#I know Nick is canonically bi but he still fits in

[melchron]

Nightmare Time Episode 3 Thoughts

I usually save this for the end of my thoughts but I have to say this now. OMG MATT DAHAN!!! I WILL NEVER NOT BE IMPRESSED BY HIM! Usually with the episodes I catch 1 or 2 motifs but I swear I caught everyone this time. And they all fit so well. My attention was evenly split between the music and the story this time. It was so freaking good. Matt deserves all the awards like omg.

I think this is the least laggy the theme has been. Good job going all out for the last one!

I said to my mom "Did Shashona record this video?" and she did!! Great cinematography Shashona!!

I also pointed out the Tim's daddy mask. I said "Aww he's wearing a mask for his son!". I guess my mom got confused and forgot Tim's name because she thought I was talking about Dylan's (nonexistent) son.

THE DRILL PRESSES!!

LEX AND ETHAN

I kind of already knew this but I love that Ethan knows cars. I just likes that he has a hobby.

Lex cares about Tom so much I love it.

WHY DID JANE TRY TO KILL ETHAN?!?!?!? TOM DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO HIM!!!! DID SHE HAVE SOME PERSONAL REASONS LIKE WHY!?!??!

That Lexthan interaction was so cute. I love how he saw she was super sorry and scared and he just stopped being mad and comforted her. They are so cute I can't handle it!!

KENDALL!!! Ok so through out this whole thing I know everyone was excited for their favorite character to come back but I really just wanted to see Kendall again. I guess after BF I assumed we would never see her again because I couldn't see them working with children becoming a normal thing. But when the original cast announcement came out I got so happy to see her name. So I was super excited to see her.

Her covering her hair with a beanie looks better than the wig

UNCLE PAUL I'M SOFT I CAN'T HANDLE THIS!!!!!

Cineplex Teen is like Larry from tawog. I guess we should start calling him Obnoxious Teen then. Until we get a name.

I love that Tim immediately likes Becky. Wish I could say the same for my stepparents.

Santa Claus Is Going To High School bb. Also I want to hear the rest of that song. Also also how many wigs does Lauren own?

TONY GREEN

Why must they make love to this movie everytime? Can't we simply just watch it and make fun of like normal people? That way Tim can enjoy it too.

Good for Jane for making sure her son doesn't have to eat disgusting school lunch. She gets good mom points.

Aww Becky reassuring him he's not a Dummy

Becky is like really horny this episode. Honestly Tom's into so go ahead girl

JAIME IS JANE

OK OK OK SO Jane said they were driving home from her parents house. Which means they were still alive when Jane died. That was only a year and a half ago so the Perkins parents might have died more recently than we thought. It's like Spring of 2019 right? So Jane died around Fall 2017. I don't remember if this was said in the show (it probably was and I'm saying nothing new) but I think Black Friday takes place about a year after her death. Tgwdlm took place October 2018. They have to have died only a few months before then. How long had Emma been in Hatchetfield before tgwdlm? Maybe there is a possibility we can see a flashback of an interaction with her parents depending on how long it's been. Also that means Emma lost her whole family in the span of a few months omg. And Tim lost his mom and his grandparents in that time. I want to see how they grieved with all of that. Also I know I'm crossing universes here but Emma also almost died the same day Jane did. Some strange force must really have it out for the Perkins family. Good on Emma for surviving like a champ.

Ok so I thought they went scouting for girls because Jane didn't want the man she loved to have to devote the rest of his life to a car. I thought she was trying to help him move on. She was getting good lover points but those have since been redacted.

Jane is definitely bi and I love that for her. I don't care if she tried to kill her new crush. It was new enough for it to mean nothing.

GREENPEACE GIRL

Tom does look like a creep ngl

Jane reminds us she's a car a lot. Like girl we get it.

No. No. No. NO NO NO NO NO NO NOPE! We're not talking about it. I don't want to. I stared at James the whole and honestly same dude. I saw Nick in my peripheral vision and loved/hated that he was laughing. RIP to me watching this with my mom. RIP to Kendall. Actually rip to everyone who had to sit through that. RIP to Jaime and Dylan for having to perform that. RIP to the cursed rehearsals. Matt and Nick seriously took the time to sit down and write that. What the heck you two?!? This made me more uncomfy than the entirety of mamd and Ted's character combined. I wish I was exaggerating. Maybe this was just me but it felt longer than it needed to. The relief and worry I felt when Tim walked in is a feeling I can not explain. Glad he was clueless.

Tim sweetie I love you but SHUT UP

Jane is crazy and Jaime is doing such an amazing job at portraying that.

Yes Tom. Because grave digging is way crazier than possessed cars.

I asked my mom why the didn't just go grave digging for Jane's body but my mom said the body is probably all rotted and gross so that explains that.

Why didn't Becky just go inside? If she went far enough I doubt Jane would have been able to hit her even if she managed to break into the house. Also let's assume Becky's house had an upstairs. There, perfect safety.

Did Becky seriously die in the same woods as Stanley?

Ok so I thought the tree thing was a reference to little Irish girl Becky from the Black Friday sk10 stream. But now it seems like something more serious and bad happened so I'm curious.

DID JANE GET TOM ARRESTED?!?!? It seemed like she could drive herself at that point. Why not let him get out and get Becky yourself? Is this that self confidence thing Tom talked about?

Is she really about to have her son be obsessed with Ms. Becky for the rest of their lives or is she gonna tell him?

This next episode made me physically jump twice. I say literally a lot but I promise you I'm using it correctly when I say I literally jumped.

KENDALL'S SINGING

I saw the thing about the ukelele being a bday gift from the cast so this was super sweet

Ok personal time. My grandmother's name is Pamela and my mom decided to permanently cut ties with her a few months ago due to her abusive behavior. Me and my sibling are still allowed to talk to her whenever we please but we haven't seen her as much as we used to. I got kind of scared watching this with my mom because I was scared this would trigger something. She didn't say anything and I didn't want to bother her about if she was fine so I didn't say anything. Anyway this just kind of hit different for me.

JAIME'S RANGE OMG

"I want to be alone with my man." Ms what are you about to do to your Tv?

DON'T GIVE HER BEER

Duke seems chill. I like him.

LEX AND ETHAN GOT ARRESTED!?!?!? FOR SELLING HER PILLS!?!??! THAT SHE TOLD THEM TO SELL!?!?!? I HATE HER!!!

Does Ms. Foster have a type or is being male good enough?

Hannah's 14? I thought she was the same age as Tim. I could have sworn in the BF commentary track they said she was 9 or 10. Did my brain make that up?

How does Kim change her hair so quickly? She did this in episode 2 too? I could never. I am very impressed.

Curt and Kim talking over the phone while standing shoulder to shoulder was funnier than it should have been

Ms. Holloway is cool. YAY MOSTLY GOOD WITCHES

How does Ms. Holloway know? I need a backstory please!!

Ok so I saw Jon in his cape and thought he might be the with. But then I saw James in his cape I y'know stopped thinking that. Anyway I'm obsessed with Jon and James in capes. Kind of wish Corey had one too.

OH I JUST THOUGHT THIS AS I'M TYPING NOW ok so that tree she was talking to at the beginning was one of the tree people. I'm embarrassed it took me this long to realise it.

Hannah is way too calm about these talking trees and sometimes spider ladies. I respect that.

There was a lot of black and white theming in this episode. More than normal. It makes me more curious about what exactly Hannah's connection to it is.

