#But it’s super complicated and I’ve been really busy with school

[ezratheunready]

Fighting for my life trying to update my legal name change on my passport and ID before Trump takes office but they make it so fucking difficult to get a goddamn ID.

Literally scary to mail in my passport to get it renewed just days away from Trump’s inauguration…

[lovelettersfromluna]

⋆ ★ Once again, for the first time ⋆ ★

{Ellie Williams x Reader}

Summary: Being in love with your best friend has got to be one of the most emotionally exhausting things someone can experience, so it’s time you put your foot down and moved on….at least, try to move on

an: God it almost feels wrong to just come back after so long without a continuing chapter to what I’ve been working on, pls don’t be mad at me 😵‍💫. I’ve been really busy you guys! I just got home yesterday and while I know you’ve all be asking for other things, I just haven’t been feeling super inspired to continue them RIGHT NOW, and I feel that’s why I’ve been MIA for so long. While I say I’m not inspired to continue them right now, that doesn’t mean I’m abandoning them! I will be coming back to them don’t worry! For now, I hope this little angsty fic is enough for you all, and I hope you’ve stuck around to read it, and if you haven’t, that’s okay too. Anyways, I’ve missed you all so much, and I hope you like this one 🖤🖤🖤.

Warnings: ANGST!!! Eventual smut in future chapters, Ellie is an oblivious idiot, Quiet!reader, momentary alternative love interest (it’s just for the story I promise 😉), jealous!Ellie, possessive!Ellie, Please let me know if I missed anything!

Part 2 can be read, here!

The warm glow of your tv screen became blurry with each passing second. You could barely make out the erratic movements of the video game characters beating each other to a pulp as Ellie’s fingers tapped away at the buttons on the game controller, soft huffs leaving here lips ever so often. “Fucking dick..” She mumbled under her breath, eyebrows knit in deep concentration, eyes almost growing watery from her lack of blinking.

You on the other hand, you were nearly fast asleep. Cuddled into your sofa, resting your head against a pillow that was propped up against the arm of the couch, a plush blanket draped over your body as you watched your best friend control a scantily clad character to violently fight the opposite person.

This was tradition for you and Ellie. She’d come over, you would force her to study with you because she was often too stubborn to do it without you, you’d order shitty take out, watch her play video games, and then you’d fall asleep. It always ended with her dragging you to your bedroom, staying with you for a bit before she left, and then in the morning, she’d be waiting for you outside your apartment to go to school together.

And that was life, life with your best friend that is. It had been that way since you were practically babies, your routines changing and adapting to whatever phase of life you were both in within that moment, but it was always more or less the same. And you couldn’t complain, you wouldn’t change it for the world.

Not even if you were given the chance to have her as something more.

Ellie had always been a charmer, and unfortunately, the extent of her charming demeanor had made its way to you. It was something you noticed early on, as soon as you were able to decipher feelings of love, you were able to link those with Ellie. When people would explain love to you, or you’d see it in others, you thought of Ellie. You realized quickly after that though, that Ellie was your best friend, and feelings would greatly complicate the long history that you two had together.

And so, you swallowed them down.

It wasn’t like it was painful or anything. Sure, seeing Ellie with other girls wasn’t great, but you coped. Life went on, and you promised yourself you’d never let your feelings get in the way of Ellie’s life, your life, or your friendship.

“Man…I’d let Mileena rip my head off any day…” Ellie sighed out, the girl never a stranger to gawking at the make believe video game characters in her favorite games. You let out a sleepy hum, giving her a nod as you cuddled further into the couch, not fully able to comprehend your friends words due to your sleepy state.

The sounds you made caught Ellie’s attention, causing her to sit forward a bit so she could catch a glimpse of your nearly sleeping face. She chuckled softly, shaking her head a bit as she reached forward for the controller, turning off the console followed by the tv before she stood up, taking your hand in hers and pulling you slightly.

“You have the energy of a seventy year old woman…come on, let’s get you to bed grandma” she teased, and it only causes you to whine softly. The couch is so comfortable, and you’re more than happy with sleeping there for the night just so you didn’t have to move and lose the blissful drowsy feeling that came with the sounds of Ellie playing Mortal Kombat lulling you to sleep.

“I’m fine here…” You tried, knowing that she wouldn’t settle for you sleeping there on the couch all night. And she didn’t need to be told twice, she let out a soft hum, one that almost sounded like she’d leave you there, but suddenly you’re being lifted off of the couch, into Ellie’s strong chest, even stronger arms wrapping around your body, which once again caused you to whine.

No matter how tired you were, how close to sleep, you can’t ignore the burning fire in your chest when she holds you like this. Even though being Ellie’s friend was the furthest thing from painful, it was times like this that it got a little too hard. Ellie was always a very affectionate person, especially with people she was close to, and you happened to be at the top on that list.

So, when she’d do things like this, pull you up into her arms and carry you to bed, or slip her arms around your waist and spoon you from behind when you were watching movies together, or when she’d pull you close to her when you were in a crowded room, it was easy to imagine how things would be if it were different, if you were able to have her in the way you wanted.

Only for a moment though.

Ellie hummed softly as she gently rested you on your bed, making sure to pull your socks off because she knew you’d kick them off in your sleep anyways, and pull the blanket, not the duvet, over your body because it was how you preferred to sleep. She knew exactly what to do with you, and it always made your heart tug.

She smiled softly down at you, watching as your heavy eyes grew even heavier once your head hit your soft pillows. She gave your elbow a gentle nudge before she turned off the lights in your room, closed the door, and left your apartment.

And even though you were already falling asleep, you couldn’t ignore the urge you had to ask her to stay. The urge you always had to ask her to stay with you.

You let out a soft yawn, rubbing your eyes a bit before you began writing down in your notebook again. Your headphones played soft music into your ears, the blessing of a noise cancelling headset always making it easy to study in your college library, for a moment, pretending as if you were the only one there.

Until Ellie showed up.

She gently pulled one side of your headset up, her lips close to your ear as she approached you. “Hey stranger” she giggled softly, causing you to whine as you pulled the headset down to rest against your neck. You gave your friend a soft smile as you set your pen down, watching as she promptly took the seat next to you and tossed her bag onto the table.

“Hey yourself…came all the way to the library to see me?” You teased her, propping your elbows onto the table and resting your head against your hands as you watched her slump down into her chair, oversized hoodie hanging on her broad shoulders, light washed denim jeans hanging loose on her hips, short hair lazily tugged up into her signature half up half down ponytail, pretty strands falling down and framing her face perfectly.

God she was a fucking dream.

Ellie groaned softly, her head falling back as she blew air past her lips, staring up at the ceiling of the library. “I have time between classes…so I came to bother my favorite little scholar” She hummed out, giving you a lazy grin as she turned her head back towards you, causing you to roll your eyes at her words.

“You know, you could use this time to study” you try, narrowing your eyes at her playfully, which causes her to roll her eyes right back at you. “Ahhh, please. You’re probably the only one here that actually does that shit” she hummed out, which causes you to shrug, closing your books and stacking them upon one another. “True, but I have the grades to show for it” you nod to herself before you push your things to the side, turning back to your friend and giving her your attention.

“So? What’s happening. You look like you’re just itching to tell me something” you smirked softly, knowing your friend all too well. Whenever became fidgety, or absolutely needed to find you, there was something on her mind.

Ellie smirked softly, staring down at her ring clad fingers before she let out a soft hum, purposefully keeping you waiting with anticipation before she began speaking.

“Do you think Sofia is into girls?”

For a moment, the twinkle in your eye, and the soft smile on your lips as you watch your best friend drops completely. You’re glad she isn’t looking, because you’re sure anyone would be able to see the visible disappointment written on your face as soon as she says it. You only let it fall for a moment though, because you’re immediately collecting yourself, picking yourself up off the ground and giving your friend a soft, reassuring nod.

“Has being straight ever stopped a girl from being into you Ellie?” You tease her, recalling the frequent times girls claimed they were straight, yet somehow always ended up chasing after Ellie after they’ve had one too many drinks.

Ellie groans softly, shaking her head as she sits forward a bit. “No man…I don’t wanna just hook up with her..or..or be her fantasy or something. I wanna…ask her out or something” she mumbled out, cheeks burning red as she toyed with the shiny rings on her fingers. You blink a few times, trying to find the right words to encourage your friend to do it, to pursue whoever it was that she wanted.

No matter how much the words tasted bitter on your tongue.

“Well…ask her, or you can ask around? A close friend of hers would definitely know if she was interested in girls or not” you tried again, watching as your friend frowned in concentration, eyebrows furrowed, green eyes narrowed.

Whoever this girl was, Ellie was doing her head in over her….

It almost bothered you that this was your first time hearing about her.

“You think? I’ve just…I’ve had my eye on her for a while and I think I’m ready to finally make a move, you know?” She sighed out, and you nod slowly, giving her a soft smile paired with a reassuring nod.

“Then go for it, Els. The worst she can say is no, and even then, there are plenty of other fish in the sea” you assure her. Because it’s true, Ellie never stayed single for long. There were always girls interested in her, or her them, and it wasn’t long until she was introducing you to a new, pretty girl that she’d have on her arm for the next however many months.

She smiled softly as she nodded, your words clearly getting through to her, as they always did. She gives a determined nod, moving to stand up from the chair she was sat at. “You’re damn right there is…hey, I’m gonna try to find someone to talk to, but I’ll catch you later, yeah?” She nods, slinging her bag over one of her shoulders, already walking away from the table as her eyes never left yours.

You give her a soft nod, eyes lingering on her form as you let out a low hum. “Always” you confirm, knowing that it was true. You’d always be there when Ellie needed you.

She beamed back at you, giving you a nod. You could practically see the excitement shining off of her body, seeping through her pores. “And I’ll catch you this weekend! Your place!” She shouted, causing your eyes to widen at her volume, the other students instantly shushing her. You give her a quick nod, your hands fanning away as you shoo her out of the library, a soft giggle leaving your lips.

You ignore the little cracks in your heart, because the smile on her face makes up for it. You know it’ll pass, you know this is merely a phase of your life that you’ll look back on and laugh at once you’ve found the person that was right for you, one that filled up the little holes that Ellie left in your heart.

And oh how you couldn’t wait for that day to come.

You don’t see Ellie that following weekend.

In fact, the last time you actually saw her was that day in the library, with the few times you saw her in and out of classes that the two of you shared.

Ellie ended up talking to Sofia that same day, and it turns out she was interested in girls. From the texts that she sent you that night, she was raving about the day that they had set up after hours of talking out in the courtyard. She tells you she’s sorry, that she can’t make it out to your place for your routine weekend together, and you tell her it’s fine, to have fun and tell you all about the date the next morning.

And suddenly, you can’t remember the last time you spent more than five minutes with your best friend.

You text here and there, and she catches you outside of class when you happen to make it there at the same time sometimes, but you don’t really have lunch together anymore like you always do, you don’t sit outside in the courtyard to kill time between classes together, she doesn’t visit you in the library, all of those things just suddenly stop.

And then she tells you, she’s dating Sofia.

She tells you they made it official after the first four dates, and at first you feel it’s a bit fast, but you realize they spend all of the time that you and Ellie used to spend together, with each other instead, and it suddenly makes sense. Ellie had a girlfriend now, and it was the explanation for the sudden lack of her presence, the absence of your best friend on weekends. While you stared at your tv screen alone, she was with Sofia.

And you were happy for her, of course you were happy, why wouldn’t you be? She was your best friend and she had gotten the girl she wanted for so long, just as you expected she would…

But the happiness you felt for her lived alongside the sadness that you felt. The two emotions becoming tenants in the home that was your heart, sitting across one another, glaring at each other as they battled for control of you, controlling how you dealt with the situation, how you coped with the sudden disappearance of your best friend.

So, you didn’t give either one control, you ignored them both after a while, and you simply carried on as if nothing had ever happened.

Ellie really was the only person you occupied any free time with, opting to be with her rather than anyone else, because it felt good. You liked it when it was just you and Ellie, it was easy, and it was easy to not overthink things and simply be, rather than worry about how you were behaving.

So without her, you simply did all the things you did with her, just on your own.

Ellie tried to make time for you, while juggling the escapades that come with the early stages of a relationship, you couldn’t take that away from her, but you saw how hard it was. You didn’t want her to feel bad, or feel like she was neglecting you, or her friendship, even if she sort of was. You convinced her it was fine, that she deserved to enjoy her new relationship, and that it needed more attention than your friendship ever would, not right now at least.

And Sofia was great. She was beautiful, and kind, and sweet, and after meeting her a few times, you considered her to be somewhat of a big sister figure. Seeing her made it clear to understand just why Ellie was so keen on taking her off the market as soon as she could.

But that seemed to make it even harder to deal with.

It was on days like this one where it hit you a bit harder, Ellie’s absence. You didn’t mind being alone, but walking to and from classes without her constant banter and jokes definitely wasn’t the best, and heading out to the cafes for lunch was far too quiet on your own, but, you prevailed.

You were making your way out of your third and last class for the day, a soft sigh leaving your lips as you adjusted your bag on your shoulder. The week was finally closing in, and you couldn’t be happier. You yearned for the warmth of your home, your cozy little bed, your favorite mug filled with your favorite hot chocolate, it called to you as you pushed past the large doors of your college building, making your way out to the brisk outdoors of your campus.

The sound of quickening footsteps behind you was almost drowned out as you took your headphones from behind your neck, and began setting them onto your head. A hand suddenly pulled them down, forcing them back around your neck, which caused your eyebrows to furrow as you turned around to see who in their right mind would try to fuck with a girl and her music.

You almost passed out when you were met face to face with your best friend.

Seeing her made you realize just how long it had been since you saw her. You tried convincing herself it had only been a few weeks, but you found it hard to remember the last time you were staring up into those big green eyes, and not imagining them instead.

Your frown was quickly replaced with a soft smile, adjusting your bag on your shoulder as you stared up at Ellie. “Ellie…god…I was ready to start throwing punches” you joked, pulling your headset from around your neck and pushing them down into your beg before you looked back up at her.

Ellie chuckled softly, watching as you went about putting your things away. Her smile was so bright, eyes twinkling, cheeks red, all signs that pointed towards the same thing.

Ellie Williams was properly smitten.

“I’ve been looking for you, dork…you’re always hiding these days” she groaned out, which caused you to hum softly, giving her a slight shrug. “Been busy studying Els…I’m sorry” you tried, giving her a half smile.

