band that almost became something legendary. now, all four boys are coming back as counselors, three boys in one band and one boy in his own solo act.

so begins the reunion, though it doesn't go how any of them imagine.

Porcupine Day (Rated T) [Bobby x Ray x Rose]

Summary: It’s been fifteen years since Trevor broke up with Ray and Rose and they’re... not fine, but managing. But when Trevor to adds insult to injury and buys the camp across the lake from the one they once owned together, the two camps become locked in a bitter rivalry. With neither side willing to set aside their pride and work out their issues, the universe decides to settle their fates itself.

Day After Day (After Day After Day) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie]

Summary: When Alex met Willie just after their senior year of high school, they spent a wonderful three months dating before their relationship ended in a blaze of glory. Now, four years later, they meet again as counselors at a summer camp. The only problem? Alex keeps reliving their first day together. The day that Luke had declared "Prank Day."

This is not how Alex pictured his summer going.

clocks move faster (it's all we're after) (Rated G) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: Julie likes it when her friends are happy, so when she realizes she's stuck in a time loop, she uses her knowledge to make sure everything works out for everyone... except she conveniently forgets to factor herself (and Luke) into the mix.

Touch of Magic (Not Rated) [Alex x Luke]

Summary: When everything stands in Luke and Alex’s way of getting to be with the people they love, they have to repeat the day over and over until they can get the happily ever after that they want.

The play's the thing (that goes wrong) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie]

Summary: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day for Macbeth, but not so for Alex and the production of Hamlet that he is directing and starring in. And while he's stuck repeating the day of the performance over and over, mishaps of all kinds befall the cast.

anything, anything (for another run with you) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie]

Summary: The moment Alex steps foot in Camp Greenwood, he knows that this summer is a bad idea.

He knows it as soon as he sees tan skin, long hair, and a tie-dyed crop top at the check-in table.

Willie.

-

the camp counselor/exes/prank war/time loop fic of your dreams (unless you read all of the other troped round 2 fics lmao)

there’s a glorious sunrise, dappled with the flickers of light (Rated T) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: What comes next happens in slow motion. Luke’s foot catches on the last rung of the ladder. Julie watches as he stumbles a step forward, barely catching himself before falling on his face. The ladder clatters to the floor below. The trapdoor, no longer propped open by it, falls closed with a loud thunk, the lock clicking into place. They’re stuck.

“Luke!” she exclaims loudly. “Look what you did!” Julie drops to her knees in front of the trap door, desperately trying to fit her fingers between the wood and the stone to pry it open again. Of course it doesn’t work.

“What?” he snaps back. “I wouldn’t be up here in the first place if it weren’t for you trying to fuck us over.”

or: ex-best friends Luke and Julie, working as camp counselors at rivaling camps, find themselves stuck in a time loop

the daughter of apollo (Rated T) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: (the JATP x Camp Half Blood AU that nobody asked for)

maybe the world isn't ending (maybe it's been postponed) (Rated G) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: Alex runs his fingers through Willie’s hair. “I think it’s best to just leave them to their own prank war at this point. Let’s not forget that time Julie put hot sauce in the coffee pot and my mouth was on fire for an entire hour.”

“You’re exaggerating, Alex-”

“I most certainly am not,” Alex cuts Reggie off.

“Or how about the time Luke tried to put glitter in Julie’s bed,” Carrie joins in, “but got my bed instead? I can appreciate some glitter, but even I know when enough is enough.”

“Suffice it to say,” Willie finishes after they’ve passed around a dozen or so more memories of pranks from the summer, “we’re all done being your collateral damage. Whatever Julie has planned for you tomorrow, Luke, you’re on your own.”

-

It's the last day of camp and Julie has one more prank planned for Luke. He just doesn't know what it is.

Here We Go Again (Rated T) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: Julie blinked as she stared at the place Euterpe had disappeared. What did that even mean? What journey? Old places and lost faces? What was she talking about? But before she could dwell on the questions swirling around in her mind, the sky full of stars began to move, shifting in place and descending until they were all around her. Julie felt her feet leave the ground as she rose up and up. One star in particular was burning brighter than the others, growing bigger in front of her.

It grew and grew, until the light was blinding and Julie had to throw a hand up against the harsh light. She closed her eyes as the light surrounded her and then she was falling. Falling down, down, down.

#troped: jatp #round 2: fluff #jatp fanfiction #submissions #round 2 submissions #round 2 voting #troped: voting

[talas-starlight]

Scarred Spirits - Zuko x fem! reader (pt.5)

SUMMARY: y/n wakes up in an unfamiliar place and tries to find her way back to her mission (i suck at summaries LOL)

WORD COUNT: 2.3k

WARNINGS: swearing, fighting? kinda?

OTHER PARTS:  pt1   /   pt2 /   pt3 /   pt4 /   pt6

MASTERLIST: Here!

A/N: anddddd we’re back!!! hehe thank you to everyone who has been so so patient with me i am so greatful && hopefully youre just as excited as i am for this series heheh

Bricks. You felt as though you were just hit with a tonne of bricks. The idea of even opening your eyes to the harsh sunlight, which you could feel through your eyelids felt like the worst idea in the world. Your dry throat didn’t help at all either. Maybe if I just lay wherever the fuck I am, I’ll magically gain the energy to move again. Or better yet, maybe the ground will swallow me whole, and I can forget about this mission altogether.

Abruptly interrupting your painful stillness on the ground, there was a small kick into your left side. The sudden shock immediately sent your brain swirling into all the ways you could eliminate whoever disturbed your peace.

“Hey… I think she’s dead.”

Ah, the wonderful sound of an annoying, teenage boy. They’ll be easy to take out.

A second female voice emerged. “She's not dead Sokka! She's literally breathing!" Sokka? As in Hakodas son? Oh Spirits, you never fail to amaze me with how you choose to dictate my life. Hmmm, then that means the girl is Katara. Yay.