Hannah almost died in her own mind. I was kinda hating Ms. Holloway in this moment because she forced Hannah to go into her mind. But I know she had to so I'm cool with her again.

THE STARLIGHT THEATER

Did she really say just don't be scared next time? Like miss some actual advice would help.

CAN MS. HOLLOWAY'S MIND LEAVE HANNAH ALONE?? Like I know you didn't get the reaction you wanted out of her but you're seriously gonna give up and go for a little girl instead. Pathetic.

"What's shakin', Banana?" That was the first time I jumped.

WIGGLY

What exactly is that 6-legged girl? I wish we had a visual. Also how couldn't Ms. Holloway help her? What was her issue? Npmd you got anything for me?

Wiley. Just seeing him come up. That was the second time I jumped.

Also everyone already said this but props to Joey for his commitment. Shaving in between episodes like omg sir you didn't have to go all out for this. But you did and I appreciate you for it. Also HE KEPT THE JACKET?? WHAT!??! Just fully committed to this character go off Joey!!

Usually I would laugh at stuff phasing through the green screen but this just made it creepier.

HOLLOWAY AND WILEY/WILBUR BACKSTORY PLEASE

But also I love how the script had him listed at Wilbur above his lines. I remember Nick called him Wilbur once in the commentary track (possibly by accident) but it's nice to have it in cannon. I don't remember I any of the characters called him Wilbur because I'm so used to seeing Wilbur and Wiley used interchangeably but this was just nice to have canonized.

DUKE PAY ATTENTION!! FREAKING USELESS RIGHT NOW!!!

Dang Wiley she was already being choked in the physical world you didn't have to choke her in her mind too calm down

YAY MORE DOLLS

NICK I WAS KIDDING ABOUT AN APOTHEOSIS DOLL

Is the mouth one (I see we've named him Nibbly. Good because his full name is too long to type out) gonna be the npmd villain? The pick color theme seems cool.

ANGELA'S TRANSITION THOUGH!!! Omg she switched roles seamlessly. And her voice too!! Go off Angela.

MARIAH IS WEBBY

This is random and unrelated but I never noticed how big Mariah's eyes were before.

So Webby and the Doll Gang are all siblings? I find it interesting that the were described to all where black. And Webby's color theme is white. Like how the good and bad ukeleles were white and black. This might sound really dumb see as we don't have a 100% accurate visual of the black and white but I wonder if Webby ever left would it be 100% black? Like if Wiggly went through the portal would it become a little less black? Does this make sense? Also I'm starting to see the black and white as less of a bad place. Its starting to see more ominously neutral.

Hannah's favorite show is He-Man no I do accept criticism.

Ms. Holloway is a nerd. She saw Hannah make the reference and was like "Huh. I f she likes He-Man maybe making this hat a reference will make her like me." She would only know if she watched the show. But then again she seems to be stuck in the 80s so maybe she just thinks that's what's popular with the kids.

MS. HOLLOWAY PLEASE GET LEX AND ETHAN BACK

AND ANOTHER GREAT SONG TO END IT OFF

This episode was......a lot. So much happened. Loved all of it. I am scared of Nick and Matt's minds but also incredibly grateful for them. As usual everyone's acting was top notch.

I love this episode.

Also I'm just gonna say it. Jon ruined Nick's season one reveal.

[thrillingdetectivetales]

2020 Creator Wrap

2020 Creator Wrap: Favorite Works

Okay, okay, I know I’m late with this but the incredibly sweet @irolltwenties and the utterly delightful @anthrobrat were both kind enough to me in this bad boy and it seems really fun, so here we are!

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

According to my AO3 statistics page, I wrote just over 100K of fiction this year, across 17 different fandoms, a few of which won’t actually go live until after the New Year because they’re part of a gifting collection that hasn’t been revealed yet... Anyway, I picked my faves for a variety of reasons, listed briefly after each link. If you have any questions about works I’ve shared (or just in general) feel free to ask!

1. Front Row at the Gongshow

The Pacific, 16K, Rated G  Andrew ‘Ack Ack’ Haldane/Edward ‘Hillbilly’ Jones

Aside from being the longest completed work I produced this year, this is also the first fic I’ve ever written using the “found document” format. While there are parts of it I feel really conflicted about, I’m still incredibly proud of it and think it’s one of the better fic I’ve written...possibly ever. Which is doubly funny because I don’t usually do modern AUs of period fiction, but the hockey angle was enough to tempt and lo, here we are, lol.

[Excerpt from Deadspin]

"You all remember Eddie Jones, right? The corn-fed captain of the New Orleans Rougarou so wholesome he belongs on a box of Malt-O-Meal? The gentleman bruiser who spends his free time playing country tunes for kids with cancer?

Our favorite dapper D-man led his team to 97 points last night in a shut-out victory against the Los Angeles Kings, clinching a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. Oh! And he also got caught on camera at the after-party, sucking face. WITH A DUDE."

2. Entremets

Hannibal, 8K, Rated E Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter

I have...so many Hannibal fic that I’ve started writing and haven’t finished because all my ideas lead to long plotty epics and also big name fandoms scare me. I did this one up for Eat, Drink, & Make Merry, and I’m really, really pleased with the way it turned out, considering it was my first foray into establishing new character voices and also a successful exercise in writing explicit content, which can be a bit of an Ordeal for me, so overall I’m incredibly happy with it. Plus! My deep and abiding love of writing characters cooking/eating/otherwise dealing with food finally paid off!

“The pâté was supposed to be more of a gesture,” Will explains, spreading a golden sliver of honeycomb out across a slice of sopressata with the blade of his pocket knife. “You don’t actually have to eat it. I’m not even sure if it’s any good.” He smears a healthy dollop of chȇvre across his meat-and-honey concoction and pops the whole thing into his mouth without ceremony.

“What better method exists by which to convey one’s appreciation of a gesture than to indulge it?”

3. An Ode to Matty Big-Time

The Good Place, 2K, Rated T Jason Mendoza/Original Male Characters, Pillboi

This one was actually a request made by my very dear @thesummoningdark, who wanted to see some bisexual Jason per that one fantastic Tumblr post about how everyone in TGP should be bi, and I’m really, really proud of the way it turned out. I love writing comedy and I very rarely get to lean into it as hard as I’d like, so delving into the whole wild craziness of Jacksonville, as explained in the show was really fun. I also love writing original characters, and this was a great excuse to indulge.

“We probably shouldn’t do any butt stuff,” Jason warns, with as much gravitas as he can muster. “I had two of Stupid Nick’s Disaster Buckets when I got here.”

“Yeah, your face is still kinda orange,” Mateo agrees fondly, bringing his other hand up to brush his thumb over Jason’s lower lip. It stirs a little frisson of heat in his belly that Jason is 68% sure isn’t just indigestion. “No chemical burns, though, so I think you came out on top.”

4. This and Who I Used to Be

The Tick (2017), 3K, Rated G Arthur Everest/Superian

Another new fandom I haven’t written in before, this was a fill for the Rare Male Slash Exchange that turned me on to a pairing I’d never even thought of before I wrote it and am now low-key obsessed with. It is also, to date, the ONLY Arthur/Superian fic on AO3 at all, which is a cool weird honor and fairly indicative of my life’s goal to eventually write my way into smaller and smaller fandoms until I come out the other side with original works. It was really fun to explore these characters, and to figure out some world-building for Superian’s backstory that fit within the tone and established canon of the extant Amazon!Tick universe. Also featuring an original character that nobody asked for but I’ve come to love unconditionally.