Knowing that your studying was not the cause of the divide in your friendship, and neither was it you hiding.

She pouted softly, stepping forward so that you two could walk together. “I miss you…” She hummed out, staring down at the Nikes on her feet, nearly swallowed up by her baggy jeans. Her words make your heart tug as you stare up towards the large trees, swaying with the autumn wind, sun peeking in between the thick foliage of the leaves.

“How are you And Sof? Things going well?” You questioned, opting to ignore the way you heart beat faster when she said she missed you. You were also genuinely curious, you wanted to hear more about Ellie’s relationship, you wanted her to confide in you and trust you as anyone else would trust their best friend with their relationship.

Ellie instantly smiled bashfully at the mention of the girl, a soft hum leaving her lips as she nodded. “Fuck…she’s amazing, man. She’s like a fucking dream, I swear, I’m honestly not sure what I’ve done to deserve her” she sighed out, voice sounding so dreamy and love sick, you can’t help but smile.

“You like her…don’t you? I mean…you’re my best friend, your approval is one that’s pretty fucking important to me” she chuckled out as she looked over at you, head dipping down a bit to try and her a glimpse of your down casted face, her hands shoved into her pocket.

Her words make you hum, and you’re giving her a soft smile as you look up at her. Her expression is written with one that is concerned, concerned that you approve of her relationship, that you think she’s making the right move with Sofia.

And you know in that moment, you have the power to break it all. You have the power to rip things to shreds, just by telling Ellie you think Sofia isn’t the right girl for her, because you know she’ll listen to you. You know she’ll take your feelings into consideration, because she trusts you.

“I think she’s perfect for you, Ellie” you breath out, giving her a reassuring smile.

Because just as much as you know you have the power to be horrible, and rip everything away from them both, Ellie doesn’t deserve that, and neither does Sofia. They don’t deserve to hurt for the sake of your feelings, at the expense of what you feel for Ellie.

And the smile you see your best friend shoot your way makes it all worth it, because it’s like she’s been waiting for those words to leave your lips to go all the way, to give herself to Sofia completely and give into her as she wanted to this entire time.

“Fuck…you don’t know how happy that makes me” she sighs out, looking up towards the sky and letting her eyes flutter shut as she takes a deep inhale, and you know she’s truly happy.

And that makes you happy.

“Hey, are you busy next weekend? There’s a party Sof and I are going to, you should come with us” she says as she looks down towards you. You know it’s a bad idea, because it means you’ll third wheel the entire night, tucked away in a corner to avoid watching them make out all night long until it’s time to go home, where you’ll be just as miserable there as you are in your house.

But you know Ellie won’t take no for an answer.

You let out a soft sigh before you give her a nod, paired with a half smile, and she’s already cheering loudly, causing people around you to stare, and you groan softly as you give her a gentle shove, urging her to stop.

“I’ll text you the details! Sof and I will pick you up” she confirmed, and you give her a soft giggle before you nod. “Get out of here…I’ll see you then” you promise, and she’s smiling brightly as she begins walking away.

And despite the fact that it’s the first time you’ve talked to her in far too long, and it was mainly about her girlfriend, you can’t ignore the way your heart ignites for that small interaction on its own, and the excitement you feel knowing you have plans with her in the near future.

It’ll be fine, you remind yourself. It always has been, and it always will be. And with that, you made your way home.

The following week, is when you met Alex.

You were making your way to your first class of the day, the early morning sun shining down on you, giving you only a bit of warmth from the brisk air that swirled around you and the other students scattered about within the large courtyard that served as a main point sprouting out to all other campus buildings.

Your eyes were trained on your feet, a habit you had that had caused you to run into many people, many times. It was an easy way for you to stay deep in thought, focusing on the way your shoes sounded hitting the pavement with each steps, watching as they crunched against leaves.

“Excuse me?” A soft voice broke you away from your locked gaze on your feet, your eyes blinking a few times as you looked up to figure out who it was that was trying to get your attention.

When you laid eyes on the person looking at you, you nearly passed out.

It was a girl, she was tall, with pretty eyes and a charming smile. Her jacket hung loosely on her shoulders, bag draped over one of her arms, a paper in one of her hands. Her features were strong, yet soft at the same time, mixing together both masculine and feminine and almost making your mind go completely blank as her beautiful eyes stared into yours.

“Um…could you help me? It’s my first day and I’m sort of lost” she chuckled out bashfully, her hand reaching up to run through her hair as she tried handing you the paper in her hand. You simply blinked a few times, watching the girl almost in awe as she stared down at you, before you realized you were in fact gawking at this woman.

You cleared your throat, giving her a quick nod before you giggled. “Yes! Yea…sorry..I…can I?” You question as you gestured towards the paper, which caused her to chuckle softly and nod as she handed it to you.

Your eyes scanned over the paper, furrowing a bit in concentration before you zeroed in on the first class she has in her schedule, and it made you smile.

“Oh, that’s where I’m going! You must be the new transfer student the professor was talking about” you explain, your heart beating a bit faster as you come to the conclusion that not only is this insanely hot girl speaking to you, but she’s also in your first class of the day.

She smiles brightly, pearly white teeth flashing your way as she raises her eyebrows. “No way…would you mind if I walked with you then?” She hums out, eyeing you carefully before you look up at her from the paper, giving her a shy smile as you nod. “I wouldn’t mind at all…come on”

You learn that her name is Alex, and that she was supposed to start the semester with everyone else, but there were issues with her documents so she had to transfer instead. The entire way to class, you take your time together, strolling along the pathways and hallways of your school, getting to know one another. You realize that although it’s your first conversation with her, you feel as comfortable with her as you do with…

As you do with Ellie.

When you realize that, you realize that you’d gone the longest without thinking about Ellie than you had in a long time. Alex takes her off your mind completely, because she’s pretty, and her smile makes you swoon, and being with her feels comfortable.

And you reckon you could get used to it.

When you both finally reach your classroom, there are students scattered about, waiting for the professor to arrive and for the lecture to start. You hum softly as you look over at your usual seat, turning around to look up at Alex. “I sit over there…there’s an empty right next to me if you want” you suggest.

The empty seat used to be taken up by Ellie before she started dating Sofia.

Alex smiles brightly as she nods before you can even finish your words, and that alone prompts you to grab her hand and drag her along through all of the seats to get to the two seats tucked away in the corner, the ones you used to look forward to making your way to almost every day that you had class.

When you two are settled, you fall into a comfortable conversation, your head resting against your hand as you listen to her speak. She tells you about her old school, about her favorite books and movies, her favorite music. You’re so caught up in the conversation with Alex…

That you don’t even notice Ellie walk into the room.

She walks in as she usually does these days, laughing softly at something Sofia said, her arm draped around the girls waist, keeping her close. Had it been any other day, she would’ve made her way down to the usual seats in the front that she has recently taken with Sofia, but the sound of our laugh quickly catches her attention.

At first, she realizes she hasn’t heard the loud sound in quite some time. The only thing she’d received from you in the small moments she shared with you were tiny giggles, or small hums, but never that deep, belly laugh that she loved so much.

Then, when she looks at you, head tilting back as you cover your lips, laughing loudly at something she was oblivious to, her eyes finally fall on the person your body is turned towards. A head of short hair and a leather clad, broad back is turned towards her, and suddenly Ellie is frowning.

Because that seat, is hers.

Ellie gives Sofias waist a soft tap, mumbling for her to wait for her at their seats as she presses a soft kiss to her cheek, green eyes never leaving you and Alex as she continues to make you laugh uncontrollably.

She doesn’t think about much, other than the annoyance she feels that someone is in her seat, regardless of the fact that she’d left that seat empty, leaving you alone for weeks on end. All she knows, is that she doesn’t like that someone is sitting in her seat, she doesn’t like that this is the first time she’s heard you laugh in weeks…..

And she sure as hell doesn’t like that it’s this mystery person that is causing that laugh in the first place.

“I know! I can’t believe you like that show too, I was convinced that-“ your words are cut off by the dark, looking presence that is suddenly hanging over you and Alex. It makes you frown softly, looking up to find a very angry Ellie standing in front of both you and Alex.

“Ellie? Hey! What are you doing here?” You question softly, unable to remember the last time you’d seen Ellie up there at those seats with you. The question is genuine, and for a moment you assume something might be wrong, but Ellie’s expression seems to be even more annoyed than when she first got there.

Instead, Ellie completely disregards your question, the girl annoyed with how innocent and genuine your words are, your big eyes blinking up at her with a twinge of worry as you await her reasoning for being there with you. She looks at Alex, her tongue pressing against her cheek before she nods her head towards the seat she’s sitting in. “That’s my seat” she deadpans, not leaving any room for argument.

Alex raises her eyebrows, staring up at Ellie before she turns to you for a moment, humming casually as she gives a half shrug. “I was told no one sits here anymore” she hummed out, staring up at Ellie in a challenging manner. It causes Ellie to scoff softly, rolling her eyes before she inhales deeply, and you know it’s because she’s trying to control her temper.

“Well I do, so you should find a different seat” she barks back, her tone progressively becoming more and more irritated with Alex. Alex simply chuckles softly, clearly taking Ellie for a joke as she sighs out. “Doesn’t have your name on it…so I’m not going anywhere” she finishes off, clearly done with the conversation with Ellie. Ellie raises her eyebrows, finally looking over at you as if to silently ask if you’re just going to let someone speak to your best friend that way.

And it annoys you to no end.

It annoys you because Ellie didn’t care about the seat for the past however many weeks since she’d been dating Sofia, you were sure it had been a good month at least, and suddenly she cares about it when someone is taking up the spot.

Taking up her spot.

You frown softly, staring up at your friend before you let out a soft sigh. “I think Sofia is waiting for you, Ellie” you try, giving her a slight nod as if to remind her that her girlfriend was in fact waiting for her down at the bottom of the sea of chairs. You hope it’ll clear her head, and whatever this sudden urge to come and check up on you with it. You see a flash of something ripple across her face, something you can’t quite make out for a moment, but once you do, it’s clear as day.

Betrayal.

She inhales deeply, eyes never leaving yours, only when they dart over to Alex. She wants to stay and say more, try to get the idiot next to you to sit somewhere else, anywhere else, but suddenly you’re turning your attention back to Alex, a soft smile on your lips as you fall back into conversation with her as if Ellie wasn’t standing right over the both of you. Ellie feels like she could burn a hole through the floorboards with how much it makes her seethe.

And the worst part is? She couldn’t even understand why it made her feel that way.

Soon, she’s stomping off like a child, down the stairs of the lecture room towards Sofia. She gives you an apologetic look from her spot at the bottom where she sits with Ellie, and it makes you so confused because why is she even looking at you that way? As if she was to blame for her girlfriends behavior? You give her a small smile back, and she turns around towards Ellie, her small hands rubbing the girls back gently as she bent her head down and pressed a soft kiss to her head.

You eye them for a moment, but your eyes don’t linger like they used to. You’re quickly looking back at Alex as she speaks to you, making you forget all about the very strange behavior your best friend just exhibited.

“Sorry about that…she’s…she’s great, I promise. I’m sure you two would like each other” you nod, giving Alex a reassuring smile. Alex hums in response as she looks down at Ellie, her eyes narrowing down at her for a moment before she nods. “I’m sure we would” she smiles out, and you can tell despite the rude interaction they just had, she’s genuine, and she seems to want to know more about Ellie.

But you save that for later, because you’d much rather get to know Alex than talk about Ellie.

[tsutsumi-kurose]

Someone had this theory that Amane was the one hurting Tsukasa and that Amane was wounded cause Tsukasa fought back. Like throughout all the flashbacks we see, Tsukasa and Amane have a nice relationship and Tsukasa has never tried or wanted to hurt Amane at all but we don’t know that about Amane

hiiii sorry i took so long with this response!! things have been super busy for me this past week or so, so thank you for the ask and for your patience!!

that is an interesting theory!! I hadn’t thought of that possibility. I’ve been reading it as… amane is a pretty passive guy who, in killing tsukasa and himself, becomes hanako, our morally complicated hero who saves our heroine no matter the cost and finds a way to puppeteer all the situations he finds himself in. amane just feels so different from hanako in many ways, and I think there’s no way the murder wasn’t a huge turning point character-wise. but I do like the idea of glimmers of hanako shining through in amane—we certainly have seen many examples of how hanako is very much still amane!! so to see it go the other way would be really interesting!! could be interesting to see if hanako’s traits were actually in amane the whole time

personally though, I do think the murder was probably a drastic change in behavior for amane. the amane we’ve seen was pretty quiet and passive and clearly going through a lot internally that he wasn’t expressing outwardly (at least not directly). and i read this line from ch20 as an implication that amane was "holding back" for a long time before killing tsukasa:

so those lines make me think amane was probably not too aggressive with tsukasa during life, since he was supposedly "holding back," at least to tsukasa's perception.

regarding how healthy their relationship seems, it definitely seems like there was a gradual deterioration. 9-year-old amane and tsukasa at the festival seem to have a pretty normal sibling relationship, but things definitely seem off by middle school. that could potentially be amane’s doing! but I wouldn’t necessarily rule out tsukasa wanting to hurt amane… considering this is how he looks at a crying hanako:

and this is how he looks at a downtrodden, conflicted, tired amane:

and this is how he looks when he’s picturing blasting the clock amane is trying to fix to smithereens!!:

tsukasa is often a hard to read character, so I think it’s hard to say he definitely wasn’t thinking about hurting amane in these flashbacks. it''s still very up in the air to me!

it is true though that we don’t know what caused the shift to these thoughts he’s having in these middle school flashbacks, so it could have been pushed by amane’s hand! whatever it was that caused the rift between the twins during the time between tsukasa coming back from the red house and their deaths, i'm sure it was very complicated!!

amane clearly had a lot he was weighing and thinking about when it comes to tsukasa!

but personally, i think the damage amane/hanako does to tsukasa is more emotional than physical

i think ch91 is a good example of this:

i think hanako pointedly misses tsukasa physically here--i believe it's hanako's words and choices that have tears welling in tsukasa's eyes in this moment! and the blowing the clock to smithereens bit i referenced earlier in this post also seems like it was probably in response to whatever amane was doing with the clock--another potential instance of amane emotionally rather than physically wounding tsukasa, whether he means to or not.

also, while hanako is more active than amane, he's more tricky and controlling than physically aggressive. he doesn't seem to delight in violence and destruction or pain the way characters like tsukasa and teru do. all of his kills are relatively one-hit? he seems to like to keep things clean, so i don't really see an inclination toward violence in him, but hey, it could be a surprising twist!!