"Yeah?! Then why the hell hasn't she even moved a single inch since we found her!"

"Well, maybe she's protesting against your annoying poking!" Spirits they're annoying and loud.

A third voice attempted to intervene, "Guys…. Stop, she's fine. Trust me." Hmm, that's considerably younger. 10 years old perhaps? Or a bit older? 12 maybe? Male?

"Oh yeah? How can you be so sure Aang."

"Well Katara is right, she is breathing for one. But…. There's something else about her, I can feel it."

"What? Like an avatar thingy?"

"Yeah."

Wait the Avatar? Wasn't he on that dragon from when I was-

"Hmmm right, well what are we going to do with her?" At that statement, the annoying boy who seemed to be so confident that you were dead, kicked you again. Sick of his irritable presence, with as much strength you could muster, you took your right hand quickly snatching his ankle, and yanking it towards you, causing him to lose balance and ultimately backwards. Letting out a high-pitched yelp as he thudded onto the hard ground, you quickly rose to your knees. Taking the hand gripped around his ankle to tug him closer to you, you moved between his legs until you were able to straddle his waist, placing all of your weight on top of him. Finally, you grabbed both his arms, holding them above his head, completely hindering him from moving.

"If you kick me one more time, or even trying anything like that again, I WILL chop your legs off. Got it?"

Staring at you with pure horror in his eyes, he visibly gulped, nodding. "Yes! Yes! Hear it loud and clear. Totally got it! Just call me Sokka, the guy with perfect understanding."

Moving your right hand from his wrists, you firmly gripped his jaw, forcing him to keep eye contact with you. Taking in his scared features, you smirked even though he couldn't see it. "You sure about that, water boy?"

"YES! YES!", frantically nodding, you could tell that if you kept pressing on, he'd probably burst into tears soon. Bringing his voice down to a pathetic whimper, he let out, "please don't hurt me."

Finally lifting yourself off him, you let out a dry laugh, satisfied with his compliance. "Uh-huh. Right."

Turning your head to the people that belonged to the other two voices, you took in their stunned and weakly defensive stances. Chest heaving at your sudden physical movements, you nodded, acknowledging them. "Hey, Avatar. Katara. So, where am I?"

After a few moments of silence, the Avatar spoke up first. “You’re just outside of Omashu.”

Katara elbowed Aang, instantly alarmed at his calm nature towards you. “Aang! You can’t just say that. We don’t know who this person is or how she even knows my name! She could be with the Fire Nation for all we know!”

“Katara it’s alright! Calm down.”

“Calm down?! She just attacked Sokka! I mean, rightfully so- but it’s a little suspicious. We don’t know who she is or her intentions.”

Sighing, you looked around, taking in your surroundings. It seemed that rocky mountains surrounded you with a small group of tents in the distance. Interesting… why are they all Earth Kingdom people, when Omashu is so close by?

Shifting your attention back towards the three, you decided against telling them who you were. “It doesn’t matter how I know any of your names. What matters is that I need to get back to my original mission.”

Sokka scoffed, moving to stand beside his sister. “Your mission? Let me guess; you’re here to kill Aang too.”

Raising an eyebrow, his eyes immediately widened in fear. “Trust me, water boy, if I wanted him dead, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. I’m here on… other confidential business.” Met with silence from all three of them you moved on, “so let me guess, you found Omashu invaded by the Fire Nation, and you three were the ones that helped that tiny camp of people over there escape from their rule. Interesting choice considering there are bigger things you should be worrying about. Yet, why are all of you still here? Surely the Avatar and his friends don’t need to train them in how to look after themselves.”

“We’re going back into Omashu. To make a trade for King Bumi and to give the governor his son back.” Why does he keep willingly give me information? Now that’s interesting. I can barely feel any fire within him either, it’s almost as if it's not there at all…

“Okay. I’ll accompany you all into Omashu, and once we arrive within the city, we’ll go our separate ways.”

“Sure!”

“NO!”

“NO!”

Bursting out into a fit of laughter, you shook your head at the water tribe siblings. “Naw, it’s sweet how you think you all have a choice in this. Don’t worry, nothing will happen to any of you, I’m just hitching a ride and you’ll never have to see me again. Regardless, Aang said yes, and considering he’s the Avatar and all, I think his choice overrules yours.”

Katara didn’t seem to like your suggestion that her and Sokka’s opinion didn’t matter. “No, it doesn’t work like that! We’re a family, and we make these decisions together! You can’t just wake up after who knows how long you were laying there for, and expect us to trust you immediately! For one, you attacked Sokka a little too easily without any bending, and you literally said that you were on a mission! If I’m honest, you sound like trouble, especially since we don’t even know your name! Or what you even look like!”

“Just as I said before, it doesn’t matter. It’s sweet you all care enough about each other’s safety, but I’m not here to cause any of you ‘trouble’. Get me inside Omashu, and we’ll never have to speak or interact ever again. If it means so much to you, I’ll let water boy tie me up, and watch me the entire journey there as reparations for my small attack against him. How does that sound?”

Aang more than satisfied with your offer let out a quick, “Yes!”.

Grumbling under her breath Katara shook her head, clearly understanding that this was as good as it was going it get. “Fine. But he ties you up now. If I see you even move an inch out of line, don’t think I’ll go easy on you. I am a waterbender after all.”

As if you being a waterbender would have stopped me. Holding your arms out and casting your attention towards the ground, you were ready for Sokka to bind your wrists together with some cloth, he tore off his clothing. Unknown to you, he seemed to notice that despite how tough you were, you were weak. All of the sudden movements and the argument with his sister clearly drained you physically.

“Hey… I don’t really like you since you threatened to kill me, but are you sure you’re ready to be travelling so soon? You’re breathing really heavily. You need some water and food.” Gently wrapping your wrists together, he tried and failed to make eye contact with you.

At the mention of water, you throat physically constricted in pain. “Nah, I’ll be alright. Just need to get to Omashu.”

