#why were we trying to make cartoons realisic anyways?? i feel like it loses the fun

[eggshells-and-simple-spells]

ok but these movies have something to them that i want in the future of animated movies

I’m not just talking about the comical effects, but the exaggerated expressions, different framerates, and model styles really keep my attention on every second of the movie. (Saying a lot because I have no attention span)

I think, and it doesn’t have to copy these factors exactly, but if we follow this idea of uniqueness animated movies will have a great path in the future yk?

#this also applies to the new puss in boots movie #why were we trying to make cartoons realisic anyways?? i feel like it loses the fun #all my opinion take this however you please of course #turning red #mitchells vs the machines #spiderman into the spiderverse #animation #edit: hit post ig hai ppl

[diazboys]

love, don’t let me go | 2.2k words | buddie | established relationship, emotional hurt/comfort, fluff | ao3

written for Eddie Diaz Week 2021 | Day 4: “I don’t deserve this.” + guilt

.

The firehouse is silent. They’re halfway through a 24-hour shift but it’s been rather calm. Not many calls, only a small house fire, a guy locking himself inside his own car and a fender bender. Eddie doesn't like it. Not the city being relatively good and safe, of course, but the calm. The silence that engulfs the station is driving him mad. It gives him too much time to think and Eddie doesn’t like the kind of thoughts that are swarming his head lately.

For a moment he considers heading to the bunk room but he quickly dismisses it. He won’t be able to sleep anyway and he doesn’t want to disturb anyone. A while ago he sent Buck there so he could get some rest. They were lounging on the couch, watching some late-night history documentary with a crazy amount of conspiracy theories in it. It didn’t take long for Buck to start drifting off. His head slid down Eddie’s shoulder, arms getting looser around his waist. Knowing that if he fell asleep like this, he’d be all stiff and cranky later, Eddie nudged him awake and sent him to bed. He had to promise he’d join and get some rest himself before Buck finally agreed to go, pressing a kiss to Eddie’s lips and walking away with a loud yawn. Eddie intended to keep the promise but… not now.

With a sigh, Eddie gets up from the couch, not even realising that the documentary has ended a while ago. Trying to find himself something to do, he wanders around the empty loft. He opens the fridge, even though he’s not hungry. He empties the dishwasher as quietly as he can and then loads the remaining dirty plates inside. He wipes the counters. Then he puts the notes Hen left on the table into a neat pile, mindful that all the sticky notes stay in their places. Seeing that there’s not much to do here anymore, he considers going downstairs. Maybe he could exercise for a bit. It should do the trick to help clear his mind and maybe tire him enough so he can get some sleep.

Eddie drags his hand across his face in a frustrated gesture. Before he can do anything, he hears a voice coming from behind.

“You okay, Eddie?”

Taking a slow breath, Eddie turns around to face Bobby. He hopes that his face doesn’t show too many of the emotions rumbling in his head. It’s a futile hope, according to Buck. He always makes fun of Eddie for having the most expressive face he’s ever seen. The thought almost puts a smile on Eddie’s face.

“Yeah, I’m good, Cap,” Eddie says.

Bobby’s watchful eyes don’t leave Eddie but there’s worry written all over his face when he asks, “You sure? You seem a bit… restless. And you’ve been a bit distant for the past few days.”

Eddie sighs. It’s true. He just hoped he could deal with it quickly enough so that nobody would point it out. When they’re on a call, Eddie always stays focused on the job, but when they’re all just hanging around Eddie gets too caught up in his own head to laugh at the jokes or bite back at the mocking. Buck has been bugging him about it every day, because of course he realised. He was the first one to. But how can Eddie tell him when it’s all Buck’s fault?

No, he corrects himself. It’s not Buck’s fault. He has done absolutely nothing wrong and Eddie doesn’t have the right to look at it that way. Everything that is happening, is because of him.

“No, it’s—,” Eddie starts, trying to clear his head. “Just a bit tired. Got some things on my mind. That’s all.”

Not looking entirely convinced, Bobby nods and slowly moves closer to the table. Eddie’s fingers are wrapped around the back of the chair in front of him but he doesn’t sit when Bobby does so across from him. But he doesn’t run away, either.

“Something’s up with Christopher?” Bobby prods gently and when Eddie shakes his head, he carefully adds, “With Buck?”

Eddie clenches his jaw. It’s just a small gesture, but Bobby still notices. “You guys had a fight?”

“No, it’s not—,” Eddie says and feels very tired all of sudden. The legs scrape loudly against the floor as Eddie pulls at the chair and drops down on it. “It’s great. Buck’s great. I’m— really happy with him.”

“But?”

“But that’s the problem,” Eddie shakes his head with a sad smile. “I’m not sure if we should— If I should— Maybe it wasn’t a good idea.”

A non-committal hum leaves Bobby’s mouth as he waits for Eddie to continue. When he doesn’t, Bobby asks, “Why? He makes you happy. I can clearly see that you make him happy. And you’ve mentioned that Christopher took it more than well. So what happened?”

Eddie bites at his upper lip, trying to gather his thoughts and keep his emotions at bay. It wasn’t the kind of conversation he wanted to have right now. Or ever, probably. But Bobby was looking at him with this soft, worried look and Eddie felt like maybe it could lessen the knot that has been slowly tightening in his stomach for weeks. Maybe from the very moment he first kissed Buck, in the dim light of his own living room when they were watching some stupid cartoon, Buck’s eyes bright and happy as he looked down at Christopher, asleep and curled tightly against Buck’s side. It didn’t change that much between them, the kiss. But at the same time, it changed everything and Eddie felt like he was standing on top of a mountain. He wanted to admire the beautiful view but kept his eyes firmly on the ground, to make sure he won’t trip and fall into the precipice.

“Nothing. Not yet, at least,” Eddie says and then words start falling out of his mouth before he can stop them. “But Shannon made me happy, too. And she was happy with me. Before I messed it all up and ran away and she left because she didn’t know what else to do. There are so many things,” Eddie says slowly through gritted teeth, “that I’ve messed up in my life. I can’t mess this up. I can’t lose Buck.”

“Who said you’re gonna lose him?”

“I’ve been a bad son, a horrible father and even worse husband. I’ve done so many things that I regret now but can’t fix. Why would I be a good boyfriend to Buck?” Eddie looks at Bobby but quickly averts his gaze as he feels his eyes burning. “And Buck is— He’s good. He loves Christopher endlessly and Christopher loves him just as much. He’s so caring and thoughtful and there’s still so much kindness in him. I admire him and I can’t believe he— He’s always there to catch me when I need it and he’s— He’s everything. And I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve him.”

If Eddie wasn’t trying so hard to keep himself together, he would probably feel embarrassed for laying his heart out for his captain like this. He wasn’t one for speeches or talking about feelings. But he knew Bobby would understand. Bobby knew Buck. Bobby, who was more of a father to Buck that his real father was, knew that Buck was a good person, one of the best. He knew that he deserved everything good from the world. And Eddie couldn’t give him that.

“Eddie,” Bobby’s voice is soft when he leans across the table, trying to catch Eddie’s eyes. He doesn’t continue, so eventually Eddie looks up at him. “You’re a good person. You’re so much more than the mistakes you’ve made in the past. They don’t define who you are. You’ve made a choice. A conscious choice to change, to try again, to keep going, and you’ve done all the hard work and put in effort to do this. And that’s what matters. You deserve to be happy, Eddie.”

Looking away, Eddie shakes his head and bites the inside of his cheek. “But what if it doesn’t work out? Again? I don’t know what I’d do without him. And I was perfectly happy with being just his friend. So maybe we should just… try to fix it and go back to where we were before it’s too late. Maybe we should—” he stops, not able to voice the thought that has been haunting him for the past week.

“There’s no reason for fixing something that’s not broken, Eddie,” Bobby says. “I’m pretty sure Buck doesn’t want to lose you, either. You mean too much to each other to just give up. No matter what life throws your way, I know you two can figure it out. You said you regretted running away before. So don’t. Stay and let yourself be happy. You can’t base your life on what if’s.”

It all makes sense. Eddie knows it does but it’s so hard to believe sometimes. There’s no doubt about his feelings for Buck. He has been in love with him before he even knew how to call the sense of warmth and peace that overtook him every time Buck was around. And he hasn’t doubted Buck’s feelings for a second, either. And Eddie knows that there’s nothing in the world that would make him happier than going through life with Buck by his side, than making a place for him in Eddie’s family. As if he wasn’t part of it the second he appeared in his and Christopher’s life. The fear that’s been looming over his head, the guilt that’s been haunting him didn’t let him see all of this.

“You deserve every good thing in your life. Even when it’s hard to accept it. Especially if it is.” Bobby’s hand is heavy when it lands on Eddie’s shoulder, giving him a comforting squeeze.

Eddie only nods, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. He hopes that Bobby can see the gratefulness he wants to express. And judging by the warm smile on his captain’s face, he can.

“...Eddie?”

They both look up, startled by the noise. Buck is standing at the top of the stairs, hesitant. His hair is mussed from sleep and he looks between the two of them with a worried expression.

Turning back to Eddie, Bobby gives his shoulder one more squeeze and after getting a shaky smile in response, he gets up. On his way downstairs, he passes Buck, giving him a pat on the shoulder and a smile and then he’s gone. For a moment, Buck just stands there, looking after Bobby with a confused frown. Then he unfreezes and rushes towards Eddie.

“Eddie, are you—,” Buck starts, pulling up a chair for himself and he sits, turning his whole body towards Eddie. “Is everything okay?”

Eddie nods, trying to smile and stop the tears at the same time. They are not the same, miserable tears that welled up in his eyes not-so-long ago. They are happy tears because Eddie is the happiest man alive. But Buck doesn’t know this. And so the worried wrinkle on his forehead only deepens as he leans closer to Eddie, taking his hand into his.

“But you’re— Did something happen? I’m freaking out, Eds, just talk to me, please.”

Instead of doing that, Eddie just laughs wetly and leans forward to press a soft kiss to Buck’s lips.

“Everything is great, I promise,” Eddie says, smiling. His hands cup Buck’s face as he kisses him again. “You make me so happy, Buck. I love you so much.”

“And… that’s what you’ve been talking with Bobby about?” Buck raises an eyebrow and the worry is slowly replaced by a small smile.

“Basically,” Eddie chuckles. “I just needed some sense talked into me.”

Buck hums, clearly curious but he doesn’t ask. “Well, Bobby’s good at that. And I’m happy with the conclusions you guys have made. I love you too, in case you were wondering.”

God, Eddie can’t believe he considered leaving this wonderful man, considered walking out of the best thing in his life. It feels so stupid now.

“You couldn’t sleep?” Eddie asks, brushing his thumb across Buck’s cheek.

“I know you lied and didn’t intend to get any rest unless I dragged you downstairs,” Buck raises an eyebrow at him.

Eddie makes a shocked face, “Did I ever lie to you? Name one time I lied to you.”

“You said you liked the casserole I made last week and I saw you giving half of your serving to Christopher,” Buck points out.

“Green beans, Buck! You know I don’t like green beans!”

When Buck shakes his head at him, the fondness and love written all over his face as he leans for another kiss, Eddie feels the knot in his stomach disappearing completely. Finally, he can see that this happiness is not something he should or could ever leave behind. He still has his fears and worries, they won't just disappear like that. But if there's one thing that he and Buck know is that you have to fight for the things you love. No matter how hard it might be. And this thing they have is way too important to give up on. 

#eddiediazweek2021 #eddieweek2021 #buddie fic #buddie #911 #911 fic #eddie diaz #evan buckley #my writing #let me know what u think ♥ #with every fic they get a little bit longer lmao #we'll see how it looks by the end of the week

[blu-joons]

My Little Miracle ~ Young K

Laying back into your pillow you couldn’t help but sigh, your body was exhausted at the end of a long Christmas, and now all you wanted was sleep. It was your first Christmas away from your parents, and now you found all the responsibility of Christmas had been placed on your shoulders.

Younghyun had tried to help throughout the day with little things, but anything he seemed to touch in the kitchen went wrong, and if he so much as breathed too close to a decoration, you just knew it was somehow going to fall and break.

None of that, however, stopped your Christmas from being entirely magical. Spending it just the two of you had been exactly what you wanted this year after having such busy years separately, it was a time for the two of you to simply reconnect with each other.

Whilst you laid down in bed, you could hear footsteps coming up the stairs, a heel kicked the bedroom door open, where Younghyun stood. He had a proud smile on his face as he walked in with two mugs of hot chocolate, placing one on each side of the bed.

Once they were down, safely, he laid himself down beside you, instantly reaching out for your body to pull in close to his. He sighed contently, resting his head on top of yours, staring out through the gap in your curtains as the city began to fall quiet.

“I don’t know about you jagi, but I think this has been my favourite Christmas yet,” he whispered down to you, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

Without a doubt, it had been your favourite Christmas too. Not just because you were with Younghyun, but for once, you could do what you wanted. No one to tell you when to start drinking, or how to cook, or what film you had to watch at what time.

You hummed back at him with a wide smile, the more you thought about it, the more thankful you were to even be spending this Christmas with Younghyun. It had been a couple of years since you were last together for the holidays at his parents.

“I’m glad we’re together, it didn’t really feel like anything else was going to be important this year,” you finally responded, “I didn’t want to be away from you for another Christmas.”

His grip around your waist tightened, reminding you that he really was there with you. He felt exactly the same way you did, having such a small family too, it always made such a huge difference for him whenever you were around to be with his family too.

“Thank you for everything you did for me today,” he suddenly complimented, smiling widely as your eyes flickered up to look at him.

“You don’t need to thank me; we did all of this together as a team.”

He chuckled lightly, “I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but you and I both know that if you weren’t with me, my Christmas would have turned into a complete mess.”

With his parents no longer in Korea, Younghyun was more thankful then ever that you made the decision to be with him, Christmas with you topped sitting alone and watching cartoons, that was a Christmas he always hoped he’d forget and replace with happier ones.

His lips rested against your forehead for a few moments before you heard him clear his throat. “I don’t say it enough to you, but I hope you know how grateful I am to have you, not just at Christmas, but every day of the year. You’re my little miracle all year round.”

“You really do underestimate yourself sometimes,” you scolded, resting your hand against his chest so you could look up at him. “Do you have any idea how grateful I am to have you? I must permanently be on Santa’s nice list to keep getting you as a present.”

His cheeks began to turn a dark shade of red, which you quickly noticed, pressing your hands to either side of his face, planting your lips firmly against his.

“I don’t ever want this Christmas to end, I don’t want to be away from you again when all of this is over.”

You nodded, laying back down against his body. It was the most heart breaking thing about Christmas, just as you began to get used to having each other back again, one of you had to go back to work or travel and you ended up back to square one. If it weren’t for Christmas, sometimes you wondered if you’d ever even get to see each other throughout the year.

Younghyun glanced down at you for a few moments, watching as you fought to keep your eyes open, slipping his hand out from under the duvet and pulling his nightstand open.

“Don’t sleep yet, I made you a drink,” he reminded you, “and I’ve got one final present for you.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, reluctantly sitting up so you could drink the hot chocolate he’d made you.

You watched closely as he passed you over a white box, encouraging you to open it. Slowly, you lifted the lid up to see a silver key resting against the black fabric, lifting it out and twirling it around in your hand.

Although you smiled, Younghyun knew you were clueless as to what it was. “It’s the spare key to this place, because it’s just as much your home as it is mine.”

Your body fell into shock, looking at him in slight disbelief. Once you’d processed what he’d told you, your arms moved around his neck, hugging him tightly, gripping hard onto the key. You knew, as he always reminded you, this was your Korean home, but now you had the key, it really felt like a place you’d always knew you’d be welcome in, a place that you could call home.

“I don’t even know what to say,” you whispered, pressing several kisses against his flushed cheek. “This is huge for you to give me this, you realise that don’t you? Are you definitely sure you want me to have this?”

“More than anything else in the world. You shouldn’t need to wait for me to let you into our home, and now you can be here whenever you want,” he spoke.

“I promise I won’t lose it; I’ll keep hold of it safely forever.”

He nodded with a giggle, “I know you will, that’s why I trusted that it would be safe with you.”

Even if this had been your home for quite some time, Younghyun knew that giving you the clue would be the physical reminder you needed that he’d always be your home. If you were thousands of miles apart, the two of you still shared the same key to your home.

“I know I should have given it to you this morning, but I was just too nervous,” he confessed, running a hand through his black hair.

Your head shook, Christmas or not, you didn’t care when, or if, he’d ever give you a key. You placed it delicately onto your nightstand, making sure you knew exactly where it was, before picking up the mug of hot chocolate, gripping it tightly.

“It’s probably cold by now,” he laughed, reaching for his own mug. “I can go and warm them up if it’ll make it nicer for you?”

“It’s fine, all of this was worth drinking cold hot chocolate anyway.”

He nodded, taking a sip of his drink with bated breath, shuddering at how cold he was. Somehow, he still managed to force a smile to his lips as you politely drunk it, trying to forget just how cold it was. “Don’t feel like you have to drink it, it’s fine.”

“No, I can drink it. It’s not even that bad anyway.”

Younghyun could tell you were only being nice to not upset him, as you quickly gulped it down to get it over and done with, placing your mug back on the table and laying back down. As soon as he was done, he was back laying beside you, pulling you into the side of his body.

“So, how does this rate for Christmas? Should we do the same next year?”

Your head nodded, draping your arm across his chest. “I think this has by far been my favourite Christmas ever, but that’s only because I got to spend it with you.”

“If I had it my way, every day would be spent with you, but I guess that’s what makes Christmas so much more special for us both, right?”

“Of course. But I’m just saying now, if you’ve given me the key to your house this year, I’ve got high expectations for next year,” you teased, staring up at his eyes rolled. “I’m only messing with you, being with you is the only present I need.”

He nodded in agreement, reaching across to turn his lamp off, making sure that the duvet was wrapped tightly around both of your bodies together.

“Thank you for the best Christmas, jagi.”

Your head shook, poking his chest. “Thank you for asking me to do Christmas with you and making it such a happy occasion for me. I love you Younghyun.”

“I love you too, my little miracle.”

---

Masterlist

#day6 #day6 imagine #young k #young k imagine #kang younghyun #kang younghyun imagine #brian #brian imagine #day6 reaction #day6 scenario #day6 one shot #day6 drabble #day6 fluff #young k drabble #young k scenario #young k reaction #young k one shot #young k fluff #kpop #kpop imagine

[b00t-s]

We're all gossip-y bitches sometimes

this is part two

Janus xey/xem

Roman she/he

Patton he/him

Virgil he/him

See the character intros for more info

TW. Swearing, arguments, alcohol, drunk characters, the word v//mit is used once, characters being characters, past trauma mentioned, tiny tiny tiny sprinkle of angst but just a passing of it at end, and nothing to intense

Again, tell me if I'm being insensitive. Shout at me if I am.

Summary: Patton goes to talk to Janus about Roman. The group opens...'some' bottles. Virgil adds on some...interesting opinions.

Events occur few hours after this.

Janus just finished xeir nightly shift when Patton came bounding up to xem. Janus raised an eyebrow at how ecstatic he looked.

"Yes?" Xey managed out, forcing back the hundreds of snarky comments xey could of said right then.

"Can you hang out at My house later?" Patton practically beamed out.

"why would I want to 'hang out'? It's just a social construct created to give people a higher sense of being." Janus remarked, flipping to closed/open side to closed.

"So you'll be there?"

"hmm. Will doom-and-gloom be there?

"doom and---ohhh, Virge. Yeah, probably," Patton realised now that this was a bad mix of people to invite "probably-probably not for long though!"

"Fine" Janus replied, taking off xeir apron. Xey ignored the obvious lie. "I'll be there in an hour." Xey knew one way or another xey would end up there due to Patton's... effective persuading.

"Great!" Patton exclaimed "oh yeah, and...um...it's raining outside so..take my umbrella, kay?"

His tone more serious all of a sudden, Patton nodded to Janus' heavily made up face, so well done an ignorant bystander wouldn't of noticed the thick layers of foundation on xeir face.

Patton handed xem a translucent umbrella, patterned with cute frogs and flowers, to Janus. Ignoring the distasteful cartoons, Janus nodded and took the umbrella.

"See you soon, Jan!" Patton cheerily waved as he bounced off.

Janus folded xeir apron, opened Patton's umbrella and braved the outdoors.

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

Janus arrived at Patton's house exactly on time, bone dry, despite the heavily flowing rain. Patton expected nothing less of his friend. He invited xem inside, amazed as always by his friend's everyday fashion.

Jan was wearing a casual yellow shirt over a long sleeved black shirt. Fishnet gloves adorned xeir hands, and xeir ruffled hair was let lose.

Xeir fashionably messy hair was topped with a neatly placed black fedora, which of xey never took off. Xey even scarred persuaded Thomas to let xem wear it to work.