I still think the murder was amane’s breaking point, and probably his first big decisive action, one tsukasa pushed him to in one way or another for one reason or another—maybe he could sense amane’s suspicion and was hurt by it? maybe the god started taking over? who knows at this point! so many different possibilities. but this is definitely an interesting theory!! and i would be interested to see/hear what possibilities could lead to this

[pulverulents]

#33: queer joy

I went looking for the exact Julien Baker quote from the podcast I was talking about in #31 because I’ve been thinking about it a lot the past few days and I found it:

“I don’t think I lived a very embodied life until after ‘Turn Out the Lights’; I think I lived in my brain. I think I lived in my thoughts and my ideas, my ruminations and anxieties, and I didn’t at all interact with myself as a queer body in the world, I thought of myself as a queer concept? It only took years and years of therapy, but I was like... I really didn’t... I don’t know, like, I was (a) very disembodied person. And so like those thoughts and, like, making art about being a queer body in the world, like, that is new for me, even though I have been speaking about queerness conceptually for many years.”

Ever since I started listening to Julien Baker back in April, and taking a deep dive into her discography, and scouring the internet for any interviews and podcasts featuring her because she’s just so eloquent and well-spoken and intelligent I could listen to her talk for hours, it’s made me start thinking about the concept of 'queer joy' for the first time. I’m not quite sure why now because I generally haven’t really wanted to think too much about my sexuality in the past. In my defence, I was preoccupied with other equally heavy matters.

But I think I’ve known since I was about 14 that I liked girls too. You’d think that I’d have known sooner, given that I had been in an all-girls school for 8 years at that point, but before then I just assumed that my crushes on girls were very intense friend crushes. (Which they may have well been; I’m still not really sure which ones were friend crushes and which ones were crush crushes. Things get complicated when you grow up not having many friends to begin with.) But I’m lucky enough that at the time, I had a couple of openly queer classmates, and the people that I generally hung out with in school were super chill about it, so I never felt like I was going to be shunned by my peers in school specifically because I was queer (in any case, I was already being shunned for other unrelated reasons).

My first memory of witnessing public, blatant, open homophobia first-hand was about 2 years later on New Year’s Eve 2015, when Adam Lambert was slated to perform at the New Year’s Eve countdown party at the Marina Bay floating platform. I knew it was happening not because I was a fan of his, but because the older folks in church had been buzzing about it in the months leading up to it, loudly whispering to each other as they mingled after service about how it was so scandalous that this openly gay American man was going to be performing at one of the biggest events of the year here in Singapore. I honestly wasn’t too bothered by it; I was young and I had a lot of other unrelated things to worry about, and the gossip of church uncles and aunties was none of my business. But for some reason that I don’t remember, I was in church for the New Year’s Eve watchnight service for the first time in my life instead of watching the countdown on TV. As midnight slowly approached, I watched idly as a string of fellow churchgoers took turns going up to the pulpit to share their testimonies and thanksgivings for the year gone by. I was frankly starting to fall asleep when a very well-respected church uncle walked up to the pulpit. He was one of the most jovial and earnest church uncles that I knew, the kind of guy that every Christian man probably aspires to be. He led the primary school worship ministry, regularly taught in Sunday School, and had 3 model-student, model-Christian sons, all named after angels. And as he was walking past the pews, he stopped just short of the pulpit and made a big dramatic show out of peering out of the window at the quickly abating thunderstorm. Then he stepped up to the pulpit, gave a wry smile, and said: “Just checking the weather. Y’all know why, right?” And as the church uncles and aunties around me all nodded and murmured in agreement, I suddenly felt my chest tighten and my skin flush in anger. I watched the rain slow to a drizzle as I sat there in the pew with no choice but to swallow my rage in silence, feeling betrayed and blindsided but not fully understanding why.

I didn’t (and still don’t) listen to Adam Lambert’s music. I literally only knew two things about him: that he was on American Idol, and that he was gay. And I’m willing to bet that none of the church uncles and aunties there knew anything more about him either. At the time, I told myself that I was mostly just angry on behalf of all the queer friends and classmates I had, but in hindsight, I definitely felt something personal mixed in, even if I didn't want to see it.

Perhaps it was because of that night that I didn’t really want to think about my queerness in the years that followed. Perhaps it was because I had a crush on a boy at the time for the first time in my life, and I was still riding on the high of what, in my mind, was my first ‘legit’ crush. Even though I was lucky enough to have openly queer and accepting friends, the vast majority of my teen years was spent avoiding any thought of my own queerness like it was some kind of disease that would infect my heart if I dwelled on it for too long, a foolish attempt to run away from all the pain and anguish that I knew was waiting for me. There was already enough pain and hurt and guilt and shame in my life, and I didn’t need or want any more of it. And because I had a crush on a boy at the time, I kept thinking that all I had to do was start dating a boy and eventually get married to a boy and I would never have to address my own queerness, to myself or to others. I convinced myself that I didn’t think about it because I just didn’t and not because I actively didn’t want to, and if any of my friends asked, I'd just shrug noncommittally and say "I don't know, maybe, I'm not sure".

I spent 10 years running away from myself, desperately living on that ethos like a drug addict because I was too scared to live otherwise. I hyperfixated on that crush for so long, clinging onto the hope that this part of myself could stay hidden forever if I could just keep liking this boy and daydream about holding him. But slowly and all at once, I was over him. I don’t even know exactly when, why, or how. I thought I would be happier about it because I had known for many years that the feeling wasn’t mutual and I had been telling people that I was trying my best to move on. But after I realised that I was over him, all I could feel was fear. And then, being the hopeless romantic that I am and spinning out about Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn breaking up, I was lying in bed thinking about whether or not I believed in the concept of soulmates and had the sudden thought — oh god, what if my soulmate is a girl? And in that moment, I felt like I was about to throw up. I immediately opened tiktok because I could feel the anxiety rising and I needed to distract myself, but the algorithm just kept showing me fancams of Julien Baker and Josette Maskin, and all of a sudden the anxiety turned into a panic attack. It’s not like I haven’t found female celebrities attractive before (I mean, I have historically had no issues whatsoever publicly freaking out about how hot Taylor Swift is), but there’s something undeniably gay about being attracted to masc women, whereas with femmes like Taylor Swift, I can still gaslight myself into thinking “I’m not attracted to her, I just want to be her because she’s objectively attractive to the cisgender heterosexual male gaze”.

Some weeks later, just this past Sunday, in church again, I almost lost it during the opening worship song, which was ‘Blessings’ by Laura Story. I was perfectly fine during worship practice the day before, but standing in the corner of the stage waiting for my turn to harmonise with the worship leader, looking out at a congregation that was supposed to be a safe space for the oppressed and vulnerable, it was like a gear in my head suddenly clicked into place. I’d cried to the song before, many years ago, but I had never attached it to my queerness until now. As I lay in bed that night after a particularly exhausting day, alone with my thoughts for the first time since that morning, I remembered the song again and sobbed deeply, confronted and humbled in the midst of my anxiety by the truth that there is nothing I could do or not do that will make God love me less.

We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering And all the while, You hear each spoken need Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

When friends betray us When darkness seems to win We know the pain reminds this heart That this is not This is not our home

As pride month rolls around, I can't ignore the fact that I'm still scared. More scared than I've ever been. And seeing countless tiktoks of Julien Baker performing with the words “queer joy” emblazoned on her guitar and banjo, I can’t help but think how foreign and elusive that term feels to me. How could I not, when all the memories I have associated with my own queerness are coloured by anger, shame, guilt, and deep, overwhelming fear? I’ve known the concept of my own queerness for a decade now, but I’ve spent so long being scared of it and running away from it that I don’t even know what it really means to be queer.

I used to think that if I could just fall in love with a boy, all of this would go away and I would never have to come to terms with it. But I had the realisation that that’s just the voice of internalised homophobia / compulsory heterosexuality talking, and my queer friends don’t magically cease to be queer when they aren’t actively dating anybody, or aren't actively attracted to anybody, so how could I be any different? Human sexuality is inherently carved into human existence; it is an irremovable part of me that I can’t scrub out like a stubborn stain, or throw a rug over it and pretend it isn't there, or toss around flippantly like a garment that I can put on or off whenever I feel like it. To be queer is to exist, to live, to thrive, to be human. It may be true that there is no pride without pain, and that healing requires first uncovering and scrutinising the hurt. But I’ve come to the realisation that having ‘queer joy’ is to embody one’s queerness wholly, in fullness, to feel through it as an integral facet of human existence — and to look at the world and all of the heartbreak and sorrow it brings, to carry it with me in all its heaviness and stare down its ugly face, to acknowledge that there is nothing I can do to prevent it from being thrust into my arms — and to choose joy anyway.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still terrified. Even throughout typing this, I can’t stop my fingers from trembling and my heart from racing and in all honesty, I still feel like I’m about to throw up. I can’t change that. But after spending so long running away from my own queerness, I’ve come to the realisation that as scary as it is, I need to come out to myself first before I can learn to let myself heal. Being the coward that I am, it’s taken almost 10 full years for me to do it, but nonetheless, here it is:

Hi. I’m bi.

-jo

[aeoki]

Magic Lantern - Monument: Chapter 6

Location: Magic Lantern Stage Characters: Sora, Natsume & Tsumugi

Natsume: Oh, realLY? I wanted to be a hero, thouGH – like my brothers in tHE “Five Oddballs”. That’s why I did my best to push myself to the limit and tried to make myself appear to be strongER.

I did that by putting on an act and showing others an illusion through magIC. But they saw through my bluff and I was chased out of the war as “someone who didn’t belong theRE”.

They treated me like a lost chiLD, kicked me far away and distanced themselves from mE.

But I’m no longer a chiLD – I’m now the same age as my brothers in the “Five Oddballs” back thEN.

I think I’ve grown a bit stronger in comparisON. I can live without being protected by someone else nOW.

That’s why I’ll forcibly protect the “strays” who struggle to live happiLY in this world that ES provided with temporary peaCE.

Just like how my brothers once dID.

There will definitely be someone crying out there in this imperfect and incomplete world who cannot associate themselves with iT.

I’ll find those boys and girLS, protect them and give them a roof over their heaDS along with the sustenance they need to liVE.

We did those things for that reasON – to gain a place where we could live. That’s why the war existED.

At first, I simply wanted to take revenge as I was mourning for the “Five Oddballs” who were used as miserable sacrificES.

Now, I’m finding more and more reasons to figHT. I’ve grown tallER, my field of vision has expandED and I can see even further than befoRE.

I created systems that would allow oddballs to live and we’ll preserve diversiTY. That’s my key to survival to ensure the seed by the name of idols won’t be eradicatED.

It might be something in the far, far futuRE, but when the environment takes on a drastic chanGE, the seeds that we left behind will sprout all at onCE.

Natsume: When the ones who were cornered have turned into the majority that has adapted to their surroundinGS, the world would have changED.

Even if they don’t defeat someone with violenCE, they can still be a winner just by surviviNG.

As I dream of that, I’ll scatter the seeds in the fields Senpai ploughed and water thEM.

Sora: HaHa~♪ Then, Sora– No, “Switch” will become a sun that will shine gently and nurture those fields!

Tsumugi: Woah? Don’t pull me so suddenly like that, Sora-kun.

Natsume: You’re rigHT… Sorry, you must have felt sad because we were talking amongst ourselves agaIN.

We say we’ll reflect on it and make improvemenTS, but it seems we haven’t changed at aLL.

Sora: No.

Master~ and Senpai are doing your best to change for the better. Sora knows you’re both working super hard every single day.

As a result of that, ES and Yumenosaki are slowly starting to change. The world is gradually turning into a nice and comfortable environment where everyone can be happy.

It’s turning into a world where people will no longer have to look like ghosts that have been left behind.

Sora: Look! Master~ Senpai! There’s a beautiful and radiant “colour” everywhere~♪

It’s still a thin stream of light that can’t even light up the entirety of this small stage.

But Sora will hope that this light will spread throughout the world. Sora will believe in it.

But even magicians find it difficult to paint everything in their “colour” in an instant so…

Let’s start here! From this very stage!

Sora still doesn’t understand complicated things, but Sora knows that seeing beautiful things makes people’s heart dance and makes them happy.

That’s why Sora will show that off! Even if it doesn’t reach the other side of the Earth, Sora will show it to the fans who are in front of us right now!

“HaHiHuHeHo~☆ Shine brightly, magic lantern! Fill the world with this strange but precious ‘colour’!“

“Everyone is busy with family, school and work!”

“Everyone is swayed left and right in a packed train and they walk quickly in a crowd – they’re swamped with the ‘things they need to do’~”

“That’s why it’s hard for them to notice their surroundings and if something beautiful falls to the ground, they won’t notice it? That’s not something bad or any kind of wrongdoing, but…”

“To those people who always feel tired and feel like something is missing in their lives!”

“Sora and ‘Switch’ will cast a spell on you and make you feel a bit better!”

“See! Over here? Look! There are beautiful things here too!”

“Next is over there! You don’t have to search very far – there are precious things all around you!”

“Sora and ‘Switch’ will show you all the shiny things!”

“The things that small children who aren’t that busy yet can see…”

“Sparkle beautifully, magic lantern! Please shine just a bit gently on this world! Shine on those who are a bit exhausted from life! Please shine on you, you and you!”

“Sora prays you can all find something wonderful that can make you happy just by looking at it! HaHiHuHeHo~....♪”

← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[thenotsosecretdiaryofbiyu]

2024年7月18日—Fort Santo Doming和搭乘渡船

Today we all went to the Spanish Fort Santo Domingo in Tamsui! It’s very far from where we’re staying at the hotel though, and so we had to take a thirty minute MRT ride to get there. Actually, I’m currently writing this while me and the others are on our way back because why not utilize the ride?

The fort was super pretty, the scenery and the pond there were absolutely breathtaking! From the house you could see the mountain, and it was a view I’d probs kill for, but I just kept imagining how uncomfy it must have been to live in a house like this without AC. They must’ve kept the windows open constantly, there’s no other way. There was also tons of canons towards the back of the property, which were eerily cool (because people 100% died because of those 😭). And on the inside of the house was by far one of the FUNNIEST translations I’ve ever seen: “Penetrate the Past of Fort Antonio” LOL, “analyze” would’ve definitely been a better word choice.