“Doubt it. Let’s get you on Appa and I’ll nag Katara for something.”

Silently following him to the Sky Bison, you were grateful that your mask covered the wide smile that broke out onto your face. It’s beautiful.

Finally, parting ways with them, you let out a breath of relief. That was the most silent journey I have ever been on and I travel by myself… Spirits, I hope I never have to run into them again. I think I’m going to lose my mind if I ever do. What was Hakoda thinking?! I’d be an awful big sister to them, they already hate me! It didn’t help how much they kept bickering either. Argh, what a mess. Aang kept looking at me funny the entire time too! What was up with that? Do his Avatar powers allow him to see into my soul or something? Spirits, he’d probably wants to unleash his Avatar state on me for all of the lives I’ve taken. Yikes.

Before setting off to find Azula, you needed to take precautions to blend into the small kingdom. Stealing some clothes, you found you chose to duplicate you last disguise with the only main difference being that it was in green cloth instead of pink.

After securing your final blade underneath your robes, you knew there was no more time to waste and you needed to find Azula quick. You weren’t sure how much she has progressed in her mission to find Iroh and Zuko and the guilt of not helping them when they ran off the Fire Nation ship was already nagging you like an itch you couldn’t scratch.

This city is too big to wander around aimlessly.

Closing your eyes and letting out a deep breath, you chose to look for her the quickest way you knew how. By sensing her fire.

Come on y/n; you can do it. Unsure of how far your abilities would work, you grew worried that she may be too far away for you to even feel her.

After a few minutes, you started to feel irritated. Of course, you could sense fire, you felt so much of it. The city was crawling with Fire Nation after all, but it wasn’t hers. You emitted a few more deep breaths, trying to clear your head.

Suddenly a deep, familiar voice entered your mind. Inner peace. You need to find your inner peace y/n. That’s why you keep losing control; you need to find it.

Is this that dragon again? As if you didn’t have a random voice inside your head, you were met with silence.

Look you can’t just randomly enter my mind you know, and who in Spirits name transports me to some random mountainside?! I don’t know who you are, but I’ve been doing fine all of these years on my own. So kindly, get out of my head.

Letting out a small scream into your hands as the voice never came back, you closed your eyes again.

Stupid voice.

Stupid inner peace.

Breathing in and out, you wracked your brain for something that made you feel at peace. Come on, you can do it. Then after a few moments, it hit you. Not your inner peace, no. You’d have to find that another day. What did hit you was Azula’s fire, you felt it.

Immediately following the tugging feeling, you ran as fast as you could until you came to a tall piece of scaffolding. Even though you were so far below, you could still hear the fight that was occurring many levels up. Can’t she keep herself out of a battle for at least a day?! I bet it’s not even Zuko up there. Scowling, knowing that you can’t ignore her completely, you climbed up until you reached the fight but still remaining hidden.

By the time you reached the platform, you felt that Azula had already moved from this part of the fight. That didn’t mean that there weren’t pressing matters right in front of you, though.

“How are you going to fight without your bending?” A Fire Nation girl before you brought out her blades ready to attack Katara. Holding back a verbal groan, you knew you were going to have to help her.  

Quickly jumping in, you deflect Mai’s knife with your arm while simultaneously catching a boomerang that you spotted in the corner of your eye. As the flying bison approached your quickly dodged its tail as it sent the two fire nation girls flying back. Seeing a distraction between all parties, you threw the boomerang back to Sokka while running for the scaffolding, making your way into the shadows. So much for never having to see them again.

When you ran away from the scene, you knew your disguise was too recognisable considering the two girls saw you when you intervened. This left you to painstakingly have to find a new set of clothes, just to make babysitting Azula and her friends so much easier. Despite finally being back on track with your mission, it didn’t make it any less tedious as you followed from a distance in the shadows. “So, we’re tracking down your brother and uncle, huh?”

“It’ll be interesting seeing Zuko again, won’t it Mai?” Huh? Is that coal brains girlfriend or something?

Azula spoke up at that comment, “It’s not just Zuko and Iroh anymore. We have a third target now.” You have got to be fucking joking. I guess I better start finding my inner peace after all, you know, so I don’t blow her FUCKING BRAINS OUT!

a/n: hehe thank you so much for reading!!! what did you think?? hehe i know its been a while so im kinda rusty so pls let me know your thoughts or any feedback!! hehe i know this wasnt that juicy and kinda short but ive got a lot planned so dw hehe we’ll get there ;)

taglist: @slythergirlimagines​​ @mangoberry43​​ @eridanuswave​​ @whiskeywinter89​​​ @kaylove12​​ @simplyfandomish​​ @khaleesi-of-assassins​ @callums-keith​ @ilovespideyyy​ @calciumcow​ @blackhood5sos​ @nnon-it-up​ @lozzybowe​ @scarletemeterio​ @reclusive-chicken-nugget​ @simpinforsukka​ @chewymoustachio​ @tiffy119​ @spearbatty​ @sokkassuki​

#zuko #zuko x reader #zuko x fem!reader #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #sokka #katara #aang #toph #prince zuko #prince zuko x reader #prince zuko x fem!reader #avatar #atla #avatar the last airbender #sokka x reader #katara x reader #aang x reader #prince zuko x you #prince zuko x y/n #azula #mai #ty lee

[kingofthewilderwest]

Which Big Hero 6 character is your favorite? Who do you think you'd be friends with? Which superpower/gadget from the movie would you choose, and if you could make your own, what would it be? Which part made you the saddest/cry the hardest? A lot of people want Tadashi to come back in a sequel, do you? Why or why not? What's your favorite message in the movie? Thoughts on the animation quality? Is Tuffnut Fred's ancestor? You don't have to answer all these unless you want to, but thank you! =D

O.O WHOA BARRAGE OF QUESTIONS WHAT??????