Patton offered xem a smile, and walked xem upstairs. "Hi Jan!" He grinned.

"Hello" xey replied mundanely.

Xey absent-mindedly glanced at Patton's outfit, which contained a violet cashmere sweater, bell bottomed jeans, circular silver glasses and a sunflower clip in his perfect curls.

It was a good look, xey had to admit.

When they both reached Patton's room, Janus stood still, taking in xeir surroundings.

Patton's room was covered with things from the 2000's; Tamagotchi's, stickers pressed up against the pastel wall, stuffed animals, wristbands, old CD's, care bears posters and butterfly clips littering the floor in a deadly trap.

A trans flag was pinned above the single bed with blue tack, right next to some inspirational and motivational quotes.

The whole place looked like it had been puked on by unicorns.

It hurt Janus' eyes.

Xey was a little overwhelmed by all the spiraling colours and nostalgia-inducing objects, so xey sat cross-legged in the middle of the pink carpet. The world slowed down.

Janus wondered, not for the first time, how a 29 year old could be this cheerful.

.

Or appear this cheerful.

"Jan?"

Janus gave a small twitch of xeir head, realising that xey had spaced out. "Hmm?" Xey replied.

"Hey, you were up with the clouds! I was just saying, I think Virge is here" Patton chirped.

"oh"

"he...might be staying for a little longer then i said"

"How wonderful." Janus muttered, knowing this would happen but hating it anyway.

"oh, don't be like that! I'm sure you guys could become friends!" Janus snorted. "Or...at least not kill at each other whenever you're in the same general area" Patton corrected.

"Anyway! I'm going to greet him at the door!" He suddenly proclaimed, skipping downstairs.

Janus was disgusted at how naïve this man was.

But that was a lie.

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

Patton slowed his happy skip to a casual walk. His grin slipped into a content smile as he reached the end of the stairs. Being so happy takes its toll on people, he thought. Soft tapping of the door interrupted his thoughts as he opened the door to reveal Virgil.

The first thing you notice about this man was his unfair tall-ness. He nearly had to duck to get inside; being too skinny didn't help. Virgil was wearing a plain black hoodie over a mcr top, completing the look with a short, pleated skirt and docs. His face was slathered in white foundation, accompanied with dark eyeshadow under his eyes.

"Virge!! I'm glad you could make it, even if you are late!!Again!" Patton hugged his friend, genuinely glad for his presence. The taller man patted Patton's curls awkwardly.

"Heyyyy Pat-" Virgil did the awkward pats on the back everyone does when they want to get out of a hug but don't want to say it in fear of hurting ones feelings. "Traffic-"

Patton withdrew from the hug and smiled. "okay! at least you're here safe! Can't control the traffic"

"Janus is waiting for us upstairs" Patton continued. He hurriedly carried on speaking before Virgil could spit out an insult about xem "say, you know what I hate about stairs? They're always up to something!" Patton laughed at his own joke, whilst Virgil pretended to face-palm, hiding a snigger.

"Alright, Alright dAd, didn't you say snake face was waiting for us?" Virgil mocked. Patton chuckled uncomfortably at the nickname, but nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah, we shouldn't leave xem waiting"

They both entered his room, having walked the short journey there in a comfortable silence. Patton noted Janus had not moved from were he left xem; xey had just shifted to read a book xey most likely found lying around. Janus looked up upon their arrival, xeir face immediately twisting into a mocking grimace upon seeing Virgil. "ah, you brought the racoon"

"Janus play nice--"

"you're one to talk, you participated in 2012 Tumblr" Virgil threw back

"must you be so wounding" Janus dramatically threw xeir hand against xeir forehead.

"okAY, that's enough guys." Patton firmly said. Janus pulled a face in reply, and Virgil returned the favour. Patton sighed. He just wanted them to get along, which was probably a high expectation by itself.

Perhaps he had booze leftover somewhere.

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

Twelve near fist fights, two crying sessions and many, many, many bottles of alcohol later, it was nearing eleven pm and the group was drunker than a litter of catnip high kittens.

They all crowded into a close-knit circle on the bed, nearly falling off but not caring.

"ssso your telling me that flashy asss hhimbo sssssaid I wasss hot but then rude and that I wore too muchh makeup? What a *hic* bitchh" Janus hissed.

Patton giggled. "yeeeeee, be nice though! She was kindaaaa alllllllll over the place!" Patton continued bluntly, "But how would you feel if I set you guys up????~"

"oh pleassssse do, I would just love that" Janus may be trashed but xey still knew sarcasm. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending who you are, Patton did not.

"yayyy! This is gonna be great!!"

Virgil butted in then, waving around the bottle he was holding "hold on, just holllld on a minute there, you're planning to set up that" he vaugly gestured in Janus' direction "with Princy??? Xey've known her for what, 4 minutes? Life isn't a disney movie"

"Dare I detect a hint of jealousy there emo?" Janus purred "am I that lovable?" Xey hiccuped.

"ooooooooh" Patton leaned into the circle, loving the drunk drama.

"wouldn't you like to know weather boy" Virgil droned back, finishing off the bottle.

"Honey, I would dare ssay that was a yesss"

"nO"

"oooooo, you liiiiike meeeEe"

"you disgust me"

"kinky"

Patton shook his hands excitingly at them, nearly hitting Virgil, causing them to shut up. "I can't believe you're finally open to a relationship after what happened! With my best friend no least! Boy did I try to get you to go on more dat--" Patton suddenly clasped his hands over his mouth as if he just said something nasty.

.

.

Everyone went silent. Janus stared at Patron, xeir mouth slightly parted. Virgil laughed nervously to try and break the tension. It sounded strained.

Janus began to speak to stop Patton from starting to spout drunken apologies. "Well thatssss jusst a liee, I've dated pleeenty of people over..well...that...period..of time."

Everyone went silent again, not quite sure on what to say.

Virgil's anxiety was heightening due to the social awkwardness and the influence of the alcohol.

Patton was fidgeting in his lap.

It was Janus yet again who broke the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Sssso, *hic* you ssaid you wanted me to go out with thisss idiot?"

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

first-previous-next

updated masterpost

tag list: @arrowthenon-binaryroyalty, @spellingwillbethedeathofme,

ask if you want to be added or removed from tag list

and we meet our boi virgil

context is for losers

i could of probably cut out unnecessary things in that but y'know I'm new and I like it

these posts will be in chronological order, unless flashback, but it's not following a set-in-stone story line, so asks are, yet again, much appreciated.

I procrastinated too much during the making of this

#sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides fic #janus sanders #genderfluid!janus #patton sanders #trans!patton #virgil sanders #alcohol mention #Janus what have you agreed to #hiss hiss bitch #this story is all over the place plz #roceit #platonic moxiety #This won't and never will be a moxiety fic I'm sorry #their father ans son relashionship #no hate on the ones who do ship it #it just isn't my cup of tea #Ok-ish

[leelysian]

Changbin as your older brother AU 💖✨

genre: fluff, bullet point fic

word count: 2.3k

warnings: swearing

Disclaimer: I do not personally know Changbin. This work is purely fiction and my own idea. I took inspiration from his on screen persona. Please do not translate or re-upload my work.

A/N: hi :) Sorry if this is kinda bad. I’m running out of ideas for this series(?). It’s really hard to write these aus for the members when there’s limited knowledge about them and when you’re trying to make everything seem different without making it seem like they’re all one dimensional and cut from the same cloth. Thank you to everyone who has been reading these older brother aus and thank you for being patient. Please leave some feedback, it really keeps me going. ❤️

☆ Let’s start with you as babies.

☆ Changbin would for sure as kiddy questions like “How did the baby get inside mummy’s tummy?” “When will baby come out?” “How does baby poop?”

☆ Your parents either answered him vaguely or somehow dodged his questions.

☆ Would sleep in your parents bedroom close to your mum to protect her baby bump.

☆ Would be hella excited to feel you kick in your mum’s tummy.

☆ Would say cute things to the baby bump. “Come out quickly baby I can’t wait to play with you.” “We can play with *insert favourite toy* together.” “We’re going to have a lot of fun together.” I am close to tears

☆ Doesn’t care about the gender.

☆ When you were born, he was extremely excited to see you but little Binnie patiently waited till your parents had their moment first until they ushered him to the hospital bed.

☆ He was wide eyed as he held you as if scared to hurt you. He smiled when he stroked your cheek with a finger and smiled wider when you grabbed onto his finger.

☆ CUDDLES, CUDDLES AAAAAAAND MORE CUDDLES

☆ Tried to help your parents take care of you but most of the time failed.

☆ *tries to put pants on you* *gets kicked in the face instead*

☆ The only thing he could properly do was cuddle you as he fed you a bottle and somehow you ate properly if he was the one feeding you when you were being fussy.

☆ *you two fall asleep while he’s holding you*

☆ Adoring/curious stares.

☆ Fed you a bit of lemon for jokes when you were starting to grow teeth and had the time of his fricking life when he saw your reaction.

☆ I’m talking the kind of laughs he does with his whole body.

☆ Helped you learn how to walk patiently. Just laughed when you fell on your butt.

☆ Taught you how to high 5 at a very young age.

☆ You talked to him a lot. Not like he understood what you said because it was mostly babbling but it was fun for both of you.

☆ You broke a lot of his toys. He’d get upset until he got new ones.

☆ The one toy he never shared with you was Gyu, his plushie.

☆ Fast forward you’re older and know how to walk and talk coherently, Changbin is a kid.

☆ Changbin wants cookies but they’re on the top shelf and your mum purposefully put them there so neither of you could reach.

☆ “Changbin what are you doing?” 

☆ Changbin: 👀

☆”I’m gonna tell mum~”

☆ “NO DON’T. If you help me, I’ll give you a cookie then you have to promise me you won’t tell mum.”

☆ Your smart ass contemplated for a few seconds before you agreed, “Ok what do we do?”

☆ “If I lift you up can you grab the jar? Don’t drop it.”

☆ “Yes.”

☆ Somehow both of you managed to retrieve the jar unscathed. Why none of you thought to grab a chair and do it, I don’t know.

☆ One cookie turned to two then three until the jar was half empty and your dad caught you. 

☆ Everyone except you two with crumbs around your mouths in the room:️  

👁️👄👁️

☆ Your dad walked in with brooding eyes. He grabbed a cookie and started eating quietly, “It’s a secret.”

☆ All three of you smiled happily and continued munching on the cookies.

☆ Until a while later your mum walked in and gasped, “YOU ATE ALL THE COOKIES?! *insert dad’s name* YOU WERE IN ON THIS TOO!”

☆ The three of you gulped nervously until you said, “No mum look! We saved a few for you!” The three of you smile innocently.

☆ Your mum sighed and smiled exasperatedly. “This is the last time.” A chorus of agreement sang throughout the room yet nobody meant a single word.

☆ Most of the time you two were hyperactive and played around so much you’d be knocked out cold by the time it was around 9 pm. 

☆ Your parents had to lug you to your shared room.

☆ You two played tag a lot, he was really fast so you’d always get tagged very quickly.

☆ HIDE AND SEEK

☆ Running. So much running. You’re the hyper kids.

☆ Rock paper scissors. Winner flicks the loser’s forehead. Changbin always took the penalty but never really doled it out on you, if he did it wasn’t too hard. 

☆ Races. “LAST ONE IS A ROTTEN EGG!” 

☆ Changbin could easily win, but sometimes he slowed down purposefully to let you win for a change.

☆ Giggles. Giggles everywhere. Giggles all the time.

☆ Pillow forts in your room. 

☆ Tickle fights.

☆ Cuddling together while watching cartoons.

☆ You thought he was cool.

☆ He liked you thinking so highly of him.

☆ Made him want to be even cooler for you.

☆ He’d ruffle your hair playfully.

☆ He’d pinch your nose. “AAAAHHH”

☆ He’d pull your hair.

☆ PIGGY BACK RIDES!!!!!!!!!

☆ Such a joker. It was harmless fun.

☆ Once you doodled on his school notes. He got mad and stopped talking to you.

☆ He rarely got angry at you, sure you two bickered sometimes and sometimes got whiny at each other.

☆ You apologised with a treat you got, instead of eating it by yourself, you gave it to him as a peace offering. 

☆ He didn’t eat it himself, he shared. “It’s okay just don’t do it again. These are important. You’ll know when you get older.”

☆ “Ok. I’m sorry.”

☆ Things became alright again.

☆ Fast forward you’re tweens/teens/young adults.

☆ The dynamic is wild.

☆ You two would always goof around like idiots.

☆ Changbin annoyed you a lot.

☆ “Y/N look over there!” you’re stuck in visible confusion. *smacks your head and runs* 

☆ “CHANGBIN!”

☆ You’re eating chips. “Y/n what’s that?” “What’s what?” *steals bag* 

☆ “When are you gonna stop tricking me?”

☆ “When are you gonna stop falling for that?” 

☆ You get pissed.

☆ Then it escalates into a wrestling match until ultimately you get hurt and start nearly crying in pain.

☆ “FUCK! SHIT SHIT SHIT I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY HERE YOU CAN HIT ME BACK. PLEASE DON’T TELL MUM! PLEASE STOP CRYING!” 

☆ You’re watching tv peacefully. Changbin walks in with a nerf gun/water gun. “REACH FOR THE SKY!”

☆ The living room turns into a warzone or a set for mission impossible.

☆ You ‘borrow’ his clothes. “Y/N STOP STEALING MY SHIT!”

☆ He ‘borrows’ your charger. “GET YOUR OWN CHARGER CHANGBIN!”

☆ He casually strolls into the living room, sits next to you with feet propped up on the table, snatches the remote when you’re not looking and changes the channel. 

☆ “HEY I WAS WATCHING THAT!”

☆ “Well too bad. I don’t wanna watch it.”

☆ “GIMME THE REMOTE!” “No :}”

☆ Another wrestling match for the remote.

☆ You hide his glasses. Basically keep them with you.

☆ “Hey y/n have you seen my glasses?” “Nope.”

☆ He looks EVERYWHERE. 

☆ You keep them on top of the tv when he’s away. “Hey Changbin found it on the tv.”

☆ “That’s weird I don’t remember putting them there. The heck?”

☆ “Maybe you’re just losing your mind. Already becoming an oldie?”

☆ “I may be old but I can still kick your ass.”

☆ You’re the younger sibling that either grows up to the same height as him quicker or grows taller than him somehow.

☆ He hates it. You thrive on it. “Hehe shortie. Can you even reach?”

☆ So he started working out to tone up.

☆ You’re barely able to lift a heavy box. He picks it up with ease. “Do you even lift?”

☆ He’s washing the dishes. You leave your dish for him and sneak out. “Y/N! I SWEAR-”

☆ You have a lit music taste because of him. 

☆ You’re sleeping, he’s up early. You need to go to school. Instead of waking you up like a normal person, he pulls the blankets completely off of you and tackles you. “Y/N WAKE UP!”

☆ “CHANGBIN YOU CRAZY BASTARD! DO YOU WANNA DIE?!”

☆ You two are eating. He’ll finish eating seemingly at the speed of light and stare at you eating. “I’m not sharing.”

☆ “I didn’t say anything.”

☆ awkward silence

☆ You pass your food to him. “You owe me, pabbit (pig + rabbit)”

☆ Both of you forget about it later on.

☆ He’s hella clumsy.

☆ He’d definitely break a glass or plate or vase.

☆ He’s the type to fix something just enough to make it seem not broken so the next person who uses it would think they broke it.

☆ Anything to not get his ass handed to him by mummy dearest.

☆ You do this thing to annoy him which is basically mock/copy him when he tells you something. 

☆ “Hey you know-” “Hey you know-” “you know that-” “you know that-” this continues a few more times until he screams and tackles you.

☆ You did this thing where you literally jumped on his back when he was unaware and you'd stick to him. The scream was worth bursting your eardrums. Worked every time.

☆ He was built he could carry you.

☆ Another thing is copying his actions.

☆ He yawns, you yawn. He scratches his nose, you copy. He stretches, you stretch. He shifts, you copy. 

☆ “STOP COPYING ME!” “Stop copying me” “I said STOP COPYING ME!” “I said stop copying me!”

☆ “I hate you.” “I love you too bro.”

☆ His friends like you and a lot of times you hang out with him and his friends.

☆ He wears the weirdest stuff just for shits and giggles.

☆ “Hey y/n.” “What?” you look at him and burst out laughing.

☆ Where he got a shark head mask, you had no idea. You had tears running down your face as he started to sing and sexy dance to baby shark.

☆ “STOP I’M GONNA PEE!”

☆ You two say the darndest things.

☆ “I just realised- if vampires can’t go out in the sunlight then wouldn’t the moonlight kill them too?

☆ “How?”

☆ “Moonlight is just the sunlight shining from behind the moon dumbass.”

☆ “Oh shit you’re right.”

☆ Another example of this would be:

☆ “The hospital is the only place you leave without entering.”

☆ Both of you:  👁️👄👁️

☆ You’re eating watermelon. You bite some of the white bit.

☆ “I just realised the worst part of the watermelon tastes like a cucumber.”

☆ awkward silence “wait you’re right.”

☆ “Anyways, here you can wash the plates.”

☆ “Y/N!”

☆ AEGYO FLUFFY GOODNESS

☆ Will use everything in his cuteness arsenal to get what he wants.

☆ You hate to admit it actually works sometimes.

☆ “Y/n~ pleeeaaaseee get me some cookies.”

☆ “No.”

☆ He keeps whining and rocking or shaking you. “PLEEEEAAAAAASEEE”

☆ “FINE!”

☆ Who’s really the older sibling and who’s really the younger sibling?

☆ “You know you could’ve just gotten them yourself with the time it took you to annoy me into getting them for you?”

☆ He just smiles toothily. 

☆ “If you could choose between a giant me or 5 mini me’s which would you choose?”

☆ “Neither I’d rather die.”

☆ “Y/N! WHYYYYY” he whines and shakes you.

☆ He’s always there for you when you need him the most. He’ll always comfort you with tight hugs. 

☆ He’s the type of person to make silly jokes and make you smile or laugh to make you feel better instead of sort of brooding with you.

☆ This is only acceptable with him, if anyone else tried to be goofy when you were upset it wouldn’t work.

☆ Because it’s Changbin’s thing. Only he has that power.

☆ You rarely see him upset. He’s always smiling, joking around and acting cute.

☆ One time, really late at night you saw him in the kitchen sitting with a glass of milk. He hadn’t noticed you. 

☆ This was off putting because you rarely saw him this quiet. He’s always laughing and loud.

☆ He was staring off in the distance, the glass gathering condensation from being out of the fridge and into warm temperature.

☆ “Can’t sleep?” He was startled and shook his head no. “What’s on your mind?”

☆ “It’s nothing.” You sat with a glass of water. “You know you can tell me, right?”

☆ “I know I just don’t wanna bother you.” he said and this confused you. “Why would you be bothering me? That’s absurd.”

☆ He shrugged, “I dunno, seems like all I do is annoy people these days.”

☆ You pat his back. “Hey, that’s not true. Well it only applies to me because you’re my sibling. That’s a thing. Is there anything specific you’re talking about?”

☆ He stays quiet for what seems like the longest time until he unloads. 

☆ You’re not good with words like he is. You try your best to listen and give sensible input. 

☆ Changbin admired that about you. Despite being younger, you were sometimes mature and understanding. You were authentic, you never tried to be something you weren’t.

☆ Which is why he always valued your words. 

☆ Afterwards if he had anything on his mind, sometimes he’d vent to you.

☆ You the ability to make his insecurities disappear simply because he feels stupid for the way he thinks when he talks to you. 

☆ You make his problems miniscule, not in a belittling way but in a way that makes him realise how things could be different or done differently.

☆ Your sense of perception was something amazing.

☆ This is why Changbin believed you were the best sibling he could ask for.

☆ But little did he know, you wouldn’t be able to function properly if he wasn’t the goofy, silly, clumsy, idiotic Changbin who exists today.

☆ He’s just the right type of flavour you need in your bland life.

☆ don’t be shy put some more.

☆ He’s the right balance of a clown, a baby and a guardian angel.

☆ He’s extremely caring, loyal, kind hearted and annoying.

☆ You’d change absolutely nothing.

#stray kids #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #stray kids fluff #skz #skz scenarios #skz imagines #skz au #skz fluff #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines #kpop fluff #kpop au #changbin #changbin scenarios #changbin imagines #changbin fluff #changbin au #3racha #spearb #seo changbin #gender neutral #seo changbin imagines #seo changbin scenarios #seo changbin fluff #stays #you make stray kids stay #changbin headcanons

[inkdemonapologist]

Okay but I do actually want to know both the things you love and the things you could rant about from DCTL?

OH BOY UHHHHHH okay lets see, I'm gonna see if I can do the "add a readmore after you post it" thing and see if that'll keep it stable.......