I tried some matcha soft serve finally while on the way to the ferry ride, but it was VERY mid, definitely would’ve been better off getting the strawberry or something. I’m probs gonna try it again, but look for a better stand next time.

When we were on the path to the ferry ride to visit the other side of the Tamsui River, I took way too many pics of the same mountain, I just kept taking a few steps and then going “WOAH, a mountain!” And then taking almost the exact same picture 🤣 I’m gonna have to delete a ton when I get a free second. The boat trip was super fun and scenic, and so many fishies just kept jumping! 🐟

The other side of the river was even MORE pretty! The sand there was black, and there were tons of mudskippers and crabs skittering around! There were also tons of birds, both big and small and I really can’t get over how cute the lil guys are.

After we rode the ferry back, Brooke and I split off from the main group to peep the stores and we found some really funny English translations, but we somehow managed to beat the rest of the group to the MRT station (I think it was a secret shortcut!) and so we all ended up riding back to the hotel together 🤣

Academic Writing

Finding out from the article that the fort used to not be open to Taiwanese citizens is mind boggling, but perfectly reflects how domineering and arrogant the colonist ideology and the countries that engage in it are. Taking land from a country and refusing to allow the people from that country to have access to it is a slap in the face. Furthermore, being able to see all the flags lined up out front and having it explained by Peter that they represent past ownership of the building helped put that further into perspective. Taiwan was caught up in so many different power struggles, often suffering new indignities with each one, and the fort’s existence is proof.

However, it’s interesting to discover that it was the nearby museum who began negotiations for the building with the British and not the Taiwanese government. But on another hand, it makes complete sense. For the Aletheia University, negotiating for the building was likely purely from a business standpoint, as it would make running their school easier with access to an additional nearby building. But for the Taiwanese government, there were complicated and difficult political issues involved with the acquisition of the building, including removing some of the last traces of British relations.

#ImGonnaBringAMuskipperBackWithMeAndNotEvenCustomsCanStopMe

[onlyjaeyun]

hi zadie! I’m sorry I’ve been missing I didn’t know if you wanted a bunch of asks again given how busy you were but you said you wanna talk more so I’ve made it my mission to become more close with you !! Imma just start telling you random shit now!

Actually let me ask you something so I’ve been friends with this dude and his twin brother since grade school and we’re all in uni now and he goes to uni super far from me but he always comes down to see me during holidays. Recently I’ve been crushing on him and I was idk a mess about it but it’s so complicated what do you think I should do? This is kinda messy so if it doesn’t make sense it’s ok

-🦒

aaah hello my love!! pls dont be sorry for having a life, i really hope things have been going well for you snd thank you so much for checking in!!🥺

oooh that actully sounds like a dilemma, are you guys in regular contact? or are you just close to his twin?? have you always known each other?? and maybe you could try and seenif his brother knows if he's interested in you too?🤕

hope this somehow helps aah im so bad at relationship advice 😭

[suckitsurveys]

Is there a gang problem in your area? In my city, yes.

Do you make your Starbucks order more complicated if it isn’t busy? Nah. My orders aren’t super complicated, other than milk substitutes from time to time.

Do you consider airports to be emotional places? I mean, they sure can be. You never know anyone’s reason for flying.       

Where do you need to be? I am where I am supposed to be, responsibility wise. I SHOULD be on a beach somewhere, but, ya know.

Would you date an already attached person? No. I mean I wouldn’t date anyone because I myself an attached person.

When you marry, will you wear white? I wore blue.

What vaccine that you’ve received hurt the most? I don’t know, that’s not something I really keep track of.And I tend to not care if they hurt because they’re necessary.

Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? Eh.

What will it take to make or break this day for you? I don’t know. It’s my nieces’ first day of school and I’d love to hear how it went/see pictures, but I don’t know if my sister will do that.

Would you give up a dream for someone you loved? I mean it all depends. Maybe their dream is the same as mine?

Could you date someone who’s only been your friend for a long time? Wait, what? Like, would I date someone whose a friend first? Yeah?

Do you prefer to date various people or do you pretty much fall into monogamous relationships quickly? Monogamous. I’ve been with Mark for 12 years now.

Are you afraid to ask people out on dates? I don’t do that.

Do you think it’s better to look for love or let it find you? Whatever. It found me but you do you boo.

Have you ever found yourself worrying about commitment? No.

Would you get involved with someone if they had a child already? No.

Have you ever learned an important lesson as a result of a break up? Yes.

Have you ever gotten back in touch with an old flame after a time of more than three months of no communication? Oh my goddddddddd enough with the fucking dating questionssss.

Do you or would you ever wear fake eyelashes? Oh thanks. I have before.

Do you think that smaller breeds of dogs are cuter than big ones? Size has nothing to do with cuteness. I’ve seen ugly small dogs and ugly big dogs lol.

When was the last time you slept in a tent? Last year.

What brand of make-up do you prefer to use? I don’t have a preferred brand. I have a collection of stuff from my short lived Ipsy phase and stuff people have given me lol.

Do you have any siblings and if so, what’re they like? I have an older sister and I don’t feel like talking about her right now.

What was the last television show that you sat and watched multiple episodes of? House Hunters lol.

Is there anything significant happening this month? I’ve done a buncha fun stuff this month, including Lollapalooza to see Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey with my two best friends, the Barbie Cafe, and the Ren Faire. This week is my niece’s 10th birthday and her party.

When was the last time you plucked your eyebrows? A week ago.

Do you have any chronic pain? Yes.

When was the last time you had a Poptart? It’s been a few month at least.

Do you like hot chocolate? Yeah.

Who is your best guy friend? My husband.

What’s your favorite Michael Jackson song? Billie Jean.

Where did you buy your favorite pair of jeans from? Torrid.

When was the last time you got your hair done professionally? Last month. I’m getting it touched up again on Saturday.

Do you like TGI Fridays? I can’t recall ever physically going there, but they have frozen potato skins they sell at the store and those are bomb.

Have you ever gotten your legs waxed? My upper legs when also getting a Bikini wax.

Have you ever read anything by Edgar Allen Poe? Yes.

When was the last time it rained where you live? Last Thursday I believe.

Do you like horses? I do.

What is your opinion on air pollution? Uh, it sucks?

What are your grandfathers’ names? They were Elry and Irvin.

Have you ever seen a snake in real life? Yes.

Do you know anyone that has been held hostage before? I don’t think so.

[sweetlywriting]

Hi, there~! So I have this really fun idea in my head. I would like a headcannon in which the fem! reader asks the Dorm Leaders to be her pretend boyfriend. But what happens when the boys fall in love for real? Super fluff, please! Thanks!

Fake/pretend dating with dorm leaders

Includes-Leona Kingscholar, Azul Ashengrotto, Malleus Draconia, Kalim Al Asim, Vil Shoenheit, Idia Shroud, Riddle Rosehearts

A/N- I think these are the longest headcanons I’ve ever done but I love this trope-

Please reblog or comment if you enjoyed!!

Leona Kingscholar-

It was some dumb bet from Ruggie but you’d lose too much money if you lost, so you sucked it up and went over to ask Leona to be your boyfriend or at least pretend so you wouldn’t go broke

He’s snickering the entire time, eyes glimmering with amusement as you mumble your request

He takes great enjoyment in your embarrassment and you almost have to scream it at him to get him to agree

He agrees, just for a week and you have to do whatever he says in return have fun cleaning his room and other messes

Ruggie is now extremely happy because you have to do his job

Leona likes how he can obnoxiously pull your hair in magic history when he’s bored, and haul you away from classes

Oh also, now you’re basically a human pillow, he’s constantly dragging you too take naps with him

Leona’s still smart and observant, he knows when he’s in love with you and will likely burst into whatever class, club, or nap you were having to ask you out. For real this time.

Azul Ashengrotto-

Honestly he’s the one who asks you too fake date him, his business has been getting less publicity lately and dating the new magicless dorm leader would definitely incite some good rep

Plus now he can coerce you into turning your empty dorm into a mostro lounge branch! In return he’ll pay you well and help you with any studies for the entire rest of your school year!! It’s a good deal and you sign it with a contract

At the beginning it’s all very normal, but slowly he begins to enjoy this deal more than he thought he would

Azul is a bit touch starved so every time you lightly kiss his cheek in pubic, he completely flusters

It’s the same for you when you happen to be working on a extremely hard piece of homework and he whispers the answer in your ear and then swiftly walks away as though nothing happened

It’s a fun game and even at the end of the year he doesn’t want it to end

“ Shall we extend this contract? Forever?“

Malleus Draconia-

Lilia had seen you and Malleus talk once, and now all he thinks about is what color he’ll wear to your wedding

He’s constantly “coincidentally” signing Malleus up for all the classes you take or "coincidentally" locking you two in broom closets

It’s very exhausting, and when you both have had enough you and Malleus decide to pretend to date to get Lilia to calm down for a while

Spending time with Malleus you got to know him more than anyone probably could. He’s not used to company considering how most people are afraid of him, but begins to enjoy it

He comes to ramshackle dorm every night for his daily walk, now opting to take you along. The moon and his hand holding yours is the only sense of direction you have, but it’s all you need.

“Perhaps we could do this forever?” “I’d like that”

Kalim Al Asim-

It’s not super complicated with Kalim, you want him too pretend to be your boyfriend? Sure that’s fine!!

One of the best things about him is that he won’t push you on why you want him to do this. You’re his friend, if fake dating will help you in any way he’s down!

That changed when he realizes he’s actually falling for you

Kalim is typically pretty oblivious so he doesn’t know exactly what to do

Suddenly, something that was a casual thing is something he can’t live without

The moment he realizes this, he drops everything and runs to you-and just by the look on his face and the way he crashes his lips on yours, you know this was never pretend

Vil Shoenheit-

Vil is famous, being in a relationship would cause huge scandal and completely ruin his career, but sometimes he feels alone and wants to be cared for the way he sees the couples laughing through the hallways with hands clasped

He doesn’t want to ask any of his friends so why not the person he just so happens to be alchemy partners with?

So one day, out of nowhere he’ll blurt-“will you let me be your boyfriend?-pretend of course.” Once you accept he’ll try all the stereotypical couples things

Picnics, ice skating dates, stargazing, cooking together, cute stuff

Vil finds himself getting a little too attached, he feels so at ease with you

It’s scares him a little, the way he’s already fallen so deeply for you

But he loves the way things are now, real or not he doesn’t want to ruin that

Idia Shroud-

You need a date to the school dance, he needs a date to the dance. . .

But really when you come up to him asking him to pretend to be your date, he’s half flattered-like his face is entirely red and he can barely answer, but another part of him is a little sad

You don’t want him too be your real boyfriend? He brushes it off, far too happy to at least be your date to be too bothered

He picks out his best suit and shows up with flowers, gentlemanly but still in a nervous sweat

Everyone is a little suprised to see the both of arrive together, and as Idia’s about to run out far away from all the stares, you pull him to dance

He’ll never forget how it felt to melt into your smile and the feeling of slowly forgetting that anyone else was even there, laughing and twirling- it didn’t feel fake

It felt like the happiest night of his life. “Could we go out as a real couple?” He says it confidently because it’s something he’s sure about

Well so much for fake dating, you answer him with a passionate kiss

Riddle Rosehearts-

It was some dumb dare from Ace and Deuce, you had enough with their teasing about how you would you would be single forever and now to spite them you were standing in front of Heartslabyul’s dorm leader, persuading him to pretend to be your boyfriend for a while

At first Riddle is very offended that you would ask him on a fake date, and for something so silly? But eventually with the promise of strawberry tarts and the thought of Ace and Deuces shocked faces, he gives in

The entire Heartslabyul is shocked that their stony strict dorm warden is dating someone

Riddle has never been in a relationship so he’s actually quite nervous, he almost screams the first time you grab his hand

He’s completely red afterwards and refuses to look at you

He tries to deny actually being in love with you for as long as possible, but he doesn’t want to lose you either

After shoving his pride down for a bit, he invites you for tea and a heartfelt confession

[minaramen]

Thanks for the 7th Anniversary - Part 2: Cosplay stamp rally

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

*Cut to a hallway*

Staff: Hello

Minami: Good morning

Torao: ……

Minami: What happened, Midou san? Is that a memo?

Torao: The model we performed with gave me her contact details

Minami: Aah, I see. Good for you

Torao:.......

Minami: Why do you look so depressed? I would have expected you to say something like “mpf, well, it can't be helped"

Torao: I used to think it was hard to be a popular man, but lately I’ve started having some doubts about that

Minami: For example?

Torao: I mean, on the contrary, it makes me look like a super easy man

Minami: That it does

Torao: If you want to get close to somebody you should just face them and say you want to exchange contacts. Direct and honest

Torao: At least, that’s the kind of people who approach Touma. Although he seems to think they give him their contacts for business purposes

Minami: Inumaru san’s lack of knowledge about people from the entertainment ended up being a boon

Torao: Yeah

Minami: And still, he was a celebrity among other celebrities competing in Black or White. He joined the contest twice with different groups

Torao: How about you, Minami? Have you ever received the contact details of somebody you barely knew?

Minami: It happened several times before I traveled abroad. Now, not anymore

Torao: As I thought. The difficulty level required to reach you is too high, now. I would immediately give up

Minami: I suppose there’s something good in becoming an adult

Momo: Ah, Minami and Torao! Hello!

Yuki: Good morning

Minami: Ah, Re-vale san. Good morning

Torao: Good morning

Momo: What's with the long faces? Are you reconsidering your talk or what?

Minami: We were just checking our difficulty levels

Minami: Do you normally receive contact details from strangers, Momo san?

Momo: Contact details? Not really? I only accept things like that after a good talk with the person!

Minami: How about you, Yuki san?

Yuki: Pretty often, actually

Torao: Aah….

Yuki: Mh? Why did you say “aah”?

Torao: It was an “aah” to say “as expected”

Yuki: And what do you mean by “as expected”?

Momo: Darling!! You’re back-stabbing Momo chan without him even knowing! I’m jealous!

Yuki: Fufu. It’s hard to be a popular man

Torao: Aah…

Yuki: Could you please stop saying “aah”...

*Pin pin*

Yuki: Oh, that’s strange. Chiba Shizuo san is messaging me

Momo: Chiba Shizuo san?