Arthur glances down to where Superian has one cheek pressed against his shoulder, humming something off-key and unintelligible with his eyes closed. Arthur sighs. “Let’s get you inside.”

He hauls Superian in until he can prop him against the wall while he shuts and locks the door behind him. When he looks back over, Superian is smiling at him, soft and lazy. He swings a finger in Arthur’s direction, a broad, sloppy motion, and announces, “I knew you’d say yes.”

“Technically I said fine,” Arthur rebuts. He gestures down the hallway toward the kitchen—which leads on to the bedroom, as Superian well knows—and sighs, “Come on. I don’t know what those handcuffs did to you, but you should probably lie down and have a glass of water or something.”

5. Rain in Its Season

Band of Brothers, 12K, Rated G Edward ‘Babe’ Heffron/John Julian

Oh boy. What to say about this one. It’s maybe not as polished as I might have preferred, but I feel that way about mostly everything I write and at the end of the day I do really love what I managed to do with this piece. Written for the Heavy Artillery Rare Pair Exchange, I managed to lean heavily into both my love for needlessly granular period research and original characters, which are abundant herein. Frankly, based on the very little we see of him in the show, Julian himself is practically an OC, but I digress. This was another of the longer pieces I’ve ever finished and I’m proud of it even if I’d’ve liked to write another 15K or so, time constraints notwithstanding.

“Tell me. Please. Why’re you here?”

Babe flinched, gaze dropping to the floor. His heart was a raw, swollen welt in his chest. He swallowed and licked his lips, slow and pained.

“Come on, Julian,” he rasped, low and quiet. “You know why.” He laughed, soft and hoarse, and shook his head, once. When he looked back up, Julian had taken a careful step into the center of the room. His eyes were very dark, his mouth very red, hope and fear warring in his every feature. Babe fisted his fingers in the cotton sheet underneath him, halfway to pleading as he insisted, “You gotta know.”

Julian sighed and came over to hover at the edge of the bed. Babe spread his legs to accommodate the intrusion.

“That was - ” Julian started. His voice failed midway through the protest, and he swallowed, took a breath, and regrouped at a lower volume. “You said that was just buddies, what we did over there. That it didn’t count. That you didn’t want it to.”

The TL;DR of this all being that while I didn’t write as much I wanted to this year in terms of volume, I feel like my quality has been improving consistently and hope it continues to do so into 2021 while I try to finish out some of my years-long WIPs and get into longer completed pieces.

I’m not sure who all to tag, so I’ll say @thesummoningdark, @blahblahblahclintnickiscanon, @thisbadge, @incognito-insomniac, and anyone else who’d like to join in and hasn’t been tagged yet! (If you’re the latter, feel free to @ me so I can see what you’ve written!)

Happy New Year everyone May the fanworks you create this year be prolific and soul-affirming!

[youngbounty]

I was bored, so I decided to post a meme. I saw someone do this same kind of meme before, but I have a different opinion on the Narumitsu ship. Nothing against thinking differently, but I wanted to share my take. I will explain my reasons for choosing these from top to bottom. But first, I want to make it clear why I placed Asexual for Miles Edgeworth's sexuality instead of gay or bi. He has shown time and time again that he feels no sexual attractions towards the female masses or even males. I also consider sexuality more hormone based. I'm not going to expect Edgeworth to be going home and fantasizing about naked men or a naked man, even if he's in love with him. Also, I believe that you can fall in love with someone that would not fit your sexual preference. It might make the marriage difficult to stay together, but not impossible. Also, just because someone is asexual, that doesn't mean they'll never feel affectionate once in a while. Anyways, now for the choices/preferences for these two:

 1. Miles Edgeworth is not one for pet names and never has been. Even despite his relationship with Phoenix, he's always called him "Wright" professionally. The closest he may get to giving Phoenix a pet name is maybe "Nick" behind closed doors. Even then, he'd have to be in a really good or affectionate mood.

Phoenix Wright is the king of pet names. He called his ex girlfriend "Dollie" and loved it when she called him "Feenie." He even has called Trucy "sweetheart." If he was to ever date Edgeworth, he'd be going for any pet name he can get away with. Not to say he'll call Edgeworth one that he won't like or do so at times that may embarrass him, except maybe in front of friends that will keep it quiet, but if he can get away with it, Phoenix will do it.

As far as when either one of them call each other pet names, Phoenix will likely only use them often in private or in front of friends to tease Edgeworth. He won't do it in public, since he knows Edgeworth gets embarrassed about doing PDA or any affectionate stuff in public. Edgeworth will definitely feel embarrassed and awkward at first, but once he gets used to the pet names, he will enjoy them. He may decide to be affection ant to Phoenix and call him "Nick." He's trying.

 2. Miles Edgeworth has so much self-loathing and low self-esteem that he will not feel worthy of Phoenix's love. This especially doesn't help that he is asexual and does not have any desire to see him naked or have sex with him. As someone who is asexual, I know that it is disheartening to have feelings for someone without any desire to go to bed or do perverted things. There will always be the fear you will never give your loved one the romantic pleasure they deserve and I cannot see Edgeworth not feeling this way. He certainly has proven to feel disheartened by the fact he has no experience with falling in love, finding that special someone he'd spend the rest of his life with or do the impossible to save that loved one, unless it was his dog. Sometimes people wait to be confessed to, because they feel unworthy of their crush's affections and this is how I see Edgeworth feeling about Phoenix.

Phoenix Wright is the kind of person to proclaim his love to the world. He did that with Dahlia/Iris by wearing the necklace given to him on the first meeting, refusing to take it off and showing it to his friends. The only excuse I've heard about why Phoenix couldn't fit Confess First is because it's been 10 years and he hasn't. My argument is that Narumitsu isn't canon or shall not be treated as such by me and, who is to say there aren't any obstacles in the way? During the first three years, Edgeworth was avoiding Phoenix, then taking off to study abroad. By the time he got back, he was busy with the Yatagaratsu Case and dealing with the P.I.C. Afterwards, Phoenix was disbarred and had an extra mouth to feed. By the time Trucy was older and Phoenix was back being a Defense Attorney, he was still busy working on a major case and dealing with stuff in Khura'in. Even then, who is to say Phoenix has never confessed already? Perhaps he has confessed, but Edgeworth either has never responded, rejected his advances or they just never got around to setting up their relationship. Either way, I don't consider ten years of nothing happening being a reason for Phoenix not being the first confessor or the kind that wouldn't scream to the heavens that he's in love.

Now, I don't consider this to have anything to do with their relationship as much as maybe starting it. I'd argue that neither have to confess before starting a relationship. They could just naturally start becoming boyfriends without a single confession or kiss. Either way, as far as confessions go, I see Phoenix being the first confessor. As to if their relationship goes anywhere, I suppose it would depend on their situation and if both parties would be willing.

 3. Miles Edgeworth would certainly not care which spoon he is. He's not the most affectionate person on the planet, so if he is affectionate, he will go for either or. It may depend on his emotional state or if he's out and about, though it would not really matter and the idea of a preference would feel rather silly to him.

Phoenix Wright also doesn't care which spoon he is so long as he gets to love on his significant other. Though, if he had to choose, he'd prefer being big spoon, because he just loves giving affection.