But also, much like Sammy, I am incapable of shutting up unless you strike me in the head with a blunt object, so uh, forgive my wordiness:

THINGS I ENJOY:

- DCTL gave us Sammy's ink addiction and like, if you had asked me before all this "what would you most like to see in a franchise?" I would not have answered "one of the characters drinks ink accidentally and then discovers that he can't stop" but boy that sure is my favourite concept that I LOVE to see handled literally any other way than how the book handled it!!!

- I like what it added to Tom and Allison and Norman!! Like, it's not big twists on their characters or anything -- we already knew Tom felt he was doing the wrong thing, so getting to see his CRUSHING GUILT over creating the machine isn't New Information, but it's nice to see and understand more of him; for all of them I feel a lot more attached to them after getting to see more of them as people.

- Like 90% of the "I LOVE IT" category for me is how the book handled Joey, and Buddy's relationship with Joey. The way Joey isn't a Sinister Mastermind Who’s Just Screwing With Everyone but just manipulative in a more mundane way -- someone who thinks of himself as just the guy with the vision to call the shots; he wants what he wants and this is how he's learned to get it; he exploits people not through devious schemes, but just by offering them something that they want or need and asking too much in return, expecting their loyalty for his favours. And the way he interacts with Buddy, making Buddy complicit with him and keeping Buddy off-balance and insecure while making him a favourite and treating him as Special is just PERFECT --  gives a lot of content to kind of extrapolate off of when pondering what must've drawn the others in and convinced them to ignore the red flags. I was initially frustrated with the idea of Buddy not being an artist and jUST DECIDING TO LEARN TO ANIMATE ON THE SPOT ("I've never done this before but I'm sure I can just do an artist's job" is a weirdly common throwaway thing in media and as an artist iTS A PET PEEVE) but actually the way they use his plagiarism to make him trapped in a lie in ways Joey doesn't even realise ends up being a neat echo of other employees (coughTOMcough), who were involved in much graver sins but suddenly felt they couldn't object or they'd lose their one chance, just like Buddy. There's a lot here that I think is really great.

OKAY THATS THE GOOD STUFF, LET'S COMPLAIN ABOUT SAMMY:

- Uncomfortable Bigotry Vagueness that we all knew was gonna be in this list -- I dunno man, a guy committing a microaggression and getting startled and defensive when he's called out for it doesn't necessarily completely ruin his character I GUESS, but the way this was handled is just SO WEIRD AND VAGUE that it's uncomfortable and it doesn't seem to serve any real purpose. "Is Tom black?" is a question I actually have to ask because the text sort of implies he is while also dancing around it and apparently Word of God said he's not??? which makes Buddy's comment nonsensical???? And I mean, you could go that route, since Buddy wonders to himself if Sammy talks to everyone like this -- HE ACTUALLY DOES!! Even within the text of the novel, he uses "Joey" instead of Mr. Drew, which is consistent with his audiologs in the game -- but that makes the writing suggest "this character THINKS this guy might be racist but actually they're reading too much into it and it wasn't racially motivated at all, he's just a jerk!!" wHICH IS SOMEHOW EVEN MORE ICKY??? Anyway like yeah I guess it's not inconsistent with his character that while Sammy Lawrence may not have any specific grudge against minorities he has probably not checked his privilege or done the work to challenge his own internal biases, but “Your Fav Probably Contributes To Systemic Racism In Ways He Hasn’t Considered, As Do We All When Our Assumptions Go Unchecked” is still a wild thing to wade through in a fun story about demonic cartoons

- but yknow so is T H E   H O L O C A U S T

- Sammy's voice is wrong. I'm actually okay with him being a weird awkward asshole, I already kind of assumed he was and that's part of why I like him!! but there's so many places he doesn't quite... talk like himself? And not just in terms of word choice, like -- so in his monologue at the end, he's described as talking so quickly that his words are "tumbling out faster than he can speak them," which initially seems fine; like yeah, that's a Standard Scene we're familiar with, the person who's been Driven Mad With Insight becoming more and more manic as they try to convey it -- until I tried to imagine it and realised that Sammy doesn't talk like this. That's a really consistent quality I always notice about his voice; whether he's almost giddily excited in prophet mode, or he’s his irritated and overworked human self, or he's violently angry and his voice has that echo effect -- he always speaks very deliberately. He enunciates carefully. There's some circumstances where I'd buy this as showing that he's Not Himself, but I feel like those would kind of need to be in the middle of his transformation, not at the end of it.

- In fact a lot of the scenes with Sammy kind of have this feeling -- that it's not necessarily an exploration of Sammy as a character, but that he is filling a trope or archetype role here. Once he's fully transformed he excitedly describes the process as more of a mental compulsion, which is in contrast to his weird yeerk-infected behaviour when trying to get ink from Miss Lambert. Both of those scenes don't seem wrong on their own because they fit tropes we know -- but they feel weird when you try to fit them together.

- I also just in general am not a fan of the ink acting like a weird yeerk. It can be a parasite I guess but when it starts overwriting and puppeting people and crawling around to enter their body that's just a completely DIFFERENT kind of supernatural story and it’s not what im here for!!!

- THE FREAKIN!!! HE WILL SET US FREE!!!! WHY????????? SAMUEL LAWRENCE WHAT IS HE SETTING YOU FREE FROM??????? Sammy has No Motive for any of what he's doing, other than just Ink Made Me Do It. The whole thing that was INTERESTING about Sammy as a character is the contrast between this frustrated, ornery musician with no specific love for the cartoons he works on, and the manically devoted cultist he becomes. What happened in the middle there? What made him desperate enough to shift his mindset so much? "Something supernatural made him do things that don't benefit him in any way" is a very boring answer to this question!!! Susie was a victim who implies that her transformation has forced her to do things she didn't want to do, but we can still see her motive -- she wanted to be Alice, so she took a sketchy offer to try to get what she wanted. Even now, her violence echoes that goal -- to be a more perfect Alice. What did Sammy want? WHO KNOWS. Even in his ink-addled state at the end, we don't understand what he hopes the Ink Demon will even do for him, and in fact he seems to be responsible for creating the very scenario he's begging Bendy to reverse in the game.

- [sighs loudly into my hands]

- Overall I'm left wondering if the author just..... didn't like Sammy Lawrence? And I don't mean that in the sense of him being a rude jerk -- like, Joey is not a good person, but the author seems to be interested in him and in what makes him tick. There doesn't seem to be that same interest in Sammy. Sammy's role in the story is that of a monster, transformed into something murderous, unable to prevent or choose it. He's not a victim of anyone but the ink, no one had to manipulate him or figure out how his brain worked or what he wanted or what he feared or give him any reason to do the things he does -- ink got in his mouth and overwrote his personality. And we don't even get to see that change, not really. He starts out angry and defensive and continues being angry and defensive up until his very last scene, denying his ink-stealing but not really much else. We see all his prophetic sketches but we never see hints of this in him, we never see him start to act more excited and hopeful, we never see him seek out the demon he desires to please. Why do we never see Sammy struggling between his dismissive angry front and a building religious fervour he can't quite suppress? We don't get to see any of the in-between. There's no interest at all in why or even what it looked like as Sammy became what he became, when, to be honest, I suspect interest in precisely that is one reason he's such a big fav.

- It's funny, in a "cries into my hands" kind of way, when Sammy is just knocked in the head while monologuing and immediately removed from the story without further mention, like...... that sure is the pattern with him, isn't it, he just tries very very hard and never actually gets to matter, but it also fits right in here, too, in this book that doesn't want to think about his motives -- he rambles nonsensically, explaining nothing, gets one trademark phrase, and then is hastily removed so the story doesn't have to think about him anymore.

...................I think that's most of it.

...

Y'all............ I'm not ready for Sent From Above.......... I'm just not.... I'm not emotionally ready...... like..... Sammy has to be in that right..... he’s Susie’s boss and she has that big crush on him..................................... I’m not ready

#i know you have questions you always do #we all write on the walls #hopefully I have not gotten completely confused on any of these points but LMAO ITS POSSIBLE

[nuoyipeach]

Pregnancy (jaejoy os) pt1

21/3/2020

Sooyoung dropped her spoon getting up in a haste, her bowl of cereal falling over as she accidentally hit it and spilled everywhere. She ran off to their bedroom, and Jaehyun heard her slam a door open. He stopped eating and quickly followed behind, and found her in the bathroom leaned over the toilet as she threw up continuously. He went behind her and held her hair back with one hand, the other holding her body up.

"It's OK, slowly... Take it easy baby..."

Sooyoung was on the verge of tears from throwing up so much. Her throat hurt, head spinning, not to mention the horrible feeling in her stomach. She grabbed her tummy with one hand while had other held her up from practically falling into the toilet.

After a few minutes, she seemed better as she simply breathed heavily. Jaehyun slowly held her up and took her to the sink, helping her wash her face and gargle. He then picked her up bridal style and took her to bed, before going back to the toilet to flush and clean up. He returned to see her laying sideways and heard her sniffle. Sitting behind her, he looked over her shoulder to see her crying. He held her hand over her tummy, slowly laying upright next to her, slipping his other arm underneath her to hold her close.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm... I don't know... I feel bad... I don't know anymore..."

Jaehyun left soft kisses on her cheek, shoulder and hand, then he'd her tighter with his head in the crook of her neck. "Don't cry. I'm here." he knew why she cried. He realised a pattern, that whenever she threw up, she'd have a mood swing right after.

Sooyoung held his hand tighter and tighter, afraid that if she let go she'd lose him. For some reason she had a fear of him leaving, because she was pregnant.

She threw up, which was disgusting. She was starting to lose her attractive figure. She wouldn't be able to attend his needs. She was becoming a load to take care off, finding herself burdensome.

What if he doesn't love me anymore?

"I heard that." she heard him say, and realised she said the last line out loud. "And your wrong. If I didn't love you, I would've left you the moment I found out you were pregnant. Also, why wouldn't I love my own wife? This baby is mine too. I'm more than happy we're having a baby. Don't do this Sooyoung. Don't think like this."

Sooyoung slowly turned to his side, burying her face into his chest. Jaehyun brushed her hair with one hand, and traced her slightly protruding tummy with the other. It has only been three months, but he was already craving to hold the baby, wanting it out soon. He wasn't lying when he said he loved it. He was so overwhelmed with joy, that he almost held a party if not for Sooyoung's protest.

"Come on, you still need to eat something. What do you feel like having that won't make you sick?"

Sooyoung moved her face away slightly and played with his tank top thinking. A lot of things made her nauseous, even milk like earlier. Whatever she thought of made her feel sick, and that made her sadder because she couldn't find something to eat.

"I don't know..." she teared up. Jaehyun sighed and kissed her head, wiping away her tears.

"I'll make you a strawberry smoothie. How's that?"

Not feeling sick, Sooyoung decided to just go with it and nodded. Jaehyun got up and tucked her in, handing her the TV remote. "Stay here, I'll be right back." he smiled and kissed her before leaving. Sooyoung turned on a random cartoon channel, but simply thought about Jaehyun the whole time. He was so perfect in everything that she couldn't think about one small flaw even. Even his skin was too perfect.

Sooyoung heard him say all the same to her, but that was before she got pregnant. Now, she wondered whether he thought about her the same way. Or did his feelings change. She can't help think this way. Her mood swings were horrible, and she could only be thankful Jaehyun was calm enough to deal with her.

"Here." she turned to see jaehyun back with strawberry smoothie, and a bowl of gelatto. "Since you're getting sick to diary, maybe this will be better."

Sooyoung sat up smiling as he placed the tray next to her and sat at the edge of the bed. He first gave her some medicine, then the smoothie. She drank it up, finishing halfway in one go, and heard him chuckle amused.

"Damn. I should make more next time, you are going eating twice as much from now on."

Jaehyun instantly regretted his words when she slammed the cup down.

"Are you calling me fat?" she asked upset. He shook his head smiling, and held her hand.

"Of course not. You have to eat a lot. It's for the baby. We don't want either of you weak, right?"

Sooyoung looked down to her hands, when he suddenly spooned some gelatto and fed her. She looked at him, and decided to ask what's been bothering her the whole time.

"Do you think I'm perfect to you like I was before?"

Jaehyun furrowed his eyebrows confused and set the bowl down. "What do you mean?"

"You always called me perfect, pretty, healthy fit, graceful... But you don't anymore... Am I ugly now that I'm pregnant? I mean, I know I'm breaking out a little on my forehead, and I lost shape, but it's not that bad right? I've been gobbling up food though... I must look unattractive now to people. I feel so down..."

Before she could say anymore, Jaehyun jumped onto her pushing her down and hovered above her, making sure not to put pressure on her body. He pressed his lips onto hers, and bit on her bottom lip sucking it.

Their make out session was quick as Jaehyun pulled away and turned then over, having Sooyoung straddle his lap as they both sat up. He continued to kiss her, lips, cheek, nose, jaw, collar, neck, even until the valley of her breasts, her low cut night dress giving him easy access. He nuzzled into her chest, one hand on her back, and another tracing her tummy again.

"I'm sorry if I didn't say it to you up front. I'll be honest with you, but you're even more beautiful when you're pregnant. I don't care about your fit body, your break outs, your eating habits. Your body is perfect for our baby, your face is always pretty to me no matter what, and your eating habits are adorable, because you're eating for two people now. You're always perfect to me. Everything happening to you is natural, and that's what I love about you, so you're perfect. I don't want you to change a thing."

He kissed her exposed skin above her breasts, slowly going back up to her lips to see her cheeks stained with tears. He kissed them away before attaching their lips again, Sooyoung's hands finally leaving his tank top and gripping his hair and around his neck as she too pulled him closer.

"I need more strawberries!"

Sooyoung whined kicking the blanket. Six and a half months and her cravings were getting worse, as did her mood swings. She got mad too easily, to the point Jaehyun decided to work from home since she'd get upset of him leaving her alone.

Right now he checked the fridge but they ran out. He sighed and closed it, going back to the bedroom where Sooyoung laid sprawled across the bed.

"We're out baby. How about we both go down to the grocery store and get some? You must feel sad staying in all the time."

Sooyoung huffed not wanting to get up, crossing her arms and pouting. But Jaehyun could only chuckle because he knew she'd listen. He knew she'd been feeling sad staying in a lot since she was scared to go out, so going out once today would help her open up a little. And she knows that he knew that she'd go anyways. He sat next to her and opened his arms.

"Come here." he cooed. Being extra emotional now, Jaehyun would try to show affection to her even more seeing that it made her happy. Sooyoung looked at him with a big smile and slowly got up scooting closer. She snuggled into his embrace, her bump pressing against his side where he felt a kick, and squealed. "See, even the baby loves my cuddles."

Sooyoung looked up and grinned at him. "What can I say. Your cuddles are the best. But not to be shared outside us, got that?" she commanded, making him laugh and nod. He got up and slowly helped her stand as well, passing her her coat as he put his on himself.

"I'll walk you, don't worry. But it's time to go out and get some fresh air, especially for you."

They were soon out walking around the neighbourhood to the grocery store. Sooyoung really enjoyed the outdoors from being inside for so long. The fresh air really helped her feel better. Though she was taking a long time to walk, Jaehyun didn't care and walked with her, an arm around her waist holding her close to him. Any passerby around them could tell what kind of a happy family they already were, and could only imagine how happy they would be more when the baby comes out.

Once at the store, Sooyoung decided to sit on the benches at the entrance while Jaehyun did the shopping since he didn't want her to walk around too much. Sooyoung's place was at the opening, near the counter that she could hear them. She was playing with her phone, going through some things when she saw a text from Jaehyun saying he's almost at the cashier. Sooyoung was about to get up when she over heard the cashier talking into her phone.

"Yea he's here again. You know, pale tall guy, built and has dimples. I can never ever focus... Oh my God, he's coming, gotta go!"

Sooyoung looked and saw Jaehyun making his way to the cash register, and noticed the way the young lady, obviously a new adult, suddenly became all shy and flirty. Jaehyun placed the basket on the counter and smiled, being the polite man he was, while she looked through the items.

"Wow, so many strawberries again. You must really like them." she tried to converse. Jaehyun chuckled and was about to answer, when someone called him.

"Hyunnie, did you get my strawberries?"

Both the cashier and Jaehyun looked to see Sooyoung come and hold his hand. Sooyoung peeked and saw the girl's smile drop, especially when she saw her baby bump. Jaehyun chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"Enough for two weeks this time. Then we won't have to come out again." he joked. Sooyoung scowled at him, then peeked again to see the cashier glare at her, scanning the products faster this time. She rested her head on his shoulder and hugged Jaehyun's arm, and he knew there was only one reason behind her clingy behaviour, and this wasn't only when she's pregnant, but since they were together three years ago.

She was jealous.

Once she was done packing their things up, Jaehyun gave his (black) card and waited for her to swipe it, when he decided to have some fun.

"You should smile more, you look prettier."

He felt a sharp pain in his arm as Sooyoung dug her nails into it, and bit his bottom lip holding in the yelp. The girl pressed her lips holding in a smile and blushed, losing focus for a second. She quickly got back, and gave them the bag, and before anymore was exchanged, Sooyoung dragged Jaehyun away the moment he took his card back.

Jaehyun chuckled as she ignored him on the way home. But he noticed how she wasn't angry like usual, but she was sad. He felt bad for teasing her, but couldn't get her to talk even when they reached home. Sooyoung went to the bedroom, and Jaehyun followed after putting away the groceries, finding her laid down facing away from the door. He laid down next to her, and tried to hug her but she pushed his arms off.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"You've been seeing someone... And it's that cashier sl*t!"

Jaehyun felt hurt, but it was partly his fault. He knew he shouldn't be teasing her like this during her last few weeks, especially when she was naturally protective of him. He sighed and hugged her tight so that she couldn't let go this time, and kissed her shoulder and neck.

"I'm sorry I teased you. But it's not true. I don't even know her name, she's just always working there, so I became familiarised. I'd never do that to you baby, you know it. Look at me, please."

Sooyoung couldn't, as she was hiding her face into the pillow with a smaller one on top because she couldn't stop crying. Jaehyun snaked an arm under her head, and pulled her over to turn around to him. He pulled the top pillow away and tried to face her, but she forced her face down and hid in his chest.

"Baby please, trust me. I shouldn't have teased you. I'm sorry Sooyoung, look at me just please, you don't have to talk to me."

Sooyoung wrapped an arm around his torso, cuddling more into him, face burying into his chest. Jaehyun smiled lightly and held her close as well, his arm under head head combing her hair back.

"You know, with you and Sohyun later around, I don't think I'll be able to look let alone talk to any other girl." he chuckled trying to lighten the mood. Sooyoung just sighed, suddenly whining silently before sitting up. Jaehyun could tell she felt uncomfortable about something. "What's wrong?"

"It's just..." her left hand went up to the top of her right breast, pressing into it. "It hurts here..."

Jaehyun took her hand off and kissed it. "You're lactating. Remember the doctor said it would hurt sometimes since they're growing." he slowly shifted to sit behind her, trapping her between his legs. "I'll massage, here."

He started to softly press down her shoulders, putting small pressures with his fingers at wherever he felt knots. Slowly he shifted his hands to the top of her breasts where she claimed it hurt, and gently pressed down. Sooyoung flinched in discomfort, and he mumbled a quiet sorry before massaging more gently.

Sooyoung leaned back against his chest, her head falling back on his shoulder as she tried to relax. His hands slowly went underneath her breasts, massaging them gently there. "Better?" he asked and pecked her forehead.

"Hmm... Thank you..." she mumbled. Jaehyun stopped, and wrapped his arms around her chest hugging her, and continued kissing her neck.

"I love everything about you..."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused by his sudden confession.

His hands started to move up to her hair, combing it down. "I love your hair."

Poked her nose. "I love seeing your face."

Rubbed and kissed her shoulder. "I love touching your skin."

Held her hand. "I love your delicate hands."

Held her breast, and her tummy. "I love that you're going through all this for our baby. Your breasts, tummy, hips are getting bigger. I know how uncomfortable you are, but you're going through with it for our baby. I can't love you enough for all this."

Sooyoung looked down at their hands as he held both hers around her tummy, and continuously kissed her from head to shoulder. She slowly faced him when he suddenly rubbed his nose on hers lovingly.

"Jaehyun, why are my mood swings so bad... I hate it. I feel like I'm disturbing you... And even to myself, I hate it."

Jaehyun sighed and kissed both her hands before hugging her again, and swung side to side.

"I don't find it a nuisance. But I'm sorry you feel bad about it yourself. It's normal, but I guess I shouldn't tease you anymore." he chuckled. "From now on, I'll love you so much you'll be begging for me to stop, but I won't because you deserve to be loved more than ever."

Sooyoung felt uncomfortable, and woke up. Something wasn't letting her sleep, and she figured the baby must have been moving around as she felt something on her tummy. She shifted, and realised Jaehyun's arm was holding her securely to himself, so turned around slowly to face him. She cupped his cheek and traced it with her thumb, and a smile slowly crept onto her lips.