Yuki: Yes. “It’s pretty sudden, but shall we go cruising together?”

Yuki: I don’t see why…. What’s going on, I wonder?

*Pin pin*

Minami: Ah….Shiba Shizuo san is messaging me as well.

Torao: What did he say?

Minami: “It’s pretty sudden, but shall we go play golf abroad together?”

Yuki: Do you often do things together?

Minami: No, it’s my first time being asked

Momo: Maybe you both got spammed?

Minami: The content is a little different

Torao: He must feel lonely. Showing such willingness to use money to dispel his gloom

Momo: That’s what rich people do! I understand rich people's feelings pretty well!

Yuki: Chiba Shizuo san is not somebody who would blow his money like this. Dispelling his gloom…

Yuki: Doesn't sound right

Minami: Maybe he argued with Nikaido san?

Yuki: Most likely

Yuki: Since it was announced that Yamato kun will act in Mikatsuki Ookami, there’s been a weird tension in the air

Minami: Maybe, due to the fact he had an argument with Nikaido san, he’s trying to comfort his broken heart by spending time with us, who are the same age as his son

Yuki: Ah, that must be it. That’s pretty annoying, I’ll just forward the message to Yamato kun

Momo: Wait, wait! You’re going to make things even more complicated, if you do that! We’re not even sure whether they had a fight!

Yuki: Let’s ask, then. “Did you fight with Yamato kun?

*Pin pin*

Yuki: He did

Torao: How docile, the internationally famous Chiba san…

Momo: Okay, well, what if we ask Chiba san to come to the Nanahoshi school festival? 

Yuki: Ah, yeah. Idolish7 will be there as well, since they’re going to perform

Minami: Are you going to the Nanahoshi school festival?

Momo: Yes! Since it’s a school connected to the entertainment world, it’s totally fine for famous people to go!

Momo: I think it should be fine if Chiba san comes as well. Then, we could mediate for him with Yamato

Yuki: You’re so kind, Momo. You make it difficult to imagine there was a time when you were angry with Chiba Shizuo san

Momo: I’m not doing it for him, I’m worried about Yamato! His careless nature reminds me of mine, I can’t let him down

Yuki: Ah

Minami: We’re planning to go to the Nanahoshi school festival as well

Torao: Yes, since Haruka attends the school

Momo: Ah, I see! He’s in the high school trio together with Iori and Tamaki! How cute!

Minami: However, Isumi san doesn't want us to go

Yuki: Why?

Torao: Apparently, he feel embarrassed because of some kind of class project

Momo: Is it something involving Iori and Tamaki as well?

Yuki: Maybe they’re dressing up as women?

Minami: There’s no shame in dressing up as women, nowadays

Torao: They may feel embarrassed, and then end up being unexpectedly good looking

Momo: Must be so cute! I can’t wait!

*Cut to Kujo’s house*

Haruka: Excuse me

Touma: Excuse me

Aya: Welcome! Haru chan, master!

Touma: Master, what…? I’m not a master, I’m really really really really average

Aya: Haru chan told me that you’re super good at making okonomiyaki!

Haruka: You told me you wanted to learn how to make them

Touma: I can teach you, but keep in mind that my okonomiyaki is really really really really normal 

Touma: Nothing more than “aah, so that’s the way I can make okonomiyaki at home”

Aya: It’s okay! I’ll put all of myself in learning that, so please teach me!

Haruka: Apparently, Kujo asked for some okonomiyaki with udon. I remember you prepared us something like that before, Touma

Touma: I always put chinese noodles in there. Your grandma doesn’t, right, Haru?

Aya: I want to learn how to make ramen and put an okonomiyaki on it, and then a fried egg on the okonomiyaki!

Haruka: How many things do you want to put on the plate? Did Kujo really ask for something like that?

Aya: He really did! He also said it was cute!

Haruka: Cute?

Aya: After a business trip to Hiroshima, he also bought an okonomiyaki keyholder! Look!

Haruka: Ah, it’s true…he should go for something cuter when he buys souveirs for a girl…

Aya: I do think it’s cute!

Haruka: Really?

Touma: Is a fried egg cute, by the way? Well, let’s try to do that…

Aya: Wah!! Thank you so so much!! I’ve already made the sauce myself, so we don’t need to…

Haruka: Wait wait wait…! I thought the okonomiyaki sauce was a crucial thing…!

Aya: I want to show some originality!

Haruka: We need to make plain flavor first! By the way, is he home?

Aya: He is! Want me to call him?

Haruka: Ah, no…!

Aya: Tenn nii chan!

*Door opens*

Tenn: Hello

Haruka: Ah… hello…

Touma: Hello! Our Haru really cares about your little sister

Tenn: Thank you, I’m glad you get along with Aya

Touma: You're having okonomiyaki, right?

Tenn: I’ll try some. Are you good at making it?

Touma: I’m not. I’ve made it sometimes but it’s just average. I’d dare to say the flavor is not terrible, tough

Tenn: I look forward to it. Also… you take care of Riku as well

Touma: It’s not biggie. He’s a good guy, I can’t leave him

Tenn: He told me you’re a good person, Inumaru Touma. Thank you

Touma: Ahah! Oh, stop! I don’t need to be thanked for…

Haruka: Wait!

Touma: What happened, Haru?

Haruka: I didn’t know you and Kujo were on such good terms!

Touma: Well, he’s Riku’s brother…

Tenn: He often takes care of Riku…

Haruka: But you're more connected with me! And still, you’re always super cold with me and best buddies with Touma?!

Tenn: I don't have the impression I’m being cold with you

Touma: Y’know, Haru always puts you on a pedestal

Haruka: Whaat?! That’s…definitely not true…

Tenn: I know it's not true. I understand why you don’t like me. It’s because I make you think about what Kujo san did to you

Haruka:.....

Tenn: Make yourselves at home, okay? Aya, call me if you need anything

Aya: Thank you, Tenn nii chan!

Haruka: Still…it’s not that I don’t like him…

Touma: Haru?

Haruka: No, it doesn't matter. Can I help you with something, Acchan?

Aya: Can you bring me the electric grill?

Haruka: Yes

Touma: I’ll cut the cabbage. May I wash my hands, first…?

Aya: Ah, the hand soap is here! By the way, Haru chan, will you join the school festival?

Haruka: You know about it, Acchan?!

Aya: Tamaki nii chan asked Tsunashi san to go. I was invited as well

Haruka: So, are you going to come?! Don’t come!!

Aya: Why?!

Touma: He’s been repeating the same thing for a while. “Don’t come to the school festival!”

Haruka: It’s awkward. I thought we had a different concept, as a group!

Touma: I think we've gotten more comfortable with these kinds of things, lately. Also, I promised your grandma to take pictures

Haruka: Pictures?! What the heck…

Aya: Haru chan, what are you going to do at the school festival?

Haruka:....cosplay stamp rally

Aya: Cosplay stamp rally?

Haruka: You need to find guys in cosplay and get a stamp from them. If you get ten, you receive a souvenir

Touma: Sounds interesting. What cosplay are you going to do?

Haruka: It’s a secret. I will never show you

Touma: But then I won’t be able to collect stamps!

Haruka: Do you need the souvenir that much?! If you guys come, I’ll hide!

Aya: Is it such an embarrassing dress?

Touma: A bunny girl

Aya: An old drunkard

Haruka: No and no

Touma: A feudal lord

Aya: A full body suit

Haruka: No and no

Touma: It doesn't seem that embarrassing… Okay, if you were asked to compare your costume to somebody from ŹOOĻ, who would you choose?

Haruka: You.

Touma: Me?! Do I look that bad?

Aya: You don’t look bad, Touma san

Touma: Really? But I think my eyes have an unpleasant glare…

Aya: It’s kind, actually! And you’re also amazing at julienne strips!

Touma: How cute…I want a little sister like this too

Haruka: Aaah…the school festival….it really sucks…

*Cut to Tsukumo building*

Ryo:....

Ryo:....everything is perfect. The drawers are empty, the desk is empty

Ryo: It looks fun, doesn't it? A whole agitated world. But it’s okay, I'll take care of the rest. 

Ryo: Ah, that’s…

Ryo: That’s the document that proves that Riku and Tenn, from Trigger, are twins…

Ryo: Were it to be publicity released, it would create a big mess

Ryo: Mpf…I'm done with that. Let’s take care of it. The shredder…

Ryo: That Shirou guy put away the shredder as well? What am I supposed to do with this, now?

Ryo: It would taste bad, just throwing it away. I need to properly get rid of it

Ryo: Shall I burn it? It’s good for me to act like a lovely guy, for once!

Ryo: But, where shall I burn it? Let’s see…

Ryo: A temple? There is often a bonfire there. I think I’ll go on the next rest day…

Ryo: I’ll harmlessly go out with Riku and Tenn’s birth secret in my hands

*Cut to North Meir Royal Palace*

Seth: <Well, I was able to complete my duties without any delay today as well. I wonder if Nagi's alright…>

Seth: <The other day, during our call, Japan's summer heat looked terrible…>

Seth: <It would be difficult even for me to wrap some of North Meir’s cold breeze in a ribbon and send it to him…>

Thorvald: <Your Highness Seth>

Seth: <What’s going on, Thorvald?>

Thorvald: <A person from Hotel Midou gave me this>

Seth: <What is it…a letter? Who wrote it?>

Thorvald: <Sakura Haruki>

Seth: <The dead Japanese pianist? Who’s the addressee?>

Thorvald: <It’s for Nagi. I think Your Highness Seth may have forgotten, but…>

Thorvald: <The staff member from hotel Midou who got this letter from Sakura Haruki contacted the royal family, and Your Highness asked me to dispose of the problem… >

Seth: < ....... >

Thorvald: <I was reluctant to throw it away, so it’s been in my possession ever since>

Seth: <It’s the letter Sakura Haruki wrote Nagi while he was receiving medical treatment at the hotel…>

Thorvald: <Exactly. I thought of giving it to His Highness Nagi, but…>

Thorvald: <I was worried he may have gotten angry if he'd known that the letter was about to be destroyed without him even knowing>

Thorvald: <I was afraid it might cause a fatal, definitive crack between two people who just got over a conflicted relationship…>

Seth:  < ...Did you see the contents of the letter?>

Thorvald: <I didn’t open it. His Highness Nagi would notice if the letter had been opened>

Seth: <The fact that Sakura Haruki was imprisoned is pure reality. If he wrote complains and increscius things about me, Nagi would mistrust me>

Thorvald: <Probably, yes

Seth: <We need to continue loving each other, it’s in the best interest of North Meir as well>

Seth: <I’ll pretend I never saw that letter and get rid of it>

Thorvald: <Your Highness Seth…>

Seth: <Don’t look at me like that, I know what you're thinking! However, Nagi would definitely get angry…>

Seth: <If I act carelessly, I’ll just end up making the whole situation even more miserable. It’s better to bury everything in the darkness>

Seth: <I never saw that letter>

Thorvald: < ...understood>

Seth: < ….aren’t you going to stop me?>

Thorvald: <The authority and welfare of the Royal Family is more important to me>

Thorvald: <I am not willing to see the two of you going back to a conflicted relationship, just to protect a dead man’s honor>

Thorvald: < Since Your Highness Seth told me to get rid of it, I’ll do it right away. As Your Highness wishes>

Seth: < .......>

Thorvald: <So, with Your permission…>

Seth: <Wait! Forget wait I said. Nagi will have the letter>

Thorvald: <Your Highness Seth…that’s a wonderful, brave, just decision. You’re the pride of North Meir>

Seth: <However, I have a request. I want to be the one who gives the letter to Nagi>

Seth: <Nagi will probably question me. His blood will boil with indignation against me. So, in order not to make the situation spin out of control, I want to be close to him to properly apologize>

Thorvald: <You have a wonderful heart. I am so impressed I can’t find the words>

Thorvald: <So, the letter will be kept in the Royal Palace until Prince Nagi is back…>

Seth: <No, I feel like the content may be urgent>

Seth: <In that case, his resentment towards me will double. I need to give him the letter as soon as possible>

Thorvald: <You’re saying that…You’re planning to go to Japan? When?>

Seth: <This weekend>

Thovald: <I can't organize the trip in such a short time!>

Seth: <Adjust the schedule, then>

Thorvald: <But…ah…I wonder if I can… I'm off to make preparations >

Seth: <Yes>

*Door closes*

Seth:  <Nagi…I’m afraid you’ll scold me…however, thanks to this letter, I’ll get to meet you after a long time>

Seth: <I wonder if you’re doing well… >

End of part 2

[mhdiaries]

Haunt Couture Skullector Edition Draculaura Diary 

7♥January

OMV! It feels like ages since I’ve written in my diary. Un-life has truly been busy these days and I’m barely keeping up. I’m sure my face looks like I’m 2000 years old instead of 1600. I pulled an all-frighter working on my article for the Monster High newspaper, The Gory Gazette, about new trends in vegetarianism, including plant-based meat. I’ve been making fangtastic with Boo-yond Meat and Grim-possible Burgers, though finding taste testers has been a bit of a challenge. My boyfriend, Clawd Wolf, is a werewolf who loves his steaks rare and won’t come near my new recipe for Grim Ghoulash and Count Fabulous, my best bat friend, prefers bugs over veggies. That leaves my Father, Count Dracula, the world’s most famous vampire and lover of all things blood. He doesn’t understand my vegetarianism and at least once a year, I get “The Talk”. Basically, he believes I need to give up being a vegetarian because it is unnatural and un-monster like. So the day he eats one of my recipes is the day I eat double meat screechza with Clawd. Yuck.

11♥January

Yesterday’s Fearleading practice was scarier than Father’s fashion sense. Cleo de Nile was in a monstrous mood and I don’t know who got her all unraveled but we all paid dearly for it. Nobody could understand her complicated Fearamid routine and we all ended up in a heap. Cleo suddenly announced that we’re going to hold a fundraiser for new Fearleading uniforms and needed ideas. I thought we could do a plant-based bake sale but the squad didn’t seem too enthused and so we decided to do a fashion show instead. That’s too bad, the scarrots in my garden would be great for a homemade scarrot bread! Maybe Father would enjoy that instead. While my BFF Clawdeen Wolf was here studying after school, I started a new recipe for booyond sliders with beefsteak tomatoes. Father walked in while I was pulling them out of the skillet and the whole kitchen was super smokey. I tried to get him to try one along with Clawdeen but I might as well have offered him stake-skewered garlic kabobs! He walked out with his fangs bared but I did catch Clawdeen sneaking a second bite. Hehe, I might just get her to join Team VAMP (Vampires Advocating Meatless Proteins) after all.