Since Edgeworth would most certainly get embarrassed in showing affection and PDA in public, spooning would only be done behind closed doors, unless they're married. If married, Edgeworth will allow arms around the waist around family and friends, but that's it. As far as who will be the big or little spoon the most, it's a switch. Even if being big spoon is Phoenix's preference, neither man really care which spoon they are. Phoenix will equally love being the little spoon as much as he loves being the big spoon. Besides, spooning isn't Phoenix's preferred way of being affectionate to Edgeworth and he will likely not remember if he was the big or little spoon that day or if they did spoon.

 4. Miles Edgeworth often does favors when it comes to wanting to show his feelings about someone. Whether it would be helping Phoenix get back into law or Kay solving the Yatagaratsu Case, for Edgeworth, doing favors takes more effort and shows how much you're willing to do for this other person out of love. Because of how rich Edgeworth is, just giving gifts isn't enough. Though, it isn't to say he won't give gifts occasionally. Edgeworth also knows that gifts can show sentimentality. He'd just probably give gifts to his lover, if he feels obligated to, such as the holidays, birthdays or anniversaries.

Phoenix Wright will always do favors above all else. Not to say he'll never receive gifts or thinks it'd be too shallow to give gifts. After all, Dahlia gave him a heart-shaped necklace and he accepted it wholeheartedly. Though, Phoenix returned that love by keeping that necklace and showing it to his friends. For Phoenix, actions speak louder than words. If he does give anything to anyone, it would often be against his will such as Maya getting burgers off his tab or allowing Edgeworth to borrow his badge and magatama to defend Iris, because he's too sick and bedridden to do it himself. So, if Edgeworth is about to walk in the rain without a raincoat or umbrella, then he will lend one to him, but giving isn't Phoenix's forte. He'd much rather do favors for people than give them anything he owns or buys, and that would include giving gifts to his lover.

Neither Phoenix or Edgeworth would give gifts to each other, outside of necessity or special occasions. If they do, it won't be anything special. Maybe just cards, money or flowers. I think the most special gift Phoenix would give Edgeworth is a toy for Pess and for Edgeworth to Phoenix, a gift card to Eldoon's. Edgeworth would much rather take Phoenix out on a romantic getaway and Phoenix would rather throw a party or cook for Edgeworth. Both would rather do favors out of gift-giving, so it works for the both of them.

 5. Miles Edgeworth is a big time introvert, so he will prefer not going out in public or anywhere for a date. He'd rather not go out on a date at all. He'd much rather just spend time with his lover through shopping, walking his dog or just hanging out at home and ordering take-out. I will go more into that introvertedness later, but to Edgeworth, going out on a romantic getaway or fancy date would be too stressful and tiring. It isn't to say he wouldn't be willing, but that wouldn't be what would make him romantically affectionate and bubbly, if that was possible. Even going to a private resort or hotel would be stressful.

Phoenix Wright absolutely LOVES romantic dates and getaways. The more romantic and extravagant it is, the happier and wooed he will be. He will likely dream about candlelit dates under the stars and kissing behind fireworks. Of course, he will enjoy hangouts too, but they will feel too much like something he does with his friends. He will get bored after a while.

As far as how Phoenix's and Edgeworth's dates would go, it would depend on who the planner is. If Edgeworth wants to spend time with Phoenix, he will take him out on a romantic date with candle lights, rose petals and the whole shebang, because he knows that's what Phoenix loves. Though, it will be a matter of planning the date. If Phoenix misses Edgeworth and wants to spend time with him, he will ask what he's doing and just go off and join him. Phoenix knows Edgeworth doesn't like going out anywhere and it's much easier on his budget if he just drops by at Edgeworth's office during lunch, take a walk with him while he's walking his dog, help him with his shopping or just spend the night. Even though hangout dates seem boring and too much like something he does with his friends, if it's with Edgeworth, it is never boring and they are already friends anyways. Knowing that Phoenix can always hang out with Edgeworth like when they were kids gives him comfort to know that nothing has to change between them just because they're romantically involved. Even Edgeworth would prefer being the one to set up any romantic date, so him and Phoenix get the best out of their relationship. Phoenix's best dates he'd give Edgeworth would be a place that reminds them of their childhood like an old treehouse or the park they went to after school. Edgeworth's best dates he'd give Phoenix would likely be a cruise or experiencing a new place Phoenix has never been to.

 6. Miles Edgeworth is a big time introvert, just as I said before. Most people tend to think of introverts as people that love being alone and, while there is truth to it, that isn't what being an introvert is. It means that they prefer to not socialize. For every introvert, the idea of socializing and talking with people stresses or tires them out. Not to say they wouldn't, but it will likely be with friends or if it's part of their work, if any socialization was to occur. For Edgeworth, he's only ever been social with his colleagues or friends. Even just talking to witnesses would add another layer of stress. It's likely why he's much more stressed and tired as Chief Prosecutor than High Prosecutor. Edgeworth doesn't want to talk with anyone. He just wants to shut himself from everyone and the world, so he can finally relax and concentrate. He will socialize or plan a social gathering, but only if he feels like he must.

Phoenix Wright is the opposite. I've heard people consider him an introverted, because he isn't very good with socialization and that's not accurate. He doesn't feel weak, stressed or tired from socializing. If anything, he enjoys spending time with people and his friends. The reason Phoenix became a Defense Attorney was to help other people he didn't know. Does that sound like an introvert to you? It doesn't to me. Introverts would rather shut themselves out from strangers. He's an extrovert, which would be someone that gathers strength from socializing and only become stressed and tired from being alone. The moment Phoenix is alone, he falls into pieces. When Maya left during Turnabout Goodbyes, Phoenix was so drained that he couldn't take any clients and had almost declined Ema's offer. When Phoenix was disbarred, he said that Trucy was the only sunshine in his life and, even then, he showed signs of Depression and turned to alcohol, if you read pass the comical censorship. It was only once Apollo started joining that Phoenix started getting some of that valor back. In fact, he is much stronger with Apollo, Trucy and Athena working under him. It's clear that Phoenix is a big time extrovert.

Introverts and extroverts ironically attract like magnets. Phoenix and Edgeworth would do well with one being an introvert and the other being an extrovert. Phoenix will be the one to encourage Edgeworth to spend time with him and their friends, while Edgeworth will allow Phoenix the space he needs when needed. Even extroverts need some time to themselves once in a while, just like introverts need a little socializing to not feel alone. Of course, if Edgeworth feels overwhelmed, Phoenix will give him his space and if Phoenix feels the overwhelming need for company, Edgeworth will provide it. Neither one of them will ever want the other to be hurt by being too lonely or overwhelmed by socialization. They will give each other the right amount of balance for alone and social times.

 7. Miles Edgeworth is not one to be affectionate by words. He won't even use pet names. He shows his love through action alone. This goes from returning Phoenix back into law, to taking Kay to Jammin' Ninja Conventions, to paying for Maya's bail when she was arrested for Contempt of Court, to helping Phoenix save Maya from De Killer, to helping out Blackquill, to helping Raymond Shields solve the IS-7 Case. It isn't to say he won't use words to express his feelings, but will only do so if they're the only things he has. He expresses Phoenix's actions and how they affect him in AAI 1 and 2, because Phoenix had affected him to the point where no action he did could express how grateful he is to Phoenix. When Edgeworth expresses love for someone through words, he means them 100%. Edgeworth knows words effect people greatly, so he chooses to use them when he needs to.