"Why... are you up... so late?" Jaehyun mumbled and held her hand on his cheek, eyes still closed.

"I can't sleep... The baby's awake I thi- Ack!" she suddenly crouched slightly, grabbing her lower tummy. Her sound was enough to wake Jaehyun completely and sit up right away. He held her arms and helped her sit up.

"What happened?"

"I think she just kicked too ha- AKH!" she groaned louder, crouching even more. Jaehyun quickly got up, put on a tank top and sweat pants, and got both their coats. He then took his own hoodie and shorts and put them on Sooyoung after taking off her night dress, not bothered to help her out on a bra. He carried her to stand, and helped her out on her coat, put his own on, then carried her again downstairs to his car.

"Wait, no, it's just a ki- AKH!" he stood her up to open the door, when his attention was taken away by her next action, as liquid poured out between her legs.

"NO IT'S NOT, YOUR WATER BROKE!"

Jaehyun didn't take another second before pushing her into the passenger's seat and driving off, one hand on the wheel while the other held her hand to let her squeeze something through the pain.

It didn't take long to reach the hospital, and Sooyoung was quickly taken into a ward. But the doctor came in, and shook her head.

"We'll have to wait. The opening is too small, or she'll be hurt."

Sooyoung couldn't take having to sit through her labour pain, at three in the morning, and for the next four hours. She cried every few minutes, and all Jaehyun could do was lay down next to her and hold her close. He wished to share the pain, as seeing her tears broke his heart. At one point she yelled so loud he couldn't take it, and forced the nurse to call the doctor.

"She's in pain! Just check, I'm sure it's OK now, please!"

The doctor took a look at Sooyoung, and nodded at the nurse. "I think it is OK. Take her to the delivery room. Sir, you can follow her and put on the robe and mask."

Jaehyun was prepared, and he stood next to Sooyoung as she kept tossing and turning on bed, gripping on the side bars of the delivery bed. He took both her hands and held them himself. Sooyoung hesitated, but with a sudden pain, dug her nails into his skin.

"That's it... It's OK, let it out. It'll be over soon." he whispered and kissed her forehead.

The baby was out, and Sooyoung opened her arms out coaxing to hold her, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. "Jung Sohyun... Our beautiful daughter... You're here, with us... I can't believe it."

Jaehyun crouched down next to them and held both of them close to him. He looked at Sooyoung as they shared a loving stare and kissed. "Thank you Sooyoung. You gave us the best gift anyone could ask for. You made us happier. I love you so much." he let out a tear before kissing her again.

"I promise, both of you, and any future child we have, that I'll never love anyone else but you."

"Future child?" Sooyoung asked quietly. Jaehyun simply smiled back with a wink.

"Remember what I said, you're even more beautiful when you're pregnant."

part 2

#NCT #nct 127 #nct jaehyun #jeong jaehyun #red velvet #red velvet fanfic #red velvet joy #Park Sooyoung #kpop fanfic #kpop oneshots #fluff #nct fluff #red velvet fluff #jeong yoonoh

[zuzuslastbraincell]

☕ Aang.

He's a character I don't see you talk about much, so I'm curious about you thoughts on him, his character arc, what you like or dislike about him, etc.

The short answer: Love Aang. He’s great! Feel like a lot of the dislike of his character (while fading, at least in the circles I’m in) is misplaced. People who think Aang didn’t make the right end game decisions don’t understand his character / miss the point, IMO. That said, dislike some of the character decisions especially r.e. Katara/Aang.

The longer answer: I really love Aang and I feel like the hate he receives from various parts of the fandom is very unwarranted, though I wonder if it stems from watching the show as a child his age and finding his playfulness unrelatable - like as a kid I might have found it exasperating but as an adult I find it very refreshing and it is so obvious to me that Aang is A Child, it informs how he behaves and his decisions massively, and I wonder if the dislike comes from the lack of perspective and being unable to view Aang as a kid, being kids themselves when these haters watched the show?

That said, all kinds of people do dismiss Aang as immature and it frustrates me to no end, because being cynical =/= maturity, a willingness to make difficult decisions that betray deeply held beliefs =/= maturity, and Aang’s decision to stick to his beliefs should always be viewed in tandem with the context that he is a victim of genocide, that genocide includes the destruction of a culture’s common beliefs and practices too, and whether those beliefs live or die in the future starts and ends with him.

Additionally, I feel like Aang does possess a lot of emotional maturity for his age, even if he has bouts of being immature (like, normal, honestly). Like he processes his anger in a way that is largely healthy, actually? I think that’s a thing most people don’t understand, they don’t see that as part of Aang, when really Aang processes his emotions like someone who’s had very clear healthy models for it. He does feel anger, and grief. When Aang tells Katara in the southern raiders episode vengeance isn’t the way, that’s something that he’s fought hard internally to believe in, that’s something that he’s learned.

Tying into that, I think an overlooked aspect of Aang’s development is how in season 1 Aang spent a lot of time looking for Fire Nation citizens who were good / who could be good, because the idea that the Fire Nation is fundamentally evil contradicts his world view (”the monks taught us all life was sacred”), but I think that was probably a perspective he clung onto as well as a way of dealing with his grief. Like, I feel like Aang has fought hard to reaffirm his beliefs in a world that seems determined to “prove him wrong”, surrounded with characters who largely don’t share or understand them & see it as naivety because they lack perspective and have only known war / understand the brutality of the opponent they’re facing on a personal level. I think we don’t see a lot of this explicitly, it’s largely subtext and often an internal debate -- Aang doesn’t have many people to soundboard these kind of thoughts off, there’s no one who is an air nomad or of a similar kind of upbringing around.

Tbh I feel that Aang is best in season 1, largely because his developments in later seasons also incorporate his feelings about Katara as part of his general development, and if I’m just completely honest with you all, I mean no disrespect to Katara/Aang folks you’re cool in my books but I’m just not sold by it at all. For example, because Aang’s journey mastering the avatar state involves him reckoning with his earthly attachments and the idea of letting go, and that conflict revolves around his feelings for Katara, and because I am not particularly sold by Aang and Katara, that impacts on how I view that whole arc. I love a good friends to lovers arc where the depth of those feelings extends to both friendship and romance but I feel like the way ATLA writes romantic arcs often involves a character suddenly looking at another with heart eyes and very little actual bonding to justify that sudden change, very few *journeys* or *arcs* that culminate in feelings (unrelated, but this is my theory as to why Zuko is shipped with almost everyone, because he literally has several life-changing journeys with other characters at the tail end of S3), and it’s fairly unconvincing / pretty flat to me? Especially since we do not get anywhere near as much an insight into Katara’s feelings in that regard? I get that romance isn’t always a grand arc or whatever but given that it’s tied to a lot of Aang’s S2 development, I think it ought to have more prominence.

If I’m honest, I also feel like Aang’s development regarding Katara and the Avatar State was incomplete, and that made a lot of his S3 development frustrating because in other aspects I think he came into his own and matured - usually in subtle ways, like his attitude in the Southern Raiders, but also we see him from being understandably upset about having to hide his identity, to incorporate aspects of Fire Nation dress into his final late S3 look - but in that aspect, his arc felt incomplete to me? This might be a poor reading of it, but to expand on how I see it, in S2, Aang is incapable of letting go of Katara until literally the most critical moment, when he has to -- at which point, he is struck down by chance. In S3, the concept of entering into the Avatar State being a matter of difficulty is literally not mentioned, so we can presume he’s come to terms with letting go of Katara - which directly contradicts the pushy behaviour he shows in Ember Island Players, the way he ignores her boundaries? And then that’s literally never addressed, Aang never apologises, Katara and Aang never have an important conversation resolving the conflict there, and in the end Aang gets the girl? It’s frustrating.

Like, the way I see it, “letting go” of Katara shouldn’t mean putting no importance on her - I actually like the idea of Aang not being willing to leave his friends behind, his compassion and care is important in this aspect. Rather, if I were in the writer’s chair, I would have it that “letting go” means a willingness to face rejection. Aang lets go of a romantic prospect of Katara - and acknowledges she can and might reject him, and that’s always a possibility, but opens his heart to her anyway out of trust (and when they get together, it’s not because he’s proven himself worthy, but because Katara wants to be with him). I think that would have been such a monumentally *powerful* message, especially in a late 00s cartoon, prior to the likes of Adventure Time and Gravity Falls quite explicitly deconstructing the idea of the male protagonist always getting with their crush (I feel like a vital context new viewers miss r.e. Katara/Aang is that the male protagonist would always always get with the girl in cartoons, it always happened, to the extent that female characters existed as much as love interests as characters in their own rights). I honestly don’t think it would even require that much in terms of change! I might show that in S3 Aang still has difficulty with the Avatar state at times - he can go into it at will, but not always - and that’s because he’s in the process of letting Katara as a crush go. I’d still keep the kiss in Day of Black Sun - tbh, I have no issues there, he thought he’d never see her again quite possibly, he’s impulsive, it makes sense - but I’d maybe highlight a slight awkwardness afterwards. I might even keep the awful Ember Island Players conflict - but crucially, I think Aang would have to learn from this. I think when Aang might realise he’s still struggling with the Avatar state as late as Sozin’s Comet episode 1, panic, realise he needs to internalise that belief more, and I think he’d leave Katara a note - including an apology for his actions before, for pushing her when she wasn’t ready, but explaining also, that he needs to go on a journey by himself to figure this out. Rest of Sozin’s comet goes ahead as normal, more or less. I’d end with Katara, maybe at the tea shop afterwards, talking to Aang and asking him why he went off by himself, explaining that she & the gaang would be there for him, he didn’t have to go on a journey alone. Aang would explain that he didn’t expect they’d understand, they’re not monks, and Katara explaining that maybe they wouldn’t, but he could *try*, that’s a risk you sometimes take (but concedes they could have been more understanding). And I think over that conversation it hits Aang it’s not about being alone. Everything’s connected. It’s about not clinging on. it’s about being willing to lose. It’s about trust. I think by the end, they agree to try and communicate better, and Aang then asks Katara out - mirroring “Do you want to go penguin sledding with me?”, similar kind of activity. He almost tries to over-explain and say ‘listen it doesn’t have to go anywhere’ but Katara just smiles and says yeah. And they leave to go on their first real date.

Anyway that’s how I *would* have handled it and that is what I think could be an interesting and compelling arc that wouldn’t take much adjustment to add. Aang is afraid of losing Katara, and realising that he can and might lose her is important.

.... that’s way more than I intended to write but yeah. I feel like a lot of Aang’s development ties in with his feelings for Katara and that’s where I take issue.

#aang #soozenwrites

[chilly-me-softly]

can you write part two for the latest jack. where he distants himself because hes taking his time to just accept the fact you are not ready to be a mother and its hurting you that you force yourself to get pregnant, you didnt tell him that you stopped taking the pills and in the end, you miscarried which jack blames himself. he never brought it up again until you realise its taking a toll on your relationship and you didn't want to lose him and vice versa. Thanks love xx

Part 1

Jack spends a whole day in his lounge, brooding over your conversation which happened days ago. You stare at that closed door going back and forth with your dirty laundry basket or just stand there to hear some noise, but in reality silence reigns supreme both inside and outside that room.

You didn't say no, the option of having children is still there in your lives. But the fact that you're not on the same page has given him something to think about lately. The fact that you never told him you wanted to wait made him wonder if you had hidden something else from him, which was nonsense but the longer he was alone in that room the more useless doubts jumped into his head.

You realize you don't have a solid basis to continue that situation, you also want to be a mother and the idea of sharing the experience with Jack electrifies you. And you really want to build memories as married people before you get sucked in by baby food, diapers, vomit, cartoons and constantly struggle to find some time for you.

But the atmosphere between you has cooled down a lot, Jack tries to act like nothing happened but you can't get past it. You don't want your stupid conviction to ruin everything you've been fighting for, so you stop taking the pill.

In one of those rare moments when everything seems to be as it was before, it happens. You're pregnant and there's so much emotion that for a moment you wonder why you were so convinced that things between you and Jack would change with a baby in the picture.

Jack is the happiest person in the world, convinced every day that your belly is growing more and more and you don't have the heart to tell him it's not time yet. You can see in his eyes all the emotion of having a baby and in the evening, when he sleeps with that smile on his face and his hand on your stomach, you wonder why you were so stubborn in denying that smile to be born every day on his perfect face. 

You haven't started buying anything yet, but you have robbed virtually every baby site you could find. Too many cute onesie with funny captions that you couldn't wait to get, an idea about the crib or the room.

Jack takes his time to admire you but also to remind you that nothing will change between you, he knows he's been acting like a little kid but it's not that you're not happy so it's all good. 

Everything's fine as long as you have a doctor's appointment and his face isn't as relaxed as yours.

"Is something wrong?" you ask with one eyebrow raised, suddenly anxious.

"It might be nothing, don't worry. I just need to check something" he moves that thing on your stomach and you're not a doctor but at this point you can tell there's something wrong. They don't do that if everything's okay.

"Tell us what's going on? Is the baby okay?" is Jack talking this time, the grip on his hand got stronger and his breath got heavier.

"I can't feel the heartbeat" explains the doctor, "but it could be a problem with the machine, as frightening as it may be sometimes happens" but neither of you dwell on the doctor's excuses, too busy looking at that screen and hoping for a sign. Beat, please... beat.

But he hadn't felt anything even with other tests, the doctor unfortunately confirmed that your baby was gone and Jack had felt like the worst of criminals.

He was near you in the following days, taking time off from practice to be near you. If it weren't for a few lights that rarely come on, no one would say anyone still lives in there. Silence is the only thing you hear at least for the first few days, you curled up in bed and Jack next to you with his head full of thoughts and curses.

If he hadn't acted like a capricious child, all this wouldn't have happened; if he hadn't been so stubborn, if he hadn't thought only of himself for once, all this wouldn't have happened...

You're together but neither of you ever talked about it, both lost in your world. You think you failed, you think you should have been more stubborn, you think you should have waited longer and you should have told Jack about the pills. You weren't ready, you wanted to live married life, that's true... but you desired it, you desired it from the first moment you took the test. And now you feel empty. 

The minute Jack goes back to training, you realize he's walking away from you again. He's elusive, gets up early in the morning and doesn't come back until late. You've tried to wait up for him the first few times, but in the end there are more times you sleep than you hear him come in.

And if the problem used to be solvable, now you're not so sure.  

"Jack?" you fought hard to stay awake that night, any hour he'd come home would have found you ready.

"Hey" he leaves you a kiss before he changes quickly and comes to lie down next to you.

"Jack, please don't cut me off again" you hear him sighing and you look at him in the darkness in that room before you lean out and turn on the light on your nightstand.

"Please" you repeat, and he's looking at you but not saying a word.

"We couldn't know, don't-" continue but his hand is immediately on your mouth as he shakes his head.

"Please stop" he takes his hand away as he sits against the headboard and you do the same. "It's all my fault"

"Jack"

"No! (Y/N) it's my fault! If I hadn't been so stubborn, if I had thought of anything but myself..."

"Oh come on! You think I'd stop taking the pills just because you had a whim? You're my husband but this is my body we're talking about, and I'm certainly not a doll"

"I didn't mean that"

"You want a baby as much as I do, Jack. I didn't fully understand it until I got pregnant, but now I do. And I have to thank you for making me realize that. I don't blame you. It could have happened anyway, and it wouldn't have hurt any less"

"I'm sorry" he murmurs as he looks at you, and you take his closest hand, holding it with yours.

"Please try to get everything you're thinking out of your head. It's not your fault at all, and I don't want to lose you, Jack. I don't want to lose you too"

#thank you anon #jack grealish #jack grealish blurb

[jinniesmeow]

Felicity - Bang Chan

➵ Pairings : chan x reader

➵ Warnings : explicit language 

➵ Summary : ‘A feeling of intense joy’. That’s what sparks in you when you’re together. 

➵ Genre : best friends to lovers!au ; fluff (corniest stuff out there bruh)

➵ Word count : 3k

➵ Note : happy (belated) birthday bro @nanjaemin :’)) it’s not much at all, but I hope you’ll enjoy it anyway >:) chan still ur bias right? unless you swerved again... I'd still love you anyway, you rosbif :) (I even took the time to make the gif jUST for you bro look at dat poor quality)

“This town will never forget you, Elon Musk” 

You munch on a crisp, adding two more in your mouth before even swallowing it as you watch Homer and the rest of the Simpson family say goodbye to cartoon animated Elon Musk as he climbs back into his rocket, leaving the surface of Earth. Then, it’s the end of the episode and you happily hum along to the tune of Starman by David Bowie as they play it while the credits appear. 

Just as you’re swallowing, a sudden banging on your window makes you choke and you’re scared for your life for a second, thinking just maybe you’ll die because of a lousy prank someone pulled on you and you died asphyxiated by a crisp stuck in the middle of your throat while you were watching season twenty-six of The Simpsons in your — ironically — doughnut pyjamas. Maybe it’s better than to die after slipping in the shower though. 

Sitting up, you cough for a good ten seconds, eyes tearing up while the pain settles in your chest area. You finally manage to get that piece down the tunnel and take a breath in, eyes rolling back in relief. You’re saved from an untimely death, and you have the rest of your life to choke on more crisps while spending time in your pyjamas at eight at night, just like every normal person should. 

Exasperated, you still turn to your window, only to see Chan’s face stuck to it as he tries not to fall from your window border and break his legs two floors down on your dad’s freshly mowed lawn. With a sigh, you get up from your comfortable spot amongst five of your pillows you’ve set on the floor, facing the television. 

“You better have something urgent to tell or I'll push your ass until you land on it down there, accidents happen so fast” you tell him as you open your window but stand in front of him, not letting him set a foot inside. 

“Oh come on” he groans and tries to push past you, almost losing balance and you think he’s actually gonna fall off for a second and your heart skips a beat, imagining your best friend breaking his back in your garden because of you. “it’s date night” he says as he finally manages to get past you, dreading he will fall for real if he makes another unthought move. 

“It’s what night, now?” you whip around to face him as he stretches his sore legs in the middle of your room, not caring about the mud stains he’s leaving on your carpet in the slightest. 

“You know,” he grunts as he touches the tip of his feet with his hands, ass facing you (which only makes you roll your eyes), “it’s Friday night and we always hang out on Friday nights” he says as he finally starts untying his shoes, although keeping his weird position while doing the deed. 

You furrows your eyebrows and frown. “Okay, and? Since when are we calling that ‘date’ night?” 

Chan heaves a long sigh as he stands back up, putting his hands on his lower back to push his pelvis and get his bones to crack. “Since I decided it” he says and without waiting for you to comment on it, he takes his shoes off and throws himself ass first on the bunch of pillows you’ve put down for yourself earlier. “What are we watching tonight?” he casually asks as he finally spares you a glance. It’s actually more because he’s looking for the remote and of course, you have it in your hands. 

You roll your eyes and let out a curt sigh, biting the inside of your cheek. “Nothing, I have other things planned for tonight” you tell him. 

He scoffs and points at the TV and the bag of crisps laying next to him on the floor. “Like what? Watching the Simpsons all night long while eating junk food until you explode or something?” he jokes. 

He thinks he’s clever, but the corners of your lips don’t even move up a tiny bit. If anything, they turn further down, because as much as Chan said that mockingly, that’s exactly what you had planned on doing tonight. Alone. That means without him, but it’s a subtlety he seems not to understand. He’s so invasive, and all you want is to have one night to yourself while you can. Weekdays are too busy for you to do anything at night except going straight to bed, so weekends are your only occasion to turn into a giant junk food-eating slug, and for once in your life, you would actually appreciate it if Chan gave you some space. 

Space. 

A word Chan undoubtedly doesn’t know the definition to, as he just pats the spot he just made for you next to him. “Come on,” he pleads, “I’ll let you choose the movie” he says but you don’t move. 

You’re torn, because you definitely want to spend time with Chan and you can’t lie to yourself anymore, there’s definitely more to your feelings for him, not just plain friendship, but that’s exactly why you don’t want him here in your room tonight, because you can't think if he’s right next to you. And the whole ‘date night’ thing? Not helping. 

No matter how hard you want to kick him out, you can’t win a fight against the devil, and you know for sure Chan isn’t just going to accept and obediently leave you alone, because his mind is set on spending the night with you, so that’s just what he’ll get. 

You close your eyes and let out a defeated sigh. “Fine,” you comply and he instantly starts grinning, “but since you said I'm choosing, I'll pick a Ghibli movie” you add and his smile instantly disappears. 

“Please don’t make me watch that Mononoke thing again” he says with pleading eyes. You give him an evil smile, turning around to pick one of your DVDs. 

“Oh,” you say as you turn to face him again before putting it in the player, getting Chan to look at you with wide eyes, animated by a glint of curiosity paired with an ounce of fear of your next words. “you only get one bathroom break, and if you stay in there longer than five minutes I swear I will break that door down and drag your ass back in here myself, I even have my winter gloves prepared specifically for that” you smile innocently (it’s all fake though) and turn to push the DVD inside the player. 