15♥January

I’m still really confused about what happened today. The day started off perfectly fine until Fearleading practice was suddenly canceled. We were supposed to talk details for the fashion show but Cleo was nowhere to be found. I headed to the Maul with Clawdeen and Frankie Stein to scout outfits for the show and meet Clawd in the Food Corpse for a quick bite. The Food Corpse is so lacking in vegetarian options but they do have really good screechza and spookochinos, so I don’t mind it too much. Anyway, we found this fangtastic boo-tique that had creeperific looks and scarecessories. I wish I could point my Father in the direction of this store. He’s constantly buying me clothes that wer in when he was 1600 but I wouldn’t be caught alive in those clothes. Anyway, I met Clawd afterwards in the Food Corpse and he was in such a weird mood. He got really cagey when I mentioned Cleo’s mood lately and our canceled practice. He quickly changed the subject to my article for the Gory Gazette, so I know something’s wrong. The day Clawd wants to talk the protein count in kidney beans is when I know something is wrong. We basically drove home in silence and he gave me a quick kiss and drove away. Something has got that wolf’s fur all ruffled and I intend to find out.

 21♥January

Normally Clawd will wait with me after school before I attend The Gory Gazette staff meeting. But today he disappeared as soon as the bell rung! I got this really cryptic message from him on my iCoffin about not being able to make it and he would catch up with me later, but he never did. I was in such a bad mood, Father gave me a little kiss on the forehead after he pointed out the grammatical errors in my article. What is going on?

24♥January

Oh my ghoul! Father is in a fearious mood tonight. Turns out, he ate my leftover vegan vampire chili and didn’t realize it until I went to eat it for dinner! It was super spicy and totally vegetarian, two of Father’s pet peeves. I apologized profusely for not properly labeling it but it was too late. I got treated to a mini version of “The Talk” and had to promise to keep my “experiments” on my side of the fridge. Honestly, I think he’s just mad he actually enjoyed a vegetarian meal. There wasn’t one drop of chili left!

28♥January

I WISH I COULD CRAWL BACK INTRO MY BED AND START THIS DAY OVER. I don’t know what happened but somehow my vegetarian trends article didn’t save on my computer and now I have to write the whole thing over by tomorrow afternoon! Frankie is feeling zapped because the 3Scream printer she invented to make clothes for the fashion show is not working. The show and Frankie are literally falling apart at the seams and to make matters worse, Clawd is still being weird! After the day I was having, I had enough and called him out on his behavior. I told him it’s not ok for us to keep secrets from each other and asked him to tell me what was wrong, only that “it’s private and he made a promise to keep everything under wraps”. I got so mad, I stormed out of the creepeteria and ran crying to my locker, totally ruining my makeup. Thank ghoulness Frankie helped me fix my face before class. I hate fighting with Clawd, especially when I don’t even know what we’re fighting about.  

1♥February

Last night was so crazy, I didn’t even have the energy to write in my diary or look at the collection of bugs Count Fabulous gathered to cheer me up. It all started with Clawd leaving me a note on my locker, asking me to meet him after school. We hadn’t really hung out since that day I confronted him in the Creepeteria, so I was a little shocked to see the note. I gently tucked it into my notebook and walked to class with Clawdeen, who thankfully didn’t ask too many questions. Then, Fearleading practice was canceled again and Cleo was nowhere to be found. Cleo never misses a chance to boss us around, let alone cancel practice two times in a row. Even though I was still feeling really down, I conviced the other ghouls to put together a scare package and take it over to Cleo, who obviously needed some cheering up. Clawdeen must have noticed my mood, because she didn’t growl too much and decided to tag along. Since we were going to go to de Niles after school, I wasn’t going to be able to meet Clawd. Part of me felt horrible but the other part was just too upset to care. After gathering a few of Cleo’s favorite things, we landed on her doorstep and the minute she opened the door, I could tell this wasn’t a royal tantrum, something was definitely wrong. She explained that she and Deuce broke up and while Deuce seemed to be doing just fine, she couldn’t bear to face anyone at school. My heart was breaking for her, I hate to see any monster heartbroken, but then she mentioned Clawd! She looked at me and said, “Deuce told Clawd about our breakup and we both asked him to keep this under wraps. Draculaura you’ve got a great boyfriend, we’ve been driving him crazy.” I didn’t even stay to hear the rest of her story. I ran out of there and immediately called Clawd to meet at the Coffin Bean. The second he showed up, I ran and gave him the biggest hug and apologized for being so batty! He looked really sheepish and apologized too. He hated keeping anything from me but he gave his word. I held my hand up to his cheek snuggled into his fur as he wrapped his arms around me. Last night was the first good night’s sleep I’ve had in a while. Thank ghoulness everything is back to normal!

6♥February

The fashion show was total success! Cleo and Frankie worked together to get the 3Scream printer up and running and we were totally able to save the show! It was all claws on deck to pull this show together and it couldn’t have gone better. Even Cleo and Clawdeen worked together to quickly design our looks, which is like trying to mix oil and water or get Father to eat another bowl of veggie chili, hehe. I have the best BFF in the world, Clawdeen totally put together a fangtastic look for me and I can’t stop vamping over it. I mean only a truly fashion forward mind could think of mesh sleeves that double as a fashion statement and UV protection! When I walked the runway, the students of MH went totally bats, even Headmistress Bloodgood gave a little nod of approval! But the best part of all? At the end of the runway was my clawsome boyfriend waiting with the prettiest nightshades and the most gorgeous bouquet of blood oranges I had ever seen. Cleo was right, I really am the luckiest monster ever!

[justanotherrpmeme]

Consequences of Advanced Spellcasting

" Jesus, we could not have screwed up that spell worse, and we can't take it back. ” " Yeah, I don't really do slow. ” " There are certain energies, certain spells, which are far too powerful for one magician alone. ” " If you lose control, they will turn against you. They will kill you. ” " They will consume you. Change you... into something else. ” " Hey, babe, it's me. Um, ahem, just got your message. I'm so sorry, I got stuck. ” " Never gets old, does it? ” " Better than money. Better than sex. ” " We've both been so busy with school. ” " You're kicking ass. Just don't forget to manage your shit. ” " Now, try holding these. ” " So clean. Very advanced. ” " This might actually be hard. ” " What took you so long? I'm starving. ” " Welcome to our gracious abode. ” " Oh, come on. He's a high-strung super nerd. We love those. ” " I'm not an experienced drinker, ” " Wait, you don't wanna try it again, do you? ” " I need to know the truth, that's all. ” " Well, the last time we asked that question, somebody died. ” " Never mind. What do you care? ” " You're stupid. You have a stupid face. ” " The whole thing is fucking pointless. ” " You know, as a psychic, you'd think you'd have seen all this coming. ” " Okay, I'll work on it. Jeez. ” " So, it's got lots of space. Lots of light. It looks really great. ” " Okay, can we just talk about this now? Where is your head? ” “ Why do I feel like I'm talking to myself? ” " I'm--I've just been busy with class-- ” " Are you seeing someone else? ” " Why would you ask that? ” " I'm just--I'm starting to feel like the asshole. ” " Hey... I love you. You know that. Look, I know I've been moody lately, but... I feel a lot better. ” " We believe it's a garden variety haunting. ” " I just--I don't trust her. ” " Okay, look. I just-- I think trying to drown people seems a little violent. ” " He may not have even known what he was doing. ” " So you gonna tell me what's in the box or... ” " Shit. Uh, let me-- let me try it again. ” " Should be easy. You're distracted. ” " So how do you manage it all? ” " I'm not judging you. I started out like you and you have a good life. ” " All I know... you have to mean it for magic to work. ” " That wasn't so hard, was it? ” " Know what? I did hear about that. ” " Loathe as I am to admit it, I don't actually know anything. ” " Sit. Relax. Let your mind wander. ” " It's pretty simple. But you gotta start by letting go, tough guy. ” " That part of my life is behind me. ” " I know how it sounds, but I was young and... ” " You know how it is when you're that age. You get...terrible ideas. ” " I thought I could make him love me again. ” " Oh, some kind of love spell? ” " I thought if I could make myself prettier. ” " Oh...God. No one warned you how dangerous that was? ” " Wait here. I'll be back. I'm gonna fix this. ” " It was-- It was totally untested. ” " I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't, and that's when it went totally out of control. ” " I think we're close. Hold this, will you? ” " Let me do the talking. ” " What the hell are you doing here? You know these guys? ” " You say that like I had a choice. ” " So this is it, huh? The real you. ” " Do you ever stop to think about how maybe you treated me? ” " Why are you saying this? ” " No, that's not true. I-- You know how I felt about you. ” " Admit it. Just admit it. ” " So, you're gonna punish me for that? ” " I don't know what else to say. ” " I'm sorry, but I mean it. You could really get hurt doing this shit, and for what? Grow up. ” " Do you love magic? Is it in your soul? Is it like the secret heart of what you always were? ” " I made the mistake of thinking you were just psychic, but it... it's more complicated. ” " This is not a joke. You do not have the luxury to mess around now that this is out of the bottle. ” " You will study this. You will master this. Do you understand? ” " I don't know what happened. I don't know how it got so bad. ” " How long were you to douchebags gonna leave me out there? ” " Look, they're not even alive. Th--they're... something else. ” " What? Just because you couldn't do it? ” " You're making it up as you go along ” " I'm not patronizing you. I'm telling you that this is not a good idea. ” " I was kinda surprised you called. Thought you disappeared again. ” " You wanna talk about it? Please? ” " I-- I don't know how to talk about it. I got involved with something. ” " I started taking it when I was applying to grad school, and then I was taking more and more. ” " I-- Can I-- I don't know, can I hug you? ” " I can't believe it's you. I missed you so much. I don't even know what to say. ” " It's not gonna work. You have to stop. ” " Why did you think you had to save me? "

[thebeautyoffanfics]

Idk if you already made this but Hanako, Kou and mitsuba jealous Hcs with their girlfriend that is quite popular among the students pls? thank u!!

hanako x f!reader, kou minamoto x f!reader, mitsuba sousuke x f!reader

a/n: sure thing!! No worries, I haven’t made it yet :D you’re so very welcome, and thank you so much for requesting!! I love jealousy headcanons tho I don’t think I’ve ever written them? I hope these turn out alright, and I’m so sorry for the time this took!

warnings: jealousy?

word count: 1,936

Hanako <3

Oh boy- can I do anything but wish you luck?

Hanako is already a fairly clingy and jealous guy, that’s practically canon. He’ll stand between you when you’re talking to anyone, and I mean aaaaanyone. He just can’t risk losing you!

(It’s got a whole lot to do with his insecurities, of course- while he wouldn’t admit it, not wanting to drop his “ah? I’m just an innocent little boy, free of issues and perverted thoughts <3” attitude, he does struggle a lot. He’s a ghost, a murderer, and imperfect in more ways than those. You’re popular for a reason. You’re so pretty, so kind, so lovable- you’re alive, and probably have morals. What are you doing with a dead murderer?)

Wow, ANYWAY- we’re here for jealousy, not Hanako’s issues, though they will probably resurface shortly.

Seeing everyone around you… always wanting your attention, always complimenting you…

You deserved it! He thought all of those positive things and more-! But… at this point, so many people admiring you, why were you still with him?

Even if you explain to him constantly that you love him dearly, and wouldn’t leave him for anyone else, he still gets somewhat possessive. Eventually putting the “but why does (Y/N) still love me,,” aside, he just wants others to keep their hands off you :((

It’s no fault of yours, and he acknowledges that! But it’s the fault of others getting so close to you >:((

Though they can’t see him, when people go up to you, talking joyfully- he’s standing there, arms wrapped around you, head on your shoulder as he glares daggers into their souls.

BRO IF SOMEONE FLIRTS WITH YOU OR TOUCHES YOU??

You’ve never seen him super angry, much less murderous. He doesn’t want you to see him that angry normally- but holy moley is he about ready to beat someone.

Yet, he’s still just a ghost- plus if he did something Teru would exorcise him, booooo. So, he settles for continuing to glare, standing between the two of you, hitting their arm if it’s resting on your shoulder. Once again, they’re completely unaware of it, but you aren’t!

“Hanako, you know I won’t leave you for them. They’re a classmate, I barely know them, really.”

“But they want to know you. And I don’t want them to know you… they’re gonna try and take you from me, (Y/N)!”

“I won’t let them take me, you big dummy. So, if you could please let go of me so I can get back to class?”

“No :((“

Not only does he cling to you, of course- though he hugs you bunches and squishes your face just because you’re cute- you can also expect a lot of kisses. Ranging from quick “hey, I’m here, and please don’t choose someone else over me”, “hey, my kisses are better than theirs!! Here’s proof!”, “you’re my girlfriend, not theirs, and if they keep treating you like you aren’t taking I’m going to stabby stabby (but I can’t stab cos Teru’s here, but I would if it wasn’t upsetting)”, etc, etc. It’s… almost strange how easy it is to understand what he means from the way he kisses you- but, I digress!

Overall, he gets jealous fairly easily, and gets very clingy when jealous. He’s not amazing with words, so he wants to show you that he loves you with actions!! However, those actions, more often than not, end up just being… clinging to you, and glaring at people who try to get too close to you.

(RIP Akane, Kou, and Nene for bearing witness to you walking around the school with a visibly angry Hanako. Though the worst the others get is the feeling that someone is staring at them, they get to witness his jealousy from off to the side.)

Kou Minamoto <3

He’s nearly completely opposite from Hanako, actually! He doesn’t get jealous very often, trusting you to actually tell him if something were wrong in the relationship. And, when he does get jealous, he does his best to not show it.

He’s not fond of being jealous. It makes him feel like he’s betraying you…? Like him being jealous is the same as him saying that he doesn’t trust you. But, similarly to Hanako, he trusts you. He just doesn’t trust others quite as much. Not with his very cute and very pretty and very sweet girlfriend :((

While it takes a lot to get him jealous, two things that really can make his temper cut short are (similarly to Hanako) when someone outright flirts or touches you. Especially if they touch you and the two of you aren’t at least friends-

If someone flirts, he’s going to casually slip into the conversation, if he wasn’t there already. A quick “hey, (Y/N)! Wait, sorry, I didn’t realize you were talking-“, then he’ll stand next to you, grabbing your hand lightly. One thing about Kou is, he does his best to be gentle all the time! Even when he’s jealous, he’d never ever hurt you intentionally-!!