Heehee, I’m going to teasingly slip in this gif, but know I didn’t make the gif with any intention of being mean - I’m just making a joke. ^.^ This is a tidal wave of questions - feel free to send multiple, more manageable asks anytime you like - but it’s also way fun to be able to talk Big Hero 6 with someone. Feels like I haven’t had a good conversation about this wonderful story in ages, and seriously, I’m in THE MOOD to have a conversation about this story. So thanks so much for sending a BH 6 conversation starter!!!

Which Big Hero 6 character is your favorite?

Hiro Hamada, by a long shot. I feel as though Hiro has an endearing, natural charisma to his personality. The young cockiness combined with a lack of forward direction, the powerful intellect juxtaposing his obvious youthfulness, the sincere expression of his emotions jutting against how he attempts to hide his more vulnerable sides. From the very start of his character introduction, I was hooked. There’s so much to enjoy about his character.

On top of that, the writers delve into Hiro deeply. He’s treated with far more nuance and emotional complexity than other characters in the film - given as Big Hero 6 is, first and foremost, a story about how a young boy handles loss. Hiro is the one whose grief is explored. He’s the one where we see how someone can lose motivation, can become listless at grief… who can get wrapped up in anger, can make dark emotional decisions from the pain of his past… who can attach to old relics, find love in his brother’s legacy… who can find hope in overcoming, who can become determined, who can grow past the wounds of mourning and rise to a strong future. Watching Hiro go through all these understandable and powerful emotions, it’s impossible for me not to sympathize with him or relate with him.

I do find it interesting… increasingly less do I identify with teenaged characters. Their personal struggles, their mental stage in life, it’s become increasingly distant from my own mindset and current life challenges. It’s often easier to relate with characters who are at about the same maturity stage as oneself. But despite me being… eleven… years older than Hiro, and me definitely feeling our “age” gap, I connect to him far more than anyone else in Big Hero 6. His story, his emotions… they are the ones that I can relate most to. 

And there is something to be said that the movie’s focus on him makes him skewed to be more dimensional and appealing.

Who do you think you’d be friends with?

Potentially none of the characters from San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, if I’m going to be honest. It’s not that we wouldn’t get along - I don’t think we’d have those issues. But I do think it’d be hard for me to befriend people who are in the world of innovative physical sciences STEM, for as much as I appreciate that branch of science and read up on it for fun, it’s also not my strength, specialty, and expertise. For better or for worse, a lot of friendships in the college world come through sharing disciplines. Again, not always, and I did make friends from the engineering program when I was at the university, but it does make it more likely if we’re in more adjacent fields. I wouldn’t spend as much time with them, I wouldn’t be able to have classes with them, I wouldn’t relate as much to them, I wouldn’t feel like “part of the group” with them, I might not even have the chance to meet them.

Especially because… let’s be real… I wouldn’t go to San Fransokyo Institute of Technology.

So that, combined with me being with a severe introvert who enjoys making friends but usually doesn’t interact with buoyant socialness, means I probably wouldn’t make friends with that cohesive clique.

I think the person I’d be most likely to befriend would be Fred. Hands down Fred. Someone with his level of enthusiasm is hard for me to say “no” to, and I do appreciate friends like Fred in my life! I’d have a great time with someone dressed up in a mascot costume who adores superheroes and comic books and nerd culture. I’d find his presence quite welcome. We’d have lots to talk about. Should be fun!

Which superpower/gadget from the movie would you choose?

Baymax’s ability to fly. Or the ability to ride on Baymax like Hiro does. ;)

If you could make your own superpower/gadget, what would it be?

Realistically I don’t think I’d be able to make my own gadget. But let’s assume that I could, or that I had people helping me. I’d first and foremost want invisibility. That has an infinite number of uses, not to mention keep me pretty safe in conflict. After that, I’d figure out some cool things to go along with it.

Thoughts on the animation quality?

It’s a pretty movie with some fascinating lighting and color choices in a few scenes. There’s much that’s nice on the eye. 

I think the design of San Fransokyo is my favorite part of the artistic choices - the combination of Eastern and Western architecture, all the tiny little details, the signs and billboards and posters and people, it’s very fun. There’s always more for the eye to appreciate and love there.

Oh, and I own the art book, so methinks that says something about my opinion of the movie’s animation!

Here, let’s post some appreciative screencaps since we’re talking about it:

Ahhhhhh… like seriously? Aren’t these screencaps nice??? Isn’t this barrage of images WONDERFUL?

I like how there’s even a bit of scuffing on Hiro’s mask and armor during his fight with Callahan - as would only happen in the midst of action! 

Also, the more I’m thinking about it and browsing through screencaps, the more I’m seeing some REALLY fascinating potential metaphors with the color red, so. Maybe I’ll need to talk about that sometime in depth. But yeah I’ve got more or less zero major complaints with how BH 6 is animated.

Is Tuffnut Fred’s ancestor?

I prefer to keep characters who are voiced by the same voice actor separate according to the fact they are separate characters. Yes, T. J. Miller has a very distinctive voice and ad-lib style, and there is much to be compared between Fred’s personality and Tuffnut’s, but I don’t like the idea of theorizing characters are related due to some sort of meta detail like VA. Feel free to headcanon as you like! I’m personally going to keep Fred and Tuffnut in the separate, respective realms they are. They’re separate characters and I enjoy them best thinking about them separately.

Which part made you the saddest / cry the hardest?

Big Hero 6 has never made me cry, but it is touching and meaningful. When Tadashi first dies is always raw, so I’ll probably go with that. That’s when you feel him being missing - feel that hole - the “loudest.” But there are other scenes that deserve to be talked about for how they touch the heart regarding loss.

A lot of people want Tadashi to come back in a sequel - do you? Why or why not?

A few flashbacks could be okay, done right and not blatantly repeating the theme of the first movie, but that’s where I’d want it to stop. Tadashi in the past is fine. But Tadashi turning out to be alive would be a disappointment to me in such a hypothetical sequel - which as far as I’m aware, they took away the movie sequel prospects in favor of the current show.