Phoenix Wright will go either or when it comes to showing affection through action or words. He had changed his career to save Edgeworth, so it's clear actions mean a lot to Phoenix. Though, words mean just as much. When he says he will protect Maya with his life, he means it from his mouth and actions. When he said he believed in Edgeworth and Larry, never including Maya in the group, he meant it with his whole heart. He trusts Maya, but he trusts his friends much greater. His actions prove it just as much. Speaking of words. Phoenix also said that he considered Kristoph a friend in Turnabout Trump and often dined with him. Kristoph's biggest mistake, in my opinion, was mistaking Phoenix's words and actions for lies. When it comes to the heart, Phoenix is not one to lie about his heart towards someone through action or words. It's not to say he's never lied before, but when it comes to love, it's always going to be truthful through his actions and words.

Affectionate actions will certainly be the core of Phoenix's and Edgeworth's romantic affections, but Phoenix will be the one to include affectionate words. Because it is Phoenix, Edgeworth knows that he means it. Phoenix is fine with Edgeworth not being affectionate with words, because his actions will always do the talking. It isn't to say Edgeworth will never tell Phoenix "I love you" or "you're beautiful," but will use those words sparingly. Like all the other times, Edgeworth will only use words to describe his feelings if there is no other way to show them through action. Words will be the ones that Edgeworth and Phoenix will cherish the most out of each other, because they are a rarity in their relationship.

 8. Miles Edgeworth is always serious and being in a relationship will be no different, especially since he's asexual. He doesn't want the relationship to end in failure. Once it starts, he wants it to grow and mature. He expects responsibility on both ends. Of course, experience will teach Edgeworth to not have too high of expectations, but there will be expectations. The longer Edgeworth stays in the relationship, the more mellow he will become, but will still expect himself and Phoenix to be responsible. This includes dating, keeping contact and getting married. Even saving his virginity for marriage may be part of the deal.

Phoenix Wright also wants a serious relationship, but wants to enjoy it too. He may even consider moving in with Edgeworth or starting a relationship right away without considering how this would affect Conflict of Interest. Phoenix thrives off of affection, but also knows that it comes with responsibility. If Larry Butz has taught Phoenix anything, it's that chasing after love without considering the consequences can lead to disaster. Phoenix also experienced getting his heart broken, because of his reckless actions. Phoenix will still want to enjoy his romantic relationship, but will know that with great love comes great responsibility.

Both Phoenix and Edgeworth will want a serious relationship, but Phoenix will be the one to encourage the fun that comes with it. Of course, Edgeworth will have too high of expectations for Phoenix in the relationship, at first, and that will annoy him greatly. It may even make Edgeworth jealous at how carefree Phoenix will act about their relationship, since he worries about it all the time. Though, after some time of Edgeworth mellowing down, he will enjoy Phoenix being carefree and enjoying their romantic times together. Edgeworth may even find himself enjoying it too and seeing that even enjoying their romantic times together is part of their responsibility of loving each other. The care-free vs serious part will be the rockiest part of their relationship, but not one that can't be worked out. This will just take some time and experience together.

 9. Miles Edgeworth would rather be affectionate when no one is looking. This is because he cares too much about what other people think of him and the fact he gets overwhelmed by people looking at him. It's part of his introverted nature. If he does get publicly affectionate, the most he will do is handholding and, once married, maybe a hug, a peck and a kiss on the hand. Even so, it's only because that was how far his former mentor, Manfred Von Karma, was towards his wife. Manfred Von Karma and his wife are the only examples of a married couple Edgeworth has had in his life. Even if his father was affectionate towards his mother, since they both passed away when he was young, he will barely remember their affectionate times. Of course, when alone, Edgeworth will be more open and affectionate and that will only increase as time passes.

Phoenix Wright is the king of public affection. He was very affectionate towards Dahlia/Iris when in public. To Phoenix, if he is to show his love to his lover, it will be out in public whether his lover likes it or not. Phoenix is an open book when it comes to his feelings. He's not one to hide, at least not all the time. It's not to say he isn't capable of keeping things behind closed doors. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Phoenix will certainly not talk about his sex life and he understands the idea of keeping things personal. Though, when it comes to showing how much he loves and cares about his lover, he will hug, kiss and say sweet nothings in front of the whole world. Of course, that won't keep his colleagues, especially Apollo, from shouting, "get a room!"

As far as affections go, most of them will be done in private and Phoenix will spend the first of the longest time without being allowed to be as close and affectionate as he wants. This is because Phoenix understands that Edgeworth is very self-conscious and believes that respecting your lover's space is more important than his own personal needs. Edgeworth will also know that Phoenix would much prefer using PDA to show his love. He will eventually allow a few displays of affection such as holding hands and maybe a kiss on his hand or cheek, but anything more than that will have to be saved for marriage. Even during marriage, he may allow a few more things to slip by such as lip or neck kissing (no hickeys or tongues touching), long hugs and spooning. Most of Edgeworth's limited affections were because of Von Karma's influence and, if Phoenix could change Edgeworth's thinking from his mentor's teachings, Phoenix can do the same for Edgeworth on romantic affections.

 10. Miles Edgeworth being a slow burn is obvious, but that is mostly because of his asexual nature. He feels no desire to be with anyone sexually, even his lover. He may eventually grow to want that, but not out of pleasure and even the sexual pleasure will only be to make his lover happy. At the same time, he did like and befriended Phoenix from the first time they met and, even though they had known each other for less than a year as children, Edgeworth still cared about him so strongly that he wanted to protect Phoenix from DL-6. Arguably, Edgeworth may've tried to save Phoenix in his own way when he was arrested for murder, thanks to Redd White. I can't say if it's love at first sight, but Edgeworth is capable of feeling love and care for someone within the span of a single moment such as with Phoenix and even Kay Faraday. Though, those moments are saved in small doses.

Phoenix Wright is definitely a love-at-first-sight type of guy, if his romance with Dahlia/Iris isn't proof of anything. He often will grow very close with people in the span of a moment to a day. Him and Kristoph were already hitting it off literally after he voted Phoenix innocent at the Bar Association. Phoenix and Apollo also hit it off pretty quickly, including with Trucy, Larry, Maya, Mia, Pearl, Athena and every client he's ever had. That being said, it isn't to say Phoenix won't start peddling back, if the ball isn't rolling. He's not stupid and he has been hurt, because of his quickness to trust and love someone. If Dahlia and Kristoph had taught Phoenix anything, it's that you don't always know someone in the span of a day or moment. He didn't even know Larry was the one that stole Edgeworth's lunch money during school, which became what started their friendship, for 15 years. So, even if Phoenix may feel love towards someone in the span of a moment, he also knows to not leave himself completely open. After all, it did take time for him to completely trust Maya and, even after knowing her for a full year, he said he trusted Larry and Miles without including Maya. So, for Phoenix, trust is more along the lines of something earned rather than given in a single moment or day.

Some people have theorized that Phoenix had fallen for Edgeworth first, while Edgeworth would've fallen for Phoenix after they reunited. For me, I believe their love for each other, platonic or romantically, were always on an equal spectrum. Phoenix was one of the few people in Miles' life that he grew to love and care for in a single moment. Even when Phoenix was angry at Edgeworth, he still trusted and cared about him. Unlike with Dahlia, that trust and love never left him. Even though Phoenix had claimed in Justice For All that Edgeworth was already dead, it was clear he was lying to himself. He was even shocked by the fact he trusted Edgeworth in Farewell my Turnabout, while Mia said, "yes, you do," like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The reason is because Edgeworth had already earned that trust. Even with Iris, you could argue that Phoenix's trust towards her was already earned too, because he knew that the Dahlia he was in a relationship with and the one in court couldn't have been the same person. Even if Edgeworth is more of a slow-burner and Phoenix is more of a love-at-first-sight guy, their love and trust will always remain the same on equal par from beginning to end.