Chan whines behind you. “Is that a way to treat the person you cherish most?” he’s being dramatic and you chuckle at his antics. 

“In your dreams, Bang” you reply, back still facing him. 

“Maybe..” he says lowly, and though you’re not supposed to hear it, you do. 

Totally (not) in control of your own mind and body though, you show no sign that you have and just turn around to sit next to Chan at a reasonable distance of about five centimetres, your mind set on keeping that between the two of you all night this time, for the sake of your own heart. You hit the ‘play’ button and watch as Porco Rosso starts playing on the screen. 

“Why are you doing this to me” he complains after barely five seconds when the movie hasn’t even started yet. You hit his chest with your left arm, using only the knuckles of your hand. 

“Will you shut up already? This one’s my favourite”

Your resolution has flown out the window not even twenty minutes into the movie after you’ve let Chan drag the pillow you’re sitting on towards him without protesting. 

You can try, but you know already your mind can’t win the fight against your heart, and you let your head fall on his shoulder while he snakes his arm around your form, pushing you further into him. You’re doing the best you can at keeping a steady breathing and a normal heart rate, but he’s not helping when he turns his head a little to have his lips brush against your forehead. 

To be honest, you’re losing it. But the storm is raging only on the inside, and all you can do to ease your pain is close your eyes and hope it’ll help make the feelings go away, somehow. 

Big mistake. It does make you focus on your breathing, helps you stabilise it and even slow it down. But it works so well that you end up falling asleep right there in his arms, lulled to sleep by the sounds of the movie playing in the background and the heat of Chan’s body pressed against yours. 

You only wake up four hours later and it’s past midnight. You want to kick your own ass when you realise what’s happened, but you can’t throw a fist at your own face right now. Chan has laid you down with him — on the floor, because your bed is a single one unfortunately — and you’re kind of stuck in his embrace, your back pressed against his chest. You can feel his breath on the back of your neck and you want to scream at how ticklish that makes you feel. 

You don’t move for an uncertain amount of time. It feels like hours, but barely four minutes have actually passed when you start chewing on your lip, knowing already what you’re about to do is probably — most likely — a mistake. 

Not listening to yourself, you turn around, rolling on your other side so you’re now facing him. You’ve been in similar — if not the exact same — positions with Chan countless times. And yet, this time it feels weird for you, like you shouldn’t be so close to him, like it’s wrong. 

Truth is, you think your feeling for him are wrong, because you feel like you’ve betrayed him. Friendship is definitely the purest and strongest bond two people can share, and you’ve established exactly that with him for years and years, and now you’re on the verge of blowing it because all of a sudden your dumb heart can’t behave? 

Even if you do date. You’re both young, and unless a crisp brings an end to it before you can do anything, you still have your whole lives to live. You can’t be sure you’ll stay with him for long, and you can’t stand the thought of not having him in your life. Besides, a change of relationship could most definitely impact your behaviour towards each other and make things weird between the two of you — like it sort of already has on your part. 

You’re having a life crisis, and Chan is just laying there, snoring into your face. The stress induced by all your self-questioning has made you wiggly, and your leg is actually bouncing lightly now, without you noticing. Though Chan is a quite heavy sleeper, that paired with your repetitive sighs and the fact you’ve been tossing around for fifteen minutes is enough to pull him out of his slumber, and just as you’re turning again to face away from him, he puts his hand on your arm to stop you from moving. 

“You know the bathroom’s next door if you need it, right” he grumbles in a hoarse voice. 

“I don’t need to-”

“Then, stop moving” he cuts you off. 

So you just lay there on your side, forced to face him. You sigh deeply. 

“Something wrong?” he asks, although it looks like he won’t be awake long enough to hear your answer. 

“No, n-not really” you stutter. Chan opens his eyes anyway. It takes him like what, three minutes? but he does. You can’t even believe he interrupted his sleep for you, and that only adds to your uncomfortable feeling. 

“Spill it” he just says, blinking rapidly through barely open eyes to try and stay awake. At least, long enough so you can get whatever’s bothering you out. 

You bite on your lip. “I think..” you stop yourself, changing your mind before you can say something too straightforward. You choose another way around things instead. “What if.. I had feelings... for someone and didn’t know how to tell them?” you say hesitantly. Chan’s eyes are closed again, breathing heavy, but he’s not asleep yet. 

“If it’s not me, I'll chop their legs off” he says bluntly, and in any other circumstances you would have exploded into fits of laughter at the contrast between his words and his pouty, bloated by sleep face. 

You chuckle nervously, trying to ignore the huge jump your heart just made in your chest. “Whaaa- that’s pretty gore, you got them feelings for my person or something?” you try to laugh it off and speak with a dumb accent, but regret your words as soon as they’re out of your mouth, because you can already feel the pain of what you think he’s about to say hit you, and every trace of what looks like a smile disappears from your face instantly. You try to make things right before it’s too late. “I mean-”

“Yes.” he answers, “been a while, thanks for noticing” 

Thankfully, you’re already on the floor. You can’t even register what the fuck is going on in your body and mind right now, but you’re pretty sure you’re just plain frozen. The machine just broke. 

Chan opens his eyes and looks into your wide ones. You feel the pain of heartbreak coming back quickly when you think he’s about to erupt into laughter and tell you it’s a joke. It’s like Chan is reading right through you though, because he doesn’t even let you say anything that would potentially put yourself down. 

“Do I have to kiss you to prove I'm telling the truth?” he says but it’s not even a question, because he’s gonna do it anyway, and somewhere deep inside you know he will too. 

And that’s just what he does. His eyes look down to your lips a second, and the next his lips are on yours, preventing your heart from jumping out of your chest that way. He’s so gentle, you just think you’re still dreaming and you actually never woke up in the first place. Is your whole life even real or is it just some twisted dream? Are you just going to wake up in a room with plain white walls and realise that was all your imagination? 

But you don’t. It’s been seconds, minutes, hours maybe, and you still haven’t woken up. It’s actually very real, and you finally allow yourself to kiss him back after getting over the shock of the events of the night. You’re lost in the feeling of his lips on yours, of his hand on the small of your back as he puts it there to push you even closer to him, if it’s possible. 

You pull back a few centimetres so you can renew your oxygen stock in anticipation to more of kissing his plump lips, if he allows it. Chan chuckles. 

“Nice” he just says. You’re not sure you’ve heard well. Did he just-?

You hit his chest. “Nice? Nice?? That’s it?” you gasp at his reaction. You’ve felt like exploding with butterflies right there and that’s all he has to say? 

“Hey!” he quickly defends himself, pushing your hand away so you can’t hit him anymore, “I’ve been waiting for this for years, I’m allowed to be at a loss for words too” 

You almost choke again, on your own spit (and maybe a bit of his too) this time. 

“Wha- years? Chan what the fu- why didn’t you say anything?” you attack him as your eyes are about to pop out of your face with how shocked you are. Years, he said. 

He just sighs. “Didn’t want to ruin our friendship, and I was kinda scared you would reject my ass” he explains. “does this ruin our friendship?” he asks hurriedly, a hint of worry obvious in his voice. 

Your entire self softens instantly. “No, of course not” you say. You’re sure of it. Your worries, just like his, had reasons to be, but after giving it about enough thinking, you’re about one hundred percent certain it’s just another way of seeing your relationship, like another step, something like that. Yes, a new side of the dice. 

“Oh thank god” Chan says and you giggle a little at his relieved face. He turns serious again quickly though. “Now whose legs do I have to chop off?” he half-jokes, although worry (and a dash of jealousy) are hidden carefully in the depths of his sleepy voice. 

You smile genuinely. You’re not cruel enough to make him believe it’s someone else or to tell him he can’t know, and to be true, you really just want to get it out of your chest and let him know how you feel too. 

“Yeah, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about chopping anyone’s limbs off” you whisper with an airy chuckle. 

Chan quirks an eyebrow. “Is that so?” he inquires.

Saying he’s relieved, saying he’s happy, saying anything about how he’s feeling is an understatement anyway. He can’t put words on it himself. All he knows is that he’s feeling amazing, like it’s too good to be true. He’s happiest when he’s with you, and he’s happier than he’s ever been right now. It’s a feeling he doesn’t want to go away.

“It is so” you confirm. 

It’s just spreading into his limbs, settling in his body everywhere. That’s the kind of way it feels when you’re together. 

He hopes it lasts. 

(quick a/n: it’s late right now that I'm (trying) to edit this before posting it and I'm leaving at 5:30am tomorrow to work so like if there were any typos and shit that doesn’t make sense I definitely did not see it. please excuse me for that :’))

#stray kids #forskz #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios #bang chan #skz #skz writing #kim woojin #lee minho #seo changbin #hwang hyunjin #han jisung #lee felix #kim seungmin #yang jeongin #Kpop fluff #fluff #chan fic #fic

[meltedhorror]

“Are you sure this’ll work?”

The ghost hunter duo had found their way to one of the hallways of the hotel, now setting up some weird contraption of different tech. Or at least Simon was, while Emmet was mostly leaning over his shoulder watching him set everything up.

“Oh yeah, of course! I’ve talked to lots of people who’ve used this set up, and it works wonders from what I’ve heard!”

Simon smiled up at his friend, who just returned a slightly amused but still very confused look. He connected the last few wires, before connecting it all up to a small laptop, which revealed what he had set up was two cameras aimed further down the corridor.

“Alright, so you’ve… Set up cameras. Great. How exactly does this help us?” Emmet sounded skeptical, looking tiredly at the screen.

“Well, as you can see this one -” He points to one of the camera views on the screen “- It senses heat! With this we can see coldspots and whatnot, y’know, like the ones ghosts cause!”

Emmet just silently nodded, patiently waiting for the other to continue, which he quickly did.

“Now this other one here, THAT’S the real interesting stuff! Oh! Oh! I have to show you it, stay right there-”

The young brunette quickly got up and jumped out in front of the set up, gaining yet another amused look from Emmet as he watched him walk off a bit further. When he felt he had backed off far enough, he eagerly started pointing to the laptop again.

“Now if you look at that screen, I should have a stick figure tracking me, right?”

“Mm… Yep, you do. Is it a kinect that you’ve connected up or something?”

“Not sure, might be, I bought it from another investigation team a while back” Simon shrugged “Anyway! It’ll track people that way as you can see!” he starts waving his arms around and jumping a bit to demonstrate “And it’ll track ghosts as well when they go in front of that camera! The same way! Cool isn’t it?”

Emmet just shook his head slightly and chuckled, looking down at the floor for a moment “Yeah, sure… Sure, why not. Why the hell not. This might as well work, so yeah that’s pretty cool.” when he looked back up Simon was already on his way back with a big smile on his face.

As Simon came back and sat down besides him, he looked around a bit in the corridor which they appeared to be completely alone in. “So… Now what? We just wait?” to which Simon just nodded a bit absentmindedly as his focus seemed to completely aimed at the screen. “Mhm… Or we could call out to something…”

Emmet sighed and messed a bit with the sleeves on his hoodie, glancing at the screen and suddenly noticing on the heat camera a few cold spots that seemed to appear out of nowhere. He looked at Simon, who seemed completely oblivious to that, probably mainly focusing on the stick figure camera, and then he looked back at the heat camera. The cold spots that had appeared were slowly turning back into their previous neutral colour.

He looked up and down the corridor to where those spots would roughly be, and realised there was nothing there that could’ve caused that. He thought about it for a moment, still sitting in silence. Maybe there was something in the walls that caused it, after all they had no idea what runs through the walls of this place…

But his thoughts were quickly interrupted by a sudden cold feeling right behind them, enough to send him shivers. He quickly turned around in a moment of what’s best described as slight panic, resulting in him inches away from something disturbingly cold and purple.

The surprise of this all caused him to throw himself back and accidentally falling off his seat and landing on the floor with a slight yelp, and during this Simon had looked to see what was happening, and also threw himself back a bit but being lucky enough to stay in his seat and more leaning back on the table.

They both stared at the purple being, who seemed a bit confused and looking back at them both. Not being that close up to it made Emmet quickly realise it was a person, letting out a shocked “Who the hell are you!?”

Simon just stared wide eyed at the purple being, who had now shifted his full attention to Emmet “Why, I thought you guys were the ghost professionals here”

“G- Ghost!?” Simon exclaimed, earning a glare from the tired looking being.

“... Yeah. Did it take you that long to figure that one out? With all that fancy stuff you got there I thought you’d know a bit more, but guess not” He replied snarkily, floating back a bit allowing for both investigators to regain their postures a bit better with Emmet standing up and Simon leaning a bit more comfortably on the table behind him.

“Oh come on, you’re NOT a ghost, you’re just some dude hiding somewhere and creating a hologram or something complicated like that. Good party trick, but won’t work on me.” The longhaired man crossed his arms and straightened up a bit, sounding clearly annoyed.

“Hologram? Party trick? Golly, now THAT'S an insult! Aren’t ya supposed to be respectful towards the dead or something?” He was flicking his ghostly tail back and forth, and almost hitting the floor doing so, before mimicking what Emmet was doing and crossed his arms as well. “Where’s the manners? Or are “holograms” not deserving of them?”

“Nonono PLEASE don’t fight! I’m sure my friend here didn’t mean it like that!!” Simon interrupts the two, leaning forwards a bit and waving his hands “Please don’t be mad!”

The tired looking ghost raised a brow at that, looking at Simon and then squinting slightly at him “Hm… You. You I have talked to before.”

Simon looked confused but didn’t say anything.

“You’re that kid who brought one of those Ouija boards in here, right? We’ve talked. Sort of.”

Still looking confused, he had to really think about that for a moment. But as he slowly started to realise what the ghost meant he started to light up, excitedly pointing to him and almost bouncing in his seat “Y- yeah!! Yeah that was me! Then you’re Micke, right?? Oh my god this is so cool!!”

He then froze as he started remembering the conversation they had had on the board, now instead looking absolutely terrified.

“... BUT YOU’RE A DEMON-”

Emmet sighed deeply as Simon started to freak out even worse, gently rubbing at the space between his eyes with a hand and trying not to lose his temper at this point, which might be easier said than done.

“Simon. He’s not a demon. He’s a human. A PERSON. How many times do I-”

“Well you’re right about me not being a demon, but I am very much dead and a ghost…”

“SO YOU LIED?!”

This time both Micke and Emmet sighed, Emmet probably ready to give up trying to reason with Simon and Micke more surprised over how little Simon seemed to know about the paranormal.

Micke just stared at Simon, who genuinely looked hurt besides being completely freaked out at the moment “... Sure. I lied. But maybe you shouldn’t believe everything a board game for kids tells you”

“But so wait, what kinda magic trick did you use to pull that one off? Cause I was watching and recording the entire time and I never saw you even CLOSE to where we were” Emmet cuts in, tilting his head. A genuine question.

“Oh quit it, how many times do I have to tell you that I am dead?” Micke let out a frustrated exhale, feeling it was a mistake approaching them both. “You know what, I have better things to do than argue with YOU whether or not I’m actually a ghost. Your friend at least has some sense in that head of his, even if it’s little”

He then floated past them both, deciding he had enough of this. He set off a bit further down the corridor roughly to where the cameras were aimed, but neither of the two investigators were looking at the screen but rather watching him float, Simon in pure amazement and Emmet with skepticism.

He stopped and turned around, making eye contact with Simon “Oh also, you should know that device of yours won’t pick us up. You can catch us on tape but you stand to chance if we’re invisible.”

Before he disappeared into the wall, the terrified young man stared down at the screen and managed to catch a glimpse of the ghost before he disappeared into the wall, leaving a cold spot where he had entered. Just as he had said, the stickman figure that should’ve tracked him on the other camera didn’t show up, but there was another thing…

His appearance was different, and there was a weird visual glitch around where he was, rendering him black and white with clear distortion and seemingly more cartoon looking than human.

But before he could yell for him to wait, Micke had already disappeared and was probably far off by now.

Wide eyed he turned to look at Emmet, motioning to the corridor almost as in complete disbelief

“We caught that! On tape! We have evidence!”

“No, you caught a visual illusion.”

He sounded harsh as he said that, just shaking his head at the other “You didn’t catch anything. Now if you’ll excuse me, I really need a smoke.”

“Wait!-”

But it was too late, Emmet was walking off and probably wasn’t gonna listen to what he had to say anyways as he shoved his hands into the front pocket of the hoodie.

Simon was left on his own, worrying over his friend going off alone but unable to follow due to the equipment still being completely set up.

He could only hope he wasn’t too upset about that all...

#my writing #own writing #oc #lm3 oc #ghost oc #micke #micke the animator #simon #emmet #investigation squad

[merlins-hurt-comfort]

If You’re Gonna Be The Death Of Me, That’s How I Wanna Go

Summary: Remy really goes “head empty, only Emile” in this one. He is a cocky, little flirting shit for everyone except Emile, also Emile is non-binary because I say so. I love the “it’s my fanfiction and I get to say who’s queer/dying” attitude, can you tell? Fandom: TS Sanders Sides Warnings: Swearing and food is mentioned in a pick-up line but I think that’s it, check out the tags down below Pairing: Remile Characters: Remy Sanders, Emile Picani and Logan is mentioned once as Remy’s brother Wordcount: 1790 Uploading date: 5th of june 2020

A/N: This is for @shut-up-emrys-deactivated202005 <3 I hope you like it and I hope you're having a fantastic birthday. I am so extremely glad that you're my friend. I love you. As you can see, this piece is a bit shorter than usual and I am blaming it on the fact that it’s all fluff, no angst but hey, I have three wips right now :D

One step in front of another, that's how you walk, right? There was no big deal about what Remy was going to do. He was only going to ask out his dearest friend Emile. Emphasis on the only because it was nothing big, absolutely not at all. He would do it and he would ace it and everything would be chill and he definitely had everything under control.

He walked down the hallway of his school, on his way to Emile's locker, since that's where they would most likely be.

The students seeing Remy passing by saw someone filled with confidence. Head up high, straight posture, self-assured steps and a pair of sunglasses resting on his head, not on his nose, simply because people considered it rude to wear shaded glasses in buildings.

What they didn't see were his increasingly bad shaking hands or how he started to fidget with the hem of his leather jacket. They didn't hear his heart beating way too loudly, providing him with enough adrenaline for what his brain apparently thought was a fight, flight or freeze situation, and they didn't hear his loud racing thoughts either.

They would have noticed all those signs of Remy being a disaster gay though, if they just stopped him and casually had a conversation or simply looked a little bit closer.

Remy wasn't nervous, no. He never was. He wasn't nervous before being introduced to someone new, he wasn't nervous before class presentations or even exams because he studied really hard for them and he certainly wasn't nervous now either, no.

He was just, to quote a show he had recently binge in a sleepless night: "Uncertain of how things would go and therefore deeply terrified".

There was nothing new about this. He had flirted with a lot of people on this school or in dancing clubs he sometimes liked to go, only rarely though. The point of this is- you name them and he could probably tell you the pick-up line he had used. But then again, that had all been nothing more than play pretend, all for fun and everyone knew that, no feelings were harmed.

But this, today? That was kind of actually something new after all. He was about to ask out his best friend- with all seriousness and no play pretend! He wanted to ask them on a date and go on those dates and be a cheesy couple and not only flirt for fun but flirt to tease and flirt to let everyone know they were each other's. But he had to admit, it would also be fun to flirt simply to make them blush, yea. Remy decided he'd like that.

He walked a little faster before his brain could chose the flight over fight or freeze and he'd chicken out again, like he did the week before. That did sound good, though, he would just turn around in his path and maybe he could try it again another time when he was less... deeply terrified and-

"Remy!" Too late. Emile was putting some stuff in their locker and they hadn't actually seen Remy but noticed their best friend's presence anyways.

"What are-" They stretched to get a book from the top compartment of their with cartoon stickers decorated locker, "Could you help me out?" Remy handed the smaller friend what they couldn't reach.

"Thanks." Emile closed their locker and faced Remy. "So. What are you doing here? I do love your company but aren't all your classes today at the other side of the building? Speaking of your classes, did you get your test back? You told me you had to study a lot and after what you told me about it I am sure you did great and-."

"Yea, I- uhhh." If Remy hadn't interrupted Emile's flow, they would have continued for the rest of the break. Not that Remy was complaining, he loved to hear them talk, he could listen to their voice forever. He wanted to fall asleep and wake up to it.

"I wanted to ask you something." Remy scratched their neck and stared at Emile's locker. To look his friend in their pretty, chocolate brown eyes would only throw him off his game, even though it looked like he was already losing. Why was this so much harder than usually?

"Remy, are you alright? Did you get enough sleep last night?" Emile's hand waved in his unfocused vision.

The taller student blinked a few times to see Emile stepping a little closer, their head tilted to the side and an eyebrow slightly raised in equal worry and curiosity.