The central message of Big Hero 6 is about loss. It’s about the fact that when someone is gone, they are gone, they aren’t ever coming back, they can’t come back. That’s what’s so emotional, touching, and powerful about Big Hero 6: there’s no magical cop-out whereby Hiro can get that hole in his heart reversed. If Tadashi returns alive, though, that slaughters the truth and importance behind the movie’s message. Suddenly, a story that is about how life can proceed respectfully and healthily forward without someone… is swept over in favor of unrealistic ideal outcomes. For me that would be a complete disrespect to the entire point of the story Big Hero 6 is.

I’m attached to Big Hero 6 because it doesn’t give me the rose-tinted “everything can be mended as before.” It’s still a story of hope and inspiration, but it doesn’t do that by wiping over the legitimate pain and suffering people share. We need to keep the pain and the suffering and the loss of Tadashi Hamada if we want Big Hero 6 to retain its meaning.

What’s your favorite message in the movie?

That’s what I talked about in the first post! XD It’s the message that there’s no way to reverse loss, but there is a way to heal.

There are other wonderful messages in BH 6 - the power of friends, the power of healing, and also one point that I don’t think is talked about enough: how we can react to loss in vengeful bitterness or respectful loving legacy. And I like those messages, too. There is some good content in the heart of this story.

#long post #non-dragons #bh6 #Big Hero 6 #bh 6 #analysis #my analysis #blabbing Haddock #ask #ask me #Hiro #Hiro Hamada

[plainlabelwriting]