 11. I think this speaks for itself and I don't need one separately for these two. Both use cheap flip-phones and prefer talking, calling or writing letters to each other. Neither Edgeworth or Phoenix are the most well versed in the latest smart phone the world has to offer. Even if they used a smartphone, it would only be for work purposes. If they did text, it would be short, simple and straight forward. Of course, it isn't to say Phoenix won't shorten the words of his texts, but that's only because his phone is so cheap and it would hurt his thumb to just press the same number three to four times to get his text. Edgeworth may be pickier with using the right words with the right spelling. Though, in truth, both would rather just not text at all and, if they do, it will be straight forward.

 12. Miles Edgeworth was the most difficult to decide if he was a lender or borrower of people's clothes. The only time he's ever given any piece of clothing is when Kay cried on his cravat and he gave it to her. With borrowing, the only time he borrowed anything from anyone was Phoenix's badge and magatama. Edgeworth is not a free lender or borrower. So, for this one, I had to think outside the box or turn my thinking around. Perhaps instead of looking at when he borrowed or lend someone's clothes, I should focus on what could be considered borrow or lending and what would keep him from doing so normally. One of the things I do notice about Edgeworth is that, while he doesn't borrow anyone's clothes, he does borrow their style or gestures. As a child, Edgeworth dressed very similar to his father with the gray suit and shorts with his red bow matching the color of his father's tie. When he first became a prosecutor, his uniform and gestures matched perfectly with his mentor, Manfred Von Karma. Even when he grew older five years later, his suit and gestures were closely based off his mentor's, including the theme song. After AAI2, as a Chief Prosecutor, he began adding some stylistic choices that resembled his father, such as the glasses and longer tail to his coat. Even the ways he solved cases in his spin-off games were based off Phoenix Wright. None of the attorney characters I knew base their style of clothing from their mentors. It occurred to me that maybe Edgeworth was a borrower and seemed to not be borrowing anything from anyone in canon, because he's rich and wouldn't see the point in it. If he was dating or married, he'd likely borrow clothes, since their belongings would belong to the both of them equally. He may even be seen one day on the couch in his lover's house pants and night shirt. Though, he will also lend someone a piece of clothing, especially his lover, if he has extras such as a dress shirt.

Phoenix Wright is 100% a lender of clothing. Unlike with Edgeworth, this one wasn't hard to figure out. Phoenix's stuff gets jacked all the time. Maya's always like "buy me burgers" and he will do it, even though it's milking his money for all his worth. He doesn't often like it, but he'll do it. If one of his friends, especially lover, is seen with one of his shirts or pants, it'll just be another day in paradise. For Phoenix, lending his stuff isn't anything new and it happens to him every single day. It's because of this, he loathes the idea of borrowing someone else's clothes or stuff. He will, if he has to, but the fact he lived seven years caring for a child without stopping by at Edgeworth's place and saying, "hey, think I can crash in at your place and live here, since you'll be going to Europe most of the days anyways?" shows he's not one to freeload off of his friends or anyone.

While Edgeworth isn't someone that will take or borrow someone else's clothing, if it's his husband, it's possible he may. Phoenix may wake up one day and find Edgeworth in the living room with a piece of his clothing watching Steel Samurai. Though, for Phoenix, it will just be another day, another loved one jacking stuff from him. I doubt Phoenix will be all lovey-dovey over it, but he won't object to it either. On the same note, if Phoenix doesn't have enough white dress shirts, Edgeworth would not object to lending one to him, if he has a ton of them. This goes for socks, briefs and what-nots. Lending or borrowing the other's clothing won't be considered romantic to either of them. Not everything in the romantic cliche list won't always be considered romantic to these two and I think it makes their relationship more unique. Lending and borrowing clothing would just be considered one of those.

 This is my interpretation of the ship. I don't consider it to match anyone else's interpretation. Feel free to give your thoughts.

EDIT: blank template - https://twitter.com/SouOrtizArt/status/1157721908470800384

[biconicfinn]

I had a lot of problems w loto too what were urs??

firstly, thank you for letting me know that i’m not alone in how i feel about loto because it seems to me that most of the rest of the fandom adores it and i liked it i guess? not as much as i love simon vs but enough to not say i absolutely hated it. secondly, these opinions i’m gonna share might be a little summarised/simplified for convenience’s sake 

before i start digging into what i didn’t like, let’s start with the pros:

first and foremost, i really liked the idea of visiting the simonverse again, especially since the last book had been so good and personally meant alot to me and i was excited to see these characters in the pages again! (extra excited after seeing them grace the screens)

general excitedness aside, i loved garrett so much! i think he is hilarious and i loved that we got to see more of him and how he kind of fit himself in with the squad (he is my Angel Bro and deserves the world)

SPIERFELD!!!!! i loved seeing more simon/bram interactions and that promposal! wow i love them so much

i liked the way that morgan’s racism was handled. it was handled well and not shoehorned in to seem Progressive

as a subpoint(?) to morgan thing, i loved that there was just this acknowledgement of the entire squad’s nerdiness. you think they’re that group of kids who hang out together just because? lol no they’re all major nerds and that’s why

leah’s experience with finding a prom dress was so relatable; especially the part where she keeps struggling to find one that fits and suits her. i went through the same struggles finding a dress for my secondary school prom and it was so accurate i loved it. 

now for the cons:

most of my issue with loto can be easily boiled down into a few reasons. namely, leah’s characterisation herself, the assassination of nick’s character, the way bisexuality was approached by the characters and the whole cal/nora thing 

leah’s characterisation: i know she is one of the most popular simonverse characters, but leah isn’t really all that imho? i feel like she is a caricature of what people perceive a fangirl to be, from the m/m shipping, to the active fandom participation and the love for anime among other things. and another thing; i get that she has issues with bottling up her problems and communication, and that is fine and completely normal, but it just culminates in a rally ugly jealous and possessive streak when it comes to her friends. evidence? see: her feelings towards simon coming to abby, nick and abby taking simon to midtown, simon spending time with a friend who is Not Her. she is also really mean at times and i don’t get it? why are you so mean, especially to your friends?? why leah? and why can’t you accept that simon felt more comfortable coming out to abby first than you? are you not bisexual? or even if this wasn’t established in simon vs, you’d think her extensive fandom knowledge and knowledge of gay relationships (that granted, comes from fandom which is sorely missing in nuance when handling lgbt issues at times, but certainly has How to React When Your Friend Is Coming Out 101 down pat) would be of some help? coming out was simon’s thing and i don’t think it’s fair to do that to your best friend, regardless of how you feel about the person he came out to. also she ships drarry and that is a no-go for me just saying why would you ship drarry when deamus exists????

the assassination of nick’s character: now, this one goes hand in hand with how by breaking up nick and abby, nick gets character assassinated and the whole leah/abby thing seems more and more like fanservice. first off, nick and taylor metternich???? he doesn’t even break up with abby for an extended period of time before he attempts to move on? are you sure?? he was all for abby up until the very moment they break up and then he drops her for taylor? i’m not saying that leah shouldn’t have been with abby, more like, nick doesn’t/didn’t have to be paired off with someone else to give him a happy ending. you don’t need a romantic partner to be happy, and with nick, this message could have been conveyed in a beautiful way. also, nick and abby are pretty much head-over-heels in simon vs and for abby to suddenly have a change of heart and fall in love with leah doesn’t make sense to me. maybe that’s just me, idk. in conclusion, taylor and nick was so unnecessary and just made the leah/abby endgame seem very fanservice-y and shat all over nick’s character in the process.