To look at their friend was a mistake, his heart could not stop pounding, he just wanted to hold them and hug their hidden worries away and everything sad they didn't deserve that would consume them in the middle of night when they texted Remy out of seemingly nowhere. Of course, Remy was always awake to text them back. But wouldn't it be better to be there for them in person?

Emile was still looking at him like Remy was a ghost or another supernatural being. He got lost in his thoughts again, didn't he? Time to say something! He tried to make his mouth work.

"Sure, sure. Uhhh, I'm good, I'm chill." He crossed his arms and actually intended to lean back real smooth and casually, but he had miscalculated the space between himself and the lockers and almost slipped, almost. But hey, his sunglasses fell down on his nose so this not impressive, far from flirting (yet) situation brought something good, at least now Emile couldn't see where Remy was looking. He smirked, to play it off.

"Something is up with you, you're acting strange." Emile, too, crossed their arms and for a quick second Remy remembered that he once read online that if you cross your arms and the other person trusts you, they will copy it, consciously or not. His heart warmed even more, it was all fuzzy and he sighed. He was sure this blood pumping organ was going to melt, he already felt warm in the leather jacket and Emile being this adorable without even trying did not help at all, believe it or not. How was he supposed to flirt with them, he was a mess. "Come on," he thought "Make it quick like ripping off a bandaid."

Remy took a deep, shaking breath. Now or never. The longer he waited the harder it would get. "I wanted to ask you if you want to do something with me this evening.... Or not today if that's not good with you, tomorrow or the weekend would also be fine, but only like... if you want to and also have the time and-."

"We do a lot of things together why is asking that big of an act for you?"

Well, then he'd have to do it blunter. Oh, this was so stupid but the only pick-up line his mind could give him at the moment. "You like raisins, don't you? How do you feel about-"

Emile's eyes lit up as they realised what their best friend was trying to do and they completed his pick-up line way more seductive than Remy could have ever dreamed of doing it himself. They smirked and lowered their voice. "-a date?"

Remy didn't even have to see that smile to know it was there. He could see it in Emile's eyes. His friend always showed their emotions way more through their eyes than anything else and those eyes looked mischievous as hell. But he made the mistake to look at the smile anyways, he was weak after all. Weak for Emile. "Are you asking me out?"

Fuck, the cat's out of the bag. "Well," Remy cleared his throat. "I am trying to but you're just too... uhhh."

"I am too what? Throwing you off your rhythm, huh?" Emile let out a short laugh and Remy was sure that this was straight up bullying. What else could it be? He felt the heat rising in his cheeks. Was he blushing, oh fuck, he was blushing, wasn't he? Full on blushing. But hey, in his defence, he could not help himself, not even a little bit, when Emile was being so- not to say attractive but that's exactly what they were. "Yea, that's precisely what you're doing."

"What?" Even though Emile hadn't seem to expect that answer, it didn't throw them off their game at all, which was quite frankly just rude. How could they be so calm, so collected, while Remy was a blushing, melting disaster? Emile then had the audacity to correct their pastel blue tie. Emile really liked wearing ties and as one knows, ties and suits and dresses and fancy clothing in general make one look ten times better than usual. Did they even know what that quick movement did to Remy? Maybe they did not- but then again- yea, no. Remy was sure Emile did that on purpose and was completely aware of how handsome they were and how many butterflies they just put in his stomach. Butterflies in the stomach, feeling nervous in all the right ways. Or as his brother would say "A phrase that is commonly used to indicate the feeling of clenched anticipation for something desired one feels deep in one's gut". Yea, Logan was a nerd.

Remy found his voice again, it was nowhere nearly as sassy, confident and loud as usually. "So, will you go on a date with me?"

"If that means I get to make you blush more, always." So much to the thought of Remy making Emile flustered, seemed like it backfired. They put their backpack over one shoulder. "Fantastic, see you this evening. I'll text you."

They put Remy's hands in theirs and softly squished them before turning around and leaving Remy right where he had stood all the time. His pulse seemed to get slower again, he had done it. Well, he shot his shot and it halfway worked before Emile took over. Now they would have dates together and they could do everything Remy not only dreamed of at night but intentionally thought of when he daydreamed and-

Oh no. Oh fuck, no. Now he would never escape being flustered and blushing, wasn't he? He let out a long sigh, it felt good to get actual air in his lungs since he hadn't properly breathed for the whole break.

He had a feeling the butterflies would stay. "If Emile's gonna be the death of me," he thought as he made his way to his next class, his hands still slightly shaking. "Then that's how I wanna go."

#sanders sides fanfiction #ts #thomas sanders #remile #emile picani #cartoon therapy #ts sleep #ts ships #remy sleep sanders #logan logic sanders #highschool au #alternate universe #non-binary emile #also yes that title is a very obvious panic! at the disco reference #tw swearing #tw food mention #the next short story will be loceit with logan angst :D #and yes i did quote matthew from big mouth #remy really says head empty only emile and i respect that

[homespork-review]

Homespork Act 3: Insane Mindscrew Haymakers (Part 1)

BRIGHT: Before Act 3 proper starts, we see a message from Nanna to John, written in the front of the Sassacre’s joke book from Dad’s safe. The message is somewhat bizarre. For one thing, according to Nanna, the book it’s written in will end its journey on the day she dies...and still carry on for a while. For another, it talks about game elements we’ve encountered already, and hints at more to come. Overall it’s a nice bit of detail, enough to whet the reader’s interest.

You are no doubt reading this as a handsome and strapping young man! Why, the mangrit needed to lift the book is itself a sign of your maturity, not even to speak of the wisdom needed to grasp the nuance of Sassacre's time-tested mischief. I am so proud of you, grandson! How I wish I could have delivered this heirloom to you in the flesh. But I am afraid it wasn't in the cards! For you see, John, like you, this book must yet take a journey! Its journey will end on the Final Day of my life, and even then will continue some. Though I suppose that will be up to your Father. Perhaps he will discuss it with you one day, when he and you are ready. But it is your journey I am writing about to wish you luck! There will come a day when you will be thrust into another world. And once you arrive, that is only the beginning! You will soon delve even deeper into a realm of Warring Royalty in a Timeless Expanse. A realm of Agents and Exiles and Consorts and Kernelsprites. Of toiling Underlings and slumbering Denizens. A realm where four will gather, the Heir of Breath and Seer of Light, the Knight of Time and Witch of Space, and together they will Ascend. John, if only you knew how important you were! I regret my passing came so early in your life. And yet I feel in my heart we have already met. But what I know for sure is that we will meet again! Until then, John, I do hope your Father keeps you well fed!

FAILURE ARTIST: As I said earlier, Hussie has artfully defaced books, including one antique one about an expedition around the world. Defaced books show up again in this comic.

CHEL: Particularly, it implies that Nanna also had knowledge of the game during her lifetime, somehow, and refers to the gathering of four heroes. This is our first introduction to the classpect system, which now rivals Hogwarts houses as a method of personality description in fandom at large. I think at the time I didn’t realise who it was referring to… Anyway.

Next, we officially meet GG, the fourth and final member of our gang, a “silly girl” with a cheery grin, sleeping in a greenhouse full of vegetables and spirograph-shaped flowers. Since she’s sleeping and can’t object, she’s referred to for a while as FARMSTINK BUTTLASS, but she’s way ahead of us; under her hand is a note admonishing the reader and declaring her actual name to be Jade Harley. I think she’s the cutest of the kids, myself - just seeing her first appearance makes me happy! All its weaknesses aside, Homestuck’s pretty great at creating painfully cute character designs and attaching a good range of personalities to them.

FAILURE ARTIST: Jade Harley was considered a “Mary Sue” when she was first introduced. I don’t know why. Yeah, she has a lot of eccentricities and unusual possessions but so do the other characters.

Farmstink is a reference to an old comic Hussie did about this dude obsessed with the stink of farms. Hussie’s early work is really weird.

CHEL: The reader attempts to wake Jade by dropping a pumpkin carved with an animal’s face on her head, but the pumpkin disappears; as we know, WV now has it. Fortunately for the pacing, Jade wakes up on her own. Look closely, and you’ll notice the symbol on her shirt changes each page; that turns out a bit later to be due to her hi-tech WARDROBIFIER. If I recall correctly, Hussie intended to settle on one chosen by reader vote, but ended up on a cycle of three different ones.

FAILURE ARTIST: Jade settles on three icons to appear on her shirt. However, eventually just one icon stays on her shirt. The WARDROBIFIER doesn’t get much use with her, though a later character has the same thing.

CHEL: Jade is also wearing COLORFUL REMINDERS on her fingers, and when the view pans out it’s revealed by the view from the window that her GARDEN ATRIUM is on a high floor. She plays the flute badly for a while in a Flash game; apparently it’s not her preferred instrument. Also fortunately for the pacing, we think, she knows how to use her sylladex, and prefers to set its retrieval function in the form of a memory game because you seem to have a knack for always guessing right on the first try! On checking her reminders, she remembers to wish John happy birthday, gathers some fruit, and heads upstairs by means of a teleporter.

Jade’s bedroom proves to be full of various disturbing-looking plushies, albeit not nearly as disturbing as the Smuppets, hanging baskets and potted plants, a bass guitar, and G-rated furry artwork, including a piece obviously drawn by Dave. Franchises depicted in her toy and poster collections include GREEN SLIME GHOST (the apparent copyright-friendly source of John’s T-shirt and pogo ride), MANTHRO CHAPS (mustachioed human faces on plush animal bodies), and SQUIDDLES (adorable octopi with magnets in their bellies which stick together as Tangle Buddies!). Her favoured weapons are rifles, though she would never shoot an animal, and she has various gadgets on a worktable, including a thing that looks like a disconnected window not unlike those shown in Rose’s book, which she apparently hasn’t been able to get to work.

FAILURE ARTIST: Manthro Chaps is a reference to Hussie’s particularly disturbing set of comics where he plays around with anthropomorphization. Like having an anthro chicken man lay anthro eggs.

CHEL: The comic in question, Humanimals, can be found here; warnings for extreme body horror and general grossness.

FAILURE ARTIST: Jade is told by a forum prompter to Lose interest in fauna and never speak of it again. Jade refuses to in a beautiful little speech but she denies she’s a furry. Oh, if she only knew what was coming for her.

Jade looks out the window and we find out she lives somewhere next to a volcano.

CHEL: The very same one which appeared in the animation at the end of the last act, in fact.

Your grandfather is a WORLD RENOWNED EXPLORER-NATURALIST-TREASURE HUNTER-ARCHEOLOGIST-SCIENTIST-ADVENTURER-BIG GAME HUNTER-BILLIONAIRE EXTRAORDINAIRE. He has taught you everything you know.

Grandpa is heavily coded here and in his appearance a bit later as a Great White Hunter, an upper-class European guy who goes to faraway countries in order to shoot the animals there. Of course, non-white people can certainly do that, but white is what people will immediately picture upon seeing the trope. Also note we have another ridiculously wealthy family here. Since all four of the kids have now been introduced and we’ve had a lot of WSP points from their races and financial statuses already, here we get another HOW NOT TO point as well.

The Country Club Here every single character is white and middle-to-upper class. Unless your novel is taking place in rural Sweden, this will eventually give the reader the eerie feeling that some form of ethnic cleansing has taken place. HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC: 14 WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 7

One could argue that some form of ethnic cleansing is taking place, since these are the kids who are surviving the apocalypse, though that’s not actually fair because there are plenty of other SBurb sessions all across the world which might also succeed.

Jade opens her GADGET CHEST and produces several more items pertaining to her interests, including her computer, which she keeps in a Squiddles lunchbox. Several fortune-telling items are included among them, but according to Jade they are not the source of her abilities. The Magic 8-Ball is apparently usually wrong, responding to being asked whether it’s John’s birthday today with NOT EXACTLY, and the Magic Cue Ball is supposedly always right but is impossible to read, making it completely useless.

FAILURE ARTIST: There’s another Problem Sleuth reference (or rather Problem Sooth) but what’s important is the Magic Cue Ball. Unlike her Magic 8-Ball, it has no window where one can read the prediction. If only Jade had a special vision. Perhaps an eightfold vision.

Jade goes to feed BEC. She has some sylladex trouble until she finally just takes a steak out of her fridge.

CHEL: Once again, the sylladex shenanigans waste several pages.

GET ON WITH IT!: 9

Bec’s identity is as yet unknown, but recall that Dave called him a “devilbeast” in an earlier conversation, and when he suggested shooting Bec Jade said she didn’t think she could if she tried. He also apparently eats nothing but steaks (lucky Grandpa’s a billionaire), so Jade is living on an island with apparently minimal supervision from her guardian and an allegedly dangerous carnivore running wild outside. Like Dave, at this point it seems to be very lucky she’s a cartoon character.

FAILURE ARTIST: Using a special oven she irradiates the steak. Umm, I think Bec can take that but I worry about Jade.

Jade finds and plays her elaborate bass and she’s much better at it than with the flute. During the flash, the camera pulls out and we find out where she lives: in a tower on a small volcanic island with a frog temple in the lagoon. An airplane goes by and drops a package.

Jade uses her super high-tech “lunchtop” to have a conversation with John. Nothing special about that but we see on her chumroll a bunch of unfamiliar handles. Hmm.

CHEL: The unfamiliar handles are listed in the “Trollslum”, which one presumes is a blocklist. I think you have to see just how hi-tech the lunchtop is:

"Jade: Get down to business." (Watch on YouTube)

Hussie’s really coming into his own with the animations by now.

FAILURE ARTIST: Dave has sent her some messages begging her to wake up and unfortunately one line has the f-slur in it.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 7

In the end, he decides she’ll probably forget what he says.

CHEL: Begging her to wake up” doesn’t exactly cover it.

TG: youre asleep again arent you TG: or do you even know if you are TG: i still dont know how that works TG: its like nothing means anything

Apparently Jade sometimes talks to him while she’s sleeping.

FAILURE ARTIST: There’s a little flash where you can listen to some of Dave’s tunes. When you’re done with that, you can join her in looking at mspadventures.com. A crude John wearing a wizard hat is sitting on his lawn with the caption

It begins to dawn on you that everything you just did may have been a colossal waste of time.

What the hell is going on here? Is Jade reading what John is doing right now?

CHEL: I think it’s just a fourth wall joke, but it’s certainly accurate, considering our GET ON WITH IT count.

FAILURE ARTIST: Next, we get this flash called Midnight Crew: Act 1031. If you are watching it in 2019, the song playing is Dead Shuffle by Mark Hadley. However, the song was originally Nightlife by Bill Bolin. Unfortunately, Bolin had a dispute with Hussie over Hussie using music that Bolin considered WIP. Bolin blew up and called Hussie “unprofessional” and in a very professional move posted a photo of himself giving the double deuce. It’s a shame this happened since Nightlife is a jauntier and more appropriate tune.

CHEL: The Midnight Crew, to be specific, are gangsters with card-themed names who bear a striking resemblance to WV, living in a mysterious purple city full of towers, pitted against the Felt, another gang of odd-looking green fellows who wear bowler hats with numbers on them, in the colour schemes of a set of pool balls.

Hussie did make reference in the previous page to a “weird tangential intermission [which] clearly advanced the plot in no way whatsoever”, implying that it actually is relevant, and the purple city and its shiny black beady-eyed inhabitants look very familiar, but since as far as we know at this point the Midnight Crew is just a comic-within-a-comic, you know which counts get added to.

GET ON WITH IT!: 10 WHAT IS HAPPENING??: 2

Just for the record, the leader of the gang is named Spades Slick, and yes, we’re aware that “spade” is a slur against black people, which makes it slightly unfortunate to be applied as a name to a black-shelled alien creature. However, we’re not counting that as PROBLEMATYKKS because Hussie and the Crew’s original writer certainly did not intend that. It’s not that commonly used a term from what I’ve seen, the playing cards would be the more likely immediate association, and with the other characters being Clubs Deuce, Hearts Boxcars, and Diamonds Droog, it’s just an unfortunate coincidence. If he was a black human, then I’d object more strenuously.

FAILURE ARTIST: Jade talks with Dave (I think the conversation is a repeat?)

CHEL: Yep.

GET ON WITH IT!: 11

FAILURE ARTIST: Finally, we get the flash we’ve been waiting for: Dave strifes with his mysterious guardian. Or rather, he strifes with Lil Cal while Bro is a speed blur.

BRIGHT: Unlike the other strifes up to this point, the reader can’t do anything other than watch, because Bro slices the command box in half right at the start.

TIER: In the world of Homestuck, the parental units are overall just really weird! Like dad Egbert severe overabundance of cakes and mom Lalonde's drunken dysfunction. It's overall all hilarious, fitting with the tone and humor of the story well!

But then we have our lovely outlier. The one, the hated, The. Bro “a huge bastard honestly” Strider! A.K.A basically the one guardian whose questionable parenting gets the Real Consequences treatment later on in this tale. Peculiar that.

CHEL: Now, under most circumstances, an adult man beating the hell out of a barely-teenage kid, on the precarious rooftop of a high-rise building no less, would be horrifying. However, Bro chooses to hit Dave with his puppet, which… is frankly hard to take seriously. Obviously it would still hurt if a real person did that, but it looks so stupid that the immediate assumption is that it’s a joke.

BRIGHT: Particularly when earlier strife moves like Rose’s ‘Empty Suicide Threat’ were intended to be humorous. This is about on the same level as that, in terms of severity!

TIER: Being smacked around by the flopping noodle limbs of a freaky puppet is honestly hard to take seriously. Hell, this entire sequence is chock full of outlandish “Rule of Cool” bullshit and I am Peeved that I was apparently supposed to look at this sequence of ridiculous events and go “OBVIOUSLY THIS IS FUCKED UP AND ABUSIVE”.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 7

CHEL: I could kinda see that with hindsight from the rest of the comic, but definitely not “OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A LOT MORE FUCKED UP AND ABUSIVE THAN THE OTHER AWFUL FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES”, which is what was apparently intended. And we also get another HOW NOT TO point, which we’ll give now even though the official “reveal” comes much later.

A Novel Called It - wherein an abusive parent exists Bad parents are everywhere in unpublished fiction. Whole cities of abusive fathers and sneering mothers live in the pages of books that can’t be sold. While occasionally, and notably in the horror genre, this sort of material can be made good (Carrie, V. C. Andrews), most cruel parents in fiction are just as much fun as they are in real life. HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC: 14

That damn puppet gets creepier every time, admittedly, more so now that Bro is moving so fast that the thing appears to be dancing on Dave’s head under its own power. Dave’s expressions look more annoyed than afraid or hurt, however, in my opinion.

FAILURE ARTIST: Anyway, we go back to Jade. Rose is pestering her.

TT: I require a font of frighteningly accurate yet infuriatingly nonspecific information. TT: Do you know where I can find a wellspring of this sort?

Very business-like, isn’t it? Rose and Jade’s relationship is a big missed opportunity in this comic. They’re more like friends-of-friends than friends.

CHEL: I don’t know, that sounds to me like how Rose talks to the boys too; facetiously formal. Still, they don’t converse nearly as much as the boys do with each other or them. Male writers in particular tend to do this, and it’s not entirely their faults. People are socialised to think women talk a lot more than they do, so he probably didn’t notice.

TIER: A real shame honestly, we were fucking robbed of some peak interactions between a sunshine flower child and a “dark and brooding” baby goth. Fucking. Robbed.

FAILURE ARTIST: We find out that Jade was the one who had the idea of playing Sburb. She had told Rose that the game would answer some of Rose’s unnamed questions. Rose wants more information on this Big Day. Jade says the game will not be what Rose thinks it is and will answer questions Rose hasn’t thought of yet. On that mysterious note, Jade says goodbye.

CHEL: We check in briefly with Rose in the present, confirming that she’s found the secret passage and is escaping the fire, bringing the corpse of her cat along with her, then to John, who is doing much worse. The ogres (the giant tusked imps) have cornered him, and while he flails frantically about with his Pogo Hammer it doesn’t do much good. They beat the snot out of him with the old Sassacre book and the tire swing, then send him flying into the abyss; fortunately, Nannasprite is able to catch him on his bed and provide healing, allowing him to flail uselessly at the ogres again and get beaten up again, ad infinitum.

Back in the desert, a giant worm-like creature emerges from PM’s bunker and chows down on the cart full of mailboxes. PM is displeased, and puts a hand on the hilt of an ornate black sword.

Cut back to the FAQ, which John has found time to edit with information about the punch card system. He doesn’t know if anyone is left alive to play the game, but Rose asked him to add to it, so he will. He’s figured out with his 133t h4x0r 5k1llz that the captcha code on the back of the cards is converted into a binary-based pattern on the cards, 0 being blank and 1 being a punched hole. Overlapping the cards functions like a bitwise AND operation, causing both to be enacted. The 48-hole card system allows for 300 trillion combinations, but John lampshades the fact that this couldn’t possibly cover every conceivable captchable item, and that various combinations of overlapping cards would just produce the same combination. This is just adding to my conviction that the system ought to be reworked; the totems alone would probably allow for a much wider range, if one gets down to the atomic level of their shape. Then again, those would be a lot harder to merge… Still, I’m sure there’s some way to work it.