Rachel #2 - Zora

Sixty-seven cars. Thirty red, twenty-five black, eleven blue, and one off-green POS that had probably been built before I was born. I had gotten all the way to sixty-seven before I heard the soft “ahem” behind me. I turned, more out of habit than any semblance of wanting to be helpful. Standing behind the counter was a lanky teenage boy with moderate acne, long greasy hair, and wearing what could only be described as women’s acid-washed tights. I turned back to the window, knowing full well I was missing more outside than I was in here, but the ballsy teen threw out another “ahem,” and I decided he could have five minutes of my time. “Yes?” I said, running my fingers through my own long hair, and trying to remember the last time it had been trimmed. Or combed. Or washed. “Well,” stammered Young Axl Rose, “I was looking for a...a beginner guitar. Something I can learn to play on.” A wave of confidence seemed to hit him and he attempted a smolder. “It’s for a girl I think I’m in love with.” I sighed. Love? How adorable. I gave my hair another shake and eyed the kid over my Irish Pepsi. “Son, I’m gonna say this to you, right now. As a friend. No amount of guitar is going to get you laid in those lady pants.” “CAN I HELP YOU SIR?” Maybe he had overheard my verbal assault. Or maybe it was his sixth-sense of my bubbly personality, but before I could launch into my extremely well-researched theory of the correlation of guitar players and small penises, Aiden and curly blonde mop of hair had basically hurdled over the back counter and snatched the poor child away from me, all caffeined up and ready to make a sale. While Aiden started in full-steam on his “you’ll-be-playing-Free-Bird-in-no-time” spiel, I grabbed my drink and sauntered over to the keyboards. Aiden, sensing the teenager relax a bit in my absence, launched into full sales mode while I started in Fur Elise. Halfway through the song, Aiden had already walked the young future star over to our newest and most expensive models. I switched to Flight of the Bumblebee as the young man was walking out the door, clearly ready to be disappointed by another life choice. I got back to front window counter with my drink and had discovered a half-eaten bag of potato chips that I had left for myself a few days ago. How great. Aiden waved to the kid, turned on his heel, and strode right over into my personal space and bore blue eyes into my soul.“Zora, you have to be nice to people.” “Why? It doesn’t make sense to be nice to people who aren’t smart. They wouldn’t know I was being nice in the first place.” “Zora, this is retail. This is my store. You have to be nice to people who are going to spend money. If you aren’t nice, they won’t spend money, and then I don’t make money. Then the shop goes under and I’ll be out on the street or at Freddie’s Bar begging for food and a place to stay. “But that’s where we met darlin.” He took the bag of chips out of my hand, which I considered an official offense. “This is important. “Important to you, yes.” Sigh. “Zora. It should be important to you. This is your life. Do you want to work at Band Land for the rest of it?” “Well, my supervisor is wonderful.” A snort and a head nod. “I am pretty wonderful,” he said, with a wink. “But you hate it here. It’s so obvious.” “How is it obvious?” “You come in late or not at all.” He was ticking off on his fingers. “You look like you’ve just rolled out of a meth house, and you’ve almost made a game for yourself to see how rude you can be to the customers.” A pause from me. “At least I have goals.” Aiden rolled those eyes. Then he pushed his shoulders back and set his head straight in my direction. “Zora. You are one of my best friends.” “Thanks darlin, you too.” I said, my mouth now once again full of chips. “So because of that...you’re fired.” I spit my chips on the floor. “Fired! What the hell Aiden?!” “You are smart. You are talented. You --” “I don’t need to go through any positive affirmation shit with you right now. I need this job.” “You don’t know what you need.” Ugh. “And you do? Can I just --” “Also you’re a terrible employee and people are genuinely afraid of you.” I smiled at that. “Well, I can’t argue with the facts.” “So,” he said, putting his hands on my shoulders in a very dad-like fashion. “I’m giving you two weeks’ pay to figure out your game plan. But I need you to promise you will not interact with any more customers.” “Well, I appreciate the glowing severance package,” I said, finishing the rest of my chips. “Now why don’t we toast over a quick drink?” Aiden waited. “You know it’s noon.” “Yeah,” I said, throwing the bag in the vicinity of the trash can. “And I’m unemployed.” My cell phone was ringing as I got back to my apartment. I, of course, had no intention of answering it. I tossed my keys close enough to the table and traipsed into the kitchen to look for some food and a possible beverage. My puppy, Jingle Bells, hopped through the doorway looking for cuddles. Oh my god, just kidding. Did you really think I had a dog? I can’t even take care of myself, let alone a small animal. I found some leftover pizza and a Coors Light, plopped down on the couch, and turned on the TV. As I flipped through trashy reality shows and overly-heartwarming sitcoms, my phone buzzed a voicemail alert. Not wanting to actually pick up my phone, I clicked on the speaker phone and went back to shoveling pepperoni and cheese into my face. My mother’s voice was a high and shrill as ever as it radiated from the phone, filling the nooks and crannies of the room with crackling anxiety. “Oh, hello Zora.” Think style of the good witch from Wizard of Oz with all the malice of the bad one. “I’m not sure if this is still your telephone number, but if it is, *sigh* your father is turning 60 this weekend and we are having a small get together. Your father would love it if you would be available to come and celebrate with him, but I understand if you are busy or don't’ have the, er means to get here. I just wanted to let you know. Bye Zora.” I hadn’t realized that during the few seconds of that voicemail I had clenched my jaw and was squeezing my pizza so hard I was dripping grease into my lap. “Shit,” I said. I started to drop the pizza, then thought about it and shoved it all into my mouth. Walking to the bathroom to wash my hands I began to do one of the things I absolutely hate doing -- processing, ugh, feelings. It was fairly obvious (as it had been for some time) that my mother could give a flying fart if she saw me this weekend (or ever again). To say the feeling is mutual would be a definite understatement. But my father, that was a different story. My father had my constant companion, my partner in crime, and my only cushion when it came to my mother. I had formed an outlaw bond with him from an early age. Before I had even shut off the water and began to dry my hands I knew that if I didn’t go back and see him I would regret it - and coming from me that was a bold statement. I sighed at my own face in the mirror. God, I need to mentally prepare the shit out of this. I’m definitely going to need more pizza. I waltzed into Band Land the next morning with Aiden’s favorite muffins and my best shit-eating grin on my face. I had a plan. And that plan involved manipulation, possible sexual innuendos, and carbs. Aiden didn’t even look up when I entered his office. “I fired you yesterday.” he said to his computer screen. I set the muffins on the keyboard in front of him, making sure to accidentally push my boobs into his back. He saw the muffins and felt the boobies and his head jerked up. “What’s all this?” He eyed me skeptically. I feigned stupidity and went a bit valley girl. “Aiden! I don’t know what you mean! I can’t get my very attractive friend breakfast and then see if he needs help with anything in his day?” “Zora.” He turned to look up me and gently took my wrists in his hands. “Look, I appreciate the effort but I’m not going to give your job back.” I ripped my arms out of his grasp. “My job back?! I was trying to get you to come home with me! I could care less about this stupid place.” Blank stare. “No offense.” “Mmmmhmmmm.” “Sorry Aiden. The job thing is behind me now. I mean we already know I’m a horrible employee, and a bad person in general.” “You’re not a bad person, you’re just misunderstood.” “I