the way the characters approached bisexuality: i felt that the way abby approached her sexuality, while normal was still rather upsetting, specifically the ‘lowkey bi’ thing. i felt that this is something i personally have heard straight people, specifically straight women say, when they find other women even moderately attractive and yet shun the idea of two women in a loving and committed relationship. you can be like figuring yourself out and trying to find your label (and you don’t even need one) but the ‘lowkey bi’ just sounds like a classic case of straight women with one (1) #wcw they would ‘totally date if like they had no choice!!11!!1!’ i know that this isn’t the case with abby, i know she isn’t straight and that is totally fine and cool and really awesome! i love it! but i think it could have been addressed in a better way, especially since many bi woc, particularly black bi women, were looking to abby as representation. it also seemed rather incongruent with abby’s characterisation to me. again, it could just be me, but this is something that just rubbed me the wrong way. (don’t worry, i still love abby and adore her with my whole heart!)

the whole cal/nora debacle: this to me was really sketchy because cal used to have a crush on simon and asked him out in simon vs, but got rejected. we also know that nora and simon (book!simon at least) look really alike. it just rubs me the wrong way that cal gets together with nora, simon’s younger sister who looks really alike to her older brother, who cal had a crush on. does that not seem very sketchy and shady and not very good? or healthy? just me?

okay also last point but more of an unpopular opinion that you might not agree with but i felt that the leah/abby relationship was super fanservice-y. i know i briefly touched on this in the second point but i just… why did you need to break nick and abby up in senior year to give leah a gf? it doesn’t make sense to me. we could have had a new character or brought another of the supporting girls like anna or even taylor be leah’s love interest. i know that based on canon, abby and nick might not have survived through college realistically, because long distance relationships are tough, but the hope of ending your last year of school in love, with your friends, finally yourself seems to be an ending with a more bittersweet feeling as college draws near and time together runs out than awkward relationship drama at prom and tension everywhere. i know that it isn’t as realistic, but i think that the characters, having been through what they have, deserve a happily ever after. i think it also is a powerful message to teenagers that yeah, high school is rough and things get dramatic and confusing, but there are people who care for you and will be there for you and stand with you and these friends will quite literally change your life. i just want some happy endings for these kids okay? sue me, i’m a little bit of a romantic. 

please don’t kill me these are just my opinions

[hoopyfrood]

as promised, here’s ur first glimpse of katm (@knightatthemuseum) fic 👌👌

i’ll be uploading this to ao3 too when i start uploading all the companion stories in order, but it’s relevant, and these events just happened a few days ago, so it’s only fair u guys get this one now! 😜✌️

posting several days after new years rami style lmao

also context for anyone confused: 

i run a natm blog set in an au where nicky goes to the british museum for his gap year and it posts in real time with what events are happening to nicky and lance, as well as fitting into canon as much as possible, and along with it im posting fics for backstory and extras!

no name for this fic just yet, so how about: sleepy boy parties too hard but its worth it because he’s gay as hell feat. sadly not enough tilly 

“Ah, a New Year’s Kiss! Isn’t that nice?”

Nicky blinked and looked over at Lance and then at the exhibits dancing and singing in front of them, following their gaze until he got distracted by some of the tiny figures from Pompeii doing a Mexican wave. It wasn’t unusual for him to become sleepy during his hours spent at the museum, and as he’d been to a party earlier that night he was now really ready for a good long nap.

However, he’d promised he’d stay up for the new year, so he was sat on the stairs with Lancelot, who had taken a break from dancing, while several exhibits were partying before them in the Great Court to a 70s playlist provided by his dad. Nicky had put his music on shuffle earlier, but museum folks just seemed to be fans of disco classics. Larry stayed for Hanukkah, and it’d been great hanging out with him, but he’d left earlier that day; he’d gotten himself a dog for company and his grumpy neighbour had only agreed to look after it for just over a week.

Lance had been more excited to see photos of the dog, Betsy, than to see Larry himself. It was understandable, though, his dad was still a little wary of Lance after their first encounter when they almost got all the exhibits, including themself, uh, killed. Also, Lancelot really liked dogs and had an impossible dream of owning one in the priceless artefact filled museum.

His dad didn’t need to be cautious though, Lance was pretty harmless, in Nick’s opinion. Take their sword away and they were just a slightly confused, unfairly attractive person who enjoyed reality tv a bit too much.

Said knight was elbowing him again, which was kinda painful as they were wearing their full suit of armour for the occasion. They grinned and pointed over at the two statues sharing shy kisses.

“Those lovely ladies over there, isn’t it nice?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Nicky knew he should’ve feigned more excitement as Lancelot instantly turned to look at him with a worried expression. He sipped the cider they were sharing and tried to look more awake. New Year’s was a great time for the museum exhibits as it wasn’t long since they’d woken up, so they were ready to party, but Nicky didn’t think it’d be more than a few hours until he passed out. He’d try and stay up and enjoy the celebrations till then, though.

“Nick, what’s wrong?” They didn’t even need to ask if he was okay, they knew each other too well by now.

“Just tired. I did all my partying earlier, and, you know, I love DJing but being on your feet for so long really drains you.”

Lance crunched a handful of crisps as they paused to think. “You should rest, then.”

“No, I’m alright, just don’t ask me to dance, I’ll probably collapse,” He chuckled, but Lancelot was still fixing him with a concerned stare. “Just kidding.” Nick clarified, patting them on the leg in reassurance before helping himself to some snacks too, opting for the bowl of pretzels between them.

“I won’t be dancing myself either, I keep getting made fun of by this very mean guy with freckles who refuses to dress up for the occasion.” Lance told him, sniffing and looking away, opting for being dramatic, as per usual.

“Hey, this is a new sweater, I made some effort!” Nicky jostled them in the side and watched the grin spread across their face again.  Lancelot could never remain serious for long without smiling, or just forgetting what they were doing.

“Armour is much more appropriate for an important event such as heralding a new year!”

“Not very practical though, at least I can dance in a sweater,”

“You’ve not gotten up to dance once! Half heartedly doing the hand movements to the macarena doesn’t count.”

“I’m tired! Look, my eyes are almost shut… can’t stay awake… time to collapse… ow!”

“You can’t miss the start of a whole new year, Nicky!”

“I’ll stay awake, just… don’t attack me with your evil metal fingers again.”

“What can I say? I have very well made armour. But my metal fingers will leave you be.”

“Deal?”

“Deal.”

The two shared a smile and then went back to snacking and watching the crowd of exhibits and their varied dancing styles. Tilly was teaching a cluster of people how to do the robot, with mixed results. She waved over to them excitedly and gestured to the exhibits next to her doing the awkward dance. Nicky and Lance both waved back in unison, Nick also giving her a thumbs up.

“When was your last New Year’s Kiss, Nicky?” Lance asked in interest, foot tapping to the music.

That took a bit of thought. “Uh… when I was fourteen and the only other boy who liked boys took pity on me at a friend’s party.” He smiled self deprecatingly as he remembered the girls avoiding him near the end of the night. He’d only recently come out as gay (later realising he was bi) and the only other known gay guy had given him a quick kiss before running off, leaving him alone to play a Pokémon game in the corner. Things hadn’t changed much, clearly, as before Lance found him he’d just been sat on his phone on the steps of the Court.