If someone’s touching you, he’ll hop into the conversation as he does when someone flirts, adding a “I need your help with something, when you can.” This time, or any time really, if you’re uncomfortable you can use it as an excuse to get away!! Kou’s got your back!!!

If it’s been a day where people just constantly seem to be needing your attention, he’ll start to let his jealousy get to him a bit. It’s not even that some people like your attention- heck, he gets it! He likes having your attention as well. It’s more that… they constantly need your attention. Someone always needing something, even when he just wanted to have a conversation with you :((

In that case, he’ll be slightly clingy, and slightly pouty. Almost like a young child. His lips will be pouted slightly, eyes looking a bit lower to the ground than usual. His hand will be secured in yours, and your shoulder will be lightly pressed against his.

“Kouuu, tell me what’s wrong~,” You spoke, poking his cheek with your index finger. When he was like this, it was easy to tell he was embarrassed about whatever he was pouting over, and not upset over something too serious. It was the perfect time to mess with him.

His face would flush as it usually did- and he’d look away, pouting a bit harder as his eyebrows furrowed slightly. “It’s nothing, (Y/N), really.”

“You’re pouting. Come on, now, you really can tell me. I promise I won’t think of you any less!”

“…it’s just… well- well, seeing all those people around you all day, and I couldn’t really… even get to talk to you. You even had to leave early during lunch-! I’m not angry or anything- it’s dumb, it’s dumb, really-“

“Awwwwh, Kou! Don’t be jealous, sweetheart! It’s not dumb, I actually find it sweet. You know I’d choose you over any of those people. I’d much rather spend time with you than them, but it’s not exactly easy to say no… but, if it makes you feel bad, I’ll make sure they know that, at least, lunch is off-limits.”

“Y-you don’t have to, but… that’s up to you.” (AKA “I want you to, but I don’t want you to feel obligated to do something just for my sake.”)

Overall! Kou’s going to be a sweetheart, even when (not very often) jealous. He doesn’t want you to think he’s silly or not trusting of you when he does get jealous- so he does his best to hide it? Still, he fails, since he can’t help but want to be at least a little closer to you!! Plus the way he pouts- he’s easily read in most situations, and that type is no different.

Mitsuba Sousuke <3

Ahh, where to begin… I suppose the same way I’ve been beginning the other two-

Mitsuba is… a complicated jealous boy? He gets jealous rather easily- and… doesn’t admit it, but makes it painfully obvious. He thinks he isn’t being obvious, but it’s practically plain as daylight.

As he does all things, he masks his jealousy in insults at first! Making his way into whatever conversation or interaction your having, offering an ‘uninterested’ “what’re you doing?” After that, he criticizes every little thing the other person does- his levels of mercy depending on how much the person deserves it.

A quick question? Minimum amount of insults. Maybe one, two if they drag it out.

Just having a normal conversation? More than a short question, but not an excessive amount. If they drag it out too long, the insults go up.

Flirting? Lays the insults on THICK. Plus, after a moment, an annoyed and rather cocky sounding: “why haven’t you gotten lost already? Can’t you see I’m (Y/N)’s boyfriend? You idiot. Moron. Pervert. Who talks to a taken girl like that??”

Touches you? Doesn’t even happen. They reach for you, and he’s smacking their hand away. “Idiot. What right do you have to touch my girlfriend?? That’s invasive. Gross. You’re so weird, trying to put your sticky little hands on her.”

But! If it’s a situation he can’t interfere with, be it because he’s dead and the other person’s alive, or in which the people needing your attention goes on for too long- he enters Sulky Mitsuba Mode.

Don’t get me wrong, Sulky Mitsuba is still full of insults, just… sad. In those times, as a ghost, he can’t help but wonder if you’re content in the relationship. Look at you… popular with other students- other students who could leave the school, buy you things, and such. He was a cute ghost, but he was a ghost. He wasn’t even really Mitsuba- he wasn’t the classmate you once knew. How hard was it for you? Yet, you gave it your best to get to know him again-

Luckily, Mitsuba has the ability to tell himself “if (Y/N) did that much for me, she must at least care.” However, it won’t get rid of all his doubts- and he’ll still sulk once you finally catch up with him.

“Hey, Mitsuba! Sorry, I’ve been busy!”

“Mh? Have you? I’ve barely even noticed you were gone.”

Terrible acting skills, Mitsuba. He looks annoyed, his voice sounds uninterested, but… it’s still somehow easy to see through his little act. He’s jealous, and you’re bound to be aware of it.

Take a seat next to him, and he’ll scoot away. Be patient- when he’s jealous, it’s like approaching a stray cat. No sudden movements or you’ll scare him away!

“I’m sorry, Mitsuba. I know I’ve been caught up today, and I’m really sad that I haven’t seen you much until now. Did you have anything you wanted to do? I’m all yours now!”

“Tch, whatever. I don’t have anything I want to do, so just leave it be.”

Ah… do I even have to mention that he’s stubborn. Apologize a bit, he’ll dismissively forgive you, and go from there. Lighthearted conversation, asking him about his day, talking about yours- slowly move closer to him, and! Next thing you know, his heads on your shoulder as he rants about something that happened.

Overall, Mitsuba does get jealous rather easily! He’s stubborn as always, partnered with his insults constantly ready to be fired- it’s interesting when he gets jealous. He never outright admits that he trusts you, and doesn’t consider much more than “I’m feeling a bit jealous since this person keeps taking (Y/N)’s attention, but he’d never put the blame on you. Just… like I said, be patient, and don’t get too offended.

[uomo-accattivante]

Excellent article about bringing a re-make of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage to fruition, and the twenty-year friendship that Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain share:

There were days on the shoot for “Scenes From a Marriage,” a five-episode limited series that premieres Sept. 12 on HBO, when Oscar Isaac resented the crew.

The problem wasn’t the crew members themselves, he told me on a video call in March. But the work required of him and his co-star, Jessica Chastain, was so unsparingly intimate — “And difficult!” Chastain added from a neighboring Zoom window — that every time a camera operator or a makeup artist appeared, it felt like an intrusion.

On his other projects, Isaac had felt comfortably distant from the characters and their circumstances — interplanetary intrigue, rogue A.I. But “Scenes” surveys monogamy and parenthood, familiar territory. Sometimes Isaac would film a bedtime scene with his onscreen child (Lily Jane) and then go home and tuck his own child into the same model of bed as the one used onset, accessorized with the same bunny lamp, and not know exactly where art ended and life began.

“It was just a lot,” he said.

Chastain agreed, though she put it more strongly. “I mean, I cried every day for four months,” she said.

Isaac, 42, and Chastain, 44, have known each other since their days at the Juilliard School. And they have channeled two decades of friendship, admiration and a shared and obsessional devotion to craft into what Michael Ellenberg, one of the series’s executive producers, called “five hours of naked, raw performance.” (That nudity is metaphorical, mostly.)

“For me it definitely felt incredibly personal,” Chastain said on the call in the spring, about a month after filming had ended. “That’s why I don’t know if I have another one like this in me. Yeah, I can’t decide that. I can’t even talk about it without. …” She turned away from the screen. (It was one of several times during the call that I felt as if I were intruding, too.)

The original “Scenes From a Marriage,” created by Ingmar Bergman, debuted on Swedish television in 1973. Bergman’s first television series, its six episodes trace the dissolution of a middle-class marriage. Starring Liv Ullmann, Bergman’s ex, it drew on his own past relationships, though not always directly.

“When it comes to Bergman, the relationship between autobiography and fiction is extremely complicated,” said Jan Holmberg, the chief executive of the Ingmar Bergman Foundation.

A sensation in Sweden, it was seen by most of the adult population. And yes, sure, correlation does not imply causation, but after its debut, Swedish divorce were rumored to have doubled. Holmberg remembers watching a rerun as a 10-year-old.

“It was a rude awakening to adult life,” he said.

The writer and director Hagai Levi saw it as a teenager, on Israeli public television, during a stint on a kibbutz. “I was shocked,” he said. The series taught him that a television series could be radical, that it could be art. When he created “BeTipul,” the Israeli precursor to “In Treatment,” he used “Scenes” as proof of the concept “that two people can talk for an hour and it can work,” Levi said. (Strangely, “Scenes” also inspired the prime-time soap “Dallas.”)

So when Daniel Bergman, Ingmar Bergman’s youngest son, approached Levi about a remake, he was immediately interested.

But the project languished, in part because loving a show isn’t reason enough to adapt it. Divorce is common now — in Sweden, and elsewhere — and the relationship politics of the original series, in which the male character deserts his wife and young children for an academic post, haven’t aged particularly well.

Then about two years ago, Levi had a revelation. He would swap the gender roles. A woman who leaves her marriage and child in pursuit of freedom (with a very hot Israeli entrepreneur in place of a visiting professorship) might still provoke conversation and interest.

So the Marianne and Johan of the original became Mira and Jonathan, with a Boston suburb (re-created in a warehouse just north of New York City), stepping in for the Stockholm of the original. Jonathan remains an academic though Mira, a lawyer in the original, is now a businesswoman who out-earns him.

Casting began in early 2020. After Isaac met with Levi, he wrote to Chastain to tell her about the project. She wasn’t available. The producers cast Michelle Williams. But the pandemic reshuffled everyone’s schedules. When production was ready to resume, Williams was no longer free. Chastain was. “That was for me the most amazing miracle,” Levi said.

Isaac and Chastain met in the early 2000s at Juilliard. He was in his first year; she, in her third. He first saw her in a scene from a classical tragedy, slapping men in the face as Helen of Troy. He was friendly with her then-boyfriend, and they soon became friends themselves, bonding through the shared trauma of an acting curriculum designed to break its students down and then build them back up again. Isaac remembered her as “a real force of nature and solid, completely solid, with an incredible amount of integrity,” he said.

In the next window, Chastain blushed. “He was super talented,” she said. “But talented in a way that wasn’t expected, that’s challenging and pushing against constructs and ideas.” She introduced him to her manager, and they celebrated each other’s early successes and went to each other’s premieres. (A few of those photos are used in “Scenes From a Marriage” as set dressing.)

In 2013, Chastain was cast in J.C. Chandor’s “A Most Violent Year,”opposite Javier Bardem. When Bardem dropped out, Chastain campaigned for Isaac to have the role. Weeks before shooting, they began to meet, fleshing out the back story of their characters — a husband and wife trying to corner the heating oil market in 1981 New York — the details of the marriage, business, life.

It was their first time working together, and each felt a bond that went deeper than a parallel education and approach. “Something connects us that’s stronger than any ideas of character or story or any of that,” Isaac said. “There’s something else that’s more about like, a shared existence.”

Chandor noticed how they would support each other on set, and challenge each other, too, giving each other the freedom to take the characters’ relationship to dark and dangerous places. “They have this innate trust with each other,” Chandor said.

That trust eliminated the need for actorly tricks or shortcuts, in part because they know each other’s tricks too well. Their motto, Isaac said, was, “Let’s figure this [expletive] out together and see what’s the most honest thing we can do.”

Moni Yakim, Juilliard’s celebrated movement instructor, has followed their careers closely and he noted what he called the “magnetism and spiritual connection” that they suggested onscreen in the film.

“It’s a kind of chemistry,” Yakim said. “They can read each other’s mind and you as an audience, you can sense it.”

Telepathy takes work. When they knew that shooting “Scenes From a Marriage” could begin, Chastain bought a copy of “All About Us,” a guided journal for couples, and filled in her sections in character as Mira. Isaac brought it home and showed it to his wife, the filmmaker Elvira Lind.

“She was like, ‘You finally found your match,’” Isaac recalled. “’Someone that is as big of a nerd as you are.’”

The actors rehearsed, with Levi and on their own, talking their way through each long scene, helping each other through the anguished parts. When production had to halt for two weeks, they rehearsed then, too.

Watching these actors work reminded Amy Herzog, a writer and executive producer on the series, of race horses in full gallop. “These are two people who have so much training and skill,” she said. “Because it’s an athletic feat, what they were being asked to do.”

But training and skill and the “All About Us” book hadn’t really prepared them for the emotional impact of actually shooting “Scenes From a Marriage.” Both actors normally compartmentalize when they work, putting up psychic partitions between their roles and themselves. But this time, the partitions weren’t up to code.

“I knew I was in trouble the very first week,” Chastain said.

She couldn’t hide how the scripts affected her, especially from someone who knows her as well as Isaac does. “I just felt so exposed,” she said. “This to me, more than anything I’ve ever worked on, was definitely the most open I’ve ever been.”

“It felt so dangerous,” she said.

I visited the set in February (after multiple Covid-19 tests and health screenings) during a final day of filming. It was the quietest set I had ever seen: The atmosphere was subdued, reverent almost, a crew and a studio space stripped down to only what two actors would need to do the most passionate and demanding work of their careers.

Isaac didn’t know if he would watch the completed series. “It really is the first time ever, where I’ve done something where I’m totally fine never seeing this thing,” he said. “Because I’ve really lived through it. And in some ways I don’t want whatever they decide to put together to change my experience of it, which was just so intense.”

The cameras captured that intensity. Though Chastain isn’t Mira and Isaac isn’t Jonathan, each drew on personal experience — their parents’ marriages, past relationships — in ways they never had. Sometimes work on the show felt like acting, and sometimes the work wasn’t even conscious. There’s a scene in the harrowing fourth episode in which they both lie crumpled on the floor, an identical stress vein bulging in each forehead.

“It’s my go-to move, the throbbing forehead vein,” Isaac said on a follow-up video call last month. Chastain riffed on the joke: “That was our third year at Juilliard, the throb.”

By then, it had been five months since the shoot wrapped. Life had returned to something like normal. Jokes were possible again. Both of them seemed looser, more relaxed. (Isaac had already poured himself one tequila shot and was ready for another.) No one cried.

Chastain had watched the show with her husband. And Isaac, despite his initial reluctance, had watched it, too. It didn’t seem to have changed his experience.

“I’ve never done anything like it,” he said. “And I can’t imagine doing anything like it again.”