BRIGHT: This section was kind of surprising to me because up to this point we haven’t had much if any description of John being into coding, so the section came out of left field somewhat. Not bad, necessarily, just jarring.

CHEL: Actually, he did mention in his intro that he likes to program, albeit not very well, he had some coding books on his shelves, and the icons on his computer are named in a way which implies they’re some of his attempts at coding. However, this interest never really comes up again later that I remember.

Meanwhile, the secret passage Rose followed led to her mother’s laboratory, which bears the logo “SN” with a stylised atom and a spirograph pattern in the loops of the S. It seems Mom Lalonde knows more than she’s letting on about the game. Inside the laboratory is an enormous HUBGRID of devices into which the laptop can be plugged.

FAILURE ARTIST: Rose uses that ol’ r-slur when she says she won’t go on the pad so that’s another point.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 8

CHEL: Jade uses the TRANSPORTALIZER to travel most of the way down to the ground floor, but not all the way down because the one on that floor is blocked. As she walks down the last couple of flights of stairs, we see Grandpa’s own collections of stuff; taxidermised animal heads, suits of armour, mummified corpses (made by pasting in photographs to the cartoon background, it’s creepy as hell), and his BLUE BEAUTIES, or the DAUGHTERS OF ECLECTICA; sun-bleached portrait photographs of beautiful women. On the final floor, we are confronted with the thing blocking the final portal; a gigantic preserved monster with a white head and green serpentine body. It took me till just now to figure it out but I think the white part is supposed to be a human torso on the snake tail; at first it just looked like a snake wearing a stocking mask. That’s what happens when the humans don’t have arms.

Jade thought she had logged off from Pesterchum, but suddenly it pings again, and here we are introduced to an entirely new section of the cast. We’re probably not spoiling anything by not being mysterious about them at this point in the fandom’s history, but just in case, we’ll stick to doing the reveals when the comic does. The person talking to Jade is one of the names from her TROLLSLUM, under the handle carcinoGeneticist; they gloat about being “BETTER AND SMARTER THAN YOU, FOREVER” when asked how they’re still contacting Jade after being blocked, and mock her about today being “FINALLY THE DAY YOU FUCK EVERYTHING UP”. Angry, Jade blocks them again.

FAILURE ARTIST: I had forgotten that “they” appeared so early.

CHEL: Well, “appear” is stretching it; the TROLLSLUM only make contact through Pesterchum for a while yet. And when they show up, we’ll have both plenty of skilfully-written points to pick out and plenty of counts to apply.

#Homespork #homestuck #literary critique #sporking #Let's read #let's read homestuck #homestuck let's read #homestuck review #homestuck meta #homestuck reread

[theateared]

First One to Make a Sound Loses. ❜

Summary:  Sexual tension.  Romantic tension.  That’s it.

    His original quip had been innocuous enough  -  ‘first one to make a sound loses, eh?’  -  but in the small confines of the closet that they found themselves locked in, he was all too close to her.

    “You’re an idiot,”   she told him through gritted teeth, listening as he felt around for the spare key that was supposed to be on top of the doorframe.  With nobody else tall enough to reach it, Edgar had figured that it was as safe a place as any to put it…  and it had been, until he’d put it somewhere else while rushing around cleaning.   “It’s not up there, will you stop?!”

    “I am trying to get this blasted thing open,”   he snapped, hands gravitating towards his hips despite the fact that she couldn’t see the authoritative pose he’d struck.   “Do you want out?  Or do you want to be stuck in a broom closet all day?  Hm?”

    “Don’t strike that tone with me, Edgar!”     “I’ll strike any tone I damn well please.”

    They both went quiet then, feeling a spike in tension.  Lately, they’d both been feeling the effects of their bickering, a heat fizzling between them like electricity.  It had always been there, from the very first day that they’d met, but it was all but unbearable now.  It was like constantly dancing around how they made each other feel during heat, only half able to take part in their usual cat-and-mouse before they found it impossible to keep up.

    The things I would do to you, Grace.  The Gods would blush.

    An ear twitched in her direction as he heard her sigh, her body slumping against the wall furthest away from him before she sank into a sitting position.  Do not think about her on her knees.  After redirecting his flow of blood away from his groin, he moved to mimic her, his legs awkwardly bent because of his height.

    “Well…  what do we do?”   she asked, defeated.

    “I suppose all we can do is wait for Moxie to come back,”   he mumbled in response, a hand raising to rub gently at his forehead.   “Can’t miss him, can you?  Loudmouth mother…”   His words ebbed into nothingness, frustration pinched tight within every syllable. Really, he only had himself to blame.  If he hadn't put that key down, even for just a moment while he wiped a table or pushed in a chair, it wouldn’t be missing now.  This was his fault  -  and it was completely avoidable too.   “... he shouldn’t be gone too long.  I sent him out this morning.  It’s late now.”   I really need to have this door replaced.  I’m not sure why they thought it was a good idea to implement a closet door that locks itself when it’s been left to close.  It’s like they’re trying to tempt me into storing bodies in it as opposed to brooms.

    “Hm…”

    The quiet began to nibble at him, as he was sure it did her.  Are you feeling as frustrated as I am?  Does this close proximity tease you so?  His nose twitched, eager to detect a hint of lust, but all he could smell was age-old dust.  Great.  Now it’s in my nose.

    She stuck a leg out, foot dangerously close to his thigh.  Your scent is overpowering in this tiny box.  It’s like I’ve been caged in a room that consists of nothing but your perfume.  He thought briefly about it, then shook his head to himself.  No…  ‘caged’ makes it sound like it isn’t willing. I’m more than willing.  But it drives me insane.

    “No interesting commentary?”   he asked with a sigh, trying not to sound too hopeful.     “‘fraid there’s not much I can say about a cupboard, Eddie.”     “Heh.”

    I want to reach out…  I want to touch you.  I want to run my hand up your leg.  Up and up and up, until I reach the place you need me the most.  Gods, I want to kiss you--

    “Don’t you think it’s kind of like a space shuttle in here?”

    “A what…?”   He’d been so distracted by his perverted train of thought that he hadn’t heard what she’d said in full.  He’d even go far as to admit that he felt somewhat dazed;  dizzy with fervour, and he knew that, despite his best efforts, he wasn’t hiding it very well.  Can you smell it on me and you’re just too nice to say anything?  Or too uncomfortable?  I never know what you’re thinking of me.  I know what I’m thinking of you.  Always.

    “A space shuttle…”   she repeated, voice seeming to lull slightly.  He found that strange, though certainly not unwelcome.  He played that slight dip in confidence on loop in his head, the sound serving him the same as a gasp or a hitched breath would.   “It’s tight in here…”

    “Mm…”   A clear of his throat followed immediately afterwards, as if trying to erase the wanton sound from history.   “I, uh…  don’t think it’ll be too long.”   She brought out the clumsy side of him;  the side that didn’t always have a quick word to say, a snappy comment to make, a confident smirk to give her.  Sometimes, she would render him as human as he did others.

    His mind was beginning to wander again.  He thought about their outing a few nights ago. She’d kissed him on the cheek before bidding him goodnight, then thought twice and kissed him on the mouth instead.  Had she lingered, he most definitely would have tried to relieve himself, to empty the passion he felt for her in one single heated motion, but she was gone before he could think to hold her.  He’d walked back to the tavern with his heart in his throat, an uncomfortable heat spattered across his shoulders and neck that he hadn’t been able to nurse until he got to the bathroom, a cold shower leapt into without a second thought.  Even so, he’d pleasured himself until his head spun;  barely upright beneath the steady stream of water, an arm supporting his quivering frame as he rode out his highs in between heaved pants for air.  It hadn’t been enough regardless of how many times he’d tried to sate his appetite.

    “I can smell you, you know...”   The comment was made so breezily that he almost didn’t realise that she was referring to him.  So it is noticeable.  Instead of acting coy, the Alpha let out a crass laugh.

    “Well I’m sorry,”   he remarked smarmily.   “It isn’t my fault.  It’s dark and cosy and…”   He paused when her foot made the faintest of contact with his thigh.  She’d bent it inwards while he was talking, the tip of her shoe against him, and then she began to ever-so-slightly move it. Had he been in an animated cartoon, the ‘?’ that appeared above his head would have been huge.

    “What’re you thinking about?”   Her voice was soft, quiet.  Despite the effort he put into squinting, he couldn’t see an inch in front of his face.  A lye’s sight was not the best anyway, but the closet was so dark inside that there was no hope of making out even her outline.  All he had to rely on were his ears and his nose…  which ironically were the reasons that he was in this mess to begin with.  Even so, the subtle circle of her foot was more than enough of a reason to push on.

    “Now would not be the best time to tempt me, Grace,”   he told her levelly, suddenly all too aware of their limited space.  He was beginning to feel restless.  I need to stretch.  His ears stood tall as he listened to her shift, the material of her skirt being played with echoing in his ears.  Then, she began fiddling with one of her socks.  I nearly forgot, they have ribbons on today.  Gods, how cute can you get--?

    “I disagree,”   she said in a manner that he could only describe as playful.   “Now’s the perfect time.  It proves what kind of man you are.”

    How?, he found himself thinking.  I’m trapped in an enclosed space with a woman who seems to be showing interest in me.  Would I really be a fool for taking my chances?

    “Alright…”   he mused, interested to see just how far she was willing to take this.   “I’ll bite.”

    Part of her reeled with excitement.  She’d been feeling different about her Alpha lately.  While originally she’d had no interest in him at all, she felt closer to him now.  Ever since he’d started to spend time with her outside of their duties within the creed, she’d found it possible to connect with him.  She wasn’t naive.  She knew that the desire for sex was still what propelled his efforts. Had she believed anything else, she’d have been nothing but a stupid girl.  Still…  she wanted to play.  You can’t use me, Alpha.

    “So…?”   she asked, her foot sliding out of her shoe, pushing it to the back of the closet before it pressed back into his thigh.  Even though she couldn’t see him, she knew he was looking at her, could feel his eyes attempting to see through her dark.   “Are you thinking about me?”

    “Obviously I’m thinking about you,”   he replied shamelessly.  Maybe I can get myself close to you if I play my cards right.  I want you.   “I’m thinking about the other night.”

    “Needy much?”       He could hear the smirk in her voice.   “You kissed me.”     “You invited me to.”     “I--”   A quiet laugh left him, head shaking gently.   “I did not.  How did I?”

    “You stood there and let me.”   The warmth of her foot seeped through his pant leg.  He could envision her expression at this moment in time: half-lidded eyes, an unimpressed line for a mouth…  and by God did it make him ache.  Do you think this is funny, Grace?   “Even though I’m an inferior, you let me initiate it.  And you raised your hand to keep me there, but I was gone too fast.”

    “And you did that deliberately, I imagine.”

    “Partly,”   she confessed with a soft laugh, though sobriety returned a moment later.  For a moment, her foot was gone, though he barely held back a sigh of relief when he felt it against his other leg.  Just a little higher.  Just a little bit of friction, you fucking tease--   “But it was also partly because I was afraid to let you.”

    For a moment, he didn’t know what to make of the words.  Why would you be afraid of me? Why would you fear an action that you yourself committed?

    “Why?”   Edgar asked, ears straining to hear even the faintest thing.

    “I thought I might enjoy it too much,”   she said quietly, her foot suddenly raising to rest over his thigh.  Her heel dug gently into his hip, as if she was attempting to drag him over to her. Immediately, his mind was flooded with images;  of him holding her up against a wall, her legs tight around his waist as he let his hands rake unhindered across her body;  of her moaning into his shoulder as he mercilessly filled her;  of her crumbling to the floor upon being put down, useless without his support.   “And I thought you might, too.”

    “I would have enjoyed it immensely,”   he said.  He clearly didn’t feel the need for secrecy like she did.  It was hard for her to admit the things she had, even though they were incredibly vague and entirely non-explicit.   “I think you would have too.  I think part of you is curious about how I would treat you.”

    She scoffed quietly, though he heard a hint of indignation as opposed to disgust;  as if she was trying to deny something rather than tell him he was wrong.  His grin sharpened at that, though it faltered when he felt her foot return to his inner thigh.  She was dangerously close, skirting on the very edge of inappropriate, and it made his arm raise, fingers settling around her ankle.  Her motion stilled, head picked up from her shoulder, and he thought he heard the fwip of her ears standing tall.  Do you feel alert right now?  Does my touch make you pay attention?

    His skin was cool, even through her thigh-high sock, and though he didn’t try to move it, she felt the urge in the pads of his fingers like electricity.   His fingers began tracing the delicate shape of her foot as he settled it atop his thigh.

    “Do you want to know how I’d treat you?”   he asked, voice somewhat distracted as he rounded her heel.  Her toes twitched when he stroked along the underside of her foot, curling cutely.

    “I don’t want to know about your perverted fantasies…”   she muttered.

    “Of course you do.  Otherwise why are you playing this game with me?”   The Alpha shuffled in his spot, then, leaning further down so that his hand could travel along her leg.  It stayed respectfully at her shin, thumb the primary source of touch while his other fingers supported the weight of her leg.   “I’d treat you well, but I’d also torture you.  I’d take my time, in an effort to show you just how much you’ve left me wanting.  I’d kiss every inch of you just to spite your indecision that night.  And I wouldn’t stop until my name was the only word on your tongue.”

    “You sound pretty passionate about this…”

    “You incited it.”   But you incited something else in me, too.  You incited my lust for your company, and by Gods that hasn’t happened in so long.  It terrifies me, but it’s also so sweet when we’re together.   “I want you, Grace.  Playing games is fun but I intend to win at some point.”

    The words made her shudder somewhat, and she wasn’t sure if she was successful at suppressing it or not.  He didn’t seem to acknowledge it, though perhaps it was because he was focused on his fingers crawling higher.  For some reason, she didn’t want to push him away quite yet.  I will.  I will.  Just not yet.

    “Don’t you want me too?”   His voice was different in that moment;  more of a growl than she was used to, though coupled with a hint of confusion so compellingly true that it made him sound sweet.   “You don’t feel that spark between us?  That…  little flame?  Chemistry? Whatever you want to call it.”   She bit her lip softly as his fingers glided over her knee, starting the ascent up to her thigh.  He reached her very limit, fingers dancing dangerously close to the hem of her skirt, though she revoked her displeasure when all he did was dip the tip of his index finger into her sock, gently stroking along her thigh.   “Mm…?  I think you do.  That’s why you kissed me.  It was your way of telling me that the interest is mutual.  You like me.”

    “You like me, too…!”   she bit back, almost reaching out to slap his hand away.  She wasn’t quite sure what stopped her that time.  She wasn’t sure why she was upset by him in that moment, either.   “Don’t you?  Or are you really that deranged that you would do fun things with me just to--”

    “Oh, I like you,”   he interjected, voice alarmingly transparent.   “A lot more than I ever intended to.  Perhaps a little too much.”   You are the most compelling game of chess I have ever played, Grace Adler.  You’re the first game I’ve had where I’ve stood a very prominent chance of losing.   “... but you didn’t deny it, you know?  You didn’t say I was wrong.”

    Her teeth were back to worrying her bottom lip now.  It was concerning to her because he was right.  At what point did I stop playing with him because I found it funny?  When did my intentions to mess with the Alpha’s power change?  Why is he right?  It made her angry--  made her feel as if she’d betrayed herself in some way.

    Her ears twitched at the sound of him moving, and she realised that he was on his knees, the hand that had been on her leg now between them, supporting his weight.   “Let’s have a do-over?”

    “Get away from me…”

    “You don’t sound convincing,”   he commented, the smile in his voice evident.   “I’m not going to harm you, Gracie…”   Despite her resistance, she didn’t stop him from coming closer. “I wouldn’t do anything bad to you.  Just a kiss.  Nothing more.  I’ve…  been daydreaming about you since that night.”

    With her breath caught in her throat:   “With Raku as my witness, I will kick you--”

    He chuckled softly, taking note of the way her body stiffened when he touched her cheek.  Her foot didn’t meet him.  She didn’t move an inch…  aside from when she tilted her head slightly, her face now fitting more comfortably in his hand.  Though she couldn’t see him, even with her so close to him, she knew that he was smiling that annoying knowing smile.

    “Kick me, then…”

    Part of her wanted to.  Part of her wanted to so badly that she very nearly gave in.  However, desperate to still be in control, her hand curled in his collar and tugged, the distance between them no more.

    His senses were running wild immediately.  With her mouth on his, all he could think about was how hungry he was to feel her.  Even so, his hand remained glued to her face, knowing very well that he’d wind up betraying his words if he entertained the idea of touching her.

    She pulled away slowly, the sound of their lips parting making a blush rise to her cheeks.

    “Satisfied, pervert…?”

    “Never,”   he whispered back, smile triumphant as he tried his luck for a second time.  He wasn’t quite sure why he was so eager to kiss her…  it wasn’t as if he was getting an orgasm out of that.  Even so, he found himself enraptured by the taste of her, by the feel of their breath mingling and becoming one, and when her hand loosened from his collar and fell to his chest instead, he felt a pang of longing flare in his gut like an engine that had started to work after aeons of inactivity.  When he pulled away, his breath was still even, albeit shallower.

    “Is that all…?”   she questioned.  Her tone would have been derisive if not for the way it trembled slightly.   “All that passion for that...?”

    “Would you like me to kiss you the way I want to…?”   he murmured, trying to hold back the urge to laugh.  She almost seemed annoyed with him.

    “I thought that was the point, dumbass.”

    Her insult provoked him enough to capture her lips for a third time, though this time was different.  He was greedier, his thumb firm against her cheekbone with the intention of holding her in place.  She met him tit-for-tat, refusing to be outdone, and when she too rose to her knees, he knew it was going to spiral out of control.

    The sound she made as he shovelled his tongue into her mouth set him ablaze, heart thundering in his ears as she met his actions with her own.  Forked appendages slid over one another, saliva shared and swapped, and he was surprised to feel her hand in his hair, her other landing atop the one between her legs, holding it tight.  It was guided to her waist, his temperature seeping through her dress as he held her respectably.

    When they parted that time, neither of their breathing patterns was even.  His smile had faded with the heated nature of it all, a lustful line taking its place as he stared her down through half-lidded eyes.  Her breath came out in shallow puffs, eyes all but closed as he held her to him, her fingers still loosely tangled in his hair.  He smelled it then, even if it was faint.

                                                                                                        ------  Desire.

    “You do want me…”   he murmured, hand keeping her face propped in his direction, disallowing her from looking away.  Without sight to aid him, all he had to go on was her troubled breathing;  the sound of her intakes;  the feel of her chest meeting his whenever she took in oxygen.   “Are you satisfied, Grace…?”

    “Ah…  f-fu…  shut up…  shutup--”   He felt her face turn red, the heat against his fingers all too telling.  Intoxicating.  More.  I want to make you blush all the time.

    “You wanted me to hold you.”     “Shut up…”     “You like it.”     “I’m going to kick you for real…”

    “You--”   His words were interrupted by a sharp tug to his hair, breath catching in his throat at the sudden jolt of pain.  Nevertheless, a delightful shiver ran down his spine, eyes feeling heavier as he suddenly felt hungrier.  He was about to lean in for a fourth time, reclaim her lips with his own, when a sudden pound on the door frightened them both.  He didn’t miss the way her hand tightened against the back of his head;  he was sure she didn’t miss the way he clutched her slightly closer to him in a protective manner.  With any luck, it would remain unspoken.

    “What the fuck’re you two DOIN’ in there?!”   they heard Moxie shout from the other side of the door.   “What’re you talkin’ in the dark for?  You fuckin’ IDIOTS or somethin’?!”

    “... sort of,”   Edgar admitted, voice teetering dangerously between humoured and weakened.   “IIIII…  left the key somewhere while tidying up.  Find it and unlock the door, will you?”

    There was a beat of silence save for heavy footfalls.  Slowly, the Alpha released the woman in his arms, reluctant to feel her body heat fade away.  The sound of the lock clicking had them both heaving out a sigh of relief, the light filtering through moments later.  It was harsh enough for both of them to wince and raise an arm to shield their eyes.

    “Fuckheads…”   Moxie muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets before walking away. Before he disappeared from view.   “Your shoe’s missin’, dumbfuck.”

    If she cared about it, she certainly didn’t show it.  She was gone in an instant, sparing neither of them a word.