“That’s a long time ago.” Lance commented.

Nicky elbowed them in the side teasingly. “Not that it’s any competition, but when was your last kiss?”

To Nicky’s surprise, Lancelot turned the faintest bit pink. “William kissed my hand the night before he left, the same as I had greeted him.”

“Shakespeare?” Lance nodded in response to Nicky’s question. “Oh, I thought you were going to say Trixie or yourself or something.”

“Well, it was just a friendly gesture, I think it was, but it was nice of him.”

Lancelot wasn’t saying much which was an odd thing, as they usually wouldn’t shut up, but Nicky didn’t want to probe. They’d only recently gotten comfortable calling themself gay and being more confident in their sexuality: whatever it was, it wasn’t straight, and Nick didn’t want to push them to talk about crushes or anything. Will had gotten on well with Lance when he’d been part of the British theatre exhibition, and he’d been a surprisingly chill, flirty kind of guy who made terrible innuendos.

“That’s a long time with no kisses, though.” Lancelot was saying, and Nicky turned to see they were looking at him in thought.

“I guess. I’m used to it though, no big deal, man.”

“No, that won’t do,”

“Lance…” Now it was Nicky’s turn to feel heat rise in his cheeks. He didn’t know what Lancelot was planning but, oh man, he was already thinking of ideas and he really shouldn’t be thinking those ideas, they were ridiculous… but very welcome.

“Trixie! Come here, girl!”

Nicky breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. Then held his breath again as Trixie scrambled around the corner and sat at Lancelot’s side. She really was a loyal dinosaur, it reminded him of his friend Rexy, as boisterous as she had been, and it was a good thing they weren’t in the staff lounge for once as Trixie would probably have broken through the door frame and most of the wall to get to Lance.

“Now, give Nicky a kiss.” Lancelot commanded, clasping their hands together.

It was probably weird to not be scared by a giant triceratops looming down on you, but Nicky was used to it by now, having helped Lance train Trixie with the more difficult commands. The dinosaur butted her mouth against Nicky’s forehead then sat down again happily, and Nicky patted her side in thanks.

“Isn’t she a good girl? Yes she is! You’re a good dinosaur, Trixie!” Lance was saying, not in a cutesy voice like most people would use for a pet, instead they were proudly proclaiming how great she was while scratching her under the chin. After receiving the praise she wanted, Trixie ran off again in chase of something neither of them could see. It was New Year’s Eve, it was a party, neither of them could be bothered to run after her. Besides, she rarely broke anything lately, and if she did it was never any of the really important historical things.

It was a couple songs later after a comfortable silence between them when Lancelot spoke up again.

“Nicky, when are New Year’s kisses supposed to happen?”

“Uh, New Year.”

“Nicky!”

“What?” He smiled innocently while sipping his drink and avoided looking at his friend; he knew he’d lose his straight face pretty quickly if he saw Lance’s disgruntled expression.

Lance pushed some hair from their face so they could frown more clearly at him. “That’s not very helpful.”

“I’m not a very helpful guy.”

Nicky turned his head to give Lancelot one of his best teasing smiles, but just as he did he realised Lance was moving closer to him, their hands on his shoulders and then Nicky’s breath caught in his throat and… they kissed his eyebrow.

They both moved back quickly, Nicky now in utter confusion. What had just happened?

“You weren’t supposed to move.” Lance told him, and, now that Nicky was frozen due to being in mild shock and being held still by Lancelot, they kissed him lightly on the cheek, stubble brushing against his jaw.

“There. Happy new year!” Lance pulled away and patted him on the back, looking as though they felt very successful.

“Oh, right, happy new year, dude,” Nicky though of giving them a fist bump in return, then realised that would look a bit weird and he decided to just smile back before looking away.

Lancelot had no idea they’d just given him the best moment of his whole year and that was ridiculous, but it was also true, and he really wanted to run his fingers over where Lance had been against him and kissing him, and it was just his cheek, but, man, he suddenly felt wide awake. Nicky exhaled deeply and internally told himself to chill. He’d probably have handled himself better if he hadn’t had a few drinks. At least, he hoped so.

Lancelot looked completely oblivious, thankfully, to Nicky’s reaction. They were tapping both feet to the music now and picking the rocks of salt out of a pretzel with great concentration.

“Thanks, Lance,” Nicky told them, not sure if his friend had taken pity on him or just wanted to fulfil the tradition, but it was a nice end to the year. He wasn’t going to look into too deeply; the other was always an open person with expressing their excitement and love of their friends and things.

Lancelot patted him on the back, again, proving Nicky’s internal musings about their touchy feely nature correct, and nodded. “No problem. Everybody should get a kiss for New Years, I think.”

Nicky considered for the briefest of seconds kissing his friend back, but then mentally (and maybe physically? He wasn’t really sure what he was doing at that moment in time) shook his head to get rid of that thought. It was better to stick to their usual banter and move on.

Although… kissing for the sake of tradition was a pretty valid reason to do so. He wouldn’t have another chance for a year, and fuck knows where he’d be then.

Yeah, he might as well go for it.

“Guess you should get one too, yeah?”

He waited for Lance’s nod of agreement, then, as casual as he could be, Nicky held their jaw gently, and pressed a kiss to the side of their face. If he’d been somebody watching he would’ve walked over and slapped himself in the face; it reminded him of little kids shyly kissing each other during school recess or something. It was only for the sake of tradition, of course, but he felt a little nervous about it happening.

(Nicky was too busy keeping his eyes on Lance to notice, but later he’d be told that there was somebody watching, and it was Tilly, and she had been giving Nicky an unseen double thumbs up. She was very keen about setting people up in the museum, but unfortunately for her, it was just a casual thing.)

Lancelot looked surprised, but grateful, and they smiled. “Thank you!” Another person with a big crush on them might’ve been annoyed by how relaxed Lance was, but Nicky was glad to see them looking so happy and comfortable. It made him chill out, too.

Sometimes he was anxious about touching or hugging his friend too much, worried he was being too close, being too obvious about his feelings. He didn’t want to influence Lance, to make them feel they had to be anything other than good friends. So it was nice to just hang out, to get the warm buzz of alcohol in his body, to joke around and know that his friend was comfortable with the odd touch and hug, and kiss on the cheek. He really needed to start up a conversation to distract himself from thinking about moving his lips elsewhere.

“New Year’s Kisses are supposed to happen right as it becomes the new year,” Nicky told them, failing to think of anything to talk about but kissing. Great, not like that was weird. He was also pleasantly ignoring the fact he’d kissed them back way before midnight.

Lance didn’t seem to mind, though, they just looked thoughtful.

Everything had been a bit surreal, but it was hard to feel awkward around Lance, and even though Nicky was sure he was still blushing a tiny bit, the atmosphere was relaxed as ever. Well, he was used to the guy being close. It just happened that he’d liked this one action from them quite a bit more than all the hugs, though they were nice. Lance was nice, too, pretty great, actually. It was ten minutes to midnight now, and Nicky was glad to be spending the last few moments of 2016 with his closest friend.

“Well, hopefully I’ll get it right next year, then.” Lance replied with a nod, happiness returning as they munched on a pretzel and tapped their feet to Boogie Wonderland, while Nicky wondered if that promise would be fulfilled.