###

[aeoki]

Atlantis - Divine Bridge: Chapter 4

Location: Seisou Hall Theatre Room Characters: Touri, Yuzuru, Eichi & Wataru Season: Winter

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< A few days later. Seisou Hall - Theatre Room >

Eichi: Ahahaha ☆

You’re the best, Touri! After all, you were serious about it! Ahahahahahaha ♪

Wataru: Indeed! I think I must have underestimated you, Himegimi!

You’re a comedic genius – the god of comedy who has alighted from the skies! I can only say how Amazing!

Touri: It’s not that funny…

Eichi: If we didn’t laugh, then it would mean we’d have to scold you quite harshly, though? Would you prefer that instead?

Touri: No… Uuu~ See? This is why I didn’t want you to find out about this.

Yuzuru: Hehe. The official voting day for the student council election is nearing and there is only a month left until the end of the election period…

The Young Master has realised this is not the time to be embarrassed, so he has decided to ask you two for advice as well as to tell you two about the current state of the election.

Eichi: Thank you for explaining. But if I were to complain about one thing, I wished you had talked to us about it much earlier.

Wealth and authority are still “power”. I have more than enough of it, but I’m no magician.

I don’t have the ability to change reality just by praying like one would for a dream. I wished you had asked me for something I’m capable of doing.

Touri: I–I don’t mean to bother you, Eichi-sama. You must be busy with “Project-ATLANTIS”, right?

But it looks like I’m just gonna lose at this rate, so I wanted to ask you to give me some advice after calmly assessing the situation from an outsider’s point of view.

You’re a pro when it comes to politics, so I wanted the opinion of a professional.

Eichi: My main job isn’t being a politician. I’m simply a big fish in a small pond, who gloats about how knowledgeable he is, in comparison to the ordinary person.

I’m no match for the real thing.

Wataru: You’re far too humble. You waged a fierce battle with a sly old big-shot from the financial world today, didn’t you?

Eichi: It’s my main job to interact with rich individuals from the financial world… No, it’s what I’m fated to do, so I’m used to it.

Touri: You seem really busy… I feel bad getting you involved in my affairs.

It’s fine to just give me your frank opinion. Even that will be super helpful.

I feel like I can keep going forever just knowing that you’re watching me.

Eichi: Are you sure you want my frank opinion? I might hurt you and make you cry again.

Touri: Y–Yup. It’s okay. I’ll be fine no matter what you say to me.

Eichi: Is that so? Then I’ll say this: You messed up from the very beginning.

Touri: I know that…

The student council president candidates must give speeches in front of the entire school body to show they have been accepted by the board of elections.

Eichi: Is that the same for Sengoku-kun? He didn’t apply to be a student council president candidate himself, but was recommended for the position instead, wasn’t he?

Touri: Oh, I think it’s optional if you were recommended.

I’ve never seen Shinobu give a speech. The former members of “RYUUSEITAI” are advertising him left at right instead, though.

They said stuff like, “Please vote for our hero, Shinobu Sengoku!”

Wataru: Hehehe, judging by his personality, I have a feeling that ninja wouldn’t like that at all!

Touri: Yeah… but he’s also kind-hearted, so it looks like he can’t get angry at them and tell them not to do stuff like that.

It seems “RYUUSEITAI” temporarily disbanded because of complicated reasons and then they went back to the old unit of five…

Shinobu feels guilty about that stuff and it seems he can’t stop what the former “RYUUSEITAI” members are doing because of that.

He must think he doesn’t have the right to interfere with it.

Eichi: It looks like the people around Shinobu-kun are just doing whatever they please. The wild enthusiasm does seem a little strange, though…

Touri: Yeah, I think so too. Shinobu isn’t someone who can plot stuff.

He’s getting so many votes because he’s an excellent idol worthy of the position. Hmph.

Yuzuru: If only you could say that to him directly.

Touri: No way… You’re telling me to act like we’re friends even though we’re competing with each other? We’re not that close.

I would’ve cheered my opponent on if it was Hajime but I don’t know about Shinobu…

He’s a newcomer who nonchalantly joined the Student Council, AKA my territory, afterwards.

Losing to a newbie? My pride won’t allow it. I can’t be mature about this, either – just looking at him makes me angry since it makes me feel pathetic and gets me frustrated.

Eichi: Hehe. It seems you’ve made a nice rival in the place you’ve least expected to.

I think it’s a good thing. Having a longtime enemy makes boys stronger.

Touri: Come to think of it, Eichi-sama, there’s this Hashidate person who’s in the lead in the student council president election but…

Eichi: Let’s talk about that afterwards. There’s something I want to tell you as well, but this “Hashidate-chan” will be related to what I’m about to tell you.

Touri: “Hashidate-chan”? Don’t tell me…

Eichi: Yeah. Anyway, let’s point out all the faults with what you’ve done this time, Touri.

Wataru: Right. Let’s start by carefully watching Himegimi’s hilarious speech…

Touri: D–Don’t raise the bar! It’s not that funny, okay!

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[azenkii]

A Long List of Trash Fire Lord Zuko Headcanons

...that i couldn't get out of my head:

(warning: SUPER LONG POST i havent figured out how to trim posts yet)

he's the one who unchains azula despite iroh's protests. she doesn't even try to fight him, just cries into his shoulder and keeps mumbling about how father's going to be so disappointed in her. he takes her to her rooms and has her drink a sleeping draught, then stations the best guards he has left outside her chambers.

his first council meeting takes place literally a day after sozin's comet. he hobbles into the council chamber shirtless with his entire torso covered in bandages and every council member just looks at him like '...what'

he does NOT sleep for like,,a week after sozin's comet and then another two weeks after his coronation. katara, aang and suki try to persuade him to sleep and he doesn't listen. eventually sokka, toph and mai team up to literally drag his ass to bed and tell him he's not allowed to get up until he sleeps (does mai pin him to the bed with her knives? yes. is it kinky or sexual in any way? definitely not.)

he drinks So. Much. Tea. at this point it's practically tasteless to him but he drinks it anyway because he just needs something to do and tea is something familiar. he keeps iroh on his toes because he's constantly asking for new tea blends, uncle, i think i actually tasted the last one,

he flat-out refuses to grow his hair for at least a year after ozai's defeat. the second it starts getting close to his chin he shears it off himself, with his knife, and his stylist has a heart attack every single time

when he's tired he'll occasionally jump up when one of his guards moves. it stops after a bit, but for the first month and a half or so he's really twitchy. when sokka asks, the only explanation he can come up with is that he's not used to having people stand behind him silently and not want to kill him, much less want to protect him (sokka immediately takes him out for a shopping trip and makes a point of walking behind him the entire time, but only on zuko's right side, where he can clearly see it if sokka moves towards him)

when the healer declares azula mentally unstable and in need of an institution, he shuts himself in his office for the rest of the night. no one's allowed in, not even iroh. he finally emerges in the morning, eyes red from crying and sleep deprivation, and tells the librarian that he'd like a list of the best mental institutions in the country, please, the best in the world if you can get them

he loves theatre (is this even a headcanon?). unfortunately it practically died out in the fire nation along with the rest of the creative arts, leaving nothing but small troupes like the ember island players. one of zuko's personal goals (meaning things he wants to accomplish that aren't as important as restoring his country) is to bring back theatre; he finally manages to do it after about eight months or so of being fire lord, along with other arts like dancing, music and sculpture

he establishes a national day of mourning, on the first day of autumn every year, to commemorate the genocide of the air nomads. from 100AG onwards, every calendar printed in the fire nation has it marked. at first it was called the day of repentance, but aang persuaded him to have it changed (by arguing that he didn't want guilt to be a literal staple of fire nation culture)

he introduces literally So Many educational reforms, plus a mandatory class that teaches students about the cultures of the other nations (air nomads included) and how some of their traditions overlap

he turns down the offer of having a statue put up of him in the capital. toph ignores him and does it anyway.

he visits azula regularly, makes sure she's (relatively) comfortable and well-fed, and sometimes just sits down outside her door and tells her about everything that's going on right now ('some of the far colonies have developed their own standardised writing, azula, you wouldn't believe it, and i've asked the fire sages to come visit more often—but you never liked them, did you? oh, well; i'll make sure none of them go into your chambers by mistake')

(he doesn't know it, but when he does this azula sits by the door and listens. she wonders what kind of writing the colonists have developed, and whether or not the fire sages have taken on some new recruits.)

he hates being above anyone else. never sits in the throne if he can help it, nor does he sit on the dais in the council room. when he talks to people shorter than him, he finds himself stooping a little bit to talk to them on their level (the exception to this rule is sokka, who he mocks for being shorter all the way up until sokka grows taller than him, the bastard)

the first time he visits the earth kingdom, the earth king's ministers call a toast. he ends up being the only one who has to sit out, because he's too young to drink by earth kingdom law

once his servants figure out he won't kill them for talking to him, they start becoming a lot more bold, telling him off when he doesn't take care of himself. at one point, they force him to let them take care of him so much that he literally just bolts into the gardens and hides there until the staff rope in mai and ty lee

when he needs to escape, he does one of two things: (a) he dresses up as the blue spirit and does some parkour until he calms down, or (b) he goes to work at the jasmine dragon. (b) happens less often bc the jasmine dragon's in ba sing se, but there's been a few memorable incidents when an earth kingdom diplomat walks in and yells, 'LEE?!' when they see the fire lord

the first court artist who draws him also happens to be the one who drew azulon and ozai. he draws zuko without his scar. zuko takes one look at it and tells him, very calmly, that he'd like him to leave, please.

zuko burns the portrait. he doesn't fire the court artist, but he never calls on him again unless he has to. a second court artist is called, and can't help but be a bit confused when the fire lord tells him to be sure to include the scar

he forgets the crown. a lot. sometimes he walks into council meetings in his sleepwear with his hair tied up in a messy ponytail and a bunch of scrolls tucked under his arm. none of his councilmen have the guts (or the heart) to tell him that this is not, in fact, formal council wear

he goes to feed the turtleducks when he's stressed. he thinks he's being subtle. he's not. the entire palace knows, and they consciously give him space when they see him in the turtleduck garden

most of his staff are older than him, so they look at him and see this teeny tiny fire lord who is So Small and who Must Be Protected. the day after zuko's coronation, the head chef holds a meeting where they commence Operation Do-Not-Let-That-Boy-Turn-Out-Like-His-Father (subsection He's-The-Only-Good-Thing-We-Have)

one night he wakes up to find suki sitting in his room, decked out in full kyoshi warrior garb and makeup, and just about screams blue murder. suki tells him there are suspicions of an assassin in the palace, and would you please stop yelling it's very distracting, we won't be able to hear anyone coming over that racket

zuko gets very, very paranoid of random spirits after that. yeah, suki looks like a possibly malevolent spirit when she's wearing her makeup, what about it? (when he tells sokka he's highkey terrified of spirit shenanigans, sokka just looks at him and says, 'man, the stories i could tell...', and THAT'S when zuko remembers sokka spent like six months more than he did travelling with the avatar)

on his first visit to the southern water tribe, he removes his boots and leg guards, rolls up his pants and kneels barefoot in the snow. even though chief hakoda immediately starts trying to pull him up, he's stubborn as hell and stays kneeling for the entirety of his very long, very sincere apology-on-behalf-of-the-fire-nation speech. he nearly loses his toes to frostbite after that, and both sokka and katara never stop giving him shit for it

the first time he grows a 'beard' is completely accidental. he's stressed over some trade miscommunications with chief hakoda, hasn't slept in a few days...and then when sokka arrives as water tribe ambassador to help smooth things over, he takes one look at zuko and says 'man, facial hair does not suit you'

zuko: facial what now

he checks a mirror to find that he's got stubble covering his chin, dark enough that it almost looks intentional, and holy gods how the fuck did he not notice this before

'UNCLE WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME' 'i assumed you were doing it on purpose' 'WHEN HAVE I EVER DONE ANYTHING ON PURPOSE'

he shaves it all off immediately, of course, which prompts a lot of teasing and rib-poking from sokka until zuko finally snaps that he's scared it'll make him look like his father. sokka stops after that.

(the day after sokka leaves, zuko finds that a mysterious someone has scribbled all over ozai's royal portrait, giving him a frankly ridiculous beard and moustache that literally CANNOT be grown in real life. oddly enough, he can't bring himself to care about the defamation of royal property. he's too busy laughing.)

his paths cross with toph and sokka more than any of the others, because sokka is ambassador and toph is technically still a beifong. most of the time, at formal functions, he ends up sequestered in the corner with toph and a hoard of snacks, and they talk and swear much more than they usually do (zuko's ministers once heard him when he was drunk with toph, and the servants swear the older ministers' ears started bleeding)

he restores fire nation cultural festivals, and in doing so subjects himself to learning a lot of complicated dances

during one memorable week, he wrote so many letters and drafted so much legislation that he ran out of paper. he had to go visit the nearest school and ask for some

he keeps up with his firebending and sword training even though it's hard to fit into his schedule. his ministers refrain from reminding him that he has guards to protect him now; it's still hard for zuko to trust his safety with anyone but himself (team avatar is the exception).

he started sleepwalking about two months into his reign. no one knew why. one time, he nearly sleepwalked right off the edge of a balcony, and one of his guards had to grab him by the back of his robes.

the sleepwalking stopped after around a month and never happened again. at this point it's practically palace legend.

after freeing the war prisoners, he went around collecting every single earthbender-proof wooden cell he could find in the capital and surrounding areas. when he'd gotten most of them, he gathered them into a huge pile in the city square and set fire to them with his own hands.

unfortunately he couldn't do that with the waterbender metal cells but he did get toph to come in and bend them all into pretty shapes (well, toph thought they were pretty shapes. everyone else thinks they're meaningless squiggles)

he learned how to write with both hands at the same time out of sheer necessity (he refused scribes until it became clear that he'd be putting some people out of a job; that was when he started letting scribes write very, very minor things, but all important documents/drafts/letters are still written by him)

he once put the wet end of an ink brush in his mouth instead of the wooden end by mistake. didn't even realise until he bit down to keep it in place and ink went oozing everywhere

when his guards rushed in to find him coughing and spluttering black liquid all over his desk they thought he'd been poisoned but no he's just stupid

on his 17th birthday, his first one after being crowned, he got tackled by team avatar in the middle of the ballroom and ended up at the bottom of a cuddlepile for like ten minutes

this cuddlepile happened at an event that was very much public and very much formal. it was a scandal for weeks

just. fire lord zuko, guys. so much potential