#🞮 — if i could i'd trade my heart for a second brain. ❜ ( edgar. ) #🞮 — that vixen﹐she's a master of disguise! ❜ ( grace. ) #☆ — i never promised you your dream boy. ❜ ( main. ) #☆ — i'm just here to destroy. ❜ ( ic. ) #drabble * #/ HA HA HA

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #432

Top Ten Games to Remaster

As we continue June’s videogame-themed series of Tops Ten – during what would normally have been E3, but is still something of a prolonged Videogame Announcement Season – I turn my attention once again to great games past. This has been exacerbated by the release of Command & Conquer Remastered Collection, a hi-def spit-and-polish re-do of two of the greatest PC games of the nineties. I have very fond teenage memories of both C&C and its pseudo-sequel, but Red Alert in particular strikes an important chord as one of “the” games that deepened and broadened by love of gaming as an art form. In the way that really only happens when you’re a kid, I absorbed Red Alert, not just completing the campaign and playing hours and hours of skirmish, but also talking about it extensively with friends, designing my own levels, and even going so far as to modify the source files to create my own super-units (nuclear tanks ahoy!). As such, it utterly delights me to declare that C&C Remastered is a phenomenal undertaking, the graphics painstakingly remade to fit modern displays, the interface masterfully tweaked to appease modern sensibilities. But at the same time it offers so many pleasing, knowing, considerate hat-tips to fans, such as a re-imagining of the classic DOS installation prompts. All in all, it’s a must-buy, bringing a 25-year-old series of games more-or-less bang up to date and preserving their legacy for a new generation.

Anyway, all this got me thinking of other classic games, and how it’s so difficult to play them nowadays. Maybe they’re mired in rights issues. Maybe it’s a technological minefield to get them to run on modern systems. Maybe elements of modern gaming – be it graphics or design – have simply passed them by, making them a far more difficult and frustrating experience than they would have seemed Back in the Day. Whatever the reason, these are games that – like classic films from the 40s and 50s – should be celebrated and enjoyed by the young’uns, not left to gather digital dust on forgotten floppies the world over.

So, with no further ado, here are ten games that I would love to see given a bit of digital TLC, renewed and revigorated for the ultra-wide monitors and liquid-cooled systems of tomorrow. In most cases these are just one game that I’d like to see spruced up and re-released, but there are a few “collections” here too, whether it’s a C&C-style pairing of a great double act, or a  celebration of a series, a la Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Oh, and I’m on about remasters here: not a full-on remake or reboot. Stuff like Perfect Dark on the Xbox 360, not Doom 2016. Old games made good on modern hardware, not a reimagining of the property.

Regardless: have at it, games industry.

Lemmings (1991) and Lemmings 2: The Tribes (1993): I definitely think they should be a double-pack, because whilst the first is a well-regarded classic, the second refines the formula, makes it more user-friendly, offers skirmish-style training modes, and amps up the comedy. But they’re both ancient by now, and despite mobile do-overs in recent years, the originals are very difficult to play. Upping the resolution whilst still keeping the character of the scantily-pixelated sprites would be difficult, but it’d be worth it to once again sample one of the gods of gaming.

Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993): other LucasArts classic adventures have had a spruce – most notably the first two seminal Monkey Island games – but it’d be good to see this cult comedy classic come back to life. I don’t know if the backgrounds ever existed in higher resolution, but I’d love to see the sprites re-drawn to more closely resemble a cartoon version of Steve Purcell’s artwork.

The Jedi Knight Series (1995-2003): I’m bundling all four Jedi Knight games in together – that’s the original Dark Forces, plus Jedi Knight, Jedi Outcast, and Jedi Academy – but let’s be honest, it’s the first two we’re really after. DF gave us a compelling mission-based “Doom Clone” (back when Doom was a genre), and one which would be amazing to see tarted up to 4K with texture filtering a-go-go; but it was its 1997 sequel, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, that struck serious beskar. Huge, expansive levels, in “true 3D” (as we used to call it), full-motion video cutscenes, finally getting a lightsaber and Force powers, but most of all the Light/Dark Side dynamic offering (very basic) morality and a branching storyline. Again, giving it a glossy hi-def sheen would do wonders to preserve the legacy of one of the greatest Star Wars games of all time.

The Quake Collection (1996-2005): really it should be called The Quake Qollection, no? Encompassing all four mainline Quakes. Although, again, let’s be honest: there’s something deeply iconic about the first three, so no one would complain if we just forgot about part 4, yeah? Anyway: Quake was a stunner, a gorgeous 3D technical juggernaut, offering sumptuous lighting effects and gorgeous architecture. Part II came a year later and offered us coloured lighting and a coherent sci-fi story, whereas Quake III Arena in 1999 gave us a sublimely crafted multiplayer shooter and a character that was an eyeball doing a handstand. Despite being graphical powerhouses in their day, getting them to run can be a drag, so it’d be lovely to see them dragged into the 21st Century, especially if they could offer us ray-tracing on next-gen consoles, a la Quake II RTX.

Tomb Raider (1996): we’ve seen the series rebooted in (generally) excellent fashion, but at the same time it feels it lost a little of the majesty, mythos, and merriment of OG Lara. One of the first truly successful 3D games, it was like nothing before it. A subtle update to increase its resolution, filter the rough edges, maybe offer the option to move beyond the rigid grid-based movement structure, and possibly up the poly count so blocky Lara more closely resembles her rendered box-art cousin, would be terrific. Imagine the dinosaur in 4K…!

Descent (1994): one of those games that’s slipped from public consciousness, this was a full-3D shooter a couple of years before Quake shambled onto our screens. Piloting a craft in zero gravity, it offered full freedom of movement as well as a tense shooter dynamic coupled with some mild, X-Wing-style space sim elements. It was funky, fast, gorgeous, and messed with your head. I’d love a remake that kept the levels as-is, simplified the often-complex controls for modern sensibilities, and just in general made it look prettier. I worry that a contemporary “re-imagining” might lose too many of its crazy rough edges, though.

Syndicate (1993): there have been a number of efforts to re-do Syndicate over the years, but apart from its excellent sequel Syndicate Wars in 1996, none have matched the dark joys of the original. rather than try to go all modern and 3D, I’d rather see the artwork redone, redrawn at a higher resolution, perhaps offering subtle 3D touches such as dynamic light, shadow, and ray-tracing. The fiddlier aspects (getting into cars?!) could be tidied up, but the look and feel should remain the same. I honestly think this could be a big deal.

Total Annihilation (1997): if C&C can get remastered, why not the game that was arguably the first real challenger to its sci-fi RTS dominance? TA had 3D graphics, a new and refined model of base construction, and tactical touches such as line-of-sight and elevated terrain. But the comparatively low resolution of late-nineties machines meant that the robotic units could often appear slightly indistinct, turning into a grey melange; boosting the res and the poly count would do wonders, but – like C&C – the gameplay itself should be kept as authentic as possible.

Warcraft I & II (1994-95): I know, I know; they just did a remaster of Warcraft III that wasn’t well received and got everybody’s backs up. But I barely played Warcraft III (I barely played Warcraft I for that matter). Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness was the fantasy yin to C&C’s sci-fi yang, and it was great; clear, bright, fast, fun. The cartoony graphics were gorgeous and the units had bags of character (reinforced by the humorous soundbites when you kept clicking on them). I’d want to see the sprites re-drawn in hi-res, with the units given some gorgeous new animations to match their character. Other than that? Keep it broadly the same. It worked 25 years ago, it’ll work now.

Fantasy World Dizzy (1989): I nearly didn’t have a game this old on the list. For one thing, I thought pre-16-bit games would require far more retooling for modern audiences, becoming essentially the sort of reboot I said I wanted to avoid; I can’t imagine a new Skool Daze being too similar to its original. Also which Dizzy do you choose? The one I played the most was probably Spellbound (1991). But I think Fantasy World may be the most iconic. Its Amiga port was almost a remaster anyway, giving it gorgeous colour graphics. A modern version would up the resolution with all-new art assets, obviously, and perhaps could offer a more user-friendly jumping dynamic (and maybe – maybe – I’ll allow scrolling). This could be a lovely way to re-introduce audiences to the character of Dizzy, who should really be held up more as a British gaming mascot, without having to go all-in on a brand new title. Egg-cellent (sorry).

So there we are. There are a couple missing here, obviously; Simon the Sorcerer was nearly there until I realised they did do a gentle remaster in 2018. The Settlers would have made the list, except they are remaking that, although in my opinion it looks like a full-on reboot rather than the upgraded version of the original that I crave. Fade to Black just dropped off the bottom on the grounds that I barely played it in its original form, but a third-person 3D Flashback is still on my Most Wanted list (Flashback itself, sadly, has already had a disappointing remake). And the best Star Wars game of all time, Knights of the Old Republic, I decided not to include as – again – I think we’re going to see that reimagined and folded into the new official Disney canon in some form. Maybe that should preclude me imagining the original game in 4K with updated character models, dynamic shadows, and ray-tracing, but – hey – that’s just me. At least that is one game that I’ll still be able to play fairly easily on an Xbox Series X, even without whistles and bells. Here’s to dead old games!

#top ten #games #gaming #remasters #old games #retro games #command & conquer #lemmings #star wars #dizzy #warcraft #quake

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Everything Money Can Buy (6/12)

Summary: The Greatest Store in the World AU. When misfortune strikes and leaves Emma Swan and her son homeless just before Christmas, the ever-resourceful Emma has a ready solution. They’ll move into Mills Department Store, a place they can only dream of affording to buy from. It’s not easy, having to deal with a perpetually grumpy doorman, a nasty assistant manager, and an extremely suspect Santa, but Emma and Henry soon learn that the kindness of strangers is something money can’t buy.

Swan Believer centric, with eventual Swan Queen and background Rumbelle and Dwarf Star.

Rated: G

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[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [AO3]

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Six

One thing that had always been a blessing when it came to Henry was that he was an avid reader. They'd spent so much time in libraries over the years as nice and warm safe havens, and he would never tire of books. It was such an easy way to entertain him and to get under a roof for as long as they needed. 

Although the books section in Mills wasn't quite as extensive as the local library, Henry seemed quite happy to stay there for as long as was required. It was quiet there and he'd found himself a little reading nook, away from the watchful eyes of the woman behind the cash desk, who wasn't paying him any attention anyway. Emma decided to take a risk and leave him there for a while so that she could go and surreptitiously check that all their bags and baggage were still safe in the tent.

She was wending her way through the jewellery counters on the ground floor when she found herself trapped between several more earnest shoppers than herself and Santa. She wasn't quite sure why Santa was touting for business in the jewellery section, since it wasn’t exactly likely that there would be all that many children around here, but she wasn't going to knock it. The more customers the merrier. Maybe he got paid on commission by how many parents coughed up the five quid for a visit to Santa's grotto and he needed as much as possible to keep his rum habit going over the holidays. She wondered how he managed to get away with it; surely someone in a place like Mills had some kind of scruples about drinking on the job.

Although, that said, Santa didn’t really look all that much like he was touting for business with any degree of enthusiasm. No, he seemed to be far more interested in the contents of the jewellery counters. Emma raised an eyebrow. All things considered, she thought it highly unlikely that he would be able to afford any of the shiny goodies behind the glass, but stranger things had happened. Her own life was a cavalcade of experiences that no one could ever credit happening in real life.

“Killian!”

The word came not too far from Emma’s ear, a sharp hiss that was probably not intended for her hearing, but that she picked up anyway having spent so many years being on her guard and listening for absolutely anything that might be a threat. She glanced over to see someone trying to shepherd Santa away from the counters as surreptitiously and yet as forcefully as possible. Emma recognised her as the rude woman they’d met on the stairs the other day, and once again she wondered at her position in the store. She was evidently someone very high up because Santa stopped his perusal of diamond necklaces and almost stood to attention when he saw her, meekly accepting the summons and subsequent banishment back upstairs to the children’s department, his elf following along limply behind him.

The dark-haired woman let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose, and Emma thought that despite her high position, she was feeling the strain of working in retail over the festive period just like everyone else was, although maybe not quite as acutely as those who were dealing with customers on a regular basis.

“I honestly don’t know why Zelena hired him,” she muttered to herself, not realising that Emma could hear every word. Emma gave a little scoff of laughter, and the woman looked up sharply, realising that she had an audience, and moreover that the audience was someone she recognised.

She didn’t recognise Emma immediately. She probably saw that many shoppers coming and going over the course of a day that all the faces blended into one, but Emma saw the moment that the knowledge dawned, and she shifted from foot to foot, wondering what was going to happen now. Luckily, the other woman seemed to be feeling just as awkward as she was about the circumstances.

Naturally, the sensible thing would have been to just walk away and pretend that the brief interaction had never happened, but they had now been looking at each other for too long not to make some kind of acknowledgement of the fact.

Emma decided to break the tension first; to get in quick before the other woman could think up some kind of barb to rival the ones that she had given the previous day.

“What happened to the previous Santa?” she asked. “You’ve had the same guy for years.”

“He’s laid up with a broken leg, unfortunately.” The dark-haired woman sighed. “At least I know that I only have to put up with Killian for another couple of days. I’d get rid of him if I could but Zelena’s in charge of hiring and firing and she seems to like him for some reason. God only knows what the attraction is. Still.” She shrugged. “Maybe she’ll stop trying to chase Gold now. Every time I see her in his vicinity I think he’s going to run for the hills. We can’t lose our Santa and our doorman in the same festive period.”

“Yes, that would be a travesty,” Emma agreed. The other woman caught the deadpan humour in her tone and laughed.

“I know, I know. It can be a bit much sometimes, but Mills has always had a doorman in grey and silver livery, going right back to when it was founded. I can’t imagine this place without one.”

“Well, the place obviously means a lot to you. Anyway, I must get on, nice to meet you, bye!”

Emma rushed away as fast as her feet could take her, only stopping to look over her shoulder once she was safely on the other side of the room. The brunette woman had gone, and Emma wondered again who she was and what she did here, to have such sway over Killian and to know so much of the history.

She also wondered why she couldn’t get her smile out of her mind, and she shook her head angrily in an attempt to drive the thoughts away. This was absolutely not the time to be developing a crush on a woman she’d met twice – and had an argument with on the first occasion to boot. Emma had sworn off all forms of romance in her life as soon as she’d discovered she was expecting Henry, and for the past ten years she’d managed to stick to that without any trouble. It must be the Christmas spirit in the air, she thought. Making her go all silly like something out of a low-budget holiday flick. It was a good job that she was called Emma and not something like Holly, Carol, or Noël. Then she’d have no hope, but on the other hand, she’d be assured of a cheesy Hollywood ending in which everyone lived happily ever after thanks to The Magic of Christmas™. The trouble with films, Emma thought darkly as she stomped towards the escalators to go down to Outdoors and check on their bags, was that they never showed you what happened after the credits rolled; never showed you the realities of life once the joyous throes of a new relationship were over.

She sighed. She’d become so cynical during her twenty-eight years that it was really rather depressing when she stopped to think of it. Perhaps believing in Christmas magic wasn’t such a stupid thing after all. She didn’t want it to set her up with someone, though. She wanted it to get her and Henry a nice safe place to live, and herself a stable job, and some halfway decent Christmas presents for the both of them.

If it set her up with the mysterious dark-haired lady, then that would just be a nice added perk.

X

As much as Henry had enjoyed living in Mills for the last couple of days, the novelty was beginning to wear off slightly. The main problem, he’d decided, was that since the escalators and lifts were switched off after hours, and since the camping section where he and Mum were staying was in the basement, and the tearoom where they were getting most of their food was on the top floor, that meant an awful lot of walking up and down stairs.

“All right,” Mum said once they were finally at the tearoom. “Let’s see what we can find for ourselves today. I’m in the mood for soup.”

“Mum, the last time you tried to heat anything up here, you broke the microwave and a waitress got the blame.”

“Good point, well made. It’s ok, there’s a stove. Hard to break one of those.” Mum started pawing through the shelves, coming up empty-handed with a sigh. “Oh, come on, they can’t have sold everything sell-buy today. That’s just ridiculous. They’d never get over it if they ran out of something, it would be a scandal. Front page news: “Mills tearoom is out of scones, what is the world coming to?””

Henry had to laugh, and he went over to the next fridge to help look for things.

“Erm, Mum?”

On the bottom shelf of the fridge was a large patisserie box with the words ‘sell-buy today’ written on it in big letters.

For a moment, Henry and Mum just looked at it. Henry wasn’t entirely sure that it wasn’t a trap like in old cartoons, and the moment they moved it, alarms would start sounding and a net would spring out of the fridge to catch them.

Mum shivered from the cold of the fridge door being opened and dragged the box out, the desire to eat winning out over the suspicions of intent. Sure enough, when they opened the box on the counter, it was full of the food that they had been unable to find in the over fridge, along with another, slightly smaller pastry box with a note on it.

This chocolate gateau got dropped so couldn’t be sold. It’s only been inside the cake display unit and not on the floor so it’s safe to eat even though it looks dreadful.

It did indeed look like a small bomb crater rather than a cake, but Henry, unable to stop himself from scooping up a fingerful of rich buttercream, could attest that it definitely tasted much better than it looked.

Mum was just staring at the collection of food.

“I think someone other than Belle knows that we’re here,” she said. “I guess our snacking was more noticeable than we hoped.”

Although Henry had come to the same conclusion, he didn’t really know what to make of it. They weren’t doing anything wrong by eating the food that would not be sold. Lots of places gave their unsold food to homeless shelters at the end of the day; it just so happened that they were homeless and being slightly more proactive in the procuring of the unsold food.

“Do you think it’s going to be a problem?” he said.

Mum shrugged, before grabbing a couple of spoons and handing one to Henry, digging into the chocolate cake herself.

“I mean, they might know that we’re here, but they don’t necessarily know who we are. It’s a bit like the elves and the shoemaker.”

“They leave out food for us and in return we make their shoes?”

“Well, the elves and the shoemaker without the whole ‘shoes’ part.”

They continued to eat the cake in silence for a little while.

“So, what do they want if they don’t want shoes?” Henry asked. In his experience, people generally didn’t do something for nothing, and now they had Belle covering for them in the foyer and a mysterious unknown person providing them with food in the tearoom. Unless Belle was responsible for that as well, but Henry didn’t think she could be. She wouldn’t know about dropped chocolate cakes unless she worked here for a start.

He thought back to Astrid, the waitress who’d been blamed for the microwave disaster and wondered. If anyone suspected that there was someone using the kitchen after hours, then it would be her, but at the same time, they’d given her no reason to help them out, in fact, quite the opposite. For a moment he stared at the chocolate cake in horror, wondering if it could be laced with poison in revenge for the microwave.

“Henry, are you all right? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Henry told Mum his fears, and when she hid a smile behind her hand, he thought that perhaps they were going to be all right after all.

“Oh Henry, your imagination is wonderful, but it does get carried away sometimes. Don’t you think that poisoning a chocolate cake is just a bit of an overkill as vengeance for being blamed for a broken microwave that’s since been fixed and that we have dutifully steered clear of?”

“Well, you never know.”

“Besides, however wrong it might be for us to be living in the department store, murder is still worse, and someone would have to get the blame when they come in tomorrow morning and find our bodies in the tearoom. That would be an even worse scandal than running out of scones.”

“I don’t know about that; this is Mills after all.”

“Well, it would be a close second.” Mum paused. “Do you think that handyman’s asked her out yet?”

“Who, Astrid?”

“Yeah. You know, I think that you and I can fashion ourselves into little Christmas romance fairies if we’ve a mind to. Leroy the maintenance man and Astrid, Belle and Gold… We’re the perfect festive matchmakers. Love follows us around wherever we go.”

“Are you thinking about that woman we bumped into on the stairs again?”

“No!”

Henry just looked at her. He decided that he had definitely begun to inherit her internal lie detector. She folded.

“Ok, yes. I saw her again today in the jewellery section and we actually had a nice little chat that did not involve any snide remarks or glaring.”

“That’s a positive sign, I think. What’s her name?”

“I have no idea, she still wasn’t wearing a name tag, but she definitely works here.”

“Mum, you’re hopeless. You could at least have asked her name!”

“Oh Henry, I really don’t think that I’m in the right position to be romancing anyone at the moment; it wouldn’t exactly be easy to date. Sorry, must dash, I need to be back inside Mills and hiding in a cupboard before closing time.”

Henry shrugged. “You never know. Stranger things have happened. Especially at Christmas.”

“Don’t you start as well. I’ve already had to convince myself that I’m not the main character of a True Christmas film.”

“So, we’ll just act as the magic elves in everyone else’s True Christmas films instead.”

“Yeah.”

“Ok.” As much as Henry would love for his mother to find someone nice, he was content to facilitate everyone else’s happy endings instead. Maybe it would be best to start on Mum after the holidays, once they weren’t living in the store anymore.

As much as it might be losing its sparkle for him, Henry found himself thinking how much he would miss it.

#Swan Believer #Swan Believer Fic #Emma Swan #Henry Swan #Regina Mills #The beginnings of Swan Queen #OUAT Fanfiction #Fic: Everything Money Can Buy