stole the muffins.” “I was wondering.” I sighed. Time to drop the charade and be real. “Look. I have to go home for my dad’s birthday. I love my dad and I want to see him, but I hate most of the other people in that town. I need a buffer for my horrible mother. Someone to back up my lies and also possibly pretend to be my boyfriend if necessary. And I want that buffer to be you,” I said, getting down on one knee like I had three-month’s salary worth of diamond in my hands. “Because you literally have no one else,” Aiden said. “And also you’re cute,” I countered. “Wow,” said Aiden. “This is the best indecent proposal I have ever received.” “I didn’t say I’d have sex with you.” “You also didn’t NOT say it.” “Aiden.” But I could tell he was thinking. “I’d have to get Blake to cover for…” He raised a questioning eyebrow. “Three.” “Three days.” He pretended to ponder some more. “But I think It’s doable.” I was shocked. “Holy shit. Does that mean you’ll go?” I asked. “Is there a chance for sex?” “Why not?” He grinned. “Then I’m in.” “When I invited you to Bumfuck, Iowa with me, I did not realize I would be subjected to hours upon hours of “So You Think You Can Model.” Aiden hopped into the doorway in his third outfit in the past five minutes and ignored my almost audible eye roll. “Firstly, those are two shows put together. And secondly, I’ve never been to the midwest and I feel like it’s a totally different country.” I snorted. “Oh, it’s country.” “So, I want to do as much as I can not to look out of place,” Aiden said. “Anyone whose family hasn’t lived in the area for 50 years is out of place.” “Zora.” he dropped the shirt he was holding in front of him and looked over at me. “Be serious.” I set my whiskey on the coffee table, leaned back, and crossed my arms. “Ok. I would recommend jeans, t-shirts, nothing flashy. And if you MUST dress up, then wear something you would have worn about three years ago.” Aiden scampered over and capitalized on the opportunity to drink my whiskey, which I allowed for many reasons (one being that the whiskey was his in the first place). He set the glass down and then sat on the coffee table facing me. He looked at his fidgeting hands and then at my face. “I just don’t want to embarrass you.” Oh God. Those damn feelings again. He is being so nice doing this favor for me. And he is absolutely adorable and such a catch. And you are leading him on keeping him just close enough and he keeps trying and you keep rebuffing him so little by little his heart will go cold and heart, thus ruining him for the rest of the vaginal population. You’re such a dick. I slapped his knee and kissed his nose. “Honey don’t worry. I will more than likely be embarrassing enough for the both of us.” “So what do I need to know about your family?” Aiden asked as we cruised along at mile-high-club altitude. I sighed so loudly that the grouchy woman in front of me turned around in her seat to stare at my from the aisle, essentially forcing me to pull my eyebrows up and give her the “did you need something?” glare. “Well,” I said, turning back to Aiden, and pushing my knee against the seat in front of me. “My dad’s okay, we’re friends. But my mom’s basically the worst.” “The worst how?” I shrugged, “Pick one.” “Zora…” “She can find something wrong with anything you do. Anything.” “Because she loves you and wants you to keep improving yourself?” “Because she wants me to be miserable?” “I don’t believe that.” “Believe it, baby.” Silence. He was waiting for more information. “God, okay. When I lived there I ashamed her little by little over the years and then right before I left I made sure to make a sure-fire asshole out of myself.” Aiden’s interest was peaked. He cocked his head at me. “Oh really?” “Yep.” This time I let the silence expand between us, knowing this to be a tactic of Aiden’s that I now refused to fall for. Sometimes Aiden doesn’t know when to fuck off, but this particular subject he apparently knew was off limits. He leaned back into his seat by the window, but also lifted his right hand and set on the back of my neck, a calming and supportive gesture. The plane landed without any movie-centric crisis and we stumbled to the baggage claim like we were walking out of a strip club at 6am. “Ah! We made it,” said Aiden. “Silly boy,” I said. “He turned to me like an inquisitive puppy.” I explained myself. “This is an airport in a fairly well populated city.” The puppy face continued. “And?” “And we have about a three hour drive to get to the middle of nowhere.” “Zora! How did you ever get out of this state?!” His cheesy joke didn’t fool me. I saw Aiden put on a brave face but immediately sensed that he was ill-at-ease with the current situation. We had known each other for about a year and he had taken me under his wing, given me a job and a place to live, and he just hopped on a plane to the equivalent of a deserted island with someone who could be plotting to kill him. Ballsy. It was at that moment that I realized how out of his element he was, even now, and how much he had gone through to support me. I felt terrible. “We can listen to your horrible 90’s hip hop jams in the rental?” I offered. There was the grin again. “You know you love TLC as much as I do.” Three and ½ hours and two pit stops later (somebody couldn’t hold it, Aiden), we approached the familiar bend in the road. “We’re almost there,” I said. “Almost where?” Aiden asked, incredulous. “We’re driving on a highway in the middle of nowhere.” “I realize this isn’t the fucking freeway,” I said, probably a bit nastier than I should have. “Sorry. But the best part of being in the middle of nowhere is that you can see REALLY far.” As if on cue we reach the crest of the hill and were rewarded with a gorgeous view of the landscape below, complete with a tiny little town, freckled with twinkling lights battling the fading sun and outlined on either side with corn and bean fields. “Wow.” Aiden said. An odd sense of pride welled up inside me. “It’s kindof pretty, isn’t it?” “I don’t know about that,” Aiden said. “I just can’t believe that’s the whole town! What is it like six blocks across?” “Probably more like 15,” I said begrudgingly. “15?! Well shit, we’ve got ourselves a metropolis.” “Shutup Aiden.” Aiden’s head snapped over to me. “What? I thought you hated this place?” Taken aback, I said out loud. “Yes of course I do.” But there was a feeling of raw excitement that I couldn’t pinpoint. What is happening here? More feelings? Pride? Nostalgia? Aiden tapped my knee and smiled,“Of course, Hun. I was just kidding around. I’m excited to meet your friends and family.” “Now let’s not get carried away.” I sneered. And just like that, I was back. Aiden navigated the car through the town, and looking out of the window into the dark streets, so many memories came flooding back, and I realized then that this was a horrible, shitty idea. Coming back here in general. Dragging Aiden with me, talking with these people. Mistake, mistake, mistake. I needed to get out of here. I needed to rectify the situation. Right. Now. I reached across Aiden, grabbed the wheel of the car, and yanked as far to the right as I could. The car swerved on the deserted street, briefly veering off the road before Aiden corrected course. “Zora! What in the actual hell are you doing?” He pulled the car off the to side of the road and threw it into park. “This was a stupid idea!” I blurted out, not realizing I had grabbed Aiden’s hands and was squeezing them so hard my knuckles were turning white. “This is dumb. Let’s go back to the airport and get a flight. Now.” Aiden has somehow gotten his hands fee of my death grip, and was rubbing his own together, more than likely to get the feeling back into them. “Um,” he said, not exactly meeting my crazed eyes, “would you like to talk through what happened just now like a normal human person?” I took a deep breath and met his gaze. “Sorry. Just, sorry.” I threw my hands in the air. “I just freaked out. There are so many….reasons I shouldn’t come back here. This might turn into a shit-tastic weekend, and I don’t want to pull you down with me.” Aiden put his hand on my neck again. “Why don’t we...take things one step at a time. We put the car in drive?” I smiled and sighed, “Yes.” “Good,” Aiden said. “Then we drive to your house, we say “hi” to your dad, and then we take it from there.” Creeping fear. I pretended to think it over. Drive back to the airport, sleep there and wait for a flight or continue the three minutes to my house. What choice did I have? I nodded my head. Aiden mimicked my nod, put the car into gear and started us toward Lennox Lane, and my possible impending doom. Aiden eased the car into the driveway and we both breathed in deeply and locked eyes. “Are you ready?” Aiden asked, with a look of general concern on his face. And I was. Now or never, a numb acceptance had washed over me. Get through the weekend, come hell or high water. Before I had even shut the trunk of the rental car the front door had been flung open and my father had come bounding out like an excited golden retriever. “Dad,” I breathed, and hurried to the sidewalk to await my bear hug. And it came full force, hurricane Paul. I felt the air escape my lungs and I giggled and snuggled my face against his gruff neck. And in that moment I knew why I had come home. The feeling of unequivocated love is the best drug, the favorite song, the first shot of tequila. We stood there for awhile, little forgettings and forgivings floating between us. I heard a throat clear and remembered that I had brought a person along. “Aiden!” I said, pulling away from my father long enough to catch his eyes. A thought had crossed my mind that I didn’t want him to be here, and once again I felt ashamed. He might make this father/daughter reunion awkward by ruining it with recent personal details or going into specifics on the nature of our relationship. “Um, Aiden, this is--” “Mr. Scott,” Aiden said candidly, meeting my father’s eye and giving him a hearty, friendly handshake. “Zora couldn’t stop talking about you on the way up here. She was pretty excited to help you celebrate your birthday.” Releasing his grip, he took a step back and embraced me in a sweet side hug. “I’m Aiden. Zora’s boyfriend,” he said, beaming from ear to ear. And that was that. I should have known that Aiden would be absolutely adorable and charismatic. He could sell almost anything to anyone. He knew how to read the room. Right now, I don’t know if he was playing house more for me or for himself. But either way I was grateful. Paul Scott’s eyes lit up and he smiled mischievously. “Brought the new man home to meet the folks, huh?” he elbowed me mockingly in the ribs. “Well, I’d better give you the ‘dad treatment’ then son.” My father straightened himself up and grunted to clear his throat. “Where are you from?“ “Orange County.” “Uh huh.” He pretended to frown. “And do you have a job, son?” Now it was Aiden’s turn to straighten up. “Actually I own my own business.” My father’s face brightened and I smiled. I knew this would strike a chord. My family had owned the hardware store in town for as long as I can remember. My grandfather has passed it to my dad, and when I was a little girl I would go there every day after school to do my homework and eat lollipops. When I finished, I got to help my dad with “store stuff,” doing inventory, stocking shelves, and even helping customers. Growing older, working in the store wasn’t always as fun, but I stuck with it because he always stuck with me. Also, as I got older, I realized that I needed to help my dad with other store duties. Paul Scott was great with customers, but unsure of himself with accounting, and forgetful with inventory. People came into the store because of my father’s “local celebrity” status, high school football hero, homecoming king, all around wonderful guy. But I found out soon enough that operations strictly fell to my mother and me. It was also subversively obvious to me that we didn’t tell people that we “helped dad” with the back end of the business. Mother. In all the excitement I had almost forgotten they were a package deal. Dread rushed through my body clear and icy. “Is she here?” I whispered almost to myself. My father, knowing the exact context of the question, sighed. “You bet kiddo. And she’s over the moon to see you.” We let the lie sit between us. I gave him a weak smile as he turned to help Aiden get our things out of the car, and I trudged into the house to face her. I tapped the front door open, hoping maybe to sneak in unnoticed and get to sanctuary of my old room upstairs. Or go all dead like an opossum if she came into the hallway. Avoid contact for the next two days and then get the fuck out. But it had been too long since I had been to the house, and as I was making my way up the stairs, I hit the creaky step, and it snitched. Hard. EEErrrrrk. “Who’s there?” The sickly sweet voice came from the front room. “Paul?” Oh God. Run for it. Bolt out of the front door, grab Aiden and head out of town. Almost involuntary though, “No, it’s me” popped out of my mouth. There was a deep silence in the room, and I almost repeated myself until I heard, “Zora? Is that you?” Sheeeaat. “Yes it’s Zora.” Resigned, I headed down the stairs and into the front room. Nancy Scott was perched on the flowered loveseat in a dark pink dress that wrapped around her shoulders and stopped right where her knees began. Her heeled feet tucked primly to her right side and holding a martini in her left hand, my mother looked as though she stepped off the cover of Good Housekeeping circa 1959. Minus the beehive. Her blonde hair was painstakingly curled and just hit her shoulders in a sideswept style that the local salon literally calls “The Nancy.” She didn’t get up, but put her non-martini hand out to welcome me. I awkwardly took it, thought a moment about doing a curtsy and kissing it, and instead gave it a half-hearted shake before stepping back like I had been dismissed by royalty. “My darling,” she cooed. “I’m so happy you made it. Your father must have already seen you?” she said, dipping her head toward the front door. “Yes,” I smiled, more out absolute fear than happiness. “He’s out there with Aiden right now.” My mother’s ears perked up like a wolf. “Aiden?” she asked, and gave me a half grin. “And who is Aiden?” I thought about pretending that I didn’t know what I had just said and faking some crazy seizure, but she would find out sooner or later. “Aiden is...my boyfriend.” It felt weird to say. “I met him out in California and we’ve been dating for a few months.” “Well now,” my mother beamed up at me. “Isn’t that wonderful? I can’t wait to...meet him.” I knew what that meant. She couldn’t wait to judge him. According to my mother, verbatim, the only men I can meet are “unemployed lowlifes, disrespectful heathens, or just plain crazy.” The support was just overwhelming. I could see her silently trying to decide which was Aiden was going to be. Well fuck her because she was in for a surprise. At that moment, dad and Aiden appeared in the doorway of the front room. I tried to take him in like I was looking at him for the first time. Semi-shaggy blonde hair, lean and tanned physique, and sea foam green eyes. He was a beautiful man. And nice. What in the hell was he doing with me? Nancy had stood up by now and I could tell by tuning toward me that she was thinking all the same things, right down to the “what in the hell is he doing here?” question. Aiden, again immediately reading the situation, came over to me and gave me a peck on the lips (a bit much, but I would talk to him about it later). “Hello love,” he smiled, and turned to mom. “And this must be Nancy!” he exclaimed, extending his hand. But Nancy wasn’t having it. “In this house we hug” she said. We do? She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her body to his just a half tick long enough to make everyone in the room feel uncomfortable. Aiden came out of the death grip, patted her on the shoulder, and (a little quickly) got back to his new position with his arm around me and a smile plastered on his beautiful face. “Zora has told me so much about you,” Aiden said. Nancy laughed, a low, throaty gurgle that she had perfected for dinner parties. “If that were true, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten the hug.” Apparently the day drinking had gotten a bit worse since the last time I had been home. Aiden laughed and said, “Believe it or not, she was happy to come here.” This seemed like new and not altogether unwelcome information for my mother, who looked at me with a warm? smile. “Well isn’t that wonderful. Now how about some dinner?”